I loved this book! It was a great little palate cleanser after a romance novel I read that annoyed me no end. This book riffs off 'Heartburn', Nora Ephron's masterpiece about the end of a marriage. Nora ( clearly a hat tip to the inspiration) writes scripts for The Romance Channel ( clearly Hallmark), and lives with her 2 children in a small town near New York. She's just written a Heartburn-like book about the end of her marriage, that's been optioned for a big budget movie with Hollywood superstars, and a few scenes are going to be filmed at her house. She strikes up a bond with the lead actor, Leo Vance, and how this plays out forms the rest of the plot. I love that the book appreciates the domestic labour and effort and logistical skills involved in motherhood and running a house, and a romance novel hero making it a point to fall in love with that is lovely! Their relationship grows organically and the children aren't overly cute- they're perfectly natural, and even the third act romance novel conflict plays out very well. There's some excellent writing on marriages, publishing, the nature of celebrity and most importantly, some great analyses of what makes romance novels/ romcoms so popular. As a huge fan of the genre, I'm sick of the snobbery associated with romance as a genre, when it explores the lived experience of women, and desire, in a way few other genres do. I really liked a bit in the book, for instance, where Nora notes that in the drama genre, a romantic conflict would leave the female protagonist devastated while romance novels show them moving on supported by friends or family, and still get a happy ending! The book I read before this was also a romance novel that engaged with acting and Hollywood and celebrity- and was so awfully written and pretentious that it left me annoyed for so long. This book was the perfect antidote to that, and I'll definitely look out for Annabel Monaghan's books!!

Thanks to NetGalley UK and Hodder & Stoughton for sending this advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I started reading this book during a trip, and I couldn't stop reading it. The narrative is captivating, and there is something about this story that made me feel so into it that I just kept reading. Nora Hamilton is a screenwriter who wrote about the end of her marriage, while Leo is a famous Hollywood actor who plays the lead character in the movie. Both characters had a lot of baggage and struggled at the beginning of the book, especially Nora throughout the book. This book has a trope that I love in romance books: the single parent trope. It was extraordinary to see Nora's children - Arthur and Bernadette - and how protective and nurturing she is about them. The story goes through a 12 months timeframe, which I appreciate when it's about romance because I can see a relationship flourishing and being developed step by step. It's a light read, but their personal stories are very real. While Leo is super famous and rich, he is not mentally in a good place, and Nora, despite being fierceness to her children, is healing a long toxic relationship, being a gossip in the town, and having financial struggles. It was interesting to see these two people from different worlds finding middle ground through sunrise and love. The only thing that bothered me about this book was that it felt like every scene was too short and superficial without ever diving into that particular moment. Despite this, I still had a fantastic time with this story.

This was a really easy read about a romance channel writer whose best script was actually less of a romance as it was based on her own failed marriage. Based around the tea house in her garden, the movie is filmed at her house for a few days but the main actor stays behind to avoid the world for a while. This is a really cute read but with more depth than your standard romance channel movie, that said you can’t avoid that overall feeling as it’s got many uplifting moments and a really strong, stands on her own two feet female lead.

I read this book courtesy of NetGalley. I enjoyed this fun read which surprised me after a rather slow start. The book a light romance with a slightly quirky twist, although one could predict the ending I found this didn't matter probably as I was in need of some light relief which this book provided. I found the characters grew on me as I became more engaged with the story apart from the slightly slow start and the usual misunderstandings and lack of communication towards the end. A good light holiday read

Nora Goes Off Script is a much lighter book than those I usually read but I loved it. Nora is a strong character and her kids are great. Bring in Leo and we have a great story. Plenty of ins and outs and a happy ending. What's not to love. Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for an e-ARC of this book to read and review.