First of all thanks so much to the Publisher and NetGalley for an early copy for review!

Exes & O's is a really fun read! I loved that our main character was a romance book lover but was aware of tropes and romance cliches when they occurred - either accidentally or because she engineered it - in her real life. The premise was really fun, Tara gets in touch with her exes to see if there are any flames still there that she could rekindle, or at the very least learn from previous mistakes in order to find 'the one'. There is a ticking clock as she wants a date to her work place Valentine's Day Gala, so that drives the plot forward nicely.

The reason I haven't gone for a higher rating is that I felt it lacked depth. For example our heroine works at a hospital as a nurse and that's referenced a lot, there are plenty of scenes there and some of the reoccurring characters either work there or visit. Yet despite a passing mention of it being a career she's not 100% invested in, that's all we get of her views on the job. Surely as a NICU nurse she'd bring her work home with her sometimes, let it affect her moods/relationships. If not, perhaps a line acknowledging that would have added that layer of depth to Tara. There are also characters who don't approve of Tara's crush and that's never really properly explained or worked out as the story goes on. Although fun and likeable, the majority of the characters just felt a little flat. However that didn't stop me from whizzing through and enjoying the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed the characters and dialogue, there were a lot of '00s references that I related to and understood and I loved that Tara had a bookstagram account. It felt really modern and relatable. I heartily recommend this for anyone looking for a happy, fun, fast-paced romantic comedy.

So much fun. I love a romcom about romcoms and this really delivers. Tara is such a likeable, easy to get behind character you can't help but be swept into her mad scheme to find the One among her exes. And Trevor makes for a brilliant romantic lead: handsome, kind, independent enough to be exciting but open-hearted enough to win over...

Bonus points for appearances from Crystal and Scott from Set on You. Who doesn't love to see what comes after the happily ever after?

Tara Chen is a book influencer with a passion for romance books. After a bad run in love she decides to follow in her grandmothers foot steps and try her hand at the second chance romance trope. So Tara complies a list of her exes and tracks them all down trying to find which one will give her her happily ever after. But will she realise the one who could give her her happily ever after is under her nose, even in the same house.

Straight from the get go I was hooked on this book. I loved both Trevor and Tara individually which makes all their joint scenes even better! I am a sucker for grumpy sunshine and apparently forced proximity. I also loved all their surrounding relationships and how deep we get to learn about each of them. I found myself highlighting a lot in this book which is very rare for me with romance books.

However towards the end from about 80% I found the book to have less of a hold on me. It was possibly because due to assumptions and miscommunications their relationship changed and so did their own individual vibe. I am glad Tara got her happy ever after.

This is the second book of Amy Lea's that I have read and I loved it just as much as the first (definitely a bit more though). Amy writes so easy and every word is a pleasure to read. I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy. If you're contemplating wether or not to read this book, just do it! I found myself pleasantly surprised.

Exes and O's by Amy Lea (due to be published Jan 2023) ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

I don't know how I forgot about this tasty little treat, just sitting there on my netgalley shelf, but when I say I INHALED this book once I started...

Tara Chen (book-obsessed sister to Crystal from Set on You, Amy Lea's previous whopper) decides to try and create her own "second chance romance" by revisiting some of her exes. The very ones that dumped her due to being a "stage 5 clinger". Bunch of dick's. Anyway, she's roomates with 5-alarm hottie, Trevor, fireman EXtrOrdinaire, who she ropes into to helping her create her very own romance novel trope... Little do they know, the real trope here is forced proximity and I AM HERE FOR IT!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Tara is unapologetically herself, and I love that for her. Trevor...well, just read the damn book. 🥵

Many thanks to the publishers for this advanced copy ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley UK and Penguin for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for a review.

4⭐️

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I enjoyed [book:Set on You|58784485], and gave it 3.5 stars, but I ended up enjoying Tara's book even more. I really enjoyed her character - she was funny and relatable in a way that didn't feel forced.

Her banter with Trevor was so entertaining and I loved their slow burn, roommates to friends to lovers progression. He was a great (if slightly too perfect to be true) love interest, and I had no trouble rooting for them. I've seen some reviews that point out that the single POV makes it a little hard to pick up on Trevor's feelings because his actions are so understated and I do agree. While I was reading, I <I>did</I> manage to pick up on Trevor's micro-signals that signalled his growing feelings towards Tara, which I do think were consistent with his character. So, a look into his head with a Trevor POV would have definitely enhanced the story, I think.

Due to the slow burn, the ending did feel a little quick. I would have liked to see more of their actual <I>relationship</I> blossoming, particularly because of their completely opposite energies, it would have been nice to see how they started to make their relationship work.

Overall, I really enjoyed Exes and O's! A light and fun, sweet and spicy romance - was a perfect way for me to wind down and relax. I felt it was stronger than the last book, and only makes me more excited to read the next one - definitely looking forward to Mel's story!

A perfectly lovely romance which was let down mostly by its single perspective. What I wouldn’t give to read this story with Trevor’s side of the story too.
What’s your Number? Is one of my favourite underrated Rom-coms so I was really excited for this one, but I feel like the interactions with the exes were lacklustre and despite us all knowing the inevitable outcome we were racing towards it felt almost abrupt when Tara and Trevor finally got together. I think this is where it would have been nice to know what Trevor was thinking in the run up. Also what happened to Gabby? The side characters weren’t fleshed out at all and some just seemed to fall away quickly.
That being said I didn’t hate Exes and Ohs, I just wanted it to be more.

Amy Lea is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me! I loved Set on You and Exes and O’s did not disappoint. It’s an addictive, fast paced, forced proximity romance with the perfect sprinkling of spice ✨

Tara is an avid romance reader (and bookstagrammer!) who has unfortunately had her fair share of heartbreak. She moves in to a new flat share and cue the most embarrassing first meeting for both parties that had me laughing out loud…

What I Loved:
✨fast-paced
✨humorous
✨forced proximity trope
✨the chemistry between Tara & Trevor
✨Tara’s a Bookstagrammer!
✨loveable main characters

Such a new and refreshing take on a romance novel, that I wholeheartedly recommend 🫶🏼

I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to read this book early. After reading Set on You, I had ridiculously high expectations for this one, and honestly? .... SHE HAS NOT DISAPPOINTED.

The slow build, the humour, the emotions, the character progression, it all came together into a beautiful romance dream.

It took me less than a day to reas this book, because I just couldn't put it down. If you're looking for a slow burn, roommates, romantic comedy, then this is the one for you.

I really loved this book. Tara was just the most joyful character to read - she’s funny, loud, brave and she has a real vulnerability to her. She’s not afraid to open her heart and open herself up to people, despite the fact she’s been hurt a lot. I related to her in a lot of ways.

The build up between her and Trevor was perfection, honestly. I enjoyed reading how comfortable they were around each other and loved all the little moments that made their relationship feel special - the in-jokes they shared and the routines they found themselves falling into. His personality balanced hers so well, and the moment where he swoops in on her date to save her from being stood up just melted my heart entirely. I was honestly squealing at my kindle and I loved it.

Big, huge rec from me if you want something with a boatload of feel-good feelings!!

This is my first Amy Lea book and I absolutely loved it! Its an easy and fun read. I can relate to Tara the main character and how she loves love and books. The characters were beautiful and their journey together was great to be part of. The love story in this is very emotional and a fantastic journey of self discovery.

The book is very relatable, funny, emotional but most importantly I felt like I escaped and became part of this story.

To all my romance book obsessed girlies: Tara is us. We are Tara.

This has knocked Emily Henry's Book Lovers off the no.1 spot for my all-time favourite romance book. From the first page, I was laughing due to the sheer relatability of Tara and her love for all things books and love-related. The bookstagram aspect of the narrative was so clever within a social media generation of book lovers and I was agreeing with everything Tara, and her followers, said throughout concerning romance tropes, men, and Trevor.

Trevor gave me Eddie from the TV show, 9-1-1, vibes and I was absolutely LIVING for it. Trevor and Tara are the ultimate depiction of grumpy boy and sunshine girl, but in such a realistic and ambiguous way. Their interactions – verbal and physical – just screamed soulmates and being a part of their journey felt so heart-warming, emotional, and left me happy. Everything about it was perfect – I mean, except Seth.

If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would!

Really enjoyed this fun and easy read!

Tara’s inner monologue was hilarious and so relatable and I loved the contrast between her personality and Trevor’s.

I’m looking forward to Mel’s book next!

This was absolutely amazing! It had all of my favourite tropes, it was filled with banter and steam!

The MCs have such a great chemistry and I'm happy to of read their story! Will definitely read more of the authors other books!

A fun, easy romance following Tara’s dating woes and search for love amongst her (sometimes deplorable) exes. By her side, is her new roommate Trevor, a firefighter with baggage - and one Tara met in unexpected and embarrassing circumstances.

It was good fun watching their relationship develop as Tara encouraged Trevor to open up to her more and become a little less grizzly. Tara is very hard not to love - A perky, romance fiction addict and influencer who has bounced back from heartbreak without letting it defeat her belief in love.

I would have loved a little more chemistry between the main characters, and perhaps a bit more from their friends and family who were introduced, but this has some classic tropes for any romance reader, including forced proximity, he fell first and sunshine vs grump. And what kind of book lover doesn’t want someone to sit and read with on the sofa in an evening? Clearly, these two have hit the jackpot.

This was such a fluffy, sexy, adorable romance. I'm a real sucker for forced proximity so the room mates to lovers vibe really worked for me and I enjoyed the way that friendship developed first, and romance second. That slow burn was delightful to read and really gave a chance to fall in love with the characters as they fell for each other. Just a delightful heartwarming read.

And I'm super excited to hear that Amy Lea is writing Mel's story next!

A great fun and heartwarming read - perfect for escaping into this winter. Loved how Tara and Trevor’s relationship developed from quite an explosive start, not exactly a meet-cute to tell the grandchildren about! Loved all the romance trope in-jokes too, I mean books about books are just the best aren’t they? PS if anyone has Grandma Flo’s contact details please send them my way - she sounds a riot!

Exes & O’s by @amyleabooks

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to @netgalley & @penguinukbooks for the ARC

Forced Proximity
Friends to Lovers
Slow Burn
Grumpy x Sunshine
Opposites Attract

This is Amy Lea’s second book release, following on from Set on You, Exe’s & O’s is set in the same world following Crystal’s sister Tara’s story.

Tara Chen is a nurse and bookstagrammer looking to create her own romance story.

Opting to go down the second chance romance trope she decides to reconnect with her exes.

Moving in with her sister’s fiancé’s best friend, Trevor, he reluctantly becomes her sidekick on her mission.

The more time they spend together closed off Trevor starts to open up to Tara, but will he realise his true feeling for her and let them be known before she finds a second chance romance in her exes list?

After loving the first book Set on You I couldn’t wait to read this! This is such an easy relatable read and I enjoyed seeing more of Tara and Trevor after their appearances in the first book.

The book releases in January 2023 and if you have not already read Set on You I recommend checking it out.

4.5⭑

Tropes;
Guy Falls First
Friends to Lovers
Reformed Player
Roommates to Lovers
Single POV

This was sooooo good and another great friends to lovers romance. This had a early 2000s rom-com vibe to it and there were some genuine laugh out loud moments for me.

If you like the movie “what’s your number?” with Chris Evans then you will LOVE this book. It has a similar plot; the heroine is contacting all her old ex boyfriends to see if there is perhaps a second chance at romance and the hero helps her with this.

This was such a wonderful romance and honestly my favourite part was definitely the friends to lovers aspect of it. It was so fun seeing their friendship develop from something light hearted to a serious and genuine friendship. And the slow burn of their romantic relationship?? TO DIE FOR and perfectly executed😮‍💨

I also loved seeing the small appearances from Crystal and Scott from Set On You.

Such a fun romance and one I 100% recommend.

My first read by Amy Lea. Thank you for the opportunity to review.
I enjoyed Exes and O's.
Light and plenty of laughs.