Review: Finding Mr. Write
When I heard that Kelley Armstrong was writing a rom com, I didn’t really care what it was about. I just knew I wanted to read it. Finding Mr. Write just released on June 25 and it’s a good choice for your light summer reading needs!
Here’s the book’s description:
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.
I’ll be honest (as usual). This will ultimately be a forgettable book. There just wasn’t enough oomph to the story for it to stick with me longer than the time it’ll take me to write this review. There were all the typical points you’d find in a romance (and I love knowing those points are coming) but none of them really stood out for me.
I struggled with getting to know the characters. And this is a rom com - I’m supposed to care enough about them to want to see them have their Happily Ever After so, yeah, I need to “know” them. Between the pretending and the lying and all of that, it was hard to get a sense of who Daphne and Chris were and why they were supposedly suited as a couple. It didn’t help that they didn’t TALK to each other about important (or unimportant) things. It wasn’t miscommunication. It was NO communication.
Speaking of the pretending and lying…I still don’t understand why Chris felt like he had to put on an act for Daphne. She was hiring an actor. She would have assumed that the guy she was paying to act like a man’s man author may not actually be a man’s man author. It seemed like such a weird decision and led to a bunch of conflict that was not necessary.
I loved that Armstrong chose to have her heroine live in the Yukon (and, no, it’s not quite the same setting as readers of her Rockton series would know…) My sister spent three summers up there and it seemed so beautiful. It was nice to get a little glimpse into what life is actually like living in the territory (grizzly bears and all). I also appreciated the bookish nature of the story - the writing, panels, book signings. Always fun to find book nerds in books!
Perhaps ironically, I think Kelley Armstrong’s name will help Finding Mr. Write do better than it would have done if it was written by a debut or little known author. It was a fine enough romance but it left a lot to be desired and it won’t be a story that will stay with me. I know this review is a bit more negative than positive so you’re probably wondering, is it still worth a read? I think so - especially if you’re a romance reader. Just keep your expectations a little lower than mine were.
*An egalley of this novel was provided by HBG Canada via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*