Nora Goes Off Script is the first adult novel by American author, Annabel Monaghan. When Ben Hamilton deserts his wife and two children, Nora Hamilton’s strongest reaction is relief. An entitled narcissist, Ben was a poor husband, a poor father to Arthur and Bernadette, and his consistently failing schemes meant that Nora was the family’s only provider. Now, she won’t need to cover his extravagant credit card purchases, just write enough of her formula romance scripts for The Romance Channel to feed, clothe and house her and the kids. Her old house, though, is a big expense to cover. But her reaction to Ben’s leaving to find the Big Life he was sure was his, is to write a very different sort of script, a somewhat autobiographical tale that is snapped up by a major studio and cast with the beautiful Naomi Sanchez and the gorgeous Leo Vance, the highest -paid leading man in Hollywood, known for his smoldering looks, as the male lead. Nora agrees to allow filming in her own backyard Tea House because that will net her the price of new guttering and a roof leak repair. But, unexpectedly, Leo doesn’t want to leave after the shoot. He has lost touch with his soul, and believes that watching the sun rise from Nora’s front porch will help him find it. And he’ll pay her a nice sum to do it. Nora describes herself as “the lunatic woman who schedules her life to run like a Swiss watch”, necessary when wrangling two pre-teens, but Leo seems to enjoy being part of her family. And, this being a romance, they fall in love. But does a relationship between a divorced mom of two and a much-in-demand actor have a future? Monaghan gives the reader a very entertaining romance with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and a few tearful ones and, entirely in keeping with Nora’s formula romances, a happy-ever-after ending. Recommended! This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton.

Apologies- I really thought I’d reviewed this already so it’s very late. An excellent read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I have recently fallen in love with romance novels but the majority of the ones I am picking up have the characters aged in their twenties. As a mum-of-two in my thirties, this felt like a breath of fresh air to me. Nora Hamilton is a 39-year-old mum to Bernadette and Arthur. Her life involves running, the kids activities and writing screenplays. She has split from her jobless husband Ben who happily spent Nora's money or put things on credit card. She feels free and relieved to just be on her own. Nora normally writes Hallmark-style movies but her latest is being made into a big movie with a proper cast and is based on her own life, marriage and divorce. Previous "Sexiest Man Alive" winner, 40-year-old actor Leo Vance will be playing the role of Ben and due to Nora's stunning home, it will also be shot there. After three days of shooting, Leo decides that he likes slow living and asks Nora if he can stay in her "teahouse" located at the bottom of her garden for a week and he will pay her $1,000 per day to stay. Nora isn't fussed. Her life is busy enough and the money would definitely help. But Leo wants to tag along to normal things like food shopping, Arthur's school play rehearsals and Bernadette's football game, and the two develop a relationship. He is an A-list actor and she is a normal mum-of-two, can this relationship be sustained? This book was perfect. I loved that Nora being a mum was a focus of the book and she didn't just forget about her kids or they ended up being unmentioned when the romance started. They were always her main focus. The relationship and attraction wasn't instant, it didn't go from 0-100 so you could feel the build up. It has brilliant pacing and development and I just enjoyed every second of it.

Oh i absolutely loved Nora Goes Off Script. Nora is a brilliant character and this was a fun, fantastic, easy read!

Thank you to the publishers for sending me this surprise book. This is not usually the type of book I tend to pick up. But on Saturday night after work I was tempted to read the first few pages to see if it was indeed something that might appeal to me... Well it certainly did appeal - I loved it! I read the book through in one sitting until 1am the following morning there was just simply no way I could put this book down! Loved the characters so much. I shall most certainly be watching for Annabel's next book. Very happy to recommend to all. Perhaps once summer arrives it would pair well with a glass of wine in the garden.