“We've written the rough draft of our love together, the draft with loose ends, unfinished edges, mistakes every other page. But every writer knows there's magic in revision, where your work changes from a manuscript into a book. Where intentions, emotions, missed connections coalesce into something complete. It's where what you mean to say becomes what you have said. The characters deepen, the details shine, the prose sparkles. Suddenly, from nothing, you find your story.”

I just adore this book. It gave me similar vibes as beach read, so I think that would be the ideal reader for this book. I loved the fact that this book felt raw, it felt real, albeit a bit pretentious at times but that also somehow added to the charm? This book definitely is not you run of the mill cartoon romance book with smutty interior. Rather it is angsty without being too dramatic, and I overall just was so glad I went into it blind.

This was such a lovely read! Despite having several books by these authors, this was the very first one I read by them. And it definitely did not disappoint. A solid story with great characters, and I found myself wanting to continue reading. Can highly recommend this!

I had a blast reading this. It was pure entertainment! Great characters and tension. Easy in one sitting kinda read😆

I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy this book, but I found it quite charming. Something about the writing process really makes people curious, and especially when it comes to tension between writing partners, this one was well done. I enjoyed the dynamics between these characters as well as the third wheel friend, so to speak, who was a breath of fresh air. I really enjoyed this one.

as much as I wanted to love this, I just didn't, It seemed too much like a wannabe emily henry book and it just did not work for me unfortunately

I did not read this book before the audiobook was archived. But I plan to read it soon and purchased the ebook when it became available.

This book was sooo good except for one glaring detail - the both characters emotionally cheat on their partners.

I honestly loved almost everything about this book. I loved the banter, the premise, the way the characters dealt with hidden emotions and grief, and the way they grew. I also liked their chemistry and their attraction and angst was very real.

What made it hard for me was the fact that to too for them was to root for their other relationships to fail. For one of the characters this didn’t feel as challenging since their partner did not come off as a caring person, but for the other character their partner was a caring and loving person and they suffered because of everything. I will concede that this is a realistic story and that it happens all the time, it was just hard to root for them since I had the feeling that this was a second chance romance.

I’d seen mixed reviews for this book prior to picking it up, but I’m quite glad my friend Rachel convinced me to do that sooner rather than later because it was really good! I’m looking forward to whatever adult fiction these authors have coming out next.

The cover gives off the vibe of a fluffy, rom-com read, which is quite misleading because this book is definitely *not* that. The book examines the complicated relationship between two co-authors who clearly have *something* between them. It is messy. Difficult to read at times, and that’s because of how raw the emotions feel (and not the writing, which is actually quite readable). Cathartic in ways, frustrating in others. But overall, this book was compelling and well-written, and very reminiscent of early Taylor Jenkins Reid and current Emily Henry.

Wibbroka can do no wrong in my eyes. This is the fourth book I've read from them and it is the fourth five star read I've give them. I love when romances have dual POV and this one having a dual timeline as well? That made it even better. I can absolutely see why this one isn't a favorite with people considering a major plot of this story contains emotional cheating but the tension was so good!! I loved how they could only express their true thoughts and feelings within their writing. The slow burn was soooo good and had me wanting more. I will forever & always be reading more from this writing duo.

I really thought this book would be a favorite! And I'm quite sad that it's not.

But I didn't know that the bulk of this book involves some light emotional cheating, and the characters *insist* that they aren't cheating repeatedly, even though they very much are. Also, I just didn't feel for the characters--the moment they finally got together, I didn't feel any excitement or relief or giddy or anything. I don't mind some miscommunication as a plot point, romance books thrive on it to create angst or longing, but this one was extremely exhausting for me! However, I read the book quickly and I'm intrigued by the next book that's coming out by this duo, so I'll probably give it a shot and see if it was just this particular book that didn't vibe with me.

2.5 stars.

Although, as far as I am concerned, this book has no "redeeming" value, I absolutely loved it. I loved the tension (and the affection) between Katrina and Nathan. I loved the setting of the heat and humidity of Florida. I loved the background of the relationship and how it affected the couple today. AND the writing process as it was described was fascinating. Sometimes a good old love story is what is need...as you can tell I loved this book.

Love this! The tension was A+
I am not usually a fan of the slow burn. The ‘wait until 70% for the first kiss’ energy is not my jam - but hot 👏🏻 DAMN👏🏻! This one nailed it. The tension and animosity and the mystery of what happened between Kat and Nathan had me gripped the entire time. I got all the heart flips and the butterflies. It was just perfection.

I'm not sure what it is about books about writing books, but I loved it. This gave me Beach Read vibes, which in my opinion is a high compliment, as I adore EH, too!

Wibberley and Siegemund-Broka have done it again! They captured the charm, effervescence, and depth of their YA romances and ported it over to adult romance and I, for one, am happier for it. A lovely read.

I love books about the publishing world and especially about authors. THE ROUGHEST DRAFT was the perfect combination of sweet and sexy. It gives all the feels you want from a book like this.

This was really good, I buddy read this with a friend and we had the best time. Katrina and Nathan had SO MUCH chemistry, and I was dying for them to break through their insecurities and GET TOGETHER ALREADY! I really loved how they were forced to write a book together, it was such a cool idea. Even though the angst drove me crazy in the best way, I really had a lot of fun seeing these two finally get together and actually confront years of resentment. It had so much heart and I loved the writing style. I’m excited to read more from this author!

What’s the last book that you read that you can’t stop thinking about?

For me, there’s been a few, but one of my top reads has to be the Roughest Draft. This book was so beautiful it actually took my breath away. It follows Katrina and Nathan in a dual-POV AND dual timeline narrative as they write their final book together as co-writers.

I do not highlight or annotate books, but this book has so many quotations that were so incredible that I couldn’t help myself. This romance read like a literary and poetic masterpiece. If I ever went back for my masters, I have a thesis in mind that literally revolves around this book. I could write an entire thesis on Nathan and Katrina.

The Roughest Draft publishes January 25, 2022. You absolutely need to add this to your goodreads right now and go preorder it. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to share quotations from this or not yet, so I won’t. But if I could… you’d cry too. Just from the beauty of this book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-galley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis:
They were cowriting literary darlings until they hit a plot hole that turned their lives upside down. Three years ago, Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen were the brightest literary stars on the horizon, their cowritten book topping bestseller lists. But on the heels of their greatest success, they ended their partnership on bad terms, for reasons neither would divulge to the public. They haven't spoken since, and never planned to, except they have one final book due on contract. Facing crossroads in their personal and professional lives, they're forced to reunite. The last thing they ever thought they'd do again is hole up in the tiny Florida town where they wrote their previous book, trying to finish a new manuscript quickly and painlessly. Working through the reasons they've hated each other for the past three years isn't easy, especially not while writing a romantic novel. While passion and prose push them closer together in the Florida heat, Katrina and Nathan will learn that relationships, like writing, sometimes take a few rough drafts before they get it right.

I enjoyed this foray into adult fiction by married couple Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, but wished the pacing was a little more consistent. I loved the plot idea and getting a look at the writing process and I liked the mystery behind what happened between Katrina and Nathan. I’d definitely give this duo another try though, because I appreciated their writing style and think there’s lots of potential there!

TW: cheating, emotionally distant partner, gaslighting, manipulation, mental health, mentions of: divorce, affairs, among others I may have missed.

Actual - 4.5

UMMM. This was so good???

Imagine my surprise - considering I DNF’d this ARC because the FMC was engaged to a POS named Chris for a big portion of the “present day” scenes, and that just…hit too close to home (hence the TW LOL) Petty, I know, but alas - therapy is not cheap. I tried it again via audiobook and I’m so happy I did!!!

The description makes it seem like two authors are being forced to worked together years after they have an affair and split. Which is…kind of true? But not in the way you think. You can scroll down to the very bottom of this if you want a “spoilery” explanation.

This gave me similar vibes to Beach Read but not as cozy - and that’s not a bad thing. The animosity, the tension, and all of the flashback chapters made this very interesting. The prose was beautiful, which is not something I really review on, but the similes were done so well.

This was such an easy book to fall in love with. The chemistry between the two characters was absolutely off the charts. Pouring their feelings towards each other out onto the pages they were writing felt like love notes that I was privy to.

Highly recommend!!

🎧 - 5/5

The flashbacks slowly show their progression of falling in love with each other while he’s married to another woman. Nothing physical happens, and they both address this with themselves, but it was very emotionally charged.

In some ways, it's hard to describe this novel as a romance, because even though the characters have a romantic relationship, it's really an exploration of what collaborative writing is like. An intriguing read.