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ericflamingo's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I had been wanting to read this for a while, so snapped it up when it came out in paperback saving it for a holiday. It was a perfect holiday read. The Night Owls (basically Saturday Night Live) show that Sally (main character) wrote for was really interesting to read about, especially the sketch development. The book then does take a turn in it's topic & how it's written, but that was no bad thing.
I think I may be biased about the latter part though, as I found Sally incredibly relatable with her insecurities & how they could make her self-destruct. It was nice to see that written down on paper in a thoughtful & well constructed way, especially the acknowledgement & response to it.
As I bought the book, the shop assistant said she enjoyed reading it & then sourced other books by Curtis Sittenfeld. I will be doing the same!
I think I may be biased about the latter part though, as I found Sally incredibly relatable with her insecurities & how they could make her self-destruct. It was nice to see that written down on paper in a thoughtful & well constructed way, especially the acknowledgement & response to it.
As I bought the book, the shop assistant said she enjoyed reading it & then sourced other books by Curtis Sittenfeld. I will be doing the same!
carsonelainee's review against another edition
3.0
Romantic Comedy was one of my most anticipated releases of 2023. I had heard many good things about the writing, plot, and characters.
I think for me, it ended up falling a little flat.
I LOVED the first half of the book when it was taking place at TNO. I thought the parody of SNL was very fun and something unlike what I have seen in any book before. Where my enjoyment started to lag as soon as the "present" timeline started. The 2020 timeline was not for me. I thought their romance was lukewarm. I didn't feel the chemistry and I felt like some of the emotional conflict was a bit dumb.
It also threw me off that the majority of the story took place during the Covid-19 pandemic. I thought it was strange - and not because it wasn't good - but because I haven't seen the pandemic featured in any books yet. I am of the belief that I read for escapism and I also thought the pandemic was handled in a blaseé way.
What I did like was the epistolary element. That is something I love to see in books above almost everything else. Emails, letters, social media posts - I am a sucker for all of these. I thought it was sweet that the two characters reconnected through email.
Overall, Romantic Comedy was good, but not amazing like I was hoping it was going to be.
I think for me, it ended up falling a little flat.
I LOVED the first half of the book when it was taking place at TNO. I thought the parody of SNL was very fun and something unlike what I have seen in any book before. Where my enjoyment started to lag as soon as the "present" timeline started. The 2020 timeline was not for me. I thought their romance was lukewarm. I didn't feel the chemistry and I felt like some of the emotional conflict was a bit dumb.
It also threw me off that the majority of the story took place during the Covid-19 pandemic. I thought it was strange - and not because it wasn't good - but because I haven't seen the pandemic featured in any books yet. I am of the belief that I read for escapism and I also thought the pandemic was handled in a blaseé way.
What I did like was the epistolary element. That is something I love to see in books above almost everything else. Emails, letters, social media posts - I am a sucker for all of these. I thought it was sweet that the two characters reconnected through email.
Overall, Romantic Comedy was good, but not amazing like I was hoping it was going to be.
em_currie's review against another edition
5.0
The book description on its back tells you the entire plot and still, somehow, I was delighted to find that I wanted to keep reading. It was funny and charming and everything you would want a romantic book narrated by a witty and cynical woman in her 30's finding love she thought to be more unlikely than landing the job of her dreams.
My favourite part is how realistic it all felt. The way the pandemic literally shaped the way it was written, the actual musicians mentioned in the book (I definitely suggest listening to the Indigo Girls while you read) and how scary the first year of uncertainty was.
Prepare yourself for tears of laughter and sadness, it's a worthwhile read.
My favourite part is how realistic it all felt. The way the pandemic literally shaped the way it was written, the actual musicians mentioned in the book (I definitely suggest listening to the Indigo Girls while you read) and how scary the first year of uncertainty was.
Prepare yourself for tears of laughter and sadness, it's a worthwhile read.
librarianinperiwinkle's review against another edition
4.0
In April of 2018, Sally Milz is a writer for a live sketch comedy television show in New York City. One week that month, Noah Brewster is both the guest host and musician. They meet and hit it off when Noah comes to Sally for assistance in writing a sketch, though Sally doesn't believe a superstar could possibly be romantically interested in a regular, non-gorgeous, non-famous woman, so after an intense week of rehearsals and the live performance, she panics and says something hurtful to him during a conversation at the after-party. Regret and pain follow, but life returns to normal...until the global pandemic shuts the world down in March of 2020, and by the time summer rolls around, Noah is bored and lonely enough to try reaching out to Sally via email. That medium allows the pair time and space to be vulnerable and honest, rebuilding and strengthening what both had believed to be irretrievably lost. But can their renewed relationship survive the reality of in-person contact?
I loved the behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of TNO (The Night Owls--i.e. the thinly veiled SNL), and it was completely believable to me that Sally would be confident in her professional abilities as a comedy writer, yet insecure in her personal life. This story had two things working in her favor, though: first, Sally & Noah met in a place where she felt confident, which is an attractive quality to most men, and second, Noah was old enough and had been through enough therapy to be tired of shallow connections. The story wouldn't have worked with younger characters, I don't think.
Actually, I'll add a third: COVID lockdowns. For those of us who lived through the pandemic (which is everyone reading this), we experienced the duality of this chaotic era that both caused massive upheaval but also gifted us with time to reevaluate our lives. And the latter is what allowed Noah to slow down enough to forgive Sally's verbal sabotage of their budding relationship and to reach out and reconnect.
While I couldn't always decide whether I wanted to hug Sally and give her a pep talk or shake her for making so many unhelpful assumptions about what Noah was thinking or feeling, I could definitely relate to her and rooted for the relationship to flourish.
For readers' advisors: character and setting doorways are both strong. Plenty of swearing, sexual references, references to bodily functions, mention of past alcohol abuse and recovery, and some cracked-open-door sex scenes. No violence.
My thanks to Bookbrowse for the free copy in exchange for participating in their online book discussion.
I loved the behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of TNO (The Night Owls--i.e. the thinly veiled SNL), and it was completely believable to me that Sally would be confident in her professional abilities as a comedy writer, yet insecure in her personal life. This story had two things working in her favor, though: first, Sally & Noah met in a place where she felt confident, which is an attractive quality to most men, and second, Noah was old enough and had been through enough therapy to be tired of shallow connections. The story wouldn't have worked with younger characters, I don't think.
Actually, I'll add a third: COVID lockdowns. For those of us who lived through the pandemic (which is everyone reading this), we experienced the duality of this chaotic era that both caused massive upheaval but also gifted us with time to reevaluate our lives. And the latter is what allowed Noah to slow down enough to forgive Sally's verbal sabotage of their budding relationship and to reach out and reconnect.
While I couldn't always decide whether I wanted to hug Sally and give her a pep talk or shake her for making so many unhelpful assumptions about what Noah was thinking or feeling, I could definitely relate to her and rooted for the relationship to flourish.
For readers' advisors: character and setting doorways are both strong. Plenty of swearing, sexual references, references to bodily functions, mention of past alcohol abuse and recovery, and some cracked-open-door sex scenes. No violence.
My thanks to Bookbrowse for the free copy in exchange for participating in their online book discussion.
elsymary's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
hannah_dougshaw's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
waiehse's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lupitaa0613's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
b0okcupidity's review against another edition
3.0
While my expectations were not met with this book (it's not really funny and I was expecting funny?), I did find the unexpected enjoyable. Namely, this is a literary type of romance -something that reminded me a little of Jennifer Crusie - and that was a pleasant surprise. There was chemistry without explicit detail and plenty of room to get lost in the un-reality of it all. I'd read another of Curtis' books.