I was pleasantly surprised by The Perfect Rom-Com. I love the ESL aspect, once again showing that write-what-you-know books almost always work and add an extra layer of storytelling. I love hearing about all of Bryony's students and the community they've created. For a rom-com, the romance is actually a pretty small part of this story which I didn't mind. The ending is a tad far-fetched and made me roll my eyes a little. Overall, it was fun and light-hearted and I definitely will go back and read Ferguson's other books.

This was a cute closed door romance story, but I would have to disagree with the title, there were many elements missing from this being "The Perfect Rom-Com". It was single POV so we did get to see his side of pinning for her, she was in a ridiculous long distance relationship the majority of the story, and then as soon as that relationship ends BAM they're in love. The third act and resolution were predictable. Would I recommend this to someone? Wouldn't be my first choice, but probably. Would I re-read it? no.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The narrator did a perfect job of telling the story, without boring the reader.
The story itself was really enjoyable to me, it had a good pacing so I flew through the book. The only thing I wasn't too big a fan of, is the miscommunication trope. I feel like quite some issues in this book could've been avoided had the two main characters communicated more with each other.

Overall, I really enjoyed this (audio)book, and give it 3,5 stars.

This was a really cute and heartwarming story, even though I occasionally felt a little lost in Bryony’s constant inner monologue. Her thoughts run wild, making it a bit overwhelming at times, but it didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed her journey.

I loved how her relationship with Jack unfolded— from their first meeting, full of tension and banter, to the slow but steady build of trust and friendship that eventually turned into something more. There was a real tenderness in the way he saw and supported her, and his quiet, patient devotion was one of my favorite parts of the book.

Also, I have to mention the audiobook because it was so well done. The narrator’s performance brought the characters to life, and her male voice was chef’s kiss, absolutely perfect for Jack.

The ending was sweet and satisfying, and while the book wasn’t particularly high-stakes, it had the kind of comforting, easy flow that made it a perfect cozy read.

This is my first Melissa Ferguson book; I was not disappointed! The story was realistic and had layers to it. The characters felt like real people.

The main character, Bryony, is determined to have her manuscript published. She is an ESL teacher for an organization called The Bridge. Bryony meets Jack at a writer’s conference. After their meeting, Jack becomes Bryony’s literary agent. This arrangement does not come without its stipulations. Bryony agrees to become a ghostwriter for popular socialite author Amelia Benedict.

I genuinely enjoyed this book being written in the first person. There are several unexpected turns that will keep you engaged. I enjoyed the banter between Bryony and Jack. There are no spicy scenes in this book. However, there is plenty of chemistry between the two. The ending was unexpected and wonderful.

This audiobook was narrated by Karissa Vacker and her narration was magnificent. She gave the perfect voice for each of the characters. The right amount of emotion for each situation. I believe this story will appeal to readers whether it is in print or audio. I stayed up all night to finish the book. If you are looking for a non-spicy rom-com this is the book to pick up.

I highly recommend this book and would consider this a must-read. Thank you, NetGalley, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Thomas Nelson Fiction, and Melissa Ferguson for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 Stars! 🌟 Huge thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction for the eARC & HarperCollins Christian Publishing for the ALC through NetGalley! 🎧💌

Okay, so, I really wanted to love this one because, hello, it’s called The Perfect Rom-Com—like, sign me up, right?! But OMG, this was anything BUT perfect. 😩 I had soooo many icks with this book that I honestly don’t even know where to start. Let's get into it!

Where’s the romance, though? I mean, come on, we’re promised the perfect rom-com, and I got like... barely any romance! It was all about the setup and not enough about the connection between Bryony and Jack. I swear, the first half of the book was so slow, I felt like I was waiting for the plot to show up. And then there’s this huge time skip that was just meh—why even have it if it didn’t add anything substantial to their relationship? 💤

I really couldn’t care less about the characters. Bryony? Girl, what were you even doing? I didn’t get what was so special about her, and Jack? Let’s just say I’m not buying the chemistry between them. The friends-to-lovers trope felt so forced, and the “slow-burn” felt like it was on pause the whole time. Like, give me some tension, some heat, anything! But no, instead, we get nothing until it’s like—BOOM, they suddenly like each other? Sorry, no. 😒

I also felt like the whole story was trying to juggle too many things and didn’t do any of them well. Is it a workplace romance? Is it about ghostwriting? Is it supposed to have a happy ending? None of it made sense, and the romance? Nonexistent! 😤

Oh, and don’t even get me started on the conflict. 🙄 It was dragged out, awkward, and honestly just didn’t feel right. I get that there’s supposed to be some tension, but it didn’t work for me. I kept waiting for the big romantic moment to hit, and it just... didn’t. 😑

All in all, I wanted so badly to love this book, but it fell flat. It's just not the rom-com vibe I was expecting. So, if you're here for deep character development and slow-building tension—this might be for you. But if you're craving that classic rom-com magic, this ain't it.

Trope check:
📚 Friends-to-Lovers
💘 Agent-Author Dynamic
📚 Workplace Romance
💘 Chick Lit Elements
📚 Tension-Fueled Romance
💘 Slow Burn Romance

Romance light as a feather, no real chemistry 🔥

Final thoughts: Super disappointed. This one’s just not my jam, but hey, others might enjoy it—just wasn’t for me! ✌️

I received this audiobook from NetGalley and the publisher, my opinions are my own,
A special thank you to @netgalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Jack and Bryony were such a treat to read about, and their banter had me hooked from the beginning. Bryony is an aspiring author. She’s an ESL teacher at a school that was founded by her family years ago to help immigrants transition to American culture and get through their citizenship exams. Our FMC takes her passion and funnels it into writing a book that will hopefully save the ESL school she works for. Our FMC tries to pitch her book to an agent and ends up being asked to be the ghost writer for another romance author. Two years later, she is fed up and sick of it, especially since the romance author she is writing for is insufferable. However, she has made the romance author even more famous over the years she spent writing for her, and the agency can’t let her go, and her agent who has developed feelings for her can’t either. This rom com uncovered some of the inner workings of the publishing industry and demonstrated how challenging it can be to break into the writing industry

No spice (except kisses), very clean.

What do you do when the last literary agent you were able to get an appointment with at a convention to pitch your book completely disregards you within the first 5 minutes of your 15 min meeting? Panic, obviously, that’s usually the first step. And then waltz back in demanding the time you spent money and time to acquire more advice and info about your book. But Jack surprises her with a manuscript full of poor word choices and sentence structures and a lack of depth of any kind. And Bryony Page lets him have it. What does she have to lose at this point?! She wasn’t able to gain an agent. Her candor inspired him to stalk her to her hotel a couple days later to offer her a job as ghost writer for NYT best selling author Amelia Benedict. And she agrees and makes sure Jack will help her with her book too! It tells the heartwarming story of her Gran starting The Bridge, and organization providing ESL classes and prep for their GEDs!
When she realizes Amelia is truly a monster and is thrust onto a tour bus with her, her assistant Penny, and of course Jack, who has become her best friend as well as her agent, drama ensues. Trust is gained and broken.

There is some gorgeous tension, tho not more spice than a kiss Ana some intense longing. This book was fun and sweet and sarcastic as hell! Def worth a fun read!

Good story, good plot and great characters. I enjoyed the book, even if the ending was super unrealistic

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! Unfortunately, I didn’t like this one. It could have been cut down significantly (just like the novel the main character is trying to get published 😅). I would also not call this a romance and I felt mislead by the title & description.

This was a cute and super easy read. Definitely recommend, this book is about a girl trying to get her own book published, but she gets roped in into ghost riding for an author. If you looking for a good and clean( no spice) book. Then this is the one for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the Arc. Bryony Page is a tenacious inspiring author who finds herself fumbling to make a good first impression, quickly realizing she is way in over her head. Bryony loves hard and is a fierce protector of those she cares about including her first book. Talk about love is blind. There's something about Bryony that leads Jack to make her an offer she can't refuse. She desperately wants to make a name for herself to help her beloved ESL students but is plagued by the shadow of being a ghostwriter. Bryony has some tough decisions to make as she finds herself experiencing one betrayal after another. I found the long distance relationship highlighted just how naive Bryony is though she is passionate and strong-willed which is important later in the story. The banter between Bryony and Jack had some notable Rom Com moments. Their relationship read more of a secondary storyline that developed towards the last 20 percent of the book. I found myself wanting more from them especially after Jack redeems himself. Can Bryony get both happy endings that she desires?
Karissa Vacker nails bringing Bryony to life.

This was really good. I've read some similar styled books, but the characters in this one really pulled on my heart strings and made me so much more interested and invested in the outcome. I loved how the ESL students/teaching was intertwined throughout the story and really made it feel so real. It was also so satisfying how everything turned out in the end.

Fast and cute read. I feel as though this is a fiction book wrapped in a PG rom com movie. The characters were relatable and a bit believable and you definitely find yourself screaming for the FMC and understanding her frustration of being the brains behind the face. However, there were a lot of “oh hunny…”’s throughout this book and some second hand embarrassment. But overall I liked it. The spice level was 0 and I really just wouldn’t consider this a romance book as a whole - it was more character development driven. I did cry once!

“The Perfect Rom-Com” wasn’t so perfect for me. I love a story about someone getting to live their dream. Add in some romance, witty banter and I am typically hooked. It’s a well written witty story with great banter. That aside, I didn’t love it. Bryony, the FMC is determined to find an agent in hopes of getting her novel published. She knows it may need some polishing, but she believes in her heart that with the right agent, it will be a success. She just needs someone to champion her. When she attends a publishing event she is scared and hopeful. Things do not go as planned. Then Jack, world's most condescending and pompous agent of them all makes her an offer. She sees it as a once in a lifetime offer and believes every promise he makes and signs on the dotted one without hesitation. What could possibly go wrong? We do get to the inevitable HEA for Bryony, but by that time I wasn’t terribly interested. I found most of the characters not terribly likable. Additionally, I didn’t find there to be much real chemistry between the two main characters. Love this author, this just wasn’t my favorite.

I went back and forth on the rating for this but I feel like I need to settle on a 4. I feel like this gives Emily Henry vibes without the spice and emotional trauma. I was wondering what the conflict could be when it seemed like things were working out so well and it was early on, but she brought it on in. The all too well known misunderstanding but can’t clear it up plot line but this specific story I haven’t seen before. I loved reading about ghost writers because honestly I forget they’re a thing. Now I’m like wait. I wonder how many of these are out there and have to live with people loving their work but not being able to claim it! Annnnyways. This was a simple book and yes I laughed out loud many a times. I was able to listen to it and the narrator truly does a fantastic job. I’m honestly impressed with her voice for the mmc, usually I cringe the whole time but she did so well! All in all, I think most people would stay in the 3 zone for this book but I just really thought it was cute and an easy read that had me giggling so I’m sticking with rounding up to a 4!

Thank you to HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Thomas Nelson Fiction, & NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Audiobook copy!

This was a super sweet/cute story and I loved a lot of the elements. Unfortunately, I went in expecting the romance to be a major part of the plot. The title is “the Perfect Rom Com” after all. I spent about half the book not sure if it was a romance. Jack didn’t seem to flirt with her at all and their chemistry felt really platonic. All the sudden she’s single and they just get together, but it felt so abrupt. We really only got one or two romantic moments. The focus was a lot more on books and the writing process.

I did enjoy the audiobook, and I love this narrator. I also thought the ending was super satisfying!
I just think the book needs a little tweaking!

In one word, CUTE!!!! The story was so sweet and kept me engaged from start to finish. Obviously this was a rom-com but was so different than any of my recent reads. I loved all the publishing/agent/author background information as I always wonder how everything works so I was so happy this was part of the story. I also loved the descriptions of Bryony’s students lives from the bridge. (I also secretly loved that they all hated Jack) 😆
If you love rom-coms, I would would definitely recommend this one!! Spice is 0 out of 5 so if you’re looking for something without spice this is perfect for you!!

I wanted to really like this. It was a nice cozy fictional story if that's what you are looking for it just didn't stick out to me as much as I wanted it to, but this could also be my mood at the time I read it.

The Perfect Rom-Com is Melissa Ferguson at her finest. I absolutely fell in love with the FMC Byrony from the moment I met her. She is tenacious and scrappy. I loved her relationship with her sister and her meeting with potential agent, Jack, was so good. Epic!

There are so many laugh out loud moments and many other subtle moments that had me smiling or giggling. This is a book that I needed to relish every word for fear of missing something.

I loved that this took place in the literary world, it seemed so real, highlighting many of the challenges writers experience in this age of social media.

It concludes with the most fabulous grand gesture, truly unmatched!

So so good! The perfect clean romance and truly the "perfect rom-com" 😉

If you have an opportunity to listen on audio, I highly recommend that format. The narrator, Karissa Vacker, was fantastic!