The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center | Book Review
- dessimalakov
- Aug 29, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 3, 2024
A Love Story That Writes Itself
Author: Katherine Center
Publication Date: June, 11th 2024
Genre: Romance
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Level: 1.5
Official Description:
She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?
Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.
Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.
But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true?
The Rom-Commers Katherine Center
My Thoughts
Wow. I‘m shocked by how much I loved this book.
And I don’t give out 5 stars lightly, nor do I tend to rave about every book I have read.
It’s funny because the Rom-Commers was a book that always appeared in my suggestions. Every time I would re-read the blurb and then the reviews I would put it off.
But after my Ali Hazelwood / Emily Henry / Christina Lauren reading-spree, I became desperate for my next read and decided to give it a go.
Not only did the writing style immediately hook me, but I loved how well-rounded the plot was. Sometimes there are romance novels that I really enjoyed - but mainly for a thing: the humor or the banter or ultimately the blossoming of the romance while other parts kind of fell flat (writing style, pace or too-drawn out side-stories that don’t really contribute to the overall plot). And so even though I was aware of certain missing things - I would still be able to enjoy it - as „the one thing“ kind of made up for it.
That’s not the case here. Every side-story was a relevant addition to the overall story. The writing is beautiful and easy to fall into. There is humor and banter, just in the right dosage. There is character growth and an organic (not forced) build-up of romance. The kind where (as Emma, our protagonist describes it) you experience „the simulated feeling of falling in love“. The butterflies were there alright.
And what’s crazy here is that you have this inception-esque (droste effect) feeling - a picture within a picture within a picture. Or in this case: a rom-com about two authors writing a rom-com that then becomes „The Rom-Commers“.
The protagonist of this book, Emma, is a romance aficionado and so far (failing) writer. She is hired to help Charlie, a superstar of a screenwriter, who is tasked with the effort of writing a rom-com and failing at that. It turns out that Charlie is struggling because he doesn’t understand romance and therefore has no idea how a rom-com needs to be written. Emma teaches him (and us), that the happy ending of a rom-com is a given. The question therefore is never if there will be a happy ending (as it’s the main requirement) but rather how do we get there?
And so while reading this book, I acknowledged her „rules“ and decided I won’t necessarily root for the happy end (as it will happen!) but I want to really enjoy the journey towards it.
Funnily enough, Katherine Center, has done such a remarkable job that I became so immersed in the story and also in certain (gut-wrenching) twists that I completely forgot her rule. Suddenly I was worried there might not be a happy end? Maybe a non-happy end will be the twist and lesson of the book? I honestly got worried and almost angry for a second.
And then I calmed down and reminded myself to trust the process, to trust Emma and to trust Katherine Center. The happy end is not the goal, it’s a given - but let’s enjoy what happens in between.
so, so well done!
The Rom-Commers Katherine Center
Disclaimer: I have added an affiliate link for your convenience so you can directly purchase the book if you are intrigued. This also means that I will receive small commission. This does not affect inclusion in my reviews or the overall rating of the book.
Comments