Let’s Make a Scene by Laura Wood

Let’s Make a Scene by Laura WoodLet's Make a Scene by Laura Wood
Series: Theo & Cynthie #2
Published by Atria Books on July 1, 2025
Genres: Romance
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Source: Edelweiss
Purchase on: Amazon// Barnes & Noble// BookBub
Add to: Goodreads // StoryGraph

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.



The companion novel to Laura Wood’s Under Your Spell follows Theo Eliott’s best friend Cynthie Taylor as she’s pulled back into a fake PR relationship with Jack Turner-Jones, the one costar she swore she’d never work with again.
When Cynthie Taylor gets her first real acting job, starring in a small British movie, she is over the moon. There is only one problem…Cynthie’s arrogant and annoyingly handsome costar Jack hates her, and the feeling is definitely mutual. While they may be at war behind the scenes, their on-screen chemistry is palpable, and the studio sees an opportunity—have the two young stars fake a romance that will charm fans and draw crowds.
Thirteen years later, Cynthie and Jack have successfully kept their promise to stay far away from one another, until a surprising offer comes to make a sequel to the cult classic that launched their careers. But there’s a catch: they must also rekindle their pretend relationship…and this time there’s a documentary crew following their every move.
Cynthie and Jack both desperately need this film to work, but can two ex-rivals ever really trust each other? And what happens when the roles they’re playing start to feel all too real?

five-stars

review

A second-chance romance with the added bonus of fake dating? I was so excited and with good reason! Let’s Make a Scene by Laura Wood surpassed the first in this duet/series and was just the absolute cutest. It felt like we receive two love stories in one. This was so great to read and watch the characters grow and change and learn. The sparks between Cynthie and Jack were palpable from the start, and having this is dual pov as well as split between their first go around and present day was perfection.

One of the tropes I really tend to dislike in romance is miscommunication. It is never done well. Somehow, I absolutely loved it here. It made sense in this narrative. To be in your early twenties, scared of starting a new career, afraid of failing and of being judged – add to that the self-centeredness we all have at that age still where you believe everything is aimed at or because of you, and it just made complete sense. Of course Cynthie and Jack are going to misunderstand one another when they first met 13 years ago. We see them fumble and the dual pov really helps us as the reader realize just how much they assumed about one another. To see Jack so anxious, so nervous and full of self doubt in his own POV and then have it reflected back as arrogance and disdain in Cynthie’s was so satisfying. This felt like young love between young adults.

Having the split between past and present is the only way this book could’ve worked and it worked so well! Seeing those misunderstandings from their youth juxtaposed with how they’ve matured and grown as adults really made their relationship so special. I absolutely fell in love with Jack. He was such a great guy and seeing his growth from that very first time he had his table read with Cynthie, to current day really hit home just how much can change in a decade. The way he loved Cynthie and was so willing to put his heart out there for her since the beginning really just got my heart in a chokehold.

Compared to Under Your Spell, Let’s Make a Scene by Laura Wood was so much more developed and well-rounded. The characters were amazing, as was their development. Watching Cynthie and Jack reconnect and fall in love felt so tender and sweet and real. This book really helped get me out of a reading slump and now I just wish we’d get more from this little world of theirs. Maybe a Nico and Lee story??

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