I really enjoy books with the rivals-to-lovers trope—it's one of my favorites. When I found a story about two actors who can't stand each other being forced to play lovers in a British film, while also being filmed by a documentary crew, I was immediately interested.

Cynthie Taylor and Jack Turner-Jones had amazing on-screen chemistry in their first film together, which launched their careers, but their real-life dislike for each other made just as many headlines. Thirteen years later, they're brought back together for a sequel with an added complication—they need to pretend their relationship is real again for publicity. With cameras constantly around them, old issues resurface, tension builds, and the boundary between acting and reality becomes unclear.

The book does a good job balancing humor, tension, and character development. By showing their story in two timelines, we see both their initial conflicts and misunderstandings alongside their current reunion, where they've matured but still maintain their distinctive dynamic. Cynthie is an engaging main character—driven and resilient—while Jack transforms from an irritating co-star to a more nuanced love interest.

The slow development of their relationship kept me engaged throughout, whether they were arguing or sharing rare tender moments. The supporting characters enhance the story, and the book offers an interesting look at the entertainment industry.

If you like enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, or second-chance romance stories, you'll probably enjoy this one. The tension, humor, and emotional moments build to a satisfying conclusion.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me this entertaining enemies to lovers romance' s arc copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

If you're looking for a fun, cute rom-com to read this book is for you. It has fake dating and enemies tropes that I typically enjoy. It was a quick read that was a little formulaic at times, but still a good time.

This was a light, easy read. The story is told in dual timeline, dual POV. I have to say Cynthie and Jack kind of frustrated me a little in the beginning but they certainly grew on me. The dual timeline in this case helped build up the tension between the characters when we first met them, making their development and connection in the present timeline as the actual story progresses all the more satisfying.

Anyone who might be interested in an enemies-to-lovers, fake dating sprinkled with a dash of second-chance romance and set in the entertainment industry would probably get a real kick out of this.

Cynthie lands her first real small acting job and her costar hates her. The two have to work together and end up falling for each other. It was cute and funny.

Dual timeline, dual POV, fake dating, enemies to lovers, he falls first CRACK. I absolutely inhaled this book and thoroughly enjoyed the witty banter between the two main characters, Cynthie and Jack.

Thanks for NetGalley for the ARC!

Let's Make a Scene by Laura Wood is a delightful love story that takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, with plenty of heart, humor, and just the right amount of tension. The book starts off a bit frustrating, as the characters are navigating their own complicated emotions, but once the story shifts into the second movie and the two leads start to rekindle their romance, I was absolutely hooked.

The chemistry between the characters is palpable, and you can’t help but root for them to find their way back to each other. The highlight for me was the Dirty Dancing scene — it was such a fantastic bonus that brought a huge smile to my face and had me kicking my feet in excitement. It was the perfect mix of nostalgia and playful romance. If you’re a fan of love stories with a bit of slow burn and a lot of heart, Let's Make a Scene is definitely a book you don’t want to miss!



3.5 stars!

A cute read for a lazy afternoon.

I’m new to this author, but I found Let’s Make a Scene to be a rather funny and interesting book. I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers scenario. I feel like it’s always the girl who starts the drama, so I liked that it was the guy who instantly disliked her.

The prank wars were the best. I liked seeing the banter, but I would have liked to see the pranks in action more.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the time jumps. I felt they were a bit clunky and often felt out of place. I also got lost a few times when I would take a break from the book and couldn’t remember of it was last or present.

Overall a cute book.

*An ARC was received in exchange for an honest review.

I loved it! I had read Under Your Spell and knew I had to read this. I read it in two days, staying up to read 5 hours straight the night before an early meeting because I had to finish it. I was crying at times, and kicking my feet at other times.
I cant wait to recommend it to friends.

If you're looking for a second chance romance/enemies-to-lovers story with longing that can only make you root more for the characters (plus a meddling friend group who is loyal to the core) this is the book for you. It's also hard not to talk about the tension between Cynthie and Jack because it was so well written. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

Let's Make a Scene was such a fun read; an enemies to lovers second chance romance story. I honestly had such low expectation going into this book because it's rare for me to find romance books that I love. This was so well written for a debut book. I loved the MMC and FMC even when I was frustrated with them. The tension and the chemistry between them was so gooood. I also love their friends and the found family that they formed. I also appreciated that this story touched on some of the challenges that famous people face, such as dealing with paparazzis and tabloids, power dynamics and abuse, etc. I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Cynthie Taylor has skyrocketed in her acting career making her a household name, but she is called back to face her past when she is asked to work with Jack Turner-Jones. Jack comes from acting parentage and starred with Cynthie thirteen years ago in her debut screen role, her first major production launching her into stardom. The one problem is Jack and Cynthie do NOT get along. They did their first film together and then parted ways in the hopes of never seeing each other again. Now they both have to figure out why they hated each other in the first place and if they can fake a relationship to help Jack’s career and Cynthie’s old relationship not be the talk of the A-list town.

I would give this a 4.25! I really enjoyed this one; it was a tad long, but I always love the friends to lovers trope. It reminded me of a kind of Pride and Prejudice or The Notebook when they described the film they were working on in the early parts of the book. A sweet love story about finding your soul mate.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

What an unexpected delight. This is my first time reading a book from this author, but it will not be the last. I am not normally a fan of second-chance romance, but this book is a great way to become enamored. Although this book is not a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, many elements of this story could mirror Persuasion. One way it is similar is Jack writing letters as an opportunity to express his feelings. I enjoyed going back to when they first met as well as telling their story in the present, which gave the story dynamic energy. This was a banger of a story and I had so much fun reading this book. Jack and Cynthie and fabulous chemistry on the page, as well as the chemistry between all of the additional characters. This was a good time and I highly recommend it. Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was a fun romance with enjoyable characters in a, “I hate him/her, I love him/ her” scenario.
The story is told in alternating POV between the main characters as well as alternating between the past and present.
I thought the time shifts helped to create the tension and give the backstory needed to show the character growth over the 13 years.
Cynthia’s friend group was amazing, and I could really use a Hannah in my life.
All in all this was a great quick read romance.

Hollywood may be the only place I can tolerate a fake dating scenario, and I absolutely fell in love with actors Cynthie Taylor and Jack Turner-Jones and their love story.

Things I loved: I am an instant sucker for enemies to lovers and stories that span timelines. The chemistry and banter between Cynthie and Jack had me laughing and angry in just the right places. You can really feel the dissonance between them early on, and their early rivalry feels authentic. Both characters grow and change over time. I was grateful that neither felt static. I loved the resilience and confidence in Cynthie, particularly in the ways we watch Cynthie grow in her work with excellent direction by her female director, Jasmine. It was easy to both hate and fall in love with Jack, and his growth was really endearing.


The slow burn with this couple gave me plenty of time to fall in love with both of them, and to just savor their story along the way.


I enjoyed the nod to Theo and Clemmie from Under Your Spell -it was fun to see those two again!


This book is perfect for those who love a slow burn, enemies to lovers, with a second-chance romance. I'll definitely pick up the hard copy, because this will certainly be one I'll enjoy a second time.


A big thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a delightfully sweet second chance romance with forced proximity and fake dating. Told in both dual POVs and dual timelines, Cynthie and Jack are both wonderfully complex characters and the balance of tension, conflict, support, and love makes this a supremely enjoyable read. Additionally, there were many wonderful supporting characters through their rich group of friends that added to the story. Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the ARC.

loved this romance and a second chance at love. loved that he fell first and he help from her friends for a grand gesture. loved her friends and they found their way to each other.

I loved this. Like omg. I love a good second chance romance and the back and forth povs. The then and now scenes. I loved getting to see Jack and Cynthie come together as a couple and for Cynthie to see herself as worthy. I saw a lot of myself in Cynthie especially when she talks about not being able to talk about her emotions, that hit home. So I deeply loved Cynthie as a character and the development that went on with her and Jack.

Thanks to Atria Books for the ARC of this one! I really enjoyed Under Your Spell, which is the companion book to this one. I think both books could be read as standalone books, but the connections from Under Your Spell were definitely fun. This book follows Cynthie Taylor, a famous actress who has recently found herself victim to a vicious scandal that truly isn't her fault. As she is trying to pick up the pieces of her life, she is given the opportunity to make a sequel to the regency romance movie that got her career started. The only caveat is that she will have to work with Jack, her nemesis and former co-star AND they want them to pretend to date. The book follows the timeline of the filming of the original movie thirteen years prior and present day. Though, you can tell that Jack and Cynthie don't get along, throughout both timelines, there are snippets of a connection that they both want to admit. I truly enjoyed reading about their connection and watching them discover the misconceptions they have about each other. This one is a true enemies to lovers situation and it was done beautifully. Their eventual connection is raw and real and their relationship is beautiful. I couldn't put this one down and I loved every second. I can't wait to see what Laura Wood writes next!

This was fun and cute!

Co-stars fall in love with each other, but they have a past (they had fallen in love 13 years ago and then had a falling out) and now have to work together.

This is a second chance romance, which I don't tend to care for because I don't like feeling like I missed the first half of the story. I like to be there for all of the relationship building, that's the only way a romance makes sense to me, if I can actually see the romance and chemistry be created.

This book was probably half past and half present, so it made a lot more sense to me than second chance romances that just expect you to believe they had a relationship without showing it to the reader. We get large chunks of past to back-up what's going to happen in the present. That's the way to do a second chance romance.

I just do wish this had a bit ore oomph (as I tend to say a lot lately). I just felt like something was missing.

And as much as I liked getting more past background, I do prefer when things happen chronologically in a book (it's just easier for my brain to keep track of, but that's person-by-person thing).

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

I mean, SWOON. Normally I am neither a second chance OR dual timeline girl but this book had me in a chokehold, I think the past and present scenes were split up very well and listen I love watching a man grow and mature in real time. And also grovel a bit. Incredible. The way Laura writes each and every single character gets you so invested and they feel so fully developed that I can so easily understand the flow of the story. I loved this book and appreciated that the drama was realistic despite it being about literal movie stars. Laura Wood has cemented herself as an auto buy author for me