REVIEW: The Write Off by Kara McDowell

In The Write Off by Kara McDowell, All Mars Darling has ever wanted to do was write. Specifically, she wanted to become a romance author. And while that dream has come true, it isn’t exactly everything she hoped for. Yes, she’s had success right out of the gate, bigger than she imagined. But several years ago, it came at the cost of her relationship with her college boyfriend West Emerson. The guy who was Mars’ muse for her YA romantasy trilogy. Starting when she met him thirteen years ago, they’ve shared an unquestionable connection that has been both the cause of and solution to so many issues over the years. But as things stand now, Mars and West have not seen eye to eye in way too long.

‘Despite everything that has happened, I still believe books will save me.’

After a huge blow up in Mars’ career, she’s been struggling to write…anything. But after missing deadline after deadline, her new book is finally about to be released into the wild. To say she’s freaking out is putting it mildly. And to add insult to injury, Mars finds out that West–who is also releasing a book–is now scheduled to appear at the same book festival at their alma mater as she will be. Not good. Because Mars knows as soon as they lock eyes, she’ll be under West’s spell all over again. And she refuses to get pulled back into their on again off again relationship that does nothing but toy with her emotions. Unfortunately, there’s no getting out of their dual appearance. So, Mars will just have to figure out if she’s ready to forgive West and move on or if there’s something left there to salvage for the future.

‘The right words no longer exist between West and me.’

‘I cast West as the villain in my life so long ago, it’s difficult to accept that without a time machine, he could be anything else.’

An angsty romance that celebrated all things literary, THE WRITE OFF was an emotional debut by Kara McDowell that wove the past and present together for a couple whose timing just never seemed right. But the connection between Mars and West was never in question. It was West’s secretiveness and, in some ways, Mars’ ambition, that drove a wedge between them. A dual timeline told through our heroine’s POV, McDowell showed the duo in all their messy, but wholly relatable glory. And it was the type of up and down, will they *ever* get together love story that always keeps me on the edge of my seat.

Mars and West really did make a great couple. I loved how they flirted and teased, shared mutual respect for each other’s creative process even though they wrote very differently. Mars was an avid romance fan, through and through–which was apparent in her stories. West was more on the literary fiction side of things. But he was a huge fan of everything Mars did. Watching the differences appear between who they were in college when they met and first fell in love to the present time when they both had new books about to be released showed how their feelings remained true. Although everything around them had changed. And it created a sense of animosity that was easy to understand once we got a look at what happened over the years.

TROPES/VIBES:
*The One Who Got Away
*Enemies to lovers
*Dual timelines
*Debut author
*Celebration of romance in literature
*Will-They-Won’t-They

McDowell handled the enemies to lovers portion of the storyline perfectly. Even though there were frustrating moments waiting for West and Mars to get it together, it felt real, raw, and (eventually) oh so right. If you like being immersed in books that pay homage to the world of romance and its legions of loyal reading fans, give THE WRITE OFF a try. You’ll be happy you did.

QOTD: Mars had an entire devoted fandom that showed up at her events. Are you part of any fandoms or have gone to special author events/book signings?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: April 7th, 2026 |  Berkley |

Two rival authors are forced to confront a decade of love and heartbreak on the campus where it all started in this captivating debut romance by Kara McDowell.

It’s been thirteen years since Mars Darling first met West Emerson on a bench outside their writing class. What started out as a friendly rivalry turned into a best friendship and then, for a brief time, a romance. Now over a decade later, as Mars stands at their college campus as a once-esteemed YA fantasy author, ready to take on a book festival, she comes face to face with West—the muse behind her infamous trilogy’s heartthrob hero, the man who betrayed her in the worst way.

Mars is determined not to let her comeback tour be ruined by the fact that West is also at the festival as an author. But the longer they are on the campus that holds so many shared memories, the more time they have to untangle their past, and Mars starts to question if maybe it’s not only her writing career that deserves a second chance.

Told in two unfolding timelines—Mars and West’s frenzied college days where they grapple with their undeniable connection, and their tension-filled present of heartache and familiar yearning—this charming romance shows that while you can’t rewrite the past, it’s never too late to chase your happily ever after and get back the one that got away.