Cute book. The storyline didnt drag out. Good friends to lovers trope. Shout out to publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to listen to this audio book!

3 STARS!

"What's... what's the movie where the guy is so stupid and so blind he doesn't see the best thing that's ever happened to him is the woman who's been right in front of him the whole time?"
This is what this book is really. As cliché as it is, its fun & hilarious😂

Liah is a sweetheart & an extremely hardworking & stong woman. Eli is a great character even though there were a number of times I just wanted to vigorously shake sense into him.

All the side characters are extremely fun & have their unique personalities which I completely adore. The found family trope is done really well. I just extremely love this trope. It kind of makes me all sappy🥺 There's something extremely beautiful about finding your people, making friends who somehow become your family, without you even realising that🖤

There are A LOT, I MEAN A LOT of movie references✨️
Really loved listening to the audiobook, the narration's good.

Enjoyed this book through i really wish it had an epilogue 💗
It's hitting the shelves 10 Jan'2023!

"Thank you NetGalley & the publishers for the advance copy."

Leah meets and befriends Eli as his friends are putting him through a rom-com makeover to help win back his ex. As she finds her place in their “family”, she spends more time with Eli watching rom-coms and starts to develop feelings, but they can’t go anywhere while Eli’s still stuck on someone else.

Based on the premise, I knew I had to read this. A love story with a both of classic rom coms?? And it was fun! Leah has a rough family life within foster care so it was great to watch the found family element.
My biggest issue was that Eli was a dummy. Could someone act like this? Maybe. But it still didn’t feel realistic. How long does it really take to stop being obsessed with a crappy ex of 4 months and give yourself permission to like the good person in front of you? They were both about 30 but the actions seemed like teenagers. To the point that I’d forget they were my age and when it mentioned their age or that they could even drink alcohol, it shocked me and took a second to reorient.
3.25⭐️

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for my honest review.

What does a guy got to do to win the girl of his dreams? Makeover inside and out of course, that is according to his sister and their friends! As Eli gets led down the path of Makeover Mayhem, Leah quietly and quickly becomes drawn into the circle of friends and the engineer of Eli's ship, but does he really need a makeover or perhaps he needs a different girl! This is a wonderful and sweet romance of friends to lovers that will have you sighing with delight as the Eli gets his girl, but which girl does he get? You'll have to listen or read to find out. The narration is fantastic as it really brings to life the hilarious antics of the friends, the angst that Leah is undergoing as a former foster child and former caregiver to a cancer patient and all the irritation, frustration, fun and laughs that come along the way. I absolutely hope that this is a series and if it is, I'll definitely be lining up to listen to more as I loved the authors way of bringing the characters to life and making the reader feel like they are a part of the group.

Thank you to @netgalley and @Stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @macmillian.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

Leah was there for Eli’s disastrous proposal to Victoria before Victoria left for Italy for 10 months. She also found herself involved in the makeover Eli’s friends are doing to prepare him for Victoria’s return. The more she gets involved, the more Eli wonders if he really loved Victoria as much as he thought. His head is turning more towards Leah. Leah, who’s ultimate goal is to leave town.

The makeover concept is cute. Getting Eli all dolled up is only one part. His friends are making him watch all the rom-coms to learn about relationships. I mean, Dude thought Pretty Woman was only a movie about a guy getting a hooker! The love story that develops is as cute as any rom-com movie.

4 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #stmartinspress #macmillianaudio #ltbreaderteam #theromcomagenda #jaynedenker #smpinfluencers

This romantic comedy was sweet, romantic, and full of fun. I haven’t read a rom-com in a while that didn’t rely on miscommunication and forced angst to move the plot. These characters were well-developed, believable, and I rooted for them the entire time. The secondary characters were all very well-rounded as well. There was one small unresolved secondary plot point so I hope that means we’ll get another book featuring those characters. Although the heavy romance is fade to black/closed door, the romantic tension was still palpable. And I can recommend this to my high school students who love romance too!
I listened to this book on audio and loved it. The narrator helped bring the characters to life. My first 5 star read of the year!
I would like to thank NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for providing this ARC copy to read and review. All the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading the book.

Loved this book! The writing style reminds me of a fun Meghan Quinn or Tessa Bailey novel.
The character development was great, i even found myself wondering about the backstory of the secondary characters. Therefore, I could see this developing into a great series.
Furthermore, the narrator did a great job. I would love to hear her read more novels in a similar genre. There was emotion behind the words and she did a fantastic job with voice changing for each character.
My only critique, and why I didn’t give 5 stars, is that I feel like it all wrapped up very quickly at the end. I would have liked to see more of the “after the make over”.

3.75 stars

Fun, fluffy, and (unsurprisingly) full of references to various major rom-com movies from the past few decades as well as fairly regular allusions to Gilmore Girls. I didn’t love absolutely everything about the book (some of the representation of different identities could have been better, in my opinion), but overall it was a fun story with small-town vibes, an interesting range of characters, and intentional exploration of some bigger issues. I did largely enjoy it.

I loved this audiobook so very much that no I absolutely must find all of Jayne Denker's books and devour them! The characters (maybe except for one) were so easy to fall in love with and it was such a sweet story about finding love and acceptance.

4⭐for Leah ~ 2⭐ for Eli = 3⭐ total

Featuring ~ dual 3rd person POV, foster care, found family, slow burn, friends to lovers, no steamage

Leah & Eli
I really liked Leah as a person. She had a great heart, but I felt she invested way too much time waiting around for Eli.

Eli coulda went for a crack upside his noggin about the whole Victoria thing ~ how could he not see what was going on ~ get a clue, dude.
Foster brother, Patrick, was a tool too.

Overall, this was alright, but I would have liked it much better if Eli got his act together way sooner. I did enjoy all the references that brought me back to the good ole times in the 80's & 90's.

I was fortunate enough to have an audio and ebook to review, but preferred the ebook on this one.
It's narrated by Erika Schindele for 10 hours and 55 minutes. Although she did a fine job I really wish there was a male narrator, so that's why e-book was better.

This was such a cute, endearing, and sweet romance, and such an easy/fast read! I really enjoyed the author’s writing style. I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion, and really appreciated the quirky comments made throughout. Maybe it was because I’ve been reading so many thrillers and mysteries lately, but this was exactly the kind of book I needed to make me feel all warm and fuzzy again!

The Rom Com Agenda
By: Jayne Denker
Narrator: Erika Schindele
Audiobook: Dreamscape Media

The Rom Com Agenda filled my heart with love, humor, and nostalgia. Willow Cove is nestled in the Thousand Islands of New York, along the St. Lawrence River and near the Adirondack Mountains. This small town is the ideal setting for romantic escapades in a story featuring Leah, Eli, and a sparkling support cast of friends and family. Narrator Erika Schindele brought out all of the feelings conveyed in the book with her versatile expression for all of the characters.

Leah's personality and character won me over. She was very loyal to her foster mom, Cathy, during her illness, and now works hard at several jobs. Eli was rejected by his girlfriend, Victoria, and is the reluctant subject of a "makeover" by his friends to help him out. Author Denker created a perfect ensemble cast of characters, with definite chemistry, in her book about finding love and seeking a sense of belonging.

A fun plot in the book involves watching many romantic movies from generations past, sometimes on vintage VHS tapes. This brought back fond memories trips to the video stores in the eighties and nineties, searching for just the right film for weekend nights with friends. I need to pop some popcorn, curl up on the couch, and re-watch some of those favorite movies from my younger days!

Thank you to Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for the advance reader's copy of the audiobook. My review is my own.

I had to DNF this. I tried but the dialogue was cringey and did not match the age of the characters. I was drawn in by the cover and premise but this wasn’t my cup of tea.

The premise was cute. I loved the friends to lovers trope with the small town romance thrown in. The pacing to me felt a little off, felt kind of rushed. The narrator to me was a bit boring, it really didn't draw me into the story as much as I hoped.

The Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne Denker
Publish Date: 10 January 2023

Tropes: Friends to lovers, small town romance, golden retriever hero

This book is exactly what you would expect based on the title - a light hearted rom-com.

Leah struggles to find her place in the world after growing up in the foster system. When her foster mother passess, Leah meets a group of friends who become her chosen family. Leah works with her new friends to turn Eli into a romcom worthy hero in order to win back the girl that got away.

I really liked Leah's character. She is the independent, strong-willed type with a mostly positive outlook given her life experience and current circumstances. I loved the pleasantly dysfunctional friend group. They were funny and the kind of friends you hope to have in your own life.

Eli's character was where it fell a little flat for me. I liked him well enough - he seemed like a good guy with a big heart who tried to do the right thing. But I didn't love that in his realization of truth moment, everything flipped in his mind and it was as if all of the agonizing leading up to that point never even happened.

The narration of the audiobook was great. Narrator Erika Schindele did a great job. It wasn't overly dramaticized but kept me engaged while listening.

This was cute, but it felt like it was missing something? The entire concept was fun, and honestly the story was very sweet, but I think I just never believed Eli and Leah's jump from friends to more. The development of their friendship felt perfectly paced, but the next step, especially given how hung up Eli was on Victoria, just felt too rushed.

I still liked this overall though, particularly with the found family aspects, but it just felt like it could have benefited from a bit more development in places.

3.5

Eli and Leah are interesting, well-developed characters. Their romance had me turning the pages from beginning to end. I connected with them both as individual characters and as a couple. The secondary characters were a huge part of the story and I enjoyed them – especially the children. I enjoyed going on this journey with them.

I listened to this book on audio. The narrator did a good job and.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this one and the premise was fun but this was almost too campy for me, to the point that I think the author lost me.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Eli Masterson has his heart shattered when he proposes to his girlfriend of four months and she turns him down, hard. She then leaves for her sabbatical in Rome.

A few months later, since he is still hung up on her, his friend group devises a plan to make him into a her dream man- full makeover of the body, clothes, and a list of rom coms to learn from.

In this process, he meets Leah Keegan. Her foster mom, who she returned to take care of, has recently passed away, and she’s working a dozen jobs to build up enough cash to move away. She’s used to taking care of herself, but Eli’s friend group begins to enfold her into their circle.

Eli and Leah start working through his rom com homework together and learn that they truly enjoy each other’s company. Will they each work through their worth and get together, or will they stay just friends?

Such a cute and fun read!! It’s set in the winter, which makes for some fun scenes in the snow, but a lot of it reads like a lighthearted summer read. Still, each of our main characters has a fully developed backstory like in The Roughest Draft or Book Lovers.

Would recommend for anyone who loves a friends to lovers, closed door romance book.

I want to start off by saying I really did with this books. Every time something happened that made me uncomfortable I tried to just push through cause I liked the premise of the books and loved the romcom references but I just couldn't read anymore. I DNFed at 42%.

First, I want to start off by saying that I don't know how I am supposed to like Eli after what he pulled in chapter 1. Proposing to a girl after only dating 4 months because she's leaving, and sure I sound a little bit like a hypocrite cause I am a fan of instalove. But Victoria's reaction to his proposal should've give him enough information that she was not interested in him.

Second, I was listening to the audiobook, to clarify English is not my first language, both names of the main characters were confusing. Eli and Leah in this narrators voice sound similar in some moments and I confused some things Eli said with Leah... and don't get me started when Eli thought Leah and Leia are the same thing.

Third, this book has a lot of pop culture references, if this is not your cup of tea, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK... I got at least 4 or 5 Harry Potter references.

Now to the reason why I did not finish this book:

Eli is still in love or interest in Victoria at least 40% of this book. The reason why I couldn't continue is because (spoilers ahead) Leah has feelings for the man, and his friends think it's a great idea to use her as a study date for Eli. LEAH IS A PRACTICE DATE FOR ELI. HE IS PRACTICING DATES FOR ANOTHER WOMAN. Not just that, but Leah is getting paid to be a practice. date. for. Eli. She is not a call girl guys. Made me very uncomfortable how they forced Leah into spending time with Eli in some moments, like when he is out with his sister and they run into Leah and the. sister pushes for Eli to ask Leah to join then for dinner. Then the next day (or a few days afterwards) Eli's sister pays a woman to snow plow Leah's driveway. Like it very much felt like Eli's friend's and family are pushing them to be together while Eli is still head over heals in love with someone else.

Another thing I didn't like, personally to me it felt like everyone pity Leah cause she is an orphan. It made uncomfortable. I don't think any of the characters are likable.

Like I said, I like the concept and I am not a fan of the execution.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc and audiobook arc of this book.