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A review by beckykphillips
Unromance by Erin Connor
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Has the unrelenting nature of 2025 gotten you to a point where you need to dissociate from reality and maybe a rom-com will fix you? Well do I have the book for you.
Unromance follows Sawyer Green, a romance author with the worse case of writer's block, and Mason Alvarez, a deeply attractive actor who has gotten his heart broken too many times and needs to take a break from dating. Sawyer and Mason meet after getting stuck in an elevator together and have a one night stand so ridiculously excellent that they both can't get each other out of their heads. When they bump into each other at the Christkindlmarket in Chicago, they reconnect and agree to help each other with their respective problems. Sawyer is going to break every single rom-com trope in an effort to de-romanticize Mason, while Mason will do his best to help Sawyer rekindle her writing mojo through the trope parade. The list of tropes the book runs through is just a delight and runs from cutting down your own Christmas tree to a trip to the Schaumburg IKEA (love the geographical accuracy by the way) a la 100 Days of Summer.
Mason and Sawyer are wonderful characters, but they're also backed up by an excellent supporting cast including Luis, Mason's brother in law and personal trainer and Lily, Sawyer's best friend who calls her out on all her bullshit. The writing is fantastic and the characters feel absolutely real and work through all of their own issues throughout the novel. I also have to say I LOVE a horny FMC and Sawyer delivers on that - naming her suite of vibrators Mason? Adore.
While I don't want to spoil too much of the book - I will just leave you with one of the lines that I think gives a great sense of the ride you're in for: “You don’t need to sell me, I’ve been sold since the very first accidental innuendo”
I also listened to Unromance as an audiobook, which was duet narration as each chapter is from either Sawyer or Mason's perspective. Again, love this to be able to get in both of their heads. The narration was great from both Mia Hutchinson-Shaw and Lee Osario - they give the characters distinct voices and REALLY know how to turn it on when they're going through their feels (of all different kinds).
Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Hachette Audio for the advanced copy.
Unromance follows Sawyer Green, a romance author with the worse case of writer's block, and Mason Alvarez, a deeply attractive actor who has gotten his heart broken too many times and needs to take a break from dating. Sawyer and Mason meet after getting stuck in an elevator together and have a one night stand so ridiculously excellent that they both can't get each other out of their heads. When they bump into each other at the Christkindlmarket in Chicago, they reconnect and agree to help each other with their respective problems. Sawyer is going to break every single rom-com trope in an effort to de-romanticize Mason, while Mason will do his best to help Sawyer rekindle her writing mojo through the trope parade. The list of tropes the book runs through is just a delight and runs from cutting down your own Christmas tree to a trip to the Schaumburg IKEA (love the geographical accuracy by the way) a la 100 Days of Summer.
Mason and Sawyer are wonderful characters, but they're also backed up by an excellent supporting cast including Luis, Mason's brother in law and personal trainer and Lily, Sawyer's best friend who calls her out on all her bullshit. The writing is fantastic and the characters feel absolutely real and work through all of their own issues throughout the novel. I also have to say I LOVE a horny FMC and Sawyer delivers on that - naming her suite of vibrators Mason? Adore.
While I don't want to spoil too much of the book - I will just leave you with one of the lines that I think gives a great sense of the ride you're in for: “You don’t need to sell me, I’ve been sold since the very first accidental innuendo”
I also listened to Unromance as an audiobook, which was duet narration as each chapter is from either Sawyer or Mason's perspective. Again, love this to be able to get in both of their heads. The narration was great from both Mia Hutchinson-Shaw and Lee Osario - they give the characters distinct voices and REALLY know how to turn it on when they're going through their feels (of all different kinds).
Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Hachette Audio for the advanced copy.