The Roughest Draft
Reviews
I didn’t like the main characters together. They don’t know how to communicate and aren’t good together.
nothing more delicious than emotional cheaters
“I love even our roughest draft. I love every fraught page we’ve rewritten to get to here. Because in the end, the best part of a love story isn’t having it. It’s getting to keep writing.” okay. and i’m back reading romance novels
Sorry not sorry, but this book did not do it for me. It was a frustrating mess from beginning to end. I truly do not understand the positive reviews or why it would ever be recommended to anyone. The whole time I was listening to this book, I kept asking myself “am I actually supposed to like these characters?” “am I actually supposed to root for this love story?” “is this actually supposed to be a likable book?” Because it was not! I felt completely misled by the synopsis, because it leaves out any mention of the characters being unavailable while they are falling in love. I couldn’t root for them and it made me feel disgusting listening to it. The emotional cheating was too much and it lasts for like 75% of the book in both timelines. As much as I love my marriage, I get that it is hard and it doesn’t work out for everyone, but when it’s not working for you OR YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE ELSE, then just end it. Same with an engagement. If you got with that person for ridiculously petty reasons, and that person is awful to you, and YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE ELSE, then end it! It’s as simple as that. Not to mention that the entire story is one big miscommunication/lack of communication trope. It was nauseating! It was petty. The conflicts were so incredibly dumb. Have I noted that literally every single character that mattered was an asshole? I didn’t care about them, I wasn’t rooting for them, I wasn’t happy for them.
⭐️2 In essence, this book is a mix of Emily Henry's 'Beach Read' and PWMOV, but less impressive; I didn't even like either of those books, but those two Emily Henry books are way better than this mess. The biggest offence a book can commit is being boring, and that sure is the case with this book. Neither Katrina nor Nathan were interesting, funny, nor charming individually or together as a couple. In light of the shit ton of miscommunication, overreaction, and childishness from both parties, as well as the lack of chemistry, I wasn't rooting for them to be in a relationship. As for the smut, it wasn't necessary, especially with how hardly any chemistry they had between them. I also found the dual timeline pointless, especially the flashbacks in the past timeline to be incredibly tedious. It took almost 70% of the book to actually understand why and how Katrina and Nathan stopped writing together and stopped talking (a reason I didn't think was a big deal). A few of the flashbacks in the past timeline were particularly problematic for me, as I was not keen on the intense emotional cheating throughout the entire book (especially in the flashbacks), since both of the characters (Katrina and Nathan) were in separate relationships throughout the entire book (Nathan with Melissa in the past timeline and Katrina with Chris in the present timeline) yet there was still something going on between both of them. It just didn’t sit right with me. To sum it up, I find the Goodreads rating overly generous, and I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
[gestures vaguely] why
I should've read Hannah B.'s review before picking it up. This book promised everything and delivered nothing. If you're expecting a cute rom-com or just a cute escapist romance, keep looking, this is not it. I enjoyed some aspects of the book but the dreadful parts were so bad that it made it almost impossible to enjoy reading. Don't get fooled by the cute cover. It's a very beautiful cover but that's about it.
this book was so good idc what anyone says
If you liked Emily Henry’s Book Lovers, you’re going to like this one too. Lovely little romance with dual perspective, written by coauthors and partners. I whipped right through it and enjoyed every minute.
AMAZING! Slow yet perfectly paced! It’s an amazing read
i feel like i read a completely different book from everyone. i didnt like this book at all. never felt butterflies, i kept waiting for it to get better.
yawn. snooze. booooooring nooffense. this is like some Emily Henry fanfiction and i was boreeddd the whole time. by the end i was cringing way too hard and almost DNF'd. all of the writing metaphors used to describe the romance were just so cringey!! sorry - not for me.
i love angst ❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹
The writing of the entire book was amazing. I loved how it kept me guessing. I loved Nathan and Katrina. Harriet is the best, omw she is funny and direct. I just don't like the cheating idea, yes they didn't physically cheat but they emotionally practically did. I loved most of the storyline. And Chris is such an ass.
WHEW, this is a messier romance than I usually read--it's not... there's not cheating, per se, it's just... messy. I wasn't sure it'd work for me, or if the emotional climax of the fallout would live up to the build up through the book, but it did--enjoyed this, over all, and will probably read more of these authors' other things.
eu quero o pedido de casamento pra ontem !!!
the first romance I've read in months that i didn't want to dnf. this was very enjoyable.
literally PLOWED through this book. wow. the tension between nathan and katrina was so incredibly....i don't even know how to describe it. i was literally buzzing and they had barely even looked at each other. this was so beautifully written and just...i barely have any coherent thoughts. i loved this so much
this was super cute!! gave me lots of beach read/people we meet on vacation vibes. the only thing that could’ve made it better for me is if we got to see more of katrina and nathan together!
holy shit. immediately one of my favorite books ever. I can’t believe i waited so long to read it. giving very much Emily Henry in the BEST WAY POSSIBLE! The authors were able to write the characters so well and with such good chemistry you could just tell they were meant for each other. Also the tension in this book with very minimal and less descriptive smut was just what i needed right now. although some parts which i will not go into were a bit frustrating to get through, like there are in all good books, they still felt very necessary to the plot and helped us understand more of each characters actions overall. though i will say i think these are some of the most stubborn characters i’ve read about in a while, but i still love them! when we finally got the the part where the title was said in the book it was everything wrapped up the whole story perfectly. Props to the authors i cannot wait to read what they come out with next!
3.75 stars a solid book for our first book club book. i enjoyed it but it started getting really repetitive towards the end and i got annoyed, but i enjoyed the writing and the plot.
BOOK CLUB! this book is amazing idk why i was being so critical
Highlights
What we have is a fairy tale. It is a dream come true. And it's imperfect. I wish you could understand it can be both. Fiction is fiction and it's real.
Sometimes life is stranger than fiction, but sometimes it's incomparable in other ways. Sometimes it's a heaven that the false fire of imagination could never capture.
" I’ll read my writing for the whole room, because she’s in it. Because really, I’m only reading for one person. Katrina Freeling." ~Nathan
"She smiles, and my heart ignites." ~ Nathan
"Success is a wonderful feeling. Sharing that success with your closest friend? There’s nothing like it." ~Katrina
"I’ve worked my entire adult life to marshal the English language into whatever I wanted. But were I to try to capture Katrina with it, it would best even me." ~Nathan
"forever is about reaching into the future, into years far away and unknowable. 'always' is about every second of every day. it's as far-reaching as 'forever', it just starts sooner."
So far. It's my silent, unconscious promise to myself.
I feel like my very soul is on fire.
Because the true, true horror, the one seemingly no one realizes but me, is that once you have your dreams, all you have left is the chance to lose them.
Before you, I was whole. I was one being, one heart. Now, I’m half of everything and greater for it.
"It's just easy to say things you don't mean, and it's impossible to write anything but the truth."
"I’d like that," Nathan replies. "What do you want us to write next?" I hear the question within the question. Not which of our half-finished outlines I've chosen, which jotted-down plot Im sparking to. What he wants to know has nothing to do with books. Neither does what I say in response. It comes out breathless. "Anything. Everything."
I want to say she's gorgeous. Heart-stopping. If I started, I don't know how I would stop. I've worked my entire adult life to marshal the English language into whatever I wanted. But were I to try to capture Katrina with it, it would best even me.
It's innocuous, and it's everything. What's happening here, in red ink on fresh pages and tossed-off kindnesses, is irreversible, It's the beginning of our lives fitting back together, finding the impressions left when we pulled them apart.
"But everything else, yeah. It's why I pursued you so tirelessly." I don't hide from the gravity of what I'm saying. Our relationship is strong enough for honesty. "I could see everything we’d have together. Everything we don't have yet, too. We will."
His eyes sparkle, not the sparkle of sunlight over water or stars scattering the sky. There is nothing gentle or inviting in the look he gives me. It's closer to flint sparking steel in the seconds before flame.
It's like some sort of destructive sun, millions of miles from us and still hot enough to scorch.