A Novel Romance

There are many things about this movie that were good/very good: very good actors, good cinematography, good conflict, good choice of Portland, OR, and New York city locations (actually the movie may have been filmed elsewhere), and very good chemistry between the 2 lead actors. The only problem is the script, and it's a big problem. It's almost as if the screenwriter tried as hard as possible to write the most trite and cliché'd script possible. There's not one clever thing in this movie, not one surprise, nothing that would distinguish it from many, many similar romantic movies; well, except some of those movies at least try to put in a surprise, some unexpected twist, which then might lead to other interesting things, etc. Just a few changes to the plot, maybe some clever turn(s) or something humorous, could have made this movie far more successful.

A novelist and a literary critic meet on a plane flight to Portland, but they don't exchange phone numbers or last names. The writer, Liam (Dylan Bruce), was interested, so when he accidentally discovers her identity later, he tracks her down at her newspaper job.

Sophie (Amy Acker) is dealing with a recent very-public breakup from her ex, who was in the public eye, and she has trust issues. Dylan writes under a pen name and has been resisting the publisher's wish that he reveal his identity. As their relationship blossoms, they deal with their issues separately and privately. Eventually, each must reveal their concerns (with trust and real identity) if they are to truly build a meaningful relationship.

The chemistry in this Hallmark romance is enough to make the story work.

Look for Charles Dutton as one of Sophie's friends who helps her evaluate the new man in her life. And Camille Mitchell as Liam's agent, who adds a spark to the story.

This was a really very good movie. James Welch Henderson Arkansas 8/18/2021.

This is a real story with heart and very little pretense. Both MC actors had very obvious chemistry. I highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in a deeper kind of romance. For a TV movie, it's there in many different ways. I see that it's for sale (as of this writing). For the first time ever, I'm going to buy a Hallmark movie since I want to be able to watch it again. And again... Thanks to everyone involved in this movie for what you created. You should all be proud.

This movie really surprised me. When I read the premise I was quite skeptical, believing that this movie would be another one of Hallmark's cheesy rom-coms (not that that's a bad thing!) but I quality of this movie was great!

The lead actors were fantastic, particularly Amy Acker who delivered a great performance.

I thought the writing of this movie was really great, as it didn't end in the cliché way I thought it would. I liked that the characters faced more strife and trouble in their relationship than the average Hallmark romance.

9/10 stars. You lost the last star in the finale moment. Just a teensy bit corny. Otherwise a great flick. Recommended.