ALC Review: Unromance by Erin Connor
Pub Date: January 14, 2025
Narrators: Mia Hutchinson Shaw and Lee Osorio

I was SUPER impressed by this debut book! I had been seeing a ton of positive reviews and I am happy to say that I loved this one! I usually do not like celebrity romances but this one felt so down to earth and one night stand to more is actually one of my favorite tropes. This one balanced really well for me between humor, romance, and also real world emotions. Sawyer and Mason had so much banter and chemistry, I felt like my kindle was on fire at times!

Read this for:
- He falls first
- One night stand but it will "never happen again"
- Bi FMC
- Forced Proximity
- Meet cute
- There's a list

I liked the narration though I'm not sure I would have liked it any less if I eye read it. The tights scene will live in my head rent free for quite a while...

Thank you to Hachette Audio for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of Unromance in exchange of my honest opinion.
3.5 stars

This is a story about a burned out and cynic romance writer that, after a meet-cute with the most romantic actor that can’t seem to be in a stable relationship decide to befriend him and start a project to help her write her next novel while taking away the romance out of his mind.

Although this formula is quite well used and we could explore a lot of iconic tropes, dates and ideas from the most varied romance books I think that the biggest twist of this book was to make the MMC as the romantic one. This really carried the book for me and make it feel a bit fresher than if it was the opposite.
I also enjoyed to see a bissexual FMC that had just broken up with her girlfriend having to explore the aftermath of this failed relationship and “loss of friends” during the split.
I quite enjoyed the narration that brought the characters to life specially on the fighting scenes that was well done in my opinion.

This started off so promising—I was sure it would be a new favorite! I love stories about writers, and Sawyer, a bisexual romance author, was a great protagonist. The love interest, Mason, is an actor, and the Chicago setting added a nice touch. I didn’t realize it would be holiday-themed, but the winter vibes were fun.

The premise was engaging: Sawyer wants to “ruin romance” for Mason while getting inspiration for her book, and he needs a break from public dating. Their chemistry was great, but the insta-love at the start felt a bit rushed. I enjoyed the first half, but by the second half, I started losing interest. The conflict felt obvious and over the top, and their reactions were exaggerated.

Also, I listened to the audiobook with dual POV, and I couldn’t stand the male narrator. His voice sounded too young and didn’t fit Mason at all, which distracted me from the story. Maybe just a personal preference, but it took me out of the experience.

I love a celebrity romance! Eight percent into the book and there is a steamy scene following the meet cute between Sawyer and Mason, so that's another win for me! No beating around the bush (pun unintended)! From there we follow a pretty predictable pattern of hot and cold, but with fun banter that keeps it fresh and a HEA for the win!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audio recording for this book.

Sawyer Greene is probably one of the most unromantic romance authors who doesn’t believe in love. Stuck in a writer’s block, Sawyer finds herself stuck in an elevator with actor, Mason. After a no strings attached one night stand, they run into each other again and create a plan that can help both of them. The chemistry between Sawyer and Mason was there while they went through many different romantic troupes. There were some steamy scenes, which were fun to read and the banter between the two was superb. The ending was predictable, but following their journey was a lot of fun. This was a fun read that I flew through.

I love books that use tropes and ideas from other romcoms. I really enjoyed the parts in the story where they talk about classic romcoms that I care about. Obviously the best way to fall in love is to be absolutely sure you are not going to and think things can be just casual. Cute book and very entertaining.

This one-night stand turned friends-to-lovers novel revisits many common tropes as Sawyer Greene tries to “ruin romance” for Mason West.

Sawyer is a romance author, suffering from writer’s block because she no longer believes in love. She’s been abandoned, more than once, and now she’s afraid to let anyone in. Mason West is an actor who is in love with the idea of love. He keeps finding “the one”… and then losing her. After an elevator meet-cute and steamy night together, they team up to help “cure” one another.

This book could have stayed in fluffy rom-com territory, but it digs a little deeper. Yes, this book is filled with cheesy tropes, but the book itself isn’t cheesy. Really, it’s a book about how past relationships, in all of their forms, can teach us the wrong ways to love. Without spoiling anything, both Mason and Sawyer’s romantic foibles make sense in light of their baggage.

Come for the plethora of romance tropes, stay for the stellar chemistry and character development. The metaphor with the glass and plastic balls will stay with me for a long time. And the stocking scene!

This review is specifically for the audiobook version, which was well performed by both narrators. I usually prefer to read a book before listening to it, so I might update this review once I can read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this audiobook, provided in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I loved the narrators for this book! They did a fantastic job!


I loved this!! These characters are lovable in every way including their flaws. The concept was so much fun and I honestly couldn’t put this down. I think Mason is now one of my favorite MMCs because of how much he believes in love and all it has to offer. Sawer is so deserving of all the good things in her life and I enjoyed seeing her learn to accept that and be happy. I do wish more time was spent with the new year’s kiss and getting to know Mason’s family but other than that, I have no complaints! Such a great book!

This book was great! It had me laughing out loud and the banter between the two main characters was fantastic. I loved all of their snarky jokes back and forth. This book was steamy and flirtatious and so much fun. I liked Sawyer and Mason separately but when they got together the fireworks started :)

If you are looking for a new rom-com to devour, check this one out.

I listened to this book on audio and I loved the female narrator, Mia Hutchinson Shaw but for me the male narrator, Lee Osorio didn't really fit the role. The voice acting was still done well but personally, I would have chosen a different male actor for this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio | Forever for access to the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

A stunning version of unromance come to life with these two narrators who are the perfect embodiment of Mason and Sawyer. This story was one of my favorites to read last year but to listen to the audiobook feels like a completely different experience. The story came to life and I felt like I was there to truly experience the depth of this romance. This was an early 2000s romcom dream for me. The audiobook kept me engaged and fully locked into the entire story. Both the narrators told this story with such emotion I felt as I was truly listening to Mason and Sawyer speak to me.

Mason and Sawyer have a meet cute when they momentarily get stuck in an elevator together. Faye brings them together again and after thinking his offer to get a drink elsewhere is actually asking for a one night stand, Sawyer agrees.

Weeks after their one night, they run into one another again. Neither wants a relationship so Mason comes up with a plan where they can pick each others brains and not fall in love-to not find romantic things romantic.

I thought this was a great concept for a story! I enjoyed Mason and Sawyer. A bit unrealistic that they could stay away from a relationship but I remind myself it’s a work of fiction!

4.5/5
A very cute romance. You know when they say no feelings. Someone will have feelings too early and it was so cute.
Loved seeing two successful characters work thru their relationship together

Mason is a hopeless romantic and Sawyer writes romance. They get stuck in an elevator together so that must be a meet cute.. right?

It would be if Sawyer was remotely interested in love and if Mason wasn’t doing his best to stop falling in love. Sawyer is struggling through writers block and a book that’s a year late.. While Mason is labeled a womanizer who dates all his costars. Which all press is good press except when you’re trying to launch a female forward production company.

So after giving into the elevator meet cute and a night to beat all one night stands Mason and Sawyer keep accidentally running into each other. Fighting against fate and their attraction, Sawyer and Mason make a pact to ruin romance for Mason and inspire Sawyer to write again. They choose all the cheesiest of tropes and try to do them with no sparks and never breaking the rules.. which is kind of hard when your chemistry is off the charts. It was adorable watching them battle with themselves but also piece together what went wrong in all their other relationships.

I loved the character development and the un-romance. The narrators really brought it to life.

Thank you Hackett audio for that ALC of this book.

Unromance was a cute story that I had fun listening to. I am a huge fan of romcoms, and I enjoyed the celebration of all of the romance tropes and cliches - even if the point of the character’s pact was to ruin them. My favorite part of the book was how every chapter began with a little intro/ explanation of a romance trope. It kept me telling myself “okay, one more chapter” late into the night.

However, even though I had fun reading this, I didn’t feel much of an emotional connection to the story or the characters. I have recently read two other novels with a very similar premise (a romance author struggling with writer’s block after a breakup meets a man who provides her with fresh inspiration), and maybe that’s why this one just felt average for me. I felt like I had read it before, and while I enjoyed it, it didn’t really stick out to me in a meaningful way. I liked the story, but I didn’t love it.

I am very happy that I listened to this as an audiobook. I thought the narrators did an excellent job, and I particularly enjoyed listening to Sawyer’s chapters. I thought all of the voice acting and narration was very well done - it was captivating to listen to and held my attention throughout the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook!

This was a unique take on romance tropes, and it worked! A Hollywood star and a floundering romance author join forces to help each other with their respective challenges. I enjoyed the banter, acknowledgement of all the different tropes, and the fantasy of dating a medical drama’s dreamy star.

Thank you, Erin Connor, Hatchette Audio, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this audiobook! The sound quality was great. The narrators, Mia Hutchinson Shaw and Lee Osorio, did an excellent job bringing the characters to life.

This was a spicy meet cute romance book. I really enjoyed listening to the audio and think the narrators did a great job portraying the characters. I loved that it was about trying to unromance situations but it really just had Sawyer and Mason liking the activities tropes more. The banter between the characters had me laughing out loud. This book was very entertaining and I can not wait to read more by the author!

This book was just an okay read for me. Full disclosure time at the start of this review - I only got this book because the title and the cover intrigued me. Also this is the first book of Ms. Connor's that I have read.

Mason freshly dumped by his co-star girlfriend meets Sawyer and the pair start off with a bang and a one night stand. The pair have another chance encounter where they enter this pact to defy the typical romance book/movie activities to prove they will not fall in love by doing them but what happens when one person in this pact does catch feelings??

Sawyer is a romance writer that is over deadline and struggling to even write a word. She enters this pact in hopes to get her creativity flowing again. What she does not expect is to depend on Mason to get her creativity going and then grow feelings even though she feels that her work interferes with her love life.

So this book was just okay for me. I wasn't in love with Sawyer's character as I felt that she was a bit self centered while also using those around her and avoiding her real issues in life. Mason on the other hand I felt was too nice since he put up with a lot more than the average person would have. I also thought that the story at times dragged a but and I had a hard time staying invested in it.

In the end this was just an okay read for me. I'm not sure if this will be an author that I would pursue more from.

This book was so cute and I loved how poke fun of romcoms it was. Such a cute love story and it kinda seemed like a Hallmark movie

I really enjoyed this book! It's reminiscent of Emily Henry's book vibe except this is dual POV. It felt really cosy and real and it was honestly soooo beautiful! I loved it! Very cute read.

Thank you NetGalley, Hachette Audio, Forever and Erin Connor for giving me a chance to listen to an advanced listener's copy of this lovely book!

I've been in a romance mentality lately, and I've really been enjoying romance books. One that stood out to me embraces all the classic tropes, featuring a male main character (MMC) who falls hardest and first—he's love-crazy—while the female main character (FMC) is jaded and focused on her career, reluctant to fall in love. This story goes beyond the cliché where it's only the man who makes the grand gestures.

The characters are Sawyer, a successful romance writer struggling with writer's block, and Mason, a successful actor who just experienced a breakup. Their meet-cute happens in an elevator, but it’s not as cute as it sounds. They encounter each other a few times and ultimately decide to make a pact: they'll help each other by going through all the classic rom-com grand gestures. They hope that this will inspire Sawyer to write again and help Mason curb his tendency to fall too hard too fast.

I found the spicy scenes to be well-executed, and the romance was sweet without being too overwhelming. I appreciated that the male character is portrayed in a more vulnerable role than is typical for this genre. While this book is definitely a romance filled with banter, arguments, and family drama, it also delves into themes of self-discovery and the boundaries between personal and professional life, showing how these boundaries can look different for everyone. Overall, it's a fun, sweet, and humorous rom-com!