On The Same Page by Penelope Janu

This is a tough one to rate. I was really excited by the premise but I didn’t enjoy the execution as much as I hoped I would.

I really enjoyed Miles’ inner monologue, her reasons for not wanting to reveal her true identity and how she researched and wrote her books. Anytime a book includes some behind the scenes of the publishing world, I really enjoy it. I also liked how the author stands up for romance readers and writers in the story.

The rest of it was a bit of a mess, honestly. The writing was choppy and there were times when I couldn’t figure out what was going on. The two main characters had barely interacted before they suddenly started making out, which was jarring and almost uncomfortable. Miles' behavior was also very frustrating. I found her to be very unlikable and hard to relate to.

I really wanted to like this, but it was a miss for me. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Escape Publishing for the advanced copy to read and review.

Steam Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (very descriptive sex scenes)
Trigger Warning: panic attacks, cheating, dementia

Miles Franklin has a secret. She's been writing historical romance novels under the name Emma Browning for years- something she can't afford to have revealed. When Emma's receives a prestigious literary award, Miles must work with Lars Kristensen to plan speaking engagements and publicity material to finally reveal Emma's identity. As Miles continually tries to avoid sharing the truth about Emma, she and Lars find themselves engaged in a tension filled battle of wills that will ultimately ruin one or both of their careers.

This book was a really good example of enemies to lovers. I'm not talking about one person hating the other over some immature disagreement and then getting over it within the first five chapters. Miles and Lars had actual, valid reasons for disliking each other and spent the first half of the book arguing until they finally made out and addressed the underlying sexual tension between them. And even then, Miles continued to hate Lars and fight him as he tried to expose her as the author behind Emma Browning's novels. As much as I loved this true portrayal of enemies to lovers, I found myself getting frustrated with Miles near the end because she was pushing away the protective and passionate man who was overwhelmingly attracted to her. I really struggled with how to rate this book because of Miles, but in the end I felt like it still deserved four stars despite the issues I had with her. One of the things I loved most was the snippets from Emma's novels that were interspersed throughout this book. I kind of wish they were real novels I could read- especially the story of Rupert and Evangeline. I was also amused by Lars unintentionally becoming the body model for Rupert's character and Miles taking pole dancing classes as part of her book research. It especially touched my heart when Miles took some of her classmates under her wing to get them out of bad life situations. All the positive moments in this book helped me to look past Miles's faults and appreciate the story as a whole.

Thank you to NetGalley and Escape Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Escape Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

2.75⭐️
I’m going to start off by saying I was very excited by the premise, of a young lawyer who anonymously writes historical romance novels. Unfortunately, I was let down because the plot did not pull through and I did not enjoy the main character or her love interest. It felt as though the plot had potential, but lacked. The MC and LI had multiple interactions but it felt as though was based on their sexual, angry tension and lacked emotional depth and romantic substance. I also REALLY disliked how whenever Lars got upset with Miles there was name calling.

Additionally, something I noticed and did not like was the random usage of weight in conversations. I noted multiple times where there were random comments about gaining weight. I tried to ignore it at first thinking it was going to go somewhere bigger, but by 85% it just seemed as though they were filler comments.

I did give this book 2.75 ⭐️ because there was something I really enjoyed. While I was not a fan of the characters or the romance, I liked reading parts of Miles inner monologue where she talked about the books she wrote from the research she did, the way she connected them back to herself, and planning future scenes and novels. For me, the small snippets of her romance novels was the most interesting part and, honestly, what I stayed for. Personally, I felt as though being introduced to the complexities of her book characters added some depth to her character: how she perceives herself, how she feels, and how others perceive her.

3.5🌟 this was a fresh take on a contemporary romance novel! taking elements from historical romances and bringing them into modern day was super interesting and fun to read. I was also happy to see the discussion surrounding readers of romance be taken on within the novel, as this is something romance readers continually face. the side characters were fully fleshed out and I enjoyed how they were utilized throughout the story.

however, the writing in the beginning was a little choppy for me & I found myself being a little confused at what was going on at times. I also wish Miles hadn't let her parents walk all over her for the whole novel. it didn't seem consistent with what we knew about her character.

*thank you netgalley & escape publishing for the eARC!

enjoyed this story! It was a fun, quick read. If you're a fan of rom-coms please read this. It was a bit slow at first but as soon as I progressed, it was good!

2.5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Escape Publishing for providing me with an ARC.

The book started off strong and kinda went downhill from there. At about 50% in, I kept asking myself when the main characters were finally going to actually interact, but then they just started making out without ever having had a conversation. Seemed weird for them specifically.

And then all this talk about how Emma writes incredible sex scenes and then there was…none? Huh.

I wish I would have liked it more than I ended up doing. I’m sorry, but it’s a meh for me.

I wanted to love this book. I really would have loved this book….if not for how much I disliked Miles. I had sympathy for her situation with her parents and her mental health, but whenever presented with the opportunity to tell the truth or just act like an adult and treat others respectfully, she never did. I found myself actually feeling anger at the way Miles would lie or avoid telling the truth to everyone she cared about. Her persistence in making everyone’s lives a living hell was so annoying and dishonorable. Additionally, despite being a lawyer, Miles is as unprofessional as they get. I literally could not stand to read about her business practices, and there were no scenes or glimpses to indicate that she was actually a capable professional. Due to my overall dislike of Emma, I probably wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.

However, it would be remiss of my to leave out that I enjoyed the story’s premise. My favorite thing about the book was the humor. There were multiple scenes that had me burst out laughing because of how hilariously unique they were.

I literally finished reading the last page of On The Same Page twenty minutes ago, but I have to write this review immediately, so it’ll be able to deliver the euphoria and joy I feel right now to do this book justice.

To put this review in a nutshell: I love every single page of this wholesome, fantastic romance. The idea to write a book about writing one may not be entirely new, but the execution was exceptional and unique. I mean, a story revolving around literature and publishing, how much better can it get?

Penelope Janu uses snippets of the heroines novel to give an insight into her soul and personality, which makes her strong and independent on one hand and very vulnerable on the other. It reflects the double life of the heroine perfectly, being a lawyer during the day and an author at night. Her characters give her strength and she uses them as an outlet without exposing herself.

I loved the references to famous literature and the various quotes show the authors’ passion for books, like her personal love letter to literature.

Have you ever been frowned upon because you enjoy reading romance? This book deals with these preconceptions and the heroine fights passionately like a lioness against stereotypes and not being taken seriously. She is of the strong belief that romance should be a safe space and uplifting and I love that approach.

I’m so sad that this story is over and I can’t read it again for the first time. So in the meantime, I have to dive into Penelope Janu’s backlist and enjoy her other books.

This book was so rushed. Scenes ended mid conversation. The writing of it was actually pretty good, the dialogue was fun, but the structure of the story was all over the place. I struggled to understand why I should care what Miles was doing. Simply being an award-winning author isn’t really a captivating plot point on its own. I’d say the only reason why I had any interest in this book was because it’s set in the city I live in. Not just the city, but in suburbs I visit regularly in my own real life. Also, it’s about the story of an author and I’m an aspiring author myself. The ebook I read wasn’t formatted at all but since this is an ARC, I presume that’ll be remedied for the copies that are sold. It made it extra difficult to read though (the dialogue especially). I liked Janu’s other book—Up On Horseshoe Hill—but I’m sorry, I DNF On the Same Page at 22%.

I really loved how the author mirrored Emma’s books and Miles’ life. Particularly, I enjoyed the structuring of the book. My favorite part of the entire novel was Miles’ defense of romance books. I felt a huge part of my inner monologue vocalised in that moment. Specifically, I loved how the author pointed out how the continuous ridicule of romance novels is directly linked to the fact that the audience is mainly women.

While I thought Lars and Emma’s relationship felt a bit rushed/unsubstantiated, I generally enjoyed it. I did not enjoy, however, the repeated fatphobic comments made throughout the book at the expense of Miles. I found it extremely bothersome that they were included as if they were like saying “the sky is blue” or any other “normal/factual” statement.

As a law student, I appreciated a lot of the legal analogies. I also loved seeing Miles with Pippy and Chrystal. I felt like we saw a lot of her character in those moments.

I'm so upset that I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. It's not a bad novel by any means, but it just felt really scattered. Lars and Miles had chemistry, but didn't really seem to have much beyond that for almost the entirety of the book. I found it a little hard to keep up with all the side characters, most of which I found to be a little annoying. I always love bookish books, I just wish that this one would've hit the mark for me.

On the Same Page is the story of lawyer Miles Franklin who has a secret she is desperate to keep. She writes historical romance novels. Being the only child of two literary snob parents doesn't help her situation. To complicate matters further, her pen name Emma Browning is submitted for consideration of a prestigious literary award, which she, to her surprise, wins. Now everyone is wondering, who is Emma Browning?

This is not an ideal situation for socially anxious Miles, whose parents already disparage her chosen career, and the idea of romance novels.

On this premise alone, I dived into this book. I love a good secretly-an-author story. There were some things I liked about this book, and some things I didn't like as much.

Jack, Miles' best friend, was one of the highlights of this book for me. We all need a Jack in our lives. The other supporting characters all had distinct personalities, which really added to the story. And it was refreshing to see a romance set elsewhere (this one is set in Australia).

An on the subject of Miles' social anxiety, I appreciated how that was dealt in this book. It's easy to say that communication could have solved the problems Miles faced, but the thing about anxiety is that it's not easy to deal with, and it's frustrating to have, and to see other people just not getting it. If you have anxiety, this book will resonate with you.

Now, for the parts I didn't like as much, that would be the love interest, and some of the writing. I just think that the love story needed a bit more development so the readers could actually see some growth in the relationship. As for the writing, I think it was evident that some bits of the story were rewritten. I felt a little disconnect in some passages at times.

But overall, I would still recommend this book.

I give this 3.75 stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Escape Publishing for this e-arc!

Reviewed for NetGalley:

I tried to like this book, but I just really couldn’t get into it. The characters did not much of anything for me and I didn’t see the Sally Thorne (whom I love) comparison.

Miles is the daughter of two literary heavyweights who are unabashed snobs about romance novels - which happen to be her favourite and also what she writes under a pseudonym while juggling her day job as a lawyer. However, her carefully-constructed secret identity comes under threat when her well-meaning assistant enters her for a major literary prize, with all sorts of unwanted complications attached. Including the CEO of the publishing company behind the prize, who seems very interested in Miles herself.

I found this book refreshing in several ways. It was nice to read a romance novel that wasn't set in London, New York, or a quirky small town. Miles's own writing (and its parallels with her life) was cleverly scattered through the story, and I liked the way it explored attitudes towards romance in general, not to mention the other apposite literary references. I did, though, find the writing style quite complicated and chaotic (as it's in first-person, I guess that could reflect the fact that Miles herself is both complicated and chaotic), and would have liked to get more of a handle on Lars, who we only see through Miles's eyes. In summary, 3.5-4 stars for an engaging and thought-provoking read.

I really enjoyed this one. Although sometimes confused by all the characters names and the pacing, I thought the book was very entertaining and interesting to read from the start.
Not sure I really like the main character (Miles) but I did love Lars and his honesty regarding everything he does. I loved the mention of Miles’ books and book references that were added here and there throughout the novel.
Overall an enjoyable, lovely and quick read I’d definitely recommend if you’re looking for something cute and quirky.

I really liked the idea of the whole story, but I was confused half the time reading it. I just could not keep up w all the names and characters. I really had to push myself to finish it, it just wasn’t a easy fun read I was hoping for.

Thanks to NetGalley and Escape Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't hate this book but I also didn't love it. The plot itself is one I was really attracted to but when it came to the characters, I felt all of them lacked a bit more of development. We really didn't get to see a lot of growth and there were many side plots that kind of made things seem unfinished in a way.

Overall it was an easy and sweet read but, unfortunately, it fell a bit short for me.

I really wanted to like this book but it was very difficult to get through. Like one of the other reviews mentioned, there are way too many characters in this book and some have multiple names. It was very hard to keep them all straight. The plot seemed intriguing and I could see where there could be sparks between characters, but it just fell flat. Overall, this isn’t a book I would be quick to recommend nor have a desire to reread.

thanks so much to netgalley, and escape publishing for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

a quick, fun and easy read!

this was a little hard to get into as it started pretty slow, but that's alright. i love books set within the publishing world, though i don't think i enjoyed our main heroine that much. still, i had a nice time reading this and breezed through it.

A book about a series of books. An author that writes about an author. It's quite the "nesting doll" of a story! I liked it a lot! It started slow at first, but around the 25% mark it picked up quite nicely.

Miles and Lars just can't help but be attracted to one another. Miles fights it hard. So hard. But Lars fights time and again for Miles. He's like a tether ball that keeps coming around for her. And the literary references to classics in this book are little treats that you run into once in a while. The defense of romance novels is something I have come across lately and a point that Miles tries to impress upon those that wish to oppress her writing. In Miles' defense she picks a few great Austen quotes to defend herself.

"Let us leave it to the reviewers to abuse such effusions of fancy at their leisure, and over every new novel to talk in threadbare strains of the trash with which the press now groans. Let us not desert one another: we are an injured body. Although our productions have afforded more extensive and unaffected pleasure than those of any other literary corporation in the world, no species of composition has been so much decried."

Miles isn't perfect, and hell, Lars isn't either. But they both see that in each other and accept each other as is. Most other rom-coms have the perfect polished h and the muscular, tanned H and everything is all dreamy and perfect. Not this story. The characters have their ups and downs and they get themselves through it. The part that bothered me was the lack of consideration and care that Miles seemed to start to show people who didn't do things her way. She didn't answer phone calls or emails to people she didn't want to talk to and replied right away to their coworkers with the same questions. Rude.