“Reel Love” by Evie Browning tells the story of Anna Kovác, a struggling film director, and John Mills, an aspiring screenwriter, whose paths collide unexpectedly on a film set in Rome. As they navigate the challenges of a troubled production and the complexities of their burgeoning relationship, they must confront their own insecurities and learn to trust each other.

The book offers an intriguing glimpse into the behind-the-scenes world of Hollywood, with its cutthroat competition and the pressures of maintaining a career in a demanding industry. However, the romance between Anna and John feels somewhat underdeveloped, lacking the emotional depth and chemistry that could have truly elevated the story.

While the premise has potential, the execution falls short. The characters, though well-intentioned, sometimes feel a bit stereotypical, and the plot relies heavily on predictable tropes and contrived conflicts. Despite these shortcomings, “Reel Love” provides a light and entertaining read for those seeking a quick escape into the world of Hollywood romance.

I wanted to like this. I really did.

The cover is stunning, but it's so slow. I really tried to believe the connection between both leads but the writing didn't get me there. I tried to get into it but I ended up skimming through parts of it because I just couldn't find a way to enjoy this.

This had a lot of potential, but it didn't get there for me.

I really wanted to love this because the premise and the cover are both really good, but unfortunately it just fell flat for me.

You’re getting a romance taking place in Hollywood between a screenwriter and a director/older woman and younger man. There’s LOTS of drama, third act breakup and a ex husband who is petty as EVER. It had alot of potential.

I felt that the beginning of the book was really really slow and because of that i wasn’t fully invested in the characters and their love story. I felt like the drama started getting to be over the top once the movie started filming.

I did feel it picked up in the second half of the book, but it all just felt like very surface level. I was hoping out FMC was going to be a bad ass strong female director in a career of mostly men and while the character seemed like she wanted to go that direction, I feel like she consistently reverted back to being passive and just “invisible”.

I did enjoy the MMC and wished his character had more growth and backstory. I liked the behind the scenes of filming and the FMCs overall demeanor when she was in her zone.

Overall, I’m leaving it a bit underwhelmed. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. If you like books set in Hollywood with A LOT of drama - some necessary and some not - I would recommend this for you.

I enjoyed this quick and cute, easy read which centres around the movie industry, namely Hollywood. John and Anna's meet cute was adorable although I did feel parts of the story dragged on after that. Not sure if this will be a memorable book but does somewhat make a good palate cleanser!

I want to start off by saying that the cover of this book is stunning! I was immediately drawn to it and when I read the blurb I knew it was a book I wanted to read. With that said, this book was unfortunately quite disappointing.

The start of the book was very slow and not very engaging. I totally understand what Evie was trying to do with building that initial connection between Anna and John, but for me, it came across more like she was telling me about their connection instead of showing me. So it just felt forced and a bit boring.

However, once the story progressed to them being on set it became far more engaging. I really enjoyed the aspect of getting a behind the scenes look at Hollywood, especially from the director's point of view. I kind of wish that there was more of a focus on it because I think it would have added some more depth to the story.

The part I struggled with the most was the writing. Evie's writing style just wasn't for me. Unfortunately I wasn't able to feel the chemistry between Anna and John. It just didn't feel like it flowed in a realistic way. It wasn't just the romance that I didn't love, I feel like the story just skipped a lot of what could have been the best parts. I would have loved to see a lot more of Anna fixing the movie. We definitely got to see a few things, but I would have loved more plot that focused on her working with the cast and crew so that we could really see the progress of the movie.

I was really hoping that as I progressed through the book it would grow on me but unfortunately once I got to the part about the article I just had to stop.

I wanted love this one because I think the idea of it is great, but yeah, the writing just wasn't for me.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

This story had lots of interesting parts. I liked seeing the Hollywood/filming details, the pressure and difficulty of succeeding there, and the romance between Anna and John had a good pace. The will they/won’t they and the challenges of workplace, Anna’s divorce, the age gap, were all well approached in my opinion. However, I couldn’t get myself to feel very strongly about them, nor any particular appreciation for the side characters, and the story was a bit too predictable. It just didn’t hit any particular note for me.

*I received a review copy of this book, this is my honest opinion*

3/5 stars

eARC provided by NetGalley

This book was very cute. I did like the main characters and their growth. I liked the setting being in Hollywood and a movie set. However, the story did feel dragged out and long. The pacing was just weird. I also did not understand having them be so judging. The miscommunication made sense in the story. But a lot of what happened was them just prejudging each other and getting mad at each other about said prejudgments. Once you get past that point, the story gets much better. And I actually started rooting for all the characters. The side characters were great! They were well developed and their stories were told very well without them overshadowing the main story. They actually really helped the main characters and added to the story. If you want a cute reverse aga-gap romance set in Hollywood particularly behind the scenes of a movie set with some spice I do recommend this book.

I enjoyed this read. The characters were good and I also enjoyed the plot. The story seemed to move quickly, which wasn’t my favorite.

I REALLY wanted to love this book, and I did have a lot to love about it!

Reel Love follows two film industry professionals who are fighting to be in the industry while facing their own internal battles holding them back all while forced to work on a film they know is slated for Straight to DVD. Add in a vengeful ex-lover and it makes it hard for our two MCs to finally get the love they both deserve!

I loved having this fun behind the scenes life of film industry professionals struggling to get their foot in the door and make something for themselves. Both Anna and John battle an uphill battle in their roles as director and aspiring screen writer, and their orchestrated pairing into getting the B-movie tumbling over its finish line just adds to their burdens. I loved watching them both come alive while filming, and their adorable love story unfolds well. I LOVED the “villain” of our story, he was so perfectly evil in the most realistic and devious way; his hold on the strings of the industry and using it for his own vendetta was my favourite evil plan. I loved the ending, and the way we get to the Happily ever after; both Anna and John did such a great job for their own lives and to help bring them back to the other and really tied everything up well!

Two things knocked this story off the 4 star tier; the first issue I had was the one intimate scene, I felt it was poorly written, convoluted to the point I couldn't figure out what was all unfolding, and I think I would have much preferred to have it a fade to black with little hints during both Anna and Johns recollections instead of the open door we got. The second issue was there are a few points that felt like “the CD skipped” (if your old enough to know that reference). A few parts I had to reread 2-3 times to see if it was my comprehension or the actual words and it was, in fact, the way the scene was written. It felt jumpy and jumbled like it was partially deleted and rewritten where the first sentence didn't clearly lead to the last of the paragraph. While neither of this things made the book unreadable, I did find them distracting and caused me to stall out, and have to get back into the grove.

Overall, great read; and if your not a strict stickler for prose you'll easily enjoy this sweet romance!

This book had potential, but I really didn’t vibe with it! The writing was poor, there was no chemistry at all between the main characters, and the villain is cartoonish. The POV changed from first person to third person in the same sentence. I don’t really have much positive points, I just don’t dnf books.

I have never read anything by this author, but I will be looking out for other books they write in the future. I really enjoyed the story as well as the pacing of the story.

3.5 star! I enjoyed reading this book and had a hard time putting it down. The characters are charming, the behind the scenes of movie making interesting, some conflict, some romance, and lots of swoon-worthy moments. I am looking forward to what comes next from this author!
The characters are beautifully drawn and complicated— neither John nor Anna are perfect, but they’re both passionate about their craft, relatable, and mostly easy to like. Their attraction is both emotional and physical, and their chemistry is real. Their banter is great, and it’s fun watching them connect, disconnect, then reconnect.

I will admit, I am not fan of 3rd person POV- it can be hard to follow at times. And reverse age gap is really not for me, I am afraid to say

This book was such a cite and quick read. ( I completed it in one sitting). I loved our main characters and they had palpable chemistry. I really enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes of movie production. Overall I really enjoyed this one and will definitely be reading more from browning in the future.

This was an enjoyable romance. The love story between the main characters was charming—light, fluffy, and a breeze to read. It had that feel-good factor, making it perfect for a cozy afternoon. The side characters brought humor and heart, serving as supportive 'sidekicks' to the leads, which added depth to the overall dynamic.

This just didn’t hit for me unfortunately.

I can see what Evie Browning was trying to achieve, but the characters just didn’t feel developed enough for me to connect with. I also couldn’t understand the reasoning for the third-act breakup.

I think other readers will enjoy this, it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc. 🫶🏻

This book was okay—a quick read with some light spice—but the characters lacked depth, and there wasn’t much focus on personal growth. Both characters had unresolved issues with their parents that could have been explored more deeply to add layers to the story.

While I didn’t find either character particularly relatable, I did enjoy the glimpse into a lesser-seen side of Hollywood. It was interesting to read about the hardworking individuals behind the scenes who earn little but stay in the industry purely out of passion for what they do.

Uhh…I’m going to try and keep my review short. This didn’t work for me. The third act break up at the end was insufferable. I felt that each character lost themselves in each other and not in a good way.

This was such a amazing standalone romance book. Starting from the characters, plotline and scenarios, everything was on top notch plus it includes the tropes which are my favourite ones, workplace romance and age gap. The pace was well maintained throughout the whole book.
The characters were penned down brilliantly, not only the protagonists shine throughout the story but also the side characters too. The spotlight was given to each and every character to shine and contribute to the book.
I had a great time reading this one.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was wonderful!