A romance novel with much more depth than most. A great organic feeling dominates the story and the plot doesn't feel forced or contrived. (Perhaps because the authors went through some of it themselves???) It feels impossibly meta at points, with the authors putting on to the page feelings they are not allowed to feel through their characters. Having both a male and female perspective was refreshing, giving it a grounding and a more realistic feel than many contemporary romance novels. And the fact that the authors dedicate the book to each other makes me want to check out other books they have written and get a feel for their personal story.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced ARC.

The Roughest Draft started out so strong, but somewhere along the way it started to feel repetitive. The flashbacks and current timeline both take place at the same house in Florida, with Katrina and Nate writing their books in both timelines. There was also so much build up to their falling out that when it was finally revealed, it felt anticlimactic.

What I loved was that it’s written by two married authors, so every glimpse into the writing process felt so genuine. I loved reading about how Katrina and Nate had different writing styles and how they worked off of one another. The prose itself is beautiful and deeper than what I’ve come to expect from a contemporary romance.

4.5 stars rounded up!

This book is a love letter to writing and writers. The relationship both Katrina and Nathan have with writing was so interesting to read from! I immediately saw the reverence they had for their craft and it was just so fun to read from their perspectives.

I've read Emily and Austin's YA books since their first one came out and so, obviously, I was extremely excited to see their first dip into women's fiction. This book didn't let me down-- from the very first page I was grabbed by both of the main characters and found myself constantly thinking about how things would play out. I do think that by the 80% mark of the book things got a bit repetitive and some things could be trimmed down but the ending easily won me back over. I loved seeing the timeline of the relationship parallel different instances and how everything fell into place like a puzzle. It made the ending even more satisfying than seeing things play out linearly. I'm always excited to read a Wibbroka book and this continues to make me excited for what's to come!

Also, play illicit affairs by taylor swift when you read this and thank me later!

I was a little skeptical going into this book because I haven't been the biggest fan of this author duo's young adult books but I did want to give their first adult book a try and I'm so glad I did!
I think this book is perfect for fans of Emily Henry's writing. It focuses a lot on the romance but also has some heavier plot lines.
This book served a lot of angst, but also a great character and couple development, the main couple had a lot to talk about and confront and through the book they're able to do it, Kat finally faces what she's afraid of and Nathan stops hiding, they find the closure in their lives, and it all happened in dual povs and that's great because I love knowing what's in both their minds in every situation. The novel also served enemies to friends to lovers, a co-workers to lovers, and I think there's a bit of second chance romance trope in it which is probably the main reason why I enjoyed reading this so much.
Some points felt a bit repetitive throughout the book but I definitely liked it overall and would look into future adult novels by these authors.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Review posted on GoodReads (December 10, 2021)
Review linked.

5/5 stars!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for sending me an E-ARC of this book for an honest review.

I have loved Emily and Austin’s books for years, ever since their first book came out. That is why, when I heard that they were writing an ADULT romance, I was excited beyond belief.

First off, this cover is adorable, and going into this, I knew I was going to like it. However, I did not expect this book to rock my emotions and world as much as it did. I FELL IN LOVE with this book. Both Nathan and Katrina are such honest and real characters, and their struggles felt human and relatable. Their romance was perfectly beautiful.

As someone who loves to write, this book was such a beautiful journey of love, creativity, writing, and inspiration that perfectly expresses the ties between real life and fiction—while telling the story of two writers. The prose in this book was so beautiful and I found myself highlighting so many beautiful lines. I really cannot put into words the feelings I felt when I finished reading this story. I felt awe, wonder, and the feeling of understanding—because the connection and discussions around writing, fiction, love, and life were so beautifully real.

If you love writing, adult romance, and books that will pull at your heart strings then this is a book I wholeheartedly recommend! I cannot wait to read more adult romances from Emily and Austin!

Thanks for reading!
Caden

“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 manuscript into a book.”

What do you get when two co-writers (@wibbs_ink @autins_b I’m looking at you) write a fictional story about two-cowriters forced to sunny Florida to write their last book? An amazing story!! 💗💗

I loved this book!!

What I loved:
🌴The writing was SO good
🌴The process of Nathan and Katrina writing together - the banter, the fights, the swaping of pages
🌴Both of the main characters were likeable and relatable
🌴The past and present POV - we see how Katrina and Nathan first meet and become co-writers and then present day where they are forced to finish one more book to finalize their contract.
🌴This gave me a lot of Emily Henry PWMOV vibes

Highly recommend!

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was so incredibly excited to read Wibbroka’s first adult novel, after absolutely loving their YA titles, but The Roughest Draft unfortunately didn’t live up to my expectations. This novel felt more like general women’s fiction rather than a pure romance novel, which is what I think I was expecting. I was expecting a slowburn + forced proximity + tons of angst and tension in this book--which, don’t get me wrong, there were some moments like that but they were all lukewarm at best. Instead, Katrina and Nate’s relationship was vaguely portrayed throughout the novel and I had a hard time connecting with both of them or believing their feelings in the first place. The story is told in dual-POV and dual-timeline, which I think was the only thing I enjoyed. Otherwise it felt like their argument and years-long-fight was epically blown out of proportion. If you are someone who enjoys watching two people on their own journeys reflecting on “the one that got away” and reconnecting or books about authors, you might enjoy this one, but unfortunately, it wasn’t for me.

Listen I've read a few of Wibbroka's books now and I gotta say, this one was the most disappointing. Wibbroka usually does such great job with chemistry between the characters (imo of course), but Kat and Nate just had none of it. No matter how much they each talked about how much they loved each other, and how close they were. It was a lot of telling and almost no showing.

I think the Roughest Draft had a lot of potential, but it just didn't deliver on it.

This book is fabulous! I fell in love with absolutely everything in this book. The writing, the characters, the authors, themes... I was obsessed. I was invested. This book is everything. It's a beautiful love story. If you're a book lover, you'll love it. If you're a writer, you'll adore it! It's perfect for everyone. What I love most about it is that the MCs don't kid themselves. They are clearly in love, but they don't act as if they're not, they're clearly aware. They just have other shit to work through before they get there. They don't play dumb. It's a beautiful love story written by co-writers who actually fell in love and it shows through their writing. You can feel it with every single page.

A huge thank you to Berkley Pub for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5🌟 2🌶

I never knew I needed a story about co-authors working on a book and falling in love until I read this and I think it’s one of the best things I’ve read this year! The journey the couple had towards fixing themselves after a bad falling out added that angst and heartbreak I loved to balance out the story.

The fact that this was written by real life co-authors and couple made more excited about the genuine writing process and love story the couple in the book would be going through!

What I LOVED: The friends to lovers, almost second chance romance between the main characters was my favorite! My heart was breaking from all the missed opportunities, unresolved feelings and miscommunication but given that I LOVE ANGST, it was a fun rollercoaster of emotions for me 🙈

The alternating dual timeline made it much more exciting as the past chapters dealt with the feelings blooming between them as they were writing their first books until the moment they had their falling out. While the present chapters explored the aftermath three years after their major fight and they had to come together to work on a final book.

What I LIKED: The role of their written work in their love story was so unique as the authors unconsciously wrote their feelings through the characters and story they were writing. I liked that I was to experience their love story through the chapters they were working on and their time writing together but there is a time when you have to draw a line between fiction and reality and I liked how that was explored towards the end.

I also liked how I was able to relate to both Katrina ane Nathan through the dual POV with his difficulty expressing emotions in real life and her suffering from overwhelming anxiety.

What I DIDN’T ENJOY: Katrina’s annoying fiancé!!! The way he would constantly manipulate her was so frustrating.

Overall, I absolutely love how engaging the writing was and how fast the pacing was. I devoured this within a day and I’m tempted to read again 🙈

THIS BOOK IS PERFECT FOR: fans of Emily Henry! This book is like when Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation had a baby but with best friends who are co-authors. It’s the best thing ever if you’re looking for a unique love story that is high on angst and perfectly swoony! I’m excited to read more from this duo!

What a fun concept! I am loving the new trend of books set in publishing. This story has fantastic banter, chemistry and great plotting. I loved every minute!

This book was charming and compelling, I read it over the course of the weekend, and had a good time reading it!

The characters were interesting enough - although a bit hard to relate with, and in some cases, not fully developed.

I feel like Kat’s mental health issues, while no doubt intended to present as real obstacles & challenges felt almost skated over. We knew she was anxious & fearful about her publishing success to the point where she retired, but we don’t dig enough into this fear, and where it comes from enough for the reader to really connect with it or honestly even care about it. It felt almost like an afterthought, or an idea that once featured more heavily in the book, but context after context got edited out in favour of a smaller word count. All that being said - it was hard to feel like it was a strong enough “reason” or “excuse” for Katrina to hide behind.

I feel like I wouldn’t like Nathan if I met him in real life. Which is fine! He’s just a bit too pretentious & judgmental for me sometimes. I do enjoy his sense of humour though!

Chris was so obviously a Bad Guy ™️ that I felt almost let down by his character being exactly who I thought I would be. I genuinely couldn’t figure out what Kat ever saw in him - which is ironic, because their relationship suffered from the same fate the book they were writing was almost suffering from, in the sense that it was hard to tell that these characters ever loved each other. As such, the “conflict” felt lacklustre, and honestly I barely cared (and neither, it seemed did Katrina or Nathan).

Harriet was pretty much the Token Sassy Advice Giving Friend of Colour ™️ - just in a different font. This time, she stands up for herself! Kind of! Despite Harriet constantly iterating to either protagonist that she was more than just the person who helps the main characters realize stuff about themselves, & serve as 90% of the “diversity” in this book - she was still one dimensional. Couldn’t we have even gotten a morsel of plot about her book? Or maybe learn anything about her that wasn’t in relation to the main characters?

All of that aside, this was a fast and enjoyable read - perfect for vacations on the beach, Summer reading, or curling up with on the couch, with a blanket and a cup of cocoa.

Love, love, loved The Roughest Draft and the two authors had me wondering if they had been through something similar. Excellent read - especially for book lovers who love a little behind-the-scenes take.

This book was very readable but I just didn't find the characters or the premise particularly believable--like, I know it's written by a real life co-writing author couple, but I think it would have been easier to buy these characters as the kind of writers we're told they are if the actual writing of the book had been just a shade better or more literary. Rounded up to four stars anyway because it's 2021 and I think readers who like Emily Henry and Christina Lauren and are looking for a light read in that vein will enjoy it, though!

I just finished this book and my jaw is on the ground. This book. My goodness this book was beautifully real.

Imagine losing your best friend, your partner in crime, your co-writer, all because of one fight. One fight which led you two to not speak for four years straight...but you guys are coauthors and so under contract technically you need to write one more novel. So after four years of hating each others guts, you are both shoved into the same house where you will have to live in until you get this novel done. This is the same house that you got closer in, four years ago, when you guys went from being strangers to friends to best friends....to something forbidden....then abruptly to enemies. How are you two going to push aside your differences long enough to finish this book...????

yeah... as you can guess, this book HURT and I absolutely loved it :) I loved how transparent both characters were from the very beginning, you could see their flaws and while it made me hate them, I also loved it because I felt like they were two real people! And don't get me started on their bantering. OH MY GOD, have you ever read an academic rivals to lovers romance, where the two rivals are so equal in their skills. Where they love to push each other towards improvement ? THIS BOOK HAD THAT BUT THEY WERENT RIVALS, THEY WERE ON THE SAME SIDE. Katarina and Nathan complemented each other so well, they knew and understood the other so well. All they wanted to see was the other to blossom. The respect they held for each other was so beautiful.

Let me tell you though, it was painful to see them not together, I wanted to see both characters happy and not broken or lost. Their gradual progression and growth is what ultimately made me love and root for them. Their love beat all odds and I love that.

If you liked Beach Read by Emily Henry, definitely check this book out.

I really enjoyed this story, and I'm sad it's over! Which is crazy since I don't typically care for slow-burn books, but this one might've changed my mind.

Starting with the plot itself, I thought it was beautifully executed. Wibberley and Siegemund-Broka's writing style is amazing; I fell in love with it. They also did a phenomenal job of making the reader care for our main characters, Katrina and Nathan. I felt like I went on this journey of fear, growth, love, heartbreak, resentment, and acceptance right along with them. With that, I definitely got frustrated with both of them as if they were my real friends (shout out to Harriet b/c she is me and I am her!), but as an ode to Nathan and Katrina's ongoing debate, Fiction and real life often intertwine, lol.

I hate to compare books, but I genuinely think if you enjoyed both Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation, then you'll love this one. I think this book is going to be a hit across Bookstagram, BookTok, and social media as a whole and I can't wait to see the love it'll get!

Thank you, NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group, for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

full review posted to links after embargo.

I think this was a 3.5 or 3.75 star read that I'm rounding up because overall I did find it pretty enjoyable. Still, it wasn't a book I really felt I could lose myself in. I found the premise to be kind of self-insert (an author couple writing an author couple, regardless of how loudly the characters are shouting that they don't like each other), and the prose was pretty self-indulgent at points. Nathan in particular was a fairly unlikeable character for me: as much as he was respectful of his relationship with his (ex-)wife, he seemed like someone who would describe himself as a Nice Guy. He drives a Porsche, for God's sake. We get much more character development from Katrina.

The central conflict, the thing that broke them apart, is so hyped up and can only be one thing, and it falls kind of flat on delivery. I also think that Katrina's experiences with depression and anxiety, as well as her fear of failure, are backgrounded until they're useful tools. They don't come out of nowhere, but it's clear that they're plot devices rather than something the character experiences.

This makes it sound like I didn't enjoy the book. I did! I like books about writing, there were moments of truly gorgeous prose, the tension was well-paced, and I really enjoyed seeing Katrina come into her own. I just wanted more nuance.

Oh this was lovely.

So, it's rare that I venture into adult contemporary land, especially these days when I find anything real-world quite constraining and stress-inducing. But alas, the description caught me, and I couldn't let go. A book about two writers and their ensuing romance? Old grudges and hurt feelings? Sign me up.

And boy did it deliver. As a writer myself, I fell first for the prose. It's such a beautiful book, and as captivated as I was by the story, I found myself highlighting and appreciating line after line. Katrina and Nathan's voice are so distinct and clear they might as well be loud as church bells. What's better is how different they were, which is a major pet peeve of mine in dual POV books.

I'm not going to rehash the plot here, but suffice it to say you probably won't be able to stop reading until say, 70%. We're thrown head first into Nathan and Katrina's tense reunion without knowing what split them apart in the first place. It was reminiscent of one of my other favorite books (The People We Meet On Vacation) in the best of ways, but unfortunately that means you're desperate to pick up the pieces of whatever it was they were from before. And it's not for the faint of heart. It raises so many questions about Nathan's marriage, Katrina's anger, and I feel like it delivers pretty well on most of that when you find the truth. I will say, though, I feel like the breaking moment between them could have been more ... something. Earth shattering, perhaps? I suppose I was bracing for a knock-down fight after remembering Katrina's anger in the beginning, but the moment was pretty fleeting. That might be my only critique, which really isn't a critique because it was more based on my own expectations. I would have liked a bit more tension past the 75% mark as well, but hey, that's entirely because I am a glutton for punishment and I like my sweets sour. I think most people will find the resolution, long as it is, wonderfully satisfying.

A huge thanks to Berkley for letting me read! I haven't read something this fast in ages.

Thank you NetGalley and PRH International for an eARC!

This book is written by two authors about two authors who are writing about a couple and everyone is in love.

This book was not for me at all. The slow burn and suspenseful romance got on my nerves. I skimmed most of the pages.

Reading the acknowledgement made me give it two stars when I found out it's inspired by the writers' personal story. The idea seems very sweet to me, of two co-authors falling in love.

I compulsively read this book in two sittings. This is the story of a literary duo who became famous writing the next best novel and they stopped working. Thanks to their publisher they are forced to write another book and revisit the scene of how their relationship broke apart. This book reminded me of People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read. This book is a must-read.