Attention, romance enthusiasts! This dazzling debut delivers a delightfully clever homage to the genre’s greatest love stories, playfully reinventing its most iconic tropes with charm and wit.

A celebrity and a novelist make for an irresistibly compelling duo, with sizzling chemistry and enchantingly sharp banter!
An absolute joy to read—can’t wait to see what Connor does next!

Read this if you like:
🙋‍♂️He Falls First
☀️Grumpy / Sunshine
🎬Celebrity Romance
☝️One Night Stand
✍️Novelist FMC
🛗Meet Cute
💖Friends to Lovers
📕Debuts
🤭Wit & Banter

A charming and fun debut romance- with such a delightful premise. A struggling romance author heroine, Sawyer, who is cynical about love and the freshly single love addict actor hero, Mason, have a delicious one night stand. But it doesn’t quite stay there- and soon they find themselves in a unique but non-sexy (at first) arrangement- one that will help Sawyer find her romance writing groove again…and help Mason from diving into another relationship. With a stellar cover and a solid audio narration, this was a great read and loads of fun.

Our two main characters are such a fun juxtaposition- Sawyer is cynical and a little bitter and struggles to connect with others….and Mason is delightfully sweet and cinnamon rolly (legit he’s swoony). Their chemistry is great from the first meet cute moment, and the first half of this book was just addictive. They have great banter and vibe between them, and I loved how they formed a genuine friendship. I did really like them together, though at times Sawyer was hard to connect with- perhaps because she hit too close to home for me when it comes to my own relationship cynicism.

This takes place during the holiday season which gives it a warmth I loved, and I also loved how each chapter title is a romance trope that Sawyer is going to destroy for Mason. So clever. This has some great 90’s rom com vibes, and while I didn’t love the third act break-up (and the uneven pacing in the second half), I did overall really enjoy this story. A fantastic debut!

The audio was wonderfully performed, even if I didn’t quite see the male narrator as Mason (perhaps it was the youth of his voice). But both Mia Hutchinson Shaw and Lee Osorio bring lots of heart and fun. And given that it’s 3rd person POV (not my preferred POV), the audio was definitely the way to go for me.

About the book
-3rd person narrative POV-
-one night stand
-friends to lovers vibes
-cynic romance author x love addict actor
-friends with benefits
-He falls first
-holiday season
-third act break-up

This is one of my favorite romances of all time! I'm obsessed with Sawyer and Mason. I absolutely ate this book up, and I can't wait to go back for seconds, The narrators, Mia Hutchinson Shaw and Lee Osorio, did a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life.

WHERE. WAS. THE. CHEMISTRY. I went into this fully expecting a swoon-worthy, opposites-attract romance with tension and banter, and instead, I got nothing. The setup was solid—bestselling romance author who’s given up on love meets a charming stranger in an elevator? That should’ve worked. But the spark just wasn’t there.

The romance felt forced, like the author told me they were drawn to each other, but I never actually felt it. Their interactions were flat, and by the time the Christmas market scene rolled around, I wasn’t even rooting for them anymore—I just wanted the book to be over.

I’m genuinely pissed that I didn’t love this. The cover? Stunning. The premise? Everything I wanted. The execution? A massive letdown.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ARC

I don't know why I expected a more Taylor Swift inspired romance? Probably because of the cover. That said I found the romance ok. The premise was ok, but the execution mediocre. There were some really sweet moments, but it's not a book I'll remember

3.75 stars.

I’m so glad I got the chance to experience Unromance in an audiobook format. I had a good feeling about the book from the start, and listening to the audiobook only enhanced the enjoyment. It truly brought the story to life in a way that made it even more memorable.

Sawyer is a romance author experiencing writers block and Mason is actor at a turning point in his career. They have a meet-cute in a stopped elevator followed but a one night stand. They find themselves supporting each other through a strange holiday season. While convincing themselves they were just friends, the sparks flew.

3.25⭐
3🌶️

.Fake dating
.One night stand
.Famous MMC
.Queer FMC
.Miscommunication
.Third-act breakup
.Dual POV

This book had everything I usually love in a romance: fun tropes, great spice, and a romantic hero, but for some reason, it just didn’t fully click for me. It’s definitely a case of “it’s not you, it’s me” because there’s a lot to appreciate here.

Mason, the MMC, is a total cinnamon roll. He’s attentive, romantic, and refreshingly grounded despite his celebrity status. The book is packed with classic rom-com moments: a Christmas tree market, an IKEA trip, gown shopping, and a New Year’s Eve party. Basically a trope lover’s dream. And when it comes to spice it delivers from the very start.

So why didn’t I love it? My biggest issue was the lack of emotional chemistry. The characters make perfect sense together, and the physical attraction is undeniable, but I struggled to feel the love between them. I kept waiting for that deeper connection to hit, and it just never did.

One highlight for me was the audiobook. Both narrators did a fantastic job, and I’d highly recommend listening to this one if you’re considering picking it up.

Overall, it’s a good book with plenty to enjoy, I just wish I had felt more invested in the romance.

Hearts: 4.5
Sawyer is a romance author who is suffering from writers’ block. Mason is an actor who falls in love too easily. After what was supposed to be a one night stand, the two team up to help each other overcome their obstacles by playing out every and any romance cliches they can think of.
Mason was a kind and considerate male lead who was easy for this reader to fall for. Moria, Mason’s mom, is an entertaining character. A few things about Sawyer bothered me, such as: organizing her books by color, dog earring book pages, and is beautiful but doesn’t know it (eye roll). The book was well written and entertaining.

I adored this! It was very cute and fun. The narration was wonderful. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this audiobook.

This audiobook was perfection! I was a bit thrown off at first by the MMC narrator, but he grew on me! The story was perfect. I absolutely enjoyed the small jokes about various other subjects like gilmore girls and pride and prejudice. I truly enjoyed it and would absolutely read another book by Erin Connor!

Une autrice de romance en plein syndrome de la page blanche se retrouve coincée dans un ascenseur avec un bel acteur de soap amoureux de l'amour ... Un vrai début de romcom pas vrai ?
Après une nuit de folie supposée être sans lendemain, Mason & Sawyer vont se revoir, et passer une sorte de pacte : ils vont passer du temps ensemble pour cocher toutes les cases des clichés de la romance, afin d'aider Sawyer à retrouver l'inspiration pour enfin avancer dans son roman et tenir sa deadline, et en échange, elle le guérit de son coeur d'artichaut, lui qui tombe amoureux très facilement et est quelqu'un de très romantique.

La dynamique entre les deux personnages fonctionne plutôt bien même si j'ai trouvé que Sawyer n'avait toujours pas digéré sa rupture avec son ex (une femme, soit dit en passant). J'ai bien aimé la première partie du livre mais ensuite, mon intérêt a faibli au fil des pages, d'autant que j'ai eu une écoute très morcelée du roman, ce qui n'a pas arrangé les choses. J'ai été aussi un peu décontenancée par ce double pov à la 3ème personne, et du coup en audio, ça m'a comme sorti un peu de l'histoire d'être tenue ainsi à distance par un pov externe.

Au final, c'est un roman qui avait de bons ingrédients de base, mais qui n'a pas forcément tenu toutes ses promesses ou qui, du moins, m'a laissée sur le bord de la route en cours de lecture.

such a fun read! i enjoyed the relationship between sawyer and mason, and their personalities and opposing beliefs in love was such an entertaining dynamic!
the chapter titles was a fun part of this book, and the way it leads the read into what’s next for the story.
i loved how this story played out and the characters and their stories were so relatable.

Oh this was so fun and SO HOT. I love messy characters and sawyer and mason were so messy and endearing they really captured a piece of my heart. I love their friendship more than anything and the way that so beautifully evolved into a deep and reverent love. It felt so natural despite their situation being the most unnatural of circumstances. Since this was a debut I can’t wait to see what this author does next!

Unromance is a masterclass on romance tropes. Each chapter feels like the author is leading you through familiar events and common situations that you'll find in rom coms, but so skillfully that it feels like a director's cut headlined by a trustworthy and capable writer.

Readers will fall in love with the cinnamon roll MMC who loves love and has soap opera good looks to add zest to any love story. Lee Osorio grounds the character as not just a lovesick pup, but a hero worthy of a swoony HEA after the hurdles he has overcome. Mia Hutchinson Shaw voices Sawyer Greene who is a complex, modern woman working on the work-life balance and leaning heavily into work for now.

Unromance is a must-read for anyone with modern sensibilities that still loves the anticipation of a great romance. This one's giving found family, mature career ambitions, and the reassurance that people who love love aren't crazy. This book has what readers of Laurie Gilmore's Dream Harbor want, written so cleverly that its internal logic won't irritate readers. The audiobook is great, and I love that it will give hope to the Sawyers of the world that someday they'll find a Mason West with whom they can fall in mature love.

Sawyer is a best selling romance author but she’s had her heart broken and is in a rut. Mason is a hopeless romantic who wants to make sure he doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve so easily in the future. A one night stand leads to crossing paths and they wonder if they are going to be able to keep it to the one night they agreed upon.

Fake dating has become one of my favorite tropes when done correctly and this one definitely was! I really enjoyed this story. The characters were amazing, the banter was cute. This left me feeling happy and giggly!

The audiobook narrator did an amazing job, this was such a fun audiobook to listen to!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Erin Connor, and Hachette Audio for providing this free ARC. This is my honest review. This published on January 14th.

3.5 stars

Thank you @hachetteaudio and @netgalley for the #gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Unromance is a spicy debut romcom told through dual POVs from a jaded best selling romance writer and a famous hopeless romantic actor. After a ‘stuck in an elevator’ meet cute turned one night stand, they decide to help each other out. She needs to write her next novel before the deadline but has had writers block from having her heart broken after a breakup. He needs to stay single to stay out of the media spotlight so he can focus on his career. With a few specific rules jotted down on a piece of paper, they begin their ‘Unromance’ adventures planning on ruining romance based around the cliches of every common romance trope and grand gesture you can think of.

I enjoyed that the story was set around the holidays and could have been a holiday romance, insert another trope, but it wasn’t fully focused on the holidays, more just for the timeline and to throw in a few other tropes along the way. I liked how the beginning of each chapter highlighted a trope and then that chapter was loosely based on that trope. The author did a good job at keeping the story interesting while throwing in multiple tropes. I honestly thought it would be predictable, cheesy, and overly cliched but it wasn’t. Even the miscommunication trope and 3rd act breakup tropes, my least favorite, weren’t too bad.

However, I did get a little frustrated with the FMC who had been a strong, mature, intelligent woman for most of the story and all of a sudden had become ridiculous and immature as she was trying to pretend she wasn’t falling in love too, which put in the ‘idiots-to-lovers’ trope, but I didn’t like how that was executed. I also thought some of the jokes and innuendo were eye rolling cheesy but that may just be me.

The audiobook helped keep the story entertaining. The narrators did an impressive job with the dual POV plot, and bringing the characters to life. From pacing, to dialect and inflection, they made the story an easy to listen and follow along experience.

I could not stop listening to this audiobook. Great narrators and a great plot. This will be one I listen to again!

I was intrigued to read this romance book because of the title, synopsis and cover however I didn’t love the characters and execution. I really enjoyed how this book started with a meet cute. The two main characters, Sawyer and Mason, get stuck in an elevator and I enjoyed the humour (purse cheese lol!) and the set up of their meeting. I enjoyed the alternating POV and the female narrator Mia Hutchinson Shaw did an excellent job but I found the male narrator Lee Osorio was not the right fit especially when he would do the female voices. I enjoyed the winter Chicago setting and the cute dates like ice skating and Christmas tree shopping but there were too many romance tropes involved and their relationship chemistry was lacking. As the book went on I started to care less and less about their relationship. I did really like the representation that Sawyer is bisexual and her friend Lily has a disability and used a cane. I read this as a light read after reading two heavy books and it was fine for that.

Okay I don't have the words to capture how much I enjoyed this book! Books about writers can feel too meta for me sometimes but this one never did. Erin Connors crafted such compelling characters that I could look past the contrived reason for their pact and just enjoy the relationship unfolding before me. I absolutely adored how they could be their true selves with each other. It was so clear how well suited they were romantically (to everyone but them lol). I had a blast watching them fall for each other. I'm very excited to see what this author releases next!

I adored the narrator for Sawyer! Mia Hutchinson Shaw was absolutely delightful to listen to and definitely increased my enjoyment of the book. Lee Osorio was a strong narrator but I felt like the urgency of their performance would be better suited to a YA character. It just didn't sound like Mason to me. I still had a good time with the audio on the whole but it's definitely worth checking a sample before you grab it.