This book reminded me of the adult version of a YA book I read last year. It was interesting that this book had both forbidden love and strangers-to-lovers tropes included. Another included theme would be found family. My only wish would be that I wish Valentines Day had been included as one of the rom-com movies included.

Ugh. I didn’t love Eli trying to change to win back an ex. I would feel like second best. I did love the overall story and how everything unfolded ❤️

The start of this book is just a whole different level of wtf bro. You propose, she says no and leaves the country? She’s just not that in to you boo.

However - it made for a hilarious backdrop to this lovely little romantic comedy. Naturally, our MMC is still in love with the woman who didn’t accept his proposal and his friends and family decide to give him a makeover - he’s reluctant and the neighborhood loner ends up drug into their crazy scheme. It’s pretty obvious where the story goes, but the road to get there takes some turns that I was unprepared for yet really enjoyed.

The narrator really brought the story to life. I can’t say I have any complaints, but the dual POV could have benefit from dual narrators as well. This one worked, but it’s my preference for a “full cast” if you will.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audio of this!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a very cute and fun book to read! Leah finds herself back in her home town to take care of her sick foster mother. He plan is always to move along after she passes and her affairs are in order. She is used to not staying still.

Eli needs to win back his girlfriend. He proposed and she broke up with him, gave him her cat and split for Rome. His friends hatch a plan to make him the perfect boyfriend to win her back and he starts watching every rom-com out there.

Friends to lovers? The narration on this audiobook was perfect and story was great. All the characters were really likable except her jerk foster brother. He was the worst.

*Audiobook arc provided by Netgalley and Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review,*

The premise of this book is that Eli proposed to his girlfriend before she was set to go to Europe and it went terribly as one would expect. It's been months since she left and Eli is still infatuated with the idea of her and with the help of his sister and friends sets off to make himself he perfect man for her. To accomplish this he needs a new wardrobe, new hobbies, and to become a combination of every romantic comedy lead. Basically, he needs to become an entirely new person to prove his worth and get the girl. Now enter Leah, the girl who just happened to overhear the very awkward rejection and employee of literally every establishment in town. She uprooted her life to take care of her dying foster mother and now is working a million jobs to afford the house she was raised in. As a result she's sucked into Eli's orbit and becomes the sometimes unwilling participant in his quest for romantic redemption. Together with a VHS player they watch classic romantic comedies where she explains what it is about the men that make women swoon. Of course over the course of this Leah catches feelings and Eli well, he's clueless.

If you're expecting a ton of references to 90's romcoms this probably isn't going to meet your expectations. If you want a mildly light hearted read where you mentally yell at Eli for being an idiot and prioritizing the wrong girl this is for you. It does have some heavy material on Leah's side dealing with the death of a loved one, and verbal abuse from a foster sibling. There is also that push for Eli to entirely change himself to get the girl but I wonder if his family was more trying to make him see how ridiculous it was to jump through all those hoops for someone. I don't believe the authors intent was to ever say that's a great idea based on the ending it's very much a love the skin you're in and the right people will love you for you.

Rating: 4/5 - Spice - 1/5

This was a cute little rom-com romance! I loved the premise which felt like a classic 80's movie - boy wants girl and goes on a make-over mission, but within it all he falls for the girl helping him who didn't think he needed to change all along. The character development for both Eli ad Leah was nice to follow. Over all, I enjoyed this book!

Brief Plot: Eli's girlfriends left him after an unsuccessful marriage proposal. A year later, he still wants to win her back. So his sister and friends go on a mission to give him a make-over, and pull her in for help, to include watching all classic love story movies. s Leah and Eli spend more time together, Leah doesn't see why Eli needs to change, and Eli grows confused over his feelings for his ex, in addition to his feelings for Leah

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamsape Media for an eARC audiobook copy of The Rom-Com Agenda, by Jayne Denker, and narrated by Erika Schindele.

I wish I had loved this book. I really do. I love 90s rom coms and was excited to see a book focused on movies but it… wasnt that? There wasn’t much “rom com agenda” at all. And the characters felt very one dimensional. It felt like Leah’s only personality trait was being an orphan and Eli’s only personality trait was trying to win back his ex. The premise was good it just wasn’t for me unfortunately

I thought this was a sweet winter romance that references a lot of RomCom movies - which I loved! Leah and Eli were great characters and I loved every moment I had with them. I do wish this was an open-door romance, but instead, this was a clean closed-door one. Despite that, I was still left with a warm cozy feeling with this read.

The audiobook was well performed and added to the overall experience.

This did hit the emotions a little harder than I had expected. There was a lot of grief and loss in this romance, but it added to the characters' depth and realism

3.5 stars. I loved all the pop culture references. I have some mixed feelings about the messages the author sent about love and the person you are within the context of a relationship. Most of the characters were pretty one dimensional and could have been fleshed out more. I enjoyed the way this one wrapped up in the end.

Author: Jayne Denker
Narrator: Erika Schindele

I received an ARC (advanced reader copy) of this audiobook through Netgalley.

I’ll be honest - I had to restart this audiobook 3 times before I could get into it.

What I can say is that the first 15 minutes are kind of a sludge to get through… but once you do the rest of the book is fantastic!

This book centers around a heterosexual pair that seem right for each other from the get go.

Leah is a self-sufficient, smart, strong willed woman that is a hard worker and she is very self aware.

Eli is a great guy that only gets better with time. His biggest hurdle? Himself, of course

While romances like this have a tried and true feel to them… I still always love how they play out. The characters in this book are golden!

I recommend this book to romance lovers and romantic comedy movies - especially 80’s. Examples: Say Anything, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, Dirty Dancing, When Harry Met Sally.

I personally loved all but the first 15 minutes. Enjoy!

the rom-com agenda review 💕🎬

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🤍✨ SYNOPSIS ✨🤍

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.


🤍✨ MY THOUGHTS ✨🤍

⚠️ cw: death of a loved one, mental illness, & grief ⚠️

if you like when harry met sally, books with lots of movie references, grumpy x sunshine couples, the friends to lovers trope and lots of funny, entertaining side characters this book might be for you!!

alexa play lover by taylor swift 🎶

🌟 RATING: ★★★★★
🌶️🥵 RATING: ★☆☆☆☆ (mostly closed-door)

omg where do i start?! eli and leah stole my heart!! i loved watching their friendship blossom and turn into the cutest relationship!! the narrator was amazing and really brought the story to life plus all of the movie and gilmore girls references were just *chefs kiss* 💕💕

This was ok for just a simple little cute rom com but it was drawn out, the dude was an idiot most of the time, and their chemistry just fell flat for me. I get the whole “you belong with me” vibe, but he was obsessed with Victoria and Leah was an afterthought. Always. The narration for the audio was great, though!

The Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne Denker, was a sweet, fade to black, slow-burn romance. It reminded me of a Hallmark movie and I love Hallmark movies. The incorporation of the friend group was a nice touch and I would love to see what happens with Delia and Grey. If you are looking for a nice easy read, then The Rom-Com Agenda is for you. Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to The Rom-Com Agenda.

*ARC review*

I think most of what I liked about this book were the references to movies I enjoy (particularly Better Off Dead!) and the fact that I actually live in this region of New York State. Catching the nods to north country and CNY places was the best part.

I think the book suffered in the last third. The beginning was ok, the setup was good enough but I really couldn’t understand why Eli hung on to Victoria for so long. It made me dislike him a bit for stringing Leah along.

<spoiler>
Once they get together there really isn’t a big climax I feel. I didn’t need the scene in the airport (shout out to that guy in the dinosaur bar-b-que shirt though). I felt like we were as resolved as we needed to be with Victoria. Focusing just on Patrick’s shenanigans would have made more sense. I don’t know that Eli needed the airport moment to have his realization. Just fell flat to me.


Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and St. Martin’s for the ARC!

Thank you to @netgalley for the e-ARC of #theromcomagenda by #jaynedenker.

Here’s the premise: Eli Masterson, an outdoorsy type who runs kayaking trips, has fallen for a girl who is totally, eminently wrong for him. She’s a classy art professor. He’s, well, a man-child.

So she (her name is Victoria) dumps him. And his well meaning family decides he needs a #makeover in order to make him her type of man. Preppy sweaters. Classy wardrobe. Must learn about art. It’s hard to do in his far-flung piece of the USA, but his family is determined.

Enter Leah Keegan. She was raised in #fostercare. Has just cared for her foster mom during her battle with cancer. Is working about a billion jobs in an effort to get the money she needs to move out of town. And she’s crushing on Eli even while acting like she’s just a friend. To the point that she helps him watch classic 80s romance movies and ends up on a fake Valentine’s Day date with him.

It all works on paper. I did not like this #book in reality. I think it was Eli - who was truly hung up on Victoria - that really turned me off. Reading about a man-child doesn’t interest me. Give me a complex man dealing with his demons over someone too stupid to see what’s in front of his face. The book was also far more plot driven than character driven. Leah could be an archetype - that’s how sweet, good and kind she is.

So that’s a nope from me. Do not recommend. But if you like fluffy cute books, it will work for you.

This book truly felt like a romcom! I enjoyed the credible development of the friendship between Eli(MMC) and Lia(FMC). I enjoyed their banter, which felt organic and not at all forced.

The main premise — Eli changing himself for someone who doesn’t want him — is definitely kind of ridiculous. However, romcoms usually have elements of silly. This book was not an exception.

I really liked that despite the challenges Lia faced, she didn’t told resentment over them.

My only complaint was Eli’s stubbornness when it came to remaining fixated on Victoria despite her obvious disinterest and HIS obvious interest in Lia.

Audio feedback — I wish there had been more narrators for the different characters so that the back and forth didn’t get confusing during some conversations. Otherwise an enjoyable listen.

Read if you like
✔️Banter
✔️Pop culture references
✔️Dual POV

Rating: 3.5/5

Leah is used to being alone. But Eli, who desperately wants to win his ex, Victoria, back, needs help, and she accepts to guide him in the process.
This is as cute friends to lovers, small town romance. It was an original light read, filled to the brim with amazing references. But the burn was sloooooow, and the ending was rushed. I would've preferred if Eli got his sh*t together sooner, his moping and pining for Victoria got old very fast, and I thought it was annoying. But I loved Leah's character. I listened to the audio book, and the narration was great.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The premise of the story was cute, however I wasn’t a fan of the male character. His wannabe macho personality, and not having any emotion or femininity left me with something to be desired. I want to read about a man who already loves rom coms, but this guy watched ONE, by accident, and is being forced by his sisters to watch more.

If you're in the mood for a sweet, funny, and simple romance, The Rom-Com Agenda is the book for you! This is a friends-to-lovers romance in a small town with a loveable cast of characters and constant references to rom-com movies.

3.5/5

What would you do if you were trapped while a proposal was going all wrong? Leah obviously chose to stay hidden while Eli proposed to Victoria after dating for 4 months right before she was to go to Italy for Sabbatical for a year.

Months later when Eli’s friends help give him a makeover to win Victoria back Leah inadvertently gets pulled in to help. What starts out as just a stranger offering tips ends up turning friendship into more. The journey that Leah and Eli go on bother together and as individuals is fantastic.

The narrators did a great job building the tension and moving the story along.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for a copy of this audiobook. This is my honest voluntary review.