Rounding up but probably a solid 2.5 stars imo. I ended up walking away w the thought of wanting more. More romance, more explanation on why/what Chris did (it felt a little convoluted). But I do think the banter was strong and I liked the message of this ultimate embarrassment not letting you get back out there and control the narrative. It was solid read but didn’t over the top shine for me.

What if we were only known by what we were on "the worst day of our lives"? How would we feel if our actions were the "sum of all of our parts"?! How would you go on? How would you EVER show your face again? Would we run, hide...enter witness protection?! Is Amy Duffy the sum of the parts of her WORST DAY EVER? Will she ever redeem herself? "The Sweetest Revenge" follows Amy Duffy, a TV executive, as she tries to make her comeback. From NYC to London, the cast of characters are fun, quirky, and conniving (you know who you are, Chris!). This is a quick, easy read. Perfect for a sunny beach day!

I love anythung and everything Lizzy dent writes - she can do no wrong! This was such a cute novel and I was rooting for the love interests the entire time. Just wish it was a bit spicier!

Finally a rom com that’s actually funny! I’m a huge fan of rom coms and I’ve personally felt a huge hole in that genre for the past few years, but this novel made me remember why I love them so much. This was the perfect mixture of uplifting, funny and empowering. ❤️

The majority of the characters in this novel are established 30 somethings with a good idea of where they want their career to go. On that note, it was so refreshing to read about whole ass adults that are still having trouble getting their shit together. I constantly feel like I’m not succeeding as quickly as I’d like to, so it’s nice to read a realistic take about a woman who’s just trying to make it with a few set-backs here and there (mostly due to a man…shocker).

I loved both of the main characters and I felt like they were easy to relate to and I was invested in their story. I felt like the FMC had something missing? It’s hard to say why, but I guess it goes to show a big part of her story is growing and trying to find that part that’s missing. She was as shiny and quirky as most rom com FMC, but I think that’s what made her character unique. The MMC was a dreamboat of course and I don’t think he could do any wrong even if he tried. That being said, I was a little underwhelmed by the climax of the story. This is a common issue with rom coms and their predictability, but I would’ve liked more drama and conflict…and maybe a little tear jerking. 🤔

Overall, this is a great rom com with a heartwarming story. It’s also a quick and easy read if you’re looking for a good palette cleanser. This is a part of a series, but it’s more of a standalone.

This was a fun to read romcom with great wit and embarrassment. I found the FMC hard to relate to: often over drinking and making poor decisions, but that’s a popular trope in the genre. I loved the dynamic relationships with MMC, friends, coworkers, and family. I loved her boss lady work ethic.

Spoiler alert: I wish she didn’t have to bring anyone down in order to enact her revenge. I wish she could have overcome what happened and gone on to be successful without outing his character, even if he deserved it. I wish his true character would have come to light by his own doing.

I love how Dent writes deeply human, relatable female characters who are navigating transitional periods of life, rediscovering themselves, and reclaiming their narratives. I was so excited to dive into The Sweetest Revenge - who hasn’t overreacted and made poor choices after a bad breakup?? I was really rooting for Amy (and Jake!) and waiting for her big moment of getting even, but 75% of the book was her internal monologue on repeat about a poor decision (that happened to be caught on film and went viral) she made after a breakup two years prior.

While Amy takes back her power and gets revenge, the big moment happens SO late in the story that it lacked some satisfaction. Similarly, we don’t learn much about Jake until the last 75 pages of the book. I wish we had more of Jake’s POV throughout the story to help round out his character and make the attraction and connection between him and Amy believable.

The Sweetest Revenge had a great premise and started strong, but quickly fizzled. If there had been more from Jake and the pacing more centrally focused, I think the story could have been more impactful. I’m all for a chaotic, unhinged FMC seeking revenge and bringing down the one who wronged her, but for me, Amy’s character felt flat, which made her revenge not as sweet.

First off thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC!!

I don’t know how I feel about this book if I’m being honest. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t my favorite/one of those books I’ll randomly remember and go back and read. I think that while the two MCs like each other it’s kind of surface level and I would have liked their relationship a bit more developed.

I think this book will be enjoyable for others but it just wasn’t for me unfortunately cause the cover and description is what pulled me in originally.

Funny, interesting, and cute! I think this book solidified that I will be reading all Lizzy Dent books from now! You are in for a delight of a book with an interesting plot with depth and beautiful characters you will root for. Highly recommend!

This book had me interested right from the beginning! Amy has been humiliated after her boyfriend turns out to be an ass, she inadvertently causes a ruckus at her cousins wedding, and she makes some poor choices involving revenge against the ass boyfriend. After all that she runs away to London to start fresh only to have ex-ass show up two years later as her new boss. And then there's Jake, someone who also knows public humiliation all too well and just wants to lay low and be able to write. And Jake is Amy's new neighbor.
I really loved Amy and Jake's story! they are so freaking cute, and I love that Jake is so kind and supportive of her, especially willing to help Amy be her own hero despite her ex being back in the story. And Amy's friends are hilarious and so supportive, trying to get Amy to realize she doesn't have to run, she can stay and fight for herself and all will be well.
I didn't love the way Amy's family treated her, they kind of let her run away and retreat into herself, confirming how humiliating she behaved two years prior, and not really making an effort to care for Amy, just making her feel guilty for not coming home.
Overall, very sweet story between Jake and Amy, and very funny story as well as Amy gets her sweetest revenge (spoiler: its not letting the bastards get you down, stay strong, stay brave, just stay).
Thanks for the ARC!!!

Definitely something I will be recommending to all of my friends this summer. Absolutely loved Amy, she was a force to be reckoned with.

Delicious!!! Fun and wonderful - a really good romcom. Utterly readable and delightful with characters that are so well defined and articulated.

I found myself really enjoying this book. The attraction between the main characters was sweet. I didn't quite love the third act "breakup" as I had seen it coming, but I appreciated how quickly it got resolved.

3.5/5⭐️

This is such a great summer read!

Amy has started a new life in London where she can leave the humiliating events of her past in New York. Though the move means the end of her rising TV career and a lackluster job at a failing British TV channel, she doesn’t compromise on her flat. A flat that provides her with access to a rooftop terrace she has all to herself - until her cute new neighbor moves in. Jake and Amy have a lot in common and it’s easy to see how they get along so well. But as their relationship becomes more than platonic, Amy’s ex and reason for her relocation reappears and forces her to find closure she didn’t get by running.

The Sweetest Revenge was light and engaging with really enjoyable characters and a fun storyline. I really liked the character growth for Amy and the resolution was so satisfying!

You’ll find —
Close Proximity
Fake Dating
Working Together

Thank you to NetGalley, Putnam, and Lizzy Dent for the gifted digital review copy!

Many thanks to NetGalley and GP Putnam’s sons for an early copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review!

Last year I absolutely loved THE SUMMER JOB by Lizzy Dent, so I was excited to read her latest book, THE SWEETEST REVENGE, early. This was a funny and sweet story about two people recovering from public humiliation and falling in love. After a drunken transgression goes viral, Amy Duffy flees Manhattan and moves to London. She leaves her job at a big TV studio for a gig cutting trailers for unscripted dating shows. One of the cast members from the Love Island-esque show her entire office is obsessed with winds up moving into the flat downstairs from Amy. Jake is a handsome moody writer and there is a undeniable connection between him and Amy. They team up to pitch a TV show and sparks fly.

I thought this was a fun premise and a very enjoyable read. I was rooting for Amy and her villainous ex was fun to hate. It didn’t quite match THE SUMMER JOB for me, but I really liked this book and will happily read more by this writer.

The Sweetest Revenge is the third offering from Lizzy Dent. After I enjoyed Dent’s first novel, The Summer Job, I was excited to read her latest novel set in the world of television production. Amy Duffy escaped to London two years ago after an embarrassing act of revenge went viral in her home city of New York. But when the ex-boyfriend that betrayed her starts working at the television company she works for, Amy decides to stop hiding and show work what she is really made of. She enlists her neighbour, writer and reality television star, Jake Jones to help write the episodes of a television programme she wants to pitch. But as they spend more time together, Amy and Jake try to deny the chemistry growing between the two of them. Can they keep their relationship professional or will they give in to temptation? Can Amy do what it takes to win her ideal job? And can she forgive herself for the one drunken mistake she made two years ago?

The novel started strong and hooked me from the first chapter. However, somewhere after the first quarter of the story, it started to fall flat. Everything - all the action - centred around the incident that happened two years ago, which didn’t allow for much depth and variety in the plot and subplots. This also made the story short. It did pick up again in the last quarter of the book with a lot of urgency and variety that, had it been placed earlier on in the novel, would have made it more satisfying and enjoyable. I found the romance between Amy and Jake quite shallow. It seemed like it was about giving into lust than anything more substantial.

I wanted to like the novel more than I did, but it seemed like there was something missing that The Summer Job had in spades. The Sweetest Revenge is not Dent’s best novel but it has its moments.

Just a lovely book!

Positives:
I was rooting for the two main characters and was drawn in by their neighbor/love interest.
I enjoyed learning about the the main character, Amy's, career and her drive to succeed.
The side character-Maggie and the families.
I enjoyed spending time reading about these characters. Jake especially was just a cute love interest.

Negatives:
Just the very last 1/4 of the novel was a bit slow for me.

This was just an enjoyable RomCom with a main character who learns to forgive herself while growing at the same time. I will recommend this one to friends for their summer reads and will read more of Lizzy Dent.

I was looking forward to reading this but it fell flat for me. The first chapter was great but then went downhill. A dual POV could have made this book a bit stronger. Thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

This was fun! I was in the mood for a light romance and this fit the bill. I liked both main characters and was interested in their journey. Recommended for the upcoming beach read season.

I really enjoyed reading this. Amy was so well developed, relatable and funny. The dialogue felt fresh and i loved that this took place in tv production. Not a ton of novels take place in that field. The relationship with Josh felt organic and not corny.

I’ve read all of Lizzy Dent’s books and they’re all just delightful. In this one, Amy makes some bad choices (jerk boyfriend, for one) and ends up doing something over the top hilarious and embarrassing, then spends years running away from her embarrassment, hiding away by making herself and her life small and a little sad. Then, of course, something happens that changes everything. She meets a new, fabulous guy; but more importantly she has a chance to shine at work again and suddenly we get to see the real Amy and what a powerhouse she is. I loved her story, and I especially loved her family and how they helped her see the funny side in her moment of shame. The parallels between Amy and Jake were well-done,, and it was so sweet to watch them fall in love while working together.