About the Book

Emma gets a Hollywood-tinged, feminist update in this funny and fierce retelling of Austen’s classic about a well-intentioned but tragically misguided matchmaker. The summer after her first year of college, teen starlet Emma Crawford returns home to Manhattan to prepare for the role of a lifetime and play career matchmaker to her friends. When Emma’s search for an assistant leads her to the wide-eyed Brittany Smith, Emma sees the big screen in the girl’s future. And because Emma knows best, she’s sure that steering Brittany onto the right path is all she needs to do to make her a star even if Brittany doesn’t know it yet. Emmas plans start to unravel, however, when professional soccer player Liam Price re-enters her life. Not only is Liam her former best friends older brother, but he’s gorgeous, smart, and has no problem pointing out the (totally exaggerated) flaws in Emma’s plans. But as Emma comes in close contact with the darker side of Hollywood, she starts to question the glamorous world she’s always known and realizes her role in it needs to change if she can find the courage to go off script.

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Other Books in the Series

In My Opinion

I was completely charmed by Kate Watson’s debut. From her updated take on Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park to Finley Price’s backstory, I loved every minute of Seeking Mansfield. The first companion novel, Shoot the Moon, was a bit of a let down after the high expectations that the first book set. When I saw that Off Script was returning to the formula of the first, I hoped the magic would return.

On the one hand, Watson returns to Jane Austen for inspiration and her focus on some of the secondary characters in the first book is a draw. On the other hand, it can be tough to meet the high expectations after a book that isn’t as well-received.

Yet, in Off Script, Watson manages to take a character who, on the surface appears fake, superficial, and self-centered, and makes readers change their minds about her before the finish of the book. Hang out with Emma long enough, and it becomes obvious much of her behavior is a reaction to her pain and disappointments (many of which come from the people she should be able to depend on the most).

It takes a while to get there, but the growing pains Emma experiences are worth the journey. Add in Liam, who doesn’t hesitate to speak his mind and offer correction where Emma’s behavior is less than stellar and all of the correlations you can make between this book and Austen’s Emma, and Watson has managed to create another story I thoroughly enjoyed.

Content warning: There are several instances of cursing throughout the book

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.