Enemies to lovers in the publishing business! Fans of the rom com might like this for the characters and snappy dialogue. Thanks for the ARC.

A good written books about one of the most secretive industries in the world. You is an easy yet reflective read about the fate of the manuscript and the status of the (bestselling) writer.

Cutting Words in a very readable book. I was able to finish it in one go.
And yet, and yet, there's a part of me, the one that obsesses over little details and problems, that wants to give a rating of only 2.5 Stars.

The premise, the basic plot was a good one. It is set in the world of publishing, an industry I very much admire (don't we all?)
It gives you a peek into the inner workings of the industry. On a surface level, it shows you how a book is edited, readied for publishing, how it is marketed...the works.

But the rest of the plot feels wonky. You don't get to connect with the characters for they don't seem well fleshed out. It was hard to see how the impulsive-to-the-point-0f-unprofessional Edith would have made Chief Editor of the publishing house. It was hard for me to picture James Raymond as anyone other than an egotistic, prima donna of a person till the end of the book, there's no development there. The MC Annie McGuire, who we are led to believe is really smart, behaves so very naive at times, it feels out of character.

I understand that getting a book published is no mean feat, but I feel like this one could have used a bit of help from an English Annie.

Thank you, Endeavour Press, for providing me with this book from Netgalley.

Have you ever wondered what it is really like working in a publishing house? Having the opportunity to read and edit masterpieces while helping to bring new talents into the limelight sounds like a dream job for any booklover! Well, the reality may be quite different and Cutting Words gives an interesting take on this business where it’s not always about the arts.

Best-selling author James Raymond embodies the “villain”. The success of his previous book clearly went to his head and he’s coming across as rude and full of himself. His total lack of respect for people like assistant editor Annie is appalling. He believes his work is so good that it’s disrespectful to him to let it be reviewed by a mere assistant editor. After all, it can only require a few punctuation tweaks… at best ! So, how would a newbie like Annie know any better and dare to add a cascade of colourful tags everywhere there’s an issue? From reworking the structure to making sure that the timeline and the twists are taking place at the right time and in a credible manner, Annie spent a tremendous amount of time and energy dissecting the novel.

These initial chapters really managed to describe how editing really happens. I thought it was a major highlight of the novel, giving the reader a new perspective on the art of “making” books worthy of being published.

The confrontation scene was very vivid and heartbreaking because of Raymond’s condescending attitude. You end up feeling really bad for Annie because you've just read about how much work and dedication it took her to review a really poorly written novel. The impact of this key scene will last till the very last chapter where both characters are finally reunited. Will they bury the hatchet? Will Annie get back her self-confidence?

You could think that James’ narcissistic attitude is too pronounced at times, but somehow, the author makes it credible, even offering an interesting ending showing that James’ personality isn’t so black and white. His psychological profile is well written, especially in the final chapters where the readers finally understands why he behaves the way he does.

I was simply annoyed by a formatting issue with the Kindle version. Throughout the novel, a lot of words were glued together, which was quite irritating.

Cutting Words is a pleasant, entertaining novel that will give the reader a new appreciation of the important role of editors and their “professional” eye. But, it's also quite eye-opening regarding the politics and arrangments happening in the cruel, harsh little world of publishing. Who knew?