REVIEW: One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin

One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin: The things that we do for our friends, well for struggling writer Natalie that means she has to put up with the person that gave her book a one star review, her best friend Gabby’s new husbands best friend, stuffy academic Rob. It all started on the night that Agnus proposed to Gabby, Nat and Rob got on as well as two unavailable people could with Nat having a boyfriend and Rob set to catch a flight the next morning. Things however take a turn for the worse the second time the two meet at the wedding, where they are set to be best man and maid of honour for the besties, however the vibe between them is more hostile than happy seeing as Nat has just found out that Rob is the person to give her new book a one star review on Goodreads!

Hoping the wedding will be the last time they have to endure each others company, the two are sadly mistaken as they are thrown together through the course of the next few years, meeting up at each and every one of their besties big life moments… the question is with time and possibly understanding each other better could Nat and Rob actually get past their dislike for each other?

When I first saw the cover of this book, I instantly assumed that this would be a cute and fun romcom read, I mean with the title of One Star Romance, I had kind of gone into this with some predisposed hopes and expectations. However once I got reading I could not help but feel a bit let down. This was most definitely not a easy breezy romcom as I had hoped. Granted this book does feature love but it really wasn’t the romance I had hoped for, nevertheless there were a few nice moments to this book.

I will say both Natalie and Rob were both likeable characters and it was easy to follow them as they navigated through life and trying to figure out where and what they wanted to ultimately achieve. I will say their actual romance was rather on the slow burn side and it took a good majority of the book for them to actually figure out what they wanted, but it strangely worked. I liked the way the enemies to lovers trope played into their story and all the banter between them. Though I can not help but feel that this book leans more into he friendship and finding oneself rather than being a romance.

I did like that the story was told over ten years and that we got to journey with them through the entire growth. Another thing I enjoyed about this book was the focus on friendships and how these relationships mould and shape us, I loved seeing how Nat and Gabby’s friendship stood the test of time and how they stood by each other.

Overall I have to say that One Star Romance was a bit of a miss for me, the book was a solid woman’s fiction novel with a touch of romance in my opinion.
 

Book Info:

Publication: June 18, 2024 | Berkley |

A struggling writer is forced to walk down the aisle at her best friend’s wedding with the man who gave her book a very public one-star rating in this fresh romantic comedy from Laura Hankin.

Natalie and Rob couldn’t have less in common. Nat’s a messy artist, and Rob’s a rigid academic. The only thing they share is their devotion to their respective best friends—who just got engaged. Still, unexpected chemistry has Natalie cautiously optimistic about being maid of honor to Rob’s best man.

Until, minutes before the ceremony, Nat learns that Rob wrote a one-star review of her new novel, which has them both reeling: Nat from imposter syndrome, and Rob over the reason he needed to write it.

When the reception ends, these two opposites hope they’ll never meet again. But, as they slip from their twenties into their thirties, they’re forced together whenever their fast-track best friends celebrate another milestone. Through housewarmings and christenings, life-changing triumphs and failures, Natalie and Rob grapple with their own choices—and how your harshest critic can become your perfectly imperfect match.

After all, even the truest love stories sometimes need a bit of rewriting.