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.

2.5 stars. Nice, easy read.
Very much typical of a romance novel, predictably so. I felt like I was having deja vu the whole time but I can’t pinpoint the specific book of which it’s reminding me.
FMC was insipid, not a strong female at all with a fair amount of focus on how her ‘curves were in all of the right places’ etc. Also, a ‘white nightdress’, really?!
The dialogue and writing could be a bit clunky at times. I found the library scene completely out of character for both characters involved. I also thought that the grand gesture at the end from one of the secondary characters (parallel plot) would absolutely not be well-received by the recipient from their response to earlier situations.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Liv is a part-time librarian who really just wants to write a romance novel. But she can't figure out how to write the leading man in her book. Enter her brother's best friend, Aiden, who has long been Liv's nemesis, but whose good looks and sexy accent make him a good starting place for a fictional love interest. I'm sure you can guess where this is going.

Enemies-to-lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes, but this book falls flat. The writing is meh, and the book-within-the-book's writing is bad enough that happy ending with the publishing deal is less believable than anything romantic in this book. And that's saying something, as the romance is a bit blah as well. I could go on, but I'll suffice it to say that I don't recommend this one.

I wanted to love this but it didn't quite work for me. The obstacles felt too manufactured and just not enough. I wish I had loved it, and I'm sure many others will

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing access to this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

« That was Aiden Rivers. My brother’s best friend. »

Rating: 2.5 ⭐️
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: ARC Ebook
Pages: 330
Spice: 1 🌶️
POV: First POV
S/S: Standalone
Check trigger warnings for any book

This was a fun contemporary romance between Olivia and Aiden. A hate-to-love and brother’s best friend love story.

It was not anything special, the build-up to the romance was the best part as it had the most tension and banter.

The third-act breakup was really odd and just not well done. It felt forced just for the sake of following the romcom formula.

Also, the whole librarian writing her own story about her love life and only understanding her feelings after someone else read her book and explained it to her? Meh.

The characters felt quite one-dimensional. The mother, Dan, Theo, and Stevie had one personality trait and that was it. Pretty much the same thing for Aiden and Olivia.

I’ll give this author another shot as the writing style is easy to read. I just wasn’t a fan of the culmination of this romance.

Favorite quotes (MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS):

« What I needed was to create someone as perfect as Mr. Darcy. (…) Who wasn’t looking for their own Mr. Darcy? »

« It doesn’t matter what you use to read books, it’s still reading. »

« Being surrounded by books all day was quite simply my idea of heaven. »

« Aiden bloody Rivers was standing in my library. How? Why? »

‘It was a fault with the universe that the perpetual thorn in my side was really rather nice to look at. »

« That was Aiden Rivers. My brother’s best friend. »

« I won’t stop until you’re screaming my name. »

« You’re blocking my sun. » « Never. I’m as hot as the sun. »

« You deserve that love that people write stories about. »

« Isn’t it obvious? I want to kiss you, Olivia. »

Leena - Leena.reader review - @leena.reader on tiktok and instagram

The Love Interest was super cute and fun to read! I love a good enemies to lovers because #banter! These two were adorable and all the forced proximity when he has to move in with her!

The Love Interest follows a romance obsessed librarian who decides to follow her dream of writing a romance novel. The only problem... she's never been in a serious relationship and struggles with writing a dreamy love interest. Enter her brother's best friend and her life long nemesis! When he moves in with her and her brother she gets a wild idea to base her MMC on him. As she begins to develop her novel and characters, she starts to realize, maybe there really is a very fine line between love and hate!

Check out my full review on my Instragram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C12rjZKLP_A/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Nothing is better than a book about books. And this book was no exception. The romance was amazing and the banter was so good! I would highly recommend this book.

Why can't Mr Darcy be real?

This book is definitely for those who prefer fictional characters (including me) over real people, but not all of us gonna get Aiden Rivers.
It was a great start. Enemies to Lovers, my most favourite trope, their bickering and how much they HATE each other. everything was good unit it reached the point where they confessed and I had to read all those lovey-dovey cliches again which are the same as any other book out there. Maybe some people enjoy getting to this part but I don't. So if you don't like to read that much romance for like what 100+ pages, this is not for you.
.
It was cute yes I could relate to Liv for having high expectations and reading books all day long but life is not all about glitter and rainbows. AGAIN this is a romance book, it was made to make readers happy so what can I say about that?
.
Enough of my blabbering now, See you in the next review. Let me know if you have read it/want to read it.
.

Liv has always wanted to write a romance novel, but she's never really known where to start. So when she finally finds some inspiration and starts writing, she's horrified when her best friend points out that the love interest in the book resembles her brother's best friend, Aiden, who Liv hates. But as she keeps writing it, she can't help but admit that there is a strong resemblance between the two. But she knows Aiden doesn't have feelings for her--and she definitely doesn't have feelings for him, either. Just because he's gorgeous, and now living under the same roof as her, doesn't mean anything...
This was such a fun read! The banter between Liv and Aiden was a ton of fun and I was super invested in their budding romance. Overall I just really enjoyed this and will definitely be reading more by Victoria Walters!

If you’re looking for a fun, easy to read romance, this one’s for you! I loved the way the characters transitioned from “enemies” to lovers and the multiple nods to Pride and Prejudice. The book included a diverse cast of character which was much appreciated! I would love a sequel to explore what happens next for these characters!

The writing is fine. The voice feels somewhat generic and forgettable. I stopped after chapter 2 (5%) but three stars for the target audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC.

I had high expectations starting this book and overall it was good but I couldn't get over the fmc.
She's so self absorbed and it rubbed me the wrong way. Plus both the leads act a lot younger than they actually are, I think it would've been more enjoyable if the author had aged them down.
The reason they don't get along to me was silly, a simple conversation would've fixed it.

A comedic take to an enemies-to-lovers trope, Liz, and aspiring writer, uses the relationship of her and her childhood acquaintance, Aiden, to develop her own romance novel. The character development was good and there were a few spicy scenes.

The first half of this moved at a great pace. The banter was solid and you could feel Liv's disdain for Aiden.
Suddenly, after they sleep together, Liv's dislike of Aiden is a smokescreen for her true feelings. At no time was the reader shown that this might be a remote possibility from Liv's POV.
I feel like you could have cut this in half and there would have been a well-paced, fleshed-out book.
That being said, this was a good read if you enjoy enemies to loves. It's kind of a sugar cookie version of the snarky, darker enemies to lovers many of us are familiar with.
I received a copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

This book drew me in and I couldn’t put it down! There was clear chemistry between the main characters from the beginning and I loved seeing how the story unfolded. As a hopeless romantic myself, I loved all of the romantic and relevant film and literary mentions. This had everything you’d hope for in a romance book!