I did not enjoy this book I am sad to say, it unfortunately was not for me and I personally found it difficult to connect with. I DNF'd around the 20% mark and did not feel it was worth me making a public review. I apologise for the late submission of this and hope that I would be considered for other ARCS in the future, but this one was not completed and I didnt feel it was fair to make a public review when I did not enjoy it nor did I see it through to the end.

I don’t know if it’s just me, or if people are finding rom coms a bit icky at the moment. A bit repetitive and cringe. I can confirm that this IS NOT one of them.

I loved this book, it was so much fun to read and it felt like a breath of fresh air. To the point where I wish it was a movie so I could just keep watching it while I work.

Thank you always to NetGalley for a copy of this arc.

A fun, light read that has a lot of humour and romance. It was not my favourite Rom com ever but it was nice to read anyway.

Thank you Erin for this ARC, I thoroughly appreciate it! I found this book to be a typical sweet romance, offering a cute love story. I loved how real the characters felt and there were moments when I laughed out loud! I wish it was spicier but that is a personal preference.

I really enjoyed the author’s writing—it’s amazing how many emotions I felt with these characters. There were moments when I loved them, and others when I questioned their actions, but in a good way because it made everything feel more realistic. I caught myself smiling so many times because Sawyer and Mason together are just perfect. It was a great read, and I totally recommend it!

A fab read, the story of Sawyer and Mason. A case of opposites attract. Mason is a hopeless romantic who falls in love far too easily, and Sawyer is a romance author with writers block. Can they help each other out? Looking forward to more from this author.

Thanks to HQ Stories and Netgalley for this advance copy of Unromance.

Sawyer Greene, romance writer, is done with romance after a catastrophic breakup years ago. Mason West is a hopeless romantic who has been burned too many times, and can’t find the happily ever after he’s searching for. So when the two find themselves stuck in a lift together, Sawyer is determined this will not be their meet cute. But the universe has other plans. Sawyer and Mason make a plan to cure him of his hopeless romanticism, her of her writer’s block. It’s simple. Sawyer will become the romcom love interest of Mason’s dreams and ruin romance for him one trope at a time… The only rule: don’t fall in love.

I was doubtful I could read this book in just over two days. I was wrong for my doubts, I became so completely enthralled by Sawyer and Mason that I couldn’t put this book down. Connor wrote such a well plotted and beautifully written romance that I couldn’t help rooting for our main characters in every single page. It hit all of my feels and I just had to know how their story would progress!!! Gimme the happily ever after!!! This book delivered so completely. I can’t believe it’s a debut and I am so excited to read more rom-coms in the future from Connor.

this is a debut?? and you would never know it.

Erin Connor provided perfection cover to cover. Unromance is such a heartwarming, swoony yet at times confronting romance. It’s romance trope galore but done in the best way possible.

I haven’t laughed out loud at a romance in such a long time but also this book is SPICY… the car, the tights??

Also we love to see LQBTQIA+ representation in “traditional” romance!

In this impressive debut novel we meet Sawyer, a romantic fiction author with writer’s block, and Mason, actor in a long-running TV medical drama series who keeps getting his broken heart splashed all over the internet. After a meet-cute in a lift, and a steamy one-night stand, they don’t expect to see each other again. But life very often does not go according to plan.
They decide to help each other overcome their current problems. Sawyer is under contract to write another romance novel, but is stumped for ideas; Mason needs to keep his love life out of the press so as not to jinx his next career move. One trope at a time, they will give Sawyer inspiration for her next book, and cure Mason of his hopeless romanticism. Along the way they have a lot of fun and become friends, but struggle to ignore the strong attraction they feel for each other, despite having rules stipulating no sex and no feelings. Their outings don’t have the intended result, which is not a surprise.
I enjoyed reading the chapter headings outlining which trope they were going to explore, the references to classic 80s rom-com movies, and the set of postcards Mason sends to Sawyer with movie quotes. The story is told from both their points of view which gives the reader a rounded picture, and we get plenty of realistic detail of their respective careers. The main characters are fully rounded and believable, and there is a great supporting cast of family and friends. At times, I found Sawyer’s behaviour irritating, as she seemed to be her own worst enemy – this is particularly apparent in the third act conflict where her reaction seems a bit over the top. Unromance has a cinematic quality and I could imagine it on the big screen. Overall, I enjoyed this unusual debut novel and look forward to reading her next one. Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

This was a fun light-hearted book, with some sweet moments. I read this on a plane ride and it was perfect for that. At times I felt it lacked a little depth, I would have liked to see a deeper dive into the author character’s back story in particular. Overall however an enjoyable read, I’m likely to pick up this author again and I’d like the Bex character’s story! Would give it 3.5

This was the PERFECT romcom read!!! 🥰

I love reading this book to be honest. The romcom tropes introduced in each chapter and then happening in that chapter was perfectly done. I adored the character of Mason, he was the best romcom male lead - caring and romantic but slightly flawed. Sawyer is a frazzled romance author, she’s so witty though and I really enjoyed the banter between the two of them.
For a medium to fast paced story, there was no points where I thought the story lagged, I felt a need to keep reading the novel, I just couldn’t put it down willingly.

A solid 4 ⭐️ read!
Perfect for fans of grumpy-sunshine pairings, fake dating, and swoon-worthy romances! 💞

first of all, thank you so much for this arc!! it was my first of 2025 and made the most amazing start to the year!!

such a fun and quick read for me, after all i am a lover of a rom com!! and the adorable meet cute, their witty banter from the get go was just perfection and i needed MORE

i was obsessed with both sawyer and mason, the fact that sawyer is looking for anything but romance and mason is on the verge of falling in love with the next person he meets in life...we all knew how that was going to end!! and ugh, i just couldn't resist!!

the tropes included in this wonderful read are:

classic rom-com
grumpy x sunshine
meet-cute
fake dating
spicy
happy evert after

what more are you asking for in a romance?????

The chapter openers showcasing different rom-com tropes was a cute little addition and a great way to set the tone!

Things progressed very quickly between Sawyer and Mason, so their connection felt like it was based more on lust than anything actually romantic. It was obvious how into each other they were in that way. Luckily as the story went along, their banter and personalities were shown to also fit really well together.

The plot was very low stakes, with no real jeopardy. Just two people trying to not admit they were into each other (for no apparent reason). This made the third act conflict seem even sillier than it was. Mason was doing something so kind for Sawyer and wasn’t forcing her to do anything that she didn’t want to do. He simply gave her an option. Sawyer's over-the-top reaction was unnecessary, and showed how little she'd grown over the course of the novel. I thought she needed to properly learn from what happened and make up for it, so I felt like the ending was a bit rushed.

OVERALL: With its cute premise and fun banter, this rom-com was an easy read. The plot was very low stakes, which only highlighted how blown out of proportion the third act conflict was.

This book slapped so hard. So fun. So quirky. A totally unique story for me.

I spent a lot of my adolescent years watching rom-coms and fantasising about finding a romance that was screen-worthy, so this book that brought all of the rom-com energy was such a delight to read. The references to specific movies had me going back on a reminiscent journey and I had such a great couple of days with Sawyer and Mason (and my netflix account)

If you are a sucker for a certain trope, this book likely contains it. How? Mason is a hopeless romantic, and Sawyer is a bestselling author who can't write a book. They set themselves the task of two halves; ruining romance for Mason, and inspiring Sawyer to get over her writers block. A list is written and one by one they re-enact a trope, but shocker, they can't help f*ck up their mission and fall in love.

These two were such a joy to read. Erin wrote them with such a fresh approach, yet she was still able to build great character complexity and growth. Not too spice heavy, but a healthy amount fitting of a true tale full of love and honesty and great communication. There hasn't been a day since I finished reading this book, where in those couple of moments before I fall asleep, I've not thought about this book and it's people.

Well done Erin. This is fantastic!

A big thank you to NetGalley and HQ for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Erin Connor smashed it out of the park with this incredible debut, UNROMANCE. A contemporary and romantic masterpiece, this pulled me right out of my reading slump!

I adored Sawyer and Mason. They had amazing chemistry from their adorable meet-cute all the way to the final page. Sawyer was complex and a little chaotic but mixed with cinnamon roll Mason, they were the perfect pair.

Fun, steamy and an absolute page-turner, I was hooked from the very first and couldn’t put it down. Unromance was a brilliant premise filled with all of the best romance tropes that we all know and love with witty dialogue and swoonworthy romance.

I cannot wait to read more from this author.

I like the idea for this story, which puts a contemporary and diverse twist on classic romance tropes, often with hilarious results. Sawyer is a successful writer who experiences writer's block. Mason is in a regular show and longs to be more faithful to his artistic roots. I enjoyed the frequent humour and witty dialogue.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

4.5 stars
Unromance is a funny, steamy and absolutely brilliant romance novel. I thoroughly enjoyed myself while reading this one, eagerly turning the pages and kicking my feet at how cute Sawyer and Mason were together.

Firstly before I get into the review, I absolutely loved the different tropes/clichés at the beginning of every chapter. I honestly got such a kick out of reading them and loved every single one of them. Secondly, the tights scene, iykyk. I will never be the same.

I really liked Sawyer and Mason and loved their character development. Sawyer is a very chaotic character but you cannot help but love her. She's sassy, fierce and incredibly witty which I love in a main character. Her banter and connection with Mason was just perfect and I loved watching the two grow close and getting to see them both open up to each other. Mason is just the cutest Cinnamon roll that ever was and I adored him from the very beginning. He is such a hopeless romantic and I was absolutely here for it.

Overall an amazing debut romance novel that I really recommend picking up! I cannot wait to see what Erin Connors writes next!

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

This is sure to be a future classic.

Lovingly understands and explores romance tropes, a surefire hit for any fans of the genre.

This book is steamy, sexy and swoony.

So well written with fantastic characterisation. I'm very excited to see what comes next for this author.

I absolutely devoured this book, it loved that i had so many of my favourite tropes, it had me hooked.

The premise of this book was fantastic. I loved each chapter being a trope. The format was delicious!! I began my read hopefully and excited about the characters and their story.

However, it didn't feel like it really went anywhere for me. I struggled to make a connection with Sawyer. I always struggle with characters who are very privileged but can't see it. While I get she has issues she is working through, she's had a huge success at a young age and didn't seem to really acknowledge or be grateful for that, she was more just stuck in her own self-pity about what wasn't going well. Our MMC seemed like a decent guy, but I kind of struggled to see what they saw in each other. I felt they both lacked depth and I just didn't bond with either of them, so lost interest in their story. I felt in part this was also due to the third person narrative. I'm a sucker for dual POV, first person with romance. I always feel like it gets you in their heads and helps you understand the characters so much more easily, breaks down that wall.

Still giving this 2 stars as some of what I didn't like was probably just down to personal preference. I am a 40+ reader and this may be much more enjoyable for new adults, although I usually love YA and NA a lot. This just wasn't it for me.

DNF at 25%.