Another triumph from Laura Wood, Let's Make a Scene was romance perfection.

I loved Cynthie and Jack, and enjoyed the way their past and present was woven together throughout this novel, which was filled with magical on-screen moments, simmering tension and laugh-out-loud fun. The Under Your Spell cameos were brilliant, but you definitely don't need to have read Under Your Spell to enjoy Let's Make a Scene. I can't wait for my finished copy to arrive so that I can read it all over again.

Oh my days! I've always loved stories about filmmaking, and Let's Make a Scene perfectly combines my love of movies and cute romcoms into one addictive, feel-good novel.

The story unfolds across two alternating timelines. In the present day, Cynthie and Jack reunite to film a sequel and agree to fake-date for a second time. Thirteen years earlier, we see a young Cynthie and Jack clashing and irritating each other incessantly while working on the first film. I found this structure really effective — both timelines were equally engaging, slowly revealing more about the characters’ dynamic and hinting at the reasons behind their complicated relationship.

Moreover, this novel genuinely made me laugh and smile. It’s funny, sweet, and clever, and I loved the early rivalry between Cynthie and Jack, which even escalates into a slightly immature prank war involving the crew. Alongside all the humorous hijinks, the romance blossoms into a genuinely heartwarming story that made me feel giddy in the best way.

At the same time, there's a more serious thread running through the story. The book explores a past traumatic experience Cynthie had with an influential film director and delves into how much the standards on film sets have needed to change and improve over the past decade. It powerfully highlights the importance of fair treatment for women in the industry.

If I had one critique, it would be that the ending dragged a little. I also felt that some characters’ perceptions of young Jack — as a bit of a 'dickhead' — felt unfair, especially since his actions weren’t significantly harsher than Cynthie’s. Both characters could be cutting in their younger years, and the narrative sometimes leaned a little too heavily on Jack as the villain of their early dynamic.

Still, I really loved this read. It was such a joy to follow these characters as they filmed their Regency romance (one of my favourite film genres). Overall, Let's Make A Scene felt very "Emily-coded," and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

*Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC*

I adored this book! It is a lighthearted, heartwarming romance that will keep you up at night. Cynthie and Jack were everything; I loved their relationship dynamic and of course the enemies to lovers plot. I personally enjoyed the underlying message of female actors not being pressured into uncomfortable situations by male directors (I mean you Shawn). I would recommend this book to romance lovers, especially those who love second chance romances and enemies to lovers. Normally, I am not a fan of second chance romances, but I really enjoyed this book (Laura's writing is magic!) and I will be reading more second chance romances in the future because of this book (Thank you Laura).

I received this book as an ARC and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to net galley, the publisher and of course Laura Woods for allowing me to read this amazing book.

Firstly, thank you Simon and SchusterUK AND NetGalley for accepting me to read anE-arc in place of an honest review.

I just finished let’s make a scene by laura wood and I’m OBSESSED.
Thirteen years of tension, longing, and chemistry that crackles off the page —this book had me kicking my feet and squealing like it was my first crush. The amount of times I nearly dropped my phone!!

If you love second chance romance, swoony moments, iconic movie references (hello Dirty Dancing lift!), and heroines who grow into total queens, this one’s for you.

Cynthie and Jack’s story gave me butterflies and a whole emotional rollercoaster. There’s a scene in the rain that I promise will live rent-free in your head.

Tropes? Oh yes:
🎬Second Chance Romance
🎬Enemies to Lovers
🎬Fake Dating
🎬Forced Proximity
🎬He Falls First
🎬Slow Burn

It’s a whole rom-com in book form.
The whole book reads like a love letter to classic rom-coms — While You Were Sleeping, When Harry Met Sally, Dirty Dancing and so on I was living for every reference!

If you’re into authors like tessa bailey, Ali McNamara or josie silver, let’s make a scene needs to be on your TBR.
It’s swoon-worthy, hilarious, and packed with heart and will be published July 3rd in the UK

I absolutely loved Laura Wood's previous book 'Under Your Spell' so when I saw this available to request I jumped at the chance to read and early copy of her latest release. I'm so glad I did because I absolutely loved it! There is something about Laura Wood's writing that just hits differently for me. This book is well written with a great plot and fantastic characters that all fit together to make a brilliant book. This book is set in the same world as Under Your Spell but follows Jack and Cynthie as they re-establish a relationship whilst filming a sequel to their breakout success film. We also get flashbacks of the beginnings of their relationship when they filmed their first movie together. For me this worked brilliantly to establish their relationship and the dynamics that led them to where they are today. They had great chemistry and I also loved the supporting characters in this one. Overall a heart-warming romance that has a lot of humour, depth and captivating characters.

I adore Laura's writing, and am loving her move to adult romance! This is an utterly fantastic romp through Jack and Cyn's time filming together. Twice! We start with the modern day set up, but soon jump to their first interactions so we can understand how their animosity came to be, and it's so easy to see how they ended up where they did. They are young, full of expectations (theirs and others) and very much get off on the wrong foot. I loved reading about that first movie, especially the prank war.

The second movie brings us a older, slightly wiser Jack and Cyn, plus interactions with Theo and Clemmie, which I thoroughly enjoyed!! It's great getting to see them come together, and address everything that happened the first time around, plus everything that has happened to them both individually since then. Cynthie has the press, the expectations and a horrible ex. Jack has his parents and the perils of maybe not being renewed on his show. This is billed as a second chance romance, but to me it is more of a 'finally getting to actually know each other' romance. It is gorgeous and will make you swoon! And it truly is one for those who wish characters would clear up all those miscommunications.

4.75 stars. I can't recommend this highly enough!

When Cynthie is caught in a storm of bad press, her agent comes to her with an offer to film the sequel to the beloved film that started her career. The catch, she'll have to fake a relationship with her co-star and nemesis Jack.

This was a fun read with a lot of heart. The story switches between past and present as we see Cynthie and Jack's relationship develop in the present and discover what went so wrong between them in the past. More than just a fake dating story, there was a lot of depth to the characters as the story explored their relationships and vulnerabilities which I really enjoyed.

4.5!!!!

Jack Turner-Jones you just stole my heart. That ending, THAT grand gesture had me damn near sobbing. Achingly romantic and deeply sincere, I loved this book. From the wit and humour of two young enemies to the emotional growth and support of two lovers, this book charts a beautiful journey across 13 years. And I ate up every bit of it. Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this! I love an actress x actor trope, we get to see the past and present versions of Cynthie and Jack as they navigate filming their first movie together and then reconnecting 13 years later. I thought the pacing of the book was really good even though were jumping between the past and present.

We revisit the world Laura Wood established in her previous novel for adults, 'Under Your Spell'. Like that book our protagonists are surrounded by a fantastic cast of supporting players, all of whom deserve their own spin-off novels as they are so well-written. We jump between two time periods, seeing both the first cinematic pairing of Cynthie (a first-time actress) and Jack (a well-known nepo baby from an acting dynasty) and then their return to make a sequel when the trajectory of their careers has been quite different. For fairly contrived reasons, Cynthie and Jack are persuaded to pretend they are a couple when in fact they parted bitterly at the end of the first film and drama ensues from then on.

I thoroughly enjoyed 'Let's Make a Scence' and was particularly fond of the loving references to Emma Thompson's sublime diary of the making of Sense and Sensibility. Overall I didn't feel this quite matched 'Under Your Spell', perhaps because the supporting characters felt a little crowded out by the main storyline, but it was a fantastic read and I look forward to many more to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

Laura Wood is one of my absolute favourite writers in the whole world, so I was thrilled to get my hands on an early copy of Let's Make a Scene. This story was everything I hoped it would be, shamelessly romantic, sprinkled with humour and heart and so so sizzling. The chemistry between Cynthie and Jack burns off every single page, making you desperate for them to get together. I loved how it was told through two different timelines and through the point of view of both characters and that Laura made these transitions so seamlessly. It referenced so many of my favourite films, particularly loved 'the lean' and the 'caviar is a garnish' moment. It's very rare that a book can make me laugh out loud, swoon and cry at the same time. It's not all romance and fun, it touches on the themes of abandonment, growing up under the gaze of over critical parents and references the 'Me Too' movement in a meaningful way. The added bonus was a delve back into the world of 'Under Your Spell,' Clemmie and Theo, I adore when books let characters collide from previous stories. It's the perfect blend of romantic comedy that will appeal to fans of Richard Curtis, Nora Ephron, and Emily Henry. Another absolute triumph from the fabulous Laura Wood!

"I am incandescent. A tornado made of lust and fury. I want to rip all Jack’s clothes off here and now, but I also want to punch him right in the nose."

Thank you so much to HarperCollins & Netgalley for allowing me to read Let's Make a Scene by Laura Wood in exchange for honest feedback.

I absolutely loved Theo & Clemmie's story in Under Your Spell by Laura, so I JUMPED on the chance to request Let's Make a Scene!

I'm not normally a fan of dual timeline but I really enjoyed reading Cynthie & Jack's, especially from both of their POV - my only slight negative is that I wish we had a wee bit more of the current day relationship, rather than 13 years ago, but I understand it's setting the scene. You can definitely see the character growth in the 13 years since Cynthie and Jack last spoke - Laura portrays this really well & it's noticeable!

I LOVED the cameo from Theo & Clemmie and the supporting characters (excluding Jack's parents...!) and their banter were great throughout!

If you like any of the below, you're gonna love Let's Make a Scene...

A Dual POV / Timeline
Enemies to Lovers
Second Chance Romance
A Wee Bit of Spice!
Character Growth
Fake Dating
Awesome Supporting Characters

If you're looking for a light romcom, this is the one for you. There is mention of panic attacks and a d*ck of an ex, just as a wee heads up for anyone who may find it triggering x

Aaaaaagh I LOVE Laura Wood. But I think I am just a bit over this style of trope heavy romance.
It’s as well written as any of these books could hope to be, and Laura always adds her own signature warmth. But everything just felt a bit tired. Compared to her gorgeous YA books, this just lacked a lot of spark for me

This ticks ALL the boxes:
*enemies to lovers
*fake dating
*sexy sex
*hot man tap dancing (maybe that one is just me)
Laura Wood has done it again. Sumptuous romance and all the feels. Plus Clemmie!

I've been feeling like every book I read lately is the same and then Let's Make a Scene by Laura Wood came along and blew me away. I loved the ferocious enemies-to-lovers story line. I loved the Dual POV, the friendship dynamics and the very real depictions of anxiety. If you're looking for a book to get you out of a book slump this year, this is the read. Intelligent world-building mixed with just the right amount of romance. 5 stars from me.

Actor Cynthie's life has blown up in a massive scandal. In an effort to get her life and image back on track, she's offered a chance to star in the sequel of her first film, made 13 years previously, which was a massive success. The only problem with this is Jack, her on screen romantic interest in that film. To say the two of them got off on the wrong foot would be an understatement. When film wrapped all those years ago, she vowed to never see Jack again. Along with the offer to star in the sequel, Cynthie must also be part of the behind the scenes documentary and agree to rekindle her fake romance to Jack off screen too. Can Cynthie and Jack put the past behind them and work together? Or is the mistrust and hurt all these years later still too much?

I really enjoyed this! It's a enemies-to-lovers and (almost) second chance romance rolled into one. I'm not a big fan of second chance romance but the author does a great job with this. And the hate really does come through for the enemies part of the plot! But as they say, hate and love have a thin line, which is done well in this. Cynthie is someone you really feel for, she's very vulnerable, especially when we learn part of what happened to cause the big scandal she's running from. Jack comes from an acting family, with both his parents actors who look down on his choices for roles and shows that not everyone is how they seem on the outside.

There is chemistry between the pair but if you like your romance steamy or physical, there isn't a lot in this book. This is probably because the book alternates between current timeline and the past timeline of shooting the original film. It makes the book long, the past timeline is almost an entire book plot in itself, rather than just a recap of what happened to get you up to speed on how things went down between the characters previously. The descriptions of the films are fun, it brought Bridgerton or Jane Austen to mind. I loved the found family aspect in this too, the side characters were great!

Overall a fun, rivals to lovers story, full of the glitz and glamour of show biz.

I would - and will - read anything Laura Wood writes. She always creates the most gorgeous worlds and characters and Let’s Make A Scene is no exception. Romantic, sexy, tender, funny, with one of the hottest heroes I’ve ever read. I’m so glad she writes fast because I can’t get enough of her books.

Laura Wood has done it again! I really fell for Laura's previous book, Under Your Spell, and have recommended it to many, many people so I was excited to hear that there was a new rom-com coming this year. While Under Your Spell is set against the music industry, Let's Make a Scene was gloriously set in the film industry, and follows Cynthie - a major movie star caught in a scandal and Jack, a TV star who's facing an uncertain future. 13 years ago, Cynthie was a talented, untrained actress in her first ever lead role in a film, starring opposite Jack, who came to the industry via RADA, with parents who are practically royalty in the thespian world. Jack immediately seems to have a major problem with Cynth, and before long sparks fly on set as they love to hate each other. The novel moves between the past and the present seamlessly, with satisfying dual POVs as we find out exactly what happened with Jack and Cynthie all those years ago, and whether they can overcome this past when they are once again thrown together.

This had everything that I love in a rom-com- fantastic characters- including a fabulous found-family; smart, funny dialogue and of course lots of yearning and smoking hot chemistry. I also loved the fact that Theo and Clemmie from Under Your Spell pop up in a great scene at an LA charity gala like old friends! If you like Beth O'Leary or Mhairi McFarlane then you'd love this book- Laura Wood is a brilliantly funny, romantic writer and I've already pre-ordered a physical copy of this one to keep. Thanks Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this early.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Let’s Make a Scene follows Cynthie Taylor and Jack Turner-Jones, two actors who reunite after thirteen years to make a sequel to the movie that made them both stars (and made them enemies!) To promote their new film, they’re asked to fake being in a relationship - just like they did for their first film. However, this time there’s a documentary crew filming their every move.

This was my second Laura Wood book, and definitely my favourite from this author! This book is both dual POV and dual timeline, which I absolutely loved. It was so interesting reading about Jack and Cynthie’s first movie and how they became rivals, as well as reading their love story happening in the present. The flashback chapters added so much to the story, and really showed how much the characters had grown up and developed over time.

Cynthie and Jack couldn’t have had more different backgrounds. Jack is practically acting royalty, with two famous actor parents, and had tons of professional training. On the other hand, Cynthie has a raw talent for acting, but lacked experience when they filmed their first movie together. I loved the dynamic between the two of them. Their banter (and bickering!) was fantastic, and the chemistry and tension was palpable. I loved seeing their fake relationship turn into more; it felt genuine and organic. The intimate scenes were also very hot and didn’t make me cringe like a lot of books tend to do!

The filming and acting chapters were really interesting and added a fun element to the story. I really appreciated how the author explored the topic of the abuse of power within the industry, and some of the issues women can face when filming. Mental health and trauma were also explored really thoughtfully, and I loved how the characters supported each other.

As well as rivals to lovers, second chance romance, and fake dating, this book also has another one of my favourite tropes - found family! Jack and Cynthie had some great people around them, and the friendships were so lovely to read about. I particularly loved Cynthie’s friendship with her best friend, Hannah. We also got a cameo from Theo and Clemmie from Laura Woods’ previous book, Under Your Spell!

I appreciated the lack of a third act breakup, and how well the characters communicated towards the end of the book. The grand gesture made me shed a tear or two, and I adored the epilogue.

If you’re looking for a sexy, funny, swoony second chance romance with great characters and a little grit, I think you will really enjoy this one! I can’t wait to read whatever this author comes out with next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh I am now definitely addicted to Laura Woods books!!!

Can I first just say that I couldn't imagine anyone other than Jonathan Bailey for Jack?! I will not accept any other candidates for any adaptation. It was wonderful to see Theo and Clem again. And do I get a hint of Jack's sister Lee and best friend Nico being our next romantic heroes?!

Great lighthearted fun, a boon with spirit and passion. Just what I needed!