Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Release Date: February 11

Review: *a little bit of spoilers don’t read down here if you do not want any 🤭* This book right off the bat was a different plot than I have read yet in a book and it was fun to see the route it went down. I felt for Bryony because she wanted to a author of this amazing story about her Gran to help save her ESL teaching program for adults and that I loved was really well shown throughout the story.

I knew about ghostwriters but appreciated a POV of what challenge they face especially with a celebrity. I always love a celebrity story line or pop culture so that part reeled me in. Jack as a character was good, I like that they grew a friendship and it was interesting to see the interpretation of a agent in the publishing industry. Overall this story was a pallet cleanser and a fun light read with a different story line.😊

Things that didnt click with me and my reading style but does not mean it won't for others:
I didnt like the long distance relationship because it felt like an after thought and really wasnt ever touched on. Jack "waiting for Bryony" made sense but I feel there could have been more moments subtle other than the two moments I noticed to show his "underlying" affection. I am also not a fan of 3AB (3rd Act💔) and not a big fan of miscommunication, but I know others do! I still wanted to place that in to show why I rated my rating.

Tropes: Friends to "Lovers", slow burn, miscommunication

I definitely recommend this book if you want a quick, light read! Thanks NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC.

3.5 stars! Thank you so much for the ARC! Although I am a huge fan of rom-coms, this one fell a bit flat. I liked how I could treat it as a palette cleanser for some bigger topic books I was reading. The writing style was hard to follow at times and I didn't completely understand what the other was getting at. There were lots of plot holes and I felt like a lot of topics were just being brushed over. The characters weren't given much depth and everything felt a little surface level.

I adored this book, it took me a little bit of time to get into it at first but once it got going I was absolutely hooked. I loved Bryony and Jack, and I’m always a huge fan of the slow build up. The ending caught me by surprise and I was swept up in it enough it made me happy cry which is always a sign of a good book!

A quick, light, enjoyable rom com! A perfect palate cleanser when you need one. I was wishing for more build up at the beginning (we skip over two years of relationship building). I think having more of the beginning could have taken up the romance and anticipation quite a bit. But the middle was nice & exciting so I was happy with how things were playing out. I loved the banter and the playfulness between our couple and enjoyed watching them interact. Towards the end things got a bit messy and unbelievable for me. I would have loved a cleaner ending and a less dramatic romantic gesture. But all in all it was a nice quick read that kept me turning the pages.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.

Thanks NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC.

I have read Melissa Ferguson's last novel which I loved but I really struggled with this one. I felt like the FMC was very hard to like and that her thoughts were slightly overwritten. It also felt like the end of the book was very rushed and came out of nowhere. It definitely wasn't the worst book I've ever read but I really struggled with this read.

The Perfect Rom-Com is the first book I've read by Melissa Ferguson, but is sure not to be the last. I love a literary romance novel, so Bryony as ghostwriter and author and Jack as publishing agent make a perfect pairing. Bryony is a fleshed-out lead, with real drive to help her community. She's also a talented author, turning celebrity Amelia Benedict into a bestselling author... but can she become an author by her own name too? The Perfect Rom-Com is both a romance and a story of personal growth, which is really nice to read. It is not a spicy romance, it is perfectly cozy. I look forward to reading more from Melissa Ferguson.

I absolutely loved this book! The character development was so good, and there were so many moments where I was either laughing, smiling, or doing both at the same time. I absolutely loved the connection Bryony had to the Bridge and how that guided so much of how she lived her life and helped fuel the passion of her writing. I will definitely be recommending this one to all of my reader friends!
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Melissa Ferguson has done it again! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. And it might in fact be my new favorite of hers. If you are a fan of Meet Me in the Margins, then you will love this book. Witty, heartwarming, with swoon-worthy moments, and a heroine that is so lovable.

Bryony Page is an ESL teacher by day and aspiring author by night. She writes a novel close to her heart about the school where she teaches adult immigrants and her grandmother who founded it. But breaking into the publishing industry proves next to impossible for her. Things take an unexpected turn when Bryony accidentally lands a job as a ghostwriter to the famous romance author Amelia Benedict. One thing leads to another and soon Bryony is stuck figuring out what exactly she wants in life and how to get it.

Even though this book is marketed as a rom-com, I feel that the plot and character development of Bryony is the main focus. The romance is more on the side being sprinkled in here and there. Which is a wonderful thing in my opinion. More than once I found myself grinning and laughing through out the pages of this book. Simply delightful!

⭐️4.5

Thank you @ThomasNelson and @NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐️ rounded down—it’s not often that I give a romance novel anything higher than a 3 star rating… so the fact that I debated on if I wanted to give this one 4 or 5 stars is saying something. I loved this!

It was exactly what I was wanting out of a romcom novel. Bryony and Jack were the sweetest couple 🥹 I especially loved Jack. He was precious. Bryony’s passion and enthusiasm and admiration for The Bridge made me adore her. When the two main characters make you smile from the get go, how can you lose?!

Bryony is an aspiring author. She’s an ESL teacher at a school that was founded by her family years ago to help immigrants transition to American culture and get through their citizenship exams. Bryony attends a writers workshop/retreat/event thing that puts new authors in front of literary agents and editors. Enter: Jack, an agent that has a short list of extremely successful clients. Bryony gets a meeting with Jack at the end of the conference and hopes he’ll entertain the manuscript of her first novel—Water Under the Bridge—based on her grandma’s life and legacy at The Bridge school. Little does Bryony (or Jack) know, this is just the beginning of something that’ll blow her expectations out of the water!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the eARC of this book! 🩷

When Bryony Page attends a writer’s conference to pitch her precious manuscript, she just knows she will leave with an agent and the next steps in getting the book published. However, she leaves the conference with no book deal of her own but with a ghostwriting opportunity that she never saw coming.

Coupled with a romance she never saw coming with Jack, her editor, and the surprises kept on coming for Bryony.

I keep giving Melissa Ferguson’s books chances even though I’ve DNF’ed a couple in the last year. (Meet Me in the Margins was so hard to beat!) I’m so glad I stuck with this one. Bryony’s story of perseverance kept me turning the pages and while the romance was a secondary part of the plot, I did enjoy seeing if Bryony and Jack would get their happy ending.

My few qualms with this book is that the ending seemed a bit far-fetched (like could this really happen?!) and the epilogue felt rushed. I also wanted more scenes with some of the publishing company employees mentioned. I think that part of the book could've been developed a bit more. Other than those things, I really enjoyed this one!

The Perfect Rom-Com is a cozy read that includes humor, romance, and the struggles of chasing dreams. Melissa Ferguson delivers a story full of charm, relatable characters, and an engaging premise set in the fascinating world of publishing.

Bryony Page is an endearing FMC. Her passion for saving The Bridge, her grandmother’s struggling ESL school, and her dream of becoming a published author make her a character you can root for. Her determination to balance these challenges while ghostwriting for the narcissistic Amelia Benedict brings a sense of depth to her story arc.

The chemistry between Bryony and her literary agent, Jack, is sweet and understated. Their friendship builds naturally over the years, and their eventual romantic progression is satisfying. The behind-the-scenes look at the publishing industry adds a unique layer to the story. From the intricacies of ghostwriting to the glitz and chaos of book tours, these elements are both entertaining and eye-opening.

The timeline of Bryony and Jack’s relationship skips over some key moments that would have strengthened the romantic arc. While their bond is believable, I would have loved more “in-the-moment” scenes to fully believe in their connection. Also, some of the side characters, like Amelia, felt more like caricatures than fully fleshed-out personalities.

The Perfect Rom-Com is a quick and cozy, feel-good romance. While not without its minor flaws, the book’s charm makes this a lovely palette-cleanser

This was such a delightful read—unexpected yet utterly lovely!

I’ll admit, the first few chapters were a bit of a struggle. Jack was highly unlikable at first, and Bryony was so scared and insecure that I just wanted to shake her! But once I pushed through that, I couldn’t put the book down.

I adored how the story unfolded and how Bryony’s passion and dedication shone through, whether it was for her students, The Bridge, or her stories. Jack’s quiet, unwavering love for her was beautifully portrayed—always supporting her, never overstepping, and standing by her side through the horrendous tantrums of that dreadful "author." It was heartwarming to see how everyone rallied around Bryony when she needed it most.

This book is one I could see myself reading again and again. It’s the perfect pick-me-up for a rainy day.

10/10 recommend!

I thought this was targeted for romance readers who love rom coms but really this was a chick lit. I mean come on the title really caught my attention and I do like chick lits sometimes but I’m really here for the romance part!

I also love a little spice—this only had kissing.

This story really focused on the FMC and her personal growth—self realization and coming of age.

I just really had hoped for a better love story. It feels marketed to be a rom com.

Review: The Perfect Rom-Com by Melissa Ferguson

The Perfect Rom-Com is a sweet friends to lovers story set in the chaos of publishing. Bryony, aspiring author, gets into the industry but as a ghostwriter for Amelia Benedict, a famous author who has apparently only written one of her acclaimed books. However, Bryony does so well she can’t get out of her contract to publish her own passion project.

A comedy of errors and misunderstandings shakes out to a delightful escape that I devoured in two days. I did find the miscommunication a bit frustrating at times, but lovable characters won me over.

Out in February, just in time for a Valentine’s rom-com to binge.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for this eARC.

Maybe unpopular opinion but the time jump ruined it for me! I was enjoying the first half so much! I’ll try Ferguson’s next book but the relationship left me wanting more. I didn’t connect as much as I had hoped! Still a sweet story!!

Thank you NetGalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction and Melissa Ferguson for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐️

Bryony is an aspiring writer who is trying to get an agent to pick up her manuscript. The manuscript is a multi-genre book that is wildly too long and inspired by the school her grandmother founded teaching English to immigrants.

She is rejected by several agents. Her last hope is Jack Sterling, a blunt and notoriously selective agent. With nothing to lose Bryony pushes back against Jack. Jack recognizes something in her and wants to sign her, however it’s not for her manuscript- it’s to ghostwrite for a well known author, Amelia Benedict.

Fast forward two years and Bryony and Jack are best friends who hang out multiple times a week. Ghostwriting is slowing sucking the life out of Bryony, especially when the ‘author’, Amelia is miserable and doesn’t even read the books she claims as her own. Now Bryony is being forced to go on tour to help make sure Amelia doesn’t slip up again by not being able to answer questions on the books she claims to have written.

The 2yr time jump was a surprise. I wish I could have seen a bit of the development of their relationship. They do touch on a small but impactful night when discussing when/how their relationship changed but the flashback wasn’t enough for what I wanted.

I enjoyed the details on the writing world.

The grand gesture was top notch and honestly, I would love to see that happen to someone as terrible as Amelia.

The title makes sense with part of the story and there is a romance storyline (kissing only) but with the bulk of the book being about The Bridge and the writing itself so being called The Perfect Rom Com felt a little bit of a stretch but it had a HEA so it counts!

Bryony Page is an aspiring writer, Jack is a hot shot literary agent. Bryony gets wrapped up in a ghostwriting job for Jack with promises of getting her own book published. The premise is good. The characters are good. It’s nice and light just like Ferguson’s other novel “Meet Me in the Margins”. Where it falls apart is the pacing. I love the dynamic between Bryony and Jack but we barely get to see it. We are mostly in Bryony’s mind and going in circles with pages of descriptions between dialogue. I loved the forced proximity of the book tour which doesn’t happen until 40% through the book. There was definitely potential in this story and just is too disjointed to be a perfect rom-com.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for an advanced electronic copy of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the advanced reader copy.

Bryony Page wants to be a writer, with a goal of conveying how much her grandmother's ESL school means to her and her family--so she's written a mess of a book that tries to tell that story. When she mouths off to one of the best and scariest literary agents, in Jack Sterling, she finds herself becoming the ghostwriter to Amelia Benedict and needing to figure out how much of herself she can give away on the page without being seen for it?

Melissa Ferguson writes such delightful characters that reading Bryony and Jack on the page was what ultimately pulled me through this story. The rest of the book was...fine. There's a long distance boyfriend who rarely makes an appearance on the page (so that when he and Bryony break up it's hard to care all that much or understand why she cares). Bryony's goal of saving her grandmother's school by publishing a book felt far-fetched given how slowly the publishing world moves and because of how much (millions!) the school needs to stay open. THE PERFECT ROM-COM is an easy read with delightful characters, if you can overlook some of the plausibility issues.

The Perfect Rom-Com comes out February 11, 2025

Thank you @NetGalley for the ARC The Perfect Rom-Com by Melissa Ferguson. This book was charming and sweet. To watch the two main characters story unfold was so heartwarming. The ending was perfect and made me cheer Bryony on.

What a fun read! I loved the premise of this, and absolutely adored the dynamic between Jack and Bryony. As a writer myself, I resonated so closely with Bryony and her own thoughts/doubts/fears surrounding her place in the publishing world and loved seeing how Jack continued to champion her, chapter after chapter! This was my first Melissa Ferguson read and I'll definitely be coming back for more!