This was a great book. I do not seeing myself using it for education, but definitely will recommend for those looking for something good to read.

Friends to lovers, slow burn meets insta-love if that’s even possible, found family, and makeover tropes. Had the potential to be cute, but it was just way too long. There were so many meaningless plot points that could have been cut. At one point, I was so excited it was over only to realize I still had 3 hrs of audio left. Eli reads more desperate/stalkerish than romantic. All in all, it felt very immature. Narration was fine.

Thank you so much netgalley for the opportunity to read this book! Unfortunately this one fell flat for me and I DNF’d it

I received an advanced listener's copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This may be a case of it‘s me and not the book…

When Eli goes through a devastating breakup, his family and friends decide he needs a makeover to win back his gf. Leah, who happens to work multiple jobs and overhears said breakup, is quickly roped into the shenanigans.

Personally, I have issues with changing oneself to fit the perception of someone…maybe that hits too close to home for me. It just seemed way too over the top. I did love the movie references…it was a good reminder to me of some of the rom coms I love to watch! I think in its own way this book pays homage to these ‘80s and ‘90s films, but it misses the mark. I wasn‘t exactly enamored by any of the characters, either. The voice narration was good - I think that kept me engaged in the book.

I really wanted to like this one, but it felt like I was running toward something only to find out i was on a treadmill. I feel like the author kept beating us over the head with themes and I wish they had been able to incorporate that in a more natural way.

I had very high expectations of this book and it really fell flat.

I was waiting for something exciting to happen and it was just mundane the entire book.

The audio was okay, not my favorite. I really wanted to like this book but it was missing something.

A sweet romcom but very surface level! I enjoyed the characters and the story and overall vibes but will likely be a book I’ll forget within a few days

As an avid movie watcher especially one who enjoys just about every romantic comedy out there, this book was right up my alley. I was pulled in at first by the title alone but all the references to some of my favorite films and how excited the characters got discussing them really sold me. Now if you aren’t much of a movie fan it doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy this read. Jayne Denker has just the way to hold your attention every time Eli and Leah get together. I also really loved that Eli and Leah had their group of friends to fall back on instead of one character always giving them advice we had a whole group ready to help any way they could, much like the tv show Friends. I hope you’ll read and enjoy this slow burn as much as I did. Now all I want to do is microwave some popcorn, put on pjs, and spend a whole day watching all my favorite rom-coms.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

I had high hopes for this book, but I struggled to finish it. It just didn’t hold my attention. I never really got into the characters to care what happened to them. I prefer a book that I feel like I’m right there with the characters and vested in their lives. Unfortunately, this book did not do that for me.

3.5⭐️ (rounded down)

Leah Keegan is used to being alone. Over the last year she has taken care of her sick foster mother and now that she has passed there is nothing holding Leah in Willow Cove anymore. Thats until Leah gets roped into a plan for Eli to win back the woman her loves, Victoria. For this plan to work Eli needs a classic makeover, the physical appearance is easy but he’ll need to watch some classic rom-coms and take notes. Will Eli be able to win back the woman he loves? Will Leah be able to leave their sweet small town? Or will Leah and Eli get in each others way?

The Rom-Com Agenda is a standalone, dual 3rd person POV, small town, found family, slow burn, friends to lovers, closed door romance book.

At times I wanted to shake both Leah and Eli and their friend group. Leah needed more confidence in herself. Eli needed to open his fricken eyes and the friend group needed to give Eli some tough love and stop with this makeover stuff. Eli actually reminds me a lot of one of my friends lol. He’s a hopeless romantic and will do anything for someone he loves, even if that person isn’t meant for him. Just like how Eli wants to remake his whole personality so Victoria will love him. The scene at the airport literally happened with my friend (SPOILER) his ex asked him to pick her up at the airport so they could talk and then said she was exhausted from the flight and they didn’t talk at all…. literally just wanted a free ride home from the airport lol. I wasn’t expecting the found family trope and it was perfection. Its just so heartwarming and I love what this group has done for Leah, especially when Patrick came to town 😡

This was a very easy listen, I finished it in two days, it gives major hallmark vibes and is perfect for anyone that likes a sweet romance book with a HEA.

The narration was good and Erika Schindele did a great job. I just found that with dual person POV’s two narrators are preferred, especially when dealing with third person.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced audio copy for an honest review. I love you guys 💕

this book was ok. It had a lot of rom com movie references. A boy is pining over a girl that has left his but meets new girl that he becomes friends with. He thinks he needs help transforming himself to be the kind of guy that his ex wants. So his friends go about to do that. Turns out the right girl for his was in front of him all along.

Boy pines for his ex. Boy is cluelesssss that the best choice for him is right in front of his face.

This had all the cute moments you love from a rom-com, but it was a bit too predictable for me. I did love the theme of found family and the foster care system.

I wish there would have been dual narration with the dual POV story.


Recommended if you like:
-makeover montages
-rom-com movies
-small town settings
-friends-to-lovers

CW: cancer

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my ALC. The Rom-Com Agenda is out now!

The Rom Con Agenda is a cute, clean romance that follows Leah and Eli. Leah accidentally witnesses one of the worst days of Eli's life. She watched him propose to his girlfriend, only for her to reject him and break up.

Now Eli is more determined than ever to win his ex back. With the help of his friends, he begins a make over process and Leah is dragged into it, despite the fact that she doesn't believe Eli should change.

I thought the story was cute and funny and definitely kept me interested. It is a clean romance, so don't expect spice like I did.

The idea of this book was fun. BUT Eli was so clueless and was hung up on the wrong person.

IT starts with him getting dumped by his girlfriend when he tried to propose to her and she knows he is moving to fast. After seeing how sad he is is friends decide to help him win her back with a makeover and rom com watching to be the leading man.

Leah ended up seeing him get dumped and tried to hide so she wouldn't be seen and she's been working all the odd jobs in the town ( and yes they called her Kirk like Gilmore girls so that was a big plus) But she is working at the clothes store and gets roped into helping this odd group of people. The more places she works the more they show up. She starts to become with with this odd group.

What sucked for me was how hung up her was on his ex who was living the European life with a new guy and clearly didn't like him for who he was and Leah was right there and liked him for who he was. It took to long for him to realize he's chasing the wrong woman.

I’m a fan of the friends-to-lovers trope and the found family trope, so I was really looking forward to reading this but to me took way to long to get there.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review

I enjoyed this! At the beginning it struggled figuring out who all the characters were because I was listening on audio but it didn’t take me super long to figure out who everyone was. I liked both main characters though I did think Eli’s love for Victoria was a little ridiculous. I really enjoyed the found family aspect of this! I thought the family’s lessons for Eli were fun! I enjoyed the audio book and thought the narrator was good! This is a solid 4 stars for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found Eli to be annoying (just let go of your dang ex man!) BUT besides that I enjoyed this book. The friends to lovers and found family tropes were well done. I enjoyed listening to this.

Sorry it took so long for feedback. Ending up reading my net galley kindle copy of this one Thank you to the publisher for the ALC.

3.5/5

Thank you Dreamscape Media for the advanced listening copy!

Leah Keegan has never belonged anywhere. After being back in Willow Cove taking care of her foster mother, Cathy, she's unsure how to proceed now that Cathy has passed away. While busy scrounging up every last dollar she can to get out of this small town, she runs head-first into a welcoming group of friends and a cute new guy, Eli. Unfortunately, Eli is EXTREMELY hung up on his ex-girlfriend, Victoria, and neck-deep in a makeover project to win her back. Leah puts her feelings aside and joins the project, grateful and surprised to feel so at home with this group of people. As Eli decides what his true feelings are, Leah realizes that finding a home in Willow Cove doesn't sound so strange after all.

This was such a cute premise, but could have used a little bit of help with the execution. The parts of the story with Leah and Eli, I loved. Their banter was sweet and their connection was really believable. I loved the relationship Leah established with Eli's sister and friends, and her character was super easy to love. What I did NOT like, however, was Eli's obsession with Victoria, which bordered on downright creepy. He dated this girl for FOUR MONTHS before confessing his love and proposing to her. Now, months later, he's enlisted all of his friends and family to help him win her back? I mean come ON dude, get a grip! At first I could understand where he was coming from, but as his connection with Leah grew, I started to get more and more frustrated that he was spending all this time with a great girl, and still doing all this makeover stuff to impress some girl that went off to Rome without him for a year. If you can get past that bit, this is a pretty cute story. I loved the movie references, the banter and the makeover (despite the reason behind it), and it was fun to listen to. Could have used much less of the creepy Victoria obsession and a little more spice to make this one a real winner, but I still enjoyed the listen overall.

Super cute story about a guy who needs "fixing" to get his dream girl while he actually finds out that the real him is enough for the right girl! This story was really cute and I really enjoyed the narration and the storylines.

This was really cute in theory! But in execution, I didn’t love it. I LOVED the foster care representation and the feelings expressed there and I liked that the script was flipped on the man wanting to change his entire being to be perfect for a woman, but I think that’s kind of where it ended for me. It felt like there was a lot going on and it didn’t give enough space for any of it to really breathe. Also, both main characters really pissed me off and I felt like plot points weren’t resolved.

Just ultimately wasn’t the one for me and that’s okay!