My Own Worst Enemy by Lily Lindon

My Own Worst Enemy is a romantic comedy novel about an up-and-coming actress who runs into someone with the same casting as her in an audition, who also happens to be just her type, and they spark up a rivalry that threatens to turn into something else. Emmy Clooney is obsessed with acting and came top of her year at drama school, but now she’s graduated, she’s floundering, not quite getting anywhere and overthinking everything. At an audition she meets Mae, who looks similar to her—short, dark hair, masc clothing—and is, in Emmy’s eyes, far more charismatic. Clearly, they must become rivals, as there’s not much room in acting for two people like them going for roles, but things get more complicated than that.

This has a classic ‘enemies to lovers’ set up, combined with a romance between two butches, so it is likely to appeal to plenty of people looking for those elements. Emmy makes a lot of classic romantic hero mistakes—she makes a lot of assumptions about people and their thoughts and motives without actually checking, she assumes that her new crush must be much more popular and confident than she is—and though she can be frustrating, she’s also written in a way that does make sense to have some of these traits, particularly in such a competitive business. We learn less about Mae as what we see is through Emmy’s eyes, but the hints towards more than her exterior are interesting. Emmy’s flatmates (who are also her best friends) are fun supporting characters (and believable potential London flatmates), though Emmy’s pizza-obsessed dad’s disapproval of her acting felt a bit random, as his entire character is ‘loves pizza and doesn’t outwardly support her acting’.

The twists and turns of Emmy’ new relationship, the queer Twelfth Night production, and Emmy’s relationship with her mum bring a lot of the later plot, with one character in particular a bit of a comedy villain who raises red flags from the start, but that is often the case in romance novels. This is a fun novel, a light read that doesn’t delve deep into things, but keeps the enemies to lovers plotline and the acting world at the forefront.