I'm not entirely sure how I want to rate this book, but I would probably give it a 3.5 ⭐️.

The story introduces us to a character named Sofie, who is about to release a new book in a popular series she has created. Right off the bat, it’s clear that she "holds her nose in the air," suggesting that she believes she has worked harder than most to reach her current level of success. She has kept to herself quite a bit and acts as though she is above others, and this attitude led me to believe that I probably wouldn’t be a fan of Sofie.

Meanwhile, on social media, there is a trending hashtag hinting at the emergence of a new and possibly better Sofie. Due to this buzz, the mysterious new author, Hartley West, is invited to Sofie's initial launch party. When she arrives, Hartley introduces herself and reveals that she used AI to write a book in the style of Sofie, effectively stealing the spotlight. This sends Sofie into a spiral, leading to a rant that ends up recorded and shared online, putting her headliner status at risk.

Fellow authors bombard Sofie, insisting that she must find a way to get rid of Hartley West before she gains more popularity and threatens their place in the literary world. As Sofie investigates, she starts to notice inconsistencies that lead her and the other authors down a criminal path.

Throughout the story, Sofie comes across as quite conceited, using her awkwardness and introverted personality to justify her selfish behaviors. Her whining and poor me attitude does get to be a bit much. You can understand her thought process and why she is the way she is, but that doesn’t necessarily make her a likable character.

There were some confusing parts within the story towards the end of the book that made it hard to keep up with what was happening or being said.

I will say the book does introduce its readers to the complexity of writing and publishing books. The hidden work that most of us may not realize.

In the end, there is much more to the story of Hartley West. The narrative is quirky and cute, complete with some entertaining banter. I found myself wanting to read more to discover what happens next.

I was really intrigued by the premise of Romantic Friction—an established author feeling threatened by an AI-generated rival felt timely and clever.

The cover was great too. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t work for me. I struggled with the writing early on and couldn’t connect with the characters or the story. I ended up DNF’ing at 25%. While I seem to be in the minority, this just wasn’t the right fit for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC.

Thank you @getredprbooks @lorigoldsteinbooks & @harpercollins for my complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Sofie Wilde is a bestselling fantasy romance author who crosses paths with Hartley West, a self-published novelist who openly admits to using AI to craft books strikingly similar to Sofie's acclaimed series. Following a highly publicized rant by Sofie against AI authors, her popularity begins to decline, while Hartley's unexpectedly rises dramatically. Determined to reclaim her status, Sofie rallies her fellow authors to confront the AI threat and defend their craft, culminating in a dramatic showdown at a literary convention.

This was an enjoyable read! I thought the title was slightly misleading! I initially expected this story to be a romance, but it turned out to be more of a women’s fiction novel. I appreciated the behind-the-scenes exploration of the publishing industry and the impact of AI. While I can’t say I really connected with any of the characters, the story kept me engaged throughout.

DNF at 42%. I really tried to finish this one but just couldn’t. The main character was extremely unlikable. It just didn’t work for me and was kind of all over the place. Thank you MIRA and NetGalley for the eARC.

ROMANTIC FRICTION

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Hmm. What to say about this one? I was very intrigued by the commentary on AI and its affect on the writing industry. I like how the author showed both sides of the debate. The book starts out slow but some fun things start happening around 50% which kept me engaged until the end. I also liked learning some of the inside information about publishing and challenges authors face.

The writing was a bit disjointed and sometimes I got lost in the internal monologues and digressions.


strong language

*Thank you NetGalley and HTP Books for the eARC!

Romantic Friction-Lori Gold @readmirabooks I LOVED this book. It had everything I want in a story. So smart and Sofie is relatable and someone I felt bad for all at once. It definitely made me laugh and I would love to read more by Lori Gold.

An inception of a book that's a story about a story and a homage to writers and the publishing industry, "Romantic Friction" is about Sophie Wilde, a successful author at the pinnacle of her career. At a special "Sophie Wilde" event celebrating her career at her hometown bookstore prior to the release of the last book in her romantasy series, the moderator of her Q&A captures Sophie's long-earned spotlight by confessing that she loves Sophie's writing so much that she used AI to mimic Sophie's writing style in her own newly released self-published novel. As the metaphorical rug is pulled out from under Sophie and she's caught on camera in an insecure tirade that is spread far and wide on social media, the conflict continues to the "Romance US" conference where Sophie will be featured as a keynote speaker - and it escalates as the AI author Hartley West continues her sabotage and tries to steal the spotlight.

This book was a slow start for me - it took a few sit-downs to get through the first 28% of the book. I had a hard time connecting with the deeply flawed (read: introverted, and self-centered) Sophie, But after that, I read the rest of the book within 24 hours. It definitely had to do with the introduction of Cooper-Brad and the plot thickening to more than a story about a lonely and whiny author fretting about her limelight getting stolen. Besides becoming highly entertaining with the hijinks that ensue post Cooper-Brad introduction, the book, despite its being fiction, offers a lot of insight into the world of authors, the publishing industry and its flaws, disappointments, but also the camaraderie that can be found between authors, or with agents, publicists, and more. As the book progressed, I enjoyed following along on Sophie's journey as her perspective changes and the story takes twists and turns to a resolution that has nuance, with a lot of insight and growth along the way. As I was reading this, I kept thinking to myself "this book would make such a great movie!" and without giving away any spoilers, I still think it would.

I really enjoyed a lot of the philosophizing and industry perspectives given throughout the book, as they fit in to the story, such as "Writers have two highly annoying traits: correcting everyone's grammar, and fancying themselves armchair psychologists. The former is ingrained, the latter learned." The book also does a lot of evaluation of AI-generated art vs. human creativity and ingenuity throughout the entire story.

I would recommend this book to writers, those that wish they were writers, those that are connected to or interested in the publishing industry or even the film industry, as well as those interested in AI and how it can affect industries that rely on human creativity.

-Thank you to HTP/MIRA, Lori Gold, and Negtalley for the ARC of this book.-

Sofie Wilde versus Hartley West. An established romantasy author and a fan who used AI to publish a novel in the other’s voice. This novel brings up the ethical question of using AI with several twists along the way. The plot is very intriguing, but the execution was lacking. For a book about writing, it was terribly written with a lot of asides by the main character, Sofie, written in parentheses. Also, the asides just served to show that Sofie was not a good person. Unlikeable characters are not deal breakers, but this poorly written unlikeable character really was a disservice to the creative plot. The plot wasn’t perfect either though because once the story got going, it was almost as if the author didn’t know what to do with the dilemma that she created. The ending felt like a rushed cop-out, and it was very unsatisfying. This novel tried to be a mystery, a commentary on advancing technologies, a rom/com, and a story about friendships, but in trying to be so many things, it fell flat in the end.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

i really enjoyed what this book had to say about AI. i am also a huge sucker for an “inside baseball” view of the writer/writing space. a book about books? sign me up!

the only star deduction are the character names were tossed around so much - and there were so many similar names (lucy/liz) that sometimes i had no idea who was being mentioned.

the conclusion was also a little …really? like it was satisfying - but a book that was showing such realistic social consequences just kind of tossed it at the end.

This book is thought-provoking as an author using AI to write her books gets praised by the book community as being the next Sofie Wilde, but is that writing her own books? Meanwhile, the real Sofie Wilde, who does write her own books, is feeling the danger and pressure just as she's about to get what she wanted in her career. I didn't find Sofie to be particularly likeable and she's a bit over the top making it somewhat of a challenge to really get into the story. There is some wit and humor, but it's overshadowed by Sofie's high drama and poor choices that I didn't find funny. I wanted to love it, but it was too much for me.

Romantic Friction is a funny and sassy love letter to the romance genre, the book community, and the publishing industry. The book has many bookish references, a humorous plot, and entertaining dialogue. The main heroine may not be likable, but she is bold and sarcastic, and the secondary characters are quirky and lively. The plot is a little far-fetched, but relatable to romance readers. All the bookish references are the icing on the cake. I found it hard to put down the book, and was entertained from the first to the last page.

If you are looking for a book with bookish connections and nuances and want to know more about the art of writing and publishing, this book is for you. Romantic Friction as described is A Humorous Caper of Writer Rivalry and AI Shenanigans at a Romance Readers' Convention and you get exactly that. It's fun, witty and will make you ponder and think. The plot and story is unique and something I've never read before. The only issue I have is I didn't feel any connection with Sofia or Hartley. Yes, characters tend to not be perfect and have flaws but I cannot get past some of Sofia's actions. Overall, I think it's still a good book and with the right audience, they'll probably love it.

This book exceeded my expectations; it was such an amazing story, and the characters were so memorable. I was totally engaged throughout the entire novel.
The book was full of vivid descriptions and vivid imagery to the point where I felt like I had slipped into the pages.
It was unique, engaging and well written.

A generous 3⭐️ for the concept and the snark.

Listen, I recognize satire when I see it and am aware that the MC is intentionally written to be unlikable, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. And I didn’t.

This is a story of a famous romance author whose work is used as the basis for a lookalike and soundalike novel generated by AI. Sophie Wilde is caught unaware when Hartley West, a self published author billed as “the next Sophie Wilde” hits the scene and admits to parroting (pirating?) Sophie’s work. Sophie has an epic meltdown captured by a cellphone wielding fan who posts it on social media where it causes a viral sensation. What happens after that is unrealistic.

Sophie is a lone wolf. She’s avoided forming relationships with fans, other authors, and industry professionals her entire career. She likes no one and no one likes her (including me), yet it’s still surprising that sentiment immediately turns against the author who actually used her creative talents to write her books. Considering the recent backlash from authors whose work was unwittingly used to train AI, this was too outlandish a reaction for me to believe.

Further, this story goes off the rails about 40% in and whatever thread I was clinging to snapped. I opted not to DNF and that was a mistake. I was not the reader for this book and this book was not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

If you enjoyed the book ‘Yellowface,’ you will want to read this book!
Romantic Friction has the same witty commentary on the publishing industry, some clever discourse regarding AI, and a cast of unlikable characters with major drama that made this book so bingable - I inhaled this book! It was SO fun to read! And I’m recommending it broadly because we all deserve to read something entertaining and fun.

Romantic Friction released May 6th and is available for purchase today! I’d like to thank HTP Hive and Netgalley so much for my e-copy!

This one was a mixed bag for me. I loved the premise—especially the meta-ish angle of a story centered around books, authors, and the inner workings of the publishing world—but the execution didn’t quite land. The FMC was incredibly unlikeable, and the further I got, the harder it became to root for her. As the plot progressed, the scenes felt increasingly outlandish, pulling me out of the story rather than drawing me in.

That said, the underlying message about AI’s growing impact on the creative industry is timely and important. I just wish the delivery had resonated more.

🤔 𝕎𝕙𝕪 𝔻𝕚𝕕 𝕀 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕥: I did skim the synopsis for this, but I was mostly pulled in by the title and cover!

🍿 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴: Right away I knew it was going to be funny and oh was it. I laughed a lot, and it is in-your-face dramatic at times, but it was the perfect escape while also being incredibly timely in our world of AI and ChatGPT.

👏🏼 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒫𝑜𝓈𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓈: Nobody I’ve seen is calling this satire, but that’s kind of the feel I got from it. I loved the way Gold could take something serious and infuse it with that much humor and drama. The story brings up some great talking points about the current climate for authors and it would probably make for a great book club discussion.

🫤 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇳‌🇪‌🇬‌🇦‌🇹‌🇮‌🇻‌🇪‌🇸‌: There is a lot going on but sometimes the book dragged just a bit. I also found my attention wandering in some spots before the author pulled me back in again.

🎧 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝒩𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃: I don’t think I’ve ever listened to Courtney Patterson before and man does she get into it. She really was the perfect person to voice this book, and I thought she nailed the drama factor. Sometimes she was a touch loud for my ears, but I have to hand it to her for bringing the story and characters to life so well.

💭 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴: Some of the insights that Gold shares through the book really struck a chord with me and had me saying “omg YES” out loud. Clearly, I am not an author or writer, but it felt honest, and I love this idea for a debut novel. The plot itself can get pretty out there, but this was a romp of a good time, and I was here for it.

T͏h͏i͏s͏ B͏o͏o͏k͏ i͏n͏ 5͏ E͏m͏o͏j͏i͏’s͏ o͏r͏ L͏e͏s͏s͏: 🥜😂🔊📖

𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝙰𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

I found the premise of this book really interesting, but it didn't really work for me. Sofie Wilde is a best-selling fantasy romance author whose last book in her famous series is about to come out, and as a favor to her hometown bookstore, she agrees to share the stage at an event with an up-and-coming author named Hartley West, who's being touted as "the next Sofie Wilde." But when Hartley admits that her hit novel was written by AI, Sofie goes on a viral rant and is danger of losing her tour and book sales. At the country's biggest romance convention, Sofie bands together with her fellow authors to take Hartley down.

This book went off the rails pretty quickly in terms of plot, which I didn't love. But more than that, Sofie was extremely, extremely unlikable. That was obviously very much the point - Sofie is a lone wolf and focused only on her own success, and the plot and her character arc hinge on her reckoning with those things - but it did not work for me. From the very beginning, her internal monologue was wildly selfish, calculating, and manipulative, and I just didn't buy it. Maybe the author was trying to attack the trope of overly self-involved businesswoman and make the point that that is sexist - which it is - but to me Sofie was just mean. I didn't buy her backstory or why she was so rude to her fellow authors, and I wasn't invested in what happened to her. Her self-centeredness also meant that we didn't really get a nuanced view of any of the other characters, and it all just kind of fell flat.

It was clear this book was trying to make a point about the commodification of creativity and the perils of AI, and I really appreciate that message. But this to me wasn't the right vehicle for that message and it didn't work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

This one started with an interesting premise for me but ultimately got a little unbelievable for me to follow along. If youre just here for a good time, may be perfect.

3.5⭐️ Thanks NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

It was a fun read and I’ll definitely be looking for more Lori Gold books in the future! I enjoyed this story and all the bits and references to the book/publishing world! Sofie is coming to a pivotal point in her career with then end of her series with the release of her new book and is feeling a little threatened by the new comer Hartley West… ESPECIALLY when Hartley admits her debut book is written with AI! It’s up to Sofie and her friends to try and stop Hartley, but the more they work together the more things change.

This was a fun plot and I really liked the storyline!