This truly felt like a love letter to romance! The message sometimes felt a little heavy-handed, but there’s some genuinely insightful commentary on the genre, particularly the stigma surrounding it. And dare I say, I actually enjoyed all the pop culture references. They really worked for me here!

Sophie, a primary school teacher by day, is hiding a big secret from nearly everyone around her: she’s the mega-successful, renowned romance author Este Cox. While it was frustrating to see Sophie unable to own her secret, I completely understood her hesitation. For one, her judgemental parents work within the book industry. But not just that—many look down on romance entirely.

When Sophie meets Joe, an arrogant marketing director who unknowingly criticizes her work, it is obviously hate at first sight. It was a little jarring sometimes how quickly they'd flip between arguing and flirting, but once Joe steps up to help Sophie in a big way, I was all in. The building sexual tension was especially good. The timeline is technically fast (spanning just a weekend, if I'm remembering correctly), but it somehow didn’t feel rushed, even with the juicy third-act conflict. A true sign that the chemistry was on point and believable!

(heat level: a few open-door scenes, mild to moderate details)