Title: Finding Mr. Write
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Adult Romance
Publication Date: Jun 25, 2024
Publisher: Forever
GoodReads
Synopsis:
Daphne McFadden already knows that as a female author, the cards are stacked against her. Now she knows just how much. Because her sudden whim to pose as an “outdoorsy hunk of masculinity” male author for her new book just resulted in the a bidding war, a huge book deal, and the kind of fame every author dreams of. Now she’s in big trouble. Because she needs to convince the world that Zane Remington actually exists . . . but how? By hiring an actor, of course. Only Chris Stanton is not an actor—not officially. He’s used to balancing the books, not pretending he wrote one. Still, he’s mostly certain he can pose as some overly macho bro-author. But when the media descend on Daphne’s gorgeous remote home in the Yukon, it’s not enough for Chris to just be the face of Zane Remington—he’ll have to become him. All while hilariously balancing the terrifying dangers of the wilderness, a massive femme fandom, and a serious crush on Daphne. But as the hype circus gets more out of control, it’s just a matter of time before someone discovers their little write lie…
Review:
As a long-time follower of Kelley Armstrong, I love how much of herself she put into this story. I also love how it had all the signature Kelley Armstrong features, like a green-flag (mostly) love interest, good humour, and all the romantic tension.
You’d never know that this is Kelley’s first foray into adult romance. With the easy dialogue and the humour, it’s classic Kelley, just without all the fantastical elements that usually surround her characters (though the author still wrote a zombie book, so that counts, right?). I flew through it quickly and I thoroughly enjoyed the overall story. The humour and commentary mix well, and I loved how everything played out.
This book reminds me a bit of Yellowface in its social commentary. A dash of “who’s allowed to write a story,” but also “how far would you go to be published?” Of course, this book is much lighter and taken from a Caucasian woman’s POV, but I liked how it called into question the biases that still exist in publishing and reading. Definitely something that needs to be examined on all sides.
Let’s talk about the characters, though, shall we? I feel like the relationships were the weakest points for me. I thought Chris fell too fast, the secondary characters (Daphne’s bestie Nia and Chris’s sister Gemma) felt very one tone and not developed at all (which was surprising for a Kelley book), and I felt more camaraderie with their very stressed publicist than any of their personal connections. I did end up loving Chris and Daphne together, and I appreciated how Gemma came through in the end, but I wanted a bit more depth from everyone involved and was very disappointed I didn’t get it.
Also, for the spicy romance girlies, this book is mostly fade-to-black. Given some of her other books, I was surprised, but the tension is still there and I loved the two of them together (though the number of times they get interrupted is wild).
Like I said, it’s a Kelley book, and I’m obviously going to love it, but I know that she has and will write stronger relationships and characters with so much more depth and I felt like that was the missing heart of this book. That being said, if you’re looking for a fun rom-com, that is what you’ll get. It’s the knowledge of her backlist that kind of brought this one down for me.
TW: vomit, sexism, sexual content; mentions drug abuse
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Pacing: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
GoodReads Rating: 4/5
eARC gifted via NetGalley by Forever in exchange for an honest review.
Between Printed Pages 