Unfortunately I didn’t love this one. It felt way too long and wordy for a romance book and the romance felt very forced. No spice at all! I was honestly really bored and really annoyed with the lack of communication across the main characters.

Such a fun read! Melissa Ferguson has done it again! The protagonists were as lovable and quirky as the antagonist was eye-rollable in her ridiculousness (I see you Amelia!)!

Not only was this a clean, sweet rom-com, there was also depth and it had you cheering on the main characters, Bryony and Jack. Put this on your feel-good reads list!

I received a complimentary ebook copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

3.25/5

This was my first read by Melissa Ferguson, and I’d be interested in reading her other romance books. I gained an interesting insight into the publishing industry which reasonably established the main character’s struggle. Unfortunately I didn't really connect with the romance aspect of this book.

I felt that the large time jump meant that a lot of the relationship development between the main couple wasn’t really observed by the reader. As a result, the book’s focus is not really on the romance side of things. I was personally hoping and expecting the opposite to be true. However, I mostly still enjoyed the chemistry and banter between Bryony and Jack.

The fact that the title seems completely irrelevant until halfway through the book made for a bit of confusion for a while. The conclusion was, however, satisfying.

Ultimately, I’d recommend this book to fans of clean adult contemporary novels (with less focus on romance) or fiction about writers.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing this complimentary copy of this book! The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

She has done it again! I LOVE Melissa Ferguson’s stories. They read so smoothly and are just enough of everything I like in a RomCom. Go get it and encourage your public library to add it!

This was okay. Still a pretty good read. I love the growth but it felt a little bit short for me.

What I did love were the thoughts going thru her mind when she puts herself in certain situations.

Melissa Ferguson has the ability to create characters you really care about and root for. She’s done it again here. This is the story of Bryony Page, an ESL teacher who has written a novel near and dear to her heart that she is desperate to have published. She meets an agent named Jack Sterling at a writers conference and her life is never the same. Jack agrees to be her agent and to try to sell her book if she agrees to ghostwrite for another one of his client authors. Bryony’s writing takes off and the romcoms she ghostwrites are best sellers, but her novel doesn’t go anywhere. As Bryony and Jack work together, they grow close. They are best friends and then they become more before everything falls apart.

I became attached to Bryony and her students as I read this story. While romcom is in the title, I wouldn’t classify this book as a romcom. It is about a woman following her dreams and coming into her own. While there is some romance in the story, it isn’t the focal point of the story and it is definitely a slow burn culminating in some kisses. Romance is my preferred genre and while I wouldn’t classify this book as a romance, I enjoyed the story and I am glad I read it.

🌟3.75/5 🌟

No Spice/ Kisses Only

Workplace Romance
Author x Agent
Forced Proximity
He Fell First & Hard
Friends to More

What I liked: I enjoyed the storyline of Bryony’s self- discovery and growth overall. The romance was second to her growth journey.

For me, I think there could have been more romance and more conversations between the 2 on the page. There was quite a bit implied from the 2 year gap when she was writing and they were becoming friends to the small portion of the book where they were together. I would have enjoyed feeling as if I was in their conversations versus their memories/ reflection.

I would have loved to have his POV throughout the story and read more of what he was thinking. I think it would have added a bit more depth.

Overall, this was a very cute read and the ending was adorable!

A special thank you to Net Galley and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.75⭐️

This story was very interesting to me. It starts with our FMC trying to get her book published to save her grandmothers school (foundation) for ESL adults. She meets the MMC, an agent, who convinces her to become a “ghostwriter” for a well known author. Who would be happy writing for someone else and not publishing their books under their own name?

This story follows our FMC and MMC as they work through the strange setup they’ve worked out, try to save the foundation for ESL adults… oh, and dealing with a super awful, arrogant, and annoying author who can’t write her own books.

The story started very interesting, but became slow. For about half the book, I would get bored. Once I made it to the 65-70% mark, I couldn’t put it down! It has 0 spice, which is okay. I would have liked if the romance was a little more exciting though.

Overall, I would recommend this book.

the cover of this book is absolute perfection and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to read it! I loved the storyline with a ghostwriter and a literary agent. it was overall just a really cutsie rom com 🫶🏼

Bryony meets Jack at a writer conference hoping for help publishing her first novel. Two years later, her novel still isn't published, but we see them working together with a strong friendship. This workplace romance is single POV (Bryony's) and takes place in New York City, Florence, NY (a small town nearby), and on a bus tour that visits Florida and South Carolina.

What I loved:
✨ Behind the scenes of publishing
✨ author heroine (also ESL teacher)
✨ literary agent hero
✨ bowling team
✨ "Vainglorious"
✨ Witty banter
✨ He falls first
✨ Friends to lovers

4 / 5 stars

Closed door / sweet

Thank you to Melissa Ferguson, Thomas Nelson Fiction and Netgalley for this eARC.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you’re looking for a fun romcom with friends to lovers, an author turned ghostwriter, a campaign to save an important charity, and a road trip, then this is the book for you!

The Perfect Rom-Com by Melissa Ferguson was a cute book! I enjoyed Bryony Page’s dedication to her grandmother’s charity, and her ESL students that she taught as part of the organization.

I both hated and loved the MMC, Jack Sterling, by turns 😂 he had a rough start with me but won me over by the end.

I liked Bryony and Jack’s friendship. My only complaint is that much of their friendship is built over a period of two years that is not included in the book. I wanted to see more of that part of their relationship!

I enjoyed the big reveal ending that solved everything, and was surprised by how it all turned out! But I did come away with a lot of questions about the impending lawsuits…

I have to say there were a lot of absolutely delightful side characters that I thoroughly enjoyed!

This book, like all the Melissa Ferguson books I’ve read so far, is closed door. Just kisses! Nothing spicy.

I absolutely LOVED her book Meet Me in the Margins when I read it a couple years ago, and was somewhat disappointed by her next release, Famous for a Living, which was ok but not near as good. I was relieved to find I enjoyed The Perfect Rom-Com much more!

This isn’t a book I’m likely to reread (I’ll save that for Meet Me in the Margins!) but it was a good story and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a lighthearted romcom! I gave it four stars and look forward to reading more of Melissa Ferguson’s backlist!

This book was super meta about a female MC who is a struggling and up-and-coming writer who ghost writes for a super successful author. She has this impostor syndrome because people love her work when they think it's Amelia Benedict, but she struggles when she wants to publish her own manuscript. The drama ensues between her and her agent. I enjoyed that she also is an ESL teacher and thought that was a unique angle that I haven't really read about in books before. The female MC had a nice transformation and growth in rewriting her manuscript and realizing what was missing all along. The ending was pretty epic as well with karma coming full circle and redeemed everything for me.

Title:  The Perfect Rom-Com  
Author:  Melissa Ferguson    
Genre:  Romance       
Rating: 4 out of 5

She's written dozens of smash hit novels as a ghostwriter. Too bad no one knows it.

Aspiring author Bryony Page attends her first writers conference bursting with optimism and ready to sell her manuscript with long-shot dreams of raising awareness for The Bridge, her grandmother's financially-struggling organization where she teaches ESL full-time. But after a disastrous pitching session, she stumbles into correcting another author's work in a last-ditch attempt to make a good impression with the agent. And she, as it turns out, is spot on.

No one is more surprised than Bryony when the agent offers her the opportunity to be a ghostwriter for Amelia Benedict, popular rom-com novelist. Bryony agrees on one she'll write books for this vain, demanding woman just as long as Jack Sterling, literary agent of the legendary Foundry Literary Agency, works to sell her own book too.

What nobody predicted, however, was that Bryony's books would turn Amelia Benedict into the Amelia Benedict, household name and bestselling author with millions of copies sold around the world.

And just like that, the Foundry Agency can't let her go.

But on a personal note, Jack is realizing he can't either.

I wouldn’t quite describe this as a rom-com. The writing is solid, and I like the characters (Except Amelia. She’s terrible.). The interactions between Jack and Bryony are great. I really enjoy their banter. But…very little of this story is actually about their romance. It’s more about Bryony finding herself and her place in the world. That being said, as long as you aren’t expecting a full rom-com, this is a solid read.

Melissa Ferguson is a bestselling author. The Perfect Rom-Com is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 2/15.)

This falls into the category of my idea of a perfect rom com! The story is unique and so sweet. I really enjoyed how plot driven this was for a romance and am a huge fan of this authors writing! I laughed and I teared up and I got so angry for Bryony that I wasn’t sure how to feel, which is a sign of a great book to me! I love feeling so connected to a story. The ending wrapped up in such a big, fun, rom com way that (while it was not super realistic) it felt like the perfect ending. I wasn’t sure how Bryony could forgive Jack but I’m glad she got her recognition and to save The Bridge. I appreciated how cause driven the characters were, too, which isn’t typical of the romances I’ve read recently. Overall, I give this a 4.5 and highly, highly recommend.

This was beyond charming and made me have a much deeper appreciation for every author that I love so dearly! Bryony’s passion and heart were infectious, and I mean, who doesn’t love a smirking MMC? Jack is an absolute delight.

Anyone who considers themselves to be a true lover of books will eat this one up!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for this eARC!

I can't get over how cute this book is! For me, this is everything I look for in a romance book. Great dynamic between the love interests- check—hilarious quips- check. Numerous explicit sex scenes don't overtake the story- check. I know that last one might steer some readers away from picking up the book, but I appreciate that not every writer writes steamy, smutty books. Some of us prefer more story and build-up between the characters than the need for sex scenes. I will be buying a copy of this one when it comes out in stores for sure,

I really enjoyed this story! I almost stopped reading at the beginning, but I chalk that up to my mood after reading a powerful historical fiction story and diving into this late at night. I am so glad I kept reading and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the book after the book convention. I even downloaded the kindle app on my phone just to finish the story while waiting for an appointment because I could not wait to finish it at home.

Bryony Page has written as story she hopes to have published so she can use the proceeds towards her Gran's ESL school for immigrants. She has no formal training in publishing, but pitches her long manuscript anyways. I love her perseverance to get noticed. She is a gem, cares about others, and has a good work ethic and people see that. She teaches ESL during the day and writes at night. She works hard despite landing a position as a ghost writer for a diva, and knowing that her name will never be associated with her hard work.

Her agent Jack Sterling has agreed to try to get her book published after she finishes her ghost writing stint, only that is not as easy as they hoped.

Her sister Gloria, her Gran, her students, and Jack are her people. I loved the story of trying to save the school, and get published all the while very successful in her ghostwriting job where they don't want to let her go.

I recommend The Perfect Rom-Com for lovers of rom-coms, it's a fun, captivating read but also has depth of character, sweet romance, family, and purpose.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and Net Galley for allowing me to read an early copy!

3.5 ⭐️
This was a cute quick read, I really liked the FMC but the MMC just didn’t do it for me. I love Bryonys story and all her students make this book adorable!!!

Thank you Netgalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction and Melissa Ferguson for the eARC

I am going to decline writing a formal review for this because I really did not enjoy it. The writing was distractingly bad. I read the first chapter aloud to my husband and it really accentuated the horrible punctuation and incomplete sentences. I love a book that gives a glimpse into the publishing world so that part of the story intrigued me.

No se si le tenia esperanzas a este libro, pero que esta mal maquetado, esta mal maquetado.
Empecemos por la parte que el romance aparece de una página a otra, no hay una trama de por si que me vuele las pestañas. Todo empieza a partir de la mitad del libro, la escritura es muy detallista al punto de perderse en lo más simple y hacer que pierdas el hilo de lo que está pasando. Lo mismo sucede cuando "se resuelve" todo, lit pasa en el último 5% del libro.
No lo recomieendo. Siento que es la protagonista reencarnada en la autora, que le costó publicar, mucha gente le dijo que era malo y que una sola persona le dio el ok y lo publicó.
A este le libro le faltó un ojo crítico.