How to Write a Love Story

In a word: Cute! 

Catherine Walsh never fails to put a smile on my face and her newest How to Write a Love Story is no exception to that. She’s so well-loved because she understands the rom-com formula and she sticks to it. No need to reinvent the wheel when the current one works!

Ciara Sheridan is the daughter of beloved Irish author Frank Sheridan who recently passed away leaving his wildly popular fantasy series Ravian unfinished. An author herself of crime novels, Frank’s wish was that Ciara would finish his series-ending book The Last Mountain using an outline that he’d left behind. The problem is she doesn’t write fantasy and has anxiety-inducing levels of writer’s block every time she tries to write it. Oh, and his fans will throw an absolute fit if they find out she’s the one writing it!

Enter Sam Avery, a New York editor. Sam’s boss Casey Richardson owns the publishing house that will publish the final book, and he’s known Ciara since she was a child. He thinks Sam, who just happens to be a diehard fan of the series, will be the perfect one to steer the book to completion and books a summer trip for him to Ireland to do just that.

I’m sure it doesn’t take much imagination to see where this is going. When Sam arrives the sparks immediately fly … just not THOSE sparks. Nope, the only heat between them at first is their tempers! Can these two get a working relationship off the ground and get Frank’s final vision to the world? I’ll give you three guesses, but you’ll only need one.

Expect all the typical bumps along the way, but also know that you’re going to get two very likeable leads, a whole lot of fun banter, some excellent side characters including Ronan the bartender/amateur microbrewing disaster, Ciara’s no-nonsense bestie Maddie, Sam’s sister Lizzie and his NYC office mates.

I really liked the chemistry between Sam and Ciara. It was believable to me without being over the top. The issues in front of them were relatable, and despite the requisite third act hiccup, it didn’t resort to the emotional histrionics some rom-coms do. They dealt with it like adults, and I always appreciate that.

This is sweet, good fun. Sam and Ciara are hilarious together. There’s some spice, but it stays relatively clean. I did an immersion read, listening to the audio from my library along with the digital ARC. I thought the narration by Jonathan Aarons and Roisin Rankin was excellent!

If you enjoy a summer romance with sarcastic, funny banter set in a charming Irish village, this is a quick, feel good read that may hit the spot!

★★★★

Thanks to Dutton Books, NetGalley and author Catherine Walsh for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s out now.