I did not finish this book. Unfortunately, I had a hard time reading it. I also found it unbelievable that she wouldn’t take $50,000 when her community needed the money to fix the community center she had written her book about. Overall, it wasn’t enjoyable or believable enough to finish. I usually enjoy Melissa’s books, but this one didn’t work for me.

Bryony Page is an ESL teacher with a passion for the center where she teaches—The Bridge. Losing funding, Bryony is determined to write a hit novel to save her community.

She travels to a conference that will give her access to literary agents. When she stumbles into an interview pitch with Jack Sterling, top agent, she chokes. He asks what she thinks of Amelia Benedict’s latest manuscript. She rips it up—and then gets the most random job. Bryony will be Amelia’s ghostwriter for her top selling romcom brand.

It’s lucrative, but Bryony wants to publish her own book. Plus, Jack keep hanging around. He’s just a friend, right?

This one had some problems. The plot was all over the place and there were holes the size of truck. I adored the ESL storyline and community! This was a sweet, closed door romance—even with those caveats.

To start The Perfect Rom Com was not what I was expecting but it didn't disappoint.

The romance felt more like a subplot despite the tittle of this book. The majority of this story follows Byrony's journey. Her character is determined and driven to achieve her goals and loyal to her family and telling her grandmother's story.

This book to me is the perfect example of why I don't like a single pov in a romance book. I couldn't get into Jack's character as much as I wanted to because we don't really get to know him. Jack and Byrony's friendship and banter are so much fun though and really saves their relationship for me.

This book was absolutely amazing!!! 😍 💜
I've always wanted to read a Melissa Ferguson book and I'm glad I started with The Perfect Rom-Com. Jack Sterling is "an ego man. A Peter Pan". But one hell of an intriguing man. Bryony wants to sell her book, but not for fame and money. Through her book, she wants to raise awareness for The Bridge, her grandmother's financially struggling organization.
Fast forward two years and Bryony is a ghostwriter for a famous but empty-headed author and Jack is her agent. Bryony's book is nowhere near being published, but instead, a friendship blossoms between her and Jack. The dynamic and chemistry in their relationship is absolutely addictive. The agent-ghostwriter team would be perfect if it weren't for the fact that the writer Bryony writes for, Amelia, is an absolute bitch. I haven't felt such intolerance for a character in a while, she's terrible!
This book was truly the perfect rom-com 💯
Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing - for the digital ARC copy.

Book name : The Perfect Rom- Com
Rating : 3⭐
Thoughts : The book is called The Perfect Rom- Com but it's farthest thing from it. There's not much of a romance in this. I don't know if it's should be called as romance. Bryony and Jack didn't have best impression of each other when they first met. It was quite clear they two didn't like each other. Then a time jump. Fast forward to two years, now they are best friends.We have no idea when they became friends, didn't get to see their relationship develop. And it was weird when they both fell in love. There was no chemistry between them.
I liked Bryony. She was compassionate and loyal to her grandmother's organization. I loved her bond with her students. It was honestly adorable to watch.
With Jack I don't know what to think of him. I liked in the beginning but when a certain truth was revealed,I didn't care about him. To me, he came bit as manipulative. I didn't like the fact that he was lying to Bryony for almost two years.
And don't get me started on Amelia. I absolutely hated her. She was whiny, spoiled brat who thinks the entire world is at her whim.
What I did like about this book was the aspects of what's going on in the world of traditional publishing. It was really interesting to see the snippet of what goes on before a book gets published.
I liked the author's writing style and would love to read her other works.

Melissa Ferguson has done it again. You won't want to miss The Perfect Rom-Com. Full of laughs and sweet moments, Ferguson reminds you why she is so good at what she does. You will definitely want to check this one out!

I mostly enjoyed this story, but not sure I’d call it a straight-up romance novel. Bryony is attempting to write a book in an effort to save her grandmother’s legacy (and her job), but lands a ghostwriting gig instead. She and Jack, her literary agent, do not get along. Skip ahead two years and the story picks up. She’s still ghostwriting; he’s still her agent and we’ve jumped straight into BFF territory with them, but missed the whole development of their friendship. I wanted to see more of their relationship and less of Bryony’s inner dialogue. While her personal journey was satisfying, and we have our HEA, it was lacking the relationship building aspect that can help a reader believe they’re a solid choice for each other. I’m a romance reader who could take or leave the spicy scenes in a book, but I LOVE seeing the mains fall in love with each other and this book didn’t really do that.
3 stars for a decently written book, but maybe this shouldn’t have been classified as a romance novel.

I got about 30% into the book and decided to dnf. I think my biggest reason for dnfing is the chapters were so long it made me feel like the story was dragging. I might decide to finish it at a later time. I do like the story line and being a mood reader maybe it’s just not the right time.

I like Melissa Ferguson books. I really like books revolving around the world of publishing. But this was a big miss for me.
The whole beginning was so slow and all over the place. It was a bunch of plot lines fighting for the spotlight. Finally, a clear story forms around 40% when the book tour starts.

The romance between Jack and Bryony (I kept reading her name as Brian-y and picturing an average man with glasses because we never actually got any descriptors for what Bryony’s vibe is until about 60%😆) was really lacking. We are told they are great friends, but we don’t really get to see very much of it. Then BOOM they’re in love the same day Bryony’s boyfriend breaks up with her. A woman who emotionally falls in love with another man (even if she was technically loyal) is still gross to me.

And the ending……just so unrealistic that it wasn’t even entertaining. Legal nightmare for all parties involved and a TV network would have never.

This book did get me thinking even more about which authors I love may actually have ghostwriters. So at least we have that!

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was captivated from the start—I loved this book! The Perfect Rom-com by Melissa Ferguson is precisely that: the perfect rom-com. I was drawn in from the first few lines and laughing by page two. I knew right away that this was going to be a fun ride. Melissa's narrative style and sense of humor are spot-on, and she brings her characters and world to life in a vivid and effortlessly charming way.

Bryony Page, an ESL teacher by day and an aspiring writer by night, crosses paths with Jack Sterling, a no-nonsense literary agent. Bryony's passion project is a sweeping novel inspired by her grandmother's life and dedication to helping immigrants achieve the American dream. When she tries to convince Jack that her book has real potential, he offers her a ghostwriting gig for Amelia Benedict, a best-selling rom-com novelist who craves the spotlight but lacks sustainable writing talent. Jack promises to help Bryony get her book published if she will tackle this new role—a job that sets them on a journey filled with witty banter, heartfelt moments, and a slow-burn connection.

The Perfect Rom-com is witty, delightful, and poignant, and I couldn't put it down. I lost sleep staying up to read "just one more chapter." Bryony and Jack's friendship and evolving relationship had me cheering from the sidelines. This kind of feel-good, page-turning romance hits all the right notes!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Fiction. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Bryony is determined to get her book published and save her grandmother’s beloved school where she teaches ESL to immigrants. After many unsuccessful attempts to find an agent, she finds Jack Sterling. He offers her a deal she can’t refuse ghostwriting for his client, Amelia Benedict, while he tries to find someone to publish her book. What she doesn’t realize is that two years later, the world still wouldn’t know she’s a successful writer, her book is still unpublished, and Jack might have had ulterior motives in stringing her along in this deal for so long.

While this is a rom-com, I appreciated how the romance wasn’t necessarily up front and center. The focus is rather Byrony’s journey both as an author and a passionate ESL teacher trying to save her school, adding a bit of depth to what otherwise could be seen as your typical rom-com.

My one sticking point is that the story almost immediately jumps to two years later, and I feel like we missed out on some really important pieces of Bryony and Jack’s friendship. But nonetheless, I loved their chemistry and appreciated Jack’s ability to be so open with his feelings once the floodgates were opened. And his grand gesture was of epic proportions, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t totally swooning over him.

Overall, this was a fun, easy read that made me laugh, swoon, and feel inspired.

Thank you to Melissa and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a cute romance book! It was a little slow for me in the beginning but as soon as the story picked up I couldn't put it down. The ending was so good and unexpected! I can't wait to purchase a physical copy when it is released.

this was cute, but it didn't live up to the title for me. beyond the fact that the romance isn't even really central to the story here, but more of a subplot, i was also disappointed by the way that Jack and Bryony's relationship jumps so quickly from enemies to codependent friends, while we don't get to see that development occur on the page. i would have been much more invested in the romance if we actually got to see more of their relationship, and it felt like the time jumps were just a way to avoid any development between characters. the snippets about the publishing world were interesting, but again, this felt very different from a rom-com, and these subplots were all focused on Bryony and her growth as a character. the romance also came so quickly in the last 15% of the book, and the ending just felt rushed and incomplete for me. the problems for me arose from the fact that this was trying really hard to be a romance novel, but any romance elements felt shoved in and out of place with the rest of the story.

4.5 stars

Well, to be honest, I wasn't sure what I thought of this book for most of it. I mean, it was very interesting and engaging, but not as light an funny as some of Ferguson's other books. I'm also not a huge enemies-to-lovers fan, not that this is that, technically, but it gave me those same vibes. I have to agree with other reviewers as well in mentioning that the romance is almost a secondary plot to Bryony's quest to get her passion project published. Rather than rom-com, I actually felt like it was almost a mystery. How could Bryony escape from the web in which she was entangled? I was dying to find out and that is what kept me turning pages. I never, EVER saw Chapter 25 coming and it was just the BEST!

I'm still not 100% sure how I feel about Jack. He seems slightly morally ambiguous and I want to like him but some of his actions are kind of yucky. I guess I'll have to read it again to form a complete opinion :)

While I've said that the romance is light, the comedy was sprinkled well throughout. Yes, this can be a rather serious book at times but there were plenty of cute and funny moments for sure. Gloria and the students at The Bridge especially brought out the smiles and laughs.

So to sum it up, this was not my favorite Melissa Ferguson book but it was still quite cute and a book I could recommend to adult women who are looking for something light.

Bryony Page has a book to publish that she hopes will save her grandmother's community ESL program. However, literary agent Jack Sterling has other ideas. He may not like Bryony's book, but he does like her writing, and before she knows it, she becomes the wildly successful ghost writer for Amelia Benedict, a spoiled socialite with no respect for Bryony's work, in exchange for Jack's promise to try to sell her book. As she continues to write bestselling novels for Amelia, Bryony finds herself caught up in Jack's world as he guides her through the publishing industry, and in the process, becomes one of her best friends. However, when Bryony discovers that Jack hasn't tried to sell her book, their friendship and budding relationship breaks, and Jack has to find a way to re-earn her trust and love.

This book has whip-smart dialogue and endearing chemistry in its enemies-to-friends-to-lovers storyline. Jack and Bryony's close and fun relationship is a pleasure to read, but the major miscommunication that serves as the conflict of the plot is very frustrating. One conversation seems like it could have fixed everything. Yet, when they make-up, it's magnificent and heart-warming!

3.5 stars.

I did enjoy this book, but it was not as advertised. I thought the book was a rom com itself, but the love story was totally secondary to the actual story about Bryony trying to get her passion project published.

The romance between Jack and Bryony was not well-developed at all. They meet, don’t like each other that much, jump two years ahead, and our best friends with secret feelings. We never saw how they got there, so I just was not invested in their relationship at all.

I was invested in Bryony’s book, though. And I enjoyed the focus on the publishing industry and The Bridge, the amazing immigration help center where Bryony worked.

Amelia Benedict was a character I loved to hate…the ending was totally deserved for her, but also totally unrealistic. It’s okay. Sometimes unrealistic endings are still the perfect comeuppance for a terrible person.

Characters that had me laughing out loud, romance that had me swooning, a HEA that had me tearing up—this book was quite literally The Perfect Rom-com!!!
 
The main characters, Bryony and Jack, were so, so lovely. Bryony, with her passion and ambition, was the most lovable heroine I have read up to date. And Jack... oh gosh, don’t get me started on that man. I am so smitten with him. The ultimate book boyfriend material!
 
While the main characters were AMAZING, the side characters are equally worth the praise, and I will miss all of them so much! They brought so much humor and heart to the story, I had no choice but to fall in love with every single one of them. Except Amelia, of course...
 
There’s only one teeny tiny thing about this that I, however, did not care for. Despite Bryony and Jack knowing each other for years, I feel we needed a little more of a romance buildup rather than a let's-just jump-right-into-this type of thing. But don’t be deterred; this book is beyond enjoyable and a total must read! I cannot wait to see what Melissa Ferguson has in store next!
 
💌 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀/𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀
HE fell first (BE STILL MY HEART)
Workplace romance
Friends to lovers
HUGE grand gesture

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾!
 
4.7 ★

I had the privilege of receiving an ARC for this novel, my first written by this author.

The Perfect Rom-Com follows our FMC Briony Page who is an ESL teacher shamelessly passionate about her students and the school she teaches at which is her grandmother's legacy. To help save the school from closing, Briony writes a novel based on the school and it's history, and attempts to pitch it only to be ruthlessly turned down by agent after agent at a book conference. When she pitches to the usually relentless Jack Sterling, Briony strikes up a deal to be a ghostwriter to a famous socialite, and two years later Briony's books are bestsellers, though none one will ever know this. The novel progresses as we learn about Briony's journey as a ghostwriter, the debut novel she never gave up, and her relationship with Jack which a highlight of the novel.

I really liked the idea of this book's plot and found the behind the scenes aspects of ghostwriting to be quite intruiging. I also liked the love story of Briony and Jack, and enjoyed how the author solved the various conflicts in the novel and wrapped the novel up with a neat and satisfying bow.

Unfortunately, I never really connected to Briony, and found that her lengthy inner dialogue started to grate on my nerves to the point that I would skim those sections. Though I appreciated the Bridge and loved reading about the side characters that Briony taught, at times I found that Briony's constant references to the Bridge grew tiresome.

In general, this is a light and easy read with a lovely HEA. I will likely try another book by this author as overall this was an enjoyable read.

For those interested, there is no spice in this novel, only kissing is mentioned.

Tropes include strangers to lovers, workplace romance, and forced proximity.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author Melissa Ferguson for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: February 11, 2025

Melissa Ferguson writes such meaningful characters and stories. The climax of this book reminded me of the other Melissa Ferguson book I've read (Meet Me in the Margins), namely, an emotional release that leaves the main character in tears. The kind of scene that has you holding your breath because it could bring a happily ever after or everything could go terribly wrong, and even though it's nearly the end of the book, you're just not sure which way it's going to go!

This story really is for book lovers who want a bit of romance. Despite the title, it is not a rom-com. The romance was really a subplot to the main story of Bryony and her growth in standing up for herself, realising how much she has grown and finally taking some advice about her book and achieving her dream. I could easily relate to Bryony in her people-pleasing, conflict-avoiding never being an inconvenience character. But she was also so passionate about saving her grandmother's legacy and providing ESL classes for her students.

The first chapter gave me so much anxiety! I knew the journey to publishing could be stressful, but this brought it up another notch. I was really intrigued to learn more about the world of traditional publishing and all the different people involved.

I hated Amelia! I spent half the book internally yelling at Bryony to just quit! She was an easy-to-hate character who lacked depth as a secondary character, but that was her role in the story so I was okay with that. She created drama and tension between the characters.

I found it hard to reconcile Jack's manipulation of Bryony as her agent, and his love for her as her friend, even though I thought his confession to her was so sweet. He redeemed himself by the end of the story. I did enjoy the banter between Jack and Bryony, it provided moments of comedy in this story. Also to note for those who care: the kisses were low on the intimacy scale (not swoony or hot).

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for a complimentary copy of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily and the opinions expressed are completely my own.

I instantly adore any book about an inspiring author! And the reason why Bryony wants her book published is super heart warming (the students were so sweet!!🥹) Similarly I’ve read other books where the MC becomes a ghost writer and this is up there with the best!!📚

Jack, a big deal in the publishing word, is amazing!! I really liked this character all the way through, he’s confident and has a very cute soft side. This amazing guy alongside Bryony, whose character development is amazinggg, is the perfect combination. Watching their relationship develop beyond just working together was done really well🫶🏼

The grand gesture is perfect! The story was a little slowww in parts but the ending was great💖

Overall, it’s a quick cute read with no spice although I was disappointed about the two year time jump, just feel like I missed out on some of the relationship development🤷‍♀️
Would recommend for a sweet easy romance between larger heavier books ☺️♥️