REVIEW: The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

In The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka, Most writers can only dream of having the kind of success Nathan Van Huysen and Katrina Freeling achieved with their second co-authored novel. It was a bestseller across the board. It’s even been optioned for a movie. But the duo went their separate ways right after its release four years ago and have never explained why. Although there has been plenty of speculation. Something Katrina and Nathan have avoided discussing–until their publisher reminds them they still have one remaining book on their contract to co-write. Which means they’ll have to find a way to get along somehow.

‘These aren’t just characters. He’s talking to me through the page. They’re his feelings–his feelings for me.’

Basically forced to spend two months cooped up together in a small house in Florida, the same place where Nathan and Katrina wrote their smash hit, they both hope literary magic will happen again. Or at least that they can make it through each day without devolving into arguments and hurt feelings. But as they dive into a new fictional world–one of a broken romance, no less–Katrina and Nathan will have to face what was left unsaid between them years ago. And as scary as admitting the truth to each other will be, it might pave the way for them to write their own happy ending.

“I don’t know if I wrote myself into this book or if the book uncovered something within me.”

A romance where real life and fiction collided, changing the lives of co-authors Katrina and Nathan, The Roughest Draft took my emotions for a wild ride before leaving me with a full heart.

‘I love even our roughest draft. I love every fraught page we’ve rewritten to get here. Because in the end, the best part of a love story isn’t having it. It’s getting to keep writing’

I am going to be bluntly honest here: this story isn’t for everyone. The frustrating will-they-won’t-they dance between Nathan and Katrina will be tough enough to handle. It went beyond being a slow-burn romance. But the amount of game playing and angst will likely be what pushes this over the edge for some readers. Because there was So. Much. Angst. The amount of times I set my kindle aside because either Katrina or Nathan intentionally messed things up between themselves or used theatrics instead of communicating was bordering on ridiculous.

That being said, I honestly enjoyed Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka’s writing voice(s). Their smart prose was concise yet elegant and they perfectly captured the emotion in every scene which meant I was right there with Nathan and Katrina at every turn. The other interesting element was this being a “book within a book” where the main characters were co-authors forced into writing a final novel together. Which is clever because the real life authors, Emily and Austin, are a married couple who are also a writing duo. They obviously had quite a bit of insight into the workings of this type of a relationship so Katrina and Nathan seemed very real on the page.

The other part that worked for me was the dual timeline: present day and flashback scenes to four years ago when their partnership began to implode. Over time, the closer we got to finding out what the final issue/event was that pushed Nathan and Katrina apart, the more their present day lives intersected with their past. But it showed that when they made different decisions–and actually communicated in a healthy(ish) way–things worked out much differently.

QOTD: Have you ever read a story that had either a “book within a book” theme or where the main character was an author?

Book Info:

Publication: Expected publication: January 25th 2022 | Berkley |

They were cowriting literary darlings until they hit a plot hole that turned their lives upside down.

Three years ago, Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen were the brightest literary stars on the horizon, their cowritten books topping bestseller lists. But on the heels of their greatest success, they ended their partnership on bad terms, for reasons neither would divulge to the public. They haven’t spoken since, and never planned to, except they have one final book due on contract.

Facing crossroads in their personal and professional lives, they’re forced to reunite. The last thing they ever thought they’d do again is hole up in the tiny Florida town where they wrote their previous book, trying to finish a new manuscript quickly and painlessly. Working through the reasons they’ve hated each other for the past three years isn’t easy, especially not while writing a romantic novel.

While passion and prose push them closer together in the Florida heat, Katrina and Nathan will learn that relationships, like writing, sometimes take a few rough drafts before they get it right.