You know what’s fun? Romantic comedies. They’re frothy, earnest, and guarantee a happy ending. Also fun: finding a playful, punchy, high-concept humor title on a bookstore display table and thumbing through it and laughing out loud several times per page. A third fun thing: Choose Your Own Adventure, those adventure tales even reluctant readers read in grade school because we loved starting over when the story didn’t go our way — it gave us control over the story and also subverted tropes. With Build Your Own Romantic Comedy, Lana Schwartz combines all the fun things listed above, deftly subverting the tired formulas utilized by ‘80s, ‘90s, and Hallmark Channel rom-coms (a subject of which she clearly has an encyclopedic knowledge and unabating appreciation) by making those the story points of a rollicking, meta, Choose Your Own Adventure novel for adults whose notions of romance are skewed and cracked from a lifelong diet of Meg Ryan movies. And because of its game-type format, there’s a lot of replay in Build Your Own Romantic Comedy, not unlike a well-liked rom-com.

 
"Are you the next Nora Ephron or Nancy Meyers? If you've ever dreamed of writing a romantic comedy that stands the test of time, Lana Schwartz provides inspiration to create your own happily ever after, in a variety of different ways. With warmth, wit and surprises, Schwartz's gift for storytelling shines through in every twist and turn of her love letter to a beloved genre. Saint Nora would approve." 

 
"As someone who has seen nearly every rom com ever produced and has had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Hugh Grant made a finite number of movies in the '90s, I so appreciate that Lana Schwartz has written this charming, funny book which allows you to create as many new rom coms as your heart desires."

 
"Brilliantly fun"