An ESL teacher at a small, struggling organization called The Bridge takes it within herself to write the perfect novel of how the organization came about. In order to save it from years of dwindling funds, budget cuts, and fading grants, she attends a writers conference to get someone to take it on. In her exuberance, she covers multiple genres, writes almost 150,000 words (twice the industry norm), and tries her best to pitch it to publishers at a convention to vast disinterest.

She meets with her last chance, a ruthless top of the line publisher who doesn't want to be there, and he dismisses her within 5 minutes. She stubbornly stands up for her work, and in a moment of challenge, he tasks her to find fault in a wildly successful authors book he has on his laptop. She reads it and, in sheer desperation, tells the truth. All of it is wrong. It's shoddy writing and awful, and she details what needs to change, tosses her business cards at him, and walks away in tears.

Little does she know this is the start to an entire new chapter of her life as a ghostwriter, forever on the hook to wait for her own work to see the light of day.

******

I greedily devoured this book in one sitting. I've never read this authors work before, but I was charmed by her characters before the end of the first chapter.

Seeing the friendship with Jack in its full blossom as she becomes a ghost writer for his horrendous client was entertaining. I could empathize with watching her describe the push and pull of being a peace keeper and pushover, and fighting her own bitterness of her work being credited to an awful person who doesn't care about it. The entire time, quietly being told, staying in the shadows suits her perfectly fine and to carry on while she pushes it down.

There are nods to Jack keeping a secret, being a master at manipulation, but also being deeply affectionate for her. Seeing the juxtaposition of her own long-distance partner who she hasn't seen in years being a neutral force and not present for her life. Yet Jack being an openly manipulative and convincing force, twisting and turning his words and her perception, yet being there for every moment was so oddly satisfying. He was never presented as the hero, and she never really regarded him as such, which made his actions stand out so much stronger than his words. He eventually works his way into her heart, and she convinces herself this is friendship, for it all to fall apart with massive lies and betrayal.

This book made me so genuinely root for the lead, and I loved it when we slipped into Bryony's eyes and saw the world around her in her author voice. It makes you wish you could read the books she details with so much emotion and description. You could feel the fourth wall of the author herself describing her love of books and characters and descriptors, and it made this such a warm read.

Seeing Bryony sacrifice her joy and work and all that was important to her for a last hurrah, and then to have that perfect conclusion? Exactly what made this book 5 stars for me.

There honestly isn't a single part of this that I could find glaring fault with. It was a cozy read, with interesting characters and a sweet friendship and love that wasn't overly saccharine. I'd recommend this to anyone who needs to break their way out of a reading slump and find the joy of a good book again!

*******

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing - for the digital ARC copy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is my first time reading a book by this author. I enjoyed the witty and sarcastic banter throughout the novel. Parts were extremely heartwarming, especially Bryony’s interactions with her grandmother and sister.

For me personally, the romance was not the center to the story at all. The first interactions between our leads started off with great chemistry, but as the story progressed, it felt slightly disjointed and rushed. I don’t want to go into too many specifics and spoilers, but I just wish that the romance made more sense. I was rooting for them as a couple, but was left feeling underwhelmed with the way they came to be.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 stars. I loved the beginning (4 stars) and I loved the part of the ending which was an homage to a great scene in "Singing in the Rain" (4 stars) but the only thing I enjoyed in the middle was the evil, evil Amelia. The rest was.... meh.

****SPOILER ALERT*** After really getting into the beginning of this story, I then spent the next bulk of the book feeling uncomfortable and annoyed with both of the main characters. There were parts that I skimmed over as well. It was clear pretty early on that Jack wasn't being honest with Byrony and I found it frustrating that she was so clueless about it. However, I also got impatient with Byrony for not giving Jack a chance to explain what happened.

So, overall, it was good enough to read to the end with some minor skimming but was not as good as Ferguson's prior books which I loved so much that I bought both the ebooks and audiobooks.

Thank you NetGalley & Thomas Nelson for allowing me access to this cute one! (What a beautiful cover!!)
The Perfect Rom-Com is going to be released next year, Feb 11th! It follows Bryony Page, a talented but underappreciated writer who gets a surprising chance to ghostwrite for bestselling author Amelia Benedict after a disastrous attempt to pitch her own novel. Though she takes the job reluctantly, her work catapults Amelia to superstardom, while Bryony remains behind the scenes. As she navigates the demanding world of ghostwriting and the struggle to get her own book noticed, Bryony forms an unexpected bond with Jack, the literary agent who believed in her from the start. It was very charming and such a uplifting read!

This book is an absolute delight! With witty banter, a touch of romance, and a fascinating look behind the literary curtain, this is a must-read for anyone who loves a feel-good story.