This was my first read from Laura Wood and I really wanted to like this book. The premise is cute, two childhood stars get back together, but I feel like I read this plotline in another novel recently. I found the pacing with the dual timelines to be a bit challenging as well. Overall, this was a decent rom com, easy to read on vacation or a plane. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Two famous stars reunite to act in a sequel of their big hit romance movie after pressure from fans. This has enemies to lovers, fake dating and a dramatic second chance romance!

Cynthie is in the middle of a PR crisis after she is caught having an affair with the director of her last movie and he left her to go back to his wife. Her agent tells her the sequel is a great opportunity to repair her image. It’s been thirteen years since the original movie came out and she hasn’t seen Jack since. When they were making the first movie, Jack had complained that Cynthie was too inexperienced to handle her part. But when she and Jack were asked to fake date for publicity, the movie became a huge success (they had great chemistry). In present time, Jack agrees to do the sequel but only if Cynthie agrees to do it too. The directors ask them to fake date again to promote the movie and it's a good time!

The banter between Jack and Cynthie is fun and the side characters in the story were colorful and full of humor, including Theo and Clemmie (from Under Your Spell). The story is told in dual timelines and I think I preferred the present timeline more than the past. Cynthie and Jack’s chemistry really sizzled in the present while they were making the sequel but Cynthie has trust issues from her past - luckily Jack is patient and kind. TW: There are conversations about what women in the entertainment industry have gone through (#MeToo).

I was a fan of Under Your Spell and while this one doesn’t have the magic we saw in the first book it's a charming and entertaining second chance romance. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. My full review will be at All About Romance closer to the review date.

oh this was so fun!!! if you're in the mood for a fun romance, with undeniable, laugh out loud banter, 'let's make a scene' is what you need!!! the pacing was done well & the love shared is one of my favorites. if you're in a slump, pick this up!! i promise you'll be out of it. thank you netgalley for the arc!

I’m not sure I have enough words for how much I enjoyed this book. I had about 800 things to do today and yet I just kept coming back to this story. I loved the past and present scenes, and I loved the delicious tension between Jack and Cynthie. If the movie they worked on was a film I could go see, I would be first in line.

Laura Wood hit the pining, angst, and pent up attraction right on the head! The wet t-shirt scene (you will ALL remember it once you read it) had me kicking and screaming. It was more than just a second chance romance; Let’s Make a Scene is a story about patience, trust, and when make-believe becomes all too real.

I loved this book so much that I’m going to immediately go back and read Theo’s story in Under Your Spell. The characters are so vivid in this story and I can only wish to be on the set with them. The only notes I have for this book are how I need more just like it!!!


Thank you to Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review this book! I received a free advance copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Let’s make a scene was an absolutely incredible and beautiful read. What a juicy, romantic and lust filled book. The writing was impeccable, the characters and their friendships were taken to higher levels. I thoroughly enjoyed this and don’t know if I’ll ever stop thinking about Cynthie and Jacks love. This was true yearning. This was enemies to lovers to fake dating to real dating to yearning. Lovely read overall, filled with in-depth characters that grew with you on the pages. The story was multilayered and left much to be desired. Loved loved loved.

Okay, let me just say that I loved Under Your Spell so freaking much that I knew going into this my expectations were going to be high. (Maybe a little too high.) So I feel like it was so hard for me not to compare them which I know isn't fair because they're different. This one definitely had a different vibe. It didn't quite give me the warm butterflies (as much, they did eventually come closer to the end).

I really struggle with enemies to lovers these days, especially, when the enemies part goes on for a good long while. I feel all kinds of torn on this one. Because on one hand I loved certain things about it but on the other I struggled connecting with specific things. The past timeline was a big part of what I'm unsure about how I feel. I liked seeing how their relationship began and where things went wrong but it felt like SO much miscommunication. It was very frustrating at times to see them both overreact to certain situations. However, it did allowed me to appreciate and adore the present timeline more to see where they came from. But I did feel like there was a slight disconnect feeling between the two timelines.

I will say, I didn't feel quite as emotionally connected to them as I did with Theo and Clemmie. But as the book went along I really did root for them. I especially adored all the side characters. I can't decide if alot of it was my mood and just how long it took me to read it. It's definitely one I wanna reread later to see if I feel similar. I'm curious to hear other people's thoughts too.

But all that to say, I still really enjoyed this one but it just didn't quite have me head over heels in love like Under Your Spell. That one was just truly magical. I wish we could have got a few more cute coupley together moments. It was definitely a slowburn with lots of hate/sexual tension going on.

Fantastic characters. Interesting story. YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN!!!! I loved this book and cannot wait for more from Laura Wood.

Honestly? This trope is one of my least favorite. A second chance, with lots of time in between, is just not my cup of tea. HOWEVER, if you are into that type of storyline - THIS IS YOUR JAM. (You know who you are. Just add it to your TBR already. This book is for you!)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

This book fell flat despite having potential. It is one that suffers from the “enemies” not being really enemies, therefore the rest of the plot suffering for lack of foundation. And the time jumps just did not work.

1.5 ⭐️

I really tried to and kinda fully expected to love this after being a huge fan of Laura Wood’s “Under Your Spell” but almost every single about this was a miss for me in execution??

I will say my biggest issue with the narrative was that the time jumps felt so clunky and almost not necessary because they didn’t reveal much about the character’s motivations in either the past or present and it felt extremely sluggish to read all the “enemies” portion (like moreso than it usually is ???) so even their one passionate hookup felt like a nothingburger because their motivations for hating oneanother where not only convoluted asf but like their chemistry wasn’t even giving for all the theatrics in both timelines….


I will say, I was literally tricked into cheering when Theo and Clemmie had their cameo but once they left and I realized I genuinely did not care about Jack & Cynthie, I knew it was time to DNF but like their book ate that one thing

Time of DNF: 66%

nonetheless, so so thankful to netgalley and atria books for this arc to review!

I DNF'd this book about a quarter of the way through. For me, the flashbacks weren't really working. I think they could have been two separate books: one of their childhood romance and one of their reconnection.

4.5 stars. UM OKAY. this book had no business being this good. can we just discuss the PINING, the LONGING, the YEARNING. Jack was the absolute definition of a man obsessed. I loved how the flashbacks tied in so beautifully to present day. It felt like where they were leaving off in present day, fit perfectly into the flashback and vice versa. I couldn't get enough of the found family vibes either. All of the characters had a place and felt necessary to the story. I also may or may not have teared up during the grand gesture at the end. all in all, I adored this.

Loved this one, all around. Dual POV, second chance, fake dating, enemies to lovers, found family. It has it all!
This was my first read from Laura Wood, but will definitely not be my last.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

Laura Wood is an easy auto-buy author for me. I knew that after Under Your Spell, but this just confirmed my suspicions. I loved this book. I swooned for this story and these characters.

This is a flawlessly done fake dating, second-chance, enemies to lovers romcom. It features dual timelines and dual pov which added so much depth to the story and the emotions.

The story follows actors Cynthia and Jack, who first meet on the set of both of their very first movie. It’s not a good first meeting. Cynthie is very green in her acting experience and Jack was born into this world following behind his very famous movie star parents. Jack is terrified of Cynthie ruining the movie with her inexperience. And of course she hears this first hand. They massively clash, but that tension brewing between them is also stirring up some other feelings….which is only heightened when the studio asks them to fake date for higher press coverage. None of this goes well. It ends so badly. They don’t see or talk for 13 years. Then the sequel to their movie is set into motion and history is starting to repeat itself. Have they grown up? Can they handle being around eachother? They have some things to makeup for.

The banter and the chemistry between these two is incredible! I was eating it up. Both characters get to have so much growth and evaluation, it was really beautiful to read. I also really enjoyed the side characters and their found families. They were such a good comic relief, and support system. I loved all the romcom and classic movie references throughout the book. That was so cute.

Highly enjoyed. I was truly rooting for these two so hard. I wanted to scream at them so many times. (Always a good sign that I’m invested hard core.) I would recommend this to my Emily Henry lovers, romcom watchers, and hopeless romantics.

This is one of my favorite books that I have read this year and is also one of my favorite romance books I have ever read. Such a cute premise of a love story. Two actors work together and despise one another. Time goes by and they are asked to film a sequel. Both want to do it for the money, power, and fame, but maybe love is a secret motivator as well? Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I enjoyed this, as I knew I would after reading the author’s previous novel! The movie set was fun, as well as the dual narration and time changes. All in all a fun read.

OKAY, STOP!!!! NOBODY TALK TO ME RIGHT NOW BC WHY WAS THIS BOOK SO GOOD?!?!?

I am so flabbergasted that I loved this book to this extent!!! Like, don't get me wrong, I definitely knew this book had serious potential, but this one completely hit it out of the ballpark. There is just something amazing about books when they are based on actors, has fake-dating and enemies-to-lovers. LIKE, SAYING I LOVED THIS BOOK IS SUCH AN UNDERSTATEMENT!!! Uggggghhhhhhhh, this is when I really regret my career choice because I would so love a love-hate relationship with someone like Jack Turner-Jones. He's an actor AND he "hates" me, like, please, where can I sign up for the role of Cynthie Taylor? No lie, I would cherish the guy.

All I need for the enemies-to-lovers trope to hit would be a valid reason to "hate" each other and I got it with this book. The reason made perfect sense given their ages, maturity levels and where they were in life.

The movie storyline was so good! Like balancing the storyline between 13 years ago and the present was great already, and then when the storyline from the movie was intertwined, it was so much better!! I liked how the movie complemented the storyline and it didn't take over the entire storyline.

Jack Turner-Jones - I have no words. My God, I would get down ON MY KNEES for him! He's hot-headed and he "hates' with a passion, but he also loves just as hard, is sweet and super polite. BYEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Cynthie Taylor - She was good. The only thing I would say was that I wish she apologized for the things that she said in the past when he apologized for everything that he said. She was kind of insensitive to his feelings in the past. However, she was still a very likable character in general and my heart hurt for her. She went through so much, no spoilers, but one person better count their days bc I'm seriously going to throw hands. How dare you? It's not JACK, btw, bc my Jack would never.

Their relationship - God, the chemistry between these two is insane. Especially when they "hate" each other. They had their vulnerabilities and I liked how they opened up about it to each other bc it really showed the depth of their relationship.

13 years ago, for both of them, it was the right person, but the wrong time. They both dealt with a lot and the relationship between them wasn't meant to be then, but they ended up having another chance at HEA and I was here for it all!!

Thank you so much Laura Wood, Atria Books, and Netgalley for this arc!! 💕

Well this was absolutely adorable. The pining. The banter. The chemistry. Top tier ✨

Actors Cynthia Taylor and Jack Turner-Jones are pulled together to reprise their first ever film roles. Only problem? They couldn’t stand each other 13 years ago, and they can’t stand each other now. Oh AND they also must engage in a fake relationship to help both their careers and the promotion of their new movie. Oh AND also there’s a behind the scenes documentary crew filming it all! The stress.

This dual pov romance novel takes the reader between the events of “13 years earlier”, where the two work on their first lead roles together, and the present. And as someone who is not usually a fan of a time jump, I think the author did a great job with showing the difference and growth in both characters that took place over the 13 year gap.

Cynthia and Jack of present day are absolutely perfect together. Read if you love:

✨hate to love
✨second chance romance
✨fake dating
✨pining, so much pining
✨he wears glasses and carries a monogrammed handkerchief (very specific sub trope here ladies and gents)
✨ it was always you
✨found family

A fake dating second chance romance with a found family element? Sign me up!

I loved both the plot of this book and the plot of the movie they made in the book. Readers get to experience a really fresh juxtaposition of Hollywood and Regency England, along with some delicious enemies-to-lover tension and the sweetest of all sweethearts that is present-day Jack Turner-Jones. I cried at multiple parts through Cynthie's journey and finished the book sobbing. A+.

This one was so sweet! I really liked Cynthie and Jack immediately, and although I could see why they hated each other, I also felt like I completely understood their behavior! It's nice when you can layer in insecurity and anxiety in a way that feels very real and lived in and doesn't make one or both of the characters unlikeable.

I also felt like the pacing of the past and present storylines was really well done. It's a hard needle to thread, and it worked very well here. The chemistry between these two really jumps off the page, so you've absolutely bought in by the time they finally get together (both times).

My only slight speedbump with this one was that the ending felt a little cliche and cheesy, which was a disappointment as the rest of the book was so strong. But it's a happy ending, so everyone should be good with that!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

When Cynthie and Jack meet on the set of a Bridgerton type romantic movie, sparks fly. They meet up again 13 years later for a sequel and the attraction is still there but there’s some work to be done. The story goes back and forth from present day to 13 years prior and their rivalry romance unfolds. The ending is one of the best grand gestures ever and had me laughing and crying at the same time. I just loved this book from beginning to end!