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Romantic Comedy: Reese's Book Club: A Novel Hardcover – April 4, 2023
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“Full of dazzling banter and sizzling chemistry.”—People
“If you ever wanted a backstage pass to Saturday Night Live, this is the book for you.”—Zibby Owens, Good Morning America
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, USA Today, BuzzFeed, PopSugar, Harper’s Bazaar, Real Simple, She Reads, New York Post
Sally Milz is a sketch writer for The Night Owls, a late-night live comedy show that airs every Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for the occasional hook-up, career success, and a close relationship with her stepfather to round out a satisfying life.
But when Sally’s friend and fellow writer Danny Horst begins dating Annabel, a glamorous actress who guest-hosted the show, he joins the not-so-exclusive group of talented but average-looking and even dorky men at the show—and in society at large—who’ve gotten romantically involved with incredibly beautiful and accomplished women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch called The Danny Horst Rule, poking fun at this phenomenon while underscoring how unlikely it is that the reverse would ever happen for a woman.
Enter Noah Brewster, a pop music sensation with a reputation for dating models, who signed on as both host and musical guest for this week’s show. Dazzled by his charms, Sally hits it off with Noah instantly, and as they collaborate on one sketch after another, she begins to wonder if there might actually be sparks flying. But this isn’t a romantic comedy—it’s real life. And in real life, someone like him would never date someone like her . . . right?
With her keen observations and trademark ability to bring complex women to life on the page, Curtis Sittenfeld explores the neurosis-inducing and heart-fluttering wonder of love, while slyly dissecting the social rituals of romance and gender relations in the modern age.
- Print length320 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherRandom House
- Publication dateApril 4, 2023
- Dimensions6.5 x 1.1 x 9.6 inches
- ISBN-100399590943
- ISBN-13978-0399590948
The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more
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From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Review
“A love letter to the prototypical rom-com . . . Sittenfeld’s work exists in the dissection and comprehension of female desire: what we want, what we absolutely don’t and, maybe paramount, what we’re even allowed to have. . . . A fizzy ride.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“From the heart to the funny bone . . . What makes all this particularly delightful is that the woman narrating Romantic Comedy is hyper-aware of the conventions of romantic comedy, and she knows full well that real life is no fairy tale. But could it be this time?”—The Washington Post
“Zingy . . . electrically compelling, with steady warmth as well as drama . . . [Romantic Comedy’s] command of structure, pace and dialogue is faultless. . . . [An] affable, intelligently crafted tale of work and love.”—The Guardian
“If you’re in need of [a] smart, sophisticated, and fun diversion right now (and who isn’t), this is your book. Like her literary foremother Jane Austen, Sittenfeld brings together exquisitely sharp dialogue that fizzes, excruciating sexual tension, and incisive social observation.”—Oprah Daily
“Sittenfeld’s meta-romance is an utterly perfect version of itself, a self-aware and pandemic-informed love story that’s no less romantic for being either. . . . Fans will flock to this pure-fun, feminist romp.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Romance artfully and entertainingly deconstructed.”—Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
April 2018
Weekly Schedule for The Night Owls
Monday 1 p.m. pitch meeting with guest host
Tuesday 5 p.m. start of all-night writing session
Wednesday 12 p.m. deadline for submitted sketches
Wednesday 3 p.m. table read of submitted sketches
Wednesday 9 p.m. preliminary show lineup posted internally
Wednesday night–Saturday morning rehearsals; scripts revised; sets built; special effects designed; hair, makeup, and costumes chosen and created; pre-tapes shot
Saturday 1 p.m. run-through of show
Saturday 8 p.m. dress rehearsal before a live audience
Saturday 11:30 p.m. live show before a new audience
Sunday 1:30 a.m. first after-party
Monday, 1:10 p.m.
For the meeting that marked the official start of that week’s show, I planned to pitch two sketches. But I had three ideas—you could write and submit more but pitch only two—so I’d play by ear which ones I went with, depending on how the guest host reacted to the pitches preceding mine. About forty writers, cast members, and producers were crammed into the seventeenth-floor office of the show’s creator and executive director, Nigel Petersen. Nigel’s seventeenth-floor office—not to be confused with his office on the eighth floor, adjacent to the studio where the show was filmed—was both well-appointed and never intended as a meeting place for anywhere close to forty people. This meant that Nigel sat behind his desk, the host sat in a leather armchair, a few lucky staffers nabbed a place on the sole couch, and everyone else leaned against the wall or sat on the floor.
Nigel started by introducing the host, who, as happened about once per season, was also that week’s musical guest. Noah Brewster had twice in the past been the musical guest, but this was his first time hosting. He was a cheesily handsome, extremely successful singer-songwriter who specialized in cloying pop music and was known for dating models in their early twenties. Though he looked like a surfer—piercing blue eyes, shaggy blond hair and stubble, a big toothy grin, and a jacked body—I’d learned by reading the host bio we were emailed each Monday morning that he’d grown up in a suburb of Washington, D.C. He was thirty-six, the same age I was, and had been famous ever since releasing the hit “Making Love in July” more than fifteen years before, when I was in college. “Making Love in July” was a paean to respectfully taking the virginity of a long-haired girl with “glowy skin,” “a pouty mouth,” and “raspberry nipples,” and it was one of those songs that had for a year played so often on the radio that, in spite of finding it execrable, I accidentally knew all the words. In the time since then, Noah Brewster had won many awards and sold more than twenty million albums, a figure I also had learned from his host bio. It was not a coincidence that his tenth album was being released the following week; hosts, musical guests, and the combinations therein were usually either celebrating newfound fame or promoting imminent work.
After Nigel introduced him, Noah Brewster looked around the room and said, “Thanks for letting a musician crash the comedy party. Hosting TNO has been a lifelong dream, ever since I was a middle school misfit sneaking down to the basement to watch after my parents went to bed.” He smiled his big smile at us, and I wondered if his teeth were real or veneers. After nine years at TNO, I was as accustomed as one could be to interacting with high-wattage celebrities, though it often was surprising to discover who was even better-looking in person (most of them), who was an asshole (not many, but definitely a few), who was shockingly vacuous (the lead from a popular police procedural stood out), and who you wished would stay on the show forever because they were so great in the sketches and also just so fun to hang out with in the middle of the night.
Nigel glanced to his left, where a writer was sitting at his feet, and said, “Benji, why don’t you kick things off?”
Benji pitched a sketch about the former FBI director, James Comey, writing the memoir he’d just published, dictating Dear Diary–style girlish reminiscences. Then a cast member named Oliver said he was working on an idea with Rohit, another writer (it wouldn’t become clear until the read-through of the sketches on Wednesday if this was true or an excuse on Oliver’s part). Then a writer named Lianna pitched a sketch where Noah Brewster would play the token hot straight boy in a high school chorus, then a writer named Tony pitched a sketch where Noah Brewster would play a preppy white guy running for office and guest-preaching in a Black church. Henrietta, who was one of the two cast members I worked with the most, said she and Viv, who was the other cast member I worked with the most, wanted to do a sketch about Internet searches made by dogs. I went sixth.
“I think of this one as The Danny Horst Rule,” I said. “Because it’s inspired by my very own officemate, whose big news I trust we’re all aware of.” Everyone clapped or hooted. Over the weekend, after seven weeks of dating, Danny and Annabel Lily had gotten engaged, as revealed in a post on Annabel’s Instagram account showing a close-up of a ring on her finger, her hand resting atop Danny’s. Celebrity gossip websites immediately reported that the diamond was an emerald-cut halo with a pavé setting, and estimated that the ring had cost $110,000. Although I myself had been married briefly in my twenties, I had no idea what emerald cut, halo, or pavé setting meant—my ex-husband and I had both worn plain gold bands.
As the cheering died down, Danny, who was sitting on the floor two people to my left, said, “Thanks, everyone. And, yeah, pretty f***ing psyched that I get to be Mr. Annabel Lily.” There was another round of cheers, and Danny added, “If you’re wondering, Sally did warn me that she’d be exploiting me to advance her career.”
“I’m trying to convince Danny to write it with me,” I said. “But we’ll put a pin in that for now. Anyway, I want to write about the phenomenon where—sorry, Danny, I really do love you—but where men at TNO date above their station, but women never do.”
There was widespread laughter, though laughter at the pitch meeting could mean you’d revealed your punchlines too early. For this reason, some people pitched only decoys, though I took the risk of sharing my real ideas in order to lay claim to them in case anyone else was considering something similar. And anyway, to a surprising degree, laughter was never the ultimate determinant of a sketch’s fate; Nigel’s whims were. Of the forty or so scripts that would be submitted for Wednesday’s read-through, about twelve sketches would make it to the dress rehearsal Saturday and just eight to the live show. Sketches featuring the host had a better chance of surviving, but beyond that, it was impossible to guess what Nigel would decide. All of us in his office at that moment, cast members and writers alike, had had our hearts broken many times.
“Obviously, Danny should be in the sketch in some capacity,” I added, “either as himself or as someone else. And, Noah, it could work really well if you’re a guy who gets arrested for somehow breaking the rule, like you’re on a date with either Henrietta or Viv made up to look less gorgeous than they are in real life.” Though I was close to Henrietta and Viv, I wasn’t just flattering them. They really were both gorgeous, which wasn’t unusual for female comedians, and they were both so funny that their funniness often obscured their beauty, which also wasn’t unusual for female comedians.
“Just so I understand—” Noah Brewster said, and the confusion on his face made me wonder if he’d turn out to be one of the ding-dongs. I’d never previously spoken to him. The first time he’d been the musical guest had been before I worked at the show, and the second time, I hadn’t had any reason to interact with him. Occasionally, musical guests appeared in sketches, or you could watch them rehearse their songs on Thursday afternoons if you weren’t otherwise occupied, but that didn’t mean you’d meet. “In this sketch,” he said, “I’d be breaking the law because I’m so much better looking than a woman I’m dating?”
There was some chuckling, and a writer named Jeremiah said, “The bail for your hair alone would be a billion dollars.”
Noah’s expression was agreeable as he looked at me and said, “No, I’m really asking.”
“Well, yeah,” I said. “Basically.” I was seated with my back against the west wall of Nigel’s office, about ten feet from Noah, and many of my co-workers were between us.
Noah’s voice remained cheerfully diplomatic as he said, “I’ve always thought it works better when the host is making fun of himself—or herself—instead of mocking other people, so I’m inclined to pass on this one.”
Product details
- Publisher : Random House; First Edition (April 4, 2023)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0399590943
- ISBN-13 : 978-0399590948
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.5 x 1.1 x 9.6 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #90,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,274 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
- #2,967 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction
- #6,675 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author

Curtis Sittenfeld is the bestselling author of the novels Prep, The Man of My Dreams, American Wife, and Sisterland, which have been translated into twenty-five languages. Her nonfiction has been published widely, including in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, and Glamour, and broadcast on public radio’s This American Life. A native of Cincinnati, she currently lives with her family in St. Louis.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find this romantic comedy entertaining with witty banter and well-developed characters. The writing style is easy to read, and customers appreciate the SNL-like backdrop and behind-the-scenes details of the TNO show. The book receives positive feedback for its intelligence, with customers noting the author's thorough research. The plot development receives mixed reactions, with some finding it good while others say it has no plot.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book enjoyable and entertaining, with one describing it as a perfect beach read.
"...characters growth and happy ending makes this an entertaining book to read for Valentine's Day!" Read more
"I very much enjoyed this book! I really debated on my star rating and just a couple small things made me knock it down by half a star. 1...." Read more
"...It was fun to experience and get a behind the scenes feel of what real life shows like SNL are like...." Read more
"...I've ever had from Goodreads discovery to library download and it was fun!..." Read more
Customers enjoy this romantic comedy, praising its witty dialogue and banter, with one customer noting that the relationship between the characters is particularly hilarious.
"...I liked the witty dialogue between Sally, her co-workers and Noah...." Read more
"I loved the smart dialogue, the believability of the relationship between Sally and Noah in the beginning, and the enormity of research Curtis..." Read more
"...the romance builds with slow heat through physical attraction, funny banter, and genuine intelligent rapport...." Read more
"...But it gets going about 30-40% in a becomes a very funny and delightfully lovely story. You gotta love a happy ending!" Read more
Customers appreciate the well-developed characters in the book, particularly noting their in-depth conversations, with one customer highlighting the protagonist's role as a writer on a sketch show.
"Despite being set inside a late night comedy TV show, the characters were wholesome and reasonable people...." Read more
"...all the pop culture references that were relatable and the main characters being older and established in their lives. It is a quick read!" Read more
"...to the plot or to character development and made the main character seem very whiny and unlikable (maybe that was the point?)...." Read more
"...Sittenfeld is just stunningly good at character development and Noah feels like a grown up and actualized version of Cross from "Prep", and I loved..." Read more
Customers praise the writing style of the book, finding it incredibly well written and easy to read, with one customer describing it as a hilariously enjoyable master class in writing.
"...everything that Sittenfeld has published, and think she's a hugely talented writer, whose books always surpass my initial concern that they seem..." Read more
"...It is a quick read!" Read more
"...The writing was horrible; it was written almost as if listing thoughts for a checklist only to combine it with emails and the most recoiling..." Read more
"Curtis is an amazing writer. She has a razor wit and a compassionate spirit as big as Jupiter...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's intelligence, noting the author's thorough research and clever writing style, with one customer highlighting its genuine rapport and another mentioning its pop culture references.
"...slow heat through physical attraction, funny banter, and genuine intelligent rapport...." Read more
"...I liked all the pop culture references that were relatable and the main characters being older and established in their lives. It is a quick read!" Read more
"...Sally feels real and anxious and devastatingly smart and so nuanced...." Read more
"...beef: I really grew to dislike the main character, Sally, who is overly needy, and who tries to blow up every good thing that happens to her in the..." Read more
Customers enjoy the storyline of the book, particularly appreciating its setting and the interesting behind-the-scenes details of the SNL-like show.
"...Each was a different year and gave good perspective of the timeline. And I loved that chapter two was entirely composed of emails...." Read more
"...I loved the behind-the-scenes details and I could tell that the author did some major research. The story felt genuine. And it was funny...." Read more
"...I liked all the pop culture references that were relatable and the main characters being older and established in their lives. It is a quick read!" Read more
"...The story is great - what is it like to work as a late night comedy writer, or to be a genuine nice guy celebrity...." Read more
Customers appreciate the style of the book, finding it cute and quaint, with one customer noting its SNL-like backdrop.
"I enjoyed this one. He was really sweet. They both had issues to work through and it was nice to see the, communicate with eachother...." Read more
"While I very much enjoyed the SNL-like backdrop for this cute romance (maybe a little contrived but that's ok it's fiction), but what I did not..." Read more
"This was a sweet story of love and talent. I liked the inside look at a Saturday Night Live look alike plot, layered with a love story...." Read more
"It was so cute. It was kind of like a hallmark movie without the terrible acting or dialogue...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the plot development of the book, with some enjoying the story and appreciating the happy ending, while others criticize that it has no plot.
"...The characters growth and happy ending makes this an entertaining book to read for Valentine's Day!" Read more
"...Instead, the plot became mostly romance and much less about what it takes to be a writer for that type of show...." Read more
"...I loved the relationship between Sally and Noah. It’s just so genuine and real...." Read more
"...But it gets going about 30-40% in a becomes a very funny and delightfully lovely story. You gotta love a happy ending!" Read more
Reviews with images

Fun and engaging with great characters
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2025The protagonist of this story is Sally Milz, a writer for a "Saturday Night Live" type of show that airs on late night tv. Her job consists of a crazy week leading up to the show, going over comedy sketches with celebrity guest hosts and culminates with the requisite Saturday night party after every show. Her love life is not great, but she is practically married to the show and her closest friends are her co-workers.
Sally creates funny skits about what bothers her about society in general. She has noticed that some of her average, nerdy male co-workers have relationships with gorgeous top models and famous actresses and decides to make her latest skit about a plain, but intelligent woman like herself, in good shape , but no runway model, who attracts the amorous attention of a devastatingly handsome man. The comedy is about how society approves of the schlumpy guy with a beautiful girl ("good for him!") but sees the pairing of a plain girl with a gorgeous guy as ridiculous (What does he see in her??")
It happens that the next guest host is a world famous romantic pop singer, who is also the most attractive man she has ever seen in real life, Noah Brewster. Sally and Noah work closely on the skits for the next show and develop a closeness which makes Sally uncomfortable, so she says something in her usual snarky way that puts him off.
I liked the witty dialogue between Sally, her co-workers and Noah. It was very interesting to learn how a Saturday Night Live type show (called "The Night Owls" in this book) is developed and performed.
The second part of the book takes place when the taping of the show is suspended during Covid-19. Some friendships deepened and some marriages collapse. The characters growth and happy ending makes this an entertaining book to read for Valentine's Day!
- Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2024I very much enjoyed this book! I really debated on my star rating and just a couple small things made me knock it down by half a star. 1. It’s a 300 page book composed of a Prologue, three chapters, and an Epilogue. Only. Three. Chapters. I’m someone who doesn’t like to stop reading until I reach the end of a chapter so it bugged me when I had to stop at an odd point. BUT. I did like the format of the chapters. Each was a different year and gave good perspective of the timeline. And I loved that chapter two was entirely composed of emails. I have a soft spot of books written through emails, messages, etc. 2. Certain parts were very liberal, especially when it comes to the pandemic. Anyone who knows me is aware that I am a very conservative person. I have nothing against the other side (so please don’t take this the wrong way) and I am happy when people give their views in respectful ways, but I don’t always like when it’s given in a book. For me, it makes a book less relatable and more like it has a political agenda. I prefer just keeping political opinions separate. But it wasn’t overbearing in this book so I did like that.
I loved the relationship between Sally and Noah. It’s just so genuine and real. Sally portraying her insecurities and her reactions to different situations was something I really connected with. Their relationship is one that I know I personally strive to have in my lifetime. True love. *sigh* my hopeless romantic heart just swoons!
- Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2024I've seen some mixed reviews on this one, and I can definitely see where every side comes from. I personally enjoyed this one for the most part, but definitely wouldn't call it anything super ground breaking by any means. It was fun to experience and get a behind the scenes feel of what real life shows like SNL are like. However, I do feel like there was maybe a little too much background and detail given, which maybe the author should have focused a little more on building up a more realistic connection and development of the relationship between the two main characters. I mostly enjoyed Sally as the female lead - but while she was a strong character in some scenarios, there were other times where she was just way too unconfident and self sabotage-y, which became irritating at times. I'm not the biggest fan of the narrative when the lead is their own biggest obstacle 🙄 But I did like that the author seemed to make her a "real" character. She was very relatable in that aspect. And her uh, anxieties, when it came to how one relieves themselves when in a new relationship was a very humorous bit 😆
The other bit of criticism I have is that the author was very forward with where her stance is on a lot of real life topics, and this book mentions a LOT about Covid. That kind of thing doesn't always bother me, but to have a good chunk of the book to be taking place during Covid and lock downs kind of ruined the magic of disappearing into a fictional story for me, and it was just too much for me. Having to deal with that in real life was good enough for me, I'd rather not read about it when I'm trying to escape reality, thanks. And it just wasn't necessary, there could have been other scenarios used as a catalyst to get the same story across. For that reason, I can understand where a lot of people did not enjoy this one.
All in all, was an enjoyable read, but not one I'd recommend to everyone.
Top reviews from other countries
-
LucíaReviewed in Spain on March 18, 2025
2.0 out of 5 stars Sin más
Un libro de romance con un romance un poco mediocre, había partes que por lo menos eran graciosas
- B. HigginsReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely brilliant!
Took a while to get into this book, read the first half over several weeks, the second half in less than 12 hours. Unexpected, laugh out loud funny, and inspiring in its own way. I read a lot and rarely wake up in the morning still thinking about the book I read last night - I think this will be on the periphery of my mind for a while. If you’re unsure about buying this - just do it!
- Booklover130Reviewed in Australia on April 13, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written and enjoyable non-cliche romance
4.5 stars. A rare (for me) book that I found hard to put down till I'd read right through to the satisfying ending. The characters are believable and realistic. The behind-the-scenes look at the frenetic world of TV sketch comedy (a la Saturday Night Live) was to me quite fascinating. The romance was a bit of a slow burn, but it felt totally believable.
I liked that Noah was not the cliche of celeb/pop star hero that so often feels shallow and not realistic when depicted in books. In this case, both he and Sally were drawn convincingly. Both were likeable, but somehow neither had ever met a person they could have a long-term real and satisfying relationship with. They were attracted from the start, but it did take a while for things to develop between them. I fully enjoyed the journey, and I was completely sucked in to their lives and their story. For me, a very enjoyable read.
- Tammy HartReviewed in Canada on November 4, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, easy read!
Read this book in two sittings! Easy fun read!
- MaryDReviewed in France on January 4, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
Not what I was expecting - but SO pleased ! An excellent in depth of the subject m with an unexpected romantic twist. This author never ever disappoints. Highly recommend.