Well…in general it was a nice enough romcom, but the descriptions of the story of the main character’s book based on her brother’s best friend were a bit too long and detailed for my taste, the dialogues were ok but sometimes a bit cringey and the story that led to the misunderstanding not really worth holding a grudge for so many years?!

Honestly, this book is a sweet, short read. It didn't leave a massive mark on me, and I didn't feel too many emotions while reading it... Some parts I was smiling, but that was about it.
The characters felt a little flat; the MMC is tall, dark, handsome, smart and has an Irish accent, and that's kind of all there is to him.
Liv is a wannabe author (girl, same) so I did connect to her a tad more than I thought I would, but she really missed the beat a few times. It would have been nice to see a dual POV (But I'm a sucker for those tbh).

I felt like this wasn't really enemies-to-lovers, more like... A slight dislike over something that felt so... Undeserving of how much they "hated" each other.

Overall, it was still sweet, and I'm giving it a 3/5 because I'm really excited to see how much this author can grow. there is so much potential here.

My name is Olivia, I'm an assistant librarian at a prestigious university. A hopeless romantic who always hoped to write her own romance novel.
Being obsessed with Pride and Prejudice and Mr. Darcy for all the time is making it hard to write my own love interest especially since I have no one of my own.

I'm Aiden Rivers, a professor in Film Studies and Olivia's brother best friend. My whole life she was my nemesis arguing and teasing each other but I always liked being around her.
So when I was offered, to work in the same place as her I jumped at the chance at least I get to be where she is.

Now living under the same roof and working in the same place is going to be a bit challenging or MAYBE not?
LOVED LOVED the book so much😍♥️😍
I can't stress enough how good it was .
All their bantering and teasing was so hilarious and cute.
All the books and movies reference made the reading experience even more enjoyable , especially Jane Austen's fans will fall in love with it.
So make sure to read it you won't regret it
Thanks so much to @netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC of #TheLoveInterest in exchange for my honest review.
Favourite quotes:
"I will woo you everyday for the rest of your life if that will make you happy."
"Reading romance doesn't make you hard to please. It gives you standards. Why shouldn't we wait for someone special and not settle down with just anyone? Why shouldn't we want someone to treat us well and be romantic?"

Xoxo💋

Unfortunately, this one was not for me even though I had high hopes. I love brothers best friend tropes and enemies to lovers. This wasn't much enemies to lovers. It was more whiny girl miscommunication trope with a man who was way to sweet to be the enemy.

Unfortunately, this one was not for me. Romance novels are always a hit or miss for me, and it usually comes down to the writing style, which is the case for this one. The writing felt extremely awkward and clunky to me, and it reminded me of stories I used to read on Wattpad back in 2012---fine for an unedited story but not for a professionally published book. This is especially true for the main character's own writing; for a character who loved romance novels and wanted to write one her whole life, she was an awful writer.

I also wasn't a fan of any of the characters in this book. They all came across as two-dimensional and immature, and their dialogue wasn't believable. I also generally hate when modern social media and pop culture is mentioned, so the main character's brother being a TikToker completely took me out of the story.

The premise itself was interesting. I love a good enemies-to-lovers with banter and I'm a huge Pride and Prejudice fan, but this book just didn't live up to my expectations.

Thanks Netgalley for providing ARC version of this book.
If you like this tropes:
~Brothers best friend,
~Enemies to lovers
than this book might be interesting for you.
Liv working at library and try to write her own romance novel. She is desperately need to find love interest who will be the prototype to the main character of her story and of course at this moment brothers best friend is committed. Aiden is living - breathing Mr Darsey with Irish accent and of course Liv beginning to get in love with him. Predicting? - Absolutely, but it romance book so I fullish to expect something else. But I really like moment when Liv put herself inn her character in the book and losing control between fiction and reality. It’s was fun and easygoing.
3.5 stars as a result

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.