Summary: 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 caregiver for her kindhearted dad, who needs full-time help. Now, when she gets a chance to rewrite 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 dad duty, and Emma moves to LA 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 i t might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus, he doesn’t even care about the script — it’s just a means to get a different 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 Charlie 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 of Emma’s rules — and comes true?
(Summary from book flap – Image from pinterest.com)
My Review: As a freelance screenwriter, Emma knows how to write rom-coms — what makes them work and what makes them tank. When she is approached to help her favorite feature film screenwriter, Charlie Yates, salvage his latest project — a disastrous attempt at romantic comedy — she is understandably ecstatic. As a full-time caregiver for her ailing father, Emma is anxious to leave him in the hands of her care-free younger sister, but this is her big chance, so she packs a bag and heads to L.A. Unfortunately, Charlie has no idea she is coming and definitely doesn’t want the help of some nobody screenwriter who seems distracted from the work. Can these two screenwriters get on the same page, overcome their own baggage, and create a rom-com for the ages? Or will it all crash and burn before they reach happily-ever-after?
From an aesthetic standpoint, The Rom-Commers is fun. It’s cover is bright and the hardcover edition comes with hot pink edges and cleverly-themed end papers (though you’d won’t get the reference till you’re a good ways in). From a story standpoint, The Rom-Commers is a lot of fun. Emma is skilled at what she does, confident in her understanding of the rom-com genre, and unafraid to speak her mind to Charlie (even though he’s her screenwriting hero and ticket to success). They’ve got humorous, quality banter and excellent chemistry, which leads to some swoony moments, but is relatively low-spice (my preference, see sensitive reader section below for details). Throw in some delicious tropes (see ‘trope spoiler’ below if you’d like a few more details), authentic characters, an MMC who respects consent (hooray!), and a Jack Stapleton cameo and…well, like I said, it was a lot of fun.
To quasi-quote a favorite rom-com author of mine — The Rom-Commers has everything you love in a romantic comedy — tension, character growth, longing, buildup, anticipation, banter, fun, play, and shimmer. I’m also a sucker for a meaningful message, so here are three lines from the book that really hit home:
“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… “
“…happiness is always better with a little bit of sadness.”
“Choose a good, imperfect person who leaves the cap off the toothpaste, and puts the toilet paper roll on upside down, and loads the dishwasher like a ferret on steroids — and then appreciate the hell out of that person.”
I’ve been married for around twenty-four years and while I would never claim to have a ‘perfect’ marriage, I will say that last quote is one of the most important keys to having a loving marriage that will weather the storms of life — appreciate your person.
I read this book on an Alaskan cruise in between land excursions and way-too-many trips to the buffet. As such, I was only able to read in fits and starts which made it hard to connect with the characters at first, but once I got a good chunk of reading time in, I flew through the rest of the book. It has moments that will set your heart aflutter and moments that make your chest hurt, and ends in a way redefines (or better defines) what it means to live ”happily-ever-after.’ I’d recommend it to writers and screen-writers, lovers of printed rom-coms or those that grace the big-screen, long-time Katherine Center fans or newbies to the Laugh-and-Cry Queen’s particular brand of romantic comedy. It’s a good time for all.
Trope Spoiler (*look away* if you don’t want to know what tropes pop up in this one): Not-quite enemies to lovers (but certainly not friends), forced proximity, a dramatic rescue, he falls first.
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
For the Sensitive Reader:
Language: Occasional crass language and around 20ish instances of profanity, give or take.
Violence: Nothing significant that I can recall.
Sexual Content: M/F and M/M relationships represented. Some kissing (M/F). Undressing/dressing with eyes closed, and making out (M/F). Occasional innuendo and one sentence that implies sex (M/F, no detail.)
Other: Slight spoiler, so I’ll give you some time to look away…
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still here?
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okay…
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Traumatic/Chronic Illness of a loved one, Complex Medical Diagnosis.
