NORA GOES OFF SCRIPT

This delightful rom-com was such a sweet addition to my summer book stack! Nora is a romance screenwriter and single mom, whose home is the set for a film she wrote about the end of her marriage. When Leo, the movie’s handsome megastar, decides to rent her charming backyard tea house after the filming wraps, Nora’s carefully structured life is upended in the best possible ways. But is Nora opening herself up to inevitable disappointment, just so that Leo can have a peaceful respite from Hollywood? Can she risk seeing her kids’ hearts broken - again?

Sometimes a little romance is the perfect cure for a book hangover (thanks, Tomorrow x3)! This novel was a casual poolside pick-me-up, until halfway through when I could not put my kindle down, three quarters in when I bought the hardcover just to own the physical copy, and the last ten perfect when I found myself crying a little on an airplane at the ending - what? Who am I?! The book cleverly contrasts Nora's pretend TV romances with the authentic romance of listening unselfishly and putting another person first. I also loved how it flipped the typical rom-com fantasy of fame by glamorizing Leo’s newfound wonder in the mundane, like grocery shopping and hardware store errands. This is a super fun summer read for fans of Evvie Drake Starts Over, which was equally adorable. A great addition to any August beach bag, even if you are a reluctant rom-com reader like me!*

Nora’s slightly formulaic, fill-in-the-blank style screenplays always seem to end with a cupcake cafe for the heroine. Here I tried to bring to life the fictional, fluffy cupcakes that I imagined Nora’s characters might bake - or are they the ones Leo buys from Cupcake Castle in SoHo? So many cupcakes in this book, and this was a fun fantasy/reality mash up paired with tea for Nora’s tea house. I had honestly planned to make Leo’s roast chicken, but it was just too hot for chicken roasting. Leo, I owe ya one!