Scan barcode
rschroath's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent
jess_noack's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent and Cancer
dianaschmidty's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
fast-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
I really liked the romance. The moments between just Eli and Leah gave me butterflies and had the perfect build up before their tension finally broke! I loved their friendship and watching it grow into more was cute. I also liked how Eli learned the difference between his feelings for Victoria and his feelings for Leah. I also enjoyed the addition of Leah’s history in the foster system, something that is not often featured in romance books.
Everything else about the book was a little lackluster. I liked the friends and I liked the possible continuation of a series for Delia and Gray, but the friends were a little too much sometimes, especially Jenna. I think that they meant well with the “makeover,” but that it went too far to the point of decreasing my enjoyment of the book.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Jayne Denker for providing me access to this book.
Everything else about the book was a little lackluster. I liked the friends and I liked the possible continuation of a series for Delia and Gray, but the friends were a little too much sometimes, especially Jenna. I think that they meant well with the “makeover,” but that it went too far to the point of decreasing my enjoyment of the book.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Jayne Denker for providing me access to this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Abandonment, Cancer, and Grief
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
hrtlss_grl's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Bullying
Moderate: Cancer, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, and Sexual content
Very cute fade to black romance with diverse characters and a plot straight out of a rom-com movie. A nod to all the greats. :) Narrator was a little slow, but otherwise great at making characters stand out from each other._bookstamandy_'s review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, and Mental illness
orangesyellows's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Cancer
samchase112's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A short, sweet, heartwarming rom-com about finding your family. This one definitely grew on me — I was put off by the juvenile writing at first, but Leah’s journey really drew me in by the end, especially helped along by adorable Eli and the supportive circle of friends she finds. As everyone mentions, Eli’s infatuation/fixation on Victoria lasts completely too long for the situation, but honestly it’s not even a huge deal because I think the author explained it away fairly well. I was much more interested in Leah coming to terms with her new community, struggles with accepting support, and dealing with the grief she feels after losing her foster mother. Anyway...this one was cute, if largely forgettable outside of Leah’s character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Medical content
Minor: Sexual content
rusereviews's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
3.0
The Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne Denker is a cute contemporary closed-door friends-to-lovers romance. We follow our two main characters with alternating third-person points-of-view. The audiobook clocks in at a little under eleven hours and is narrated by Erika Schindele.
After growing up in the foster care system, Leah is used to feeling alone. She spent the last year back in Willow Cove, taking care of her sick foster mother. Now she has nothing left to tie her to the town and it's time to move on yet again. Eli's ex-girlfriend just flew off to Rome for a year, but he thought their relationship was going amazing. After telling his family and friends how determined he is to get her back, they decide to give him a makeover inside and out.
This was cute, though there were some deeper moments. I especially liked all of the pop culture references, especially to rom-coms. I liked everyone in the friend group, and I hope we get a Delia book sometime in the future. Leah's foster brother Patrick was a major tool. There's some casual queer rep with a bisexual side character, but I wish there were more.
Leah was great and there were a lot of parts of her personality that I identified with. Eli was okay, but I feel like he was stubbornly holding onto his plan to woo back Victoria for a little bit too long. That being said, I really did like the two of them together.
I had a hard time reading the ebook version; for some reason it just wasn't holding my full attention. I think my main issue was with the pacing. There was also some weird information missing, at least in my reading. I don't think I realized Eli's sister's husband was not white until very near the end of the book when he had an offhand comment about having more melanin than his wife. It's possible I missed some references to this but the author could have shown this in other ways.
Once I switched over to the audiobook I had a much better reading experience. I think the narrator did a good job, but with dual POVs I tend to prefer having two different narrators.
Tropes in this book include: found family, slow burn, friends to lovers, small town, closed door
CW: death of parent from cancer (prior to book), description of panic attacks and dissociation
I received a copy of this book to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.
After growing up in the foster care system, Leah is used to feeling alone. She spent the last year back in Willow Cove, taking care of her sick foster mother. Now she has nothing left to tie her to the town and it's time to move on yet again. Eli's ex-girlfriend just flew off to Rome for a year, but he thought their relationship was going amazing. After telling his family and friends how determined he is to get her back, they decide to give him a makeover inside and out.
This was cute, though there were some deeper moments. I especially liked all of the pop culture references, especially to rom-coms. I liked everyone in the friend group, and I hope we get a Delia book sometime in the future. Leah's foster brother Patrick was a major tool. There's some casual queer rep with a bisexual side character, but I wish there were more.
Leah was great and there were a lot of parts of her personality that I identified with. Eli was okay, but I feel like he was stubbornly holding onto his plan to woo back Victoria for a little bit too long. That being said, I really did like the two of them together.
I had a hard time reading the ebook version; for some reason it just wasn't holding my full attention. I think my main issue was with the pacing. There was also some weird information missing, at least in my reading. I don't think I realized Eli's sister's husband was not white until very near the end of the book when he had an offhand comment about having more melanin than his wife. It's possible I missed some references to this but the author could have shown this in other ways.
Once I switched over to the audiobook I had a much better reading experience. I think the narrator did a good job, but with dual POVs I tend to prefer having two different narrators.
Tropes in this book include: found family, slow burn, friends to lovers, small town, closed door
CW: death of parent from cancer (prior to book), description of panic attacks and dissociation
I received a copy of this book to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
puria's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
It drew me in fast. I liked the plot, it was different then things I have read recently, the setting was unique.
It was well written, I often felt for Leah. There is LGBTQ characters, minority characters, strong female friendships. I liked the diverse group, like Leah it drew me in before Eli did.
It was well written, I often felt for Leah. There is LGBTQ characters, minority characters, strong female friendships. I liked the diverse group, like Leah it drew me in before Eli did.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness and Cancer
Minor: Abandonment and Death of parent
emmas_bookshelf's review against another edition
hopeful
slow-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
4.0
The premise of the book was cute and it definitely has the comedy aspect of a rom-com. The love interest Eli is like a big teddy bear, he’s a hopeless romantic who loves kids and the outdoors. Leah is desperate for family and belonging, but also thinks she will never have it. Most of the book is waiting for the two of them to wake up and realize they should be together - but it is a fun read. It’s also low/no steam.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Mental illness
Minor: Alcohol