This was a cute contemporary rom-com, starring a historical romance writer. I absolutely love when authors make their main characters authors, and this one was all kinds of quirky. Frankie Brown, pen name Georgina Justice, finds herself needing to lay low after some particularly public humiliation, and make some headway on her latest book. What better place than an English countryside manor house with a grumpy modern-day viscount to write her latest regency romance?

This author is well known for her heavier historicals, so I was thrilled to see how she would handle a lighter contemporary. And though this was lighter than her historical fiction, it did have a heavier feel than I'm used to for rom-coms in general. There were still plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and fun twists, notwithstanding and is one I can easily recommend. All in all, I would classify this as a clean, fun rom-com and a quick enjoyable read. Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of this book. I was under no obligation to provide a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.

Adorable, romantic, memorable story that deserves to be read and savored! Loved this romance/rom com/ historical mash up! This book was provided by the Author, Kimberly Duffy, the publisher and NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Sometimes a book and a reader just don’t vibe, and that was the case here for me. I went in expecting a fun, modern romcom, but what I got felt more like a literary throwback dressed in romance packaging. The writing style leaned heavily into a more classic, almost old-fashioned narrative voice, which kept me at arm’s length rather than pulling me in.

The storytelling choices also made it hard to stay grounded. Switching between first and third person isn't an issue on its own, but the way tense was handled—particularly the third person being in present tense—felt disorienting and unnatural. It made the transitions jarring, and I never fully adjusted.

On top of that, the story itself didn’t win me over. I couldn’t connect with the lead character, and unfortunately, that disconnect lingered throughout the book. Oddly enough, I found myself more intrigued by the fictional book within the book than the actual narrative I was supposed to be following. A couple of background characters had their moments, but not enough to turn things around.

That said, not every story is for every reader. If the premise sparks your interest, it could very well strike a chord with you even if it missed the mark for me

What a cute story! This rom-com has so much in it. Regency references, grumpy & sunshine main characters, an English manor, ghost stories. What’s now to love?!


Author Georgina Justice is done with love. It just doesn’t exist. Viscount Rosebury wants nothing to do with…anyone. Just let him engineer things. She’s sunny. He’s grumpy. And the sparks fly.


If you enjoy a good rom-com with clean romance, lots of twists and turns, and great secondary characters, then I highly recommend The Meet-Cute Manuscript. It will put a smile on your face.


I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review.

When you are a writer and you are stuck in a rut, why not take a trip, submerge yourself in a new culture and see how the writing flows from there. Our lead character goes to England to get inspired, and while staying at an old rundown castle, she ends up meeting and befriending a "royal" family with lots of heart and lots of quirks. Will our author find inspiration? Or will you find something even more? A nice light rom com.

This was a fabulous debut ROM-COM from this author! It is actually my first of any of her books! I want to dive into her Regency genre books! I really enjoyed the ups and downs of this story! I got a little distracted from the story in the middle - but was absolutely grateful for the way it resolved! I loved the personalities of all the characters! Grateful for the clean and solid dialogue! Great story!

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for this book! All opinions are my own!

Everything about this book was super cute. There were a couple of times I wanted to encourage Frankie to move it along a bit faster as the pace lagged a smidge, but overall I enjoyed the journey she was taking us on. I was just impatient to get there. HA!

I think this line from the book sums it up perfectly:
"There are more feelings than ways to describe them."
Kimberly Duffy is one of my favorite authors and she is so good at taking me through a range of emotions (she's one of the few that can make me cry, and I DID tear up with this one!)

Let's start with the things I adored:
1. The heroine is an author (I don't know why, but I always love this!)
2. It's set in a manor house in England (I'm ready to head to the English countryside myself)
3. The humor - It's so much fun when a book makes me laugh out loud (this one did multiple times)
4. The meddling "little" sister
5. The oblivious hero

Everything about this book was super cute. There were a couple of times I wanted to encourage Frankie to move it along a bit faster as the pace lagged a smidge, but overall I enjoyed the journey she was taking us on. I was just impatient to get there. HA!

I think we absolutely need a second book for Ashley and Garret so I'll likely be begging mercilessly for that. That's right... while I absolutely want more historical books from Kimberly, I also now want a second contemporary.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)
The Meet Cute Manuscript by Kimberly Duffy is a heartwarming and charming read with well-developed character interactions that really brought the story to life. I especially loved the layers of family history woven into the plot and the fact that the main character is a writer—it added an extra touch of relatability and depth.

The title instantly drew me in, and the story delivered with a sweet blend of romance and personal growth.

I received a complimentary ARC from Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op. All opinions listed are purely my own.

A lovely pick for readers who enjoy character-driven romances with a meaningful backstory and a literary twist.

4.5* Rounding up.

This was a cute and delightful rom-com. Georgina Justice, aka Frankie, is a best-selling author and finds herself dealing with a pretty public breakup from her fiance. That definitely doesn't help her heart for writing her soon to be due manuscript for another Regency Romance. What does one do when they can't find their inspiration? Why disappear to England of course and stay in a castle! Works every time! *winks*

I giggled at her first human encounter at the castle. With Eleanor. She's an adorable older teenager/almost twenty year old, who is trying to navigate life and help her brother, the Viscount Rosebury, aka Graham Michael Phips-Harington. Whew! That's a mouthful of a name. He's a bit of a grump and a recluse. He's happy to throw himself into his projects and hobbies and keep the public far away from his quite life. Little does he know that this American named Frankie is going to make his life a whole lot more interesting. She just wants peace and quiet as well but somehow with her around, he's not going to find any internal rest when his heart is all a whirl!

The dynamics between these characters were fun. There are some plot twists as they navigate life, especially as Graham realizes that his sister Eleanor is turning into a woman and is not the young girl he keeps imagining her to be. Thankfully Frankie is there to help him navigate it all.

I loved the fun snippets of Frankie, aka Georgina's, novel that she is writing. I loved how she drew inspiration from the world around her and the parallels of Frankie's life with the novel.

Cute. Humorous. Thoughtful. And full of chemistry and sweet romance.

Content: Clean. Some kisses and nothing further.

I received a copy from the publisher, Victory Editing Co-op, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

Georgina Justice (aka Frankie Brown) is a bestselling romance author—until a public breakup makes her question everything she’s ever written about love. Her agent sends her to the English countryside to get back in touch with the Regency world she writes about, hoping it’ll help her find her voice again.

This one was such a fun mix of contemporary romance with a touch of Regency flair. The side characters were all so lovable, and their interactions made the story even more heartwarming.

There’s just the right amount of swoon, too—enough to make you smile without overpowering the story.

One quote that stuck with me:
“You should know more than anyone you can’t prevent hard things from happening just by making choices society thinks are the right ones.”
Such a good reminder.

This is a fun story with a fun premise. A regency romance author gets dumped, has writers block, travels to England to write a book and break her block. During her journey to break this block, she meets someone to help her find her way.

This is not my normal genre, current day is not usually my thing, but I enjoyed this one. I love all the family history that was put into this story. I loved the relationship building that took place, between all the family members. I loved the location and the way Frankie help brings things back to life.

Such a cute story, really enjoyed this read. Will be on the look out for more from this author as really enjoy the writing style from this author.

firstly we need to put it out their that the sister Eleanor needs her own book. she was a beautiful witty soul who deserves her own tale.
What a fun and cute read! I was a little concerned at first because I am not really a regency romance reader and I thought I would be confused with some of the regency language but Kim did a great job adding it in to her scenes that I found it so enjoyable and definitely easy to follow ….. also, if she is interested in writing that regency romance that Georgina was writing, I'd totally be into that!
this book was such a lush book. it was one of those that makes you feel like and ditty as you rea through it and has you smiling those big grins more than once.
Frankie was so much more than you first think and than she is given credit for. she was afraid of most things. but far and out the biggest fear was letting someone in. she never felt quite up to par and definitely not up to what her family wanted her to be. but this was just stalling her in being all she could be. and stopping her from seeing her worth in both herself and in love.
as soon as i read Grahams name in the blurb i was giggling to myself and he was everything i hoped he would be. he was innocent but a grump and straight yet fun. he was just the perfect person for Frankie. they both held back for their own reasons and the added mysterious family curse added yet more to this restrain on love.
this book couldnt have been better in my eyes and if this is how regency is written id gladly read more. at its core this book seemed to just have this light that shone through it and onto you as you read through it. that element of color and smiles from all the pages and characters.
and of course the romance part was gorgeous. and i was not going to accept anything less than a happy ending for these two.

What a fun and cute read! I was a little concerned at first because I am not really a regency romance reader and I thought I would be confused with some of the regency language but Kim did a great job adding it in to her scenes that I found it so enjoyable and definitely easy to follow ….. also, if she is interested in writing that regency romance that Georgina was writing, I'd totally be into that!

Graham was so adorably oblivious that I couldn't help laughing every time his sister tried to scheme and he just didn't get it. When he did get it, he was so mad and totally missed the clues that were right in front of him. I couldn't help but love this character. His love of his family history, despite the curse, was so palpable in his story telling. He loved the love of the generations before him all while thinking he would never have that same love.

Georgina/Frankie was also a fun character to read. She seemed surface level at first but once you realized the mask she was wearing, her character was much deeper than first look. Even though she was successful, she seemed to carry this guilt of being successful because she thought her family wanted her to settle in a life she found unfulfilling. She seemed to never let anyone know the real Frankie until Graham and Eleanor (I'll give Ashley some credit too). It was nice to see her subtle changed throughout the story. Frankie and Graham doing everything in their power to not give into their mutual attraction for fear of the love they didn't think they deserved was beautiful. I was happy to see their HEA.

Quick shout out to my girl Eleanor, who may deserve her own story because what a wonderfully strong young woman. I enjoyed every scene with her.

Very cute story! Frankie was a great heroine, and watching her process of writing her novel was a lot of fun. Graham was a perfect brooding hero. The POV switches from Frankie in first person and Graham in third person was a bit jarring, and kept pulling me out; I would have preferred it to be more consistent. Otherwise, fun closed-door romance

This was cute. It took a minute to get into but overall it was cute. I liked the idea of having to figure out the balance of honoring where you come from with how to adapt for the future.

I plan to share this title on my Instagram on April 22nd at www.instagram.com/robinashleyreads

•𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰•

{𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞: Book 1}

👗 Release Date: April 22, 2025 👗
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I really struggled to fully immerse myself in this story, and it took me a bit to figure out why, but once I did, it made so much sense. It’s because this book wasn’t written in the normal tone of the romcoms I’m used to reading; it was written in the tone of an author who is used to writing historical fiction. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it certainly hindered me from being able to fully enjoy the story for what it was meant to be.

Sadly, that wasn’t the only off putting thing about the writing in this book. It switched between first person and third person for the main characters’ povs, which I didn’t mind at all. What I did mind was that the third person was written in present tense and, honestly, it was weird; it really threw me off while I was reading. I much prefer when the third person is written in past tense and the first person in present, not both in present tense.

The plot of this book didn’t pull me in like I’d hoped, and I’m mostly blaming it on the writing, but it could also be that I just simply wasn’t a big fan of the plot in general. The FMC did not make a good first impression on me, leaving the rest of the story to try to make up for it. It failed. While I did enjoy the snippets of the story the FMC was writing, that was about the extent of the enjoyment I derived from this book. Some of the side characters were somewhat entertaining, but not enough to make me truly enjoy the story.

All that to say, while I may have failed to like this book, you may end up loving it! So don’t take my word for it, and go try it for yourself before you create an opinion of this romcom.
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I received a complimentary arc from Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op. All opinions listed are purely my own.

Georgina is in Scotland to try and finish her book. Graham owns the pace she is staying and is reluctant to have her stay - will she convince him otherwise. Some great characters and funny moments.

The Meet-Cute Manuscript is the first rom-com by author Kim Duffy, and I saw some of her previous historical fiction books were highly rated by reviewers I follow, so I decided to give this book a try.

Summary: Frankie is a famous author living under a pen name in New York City, and has a past life in Ohio that most people don't know about. After enduring a public break-up, she escapes to an English manor house (like a British AirBnB) to write her next book. The owner of the house, Graham, is a grumpy English lord who is an engineer with very little social skills. His younger sister, Eleanor, becomes fast friends with Frankie and they work together to help him become more socially and romantically aware. He soon becomes interested in Frankie, but will his lack of social skills and her hidden past be obstacles too great to overcome?

Impressions: The book had a fun, lighthearted start and reminded me of Austenland or The Holiday. I was intrigued by the book summary, and enjoyed the English setting. My favorite parts of the book were the exploration of the historical artifacts around the manor house.

Unfortunately, this book didn't meet my expectations for writing quality. The plot meandered and flow was choppy. The author switched from 1st person POV for Frankie to 3rd person POV for Graham and some narration. Those transitions took me out of the story and created lots of "telling instead of showing" situations. It was also obvious to me the author was American and not British. I read a lot of books written by British authors and the speech patterns didn't match what I would expect for authentically British characters.

The book was quirky and had elements of a 2000s rom-com, but it also tried to take on a very heavy backstory for Frankie and another side character without fully developing it. It felt like there was tension between wanting to be a light hearted rom-com and wanting to be a heavy contemporary novel. I most often read a mix of women's fiction and romance, but this one felt poorly executed.

Content Warnings: No language, kisses only, a couple sensitive issues mentioned about a side character's backstory.

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and NetGalley for the complementary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. My review is my own opinion and is in way influenced by the author or publisher.