One of My Favorite Authors Wrote a Rom-Com!

 

TITLE: Finding Mr. Write

AUTHOR: Kelley Armstrong

PUBLISHER: Forever

PUBLISHING DATE: June 25, 2024

PAGES: 368   

SOURCE: Own

FROM GOODREADS: A fun romantic comedy about a woman writing under a male pseudonym and the man she hires to play the role in public. 

Daphne McFadden is tired of rejection. After submitting her manuscript to dozens of agents, she's gotten rejection after rejection, and now it's time for something drastic. And so, Daphne submits her manuscript again… under a man's name.

Imagine her surprise when it sells for big money at an auction and soon becomes a publicity darling. Only she needs a man to play her super macho alter ego Zane Remington. Enter Chris Stanton, who absolutely looks the part of a survivalist and has a talent for pressing her piss‑me‑off‑I‑dare‑you buttons while somehow being endearing at the same time. But Chris has a few secrets of his own, including the fact that he’s really an accountant who has no idea how to chop wood or paddle a canoe. When Daphne's book becomes a bestselling sensation and they're forced to go on tour together, Daphne finds herself wondering if this city‑boy geek is exactly what she needs to push her to claim her dreams.

MY THOUGHTS: I've often joked that I have no idea how Kelley Armstrong writes so much.  It seems like she releases 4-5 books a year and across numerous genres - urban fantasy, mystery, historical mystery, horror and fantasy. But she had never written a rom-com - until now.  And guess what? I love this book as much as her others and I definitely must devour her backlist sometime in the future.  Although I know I've already read a bunch (running off to count...).  21, I've read 21 which makes her one of my most-read authors and for good reason.

Daphne is an architect who decided to move to the Yukon and pursue her dreams of writing a book following her mother's death.  Her book keeps getting rejected until she slaps a male name on it and to no one's surprise, it sells.  However, Daphne quickly realizes she needs an actual man to pull this off so she and her friend Nia, an attorney, hire a business acquaintance, Chris Stanton, desperately in need of a financial boost to "play" Zane Remington. Chris is nothing like Zane but pulls off the role, almost too well.  As he and Daphne grow closer despite starting off on the wrong foot, and some things happen which indicate Daphne may not be able to hold up the ruse for much longer, the reader is taken on a wild book tour ride with a few bumps here and there.  Is there something more than a business partnership written in the Yukon stars for Chris and Daphne?

I loved Chris and Daphne, and it was fun to watch the tension build as they slowly realized their initial impressions of each other weren't actually accurate. I also appreciated that it wasn't an insta-love situation although the romance did move kind of fast once they got past the initial "lust" phase.  It was enjoyable reading a novel set in the publishing world and to see Armstrong take on the subject of men being more respected in some genres than women (Daphne's book is a zombie survival tale). I also adored Tika, Daphne's dog, who plays a pretty significant role in this love story as well.

Armstrong has cemented herself as an auto-read author and has proven to me there really is no genre she can't excel in.  If you love her previous works, or if you are a romance reader looking for your next big read, look no further!

MY RATING: 5 Paws