Here are 100 books that Nora Goes Off Script fans have personally recommended if you like
Nora Goes Off Script.
Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
As a child, I loved singing and acting and fantasized about what it might be like to be a famous movie star. Though the practical side of my brain led me to become a lawyer instead, my fascination with Hollywood never waned. When I set out to write my first novel, I finally had the opportunity to explore celebrity culture. But I'm just a regular person, living a very normal life. The books I’m recommending lift the curtain on fame and explore the ultimate fantasy: what if a beloved, uber-famous actor or actress actually fell in love with you?
The very opposite of my last recommendation, this book was wildly spicy!
The main character is a mom who has a love affair with a famous and very young pop star, and rumor has it it’s based on the author’s crush on Harry Styles. It was really easy to lose myself in the fantasy; I, too, am a mom in her forties who finds pop stars attractive and certainly wouldn’t mind taking a little vacation from reality.
I got so sucked into this one that I stayed up for hours past my bedtime reading it multiple nights in a row!
When Solene Marchand, the thirty-nine-year-old owner of a prestigious art gallery in Los Angeles, takes her daughter, Isabelle, to meet her favourite boy band, she doesP so reluctantly and at her ex-husband's request. The last thing she expects is to make a connection with one of the members of the world-famous August Moon. But Hayes Campbell is clever, winning, confident, and posh, and the attraction is immediate. That he is all of twenty years old further complicates things. What begins as a series of clandestine trysts quickly evolves into a passionate relationship. It is a journey that spans continents as…
As I’ve reached middle age, I’ve found that many books about this period are about trying to regain lost youth or the hardships that aging can bring. I want to read more books about women who have lived through some things and are more powerful (and funnier!) because of it. In my writing, I try to highlight the stories of women with a little bit of history behind them and show that a long life–if we’re lucky–is also a full one. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I have!
It’s hard not to love an Ann Patchett book. The idea of a middle-aged protagonist recounting a moment from their past isn’t new, but putting that long-ago life into the context of family life and motherhood gives Tom Lake its power. Do our children really get to know who we were before they were born? What if we don’t tell them everything?
I read criticism about it that said there wasn’t enough conflict in this family, and everyone got along too well.
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER * THE NO. 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *
A REESE WITHERSPOON AND BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK
'A new Ann Patchett novel is always cause for celebration ... and Tom Lake is one of her best' i
'This comforting summer read has it all ... Young love, sibling rivalry and deep mother-daughter relationships' REESE WITHERSPOON
'Filled with the moments I live for in a story' BONNIE GARMUS, author of Lessons in Chemistry
'One of the most beloved authors of her generation' SUNDAY TIMES
-----------------------------
This is a story about Peter Duke who went on…
As a child, I loved singing and acting and fantasized about what it might be like to be a famous movie star. Though the practical side of my brain led me to become a lawyer instead, my fascination with Hollywood never waned. When I set out to write my first novel, I finally had the opportunity to explore celebrity culture. But I'm just a regular person, living a very normal life. The books I’m recommending lift the curtain on fame and explore the ultimate fantasy: what if a beloved, uber-famous actor or actress actually fell in love with you?
Curtis Sittenfeld has been a go-to author for me since I read and loved her debut, Prep, in 2005.
Her latest, Romantic Comedy, centers on Sally, a comedy writer at The Night Owls (a stand-in for Saturday Night Live) who finds herself the subject of affection of a very famous singer, Noah. I am a longtime fan of SNL, and I loved the inside look at sketch development and the hierarchy and competition among the writers and actors.
I alternated between relating to Sally and wanting to throttle her for not recognizing her own worth, but in a deeply invested in the story kind of way! And if you need one more reason to give this book a try, it was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.
As a child, I loved singing and acting and fantasized about what it might be like to be a famous movie star. Though the practical side of my brain led me to become a lawyer instead, my fascination with Hollywood never waned. When I set out to write my first novel, I finally had the opportunity to explore celebrity culture. But I'm just a regular person, living a very normal life. The books I’m recommending lift the curtain on fame and explore the ultimate fantasy: what if a beloved, uber-famous actor or actress actually fell in love with you?
To me, the star of this novel is the witty banter between the characters and the super sexy will-they-or-won’t-they tension.
The main character is a divorced journalist who writes an in-depth profile about a very well-known actor. I particularly enjoyed how normal seeming the female main character was, and yet it was highly believable that the male actor would find her deeply attractive and interesting.
I wrote my first romance with >40 characters in my mid-forties. It wasn’t like I never saw people of my age in the genre, but I have to say they were (and are) still rare, especially in traditionally published books. I love to see how people navigate what partnership looks like when people are established and their conflicts and experiences have changed. Elder care, relationships with adult children, fighting age-related stereotypes and discrimination: these are just a few of the nuances that set these types of books apart. But you still get that delicious well of emotion and the satisfaction of a happy ending.
This book is a celebration of many things: embracing your visible markers of age, seeking a new kind of relationship with an adult child, and the fabulous music of the 80’s and 90’s.
Any person from Generation X will absolutely see pieces of themselves and their friends in the characters in this book. Originally college friends, our couple finds themselves both back in New York and via a series of missteps and then some forced proximity (not only do they have to work together, they have to work for his daughter), they fall gloriously in love.
“Get ready to embrace the force that is Lela Bennett in this sassy, funny romance that will suck you in right from the first wedding crasher moment!” –Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Avery Flynn
Everything went wrong. And then she went gray.
At 47, newly divorced makeup artist Lela Bennett is dreading her next steps. Dating. Meeting people. Not letting herself go. But then she runs into Donovan James and tries something different—sleeping with her sexy crush from college. Unfortunately, in a post-orgasm stupor, Lela confesses she was in love with Donovan all those years ago. He…
I have cerebral palsy, but the list of things that I absolutely can’t do is surprisingly short: I can climb a flight of steps or walk the length of a football field, for example, but those tasks are going to take a lot more time and energy for me than they would an able-bodied person. We all choose where to invest in life, but cerebral palsy makes that process much more deliberate, and I’ve been fascinated by it for a long time. I’m always on the hunt for stories that demonstrate that our choices shape our life, not our limitations, and I’m determined to choose joy.
This book is the most fun I’ve ever had reading a romantic comedy—and I’ve read a lot of them! As the title suggests, a lot of this story is told through correspondence between our main couple, and while many authors strive for banter that is funny and flirty, these letters actually were—which is not easy to do!
I had an absolute blast watching Teddy and Everett get to know each other in the midst of a well-formed plot about building a life around what is truly important to you.
A charming and heartwarming new romantic comedy by the acclaimed author of Waiting for Tom Hanks, Kerry Winfrey.
Teddy Phillips never thought she would still be spending every day surrounded by toys at almost thirty years old. But working at a vintage toy store is pretty much all she has going on in her life after being unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend. The one joy that she has kept is her not-so-guilty pleasure: Everett’s Place, a local children’s show hosted by Everett St. James, a man whom Teddy finds very soothing . . . and, okay, cute.
I’m a Canadian author who thought too much about death as a child. But I was also a happy little goblin who grew up watching Disney fairytales and Transformers cartoons—all of which shine in my blend of twisting horror meeting tales of love and friendship. My degree in History helps me add depth and a political thriller edge. Bands of brothers, found family, and loyal hounds round out my books. I adore being scared, but I also want my characters to find happiness. So I’ll put you on the edge of your seat and have you jumping at the next twist—but don’t worry, the dog always lives.
This book rose out of the grave and grabbed me by the ankles. I’ve always loved (and been completely terrified of) zombies. After 28 Days Later scarred me for life (that one scene with the crow and the blood ACK), zombies became somewhat of an obsession. But I always found myself wanting…more. Then this book shambled in my door, and suddenly, I had the twisted, funny, heartwarming zombie fairytale I never knew I needed in my life. It upended the undead genre, and I will love it forever for giving the mix of zombies and romance a big ole bear hug.
Now a major motion picture starring Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer and John Malkovich, Warm Bodies is the ultimate zombie read this Halloween.
'R' is a zombie. He has no name, no memories, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.
Amongst the ruins of an abandoned city, R meets a girl. Her name is Julie and she is the opposite of everything he knows - warm and bright and very much alive, she is a blast of colour in a dreary grey landscape. For reasons…
I exclusively read and write romance. I have since I was a teenager. If there is no love story with a happy ending, you can definitely count me out. I was first introduced to Pride and Prejudice in 11th-grade English. Maybe the first assigned book I read cover to cover and let me tell you—when Mr. Darcy expressed how ardently he admired and loved Elizabeth, I was a Darcy fangirl for life. I see Darcy everywhere. He's a romantic archetype who loves fiercely but struggles to express himself. He makes mistakes. He’s capable of changing his mind. To date, I’ve published ten romance novels across three pen names, and I have no plans to stop.
I adore Kate’s writing. She’s brilliant at it. This romance starts with Will making quick enemies with Nora when he moves into her treasured apartment building with plans to rent out a room as an AirBnB.
The tight-knit building community is up in arms over the stranger (Will) and they expect Nora to solve the problem. Meanwhile, Will has been pining over a girl he saw on a balcony for years—Nora as a child.
When I tell you I melted the first time he called her baby (also a classic sick-bed scene) I am not lying. Will loves Nora with his whole chest and he’ll move heaven and earth to win her hand. Poetry is involved.
“The most delightful cast of characters I've met in ages…a modern romance masterpiece.“ —New York Times bestseller Christina Lauren
“Constantly revealing new layers of lyricism…Love at First is poetry, then — sometimes an artful sonnet, other times halting free verse. But it's never anything short of miraculous.” —Entertainment Weekly, Grade A
“At the end I was left with that warm, glowing love for humanity that is always what I’m chasing when I read this genre: the sense of togetherness, of hope, of even unsolvable problems feeling less impossible. Because a good romance lets you forgive the people on the page.…
Pet names in romance can make or break a book, in my opinion. Sometimes, they can be offputting, but other times, pet names make me smile. They elevate the chemistry between characters–turn the heat up a notch on a steam scene, make you blush, and make you fall in love with the characters. When I read a pet name I can imagine the tone, level, and timbre. It makes me feel like I'm there in the pages with the characters. I think it's because a pet name or nickname is special. A person assigns it to you because they care–or, better yet, within the pages of a romance, they love.
This book sparked my love for Carian Cole's books, and I've one clicked on her books ever since.
This age-gap romance between Toren and Kenzi happened organically, and I loved watching their platonic love morph into romantic love. Tor’s pet name for Kenzi was Angel, which was fitting for the kind-hearted, strong heroine.
I think what most impacted me about the nickname was how it transformed throughout the book. At first, Angel was just a sweet endearment, but it matured as Kenzi did. Every time she worried about animals or showed concern for her dad, the nickname felt more and more fitting.
When I was five years old, I told Toren Grace we were going to get married someday. He'd been my closest friend, my protector, and my rock since the day I was born. But during my senior year, our relationship slowly changed. Silly conversations morphed into serious heart-to-hearts. Innocent friendship turned to stolen glances.
Then one day, an unexpected kiss changed everything.
While that kiss was all I'd ever dreamed of, it knocked Tor clear off his axis. His strong moral compass makes it impossible for him to accept our feelings for each other. Because, not only am I eighteen…
Prior to writing my own works of fiction, I actually worked for several years as a romance ghostwriter. I’ve worked for many clients under various pseudonyms, and many of these titles have gone on to the Amazon Top 100 list (I just can’t tell you which one because I signed an NDA). I think that romance as a genre can be a wonderfully cathartic and escapist experience, allowing us the opportunity to swoon, pine, and giddily indulge in the joy of what it’s like to fall in love over and over again.
I believe in second chances. That’s why Forget Me Not is one of my favorite romance reads of the year!
Ama Torres is a wedding planner who (ironically) doesn’t believe in marriage. This may or may not be the reason why handsome and brooding florist Elliot Bloom seems so distant and broken-hearted. They were an item—until something went terribly wrong!
This is a swoon-worthy read with snappy banter and plenty of spice. Watching these two fall in love all over again is sweet enough to give me cavities.
A wedding planner and her grumpy ex must work together to plan a celebrity event in this deliciously spicy and funny novel from Ali Hazelwood's "favorite writer."
Ama Torres is an optimistic wedding planner who doesn’t believe in marriage. But weddings? They’re amazing. Elliot Bloom is a brooding florist who hates owning a flower shop…until a certain bright-eyed, donut-loving workaholic shows up at his door.
Once upon a time, they collaborated on events by day, and by night, Ama traced the intricate flower tattoos etched along his body. Then Ama shattered his heart and never spoke to Elliot again.
