nora goes off script by annabel monaghan — a review
Saying, “Annabel Monaghan has done it again!” feels a bit silly, considering that this is Monaghan’s first book, and I just haven’t read it until now (even though I have LOVED her other novels). Fortunately for me, her second and third novels are also fantastic, and I wanted to make sure to read her first, Nora Goes Off Script.
Nora Goes Off Script stars Nora Hamilton, a newly-ish single mom and romance channel writer whose days are all the same. That is, until she writes a script that she can’t write a happy ending for about her own failed marriage. This script is picked up to be a feature film, and is set to be partially filmed at her own house. After two chaotic days of Hollywood taking over her life, Leo Vance (who stars in the movie as her deadbeat ex-husband) offers her a LOT of money to stay with her and live a “real life” for a week. Of course, that week doesn’t go exactly as planned, and Nora finds her whole world flipped upside down – maybe fine for a single woman, but she has her kids to worry about, too. Kids who are still not clear about their feelings of their dad walking out on all of them. Can Nora balance her life as a mom with her life as a newly single, newly established in Hollywood, writer?
This novel has Annabel Monaghan’s classic writing style that I’ve come to know and love, while also taking a love story and turning it on its head. While it is definitely a romance, it’s almost more women’s fiction – the reader is rooting for Nora, first and foremost, after seeing how cruelly she was treated by her ex-husband, Ben, and how hard she works to keep things in line and functional for her two children. However, Leo Vance is also a character that is absolutely heart-wrenching and sweet, and possibly one of my favorite characters that I’ve ever had the joy of reading. He’s introduced as a drunken, self-centered A-lister, but quickly proves to be much more than that. He genuinely seems interested in Nora and her day-to-day: her schedules and routines, what groceries she buys, what day of the week she makes meatloaf or buys takeout. He cares about her kids and steps in as more of a co-parent than her ex-husband, the kids’ biological father. He proves himself to be a genuine, selfless character.
Another element of this book that I absolutely loved is that it was unpredictable. As I was reading, I thought I had a solid idea of where the plot was going and how it would end. Then one twist happened, and I thought “Well, maybe it’ll end THIS way.” Then ANOTHER twist. I could not have predicted how it ended from the start, which I LOVE in a romance novel. Obviously, I want to know that there’s always a happy ending, but what’s more important is how we get there – and Nora Goes Off Script takes the reader through all sorts of twists and turns that feel true to the characters while still being unpredictable and taking the reader by surprise.
If you haven’t read Nora Goes Off Script yet, I absolutely recommend it, as well as Monaghan’s other titles: Same Time Next Summer and Summer Romance. She also has a novel coming out in May of this year called It’s a Love Story – you can bet I’ll be reading it as soon as it’s in my hands!
This article was written by @tessajane_books on Instagram. You can follow her here — https://www.instagram.com/tessajane_books/ — for more bookish content!