Book Review: Let’s Make A Scene by Laura Wood
It’s peak summer reads season and you’ll be hard pushed to find a novel more perfect for lazing away these sultry July days than Laura Wood’s romance novel Let’s Make A Scene – a standalone companion to last year’s Under Your Spell. There isn’t a beach in sight but there’s plenty of sizzling heat filling the pages of this rivals-to-lovers story as two actors find life imitating art when they’re forced to reunite for the sequel of the film that launched their careers.
When unknown aspiring actress Cynthie Taylor gets her first real acting job starring in a small British period drama, it’s a dream come true. But Cynthie’s inexperience instantly riles her co-star, Jack, who’s determined to prove he’s a serious actor and not just another nepo-baby. Whilst they’re at war behind the scenes, their on-screen chemistry is palpable. The studio execs decide to capitalise on it with a publicity stunt that sees Cynthie and Jack faking a real-life romance to charm fans and draw crowds. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t end well.
Thirteen years later, Cynthie and Jack have successfully kept their promise to stay far away from one another. Jack’s career is soaring but Cynthie’s has crashed after a scandalous affair with a married colleague went viral. When they’re offered an opportunity to make a sequel to the cult classic that made them international stars, they both return to the place where it all began. But there’s a catch: they must rekindle their pretend relationship, and this time there’s a documentary crew following their every move.
‘To a new chapter,’ he says, but as the words leave his mouth, I find myself wondering if a new chapter is even possible, or if the story of the two of us was written thirteen years ago.”
Rivals-to-lovers is one of the most delicious tropes in romantic fiction because it’s always layered with so much tension. Laura Wood fills her novel with all the friction, conflict and back-and-forth bickering that readers expect when they pick up a book about two characters who love-to-hate each other. And love-to-hate is definitely the key ingredient in Let’s Make A Scene. It’s clear from the opening chapter that Cynthie and Jack are going to antagonise and pine for each other in equal measure. They’re locked in a near constant battle of wits and wills, making the eventual blurring of lines between their fake and real feelings all the more inevitable.
Moving between the past and present – as well as between Cynthie’s and Jack’s POVs – gives readers a real opportunity to get to know the characters’ hearts and minds. In the past, Jack is ruled by his insecurities and fear of failure, whilst Cynthie’s naivety about the entertainment industry is both a blessing and a curse. In the present, it’s Cynthie who’s struggling with feelings of failure and expectation, but who better to understand those crippling anxieties than Jack? It also helps that Wood’s novel partly takes place in the 2010s, an era of entertainment defined by moments like Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling’s iconic recreation of their kiss in The Notebook at the MTV Movie Awards. Add in a Mr Darcy wet shirt moment and a Dirty Dancing lift and it hits all the nostalgic beats we romance lovers go mad for.
Let’s Make A Scene might be about Hollywood superstars but what makes this book so readable is how down to earth and relatable its central characters are. They struggle and win, fight and make up, fear and yearn, just like we all do. And though the romance might be the central element of this story, it’s about more than two people falling in love. It’s about second chances and learning to be kind to yourself. It’s about picking yourself up when you’re knocked down. It’s about finding friendship that feels like family. Life is hard but books like this – books that are funny, romantic and heartwarming – remind us that it’s pretty wonderful too.
★★★★
