A sweet rom com with a cute but somewhat predictable plot line! I enjoyed the premise of this book and thought it was paced nicely! There was some great growth for Jess learning to stand up for herself and the backstory to understand why Nathan and Jess behaved as they did was fab! I did think they read as much younger than established professionals though which did detract a little for me! Nevertheless I did enjoy reading this and it was a great palate cleanser due to its lighthearted easy style.

Overall 3.5 stars 🌟 probably won’t stick with me but an enjoyable read nonetheless

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

I couldn’t wait to start this after loving Laura Starkey’s last novel The Spare Room.
Jess is having a bad time after being cheated on so decides the best thing to do is have a fresh start. She accepts a job working on Anne of Arden and begins work with director Nathan. There is an instant chemistry between them and I enjoyed how this played out.
Jess and Nathan were both great characters and I also loved Jess’s friends.
A great romantic read with a good side plot and great characters.
Thanks to NetGalley, Laura Starkey and Embla Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I was pleasantly surprised with this book! It was a good read that caught me from the start. I liked the way the book was laid out and it was a unique plot that left you unsure of where it would go. At times it got a bit too crude for me, and I could do without a lot of the language, but it was easy to skip over and continue with the story. I’d definitely recommend it to fans of feel good romance.

I really enjoyed the premise and characters, but felt like the writing was kind of clunky. I think there was a flow that was missing from the start that made me struggle to really get invested. It also felt kind of heavy-handed on telling me what the character was like or felt rather than showing it to me,

Overall still a cute read. This wasn’t my favorite, but I’d try another book by this author!

First book I've read by this author.
Jess is Ph.d who discovers her lover ( aka one of her academic mentors) cheating on her. She takes a job as a script consultant on a movie based on her favorite book and one she knows more about than any other academic.
Nathan is the director. You can figure out what happens here.
Tropes WORkplace romance/ he falls first/female empowerment arc/ badboy past.
there was a lot of dialogue and explaining in the book to the point I sometimes just skipped pages. I did go back to them at other times to read them because to give a review I need to assure that I've read the entire book.
The writing was good, the pacing a bit slow. The side characters fell into two groups: the horrible and the fabulous.
Fabulous" Jess's friends VIx and Ben; Phillipa the producer, Ben, Nate's bestie
The horrible: Jess's ex - Jonathan ( total douchebag) her parents ( something was really wrong with them)
All in all a pleasant read.

I really really liked this book. Laura Starkey is a new author to me but the cover caught my attention and I'm so glad that it did! Love off script is a wonderful story that follows Jess as her life changes after catching her emotionally abusive boyfriend cheating. She picks up the pieces and takes a new job consulting on the script of a TV adaption of the book that she's built her career around. The director Nathan has a plot for revenge and a troubled psst that makes it hard to let Jess do her job let alone past his walls.

I enjoyed the parallels between Jess and Nathan's relationship and the story the are filming, the complicated relationship Jess has with her parents and the development of the two main characters throughout the book. It started a bit slow for me and I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it, but it got me hooked and I spent hours straight reading the last half. Not normally a fan of third person but this is done well and was still engaging.

4⭐

Very mild language, one open door scene in chapter 23.

This book was so good! I really loved the characters and how well developed they were! I enjoyed reading their story!

I adored this book! Having previously read The Spare Room by Laura Starkey, I knew instantly that I would love this book. I loved the relationships between Jess and Nathan and their personal stories and how they came out stronger in the end. This message of personal growth was exceptionally delivered and very inspiring. I would recommend this book to readers who love lighthearted romance with heartwarming main characters who both overcome their own struggles.

Thank you to net galley, Laura Starkey and the publisher for allowing me to receive an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely looooved this!!! I read it through the night and couldn't put it down until like 3am. Obsessed!

Love Off Script by Laura Starkey

Laura Starkey is fast becoming one of my go-to authors for contemporary romance. After The Spare Room completely won me over, I was delighted to get my hands on this one—and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

The Setup 🎭

Jess, a brilliant academic (emphasis on brilliant), has been both professionally and emotionally betrayed. In an attempt to move forward, she throws herself into a passion project: adapting one of her favourite classic novels into a screenplay. The author she’s adapting is a fictional Jane Austen-esque figure, and Jess knows this world inside out.

Enter Nathan. A successful director—but of gritty crime dramas, not delicate period pieces. He’s all action sequences and car chases, and Jess immediately clocks him as indifferent (at best) and actively sabotaging the project (at worst). Cue friction. Sparks. And eventual undeniable chemistry.

But, of course, both Jess and Nathan are carrying some serious emotional baggage—self-doubt, past betrayals, and a tragic inability to see how great they are together.

What I liked

• Sharp, witty writing – Starkey’s prose is equal parts smart and so much fun.

• Jess and Nathan’s dynamic – A perfect mix of humour, pining, and mutual admiration (once they get past the initial obstacles).

• Fantastic supporting cast – Their friends? Delightful. The actors on the show? Love them. Their ex-partners & Jess’s parents? Heinous in every way.

• Romance with depth – The story isn’t just about them falling in love; it’s about healing, self-worth, and taking a chance.

Final Thoughts ❤️

This was sweet, funny, emotional, and just the right amount of spicy. And the finale? All. The. Feels.

A solid 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 because it gave me exactly what I wanted—a swoon-worthy romance with heart, humour, and a charming leading couple you can’t help but root for.

(Huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.)

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

Wow!! What a great book!! This one was a page turner! Had me hooked from the first page! This was a first for me by this author but will not be my last. I enjoyed the plot, characters and the writing style!!

I have read all of Laura Starkey’s books, and I think this might be my favourite!

- Enemies to lovers, check
- Slow burn, check
- Forced proximity (working together), check

All my favourite tropes came together expertly in this charming romantic comedy. I loved Jess’ character development, mirroring that of her own favourite romantic heroine, and the leading man was *chefs kiss*

Starkey fans - look out for some familiar characters and locations which I’m sure you’ll be excited to see!

3.5 stars
This was the first novel I have read by this author. I enjoyed the premise of the book. Jess, scorned by a co-worker, is given a job opportunity to re-work a screenplay for a regency romance tv series. Enter Nathan, a grumpy director who seems bent on making sure the series fails. It is a "rivals to lovers" trope which I adore. I liked how Jess’ character grows throughout the book and stands up for herself - it was a long time coming especially with her meddling parents.

That said, I did find myself a little worn out by so much dialogue, ie so much explaining their feelings.. There were a lot of moments where characters kept going back and forth, declaring feelings, then denying them, then declaring them again. The back-and-forth felt drawn out and unnecessary to do so many times.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

What a great five-star read that flows off the page so well. This one started a little off, but then a couple of chapters in and I was hooked, I really enjoyed getting to know Jess and her passion for the story. Nathan took me a little time to warm up to, but honestly once I got to know him and understand where he is coming from, you really warm to him and know that he truly just wants to do the best. Jess and Nathan felt real to me; they both had that depth to them that made you adore them, as well as throwing the baddie Johnathon and you have a clear winner, it’s not an insta romance, but that adds another layer of depth that pulls you into the story.

I loved this incredibly charming book! In “Love Off Script,” we met Jess, an English lit PhD who knows writer Georgiana Scott's work better than anyone. This is great for her boyfriend, Jonathan, 18 years her senior, who also works in her university’s English department and just got to put his name on Jess’ research proposal (he’s more established, he reasoned). Not only is he stealing her work, and he is also a cheater. So when Jess catches him with an undergrad student, she isn’t sure what's next for her. Wanting to get as far away from Jonathan as possible, she accepts a job as a script consultant on a TV adaptation of a Georgiana Scott novel.

Soon she meets the director, Nathan. This TV adaptation’s script is not only bad but was also written by Nathan’s ex-wife and he desperately wants to keep it as bad as possible. Nathan and Jess clash as they try to navigate their way through this production, soon realizing that their clashing is turning into chemistry that neither one is sure how to navigate. Will their journey parallel a Georgiana Scott novel with a Happy Ever After or will they come to an end?

I found both Jess and Nathan to both be super charming. Their characters had flaws but their histories were well explained and well crafted so that their flaws made sense and made you want to root for both of them. I also appreciated how much growth Jess’s character experienced. In the beginning her character is introverted and she and some others see that as a weakness but it was really great to see her come own by she accepted who she was and that was really badass to read.

This is definitely a slow burn romance which I love. At one point, I wished there was just one less back and forth between the two of them because even though I understood why each character felt and acted how they did, I selfishly wanted to see more of them together. Overall though, I really enjoyed this story and will definitely read more of Laura Starkey’s work!

Thank you Embla Books and NetGalley for providing this eARC! All opinions are my own.

The chemistry is fantastic. This grumpy/sunshine romance is a well done and I just really enjoyed it.

4 stars. The chemistry and banter make this book. The flow and pacing was great. I wanted to keep on reading! Everything I look for in a rom-com!

It was a nice love story. It is light, funny and full of emotions. Jess is genuine and sweet. I loved seeing her growing through the book.

Oh, what a great story! Jess, an academic and expert on a Jane Austen type writer's works, stumbles upon her boyfriend and fellow academic in the throes of passion. Reeling from her life being turned upside down she pivots to be a script consultant on a television version of her favorite novel. Here she meets bad boy director Nathan, and it's love at first coffee spill. However, things aren't as they seem where she quickly discovers how prickly Nathan can be. In a story where Jess fights for her passion in the work and battles with Nathan, they find their way to love each other along a long and bumpy road.

This grumpy/sunshine was such a delight to read even though the story took liberties on how television shows are made.

Loved this!!! I love a rom com and this hit the spot. The characters are likeable and relatable with chemistry sizzling between them. I loved the storyline and it was written beautifully.