Thank you to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 stars

It Happened One Fight is a romcom set in the world of 1930s film. It follows movie star Joan Davis, who longs to be known for her talent and not her chemistry with actor Dash Howard. Joan and Dash have a tumultuous history and do not get along. However, when one of Dash’s pranks ends with them accidentally married, they must work together one last time to make the scandal go away. What will happen when the two start to grow closer?

This was a cute story with a fun and different setting. I wish I was a tad more invested in the romance, but I think my expectations were a bit high given my obsession with classic films and movie stars. Fun idea, cute execution.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It Happened One Fight by Maureen Lee Lenker is a debut novel and a different take on a romance. It's set in the 1930s Hollywood glam. I loved the trope of fake marriage and enemies to lovers with Joan and Dash. I just imagined Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton while reading this book. It makes you think about how the times were for actors during that period and how much things have changed...or have they? Overall a good read and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Uma ótima dica para os fãs de Evelyn Hugo, visto os bastidores do cinema na década de 30 é o fundo da história. Joan e Dash possuem uma ótima química, e provavelmente todo mundo sempre querem os dois estrelando romances juntos. Nos bastidores, os dois possuem um ótimo desenvolvimento individual também. Só não curti o motivo do conflito, que foi o auge da falta de confiança ao mesmo tempo confiança cega em outra pessoa.

I loved the unique 1930s old Hollywood setting of this book. It felt very different from any other historical romance I've read before.

It was a fun and entertaining take on the fake marriage and enemies to lovers tropes.

It Happened One Fight was a delightfully charming read and a promising debut.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Glamorous, enjoyable, and a tad spicy! It came across as a historical romance written in the style of a modern rom-com and I adored that!

This book is not bad, it’s cute and the fake marriage with hate to love is cute and funny, but I’m a bit disappointed by this book. I wanted more atmosphere, more Old Hollywood vibes. God, I expected something like “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”, strong and deep and passionate, but this book is not. It’s just cute and has funny banter, but I don’t think this is for me.
However I’m curious to read more about this writer, because I think she has a lot potential!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

This was a dnf for me, I just couldn't get into the story unfortunately. I didn't like the characters either.

I was unsure I would enjoy a rom-com set so far in the past, but I really loved this! It reads different than a typical rom com because of the time period, but the accidental marriage trope was so fun!

I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

This was a really fun and unique read as it takes place in the 1930’s and sees characters from the Old Hollywood days. It was a great fake marriage/ enemies to lovers tale with some decent spice and hijinks mixed it. I very much enjoyed how the author set the tone and scene of the story in the past but made it relatable/modern in how you read it.

I'm a huge fan of Golden Age Hollywood movies so I was really excited going into this book. I loved the accidental marriage plot and the sexual tension between Joan and Dash. Their chemistry was so obvious on and off the screen. The back half of the book was a bit of a disappointment as I really disliked the blackmail plot and how easily swayed Joan was. She also made major life decisions for the both of them with no communication. I know that she was self-sacrificing but it just really irked me.

Overall, I enjoyed this one but not as much as I was hoping to. I love that the author used inspiration from many old movies including It Happened One Night. Reading this book made me want to have a black and white movie night.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for allowing me access to the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m so conflicted. This felt way too modern to be set in the thirties. If I’m going to read a book set in a different time period, I prefer it to be more like that time period. Also not a fan of the awful third act break up. The cover doesn’t really reflect how I pictured the characters, honestly. And personally I wished it was closed door the entire time so I didn’t have to skip a bunch of pages.

A little slow, but an overall fun and easy read!

I loved the Old Hollywood setting (with lots of fun time-appropriate references!), which made this a really unique romance, but for me the plot was a little heavy on miscommunication which made it drag.

This hit all the right notes & reminded me of the movies & people of Hollywood’s golden age. I loved how sex positive this book was but still aware of how sex was seen back in that time period.

I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting read . I found that I was able to read quickly and enjoyed the pacing and premise of the book. I would recommend to others.

I wanted to love this one but I found myself skimming large sections. It felt very clunky and I never felt like we really got to see the main characters connect/establish feelings.
Something just didn’t click for me

This was a victim of my own high expectations, however, I think even if I happened to stumble upon it I still wouldn't have liked it. I've read Lenker's previous work as a journalist and was very much looking forward to this debut. This felt so clunky, disjointed, and not hitting the mark they set out with marketing it as. So much was left to be desired here.

i don’t typically like historical fiction but i do love a story set in old hollywood. joan is a feminist icon and such a trailblazer! i really loved the setting and it had some of my favorite tropes. i also loved the side story about monty. i really enjoyed this one! thank you netgalley for the ARC of this book!

Do you ever read a book and think, “Oh this would make a great movie?” Well I felt this way so much about It Happened One Fight that I could ONLY see it as a movie. From the very beginning Dash WAS Clark Gable and that’s all I could see. And although Joan Davis wasn’t Joan Crawford in looks for me, the attitude and personality sure were. So perhaps this is why try as I might, I just couldn’t get into this plot as a book. I adore movies from the thirties and love the glamour of Hollywood during this time. I thought for sure that I would enjoy It Happened One Fight, yet I just couldn’t stay interested most likely because it felt like a movie plot I had already seen. I can’t say there is fault in the writing; I think Maureen Lee Lenker knows her craft, but maybe this wasn’t a story that needed to be told in book form? So needless to say i almost DNFd at the halfway mark. Like a trooper I finished and it was fine? But unfortunately for me I just couldn’t get over my initial reaction. I would not write off the author because I think she’s trying sometime new here, it just wasn’t for me. Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

I love old movies from the 30s, loved the title that made me think of Frank Capra, and liked the characters who features traits from different Hollywood stars.
It's a good story, there's fun but there's some awkward moment that made me skipped parts.
3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

DNF at 20%

Maybe I stopped too early - maybe these characters would show some maturity and their romance would be swoon-y ... unfortunately, I didn't have patience to deal with them. Nor I cared about their roads to HEA.

See, the writing felt distant, the dialogues clunky, and I really, REALLY thought both Dash and Joan to be unlikable characters. Since that moment of skunk prank came into view, it was too juvenile of a plot. The the whole plot to help the career by staying together, but already thinking about another prank?

"C'mon, let's get bombed and plan more pranks to piss off Joan" (Chapter 4)

Yeah. No. I'm getting off this trainwreck early, thank you very much


The ARC is provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.