Name: gie's review of Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
Item: Nora Goes Off Script
Rating: 5
Author: gie

Annabel Monaghan

Evvie Drake Starts Over meets Beach Read in this heartwarming and hilarious novel about a divorced romance channel screenwriter whose script about her marriage’s collapse just might help her reclaim her life and find love. Nora’s life is about to get a rewrite… Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance channel screenwriter, it’s her job. But when her too-good-to work husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns her marriage’s collapse into cash and writes the best script of her life. No one is more surprised than her when it’s picked up for the big screen and set to film on location at her 100-year-old-home. When former Sexiest Man Alive, Leo Vance, is cast as her ne’er do well husband Nora’s life will never be the same. The morning after shooting wraps and the crew leaves, Nora finds Leo on her porch with a half-empty bottle of tequila and a proposition. He’ll pay a thousand dollars a day to stay for a week. The extra seven grand would give Nora breathing room, but it’s the need in his eyes that makes her say yes. Seven days: it’s the blink of an eye or an eternity depending on how you look at it. Enough time to fall in love. Enough time to break your heart. Filled with warmth, wit, and wisdom, Nora Goes Off Script is the best kind of love story—the real kind where love is complicated by work, kids, and the emotional baggage that comes with life. For Nora and Leo, this kind of love is bigger than the big screen.

Nora Goes Off Script

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

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

lexie

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.

sani

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.

Antonella Garcia Heredia

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

Soph

Hannah Alexander 

Petaco

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.

 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.

Ms. Mint

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.

Elicia Au Duong

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

bella <3

Cindy McKee

**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.

Jessica Ford

I feel like this book would of been differently rated if I physically read it, idk if better or worse.  Also the miscommunication trope added to the story for sure bit I don't know if I liked it.. JUST TEXT EACH OTHER, but also like 3 hours of the story was that and it would of been boring without it so 50/50

Maria

Cindy Lieberman

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.

Ella Grace

“…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.

sydney

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.

ingrid

** 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

Avery Baumel

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

Ashley Pennington

Nora's life is finally in order after her divorce. She has her routine with her kids and her writing career is taking off. She has written for the small screen, but now her first major movie script is in production. Enter Leo Vance. The lead male actor in her movie. He is about to turn her life upside down. 

I was drawn to this story thinking it would be a romcom. It wasn't a romcom (not to be at least), but I disappointed. It has Hallmark vibes without the cheesiness. 

I enjoyed reading this story. The characters are relatable, I like the writing, and the author sets a beautiful scene. I expected it to have a predictable ending and I was curious how the author would tend it. It was predictable, but also surprising in a way. The emotions of the character come through the story. 

This story will make a beach read for this summer. 

Thank you Putnam Penguin Grou and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Lynn Braden

Nora Hamilton is a screen writer of movies similar to those on the Hallmark Channel, but her most recent screenplay details her failed relationship with her husband, Ben.  It becomes a big budget film  called The Tea House, and part of the movie is being filmed in the tea house in Nora's backyard where she writes.  Leo, the actor playing Ben's character seems, at first, like a typical spoiled, drunk Hollywood star, but he quickly becomes enamored with not only the simple sunrises and mellow life that Nora leads, but also with her.  Nora and her kids fall quickly for Leo, but it isn't long before Hollywood comes calling.

Nora Goes Off Script is an enjoyable romance that includes some elements of women's fiction as well.  Nora is an extremely likable character and her kids add another layer to the story.  While there are some events in the story that are fairly unbelievable, the dialogue and banter are cute, funny, and seem realistic.  The character of Leo is left underdeveloped, but by the end of the story, we understand his motivations.  Overall, Nora Goes off Script is a somewhat short, fun romance that packs an emotional punch.

Nash

Nora Goes Off Script 
Annabel Monaghan 
Romance
2022
4.5⭐️

Nora is a screenwriter, she made her career as a writer for The Romance Channel. She sells stories that have happy endings. Those stories that we are familiar with, the ones that the plot rings a bell but the characters are different and sometimes the roles are reversed. You know which ones I’m talking about. She settled in life for a marriage that was the opposite of what she wrote. She was with a man that would constantly put her hard work down like it was nothing but, for the years they were married, never actually tried to provide for his family. It was very easy to spend her hard-earned money, that’s for sure. When he finally decides that have has had enough, he leaves without even thinking twice about the kids he is leaving behind. Nora, not giving three damns about him, just says goodbye and handles the situation like a complete badass mom. One that makes lemonade when life gives her lemons. That puts her family first before everything else. 

She decided to tell her story. She wrote a badass script and she was planning to sell it to The Romance Channel, but her agent said No Way José, this is worth money. She goes ahead with it and sells the script for a lot of money and the movie promises to bring only good things to her life. The filming of the movie ends up happening in her own house. Even when she was expecting them, it took her by surprise when the crew and cast show up at her front step, bringing their mess and drama. 

She tries to play it cool when she meets the most famous and well-paid actor in Hollywood when clearly everyone in town is starstruck by the amazing Leo Vance. 

After the crew is gone, they forgot the hot shot star behind, and the next morning Nora finds Leo sitting on her porch waiting for the sunrise she bragged about in one of their conversations. He asks her to please let him stay for a few days, he'll pay her of course, but he wants to get away for a while.

A few days turn into a couple of weeks and months. What started as a friendship develops into something much more exciting for both. They declare their undying love for one another just for something to come along and screw things up for them. 


This is where I stop because you seriously need to read to fully appreciate it. I fell in love with this book. With Nora. Her kids. Leo, of course. The little town where she lives. Her simple yet fulfilling life. Everything was out of a Hallmark movie. I loved every minute of it. If you like a simple, fast-read romance, this is it for you. Can I have this physically in my hands now, please? 


Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity. ❤️

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan