Man, I could not stand Dexter at first. The story is told from Jonah's perspective, so those first interactions with Dexter were rough. But, like Jonah, as I slowly got to know the real Dexter I found myself slowly thawing. And although I had warmed to him, I still found him a difficult egg to crack. I wish I had gotten to know his character a little deeper, because like Jonah I had difficulty trusting him, but maybe that’s just effective use of the miscommunication trope. I did love Jonah though. He was funny and self-aware. I appreciate a character who takes time to consider how they might be in the wrong. And, I totally wanted to buy tickets to The Wooden Horse. The author’s passion for theatre comes across strongly in the book!

The Dramatic Life of Jonah Penrose was a blast to read and quite easy to breeze through. The thing I valued most about the story, however, wasn’t the romance. I think much of the heart of this novel comes from the storyline about Jonah’s parents. His father has dementia, which was heartbreaking, but the way the author depicts how difficult it is to grieve for someone who is still living. Golly, I wanted to give Jonah’s mother a hug! Kudos to the author for highlighting this struggle. There was more than one occasion when I found myself reaching for the tissue box while reading this book. While Jonah and Dexter’s path to a happy ending might have been a little rocky, it was a rewarding journey.

This was a VERY lukewarm read for me. It has a very slow start- the first 20% at least and the only reason I kept reading was because someone else’s review said it picked up. Which it did, but not a lot. I didn’t like either of the main characters, they didn’t have chemistry and I didn’t see the romance as believable. It definitely could be longer to flesh them out more, to give them a better chance.

The story opens with Jonah Penrose having just won an Olivier Award for his portrayal of Achilles in the new musical The Wooden Horse. Jonah is a lifelong fan of musical theater, so the Best Actor in a Musical award is his dream come true. Unfortunately, not only does he get dumped shortly after, but he also learns that Dexter Ellis, one of West End's most popular stars, will soon be joining the show. Convinced that Dexter is trying to undermine him and irritated by an unpleasant Yoga incident, Jonah's admiration for Dexter quickly turns to dislike. However, Dexter and Jonah's chemistry has fans dubbing them "Dexah" and speculating about a possible off-stage romance. They're encouraged to play up their relationship for fans, but they're in a very competitive industry, so things get complicated.

This is such a fun and charming debut. The relationship was a delight from start to finish. Their banter and interactions at every stage of their rivals-to-lovers journey had me completely hooked. Both characters are interesting and complicated, and their dynamic brings out both the worst and best in each at different times. There was a point in the second half of the book where I absolutely could not stop reading until I knew these two were going to be happy together. To me, that's always the sign of a great romance.

One of the most interesting things about their rivals-lovers dynamic is the exploration of how it works when lovers must also be rivals professionally. Dexter and Jonah are competitors in their industry, so that adds a unique complication to their romance. As the summary implies, there's also a little of the fake-dating trope. My only complaint about the entire book is that I wish there had been a little more focus on this aspect. Fans shipping Dexah and the social media reactions were so much fun; I would have loved to see more!

I enjoyed the bits we got of The Wooden Horse. There are lyrics from the show at the beginning of each chapter, and various scenes of the musical are depicted throughout the book. It's clear that the author is a big fan of theater and that love seeps into the book so clearly.

Most of the book is light and fun, but there is a very emotional subplot involving Jonah's parents. The issues explored in this storyline feel incredibly real and helped ground the story. One of these issues hit pretty close to home for me, so I cried very hard, but it's handled really well and with care.

This was one of my favorite queer romances of the year, and one that I can't wait to get a physical copy of. I got so absorbed in this relationship, and I loved all the characters, musical references, and drama! I've been looking forward to this book for a long time, and I'm so happy it met my expectations!


My Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌖 (4.75/5 stars).
Pages: 288 (Kindle Edition)
Tropes/Tags: Romance, Achillean, Queer, Rivals to Lovers, Fake Dating, Forced Proximity,
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5. There are some descriptive, spicy scenes.
Contains Depictions of: Alzheimer's Disease, Vomit, Infidelity (not the main pairing!), and others that spoil the story. See my review on Storygraph for full content warnings!

Huh. This one's hard to rate. Because I liked the ending of it, I really did. It was sweet. But the rest of the book? I found the casual/not-casual dynamic between the main characters annoying, and I didn't find either of them particularly personable. Also, they just didn't make sense to me. What do you mean Jonah wore a cardigan to the club?? Am I just not British, or is that weird? Either way, this just wasn't the book for me.

ALSO! Bring back dual perspective romance. You know what would have made this better? Getting into Dexter's mind. Because without his perspective, he just seemed like an ass. Give me dual perspectives or give me death 😭😭😭

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

A fun enough read. The West End setting was probably the strongest part, I’m not rooted in theater culture, but the book does a good job pulling you into that world. It’s got the right vibes for a breezy, modern romance, and the concept itself had promise. I especially liked how developed the play within the story was.

I was less a fan of the characters and pacing. Characters had emotional baggage plot points that felt dropped into the story and felt more manufactured than earned, as if to just add depth without really building it. Time jumps through high points didn’t help me become invested in the relationship arc either.

It’s a semi-closed-door romance, which is totally fine, but combined with how flat the characterization felt, the ups and downs of the relationship didn’t land. And don’t get me started on how the conflict hinges on unexplained misunderstanding/assumption trope. “Don’t you trust me!?” yes, now explain.

All that said, it’s relatively light (tw for death of a parent, homophobia, and alcoholism) it’s fast, and if you’re looking for something easy with a fun setting this could work for you.

This theatre-filled romcom is creative and witty throughout. While I wish Jonah and Dexter had been more interesting individually, I thought they more than made up for that as a couple. I love a well developed subplot and the dementia subplot was emotional in all the right ways. I thought this was fun and look forward to reading more from Robym Green as they continue to grow!

The vibes in this book were immaculate. I loved the theater setting so much and it how it helped shape the romance. I felt most of the relationship development was from the forced proximity of sharing the stage during rehearsals and performances, more than from the fake dating, which was mostly saying nice things on social media. Also I obviously loved the fact they play Achilles and Patroclus as lovers, even if it’s only for a few weeks. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me go back Jonah, who I love so much and deserves the world. He was on such a rollercoaster ride of emotions this entire book, and had great development finding what he really wanted from his life and job and relationship. And for once I was happy with it only being Jonah’s point of view, no Dexter, because of Jonah’s journey. My one struggle was the idea that that relationship between Dexter and Jonah was ever casual. It was not, ever, casual for either of them, and I wanted them to get over that hurdle faster. But overall this was a great story that I recommend.

This book is a perfectly-scripted romcom, the story of a man and his love for cheese…and another man, eventually. A masterful balance of happy and sad, The Dramatic Life of Jonah Penrose will leave you with the same awe you felt exiting the theater after your first West End show.

Jonah and Dexter are a bad idea from the start - a near-trip at the Oliviers, an accidental kick to the balls in yoga, a faked social media relationship, and a stolen role of a lifetime all set the stage for a sizzling-hot rivalry. But just like any good performance, fake feelings get a little too real, and what follows will keep you entranced until the curtain falls.

My heart dropped to my feet when Jonah’s dad came into the picture. Having just lost my uncle to ALS a month ago, I know what it is to watch a family member deteriorate slowly, with nothing you or anyone can do to stop it. This book helped me work through some of my own feelings - everything is easier through a character’s eyes, someone whose life is already written in a neat arc. So thank you, Robyn Green, for such a perfectly-timed story.

As an avid Greek mythology and theatre nerd myself, I adored each and every moment on- and offstage (who do I need to talk to for a Wooden Horse proshot? How do I see Cabaret staged exactly like this?). With supporting characters like Bastien, Sherrie, and Omari, every moment is full of heart. I loved my time in the Persephone, and I can’t wait for this book to hit shelves so I can have a copy on mine.

The Dramatic Life of Jonah Penrose offers a heartfelt glimpse into London’s theatre world, blending romance with real-life struggles like family illness. Jonah and Dexter’s enemies-to-lovers story has its charming moments, but their relationship sometimes feels rushed and unevenly developed. The depiction of Jonah’s father’s dementia adds emotional weight, though some subplots and character motivations could use more depth. Overall, it’s an enjoyable debut with a lot of promise, but it doesn’t fully reach its potential.

3.5 stars


Definitely agree that this is a read-alike for Red White & Royal Blue, but it doesn't pack quite the same punch -- which is totally ok, it's its own book! I wish there had been a little bit more focus on the development of the relationship, but it was overall still a fun time.

CW for parental death

The Dramatic Life of Jonah Penrose is a romance with a heavy focus on the theatre life in London. Both our main characters are actors and they start hating each other, so it's an enemies to lovers sort of thing. Jonah's story also deals with the medical problems of his parents.
This book is 288 pages, and that's the problem. When I saw that I was expecting the ending to be rushed but it's the contrary. The ending is perfect, the problem is the rest of the book. The start is a little clunky, I couldn't get into it right from the beginning but by 20% I was engaged.
The part about Jonah's parents is too rushed, same with Dexter's background. It could've been great if only we had more time to explore these things. I also think the romance could've used a little more work, it went from two people that obviously needed to work on themselves before a relationship to a happily ever after.
I still would recommend it for the ending, I really liked it. For a debut I think it did its job, I will definitely keep an eye out for the author's new works.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC.

This is a very ambitious story, and for the most part I think it succeeds very well. I cared about both MCs (and many of the supporting characters), and the treatment of Jonah's father's declining health was heart-wrenching. Due to the choice of single POV, though, I never felt particularly close to Dexter. Which on some levels is fine: Jonah doesn't understand him for a long time. But that disconnect kept me from being fully invested, and it seemed to me that the explanations, when they came, flashed past too quickly. Some of that may simply be that I'm a fast reader, but still, I'd have liked to get more of his character.

Quibbles aside, though, I enjoyed reading this and will gladly read more by this author. Four solid stars from me.

My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and author Robyn Green for providing me with the eARC of “The Dramatic Life of Jonah Penrose”, in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: November 11th, 2025
Reviewed on Goodreads: July 7th, 2025

3.5 stars!
You may really enjoy this if you like:
- MM romance
- Enemies to lovers
- Fake Dating
- Theatre/the arts

Jonah is a award-winning theatre actor, who has been playing a lead role in a Greek mythology play.
Dexter is as also a theatre actor, who has recently been cast for another role in the same play.
The problem? They hate each other.
Jonah is overcome by fear that Dexter will be chosen to take over the role he plays in the show. Dexter is overcome by jealously of Jonah’s recent fame.
However, it turns out fans of the show love them working together, which launches them into a fake liking/fake dating scheme to keep everyone talking.
The two men may find love in each other, or secrets and jealousy may tear them apart.

This was a cute and somewhat emotional read.

Reading about Jonah’s father, his health problems and how it was affecting his mother and the rest of the family was quite sad.
Jonah’s thoughts about the person that that his father used to be, how supportive he was toward him, his sexuality and his career and how he still always looked for him in the audience- made me feel a lot. I just wanted someone to give him a hug.
It brought a lot of realism and relatability into the story though, so I was able to appreciate that.

I liked Jonah and Dexter together, and I really enjoyed their romantic scenes. From Dexter taking care of Jonah after a physical incident, to Jonah’s surprise gift to Dexter toward the end- I thought they were a sweet couple.
I did not feel super attached to either character though.
Perhaps it is just the fact that I don’t have a special interest in the performing arts, so I wasn’t able to relate to them much, but I just didn’t find either of them to be particularly unique.

Overall, I thought it was enjoyable. It is not my favorite romance ever, but I thought it was cute and I am glad to have read it.
I think if you enjoy theatre/theatre themed stories-you may really like this!

I loved this book! It was such a fun book about the theatre, celebrity, success and what happens when you get what you want, and it turns out not so great. I loved both main characters, and their animosity toward each other felt very earned. As they slowly grow to mutual understanding and comfort, it's very satisfying. I love my messy king Jonah and support him through his rights and wrongs, and the ending is very sweet.

3 1/2 from me on dis one ! the end like 25% made me BAWL but the beginning just was kind of dragging for me, took me a while to get through the first half. love gays !

This was cute - the central character's of Jonah and Dexter were interesting & each had their strengths and flaws from their own backgrounds, and much of the central storyline, particularly the lack of trust and then seeing each other at lunch with their agents & jumping to conclusions - were good aspects of the storyline.

I did find Dexter's character hard to pin down - his personality was very erratic - I think some of this was meant as hate/prickliness-to-love, or as his way of joking, but it felt a bit scattered -- I needed either a little more consistency or a little more hand-holding from the author or to be a guide to Dexter's mood swings and the pacing of the relationship.

The theater setting was also a big character in itself, and the scenes where they were working out choreography or getting ready to go on felt really well done, in that setting.

The sub plot of Jonah's father's dementia was also really well done - this was probably the best of the sub-plots & the most poignant when he then envisions him in the audience of his final performance - this was really touching. There were a fair few other sub plots -- some good, sometimes rushed or just mentioned where maybe more detail would have been good in some places and just dropping them in others...

I also liked the actors standing up to the emotionally abusive director Colbie near the end - that was a good arc & had been building throughout the book & was glad we got some resolution / justice for the actors who had been subjected to her tyranny.

I did find myself skimming from time to time - there was a bit of filler content (e.g. everyone out drinking or dialogue that didn't advance the reader.)...

On the whole, entertaining and I think theater-buffs will really enjoy, though overall, perhaps could shine even more with a bit more polish.