This book unfortunately didn't do it for me. The "enemies" part of the enemies-to-lovers story didn't feel very realistic (he was obsessed with her mouth almost from Day 1), so that caused the rest of the story to fall flat. I did enjoy the behind the scenes look at filmmaking, and the film crew were entertaining, so they kept me interested enough to finish the book, but just barely. The dual timelines made the whole thing drag a little, so I wish that had been tightened up. I'd almost have rather just read the first part of the story and then the 13-years-later bit in sequence.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really wanted to like this but had too many issues. I found the dual timelines in this were so confusing, I felt like I was reading two separate stories in that aspect, and I didn’t like either MC; to the point where I actively disliked both during my reading, both were examples of walking red flags so I really didn’t like them as a couple.

This was my first time reading the author, and I would try other titles by her but Let’s Make a Scene did not work for me.



Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley

This was one of my most anticipated reads, and it didn’t disappoint! If you like dual timelines, rivals to lovers, second chance, hate to love, and TENSION definitely pick this one up.
I really enjoyed how the author balanced character development, humor, and tension. Cynthie and Jack are both very likeable, and the side characters made the story even better. The only reason I didn’t rate it 5 stars, was because I don’t think we needed as much of the flashback chapters as we got. Also the pacing was a little slow at times. But still very enjoyable read! Highly recommend 4/5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC

4.5 stars rounded up.

Laura Wood has done it again! After loving Under Your Spell, I was desperate to get my hands on this book.

This book was so witty and funny! I laughed out loud several times. Though it handled heavier topics as well like sexual harassment, abuse and anxiety I think Wood treated those topics with care. I appreciated the emphasis on mental wellness and healthy boundaries.

I also enjoyed the dual timelines and dual pov, specifically because it was so well denoted.

The only part that didn’t work for me was the ending, which felt a bit cheesy after such a long build up.

**3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

I love books about fictional celebrities, so I ate this one up! It also included some of the my favorite tropes (fake dating and second chance romance).

4.5⭐️

It was the grand gesture to me 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I was sobbing with that chapter and I loved it so much!!

I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers story, i love Cynthie and Jack, and I really enjoyed that even when this is a love story is also a story that portraits what women have to endure being part of the media as actresses, directors and more, it was very well written and obviously the fact that also talks about mental health, was just perfect.

I was kindly provided with the arc of this book by NetGalley and the editors in exchange of an honest review, thank you ⭐️

A charming fake dating rivals-to-lovers romance between two actors. It has pop culture references and humor similar to that in Ali Hazelwood’s books, but more British. I can see this being easily devoured by romance readers; it just has all the right lines. I’m a goner for second chance romances, so of course I loved the angst between the main characters.

3.25 stars rounded down.

Let's Make a Scene is a bit of a rollercoaster, but not in the way of an emotionally turbid ride I was locking in for, but more of a frustrating push-pull between greatness and a disappointing comedown. There has been a recent resurgence in a debate around the enemies-to-lovers trope. Can it ever really work outside of a fantasy context? Are the parties really even capable of being true enemies when they aren't members of opposing factions in some longstanding magical war? I haven't ventured into this debate in any real way thus far, other than to point out that so much of what is marketed as "enemies" or "rivals" really ends up being "lustful co-workers/frenemies/strangers who argue a lot." However, one only has to evoke the name of Jane Austen to know that enemies to lovers can work in a non-fantastical context, you just need a little bit of that Mr. Darcy/Elizabeth flair.

Unfortunately, while <i>Let's Make a Scene</i> does an admirable job in its first half masquerading as a proper enemies to lovers tale, at some point after the halfway mark it became clear to me that there's nothing really to this other than its frequent assertion by the characters that holds any water. Let me back up a step and explain. The story follows Cynthie and Jack , two actors caught up in a plot that wears its influences on its sleeve (think Persuasion, the 2005 Pride & Prejudice film adaptation, Kristen Stewart post Snow White "scandal", and America's Sweethearts all thrown into a blender and that gives you some semblance of what you're in for.) The two are both successful actors 13 years into their careers and in need of a shakeup for very different reasons. Cynthie's former squeaky clean reputation has been raked through the mud in the aftermath of a cheating scandal with a creepo director who misled her about the status of his marriage, and Jack is seasons into a longstanding role on a Buffy-esque TV show where the fate of his character is up in the air during contract renegotiations. It's this limbo that drives the two of them to sign on for a sequel to their first film, a Regency-era romance that has inexplicably become a cultural smash with the younger generation in recent years and features a steamy make out in a very British downpour (sound familiar?) The one catch? They have been asked by the studio to fake date after 13 years of radio silence. Oh and of course there's a documentary crew on set to capture their every move. Naturally the pair have some history that led to them going radio silence for over a decade, but there's also a heat between them that they can't deny...

If this sounds like a lot, it's because it absolutely is. The story is also told in dual POV and dual timeline, oscillating between 13 years ago and the present. I am a sucker for Hollywood stories, and I loved the idea of dual filmmaking narratives, it feels very meta in a cheeky way Wes Craven fans who also love a bit of romance would appreciate. The problem for me is that the premise starts to collapse under its own weight. People hook up on sets all the time, Jack's own parents are famous actors who had an affair on-set that led to his very existence. So why all this insistence by both parties in both timelines, that hooking up while making either movie is not a sustainable practice? We're told repeatedly it's not a good idea, but the reasons for why are never given any life in the actual story being told. I failed to see what the real source of the conflict between the two even flows from other than their own insistence. They also failed at being true "enemies" because Jack is down bad for this woman immediately in his POV sections, and Cynthie isn't far behind. It felt like the central source of the conflict was inserted to give the story some stakes, without building any real depth to it.

A shaky central conflict aside, there's a lot of fun to be had in both timelines. There's a great cast of secondary characters we meet on the past timeline film set that are expanded upon in the present, adding a wonderful found family element to the story. There's also some cartoony villainous characters thanks to the addition of Jack's actor parents and Cynthie's emotionally abusive former director/ex. Some of the discussions around women in Hollywood felt a bit didactic and unnecessary, but I understood what Wood was going for. There's a wonderful scene about the use of an intimacy coordinator on set that I really appreciated, and it provided a great scene backdrop in a story where there's a constant pull between what's real and what's acting.

Overall, while I wished for higher stakes and more enemies to lovers banter, this was still an entertaining read and a worthy edition to any beach bag this summer. I flew through it and I'm sure you will too!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Atria for the earc in exchange for my honest review!

This book surprised me in the best way! I’m super picky when it comes to dual POV and multi-time-period stories, so I was a little hesitant going into Let’s Make a Scene — but I ended up loving it. The writing was seamless, and both main characters, Cynthie and Jack, were incredibly well developed.

All the romance tropes were executed perfectly, and I had such a great time reading it. Highly recommend to any romance lovers!

3.75⭐️

I loved this book it was such a fun read second chance romances make me the happiest and this one succeeded at that!! The beginning of the book starts off with a lot of angst between Jack and Cynthie and it was written so well the constant back and forth between them was everything!! In the second half of the book I do wish we would have gotten more flashbacks and got to know more about their fall out it felt like there wasn’t much detail put into that and I would have loved for some more angsty moments. In the present chapters their longing for each other made my heart so full of joy you could really tell their were so many unresolved feelings and the slow burn of them finally getting together had me on the edge of my seat!! I really enjoyed the characters of this book the friend group they created from the earlier flashbacks carrying over into the present chapters was such a cute touch!! Overall I definitely recommend this book and I’m glad I was chosen for an arc!!!!!!

I tore through this book in two sittings and immediately wanted to go back and rewatch every “enemies-to-lovers” rom-com I’ve ever loved. Laura Wood does something really special with Let’s Make a Scene—she gives us all the fun, slow-burn tension of a fake dating trope, but wraps it in emotional depth and real character growth. We follow Cynthie Taylor, an actress who finally landed her first big break thirteen years ago—only to end up stuck in a fake PR romance with Jack Turner-Jones, her irritatingly beautiful costar who she couldn’t stand. Their chemistry was undeniable, but off-screen they clashed constantly. After the film wrapped, they went their separate ways and basically swore never to work together again. So when the chance to film a sequel comes around, I was just as curious as Cynthie to see how it would all play out—especially since there’s a documentary crew filming the whole behind-the-scenes process. What I loved most was how layered this story is. On the surface, it’s hilarious and snappy, but underneath there’s a real exploration of trust, career regret, and the way we sometimes perform versions of ourselves for survival. Cynthie is such a vibrant, complex character—confident and funny, but also a little guarded. And Jack? I wasn’t sure I’d root for him at first, but the more we got to see behind his brooding exterior, the more I bought into the slow unraveling of his and Cynthie’s history. Their banter had me grinning, their awkward moments were perfectly cringy in the best way, and when the emotional payoff hit, it hit. This is a book that lets the characters mess up, soften, and grow—and that makes the romance feel that much more satisfying. If you’re into stories with old Hollywood vibes, second chances, fake dating, and that electric mix of love and loathing, this one’s going to hit the spot. It’s funny, heartfelt, and just the right amount of messy. I absolutely loved it.

Enemies to lovers isn’t usually the vibe info for but this was such a fun read! Not only did I love the main characters but the friends of the main characters as well. The slow burn to the end was a great addition that kept me reading well past bed time!

this book was MAGNIFICENT!!!! my first by Laura Wood & her british humor and wit was an absolute delight. this is such a great example of a rom-com that you want to throw at a wall about 30% of the way through because the FMC + MMC can't see how much they love each other yet. SUCH a fun structure for a book between past + present and loved to see how much their reflections were mirrored in their support of one another.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I was kindly provided with the arc of this book by NetGalley and the editors in exchange of an honest review, thank you ⭐️

4.5⭐️

It was the grand gesture to me 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I was sobbing with that chapter and I loved it so much!!

I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers story, i love Cynthie and Jack, and I really enjoyed that even when this is a love story is also a story that portraits what women have to endure being part of the media as actresses, directors and more, it was very well written and obviously the fact that also talks about mental health, was just perfect

This is one of my top books of 2025!! I had so much fun reading it. The tension, the banter, the small touches, the staring! Everything. Every part was next level! I can’t wait to read it again. ❤️

I adore Laura Wood and LOVED this sexy, funny and smart romp. Wood writes romance with an eye on character development, and I appreciate that so much as a reader and a bookseller—I can recommend her to SO many types of readers. Can’t wait to handsell this gem!

An absolutely delightful follow up to Under Your Spell. This book had the perfect combination of heart, humor, sweetness, and steam. I’m curious to see what Wood does next and there’s certainly two people in this book that I’d love to see in a future book.

This was a great book!! There was a good amount of angst and the push and pull of a love/hate relationship. The characters were very loveable and I was rooting for them from the beginning. There were several places that made me laugh and others that pulled at my heart strings. This was a very well written book!

4.5 ⭐️, rounded to 5

Oh! This book!

I’ve only recently become acquainted with Laura Wood’s writing, but can safely say that I’m hooked.

This novel contains so many of my favorite tropes. It’s an enemies-to-lovers (turned friends-to-lovers), dual-timeline, second-chance romance that takes place on a movie set. Throw in some fake dating? Yes, please!

I really appreciated the contrast between young Cynthie and Jack vs. their older counterparts. Thirteen years ago Cynthie and Jack might have had off-the-charts chemistry, but their immaturity and inability to be vulnerable led to a real “love-to-hate-you” vibe.

If you’re annoyed by young Cynthie and Jack, give them time! When they reunite as adults, it’s apparent how much they’ve both grown and learned in their time apart (especially Jack). Very much a right person, wrong time situation. While the younger versions of themselves are all explosive sparks and barbed comments, current-day Cynthie and Jack’s love story is a sweet, tentative slow-burn.

I love a book that takes place on a movie or TV set, and this didn’t disappoint. Plus, there’s the added layer of the documentary about the making of the movie, which just amps up the stakes on the whole fake dating relationship.

Other things I loved: A well-rounded cast of secondary characters. Sensitive handling of #MeToo subject matter. And a couple of quiet love stories in the background.

This is the companion book to Under Your Spell, which I fully recommend, but both books function well as stand alones.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This enemies-to-lovers story started out rocky for me. The main characters were more annoying than charming at first, and their constant arguing felt forced. But as the story unfolded, their dynamic grew on me. The tension turned into real chemistry, and by the end, I was fully invested in their relationship. It turned out to be such a beautiful ending. I'm such a sucker for a cute romance!