It's a Love Story

LoveReading Says

I really, really loved this novel. Genuinely funny, fast-moving, and a tender love story between two characters I believed in and rooted for. Its dialogue fizzes and it executes romance tropes stylishly, balancing cinematic set-pieces with moments of sweet domesticity. 

With its setting of rival filmmakers trying to green light a love story and falling for each other in the process, there’s definitely comparisons to other creative-industry/celebrity romcoms here: if you’re a fan of Emily Henry or Nora Ephron films, I think you’ll enjoy its smart humour and warmth.

I was interested to see that in Monaghan’s acknowledgements she credited Jennette McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, which makes sense for its exploration of the impact of child stardom (though this is a lot cosier and has broadly positive familial relationships). Similarly, I kept thinking that with its setting of famous sitcom stars years later, once they’ve grown up and are now on the outskirts of Hollywood, there’s even a touch of Bojack Horseman, but through a sunnier lens, more in a major key. Definitely a compliment! 

Reviewed by Billy Lindon
Lily Lindon (Billy) is a writer, editor, and bookseller living in London.
More reviews by Billy Lindon

About It's a Love Story

From the USA Today bestselling author of Nora Goes Off Script, a novel about a former adolescent TV punch line who has left her awkwardness in the rearview mirror thanks to a fake-it-till-you-make-it mantra that has her on the cusp of success, until she tells a lie that sets her on a crash course with her past, spending a week on Long Island with the last man she thinks might make her believe in love.

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