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A review by downtown_kb
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
emotional
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
5.0
This is a new to me author as I primarily read romance. It lives up to the hype.
A comedy sketch writer for a late night show (read: SNL) and the week’s musical guest hit it off during the show’s week long prep. Their romance is told in 3 parts.
The 1st 3rd of the book is very slice of life, written very conversationally, just a play by play of a week in the life of an SNL comedy sketch writer (TNO in the book). So if you don’t think that sounds entertaining, you might not like this book bc it starts a bit slow. I was fascinated by it. And no I’m not some die hard SNL fan, I just enjoyed learning the process of the show.
But mostly, this is where I fell in love with Sally, a 38 yr old divorced comedy writer who comes across as a bit jaded at first. This whole section allowed you to get to know Sally where she felt most comfortable and it was great writing. Her dry wit and sarcasm paired with her inner ramblings of her social anxiety were hilarious and so very relatable. She would have a seemingly normal interaction then overanalyze them in her head obsessively. Hello self! (If run-on sentences offend you, you won’t like this book. But it lent well to portraying her anxiety.) Overall she was passionate, unapologetic, and clever.
The second act of this book is epistolary - emails between Sally and the musician, Noah. Their banter is charming as hell and I think I grinned for 70 straight pages. Things really speed up from this point on.
The 3rd part of the book, the romance gets turned up to full volume and everything comes to a head. From the blurb you can guess the conflict and I do not feel like it was overblown or unrealistic. She was just an average woman dating a superstar. The fact she finds it all a bit surreal is understandable. I’ve seen other reviews being annoyed by her insecurities but I never felt it was over the top or unrelatable. Sally has always lived behind-the-scenes and had a habit of self-sabotage but Noah truly sees her for her. I can always get behind a conflict that turns into a 4 page long love declaration.
Noah, who by the way is a sweet, unassuming and true book boyfriend material, wins a gold star for communication. Noah is, in the words of Julia Robert's character from Notting hill, just a boy standing in front of a girl asking her to love him.
My only dislike, and it was a relatively small one, mid-final conflict the focus pivoted from the romance back to just women’s lit in a way that felt unnecessary and a bit frustrating for romance.(view spoiler) Ultimately, it was all very human - especially during COVID to have emergencies interfere with life. But it made the conclusion and wrap up feel fairly rushed/abrupt.
However, I still adored this book. It was so human and so very relatable. Sweet, clever, and hilarious. I think I highlighted half of the text.
Fans of Annabel Monaghan and Emily Henry will enjoy this book.
Thank you Net Galley and Random House for this ARC!
A comedy sketch writer for a late night show (read: SNL) and the week’s musical guest hit it off during the show’s week long prep. Their romance is told in 3 parts.
The 1st 3rd of the book is very slice of life, written very conversationally, just a play by play of a week in the life of an SNL comedy sketch writer (TNO in the book). So if you don’t think that sounds entertaining, you might not like this book bc it starts a bit slow. I was fascinated by it. And no I’m not some die hard SNL fan, I just enjoyed learning the process of the show.
But mostly, this is where I fell in love with Sally, a 38 yr old divorced comedy writer who comes across as a bit jaded at first. This whole section allowed you to get to know Sally where she felt most comfortable and it was great writing. Her dry wit and sarcasm paired with her inner ramblings of her social anxiety were hilarious and so very relatable. She would have a seemingly normal interaction then overanalyze them in her head obsessively. Hello self! (If run-on sentences offend you, you won’t like this book. But it lent well to portraying her anxiety.) Overall she was passionate, unapologetic, and clever.
The second act of this book is epistolary - emails between Sally and the musician, Noah. Their banter is charming as hell and I think I grinned for 70 straight pages. Things really speed up from this point on.
The 3rd part of the book, the romance gets turned up to full volume and everything comes to a head. From the blurb you can guess the conflict and I do not feel like it was overblown or unrealistic. She was just an average woman dating a superstar. The fact she finds it all a bit surreal is understandable. I’ve seen other reviews being annoyed by her insecurities but I never felt it was over the top or unrelatable. Sally has always lived behind-the-scenes and had a habit of self-sabotage but Noah truly sees her for her. I can always get behind a conflict that turns into a 4 page long love declaration.
Noah, who by the way is a sweet, unassuming and true book boyfriend material, wins a gold star for communication. Noah is, in the words of Julia Robert's character from Notting hill, just a boy standing in front of a girl asking her to love him.
My only dislike, and it was a relatively small one, mid-final conflict the focus pivoted from the romance back to just women’s lit in a way that felt unnecessary and a bit frustrating for romance.(view spoiler) Ultimately, it was all very human - especially during COVID to have emergencies interfere with life. But it made the conclusion and wrap up feel fairly rushed/abrupt.
However, I still adored this book. It was so human and so very relatable. Sweet, clever, and hilarious. I think I highlighted half of the text.
Fans of Annabel Monaghan and Emily Henry will enjoy this book.
Thank you Net Galley and Random House for this ARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism and Grief