Thanks so much to Berkley for this gifted copy of The Roughest Draft. A husband and wife duo writing a second chance romance about two writers who fall in love while writing romance together? Sign. Me. Up. I saw some early reviews of this one comparing it to Emily Henry’s work so I knew I had to pick it up. That in my opinion is the highest of praise so I was nervous but I have to say that the comparison was an accurate one. If you enjoy the angst and tension of a good second chance romance with dueling timelines that slowly reveal how the character’s initial relationship unraveled, this one is for you. This one reminded me of People We Meet on Vacation, Seven Days in June, and You Deserve Each Other (three of my all time favorites).

Katrina and Nathan meet at a writer’s workshop in New York and immediately hit it off. They agree to co write a book together that is very well received, so they do it again and the success of the next book is unlike anything either of them have ever known. At the start of this book, it’s four years after the release of that second book and they are no longer speaking to each other. Katrina has retired from writing and is engaged to her publicist, Nathan is divorced and trying out a solo career, and both seem to loathe the other for reasons unknown. When Nathan’s newest pitch is declined by his publishing house he discovers it’s because they are trying to force him to finish out his previous contract with Katrina. Despite being vehemently opposed to working together again, the two reluctantly agree for different reasons to fulfill the contract and meet up at their old writing retreat house to try and churn out one more book in two months.

These two have so much to unpack and work through and I loved reading them do that while being in the dark about what happened in their pasts. I absolutely loved the writing in this book and the way everything unraveled to be put back together again in a new way. If you love books about books and the writing and publishing process you will adore this one. I could not get enough and while this is the first book I’ve read by Wibberley and Siegemund-Broka, it definitely will not be the last.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory.

I can't say enough good things about "The Roughest Draft." I was drawn in instantly and couldn't put it down. I needed to know what was going to happen to Katrina and Nathan and cared deeply about the path of their story. I really enjoyed the timeline jumps so we were finding out what went wrong initially as their reunion was playing out. It was the first romance I've read that was written by a couple and I will definitely seek out books like this in the future. This book is a great choice for fans of enemies to lovers, friends to lovers (and friends to enemies to lovers--an important subcategory), and lovers of books. I loved the way this book talked about and engaged with the act of writing and story crafting and how the characters expressed themselves through their writing. I will definitely be recommending this to all romance fans (and to quite a few romance-skeptics). A must read for fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon, Emily Henry, Sally Thorne, Christina Lauren, Sarah Hogle, and Ali Hazelwood.

I had been really looking forward to The Roughest Draft, but found myself disappointed in it. Emily Henry's "Beach Read" is one of my favorites and I thought this would be a worthy successor to it. Instead, I found it flat.

I think YA readers will find a lot to enjoy about The Roughest Draft, but adult romance readers might find themselves wanting more.

Told through alternating points of view between Kat and Nathan as well as in present and past, The Roughest Draft takes readers through the emotional turmoil and revelations that created a best seller book as well as 4 years of heartache for the leading anti-couple.

This is the perfect read for anyone who likes Contemporary Romances with angst found in the books by Christina Lauren, or the rehashing/changing timelines of a broken relationship of The Road Trip by Beth O'Leerly and People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. There is very little action or plot going on in the story, it is basically 100% character driven, so if you like to sink into your characters and get the chance to completely know them as people, this is the book for you.

The Roughest Draft started with all the negative feels like hurt and loss that comes from the end off a relationship with none of the answers as to the why, you read the book to piece together how the two main characters got here and along the way you root for there to be so much more (and for a certain douchy fiance to be dropped on his head, that tool). If you like (friends to) enemies to lovers this is the romance for you. This very book is the definition of slow burn, a very deliberate unveiling to showcase the emotional rollercoaster that was this relationship and the expected yet still very emotionally trying outcome.

Reads like a love letter to writing and the power of words with a wonderfully angsty slow-burn romance.

A fun addition to the romance about writers subgenre! When two former friends and co-writers are forced to reunite and fulfill their final book contract, the emotions that lead to their estrangement in the first place. With a memorable beach setting and a great slow-burn romance, this is a perfect pick for readers looking for more like Emily Henry's Beach Read.

Rating: 3.5/5

After meeting at the New York Resident Writers’ Program and co-authoring two books, Katharine Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen are the darlings of the literary world. But on the heels of their greatest success, they split up for reason’s only known to themselves, leaving their readers, friends, and even agents with more questions than answers. Four years later, with one more book due on contract, they’re forced to reunite in the tiny Florida town where they wrote the novel that split them up. As they become completely absorbed in the rough draft of their new book, they learn that relationships, like writing, have magic in revisions.

I really did love so many aspects of this book, especially the concept of the plot. It was ingenious the way that Emily and Austin weaved the flashbacks (four years ago when Kat and Nate are writing their second novel and falling in love) with present day and the novels that they write that mirror their relationship in so many ways. Truly such a unique story of how fiction comes from the truth (or how fiction and reality live within each other). The prose was also beautiful, Emily and Austin (as well as Kat and Nathan) are clearly skilled in their craft.

However, a couple of things irked me a little: the “event” that caused their split was underwhelming, the amount of emotional cheating made me a bit uncomfortable, the lack of character background outside of their relationship hurt the character development, and I found the amount of flashbacks that built their friendship/relationship to be lacking. I wanted to love it more, but these points just made it hard to fall for it completely.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Roughest Draft was one of my highly anticipated releases of the year. I've read two of the authors' books in the past and loved them, and when I got major Emily Henry vibes from the cover and synopsis, I knew I needed to get my hands on it.

I loved the Florida setting. It captured the atmosphere I love so much, seeing as Florida will always be home to me. I also enjoyed the plot, and the writing.

My biggest problem is that I didn't love the characters. I wish they were a little more realistic and had more adult conversations. I also would've loved a little more steam!

Overall, if this is on your tbr, I recommend picking it up! I liked it, I just didn't love it as much as I thought I would.

I love reading books with unique plotlines and The Roughest Draft was definitely unique! 💕 I loved seeing the process of two authors collaborating together once again after a past falling out. There was a lot of drama and longing - the book follows a slow-burn trope after all, and the execution of the theme was so perfectly done. Would definitely recommend it to my friends-enemies-lovers romance fans! 💜💫

This book was the perfect blend of contemporary fiction and romance! I'm a sucker for stories about writers, so watching these two characters learn to work together again WHILE also falling in love...chef's kiss.

Whew. If I'm honest I wasn't expecting much going into this book because the reviews weren't all that amazing but I was pleasantly surprised. This book is the definition of longing. Nathan and Katrina have wanted each other for years, you can tell that from page 1 and the yearning...so much yearning. I did think the book would move a little faster if the two characters would actually communicate their feelings rather then write them into their books but I won't lie it defiantly made it more intense that way.
I really enjoyed reading it and loved seeing the creative process of two co authors writing a book and their craft and of course falling in love in the meantime.

This book was like two people trying really hard to write in the literary style of Emily Henry or Mhairi McFarlane, but not quite achieving that goal. Essentially, two former writing partners have a mysterious falling out and are forced to reunite four years later, and eventually find that the spark between them never went out. It was reasonably entertaining but certainly not the best contemporary romance I've ever read. The ending was supremely cheesy and tried too hard to sound deep and intelligent.

Would I buy this in a store? No. Would I check it out from the library? Probably not if I had known what was in store. Good for fans of the reunited lovers trope.

Oh my gosh this was the cutest, most romantic book ever. I adored both of the perspectives, the voice, and the premise of two writers who were once in love being forced to write their final book together. The tension was wonderful, the pacing fantastic, and the overall theme was actually really sweet and emotional. Five stars!

I was really excited to read this one, but ended up finding it a bit disappointing. I feel like I didn't find Nathan and Katrina's bond compelling enough, and even though no infidelity technically happened, I still felt the way everything was handled made me root for them less. But the writing was charming and I love books about books. I would read another adult romance by these authors with a different plot.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I was really let down by it. It was going great for a while, but I was far into the book before any of the character's sexual tension was finally addressed and released. I was getting to a point where I said, "Ok, is this gonna happen or what?" It did, and that part was good. But, when we hit the part where the reason that they split and hated each other happened...I just didn't think their reason was valid or realistic. We're adults here, have a conversation. They were acting like love-sick teenagers making dumb decisions and then having a childish rivalry. Even after they reconciled, they still were doing it to each other. I wanted to throw it across the room. I felt that the story just wasn't there and was being forced. I also didn't really like either character so it was hard to want them to be together. The best character in this book was Harriet and she was in, like, 4 scenes. It just wasn't good for what it promised and I'm disappointed.

i had such high hopes for this book based on 1.) how much i've loved this author duo's YA books in the past and 2.) how much i love a good second-chance romance, but ultimately i just could not bring myself to root for these characters. the writing felt a little self-indulgent at times, and the characters themselves just had no qualities that made me care about what happened to them. i actually put this book down about halfway through and returned to it a few weeks later in the hope that the plot would pick up and finally grab my interest, but unfortunately i just never was able to connect with these two and their romance.

I absolutely picked this up because of the beach read/ people we meet on vacation comparisons and all in all i was definitely let down!

I should know better than to go in with such high expectations, it honestly is likely why I didn’t end up loving this story as much as others, so take this review with a grain of salt, something that did work for me could be your next favorite book and I think that’s wonderful!

Some things I liked about this story:
-the writing is beautiful!
-the setting is great, I loved the beach house and the Florida atmosphere.
-the back and forth between “then and now”.
-the book within a book vibe.
-the characters chemistry. I could feel the pull, even if I was mad at them about it.

Some things I didn’t love:
-the characters. One was forgettable and the other felt spineless…
-the emotional affairs, both then and now. I’m not about that life, this was a big pass for me.
-their is a fine line between banter and sniping at one another. One I love to read about, one is exhausting to read about. This landed on the wrong side of that line for me.

Overall, a very middle lane read for me. It took me a long time to get through, but when I was reading it I was definitely engaged and interested.. even if it was to yell at the characters! 😂 I think this one just wasn’t for me, but I can absolutely see how it could be someone else’s cup of tea!

I honestly picked this up because the plot sounded vaguely reminiscent of Beach Read by Emily Henry (which I LOVED) but I was disappointed by the lack of moral compass by both characters. They were each in relationships but really walked the fine line of emotional cheating for me, which I wasn't into. Overall, it was an okay read and was enjoyable once we got the other relationships out of the way but it was hard to enjoy the first part of the book because of that element.

This novel was not exactly what I was expecting, but I did find it very enjoyable. I really enjoy enemies to lovers romance, but this wasn't truly that. This novel was much more literary than I was expecting at first. The relationship between the main characters was complex and nuanced. The way the authors brought up their past and how it's affecting their present was creative and keeps the reader engaged with their story--wondering when the big reveal about their past will happen. For a more quiet, thoughtful romance, this was thoroughly enjoyable.