Gemma and Mason have known each other since kindergarten.. They each harbored secret crutches on each other. A humiliating result of a promising kiss the day before their High School graduation left Gemma devastated, but she played it cool. Fast forward 20 years, And she has used her disdain for Mason as inspiration for the jerk hero in her debut romance novel. No one is supposed to be able to recognize the character as being the NHL Superstar Mason Moretti since he is a tilted Scotsman. However, their classmate and mean girl invites Gemma on her daytime talk show to promote her book. She doesn't know Mason will be there. The result is that they trend on social media.. Mason's agent suggests they fake date to give his image a much needed boost.

I like both Gemma and Mason. They have many layers built from years of complicated relationships with people in their lives. I think she is good for him. .I love that he listens to audio books It was good that it was dual POV and flashbacked to what happened in high school.

I thought it was an awkward balance of slow burn, spicy, and close door romance. It was unrealistic that Gemma had no problem with Mason's past womanizing and felt comfortable discussing it with him.

I love the grandmothers and the other older woman toward the end of the book.

Overall. I enjoyed the book and read it in 2 days. I would recommend.

Thank you for an advanced copy and exchange for my honest opinion.

I hate it but I ditched this book at 68%. At this point, there was no growth, no romance and the same struggles repeated over and over. I was in it at first but I just needed some hope.

This companion to last year’s ‘Finding Mr. Write’ is a solid feel-good romance. It pulls you immediately with a fun and flirty vibe, layering in embarrassing disasters and sweet/romantic saves. It’s a hockey romance, with a romance writer FMC, fake dating, and a second chance romance all tossed together in a steadily building and entertaining plot.

But what I enjoyed the most was watching the two main characters -who I had really come to care about- grow their relationship. The MCs are in their thirties so they have plenty of life experience, and maturity. They battled their own issues and flaws, which kept them from being boringly perfect. At times their behavior wasn’t at all likeable. But they course-corrected with assists by wise friends and family and each other, and that was really rewarding.

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this quick and satisfying read. It has heart and warmth and tons of sweetness. I didn’t know that the author planned a return to this universe, but now that we have I hope for even more – with Jesse or Denny maybe?

This was an entertaining novel. I found it very easy to read and quickly became invested in the second chance romance between Gemma and Mason. The novel contained the amount of heat I like the best—steamy. There were cringeworthy moments as Gemma and Mason became reacquainted, fought their longstanding attraction to each other and tentatively explored a relationship. I was happy when they overcame their insecurities, elected to trust each and found their happily ever after. I also have to give a shout out to the Grandmothers as their antics caused me to laugh out loud and shake my head at times.

I hope others enjoy this novel as much as I did. If a third similar-type- novel is in the works, I will definitely pick it up.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for providing me with an ARC of this novel for an honest review. All of the opinions offered are my own.

What’s it about?
When romance author, Gemma, is challenged to write a book with a grumpy alpha hero, she turns to Mason, the guy who embarrassed her in high school, for inspiration. But all these many years later, Mason is a famous hockey player. And when the two are thrown together for an interview about the book, the public loves it.

They agree to be seen together to help Mason recover from some bad PR and boost Gemma’s book.

But it turns out that Mason is still kind of a presuming, avoidant a-hole. He hatches a plan to whisk Gemma away on a short vacation in exchange for “not-being-an-asshole” lessons.

My thoughts:
This was an easy book to sit down and devour. It has lots of cute and fun moments. I loved that the MCs are in the mid-thirties, and that both had some problematic conflict-avoidant behaviors. There is a lot of mutual caretaking in this book too, which was super sweet.

I had a hard time liking Mason for most of the book, but I’m glad to say he turned it around and won me over.

The pacing for this one was different from many romances I’ve read, with the romance itself not really unfolding until about 85% into the story. I didn’t hate it, but I just wanted something to happen!

Overall, this was a cute story, and I loved how Mason and Gemma reconnected and grew together.

As always, everything Kelly writes is amazing. She is able to write so many different genres and somehow nail them all!

I loved the premise behind this book - the storyline was well executed, and it was easy to like the characters and want a HEA for them. I found this to be a super quick, enjoyable read... will be perfect for the summer to enjoy something light and happy.

This gal right here, she can write anything and make me happy !! I love all her paranormal, her thrillers, and now her romance. SOLD !!
This story was a great second chance romance. Loved Mace and Gemma, loved them for each other. The bumps of a new relationship, his fame, her upcoming fame, the history behind them, all wound up into a glorious tale of hot, sexy romance. Miscues and misunderstandings ( of course), and a dab of mental health ( anxiety, learning to trust yourself). It was nice to "see" Daphne again, and see how well she's doing. I sure hope we get another story in this world, maybe Denny's ?

This book was in equal parts nostalgic and a joy to watch unfold. There is just something about a misunderstood MMC that absolutely always gets to me! This forced proximity, second-chance esque romance was so sweet, so earnest and so much fun.

Absolutely pick this book up for a flirty summer read with a lot of heart!

3.5-4 stars. It started off strong and had me hooked. It did slow down around halfway through. I love that the FMC was clear about what she wanted. The biggest trope in this is miscommunication. Even though they still talked about things, they would still leave things out. It did end up with a HEA ending. It does deal with the talk of miscarriage and adoption. Also emotionally abusive parent.

Finding Mr. Write was a fav contemporary romance of 2024, so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Writing Mr. Wrong. Unfortunately this one was not for me and I DNF'd at 53%.

The premise sounded so fun, but Mason started off on the wrong foot and stayed there. Between his daddy issues, skipping out on his therapist, and most crucially - his continued disregard for anything Gemma said - I just had no patience for him. After the photo incident I also had no patience for Gemma being sucked in by his "charm" and frankly, money. I'm so tired of shitty (rich) men, and Gemma deserved better but kept sticking around anyway because of unresolved high school emotions. These characters felt early 20s, not mid-30s and I was not invested in the rest of their story.

This took me way too long to realize it was set in the same world as Finding Mr. Write, and I was way too excited when I finally did. I'm convinced Kelley Armstrong can't write a bad book. It was so super cute, with all the best tropes - fake dating, forced proximity, second chance romance. It had it all. Such a fun and quick read.

This is a first by this author and the blurb is what caught my attention because it’s a cute premise and I’ll be honest it didn’t go how I anticipated but even better.

Mason and Gemma have history and not a sunshine and rainbows one. Faced with an opportunity to right a wrong Mason takes a chance in trying to get to know his former classmate and maybe with all the time spent together they will realize that hate isn’t what they feel at all.

I loved Gemma’s tenacity and was super happy with how much she grew as well as Mason. She realized her part in it all and loved how it all went in the end. Mason had a lot of growing to do but I loved seeing his vulnerability and how much he cared for those he loved. A very enjoyable read and some truly hilarious moments. The flashbacks were strategically placed and fit perfectly.

I really, really enjoyed Finding Mr. Write last year, and was so excited to start Writing. Mr. Wrong!

Post-divorce and in her mid-thirties Gemma, Chris's sister from Finding Mr. Write, has recently published a romance novel featuring a MMC loosely based on her high school crush. Mason, said crush, is also an extremely famous hockey player. Their story is cute and fun, but tainted by some not great past interactions. Mason is not a golden retriever by any means, but he does try hard to do right by Gemma... and fails spectacularly quite a few times. I'd say he's eager, but clumsy and therefore a black lab puppy. I absolutely loved Grandma Dot and her commentary.

What to expect:
-fake dating
-forced proximity
-an eager, but clumsy MMC
-ex-husband drama
-hilarious side characters (Grandma Dot 💕 )
-a few cameos from Chris/Daphne

4.5 ⭐️

I loved it! This is a fun romance. Gemma and Mason are granted a rematch and it's refreshing how they are open and candid about their high school days and not wanting a replay of it. I rooted for them the whole time! Excellent author.

4.5/5 stars

Kelley Armstrong is my favorite author. So it's exciting to see her try a completely different genre. This book is a romantic comedy. It is a companion book to Finding Mr. Write. Gemma is the male main character from that book's sister. This book has different narrators. So it can be read as a standalone. However the books work well as a series and Daphne has a small part in this book.

This book alternates between the male and female POV. The characters are 36. Gemma is a debut romance author. And Mason is an NHL hockey player. He is an enforcer.

This book has everything including fake dating, second chance romance and characters who were childhood friends.

I really liked Gemma. I love that she is a romance author. And I love that her alpha male main character in her debut historical romance was based on Mason.

I also really liked Mason. Even though he came across at first like a bit of an inconsiderate player… he totally grew on me. I love that he was an avid audiobook listener. And I really enjoyed that he likes to cook ( his grandmother cooks Jewish Italian cuisine at her restaurant).

There were quite a few things about this book that I really enjoyed. I loved that both main characters liked motorcycles. That part of the book was so fun. I also really appreciated the discussions about mental health issues.

The last 30% was my favorite. Most of this book takes place in Vancouver. But there is part that takes place somewhere else. And I absolutely loved everything about that part of the book.

Overall, the book made me happy. I hope that this won’t be the author’s last romance book.

Using her high school crush turned pro-hockey player as the template for the hero in Gemma's debut romance novel doesn't sound like a bad idea in theory, but when the connection is revealed on TV with Mason sitting next to her, well...that's when things get complicated. Or maybe they don't. I mean, Mason takes things in stride and his quick defense of Gemma gets people fired up (in a good way) about them as a couple.

So what does Mason propose? That they fake date. To be fair, it's mostly fake on his end. I mean, they guy has been stuck on Gemma for years and even though things didn't work out when they were younger doesn't mean things can't work now. Of course that means Gemma will need to see that he's changed (somewhat) and they'll both need to actually stick around long enough to deal with their issues AND Mason needs to realize Gemma isn't like his usual girlfriends. Or hookups. Or whatever he calls them. Let's just say that his usual MO isn't Gemma's style and it takes a little back and forth for them to get on the same page.

Which brings us to Gemma. Mason's high school rejection stung her pretty hard. She sees him in a very specific (and not very flattering) way because of that and it takes a little time for her to see how he's changed. She also has some issues of her own she needs to deal with, so these two have a few speed bumps on their road to HEA.

A not-so-great first date, a not-so-great vacation getaway, a man who's trying to figure himself out, and a lady who can admit she might have been wrong about the boy who broke her heart all those years ago. *thumbs up*

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

I love Kelley Armstrong, especially her Rockton series. Sweet romcom when debut author Gemma Stanton is surprised on her publicity tour with her high school friend/crush famous hockey player Mason Moretti. She based her character on him. Mason is looking to rehab his bad boy image and so a deal is struck to fake date. He never forgot Gemma.

Fun book and worth read. Realized at the end that two of the minor characters were actually from a prior book.

Mason Moretto and Gemma Stanton shared one brilliant kiss before high school graduation before their budding romance fell apart. Now it's 20 years later - Mason is a high-profile NHL enforcer and Gemma is a budding romance novelist who may have based her jerk of a hero on Mason. When they're thrown together in a PR stunt to promote her book and his image, it could be their chance to write over that painful history.

Mason and Gemma were a really refreshing couple. The way they both dealt with individual hurts and insecurities felt very raw and made their relationship extra satisfying. Mason is not a perfect romance hero, but his self-reflection and recognition of his screw ups were genuinely endearing and I was always rooting for him. The pacing of the romance didn't feel formulaic and the conflict never felt contrived. I will definitely continue to follow this author's future releases!

Both the author and promo description for Writing Mr. Wrong caught my interest and it definitely delivered as an entertaining, easy read - the kind where you don't put the book down from start to finish. While some of the usual tropes were used, she had fun with them:

"Makes a woman think she'd like to climb him like-"
"No!" Gemma glared over. "Do not finish. I hate that phrase."
"Scale him like a sycamore? Mount him like a maple? Ascend him like an aspen?"

Mason and Gemma both do a lot of inner soul searching and reflecting through the rekindling their friendship and it was a joy to follow along. I liked seeing how they saw each other versus the opinions they held of themselves (how Mason knew her to be confident and didn't put up with his crap, but she had done the opposite through a difficult marriage and didn't see that side of herself anymore) with a good balance of high school to current day perspectives throughout. It was a deeper book than I was expecting in the best way and the only (very minor) complaint I have is that I would have liked a bit more of their HEA at the end; it was thorough if a little abrupt.

As usual I will happily read anything Kelley Armstrong writes, so it was no surprise that I loved this one! Thank you to NetGalley, Kelley Armstrong and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review.

4.25 ⭐️

Thank you so much to the author, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for this eARC.

Absolutely devoured this book. It was so fun, I enjoyed the storyline a lot!

I’m so glad the author wrote this story with dual POV, because I kept finding myself so incredibly frustrated with the MMC and was having a hard time connecting with him outside of his POV. He seemed completely lost in his own little world. Then, when it got to his POV and I realize that he overthinks everything, and then makes choices out of desperation and nerves…it helped his personality make so much more sense.

Overall, great read. Enjoyed it even more than the first book!