Losing the Plot: *Pre-order now* The laugh-out-loud enemies to lovers bookish romcom, NEW for spring 2026!

by Mia Page

Will these two ever get on the same page, or will they refuse to read between the lines…📚❤️Jess is an Instafamous book blogger whose career is going from strength to strength, but she secretly harbours dreams of becoming a full-time novelist

Once a literary darling , former bestselling author Alex hasn’t written a hit in years. With his final contracted book deadline looming and his creativity at an all-time low, he’s on the brink of becoming yesterday’s news.

Both are stubborn and used to working alone, in exactly their own way – so, when they are coerced into writing together to try and fulfil both their bookish dreams, what could possibly go wrong?

Tropes

❤️🤏Forced proximity

❤️‍🔥 Rivals-to-lovers

❤️📚 Books about books

❤️🌟HEA guaranteed

Genres: Romance

384 pages, Paperback

Expected publication June 9, 2026

Reviews

[Helen Stölting · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as rom-coms go, this one was a bit disappointing. While I appreciated how this book appealed to its readers by defending romance as a respectable genre and celebrated a love for reading, it nearly felt like the author forgot about actually writing a romance in the first place. The time lines didn't make sense to me - neither for how quickly Jess and Alex caught feelings nor for how easily an entire novel could have been read and edited. I was missing the delightful will-they-won't-they that I associate with romance novels, and I would hesitate to call this an enemies-to-lovers story seeing that the characters were adversaries at best and this stage lasted for all of three seconds. There were still some things I liked about this story, such as the familiarity of having a story set in London, the book lovers theme (obviously) and the acknowledgement of mental health, but it doesn't really itch the scratch if you're in search of a can't-stop-grinning toe-curling romance.

[Kate Laycoax · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very much a TikTok romance... trope heavy, easy to read, super palatable, and honestly a fun enough time if you’re in the mood for something light. It hits all the familiar vibes and definitely feels written to cater to that audience.

That said, my biggest gripe is the “enemies to lovers” (or rivals to lovers) label, because… where? They’re barely enemies for more than a chapter or two before feelings start creeping in, and at that point it’s more like annoyed to lovers. If you’re going to sell me on enemies to lovers, I need more tension and way more time spent actually disliking each other.

It’s cute and enjoyable, but it kind of lost me along the way and didn’t do anything particularly new or memorable. A perfectly fine, run of the mill romance, but nothing that truly stands out from the crowd.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mia Page, and Avon for the eARC of this book.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jess vive rodeada de libros, reseñas y recomendaciones que se viralizan mientras su propio sueño de escribir una novela sigue guardado en borradores olvidados. Todo cambia cuando un editor importante la invita a participar en un proyecto inesperado: ayudar a uno de los autores más respetados del panorama literario a darle un giro más ligero y accesible a su nuevo libro. El problema es que Alex, el escritor en cuestión, desprecia justo el tipo de historias que Jess ama y defiende. Obligados a trabajar juntos, ambos chocan constantemente mientras intentan salvar un manuscrito que no termina de funcionar. Lo que empieza como una colaboración incómoda se transforma en una experiencia que pone en duda sus prejuicios, su forma de ver la literatura y la historia que cada uno cree estar destinado a contar.



Gracias NetGalley por el ARC.

[C D · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess if I had to sum up my review in one word it would be “eh”. Ironically enough, the author seems to have lost the plot a bit. It’s very stilted in the middle and I didn’t laugh out loud once. The interactions felt stiff and third person prose didn’t allow you to connect with the characters closely. The books reads like a trope heavy check-the-box romance, instead of having heart and soul. The craziest part is that there are other books and authors mentioned in the book that do romance in a way I’d recommend, but this book definitely didn’t.

Book provided by NetGalley for advanced copy review.

[Dominique Franklin · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC gifted in exchange for review.

I wanted to like this so badly. I really really did but we lost the plot. I found both characters to be pretty unlikeable and irritating. I didn’t find Jess to be a good friend to Lily at all. Alex definitely needs to put boundaries in place with his family. The end felt meh. It feels like neither of them made any real progress or growth in the story at all. I was really disappointed with this one.

[☆Laura☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.