I thoroughly enjoyed this trip to northern UK and the idea of a brilliant academic trying to repair a hilariously bad adaptation of a revered Jane Austen-esque novel while the hunky and beleaguered director thwarts her at every turn.

Jess experienced the worst kind of betrayal by her doctoral mentor turned boyfriend. Rather than attempt to report the situation to the board of regents, she accepts a script supervisorship several hours away from her small university. It will at least cover her bills for the duration and give her some much needed time away to lock her wounds and avoid her clueless overbearing parents who make Elizabeth Bennett's mother and father look positively normal by comparison.

Jess immediately butts heads with the director who sees the potential epic failure of the project to be a serious blight on his philandering - and absent - ex-wife’s attempted departure from acting to screenwriting. But Jess is discovering her voice and her spine, and she will not sit back and allow the misguided and coolly magnetic Nathan to make a mockery of the author on whom Jess defended a glorious thesis.

Along the way, however, the pair become drawn to each other in a delicious slow burn romance but will their baggage keep them from reaching for happiness?

I was fortunate to have received an advance reader copy from NetGalley, and I’m happy to share my honest review.

There is a lot about this I enjoyed but I didn't love it. The initial issue and frustration between the two was resolved so quickly that it made the rest of the book feel a too slow.

A cute book though and I loved Jess' character growth.

Thank you NetGalley & Embla Books for this ARC!

Overall, the book was fine. The beginning of the book was strong and I couldn't help but feel for Jess. I was rooting for her the entire time. Our secondary characters, her best friends, were great and added a perfect balance to the story. I like the foundations of the story, but as the book went on I struggled with the relationship between Nathan and Jess. For most of the book, all we really see is their physical connection. We don't get nearly enough emotional attraction. It was hard to understand them as a couple. There was a ALOT of dialogue and over explanation of feelings, to the point where my eyes felt like they were glazing over.

This book will be a quick read and enjoyable.

Jess is an academic whose cheating professor boyfriend is stealing her work. When Jess catches her boyfriend with another student, she leaves the academic world for the film world. There she meets Nathan, whose ex wife wrote the script of the latest show he (and now Jess) are working on together.
Overall this is a sweet romance with a slow burn! Jess and Nathan had interesting backgrounds, which the author told very well. The different locations featured were intertwined within the story well.

Thank you Embla Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. Love Off Script by Laura Starkey is a charming and heartwarming romantic comedy that explores the magic of love and second chances. The story follows a woman navigating her personal and professional life while dealing with the ups and downs of relationships. Starkey’s writing is witty and relatable, with well-developed characters and a sweet, feel-good romance. The plot is fun and light, making it an enjoyable read for fans of contemporary romance. Overall, Love Off Script is a delightful and uplifting story perfect for anyone who enjoys heartwarming love stories.

It's a 3.5/5

Loved the writing and the setting overall! The dynamics between Jess and her parents was wonderfully set up, and each of the characters were very well fleshed out.

The premise was also unique! This is why it was partly frustrating that it sort of gets resolved too quickly, IMO! There was a lot of potential to play with the initial premise- Nathan's goal is to work with a lackluster script for a main reason! Going in, I thought that would the whole crux of the story, however sadly that wasn't the case.

I liked the tension between the two characters. For the most part, it seemed like there was mutual physical attraction between them but I really didn't feel the romance develop between the two. Also, there was a lot of tell and less "show", with respect to their internal conflicts, how they feel about each other etc.

Lovely side characters, including Jess's friends!

I like the author's writing style and although this book wasn't my absolute favorite of hers, I do look forward to reading her next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#LoveOffScript, #NetGalley

Absolutely brilliant! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending it.

Love Off Script is a fun, yet somewhat predictable, rom-com by Laura Starkey. It immediately pulled me in and I easily finished it in a lazy afternoon/evening. While not a deep, thought-provoking read, it was enjoyable and satisfying. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

I was so excited to read this based on the description, but it just didn’t meet my expectations. I found it really slow and repetitive and felt like every other romance I’ve read. I also hate the miscommunication trope 😭

I was excited to pick up Love Off Script after really enjoying another book by Laura Starkey, but this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The premise had so much potential—academic drama, a fresh start in the TV world, and a romance filled with tension. And to be fair, the beginning hooked me right away! Jess’s situation was messy and compelling, and I was eager to see her navigate the world of script consulting.

But somewhere along the way, the story lost its spark. While the banter between Jess and Nathan had its moments, I never fully connected with their romance. The chemistry felt more forced than natural at times, and the plot started to drag rather than build. I kept waiting for something to reignite my interest, but it just didn’t happen.

That said, I can see why other readers loved it. Starkey’s writing is engaging, and if you enjoy a slow-burn romance with a bit of Hollywood drama, this might work better for you than it did for me. Unfortunately, I just didn’t feel that same magic this time around.

First book I’ve read by this author, but it won’t be the last. A lovely romantic tale of two bruised and broken people who find joy in themselves and in each other as they collaborate on a book collaboration.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable read and emotionally satisfying. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this book, in fact I read it all in a day in the end because I just kept wanting to find out what had happened next! Jess was a FABULOUS character, so likeable and with great friends- I immediately warmed to her and was rooting for her new job to be a success. Nathan was also very charming and likeable and in no time I was longing for them both to do something about their feelings for each other. The setting of the tv show filming was really interesting and provided a great backdrop to the story and the complexities of wider relationships, such as Jess's awful parents and Miranda and the Jonathan story line proved fascinating and made this a much deeper story than you might expect from the cover- it really was a super read, thank you!

Wow. Absolutely wow. Having the fortune to read this book would be an understatement to how much I adored this book. I love how Jess grows into this strong and empowered woman; how she doesn't lose herself in her relationship, but actually grows and prospers into a better version of herself. Bringing up mental health, finding help, cutting off those who don't deserve to be in your life, and making such big changes even though they seem scary, make this book all the better. Laura did a brilliant job bringing these two characters to life, and this is definitely one of those books I will be picking up a copy and rereading in the future, because I 100% enjoyed my read.

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

📖 Love Off Script 📖
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.💫

“Story-obsessed from as far back as she could remember, she had always been fascinated by the idea of love as a feeling so powerful that it blurred the line between literal and metaphorical experiences.”

This contemporary romantic comedy follows Jess, who faces a shocking betrayal that leaves her romantically and professionally stranded. In a bid to start over, she takes up a job as a script consultant, swapping the world of academia for the glamour of TV. Jess is assigned to work on an adaptation of "Anne of Arden", a novel she adores and wrote her thesis about. The only problem is the director, Nathan, who Jess can’t seem to help but clash with on everything.

This is a delightful workplace romantic comedy that will keep you entertained from start to finish, I couldn’t stop reading and laughing and rooting for Jess. Also loved her bestie Vix, I also have a bestie Vix and she reminded me so much of her in her wise advice and fierce protection of Jess. All the characters had really well developed personalities and voices and the story itself was sweet and heartwarming, I definitely recommend for romance lovers.

I enjoyed reading this book! It’s a romance story between a screenwriter and a director.

This is Jess’ first tv project as she is called in to help pick up the pieces of a book adaptation that is going horribly wrong. She just so happens to be the perfect person for this project as she is previously a literature academic who knows the words to this book inside and out. She is happy to jump in & help as her relationship with another professor goes up in flames.

The only problem is Nathan, the director, who knows his project is going terribly wrong but for him that means it is going exactly as he had planned. He is going through a divorce from his movie star wife who cheated on him before writing this screenplay & leaving him to direct it. In his mind, what is better revenge than her last project being a complete disaster?

What Nathan didn’t plan for was falling for the screenwriter sent in to wreck all of his plans for this tv series. Working together, they both start to find confidence in themselves and work through the insecurities each of them had brought into this project. I found this story compelling, but a little too insta love for me without before able to fully fall for them as a couple myself.

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.