Katrina and Nathan were well-known co-writers whose books topped the bestseller lists until their partnership ended after a falling out. It’s been a few years since they’ve spoken, but they can’t keep avoiding each other forever because they have one final book due on their contract. When they reluctantly agree to share a house in Florida so they can write their last romance novel and go their separate ways for good, old memories and repressed feelings quickly resurface. Will they be able to resolve their personal issues for the sake of their novel?

The Roughest Draft is a great example of art imitating life. Not only was it coauthored by a husband and wife, but as Nathan and Katrina poured themselves into their novel, it made me wonder where writers end and their characters begin. I really enjoyed the glimpse into the writing process and thought it added a unique aspect to this story! The dual POVs and alternating timelines worked so well to show where Nathan and Katrina were coming from, how their struggles and insecurities affected them, and how they got to this point in their lives and their relationship. They were both so stubborn, and I was rooting for them to make up already! The tension between them was undeniable and they had serious chemistry on and off the pages! This beautifully written and heartfelt romance book gave me all the feels!

This novel is on a TON of must read lists and after reading it I can totally see why. Katrina and Nathan wrote a best selling romance together three years ago but haven’t talked since. They are contracted to write one more book together, something that Nathan really needs since his solo novel isn’t doing well. Katrina had retired from writing but agrees to write this last novel. Through flashbacks we learn what happened three years ago at the same time as they are working on their current book and the reader can’t help but root for these two best friends who had lost their way and may (or may not) find the path back to each other.

Normally flashbacks drive me crazy. I’m a person who likes to be in the hear and now and I like the same thing from the stories I read. However, the use of the flashbacks parallel where the characters are in the story and help drive both the characters and readers feelings back and forth. It was deftly done, and being manipulated has never felt so good. I honestly wasn’t sure if Katrina and Nathan would ever have anything but another great book written by the two of them.

One of the things I liked the most about this novel was the back and forth between tension filled scenes in current time, then a flashback to explain where the two characters were in their relationship during the writing of their last book. I also loved how despite the tension, they were awed equally by each others talent, and they read each other’s moves and reactions so well. It was fascinating to see their love story being written…twice.

I’m a big fan of this writing duo and am glad that they’re branching out into the adult genre. Their talent is in giving their characters thought-provoking feelings and then acting on them, sometimes to the detriment of themselves. Something we all do in real life. Kat and Nathan were no different than you and I in how they’ve made mistakes and either ignored or fixed them. This relatability is a big reason why the story works so well. There is something in both of them that I can see in myself, and I don’t think I’ll be the only reader to think this. Don’t let 2022 go by without reading The Roughest Draft, I have a feeling that it will land on my best of 2022 list, and it’s only January.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Regardless of the fact that the reader went into this knowing it was a romance novel, this was a slow burn. As a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers trope this fits really well, and the main characters definitely had chemistry and a well rounded history to bring everything together. That being said, with situations like this, there were many a moment where I wanted to just yell at them "Just talk to each other!", but communication is usually the misstep to make books like this work. I liked that the relationship felt real. Not too saccharine or rushed. I also liked that I had a character to truly dislike, the fiancé, who is a completely oblivious jerk. This was a good way to pass the time.

With Katrina and Nathan having written a bestselling book three years ago and with another book still to be written as part of their contract, we are left to wonder why the duo took so long to get to book two. As they meet up again, it becomes evident that they're struggling to reconnect.⁣
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Every now and then, there comes a book that as you read, you just want to take your time and savor every single word. This was the way I felt when reading The Roughest Draft. Told in dual timelines, we are given glimpses into the past as well as following the duo's current writing process. Written in the POV's of both main characters, I loved being able to know what each was thinking in both time frames. ⁣
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A slow burn yet extremely intense romance - I absolutely loved it! The chemistry between the two was electric. If you like books by Emily Henry, you will love this one too.

I love this book! Boy meets girl, who together write stellar books and fall deeply in love. Their work tops the charts but over time they quietly end their partnership. Three years later, they're forced to reunite for one last book. And oh do the sparks fly as their slow-burn romance sizzles and makes you swoon. Another Berkley must-read for romance addicts like me.

Pub Date 25 Jan 2022
#TheRoughestDraft #NetGalley

Thanks to the authors; Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley; and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are mine.

I tried so hard to get into this one but it just seemed to drag on. Even when I skimmed to see if it would be worth sticking it out, nothing grabbed my attention, in a positive way, that made me want to continue.

*Star rating here only because it’s required.

✨THE ROUGHEST DRAFT by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka✨

★★★★★

Drink: A cappuccino - my #1 Nathan’s go-to drink!

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley @ Penguin for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

🌟Review: Guys… THIS BOOK. I literally can not wait for it to hit the shelves tomorrow because you better believe I am going first thing to pick up a physical copy!

This book wrapped me up in a warm hug and had me literally crying by the end. Every romance should be like this one - I mean dual POV, a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers storyline, forced proximity… and both main characters are authors.

I honestly don’t even know what else to say other than I absolutely loved this book and ended up reading it in one sitting. So, so, so good.

Thank you @berkleyromance and @netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

THE ROUGHEST DRAFT is out January 25, 2022!

In THE ROUGHEST DRAFT co-writers Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen published a bestseller four years ago. As the book was published, their working relationship deteriorated to the point where they no longer speak and no one except for the two of them knows what happened. Flash forward to the present and Katrina and Nathan begrudgingly agree to work together to write the final book on their contract. Will the forced proximity and intimacy of co-writing be the thing that brings them together or permanently tears them apart?

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I really liked the glimpse behind the curtain of the co-writing process which is something that I’ve always wondered about. Plus we have a romance book about two co-authors written by two co-authors who are married. So meta.

I just couldn’t really stand any of the male characters, Nathan included. Katrina’s fiancé Chris is a total jerk and Nathan comes off as really self-absorbed. So I just wasn’t excited about Katrina falling in love with Nathan.

I also feel like the big reveal was kind of a let down and could have been easily resolved if the characters just communicated with each other, which as you know by now is a huge turn-off for me.

3.5/5 stars

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4394657092?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZHybAZpEcD/

I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK!

Friends and colleagues to enemies to friends to lovers.

The PINING! The pain. The compassion. THE JOURNEY! I loved the back and forth between the past and the present, getting to see the event unfold in the past, and watching them come back together in the present.

I smiled the a crazy person so often! Nathan and Katrina are wonderful, flawed, real characters that you can relate to even if you aren’t an author.

Nathan being afraid to speak his true feelings out loud and instead cloaking them in fiction, knowing that Katrina would understand, Katrina struggling with anxiety and depression and being afraid of her own happiness because “what if it all comes crashing down”.

Gah, I loved them and I love this story SO MUCH!

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Romance for this eARC!

Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC! I was so excited to read The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka because it was one of my most anticipated reads for 2022! This book was one of my first co-written reads, and I LOVE a good dual POV so I couldn't wait to read it!

The story follows main characters, Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen, as they attempt to co-write another book together while sharing a house in Florida after a major falling out years prior. I really enjoyed how deeply the story focused on Katrina and Nathan's writing processes and how it is part of who they are while examining where the line between fiction and truth becomes blurry.

To be honest, the plot in the first half was a little slow for my personal taste, but the second half of the book was what I really loved. I still would highly recommend The Roughest Draft!

My first book I’ve read by the author duo, Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, their writing was beautiful, telling the tale between the protagonists of The Roughest Draft who also happen to be two authors writing a book together.

Taking on a dual timeframe that slowly reveals what truly happened between the writing team, Katrina and Nathan that led to their professional break up; they are pressured to join forces again and fulfill their publishing contract to write their final book. The slow burn romance between them was perfect and it was a pleasure to read their parallel lives, dual POV and dual timelines that added such a wonderful uniqueness than other stories that I have read in the past that have attempted the same method.

The only issue I had was I felt the middle could have been edited down a bit because the pace of the story dragged at times. But other than that, this is a great memorable romance novel.

Thank you Berkley for the arc. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Do you like books about books? How about books about authors? How about books about authors writing books? If you can handle getting meta (I kid), you will probably enjoy The Roughest Draft!

This one started out a little slow, but I’m a sucker for dual timelines AND dual perspectives which got me hooked. I also just loved the premise of falling for someone while writing a book together. My favorite parts were definitely the secret messages written to each other in the drafts - SWOON!

I can be a tad critical of the self-sabotage trope and I’ll be honest, I got a little frustrated here, but not much more than in any typical romcom, so it’s really just a personal issue…

This one comes out on 1/25 - can’t wait to see what everyone else thinks of it!

Reading this book was one of the happiest experiences I have had in forever.

One night when I was deciding what to read next I pulled up my NetGalley page and was so excited to realize I had been approved to read The Roughest Draft, which is one of my most anticipated reads of 2022. I had no idea I was approved and decided to start the book at around 9pm. Suddenly it was midnight and I couldn't put it down. Then, one thing leads to another, and it's 3am and I finished the book in one long amazing sitting.

The Roughest Draft is a phenomenal story. It is complex, gripping, authentic, and the type of book you can't help but be invested in. From the very first pages I fell so deeply into this story about two characters who were flawed and real. The premise of this book was absolutely amazing. I loved the concept of having two characters who were previously co-authors, but fell apart, having to write a book together again. It was executed in the most perfect way. The angst was incredible, and it was a perfect example of the forced proximity trope (since they were under contract to write a new novel together). The dual POV and dual time line events built the story up perfectly and it felt so whole and real. The fact that this is fiction almost feels impossible. These characters are living, breathing, and so completely whole. It was incredible.

Katrina and Nathan are both deeply flawed individuals. I loved them both individually and I loved their story, their romance. It's impossible to put into words how well they fit and functioned together. I loved them in every scene and could truly feel their bond and connection through the pages. Katrina and Nathan may be my favorite relationship on page, ever. I have never met two characters who should be together more than them. The tension and emotional connection was beautifully intense and real in a way that is impossible to explain in just a few sentences. This story, this romance, is a must read. I promise you will love it so much.
The setting was atmospheric. The book is set in Florida and features scenes from other various states (New York and California to name a few). The home they were in while doing the writing retreat and their overall neighborhood was so well developed and real feeling. There is a special talent to world building within the real world, and this story was an excellent example of it. The house, the city, all of it felt so immersive and cozy and whole.

Then obviously, there's the spice. This book was honestly not that smutty, and I liked that about it so much. The angst and build up to the character's being together was so perfect. The story was filled with angst and longing glances and self discovery. In my opinion, the spice level was perfect for the story and characters.

Gosh, I just loved this so much. As a seasoned Wibbroka reader (I have literally read all of their books) it felt this this is what they should be writing. They offer so much in their young adult books, but YA contemporary can also be a limiting genre. The characters have parents to attend to, school, they're not 18 usually. However, it was incredible to see these authors' creativity flourish with a wider world and more possible situations. I loved the exploration of different cities, loved the entire premise and plot. It was so well done and I just cannot wait to see what other adult romance stories Emily and Austin will produce. I love their young adult books, and I will continue to love them, but I also am so excited to see what else these incredible authors can come up with for their older characters.

Katrina and Nathan wrote a best-selling novel about infidelity together but towards the end, their partnership fell apart. Katrina went on to marry their agent and retire from writing, while Nathan divorced his wife and continued to pen books that never took off.
With his publisher disinterested in his latest idea, Nathan is told his career rests on working with Katrina again. But Katrina is hardly likely to agree, is she?
Written by a real-life couple, this story about a troubled writing partnership had potential but it ended up falling flat. There was nothing wrong with the writing style but the plot was bland and boring, especially because what broke the writing powerhouse up was hardly earth-shattering.

The Roughest Draft is a slow-burn contemporary romance from co-authors Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka. It follows another pair of cowriters, Katrina and Nathan, who, after penning a best-selling novel together, had a major falling out and haven’t spoken to each other in three years.

Neither Katrina nor Nathan have any desire to work together again, but unfortunately for them, their book deal was for two books so unless they want to pay back the advance, they need to make peace and write together one more time. Reluctantly, the pair agrees to move in together for a few months and get this second book written. They actually move into the same house they used the last time they wrote together so they are both surrounded by memories, both good and bad, and it’s all fireworks from there!

I will say up front that it does take a few chapters to really get a feel for just how much bad blood and hurt feelings there are between Katrina and Nathan. At first I was just sitting there like “OMG, why are they feeling so hostile toward one another? What could have possibly been so bad?” As the story begins to unfold, I became completely engrossed in learning the details about what happened and in seeing if they would be able to move forward and write together again without killing one another. Both characters are immensely likeable and their chemistry is undeniable, even when they’re sniping at one another. Think Emily Henry’s Beach Read but way angstier and that should give you a pretty good feel for this book.

The Roughest Draft was such a wonderful read for me. It just checked so many boxes. It’s filled with romance tropes I love like enemies to lovers (actually more like friends to enemies to lovers), second chance romance, and forced proximity. The story is presented to us from both Nathan and Katrina’s perspectives and through the use of dual timelines, which I always love when they’re used well. In this case, they are used to perfection: the present-day cowriting experience is presented parallel to the cowriting journey that went so wrong. I loved watching Nathan and Katrina trying to navigate in the present while simultaneously learning what happened in their past to create the present-day angst and awkwardness.

I also tend to really enjoy books that give us an inside look at writers and their process, and The Roughest Draft gives us that sneak peek at Nathan and Katrina’s cowriting process because while the two of them are unable to really talk about what happened between them, everything they’re feeling comes pouring out onto the pages as they write together. There’s so much passion and emotion flying between them I’m surprised they didn’t melt their keyboards!

If you’re in the mood for a slow-burn, angsty contemporary romance, you’re definitely going to want to add The Roughest Draft to your must-read list.

I really liked this book. I'm not usually a second-chance romance fan, but I think this was done well. I didn't feel icky despite the relationships our MCs had with other people.

It's such a unique premise; two writers who haven't spoken in years collaborate on another book together. The prose was rich. The characters were interesting. I enjoyed the dual POV and alternating timeline of the story.

We got tension. We got emotions. We got forced proximity. We got backstory and history that depicted the characters' actions so well.

The only thing I wanted more of was dialogue (but I'm a big dialogue girl). The writing was done so well; it was engaging and captivating. But I wanted more banter / back and forth between Kat and Nathan. Because when we finally got to see the emotions and feelings spoken through them, it was incredible!

A great romance book; not a comedy, but still wonderful nonetheless!!

ANOTHER 5 ⭐️ WIBBROKA READ FOR ME!

It's not a secret that I love these two writers! I have a whole corner of my shelf dedicated to them so when I heard they were coming out with an adult contemporary? I jumped at the chance to read this early! And boy did I get everything I hoped for and more.

First of, can someone make this into a movie please!? This reminded me of those sweet romcom enemies to lovers movies from the 90s - early 00s! It felt like a loveletter honestly to the era. The book is a healthy dose of heartfelt moments, lots of unbridled tension, just enough angst and the right amount of misunderstandings with those perfect swoon moments kind of sprinkled in to balance everything out. I mean that's signature Wibbroka right there.

Both Nathan and Katrina were so raw with their emotions and their honest vulnerability through their journey back to each other shook me to my core.

If you're looking for a second chance enemies to lovers book with tension, romance & angst? - THIS ONE IS FOR YOU!

💕"The Roughest Draft" comes out January 25, 2022!💕

Read this if…you like second chance romances with depth.

The Roughest Draft combines several favorite romance tropes to create a truly unique love story that fans of the genre will enjoy. Katrina and Nathan wrote a best-selling novel together four years ago and haven’t spoken since then. It’s unclear what destroyed the co-writers’ relationship, but they are still under contract to write one more book together. After putting it off as long as possible, Katrina and Nathan agree to finally get this over with so they can both move on with their lives. They agree to endure two months of forced proximity on a writer’s retreat as they write together one last time. The pair soon realize that in order to write a book worth reading, they need to rewrite their past.

This was a wonderful romance! It’s not a comedy, but I wasn’t expecting the narrative to have so much depth. I liked both of the characters and was rooting for them to resolve their issues. I was surprised at how hooked I was by not knowing what happened to break two duo apart. This kept me reading because I couldn’t imagine how a relationship that seemed so strong could have gone so wrong. I felt like the story dragged a bit a little over halfway, but everything else about this reading experience was positive for me! I also liked seeing how the writing process worked where two people were writing together.

A big thanks to Netgalley, the authors, and Berkley Publishing for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"The Roughest Draft" by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
Release Date: 1.25.2022

Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen met six years ago at a writing contest and wrote amazing bestsellers together just three years ago. Their partnership ended on horrible terms, and they will not share those reasons with anyone. Katrina is retired, planning to move to LA with her agent, Chris. They are struggling financially, and Chris told Katrina that if she wants to marry him, she needs to write another bestseller with Nathan. Nathan's solo career is not doing well; his publisher rejected his last book.

Of course, they have to speak once more, as they need a bestselling novel!

They decided to return to the tiny little town in Florida where they wrote their last book together. This is hard, considering they need to write a romance novel, and they can barely look at one another!

I loved this book! Katrina was relatable; she was strong and brilliant but feeling overwhelmed with the everyday grind. I'm so glad she had her happy ending. Might already be my favorite read of 2022.

Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this title in exchange for my honest review.

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleybooks #2022bookreleases #romcom #theroughestdraft #emilywibberley

In short: After writing their second book, Katrina and Nathan’s writing partnership and personal friendship ended on bad terms. Four years later, they are reuniting to write one last book as quickly and painlessly as possible.

What I liked:
Forced proximity
Friends to enemies to lovers
Dual timelines & POVs
Book about books

I really loved the premise of this book, the slow build and the tension. The multiple love triangle were too much for me though.