I feel that though this book is marketed as a romance book but it equally can be put in woman fiction because of the personal growth and self discovery journey the mc goes through.

But for me there was so many technicalities in the book that I just could not get lost in it and had a hard time following through.

I really liked the character arc of Bryony and few chapters did have a good hold on me and my emotions.

Despite an intriguing start, this book just didn’t work for me. The pacing felt sluggish, with too many words and not enough meaningful action to drive the story forward. While there’s plenty of angst, the emotional depth felt lacking, making it hard to connect with the characters or care about their romance. The story became weighed down by side characters and subplots that felt more distracting than engaging. I really tried to stick with it, but I ultimately couldn’t find a reason to continue past the halfway point.

It was a sweet journey following Bryony as she unexpectedly became a ghostwriter on her pursuit to publish her own novel and save The Bridge.

I was initially captivated and enjoyed a different glimpse at the publishing industry. It felt so many truths were splayed on the page.

I was intrigued by Bryony’s transition to ghostwriter but didn’t love the two-year jump where we don’t see any of the growth in her relationship with Jack. We’re instead just supposed to buy into their relationship. Buy into her portrayal of him. And it left it all feeling hollow. Same with other characters. Her gran was portrayed as a more stoic woman than compassionate and dedicated. Her sister was very two-dimensional. As were all the characters really. Leaving the story to fall flat.

I think it just felt like a lot of meat was missing from the story. A lot of internal monologue and dialogue to carry the story while not feeling like much was happening.

I have enjoyed other work from this author and would read more of her work in the future. But this one just wasn’t for me! received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was rather cute exploring the rather miserable existence of a ghost writer. Our heroine is writing best-selling novels for an extremely obnoxious and arrogant flibbertigibbet of an author. Poor Byrony has ambitions to publish her own novel about her grandmother’s school for immigrants to learn English. I never get much of an idea what her novel was really about even though it’s described as magic-realism and romance and some other genres. She’s convinced that it’s destined to be a bestseller that will help save her grandmother’s school. Everyone tells her she has to edit it down, but she stubbornly doesn’t believe it.

She has become good friends with Jack, the super agent who is first portrayed as an arrogant guy, but suddenly becomes this great guy who will do anything to help his writers.

I was enjoying the book, but the last third becomes rather unbelievable. The agents force Byrony to travel with the witchy author who is so arrogant that she won’t ever read the books that Byrony has written for her and so, somehow, Byrony’s presence on the trip is supposed to help feed answers to the author when she’s asked specific questions about the characters in the books she hasn’t read. I’m not sure how that would help. And the final conclusion of the story was very unbelievable.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Wow. Just wow. I absolutely adore this book. I couldn’t put it down, and loathed when I had to.

Melissa Ferguson absolutely killed with this rom-com. One might say, it’s the perfect rom-com. In this book, Bryony Page is an aspiring author who just wants to get an agent and sell her manuscript to a publishing company. Things take a few wrong turns and she ends up being a ghostwriter for an insufferable person. She pours her soul into ghostwriting while still holding out hope that she’ll be published under her own name.

Now let me just tell you, I was hooked. Bryony is such a relatable character without trying too hard. I found myself smiling, laughing, and swooning, because yes there’s romance. It’s a true slow burn where they get to know each other as friends first, and I adore it. I’ll be thinking about this book couple for a while. Beyond romance there’s also a deep story line about teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to adults. This was beautifully told and made for wonderful character defining moments.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this book!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. I love this book.

Melissa Ferguson is a very enjoyable author. Her books are packed full of fun banter, interesting characters, and crazy events.
This story was such a charming, fun, and entertaining book to read! I loved every moment I was in it—so much so that I didn’t want to put it down!
I’ve never really known what it takes to be a writer or all the moving parts involved in putting a book out in readers' hands. This story truly gives us, the readers, a glimpse of what it takes.
Melissa Ferguson is a master storyteller, sharing all the struggles writers face when all they want is to tell their stories. This story is also packed with the relational tension between Bryony and Jack. What it’s like to want to write but not be able to write the story you want to or be acknowledged for your writing. All the banter between these two makes the story flow and move along so naturally. It’s all so relatable, and the readers find themselves very invested.
After reading a few of this author’s books, I know that I will jump right in and get it whenever I hear Melissa Ferguson has written a new book!
AFTER ALL, I now know all the ins and outs of what it took for the book to be in my hands!
I loved this story and will recommend it to anyone and everyone who wants a fun book to read.
The publisher and NetGalley gave me this book, but this did not influence my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for access to this e-arc! This was such a sweet and fun one from Melissa Ferguson, would definitely recommend to a friend!

this review will contain spoilers.

This book surprised me. I was expecting more of the rom-com feeling and giggling through the story rather than it being more about an author who writes rom-coms. I still enjoyed the story, even if it was different than I initially expected.

A few things I noticed.
when the story jumps ahead 2 years. It took me a couple pages to understand what was going on. I would have liked a smoother transition.
at 24% into the book, When Breyoni is being asked to up her timeline, in the story they are saying August 24th, but then the email sent said September 24th.

overall, it was interesting to see how someone can feel so passionate about something they have created and really need to take space from it before they can see within their own growth that the passion project can also use that same care.

I plan to share this book on my instagram, Monday, February 10th at www.instagram.com/robinashleyreads

This book contains one of my favorite tropes that, honestly, this story made me love even more: friends to lovers. Although, their relationship is technically author and agent and they don’t really acknowledge the friends part. Don’t let this throw you off though, they’re besties. There’s just something about a romance where you can tell that both characters really just know each other that makes the payoff even greater when they finally realize what was in front of them the whole time.

Aside from the romance, seeing the behind the scenes of the publishing industry as Bryony is a ghostwriter for one of the most popular (and insufferable) romance “authors” (cough cough she has only written one book on her own) out there. Putting out two books a year while simultaneously trying to get her own book published.

Overall, The Perfect Rom-Com was a cute story perfect for book lovers and aspiring writers!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book was so cute! The romance was sweet, the characters were good and the plot was fun. The author really makes you dislike the antagonist and makes you love the main characters! I really enjoyed reading and watching Bryony’s story unfold. The second half really sucked me in, I was curious to see the outcome of the story.
I highly recommend this sweet, clean romcom.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Overall: 4.25/5
Craft/Writing: 4/5
Entertainment: 4.5/5
Spice: chaste, closed door
Profanity: none
Content Warnings: none

Well, I declare! Melissa Ferguson’s newest novel, The Perfect Rom-Com, is laugh out loud funny and full of southern idioms. This sweet, friends-to-lovers romance kicks off in Nashville, Tennessee when Bryony Page attends a writers conference to pitch the book she wrote to save her grandmother’s struggling business. After recently reading a book where all the male characters were villainized, it was lovely to meet Jack, a kind, thoughtful literary agent who becomes Bryony’s best friend. If you are looking for a chaste romance novel and have ever wondered how a book moves from the author’s mind to your bookshelf, this book is for you! Be sure to add this to your TBR and pick it up on February 11th just in time for Valentine’s Day!

This is a story about a ghostwriter named Bryony who dreams of becoming a published author to raise awareness for a struggling ESL organization where she teaches. Along the way, she briefly becomes entangled with her agent. The romance in this book is minimal and clean, with only a few kisses.

The plot was decent, though I wasn’t thrilled with how the author Bryony was ghostwriting for was portrayed. She came across as unlikable, which made me feel more sympathy for her than rooting for the main character. I also wasn’t fully satisfied with the ending.

Overall, I rounded up and gave the book 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reading copy.

Bryony Page is an aspiring new author and when she attends her first writers conference she is ready to promote her book and learn more about the community. When she has a run in with Jack she doesn't know what her future will hold.

Unfortunately I didn’t love this one. It felt way too long and wordy for a romance book and the romance felt very forced. No spice at all! I was honestly really bored and really annoyed with the lack of communication across the main characters.

Such a fun read! Melissa Ferguson has done it again! The protagonists were as lovable and quirky as the antagonist was eye-rollable in her ridiculousness (I see you Amelia!)!

Not only was this a clean, sweet rom-com, there was also depth and it had you cheering on the main characters, Bryony and Jack. Put this on your feel-good reads list!

I received a complimentary ebook copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

3.25/5

This was my first read by Melissa Ferguson, and I’d be interested in reading her other romance books. I gained an interesting insight into the publishing industry which reasonably established the main character’s struggle. Unfortunately I didn't really connect with the romance aspect of this book.

I felt that the large time jump meant that a lot of the relationship development between the main couple wasn’t really observed by the reader. As a result, the book’s focus is not really on the romance side of things. I was personally hoping and expecting the opposite to be true. However, I mostly still enjoyed the chemistry and banter between Bryony and Jack.

The fact that the title seems completely irrelevant until halfway through the book made for a bit of confusion for a while. The conclusion was, however, satisfying.

Ultimately, I’d recommend this book to fans of clean adult contemporary novels (with less focus on romance) or fiction about writers.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing this complimentary copy of this book! The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

She has done it again! I LOVE Melissa Ferguson’s stories. They read so smoothly and are just enough of everything I like in a RomCom. Go get it and encourage your public library to add it!

This was okay. Still a pretty good read. I love the growth but it felt a little bit short for me.

What I did love were the thoughts going thru her mind when she puts herself in certain situations.

Melissa Ferguson has the ability to create characters you really care about and root for. She’s done it again here. This is the story of Bryony Page, an ESL teacher who has written a novel near and dear to her heart that she is desperate to have published. She meets an agent named Jack Sterling at a writers conference and her life is never the same. Jack agrees to be her agent and to try to sell her book if she agrees to ghostwrite for another one of his client authors. Bryony’s writing takes off and the romcoms she ghostwrites are best sellers, but her novel doesn’t go anywhere. As Bryony and Jack work together, they grow close. They are best friends and then they become more before everything falls apart.

I became attached to Bryony and her students as I read this story. While romcom is in the title, I wouldn’t classify this book as a romcom. It is about a woman following her dreams and coming into her own. While there is some romance in the story, it isn’t the focal point of the story and it is definitely a slow burn culminating in some kisses. Romance is my preferred genre and while I wouldn’t classify this book as a romance, I enjoyed the story and I am glad I read it.

🌟3.75/5 🌟

No Spice/ Kisses Only

Workplace Romance
Author x Agent
Forced Proximity
He Fell First & Hard
Friends to More

What I liked: I enjoyed the storyline of Bryony’s self- discovery and growth overall. The romance was second to her growth journey.

For me, I think there could have been more romance and more conversations between the 2 on the page. There was quite a bit implied from the 2 year gap when she was writing and they were becoming friends to the small portion of the book where they were together. I would have enjoyed feeling as if I was in their conversations versus their memories/ reflection.

I would have loved to have his POV throughout the story and read more of what he was thinking. I think it would have added a bit more depth.

Overall, this was a very cute read and the ending was adorable!

A special thank you to Net Galley and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.