This was my first Melissa Ferguson book. My mom loves all of her books, so when I saw this one, I decided to give it a shot. In "The Perfect Rom-com" we follow Bryony Page, an aspiring author, as she tries to sell her first novel in the hopes of saving the ESL school her grandmother started and where Bryony is also a teacher. While a writing conference, as a last-ditch effort, she pitches her novel to a publishing agent named Jack Sterling who passes on her novel. However, he does offer her the chance to be one of a best-selling author's ghostwriters instead. Upon accepting she embarks on a career where everyone knows and loves her stories but does not know her name.

I liked this book. I adored many moments. It kept me engaged and I loved the characters. The banter between the two romantic leads was very witty and. I highlighted many quotes to come back to later, especially some of the things that Bryony's sister said. I adored that Jack was patiently waiting for Bryony to realize they were basically together by just being around her and spending time with her. The way he confessed that he loved her was so cute I squealed.
It would have been fun if we had gotten Jacks POV. We could have seen more of them together and heard his thoughts about Bryony. Especially when the end was coming, and he was scheming his plan. I unfortunately felt like the ending came and went quickly. I know it was because the ending of the book was a whirlwind for Bryony, so it had to be a whirlwind for the reader. I just wish it was a little slower.

This book is perfect for those who want just a clean and cute little love story about two people who work together, wind up becoming friends, then want something more at the expense of their work relationship. While also following an aspiring author's journey into the publishing world. I feel like I even learned more about the publishing world.

I will be embarking on a quest to read Melissa's backlog, now that I have read this one. She is a fabulous author, and I would love to see what else she has to offer.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction in exchange for an honest review. Publication date: February 11, 2025.
Bryony, an aspiring author clinging to her vision of a perfect debut novel, faces the harsh realities of the publishing world. After a string of rejections, she unexpectedly lands a job as a ghostwriter, a detour that sets the stage for the narrative.
The story then jumps two years ahead, leaving a gap in the timeline that I found a bit jarring. I was curious about the experiences and growth Bryony underwent during those missing months.
While I appreciated the premise of the novel, I found the writing style to be somewhat fragmented, which occasionally disrupted the flow of the narrative. Additionally, while marketed as a romantic comedy, I felt the story leaned more towards women's fiction, focusing on themes of career aspirations, personal growth, and navigating life's unexpected twists.
Despite these minor quibbles, the novel offers some thought-provoking insights into the creative process and the challenges of pursuing one's passions.

This was a nice sweet slowburn Romance about Bryony an aspiring author and Jack a literary agent who offers her to be a ghostwriter! I really loved their bater and I loved how they where friends but acted like they where dating without realizing( on her part) you really root for Bryony all throughout the book and and I was really happy with the ending! Definitely give this book a read! Thank you to melissa and netgalley for this ARC review🩷

Hmmm, this one was not a favorite for me. I love a good closed door romance, but the pacing and characterization was all off. While I love a story about the publishing industry, I do not like a girl vs. girl "catfight" with one girl prettier, mean girl, rich privileged "villain." It is very one dimensional and, I think, a harmful trope to pit women against each other that should be collaborating and partners.

Our prologue begins with our main female character Bryony, meeting her agent Jack and immediately disliking him. Then the story skips two years and they are best friends. I can't help but feel like we skipped over the best part of a rom com, which is the relationship building and connection. Bryony is ghostwriting successfully for Amelia- a Paris Hilton entitled type who wrote one cute book then can't even be bothered to read the ones that Bryony ghost writes for her. I don't love a story set up with one person we root for and one with no redeeming qualities. The ending was a bit too "deus ex machina."

I have liked other books by this author but this one missed the mark.

I was given a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction. Book to be published February 11, 2025.

"The Perfect Rom-Com" by Melissa Ferguson is a delightfully fun book to read. Bryony and Jack are totally those friends that are really a couple but they don't see it themselves. They are so co-dependent in so many ways as Jack keeps Bryony on track to write books for a famous socialite and Bryony brings Jack into her world of adult ESL students that she meets in her day job of teaching ESL. This story stays engaging throughout and you just wonder what's going to happen next.

This book has light-hearted moments and also some really, deep touching times as well. Even some cringy moments - but every good rom-com has those of course! The dialogue is excellent and the writing kept me turning the pages and not wanting to put this one down. I've enjoyed many books by this author and this one might be my new favorite by her.

This is a clean, slow burn romance. Some kissing but nothing else. Content is appropriate for ages 16+. Highly recommend this one for readers of sweet and clean romances. No faith content, just a nice sweet and clean rom com.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley for an opportunity to read an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a sweet read about Bryony an aspiring author and Jack a literary agent. I loved the banter between them. It was well written and super cute.
You root for Bryony the whole time.

It was cute just not totally what I expected.

I normally enjoy Melissa Ferguson books despite them being closed door. But this one did not do it for me.

It's the normal office, he falls first romance and it's Melissa is good at!

I for some reason had a problem connecting with the characters and the plot. It started strong then it dropped.

I normally love Melissa's books, but someone will love this!

The Perfect Rom-Com was the first book I read by Melissa Ferguson and it definitely won’t be my last. I really enjoyed reading this one. I really loved that the book, while a romance, had more of a focus on how the main character developed and grew throughout the story. I really enjoyed her journey of self-development throughout the story.

This book is great if you are a fan of
🌸Friends to lovers
🌸Forced Proximity
🌸He falls first
🌸Workplace Romance

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was, in a way, the perfect Rom-Com (for me), but it is also a book about writing the perfect Rom-Com. And this is the point where I think some readers appear to have lost the - forgive me the pun - plot.

Personally I think this was a great story, mostly well-written, with a lot of heart, and great characters, of which many are quaint and charming, and one, very particular one, is infuriatingly horrible. So, the story has it all, heroes, villains, writers, publishing industry insights - and a bit of wisdom and advice light-heartedly hidden between the pages, as well -, a lot of laughter, and a slow-ish burning romance.

The time jump I see so often criticised? Well yes, it's there, but anything important that happened during that time we get told in the ongoing story. So I am not sure what people's gripe is with that.

Is there a significant use of ellipses? Yes, there is. Does it throw you off track when reading? I have no idea, it didn't throw me off; but I like using ellipses in writing, especially in dialogue or thoughts, myself. And I use them quite a bit, thus I know how to read them.

Personally, I think you will enjoy this story just a little bit more if you happen to be a writer yourself, perhaps even a ghostwriter, or perhaps a now-published-author who had to deal with a lot of - sometimes infuriating - struggles along the way, or a literary agent, or an editor.

Maybe the problem of the story is that some of it, if not a good proportion of it, goes over the heads of people who 'only read books'; I think being (at least somewhat) familiar with the publishing industry and the process of writing itself helps the enjoyment tremendously. Thus, the subtitle part that says 'for book lovers' is a little bit misleading, perhaps, and not doing the book a lot of favours.

I felt perfectly entertained, rooted for Bryony and her gang, cheered when the end unfolded the way I anticipated (no, not due to bad writing, quite the contrary - also, a writer knows how stories get written, there are only so many ways one can possibly - and plausible - write them).

I think this is the perfect Rom-Com for writers, small and big, unpublished and published, acclaimed or aspiring, indie or TradPub represented or pursuing.

If it weren't for the subtitle I'd give it 5-stars, but as the subtitle seems - judging by a few of the reviews I read and skimmed over - to inspire wrong expectations I'll leave it at 4.5 and round down instead of up wherever giving half-a-star isn't possible.

Nonetheless, I had a hell of a time with this and I am very glad I picked it up! If you're a writer yourself, and especially if you happen to be ghostwriter, you should absolutely read this if Rom-Coms, or just something rather funny to read, are your thing.

What a gem of a book!

Bryony is an aspiring writer with a book she loves too much to change. While getting rejected, she lucks onto a job as a ghostwriter, and we meet her again 2 years later. She's a good one.

She is so good that her editor is glued to her side as an agent/best friend, and the publishers need her to keep propping up a vapid 'writer' that's the face of the series.

(I did wish we'd seen more of Byrony and Jack in those 2 years-- we rejoin them amid their friendship)

Bryony is sassy and sure of herself-- using her secret life as a writer to support her passion for teaching ESL and sharing her grandmother's legacy. Jack is adorably dashing and always there when Bryony needs her.

Everyone around her sees things she doesn't see -- or doesn't want to see. Then they're forced into a bus together and everything comes to a head.

I really enjoyed this book. I read it in 2 days. I cried when Bryony felt betrayed and I swooned even though I predicted the outcome.

Such a sweet pair and sweet book.

I loved this book. It was so cute and funny. The characters were relatable and brilliant. I loved the banter between the MMC and FMC. This was the perfect rom-com!

Overall it was a cute book. It’s a light hearted book and I enjoyed the characters overall. However, the book started off strong and then went downhill .

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
For being called “The Perfect RomCom” it really wasn’t. It was bad necessarily, but it as more of the “mid romcom”. Light hearted, fluffy and predictable.

An absolute delight, rivals to lovers hits the publishing industry for this swoony treat! It was a lovely escapade behind the scenes of publishing world, done so well. There were aspects of the publishing industry that I feel were so realistic and niche that only a writer could've written so that felt really special to get a glimpse into that world. I particularly liked the analogy of ghostwriting being compared to being a surrogate mum, it solidified that experience so clearly in my head. The emphasis on the role of a ghostwriter in the publishing industry was also really interesting to read as I feel like it doesn't get mentioned in books often and I really saw Bryony as the unsung hero in the version of the industry that was portrayed.

Another aspect I thoroughly enjoyed was that this book was set on a bus tour! It's incredibly rare that book tours get mentioned in books but I was ultra happy that a lot of the romance actually occurred with the backdrop of them being stuck on a bus together. It felt so refreshing and fun to read whilst still realistic and probable.

I was hooked from a few pages in and this book hits the ground running. There is so much drama, so many plot twists and a surprising amount of publishing insider info crammed into this read. One thing I could not fault was the pacing, this might have some of the best pacing I've read in a romance book (ever)? At some points the plot jumped a little bit and things moved arguably too fast but for the most part, I was here for it! Bryony is absolutely fearless and equally insecure which gave me such a soft spot for her and made her character feel immensely relatable. She's also the ultimate underdog and is pulled in so many difficult directions that by the end of the book I just wanted to give her a hug in all honesty.

Jack and Bryony's chemistry was pretty sizzling hot ('make something else your muse, make me your muse') although this book didn't have any spice which I would've loved to see. It is nice however to read a romance that isn't dripping in sex scenes every two seconds, so I respect that but it was a little too closed door for my tastes personally.

There were also some funny moments packed in ('how is she breathing? She looks like Darth Vader's lover') was one of my favourite highlights it really cracked me up haha.

It felt super unrealistic that Bryony almost magically was over her breakup and wasn't affected at all. This was an example when the pacing outdid the plot and it felt like things were moving at an unbelievable rate that lost its realism a little. Some of the wording was a bit confusing, ('they countered with one every seven. I countered with one every nine'; 'it's like being a neurosurgeon working on an airplane during war').

I wasn't crazy about Jack saving Bryony, I felt like Bryony was such a strong and independent character that it was kind of disappointing that the plot ended up relying on Jack to fix the issue that Jack kind of put her in, in the first place. I also wish we got to know Jack better, because I didn't feel like his character was super fleshed out.

The Perfect Rom-Com is exactly that! I loved Briony and Jack. Briony is passionate about writing and about the ESL learning center that her grandmother started, that is woefully low on funds. Jack is an agent for a publishing house. Their first meeting is uneventful at first but then Briony gets bold and everything changes. I loved the chemistry and the friendship that Jack and Briony had together. I was fascinated at the behind the scenes look at the writing and publishing world. The grand gesture at the end is perfection. I loved everything about this book.

📖 I so badly wanted to like this book. There were parts, specifically Jack and Bryrony’s relationship in the early chapters, that I really enjoyed (for the very few pages that was).

However, this book was a flop for me for a number of reasons. You will never have a successful rom-com when there are 2 years skipped between the opening of the book and the rest of the story. Relationships are built in those small moments so readers seeing them as they meet then magically as best friends who have spent 3-5 days together for the last 2 years does NOT work.

Also, Melissa… what was with all the fragmented sentences?!? It was so incredibly frustrating to read. Please start writing in full sentences again, PLEASE!

Lastly, the ending was honestly irritating. In no way, shape or form would that have happened. Like… no. Impossible. It was a horrid attempt at a grand gesture.

Ultimately, it was a forgettable story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eArc in exchange for a review.

Ah, with Melissa Ferguson behind it, the rom-com really shines! Her writing style is so witty and warm, blending humor with real emotional depth. The dialogue is fast-paced and smart, making it easy to connect with the characters right away. Ferguson has a knack for creating memorable, lovable protagonists who are charmingly flawed but also incredibly relatable. In this book, the mix of quirky situations and sweet moments makes it feel like the perfect balance of laugh-out-loud and heartwarming. It’s the kind of read that leaves you smiling long after you've finished.

4.5 stars

QUICK GLANCE-
My format- ebook
Other formats- 📖Physical (304 pages) 🎧Audio (10 hours and 49 minutes)
Spice: 🌶️(just kissing)
Language: 🚫
Publication Date- February 11, 2025

MY THOUGHTS-
“The Perfect Rom-Com” offered a delightful change after a spree of dark and twisty books. It was a cozy read with interesting characters and a sweet friendship. There’s something truly heartwarming about watching a friendship evolve into love and seeing the characters realize their true feelings for each other. The humor sprinkled throughout added a light-hearted touch. However, the miscommunication trope, which can seem immature and easily resolved by simply talking, did detract from the experience for me. Despite this personal preference, I would still recommend the book to anyone who loves a sweet, clean romance.

🥰 Friends to lovers
👌Forced Proximity
👨 He falls first
📖 Workplace Romance
👩‍🏫 ESL teacher rep
📈 Character Growth

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction, Melissa Ferguson, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Perfect Rom-Com: A Romance Novel for Book Lovers
by Melissa Ferguson
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers
Series: None
Rated: 5
Obtain: Borrow
Back of the Book: “Aspiring author Bryony Page attends her first writers conference bursting with optimism and ready to sell her manuscript with long-shot dreams of raising awareness for The Bridge, her grandmother’s financially struggling organization where she teaches ESL full-time. But after a disastrous pitch session, she stumbles into correcting another author’s work in a last-ditch attempt to make a good impression with the agent. And she, as it turns out, is spot on.
No one is more surprised than Bryony when the agent offers her the opportunity to be a ghostwriter for Amelia Benedict, popular rom-com novelist. Bryony agrees on one condition: she’ll write books for this vain, demanding woman just as long as Jack Sterling, literary agent of the legendary Foundry Literary Agency, works to sell her own book too.
What nobody predicted, however, was that Bryony’s books would turn Amelia Benedict into the Amelia Benedict, household name and bestselling author with millions of copies sold around the world.
And just like that, the Foundry Agency can’t let her go.
But on a personal note, Jack is realizing he can’t either.”

Impressions: Let me preface this with the fact that I read this in like a day. I am now binge-reading all of Melissa Ferguson’s other books.

This book was full of engaging, inner-thought banter and romance. I enjoyed Bryony and how she developed throughout the book surprising herself by the end. It reminds me of my internal thoughts and struggles. It is interesting how we perceive ourselves versus others' perceptions. As much as I enjoyed Jack’s character and fell in love with him along with Bryony by the end of the book, I realized that since we were following Bryony so much, we lost perspective of him. It reminded me how easily we can be in our heads, worrying about ourselves while forgetting others. This was a lighthearted and easy-to-read story.

Quotes: “He respects people who respect themselves. Now, I don’t respect myself, but I can pretend.” - This book was full of relatable quips that made Bryony feel relatable.

“I wanted to live in his nothings and him to live in mine.” -Isn’t this what falling in love is all about?

I received an ARC of this book via the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review shared here.

I really enjoyed this book. I wrote a review but lost it, I remember this got me out of a reading slump at the time I finished it though. I loved the couple and the pacing of the story, I was hooked from the beginning. A funny, entertaining, swoon worthy romance for sure.