This had everything I want in a romance book - and more!
When Sawyer Greene, a bestselling romance author, is not a romantic. She is struggling to write her next book after a breakup with her college girlfriend when she meets Mason, a handsome stranger, who she gets stuck in an elevator with. For Sawyer, this is not the meet-cute that every romance novel would make it out to be, but a chance encounter with a charming man that she will have a one-night stand with and never see again. Until she runs into him again at a Christmas market and the pair end up with a deal neither of them can say no to.
Erin Conner's debut novel, Unramance, is the perfect romance. This has easily been a 5 star book for me from the very beginning. I loved the premise of this, an author and an actor, having a one-night stand turns romance. Sawyers character was so well written, she is witty, funny and relatable. And Mason's character was the most charming male character I have ever read about without being unrealistic or two-dimensional.
The way the book was set up was very original and special, rom-com clichés and romance tropes starting each chapter. There was such a good mix of romance and spice, and it worked perfectly for this novel. The tension and banter between the two characters was probably my favourite part, you could feel their connection off the page and they just made sense together.
I also especially loved that the writing and acting was a big part of the book. After all, their jobs were the reasons for making their deal in the first place, but it added a lot of depth to the characters.|
If you love this, you will love this book:
- Grumpy x sunshine (but the guy is the sunshine)
- Famous boyfriend
- Stuck in an elevator meet-cute
- One-night stand to lovers

Thank you peeps at NetGalley and HQ for allowing me to read this in advance!

What a lovely rom-com, so light-hearted but with a sprinkle of reality here and there. It was so fun to read about these characters, only downside was the third act breakup (when we already had one, really) but that’s a me problem as I’m not a fan of those (who is anyway?) just give me the happy ever after and let’s go!!!
But overall a really good rom-com that will end up in my “to suggest” pile for me friends, Erin Connor has a new fan

This story is a delightful exploration of opposites attracting, with a prickly romance writer and a hopelessly romantic actor finding unexpected love amid their plan to ruin classic romance tropes. The dynamic between Sawyer Greene, the chaotic and cynical romance author, and Mason, the cinnamon roll actor with a heart of gold, creates a balance of tension, humor, and heartfelt connection that makes this book impossible to put down.

From their initial meet-cute in a stuck elevator to their evolving relationship, the chemistry between these two leaps off the page. The narrative cleverly plays with classic romantic tropes—“just to get it out of our system,” strangers to lovers, and the timeless “we won’t catch feelings” clause—only to subvert them with fresh, witty writing and character growth. The Christmas market setting adds an extra layer of charm, evoking all the cozy vibes of a Hallmark holiday movie while maintaining a modern, relatable edge.

Mason, as the quintessential hopeless romantic, is easy to adore. His vulnerability and warmth contrast beautifully with Sawyer’s sharp edges and initial emotional resistance. Watching Sawyer gradually open her heart to him, despite her fears and cynicism, is deeply satisfying. Her imperfections and guarded nature make her a relatable and compelling heroine, especially for readers who appreciate complex female characters.

The story also benefits from realistic portrayals of the writing and acting professions, adding depth and authenticity to the characters’ lives. The banter and steamy tension are pitch-perfect, striking a balance between humor and emotion. Representation, including Sawyer’s bisexuality, is seamlessly woven into the narrative, making the story feel inclusive and resonant.

Tropes:

💗 One-night stand to strangers to lovers to idiots to lovers
💗 A stuck-in-an-elevator meet-cute
💗 Bi representation and LGBTQ+ inclusivity
💗 A festive Christmas market setting
💗 Sharp banter, sizzling chemistry, and emotional depth

This book is a perfect blend of humor, holiday cheer, and romance with a hint of chaos. It’s a must-read for fans of enemies-to-lovers arcs, prickly protagonists, and unapologetically sweet love stories that prove even the most cynical hearts can find their happily-ever-after.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Sawyer Greene is a writer struggling with writer's block. So when she gets stuck in an elevator with hopeless romantic actor Mason West, she finds herself with a unique opportunity to help both of their careers.

I liked the book; it was dual POV and it picked up 30% of the way through. I liked the FMC, Sawyer; she was funny and charming, and I loved her romantic gesture at the end; it worked with her character arc. Given both her family and romantic history, I could see why she was the way she was, so I think her change at the end didn't seem rushed as much as it was underdeveloped. I liked Mason; I felt bad for him throughout the book, not just because of his mother, but sometimes I felt like he was getting the short end of the stick with Sawyer, which kind of sucked. I could see their romantic chemistry, and their working through their unromance list was cute. I liked the tropes at the beginning of each chapter; it worked for the book and me.

I didn't care for the third-act breakup; it is not something I particularly enjoy, and their argument did not seem to warrant it.

All in all, I enjoyed this book; I would recommend it to someone who enjoys spicy romance books with a bi-writer FMC, a hopeless romantic actor MMC, friends with benefits, and Christmas time feels.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was the perfect book to start the holiday season even though it’s not a Holiday book, there were elements
I find the idea of unromance genius, a girl who lost all her beliefs when it comes to love, an an actor who can’t understand why he can’t stay long in a committed relationship.
Their meet cute was so on point with the whole plot of the book and i love seeing more MMC who fall first for the FMC in an absolute sucker for this
If you are looking for a cute romcom type romance book then you have to definitely read this one 🥹
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

I loved this story. It's romantic, funny, flirty, it's got your tropes, but it's also got characters with personality to them. I love that Mason is the hopeless romantic, that he has such a big heart and wants to make grand gestures all the time. What's even better is that for once it's nice to read about a guy falling in love, doing all the romantic things but still not finding real love.

Sawyer is your black cat, stubborn and determined not to believe in love. Her battle to salvage her career and focus solely on it is such a real depiction of writer's block — of missing dates and events because once you find the flow in writing, you don't want to stop. There's a metaphor that Erin Connor wrote about juggling balls and not knowing which are glass and might shatter and which are plastic and will bounceback. That struck true to me and I've not stopped thinking about that idea.

I think what makes this book stand out is that it's quite reflective, we see deeply into who Mason and Sawyer are at their core. We come to understand their beliefs, why they are the way they are, how they change. Sawyer and Mason's outward personalities are opposites in every way, making them so perfectly compatible with one another because they fill each other's gaps. Deep down, both characters were more alike than they realised.

This was such a perfect winter read and ideal for anyone who loves messy characters. Yes, it has its clichés, but what romance doesn't? Clichés are what they are because people love them. I love them.

This was such an amazing book!! I loved it🥰

As soon as I read this book’s description and I was obsessed and it didn’t disappoint! I loved Sawyer and Mason so much. Their chemistry was so clear from the start and seeing them get to know each other and really connect was so beautiful.

I loved Sawyer’s bubbly personality and how funny she could be. And Mason was such a sweetheart - I love him so much and am so glad he finally found the happy ending he’d been looking for. He was also her biggest cheerleader and I loved that!

Both of them has issues they needed to work through and I loved that while their relationship was what ultimately led them to seek answers and try to understand themselves better, they did it outside of the relationship itself.

Overall, this book is perfect for any romance and romcom lover!!

3.5 stars rounded up

Unromance follows Sawyer Greene, a bestselling romance author who is done with romance. After dealing with heartbreak, she is struggling to finish her next book, and the deadline is fast approaching. When she meets Mason West - a hopeless romantic who has a habit of falling in love with all the wrong people - they decide to make a deal. To cure him of his hopeless romanticism, and her of her writer’s block, Sawyer will become the romcom love interest of Mason’s dreams and ruin romance for him one trope at a time. There’s just one rule: don’t fall in love.

This book felt like a love letter to the romance genre. I love reading books about people that love books, and it was so fun to see the cliché tropes play out. However, I expected there to be more dates. At around the 60% mark, we are done with the dates, and the book started to drag a little for me.

As for the characters, Mason is your typical cinnamon roll, golden retriever MMC. While I did like him and found his hopeless romanticism endearing, he didn’t feel fully developed. He was a little too “nice” for me, and I would have loved to have seen some of his flaws. Sawyer felt more developed, and I loved her humour. While I completely understood why she had sworn off romance and why she was scared of getting close to people, I found the way she sometimes treated Mason to be troubling. I also couldn’t really understand WHY (aside from Sawyer’s fear of commitment) they couldn’t be together. The reason felt a little flimsy to me.

The main characters seemed to balance each other out nicely, and I enjoyed their banter. The spice scenes were very well done, especially the tights scene (IYKYK!).

Although the third-act breakup annoyed me a little, I thought the ending was very sweet, and I loved where the characters ended up. If you’re looking for a cute, fun romance with festive vibes and a black cat/golden retriever couple, I think you could really enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Firstly, thanks to Net Gallery for this ARC with an exchange of my honestly review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Level: 2/5

I really struggled to finish this book and considered for so long to whether DNF this book or not but I pushed through. I really enjoyed the concept of this book and I honestly really like Mason. He was so open and honest and he knows exactly how he feels when he feels is and puts it into words. I love that about him.

I love the wee definition of the tropes in the beginning of each chapter. Honestly so so cute especially at the end when the definition became Mason and Swayer

✔️ he falls first
✔️ secret identity
✔️ bisexual fmc

📼📻🎬📖

Maybe it's just me but I didn't feel any chemistry between Swayer and Mason at all. Sure they went on a couple cute "dates" but I feel like they're just on two different wavelengths. Swayer is so energetic and Mason is so mellow. Swayer makes jokes as a defence mechanism and Mason just accepts it? Ugh I just don't feel the chemistry between them which is a shame. They're such opposites

📼📻🎬📖

Loved this one! A great homage to romance novels and the tropes that we love. This was a super strong debut and the chemistry between the two MCs was so so hot. Open door spice and really well done. Will look forward to more from Erin Connor in the future!

Unromance by Erin Conner was a sheer joy to read. It’s one of those glorious knowing contemporary rom coms that reveals in exploring all the tropes we know and love. I couldn’t put this one down.

Unromance is Sawyer and Mason’s story. Romance novelist Sawyer is herself done with romance, having been left with nothing but bitterness and heartbreak. Though she still does need to finish her latest novel. Meanwhile Mason is a hopeless romantic who cannot seem to keep ahold of love. 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. They just need to make sure they absolutely don’t fall in love…

There is just so much to love about this one, I’m going to try and go for a list:
🩺 we have two brilliant MCs that are the perfect mix of grumpy/sunshine and balance each other so well
📖 the duel POV is perfection and allows us to get so close to our MCs
🩺 the flirty banter between the MCs is perfection
📖 the TROPES - gosh I love when books acknowledge the tropes and play around with them. Sawyer and Mason’s trope filled list and escapades was so much fun!
🩺 he falls first - Mason is such a sweetie and is trying so hard not to rush but our man loves hard!
📖 brilliant inclusive LGBTQ representation within and throughout the novel
🩺 I adored the chapter leads that pointed out in the best way where things were heading
📖 brilliant chemistry between our MCs that leads to some tender, and steamy moments
🩺 some great holiday moments including Christmas and New Years
📖 grand gestures!!

Honestly I adored this one and would thoroughly recommend it. It’s such a fun and heartwarming read; I loved it.

Unromance was quite a fun read. Trope-filled but still an enjoyable read. It made a nice change to see a romance book not using fake dating or enemies to lovers like most of what seems to be around these days.

I absolutely love reading books that feel like a love letter to their genre, and UNROMANCE falls into that category, with heroine Sawyer a disillusioned romance writer trying to find a spark that will get her to write her (already very late) next manuscript. When she meets hopeless romantic but recently broken up with Mason in an elevator meet-cute, they decide to try ruining all sorts of romance tropes. For Sawyer, it’s inspiration — for Mason, it’s a workshop in not falling for people so quickly. The only two rules: 1) No feelings, and 2) No sex allowed.

Yeah, sure ;)

This story was a whirlwind that pulled me right in. Sawyer and Mason have SUCH GREAT chemistry; I loved the banter they had with each other but also the situations with their closest friends. I’m not easily convinced by dual POV, but here the arcs of each character was so well developed and the POV switches employed perfectly that it had me turning the pages. Bonus points for also packing great spice (which hit right when I was on the train, so bonus points for me, too, for keeping a poker face), and the perfect emotional blend of funny scenes and deeper soul-searching ones.

Put this one on your lists, please, it was so good I swear!! It’s out in mid-January!


** Thank you to HQ and Netgalley for the arc.

3.75 stars from me. As much as I enjoyed Mason being a cinnamon roll type of MMC, I felt like he was a bit two-dimensional and wanted there to be a bit more about him. When Mason and Sawyer were good, I enjoyed the writing, and when they weren't, it seemed to drag for me. The concept was cool, the chapter headings were fun. Also I found the timeline hard to get my head around - from the beginning of the book I got the impression the timeline was one way and then halfway through it felt different - I was confused at how weeks had apparently passed but it had been less than a week in reality for example.

All that being said, I did enjoy Mason and Sawyer getting their HEA, even if it was sort of predictable from pretty much the beginning!

Ergh. God. I wanted to make this book last longer and speed through it at the same time. It’s so lovely reading a book with a man who can express their love for love as we don’t get this a lot. But Mason, please, never change.

Sawyer and Mason were everything I love in a romance. Brilliant chemistry, flawless banter and a love that developed naturally whilst trying to ruin romance for each other. It’s such a good plot that I fell into it with smiles and flappy feet.

This story has been on my TBR but that was purely for the cover, but as soon as I opened my kindle and fell into the story, I was so glad I judged this book cover. What a brilliant debut and welcome to my auto-buy list, Erin Connor.

She a best selling author with writers block . He’s a disillusioned soap star actor who always falls in love with his leading ladies. His current leading lady and former love interest and friend is engaged and leaving Soap.
Mason has a chance meeting when the are stuck in a lift and she doesn’t recognise home as the soap star and their story begins. A well written rom com meet cute Will they /wont. they succeed as they both carry baggage from previous relationships and life. Slow burn great characters feel good read . 4/5

A hopeless romantic Hollywood heart throb and a cynical romance author get stuck in an elevator together. Sparks fly (between them, the elevator is fine). When they run into each other again, they decide to help each other out: Sawyer will ruin romance tropes for Mason, and Mason will give her inspiration for her writing. They definitely won't fall in love or anything...

This was an adorable homage to all the romance tropes. Definitely on the fluffier side of the romance spectrum, and very cute! Sawyer and Mason make for an adorable couple, with all of the (sometimes inverted) tropes and a lil 🌶️🌶️. Honestly, there's not much for me to say: this book should absolutely be judged by it's cover. If you like the blurb, you'll like the book!

Many thanks to HQ and Netgalley for the eARC.

if you’re looking for ;
He Falls First
Perfect for Romance Lovers
Secret Identity
Opposites Attraxt
Sexy Puns w Holiday Vibes
Debut Author
a lil Spice
this one is for you!

So heart-warming… I loved… Hit all the feels and had me laughing out loud… Will propel you to your happy place. A must read!… Feel-good romance… Truly heart-warming… Such a cute read! I started and finished in one day – what can I say?

Thank you netgalley for supplying this ARC.. this review is my own and my honest opinion.

Tropes:
- Rom com
- He falls first
- Fake dating/not dating
- Pact/mission
- Hidden identity
- One night stand
- Cynic x helpless romantic

I freakin’ loved this!!! From the get go I was enraptured.

This book had me howling! And I absolutely adored how every chapter started.

It was refreshing for the MMC to be the helpless romantic, the relationship between Sawyer and Mason was just SUBLIME!! I will always be a sucker for a strong female lead.