Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Romantic Comedy

I love SNL send ups and I love romantic comedies and I love folks wondering about their behaviors and I love partners choosing each other and that sometimes looking/feeling/being incorrect.

Also, this was my first commit to a pandemic plot line and I found it was, for me, the right tone AND mood.

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gretchenplz's review

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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

I have had my quarrels with COVID-era novels before, but I think this one was done in a tasteful (i.e., liberal) way that not only enhanced the development of the characters, but actually benefitted the story. I appreciated that the author didn't shy away from the "elephants in the room" during the period of 2016-2020 and freely discusses race, class, sex, gender, and more so openly and in a supportive way.

I admit I am a sucker for celeb romances, and I found this one to be particularly charming and unique. I am also a sucker for books that feature alternative forms of communication (emails, texts, etc.), so I found part two of the book to be so refreshing and fun. The themes of imposter syndrome, self-sabotage, and insecurity, both on a personal and professional level, really hit home with me, and I could not put this book down.

I also appreciated the lack of a third-act breakup, in place of a real couple facing a real issue and needing to take the time to learn from each other, communicate, and grow together.

I remember reading (and loving) Prep as a wee freshman in high school and I am delighted that Curtis continues to be an exceptional writer with incredible stories to tell.

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katelynnelawson's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

5.0

This may be the best book I’ve read in years. I absolutely devoured it.

I hesitated to call it a romance for the first third, but the pace quickly changes. I even enjoyed the epistolary portion - perhaps I enjoyed it the most. This is a romantic, thoughtful read. Sittenfeld has always done satire well and in Romantic Comedy manages to be both biting and astonishingly poignant. (I had to hide while reading this on desk on a slow day because I started crying.) While you don’t need to have read her other works to appreciate this one, it’s such a beautiful contrast from her first novel, Prep. I think some will hesitate to call this romance (or even worse, call it “smart romance”), but to me this is the perfect compilation of what makes literary fiction and romance so great. I highlighted a ton of quotes in this one.

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ciaomara's review

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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

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purplepenning's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A literary ROMANTIC COMEDY in three parts: the romance of comedy, the romance of communication, and the romance of life. In part one, we get a detailed week-in-the-life account of what it's like to be a female comedy writer for a live SNL-like show. Sally, our narrator, is a complex, sharp, bold writer and slightly neurotic and uncertain person who meets Noah, a gorgeous, good-natured, too-good-to-be-true (?) crooner who is the host and musical guest that week. Against all odds and the rules she wrote for her own skit (hot women can date normie slubs, but hot guys don't date normies), they seem to hit it off. Until Sally sabotages it. In part two, time and COVID protocols have turned them into pen pals and the connection is even more obvious. In part three, real life finds them and maybe they find their real selves.

With a gender-swapped Notting Hill trope, a bit of writer's life catnip, and a touch of A-list celebrity fan fiction feel, Romantic Comedy is perfect for fans of Nora Goes Off Script, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Emily Henry, and Olivia Dade.

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skudiklier's review against another edition

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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.

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