I have always loved the idea of being a screenwriter. I’m not really sure why because, contrary to writing this blog and my chosen career path, I don’t really love writing all that much. I don’t think I’m all that good at it. That being said, the thought of writing for TV fascinates me, and I think in another life, if I made different choices, I might have ended up going that route. Now, Katherine Center is a must-read author for me at this point (and she’s so generous to her readers!), so I would have picked up The Rom-Commers no matter what…but when I saw it was about romantic comedies *and* movie writing, I knew it was going to be a home run.

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senselessly to do it. But…what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much…more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules—and comes true?

If you’ve been following along, you know that, generally, I’m a big fan of Katherine Center. After not loving Hello Stranger, I’m super happy to report that I absolutely loved The Rom-Commers. As a person who is fascinated by screenwriting (in another life, that’s what I would have liked to have done with my life), it hits all the right notes.

What didn’t work for me

The title: I don’t know why, but the title just didn’t hit with me. If this wasn’t a Katherine Center book, I wouldn’t have given it another look based on the title. These people are movie writers, for goodness sake…and no one could come up with anything better?!

More process: This could just be me because I love it, but I wish we got a bit of a bigger glimpse into their screenwriting process. We got little tidbits here and there, but I wanted to see how they worked together better—and learn more about the project they were writing.

What I liked

Emma’s family: Honestly, they were so cute. Yes, there was a lot of tragedy, as is almost a Center specialty, but they felt honest feelings (and said them out loud), fought and came out on the other side. It was so nice that it was such a developed part of the story. I do wish we learned more about Charlie’s family though, beyond his ex-wife.

The plot: I know this is super vague, but I really did just love the whole story. From the side characters to how the main characters interacted, I really enjoyed it. I could barely put it down…and I paid the price with sleep!

4.5 STARS

“Love stories had lifted me up, delighted me, and educated me on the power of human kindness for years. I knew a lot about love. A lot more, I bet, than all the people who took it for granted.” —Katharine Center, The Rom-Commers

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.