Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There were a couple of things working against Not Like the Movies for me from the start. First, it’s a single POV. I’m not a big fan of single POV romances, especially if it’s first-person. I really feel like we miss something by not getting all the MC’s POV in romance. I need ALL the feels.

Second, it is a “Closed Door” romance. (Sex off the page.) There’s nothing wrong with Closed Door romance, but it’s not generally my cup of tea.

That said, it was a fairly enjoyable read. I really liked Nick and some of the supporting characters were great. I definitely struggled with Chloe though, which is rough when it’s her POV all the time. It took a looooong time for me to get invested in Chloe and Nick as a couple as well. I didn’t really see what Nick saw in Chloe – who is a self-proclaimed optimist but is actually the exact opposite?? Granted, I didn’t read Waiting for Tom Hanks, so maybe that would have helped me root for them from the beginning.

There were definitely some funny moments, some tender moments, but also some wtf moments and times when Chloe acted very juvenile. (She called Nick a “perv” for having his shirt off in his office after getting hot chocolate spilled on him. I get her freaking out about his shirtless state was supposed to be funny, but the language did not hit with me.) It did feel like Not Like the Movies was a YA Romance dressed as a Contemporary Romance at times.

This may be some people’s kind of Romance, but for me it kind of fell flat. I didn’t hate it, but didn’t love it either.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews