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4.25 STARS

Thank you so much to Thomas Nelson for this advanced copy on NetGalley! 🤍

This book was so lovely! I enjoyed my entire time with this book and I was so pleasantly surprised by all of the simple twists and turns that it took. Bryony and Jack’s friendship was both hilarious and sweet, which really made for the best experience as a reader. I thought that the entire concept of Bryony being a ghostwriter for probably one of the most entitled people was such a fun plotline!

The ending was *chefs kiss* and I absolutely devoured this book to find out what the heck was happening. Jack – I thank you for being a man who can APOLOGIZE when being in the wrong. The most humble fictional man I have read in a long while. My stamp of approval is all his. Bryony was a bit oblivious at times, which did frustrate me, however it made her more human so I’ll allow it.

Overall, this book was a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who asks!

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The Perfect Rom-Com by Melissa Ferguson was a quick read but I enjoyed it so much. The characters were fun and I felt their connection. I also loved the unique jobs and what forced these two together. I read this one when I really needed a light read and it was just what the doctor ordered. I loved the narrators in this audiobook and felt that their voices really matched the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson, and the author for this gifted audiobook.

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The Perfect Rom Com is a cute bookish themed novel that I really enjoyed reading. Bryony is trying to save her families ESL school that is on the verge of shutting down due to funding by getting her book published. She’s never been published but she’s determined it’s a hit.. unfortunately no one else does. Agent after agent, Bryony has one more shot to make her dream come true with the agent no one wants to dare chat with. Jack is not particularly impressed but thinks of a much better offer that Bryony would be stupid to pass up. Throw in a little bit of love and a little of of hate (cough cough Amelia) and this book is everything you could want. The narrator of the audio makes Bryony come to life!
3.5/5

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"The Perfect Rom-Com" was a pleasant book, with an interesting intrigue and some quirky characters.

Aspiring author Bryony Page attends her first writers' conference with the hope of finding an agent to represent her book, and therefore earn enough money to save the charity where she teaches English to foreigners. While no one at the conference is interested in what seems a poor first manuscript; she miraculously finds an agent that offers her to become a ghostwriter for a celebrity. This first section of the book was very strange, as you do wonder how Bryony's unconvincing manuscript managed to get her such a prestigious offer! It was my favourite part of the book and didn't quite fit with the rest of the book, I found, but I'd urge readers to wait until the next section as it does get better.

Most of the book takes place a couple of years later, as Bryony has become a successful and rich ghost writer thanks to her agent Jack Sterling. She struggles with the whims of the celebrity who she writes for, who doesn't have one loving bone in her body. They have to do a book tour, all crammed together in a bus; and that's when Bryony realises she might have feelings for her best friend and literary agent Jack.

For a book entitled "The Perfect Rom-Com", you'd expect more of the book to be centred on romance. Bryony and Jack's romance was very cute, especially on Jack's part — I found Bryony a little too excitable, immature, or even petty at times. She's not a character I very much appreciated all along, and when you put yourself in Jack's shoes, you sometimes wonder why he likes her so much... That being said, I found the rest of the intrigue (apart from the romance) interesting, well developed and it showed us a good glimpse into the ESL world in the US and how literary agency can function. There were some parts of the books that dragged out or were repetitive (e.g. Bryony pestering Jack about her first book), but they were compensated by the good bits. The resolution of the intrigue, while not terribly credible, was very sweet.

All in all, an enjoyable book that was more than a romance. I listened to it as an audiobook and found the narration very good (especially Jack's voice). Listening to this made a long train journey seem much shorter!

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Thank you HarperCollins Christian Publishing | Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Summary: An aspiring author’s dream opportunity turns into a nightmare when her ghostwritten novels make another writer a household name—while she remains invisible, even to the literary agent she’s falling for.

My review: Giving off strong Emily Henry vibes, this story follows Bryony as she navigates the highs and lows of ghostwriting, learning to stand up for herself while chasing her dreams. Her dynamic with Jack is utterly charming—their friendship crackles with humor, their banter is sharp and delightful, and Jack’s obvious affection for her is swoon-worthy (even if Bryony is hilariously oblivious). The only drawback? The miscommunication trope, which added some frustration. Still, this novel is a delightful blend of romance, career struggles, and personal growth that will leave readers smiling.

Fiction / Romance - Romantic Comedy / Romance - Clean & Wholesome / Romance - Contemporary

The Perfect Rom-Com is scheduled for publication on February 1, 2025, by HarperCollins Christian Publishing | Thomas Nelson Fiction.

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Perfect feel good rom-com.
Felt like it started a little slow but turned out to be great!

The audio book was great with the multiple voices as well.


Thank you so much to NetGalley and the author of this book for the eARC!

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The first half of this story was very slow and boring. We spend a lot of time in the narrator's head voice, which usually I don't mind but in this case it was too much. Towards the middle I really enjoyed the MMC and thought he was adorable but the FMC still continued to bother me. And Amelia, I could not handle the character. She was so vile. I know that was the point, but it made the read less enjoyable that she was so self-righteous and privileged. The ending of the book did redeem itself so it wasn't a total bomb, but I don't know that I would recommend this book to others.

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This was son much fun to read! Friends to lovers romance and character development, realizing you can improve yourself and a big gesture, I mean, what’s not to like! Sweet and clean read that left me swoon and heart eyed.

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Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to enjoy this book. I enjoyed the characters and their dynamic. I loved seeing their growth, but I wish I had seen more of the in-between when they met and where they ended up. Without giving anything away, I loved the plot and seeing the publishing world mechanics. I love to read books about books. I cannot wait to read more books by Melissa Ferguson.

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I ADORED THIS BOOK! It was funny, lighthearted, and oh so addicting to read, or in my case to listen to. Bryony Page is a funny, very anxious in a relatable way, ghost writer for a very famous author that is trying to save a place that means so much to her and to the people she helps by teaching them ESL. She is an aspiring writer and goes to meet Jack, a really cool and totally badass agent in the literary world and makes an impression to land her the ghostwriting job.

Soon their chemistry starts to show more and more and it's hard to deny that they are only "just friends". Bryony and Jack are two amazing characters and I loved listening to their banter, how Jack was totally obsessed with her (and everyone knew it), and how Bryony grew as a character from the beginning of the story to the end. I think what broke my heart the most was that it ended and I don't get to read it anymore. Melissa Ferguson really made the perfect rom-com and if this book isn't on your TBR, what are you doing?!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishing for letting me read this beautiful story!

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Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson fiction and Zondervan Fiction Audio for this ARC! Jack and Bryony are a cute enemies to lovers workplace romance story. She just wants to get published and he needs a ghostwriter for a popular social media star. Their dynamic of ‘are they just friends or are they more’ is so sweet and I was happy to read all about their evolution. The narration by Karissa Vacker was so wonderful - I will listen to anything she does!

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Truly it's a 2.5 star rounded up.

To be honest, I had taken 4 tries to get started on this book. The first 25% was slow going. There's too much internal dialogue, too details of the background and you have to get thru that before the story gets started. I would say the 'meat' of the story starts around 31%-60ish% of the book. Then, before you know it, the 3rd act happens. The lead up was very predictable too, but I would say I did appreciate how the resolution came together and that was exciting to read/hear.

The pacing at the beginning was slow, too slow. The showing of the friendship with the banter made it fun, but again, didn't really get started there until after a quarter of the book. Once that gets going, it was good. The wind down was good, and the ending was beautifully done. But man, you have to get thru the first quarter before you get to the meat, I had contemplated DNF several times, kinda glad I stuck with it, but can see how many would've given up.

My favorite character, is Gloria, we all should have a personal cheerleader sister in our corner. The students are cute and provided levels of the environment. The bus ride felt too claustrophobic. Kinda wish Browny has more of a backbone given the amount of internal dialogue that she has.

One note about the audiobook, I love Karissa Vacker, she shows the emotions of each of the characters well, and I've enjoyed other books that she had performed. I think it's because of her that I stuck with this one. Give it a listen.

Thank you to NetGalley & Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the ARC.

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This is a cute little hallmark movie book! It's a little slow but it's an easy fast read! No spice, just kissing, so I would be good for ya too. The ending of the book is was caught my attention the most!

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Bryony is an aspiring writer and after she meets Jack (literary agent) at a writers conference, he doesn't want to push her own book but for her to be the ghostwriter for popular novelist, Amelia. Fast forward, she's the exclusive writer for Amelia and Jack still doesn't have traction on her book. After a break-up, her and Jack find they're attracted to each other but Jack hasn't been fully truthful with her about her book.

I thought this was a cute book and I did enjoy the relationship between Bryony/Jack and how it was organic throughout time. While Jack did lie, it was clear he was smitten with Bryony and he was trying to do right by her behind the scenes.

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Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This book really is the perfect rom-com. I adored every single thing about it.

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I loved this book! Bryony Page was a fantastic FMC. Bryony daylights as an ESL teacher for adults new to America. Her situation really touched my heart. I also appreciated that I got a peak behind the curtain of book writing/publication in America. I also loved the slow burn between both MCs

I listened to the audiobook version of this story and I have no complaints. The voice acting was great!

Thank you to Melissa Ferguson, Harper Collins Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC!

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This book was absolutely cute and such a delight to listen to!
I loved learning more about the publishing industry and what it’s like being a writer and also about the struggles that a writer goes through at the beginning of the road until their first book gets to be published
I also enjoyed the relationship between Jack and Bryony and how it started as being a friendship and later on developed into something more which I think was really cute and sweet
Overall, this was such a fun audiobook and I would highly recommend picking this book up!

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This was a great romance book to listen to. I loved the relationship between Jack and Brynn. I did get sad when they broke up but it ended happily which made me smile. Thank you for allowing me to read and review this ARC

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This book was so exciting to the very end. I really enjoyed this plot, its characters, the romcom, and the challenges the fmc comes across. I feel like this book was unique in the way the story kept going til the end. It wasn't full of fillers, and there wasn't a forced "and they lived happily ever after with marriage and a baby "at the end. This was so good in my opinion.

The narrator did a really good job, she captured the emotions of the characters so well. So good, i finished in 1 day.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

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The Perfect Rom-Com by Melissa Ferguson was a surprisingly refreshing and funny read. I loved the characters and their quirks, and loved how this book gave us both friends-to-lovers and enemies-to-lovers. I listened to this book at 2x speed and enjoyed the narration, style, and tone. The Perfect Rom-Com by Melissa Ferguson gets a four-star rating from me, because I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to a friend, but wouldn't read it again.

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