A Novel Proposal

ROMANTIC COMEDY:  Annalise “Lisee” Ownings hired on at Evan Andrews publishing house as a manuscript editor. Almost immediately, Annalise and Even develop a strong friendship, which lasts for months, until it reaches the point where Annalise wants something more from Evan. Believing he is content to remain only friends, she leaves his employ, to escape daily contact with what she cannot have. As luck would have it, she also wrote a romance novel, “Taming the Wolf”, and had turned it in to Evan for his input days beforehand. In a bout of anger in their final moments, Lisee tosses the edited script back to Evan and fled. His sister--and Lisee’s close friend--returns the edits to Annalise and begs her to read them—now. What follows is the journey of discovery, love, loss, friends and family, truth and trust, all seen through the pages of the manuscript.  

The story starts out fresh and lively. It all begins with a little white lie Evan told his mum: he and his former fiancée broke up, but he has a new fiancée now—Annalise. No harm could come out of this, and it spared him the agony of being set up on untold blind dates. Annalise played the part perfectly, right down to trying on wedding dresses and discussing plans. The story is told in alternating POV through Annalise’s eyes and reading Evan’s thoughts in the story he created within her manuscript. The story’s main conflict is somewhat based on the characters not fully understanding each other, which seems strange considering their ultra-close relationship. The ending is a little anti-climactic and should have ended at the HEA. However, readers will love this expertly woven tale that blends two love stories into one. 

Emerson Matthews