Cluelessly Unscripted

Sol and Luke Mystery Romance #1

by Patricia Puentes

She thought he was just another pretty face at her Pilates studio. Turns out, he's the detective investigating her... Falling for him was never part of the script.

When London-based entertainment journalist Sol Novo is suddenly laid off, she never imagined her quest for a new beginning would land her as the prime suspect in a high-profile theft. A valuable screenplay has gone missing from her trendy Pilates studio, and all eyes are on Sol.

Enter Luke Contadino, a devastatingly handsome detective with a distracting smile and an undeniable attraction to Sol. Despite their chemistry, Luke knows he shouldn't get involved with a potential suspect. And Sol, still reeling from a recent divorce, has sworn off relationships.

But as Sol and Luke embark on a whirlwind investigation that takes them from London to Barcelona and then Los Angeles, professional boundaries blur, and their palpable attraction ignites.

Can Sol clear her name and resist the temptation of a romance that's more thrilling than any Hollywood script?

Cluelessly Unscripted is a delightful rom-com with a dash of mystery, perfect for readers who

Swoon-worthy detectivesSizzling age-gap romanceInternational travelHeartfelt second chancesFeel-good stories with a touch of spice
May cause giggling, swooning, and an urge to book a flight to Barcelona!

Genres: Rom Com

376 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 20, 2024

About the author

Patricia Puentes is a mystery romance author and recovering entertainment journalist from Barcelona. After spending nearly twenty years in the U.S.—mostly in Los Angeles and Oakland, with a brief stint in Boston—she’s now back in her hometown, writing stories where glam, love, and suspense collide.

She writes open-door mystery romances and rom-com whodunnits filled with banter, humor, and just enough steam to keep you turning pages. Her books include the Sol & Luke Mystery Romance series (Cluelessly Unscripted, Scripted for Love and Poison) and the Confidential Hearts novels (Love, Lines, and Alibis).

Patricia can tell many funny—and occasionally surreal—stories about the celebrities she’s interviewed, but she’s most impressed by writers (and dogs). She lives in Barcelona with her partner and their spoiled Border Collie, Boira (aka Peluchín diabólico).

Sign up for her newsletter at www.patriciapuentes.com/my-newsletter

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoosh! I sat down, got pulled under, and read ravenously straight to the end! Playful, clever, surprising, addictive, and that's just Sol, our main character! I certainly hope there are more like this to come from author Patricia Puentes!

[Marta Franco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such a page turner! Super fun and entertaining, and I loved the protagonist. 100% recommend.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Cluelessly Unscripted, author Patricia Puentes weaves an intriguing cozy mystery tale that follows the investigative adventures of entertainment journalist Sol Novo and private investigator Luke Contadino.

Set in London, UK, Sol has been laid off from her latest job as an entertainment journalist and finds herself the main suspect in the theft of a tv script. Private Investigator Luke Contadino is assigned the case and has been following Sol to see if she has pulled off the theft. When Luke follows Sol to her hometown in Barcelona, the investigation takes a turn when they become attracted to each other, and Luke finally tells Sol about the theft and being investigated as the thief, she teams up with him to clear her name and find the real thief.

Cluelessly Unscripted is an entertaining and fast-paced cozy mystery whodunit tale told in the third person narrative, that has enough quirky characters, witty banter and humor, romance, and drama that keeps the reader engaged in following Sol and Luke's investigative adventure.

The story unfolds with a wonderful balance of mystery and romance that easily kept me guessing. The reader follows Sol and Luke as they put the pieces of the puzzle together to clear her name and find the identity of the thief, while their flirty banter develops into an attraction that is undeniable. From London to Barcelona to Los Angeles, Sol and Luke's investigative adventures and blossoming romance will keep the reader entertained. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I loved the behind-the-scenes information into the Hollywood entertainment industry.

Cluelessly Unscripted is an entertaining story that cozy mystery fans will enjoy reading!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from BookSirens in exchange for my honest review.

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[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really really wanted to like this book but it was just okay. In the beginning it felt almost like I was dropped into the middle of a story and it took me a few chapters to get my bearings and understand what was going on. I also didn’t enjoy the flip between POVs without warning. It’s not like each chapter was a different persons POV, it would switch up in the middle of the chapter too and it was pretty confusing for the first like 5 chapters. I wish each chapter had the name of the character or some indication that it would be switching POVs. Don’t get me wrong I love different POVs in stories, I just need to be made aware that it will be happening because without it I had to keep going back a few pages and reread paragraphs/sentences to figure out who’s POV I was reading at that time. The other thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was when the characters were speaking in a different language it was never translated. There would only be a response back from another character in English and you would have to figure out what the first character was saying and for me. For me, it wasn’t always super easy to connect the dots and interpret what was being said that wasn’t English.

Overall, this felt like a cozy mystery with a bit of romance. A script of a show ends up being leaked and stolen & the company who created the script hires a Private Investigator to figure out who stole it and how it got leaked.

The romance seemed a bit far fetched, forced and seemed too easy but it was still a cute idea.

This just wasn’t for me in the end, it was a bit slow, a bit confusing and just didn’t have enough going on for me. I now know I’m not a fan of cozy mysteries. However, if you like cozy mysteries or romance books then this is for you! This has drama, a bit of spice, mystery and a romance between the two main characters.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

1st reading: Excellently written and edited (correct grammar, punctuation, and word usage). The plot was complex and included several subplots; in addition, I pride myself on being able to work out "whodunit" fairly quickly, but this one mostly eluded me. Finally, the main characters are multi-dimensional and demonstrate growth over the course of the novel; secondary characters are also well-rounded and not stereotypes.
I enjoyed the banter (and chemistry) between Sol and Luke (as well as between Luke and his colleague Divya). The conflicts keeping Sol and Luke apart in the beginning aren't contrived, but are natural consequences of or understandable reactions to the circumstances they find themselves in. Their relationship develops naturally and at what feels like a normal pace, not something artificially sped up for the sake of a novel. I particularly love the fact that she's older than he is, and he doesn't give a damn.
I appreciate the attention to detail in this book, from the locations to the food and drink to the smattering of Catalan and Italian to the behind-the-scenes look at the life of an entertainment journalist. Obviously, based on the author's profile, she knows what she's talking about, and it was refreshing to read a book where I was confident that the author wasn't just making shit up for the story. If I have one criticism, it was that the writing was so grammatically precise that it was a little stiff, but I much prefer this to lazy, ignorant prose.

[Secretlittlelibreria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a 3.75 read for me. This story follows Luke, a private investigator, who is investigating the theft and leak of a popular tv show script, and his primary suspect, Sol, an entertainment journalist, across Barcelona, London, and Los Angeles.

I enjoyed the refreshing storyline. I love a good rom-com and a mystery/thriller. The contemporary references to media platforms were quirky. The main characters felt relatable, mature, and their communication, while not always on the same page, was pretty open. The side characters were funny and relatable too, because I too wouldn’t like a guy who lied to my friend haha.

I found myself putting the book down quite a bit in the beginning, and a little confused with certain parts of the investigation, as well as some interactions, but I chalked it up to maybe cultural references or ways of speaking I’m not familiar with. It felt a little dragged on. While I enjoyed the characters, I wish I had laughed a bit more, but that might be a personal problem haha. I was a bit disappointed with how the mystery ended up unfolding. I thought it’d be more dramatic, considering Hollywood being involved and all.

Overall this was an interesting read. I received an advance review copy for free via BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily 🤍.

[Helen Causer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luke is a lowly Private Investigator,
working for a medium sized company.
He is tasked with looking into the mysterious theft of a script, which vanished from a Pilates studio, and was online the next day.

His prime suspect is Sol Novo, a journalist who frequented the studio, and had been there on the night of the script mysteriously vanishing.

The two become acquainted after Luke adopts a different persona and joins the Pilates classes.

Together, they try to piece together what happened on the evening the script vanished.

This is a lovely story of friendship blossoming, and the author describes their various locations so well that I can see them in my minds eye.
The characters are all believable, and well written.
This was the first time for me reading this author’s work, and I look forward to reading more.

I received an advance review copy for free, and am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

[neus.dreamybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars for this romcom about Sol, a spaniard living in London in her 40s, who without knowing it is the primal suspect in a theft.

Luke is a londoner in his 30s with italian parents who is following Sol because he is a private investigaror in the case about that theft.

This is a mystery romance where we'll follow Sol and Luke while trying to find who the real culprit is.

The book is written in 3rd person but with both POVs, something I only have seen in Patricia's books. You can find open door spice but in less than 5 scenes.

Being a spaniard from Barcelona who loves London myself, I loved reading about both cities and the use of catalan and spanish (That is so like us!), and how Sol makes Luke less english and a little bit more italian.

[Nichole Montanez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

All I have to say is that this book was brilliant. The couple had some bumps but it was all REALISTIC. It didn’t drag on with the “I love you, I hate you, I love you, I hate you drama which was refreshing.

Both main characters were well thought out, the history played well into their decisions and the details about who they were, what they did, and why they did it was captivating.

I highly suggest reading this! The only thing I would change is it having shorter chapter but I’m weird. 😍

5 stars!

[Darinka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book, and had a hard time putting it down! I get distracted easily and often find it challenging to finish books, but not this one! The characters are so relatable, funny, and smart. Being an expat myself, I loved how the story highlighted cultural aspects about London, Barcelona, and Los Angeles, and described some of the ups and down of building a home away from home in a very relatable way. It's a wonderful combination of mystery, romance, humor, and culture, with enough depth and twists to keep you fully engaged, while still being easy to ready. Highly recommend!

[Kim Lowery · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just can’t anymore with this. Got to the purple haired assistant and rolled my eyes so hard I got a headache.

I don’t like the heroine. Does the author actually like this character? She’s written so shallow. But trying to be deep. But she’s just…not. I don’t like her.

The hero might as well be a woman. Ditto on the repulsion.

Nope here. DNF at 46%.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It's the perfect combo of romance and cozy mystery to read with a cup of tea on a Sunday morning (or at the beach!). The characters and their relationship are super fun and the fact that it jumped between London and Barcelona irresistible. I couldn't put it down.

[Christine]

I don’t quite know what kind of book this is trying to be, but there’s no mystery vibe here. And I don’t like either of the main characters.

[Tash Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun read. Playful, clever, funny and refreshing! Loved the characters and the plot was great & so interesting.

I love that Sol & Luke are mature but still fun and flirty.
Sol’s character was built up beautifully, she’s a strong independent woman who has been through some tough times but doesn’t let that stop her.
Luke makes me smile, he’s such a charmer with his Italian words and I can just picture him smirking when opening the door.

[Brit.Readz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky to receive an early copy of this book! I really enjoyed the vibes here. The characters, the build up, the flash between!! It was all great! Thank you for the opportunity to read! I truly enjoyed! Highly recommend for a sweet breezy read!

[InsyVinsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this hollywood mystery with romance plot where we get to explore Barcelona and London with our characters.

Sol is an entertainment journalist who has been laid off (once again) from her job and finds herself in middle of midlife crisis. She is also being followed by PI, Luke who is investigating her as a prime suspect of missing TV show script stolen from pilates studio where Sol is a dedicated regular.

Luke feels a deeper connection (attraction) to Sol and is somehow never objective when it comes to placing her as a suspect. They run into each other multiple times in Barcelona and London where they have their sweet, rough, funny, and deep moments. Sol eventually finds out that she is a suspect in an ongoing investigation and agrees to help Luke solve the case to get her name cleared (and Of course spend more time with this Italian dude who she just cannot stop thinking about).

I really like the fact that both the characters are mature with Sol being the older one in the relationship (in her early 40s). Their communication is strong throughout and even when they are not on the same page, they are able to talk about it. Sol’s character is beautifully written, showcasing a strong and independent woman who has been hurt before in life but refuses to give up. Luke is such a charmer with his Italian words and seduction powers that he is able to breakdown all the walls created by Sol.

I also found this book funny on several occasions. Sol and Luke come from different financial backgrounds and it is entertaining to see Sol navigate through her first world problems while Luke stands there confused by these rich people’s priorities. Side characters are also wholesome esp Laia and Divya! Aspects of friendships and finding support are well written. Finally I loved how the author went above and beyond describing historical sites in Barcelona and even London. I felt as if I was part of their journey throughout.

At times I did feel like the story was dragged on and the “mystery” became a bit anti-climactic. There was also a lot of information about Hollywood and entertainment industry which could be confusing if you are not familiar with the topic. I guess I was expecting a more jaw dropping reveal but I did guess the real culprit fairly early on in the story.

Overall this was a refreshing read with interesting characters and plot.

Thank you BookSiren for the ARC. My opinions are based solely off of my reading experience.

[Sonia Fabre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a fantastic time reading this book; it's one of those rare finds that keeps you hooked from start to finish. The main characters are relatable and fun, with personalities that leap off the page.

Whether it's the tea they're having, the cozy corner where they run into each other, or the stylish outfits, the author paints a picture so clear that you can almost feel these moments yourself.

This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a good mystery with a touch of lifestyle flair. I highly recommend it!