I write romantic comedies as both

Jennifer Joyce and Ashley Reece.

Find me on Instagram:

@writer_jenn | @ashleyreecewrites

My latest book, A Million Meet Cutes is out now.

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Choose A Film and Get A Book Recommendation

 

I've seen this trend on Instagram, where people match up the vibes of films to give book recommendations, so I thought I'd give it a go with my books.

I love a rom com and there are some great ones in my collection. I have all of these on DVD - apart from When We First Met because it's only on Netflix - and I watch them repeatedly. They have everything I want from a rom com: a fun story, strong chemistry between characters and a heart-warming happily ever after - and I hope my books deliver these too!

So, let's do this. Pick a film and I'll recommend one of my books for similar mood and energy.

You can choose from:

13 Going on 30

Bridget Jones's Diary

Father of the Bride

Father of the Bride Part II

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day

(sorry, couldn't resist)

Sliding Doors

When We First Met

She's The Man

13 Going on 30

Jenna Rink and Cleo Parker both want the same thing: to be more grown up.

Jenna's a 13-year-old girl who makes a wish to be 'thirty, flirty and thriving' while Cleo's in her mid-twenties and still lives and acts like she did at seventeen, but both are unhappy with the status quo and want something more, something better, than life has to offer right now. But is being a grown up all it's cracked up to be?

Bridget Jones's Diary

Bridget and Ruth have a few things in common: they both want to fall in love, they both want to make changes changes to their lifestyles, and they both end up in a love triangle. But, more importantly, they are both perfect, just as they are.

Father of the Bride

These two books are full of wedding fever, with George Banks navigating the planning of his daughter's wedding while the second book in the Beginner's Guide series follows Ruth as she prepares to say 'I Do' and we see her cousin, Trina adjusting to married life while Erin battles drunk hens, ridiculous outfits and and a terrifying wedding planner as she finds herself agreeing to be a bridesmaid for the tackiest wedding known to man.

Father of the Bride Part II

We're back for another chaotic instalment of Father of the Bride and the Beginner's Guide series, with families growing and flying the nest!

Groundhog Day

A sprinkling of magic is added to both Groundhog Day and A Million Meet Cutes, with weatherman Phil Connors stuck in a time loop, repeating the same day time after time after time while Christina Jelly is stuck in a loop of meet-cutes and bad dates.

Sliding Doors

We get to see how life could be different for Helen and Ally In Sliding Doors and Everything Changes But You.

A tiny change alters Helen's life in Sliding Doors and we get to see both outcomes as the film shows us what happens if she catches the train or if she misses it, while in Everything Changes But You we see an alternate life for Ally when she makes a birthday wish that comes true.

When We First Met

Time travel helps Noah and Elodie change the past, but can they live happily ever after with their true loves by altering events that have already taken place?

She's The Man

Both Viola and Rebecca take on fake identities in She's The Man and The Accidental Life Swap, with Viola taking on the persona of her twin brother, Sebastian to join a boys' football team when the girls' team is cut, and when Rebecca is mistaken for her boss, Vanessa, she goes along with it, enjoying the power and confidence it brings.

But what happens if they're rumbled?

I've also posted this to my Instagram here, so do pop along and let us know which film you picked!

Links to the books:

The Grown Up To-Do List  |  A Beginner's Guide To Salad

A Beginner's Guide To Saying I Do  |  A Beginner's Guide To Family Life

A Million Meet Cutes  |  Everything Changes But You

Our Last Summer  |  The Accidental Life Swap

Links to the films:

13 Going on 30  |  Bridget Jones's Diary

Father of the Bride  |  Father of the Bride Part II

Groundhog Day  |  Sliding Doors

When We First Met  |  She's The Man

A Million Meet Cutes: Christina & Jonah's Ultimate Romcomathon

5 Rom Com Series I Love

7 Things I've Learned From Watching Rom Coms

Christina & Jonah's Romantic Ultimate Romcomathon

 

A Million Meet Cute's Christina loves watching rom coms with her flatmate, Jonah, and they love setting aside an entire evening to get cosy with snacks and a whole marathon of feel-good films. They even have a name for these evenings: romcomathons, and I've put together their ultimate romcomathon list:

Notting Hill

Runaway Bride

My Best Friend's Wedding

Isn't It Romantic

P.S. I Love You

The Object of My Affection

13 Going On 30

Picture Perfect

When We First Met

Groundhog Day

Do you spot any favourites?

What films would you add to your romcomathon?

A Million Meet Cutes is out now

Christina has always wanted her movie-perfect meet cute. Surely this would mean he was The One?

So she is shocked and amazed when one day she has very own meet-cute - sadly, the guy is most definitely NOT The One.

Over the weeks that follow, Christina finds herself encountering meet-cutes everywhere she goes - but she is still single. Plus, she's becoming fed up of getting tangled in dog leads (even if the dog owner is extremely handsome) and her car breaking down (even if the recovery guy is extremely handsome). Even when she is on a date, she has another meet-cute with a different guy.

What does it all mean and is this the way to find the perfect guy, or have her beloved romcom movies been lying to her all this time?

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Kobo

The Accidental Life Swap: False Identity in Film

The 12 Christmases of You & Me: 12 Time Travel Films & TV Shows

A Beginner's Guide To Family Life: 10 Family Based Films

Christina and Jonah's Romantic Comedy Playlist

 

I like to put together playlists for my books, and for A Million Meet Cutes I imagined the songs Christina and Jonah would compile in a romantic comedy playlist.

Flatmates Christina and Jonah love to curl up on the sofa to watch rom coms (usually with snacks. Usually pickled onion Monster Munch) so I've put together a playlist of songs from the soundtracks of the films they like to watch:

Express Yourself - Madonna

[Isn't It Romantic]

Head Over Heels - The Go-Go's

[13 Going on 30]

Bad Girls - Donna Summer

[Picture Perfect]

Love Is A Battlefield - Pat Benatar

[13 Going on 30]

Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours) - Stevie Wonder

[You've Got Mail]

Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain & Tennille

[Picture Perfect]

I Try - Macy Gray

[Picture Perfect]

Kids in America - Kim Wilde

[Clueless]

Respect - Aretha Franklin

[Bridget Jones's Diary]

It's Raining Men - Geri Halliwell

[Bridget Jones's Diary]

Just Like Heaven - The Cure

[Just Like Heaven]

Maneater - Hall & Oates

[Runaway Bride]

I'm Every Woman - Chaka Khan

[Bridget Jones's Diary]

You Gotta Be - Des'ree

[The Object of My Affection]

When You Say Nothing At All - Ronan Keating

[Notting Hill]

You can listen to the playlist below or you can find it on Spotify here

A Million Meet Cutes is out now

Christina has always wanted her movie-perfect meet cute. Surely this would mean he was The One?

So she is shocked and amazed when one day she has very own meet-cute - sadly, the guy is most definitely NOT The One.

Over the weeks that follow, Christina finds herself encountering meet-cutes everywhere she goes - but she is still single. Plus, she's becoming fed up of getting tangled in dog leads (even if the dog owner is extremely handsome) and her car breaking down (even if the recovery guy is extremely handsome). Even when she is on a date, she has another meet-cute with a different guy.

What does it all mean and is this the way to find the perfect guy, or have her beloved romcom movies been lying to her all this time?

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Kobo

The Single Mums' Picnic Club Playlist

A Beginner's Guide To Saying I Do Playlist

The Little Bed & Breakfast by the Sea Playlist

A Million Meet Cutes Bingo

 

If you've read my latest newsletter, you will have already seen the bingo card I put together as a fun Book Extra for A Million Meet Cutes but today I'm sharing it on my blog too.

The idea is simple: mark off the squares when you find the corresponding bit in the book.

There are no prizes, I'm afraid, and no glittery-clad bingo caller, but I thought it'd be a bit of whimsy, because you can never have too much whimsy in your life.

A Million Meet Cutes is out now

Christina has always wanted her movie-perfect meet cute. Surely this would mean he was The One?

So she is shocked and amazed when one day she has very own meet-cute - sadly, the guy is most definitely NOT The One.

Over the weeks that follow, Christina finds herself encountering meet-cutes everywhere she goes - but she is still single. Plus, she's becoming fed up of getting tangled in dog leads (even if the dog owner is extremely handsome) and her car breaking down (even if the recovery guy is extremely handsome). Even when she is on a date, she has another meet-cute with a different guy.

What does it all mean and is this the way to find the perfect guy, or have her beloved romcom movies been lying to her all this time?

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Kobo

The Wedding Date: Online Dating Profiles

The Accidental Life Swap: Naming The Animals

The 12 Christmases of You & Me: Back In Time With Maisie

So, I've Finished Writing My Book - What Do I Do Now?

 

I reached The End of the first draft of my latest writing project and I've put her aside, so what am I going to do until it's time for Draft 2?

I could start planning my next book, because I already know what it's going to be and I have the bare bones of the story, BUT I've decided to take a well-deserved break from writing for a few weeks. I LOVE writing, but getting a first draft down can be intense, even without a deadline, and I don't want to burn out (I've been there. It's not nice) so I'm going to have a little rest.

But that doesn't mean I'm not going to be doing anything book-related or creative.

My latest release, A Million Meet Cutes was published a couple of weeks ago so I'm busy preparing Book Extras and behind-the-scenes peeks and sharing the lovely reviews she's received so far on my Instagram accounts (I'm @writer_jenn and @ashleyreecewrites).

And I'm unleashing my creativity via the medium of yarn as I'm crocheting blankets. YouTube taught me to crochet a few years ago but I'm not very adventurous with it: so far I've only crocheted stripy sausage dogs and blankets, but this time I'm making TWO blankets at the same time, and I'm using patterns from a couple of granny square books instead of following tutorials, so I'm seeing that as growth.

I'm also reading lots, ideally in the garden if it isn't too hot, and watching TV - mostly Heated Rivalry, to be honest, but also my older comfort shows, like Miranda and Gavin & Stacey.

I'll be returning to my book in September for the second draft, where there will be a LOT of cutting (I've gone over 20,000 words over my intended word count goal) but for now I'm going to enjoy my break :)

A Million Meet Cutes: What Inspired The Book?

 

I’m a huge fan of romantic comedies, both in book and film form, and I love a meet-cute, where the love interests meet for the first time in a funny, charming or chaotic way (Hugh Grant chucking orange juice down Julia Robert’s T-shirt in Notting Hill or Matthew Perry jumping the queue for the toilets in front of Salma Hayek in Fools Rush In, for example). I’ve written meet-cutes into my books before (Cleo mistaking James as a burglar in her grandmother’s house in The Grown Up To-Do List or Hugo catching Melody baby-talking his dog outside the fish and chip shop in The Little Bed & Breakfast by the Sea) but what if I really leaned into the whole meet-cute thing?

I'm also a massive fan of romcoms with a dash of magic; 13 Going on 30 and When We First Met are my favourites in film, and I’ve also sprinkled some magic into my own books – Everything Changes But You, The Mince Pie Mix-Up, The 12 Christmas of You & Me, The Christmas Cupid, Our Last Summer and A Magical New Year’s Kiss all have time travel or wishes coming true – and I wondered what would happen if I combined my love of meet-cutes and magic?

What if the heroine was also a massive romcom fan and, after seeing so many meet-cutes on screen, she wished for one of her own?

And what if that wish to meet-cute came true?

If you’ve read any of my magical realism stories, you’ll know that my characters should always be careful what they wish for, because it is never, ever plain-sailing for them (my brain just naturally gravitates towards making these things bad for them, I’m afraid). So, what would happen if our heroine had not one meet-cute but a whole bunch? Meet-cute after meet-cute after meet-cute, until she’s ready to tear her hair out? Fun, yes? I think so (though maybe not for our poor heroine). The idea amused me and I went with it, thinking up all the possible meet-cutes to throw at my main character, and that is how the idea of A Million Meet Cutes was born.

A Million Meet Cutes is out now

Christina has always wanted her movie-perfect meet cute. Surely this would mean he was The One?

So she is shocked and amazed when one day she has very own meet-cute - sadly, the guy is most definitely NOT The One.

Over the weeks that follow, Christina finds herself encountering meet-cutes everywhere she goes - but she is still single. Plus, she's becoming fed up of getting tangled in dog leads (even if the dog owner is extremely handsome) and her car breaking down (even if the recovery guy is extremely handsome). Even when she is on a date, she has another meet-cute with a different guy.

What does it all mean and is this the way to find the perfect guy, or have her beloved romcom movies been lying to her all this time?

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Kobo

The Grown Up To Do List: What Inspired The Book?

Our Last Summer: What Inspired The Book?

The Christmas Cupid: What Inspired The Book?