i found this book to be an easy light read but wasn't that special or memorable and as a result, I havent posted a detailed review on my page as yet but will do and update with link when done

*3.5 stars*

I received this book as an ARC. This was a cute story. I enjoyed Bryony as an FMC, it was really interesting to follow a ghostwriter/author as she went through the publishing field. I also liked that she was a teacher for ELA students as well. I loved that Melissa Ferguson mentioned in her author’s note that she drew from her own experiences for Bryony’s character. Jack was a good MMC, but I honestly didn’t feel like I fully got to know his character in this book. Additionally, while I enjoyed their relationship development, I felt like I needed a bit more of them together as a couple or having romantic moments for me to fully root for them. The book focused a lot on Bryony’s character, which I did enjoy and it was great to see the way her story wrapped up. Overall, this was a fun and lighthearted read.

I really enjoyed this read, but found myself disconnected from the characters. The plot itself was intriguing but Bryony and Jack were both distant and closed off characters to me.

A light and easy read. Loved Jack’s character. Will be a great plane or holiday read for people who don’t want a romcom that’s too dense. First third stood out and was the strongest, in my opinion. Story didn’t go in the direction I expected and I wanted more from it overall. I found myself skimming a bit but that’ll be down to author’s writing style not being the best fit for me. Definitely think other readers will really enjoy.

This rom-com was really sweet and cute... I loved Jack... the little moments like “Believe me, Bryony. You’re the only one getting this look.”
or loved this moment:
“How often do we see each other?”
I shrug, my anticipation rising. “Well, every other day or so, I suppose. But we’ve got a lot in common. Work, like on this tour.”
“Which I chose to go on with you.”
“Bowling.”
“Which I signed up for, for you.”
“Mutual friends.”
“Your friends. Your friends whom I’ve made my friends.” He must see the electricity in my eyes and adds, “I’m actually far less needy than you and can exist happily with only two or three important people in my life. All of which proves my point.”
“Which is?”
“That for all intents and purposes, up to this point, we have been dating.”

the opening moment at the writing conference was amazing, I was really hooked in... when she has his phone and text messages start to arrive, that little peek into Jack's personality made me giddy... I knew I was going to love the story...
I only wish more of the falling in love happened on page and it was like fast-forward two years Jack is in love with Bryony...

I've gone back and forth on my feelings about this book! I think the story really wasn't as much as a romance as I anticipated and that can be fine - I'm all for romances that also handle more things than the romance itself - but I think even the other storylines fell a little flat. The romance doesn't really seem to start until 2/3s into the book and the FMC is still technically in a relationship with someone else for the first half... I had a hard time getting invested with where the romance would go (when we would eventually get there). I think maybe a dual POV would have helped this. The singular POV in the FMC could have been helped with some POV chapters from our MMC just to develop the romance to it all a bit more. It all just felt almost a little flat.

I'm also very annoyed at how unrealistic the very end is. I couldn't see a realistic ending while the plot lines were starting to wrap up and REALLY think that the chosen ending was too ridiculous for the professions that these characters have.

I was certainly intrigued though to continue this story to the very end. I wanted & needed to know how this could end happily for our MCs.

So I do think I enjoyed this book… eventually. It was a slow start and I was at least half way through before
I was fully invested in it. Once I was into it though it was cute. Jack has a good mysterious side. But he also has a seriously wtf side? I was back and forth.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Bryony Page has a passion and a purpose. Or maybe a purpose and a passion. She dreams of one day finding success as an author, but most importantly, she dreams of saving The Bridge, the language school her grandmother established to help immigrants find their dreams of gaining U.S. citizenship.

To that end, she spends every spare minute writing a love story she believes will achieve both goals. Summoning her courage, she travels to Nashville, TN, to attend a writer’s conference and pitch her manuscript to three agents. The first two gently explain that her novel’s mixture of genres won’t sell. Jack Sterling, the rising star of Foundry Literary Agency, might be her last hope. However, the pitch goes awry. Jack criticizes her manuscript (too long, too many genres), and she shares her honest opinion of his famous client, Amelia Benedict’s latest work (awful).

Bryony rushes out of the conference before she bursts into tears and promises to set her dreams aside. She doesn’t expect Jack Sterling to show up in the elevator at her hotel as she’s rushing to catch her plane. And she never dreamed he would offer her a job ghostwriting for Amelia Benedict. Jack convinces Bryony to come on board in exchange for promising to pitch her novel (and a healthy paycheck).

As each new Amelia Benedict book sells, Bryony contributes more and more to her passion project—keeping The Bridge afloat. Amelia Benedict, who treats people like peons, becomes a nemesis whom Bryony can’t escape. And Jack Sterling becomes her best friend but a lousy agent—never managing to sell her manuscript despite his promises.

Bryony’s books—the ones she ghostwrites for Amelia Benedict—have heart, romance, and relatable characters that fans love. Since her book, which she hopes will save The Bridge, languishes, Bryony does something no author should do—she contacts an editor without her agent. What happens next brings her relationships to a plot twist from which she may never recover.

Can her friendship with Jack recover from her betrayal? Only if she can write the perfect rom-com in record time. Unbeknownst to her, Jack has his own plot twist in the works—one that will expose Bryony’s nemesis.

What I Loved About This Book
Melissa Ferguson pens yet another perfect rom-com, this time about a struggling writer who creates a perfect rom-com despite her own messy love life. Readers will swoon over the best-friends-to-lovers plot and cheer when the villain gets her comeuppance.

I enjoyed this one overall, but I think I expected it to be more of a romcom, and instead, it was more women's fiction with some romance on the side.

I didn't like that so much of Bryony and Jack's relationship developed off-page. I wanted to understand where their friendship and love sprouted from, and instead, I felt like it was just assumed that the reader would take the author's word for it and come along for the ride. I didn't love the deception piece of this story, and I also wish we got both Bryony's and Jack's perspectives instead of just Bryony's.

Where I thought this story shined bright was in the audio! Karissa Vacker did an incredible job of bringing these characters to life! Her narration is always so powerful and evokes so much emotion, and I loved that.

Thank you so much to Melissa Ferguson and PRH Audio for my gifted audio copy!

Lacking the novelty of a romantic comedy. This novel focused more on the publishing industry versus the romance. Even though the story line focuses on ghostwriting a romance novel the chemistry between the two leads was not always there. Even though it was a clean romance you can still initiate chemistry or that love connection.

The first half of the book in my opinion was very, very slow and it was hard to get through. I wouldn't really consider this to be a rom-com and the story was mainly about the publishing industry. There wasn't much character development and the ending between the MMC and FMC felt very rushed and random. The story lacked momentum through most of the book. Thank you Net Galley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(This review was posted to Good Reads)

⭐️3.5
just kisses
🎧audiobook performance ⭐️4

Bryony desperately wants 2 things; to save her beloved ESL nonprofit school “The Bridge” and to find a literary agent to represent her first novel SO she can use it to promote support for “The Bridge”. After all the rejections of her novel, in a last-ditch effort, she takes a meeting with famed literary agent Jack Sterling. When he asks her to critique another writers work and her comments are spot-on she unintentionally becomes the ghostwriter for famous author, Amelia Benedict. After years of ghostwriting and no published works to her name, will Bryony get to fulfill any of her initial goals and will she find something she didn’t even know she was looking for?

This was a sweet story. It did make me chuckle a few times. I loved the dynamic between Bryony and Jack, I just wish there could have been more banter. I also enjoyed the stories of the ESL students but rarely did they happen in real time as well. It felt like a huge chunk of the story was Bryony’s inner monologue where I wished it was playing out in the dialogue more.

Overall, a sweet and fun read.

✨ghostwriter x agent
✨ESL representation
✨workplace romance
✨forced proximity
✨closed door romance

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the digital and audio ARCS of this book!
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

2 ⭐️

a bit late on my review but it took me a great time to get invested in the story...

this book wasn't for me, it feels like the title is a bit misleading since there's barely romance in the books and it centers more in the FMC's thoughts.

thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

This book was such a great light refreshing read! I loved the banter, cute romance and light heartedness. This is a perfect book to read between heavier books, I will definitely be recommended this.

Let me tell you about "The Perfect Rom-Com" by Melissa Ferguson. It's a delightful contemporary rom-com that really lives up to its title. The story follows Bryony Page, a ghostwriter for a popular author, and her agent, Jack Sterling. While their budding, albeit underlying, attraction and romance are central to the plot, the story also delves into Bryony's need to publish her own writing under her own name. This is crucial for her to support the funding of the non-profit where she works as an ESL teacher for immigrants. The other characters serve more as background, adding depth to the story without overshadowing the main duo.

What I loved about this book was the charming dynamic between Bryony and Jack. The way their relationship develops is just brilliant, and the humor sprinkled throughout kept me smiling. Melissa Ferguson's writing style is easy to read and engaging, making it a breeze to get through the book. This was my first time reading her work, and I was pleasantly surprised. Overall, I'd give this book 4 out of 5 stars because it was a charming and heartwarming read. If you're into rom-coms or enjoy stories about writers, you'll probably love it. Would I recommend it? Definitely, especially if you're looking for a light, feel-good read.

I was given a complimentary copy of the book by NetGalley from Thomas Nelson. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

I thought this book was very sweet! I do feel like it lacked some context, and I would’ve liked to see more development between Bryony and Jack, and feel more tangible tension between them and more sentimental regards toward The Bridge. I did really enjoy this, though, and I thought the story was cute!

The Perfect Rom-Com was incredibly well done! The characters felt so believable, and I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline beyond just the romance. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself hooked from the very beginning, eagerly turning pages to see how everything would unfold—and the ending did not disappoint! While a happy ending was expected, I loved how it played out in such a unique way.

This was my first book by Melissa Ferguson, and it certainly won’t be my last! I can’t wait to read more from her in the future.

A huge thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

2.75 stars. The premise of this book was really interesting but unfortunately the execution was lacking. It took way too long for things to progress and I found myself skipping parts on the first half of the book. After around 55% mark the story got better but then the conflict happened way too fast. I found the writing style easy to read but you shouldn’t go into reading this book thinking this is a rom-com/romance book.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. I went in based off the title and limited knowledge about the description of the story and I feel like that was the best way for me to enjoy the story.

The slow burn that happens in the story was done well. I haven’t enjoyed this type of romance in a while.

Bryony was an easy character to like and her determination throughout the story was lovely to read. She was dedicated to her passion at The Bridge. When she was hurt you as the reader felt the pain she was going through.

Jack was a character that is closed off and has his guard up but watching the fall was lovely to see.

Overall this has become one of my new favorites and recommend reading this story.

Ooof, more like a terrible rom-com.. maybe if this was titled different, my expectations would have been slightly different too, this is no way brought anything perfect, romantic or comedic.

Unbearable main characters and miscommunication the whole way through, which is a personal hate of mine. I wish our main character Bryony would have stood up for herself in so many situations and Jack, well he was just a jerk and he was way too easily forgiven for his lies. There was also 0 chemistry, it was all very forced and no humour, which was a disappointment.

My only slight positive from this book was the “villain” of the story, Amelia Benedict - she was serving Angelica from Rugrats vibes and was the most developed.

Thank-you NetGalley, Harper Collins Christian Publishing and Melissa for a Digital Advanced Readers Copy, in exchange for an honest review.