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Verdict: A funny, warm small-town romance between a hapless English film director and a guarded New Zealand cop, with a lovely setting and a found family at its heart, let down by a romance many Lee Winter fans found less gripping than her best.
Best for: Readers who enjoyed Breaking Character, want an enemies-to-lovers romance with small-town community and a light mystery, and are happy with a gentler, lower-stakes Winter book.
Heat level: ★★★☆☆ (3/5 — open door, per romance.io)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.7/5 — a 3.98 Goodreads average across 1,703 ratings, measured against Winter’s own higher bar)
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, small town, film set, cop and director, found family, set sabotage mystery, opposites attract, spin-off standalone, dual POV, feel-good.
Changing the Script is Lee Winter’s 2019 contemporary lesbian romance from Ylva Publishing and a standalone spin-off of Breaking Character, set in a small New Zealand town where Alex Levitin, an English indie director living in LA, reluctantly takes over the “worst movie ever” — and nearly runs over Sam Keegan, the town’s standoffish senior constable, on her first day.
It holds a 3.98 average across 1,703 Goodreads ratings, which would be a strong number for most authors. For Winter it is notably low: Breaking Character and The Brutal Truth both sit at 4.33. Almost every review of this book is really a conversation about that gap, and it is worth understanding before you start.
What Is Changing the Script About?
This is a small-town romance first, a film-set comedy second and a light mystery third. The town is tight-knit, the film crew is an invasion, and Sam — publicly scathing about the exploitative movie — stands between the two. Winter adds a motorcycle-gang drug problem and a saboteur on the set, so there is more plot than in a typical feel-good romance, though readers disagree on whether it pays off.
Alex has talent, a quick mouth and terrible driving, and what she lacks is a project that proves she is more than a fixer. Sam has discipline, a foster family she is devoted to and a scarred childhood, and what she lacks is any willingness to let someone like Alex in. The book alternates between them, which lets the reader see how badly each misjudges the other at first.
What Makes This Small-Town Sapphic Romance Work
- The setting: New Zealand is the most praised element. Reviewers repeatedly call the scenery stunning and say the book captures small-town life perfectly.
- Found family: Sam’s foster family and the town community give the book its heart. Jude in the Stars singled out the real sense of family, and another reviewer framed the whole book around chosen family and belonging.
- Enemies to lovers with humour: The clash between a cop who hates the film and the director trying to save it gives the book a comic engine, and readers note plenty of banter — it is why the book sits on our good banter list.
- Returning faces: Characters from Breaking Character, including Alex’s friends, make appearances that fans of the first book enjoy.
- Winter’s craft: Even disappointed readers say the writing is skilled, and several call her worst book better than most in the genre.
Book Synopsis
Alex Levitin is an English indie filmmaker based in LA, and she has just agreed to rescue a disaster. Shezan: Mistress of the Forest has already gone through directors and been branded the worst movie ever before filming is finished, and the job of saving it takes Alex to a small town in New Zealand, a long way from anything she knows.
On her first day she almost runs over Senior Constable Sam Keegan, the town’s only police officer, who has made no secret of what she thinks of the film and the Hollywood crew making it. Sam has problems of her own: a motorcycle gang with a drug problem, a foster family she would do anything for, and very little patience for a nerdy, smart-mouthed director with woeful driving skills.
Then things start going wrong on set — equipment damaged, scenes disrupted, the production threatened — and it looks like sabotage. Alex needs Sam’s help to find out who is behind it, and Sam needs to keep the peace in her town. Forced to work together, the two find their hostility giving way to something else. The question is whether a director who never stays and a cop who never leaves can make room for each other.
My Review
The best thing about this book is its sense of place. The New Zealand town, the scenery and the community around Sam are drawn with real affection, and the film-set comedy — a terrible script, a chaotic crew, a director determined to make something of it — gives the book an easy, funny energy. On StoryGraph, 78% of readers tag it lighthearted and 64% funny.
The second strength is the family at its centre. Sam’s foster family and the way the town closes ranks give the book warmth beyond the romance, and several reviewers say the real theme is belonging — found family, home and the roles people play. Winter’s dialogue is sharp, and 87% of StoryGraph readers call the characters loveable.
The problem, and it is the one nearly every review raises, is expectation. Readers who loved Breaking Character or The Brutal Truth came in expecting a Winter romance at full intensity and found something gentler and more diffuse. The specific complaints follow from that: several readers say they did not connect with the leads, particularly Sam, as deeply as with Winter’s other couples; at least one found the romance itself disappointing; and more than one felt the mystery’s resolution was anticlimactic. There are misunderstandings along the way too, which a few readers noticed. None of this makes it a bad book — it makes it a good book by a writer readers hold to a very high bar.
Reset one expectation. The blurb calls it a funny small-town romance, and that is accurate. If you are coming from Breaking Character hoping for that book’s charged Hollywood slow burn, calibrate: this is lighter, broader and more interested in community. If you have never read Winter, relax — on its own terms it is a warm, entertaining read.
My honest note: A warm, funny, well-made small-town romance that suffers mostly by comparison with its author’s best work. Read it for the setting and the found family; do not read it expecting the intensity of Breaking Character.
| Element | In Changing the Script |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Alex Levitin & Sam Keegan — English indie film director and small-town senior constable, enemies to lovers |
| Core tropes | Enemies to lovers, small town, film set, found family, set sabotage mystery, opposites attract |
| Setting | A small town in New Zealand hosting a troubled film shoot |
| Heat level | 3/5 — open door, per romance.io |
| Series | Standalone spin-off of Breaking Character — happy resolution |
| Content notes | Violence, drug use and addiction, mental illness, child abuse in backstory, death of a parent, car accident, injury, alcohol, racism, bullying, sexual content |
How Spicy Is Changing the Script?
A 3/5. romance.io rates Changing the Script 3 of 5 and labels it open door, and StoryGraph readers log sexual content as moderate rather than graphic. Readers quote the intimate scenes approvingly, and the heat reads as part of the romance rather than its focus. It matches Winter’s usual register: on-page, but not the reason most people pick her up.
The content worth knowing in advance is not sexual: StoryGraph readers note violence, drug use and addiction linked to the biker gang, and a difficult childhood in Sam’s past. For the same band, Breaking Character and The Brutal Truth both sit at 3/5 in our reviews.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you enjoyed Breaking Character and want more of that world, you like small-town romance with a strong community, you enjoy enemies to lovers with humour, and you like a mystery subplot alongside the romance.
You may want to skip it if: you are expecting the intensity of Winter’s best-known books, you need a deep connection with both leads, anticlimactic mysteries bother you, or you want higher heat.
In short: A warm, funny, lower-stakes Lee Winter book that shines brightest for readers who come to it without comparisons.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
There is no viral moment for this one, and a web search surfaced no Reddit threads. Its readership comes almost entirely from Winter’s established fanbase — reviews open again and again with “as a huge Lee Winter fan” — and from Ylva’s advance-copy programme. That context shapes everything: the book is judged against its author rather than against the genre. It is in Kindle Unlimited, rates 4.4 stars on Amazon, and has a Tantor audiobook narrated by Claire Alain, running 13 hours and 33 minutes. Listeners split on her: one found her pace so slow it felt like it added hours, while others call her narration excellent and well suited to the New Zealand setting.
Prefer audio? Listen to Changing the Script on Libro.fm — the audiobook shop that supports independent bookstores.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The setting first — “New Zealand”, “scenery” and “small town” recur. Second, the community and found family, which several reviewers call the real heart of the book. Third, humour: StoryGraph readers tag it funny at 64%, and the film-set chaos is the most enjoyed thread. A minority liked it more than Breaking Character, largely for the setting and plot.
What readers argue about and complain about: The comparison, above everything. “Least favourite by Winter”, “not as good as the first” and “just OK” come up in review after review, often from readers who still rate it three or four stars. Second: connection — several did not feel as close to Sam or to the romance as they expected. Third: the mystery, which more than one reader found trite or anticlimactic in its resolution. The genuine split is the narrator, and a smaller one about whether you need Breaking Character first — some say go and read it, others say it makes no difference.
The standalone question worth asking first: Changing the Script stands on its own, with a new couple and a happy resolution, but it shares a world with Breaking Character, which is both the better-rated book (4.33 on Goodreads across roughly 10,500 ratings) and the better starting point. If you want Winter at full strength, The Brutal Truth, also at 4.33, is the other obvious choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need to read Breaking Character before Changing the Script?
No, but it helps. It is a spin-off with a new couple and works as a standalone, yet several reviewers say the story lands better if you already know Alex and her friends from Breaking Character, and a few had to look up who the returning characters were.
How spicy is Changing the Script?
A 3/5. romance.io rates it 3 of 5 and labels it open door, the same band as Breaking Character, and StoryGraph readers log sexual content as moderate.
Does Changing the Script have a happy ending?
Yes, the reviews describe a happy resolution in which everything comes right for Alex and Sam. None I found specifies whether it closes on a full HEA or a happy-for-now.
Is Changing the Script as good as Breaking Character?
Most readers say no. Breaking Character sits at 4.33 on Goodreads, while this spin-off averages 3.98, and many fans call it enjoyable but not Lee Winter at her best.
Is there an audiobook of Changing the Script?
Yes. Claire Alain narrates the Tantor audiobook, released in May 2020 and running 13 hours and 33 minutes. Listeners are split on her unhurried pace.
If You Loved Changing the Script, Read These Next
Start with Breaking Character if you have not already — same world, same heat, and a more intense romance. The Brutal Truth is Winter at her sharpest, with an ice-queen journalist in place of a cop. If it was the film-industry comedy you liked, Stars Collide takes you on tour with two pop stars. For more, browse our good banter lesbian romance list, the feel-good lesbian romance guide, or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
Changing the Script sets out to take a supporting character from Breaking Character and give her a small-town romance on the other side of the world, and much of it works: the New Zealand setting is lovely, the found family is warm, and the film-set comedy is genuinely funny. What holds it back is the romance at its centre, which many readers found less gripping than Winter’s best, along with a mystery that fizzles and leads some readers never fully connected with. It is worth it for fans of the first book and for readers who want a gentle, funny small-town romance. Check Changing the Script on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Changing the Script ranks as a good, warm small-town sapphic romance from an author capable of better — funny and rich in setting and community, held back by a less gripping central romance and an anticlimactic mystery, and best approached as a companion to Breaking Character rather than an equal.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ 3.98 average across 1,703 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ Setting and found family widely praised
- ✓ In Kindle Unlimited, 4.4 stars on Amazon
- ✓ Well below Breaking Character’s 4.33
Romance ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Enemies-to-lovers clash with humour
- ✓ Forced together by the set sabotage
- ✓ Some misunderstandings along the way
- ✓ Less gripping than Winter’s best
Characters ★★★★☆ 3.9/5
- ✓ 87% of StoryGraph readers call them loveable
- ✓ Sam’s foster family a highlight
- ✓ Returning faces from Breaking Character
- ✓ Several readers never connected with Sam
Writing ★★★★☆ 4.1/5
- ✓ Winter’s craft praised even by critics
- ✓ Sharp, funny dialogue
- ✓ Setting drawn with real affection
- ✓ More diffuse than her tighter books
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Belonging and home as central themes
- ✓ Sam’s scarred past adds weight
- ✓ 44% of StoryGraph readers call it emotional
- ✓ Stakes feel lower than expected
Heat Level ★★★☆☆ 3/5
- ✓ romance.io rates it 3 of 5
- ✓ Open-door scenes
- ✓ Sexual content logged as moderate
- ✓ Not the focus of the book
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ Happy resolution for Alex and Sam
- ✓ Standalone with nothing left open
- ✓ Film and town threads tied up
- ✓ Mystery resolution called anticlimactic
Re-read Value ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ One reader planned a re-read for the reveals
- ✓ 13-hour audiobook for a second pass
- ✓ Kindle Unlimited makes a return easy
- ✓ Narrator’s pace divides listeners
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