Nora Hamilton is slowly getting out of debt after her husband left her and their two children. She makes a living writing formulaic scripts for the Romance Channel, a Hallmarkesque network, in the little tea cottage behind her crumbling old house. Except after Ben left, she wrote a different kind of script, and now it is being made into a prestige film starring Leo Vance. Filming only takes a few days, but Leo doesn't leave. He needs a break from Hollywood, and he's charmed by Nora's small town and her mundane days picking up kids from school and grocery shopping. They start an affair, and it's just like one of her movies, until it's not, and Leo is called away to test for a big-budget superhero flick. If this really was one of her scripts, he would roll back into town, but the longer he's away, the less likely that seems. Columnist and YA author Monaghan's first adult novel is brimming with compelling characters. Nora, especially, is relatable, a practical woman who keeps her feet on the ground even as she is romanced by a movie star. Readers will connect with the warmth and humor of this relationship-fiction gem.

A romance writer's successful screenplay shows her what she really wants out of relationships--and life. When her husband left her, all Nora Hamilton felt was relief. A newly single mom with two kids and a mortgage, she poured her feelings into a screenplay, and, instead of selling it to The Romance Channel as she usually does, Hollywood comes calling--and they're going to shoot the movie right in Nora's house. Between school runs and errands, Nora tries not to watch actors Naomi Sanchez and Leo Vance, the hottest leading man in Hollywood, reenacting the end of her marriage in her backyard. When production wraps, Nora is ready to have her life back only to wake up and find Leo still on her porch. He doesn't seem eager to go back to his own life, so he offers to pay her $1,000 a day if he can stay for a week; despite her hesitation, Nora could use the money, so she accepts. Now she's trying to live her daily life with a movie star following along at her heels, her kids excited but confused, and the other moms at school incredibly jealous. And she's starting to like it. Monaghan takes a fairly basic rom-com plot (average person spends time with famous person and they fall in love) and flips it on its head by making the focus not the love story but the inner growth of the heroine, Nora. While Leo is, of course, very important, Nora's discovery of her own needs and desires, especially in contrast to the person she had made herself into when married to her ex, is the driving force of the narrative. Because the romance isn't the focus of the novel, there is a noticeable lack of scenes showing Nora and Leo actually falling in love--a few more could have made the second half of the novel stronger, but it's a happy trade for more Nora. A light romance that's heavy on self-care and acceptance. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In Monaghan's irresistible adult fiction debut, (after the humor book Does This Volvo Make My Butt Look Big?) she introduces romance screenwriter Nora Hamilton, who pumps out happily-ever-after stories for cable television while cynically processing her divorce from Ben, who fell out of love with Nora and lost interest in having a family. After she veers from her previous script formula for one based on her ill-fated marriage, Hollywood comes calling. Enter Leo Vance, People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive," cast as Nora's ex. The production includes two days at Nora's house, and when filming wraps, Leo offers to pay her $1,000 a day to stay for a week. There, he enjoys the real-world pleasures of grocery shopping, directing a children's play, and eating average home-cooked meals. Arthur and Bernadette, Nora's children, are equally smitten with Leo, and as the week goes on, his presence offers them a new sense of family. After Leo is called away for work, Nora must find a way to carry on and deal with her feelings about Ben, Leo, and the romance genre, now that she's actually put her heart on the line. With pitch-perfect characters full of foibles and flaws, the work taps into genuine feelings as the characters fall in love. This is a winner. Agent: Marly Rusoff, Marly Rusoff Literary. (June)