This was a fun friends to lovers romance with a slow burn and found family. Some of my favourite tropes. There were also SO many movie references and it did become sort of tropey. The pacing of the book was a bit off but it was still enjoyable.

A funny, heartwarming story about two awkward people faking a relationship and finding real love. Great banter, adorable side characters, and lots of rom-com movie references. Comfort reading at its best.

While working multiple jobs around town to save enough money to move after her foster mother’s death, Leah Keegan gets drawn into helping heartbroken Eli Masterson get his girlfriend back in Jayne Denker’s The Rom-Com Agenda. He can’t believe she turned down his proposal and took off on a flight to Rome for a year. Refusing to give up on them, he’s determined to win her back. He just doesn’t know how.

Sarcastic and witty, Eli’s a heartbroken hot mess whose romantic education is lacking. He’s a clueless but sweet, loyal, thoughtful, small-town backwoods boy. Eli’s sister and girl pals devise the perfect plan to get Victoria back—turn him into husband material by making him a romantic hero. But changing his physical appearance is only step one. They must turn him into the ideal man, who is both vulnerable and romantic, by watching classic romcoms and taking notes on them. Leah is inadvertently drawn into their makeover scheme when their paths keep crossing at her jobs and she becomes Eli’s guide through the world of grand gestures and meet cutes. But Leah doesn’t think Eli needs to change a thing about himself and tells him throughout the novel he doesn’t need to change who he is. Along the way, Leah and Eli end up falling for each other.

Eli’s clueless. From the little we see of his relationship/interactions with his girlfriend, his perception of their relationship is way off. Committed, loyal, and honest, Leah fears abandonment after growing up in foster care and moving from home to home until she was placed with Cathy in Willow Grove, which became her home. She’s a genuine, thoughtful, and caring person. Before she gets drafted into Eli’s warm, friendly, and loving circle of friends and family, she’s been lonely with no friends or family since her foster mom’s death. It’s an unfamiliar experience for her to be among people who want her to be with them and treat her with kindness and warmth.

I love their hilarious plans, especially with his guy friends. Eli’s a hot mess. I love how Leah helps him by marathoning rom-com movies with him. I would have loved it if “Just One of the Guys” had been included in their movie watching. It’s on-point because the heroine (pretending to be a guy) helps the hero with a makeover and lessons to help him get the girl of his dreams. But like Eli, he’s a sweet, nice guy already.

Denker’s detailed and descriptive writing, efficient world-building, and likable, complex, intriguing characters draw you into this fun listen. I love her diversity of characters. The hero’s circle of friends and family is funny, supportive, silly, and a little odd.

Denker skillfully develops her interesting and creative premise and uses it to bring her hero and heroine together. It’s a creative, fun story and plot with pop culture references that romcom fans will love. I love Denker’s description, natural-sounding dialogue, character development, and elite levels of sarcasm, which are the best thing about the novel. She develops the characters through sweet, funny, sarcastic, and emotional banter and interactions. I love that she explores her characters’ relationships outside of Eli and Leah’s romantic relationship.

The Rom-Com Agenda is a sweet, funny, and slightly angsty friends-to-lovers small-town romance about being loved for who you are, childhood trauma, foster care, friendship, makeovers, found families, grief, healing, and recovery.

CW: Childhood trauma, bipolar parent

St. Martin’s Griffin provided an advanced review copy via Netgalley for review.

I haven’t read a Jayne Denker book before and I really enjoyed this one! There were some cheesy bits, but I love that about a lot of books. I liked that I could almost predict what was going to happen, but still enjoyed the book even if that was the case. It was a little slow to start for me, but after about 75 pages I was flying through the book. Overall, I thought this was a super cute romcom book that I was able to read in basically one sitting.

I read this book, but I don’t remember much about it. I’ve gotten behind on my reviews and when I’m finishing books I forgot to review it means I found them to be good, not great, but not bad.

*The Rom-Com Agenda* by Jayne Denker is an endearing and fun romantic comedy that delivers just the right amount of humor and heart. The story follows two characters who are both skeptical about love but find themselves drawn together in a charming, opposites-attract scenario. Denker’s writing is witty and engaging, and the chemistry between the leads is palpable. The plot is refreshingly light and breezy, with enough twists to keep things interesting without feeling overdone. While the story is predictable at times, the well-developed characters and delightful romance make it an enjoyable read. A perfect pick for rom-com fans looking for a feel-good escape.

Review to come, I accidentally got this one and didn’t download before archive. Will read and update

In theory good, in actuality I couldn’t stand Eli or Victoria or his obsession with her. Leah was carrying the book and doing the most

Meet Leah, a charming and witty gal who unexpectedly steps into the role of coach for Eli, a determined guy eager to win back his ex. Together, they embark on a fun journey filled with lessons straight out of your favorite rom-com. The book was a quick read and the author does create a feel-good read.

I received a copy of this book as an ARC From net galley.

The Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne Denker sounded like my kind of read, however, I could not connect with the two love interests in it.

The Rom-Com Agenda is a fun romance that I can see myself reaching for more than once.
I really like the characters and their dynamics.

Was not able to get into the story. Just fell flat for me in terms of the characters and the overall story wasn’t for me.

A cute, quick read. I don’t know maybe I just wasn’t in the right headspace for this because it felt meh in parts.

This book was very fun and cute. It’s not particularly deep or complicated, but it’s easy reading. If you’re obsessed with rom-coms, there are some fun little touch points. I will say that the chemistry between the leads doesn’t particularly sizzle.

DNF.

I think it was a wrong time type situation. I may return to it at some time in the future but at the moment, it is not for me. Thank you for the opportunity

I thought this book was super cute! A quick read. I did feel like it was missing parts while reading it. I don’t know why but something just felt like it was missing. I did enjoy reading this and really like Leah.

Leah is a loner, living in the Upstate NY of Willow Cove after spending years in foster care and returning to take care of her ailing foster mother. She's saving up money to leave town when she crosses paths with Eli, who she has the misfortune of hearing propose and be rejected by his girlfriend Victoria. As Eli's sister and friends help to make him over to win her back, Leah gets roped in. Slowly but surely, she becomes part of the crew and sees there may be many reasons to stay.

This was a cute romance that definitely had some deeper themes which I always appreciate. I couldn't stand Patrick and wished Leah had stood up to him more/earlier! Leah was such a strong person and I'm glad that she was able to find people who truly wanted the best for her and supported her. I loved watching her and Eli's friendship form and solidify into something more.

This was a cute, clean romance. I was annoyed at how long Eli mooned over his ex (Victoria), but I did think the makeover attempted by his family and friends was funny, and I really liked Leah with her many jobs and her belief that Eli was fine just as he was. The book also pointed out to me how very many movies I have not seen! And I sure like the friends to lovers-type romance!

I thought this was an enjoyable read. It was quick and cute story. I would recommend this to those who enjoy romcoms

4.5/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and Jayne Denker for allowing me to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters and whole story is really cute and hilarious.

This story is told in dual POVs. We get both Leah and Eli's point of view and thoughts throughout the story. The characters can be frustrating at times, but it is worth the read. Eli is getting a makeover by his sister and friends to get a girl back. Leah gets wrapped into the makeover on accident because she helped them choose clothes for him at the place she works at. They all become friends, and feelings develop rather quickly. But Eli is still wrapped up on his ex that he is trying to get back.

The title tells the plot of the story perfectly. This book is hilarious. The banter between the two main characters, along with side characters, is amazing.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves romcoms and a good laugh while reading.