Leah has never had a definite home, moving from foster home to foster home as a teen. She goes back to Willow Cove with her old foster mother and ends up meeting a rag-tag team of friends who are on a mission to help Eli win back his old flame, Victoria. Leah is designated to help Eli and ends up realizing that maybe he doesn't need a makeover after all.

This was a fun read, I loved the callouts to classic rom-coms, but I did find that I was hoping for more connection between Leah and Eli. I also felt a bit of the back-and-forth between Leah and Victoria in Eli's mind got stale, but I did love the resolution at the end.

"The Rom-Com Agenda" is as sweet as can be! Jayne Denker has crafted a fun, sassy, and perfectly cute story for any romance lover. This book is fun!

The Rom Com agenda delivered exactly what the title Is!

Leah is an overworking 30 year old trying to move out of a town that she wishes was home but grew up not feeling like It was. She’s also dealing with the loss of her mother which isn’t easy considering she felt like her mother didn’t really love her to the same degree.

Eli , oh Eli. I found myself feeling so bad for this guy. First his proposal gets rejected by his girlfriend after 4 months of knowing each other (kinda his fault) then gets dumps when she basically and literally runs from him to catch a plane to study art in another country. Leah unfortunately overhears this conversation (you’ll figure out how) and gets second hand embarrassment from the awkward discussion.

Pan to a year later- Eli and Leah’s paths cross again while Eli’s sisters are trying to “make him over” so he can try to win his ex girlfriend back. Eli and Leah end up running into each other all over town - seeing as Leah had multiple jobs.

I don’t want to give too much away- but Eli’s sisters end up roping Leah into their plain and her and Eli wind up spending a ton of time together. Making their feelings for one another super complicated.

Pros:
dual pov. This is huge for me. I think it’s so necessary to know what both main characters mindsets are. It adds so much more to the story.
Eli’s character development was sooo slow but sooo worth It. He really ended up being swoon worthy which I was kinda scared he wasn’t going to be.
The banter between Leah and Eli was perfection. It literally leap off the pages.

Cons:
I feel like the rom com aspect which centered the book could have been more discussed. (The movies) I just think as center as they were to the story line they kind of got sidetracked. To me at least.
It was a slooooow burn. I know this is liked bu many people but I kinda feel like if it’s gonna be a slow burn, and we’re dealing with adults as our main characters, there should be some steamy kisses at least or even partial open door romance to It. Again, just me.
I kinda hated that there was no epilogue ! The ended I felt left us hanging! Did she win the house back? Did she end up moving in with Eli or his sister? How long did It take Eli to propose? And how did he do It? I feel like we could have gotten soooo much more and a better idea of their HEA with a epilogue. Totally hope the author decides to write one It before publishing.

I think if your a fan of a true cute innocent love story this is definitely a book to add to your TBR. Or even something just feel good this is a perfect read.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins press for the ACR of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley!!

I loved this sooo much!
That opening scene was perfect-I was hooked. Eli…. Oh, Eli…. He was so “stubbornly optimistic” about Victoria. And his friends-what a great crew! Leah-aka Kirk (Gilmore Girls references were a nice bonus) was just lovely.

Now I have to catch up on all her other books! :D

This book took me on a roller coaster. It started off slow and leaves you wondering why the characters act the way they do so early. None of the storylines seem earned and they all seemed rushed.

But like any good Rom Com once the characters connect with each other the story takes off and you just can’t help yourself from smiling and cheering for their happiness.

This book is perfect for anyone who loves Romantic Comedies and just wants to book to make them smile.

Thanks to NetGalley for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was fantastic! My heart was hurting for Leah throughout the whole book. I'd love to see a book about Gray and Delia next!

3 1/2 stars.

It took me a while to get into, but I'm glad I stuck it out.
It turned out to be a cute story about learning to like yourself and finding family that's not blood related.

Despite the light tone of the cover/title and the funny parts, the story and theme had some deep elements to make the reader think, but not so heavy to put the book down.

I liked Leah and Eli, and especially liked his band of friends who welcomed Leah into their midst with open arms.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

are these characters in their thirties or are they just out of high school? I'm sorry, but I just couldn't get behind the idea that these characters are as old as they are and are acting the way they are. One, to try and propose to a girl after "dating" her for only four months right before she leaves for Italy is a bit much. Second, then spiraling into as big of a depression as he did was just a bit odd. Third, his friends and family pushing him to change himself so that he can have a chance with her? I feel like friends and family shouldn't do that. The writing was absolutely beautiful that I wanted to give this book a chance, but it just wasn't the one for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This sweet rom-com was a fun read! Leah and Eli are both very well-written main characters and I loved their solo journeys as well as their love story. I also enjoyed the found family aspect of the story. Even with the heavy emphasis on the cliche romance tropes, I still felt like this book had its own original feel. I think this is mainly due to the unique characters. I definitely recommend this cozy rom-com!

thank you netgalley & st martin's for the eARC of this book!

2.5 stars, rounded down.

this read was definitely a very fun one, but that's kinda all that it was. while the premise is so cute and i love the whole idea of a book about a character following a rom com cliche, so much of it just fell flat to me.

the pacing wasn't very well done. i feel like the author tried to do some sort of slow burn but ended up retracting as she wrote and it resulted in this off-pace romance. the male mc spends literally 80% of a book hung up on a character you see for two chapters whilst also saying he finds the female mc beautiful and funny and to me it was just very weird. i didn't particular like the male mc, if we're being honest–he was written very weirdly to me and i just... nope

the sideplots were also very off to me–from his whole passion projects plot and her struggle with her foster family i feel like those things did not mesh the way that they should have and it just didn't work.

all in all this one was a swing and a miss. i loved the friends to lovers aspect and i think the side characters were fun (there were too many tbh–i honestly got confused between them constantly) but it all just fell flat. don't even get me started on the random woke buzz words integrated through the text that we're just supposed to believe people use during every day dialogue.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Leah, accidentally overhears Eli professing his love to his girlfriend, Victoria, before she takes off across the world for a year.

Enter a makeover scheme to win her back, with the help of Leah. But will Victoria be what Eli wants in the end?

An okay read. The characters were somewhat bland and I didn't really connect with them.

This. Book. Was. So. Cute.

If you liked the movie ‘He’s just not that into you’ you will eat this up! It’s so similar (maybe a little concerning but loved it anyways haha). Leah and Eli have me all the feels and they had me hooked from the first meet. Ugggg read this now!!

A cute rom-com. Enjoyable, easy to read. The pages flew by. I enjoyed how Denker created well-liked characters, who I rooted for the entire time!

I really liked that the story was about Leah and Eli growing both separately and together. Both were great characters. The cast was fun.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

The Rom-Com Agenda follows Leah who is used to being alone and when her foster mom dies she wants nothing more than to leave the town of Willow Cove behind her. Eli thought he and Victoria were meant to be together forever. But then Victoria decides to go to Rome for a year. So in order to win Victoria back, Eli decides to change himself into Victoria's ideal man and win her back. Leah ends up becoming his guide on how to win Victoria back. And soon Eli might be trying to win over Leah and forgetting about trying to get Victoria back. 

This was such a cute read. It was basically a romance book about romance. I love how Eli and Leah found love when they weren't looking for it. There was a lot of references to romance movies in this book as well. Also, throughout the book you were rooting for Eli and Leah. If you are looking for a cute romance read I would highly suggest this one. Thank you Netgalley, St. Martins Press, and Jayne Decker for the ARC of this book.

4.75/5

What an adorable little treat of a book! It gave me all the feels & had so many things I love in a rom com. It was meta (in the best way) & included so many throwbacks to rom coms of the 80s. It’s the story of Leah, who inadvertently witnesses Eli getting dumped at the beginning of the book. When Eli’s sister & friends agree to help him with a “boyfriend makeover” to win back the girl, Leah gets pulled into the gang to help.

I loved spending time with Leah. Her tenacity & tenderness were really well drawn. Eli was a great romantic lead, even if I did want to shake him for the first part of the book so that he would see that he was meant to be with Leah and not that other girl!

Small town romance is not a trope that I normally gravitate towards, but the ones I like always have great secondary characters. The Rom Com Agenda had a stellar supporting cast of characters, & I hope the author is planning for their stories, because I’m going to need to have a book for each of them!

I adored this one & I can’t wait to get back to Willow Cove for more.

I loved the plot of this book. I loved the different types of relationships it portrayed and I loved all the romance movies it referenced. Eli and Leah’s slow burn was perfect. The dynamics of Leah and Eli’s family were so sweet and I loved that they brought her into their family. This was a fun light rom com to read.

👍🏼 a sweet rom-com for movie buffs

John Cusack fans, this one is for you. I honestly think that Janye Denker has set a record for the number of movie references. I mean all of the classics are in here. Pretty in Pink, Dirty Dancing, Love, Actually. And my personal favorite, When Harry Met Sally. So wonderful.

If you have seen all of those movies, this book is for you.

Our hero, Eli, has a delightful group of family and friends that have decided that in order to land the girl of his dreams, he needs a serious makeover. A key part of this makeover aside from the manscaping is intensive research of all of the greatest rom-coms of our generation.

Enter sweet Leah. She’s always lived on the edges, never in one place for too long. But she is tempted to fall in love with the idyllic small town of Willow Cove. Sucked in by Eli’s raucous circle, she is recruited to assist in Eli’s makeover.

Eli thinks that his dream girl is Victoria, his summer girlfriend who has left for an extended trip to Italy. Leah thinks that she just might find a reason to stay this time.

This book was so fun to read as Eli and Leah bob and weave around their feelings for each other until they finally figure it out!

Set in during a northern winter, this was an excellent diversion from the record heat we’ve been having here in Houston. Find some air conditioning and settle in for this cozy, heart-warming read.


Thank you to SMPromance and netgalley for the early access!


Note: this book does feature Leah’s experiences with the foster care system for those who are sensitive to that topic

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from St. Martin's Press and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Feel good romance with all the trappings you come to expect in a rom-com. Fun read for a day you want to be lazy and lose yourself in a book.

I enjoyed the book. The plot was interesting and held my attention throughout.. I loved the characters. The relationships were interesting romantic, friendships, and family dynamics. The story addressed building support systems.. the main character Leah had a difficult upbringing and never truly felt supported. She bounced around in the foster care system due to her biological mothers mental illness. As a teenager she found a more stable foster home. Leah leaves the foster home at 18, but comes back several years later to care for her foster mother. I loved the focus on self discovery for several characters. I give this book 4 stars