Changing the Script

by Lee Winter

LA-based English indie filmmaker Alex Levitin reluctantly takes a job in New Zealand to save the “worst movie ever”, Shezan: Mistress of the Forest. Things might go easier for her if she didn’t almost run over the standoffish, beautiful local cop on her first day in town. And it’d really help if her film set was being mysteriously sabotaged.
When Ika Whenu’s Senior Constable Sam Keegan isn’t trying to stamp out a motorcycle gang drug problem afflicting her town, she’s publicly slamming everything about the exploitative film, Shezan, and the Hollywood blow-ins making it. That includes its nerdy, cute director, Alex, who has woeful driving skills to go with her smart mouth.
Against the stunning scenery and chaotic film-set backdrop, attraction flares between the two warring women as they’re forced to work together to find the set saboteur.
A funny, small-town lesbian romance about clashing cultures and daring to dream big.
This is a Breaking Character spin-off novel that can easily be read as a standalone story.

Themes: female police officer · lesbian cop · New Zealand
104,000 words

Genres: Romance, LGBT, Audiobook, Lesbian, Enemies To Lovers, Queer, Lesbian Romance

Audiobook

First published December 2, 2019

About the author

Lee Winter is an award-winning veteran newspaper journalist who has covered courts, crime, news, features and humor writing for almost three decades around Australia. Now a full-time author and part-time editor at Ylva, Lee is also a two-time Lambda Literary Award finalist and a multiple Golden Crown Literary Award winner.

Want to get in touch? Email: LeeWinterAuthor@gmail.com

Reviews

[Diane Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

'ARC generously provided by Ylva-Publishing in exchange for an unbiased review'

**'Good writing works from a simple premise, your experience as a writer is not yours alone but in some sense a metaphor for everyone else..If you as a writer is doing it right, most readers will know who's writing it..'

'CHANGING THE SCRIPT' moves beyond friendships and filming on a low-budget set to weave more into fact details storytelling, anecdotal material of life behind the movie business and the many complex shenanigans surrounding this same movie set. The narrative unfolds in an absorbing and bland manner at times but can still be viewed as either stirring and deeply textured in some parts. Few readers might see it as an especially beguiling story too because of the visual impact and imagery of the filming location plus the cultural components and habitat that were included by Ms.Winter.
With scripts already produced and in need of a director, in jumps Alex who despite having little experience as a director for a major, problem-plagued film, was given the task of directing. Because of her creative style and immense accomplishments on a few well known indie films Alex initially had doubts about accepting this offer but because of none existence finance, she ended up wanting to become the film's perfectionist and prove it's critics wrong.
A chance of an accidental dust-up which led to many unscripted run ins between Alex & Sam -- turn into Alex questioning whether these interactions meant something or were just lustful reaction. Because of her fears, faults and beliefs that engaging in any relationship never worked out for her. While Sam on the other hand, was against any commitment. But with time both threw caution to the wind and admitted that being together was better than being apart. Most of the supporting casts were engaging, sympathetic, believable and even colorful plus some aided in sneakily plotting ways to influence any peaceful interaction between both leads.
Additionally, Alex, some of the actors and assistants did try painting a more improve and vivid portrait of what they think the movie should be seen as, to it's meaning and the reason for all it's Amazonian costumes.

[Lex Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 Stars. As most of you out there, I am a huge Winter fan. Having read all of her books it’s hard to wait patiently for a new release to come out. This was on the list of my most anticipated reads for 2019, so I did have high expectations. I was a little behind on ARC reviews this month so I saw many of the early reviews for this book before I ever read it. I was a little surprised how mixed the early reviews were. Winter is so talented that normally you don’t see so much of a mix. It made me curious where I would fall and it looks like right in the middle of the early reviews. I liked and enjoyed this book, I just didn’t love it like I was hoping to.

I actually had to decide was I rating this compared to other Winter books I have read over the years, or was I rating this compared to all other lesfic books I have read in 2019. This actually makes a difference because Winter not at her best is still better than a lot of other lesfic books I’ve read. The way I review, and to be as fair as I can, I’m going with the latter option so I did rate this a tad higher than I originally expected to after finishing this book.

I love a Hollywood-romance so the premise of the main character directing what is being called “the worst movie ever” seemed perfect to me. I also really like a broody cop character especially in a small town setting so I was really enjoying the beginning for the book. When the mains meet there is a lot of tension behind that first meeting. I would not call this story enemies to lovers, but it is dislike to lovers for sure.

The book started really well and continued to go at a great pace. You get to read about the police officer doing her job and of course everything on a movie set. I don’t want to give anything away but there is a little mystery that is going on that keeps everything really interesting. Not only that but as a reader you have to wonder if it is actually possible for “the worst movie ever” to be anything but. Because of all the good little storylines, I was just glued to the pages. However, somewhere around the 70% mark things started to change for me.

I don’t know what it is but once the characters actually became intimate, they lost some of their chemistry for me. It was really odd. I found the first sex scene to be a little flat. It almost felt like it was written as an afterthought. Like Winter knew readers might be tired of waiting for the sex so she finally put the scene in. The following sex scene later in the book had more chemistry and heat but the first one didn’t feel like a Winter intimate scene to me.

After the characters lost a bit of their chemistry and heat, I felt like the book started to drag a little. It is a good size book for a lesfic romance and normally I would not complain since I eat up every page Winter writes. The problem was with the pace slowed down too much, it was affecting my enjoyment. I think trimming some pages and keeping that pace high would have made a positive difference.

My last complaint was the outcome of the mini mystery. At first I had no idea where it was going but about half way though I got a sinking suspicion. I started saying in my head “no Winter don’t go there, it’s too unrealistic and not in a good way”. Unfortunately, she did go there and it was a big shaking my head moment. I’ll talk about it more in the spoiler but please don’t read the spoiler unless you have read the book. Once you read the book you will know what I’m talking about and you can decide then what you think of that plot choice. I really hated the reasoning behind the mini mystery. It felt super thin to me. Someone almost died and they lost their job, plus the money the movie lost, but hey it was meant for a good reason so all is forgiven. I would never trust or want to work with any of those people again. I don't think laughing it all off when someone was almost killed is just a-okay.

If you are a Hollywood-romance fan or a Winter fan, I would still recommend this. It is not Winter’s best but it is still better than many books out there. The first two thirds of the book were a lot of fun and entertaining. I flew through parts of this book highly enjoying it, I just happened to hit some turbulence towards then end. While I can’t give this the 5 stars I wanted to I know Winter’s next book will be a hit, she’s too damn talented for any other outcome.

A copy was given to me for a honest review.

[Corporate Slave · Rating 3 out of 5]

So... Lee Winter is an incredible writer. And maybe that was the issue! My expectations were so high because with such authors, you just can’t wait to read their new books!
So for starters, this wasn’t terrible in any way! It was just so “OK”.
The setting was really cool I loved that part. I also liked the supporting characters and the small town family/friends set up. This really worked for me. The MCs were very strong, interesting and intriguing characters especially Sam.. I did feel the connection between them and was rooting for them all along. I believed in their “love”.
There’s also dogs so yay it seemed that this book ticked all the right boxes. And it did, but it missed something. I will try to explain it: the romance part had no climax, even the physical part wasn’t that strong (even though I did feel the love).
The storyline itself had nothing that made me think/say : damn or wow or wtf.. with Lee Winter you would expect to say at least 2 out of those 3 words so with this book, unfortunately not a single word came to my mind.
Having said that, I will be waiting for the next book from this author, I do recommend her work and I do believe that this was a very smooth romance (too smooth for me).
“I received an ARC for an honest review.”

[Jude in the Stars · Rating 4 out of 5]

A broody but sexy cop. An indie director stuck on the worst movie ever. Well-meaning friends. Amazons. Beautiful landscape. A sweet old dog. Biker gangs. Misunderstandings. Hopes. Love.

There’s all that and more in Changing the Script, a spin-off of the delightful Breaking Character, which can be read as a standalone. Alex Levitin, whom we’ve met as one of Bess Thornton’s Shakespeare-obsessed British friends (and her former girlfriend), gets roped into saving what the movie industry media have dubbed the “worst movie ever”, Shezan: Mistress of the Forest, which is being shot in New Zealand. On her way from the airport to Ika Whenu, Alex almost runs over a beautiful woman on a motorcycle, who turns out to be Sam Keegan, the local cop and definitely not a fan of the movie. When she’s not complaining about the exploitative nature of the film, Sam, as the only cop around, is worried about an increase in crime due to drugs, which she blames on the local biker gang. Then sabotage starts plaguing the movie set, bringing Sam and Alex together in various ways.

One of the things I like best about Lee Winter’s books is how clever they are. She takes the reader in one direction, then another, and it never feels artificial. I was a bit worried at one point, because the sabotage thing seemed to be explained too easily, but that feeling didn’t last. Because of course Winter isn’t that lazy and I don’t even how I could for one second think she would be. While I’m not one hundred percent satisfied with the way it was resolved, I like what she did with it.

As usual, the characters are great. Alex is as sweet and witty as I hoped she’d be. Sam is scarred from a complicated childhood and the unshakable belief that being an outsider in her own life is for the best. They’re much more alike than they want to see, which, when they finally get there, makes them perfectly suited and able to understand each other’s needs.

There’s also a whole gallery of secondary characters which would make this book worth reading even without everything I wrote above. I was happy to see Chloe (Summer’s best friend) again, as one of the stars of the film. I liked her evil co-star too, I have to admit. But my favourite were probably Sam’s foster family. There’s a real sense of family there, and the way Sam found herself taken in by them makes it all the stronger.

Another very important part of the story is the lanscape. I’ve always wanted to visit New Zealand, and I now want to make it happen more than ever. And that beach in California sounds amazing too…

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alex is an Indie film director that agrees to take on a New Zealand project that has a very bad reputation. She has a run-in with a local named Sam who shares the opinion of the rest of the world about Alex's movie.

This book takes place in the same world as Winter's 'Breaking Character.' Alex is Bess's best friend and they sync up on the telephone a few times throughout this story. Summer's mom, Skye, and best friend, Chloe, are a part of Alex's film. You can read this without having read 'Breaking Character', but why would you? 'Breaking Character' was fantastic.

I already feel like this review is sounding oddly written and disjointed. I think it is because I'm struggling with what to write. This did not live up to my expectations. It was OK, but not what I've come to expect from Lee Winter books. Insert plug for 'Requiem for Immortals' here.

The story has a promising beginning. I really liked how Alex and Sam start off on the wrong foot. There was some good conflict between them for a bit.

Sam is a well fleshed out character. Broody. Stubborn. Protective. And a background that provided explanation for who she is and what drives her actions. On the other hand, I could not get a read on Alex at all. All I know is that she is a petite-short-haired-redheaded-glasses-wearing-nerdy-director that is a Brit that lives in America and has beyond beautiful Hollywood friends that play Shakespeare trivia. There was a missed opportunity for Sam to learn who Alex is. And that would have helped me feel more of an emotional connection between them. The physical chemistry was there, for sure.

I did like how there was a little mystery on set that unfolds. So this didn't feel like just a pure romance. I couldn't figure out what was going on, but it was interesting none-the-less.

Overall, this was just OK. Winter writes exceptionally well. But this one just didn't have the wow factor I usually get from reading her books.

I recommend this to those who like enemies to lover romances, New Zealand, making movies, motorcycles, rogue police officers, darts, loyalty, and Pfeiffer Beach.

I received an ARC from YLVA Publishing for an honest review.

[lov2laf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read quite a few of Lee Winter's book, liking most of them, but "Changing the Script" was an all around miss for me.

First off, I listened to the audiobook version and Claire Alain is an incredibly slow narrator. I kept wanting her to speed up and I wondered if perhaps that languid cadence is the New Zealand style. I would swear her slower pacing tacked on a few more hours to the length of the story. I give her kudos for handling New Zealand, British, and American accents all in one but I think I would've preferred reading the thing instead.

However, I can't just blame Alain for the length of the story. Lee Winter really drug out the narrative on this one and she should've chopped it by at least 100 pages. It took forever for the two leads to get together which, in a way, is the impetus behind the story because Alex and Sam would rather butt heads than forge any kind of romance. For me, the sparks didn't fly and Sam's descent into her funks got old.

But, what really got me, and this is the thing I can't stand with stories, is implausibility. "Changing the Script" really takes us through an enemies to friends relationship against the backdrop of a Hollywood film being made in a New Zealand small town. We get to know the town, the quirky characters that make up that town, the dramas of a film set and so on. Then, the story veers into a mystery (say, what?) and THEN into romance. Fine. Evolve. But when the mystery is revealed it was a complete and utter eyeroll accompanied by a groan and a "No way. Wouldn't happen."

This book really needed a good gutting. Ironically, a big part of the story is Alex, the film director, turning a complete flop of a film into a something rather good and it was actually pretty clever how that all came into being. But, I felt the same could've been done for the actual book.

Overall, this read felt too long, lacked chemistry in the romance department, wasn't focused enough, and, most disappointedly, was not believable.

I came away thinking it was a little less than okay and give it 2.75 stars.

[gloria .☆ﾟ. · Rating 3 out of 5]

➥ 3.5 Stars *:･ﾟ✧

"Ohh," Alex said softly. "You're so aroused. And yet you're trying so hard not to come, too." She smiled. "How stubborn."

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Buddy read with KT! It's about time I wrote up some thoughts about this one. Changing the Script is an interesting one. On one hand, some of Winter's signature flair is evident here, but on the other hand, some of the characters and romance were disappointing.

I think what Winter tends to do exceptionally well is the intrigue, mysteries and plotlines that work alongside her romances. This is no different. I'm especially fond of the way Winter tends to incorporate the arts in her work. For instance, in The Brutal Truth it was magazine writing, in The Red Files it was competing journalists, and in this book, we follow a film director, Alex (h).

This book is no exception from Winter's excellency at writing this element. Alex is called upon to fix a trashy film from ruin, and it's being filmed in rural New Zealand. Everything changes, the costume, the ending, the character dynamics. I was incredibly invested in the film. Winter writes such unique pieces, I'm always captured by the way her mind works. I desperately wish I could watch the film they created.

I was also so invested in whatever Melody and Chloe had going on. Obviously it's not real, because Chloe is then paired with another male character. But oh, I would have paid to read a book about Melody, a blonde uptight girly girl, going gay and curious on set. The tension was so good between them, and I thought that overall queer-undertone plotline was a very fun idea. Look at them:

With a shake of her blonde hair, Melody took two steps closer to Chloe and began her line. "Where on earth did you come from? What are you even?" she demanded.

Chloe, instead of answering immediately, gave her a long, considering gaze, and then took one more step, right inside Melody's space. "What are you?"

Alex's mouth went dry. The line was supposed to be delivered like a challenge. An annoyed comeback for the arrogant newcomer, but that had come out almost...sultry.

Melody's face slackened as she stared back, not saying her line. "I-I'm Jennifer," she finally said. "I'm here with my father." Her voice was lower, huskier now.

The actresses stared at each other. Then, slowly, Chloe dropped her eyes to Melody's lips.

Redness flooded Melody's cheeks. "And you can't be here! You're setting all those traps for my father and he's furious." Her words came out in a breathy rush.

Chloe offered a crooked smile.

Like hello? Excuse me, I NEED that movie immediately!!

It seems someone is trying to sabotage the film-making. Why? Well there are many plausible reasons, but none seem to quite make sense. I thought this mystery was also a fun element of intrigue.

Alex was an overall endearing character. She's earnest, cheery and hardworking.

"Sam? Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Hmm?" Sam glanced back.
Alex pointed to her police belt, still slung over the back of the chair where Sam had dumped it on her way in.
"Oh right." Sam grabbed it, yanking it on as fast as she could manage; quite the feat given all its bulging pouches. "Thanks."
"You're most welcome." Alex stood, leaned in, eyes darkening, and this time her farewell kiss connected on Sam's cheek.
Her lips were as soft as the rest of her.

Where this book lost me, was with her love interest: Sam (h). Cop romance anyone? 😬

Sam is the local sheriff and she's hellbent on taking drugs off her town's streets. That whole plotline is not one I can say I was fond of. Time and time again, Sam is written as though to be pitied for being judged as a cop. Saying that people don't talk to her, treat her badly and shut her out because of her "responsibility".

Winter leans too hard into the pitiful, grumpy, strict cop thing. I didn't really like Sam's character at all. There are, of course, ways to make serious characters endearing and lovable. I actually tend to be partial to those types of characters, but Sam had me rolling my eyes.

I suppose that, because of Sam's bitterness, it wouldn't be too hard to create a hate-to-love sort of dynamic. I did like their..."meet-cute" let's call it. Again, it was well-thought-out, fun, and a good start to their romance.

But the romance didn't get quite so far. Sam is also hung-up on her ex and has this "everyone leaves me" complex. Again, whatever.

The romance had some good framework. Like I mentioned, their meet-cute was fun. And there were also some moments that did work, where I definitely could feel some sort of chemistry and romance. The dialogue and romance that there was, was pretty good. But there wasn't as much of it as I'd like. (To be frank, an okay-ish Winter book is pretty good.) I liked the scene where Sam sees Alex's bare back and Alex kisses her goodbye on the cheek.

And also, I will say that the one sex scene was very well-written. Winter is pretty much always good at only making characters do/say what their character would. Even in the sex scenes, it's clear whose dialogue is whose. It was hot. Both characters clearly needed each other so bad. That's what I live for.

"You like that," Sam murmured. She stroked Alex's crease harder, and the wetness was audible.
Alex groaned and closed her eyes, warmth gathering in her cheeks. "I'm only human."

Alex was especially charming. This isn't something I really expected because unfortunately my type does tend to be the muscled brooding one. However, Alex was really...cute. Coy sometimes. Smash.

"Are you close?" Alex asked. "Just from me doing this?" She rubbed again, harder, pressing where she imagined Sam's clit to be.
This time Sam's breath hitched, her back snapped into a sharp line, and the smallest hiss escaped from her lips.
"Are you...fighting it?" Alex asked, amused. She rubbed again.
Sam trembled.

And to be fair, I liked Sam most during the sex scene. That sounds pretty bad, but I mean that in the sense that I liked her better when she was focused on one thing: Alex. She was a lot more likable when she stopped pitying herself and started having genuinely endearing (and sexy, sue me) character interactions. Sometimes, she wasn't head over heels enough for me. The brooding characters should need their partner.

"Did you enjoy that?" Sam purred.
Alex swallowed. Her mouth was so dry. "I'm sure you could tell I did."
"I had an inkling." Sam withdrew her glistening hand and reviewed the evidence.
"So cocky." Alex gave her an amused, challenging look.

The plotline later became more police-focused rather than film-focused, and that's when it really lost its spark for me. I didn't mind it all that much but it felt like it simply took time away that could have been spent on character interaction.

Despite the fact that Alex and Sam's relationship has be conflicting from the beginning, there's a full-on third act conflict too. That was frankly a poor choice.

The story began to drag, now it was sad and deflating seeing Alex trying to reel Sam back in. Then to do that, there were large romantic gestures (standing atop a pub table to say a speech).

I'm a vocal hater of those. As romantic as it's considered to put effort into doing a grand gesture, it always feels impersonal to me. It's a performance for those around them. It made me feel like the connection between the characters (which already could have been stronger) was weakened for the sake of dramatic effect.

Throughout the book I'd been thinking four stars. That's a genuinely good rating. I agree with the others that say this doesn't really top Winters other novels, but her writing, dialogue and overall competence is still evident in Changing the Script.

I was really liking it, if not loving it, but certain things fell short. Or long, like the dragged out ending. I had a similar problem (and rating) with Breaking Character , which is the book this one is spun off of. The plotline and writing are of such high quality, including the romance we get.

But there needs to be more of it . The character interactions were great, but there needed to be more of them for it to be truly believable and a couple you can root for.

Considering that and the less-likable cop character, drug plotline and ending drag, the rating was pulled down to a 3.5 rounded down.

Looking back at the quotes I highlighted, there is some seriously great stuff here, but I think the main thing weighing Winter down is the slight overemphasis on the plotline. Don't get me wrong, the film plotline especially was compelling. I'm not saying to take it out or reduce it, but there needed to be more romance focus and screen time.

You'll have notices many of the quotes I featured were sexual. Usually I'm just as taken by romantic quotes or banter but there wasn't so much of that, frankly.

This was the last book on Winters backlist that I hadn't gotten around to reading. Now, I'm all out. Genuinely, there are some elements of this book that I thought were truly spectacular, maybe one of my favourite of Winter's narratives , but it's a shame it didn't coincide with the dazzling romance and characters Winter is absolutely capable of writing.

Thank you KT for buddy reading this one with me, I really enjoyed reading it together!

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[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a spin-off of Breaking Characters, in Changing the Script we find us again in Lee Winter's film-industry-world. And we also meet some of the characters from the first book. It’s a stand-alone novel, so you don’t have to read the first one before, but hey, you have to read it, before or after.

In Changing the Script it’s all about Alex Levitin, an independent film director, and the Senior Constable Sam Keegan. After getting a huge tax bill, Alex is forced to take on the job to direct the «worst script ever movie» Shezan – Mistress of the Forest. She’s determined to make the best possible and change the script to a much better version. But the start is not very promising.

Sam has her hands full running a one cop police station in a rural part of New Zealand. The local bike gang and increasing drug traffic is enough to deal with, she really doesn’t need the glamorous Hollywood at her doorstep. She loves the small-town life where she grew up and is fiercely protective of her people.

I liked how the author created tension at the beginning between the main characters after Alex nearly had run over Sam and a second meeting with a heated argument at the local bar. Adding some sabotage, twists and turns, crime and funny moments to the craziness of a film set, and you have a wonderful and entertaining novel in Winter’s style. And the beautifully described landscape of New Zealand invites you to a visit. The pace is perfectly timed, there is never a boring moment.

The romance is lovely and feels real. The chemistry between Sam and Alex is sparkling, even in the beginning, it was more sparkling anger on Sam’s side than erotic sparks. But after having to work together to stop the sabotage on the film set, the feelings are changing. We learn a lot about Sam and get to know why she feels and acts as she does. I very much like the noble, protective and broody character of her. And the amiable, bubbling, sometimes the bossy personality of Alex is a great contrast. In my opinion, the only small thing missing was, I would have loved to know more about Alex’s past.

And there are a lot of wonderful, quirky and witty accompanying characters and some well-known from the previous novel Breaking Characters too.

Lee Winter is always a sure bet for an entertaining few hours of reading. She has a way with words I very much appreciate and love. Highly recommended.

My rating 4.5 stars
Many thanks to Ylva Publishing for receiving an ARC for an honest review.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not going to lie, I was worried when I saw reviews pouring in for this book. Especially since it's about Alex and the setting was stunning New Zealand. As it turns out, I was right to be worried because this is my least favorite book by Lee Winter, and yet i'm still giving it a 3,5* rating.

So what gives? I'll keep this part short and concise since Lex wrote a fantastic review that conveyed all my thoughts already so definitely check that out by clicking here.

+ New Zealand is a gorgeous setting.
+ Multitude of great secondary characters.
+ Hilarious character meet cute.
+ Making the best of the "worst movie ever".
+ Loved the initial mystery aspect.
+ Skye Storm. Meddler Extraordinaire!

- Not enough chemistry between Sam and Alex.
- Enemies to friends transition was too abrupt.
- Sex scenes as hot as the current Dutch weather. (5°C)
- Reason behind the mystery.
- Reason behind the mystery.

Yes, I know I mentioned that twice but that's because my jaw dropped to the floor when it was 'unraveled' despite already having suspicions about it. Here's the thing about Lee Winter though, even when she's not doing her best writing, it's still better than a lot of other books out there written by seasoned lesfic authors. So this wasn't my favorite and that's ok because I have no doubt her next book will have us lesfic connoisseurs swooning in no time!

[Joc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another lovely novel by Winter. It’s connected to Breaking Character but can be easily read as a standalone. Alex Levitan is on her way to New Zealand to take up where the third director left off when he stormed off the movie set of what is being called the ‘worst movie ever’. Alex wants to be known as the person who saved it but a bad script and worse actors might be more than the challenge she wants. Sam Keegan, the tiny New Zealand town’s only police officer is run over by Alex on the day of her arrival. Not the best of starts for Alex but Sam is definitely someone she wants to get to know.

One thing I love about Winter’s books is that they are more than just a romance. They still have the romance as a central story arc but there is so much more to the telling that makes for a full, and engaging experience. Alex has all the drama on set to deal with; Sam is trying to break a drug ring and biker gang and the mains have their own interactions on top of that.

I found it much lighter and quirkier that any of the others I’ve read which might have been the setting of a small Kiwi town. Although I really enjoyed the read there were a couple of things that bothered me. I never had a very clear image of Alex until the very end. I also didn’t feel very connected to her as a character and these two thoughts might be a bit of a chicken and egg scenario. I found Sam a much more engaging and complex character.

It’s still beautifully written and well-worth reading.

Book received from Ylva Publishing for an honest review.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Lee Winter’s latest novel, Changing the Script , we get to visit the world she created when she wrote her last book, Breaking Character .

In this tale we follow filmmaker Alex Levitin as she reluctantly takes on the job of director and savior of the film ‘Shezan, Mistress of the Forest’. The film has been dubbed the “worst movie ever” already, and filming hasn’t even begun yet. The movie is being shot on location near the town of Ika Whenu in New Zealand, a stunning and beautiful area of the country. When Alex arrives in New Zealand, she ends up almost running over Senior Constable Sam Keegan, the only police officer in Ika Whenu. Sam already has some strong and negative feelings about the movie being shot in her town. Her opinion doesn’t improve when she meets the newest director, but the two must work together to uncover the saboteur of the film. This leads to all sorts of serious, funny and romantic adventures.

I love the way Ms. Winter writes. Her writing style is very distinctive. There’s just something about the flow of words, the sudden bits of humor or sarcasm that she drops into her work that just appeals to me. I haven’t read a book by her yet that I didn’t absolutely love, and this novel is another addition to my favorites category. The scenery is gorgeous, the characters are well-developed, the chemistry between the main characters is electric, and the story is interesting and entertaining.

Changing the Script is considered a spin-off of the first book, and not a second in a series. That means that you can easily read this book without having read Breaking Character first. However, I loved both books, so I can recommend that you go ahead and read them both. I’m glad I did, and I hope you will too.

I received an ARC from Ylva Publishing for an honest review.

[Aj Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Facades, uniforms and playing roles all contribute to a beautifully woven central theme of chosen families, the importance of belonging and the idea of ‘home’ in Lee Winter's wonderful new novel. Our key cast members include film director Alex Levitin (who I became utterly smitten with in “Breaking Character”) and dedicated Senior Constable Sam Keegan…not to mention a stuffed bunny, a unicorn, a tiger, Clannad, plenty of Skye “I’m never one to interfere” Storm, and a duck called Quack Sparrow!

It’s no shock that a Lee Winter book is brilliant and this novel certainly does not disappoint. The writing is a delight, it just flows over you. There’s awesome romantic and sexual tension between the leads, well constructed mystery/crime elements that had me guessing until the reveal and fabulous Shakespearean devices to satisfy my nerdy side. I giggled (I might even have snorted with laughter), I think I swooned and at one stage, I definitely cried. You will buy this book folks, because if you don’t you’ll be missing out.

Before now we only saw Alex in relation to Bess Thornton but in Changing The Script we get to see her in full director mode, not only running her set with efficiency and professionalism but also showing her creative ability. (All of these talents will be put to the test as Alex has to turn around the “toxic sludge” that is “Shezan: Mistress of the Forest” the worst film ever written.)

Sam is the sole cop in the small rural community where she grew up and has constructed her identity almost entirely around the idea of being a disciplined, dedicated and dutiful senior constable, daughter and sister. Her rank, her uniform and her role in the community allow Sam to feel she has roots, like those of the beautiful trees in the ancient forests she loves, while also giving her a front to hide behind so no one brings up what little Sam went through as a kid.

Sparks fly between the exceptionally noble and dashing Sam and my lovely Alex from the off (although, initially some of those sparks might just have been Sam about to spontaneously combust with rage.) Despite this, both women are guarded, if not downright prickly around each other for a good while as they cautiously assess the risks. Sam clings to a place but doesn’t have a person to feel at home with, while Alex is culturally uprooted; unlike Bess there’s no talk of England as home, we see her microwaving tea (the horror!) She’s also somewhat lost in plastic and insincere LA and feels more at home in the lush nature of New Zealand.

Alex has always been a visionary film maker, now she has the chance to create her vision of her future. For that to happen, Sam and Alex need to accept that they are wanted and needed, that someone will always choose them and put them first.

[hubsie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very much like Ms. Winters work, I think she's a strong, eloquent writer. Changing the Script takes us to remote New Zealand where the backdrop is waterfalls and lush greenery and hobbits and overall amazingness. 

We get MC Alex's story in this, she makes an appearance in Breaking Character. Alex is the director of a doomed movie set in NZ and she brings it back to life. While there she meets MC Sam, the local lone policewoman, who is very much against this movie. There's some barbs, some angst, I liked that actually. You see where this is going. 

While I loved the flow of the writing, something was off about this one, and I see I'm not alone in that feeling. I didn't find the two a very believable couple, nor did I feel the sparks. I wasn't "wow'ed." Sam was well fleshed out as a character, but Alex wasn't, there are major pieces of her story that aren't told. I also had a very hard time believing the reasoning behind the "sabotage" on set, when it came to light I was angry.

Overall it was a good read, but unlike Ms. Winters' other books, which I've re-read a few times, this will probably say as a one night stand. 3.25/5.

[Lexxi Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book received from publisher for honest review

Unlike for many other readers, Winter didn’t start off as one of my favorite authors (I liked but did not love that first book the author published, and that assassin book just didn’t work as well with me as it seems to have worked for others), but I’ve quite enjoyed the other books I’ve read by them. So I was quite happy to dive into this book here, especially as it was set in a country, New Zealand (the home of Xena, or, at least, Lucy Lawless), I’m interested in, but have only ever read one other book set there (Kate Genet’s ‘Don’t Go There’). Didn’t end up enjoying it as much as I hoped, nor as much as the prior book that is loosely related.

This is a two person point of view book. Starring, oddly enough for this author, two people roughly the same age. Alex Levitin, independent film director (and native of England), and Sam Keegan (Kiwi, or New Zealander), Senior Constable in the village a particular film is being made in (or outside of). Alex thought to herself, when spotting Sam for the first time, that Sam looked to be her own age, late thirties. There are many occasions, for whatever reason, wherein Sam’s age, 36, kept being thought, mentioned, muttered. Winter’s books seem to tend to involve age gaps and ice queens. No age gap here (unless it’s measured in a year or two, there are several years that correspond to ‘late thirties’), and neither are specifically referred to as being ice queens. Though Sam’s position of police constable puts her at a slight distance from the people around here (not exactly the same thing as an ice queen though).

The book opens with Alex Levitin taking a meeting at a food place with an especially fake looking producer. About a movie Alex has no intention of having anything to do with, but is interested in a free meal. Or something like that. That was her rationale for being there. Food. She got no food. Right, so, she’s there to be pitched to be the new director, the second new director, third overall, on a project widely known as ‘the worst film being made’ (or however that was worded). Alex is a director, but she makes independent intelligent well respected films. Not films that put women in barely there costumes in the jungle and have a woman (Shezan: Mistress of the Forest) be ‘swept away’ by the most misogynistic man imaginable (a hunter). Alex is basically in the process of informing the producer that she won’t take the job (or did she complete that informing? Yeah, she said something indicating she wouldn’t take the job), but the producer darted away ‘for a moment’ before that producer ‘accepted’ the rejection. In between that moment and the producer’s return, Alex learned that she owed the IRS a massive amount of money. So, naturally, she took the ‘worst film in history’ job.

Shezan: Mistress of the Forest is the title of the movie. Before Alex takes over, it’s set ‘in the jungle’, as in, no particular place. It’s being made, though, in a lovely area in New Zealand. The same country some Tolkien films were made. I’ll note here: yes, I was interested in New Zealand as a place, as a country, as . . . etc. The book made it appear small, forest-y, with gorgeous waterfalls, and tiny villages. Which is fair enough, the book is not a travelogue of New Zealand, and Alex didn’t visit anywhere but that one location. Which I only mention because New Zealand, I learned slightly before reading the book, is roughly (give or take 702 miles) the same size as Colorado (and larger than Wales, England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland combined (103,483 square miles vs 94,726 square miles). So I’m basically just reminding myself that New Zealand is not one small village in a forest.

Right, so the meeting of the two main characters. Alex flies to New Zealand, and starts aimlessly wandering around attempting to find the movie set. Noticing that she is literally driving in circles. Also letting the reader know that they are crap with using technology (that or the ‘GPS’ in the rental is crap; one or the other). Once she realizes she’s been driving in circles, she spots an opening on the side of the road and slams, backwards, into that opening. Whereupon a motorcycle roars up towards her (that opening was actually the intersection with another road). Motorcyclist has to do some fancy moves to not slam into the car. Though did involve sliding sideways. And ending up with the motorcycle resting on her. Whereupon we learn that Alex is small and weaker than a content mouse (I’m sure a scared/panic-y/whatever mouse would get a surge of adrenaline . . . or something), when she attempts to pick up the motorcycle, and only manages to lift it a few feet before immediately dropping it back down on the motorcyclist’s hip.

Alex is super sad about what happened. The motorcyclist is pissed off. That motorcyclist just happens to be Sam Keegan. 1) the other lead point of view in the book, and 2), the local police officer in the area (as the book puts it ‘Ika Whenu’s Senior Constable’, though technically there’s a higher person who is in charge, he just has a lot of places he is in charge of and so is almost never around). Luckily for Alex, Sam does not mention that she’s a police officer, and does not arrest Alex. Unluckily for Alex, Sam develops an immediate dislike for her. Doesn’t help when she, Sam, learns that Alex is there to join the despised movie being filmed nearby.

For the most part, I was liking the book until certain revelations occurred. Revelations about why certain highly illegal, dangerous, costly, and the like events were occurring. The reasons for those unnamed and vague events occurring? Cannot say, of course. Just completely and utterly stupid. For certain reasons, it made me lose respect for basically everyone in the book. Mostly the side characters. As in everyone but the main characters.

This book had things that annoyed me, here and there. I mean more than the above. Though many things I enjoyed, don’t get me wrong. I specifically mean, annoyance wise, how certain things would occur, action scenes, and they’d get cut off to move on to the next chapter. In said next chapter either whatever action that was occurring was dismissed (there’s at least one occasion when Alex is confronting people and not getting much information, next chapter – she didn’t move on exactly, but she did, apparently, immediately leave the location the confrontation was occurring right when the chapter ended instead of attempting to gather more information; and she didn’t do anything to ‘get to the bottom of things’ the next morning either, no, I think if I recall correctly, she went on to do some completely different activity); or got interrupted by other action (several times Sam would be in a dangerous situation, action is on-going, chapter would change and . . . Alex takes over POV in next chapter and she’s doing some unrelated activity).

Watching the transformation of the movie from crap to something that might turn out interesting, was fun to watch. Occasionally more fun to watch than whatever Alex and Sam were doing.

Still, despite how I’ve worded things above, I did enjoy the book. And the people, for the most part, in it. And this is yet another book that had an ending (or at least a chapter near the end of the book) that bumped up my ultimate rating. As I stated at the beginning of this review - I just didn’t enjoy the book as much as I expected and/or hoped.

Rating: 3.63

November 19-20 2019

[Corrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m on a roll! Here’s another Lee Winter audiobook review from me. A lovely surprise was that Changing the Script was a spin-off of Breaking Character, one I just finished so the characters are still in my head. Of course narrator Clare Alain gave a different slant to the voices of Bes, Chloe, Sky and Alex, but you adjust fairly quickly. Besides the story is set in New Zealand, so we really need a local (don’t know if Alain is a kiwi or an aussie) to give it that authentic flavor. And she gave it in spades! Especially the kiwi and aboriginal accents were fantastic.

Indie film director Alex Livitin travels to the end of the world to revive a hopelessly failing movie project in order to be able to pay her massive tax bill. She runs into Senior Constable Sam Keegan almost immediately after arriving. The two women clash on sight.

What we get is a wonderful hate to love slow burn peppered with shenanigans on a movie set and a motorcycle gang wreaking havoc in the small town of Ika Whenu. Cultures clash. Can Alex turn it all around and create a movie worthy for everybody involved? Who is doing the sabotage?

Lee Winter gave us some Kiwi realness that was enhanced by Clare’s narration. I loved it! I also loved complicated and aloof Sam. There was a lot hiding underneath that brooding exterior. Winter does these emotionally crippled women so well. There were plenty of funny moments. I think the whole live streaming brawl scene at the biker gang compound was pure comedy gold!

Special thanks to Ylva Publishing for putting these audiobooks on Scribd so timely! Much appreciated.

f/f

Themes: New Zealand, Ika Whenu, Shezan: Mistress of the Forest, motorcycle gang, drugs problem in town, culture clash, family, small town life, a collection of postcards from people who got out, the purple sand of Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur California, dare to follow your dreams.

4.5 Stars

[F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a huge Lee Winter fan who’s written some of my all time favourites. This was a bit of mixed bag though. It features some of the minor characters from Breaking Character in central roles. To be honest, they were so minor that I had no recollection of them and I had to look them up.... And there’s a cameo from Bess and Summer (and the Shakespeare crew). By the way, if you haven’t read Breaking Character, go read it now!

Anyway, I immensely enjoyed the story element of this book. The indie director Alex, who flies out to NZ to save a dumpster fire Hollywood film from disaster. On the way we meet many fun characters in the film crew. There’s changes to all and everything in the script to make the film really rather good in the end. Some intrigue. And all that.
The love interest is local soft butch cop Sam. She’s... well, loyal and protective but also really quite surly and angry. And I found it hard to see the attraction for charming talented Alex. In fact the whole romance left me quite indifferent. I didn’t see the connection. It all happened very fast in the end. And it just didn’t really do it for me.

Winter is a great writer. But there’s no fireworks in this one for me. Sorry.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think most readers agree, Lee Winter writes fantastic books. Her worst book is still far better than most lesbian fiction I have read. I loved Breaking Character. My love for the first book may have actually hurt my overall rating of Changing the Script. It is a good book, but for me, it wasn’t nearly as good as the first nor as good as Winter’s other books.

I was so excited characters from Breaking Character (Chloe, Skye, Bess, and co) made appearances, but sometimes when too much is going on we lose a little bit of the magic. Alex was still smart and clever and I did like Sam. I just felt like Alex was more interesting in the first book, and Sam wasn’t nearly interesting enough for Alex. I missed the chemistry readers experienced with Bess and Summer. I compared this to Gary Marshall’s holiday movies several times while reading it. You know the ones, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day... where it is packed with stars you really love, but the movie falls a bit flat because everyone competes for time. I felt like the ending was a bit slow, and about 3/4 through I was ready for the book to end. Should you still read this book? Absolutely. How could you not? If you have read Breaking Character you can’t live life without knowing there is more to read. If you haven’t read Breaking Character, correct this immediately. Better yet, screw reading it and pick up the audiobook… you will not be disappointed.

[Gaby LezReviewBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lee Winter is one of my favourite lesfic authors since 'The red files' was released and every time she writes a new book I'm eager to read it. Even though 'Breaking character' wasn't my favourite of hers, I was excited to read about Alex, a character from that novel's universe as she is involved in directing a doomed movie and her chance meeting with the standoffish local cop Sam. In 'Changing the script' the usual elements of Lee Winter's style are present: thawing ice-queen, slow-burn romance, and intrigue. However, I'm afraid that I couldn't connect with this story as much as I'd have liked to.

I have to admit that my bar is really high when it comes to Lee Winter. I'm reviewing this book comparing it to the rest of her work and not other lesbian books in the genre, that's because I know how great a novel penned by Ms. Winter can be, her potential is really high within the lesfic genre. Hence, my disappointment at this one.

I said before that I couldn't connect with the story, I cannot pinpoint exactly why but the main characters didn't appeal to me that much. Their personalities were well defined and multi-dimensional but I just couldn't empathise with them, I missed Ms. Winter's larger than life ice-queens, her self-deprecating heroines who come to their rescue, and the well-constructed intrigue around them. In my opinion, this book fell short in all of those departments. It wasn't bad at all, just not as good as the others.

If you are new to this author, you should read 'The red files', 'Requiem for immortals' or 'The brutal truth' to get an idea of how good she can write. If you still want to read this one, start with 'Breaking character' or wait until the audiobook is released hopefully narrated by Angela Dawe who will surely make this story sound much better.

Overall, an ok lesbian book sequel. 3.5 stars.

See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com

[Lady Olenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

A feel good, enemies to lovers romance you catch yourself unconsciously smiling. The scenery was the main pull for me in the story. The characterisation of all the cast was masterful as well (of course, it’s Lee Winter). The mini whodunnit case was pretty entertaining as well. The author captured small town vibes so perfectly.

[Tiff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lee Winter is a truly gifted writer. She is one of the absolute best when it comes to lesbian romance novels. Her latest work is a spinoff of Breaking Character. That book was out of this world amazing, one you come back to time and time again. Changing the Script is no slouch, I liked it, but it didn't have that same pull as Winter's previous works. Let me explain.

Changing the Script reintroduces Alex Levitin, if you read Breaking Character, you will remember her as Bess's ex, the indie movie director. If you have not read said novel, go make your self happy and go read it, that book is epic, but you can totally read this one as a standalone. Alex finds out that her accountant, another ex-girlfriend, screwed up and jacked up her taxes to the tune of $45,000 she owes to the IRS. Ouch! So Alex, with heavy bills to pay, takes the job as the director of a movie based in New Zealand that is already being touted as trash. Her only silver lining in the whole mess is that this film will get her out of debt and if she can turn it around she will make a huge name for herself in Hollywood.

Alex's journey to Ika Whenu in New Zealand run her straight into Sam Keegan, the town's one and an only police officer. Alex does not make a good first impression, Sam does not care for the director, or the entire film crew to be honest. Sam is a prickly loner who is overworked and a ball of stress 100% of the time. The last thing she needs is more trouble, and that this wreck of a film is bringing to her little town.

So obviously, this is a got off on the wrong foot/hate to love kinda story. I love those, by the way, crank of the drama and angst why don't you. Here is the thing, everything is there, all the right pieces, ...but it just doesn't take off. Alex's character needed more, I never felt like I really knew her. I wanted way more on why these two are attracted to each or and way less on explaining the moving pieces or the town and the movie. This book is good, but it does not have the extraordinary factor of Lee Winter's other books. It felt a bit like a puzzle piece that is almost the right fit but it just isn't no matter how much you push. I think there was just too much going on, and too many sub-characters, all the extras distracted from the two mains overall time together.

Is the book good, for sure. Did I like it? Yes, I did, I just did not love it. This may be a case where it's me, the reader. I just read Breaking Character before starting Changing the Script. Maybe it was my headspace entering into this book. 3 stars

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first thoughts on finishing this were two. First, I wish I had read this as a book club read, because there are so many layers, which the title catches perfectly in a somewhat subtle way. (But, not that subtle, since oblivious me picked it up. ;) Second, I am looking forward to my first reread, because there are reveals that will undoubtedly up the humor of several scenes. I love authors that construct stories that get deeper and better with rereads.

Getting back to the book club discussion and the layers of the story, Sam's struggle to change the script of her life and forge a new path was moving, and I am going to hold-off further comments until my reread.

One oddity that I ran into was having the two main characters with short and simple androgynous names. It led to continual confusion on my part. For some reason, even well into the book, I couldn't keep the names Alex and Sam straight. I don't know why, maybe it's my general level of distraction right now. (We're in pandemic lock-down, and mostly I'm doing rereads instead of new books because my brain is squirrelly worrying about my elderly parents who are still shopping for themselves, the end of the world as we know it, and other small details of life, like when and how I will next go food shopping.)

[MZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. When I started reading this book I was immediately drawn into the story and could not put it down. The characters are both very likeable, the aloof cop of this little New Zealand town and the spontaneous and direct film director who’s forced to take on this dreadful film script which is shot in New Zealand. There is quite some fun stuff happening at the film set (and even a little mystery) and there is plenty of chemistry between the MCs. However, near the end the story fell flat for me. Other reviews have mentioned this before, and unfortunately, I also experienced this. Once the MCs were romantically involved it almost felt as if they got a different personality, especially Sam (the cop) changed from a confident character to a person full of doubt and was even a bit mushy, it did not feel very believable to me. Also, the outcome of the mystery was a bit disappointing to me. It was nice to see the characters from breaking character reappear at the end of the book, although, to me it did not add much to the story. So, all in all, this is by no means a bad book and I can definitely recommend reading it, I was just slightly disappointed by the ending.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very full story. Full of family devotion, mystery, romance, life changes, police work, movie making etc.
We start off with the problem of making a bad movie in the New Zealand wilderness, then focus on the towns only policewoman and all her problems with her foster family, devotion to her job and dealing with the local biker gang. And then there is someone sabotaging the movie set to solve. And of course the romance.
I didn't feel the chemistry between the main characters until way after they got together. Felt like a fling to me. Then all of a sudden they couldn't live without each other. I definitely felt the love in the last part of the story.
I had a little difficulty with the rumble with the biker gang. I couldn't follow who was hitting who.
I felt the story was a bit long but there were many, many storylines to solve.
All in all, I thought the story was different, which is nice for a change, and an overall good read.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels weird to rate a Lee Winter book with anything less than 4-5 stars, but there was something missing for me in this one. I think it was a case of not quite connecting with the characters (especially Sam) as well as the narrator. I also found the conclusion to the big mystery to be a bit trite and anticlimactic - I guess I just wanted some real drama.

It was an okay listen, but nothing special for me. I enjoyed Breaking Character a hell of a lot more.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't part of a series, or anything, but it is definitely a follow-on from Breaking Character and I'm really glad it mentions that in the cover copy. I highly recommend reading that one first as we are introduced to Alex there and her dynamic with Breaking Character's Bess is important to this story. Also, Skye and her industry connections play a large role as well and I think it's best if you know that going in.

I was excited to see Alex get her turn at finding happiness. My heart broke for her a bit in Breaking Character, though you could see that the hurt was in the past. And I loved how briskly she took on the "worst movie ever" and came at it with creativity and positive energy. And I particularly loved her solution for turning it around and almost wish that movie existed in the real world just to see how it turned out. So Alex is full of win and a great deal of fun.

Less of a win is Sam. Almost all of that is that the plot surrounding her job was ludicrous and adding a biker gang and meth problem was uncomfortably weighty for the rest of the tone to carry. I think Winter would have been better off picking one and committing fully to it. The ludicrous set sabotage storyline might almost work if Sam could have devoted herself to it and given us a wink and a nod to the life of a small-town copper. And the biker gang drug issue might have worked out as sole focus, too, giving us Sam's capability and dedication to the tough job of the small-town copper. But they didn't interact very well with the one dragging the other into breaking my immersion and letting me pick holes in everything along the way.

Though now I think on it, the ludicrous plot would still be ludicrous and I'd still lose all respect for everyone caught up in it (including, sadly, the inimitable Skye, who I otherwise deeply liked).

Anyway, when Sam wasn't torn between irreconcilable tone shifts, I really liked her. And I particularly liked her interactions with Alex. I loved seeing them come to understand and respect one another. And I really liked where they ended up.

So this ends up a solid four stars, but only because I'm ignoring a lot of thrash around the Sam-centric plot points. The movie itself, and Alex's working to make gold out of tissue paper, was very enjoyable. And the surprise, not-surprise reveal at the ending with the useless lead made me laugh.

A note about Steamy: There are explicit sex scenes, but I forget how many. The middle of my steam tolerance, at any rate.

[MJSam · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC received via Ylva in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this with lowered expectations, I wasn’t overly blown away by Breaking Character and the reviews for this sequel weren’t as high as for the first book. Having said that, I liked this more than I was expecting to, but The Brutal Truth remains my favourite by Winter.

So, this features MC Alex, who is the BFF of Bess from Breaking Character. She’s also a director tasked with travelling to New Zealand and fixing what everyone thinks is going to be a stinker of a movie. The other MC is Sam, the local police constable, who Alex runs afoul of (and into) on her first day in the country. Summer’s BFF Chloe and her mother Skye from Breaking Character also appear here.

To say that Alex and Sam don’t immediately hit it off would be an understatement, but due to some on set mishaps, Sam’s family working on Alex’s set and everyone eating at her foster mother’s bar, they keep getting thrown into each other’s orbit. This leads to an eventual thawing in their relationship and the inevitable sexy times. Despite being around each other a bit, they don’t actually talk about much of substance, most of their discussions revolve around the ‘investigation’, Sam’s dislike of the movie, or the various injuries Sam sustains. Thus, by the end of the book where Sam decides to move with Alex, I wasn’t convinced they knew each other well enough for her to be making such a life changing decision.

There’s also some shenanigans around the set, which added a bit of intrigue to the book, although the resolution was a bit silly. That pales in comparison to the sheer stupidity Sam shows in her police work, sorry, but a lone man taking on a bikie gang is ridiculous, but as a woman, she faced consequences other than getting beat up/killed, she was not a hero for going in there, she was an idiot, and she should have been fired. .

I did like the changes Alex made to the movie and Melody was an unexpected delight. The relationship between the MCs unfolds slowly, but as mentioned, didn’t seem substantial enough for the necessary move. Maybe if there’d been less movie making shenanigans and some time spent on the eight months of the time jump towards the end I’d have been more invested in the HEA. For fans of Breaking Character, Bess does feature a few times, and we catch up with her and Summer and see where they’re at.

Overall, it’s an ok romance, I know some of the Breaking fans didn’t like it as much, but the two stories were on par for me. 3.5 stars rounded down.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️ I listened to the audio on this one and it was very well done. It really brought the story to life with the setting in a small village in New Zealand. Claire Alain was excellent and I’ve enjoyed other books of Cheyenne Blue that she has narrated.

This book was a great example of Lee Winter’s superb writing skills. Her characters are fully developed and the dialogue is excellent. Winter’s books also have a detailed plot line which make the books much more interesting to me.

Alex is a British/American movie director forced into rescuing a movie that is struggling. It’s set in a small town and remote area in NZ. The movie has a cheesy plot about an Amazon woman. Alex meets motorcycle cop Sam. Who is a the chief police officer in this town. She’s trying to stop a local drug gang.

The romance was slow to develop with a lot of action thrown into the story.

[Kaila · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars

I have really mixed feelings about this book. I’m going to preface this by saying that maybe my rating is a bit harsh for this book. But I just reading Breaking Character from Lee Winter and it was one of my favourite books that I’ve read so far this year. So my expectations for this book were high and I was expecting a similar vibe to the last book, but that’s not how it ended up.

I don’t want anyone to get me wrong, I enjoyed this book a lot. I really liked Sam and Alex together, both their tense relationship at the start and the progression to a romance. I especially liked the start of the book. It really started with a bang, with Alex almost hitting Sam with her car. It was a regular rom-com feel, with the tension between Sam loving her town and thinking that Alex’s movie was exploitative. I loved their banter and tough relationship at the beginning, especially since it was so obvious that the sexual tension was there.

It’s not the romance that I didn’t enjoy, it was a couple of the plot lines. This book just didn’t feel cohesive to me. We were focusing on this trashy movie when suddenly we have bikie drama, near death experiences and crime conspiracies. I would be up for having these plots in a romance, but they all just fell flat for me. I get like they both didn’t make sense for the story and was also a bit over-the-top, verging on ridiculous. Like solving the whole sabotage plot at the end (which literally almost killed Sam and injured others) with it just being a big misunderstanding?? They were just trying to set Alex and Sam up?? It doesn’t sit right with me. I also think the romance switched from a slow-burn build to pretty much die-for-you love pretty fast. By the end I feel like the book lost its genuine, down-to-earth feel.

On a completely separate note, I loved that this book was set in the beautiful New Zealand. New Zealand really does be needing more love. As an Aussie, it’s honestly embarrassing how little books I have read that are set in Australia and New Zealand. Now that I’ve found out that Lee Winters is Australian, I’ll be sure to be snagging more of her books. On that note, just because I didn’t love this book doesn’t me I don’t still really enjoy Lee Winter’s writing. Her writing was still great in this book and I’m still excited to read more from her.

[KT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buddy read with gloria .☆ﾟ.!!

"Sam’s motives were obvious. She’d wanted this asshole to leave Alex’s movie alone. She had wanted Alex to succeed. Wanted her to feel safe. Wanted her."

This is going to be short and sweet (which reminds me, go listen to that album it's very good🤭) because as crazy as it sounds, this one was a bit underwhelming.

With Lee Winter, you usually get a swoon worthy romance and a strong plot to boot. Unfortunately, the romance was less than satisfying for me and it was definitely because I never took to either lead and therefore wasn't invested in their romance/relationship. Hey, it happens. Even with a Winter.

Changing the Script had a great premise and a story that did endear itself to me toward the end. I enjoyed the twists at the end, and LOVED the Summer and Elizabeth cameos (my 2nd fav winter cinematic universe couple!!). Skye Storm also made me laugh quite a bit:

"Well, go right ahead. I won’t get in the way. I’m not one to interfere.” Skye turned her attention back to her sock."

It was also very fun to see Alex's filmmaking process, especially her herculean task of turning a steaming pile of garbage into an artful flick about finding home. I always enjoy the in-depth dives Winter does into her characters' professions:

“That’s a complicated question. It’s something I can’t easily share—how I see the world. There’s a movie in my eye and it plays all around me, all the time, and I’m constantly working out the shots, the angles."

Anyway-- Alex and Sam, it was me not you.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

There seemed to be mixed reviews on the latest book by Ms Winters. My take is that Changing the Script is another enjoyable and engaging book which is well-written. Yes, it might not be as interesting and/or engaging as her earlier books (and some might even say this is not her best work) but still good nonetheless - to me at least. Not gonna give you my thoughts on the plot; it’s been said by many though the fight scene seems a bit far fetched and the mystery had me gone ‘hmmm’ for a moment there....

Still, this is another good read and I look forward to Ms Winter’s releasing her next new book (sooner rather than later please 😊)