i was very interested in the premise of this book, but i had to DNF at 24%. the writing felt very forced and clinical, the main character liv was giving major pick-me vibes, and aiden just immediately rubbed me the wrong way. i love enemies or rivals to lovers, but aiden's mockery of liv felt downright cruel at times and it's just not the kind of love interest i want to read about. this book felt like it relied way too much on tropes, rather than focusing on the story itself, which is just not a good recipe. it's fine to use tropes as ways to explain what a book is about, but you need the development, chemistry and emotion that this book lacked. (also, why was pride and prejudice mentioned every other page? like i get it, they were the blueprint of enemies to lovers, but you can't make that into your book's only selling point.) thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book.

5 stars!! I adored this book. I thought that the main characters were really fun, realistic, and enjoyable characters. Their chemistry was top-notch, and I loved their banter! If you love rom-coms, you will not be disappointed! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

The love interest was okay. The whole story is very predictable from beginning to end. The dialogue doesn't really feel genuine and is cringeworthy in many places. The characters feel like empty shells and again, I just didn't care about them. The book felt a bit like the author had taken a sheet of paper with tropes and tried to knit the plot around it. For RomCom lovers and Pride and Prejudice fans, this book is definitely great, but it didn't excite me at all.

If you're a fan of Mr. Darcy, you need to read this book! It has the perfect mix of Mr. Darcy with modern vibes, and the FMC is an author!

Liv is working at a library while crafting her novel—an enemies-to-lovers romance—and she finds inspiration in her real-life enemy, Aiden.

I loved the parallels between her book and her real life; she didn't realize she was living her favorite trope!

This was such a fun read, and I absolutely loved it! It caught my attention right away, and held it throughout.

The book features the classic misunderstanding that most enemies-to-lovers books do, but this was executed really well!

I rate this 5 stars.

Tropes:
- Enemies to lovers
- Forced proximity
- Miscommunication

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Liv finally feels inspiration to start her novel. Focusing on an enemies to lovers trope, she has plenty of real life inspiration for the enemies side—Aiden—but feels lost when it comes to the turned lovers side. After a little forced proximity with Aiden, the words are flowing and the confusion is mounting. Is there more to her perma hate with Aiden that she previously thought?

I can see now why novels end shortly after the main characters hook up. Love Interest still had almost half the book to go when sparks officially fly, and I found myself ready to wrap it up. For my reading style, the last half became a little drawn out. The miscommunication was a little dramatic in a non-climactic way. I also became increasingly frustrated with Aiden. I was not impressed with how he handles conflict and puts it back on Liv. His swings gave me mild whiplash.

Overall, I really loved the storyline and the concept. I just lost interest for the last third of the book because I wasn’t sure what we were still doing in the story.

2,5 stars, rounded.

The writing and premise of the book felt a little dialed in. A librarian has dreams of being a romance writer, but she’s never been in love. Her arch nemis and brothers best friend moves in with them as he got a job at the university where she works. Their verbal spars are a muse for the hero in her book. Their issues happened ten years ago, when she deeply embarrassed herself the night they met. I didn't find either characters compelling nor felt any swoon. I also feel the main characters writing should have been left of the page and to the readers imagination (I also feel this when a character writes a song...it's rare for them to not be cringe inducing). Or maybe I'm rolling into 2024 with high expectations for the romance genre.

Thank you Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

We follow the characters Liv and Aiden and their hate for each other since they first met. Aiden’s is Liv’s brother’s best friend and due to a misunderstanding, they been enemies for 10 years. But then he took a job at the university where she works and it’s awkward.

I liked the relationships we see between our characters throughout the book, and the fact that we see a bit of character development and the emotional connections between them. This story was a lovely, pleasant read for a winter day with a cup of coffee, that our friend Liv mentions so much.

The focus on Pride and Prejudice, especially on Mr. Darcy gave a nice touch to the book and I found it quite interesting in the beginning, however it was a bit too much at some point, since he was mentioned quite a lot.

Overall, it was a light and easy read, that warms your soul a bit. I recommend it to anyone who wants a nice romantic book with the brother’s best friend and the enemies to lovers with a touch of Pride and Prejudice to it.

Thank you, NetGalley & the publisher, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.

As a Mr. Darcy fan, I can appreciate any author that creates a love interest based off him. And while The Love Interest is a fun and spicy romance, some of the scenes felt a little off. I do love the writing and the ending! It's definitely worth a read.

I just finished reading "The Love Interest," and I'm grateful for the chance to read it before its official release. While I appreciate the author's effort, I have some thoughts on areas that, in my opinion, could use improvement.

Firstly, the dialogue caught my attention, and not necessarily in a good way. It felt cringy and forced at times, which affected the natural flow of the characters' interactions. Speaking of characters, the main protagonists seemed a bit hard to tolerate, lacking the depth I usually expect from experienced authors.

Unfortunately, I didn't connect with the characters, and they didn't leave a lasting impression on me. The emotional impact typical of a romance novel was missing, making the reading experience a bit dull. Additionally, the plot's predictability and the forgettable storyline added to a feeling of disenchantment.

The central character, Olivia, and the rest of the cast were described in basic terms, lacking the depth needed for a more engaging read. This lack of character development took away from the overall enjoyment of the book, leaving room for improvement in complexity and relatability.

Now, about the writing style – it's a matter of personal preference. The fourth-wall breaks, like the quote "(...)because, well...SWOON," didn't work for me. They disrupted the immersive experience and took me out of the story, rather than enhancing my engagement.

The writing style didn't flow smoothly, and some choices, like Olivia claiming to see a "flash of surprise on Aiden's lips," felt awkward. These moments created a sense of dissonance, affecting the overall cohesion of the narrative.

Lastly, the interaction between Aiden and the heroine, especially him ruffling her hair and calling her "high maintenance," raised concerns. These dynamics might perpetuate stereotypes and may not resonate well with all readers.

In conclusion, "The Love Interest" has its strengths, and I share these criticisms with the intent of offering constructive feedback. While it may not align with my personal preferences, I understand that everyone's taste in literature varies. I appreciate the chance to engage with this work and commend the author for their dedication to storytelling.

brothers best friend, childhood friends, AND enemies to lovers? sign me up! i liked all of the characters and i really enjoyed seeing olivia write her first book! and of course her finding her own mr darcy, so cute!


thank you to netgalley, the author, and boldwood books for an arc!

I loved this book. Very romantic and great lead characters and conflict. Liked how the heroine was writing her own romance novel and liked the setting of a library too. For fans of romance. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Love Interest is for everyone looking for an easy-to-read contemporary romance that features a nice cast of secondary characters in addition our main character love interests, Liv and Aiden.

Liv and Aiden have known each other for 10 years, but due to a misunderstanding, when they first met, they have been enemies ever since. Not only is Aiden Liv’s brother’s best friend, he just took a job at the university she works at. If that’s not awkward enough, Liv discovers she’s subconsciously using their interactions as the impetus for the main characters in the romcom novel she’s writing.

Liv drinks and mentions coffee A LOT. I found it annoying, same with Aiden’s constant smirking. It was overboard and unnecessary.

I really like the relationship Liv has with her brother, Dan. They are best friends and share in the trauma of their dad leaving their family resulting in relationship issues for both of them. Dan is in a long-term relationship and struggling with commitment issues whilst Liv is single, and is a hopeless romantic.

The Love Interest is a lovely, pleasant book. Sometimes you just want or need an ‘I know where this story is going and how it will play out kinda book’ and that’s exactly what The Love Interest is. It’s a perfect read for a cold February day, wrapped in a blanket by the fire with a cuppa.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the digital ARC of The Love Interest.

I really wanted to like this book but after trying to read it three separate times, I ended up DNF-ing it at 21%.

The main character, Olivia, is living my dream life. She works at a university library with her super cool friend Stevie and a supervisor who is head over heels for her. Like me, she's writing her first serious romance novel and doing a lot of research to make her male main character perfect. To top that off, she's living in London with her brother who is a full-time influencer which means she gets lots of free stuff from his PR packages. There were so many things that drew me to pick up this book.

The writing is where I got held up every time I returned to this book to give it another chance. The use of passive voice and the lack of sentence variance led to a monotonous tone, which evoked the feeling that Olivia is just letting life happen to her rather than being a main character in her own story. Even when Olivia is describing a steamy dream she had, there is no passion in the storytelling, almost like it's being told from a very apathetic view.

Olivia's obsession with Pride and Prejudice, especially Mr. Darcy, was something I found interesting the first few times, and then after that it felt really redundant and annoying. Maybe it's because I'm not a huge classic literature fan, but the fact that Mr. Darcy was being mentioned every other page got boring and almost irritating after a while. Like we get it, you like Mr. Darcy, but I wish I got more of Olivia rather than her obsession with a man.

I wish the book showed us what was happening rather than telling us about it. There were many instances in which Olivia used an adjective to describe a person or situation without showing us the why or giving more context. It's almost like you just have to trust her judgement with no evidence which made the book really tough to get into.

The storytelling was what really prevented me from getting into the story. Coupled with the mundane dialogue and the lacklustre pacing, I kept finding myself getting distracted while reading rather than being pulled into the plot and immersed in the story. I really hope I can come back to this book someday and enjoy it, but I've run out of hope for that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing this ARC exchange for an honest review.

Two out of five stars.

I absolutely loved every part of this book. I was giggling and gasping all the way through. It did have some cliche or classic tropes, but every romance book uses the same tropes and sometimes the classics are the best - they are classics for a reason. One of my favourite parts was when they talked about the issue between them and their feelings in detail, not just ‘I was wrong, I love you, sorry’ like some books can do. It shows that communication is important especially to move on from the issue.

I feel like I related to Liv so much and felt inspired by her.

Overall it was an amazing book that I would recommend to anybody who wants an easy light read.

A refreshing tale with some of my all time favorite tropes.

Okay let me just say up front the bickering between Liv and Aiden was *chefs kiss.* Anyway, this story surrounds our lovely gal Liv. She is a librarian extraordinaire and budding writer currently living with her brother. Aiden accepts a position at her university and winds up living with her and her brother while he looks for a place in the city. It is as if the author knew all of our favorite tropes and tied it with a bow. Aiden is your quintessential brooding it’s-always-been-you MMC. My absolute favorite moment was his ode to Liv film festival. I won’t spoil it for you but I think that was the turning point for Liv.

Overall, I thought the story was well woven and character development was robust. I found Walters’ style engaging and cannot wait to dive into the rest of her back list.

Read this book for…
- Brother’s best friend
- Enemies to lovers
- Forced proximity
- Mr. Darcy references

Spice: 🌶

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Five shiny starts from me. A MUST READ FOR ALL ROMCOM LOVERS.
What a fun and refreshing read. I loved the concept - leaning into romance tropes from the perspective of a Pride and Prejudice fan and generally a lover of romance, who has always wanted to write her own. I am also a huge fan of enemies-to-lovers, then and now, and forced proximity.
There is heart, heat and so many laugh-out-loud moments for Liv and Aiden. Highly recommended.

This book may not have been for me. I had high expectations and feel very let down. Now that I know Victoria Walters writes cozy mystery, I think she would excel there based on the writing in this book. This romance fell flat for me. The writing was very cringey and trying too hard. There is a lot of telling instead of showing. I feel like it was more predictable even than it could have been. I questioned whether the author was English, the writing didn't give the same dialect as someone like Emily Stone writes in her books. At times there was too much detail, telling us everything the characters did - opened the car door, got in the car, drove... etc. And the details never gave more depth to the characters. A lot of scenes are redundant. She should have given the brother less page time and Stevie more, and rounded out her character more. I understand this was supposed to be a play off Pride & Prejudice, I don't think it lived up to it.

The cover and the blurb drew me in and the author was new to me, still I wanted to give this book a chance but it wasn't anything extraordinary tbh. I found Aiden to be very annoying and I couldn't figue out how Liv liked him because his attitude in the beginning was just so off-putting. The banter between them was fun but at times, felt very cringey too. The last half was enjoyable but I just couldn't connect with both Liv & Aiden. The plot was predictable and the spicy scenes were great but still, this book failed to leave an impression on me.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

I was given the opportunity to read, “The Love Interest” by Victoria Walters as an ARC, made possible by NetGalley and originally I was drawn to the book because I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers romcoms, Especially ones that have a forced proximity (thanks to the help of the brother).

As someone that has dreamed of writing my own romance novel, I was initially drawn into the female main character as she is a librarian, trying to write her own romance fiction. Well I am not a librarian, and I commend her for being one, I love writing, and I am often stuck behind writers blocks That last for quite a long time.

I sometimes got a little bit stuck with dialogue in terms of quotation as I’m used to a double quotation and not a singular though I’m pretty sure that is a regional thing and this is not a gripe against the author. It did leave me confused at some points but this is a personal preference.

My favorite moment in this novel was when Aiden chose Liv’s Film festival topic, and it kind of hinted at foreshadowing to them having an intimate moment in the rain, signifying their turbulent relationship to come. And well although it is not a kiss in the rain, It is just as good as one.

Overall, I really did enjoy the book though it really wasn’t an enemies to lovers more so tons of miscommunication over the course of 10 years and pretending to hate someone to protect yourself as a cop mechanism.

Olivia works in a library, lives rent free with her brother and dreams of writing romance novels. The only blip is her brother’s best friend, and her nemesis, who appears one day at her work. He’s been annoying but easy to avoid for 10 years. If only he weren’t so distractingly attractive, not that she’d ever admit it.

I quite enjoyed the first half of this book, although the back and forth between Olivia and Aidan veered a little towards “he’s only mean because he likes you” nonsense. It’s an enemies to lovers tale with forced proximity and an inevitable bump in the road. It’s a little too knowing and meta (I skimmed the book she was writing, I’ve no interest in fiction within fiction) After they get together it kind of flounders for a few chapters, cheesy romance and unnecessary sex scenes. I did almost give up at this point but I was 70% through so persevered, but it was a chore.