Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Nora Goes Off Script

This is one of those weird books to review because, all in all, this book was fine. Nora is a decent character and I appreciated her independence and she’s clearly a great mom. Arthur and Bernadette are straight up the best parts of this book. Bernadette in particular is an excellent character. But I didn’t like Leo at all. I’m putting most of this review behind spoilers so I don’t accidentally really spoil anything if you want to go in fully unaware, but suffice it to say, this is a story about a divorced woman who had a truly terrible first marriage finding a new love and all of the shenanigans that ensue with that. It certainly wasn’t bad, but it is quite shallow when it comes to plot of character development.

I didn’t love the audiobook version (I think the narrator just wasn’t a favorite for me), so that may have also affected my experience with the book, too.

I did like the writing, but I think I just couldn’t root for the characters in the way that I think you need to in a romance.

I could not STAND Leo - like the whole time. He starts off being a completely entitled ass and then all of a sudden Nora and Leo fall in love. He has all of the power in their relationship and lets a single miscommunication get in the way of their relationship and even proceeds to blame her for not trying to get him back when he was the one who left a person who CLEARLY has some issues with being left and having to be okay. I do wonder if I would have liked him more if there had been some chapters from his POV, but I just couldn’t stand him which, in a romance, makes it very difficult to cheer for the relationship.

Content Warnings

frantically's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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? No

4.0

Such a good romance! I got through it in a day and it definitely made the day better. Nora is such an engaging main character and I loved the focus on her kids. Leo seemed like he would be such a dick but he pleasantly surprised me (and Nora 🤫)! Wish the drama had been wrapped up a bit quicker at the end but that's my only criticism.

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kshertz's review

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emotional lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Cute and very meta romance book. Successful author has a fling with an actor? He falls in love with the kids first? There’s a shitty ex involved? These are all drama points that sucked me in and I wanted to see if it was going to end predictably or not. It’s worth the read!

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atamano's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

rrubin97's review

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emotional 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

Sweet tale of a writer who meets a movie star. She is recently out of a toxic relationship with two kids and he sees through her cracks and she sees the real him. Romance ensues. The

miscommunication that kept them apart t via her son was maddening when it was glossed over at the end but also helped the main character grow. </spoiler >

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