On the Same Page by Penelope Janu: Miles Franklin dealt with severe anxiety growing up due to her parents 
and bullies. As she grew, she channeled her emotions into writing under the pen name Emma Browning. Emma has never spoken to anyone besides via email, since she legitimately doesn’t exist, but the only people that know are Miles’ best friend and her psychiatrist. When Emma is suddenly in contention for a coveted award, Miles has to try everything to get her out of the running. But when the CEO of the publishing company is determined to meet Emma Browning, Miles is put to the test.
Lars Kristensen is trying to save Iconic Publishing. He thinks that Emma Browning is the ticket. When Emma ends up winning the contest, Lars thinks he’s finally gotten what he wanted. However, Emma’s lawyer Miles makes it difficult to get ahold of any concrete answers about Emma. When she stops returning his phone calls and emails, Lars can only hope that he can wear her down with time. When Emma’s requests start getting outlandish, he questions whether it is worth it, but it’s in the contract that Emma makes appearances. As he tries to track down Emma even more, he is drawn to the mystery of Miles much to her annoyance, but both feel sparks as they spend more time together. Between the two of them as well as the entire world wanting to know who Emma Browning is, can Miles keep her secret or will everyone find out?
Miles has been through a lot in her time. She has been always wary of others, which is why she only lets a few close to her and focuses her emotions on Emma. As she has to slowly come out of the spotlight just to deal with the Emma drama, her fears start to run rampant again. She focuses on those around her and her new friends to find the real Miles within and figure out where exactly she is most happy. When she realizes her true worth thanks to Lars and her newfound pole dancing friends, she finally gets the strength to stand up for herself to her parents and the world.
Lars is used to being in control, which is hard to do when he feels like he absolutely zero with Miles. Getting to Emma is his final goal, and originally that’s all his mind is set on. As he interacts with Miles, he realizes he likes the way that she reacts to him when she has her guard down. As he learns the truth, he has to decide what he cares about more: exposing Emma or keeping Miles.
Overall, the book was super good! It did lack in the romance at times where I felt that Miles came off as too harsh and then the ending felt rushed, but I feel that knowing a lot of Miles inner thoughts helped the reader to understand the purpose of her actions. I felt that it was a great story dealing with things that a lot of people deal with on a daily basis.
Book Info:
Publication: April 1, 2022 | Escape Publishing |
For readers of Mhairi McFarlane, Beth O’Leary, Lindsay Kelk and Sally Thorne comes this utterly charming and delightfully funny love story where opposites attract – or do they?
By day Miles Franklin, named after the famous author, is a successful lawyer. By night, in secret, she writes historical romance novels under the pen name Emma Browning. When ‘Emma’s’ novels win one of Australia’s biggest literary awards, Miles’s perfectly ordered life begins to unthread at the bindings. Especially when Lars Kristensen, CEO of the publishing company contracted to publish the prize-winning books, insists on meeting the author.
Besides mutual antipathy and sexual attraction, socially anxious Miles and supremely confident Lars have nothing in common. Nothing. But the more time they spend together, the more blurred the lines between fact and fiction and love and hate become.
Miles is determined to both protect her privacy and to keep writing-even if it means mastering pole dancing, choreographing a love scene in the back of a horse-drawn carriage, and confronting the prejudices of her parents and publishers.
Like the heroines in her books, Miles has the grit to stand her ground. But Lars has the smouldering looks, arrogance and pride of all her romantic heroes rolled into one. And he is good at reading between the lines. Who is going win this battle of wills? Can Miles and Lars ever be on the same page?
‘Endearingly quirky and utterly charming. Funny and sweet and wonderful.’ —Amy Andrews, USA Today bestselling author
