This is a genre I don’t see nearly enough of - hired anti-love. Is that what we’re calling it? Idk, but I love it. The main characters had me falling for them on page 1. A rom com about rom coms. It was fantastic.

He is a hopeless romantic and she is a jaded romance author. After an unlikely elevator meet cute, they come up with a plan to help each other by fake dating. She needs inspiration for her next book and he needs romance ruined so he stays out of a relationship and out of the tabloids. This is a dual POV and the narrators for this audiobook truly gave this story life! The banter and chemistry between these two were so good! The plot was well paced and I love that we got romance in both the big and small moments alike. If you love rom coms where he falls first and harder, I would highly recommend Unromance!

📚Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady
📕ARC Review(Copy gifted by @berkleyromance)
🚨While reviewed copy is gifted, opinions are always my own.
Status: Available June 3rd, Not KU

🥰Enjoyment: I just love this super tall NON basketball playing sweetheart of a MMC. Ryan is just the sweetest man. I really enjoyed this story, especially once they worked beyond the “enemies” into friends. Also super adored the battling bookstore setting, though as a romance girly myself (shocking right?) I really wanted to sit Josie down and proselytize at her. Come with me to the romcom side girl. If you love romances set in a book lovers world, keep an eye out for this one this summer!

“We don’t get to choose who we fall for or when. Sometimes it’s a random girl on an elevator or a guy you were supposed to have a one night stand with. But you do get to choose who you stay with”Sawyer and Mason’s journey to each other is full of grand gestures, romance, hope, forgiveness and strength to face their feelings. The audiobook with Mia Hutchison Shaw and Lee Osorio makes Erin Connor’s story even better.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ALC copy. This is my honest review.

Following a chance encounter in a malfunctioning lift, writer Sawyer and actor Mason have one fun-filled evening together. They both see it as a quick fling to give themselves the kick they need and part the following morning. However, as luck would have it, they meet again soon after, encouraging them to get to know each other just a little better. Soon, they form an alliance; with sex and romance off the cards, can cynical Sawyer ruin all romantic cliches for Mason, while he charms her, providing ideas for her next book?

It's a plot that practically writes itself.

There is a simplistic appeal to this writing style, which knows it's offering a lot of silly scenarios and running with most of them. Everyone is beautiful, the bank accounts are full so the venues and activities are suitably lavish and there is a spill of drama at every turn. Fun.

However, other parts of the writing are just unsettling. I stopped listening to this after one particular section- where the humour was crowbarred in and based solely on profanity and crass behaviour- but couldn't get back into the story, even after multiple attempts. It didn't match the tone of fanciful but responsible adults embarking on some fun, instead feeling like a teenager laughing uproariously at nothing, just because someone was watching.

Also, the male narrator was not an enjoyable voice to listen to, which is an issue in a dual POV story. While the female narrator performed the male-voiced dialogue with minimal variation to her voice, offering little in the way of discernment between the characters in a scene, her neutrality helped to keep her impartial from the narrative. She could be zoned out. Whereas, her male counterpart could not enact the inverse. His voice for the character of Mason was delightful, creating a likeable but foolish soul, yet his female voices were misaligned. All the women's perspectives (through his narrative) were salacious or just odd. This may be a detail that was more prevalent to a British listener, however.

HOW IS A STORY THIS GOOD A DEBUT?!? Holy. Wow. I was not expected to have thoroughly enjoyed this book as much as I did. This was a comfortable romcom with all the witty banter and add a little bit of spice! I LOVE Sawyer's character and love even more that her sexuality is so easily written that I often don't see when I read. If I could pick any book character, I've read this year (15 books in) -- it's Sawyer. Mason is a great male main character too. My favorite part is they both are aware of their flaws and actively WORK towards bettering themselves, rather than stewing in their flaws.

Mia Hutchinson Shaw & Lee Osorio were the perfect narrators. I am not sure I've ever listened to an audio by either of them but loved this!

My second time reading and this book is BRILLIANT. It is a damn delight. It encapsulates the best parts of every beloved romcom in the history of romcoms. It is tender, witty, and friends, it is HELLA HOT.

Sawyer and Mason were such dynamic, realistic, and relatable characters, both wading through past emotional pain, professional pressures, and personal struggles and I so appreciated how open their communication was, how they supported each other, and how even when the prospect of trying again or taking a chance on something new was terrifying, they bet on themselves. There were parts of Sawyer’s story that also felt incredibly personal to me and reading about her journey healed my heart a bit.

The banter was SO cheeky and SO charming, and that spice, y’all… buckle up. There’s a reason everyone is talking about THE TIGHTS SCENE. And the chapter headers! Every chapter has a classic romance trope and they are spectacular.

I loved Sawyer’s narrator - the performance perfectly matched her character’s energy and description - but Mason’s narrator felt a little more stiff than the character and didn’t quite line up with what I pictured. But I still had a great time with the audio!

Erin is one to watch and I can’t freaking wait to see what she magics up next.

Unromance is a funny romance that’s told in dual POV of a female author and male actor who come together to reach a common goal. This story has a fun twist on fake dating, and lovers to friends to lovers.

I absolutely loved both characters, and their awareness of their faults. I thought the story had a fun plot line, and I rooted for their love story from the get go.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, which was well done by two narrators. The narrators played well with each other, and each embraced their character and brought them to life. I listened at 1.75x speed (my normal audiobook listening speed is 1.75x).

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this advanced audiobook copy.

I listened to this audiobook because Erin Connor is a local author and I heard a lot of good early reviews. While I missed the release event at Annie Bloom’s, I was excited to listen to this audiobook shortly after its release. The premise of this book has potential- an author and a TV star meet on an elevator, have a spicy one night stand and then spend the rest of the book intentionally working through romance tropes only to unintentionally fall for each other. Two things did not work for me: first, the excessive casual infusions of sex and physicality… like Sawyer’s center of consciousness is in her vagina that she’s trying to feed. Second, Lee Osorio’s narration for Mason missed the mark for me. This is a decent debut effort, but I wanted more emotional chemistry and perhaps a more relatable female lead.

Unromance by Erin Connor, narrated by Mia Hutchinson Shaw and Lee Osorio, is a rom-com audiobook that had me hooked from the first innuendo-laden line, “I’ll let you get off first.” This book is full of clever wordplay, pop culture references (including plenty of love for Taylor Swift), and witty commentary on romance tropes. With a storyline featuring a bestselling romance author and a heartthrob actor determined to dismantle love one rom-com trope at a time, it’s as fun as it sounds—especially for anyone who loves books about authors.

The narration features two voices, which I always appreciate in a romance audiobook. Lee Osorio did a great job bringing Mason to life, giving him a distinct voice that suited his character. Mia Hutchinson Shaw also delivered a strong performance, but I did find myself wishing she had changed her voice more distinctly when narrating Mason’s dialogue. This is something Lee did well for Sawyer’s parts, so the imbalance stood out to me. The dialogue flowed beautifully, though, without the repetitive “he said”/“she said” formatting that often disrupts the rhythm of audiobooks. The pacing was spot-on, and the chemistry between the narrators kept me engaged throughout.

The story itself is a delight, filled with laugh-out-loud moments, relatable commentary on romance tropes (who doesn’t roll their eyes at the miscommunication trope?), and colorful details like “bookstagram-ready rainbow-colored books.” Erin Connor’s writing feels fresh and clever, and her characters are charming. While I would have loved to see the main character’s personal struggles explored more deeply (perhaps I’m spoiled by authors like Abby Jimenez), this debut is still an absolute win.

Overall, Unromance is a must-listen for fans of rom-coms and audiobooks with dual narrators. While I think print readers will enjoy it too, the playful performances make the audiobook format the way to go. I’ll definitely be following Erin Connor’s career and look forward to seeing what she writes next. This one came so close to a perfect 5-star rating for me, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, flirty listen!

I picked this book up on a whim. I am not always one for instalove, and I feel like I would catagorize this one as that, but this was also so much more. Mason has just been dumped, again. He loves love, maybe a little too much and always rushes in. Sawyer is a struggling writer that just needs to find her mojo again. She seems to have lost it after her last big break up.. three years ago.
They both are on a mission. Sawyer needs to ruin romance for Mason so that he doesn't jump all in immediately in the future, and Mason will help give Sawyer some inspiration to write her new novel. That is, if they can ignore these feelings they are both having.
Mason is just the most adorable book boyfriend and while I related to both characters in different ways, I found myself just rooting for him to be who he is and go for what he wants. I understand that we need to hold back sometimes, but also, why? Why should we show the person we think we want to spend the rest of our lives with anything but exactly who we are.
These two were so fun and hilarious together. I am obsessed with them.
Thanks to Hachette, Netgalley and Erin Conner for an ALC.

3.5 rounded up. I don’t really understand the “let’s do all the rom-com things to ruin rom-com things” idea and I don’t think the author or the characters really did either? But it was cute and I was rooting for the couple. I also liked the sexy scenes. The narrators were a bit off, in my opinion. The female narrator sounded a bit too mature for Sawyer and the make narrators sounded like your best gay guy friend. But they were expressive and I guess I got used to them by the end. I really liked the chapter titles/epigraphs.

I really loved this one! Romcoms are such a hit or miss for me but this one had me hooked especially because of the narrators! I’m typically not a big 3 person romance reader but in this case I love the way the narrators told the story, I felt like their voices were a perfect match for these characters! I loved the “unromancing” plot, I thought that was so so cute and sweet and I just loved Sawyer and Masons right off the bat easy banter!! Highly recommend this one!!!

I loved this book so much! I was immediately so intrigued just by our main characters careers but the more we got to see how different they are, the more I loved them. It was very intriguing to see the roles a bit reversed, where the man is the deep romantic and the woman isn't really interested in love. Sawyer was so funny, she had me out loud laughing several times and I just loved her personality and witty banter. The tension between these two was delish. There is just something about a friends to lovers story that really amps up that tension. Ugh, loved it. I didn't realize this was a debut but damn, what a debut!

A mutual deal between two strangers caught in the typical meet-cute: trapped in an elevator. Sawyer is a romance author who has become jaded & developed writers block after her bad breakup. Mason is an actor and hopeless romantic who needs a reality check. Together they decide to help each other with romantic excursions - ruining the experience for Mason so he doesn’t have rose colored glasses on & inspiring Sawyer to write again. But keeping away the sparks between them is a whole other hurdle.
This was a cute “unromance” romance with great banter and just the right amount of spice. The narrators also did a great job of bringing Sawyer and Mason to life!
Thank you to Hachette Audio for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

2.5⭐️ rounded to three because I enjoyed the narration.

I was excited to read this debut romance after seeing the beautiful cover and reading the premise. Sadly, this book just wasn’t for me.

I think part of my problem with this story is that I just read a very similar variation, and the characters were a lot more enjoyable. Sawyer and Mason didn’t make sense to me. When the only chemistry two characters have is sexual, it’s hard for me to feel invested in their relationship. Mason always seemed much more invested in the relationship. I’m not a big fan of third act breakups and this one was just silly. It felt like the breakup was thrown in as an after thought to propel the plot, but it felt unnecessary to me. I did enjoy all of the rom com movie references, especially the grand gesture. I thought that added a bit of fun to the story.

It looks like a lot of readers are really enjoying this book based on all the 5 star reviews I’m seeing. I’m glad others are enjoying it so much. It just wasn’t for me.

ALC Review: Unromance by Erin Connor
Pub Date: January 14, 2025
Narrators: Mia Hutchinson Shaw and Lee Osorio

I was SUPER impressed by this debut book! I had been seeing a ton of positive reviews and I am happy to say that I loved this one! I usually do not like celebrity romances but this one felt so down to earth and one night stand to more is actually one of my favorite tropes. This one balanced really well for me between humor, romance, and also real world emotions. Sawyer and Mason had so much banter and chemistry, I felt like my kindle was on fire at times!

Read this for:
- He falls first
- One night stand but it will "never happen again"
- Bi FMC
- Forced Proximity
- Meet cute
- There's a list

I liked the narration though I'm not sure I would have liked it any less if I eye read it. The tights scene will live in my head rent free for quite a while...

Thank you to Hachette Audio for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of Unromance in exchange of my honest opinion.
3.5 stars

This is a story about a burned out and cynic romance writer that, after a meet-cute with the most romantic actor that can’t seem to be in a stable relationship decide to befriend him and start a project to help her write her next novel while taking away the romance out of his mind.

Although this formula is quite well used and we could explore a lot of iconic tropes, dates and ideas from the most varied romance books I think that the biggest twist of this book was to make the MMC as the romantic one. This really carried the book for me and make it feel a bit fresher than if it was the opposite.
I also enjoyed to see a bissexual FMC that had just broken up with her girlfriend having to explore the aftermath of this failed relationship and “loss of friends” during the split.
I quite enjoyed the narration that brought the characters to life specially on the fighting scenes that was well done in my opinion.

This started off so promising—I was sure it would be a new favorite! I love stories about writers, and Sawyer, a bisexual romance author, was a great protagonist. The love interest, Mason, is an actor, and the Chicago setting added a nice touch. I didn’t realize it would be holiday-themed, but the winter vibes were fun.

The premise was engaging: Sawyer wants to “ruin romance” for Mason while getting inspiration for her book, and he needs a break from public dating. Their chemistry was great, but the insta-love at the start felt a bit rushed. I enjoyed the first half, but by the second half, I started losing interest. The conflict felt obvious and over the top, and their reactions were exaggerated.

Also, I listened to the audiobook with dual POV, and I couldn’t stand the male narrator. His voice sounded too young and didn’t fit Mason at all, which distracted me from the story. Maybe just a personal preference, but it took me out of the experience.

I love a celebrity romance! Eight percent into the book and there is a steamy scene following the meet cute between Sawyer and Mason, so that's another win for me! No beating around the bush (pun unintended)! From there we follow a pretty predictable pattern of hot and cold, but with fun banter that keeps it fresh and a HEA for the win!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audio recording for this book.