There were aspects of this that I enjoyed. The quality of the writing was good and so was the dialogue. The characters, however, just didn’t resonate fully with me.

I could see how this could be an enjoyable read. I think the writing is great. There were just too many things in this book that bothered me. The things that Marcel said to Siobhan in the first half of the book just didn’t seem redeemable for me. I understood why he was the way he was by the end of the book but I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe he needed to heal alone before he got into a relationship. I don’t have faith in him being able to love Siobhan the way she deserves to be loved. I really wish his character was more closed off than just outright rude. The ending was very nice though.

I was iffy about this book at first. Marcel’s character is a real turn off in the beginning. They way he treated Siobhan and how much he dissed her work and romance novels as a whole, saying it’s not true literature, really made me dislike him and I wasn’t sure I would finish reading this.

I did, though. Over time, Marcel slowly changes. He’s still a jerk to Siobhan on occasion, but out of the two of them, he’s got the subtle character growth throughout the book. He goes from saying love is despicable to wanting everything with her.

There are several things about this book that I was annoyed with or felt wasn’t necessary. I’m not sure if it’s just the nature of the book, or because it’s a translated version. There were a lot of long descriptions for places and events that could have easily been shortened and still gotten the point across. It doesn’t happen incredibly often, but it’s also something I’ve noticed in several books I’ve read in the past year - I find it annoying when authors emphasize the color of one’s skin. I don’t feel it necessary to capitalize black, when describing people of color. To me, it just feels like putting unnecessary attention to it. You can write inclusive content without making it look like you’re blatantly saying, “look! Look what I did!”

I also felt like Marcel needed more of an epiphany and or panic when he realized he was in love with Siobhan. For someone completely against love and love stories, the conflict didn’t hold much oomph.

In the end, I did finish the book, it was just not a wow story for me, or one I have a desire to maybe read again one day.

Thank you NetGalley & Amazon Crossing for the ARC !

This book was a very classic grumpy x sunshine + enemies to lover. I enjoyed the banter between Marcel & Siobhan, they both really embodied their tropes well with Siobhan having such a rough time but always having a positive outlook on life and Marcel, well, irritable. The plot of the story was also very interesting where two people opposite in personality come together to hopefully create something memorable that they're both proud of.

I'll rate a solid 3. It was okay, but I felt the pacing of the story within the chapters were a bit abrupt and bounced around a lot, as opposed to a seamless flow. At some moments throughout the book, I found myself breaking out of the immersion by going, "Oh, I guess we're here now." There was also a giant portion of the novel where it was just info dump and dialogue. I would prefer if novels were more show as opposed to tell especially when the character decides to provide lists in most of her monologues. There were also parts that could have provided a lot more insight to the characters and enriched their stories, but it sort of fell flat as well.

Siobhan is a newly published romance author with a bit of imposter syndrome. Marcel is a widely successful crime author who just killed off his beloved main character and lives in anonymity. After a book influencer puts their books in competition and Marcel’s giant ego makes the situation worse, they are pushed to work together by their publisher to write a crime romance novel. Can they get past their intense dislike for one another to write a successful book and find a place of mutual respect . . . or more.

This was an enjoyable, grumpy sunshine, enemies to lovers romance with a nice HEA. Marcel’s character was VERY unlikeable at the beginning, but he has significant character development thanks to his relationship with Siobhan. His development is the focus of the book, including a visit to his hometown of New Orleans. Those chapters are definitely a love letter to NOLA and I enjoyed the reminders of the continued impact of Katrina on that city. It was interesting to me that a Spanish author wrote so knowledgeably of NOLA and NYC. There were a few odd word choices throughout the book that I assumed were from the translation, but everything made sense. I do wish there had been more of Marcel wanting to know more of who Siobhan is, including her family. His history was the focus, but overall there was good banter and fun side characters. I would recommend to romance fans.

Overall: 3.5
Spice: 3.5

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Crossing for this ARC. After reading this book, I rated it 2.5 stars.

Let's start with what the book did right. The premise of the novel is really cute and interesting and had a huge potential to be a great novel.
I liked the main character of the story. Her hopeless romantic ideals touched my heart and I love that she viewed the world through rose-tinted glasses.

Now onto what I was not impressed with:
- I absolutely loathed the male main character and his lack of character development and self-awareness made it very difficult for me to root for him as a love interest. Marcel has sexist views and has the emotional intelligence of a brick. Every time there was a vulnerable moment he seemed like he was forced into it due to his sister with verbal diarrhea which made them seem disingenuous.
- I hated the characterization of her friends. I feel like they were very 2-dimensional characters and there was a lack of development of they attitudes as supporting characters.
- I feel like this book is trying really hard to show that its diverse without the actual acknowledgement of what makes a BIPOC character important in literature. BIPOC characters are not just their traumas and they cannot be used as token pieces to call your work diverse. They need to add value to the experience and thought of the plot and have a direct effect on the main character and how she views the world. Unfortuanately, in this book I was disheartened to see them undeveloped beyond their external characterization.
- I don't appreciate when authors choose to tell the reader instead of show them, there were so many instances when pages were just filled with info dump or detailed description of everything a character was doing and feeling. I feel like the author could've created a more impactful experience had they chosen to be concise and rely on the reader's intelligence to understand the context of what was happening.

Overall, it was a good novel with so much potential I just wish it had gone through a couple of rounds of editing before being finished.

I dnf'd this book at 22% because of the over-the-top forcing of "being diverse" while also bashing "political correctness." One of the characters used "you act like you have Asperger's" as a comment on another character's brash personality.

3.75
Thank you to Amazon Crossing & NetGalley for this ARC!

I enjoyed this book for the most part! The premise was very interesting--a brand-new romance author and an established and mysterious crime/mystery author get into a public twitter argument about which of their genres is better. The (unintentional) instigator of their argument suggests that they write a crime and romance novel together. With some pressure from their shared publishing house, they both agree.

First, the positives: I loved reading more about the publishing industry in a fictional world, it was very interesting. My two main genres that I read are romance and thrillers/mysteries, so I enjoyed picturing their co-authored novel. I thought Marcel's character growth was great and the slow-burn romance throughout made me really happy.

However, I did have some problems with this book. The biggest issue with this book for me were the characters. I loved Siobhan as she was very determined and motivated to succeed. She had a great attitude about life and her work. But, Marcel really annoyed me. I take this as a sign of the author's skill in writing as Sereno was able to write a very dislikable character. Marcel was extremely misogynistic, condescending, and just generally had a terrible attitude. The author's reasoning for his terrible personality is that he has a very tragic backstory, but I still greatly disliked him.

Further, Siobhan's friends Paige and Lena felt really flat--as other reviewers pointed out, they both feel like the extreme version of a feminist, or what people think feminists are. It didn't feel very real and they were a little preachy.

My last issue was the whole Hurricane Katrina part of the book. It's totally fine to want to write/talk about Hurricane Katrina and the abysmal job the government did with helping the people rebuild. However, it felt very out of place and having page-long explanations about the hurricane took away from the story and felt sort of unnecessary--Marcel's tragic backstory would have been largely the same without it.

Overall, this was a fun, easy read and I enjoyed all of it (minus Marcel at the start lol). Highly recommend for romance readers who also enjoy thrillers from time to time.

I loved this book! I struggled with the MMC in the beginning but he definately had some character growth, which was written amazingly! The story was very fun to read and the title is very fitting once you work your way through the book. I liked the writing style and the characters, just wished to have a bit more info every here and there on the characters backgrounds.

Okay, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book at first because I hated Marcel and his arrogance, but wow! What a turn around! What amazing character growth! For both characters really, but mainly Marcel! Marcel and Siobhan start off as enemies who now have to cowrite a new book together. I wish I could read the book they write!

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Crossing for my digital ARC!

When two very different people join forces to create something amazing together, one of two things are bound to happen. Siobhan and Marcel, who are complete opposites, begin writing a book together. I found myself really really disliking Marcel, but that was the whole point. He is not a likeable character and to be honest makes you scream at Siobhan to RUN.

As you get through the story, you begin to see the light beneath the cracks in Marcel's life. Tension turns into passion and ba da bing ba da boom!

Cons: I do wish we had been given a little more details between Marcel and his dad. I think this would have made it easier to connect with his character more.

All in all it was a fun read that can easily be read within a day.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am thankful I had early access to it through NetGalley! The book follows two authors in New York City when they are forced to collaborate on a book that fuses their literary styles.

Highlights:
-chemistry between the characters
-the backstories of each character and how realistic it seemed when certain things re-emerged

Overall, I would recommend this read to anyone who loves a rom-com!

I love contemporary romances, especially any with the enemies to lovers/ grumpy and sunshine troups, and this one had it all. For the first few chapters, I couldn’t even begin to understand how she would ever want to be with a man like Marcel, but as those cracks begin to show and grow with their together, I began to understand. After their time in New Orleans, I was on the edge just waiting for that next kiss between them to happen! A few times I even have to pause the book, to squeal to my own grumpy boyfriend about my favorite lines!

The only thing I would changed is more of an insight into Marcel’s history, especially after his talk with his dad, and to learn what lead Bucky to leave originally. Both of these questions just left part of the story feeling empty and rushed.

Thank you Net Gallery for the advance read!

I absolutely adore this book! I did not think I would be one to like grumpy sunshine trope romance but my goodness has this changed my mind! I really wish I could read more by this author. As soon as the physical book is released here I will be putting it on my self after re reading it! I hope more from this author is translated!

What a fun read where the reader gets to see how an unexpected collaboration leads to surprising discoveries. Marcel Black, a renown author, finds himself thrusted into an unlikely partnership, with Siobhan, a fresh faced rider with her own unique perspective. Sereno masterfully weaves together together the dynamics of Marcel and Siobhan’s relationship, creating a charming blend of grumpiness and sunshine that keeps readers hooked from start to finish. As they navigate the intricacies of co-writing, both characters are forced out of their comfort zones, leading to a heartwarming moment of personal growth and understanding.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

"In this lighthearted romp through New York City, two clashing authors must blend their differences to prove every story is worth telling and that some genres—like people—work better together."

I am biased to this book, It has a beautiful cover and is based in NYC (the perfect backdrop for any good rom-com)
Throw in the fact that one author is a romance author and another author is a crime novelist (two of my favorite genres) and you have me turning pages well into the night.

Any book that includes authors who find romance is an instant hit for me. I absolutely love all things books and romance, and Emily Henry's book "Book Lovers" is what I look for when I read about people in the book industry finding love!

I enjoyed the banter between the two main characters and just found this book to be such a fun read.

Newly published author Siobhan, and the private, cynical Marcel join forces to write a book together after a Twitter feud, and it can be dangerous when sparks fly. I do enjoy my contemporary romances and this had all the ingredients: grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity, “enemies” to lovers, cute cover… however Marcel’s surly nature became tiresome quickly, to the point where I would have preferred if the whole book had just been Siobhan’s POV. Despite that, the story did progress nicely with a decent resolution after all.

Thank you to Amazon Crossing and NetGalley for this ARC for review.

DNF

I am so sad that I didn't like this book.

I didn't like any of the characters and I just wasn't invested in the story or the relationship.

It wasn't for me.

This book was fun and different from the normal romances I read. It was refreshing! The slow burn was great, the enemies to lovers was great. I really enjoyed the characters, the feud, and the setting!

I loved this book. From the way they meet online until the end I ate all of it up. He’s a jerk and she’s a newbie trying to prove herself. I loved that she always pushed back against him. I liked that she was so steadfast and talented he had no choice but to see her. I also really liked the inclusion of Katrina and how that area continues to struggle. It’s not often discussed anymore and it is heartbreaking that the area never fully recovered. I also liked how his family was included and further highlighted Marcel’s struggles. It was a cute read. I can’t wait to see more from this author! This book is a new favorite! 5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the arc.