Sawyer is a romance author who is struggling to write her current novel. Mason is an actor who is trying to stay out of the tabloids. When they first meet, the chemistry is off the charts, and they have a one night stand. They meet again and decide to work together. Mason wants Sawyer to ruin romance for him and she needs some inspiration for her novel. Let the fun begin!

This book started off fantastic. I did like it, but it dragged a bit through the middle. It was like slogging through mud for a little while. It picked up at the end. I loved the spice. I struggled with the voice of the male narrator. It just wasn’t as smooth and inviting as the female voice. Other than that, I enjoyed this one! Huge thanks to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for allowing me to listen and review this book.

For fans of:
- The Summer Girl

This book is about a very human author who is feeling stuck in her career, and a earnest super star actor who is stuck in love. When they strike up a lusty and unusual friendship after getting stuck in an elevator together, they decide to help each other get "unstuck." Shenanigans ensue.

This book includes:
- 3rd act breakup
- unlikely couple
- Bi FMC
- religious trauma vaguely alluded to off page
- toxic work environment vaguely alluded to off page
- Grumpy Sunshine (sort of)
- one night stand turns into more

This is a fun romcom for days when you need a palette cleanser. Its silly and quick, and you're sure to get a few laughs. The humor was definitely cringe millennial humor, so avoid this book if that is not your cup of tea because book is so Buzzfeed-ified. One thing that frustrated me about this book is that so much backstory was very vaguely alluded to, but never actually revealed. It left me feeling like characters were underdeveloped and plot was full of holes. I also found the FMC to be insufferably self centered (also it was insane for her to name her adult toys after a one night stand/new friend! I could not get past that!) All in all, its an quick listen and the audio production is strong. I feel like this book will be very popular with the Buzzfeed mommies.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Erin Connor, and Hachette Audio for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted across my socials under the username @tinynightingales, check out my GoodReads profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863
my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/
and booktok https://www.tiktok.com/@tinynightingales?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

I missed the opportunity to get an advance reader copy of Erin Connor’s debut, Unromance, so when I saw an advance listener copy offered I grabbed it. I enjoyed it, plot, characters, and narration. Mia Hutchinson Shaw and Lee Osorio do a great job bringing Erin Connor’s story to life.

Sawyer Green is a romance writer who had a big early success, but now she’s in danger of being let go by her publisher because she can’t write. Mason Alvarez, an actor known professionally as Mason West, has just been dumped again and the press is questioning why he can’t keep a girlfriend. She needs inspiration to write. He needs to learn how to not fall in love. They have a meet cute in a stalled elevator where she explains romance tropes to distract him from his elevator anxiety (shoutout to Jasmine Guillory’s The Wedding Date and Alexa’s purse cheese). Later they have a mind blowing one night stand. Because this is a romance novel, they run into each other again at a Christmas market and Mason proposes a pact – they work through a list of romance tropes and settings to give her inspiration and kill romance for him.

This is the kind of plot that you know never happens in real life, but Conner grounds her characters so well that it all makes sense. If you’re looking for tropes, this one is the black cat x golden retriever variant of grumpy/sunshine, they have a contract specifying that they won’t catch feelings, a little secretly famous, and a dash of High Fidelity (asking your exes why they broke up with you). The scenarios they come up with to ruin romance are fun. You know that feelings are caught before they even start. They are also incredibly horny for each other, so the no sex rule was never going to last. What makes it all work is that Sawyer and Mason are able to put down their masks and get to know each other as their real selves.

I hope Erin Connor plans to write more books, because I kept going to her author page to see if she had previously published the stories of some of the other couples in the book. I really enjoyed the contrast of Sawyer’s matter of fact horniness and Mason’s sweeping romanticism. I need more of this in my life.

Audiobook narrators can make or break a listening experience for me. Mia Hutchinson Shaw and Lee Osorio imbued the text with warmth and humor. I enjoyed both of their voices and performances. After looking at what else they have each narrated, I put a few more books on my wish list.

I received this as an advance listener copy from Hachette Audio and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

This book somehow slipped under my radar because it wasn’t until recently that it even came across my social media feed. Thankfully the bookstagrammer sold me on it immediately and I was thankful to get the audio from NetGalley.

I adored this book. I loved the main characters, the storyline, and all of the references to classic rom-com pop culture.

The narration was done well too and kept me engaged.

This was pretty entertaining.
I do enjoy some fake dating with an agenda.
The two MCs are interesting with enough baggage to be wary, but not so much they can't still fall in love.
The banter is cute, the family and friends on the side were fun and the journey to a HEA was worth it.
I giggled and sighed and swooned.
Highly recommend!
Much love to NetGalley & Hachette Audio for any ALC.

Perfect if you love:
-Meet-Cutes
-Making fun of Rom-Coms ( in a fun way)
-Two idiots pretending their not falling in love
-Hilarious Banter
-Laughing your butt off
-Bisexual Representation
-A Hopeless Romantic MMC

wait. I loved this audio so much! 😍 I was not expecting how perfect their banter would be nor how exhilarating that one night would be to listen to!! the secret identity and secret pining had me locked in. and the tension from no seggs pact had me panting and hollering when they finally snapped! this was my first from this author but won’t be my last!

I feel like this story was meant to be an audiobook. The narrator’s did an excellent job and made me enjoy the story even more. I love the way all of the best tropes were represented in their experiment.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC.

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 stars

Unromance is a fun and sweet romance between a popular romance author and an actor. Sawyer may be a bestselling romance author, but she no longer believes in love and it is giving her writer’s block. Actor Mason West is too in love with love and it is starting to impact his career. The two have a steamy chance encounter that leads to a one night stand. However, when they run into each other again, they decide to make a deal - Sawyer will unromanticize life and love for Mason by recreating all of the tropes of love and ruining them. What could go wrong?

This was a fun storyline full of lovable characters and witty banter. I really enjoyed the story and will read whatever the author writes next.

ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Audiobook Review 📖🎧

thank you so much partner @readforeverpub & Hachette Audio for the gifted audiobook!

Unromance
by Erin Connor
Narrated by Mia Hutchinson Shaw; Lee Osorio

About the book 👇🏽

Sawyer Greene knows romance. She’s a bestselling author of the genre—or she was, until her ex left her with nothing but writer’s block and a broken heart. But when she gets stuck in the elevator with a handsome stranger, she sees their meet cute for what it is: just a one-night stand. It might have worked, too, if they could stop running into each other. 

Actor Mason West sees Sawyer’s reappearance in his life as a sign. Obviously, they’re meant to cure each other. Him of the hopeless romanticism that only ends in heartbreak—and tabloid trainwrecks—and Sawyer of her writer’s block. Their agreement is simple: 1. No (more) sex, and 2. No matter how swoony the circumstances, absolutely no falling in love. 


🎧 My thoughts:

I loved it! Now I know why I keep seeing rave reviews. I listened to the audiobook and went through it so fast! The narrators are incredible and had me wanting more. Everything about this story was entertaining and bingeable. I loved the banter between Mason and Sawyer and thought the chemistry was so good! This is an audiobook I’d love to get a finished copy of. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it! Unromance is out now!

Happy reading 📖🎧

When are characters in a romance ever going to learn… you can’t do all of that romantic stuff and not fall for one another!
This book was a fun ride. Our two main characters, jaded Sawyer and hopeless romantic Mason, have a meet cute in an elevator, have an one night stand, and then set out to ruin romance Mason and help bring back Sawyer’s romance writing mojo. What could possibly go wrong?
The chemistry between Sawyer and Mason is undeniable. I enjoyed the time that I spent listening to their story. They were fun together and separate from each other. The reader gets good insight into each of the characters through their own points of view - I am always a sucker for a dual POV romance. I liked the different backgrounds that both of them come from and the integration of both friends and family was seamless.
Where I struggled a little with the story was in Sawyer’s POV. She has this past relationship that practically destroys her and it takes her a third act breakup and most of the book to confront that demon. I feel like it could have happened in a different way than them having to break up. I still enjoyed the conclusion to the story, but that part didn’t well with me.
I will reiterate though, that Sawyer and Mason were clearly endgame from the start. You cannot deny that type of chemistry - the kind that just leaps off of the page right at the reader.
The narrators did a fantastic job bringing these characters to life.
I recommend this book to lovers of romance with some fun shenanigans in the mix.
Many thanks to Hachette Audio (Forever) and NetGalley for an early listening copy of the book.
The opinions expressed are honestly and my own.

Unromance by Erin Connor - 4 stars!

I got an advance listening copy of this book and it had some amazing moments. Sawyer is a romance author who doesn't believe in love anymore and Mason West is an actor who is too much of a hopeless romantic. They make a deal to cure each other by going on tropey dates. I loved watching them build a friendship while falling in love! I really enjoyed their meet cute and the female narrator too.

I did not love the male narrator's voice at first. It was jarring going from a great female narrator to a not so great male narrator between chapters, but I got used to it as book continued. However, Mason's character was swoony! I wish his voice matched.

Pick this one up if you like one night stands, the famous person x normal person trope, pop culture references in books and queer representation.

When a romance novelist and an actor get trapped in an elevator together, the novelist informs the actor they aren’t going to progress through expected romance tropes. She’s cynical and he’s always eager to dive into a relationship, despite the wounds of a recent headline-making breakup. There’s an open-door scene in the beginning when the characters initially hook up, which I thought might indicate this novel was spicier than I anticipated. However, this is followed up with a lot of yearning and time in which the characters try to remain merely hands-off friends. This was an unexpectedly cute story with decent character development for both main characters and it left me with a good sense of resolution. Some romance novels skip over the angsty pining, and this one did not (which is great). The audiobook had two narrators in order to tell the story from both points of view, and both voices worked well.

This book kept me hooked with the clever banter and authentic characters. The book was engaging, lighthearted, and enjoyable. I liked both characters and I'm looking forward to reading more from the author in the future.
The narrators were well-paced and had great delivery.

Why hadn't she packed purse cheese?

Another amazing Aardvark Book Club pick. This book was absolutely adorable. I loved Mason and his easy ability to fall in love, he's such a perfect golden retriever. This book had me giggling left and right and the narration really took it up a notch. The third act break-up was a bit annoying, like come on Sawyer...don't be an idiot. But obviously, I get why the third act break up had to happen, but still poor, sweet Mason.

I loved the copy of the audio I got from NetGalley to accompany my Aardvark book!

Thank you to @netgalley and @harperaudio for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Erin Connor's "Unromance" was a delightful audiobook experience! The dual POV and narrators were fantastic, bringing the story to life. The female narrator's expressive portrayal of the FMC was a highlight. While I initially struggled to match the MMC's voice to my imagined version of him, it clicked after a few chapters.

The "Unromance" concept was brilliant. Watching the characters navigate and deconstruct familiar romance tropes was genuinely hilarious – a real treat for any romance reader. I especially appreciated the flawed FMC's journey of self-discovery and closure. And I loved that she initiated the grand gesture! It's such a refreshing twist on a common trope.

Overall, "Unromance" is a laugh-out-loud rom-com that's spicy and utterly unique. I highly recommend it to all my romance-loving friends!

4 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #harperaudio #netgalley #unromance #erinconnor

Grumpy x Sunshine
Forced proximity
Opposites attract
Fake relationship
Third-act breakup
Third pov, single pov

Unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me. It was loaded with far too many pop culture references and HEAVY on the tropes. The unromance jist was cute at first and then it just fell flat. I really struggled to feel their chemistry. I enjoyed the audio and that's definitely what kept me going.

Thank you for this ALC netgalley and hachette audio.

Funny and witty

The MCs explore all the rom com tropes when an author gets stuck in an elevator with a hot actor.

They chemistry is hot when they meet and as the story progresses it in lives into something more. Both are struggling with the concept of love but will their closeness turn into something more ?

This story made me swoon and laugh and I highly recommend if your looking for a good romcom book

Unromance by Erin Connor was a fun audiobook! It started off strong and it kind of dwindled towards the end but I still enjoyed my time listening to it. The narration was done very well and found that it kept my attention. I enjoyed both the characters and generally enjoyed the story but didn't feel like the 'conflict' was that big of a deal. Overall, an enjoyable read.

Story: 5 stars
Audio: 4.5/5 stars

The narrators did an excellent job bringing this fabulous book to life. Had several laugh out loud moments listening to the story again. My only note is that I am always going to campaign for duet narration even though I know it’s an investment! While both narrators fit who I envisioned for Sawyer and Mason, I find that female narrators always do a better job with male voices than vice versa.

Thank you to Hachette Audio for providing me with this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinions!

Original ARC review:

This story is so sparkly and witty and fun that I already know my first book of the year will be one of my favorites. Erin Connor is one of the freshest voices I’ve read in a long time. Her ode to classic rom-coms is utter perfection from the first chapter heading to the final line. The way all the tropes played out was so clever. And I love that she turned the cliches on their head even more by making the romance author the cynic and the famous actor the diehard romantic. Their struggles felt real and true to their characters amid the bubbly fun, avoiding the frustration that sometimes comes with knowing exactly how and why the conflicts come to be. By the third act I knew I could trust that Erin would bring it all to a close in a way that was both gentle and compelling, but I didn’t expect how truly delightful the final grand gesture would be too. Five stars and then some for this debut novel!

Thank you to Forever and Hachette for providing this NetGalley ARC for my honest feedback.