Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Published by: Avon Books
Publication date: 9th April 2026
Content warnings: anxiety, mental health

Other books by Mia Page:
Bookishly Ever After

“Can they write their own love story?”

Sometimes I just need a little break from all those crime/thrillers, and when that happens, I love to reach for a light-hearted romcom to perk me up a bit! It’s just as well, because the fantastic team at one of my favourite publishers, Avon Books, sent me a gorgeous stack of new summery romance books to get my teeth into! This one is my first pick from the stack and I’m already dying to read the next. It’s a feel-good, funny story with surprisingly complex characters, one I found to be hopeful and reflective. I’m so happy to be sharing my review for Losing the Plot by Mia Page!

About the book

Jess is a passionate book blogger whose career is going from strength to strength, but all she wants is to write her own novels.

Alex is a bestselling author, but with a deadline looming and his creativity at an all-time low, he’s in danger of becoming yesterday’s news.

Luckily, Alex’s publishers have a plan. If they combine Jess’s passion for romance with Alex’s brooding writing, they might just create the next big hit. The only problem? They can’t stand each other – and both are far too stubborn to get on the same page.

As they clash over edits and brainstorming sessions, sparks fly in more ways than one… Could their romance be the plot twist neither of them saw coming?

The beginning

It is SO clear from that first chapter that this book is for the book lovers. And, if you want to be more specific, for the book bloggers. I have never, in all the books I’ve read, felt this SEEN 😂 We meet Jess who is a passionate book blogger. She’s building a career for herself and has gotten some amazing opportunities. The stuff of dreams. She works so hard to promote other people’s novels, but she is desperate to write her own. Yeah, that all felt a little too close to home! I connected with Jess straight away, our shared dreams and goals for the future. And I just seemed to melt into this author’s writing. It’s so easy to read, like a big warm hug of a book. Just gorgeous! When browsing in her local book shop, Jess catches the eye of a handsome stranger. Someone she’d never noticed before. After an awkward encounter, the two go their separate ways, but I had a feeling the pair would cross paths sooner than either of them expected… The book is dual POV, so as well as Jess, we also read from Alex’s perspective. And, well, Alex is the guy from the book shop. And he’s an author…

“Choirs of angels launch into song, or perhaps that is just in her mind. In the film she is mentally casting. Because after all this time of reading about other people’s meet-cutes, is she finally having one of her own?”

There’s an exciting opportunity for Jess; Alex’s publisher loves her work, her wit, her passion. And they believe she would be the perfect person to step in to make Alex’s next book an immense success. But ohhh my god, this adorable little meet-cute Jess had envisioned soon came crashing down. Alex is not a fan of this plan. At all. There was tension between the two but even so, Alex begrudgingly agrees to give it a go. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t a fan of Alex, and as time went on, I just seemed to dislike him more. I know we aren’t really meant to like him at this stage, but I wanted Jess to run a mile! There were certain parts that felt wildly unrealistic too – how Jess working on this book with Alex quickly turned into an offer of being a co-author, with her name on the cover. I mean whaaat. Imagine if every book blogger had an opportunity like this 😅 But of course, it’s fiction, so we go with it. And I was certainly becoming a huge cheerleader for Jess. You got this, girl! Even though there is tension, even though they can’t stand working together, god is it obvious they fancy each other to death.

The middle

There is an excellent dash of forced proximity here. Jess and Alex are whisked away to a remote house in Godalming (yes, where they filmed The Holiday!), an Airbnb that would be empty for the whole weekend. The perfect place to knuckle down and get this book whipped into shape. Or was it the perfect opportunity to get to know each other properly, to finally acknowledge the elephant in the room… that they are both wildly attracted to one another but absolutely will not admit it? There is definitely some flirting going on. And over time, they do start to warm to the task at hand and actually begin to enjoy each other’s company. Even Alex seemed to annoy me less and less and time went on which was wonderful! I will say though that the enemies to lovers we were promised just did not happen. These two were never enemies, and whatever minimal rivalry there was at the start didn’t last long at all. The growth of their relationship was very speedy too and part of me wished it would have been a bit more of a slow-burn. But to be honest, I didn’t really mind too much.

“Get yourself together, he tells himself. You are here to do a task, not fall in love.“

I enjoyed learning more about Alex over time beneath his grumpy, stressed author persona. A busy family life, therapy sessions, his soft, gooey centre when Jess is around… or even when he thinks about Jess these days. I did want to be more on board with their relationship, but I felt like I needed more from it, much more of a build up instead of a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of growth. The intimacy fell a little flat for me unfortunately, almost forced to move the plot along. It was a shame because I did like these characters individually at this point. Just not… together! I did like exploring more of Jess and her mum’s relationship; it was quite strained and Jess had definitely spent more time with her grandparents growing up. These days, her mother spends more time abroad than she does with her daughter. I loved Jess’s friendship with Lily; the cheerleader mate everyone needs in their lives! I thought the few scenes these two had together really captured their bond, just how important they are to each other’s lives.

The end

Remember how I said I quite liked Alex? Well jesus christ, he just goes and ruins the new image I had of him after he says something so hurtful to Jess, someone so lovely and caring. Urgh! But in doing so, it forces him to talk, properly talk, with his sister, someone who is so grateful he came to her for advice. His conversations and therapy sessions really help him understand his feelings and emotions, how he can start setting boundaries with his family, how he can better manage his relationships. Maybe something positive was actually coming out of such a crappy situation! Of course Jess and Alex make up (what sort of a romcom would it be if they didn’t?!) and I felt they’d learnt so much more about each other, understood each other better than they had before. This part of their relationship was the most realistic, and I finally began to warm to the idea of these two being together, as a proper couple. Commitment seems to be tough for Alex though, and as easy as it is for me to say “just work on it, goddamit”, it was clear just how much he didn’t want to screw this up.

“Out of the wreckage of their two lives, maybe hope can emerge. Hope, and love. She just needs to get the ending right.”

I appreciated how both Jess and Alex spend time working on themselves, processing their pasts and present, understanding what each other wants out of life, out of a relationship. They have to do this right if they’re going to do it at all. I loved how the two write their own endings to the book they’ve been working on, which are subtle messages to each other. I get it; writing down your feelings can sometimes me much easier than saying them face to face. This was such a romantic gesture, but at the same time, they each said the important things they needed to say in a way that stops you in your tracks and makes you think. The ending was so beautiful, showing that two complex, perhaps even messy people can have an uncomplicated relationship, the importance of working on yourself to be the best version you can be. I also really enjoyed the epilogue, finally showing the result of all their hard work, as well as hints to what the future looks like for them both. If you love Emily Henry or Lucy Vine, then this book may be one for you!

Overall thoughts

Losing the Plot is an uplifting, easy-read romcom following successful book blogger, Jess, who desperately wants to write her own novel, and bestselling author, Alex, who has a looming deadline and dwindling creativity. When Alex’s publisher suggests the two work together on his current manuscript, a book he is struggling to get finished, there is tension. But it’s also the start of something beautiful. I found this book to be one for the book lovers – which book blogger doesn’t have a little dream of getting published one day?! I saw a lot of myself in Jess and I could really relate to her character, but my god I did not get on well with Alex for most of the book. Grumpy guys annoy me to death, I have discovered 😅

Jess and Alex clash… a lot. Their separate visions for the book look very different. She loves romance. He loves trauma. But it seems being in such close proximity brings the two closer together. I found their relationship development to be very fast-paced at the start, and I wanted it to be more of a slow-burn I think, but even so, there was believable chemistry there, and by the end, I was really rooting for their relationship, as well as their success as authors. The book is super thought-provoking, exploring family life, mental health issues, as well as being the best version of yourself. And can we just discuss this author’s writing?! It’s fun, it’s beautiful, and it’s left me feeling all warm and lovely 🥰

Huge thanks to Avon Books for sending me a copy as part of their Summer of Love Campaign! You can grab your own copy of Losing the Plot right now over on Amazon* or wherever you buy your books. Make sure you’re following the author over on Instagram for more updates!

* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks so much for your support!

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