This book was so much fun! The premise of this one is perfection, and effortlessly pulled off in the writing. I absolutely loved the tv show and movie references (especially the Magnum PI era Tom Selleck- loved our conversation about this Devon! And yes, I have the whole series on DVD 😂) Also, can every book please have a hilarious grandma character? She’s my fave! I can definitely see this book being made into a movie!

3 stars.

Unfortunately I wasn't as captivated by the Rom-Con as I was for DD's debut, Meet You In The Middle. I wasn't very invested in Jack and Cassidy's story. I do like Devon's writing style, however, at times, the writing felt like it was stuck in early 2000s with all of the references to millenial pop-culture, especially considering the leads are in their mid-20s in 2023. I'll still try DDs next book, however, this one overall was a miss for me.

I really enjoyed Daniels’ debut novel, but this one was even better. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is one of the most iconic romcoms and there aren’t enough retellings of it in my opinion. This book was funny and very romantic. Despite dealing with outdated dating advice, Cassidy took the intentions behind them and translated it into modern day acts of love for her partner. I really loved the reasonings she provided for why she did certain things for Jack to make him feel special and cared for, just as much as I appreciated seeing him equally give back to her (not quite the 1950s relationship). There were a few things that her Gran advised her to do that made me instantly want to say no, but overall I loved the balance of old and new.

The main reason I’m knocking off a star is (without going into detail and spoiling the ending) the whole six weeks thing. It’s way too long and was hard for me to get over, despite the HEA. Also—and I know this is expected for the story—there were some things Cassidy said that went beyond cringe when she was on the hunt for a story with Jack.

All in all, I couldn’t put this book down! I’m excited to discuss it with my book club and look forward to reading whatever Daniels comes out with next.

I found this to be quite enjoyable, laughed a lot. I think the premise is good, and the execution as well. There is one scene nearer the end where I thought the hero could have behaved a little better, and I was disappointed to not get a full apology for that scene. But overall it lived up to my expectations.

This is a fun rivals to lovers romance with some memorable characters (the grandmother especially) and an interesting plot.

Cassidy Sutton writes for a women’s magazine site called Siren, and she’s recently has given up on dating after a nasty break up. Her grandmother gives her a 1950’s dating guide and she decides to write an article about how outdated the advice is.

She decides to try out the tips on Jack Bradford, founder of Brawler, a competing magazine site written for men. Hopefully she’ll be able to
call Jack out for Brawler’s chauvinism.

Much to Cassidy’s surprise and dismay, the dating tips actually work and Jack isn’t the bad guy she thought he was.

I highly recommend this one, 4.5 stars.

A visit to her grandmother leads Cassidy to discover a 1950s dating guide, inspiring her to create an article for Siren. At an event, she meets Jack Bradford, co-founder of Brawler. Seeing him as the perfect target for her story, Cassidy blames his magazine for her recent dating troubles.

The Rom Con serves up a delightful blend of romance and comedy. It is a mix of "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "Down with Love."

Cassidy starts a faux dating plan, armed with her grandmother's old-school tips. However, as Cassidy and Jack's undeniable attraction grows, she faces a dilemma: should she focus on her story or explore the potential of love? Especially when he turns out to be much more than what Cassidy bargained for.

It's an 'enemies-to-lovers' and 'rivals-to-lovers' trope executed beautifully. Their relationship's sweet moments, tension, attraction, and playful conversations were a delight to read.

I picked this one up because a lot of people were raving about it and calling it a modern version of the movie How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days — and I can fully see the connection.

I honestly really enjoyed this — I’ve always loved the stories where there are strong characters on both sides of the relationship, but they’re both teaching each other how to appreciate life/love in new ways.

My only real problem with this one was the MMC’s place of work. The media that was portrayed from his company is what I personally view as what’s toxic about media today. The content his company put into the world didn’t seem to connect with who he was in the slightest, which made it a bit confusing as to why he not only worked there but was actually a founder. But sometimes, this is how life works. Just something that felt a bit confusing throughout the story.

Tropes:
- Rivals to lovers
- alpha cinnamon roll MMC
- NYC setting
- Grandmother sidekick (she’s a hoot!)
- Pop culture references
- Battle of the sexes

“As a writer, there’s a really delicious tension between ‘feminine’ and ‘feminist’ that I had so much fun exploring.“

The Rom Con by Devon Daniels checked all the boxes for how to capture my heart.

✓ Classic Rom-Com Feels

✓ Throwback and modern references that feel close to my heart (Doris Day, Friends, Dirty Dancing, Aqua Di Gio, Betty White, Peloton & Orange Theory, to name a few… ok, maybe those last two aren’t close to the heart)

✓ Rich, broody, sweet & handsome bachelor

✓ Strong, independent & relatable female lead

✓ Smart & funny writing

There was also a fun & interesting layer to this story because I could relate to the struggle that’s the core premise of the plot. As a 90s kid raised in a traditional and Catholic environment, my grandma’s words of advice often conflicted with the woman I was becoming. I have wondered if my complete rejection of those old courtship values is, in part, what has landed me single in my 40s.

Can 1950s dating advice help a modern woman get the guy?
In The Rom Con, Cassidy dumps her latest man after he declares he can’t go to her grandmother’s 90s birthday party because Saturdays are for football with the boys. Her grandmother then suggests that maybe a 1950s article with tips on how to land the man might be helpful to her love life. (e.g., “Read the obituaries to find eligible widowers.“) Cassidy, a writer for a women’s magazine, doesn’t believe there are any merits to these, but she does see potential for a great article.

In a twist to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Cassidy instead sets out to land a man using 70-year-old advice. In true Rom-Com fashion, “unexpectedly,” the lab rat of Cassidy’s experiment, Jack, turns out to be the perfect man. Cassidy quickly realizes she might want to hold on to Jack and gives herself fully to the relationship. Of course, Jack learns about her original intentions and decides to walk away dramatically. Cue to 6+ weeks of post-break-up depression, and we get *SPOILER ALERT* a happy ever after—this is a Rom-Com, after all. I don’t want to spoil anything else. This book is about the journey, not the destination. (Although I quite loved both.)

Devon Daniels writes the men of my dreams
I just fall for them. Jack Bradford or Ben Mackenzie, I politely but eagerly request the dating gods to please send me one of these. If you are a fan of “a guy with serious alpha male energy but none of the ego that typically comes with it,” The Rom Con by Devon Daniels needs to be on your TBR.

I had high hopes for the Rom Con, after hearing it compared to How to Lose a Guy in 10 days and other romantic comedy films I enjoy. While I thought the novel was a great take on feminism, I couldn't quite connect to the characters and wanted more from the story itself.

This was a fun romance that kept me entertained the whole time.

After taking advice from her grandmother to try taking an older approach to dating, Cassidy Sutton finds herself faking a 1950s personality to get herself a man. It just turns out that the man she is trying this new persona out on is Jack Bradford, the co owner of Brawler a.k.a her company the Siren’s nemesis.
While dating Jack, she goes through a series of experiments in an attempt to get him to trip up and do something misogynistic in the hopes that she can expose him in the article she’s writing for Siren. But as she gets to know him more, she realizes that Jack is much more than what she originally thought and she might just be falling for the very man she sought to destroy…

I thought this book was very entertaining and it had me laughing and swooning. Jack is a great MC and I liked how he was always kind and respectful towards Cassidy. The antics that Cassidy got herself into while perusing her “Betty” persona were very funny as well. I thought the plot was unique and I found the story engaging.
However, I took some issue with the pacing toward the end. Without giving too much away, it seemed like things got resolved too quickly and the characters lacked some vital development in the last few chapters which made it feel like something was missing.
I still enjoyed the book a lot but I wish more time was spent on Cassidy and Jack’s relationship healing after the deception.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I rated it 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️.✨

A really solid, adorable rom com read! I loved this book - the premise of two writers from rival publications set in NYC? A “con” of playing the 50s housewife role for story material?

SUCH a good setup, and I really loved Cassidy’s character and could relate to her major writer’s block. I also thought Jack’s character was SO dreamy and just had a lot of fun following their romance.

I tried reading the first chapter of this one but I couldn’t get into it. I don’t like how self deprivatating the lead female character is. I found her to be annoying and the plot seems unoriginal. I couldn’t finish this booo.

This novel is a delightful romantic comedy that successfully blends humor, romance, and self-discovery. The incorporation of the 1950s dating guide adds a unique and charming twist to the narrative. If you're looking for a light-hearted and entertaining read that will leave you with a smile, this book is the perfect pick.

I can’t deny the cover of this one caught my eye! For some reason it reminded of I Dream of Jeannie??

It does have some similar vibes as far as timeline, since the main character decides to try out a collection of rules from her grandmother’s era to snag a man. Cassidy is hoping her experiment, conducted on the owner of a rival, usually sexist site, will turn into a breaking story.

What she doesn’t expect is kind, thoughtful Jack who isn’t falling into any of her traps… I adored the collection of outrageous rules mixed with some excellent advice from her grandmother. Devon did an excellent job finding the best parts of that era and applying them to modern love!

REVIEW FOR THE ROM CON

4.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Romance/Berkley Publishing for the advanced digital copy!

I really loved this book. I thought it was a cute take on a 90's romcom set in current time NYC ( as all good rom coms are). I really enjoyed the MCs banter and their chemistry. There were a few aspects of the end that I didn't love, but overall I'd highly recommend this book!

I came in wanting a story that made me laugh and swoon, and Devon delivered! If you're looking for a romcom with major "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "27 Dresses" vibes/references, look no further. I loved the humor of the book, the slow burn build-up with Jack and Cassidy, the beautiful and loving relationship Cassidy had with her gran, and the overall concept of the story. It was certainly entertaining and kept me wanting more.

The big thing that bothered me about this book is that Jack continued to work for Brawler, even though it was blatantly obvious that it was a toxic, misogynistic publication. He argued that Siren did the same thing with some of their articles and he also said the Brawler articles weren't written for "guys like him", but that doesn't matter. You're still facilitating and benefiting from the garbage that's being thrown out into the world, and that goes for both publications putting things like that out.

Overall, it was a good time, and I can't wait to see what else Devon releases!

<SPOILER>

Even if he was biding his time until he could get out and do something else, he still proudly wore the title of Brawler exec, and that was just not okay with me. Things also lagged for me a bit after the third act breakup, but I was still pleased with how it all ended. It was also very man-childish of Jack to take SOOOO long getting in touch with Cassidy. Bro, you know you were wrong. Suck it up and go apologize!

At first I was a bit skeptical of this book. It seemed like it might seem very unrealistic. I was pleasantly surprised. The story was entertaining to read and the characters were fun. I do kind of feel like Jack was not that realistic, and I was curious to know more of him, but his dynamic with Cassidy was still fun to read about. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC!

This was fine! The writing tried too hard to be funny or quippy at times. And it was a little weird that the story was self-aware enough to mention How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

But I think the biggest problem was I think the characters do some real damage to each other that seems too big to actually recover from. I just didn’t buy it.

But there were some really fun moments along the way.

Cassidy has had it with dating. Her most recent breakup (which came with a 3-strikes-your-out conversation) was with a man who put his holy sports/bro day before her. Cassidy’s grandma convinces her to try some “old fashioned” dating techniques. And when Cassidy’s first attempt manages to catch the eye of none other than one of the co-owners, Jack, of the rival magazine (who created the holy sports day idea), it’s GAME ON!

If you’ve read the author’s other book, Meet you in the Middle, you know that there’s this push and pull and differing viewpoints - in that particular book’s case, about politics. This one is very similar with the push and pull, but this time around feminist, women’s views, toxic males, housewives, etc. Jack’s website (which Cassidy believes is "toxic masculinity" embodied) is the arch rival of Cassidy’s employment (feminist all the way). Cassidy’s grandma has this differing view about men and relationships. I found myself uncomfortable with some of the views and getting frustrated with Cassidy’s one track mind. BUT I did like how she finally was able to see past this “one size fits all” idea. I liked how Cassie came to appreciate that being kind and wanting to take care of a partner doesn’t necessarily mean you have to give up your own dreams, whatever those might be. Her grandma says toward the end:

“I think you’re still looking at this the wrong way, like anything you do for a man means you’re losing part of yourself. A big part of relationships is sacrifice of course, but it doesn’t have to diminish you…”

And earlier - “Let him know you’re thinking of him. Make him feel cherished. Never stop trying to win his heart.”

To me, that’s what relationships are. Valuing each other. Making the other person feel like they’re a treasure, your pride and joy. Worth it. We do that for children, pets, and should do it for partners, right?

Thanks to netgally for an eARC!

Content Warning:
Strong language
Open Door

This gave enemies to lovers, but misunderstood to completion of love. The relationship gave a whole other level to peeling back layers of discovering yourself through love. I laughed, I swooned, and was emotional ….it was a mixture of a perfect story. I throughly enjoyed this back and will need to get it in paperback to add to my collection.