Nora Goes Off Script

got me out of my romance novel slump. :)

"It’s like I suffered temporary insanity.”
“Sometimes that’s what love is."

4 ⭐

This was a pleasantly surprising read and I really enjoyed it, a lot deeper and introspective than I was expecting. I choose this as my "N" title for my Alphabet challenge and I am glad that I picked this up. Honestly, Nora's life sounds like my absolutely worst nightmare, two kids and a deadbeat husband who doesn't work, doesn't do household responsibilities and seemingly enjoys putting his wife down despite the fact that she is only one in the relationship actually holding anything up, and then he leaves and never sees the kids. I could never, I would've left him long before kids came into the equation. The rest of the story is where you have to suspend some of your disbelief, because, while it is super sweet and entertaining to read about, the likelihood of it all is very low. But I do really enjoy a good bit escapism imagining a suburban mum of two snagging the Sexiest Man Alive!

Nora is an interesting main character, usually someone like her would annoy me and at times she did. She's clearly a strong, intellectual, compassionate person, having supported her family for years by writing stories for a company who churns out Hallmark-esque formulaic romances and does all of the parenting but puts up with and tries to convince an incompetent, dropkick of a man that she is worth being with. She is more than worth being with, and finally she sees it clearly once he's gone, but then immediately jumps straight to infatuation with an impractical man and loses herself again. But for some reason I didn't mind it so much in this story. Leo seems to be a genuinely good man, after a few hiccups he really steps up for her family in ways that their actual dad has never done before and I can see why that would be so attractive to Nora. I found the romance a little bit dry unfortunately, he mostly follows her around like a lost puppy saying "can I come?" and they have one or two friendly chats before their affair starts and I just didn't really feel the chemistry. I guess maybe I just don't really relate to the type of attraction she was having to him, aside from his good looks and the thrill of romance with a movie star, because I don't have kids or a deadbeat husband to compare him to and really she falls in love mostly with what he does for her kids.

The humour in this book is sarcastic, deadpan type laughs which I really enjoyed. There was a conversation about who would play the love interest in her second big screen movie if not Leo and her mum says "Oh you must have an affair with him too!" which made me laugh a lot because it's absolutely something I could see my mum saying. Bernadette was also an absolute firecracker, I adored her! She had some great one-liners. The ending did annoy me a little bit though, I have never been a fan of the miscommunication trope and this one was a real doozy, cuz how could two 40 year olds, one who literally writes movies containing these exact types of miscommunication based third act break ups, really not just have one adult conversation
SPOILER>>> and trust the word of a 10 year old boy with hurt feelings!? <<<END SPOILER
Not to mention how rushed the end felt after they figured out the miscommunication. I just think, for how deep and literary some of the soul-searching became in this book I felt like this trope and the ending kind of cheapened the whole story, sadly, which is where I had to remove a star.

Overall though, this book was very entertaining and the perfect palate cleanser. I flew through it one night and absolutely low when a book does that. If you can shake of some of the more ridiculous parts of this book then it is worth a read, and I am definitely adding Annabel Monaghan to my list of authors I want to read more from. I recommend this to people who enjoy Abby Jimenez and Emily Henry, it was a good mix between chick lit and romance!

“If you pretend for your job, eventually you’ll stop being anything at all. A non-person. Silly Putty that you rub on a newspaper.”

edit : zionist author this book was an easy read. nothing too serious. while i loved, loved, loved nora, leo was just meh. nora was a barbie while leo was just ken. her bravery was something that i will always admire. how she pointed out and proved that victimhood is a choice. an easy 3 stars.

Such fun! And definitely not what I expected by the end.

I need a part two to this pleaseeeeeeee!! It was such a good book

4.5/5 THAT WAS SUCH A SEROTONIN BOOST i loved all of the characters so much also that ENDING HAD ME GASPING but it's so funny bc i kinda expected it but also not at all made me laugh she was talking about his feet...like girl. but anyway the plot was perfect and short read

i think i needed to get to know more about leo that’s why it felt something’s missing. but overall it was a good story.

4.5 ⭐

Took a while to get into the plot but honestly it was a very raw and real romance with the perfect ending

AMAZING!!! Can I marry Leo?

I liked the second and fourth acts wayyyy better than the first and third. That being said, I liked them very much. It was sweet. The ending (not over the top or anything) made my third act anger melt away. Good read for me.

An excellently crafted and delightful love story.

I agree that fans of Emily Henry’s Book Lovers would find this one equally appealing (case in point, myself). No, it's not due to the shared name of the main characters (Nora, even though it's a cool coincidence), but rather because both books showcase a resilient and perceptive female protagonist. While they are vulnerable, they display emotional maturity. I also understand how some people might find this boring and dry. Despite the low steam level, it’s clearly intended for an older crowd, who might appreciate a more nuanced conflict and less melodrama in their romance.

And no spoilers, but boy oh boy, I didn’t see that twist coming.

3.5/5

thought it was gong to be super cheesy but turned out to be an emotional ride

idek what to say just read it

**I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review ** Ok, I liked this story, but admit I struggled a bit with patience for the pace. The story is through Nora’s eyes and at times I really wanted to shake her. Leo seemed so one dimensional that I was finding it hard to understand why she’d try to see anything beyond his movie star handsomeness for something deeper. I wanted to love this story, but it’s ok to just like a book sometimes.

4.5 stars

A cute rom-com featuring a snarky heroine with two kids and a useless ex. She ekes out a living writes formulaic romance movie scripts for a Hallmark-esque channel. But the script she pens as a catharsis to get over the end of her marriage becomes a major feature film, putting her in contact with a handsome movie star who upends her suburban life.

“…the best things come back. Sometimes it’s right after the commercial, sometimes it takes longer. But time and sunshine bring growth, and life unfolds just the way it’s supposed to” oh I just loved this book; everything about it. absolutely perfect. I loved the characters and the family dynamic. I loved that it had more depth to it than just another corny romance. It is a story about learning to reconnect with your old self, and taking back the power after a difficult time in your life.

I don't fully know how to describe how this book made me feel. I really enjoyed it and I loved the journey that Nora took. I wish we got a tad bit more of her figuring out who she was but the ending was so cute! I received an arc through netgalley.

** spoiler alert ** this was a really cute book, a bit sad at parts but overall good. even though it was kinda slow at first and it took me a bit to get into it, it eventually picks up. i loved the relationship between nora and leo but more than anything, i loved the dynamic between leo and nora and the kids. i received an arc through netgalley

One of the best & most interesting rom coms I’ve read this year. Loved!