Romance screenwriter Nora may have met her match when movie star Leo begins shooting scenes on her property and then asks to stay around a while.

I loved this one. Leo and Nora felt relatable despite the former being a hugely popular actor. None of the tropes came across as tedious. I was very invested in the will they/won't they of it all and was rooting for them to make it as a couple. I had very clear pictures of who would play these characters in a movie. Nora's kids were also great.

Nora Goes Off Script blew up in the @pelotonmomsbookclub over the summer and we loved chatting with Annabel about it. Already can't wait to read whatever she writes next.

Rating 4 stars

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of Nora Goes Off Script for review purposes! All opinions are my own.

Loved this cute story! Loved the characters and story. Twists were appreciated too! Thanks to NetGalley, and the publisher fir thus ARC

Thanks for the gifted book, @putnambooks! I was sent this book a couple months ago and life got in the way and I FINALLY was able to pick this delight up.

This book was lovely. I adored it. But y’all!!!! I am so disappointed I didn’t read it sooner. SO enjoyable. This might be late, but thank you so much, Putnam! I loved it.

You know how much I love the single dad trope, but I’m not huge on the single mom (double standard… 😬) this book succeeded in showing me that I love both! Nora is a divorced, single mom, who is basically a screen writer for hallmark (never truly mentioned hallmark, but same thing) one of her scripts is picked up by big Hollywood and they want to film at her home. That’s where she meets Leo, the most popular Hollywood actor and… they don’t hit it off. But if you think I’m spoiling anymore for you, no way!

Look. I’m a huge sucker for Hollywood meets single parent trope. It’s just perfection. Annabel Monaghan wrote a wonderful story that gave me all the feels and I truly enjoyed every moment of it.

Content warning: this is not a sweet romance. Open door and some language.

This just was not for me. I can appreciate that it’s well written but the story itself just did not compel me like I anticipated it would.

Thanks @prhinternational for this ARC!

Depois de ver seu casamento acabar, Nora Hamilton transforma toda sua dor em um roteiro e este acaba sendo escolhido para virar filme.

As gravações ocorrem na sua própria casa e o galã Leo Vance é escolhido para ser o seu ex-marido. Uma semana após o término das gravações, Nora encontra o ator de volta à sua porta pedindo para que o deixe ficar por mais alguns dias hospedado em sua casa.

Nora Goes Off Script tinha muito potencial para ser uma boa leitura pra mim, mas dessa vez a narração junto do audiobook tornou a experiência não muito prazerosa.

Já começamos com o fato que muita coisa do livro é narrado e não mostrado e isso quebra demais o ritmo da história. Muito da rotina e acontecimento da vida de Nora é apenas citado e pro desenvolvimento do romance com Leo, eu senti que pesou muito, já que eu não conseguia sentir muita verdade entre eles. Outro ponto é justamente a passagem de tempo na história, que não é bem sinalizada e me deixou bem perdida em diversos momentos.

Sobre os personagens, eu gostei bastante de Nora. Sendo alguém saindo de um péssimo relacionamento com dois filhos para cuidar, ela até que estava sustentando bem a relação, mas também se permitia seus momentos de fraqueza. Já Leo, pela narração ser apenas de Nora e o comentado no parágrafo anterior, eu não tenho muita opinião formada porque realmente eu não consegui me conectar com ele.

Apesar dos pesares, houve uma reviravolta que eu nunca nem em mil e um anos iria imaginar chegando e me deixou de queixo caído e foi o que fez a história ganhar mais uma estrelinha na sua nota final.

Nora has a quiet comfortable life, and then everything changes. SHe can't quite trust her new happiness, and watching her fall in love and then deal with all the complications was both fun and heart wrenching, alternately. Great book.

I loved reading this book and am disappointed it ended. I want Nora to be my best friend and be able to watch Arthur and Bernadette grow up. Nora was a great narrator and told a wonderful story that made me feel all the emotions. I wish I could give this rating than 5 stars!

Confesso que esse eu li pela capa!
Nora se separou de seu marido Ben há um ano. Para exorcizar de vez seu casamento ela, que é roteirista, acabou escrevendo um filme a partir dessa experiência. E o script foi um sucesso e logo foi vendido para um estúdio. A equipe de filmagens vai então gravar em sua propriedade, que tem mais de 100 anos e é linda. Leo Vance, um dos atores mais bonitos de Holywood, é escalado para o papel de Ben e Nora não consegue ver como isso poderia funcionar. Na manhã depois do fim das filmagens Nora encontra Leo em sua porta com uma garrafa de tequila pela metade e uma proposta, ele gostaria de ficar por uma semana. Mas uma semana pode mudar tudo na vida de Nora e dos filhos.

Esse foi meu primeiro contato com a escrita da autora e eu fiquei tão vidrada que fui dormir as três da manhã para finalizar o livro. Eu simplesmente não conseguia parar de pensar nele.
Nora teve uma jornada muito bonita. Seu ex marido era um imprestável e ela aprende a amar novamente nos braços de Leo e quando as coisas parecem não dar certo ela não se deixa abater, mas sofre e segue a vida.

Leo, por sua vez, é aquele moreno com passado sombrio. Ele também tem suas questões, mas encontra em Nora e sua família o que sempre procurou, um senso de pertencimento.

Confesso que os momentos que eles ficaram separados foi o que me deixou mais vidrada no livro. Aquela sensação de " não é possível" me deixou vidrada. Mas o final feliz veio.



Enfim, foi uma ótima experiência e eu recomendo.

At the beginning, I didn’t think I would ever like Leo Vance. As the story progressed I was swayed a little, then completely. Then, I didn’t think I would ever be able to forgive him. I didn’t think there was anything he could say, or anything that could be done to convince me he was meant for Nora in the end. I was proved wrong repeatedly.

Nora Hamilton’s story of accidentally finding love post-divorce, with one of the most popular movie stars on the planet, had the ability to be one of the cheesiest tropiest rom-coms out there, but it wasn’t. It told a genuine heart-felt story of the hurt from her first marriage, and showed the life of someone who turned her whole life around for the sake of herself and her adoring children.

I truly enjoyed this read, and getting to know Nora and her family, both past and present.

A fresh take on the genre, with engaging characters and several nice twists. I love when the children of a protagonist are more than window dressing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy!

In full transparency, I did not expect to love this book as much as I did, definitely did not think I would leave 5 stars. I thought it was going to be an easy, fun, light rom-com (which it was), but was not expecting some of the depth and attachment I felt to the characters when it was over. I had a slight book hangover after this one.

Newly single mom Nora, is just trying to make ends meet. As a screen writer for quickly produced romance movies (think a certain always happy ending movie channel).. Nora knows romance. But what she doesn’t know is that writing a script about her own life garners WAY more interest than those romance scripts. When Hollywood comes knocking, Nora answers as the money could get her family in a comfortable place. But with Hollywood comes a handsome (once sexiest man alive) actor who quickly integrates himself into her and her kids lives. And then, just as quickly, disappears from their lives. I had so much fun following Nora as she dealt with loss, motherhood, heartbreak and eventually her own happy ending!

If you are iffy about this book at first like I was.. JUST READ IT. It is NOT just another rom-com.

Nora Goes Off Script was a fun, light read that surprised me by evoking a few tears, a result of having truth and substance to back up its sweet story, not to mention creating a family that I cared about. I love when a romance novel pokes fun at itself, calling attention to the genre's often formulaic plots full of tropes. Nora writes scripts for The Romance Channel and refers to the writing process as more or less Mad Libs (insert gender, location, career, community activity, get a story). This meta aspect was enjoyable. While I liked the book, it took me weeks to get through because I thought it was good but not gripping. Perhaps the biggest thing working against it was merely that it reminded me of a mashup of two other summer blockbuster romcoms that I recently read: The Bodyguard with its celebrity romance and Book Lovers with its "I'm in the industry so I know the romance rules and my life isn't a scripted rom-com/rom-dram". I also didn't fully buy the romance between Nora and Leo. It felt like there was zero flirting or banter or any signs of interest before suddenly they were sleeping together, then saying I love you. I also thought Leo's "proposal" was actually rude... ask the girl, don't tell her and assume she'll say yes. It gave me a sour taste. Still, I enjoyed finding out the reason behind their breakup/ghosting situation, Nora's character and her children, and what the book had to say about the fear of abandonment and its impact on future relationships. It's a book I'd recommend as an easy, feel good read but I wouldn't give the impression that it's going to become a new favorite.

I loved this book and have enjoyed sharing it with friends. It gave me the warm fuzzies with a full emotional experience- laughter, connection, hope, tears, resilience, strength, perseverance, healing, all circling back around to hope and a feel good ending.

I listened to the audiobook. The narrator was perfect. She captured the characters and kept me listening.

This is more about Nora's own journey then it is about the romance, and, the romance was fun. Nora wrote a book that's being adapted into a movie. They use part of her property to film the movie and the leading man makes himself at home at Nora's house and makes a deal to stay a little longer. And there were real life relatable complications. No spoilers here.

Read this for:
-Celebrity Romance
-Small town setting with great side characters
-Single parenting
-A sweet romance with a main character learning her own strength and resilience

Again, I loved it -and will continue to share it out! If you haven't read it, consider picking it up!

Thanks to the publisher for a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! It reminded me a lot of A Summer to Remember, for some reason. I really liked the element of a famous person/actor falling for someone in their town and getting along in a “regular” setting.

This book was sweet, it was a quick read, and it was very charming!

An incredible story of finding love after life has seemingly already begun for a screenwriter and a famous actor. Nora and Leo are incredibly compelling characters with deep and painful history they have to heal from before they can grow together. Their chemistry is amazing and the abundance of small and tender moments between them made the story touching and adorable. Loved it!

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the author's next work. The main character was sympathetic and funny and the setting was lovely. I do not typically enjoy relationships or breakups that hinge on a misunderstanding, so that part felt a little bit disappointing as I wished the characters would just speak to one another and resolve things. However, it was well written and fun and a perfect vacation read.

This book was an adorable famous person/normal person romance with a likable main character and a cute surrounding family. While the major miscommunication between the main characters seemed frustrating, as they typically do, it was still believable and easy to overall overcome. I wished the famous person character would have been fleshed out more so that the reader understood his motives and actions better, but he remained likable throughout the book. Overall, I found the main character very enjoyable and a great mother, which made me root for her throughout the book!

This was a simple and refreshing release from the heavy day-to-day real life. Even though it dealt with some heavy topics, the end left me smiling and wanting to hug the book! It's the perfect rom-com and fans of Emily Henry will love this one as well!

The plot of this book sounded so interesting to me -- a romance TV writer (aka Hallmark Movies) falls for the star of her first Hollywood film, who just so happens to play her disgusting ex-husband. It was too cute and too good for me to not be obsessed with.

This was a beautiful, confusing, slightly chaotic romance that was fast-paced; we jumped right into the story with Nora and her family and it felt like you were missing something, that's how good the writing was. I love a book like that, where there is not a lot of prep and story setup and you just dive into the main plot points.

The writing and story flowed from the very beginning and you immediately had a wonderful understanding of who Nora was; she was a great narrator and you felt her personality come off the page-- strong but soft, passionate, and level-headed... it was really nice to be inside her mind.

Of course, Nora and Leo fall for each other and then you are hit with a huge plot twist that knocked me off my feet. I was so lost, confused, sad, and angry but toward the end everything made sense. This was an in-the-clouds romance, it almost read like fanfiction which I'm fine with.

Nothing about this book was realistic, or maybe it is in some world, but it made me feel all soft and warm inside. It was romantic and out there but somehow also deep - Nora was going through a lot, as were her children, and she fought for them to have a good, normal life while also trying to go after her dreams and follow her heart in Leo.

It was a really wonderful, quick read that made me incredibly happy as well as made me cry! If you need something light, fast, and adorable I cannot recommend Nora Goes Off Script enough!

I've read this book before the release and I've found it really interesting and sweet. It was like I read a Hallmark movie with famous actor, second chance and small town romance tropes. The MC is Nora who is a screenwriter, she writes for TLC and her main genre is romance. One of her scripts become a movie and a famous actor stays with her and her kids after filming. But this book is not just about a contemporary fiction. It's about true love.

I loved reading Nora Goes Off Script, and not only because it was short and easy to move with, but also because the author’s voice was strong and she wasn’t afraid to show true feelings, doubts and promises. The characters, the plot and the whole story are very lovable. Not only will Nora’s kids rob your heart, but also Leo, who despites being famous, hasn't think highly of himself.

I rarely read about small town romances, but at the same time I really fell in love with Nora Goes Off Script. It was fast-paced, but it did not despise the past or the consequences of the decisions, it fully displayed them. Nora questioned herself not just once, she was distrustful but she had a reason. She had a marriage behind her back, their kids and the life she had to manage after Ben's leaving.

Leo, who wants to experience real life, has a huge role to change something in Nora, our narrative. Laurel Ridge became not only Leo’s refuge, but mine as well. Nora Goes Off Script is a story where you do have a second chance and no matter who you are, you can be famous, you can be a simple screenwriter, love is waiting for you. It made me feel loved and I can't thanks enough for the author to write Nora's story.