Thank you to negalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This was a very cute and addicting read, but almost distractingly busy, at times.

The pros: really cute he fell first moments of romance, a fun way to tie up loose ends at the end, an interesting and weird main character, hard to put down.

The cons: I felt like this was actually trying to tell three different stories which resulted in none of them feeling truly complete. It was so busy at times I felt we lost some of the warmth of the characters, which was the highlight when it was present.

It was okay, but I didn’t really enjoy it. I didn’t like the characters this much but overall it was okay. Nothing great but easy to read.

Oh how I wanted to fall in love with this one. A book about publishing and books. The romance did not work, the writing was choppy, incomplete sentences, there's no chemistry. It just honestly had nothing to grab me and make me feel for their relationship, we are not in any of their moments together. We just see them awkwardly together and with Jack bein a jerk. The ending is full of plotholes. This was just an entire miss..

I thought this was a cute story between friends who realize maybe they mean more than that to one another. I also loved that there was a journey for the female main character that showed her love of her family as well as growing into her talents professionally. Also loved the grand gesture!

I would like to start with a big thanks for this arc.

My biggest pro for this book is the fact that it’s in the publishing world. A book about books and publishing is a major plus. I also appreciated it was a romance without spice, sometimes it’s exactly what you need.

When it comes to what I would develop or change… the two year gap in the beginning was unsatisfying. It left a whole in the plot for me.

I do know this is an arc. But for me it was difficult to read and process the book with all the typos and ”work in progress” parts left in the arc.

To summarize this was a cute read and I would recommend it to the older students at my school as a cute read and I would probably recommend it to some of my colleagues that appreciate a rom com.

2.5/5 for me.

A big thank you for the possibility to read it.

This book is fun, cozy and cute. It’s exactly what is promises to be, a romantic comedy.
For my taste it was a little a miss, I didn’t feel very connected with the characters and was not giggling with their relationship. It felt rushed in some parts and then to descriptive in others.
The theme of the book is really interesting, and I enjoyed some parts but overall, it was a book that I would easily put down while I was reading and get distracted with other things, it was not captivating my attention.
I would have like to see more banter and attraction and building for them.

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this!
3/5 stars
This is a story for people who love the publishing industry and loves romcoms: Bryony, an aspiring author with a debut manuscript that is not-quite-right, becomes the ghost writer for the biggest rom-com icon of the era...but has to hide it all from everyone but her agent, Jack.
Jack and Bryony's banter is adorable although maybe a bit lacking in real depth: a perfect pinch of chemistry, tons of humor, that teeny glimpse into two people who have become best friends but probably secretly want more. I liked watching them sort of stumble into the opportunity to be together and how just truly PG-13 this was. The romance wasn't the focus, and I enjoyed that! Their 'third act break up' was a bit silly, but its hard to drive up the tension when the physicality is a bit lacking.
I loved all the insights into the publishing world, Bryony's time as a ghost writer, the ins and outs of how to get yourself in front of agents: all of it. Its such an ode to publishing, even if this instance it isn't always so cheery.
I do think by the end you have to suspend a bit of reality: this wraps up a bit too nicely for my taste. But overall, an enjoyable quick read.

The Perfect Rom-Com was sweet, cute, and a fast read. A go-to rom com book. This book has no spice so it is perfect for readers of all ages looking for a good romance. This has heart, but could use a little bit more depth as it is a fairly light hearted book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the complimentary advanced reader's copy. All opinions are my own.

This is my first book by Melissa Ferguson. It is just okay for me. I don’t hate it, I don’t love it. The pacing is a bit too slow and I expected more romance. However, I like the way things wrapped up and I enjoy a happy ending.

Two years ago Bryony Page attended a rom-com workshop/conference to try to get an agent for her book, which is a super-long genre-defying fictionalisation of her grandmother's work setting up an ESL school, where Bryony also works. She never got any interest in her book (she's still trying), but the last agent she met, Jack Sterling, offers her a job as ghost-writer for Amelia Benedict, a successful rom-com writer, famous for being the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the US.

Two years on, Jack hasn't been able to get even a whiff of interest in Bryony's own book, but she has proved herself a brilliant ghostwriter, successfully increasing Amelia's sales and critical acclaim. Bryony has tried to walk away from the contract many times, but she is paid handsomely for her work (including a percentage of sales) which she uses to anonymously donate to her grandmother's school, and Jack can talk her out of anything, she's such a pushover.

Jack and Bryony have become friends, maybe even best friends, over the past two years. They eat together once a week and play on the same bowling team. If it weren't for Bryony's boyfriend Parker (also an ESL teacher in Aukland, Russia) and Jack's girlfriend Chloe (or is it Claire) ...

Amelia is a nightmare. She only wrote the first book and since then has relied upon a series of ghostwriters, but Bryony is so good that over time the others have been let go. Amelia doesn't even read her own books and has made some truly awful gaffes about characters and scenes when being interviewed or when talking to fans.

Bryony wants to complain about the ever-shortening deadlines and pressure to write two books a year, on top of her dayjob, with Amelia's mindless twittering about how she wants the books to be written, but instead she gets railroaded into going on a two week book tour with Amelia and the rest of the team to perform damage limitation after saying things like she based one of her characters (a murderer) on her father.

Two weeks on the road with Jack and feelings are starting to develop, but when a multi-millionairess relies on you to write the books that get her fame and publicity she has a vested interest in forcing you to stay.

I wanted to like this because I loved Meet Me in the Margins, but sadly there were too many flaws with this. Firstly, the convenient boyfriend who's been overseas for 27 months - puhlease that relationship is so dead. Second, to have become a successful writer and not realise that your original story was an overblown, confusing mess? Smacks of one of my favourite films Teacher's Pet (amazing film starring Doris Day). Third, the way in which the conflict was resolved was pure end of the film Singing in the Rain. Fourth, Bryony was just so wet. And finally, Jack said something to Bryony which I imagine was supposed to be sweet and romantic but came across as slightly alarming and a bit of a red flag. (view spoiler)

As above, I liked it but I didn't love it.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Just when I think that Melissa Ferguson can't surpass her previous works she offers me something as wonderful as 'The Perfect Rom-Com'. This book is an absolute delight! The author's profound way with words in many instances touches me with their beauty and truth, and I add them to a quote list I keep for when I want to feel inspired about the goodness in life. There is humor, romance and exposure to the literary and publishing world that all combine to bring about a joyful experience. I enthusiastically recommend this to one and all!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This was a cute read. It’s not something that will stay with me very long but I enjoyed reading it. I did wish we had more of Bryony and Jack actually being together before it ended and the whole 3rd act felt rushed.

Great story!! Loved the plot and the characters ☺️


Though sometimes I felt really distant from the story and wasn’t grounded in what was happening.
The first chapter for instance: I had no idea what was happening and it wasn’t really explained properly. But then I loved how the story progressed. But there were times where it felt like we were just inserted into a scene without any context and were expected to know what was going on.

Loved loved loved the concept of this. Super unique and also really interesting how a ghost writer has to live without saying what they do.

I definitely enjoyed this read! Loved the banter and casual relationship between Jack and Bryony. I felt that sometimes things got a bit "wordy" and I had to re-read to understand what was going on in the story. Otherwise, I like the progression of their relationship and of Bryony's sense of self. Quite the enjoyable read!

She does it again!! Another amazing rom com. I fell in love with the characters and their story from page 1. I also loved the peek we got into the world of literary agents. This was such a fun story.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! This was an easy read and I enjoyed it on a flight across the country. Generally, I liked all the characters and the plot development, though there was a bit in the back half of the book where I was annoyed with the protagonist. Overall, feel good read about books!

This was a cute book but I felt like it was lacking the romance relationship building. It was hard to feel like it was believable when there was barely mention of their romantic interactions. The ending confused me when the characters were talking about how they met in a bowling shop? Maybe it went over my head but I just found that to be confusing.

I liked the inside world of ghostwriting and how the main character struggled with making these her stories but not getting credit.

Loved this cute and short love story. The comedy was there and OK. It is also relatable to modern day stories.

While I've really enjoyed Melissa Ferguson's previous books, this one just didn't do it for me. It just seemed...rushed. And Byrony just annoyed the crap out of me. I will say that my favorite part was 100% the final climax scene at the end. So basically--the last 3 chapters. LOL.

This is a clean read--but definitely isn't anything in it to make it Christian fiction. (which annoys me these days as some of the authors keep being published as CF without a single Biblical anything or even church attendance).

*I was given a complimentary copy of this ARC from the publishers and NetGalley to review. All opinions are 100% my own.

First of all, I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me this free ARC for my honest review. I would also like to thank the publisher of this book, which is Thomas Nelson Fiction, for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Lastly, I would like to thank the author for writing this beautiful book. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I liked the description of the book, and that's why I picked this ARC from Netgalley. It's my first time reading one of her books, and I'm excited to read it. I added one of her books to my TBR list, which is "How to Plot a Payback.".
 
I liked the story of the book, like the writing, the plot, and the characters. I like the Bryony Page character, which I think she's fun and likable. While Jack Sterling, literary agent of the legendary Foundry Literary Agency, works to sell her own book too. Then Bryony's agent offers her the opportunity to be a ghostwriter for Amelia Benedict, a popular romance novelist. This book is fast-paced, which is more likable to read, but some of the chapters are too long to read.
 
I still recommend this book for readers. Similar authors of this book are Emily Henry, Meghan Quinn, Ali Hazelwood, Annabel Monaghan, etc. I gave this book 4 stars because it's also deserved 4 stars rating.