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kcbatts's review against another edition
fast-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cancer, and Addiction
TW: Covid in 2020reading_diaries's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book loses a star for me just because of the pandemic - if it didn't have the pandemic, it would be a 5 star read for sure.
The way I think of this book is in 2 parts - 1st part being in 2018 before the pandemic and the 2nd part being 2020 in the pandemic. The first part of the book was incredibly strong. It was hilarious and had me laughing for hours. The second part of this book really hit the ground for me. It was just so slow and I was just waiting for it to pick back up again. I think the pandemic could have been completely removed from the second half and each story beat would have still worked.
I thought that while Sally was a bit "pick me" and annoying at times, she was a good character. I will say that while she's a writer, she still has some issues communicating. I wish she would have spoken her mind more and not shut down her feelings or ideas because of others. The fact that she pulled the "Danny Horst Rule" from TNO really gutted me because if the roles were reversed, no man would have pulled an incredibly controversial and sexist skit - no matter how long he'd known or been friends with the woman it was about. Not to say that Danny would've had the skit go through but there are several male comedians that would have had no issue with continuing the skit and it stings that Sally felt the need to pull the skit.
Noah is cute. I also think he has some problem communicating but overall he's a golden retriever guy. I think the biggest problem I had with him was his lack of awareness for his privilege. While I thought it was cute that he redecorated his office so that Sally had somewhere to work, the idea he had of her just quitting her job so she could live in his house for free and write really bugged me. I loved that he was thinking of her career but him not acknowledging that the reason she was angry was because he thought she would be find quitting her job for no real reason. Sally has stability at TNO and that's her income, she cant just quit that to be a fully time writer without a backup plan. And no staying at your booty call's mansion FOR FREE is not a backup plan. It just rubbed me the wrong way that he thought she'd be fine just giving up everything in New York for him.
The way I think of this book is in 2 parts - 1st part being in 2018 before the pandemic and the 2nd part being 2020 in the pandemic. The first part of the book was incredibly strong. It was hilarious and had me laughing for hours. The second part of this book really hit the ground for me. It was just so slow and I was just waiting for it to pick back up again. I think the pandemic could have been completely removed from the second half and each story beat would have still worked.
I thought that while Sally was a bit "pick me" and annoying at times, she was a good character. I will say that while she's a writer, she still has some issues communicating. I wish she would have spoken her mind more and not shut down her feelings or ideas because of others.
Noah is cute. I also think he has some problem communicating but overall he's a golden retriever guy. I think the biggest problem I had with him was his lack of awareness for his privilege.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Misogyny, Death, and Sexism
milesofkiles's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Death, and Cancer
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Addiction
chaos_and_chapters's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Sexism
Minor: Death of parent, Death, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Stalking, and Grief
kelly_e's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Title: Romantic Comedy
Author: Curtis Sittenfeld
Genre: Romance
Rating: 2.75
Pub Date: April 4, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Observant • Light • Clever
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Sally Milz is a sketch writer for "The Night Owls," the late-night live comedy show that airs each Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for the occasional hook-up, career success, and a close relationship with her stepfather to round out a satisfying life.
But when Sally’s friend and fellow writer Danny Horst begins dating Annabel, a glamorous actor who guest-hosted the show, he joins the not-so-exclusive group of talented but average-looking and even dorky men at the show—and in society at large—who’ve gotten romantically involved with incredibly beautiful and accomplished women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch called the "Danny Horst Rule," poking fun at this phenomenon while underscoring how unlikely it is that the reverse would ever happen for a woman.
Enter Noah Brewster, a pop music sensation with a reputation for dating models, who signed on as both host and musical guest for this week’s show. Dazzled by his charms, Sally hits it off with Noah instantly, and as they collaborate on one sketch after another, she begins to wonder whether there might actually be sparks flying. But this isn’t a romantic comedy; it’s real life. And in real life, someone like him would never date someone like her...right?
💭 T H O U G H T S
Well, well, well if Romantic Comedy isn't the first 2023 release where I fell complete victim to an intriguing title, catchy cover, and false marketing. This book was not on my radar until it started to pop up absolutely everywhere and was selected as a BOM pick. And I'll be the first one to admit it sounded promising - not the case!
What I like:
• characters in their 30s. It was a breath of fresh air to be introduced to more mature, thriving adults.
• a healthy romance. Sally and Noah's relationship felt mature with open communication, and a mutual respect and understanding for one another.
• the email corresponding. I am here for epistolary (in this case emails) novels every. single. time. As someone who communicates better in written form, I appreciate this aspect in a new relationship.
• the friendships. There are some seriously strong friendships sprinkled throughout and I liked these better than the actual romance.
What I didn't like:
• the chemistry. I definitely wasn't convinced. Maybe it was the structure. Maybe it was my lack of caring about the two characters involved. I'm really not sure. The romance definitely takes a back seat.
• the structure. There's a prologue, three 'chapters' and an epilogue divided over 300 pages. Even without doing the math, it's easy to tell those aren't really chapters! Each section jumped in time and it felt scrambled and rushed at times. It just didn't seem to work.
• it's not all that funny. A couple of funny lines from characters with cameo appearances and that's about it.
• the extensive detail. There's so much detail on the creative process and behind-the-scenes of working in the industry that I just didn't need or enjoy.
A solid plot idea but very poorly marketed and executed. Additionally, at this point in time I am just not sure I'm ready for novels with a focus on the pandemic as a central theme and plot. If you're looking for a book with romance and/or comedy this likely isn't it.
**Reminder to self: falling victim to the buzz surrounding books not already on your radar rarely works out.**
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• SNL fans
• readers looking for a take on modern love
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"It was a belated realization to have, but it occurred to me that perhaps this was how grown-up conversations worked—not that your communication didn’t falter, but that you both made good-faith attempts to rectify things after it had."
Author: Curtis Sittenfeld
Genre: Romance
Rating: 2.75
Pub Date: April 4, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Observant • Light • Clever
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Sally Milz is a sketch writer for "The Night Owls," the late-night live comedy show that airs each Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for the occasional hook-up, career success, and a close relationship with her stepfather to round out a satisfying life.
But when Sally’s friend and fellow writer Danny Horst begins dating Annabel, a glamorous actor who guest-hosted the show, he joins the not-so-exclusive group of talented but average-looking and even dorky men at the show—and in society at large—who’ve gotten romantically involved with incredibly beautiful and accomplished women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch called the "Danny Horst Rule," poking fun at this phenomenon while underscoring how unlikely it is that the reverse would ever happen for a woman.
Enter Noah Brewster, a pop music sensation with a reputation for dating models, who signed on as both host and musical guest for this week’s show. Dazzled by his charms, Sally hits it off with Noah instantly, and as they collaborate on one sketch after another, she begins to wonder whether there might actually be sparks flying. But this isn’t a romantic comedy; it’s real life. And in real life, someone like him would never date someone like her...right?
💭 T H O U G H T S
Well, well, well if Romantic Comedy isn't the first 2023 release where I fell complete victim to an intriguing title, catchy cover, and false marketing. This book was not on my radar until it started to pop up absolutely everywhere and was selected as a BOM pick. And I'll be the first one to admit it sounded promising - not the case!
What I like:
• characters in their 30s. It was a breath of fresh air to be introduced to more mature, thriving adults.
• a healthy romance. Sally and Noah's relationship felt mature with open communication, and a mutual respect and understanding for one another.
• the email corresponding. I am here for epistolary (in this case emails) novels every. single. time. As someone who communicates better in written form, I appreciate this aspect in a new relationship.
• the friendships. There are some seriously strong friendships sprinkled throughout and I liked these better than the actual romance.
What I didn't like:
• the chemistry. I definitely wasn't convinced. Maybe it was the structure. Maybe it was my lack of caring about the two characters involved. I'm really not sure. The romance definitely takes a back seat.
• the structure. There's a prologue, three 'chapters' and an epilogue divided over 300 pages. Even without doing the math, it's easy to tell those aren't really chapters! Each section jumped in time and it felt scrambled and rushed at times. It just didn't seem to work.
• it's not all that funny. A couple of funny lines from characters with cameo appearances and that's about it.
• the extensive detail. There's so much detail on the creative process and behind-the-scenes of working in the industry that I just didn't need or enjoy.
A solid plot idea but very poorly marketed and executed. Additionally, at this point in time I am just not sure I'm ready for novels with a focus on the pandemic as a central theme and plot. If you're looking for a book with romance and/or comedy this likely isn't it.
**Reminder to self: falling victim to the buzz surrounding books not already on your radar rarely works out.**
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• SNL fans
• readers looking for a take on modern love
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"It was a belated realization to have, but it occurred to me that perhaps this was how grown-up conversations worked—not that your communication didn’t falter, but that you both made good-faith attempts to rectify things after it had."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
Moderate: Excrement, Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cursing, Medical content, Sexism, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Eating disorder
Minor: Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Cancer
divorcemeggiemeggie52's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Overall, I liked the book! I thought the break in the middle for the email conversation was interesting, and I enjoyed the self-aware kind of take on the celebrity/non-celebrity trope and that the characters were finding love in their 30s. I appreciated that the love interests got to know each other first before their romantic relationship developed further than crushing--it made for some good riffing off of each other, and most of their interactions were really cute.
However, Sally kind of irritated me at times with all the self-sabotage during nice moments that were happening to her. I get why she did it, but girl. Come on. He's just trying to be nice!
The majority of the book was a veeeeeery detailed look into the behind-the-scenes of a week creating a show that's definitely not SNL. Now I love a good behind-the-scenes look and I found it super fascinating, but it almost went on a bit too long? Between that and the lack of traditional chapter breaks (there were only 4-5 chapters so they felt more like parts to me), it threw the pacing off for me. I appreciate a slow burn, but that almost made it too slow.
I also feel like the book didn't need to be partly set in the pandemic in order for it to still work. In fact, I might have preferred it without the pandemic. I don't know, it's like... I just lived it, so I don't want to be reading about it again?
However, Sally kind of irritated me at times with all the self-sabotage during nice moments that were happening to her. I get why she did it, but girl. Come on. He's just trying to be nice!
The majority of the book was a veeeeeery detailed look into the behind-the-scenes of a week creating a show that's definitely not SNL. Now I love a good behind-the-scenes look and I found it super fascinating, but it almost went on a bit too long? Between that and the lack of traditional chapter breaks (there were only 4-5 chapters so they felt more like parts to me), it threw the pacing off for me. I appreciate a slow burn, but that almost made it too slow.
I also feel like the book didn't need to be partly set in the pandemic in order for it to still work. In fact, I might have preferred it without the pandemic. I don't know, it's like... I just lived it, so I don't want to be reading about it again?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Alcoholism and Death
Minor: Pregnancy and Death of parent
sebradley29's review against another edition
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Death, Medical content, and Sexual content
katekatiekait's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic and Sexism
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Suicide, and Death of parent
lindseybarnett's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Alcohol, Death, and Sexism
emmas_bookshelf's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I have been obsessed with Curtis Sittenfeld since I read American Wife over a decade ago. To this day American Wife is one of a handful of books that I’ve reread multiple times. Romantic Comedy is about a 36-year-old writer on SNL (in the book it’s TNO but it’s very obviously SNL) and she’s pondering how mediocre dudes bag smokeshow women over and over yet the opposite never seems to happen. She’s committed to bringing women to the forefront of the show while also wondering if her time might be coming to an end and if she should pivot to rom com screenplays, something she has long wanted to do but never followed through on. Enter Noah Brewster, who is guest hosting and the musical artist for the week. Sally quickly realizes he’s smarter than he appears, and he turns her world upside down.
The first half of the book takes place in one week of making the show in April 2018. Then we jump to April 2020, so you know what that means… full on pandemic lockdown. Sally has fled NYC for her hometown of Kansas City, MO, but an email correspondence with Noah soon leads her to LA.
This book has everything. Therapy, discussion of alcohol, sobriety, body image, eating disorders, sexism, misogyny, lots of jokes, female friendships, and more. It’s so smart and so good and I loved it so much it’s hard to describe. I mean this in the best way when I say Curtis writes very accessible lit-fic and I would highly recommend this book as well as her other works.
Thank you so much to Random House for the copy via NetGalley. This is my honest review and the book is on sale now!
The first half of the book takes place in one week of making the show in April 2018. Then we jump to April 2020, so you know what that means… full on pandemic lockdown. Sally has fled NYC for her hometown of Kansas City, MO, but an email correspondence with Noah soon leads her to LA.
This book has everything. Therapy, discussion of alcohol, sobriety, body image, eating disorders, sexism, misogyny, lots of jokes, female friendships, and more. It’s so smart and so good and I loved it so much it’s hard to describe. I mean this in the best way when I say Curtis writes very accessible lit-fic and I would highly recommend this book as well as her other works.
Thank you so much to Random House for the copy via NetGalley. This is my honest review and the book is on sale now!
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Death, Alcoholism, and Pregnancy