My absolute favorite trope is enemies to lovers/rivals to lovers. And this book had that down perfectly. I absolutely loved that Jack and Cynthie had history, that they were reprising their roles as on screen lovers. Their relationship development is wonderful, although I could do without the flashbacks and past issues. The tension, the chemistry, all of it was an A+ for me.

Jack was definitely the highlight of the book for me. Some things with Cynthie bothered me a bit, but she cannot be perfect so I will forgive her past indiscretions. Jack though, absolutely passionate and amazing and I need to meet him hahaha

I am so glad I got the chance to read this amazing book, and I HIGHLY recommend to everyone else.

Dare I say this book was even better than the first in the series. I absolutely devoured this book in 2 days and could not put it down. This book follows Cynthie and Jack who fake date to get their careers going thirteen years ago. Now, they also fake date to generate buzz for their sequel. The chemistry and tension between the two of them was evident now and thirteen years ago, and burns inferno hot. Whew! The characters grow throughout the story as you get to see them older and wiser than they were thirteen years ago. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted eARC and physical ARC. All opinions are my own.

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What a fantastic story! We meet Cynthie and Jack. Cynthie is brand new to the acting world and lands a part opposite Jack when heads butt and sparks fly between them. We learn Jack isn’t new to the acting world but his role opposite to Cynthie will hopefully be his big break. It was a fantastic look behind the curtain of Hollywood life as well as learning to overcome fear and what others say about you and what you should be doing with your life. Jack and Cynthie’s chemistry was feral and I loved every second of it. The tension was delicious and when things finally came to a head it was so sweet and swoony. I loved seeing Cynthie grow and find her family when she didn’t have one. Jack was fantastic when he finally stood up to his awful parents. The throwbacks and nostalgia was amazing too! I loved it. If you enjoy found family, slow burn, tension and rivals to lovers this one is definitely for you!

Thank you Atria for the opportunity to read this book!

I gave Lets Make a Scene 3 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Thank you Atria Publishing, Laura Wood and Net Galley for this ARC. These are my honest opinions.

I enjoyed this book as a palate cleanser and recommend it for that or a quick rom-com/enemies to lovers book.

I really liked the characters and loved their development. The chemistry between the FMC and the MMC was perfect! I loved their development little things, like how a person would truly act the first time they saw their name on an actor’s trailer on a movie set. I loved the little doses of reality like that.

The story was well written and had a great amount of humor and seriousness.

I wasn’t completely sold on the rivalry that happened 13 years ago, when our MCs were barely adults, but has carried forward all that time. It wasn’t that big of a deal and it showed the maturity level of characters at that age - but, it wasn’t enough to make an enemies to lovers truly believable 13 years (and lots of maturity) later.

Overall, I think you’ll like this book!

I’m writing this from the floor. I melted early on while reading Let’s Make A Scene and never recovered. Oh what a fabulous, swoony, enemies-to-lovers treat this was!! This was my first book by Laura Wood and I have now found a new favorite author.

I was rooting for Cynthie from the start, and Jack? Ooooooo Jack….. 🥵 Their connection felt so real; I almost forgot this was fiction! I thought about them when I wasn’t reading. That’s a really good story if you ask me!

With dual POV, and also past/present timeline, you get a full picture of the start and continuation of these two cuties’ relationship. I really enjoyed the shenanigans and banter between Cynthie and Jack in the past timeline, and then I REALLY enjoyed the tension and tenderness the present timeline gave.

I don’t feel like giving too much detail, because reading it yourself will be that much better. I will say that the filming of their movie set in the regency era touched on my love for Austen (honorable mention to the breeches, horseback riding, and the wet clinging-shirt scene) which was really fun.

Go ahead and fall in love with this book. I’ll wait.

Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC via NetGalley! All opinions are absolutely my own.

I loved this story! Cynthie and Jack are so easy to root for. The character development, timeline and pacing was perfect. Definitely recommend for an easy read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

If you loved Theo and Clemmie, you’ll love returning to their world with Cynthie and Jack. This second chance romance is a dual POV and a dual timeline as it follows their story from thirteen years ago to today as they make a movie and its sequel. I hope this series continues - can’t wait to read more.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

thank you atria and netgalley for the arc !!

this book was a cute palate cleanser ! i don’t think much of the story stood out to me long term and there were parts of the book that moved a little slower (or maybe i’m getting slumped)

but i loved the dual pov past and present !! i feel like it really created a narrative that built up to now

jack and cynthie are costars who during their first meet they did not get along. but because their chemistry is through the roof they sort of fake date to really sell the movie

call it a one and done to get it out of their systems??? OR SO U THINK HAHAHAAH

anyway the third act conflict that caused them not to talk for 13 years, not gonna lie i saw it coming but i think knowing both jack and cynthie it wasn’t the time for them to be together so the “third act” conflict while it could annoy me i felt like they both needed that development to be who they are now

anyway anyway the books “present” is they’re filming a sequel to the movie they filmed 13 years ago but the catch is there’s also a documentary being filmed simultaneously so they have to fake date AGAIN, while hating each other

i think maybe for me the plot got a little confusing because the stories were so similar in the past and present tense but i was still able to enjoy the romance both in the past and present !

i def want to tune in to theo and clemmies story bc from the crumbs ive gotten he seems OBSESSED and i can’t wait

Thank you @atriabooks #partner for the gifted copies of this book!

This was my very first Laura Wood book and let me just say — as soon as the temps start creeping up, I find myself craving those summery, flirty, romcom reads. Let’s Make a Scene totally scratched that itch.

This one is an enemies to lovers situation book, which is one of my favorite tropes because let’s be honest… there’s something so satisfying about watching two people bicker their way right into each other’s hearts. This one had the perfect balance of humor, chemistry, and a few more serious, reflective moments to give it some depth.

I also really appreciated that the drama made sense. You know how sometimes in romcoms you’re like no one would actually do that, Becky? Not here. Laura Wood did a great job building the characters’ past frustrations and issues in a way that felt believable and logical.

The chemistry between the two leads was perfectly written. I was rooting for them, laughing with them, and swooning a little too. And the fact that it’s a second chance romance just made my heart extra happy.

If you’re looking for a smart, charming, feel-good romcom to kick off your summer, this one’s worth a spot on your TBR!

I love a fake dating tripe. And rivals to lovers. And the whole documentary aspect? Fantastic, give me 14 of them.

thank you so much for the approval- i cannot wait to dive in, this is one of my most anticipated reads of the year! i will be sure to leave a review on GR/retailers to come! 💞

Cynthie and Jack are rivals from the very start. They have insane chemistry while filming their movie, but they hate each other. Since their cheminstry is so amazing, they have to fake date for movie promo. 13 years later and they want to make a sequel with a requirement that the two leads, who have not seen or spoken to each other in 13 years, must fake date again. This enemies to lovers, second chance romance book is a great read for those who like easy romances.

this kinda reminded me of a book I read by Katherine Center once and honestly I preferred Katherine Center.

I loved this 😍 It didn’t bring any crazy emotions but the vibes were *there*. The writing style was great and made it a very easy read. The characters were well flushed out. The side characters were perfect. So so good.

I was worried at the beginning because Jack was straight up just an asshole for no reason 😅 but he really turned it around. And I honestly loved their bickering and their pranks in the “earlier” chapters. You could feel that they weren’t really enemies, they didn’t actually despise each other. But the real bread and butter was their “now” chapters. Oh the connection was so evident. I loved the growth of Jack and how vulnerable he was able to be once he got out from under his parents’ thumbs.

Cynthie… yea you can’t help but love her from the very beginning. She could’ve easily cowered and let him win during the first film. She was the newbie. She couldn’t believed what they were saying and let it break her down. But, oh no, she let Jack have it from the start! Seeing her then battle her way out of the pit in the “now” chapters and learn to trust herself and others again was perfect. I loved the way their relationship came around in the end.

Now I need to go back and read the first book in the series because I had no idea it existed!!

A swoony Hollywood style romance, perfect for your summer TBR!

This was a super fast read for me. I was invested in these characters from the very start and eager to see where their story went! I thought the backstory was believable and set up nicely for this time in their lives. The time jumps did feel a little off at times, just when I was getting absorbed into the one time frame it would swap to the other, but overall a great read.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC

First off, a HUGE thank you to NetGalley, Atria, and Laura Wood  for this amazing book!  It made me feel all the feels and I absolutely loved it!

Fake dating, rivals to lover, second chance, he falls first…the list goes on! There are so many amazing things in this book!

I think the dual timeline paired with the dual POV was so smart on Laura’s part. Not only do we get to see them fall in love the first time, but we get to see them fall back in love 13 years later. It just added another layer to this book and gave so much life to the story.

Cynthie and Jack are AMAZING characters! I love when the MMC falls first and man oh man does Jack fall hard for Cynthie! He is constantly showing up for her and showing her that she can trust him. Gah and the letter! Seriously, so many amazing things in this book.

I loved the back drop of this book taking place on/off a movie set. And Cynthia’s tribe of friends were great side characters. This story flowed so well and kept you wanting more with every chapter. I just loved it.

Thank you again to NetGalley, the publishers and Laura for the opportunity to read it. I really adored this story.

I wanted to like this one, but the multiple pop culture references throughout the book made it hard for me to get into the book and I ended up DNFing it at around 20%. I did enjoy the writing style, but when a book has multiple real life references, it pulls me out of the story a lot of the time.

This is my first book by Laura Wood and I was not disappointed. This was a fun story! I enjoyed how it went back and forth from the past to the present so we could see the tension these two had from the start. I loved the dual POV so we could get both sides. I love this romance wrapped up at the end. It was a fun, sweet, enjoyable read!

I loved this book! It's about two actors who had a falling out years ago, having to come back together to do a movie 13 years later. It's rival to lovers fake dating, and second chance romance and it was just such a good time. Cynthie Taylor and Jack Turner-Jones worked together on their first major film, which launched both their careers, but they really disliked each other throughout most of that process. Thirteen years later, Cynthie has found herself involved in a scandal and they're brought back together for a sequel to that blockbuster first film, but they need to pretend they're in a relationship. There is also a documentary happening concurrently, which makes everything more difficult. Neither Cynthie nor Jack know what is real and what is not in regards to their relationship.

The book is told in dual timelines and dual POV's where we get the story of what happened to cause the huge rift in the past, and then the current timeline. I thought this was well done, as we really get a look at their thoughts and motivations in the past and the present. I loved both of the main characters, even if I did want to shake Cynthie quite a few times in the past timeline.

The development of their relationship from fake to real was fantastic, it was the perfect amount of slow-burn without it getting stale or boring. I was invested in them and their lives and their relationship before we got to the payoff. I also loved the side characters. Sometimes side characters are just filler and serve no actual purpose, but they were utilized really well in the storytelling.

I think I read this in one-sitting. It's an almost perfect romance book, that would have been 5 stars if not for some ridiculous misunderstandings. But no third-act breakup, so that mostly made up for it. 4.5 stars rounded down because come on guys, just communicate! But still. definitely read this! Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Second chance romance, fake dating, enemies to lovers, workplace romance, flashbacks, actor main characters, dual pov

I have not been in the mood to read much lately, but I read this book in like two days. This book had everything I need in a book. It starts page one scene one, there’s not a slow introduction to the plot. It has fake dating, flashbacks, dual pov, literally all things that make a fantastic book for me.

Seeing the flashbacks of Cynthia and Jack and how they acted when they first met and how to interact thirteen years later was such a great way to get to know the characters and see the evolution. Both characters went through a lot in thirteen years and then realizing that they both needed to “grow up” in a way for them to work in an actual relationship. As much as I love fake dating, I love when they realize they were stupid and are actually in love.

The only reason I am giving this book four stars is because I feel like we had a lot of set up for the ending, and then the ending didn’t live up to it. This is solely my opinion on how it happened, while I can appreciate the ending in the book I do wish it had been more.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an early read of this book. All thoughts are my own, I do not accept money for reviews.