The day is finally here. Owen Nicholls’ gorgeous romantic comedy, Love, Unscripted, hits US and Canadian shelves today, published by HarperCollins Canada and Penguin Random House / Crown respectively.

Since the hardback release of this brilliant novel in the UK (Hachette / Headline), the novel has gone from strength to strength.

Most recently, the novel was featured in Buzzfeed‘s “17 Romantic Books To Fall In Love With This Valentine’s Day“, was selected by Amazon US as one of the Best Romantic Books for February, was featured as a top pick romance new release for February in the GoodReads newsletter which reaches 36 million + subscribers, and was selected by Betches as one of “20 Books to Read in 2020“.

Love, Unscripted has also had some incredible write ups, including one starred review from Kirkus: “a delightfully sweet, funny, and heartbreaking ode to love stories, both on-screen and off-“, and a wonderful review from Publisher’s Weekly: “[An] inventive, clever debut…Nicholls writes with verve and wit…Nick Hornby fans will appreciate this.”

The novel has also captured the hearts of many bestselling and acclaimed writers:

“Sometimes a book comes along and it feels dusted with magic – Love, Unscripted is one of those books. Nostalgic, tender and achingly cool, it has the same understated beauty as a John Cusack movie. A love letter to the silver screen and to all of the iconic romantic comedies – it’s book treasure, my new favourite.” Josie Silver, author of One Day in December

“High Fidelity for the multiplex generation. Owen Nicholls makes it look easy but it’s a smart and funny book, laced with wisdom. A lovely, warm, engaging read.” Richard Lumsden, author of The Six Loves of Billy Binns

“Super cute and a complete delight for film lovers (and lovers of love)” Holly Bourne, author of How Do You Like Me Now and Am I Normal Yet?

The novel follows Nick and Ellie…

It’s​ ​2012​ ​and​ ​Nick​ ​loves​ ​Ellie.​ ​He​ ​loves​ ​her​ ​easily​ ​as​ ​much​ ​as he​ ​loves​ ​his​ ​job​ ​as​ ​a​ ​projectionist.​ ​So​ ​when​ ​she​ ​tells​ ​him​ ​she​ ​doesn’t​ ​feel​ ​the​ ​same​ ​as​ ​when they​ ​first​ ​met,​ ​his​ ​world​ ​collapses.

The​ ​fallout​ ​from​ ​Ellie’s​ ​declaration​ ​causes​ ​Nick​ ​to​ ​reminisce​ ​about​ ​their​ ​first​ ​meeting, but his memories​ are​ ​as​ ​rose-tinted​ ​as​ ​the Hollywood​ ​love​ ​stories​ ​he​ ​idolises. ​​He’s haunted by ​their shared​ ​jokes,​ ​her wry smile and how perfectly everything​ ​fell​ ​into​ ​place​ ​that​ ​one​ night.​ ​

Four​ ​years​ ​later,​ ​however,​ ​Nick​ ​is​ ​struggling​ ​to​ ​understand​ ​why​ ​Ellie​ ​is​ ​gone​ ​and​ ​why he​ ​can’t​ ​seem​ ​to​ ​do​ ​anything​ ​about​ ​it.​ ​He​ ​checks​ ​his​ ​phone​ ​for​ ​messages​ ​from​ ​her,​ ​drafts texts​ ​to​ ​send​ ​and​ ​finds​ ​solace​ ​watching​ ​old​ ​Hal​ ​Ashby​ ​films.

But what did she really mean when she said her feelings have changed? Could their love ever be the same as it was that perfect first night in 2008?

Nick is about to find out that perhaps real love is better than reel love.

Owen Nicholls is a screenwriter with a Masters in Scriptwriting from the UEA.

His first screenplay – a biopic of the filmmakers Powell and Pressburger – is currently under option to Bedlam Productions, the BAFTA and Academy Award-winning producers of The King’s Speech. His work has appeared in Empire and NME, and earlier this year Reel Love was selected for the Escalator Scheme run by the Writers’ Centre in Norwich, where he currently lives with his family.