On the fence with this one and I think it's because of a preconceived notion of how the book would feel reading it based on the cover. I'm a cover person and looking at it I thought it would be more like Beach Read or have a more chic lit-y feel- but it was heavier than that. Wish covers relected the feel of the book more accurately.

The Roughest Draft, by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund Broka, is an achingly beautiful slow burn romance between two writing partners. This book is made even sweeter because the authors of this book are married.

The novel centers around Katrina (Kat) and Nathan who are best-selling writing partners and have long buried feelings for each other. They often disguise their strong feelings within their writing.

The book’s chapters alternate between Kat’s and Nathan’s POVs as well jump between the present and several years earlier when an event caused them not to speak to each other for four years. The story finds them in the present day trying to untangle their feelings and past hurts while writing their much-anticipated sophomore novel.

If you’ve always been curious about the life of a writer, this is a great book for you. It provides an intimate peek into how writers perform their craft. It’s a pleasure to read a book about the writing process that is also very well-written (which seems only fitting). Even though I found the book to drag a little in the middle, I kept reading because I was so invested in the characters’ happiness and thoroughly appreciated the authors’ beautiful and profound writing.

Big thanks to Berkley Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Reminiscent of Beach Read by Emily Henry, The Roughest Draft is going to be a must read and recommend for me. The chemistry was everything and I immediately went back to read these two authors backlog!

a good book, but i didn’t gel with it — it was a tad literary for me. the burn was also i think a lil too slow for my taste as well. anyways, i liked the history the characters had and how it contributed to their present story.

#netgalley

Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen were publishing's up-and-coming dream team… until their writing partnership imploded pre-publication and neither would divulge why. Four years later, the resulting book is still a best-selling success, and they're finally tasked with finishing out their contract. Retreating to Florida to write means rehashing the past, and the two must figure out whose love story they're actually crafting: their characters or their own. Told in dual perspective, The Roughest Draft is the first adult romance from real-life couple Wibberley and Siegemund-Broka. Reading a book featuring two writers writing a romance novel from two writers who write romance novels was a bit heavy-handed, but fans of #Wibbroka’s young adult novels will still find all the feels in Nathan and Katrina's developing relationship. For fans of Emily Henry's Beach Read, Minnie Drake’s Star-Crossed, and Christina Lauren’s Twice in a Blue Moon.

Co-writers get a second chance at love while coerced into finishing out their contract with their publisher. It took a few chapters to really connect and figure out why they hadn’t spoke in 4 years. In my opinion, Kat’s reasons for giving up her soul mate was a bit weak and foolish. There could have been a resolution much sooner if the two main characters would have sat down and actually had a discussion. Their mutual friend Harriett was the only person that seems to understand this. Overall, a bit slow but I held out for the happy ending.

The Roughest Draft stars Katrina and Nathan, previously cowriters of a bestseller, now enemies for reasons not known to the public. They're forced to reunite one more time to cowrite another book, a romance of all genres, in a tiny Florida town, trying not to kill each other.

This is a book about writing a book, but still felt romantic and heartfelt. I absolutely loved the premise (big fan of Emily Henry novels) and they used the enemies-to-lovers trope really well. Unresolved issues, characters evolving, and confrontation? Yes please.

this book was exactly what I needed to get out of my reading slump! with two perspectives, I got a feel of the main characters and their issues. it was cute and fun and I can't wait till I get to read a physical copy

The Roughest Draft follows Katrina and Nathan, two former co-authors that are reuniting to write another book together after years of not speaking to each other. I absolutely loved the premise of this book, the setting, and the enemies to lovers trope. It was really well written and I loved the way that Katrina and Nathan were writing expressing their feelings through the characters they were writing. However, I struggled to connect with both main characters, and I didn’t really see a romantic connection between them. I felt like I didn't know very much about the characters other than that they were authors. This book is very similar to both Beach Read and People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry, so if you love those books, you will probably enjoy this one too.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC!

I requested this ARC because the premise reminded me of People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. PWMOV is definitely not my favourite of Emily's novels but I did really like it. To put it simply, the Roughest Draft is a book about writing a book. I found it dragged a bit in the beginning but definitely sped up after the first third. I just loved the characters--everything felt raw and real. This is one of my favourite books this year.

Wow! I TRULY LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!

The blasting chemistry between Katrina and Nathan activated the smoke alarm at my house!
The way they pour their souls on the pages, sharing their intimate feelings by hiding behind the dialogues of fictional characters, the powerful and purely intense attraction they feel for each other made me hyperventilate and sigh for thousand times!

This book is a composition the author played by the strings of our emotional cords to present us the sweetest harmony!

At some moments I just only want to scream at Katrina and Nathan stop hiding behind the secure walls to protect their hearts and run to each other!

Is it too early to say this already became my favorite romance book of 2022 ? Okay, I’m sure it will be at my top 5 best romance books list!

Okay, let’s give a quick recap of the plot:
Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen met 6 years ago at the upstate New York’s writer workshop. Their ideas, their perspectives, their visions fit with each other! They are just match made writing duo of heaven. Their debut novel Connecting Flights worked just fine. Their friendship blossomed. There was a slightest attraction but Katrina knows her limits so well: Nathan was married.

But when they created their masterpiece which brought them more attention and appraisal they expected, something happened between them : they finished the book but they didn’t see each other’s faces : they didn’t even attend the book promotion tours together and the harsh words Nathan told about Katrina at his interview with Times burned all the bridges! Their partnership, friendship and whatever they have is permanently over!

Or this is what they thought!

Because four years later, Nathan’s solo career isn’t going so great. His last book ideas are rejected by the publisher. They want another Freeling- Van Huysen book!

Katrina is also retired, moving to LA, engaged with her agent Chris, still trying to forget the disaster she’s gotten through after four years later. But when her fiancée admits they’re financially struggling and he forces her to write another book with Nathan if she still wants to marry with him. I was expecting Katrina told him f*ck off and gave him his ring, enjoying her retirement. But she didn’t. There are so many reasons she accepted to write with Nathan and you have to read the entire book vividly telling us their collapsing past and present stories!

They return back to Florida house where they wrote their best selling book: their working schedule is so strict! They have to finish an emotional story about a couple’s divorce. But when they barely look each other, walking on eggshells, can they achieve to co-write an intense, genuine, heartbreaking story together?

And could they confront their own resentments, the words they didn’t say and bottle inside, unresolved issues? Could they also face their own heartbreaking, unfinished story?

This is truly sentimental, extremely heartfelt, incredibly addictive story of two! I loved each chapter, i loved to read about their pasts, I loved to see the characters’ evolving!

Oh boy… ( sniffing sound) My emotions are everywhere… I barely click the words to finish this review… this is the most incredible thing I’ve read lately earns more than my five stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This was such a fun read - I loved the format (two perspectives and backwards and present) - recommend!

This book is one of those rare treasures that skillfully hits all the emotions and feels so real it's hard to believe it's fiction.
Katrina and Nathan have a very messy, and very real, relationship. They hurt each other, and other people. They make stupid, agonizing mistakes. They fail to communicate when they have every opportunity to speak clearly to one another. They hem themselves into the invisible walls they erect for themselves. And yet, the reader will cheer with both of them to grow, change, and overcome all these imperfect tendencies and do the right thing.
The authors of this book have an uncanny insight into the inner workings of humanity. Sometimes, authors write flawed characters and you just want to throw the book across the room because you're so frustrated with their actions. In this case, the characters make some painful choices, but the way they're written, the reader understands 100% why they do. That takes amazing talent.
This is a deeply insightful and beautifully written book. It's a special experience to read a book like this. I absolutely loved it.

This book is so beautifully written, it’s no wonder I couldn’t stop thinking about it! I hadn’t even noticed that it was written by a couple until the ending when I read the “About The Author” but that makes it all the more genuine. Between the secret messages hidden in Kat and Nathan’s writing, the turmoil that still continues to plague both of their thoughts, and the stunning chemistry that sparks between the two of them, I adored this book! This being only the second romance I’ve read, this is perfect for any lover of a suspenseful and ever changing relationship.
Highly recommend and I can’t wait to be able to tell people to pick it up!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for this eARC!

This was not for me, especially the back half. It felt a little overwrought which grated more and more as the book went on.

However, there were some interesting ideas here about being a writer, so it might be the right book for someone else!

Mostly, it made me want to re-read <i>Beach Read</i>

While I understand why Nathan and Katrina wrote literary fiction (a fake genre), I think I would have enjoyed this book that much more if they wrote a different genre. That said, I'm excited to read Wibbroka's next adult novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
The YEARNING this book provided was everything to me. There's something special about two characters who are pining for each other and they don't realize the other feels the same way (it's my favorite trope). I loved that the main characters were co-authors and this was written by married co-authors. As someone who writes (but is in no means a writer), there is very much truth in the fact that fiction is reality and reality is fiction. You do pour yourself into writing even when you don't realize you're doing it. These characters were fleshed out, raw, and extremely relatable. Their love story is one I can only hope to feel a fraction of in my story. I cannot wait for this title to come out so I can force everyone I know to read it.

Katrina and Nathan met after college at a writer's workshop. They immediately became friends and decided to write a book together. Their two books became bestsellers and they had a contract to write one more book together but their partnership suddenly ends and they haven't spoken in three years. Due to extenuating circumstances, they come together to write another book together. Stuck in a house together in Florida, their interactions are awkward and I kept wanting to know what pushed them apart. I liked reading about the writing process.

The Roughest Draft is a book about writing a book. If that premise sounds interesting to you-- an up-close, intense look at the work of fiction by a writing team in a house together all day and night-- then this is a 4-Star story. If you think that a book about writing a book sounds like it's a little short on action and plot, then skip this title because not much happens except an emotional arc. The Roughest Draft reads almost like a play, with all the action set in a single location and centered on the two main characters, first at odds and then very much not at odds, Side characters come and go to a single location and backstory is filtered throughout, but for the most part the reader is treated to the emotional journey of two high profile writers trying to recreate the magic of their boffo bestseller after a major falling out. Well-written.

If you're a fan of Emily Henry, you need to read this! Katrina and Nathan used to be in a relationship but things ended on bad terms. The two of them are forced to work together on a new book. Emily and Austin are married in real life. I love that they're writing about characters who write too.I've read What's Not to Love and adored this one too.