A female ghostwriter is recruited to be the face of the bestselling novel in the country, secretly written by a man.
Luci Santana believes in love, especially when it comes to books. Since being forced to give up her apartment, she’d love to get out of her over-involved family’s backyard she-shed and resuscitate her life. She’s given a chance to supercharge her career when she’s recruited to be the face of the country’s bestselling novel.
The romance book secretly written by a man.
Years before he wrote the book that changed his life, literary author Ryan Brady was caught shaming the romance genre in a video. When his book is chosen by a celebrity morning show, a face to face interview is required. Suddenly his secret
pen name desperately needs a woman’s face.
Enter Luci.
Luci hates the book everyone else raves about but it becomes her job to defend the book, the genre, and try not to get caught falling in love with the enemy.
Review:
I really enjoyed this slow burn, secret identity, workplace (sorry, Ryan!) romance. Luci was a really fun heroine–she remains sunny and upbeat even while her life becomes increasingly messier, her loud and loving family is absolutely everything, and her love for and knowledge of the romance genre ensures the book’s target audience is going to get behind her from page one.
And Ryan? I mean, he’s a somewhat socially awkward and often grumpy author who is described as looking like Clark Kent and who clearly becomes more and more fascinated with Lucy as the book progresses. What’s not to love?
It was fun to see some behind the scenes action in the publishing world, even if the whole Luci being hired to pretend she wrote Ryan’s book aspect of it was a bit unhinged (loved that she hated that ending, though. I am 100% sure I would have felt the same, and kept wondering if it could even call itself a romance in that case, especially since he was never going to write a sequel? IMO it doesn’t really fit the definition, but I digress…)
I did wish the hero had gotten his act together a little sooner toward the end in terms of letting his heroine know how he felt–I guess all his research into romance should have included a bit more hands-on learning–but at least they got there in the end. I closed this one with a smile on my face.
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Buy Link: https://www.heatherlybell.com/book/a-bookish-story/
About the author:
I’m a USA Today bestselling romance author who’s passionate about fast-paced, emotion-filled romantic suspense and science-fiction romance. I love writing about people overcoming unbeatable odds and achieving seemingly impossible goals. I like to believe it’s possible for all of us to do the same.
My parents are to blame for my insatiable need to mix action, adventure, and romance. When I was young, I raided my mother’s romances and my father’s action adventure thrillers. I love being exhilarated and left just a little breathless. I’m a sucker for that moment when the team is walking in slow motion, shoulder-to-shoulder heading off into battle.
Connect with Heatherly Bell: https://www.instagram.com/heatherly.bell/
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