Cut to the Ending

By Maria Millage

A deliciously swoony Hollywood romcom about an aspiring screenwriter who gets the opportunity to write the finale of a megahit fantasy franchise, and the nerdy--but annoyingly hot--assistant she teams up with to teach her the series' canon, for readers of How to End a Love Story and Book Lovers.

"A must-read love letter to fandoms and Hollywood​." --Laura Marie Meyers, author of The MASH Up

Delaney Webber knows the price of Hollywood success: long hours, a caffeine addiction, and sacrificing any semblance of a personal life. But a year after a misogynistic producer torpedoed her screenwriting career, she's stuck running errands for her eccentric boss-slash-mentor. When he offers her the chance to finish the fantasy franchise that made him a household name--Magician's Gambit--she jumps at the opportunity to get her career back on track. There's just one problem: she's never seen it.

Not-quite-reformed nerd Max Sullivan is one Slack notification away from a mental breakdown. As the assistant to one of LA's most powerful (and terrifying) talent managers, he's Living the Dream--aka barely keeping his anxiety in check while juggling hyper-specific coffee orders and overinflated egos. But it's worth it for the opportunity to one day make the kind of movies his dad raised him on, movies like Magician's Gambit.

It's the perfect match to save both their careers. Max needs his big break; Delaney needs someone to teach her the difference between an orc and a hobbit. But as their Magician's Gambit lessons turn strictly unprofessional and their electric chemistry becomes impossible to ignore, they must decide if their future is worth fighting for, or if it's time to roll the credits.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316605972
• ISBN13: 9780316605977
• Release Date: November 2026
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 384 Pages