Not on the Agenda

I’ll admit, I side-eyed the ‘virtual voice’ narration at first—rom-coms live or die by their delivery, and a synthetic narrator can easily flatten the humor. But *Not on the Agenda* pulls it off, mostly because the writing is so dialed into physical comedy and internal monologues that the slightly robotic tone actually *enhances* the absurdity. Picture a scene where the heroine’s grandmother ‘accidentally’ locks her in a closet with the love interest: the narrator’s flat recitation of *“This was fine. Totally fine.”* makes it funnier than any dramatic reading could. The story itself is a masterclass in balancing farce and heart. McConnell doesn’t just rely on meet-cutes; she leans into the *aftermath* of them, where the characters are stuck dealing with the fallout of their families’ schemes. The pacing is brisk to a fault—some emotional beats get shortchanged in the rush to the next joke, and the virtual narration occasionally stumbles over sarcasm—but the trade-off is a listen that never drags. My only real critique? The ending wraps up a touch too neatly, as if McConnell got nervous about leaving her characters in the delightful mess they’d created. Still, for fans of enemies-to-lovers with a side of familial sabotage, this is a gem. Just don’t blame me if you start side-eyeing your own relatives by Chapter 3.