The Roughest Draft, by Emily Wibberley and Austin Seigmund-Broka

The Roughest Draft is such a cute book. The Roughest Draft is about two writers who had a partnership, sold 15 million copies of their book (hot damn) and are under contract for a second one but now loathe each other (or so they protest) and haven’t spoken in four years.

The guise that gets the two of them to consider writing together again to fulfill that contract felt pretty thin to me, and I didn’t like the waffling about it. Nathan is a trust fund, ivy league educated guy. He’s struggling to find a place for his solo written novels and doesn’t want to go back to writing as a duo but is pressured to in order to ensure that his solo writing will then be accepted. Kat, engaged to her literary agent who is an enraging piece of work that I did not like one single bit, doesn’t want to write with Nathan again and hasn’t written anything on her own either. But then her literary agent/fiancé spills that he’s in some financial hot water (girl, do better and drop this guy), and he pressures her into write again as a means to solve their (his) financial issues, which she agrees to do.

With that out of the way and Kat and Nathan together again, the story is adorable, charming, cute, well written, and fun. I liked the smart dialogue and how the relationship between Nathan and Kat develops.

Kat’s relationship with Chris is toxic, obviously so to the reader, but the authors handle well how Kat feels trapped, stuck, and for a long time like she is the one who can fix their issues while ignoring the flaws and clinging to the potential that is not real. Kat and Nathan felt like real people and had dimension to them as characters.

The book is written with dual perspectives, one paragraph in Kat’s POV, the next in Nathan’s, and I liked how Nathan’s chapters are full of feelings. He is the one that is so smitten with Kat it is precious. It felt refreshing to me to read about him pining and admiring Kat in ways that usually the girl does when longing for the boy. That was adorable.

It is also a treat to see two people who are competent in the same skill in collaboration. They admire each other and the part of the story the describes their workflow as they craft their next book was some of my favorite bits of the book.

There are some flashbacks to the what happened when last they collaborated, the thing that made them go their separate ways, and I thought those interspersed moments were well done. They provide just enough context at just the right times to give depth, heighten the stakes, and to develop their relationship.

There’s some fun meta elements at play here too. This book is written by two people, and the book is about two writers writing together. Parts of the book the characters are writing are written in the book, and there was just the right about of English major content to feel fun without being annoying.

Wondering about how spicy it is? It’s mid level in my scale of things. There are some hot scenes that are in the book within the book, and some hot scenes between the characters themselves. It is a romance after all, but not one that keeps the doors closed.

The Roughest Draft was a lot of fun to read and was a satisfying romance with a great conclusion. The stakes were well founded and the emotional pull the plot takes is earned and satisfying. I found myself pleasantly lost in this story, and after having been in a lengthy reading slump this book was a welcome and charming escape.

Folks who enjoy Emily Henry, Jen DeLuca, and Abby Jimenez will want to add The Roughest Draft to their list. The Roughest Draft, by Emily Wibberley and Austin Seigmund-Broka, is available now from wherever you buy your books. I hope you’ll give it a try!

**Thank you to Berkley publishers for the advance digital review copy. All opinions are my own.