Finding this on Netgalley was very fortuitous, as I'd just finished a Miranda Dickinson book I found in a charity shop and loved it. So when I saw Our Story, I had to read it. I now know that I love two of Miranda's books. She's mastered the delicious combination of a romance that you know is going to happen, with enough twists and turns along the way to make for an engrosing story. Otty and Joe's story was immensely readable, in fact I couldn't put it down yet never wanted it to end. Brilliant characters, enough realism along with scrummy escapism to make for an excellent read.

Otty lands her dream job as a scriptwriter at Ensign Media. She leaves her job working in her dad's cycle workshop. The night before she starts her new job her world is turned upside down and she is evicted from her home of seven years.

Joe is one of the top scriptwriters at Ensign Media and not only has he just been dumped by on/off girlfriend Victoria but his flatmate moves out with zero notice.

Otty meets Joe and hears he has a room to rent. By the end of her first day Otty and her 16 boxes of books have moved into Joe's home and they are now roomies.

They are paired together to write a new series and their relationship blossoms with a few bumps along the way.

This is such a beautiful and hilarious read. A proper love story.

A super rom-com from Miranda Dickinson.

Set in the high-pressured environment of the writers room of a much anticipated TV drama show, this book follows the will-they-won’t-they romance between main characters Otti and Joe.

The storyline itself was predictable but when you pick up a book like this it’s exactly what you want and expect.

Easy to read, heartwarming and perfect for summer.

I loved this book and found it hard to put it down. You can guess the inevitable but you still want to carry on reading to see if what you think happens. Worth a read

I always look forward to a new book from Miranda Dickinson. This is a light hearted, feel good book told from different viewpoints. I did find it slightly predictable at times but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Otty lands her dream job as a script writer, she moves in to house share with Joe, an experienced and renowned writer. Will their relationship remain professional ,or will she bow to family pressures and return to her ex,- Chris. A heart warming romance set in a completely different setting.

I love Miranda Dickinson's books and was so excited to have the chance to meet her newest creations Otty and Joe in Our Story. The night before Otty is due to start her dream job as a writer for a tv show, she is unexpectedly evicted from her flat. By coincidence, one of her new colleagues has just been left in the lurch when his flatmate left owing some rent. This leads to them very quickly becoming flatmates as well as writing partners, but will that partnership carry over into their personal lives too? They certainly very quickly become firm friends and also work incredibly well together. There is an attraction that it seems everyone else can see but are they brave enough to act upon it or will it ruin their friendship and writing careers too?

I was completely emotionally engaged with Otty and Joe and their journey. Miranda Dickinson creates such wonderful characters who you take to heart. You live through all their trials and tribulations, their joys and sorrows until they feel like people you know. And because you feel that way about them, you want the best for them, you want them to find happiness and satisfaction. Whether that happiness was with each other or someone else, I didn't really mind (well, perhaps secretly I did!) - I just wanted them both to find someone who completed their stories, who provided that happy ever after.

I have to mention the setting of the book. I've never been to Birmingham but through reading this book, I feel as though I've had a little tour. I can imagine sitting by the canal, listening to the beautiful chimes of the Clocktower. Birmingham is obviously a place the author knows and loves and that shows in the book. With its craft bakeries, independent breweries and bustling streets, Birmingham comes across as a vibrant place full of energy and possibilities. Another really interesting aspect to the story was the fact that it was set in an industry I hadn't really thought about much before. It was fascinating to read about the workings of a tv screenwriting team, about how insecure everyone's jobs were and about how decisions of what would go ahead or not seemed to be on a whim.

Our Story is a classic 'will they, won't they, should they, shouldn't they' love story with misunderstandings and near misses aplenty. It's a book about following your dreams, never doubting yourself, aiming high and finding that one person who completes your story. Loved it!

Wow what a beautiful, well written love story.

I loved the plot for this story, Laura and Joe writing the script for a TV show really opened my eyes and made me realise that TV show writers deserve so much more credit without them actors/actresses wouldn’t have jobs. This story really was a double whammy as you get a story (TV show) within a story.

Joe & Laura’s story of will they or won’t they had me hooked so much so I read this book in 3 days.

I had read mixed reviews about this book before I read it, but I read it with an open mind. I have read and enjoyed previous books by Miranda Dickinson, so I was pleased to receive an early preview copy from Netgalley and the Publisher.
In my opinion this is not one of Miranda's best books, but it was a light and easy read. It was fairly predictable and there were no big surprises.
I thought that the eviction at the beginning of the book was highly improbable as well as illegal. It was amazing how quickly Otty could pack up and move too. I also found the story of Joe's flatmate unrealistic.
Otty was a nice character, I loved the unusual name too. I did think that she allowed people to boss her around too much and make decisions for her.
Joe was ok, but not what I would expect a main character to be like. There could have been more character development.
There were lots of good things about this book. enjoyed reading about the screenwriting jobs. It is not something that I have really thought about before. I loved the sound of the Eye, Spy series and I would definitely watch it if it was a real show.
I liked the format too, with one chapter from Otty, followed by one from Joe. It flowed well and it was easy to tell which character was narrating. I liked reading about both of their perspectives. This book is good, and an uncomplicated read.

I don’t like predictable romcoms and this seemed to be exactly that at the beginning.

Otty leaves the familiarity and security of her job and family and starts a new job as a scriptwriter where Joe has worked for many years. The evening before starting her new job, her landlord kicks her out and so she starts work the next day with all of her belongings in her car and nowhere to live. Conveniently, Joe’s flat mate has just done a runner, leaving him short of rent money and at risk of losing his home. So, Otty ends up moving into Joe’s flat, alongside working with him - so far so predictable.

The usual cliches start to arise - Otty and Joe are attracted to each other, but are too shy/scared to admit it; they are both jealous of the friendships/relationships the other has with the opposite sex; they clearly have chemistry that neither can see and so misread everything the other does/says.

At the beginning, this was a 2⭐️ book, however, as I started to settle into the story and stopped expecting more, I started to enjoy it more. The end wasn’t a surprise, there are no twists, but that’s okay.

I think I have been spoiled by some amazing women’s literature/romance books recently and this one just wasn’t up to those standards, however, It is alright, a beach read, probably more of a 2.5⭐️ than a 3.

I’ve just finished reading this book and honestly my heart aches and I just want to read more of Otty and Joe. This book hit me hard and sent me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I smiled, I laughed and I felt my heart break for these characters throughout.

I loved that their careers were TV scriptwriting because honestly that isn’t one I’ve read about before and it was incredibly eye opening and fascinating! I completely immersed myself in the process and the characters involved in the writing room.

Told in both the perspectives of Joe and Otty I found myself falling in love with these characters. Joe and Otty were perfect and relatable. Both struggling with the thought of losing everything these two characters are flawed, realistic and incredibly human and I found myself seeing parts of myself in both of them. I loved learning about Otty and her struggles of finally embracing what she wanted out of life and taking the leap of becoming a full time writer even if everyone around her feels like she’s making the wrong decision.

I would have loved to seen more of Joe’s life and backstory as we only really get a small glimpse and a throwaway comment about his family. I would have loved to have been introduced to his family as this was the story of Joe and Otty.

Whilst I had an inkling of how this story was going to end that didn’t stop from needing to read on and becoming captivated in the journey of Joe and Otty.

Our Story was such a heart-warming story about friendships, taking risks and following your dreams that I recommend to anyone who loves contemporary romance books!

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A story that will melt the heart. Otty has dreamt all her life of being a writer. When an opportunity arises she makes the difficult decision to leave her Father's business and take a chance on a career in writing. An unplanned eviction opens up a chance to house share with another writer in her team, Joe. A love/hate relationship develops between them but love conquers all in the end.

Otty is about to start her dream job as a screen writer but has also found herself homeless. When fate intervenes she finds herself sharing a house with established writer Joe and as they're paired up at work, they become a dream team. But behind the scenes all is not as rosy. Their growing attraction leads to a night of drinking too much wine, and Otty wakes up in Joe's bed. Miscommunication leads to a fracture in their relationship and it seems as though it is permanent when Otty begins dating another writer and announces her intention to leave. Can Joe finally convince her of his feelings? Will their story reach a happy conclusion?

Hugely romantic without being soppy or cliché this is a wonderful story about daring to follow your dreams, and having the courage to express your feelings without reserve. Fortune does after all favour the brave.

A modern day love story between Otto and Joe. Life, love and family all have there ups and downs but in this instance love conquers all.

Set in Birmingham, Our story tells of the love story between Otty Perry and Joe Carver.
Their story begins with news that Otty has landed herself her dream job of scriptwriter at Ensign Media company, headed by Russell Styles. She can now wave goodbye to her job as bike technician at her dad’s repair shop and move away from a past and failed relationship with ‘aunt’ Sheila’s son Chris and enter the creative but stressful environment that belongs to the scriptwriting world. However, suddenly being left an eviction notice isn’t the kind of situation Otty wants to find herself in on the eve of starting her new job. Packing up her few possessions that include 16 boxes of books (woman after my own heart!) into beloved car Monty, full of trepidation for what lies ahead, poor Otty is immediately deserving of the reader’s sympathies. In an unbelievable twist of luck which test the boundaries of plausibility, our lovely heroine finds herself not only working alongside the esteemed Joe Carver but a lodger at his home, thanks to the sudden departure of Joe’s previous housemate. Joe, almost a celebrity in the eyes of Otty is the obvious love interest in this sweet, bittersweet love story that is all about missed opportunities, suppressed feelings and an inability to express in words what they both can so eloquently express on paper.

Quickly becoming team O-Joe, their witty repartee, great working partnership and the fact they now live together makes them suitably placed to take their friendship one step further. Obviously attracted to one another, their love story hinges on one drunken night’s revelry that ends in the inevitable crossing of boundaries, an encounter neither knows how to deal with the following morning. Mixing business with pleasure is often a recipe for disaster and Otty and Joe are no exception to this rule, immediately hiding their true feelings behind humour in deference to their working relationship. This causes much frustration on the part of the reader as they descend into that will they won’t they scenario, much loved by authors writing in this genre. You can’t help wishing you could knock their heads together and allow them to succumb to the inevitable, rather than deny the extent of their feelings but of course in any fictional love story the path to happiness is fraught with obstacles to overcome. Unlike reality, you know that there’s a fair chance these two may finally (fingers crossed) get their act together and put the reader out of their misery. Without the denial and the angst there wouldn’t be a storyline, which on the whole is a pleasant antidote to these worrying times.

Otty and Joe’s decision to hide behind humour is further complicated by the arrival at the agency of Scottish hunk Fraser Langham and as inevitable as day following night, you know this will be the start of a messy love triangle. Fraser, initially cast as misogynistic interloper is one of those characters you want to loathe simply for coming between Otty and Joe and although he’s a perfectly acceptable candidate to win Otty’s heart I couldn’t prevent myself from viewing him as I would a pantomime villain, booing and hissing at his latest move to woo Otty. There is some humour for a while in the way Joe and Fraser clash heads, each man vying for Otty’s attention but it is short lived.

It did take me a little while to find myself immersed in this love story which I thought didn’t really take off until the arrival of Fraser, the cat set amongst the pigeons. Also there is a huge emphasis on the script writing process which I think is to the detriment of exploring Otty and Joe’s romance. Being holed up in a room for hours on end, hoping for the creative juices to flow sounds like jolly hard work and I think the author has managed to convey all the highs and lows and tedium of this world in fine detail. I could visualise the script writing team bouncing off the walls with the amount of coffee they all drink!!

As for Otty’s character, I really liked her as she’s definitely not a wallflower. Although she doesn’t realise exactly how good a writer she is, she won’t be made to feel inferior to her male counterparts so it’s interesting to see how much credit she is awarded for her work with Joe. In this sense, the author has created a strong female lead who doesn’t take kindly to being patronised, despite her lack of experience in scriptwriting compared to the others and I commend the author for portraying Otty in this light. She’s frustrating in terms of her inability to be direct and honest when it comes to matters of the heart, especially as she doesn’t suffer this problem when interacting with anyone else. Her actions often seemed in conflict with her usually open and honest nature. However as a book and cricket lover, I could relate easily to Otty, reminding me of many years spent accompanying my own father to cricket matches.

Joe is just as likeable as Otty but it’s interesting how he too hides behind the written word,unable to articulate what that one drunken night really meant to him. However his eloquence with words may be the only way he can order this thoughts regarding Otty. It’s like a lightbulb is suddenly switched on in his head, prompting a huge sigh of relief from me. I felt he very much needed to live in the real world rather than hiding behind the imaginary world of script writing and I never gained a real insight into his character.

Although Our Story is a pleasant, enjoyable read, I didn’t feel any intensity of emotion for the characters that I would normally associate with this type of fiction. I always expect to laugh and cry and feel invested in a couple’s outcome so that it is a wrench to say goodbye. The heavy emphasis on the script writing meant the characters weren’t as richly drawn as they might have been and the supporting cast of characters are given what felt like walk on roles. I know the spotlight rightly shines on Otty and Joe but his character definitely suffers from lack of a backstory and Otty’s is skimmed over. Despite these criticisms I still enjoyed this easy, lighthearted read and feel I would like to explore other titles by this author. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

This didn't start out well for me, it was so forced with evictions and losing roommates and so on. It's just not possible to pack an entire flat and move out with what must have been about 16 hours notice, let alone highly illegal on the part of the landlord. Likewise, Matt would have still had to pay rent if he did not correctly hand in his notice for leaving and he somehow managed to pack and leave in even less time and with no reason or explanation. Plus employment law would surely prevent a boss from constantly firing his team. It's like the writer couldn't be bothered with taking the time to set up the living arrangement properly and just forced it all into place in the first few chapters of the book. There was some dramatic sounding back story with an ex boyfriend that amounted to virtually nothing and very little character development generally. There was a lot of telling of feelings, rather than showing and I found it all very surface level. I didn't buy either of the romantic relationships and all the arguments and disagreements between Joe and Otty were very over the top for how minor they were. I could tell instantly what the big end disagreement was going to be as soon as it was introduced and it was all so predictable. I don't mind predictability, but when it's paired with feeling nothing for the characters and being bored by the storyline it's not great. I also really didn't like the way the ending was done.

Otty starts a new job as a writer and loses her flat in the same day. 24 hours later, she’s living with her new colleague Joe. Can they live together, work together and write together?

This story drew me in instantly and I was desperate to find out if Joe and Otty were going to FINALLY get together! 4 stars.

This is perfection on the page. Wonderfully warm, current and fresh it had me enthralled throughout. Highly recommend this book. It’s a wonderful love story with amazingly relatable characters.

I love a story by Miranda and ‘Our Story’ is my favourite! In this we meet Otty and Joe who meet at a very respected showrunners company as a writer. It’s her dream job. It’s there that Otty meets Joe and discovers he needs a roommate Otty who needs somewhere to live after being evicted the day before thinks it’s the perfect solution but what could go wrong!?!

I loved how the alternating chapters of this story told from both Otty and Joe’s perspective. At some points I was so frustrated I just wanted to knock their heads together! My favourite character has to be Otty I loved seeing her personality grow as she lacks self confidence in her writing but as the story goes on so does her confidence. I honestly just wanted what was best for her and feel like me and her could be friends too. This story takes you on such a rollercoaster of emotions you won’t want to miss out on.

‘Our Story’ is about friendship and pursuing your dreams ❤️ Of course I give ‘Our Story’ a sparkly 5*/5* 😊 I really can’t wait to see what Miranda creates next.

Thank you HQ Stories for an advanced copy of this book via Netgalley.

Change of job, and house. Ottie is making big changes and following her dream to be a script writer. Sharing a house with Joe a more established writer and confidant of the director. The tale of how their relationship develops not only professionally but their friendships within the writing group. An enjoyable story.