Forever (June 25, 2024)
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This could be the perfect romantic comedy ever written. It was definitely perfect for me.
Kelley Armstrong took a leap into new territory when she wrote Finding Mr. Write. The rom-com genre is not her usual style, which is why it will surprise her loyal readers. Honestly, I hope she gives us more!
In Finding Mr. Write, Armstrong delivers a behind-the-scenes view of being an author. Daphne McFadden has written a young-adult fantasy book that deserves to be published, but getting it in front of the right publisher is difficult. When we meet Daphne, she has already been rejected enough times that she makes a bold choice to submit her book in a male penname. Is that why her story finally gets picked up? Hard to say for sure, but what follows is quite a journey through the publishing world.
Suddenly the book becomes too popular for Daphne to remain hidden in the Yukon.
When her book wildly exceeds her expectations, Daphne suddenly has to make appearances. It’s perfectly normal to write under a pen name, but her choice to hire an actor to play “Zane Remington” is clearly unusual. Now she’s playing a role as his assistant, and Chris is pretending be Zane. Yet he’s also pretending to be an actor just to remain employed as Zane, by Daphne. It’s all a whirlwind of people acting out what is expected of them. People see Daphne and expect her to be the writer’s assistant. When they see Chris, aka Zane, they get distracted by his overall attractiveness, and make assumptions about his outdoorsman qualities and stereotypical masculinity.
Daphne deserved recognition for her work, but it would be at the expense of coming clean with her fans.
Daphne and Chris naturally have that inevitable moment in a rom-com when they allow themselves to trust each other and take the romantic leap. Mind you, they were definitely a little bit spicy about that. I personally think Kelley Armstrong should write a spicy novella about this couple. She definitely leads our naughty imaginations to the edge of a voyeuristic cliff.
Finding Mr. Write had the perfect balance of romance, humor, and behind the scenes of an author’s world. People sometimes assume that a hard-core book lover like me could also write a book. That is far from true. Writing a compelling story is truly an art. Kelley Armstrong has managed to show us a peak behind the curtain into the world of writing and publishing. This story was both enlightening, and entertaining, with romance to boot.
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Kristin lives in the PNW with her husband, and three kids. She loves to read YA fiction, fantasy, and romance. She enjoys a few side-hustles, including creating bookreels/booktoks for authors. The only shows she watches are re-runs, and if she’s not reading a book, she’s listening to one.