I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Melissa Ferguson did it again with another fun read! I wanted to keep reading even when I had other tasks to attend to!

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 stars)

This book was such a breath of fresh air! I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.

Bryony Page has two goals: to become a published writer and to save her grandmother's immigration nonprofit—and she plans to achieve both by getting published. At a writer's workshop, she crosses paths with Jake Sterling, one of the toughest and most selective literary agents in the industry. When Jake offers her a job as a ghostwriter for a wildly popular romance author, Bryony accepts—but only on the condition that Jake will eventually work to sell her own book. However, her ghostwriting skills are so exceptional that she becomes indispensable, further delaying her own dreams. As they navigate constant dinners together, a bowling league with Bryony's ESL students, and an unexpected book tour with the author, Bryony and Jake find themselves living out their own perfect rom-com, complete with grand gestures and all.

This book was just what I needed to pull me out of a reading slump. As someone who works in the immigration nonprofit world, I deeply connected with Bryony's passion and determination to save the organization and her love for the people she works with. I also adored seeing the two sides of Jake—the hard, serious, no-nonsense agent who can charm anyone into doing what he wants, and the completely smitten man falling head-over-heels for Bryony. It made me fall for him instantly!

This book is perfect for a spring break or Valentine's Day read. It’s filled with quirky characters, a slow-burn romance you can’t help but root for, and an entertaining, feel-good story. Highly recommended for fans of close proximity, workplace romance, and closed-door romance.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

DNF-ed at 64%. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

Summary of the plot:

Bryony Page is is an aspiring author who spent all this money to attend a writers' conference in hopes of gaining an agent. She sits down with well-known agent Jack Sterling to compel him to represent her, only for him to reject her within a few short minutes. Bryony, being determined and frustrated, still argues her case to Jack, who then presents a challenge to her. He gives her a manuscripts and asks her to tell him what's wrong with it. She reads it and essentially says "this is trash, there is no plot, the characters are basic af".

Jack is impressed, so he offers her a job as a ghost writer to Amelia Benedict who is a bestselling author but has never written any of her books except for the first one. In exchange, Bryony gets him to represent her and try to sell her book.Two years ago by, and Bryony is forced onto a tour with Amelia because it's becoming more obvious that Amelia is not writing her books. So off they go with Jack on the tour bus and feelings start to emerge.

Thoughts on the book:

I thought this could have been a better book, but this one was not it for me. I thought the writing style was a little weird (it also didn't help that the format that I got made everything seem like one big paragraph). Often times, it felt a lot like "telling" and not "showing".

For example, and this is actually the scene that made me stop reading, Bryony is in a long distance relationship with some man in Russia. WE don't really get much from this relationship at all. There are no scenes of them calling, no scenes of them texting, nothing to really indicate that they were dating. Then the break up happens (a spoiler, but what did you expect?). But we're simply TOLD that the break up happens and that she's upset that there's another woman, etc etc etc. To me, this relationship hardly existed.

THEN what happens next got me really annoyed. Jack, knowing about the breakup, takes Bryony to dinner. Bryony suspects something is off, so she's like "what's happening, what's going on". Then Jack says "we're essentially been dating for over a year now. I've met your friends, we hang out often, I've joined your bowling group, etc. So that means we were dating, but I was dating you. But you weren't dating me. But now we're dating." AND THEN THEY KISS.

??????????? WHAT.

No. Absolutely not. Bryony was in a (hardly existing long distance) relationship. You cannot just CLAIM that you two were "basically dating". THAT IS NOT HOW DATING WORKS. That's how FRIENDSHIPS work. Where is the romance? Where is the yearning? Where is the wooing? And the fact that Bryony is just okay with kissing Jack after getting broken up with? Where is the romantic intent? I kinda hate how all of Bryony's friends were like "omg Jack has eyes for you and is in love with you and has been for the last two years". Okay, and??? We're just going to ignore the facts that 1) Bryony was in a LDR, 2) it's potentially a conflict of interest since he is her agent and therefore how some power over her, 3) Jack never stated any kind of romantic intent so they could have easily been friends.

I had to stop right here. I actually thought this book was okay up until this point. In many ways, I think this actually focused more on getting an agent, selling the book, becoming a published author (not a ghostwriter), etc. than the romance. The romance seems secondary. But then the romance just turned to... that... Whatever that was.

This book is not for me, y'all. I'm glad if you enjoyed it, but it's a big fat no to me.

Bryony Page, our aspiring author/ESL teacher heroine, wants to sell her manuscript and raise awareness for her grandmothers organisation, The Bridge, so they can keep teaching ESL students. But all of a sudden, she finds herself as the ghost writer of insufferable Amelia Benedict, publishing romance-coms. This is a far cry from her original plans, though if it means she gets to work with Jack Sterling, the legendary literary agent, who has promised to help her get her manuscript published, she is willing to suffer through Amelias antics… until she isn’t.

The chemistry between Bryony and Jack was incredible. Their witty banter and friendship was fun to read and heart-warming because you could feel the love and care they have for each other. It was so good, I wish there was more of it.
The book focused more on Bryony, her wish to get her book out in the world to give the thing she loves a fighting chance. It was inspiring to read about her internal struggles and watch her overcome them and all the things that have been holding her back. She is a lovely FMC and Jack was absolutely charming, they truly are perfect for each other.

Above all else, thank you to the author for showing love to immigrants and appreciating their efforts and culture when there is so much hate in the world. You could feel the love and appreciation for the ESL students, their culture and their effort shining through all throughout the book and it was heart-warming.

If you’re in search of a story that is romantic, hopeful and inspires you to keep going, look no further. This is The Perfect Rom-Com! ;) out February 11th 2025!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the earc.

I thoroughly enjoy Melissa Ferguson's writing. The book is paced well but I found I had a difficult time connecting with the main characters. I didn't feel like I had to reason to root for them other than I was supposed to. The plot was good and with a little addition to drawing the reader into investing in the main characters' successes, this could be a 4 or 5 star read for me.

This should have been titled, “The Worst Rom-Com”.

I love books that have publishing as part of the plot line so I kept reading because the glimpses into that world are fascinating, but that was one of the few redeeming qualities in this book.

The writing style was so distracting. An incomplete sentence can give emphasis to a point, or to implement an element of surprise, or shock, or a litany of other uses. But. Every. Freaking. Sentence. Is. So. Annoying. It’s lazy writing.

The supporting characters were nonexistent and void of any personality. Her boyfriend of two plus years? Mentioned twice in the first half of the book. Her sister Gloria? (Every time she talked to her sister, I would get confused because I’d think she was talking to her grandma because what kind of name is Gloria for anyone under the age of 99?) A vapid cheerleader who exists only to bring toxic positivity to our leading lady. And Byrony herself? Immature and probably should have been fired from her job the second she started.

For a romance, there is no chemistry. No slow build up of the relationship. Everything interesting has happened in the past tense. The midnight phone calls. The party where everything changed. The late nights that she stays up to hit a deadline. Why aren’t we in the moment for these scenes? I’m told they are best friends, but we don’t actually see any of it happen.

Omg that ending was… an Olympic sized swimming pool full of plot holes. There would have been so many lawyers coming after each and every character in the book, the lawsuits would have had lawsuits. Now THAT would have actually been interesting to read about. I would have actually preferred the characters to go to jail because I didn’t even like any of them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the ARC.

Thank you Thomas Nelson Fiction | Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for this advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of the Perfect Rom-Com was sweet and sounded promising but the plot was so slow and characters were flat and while not unlikeable, boring. It felt like the same conversations were happening over and over.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book was a beautifully written story of a woman working toward her dream, with a lot of obstacles in her way. I loved the FMC, Bryony, and her journey to becoming an author of moving rom-coms. Her journey from pitching her book to agents to become a ghost writer for an already famous author was both moving and comical. Her friendship turned love for the MMC, Jack, was so fun to read about. Her inner dialogue dominated in this single POV book and I was here for it. Her descriptions of her connection with Jack was the thing love stories are made of (“I wanted to live in his nothings and him to live in mine” 🥲🥲🥲). Jack’s utter dedication to Bryony, including his patience with her, gave me butterflies (“You weren’t dating me. But I was dating you” 😍😍😍). The ending was fairly predictable but was so fun to read, and overall I found “The Perfect Rom-Com” to be a beautifully written, descriptive, and fun read.

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

Aspiring author Bryony Page wants to sell her manuscript at a writers conference but ended up correcting another author's work instead. The agent is so impressed with her that he wants her to be the ghostwriter. It turns out that her books turn the writer into a household name....

Swoony hero... Spunky heroine.... Wonderful meet-cute.... Truly romantic scenes. Enjoy this book very much. Love it.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

This was a hard one to put down. And when I did, I kept thinking about it and had to pick it back up! I had a stupid grin on my face half the time I was reading it. I adored the characters and now I have a book crush on Jack. It wasn’t sappy, smutty or full of angsty misunderstandings for which I am grateful. Ferguson is the Queen of contemporary romance. I love all of her books. Write on Ms. Ferguson!

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

This was so cute. Jack and Bryony's dynamic was so sizzling and had me by an absolute chokehold from page 1. Some books are more focused on the character development and personal growth rather than the romance and this is one of them. Rather than Melissa Ferguson's main focus being on the romance, she was pinpointed on developing Bryony as a character and writing her journey. Still a great read!


I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thankyou netgalley for the ARC.

#The perfect romcom #NetGalley

I like Melissa Ferguson’s books and how she writes about the literary world. I also appreciate that her books are clean and sweet romances. However, I wanted this one to be a bit more romantic. It was more about the FMC’s journey than the development of the couple. Still, I’d recommend it!

Okay, I loved this one! The Perfect Rom-Com has Two Weeks Notice vibes but make it bookish, and I absolutely devoured this as a beach read! The dynamic between Jack and Bryony worked so well! It was a subtle romance done in the best way!

(My only complaint is I still have no idea how to pronounce the heroine's name. HA!)

Honestly, this author's books are a little hit-or-miss for me, but this one is my new favorite! I could see myself rereading for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I love Melissa Ferguson's winsome, fast-paced romances. I especially love how she uses these sweet romcoms to feature unique aspects of the publishing industry. I think this would make a fantastic Netflix film!


If you're looking for a cute, winsome and low-spice romantic comedy--- then Ferguson is your ticket!

This was a fun story! I loved the bantering back and forth between the two main characters and I felt their chemistry throughout the novel. I was cringing a bit because it was obvious Jack was lying to her about her manuscript, but I loved the apology and forgiveness at the end! Overall, a well written book and I will continue to read books by this author. They make me laugh out loud!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

2.5⭐️


Es el segundo libro que leo de Melissa y me doy por vencida, sus libros no son para mi.



Bryony intentaba vender su libro y terminó convirtiéndose en la escritora fantasma de una famosa "autora" best seller. El trato era que ella escribiría los libros de Amelia mientras que Jack trabajaría en su libro y lo vendería a alguna editorial.

Lamentablemente, Jack resultó un mentiroso que sólo quería utilizarla. El libro de B era malo, él sabía que nadie lo compraría, pero como escritora fantasma le iría bien y ganaría dinero. Entonces por 2 años le hizo creer que ya había mandado su libro con algunas personas y que solo era cuestión de tiempo para que alguien lo comprara.

Al final Bryony se dio cuenta del engaño de Jack (justo cuando tenían unos días de volverse novios) y renuncio. Él se arrepintió e ideó un plan para que todos supiera quien era realmente la verdadera mente maestra de los libros de Amelia.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.85⭐️

This book was a cute and fun read. Book Lovers meets When Harry Met Sally. Don’t let the title fool you — this book was more women’s fiction than romance. The romance was more of a subplot. I wish we got more of it though because the banter and chemistry between the two main characters was so good.

'The Perfect Rom-Com' is a wildly entertaining romance novel about 2 workaholics in the publishing industry with a nightmare celebrity. Bryony Page is the kind of lead you can root for: honest, compassionate, a bit insecure, and whose passion is to save a nonprofit that helps refugees/immigrants. Jack Sterling, her boss, is a morally complex character for much of the novel, yet his pining after Bryony was so sweet and thoughtful. Though I am not a writer, I liked taking a peek behind the curtain into the world of ghostwriting, the woes of first-time writers, and other industry drama.

If you enjoy reading clean contemporary romance novels, then I recommend this book to you!

Special thanks to the Publisher, Thomas Nelson Fiction, and Net Galley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

It was a cozy,heartwarming reading about byrony and aspiring author and a literary agent jack! although I enjoyed it, This book just didn't give me the feeling I was hoping it would.

This book is a classic take on a friends to lovers/workplace romance! Bryony is an aspiring writer who meets literary agent Jack while pitching her book.

While her prepared manuscript isn’t what he’s looking for, Bryony’s personality is exactly what he’s looking for in his new ghostwriter. Fast forward two years and Bryony is a very successful romance author… under someone else’s name.

Following these two friends as they go on tour with the (not so nice) celebrity who Bryony writes for, this book will have you giggling at the absolutely wild things that may or may not happen on a tour bus.

Better than that though is why Bryony wanted to become a writer in the first place. Her family runs a school that teaches English as a second language and she wants to sell her original manuscript to save the school.

For me, the ESL school is the highlight of this story. In her teaching time, many students strive towards great things. And in their group bowling league, you get to see all of the silly parts of them. This group of people is such a fun and lovable found family in this story.

This sweet romance will have you cracking up (there’s a bowling team that needs a new name, they made me laugh so hard I low key want to start my own bowling team)! You also will get to enjoy a fun take on the he falls first/it’s always been you tropes with this book! Coming out on February 11th, this book is the perfect valentines date for sweet rom com readers!