I didn't end up liking the main character or the love interest in this one which made it a bit of a hard read for me. I did however, like the plot and some of the side characters which helped save the book for me.

📼💿Book Review:
Title: The Rom-Com Agenda
Author: Jayne Denker
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/3 stars

The whole idea of this story drew me in....pulling ideas/tips from past popular rom-com movies to help you find love. Unfortunately, I don't feel like it was utilized to its full potential in the relationship building between Leah and Eli.

Leah Keegan is ready to move on in her life after caring for her sick foster mother and then her passing. She just needs to figure out exactly where her life is headed next. Somehow, she gets pulled into helping Eli Masterson win back the love of his life, Victoria, who left him and flew off to Rome. Of course, in doing so, she herself starts to develop her own crush on Eli.

The problem I had.... does Leah not value her own self-worth?! Eli is clearly very dense and shallow because he's obsessed with an ex that clearly does not want him and treated him poorly! His family and friends even give him a complete makeover to help him change Victoria's mind!!! What?! You should not have to do that to make someone want you! No, no, no, no! Leah, girl, go find yourself who wants you for you! Ugh! This book was a tad toxic imo 🤷‍♀️.

Published: January 10, 2023

Thank you, @netgalley and @stmartinspress, for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I enjoyed this RomCom. I'm always up for a RomCom so when I saw this I knew I just had to check it out. Some bits in the beginning made me roll my eyes and somewhat dragged, but once i pushed on it got so much better. I enjoyed the author's writing style. This book had the all-time-favorite friends to loves trope. It also had great character development, funny moments and the aww factor that we all seek. I loved the ending! The narrator did an amazing job, kept me interested.

I love rom coms (this should shock exactly no one). So, when a novel has rom com in the title? I’m intrigued. I cozied up with Jayne Denker’s The Rom-Com Agenda this winter (it was published on January 10) aaaand…it was fine. It was cute and kept me entertained enough but ultimately? It was just ok.

Here’s the book’s description:
You know how the story's supposed to go... but love makes its own plans.
STEP 1: Find yourself
Leah Keegan is used to being alone, especially after taking care of her sick foster mother for the past year. But now there’s nothing keeping her in the sweet town of Willow Cove. It’s time to move on. Again.
STEP 2: Win back the one who got away
Eli Masterson thought he and Victoria were meant to be together until she decided to jet off to Rome for a year. Eli is determined to win her back. But how?
STEP 3: Become a romantic hero
Changing Eli’s physical appearance is easy, but to turn Eli into the sophisticated-yet-vulnerable ideal man, his girl pals force him to watch classic rom-coms. And take notes.
STEP 4: Fall in love?
Inadvertently drawn into the makeover scheme, Leah ends up being Eli’s guide through the wild world of meet-cutes and grand gestures. Even though she believes Eli doesn’t need to change a thing about himself. Even though she just might be falling for Eli . . . and Eli falling for her.
A thing I learned (or maybe confirmed?) when reading this book was…I don’t like makeover stories. Usually the person getting the makeover doesn’t actually need it. They’re just trying to change to suit the desires of someone who does not even a little bit deserve them. Maybe it’s just because I’m not in their position but can’t these people see that if someone doesn’t like them for them then…the hell with them? You are good enough. You don’t need to change your clothes or work out more or become more sophisticated. You are great just as you are. That is what I wanted to tell Eli. Also that he was a total idiot and I wasn’t entirely sure Leah deserved him. But Leah was also kind of a knob and her excuses for not wanting to get involved in a relationship were weak. All in all, this was not a great way to start a rom com.

I did enjoy the whole “watch rom coms so you understand women” thing. Even though everyone should realize that rom coms are not at all realistic. If you’re trying to have a romance that you saw in a movie, you’re in trouble. That’s not real life. That is, however, a really great way to hang out with someone you’re interested in but aren’t really sure how to pursue so the tension starts to heat up and that’s fun. I did think the movie watching was going to be a bigger part of the book but it wasn’t, really. Or at least, it wasn’t as I expected. The absolute best part? They had Eli watching Bull Durham which is the best baseball movie. Yes. I said it and I stand by that decision.



I think my favourite things about this book were the big group of friends the reader's introduced to and the setting. Small towns are fun and this one, which is usually busy in the tourist season but pares down to just the locals in the winter, was fun to get to know. The bit at the beginning with the friends realizing that Leah works everywhere was too funny. While some of the friends had their own issues (and I’m sure we’ll see them in future books) and were a bit too zealous in their makeover plans, they were, at their hearts, amazing friends. I was happy to see that and was thrilled when they took Leah under their wing without making it obvious that they thought she needed friends (even though she really did).

All in all, The Rom-Com Agenda was cute and fun but Jayne Denker’s latest book won’t stick with me for too long. Pick it up if you want to meet a fun cast of characters, feel some nostalgia with the rom com movies mentioned, and get a Happily Ever After.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

The romance fell a little short for me just because I didn't feel like Eli was ready for what he got in the end. I like the found family in this and that side characters really held me in the story.

Thank you #netgalley for an early read of #theromcomagenda

The Rom Com Agenda is a fun and sweet romance for fans of romantic comedies and friends to lovers. I like the characters especially Leah and also the group of friends and found family she meets along the way. Eli grew on me a lot throughout the book and just be warned that his obsession with the other girl will grate on you, but it’s supposed to. I was very pleased with the ending and I want more from this town.

I love rom com tropes and thsi book was promising but in the end I just couldn't get invested in the two leads getting together

I really enjoyed Leah and Eli together. They were fun! (At least from Leah’s POV. However, I didn’t feel like Eli’s personality came through at all from his POV.

This miscommunication trope isn’t for me. So that was frustrating. And changing who you are COMPLETELY for another person, also isn’t for me.

I did enjoy the pop culture references and a lot of the banter. Wit and banter is my favorite thing in a story, and this had a solid amount!

This book was so cute. I was so happy with the ending. Her foster brother was terrible and she deserved that ending. The author did a good job at story line and character building. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

I truly wanted to like this book as I found the premise so fun and something right by my alley. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to connect with the story and characters and found myself getting lost in my own thoughts while trying to finish the book.

I wouldn't say it's terrible but I was not engaged enough to care about the relationship developing between Leah and Eli, specially when the later is so obsessed with getting back with his ex in the first part of the book. Overall, I would say that while it's a fast love story, there's not much that I will remember about this book. I think that my favorite thing about it was Leah's friendship with some of the other characters as I can understand how hard it is to make friends as an adult, so it was cure when Eli's group of friends kept including Leah in their plans, so I'd say at least I had fun reading those parts.

I think this was a cute story with good characters that you can't help but feel for. You find yourself rooting for them and though it was fun, there was nothing that will keep me remembering it later

This was a cute romance with the premise of teaching someone how to be a more ideal man to win back the love of his life by watching Rom Coms. While the premise is cute, at times it felt a little heavy handed. At first it was cute and quirky, but by the third movie reference, it was getting a bit old. Not knowing some of the movies mentioned also had some impact on understanding what they were trying to teach.

In terms of characters, Eli's obsession with winning back Victoria was a bit tiresome. Even when it seemed like he might be realizing he should just move on, he reverted back to wanting her. Then, when he finally does move on (slight spoiler coming), it didn't seem like it was because he came to his senses but because Victoria was truly unavailable with a new boyfriend. While it didn't feel like he settled for Leah, I didn't get the impression that his character had grown or realized the folly of his ways. At the same time, with all of the makeover work, it sends the message of changing to be loved. Even though Leah liked him without all of the changes, the message of "I like you just the way you are" is lost. I might not be the biggest fan of Eli's, but Leah was a wonderful character struggling with a sense of belonging after growing up as a foster child. It was great seeing her be accepted into a group of friends and discovering a new type of family. Speaking of the group of friends, there was at least one too many friends. Jillian got lost in the background and could have been completely erased from the story. All of the drama between Delia and Grey, while cute and subtly relevant to the whole not noticing someone in love with you, felt under developed. The first time it was mentioned felt like it came out of the blue. It would have been a cute subplot to explore further.

Ultimately this was a cute but slightly flawed rom com. That, though, just might be nitpicking. The story as a whole worked but it's attempt at being unique felt a bit forced.

You know how the story's supposed to go... but love makes its own plans.

Leah is used to being alone, especially after taking care of her sick foster mother for the past year. But now there’s nothing keeping her in the sweet town of Willow Cove. It’s time to move on. Again.

Eli thought he and Victoria were meant to be together until she decided to jet off to Rome for a year. Eli is determined to win her back. But how?

Changing Eli’s physical appearance is easy, but to turn Eli into the sophisticated-yet-vulnerable ideal man, his girl pals force him to watch classic rom-coms. And take notes.

Inadvertently drawn into the makeover scheme, Leah ends up being Eli’s guide through the wild world of meet-cutes and grand gestures. Even though she believes Eli doesn’t need to change a thing about himself. Even though she just might be falling for Eli . . . and Eli falling for her.

This story involves found family and friends to lovers tropes. It was a quick and cute read, a perfect beach read!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I felt like this was a really long book.
Eli spent way to long fixating on Victoria. It got kind of annoying after awhile.

This was my first Jayne Denker novel and it won’t be my last!

The story follows Leah—a young woman used to being on her own who came back to the small town she lived in through her teens to care for her sick foster mom; and Eli—a hopeless romantic blinded by the idea of love that falls fast and hard for Victoria, a woman whose just not that into him.

After Leah unintentionally overhears the worst moment in Eli’s life, their paths cross again in an unexpected way. Eli wants to win Victoria back, and while his friends don’t approve, they decide to help him make himself over into someone Victoria will want. With Leah working numerous odd jobs around town, she becomes the final member of Eli’s makeover team.

There were parts of this story that were heart breaking and parts where I was laughing out loud. The cast of characters is entertaining and fun to spend time with.

This book is great! I really enjoyed the story and could feel the characters chemistry from the very start. The references to other rom-coms always made me smile and made it even more relatable. I've already told a few friends to read it! Looking forward to reading more books from this author!

An unfortunate miss for me.

The dialogue made me cringe, the characters are horrible, immature, and are not interesting.

It's not even worth the in depth review to talk about how blah this was.

This had a cute concept, I especially liked that Eli was the one getting a makeover and part of the process included him watching classic rom com movies from the 80s and 90s. Leah was a really likable character with an interesting backstory but Eli really annoyed me. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting invested in the story. As much as I feel like it was meant to be a slow burn - it really just turned into a really awkwardly paced romance. Parts were really cute, it just did not do it for me.

While I was not the biggest fan of this book, I think that it has a lot of potential. If you’re looking for a fun rom-com to make you smile — read this.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I just love a good Rom Com that crosses over with classic movies and a small town setting! This book was everything and more with our tall rugged hero Eli and Leah who had to learn to trust. We got a makeover, but instead of the ugly duckling woman makeover Eli was the victim and it was entirely too enjoyable. Funnily enough I think this book would make a fantastic movie in the most meta way 😂

- romcom
- slow burn
- self acceptance
- small town
- friends to lovers

this was a sweet, small town slow burn kind of love. I loved the group of characters and what each brought to the story. I hope so see some of those characters in the future!!