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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
divorceangelanoelle's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic and Medical content
Moderate: Pregnancy, Addiction, and Grief
Minor: Eating disorder and Alcohol
ciaomara's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Pregnancy, Excrement, and Sexism
Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Cancer
Detailed description of Covid 19 symptoms.downtown_kb's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
5.0
This is a new to me author as I primarily read romance. It lives up to the hype.
A comedy sketch writer for a late night show (read: SNL) and the week’s musical guest hit it off during the show’s week long prep. Their romance is told in 3 parts.
The 1st 3rd of the book is very slice of life, written very conversationally, just a play by play of a week in the life of an SNL comedy sketch writer (TNO in the book). So if you don’t think that sounds entertaining, you might not like this book bc it starts a bit slow. I was fascinated by it. And no I’m not some die hard SNL fan, I just enjoyed learning the process of the show.
But mostly, this is where I fell in love with Sally, a 38 yr old divorced comedy writer who comes across as a bit jaded at first. This whole section allowed you to get to know Sally where she felt most comfortable and it was great writing. Her dry wit and sarcasm paired with her inner ramblings of her social anxiety were hilarious and so very relatable. She would have a seemingly normal interaction then overanalyze them in her head obsessively. Hello self! (If run-on sentences offend you, you won’t like this book. But it lent well to portraying her anxiety.) Overall she was passionate, unapologetic, and clever.
The second act of this book is epistolary - emails between Sally and the musician, Noah. Their banter is charming as hell and I think I grinned for 70 straight pages. Things really speed up from this point on.
The 3rd part of the book, the romance gets turned up to full volume and everything comes to a head. From the blurb you can guess the conflict and I do not feel like it was overblown or unrealistic. She was just an average woman dating a superstar. The fact she finds it all a bit surreal is understandable. I’ve seen other reviews being annoyed by her insecurities but I never felt it was over the top or unrelatable. Sally has always lived behind-the-scenes and had a habit of self-sabotage but Noah truly sees her for her. I can always get behind a conflict that turns into a 4 page long love declaration.
Noah, who by the way is a sweet, unassuming and true book boyfriend material, wins a gold star for communication. Noah is, in the words of Julia Robert's character from Notting hill, just a boy standing in front of a girl asking her to love him.
My only dislike, and it was a relatively small one, mid-final conflict the focus pivoted from the romance back to just women’s lit in a way that felt unnecessary and a bit frustrating for romance.(view spoiler) Ultimately, it was all very human - especially during COVID to have emergencies interfere with life. But it made the conclusion and wrap up feel fairly rushed/abrupt.
However, I still adored this book. It was so human and so very relatable. Sweet, clever, and hilarious. I think I highlighted half of the text.
Fans of Annabel Monaghan and Emily Henry will enjoy this book.
Thank you Net Galley and Random House for this ARC!
A comedy sketch writer for a late night show (read: SNL) and the week’s musical guest hit it off during the show’s week long prep. Their romance is told in 3 parts.
The 1st 3rd of the book is very slice of life, written very conversationally, just a play by play of a week in the life of an SNL comedy sketch writer (TNO in the book). So if you don’t think that sounds entertaining, you might not like this book bc it starts a bit slow. I was fascinated by it. And no I’m not some die hard SNL fan, I just enjoyed learning the process of the show.
But mostly, this is where I fell in love with Sally, a 38 yr old divorced comedy writer who comes across as a bit jaded at first. This whole section allowed you to get to know Sally where she felt most comfortable and it was great writing. Her dry wit and sarcasm paired with her inner ramblings of her social anxiety were hilarious and so very relatable. She would have a seemingly normal interaction then overanalyze them in her head obsessively. Hello self! (If run-on sentences offend you, you won’t like this book. But it lent well to portraying her anxiety.) Overall she was passionate, unapologetic, and clever.
The second act of this book is epistolary - emails between Sally and the musician, Noah. Their banter is charming as hell and I think I grinned for 70 straight pages. Things really speed up from this point on.
The 3rd part of the book, the romance gets turned up to full volume and everything comes to a head. From the blurb you can guess the conflict and I do not feel like it was overblown or unrealistic. She was just an average woman dating a superstar. The fact she finds it all a bit surreal is understandable. I’ve seen other reviews being annoyed by her insecurities but I never felt it was over the top or unrelatable. Sally has always lived behind-the-scenes and had a habit of self-sabotage but Noah truly sees her for her. I can always get behind a conflict that turns into a 4 page long love declaration.
Noah, who by the way is a sweet, unassuming and true book boyfriend material, wins a gold star for communication. Noah is, in the words of Julia Robert's character from Notting hill, just a boy standing in front of a girl asking her to love him.
My only dislike, and it was a relatively small one, mid-final conflict the focus pivoted from the romance back to just women’s lit in a way that felt unnecessary and a bit frustrating for romance.(view spoiler) Ultimately, it was all very human - especially during COVID to have emergencies interfere with life. But it made the conclusion and wrap up feel fairly rushed/abrupt.
However, I still adored this book. It was so human and so very relatable. Sweet, clever, and hilarious. I think I highlighted half of the text.
Fans of Annabel Monaghan and Emily Henry will enjoy this book.
Thank you Net Galley and Random House for this ARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism and Grief
skudiklier's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
5.0
I loved this book! I read it all in one day, and while honestly I've done that for books I ended up not really liking, this one was definitely one I enjoyed. I've really liked Curtis Sittenfeld's writing for a long time, and this is probably my favorite out of her books that I've read. She's so good at getting in people's heads and writing about complicated awkward interactions in such a compelling way, and the characters in this book are realistic and flawed but still likable. I love romance novels but I have problems with a lot of them, and this one found really great ways of getting around those problems. I would definitely recommend this book and I'm so glad I read it.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the chance to read and review this ARC.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the chance to read and review this ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexism
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Death, Cursing, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Body shaming, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Transphobia, and Police brutality
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