Tag: tropes

Book Review | The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

Posted September 27, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 1 Comment

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

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?


For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge


The Reason

I love Katherine Center and I’m probably going to be reading everything she writes.

The Quotes

“I had a theory that we gravitate toward the stories we need in life. Whatever we are looking for- adventure, excitement, emotion, connection-we turn to stories that help us find it. Whatever questions we’re struggling with- sometimes ones so deep, we don’t even really know we’re asking them- we look for answers in stories.”

“Well, you’re lucky. Because love is something you can learn. Love is something you can practice. It’s something you can choose to get good at. And here’s how you do it. Appreciate your person.
That’s it.”

“Whatever story you tell yourself about your life, that’s the one that’ll be true.”

“Humanity at its worst is an easy story to tell – but it’s not the only story. Because the more we can imagine our better selves, the more we can become them.”

The Narrator(s)

Patti Murin. Loved it! There was such a natural flow to the storytelling and I was engrossed.

My Thoughts

First of all; tropes! I love them, but only if they’re done well and not overly cliched, and I love them here in this book. We’ve got close proximity, enemies to lovers, miscommunication, and more! There’s also a little bit of cheesiness, but come on, this is a romance; cheese is an essential part of the recipe, otherwise why are you even reading romance?

Having said all that, I loved the story! I love how well-written it was and how emotional I got at the end. There were a couple of scenes that were difficult to read about, specifically one with the FMC, Emma, and her sister. And while I don’t necessarily like that it happened, I feel like it’s true to real life and real family dynamics.

As for the romance itself, I really love how the relationship developed between Emma and Charlie. I love the conversations they had, the way they got to know each other and started respecting one another. It was a bumpy ride, and again, so emotional, but well-worth it in the end.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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The Roommate Pact by Allison Ashley | Book Review

Posted December 27, 2023 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

The Roommate Pact by Allison Ashley

All of the fun, none of the heartache…as long as they stick to the agreement.

The proposition is simple: if ER nurse Claire Harper and her roommate, firefighter Graham Scott, are still single by the time they’re forty, they’ll take the proverbial plunge together…as friends with benefits. Maybe it’s the wine, but in the moment, Claire figures the pact is a safe-enough deal, considering she hasn’t had much luck in love and he’s in no rush to settle down. Like, at all. Besides, there’s no way she could ever really fall for Graham and his thrill-seeking ways. Not after what happened to her father…

Just as things begin to heat up way before the proposed deadline, Graham’s injured in a serious rock-climbing accident—and he needs Claire’s help to heal. She’ll do whatever it takes to nurse him back to health…even if it means moving into Graham’s bed and putting up with his little dog who hates her. But with this no-strings arrangement taking a complicated turn, keeping “for now” from turning into “forever” isn’t as easy as they’d planned.

The Reason

I really, really needed something fun and lighthearted and came across this book. I also really love several romance tropes, and the “we’ll get married if we’re single at a certain age” trope is a favorite. I mean, there are several tropes in the book, but this was the one I knew about before going in.

The Characters

The two main MCs are Claire and Graham, and I love them both so much! Neither of them had any “quirks” that annoyed me, and they were both so sweet with each other; as friends, as roommates, as pact-mates, and more. They were just so great together and the chemistry was sizzling off the page!

My Thoughts

I loved that it was fun, but also mindful of difficult things that happen in life. I love that literally no one was toxic in this story; they both had wonderfully supportive friends, family, co-workers. There was no unnecessary drama (except for one very satisfying scene that wasn’t over-the-top drama). I loved their chemistry, the way they were there for each other in the ways they could be. I love the communication; the MCs with each other, and with their friends and family.

My Feels

What I loved most about this book was how demonstrative it was for loving the person who brings out the best in you, who loves you for who you are, who makes you love who you are when you’re with them. I think a lot of people put a lot of store into loving the other person in the relationship, but forget about loving themselves in the process. I think having a partner who makes you love the person you are when you’re with them is the most wonderful feeling, because I’ve been with partners who made me hate the person I was with them, and it’s not love if you’re miserable and hateful. I also love the lessons they both learn. Taking risks, both physically and emotionally, is necessarily if you truly want to live your life to the fullest.

My Rating

4/5 stars. I really enjoyed it and I loved all the characters. I believe there’s another book that features Claire and Graham’s friends, Mia and Noah, so I’m gonna get on that too.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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