Thank you Libro.fm / Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the finished copy of The Rom-Commers in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio
Published: June 11, 2024
Summary:
She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?
Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.
Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.
But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true?
My thoughts:
I love picking up a Katherine Center book because they just make me feel happy! I know I will laugh, I might shed a tear or two, and I will definitely fall in love with the characters she creates. They always feel so real and relatable and I love how she is able to infuse humor into her stories while at the same time giving us little moments of truth.
I didn’t expect this one to hit me so hard…but I couldn’t have loved it more. In fact, I think it might be
my new favorite of all of Katherine Center’s books…and I’m pretty sure I’ve read every one so far. Caring for aging/sick parents is something I’ve had first-hand experience with this year and I felt some of the many anxieties that Center addresses with Emma when it comes to being the caretaker for her dad, even down to having everything so regimented. I wasn’t nicknamed the “sergeant” for nothing!
Here’s what else I loved:
♡ binge-worthy story
♡ memorable characters
♡ the “research” scenes needed to write the script…especially the line-dancing ones!
♡ the banter – I always love the witty banter this author manages to include in her writing between not just her main protagonists, but amongst all her characters
♡ the epilogue – this might be one of the most thoughtful, thought-provoking epilogues I’ve read in a while…I loved it!!!
As you can see…I loved this one and definitely recommend it!
Audio thoughts:
Katherine Center’s books translate so well onto audio & this one was no exception. Patti Murin does an amazing job bringing this story to life. She infuses just the right amount of emotion and humor into her voice as necessary.
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