Writing Mr. Wrong is a solid, workaday romance in which the heroine has a ginormous secret, but she keeps it for a fairly sensible reason. Fairly, which is why this isn’t an A. But it’s still an enjoyable romance.

Gemma is rebounding after an ugly divorce by reuniting with her old true love – romance writing. She sends her first novel around but it’s roundly rejected – she thinks because her heroes are too nice, which is confirmed by advice she gets. Well, if alpholes sell, there’s one particular alphole she has experience with and who could make a great romance hero. She turns to Mason Moretti, her high school’s golden boy and the guy who broke her heart back then, and starts writing a book with a hero loosely based around him. Since it’s a Scottish historical, surely no one will notice the similarities. She sells the book and it’s published – a victory that proves to be problematic later.

These days, Mason is an NHL player whose high school attitude has bloomed into a big-time problem for his team. He’s aging out of life in the big leagues, and, after messing up during a game, he’s looking for an image change. That’s provided for him when a local talk show host figures out that Gemma’s hero is based on Mason and they arrange a reunion between the couple. They’re so popular the audience wants them to go on a follow-up date. He sees this as a way out of his problem – he’ll fake-date Gemma, since audiences are so charmed by their interaction. They strike up a bargain – she will try to my-fair-lady him into being less of a jerk. Meanwhile, she will get some more sales for her book. Real feelings soon loom, but will Mason ever be able to show Gemma the nice guy he is inside – the nice guy who keeps trying to get out of his own way and stop acting like a jerk whenever he’s in Gemma’s orbit?

This is a charming story with two older characters who are trying to figure out how romance works for them in their mid-30s. I related to Gemma’s insecurity as she learns how to embrace her new self. Mason would have been insufferable if we couldn’t see inside his head, where he’s trying to be charming and self-possessed but trips over his own tongue. She, naturally, doesn’t get it until he manages to explain himself.

The romance is pleasant, and the look into romance publishing and writing fun instead of grating. This only lands at a B+ for me because while it’s an entertaining romance it doesn’t have the punch and verve of an A level read. Still, Writing Mr. Wrong is a pleasant way to spend an afternoon and great fun as a romance, even with its flaws.