Second Draft by Kate Leone
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 241
Published: on 3rd February, 2026
Format: Ebook
Source: Gifted
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Book Synopsis:

Breakout fantasy author Emma Whitehart has her life neatly under control — corporate by day, writer by night, and a careful avoidance of romantic entanglements. Fictional men are safer. Celebrity crushes are harmless.

Or so she thought.

When Emma arrives at San Diego Comic-Con to promote her bestselling debut novel, she comes face to face with Darren Cole — British actor, internet heartthrob, and the true inspiration behind her morally grey, fan-favorite villain.

As if meeting him wasn’t overwhelming enough, it turns out Darren has read her book. And he is… intrigued.

Thrown together over a whirlwind weekend of panels, signings, press events, and a fandom determined to ship them into orbit, Emma and Darren find themselves navigating forced proximity in the public eye — where every look is analyzed and every interaction goes viral.

As circumstances keep pulling them together, the line between fiction and reality begins to blur. But real feelings come with real risks — to reputations, careers, and carefully protected hearts.

Book Review

*I received an ARC copy of this book, but all opinions are entirely my own and honest.

I’d never heard of this author before until they reached out to me asking if I wanted to be an ARC reader for their debut novel. The cover is very bold and eye-catching, and the premise is what drew me in. I absolutely love a romance book, so when I saw the tropes, I knew I had to read it… I’m so glad I did!

Considering this is the author’s debut novel, the writing is very strong. Leone does a great job with the characters, and the dialogue doesn’t feel forced between them. The story flows and I liked the chemistry between the main characters. I also liked the addition of the side characters too, particularly Leah!

My only criticism is that the pacing was a little unbalanced throughout the book. It started off slow and then once it reached around the halfway point, the pace picked up and it felt right. However, the ending, especially after the build up to the climax was a little rushed. Personally, I would’ve liked it to be a little slower so that we could see more of the main characters relationship development. I enjoyed the 6 month time jump but I would’ve rather we saw more in between.

I really enjoyed the setting of this book. I’ve only been to Comic-Con once in my life, but Leone was able to capture the atmosphere, excitement and chaos of it brilliantly. It fit the vibes for both of the main characters to be there. Emma is an author promoting her fantasy book and Darren is a movie star promoting his movie there. I also found it was very clever how the author tied in the moments when fiction collides with reality!

I will admit that the connection between the main characters feels very ‘insta-lovey’. Normally I don’t enjoy this trope but it was done well in this book. The romance is definitely a slow burner, and I liked their banter whilst it was blossoming. It was nice to have the FMC doing the hard work to reconcile the relationship instead of it typically being the man. This is because of the third-act breakup. Emma felt very relatable all the way through, and I liked seeing her vulnerable side and being able to tackle her fears. I really liked Darren’s character–reminded me so much of Hook from Once Upon a Time! Be mindful there is 0 spice in this book but there are some lovely kissing scenes when they eventually happen.

I would recommend reading this book if you’re looking for a contemporary romance from a new author. It’s a fun, heartfelt romance with a sprinkling of emotional depth throughout.