Great novel about love. Would keep it for older students but the girls would really enjoy it because it would help them with something that they may be struggling with or another way to see something they may be going through. Kids these days need other ways to relate and this novel could do just that.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks..."

It's not simply a pretty line from Shakespeare, but a rather true sentiment that certainly applies here. Liv and Aiden have been at it for years, and while seen as banter, aggravation, and annoyance, sometimes it's just the heart's way of expressing itself while uncertain about those feelings being returned. Watching these two come around made my heart smile, and it didn't hurt to have a little P&P reenactment either 😉. It's easy to get caught up in the potential love affair, but it was equally enthralling to watch Liv follow her dreams as a writer... even if that gets her into a little trouble along the way.

A great pick for Contemporary Romance fans that like their stories on the bookish side!

Liv is a librarian working in a university trying to write her own romance novel, but she's struggling as she's nothing to base her leading man on. Enter Aiden Rivers, her brothers best friend who has recently gotten a job at the same university. When Livs brother suggests that Aiden moves in with them for a while, Liv can't believe her bad luck. Soon though, she finds herself basing her leading man on Aiden and realising that maybe she actually doesn't hate him after all.

I am so disappointed I didn't enjoy this as it sounded right up my street. This had way too many tropes for me - enemies to lovers, brothers' best friend, forced proximity, and miscommunication. I couldn't connect with the characters and I wasn't invested in their romance as I honestly couldn't see the chemistry. Liv and Stevies friendship confused me too as they seemed like they were only colleagues rather than best friends as they never did anything outside work either. This could've been so much better if the author had taken time to really flesh out the characters and flesh out the friendships and relationships and if she hadn't mentioned coffee and TikTok about a thousand times. The only thing I liked about this book was that it was fast paced so I flew through it in a couple hours. I don't think I'll be picking up this authors work again though.

Liv, an aspiring romance writer, finds herself living with her brother in London, where she works part-time at a university library. When her nemesis, Aiden, her brother's best friend, also joins the university and moves in with them, their love-hate relationship takes center stage. As Liv writes her own romance novel, she realizes she might be living her own love story. Despite a slow start and initial disbelief in their animosity, the novel becomes captivating with its mix of romantic tropes like kissing in the rain and steamy library scenes. What sets it apart is its metafictional aspect of a novel within a novel, which adds depth to the story. Liv and Aiden's miscommunication drives the plot as they navigate their feelings while working and living together. The characters are relatable, portraying the complexity of hiding true feelings behind anger and indifference. The book also emphasizes the importance of seeing different perspectives and understanding there's more to every story.

I unfortunately did not enjoy this one. The writing felt underdeveloped and made me feel like I was reading a YA romance, which is not what I was expecting at all. It's a bit repetitive, and I didn't care for the main characters at all. I liked the premise, but the story itself didn't deliver.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun book. I enjoyed it a lot!

Hello!
I really enjoyed this book, the cover is so beautiful.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC

This was a cute read. Liv works in a university library whilst living with her brother and trying to write her own romance novel. Life is turned upside down when her nemesis Aiden, her brother’s best friend, gets a job at the same university and moves in with them. It’s a textbook enemies to lovers and plods along nicely. Although it has a couple of spicy scenes it does read a bit vanilla at times. Overall, it’s enjoyable and a feel good romance.

What to expect:

- brother’s best friend
- enemies to lovers
- forced proximity
- it’s always been you vibes

Sadly this was a DNF for me at about 40%. While I didn't mind the premise or the characters, it took a little bit too long for the plot to get moving. I'm all for a slow burn, but this was a slowwwww burn. The characters were cute and the setting was fun, but, I could not get behind the "writing a novel" aspect.

It might be for you! But it wasn't for me.

TheLoveInterest #VictoriaWalters #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks

A Steamy enemies to lovers, brothers best friend romance.

Olivia is an assistant librarian at a university. She lives in London with her brother Dan. When his best friend Aiden gets a job at the university where Liv works, Dan invites him to live with them until he gets his own place.

Aiden and Liv had a big misunderstanding a decade ago, and they still aren't over it. The animosity and tension are thick between them.

Initially I didn't like Aiden and he seemed really abrasive. But he grew on me, he changed during the story.

Now what I liked was Liv's writing journey, that was really fun to read about.
I liked her friendship with her boss, it's nice to see women being friends in stories with no cattiness or jealousy.

Also enjoyable was the Mr Darcy references and the big grand thing towards the end.

The book was good from beginning to end, with a few emotions of course the smile at the end.
It was a light easy quick read. I will be reading more from this new to me author.

This is not a criticism at all but some readers don't like steamy books, just a heads up this IS one.

4 ** highly recommended

Thank you NetGalley, the author and Boldwood books the publisher

Liv and Aiden, seemingly sworn enemies for a decade, discover the blurred line between love and hate. Unfortunately, I found 'The Love Interest' to be a two-star read for me. While I was initially drawn to the enemies-to-lovers concept, the execution left much to be desired. The repetitive focus on Aiden being Darcy felt like a tiresome plot device, failing to contribute meaningfully to the relationship dynamics beyond Liv's fantasy.

Once Liv and Aiden finally come together, the dialogue takes a turn towards the corny and repetitive, which makes it challenging to maintain focus and invested in the story. Their disagreement also didn't feel very believable it felt like a case of "if only they communicated", which I'm realising is not so fun to read.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC of 'The Love Interest.' All opinions in this review are my own.

Who doesn’t dream of having their Mr. Darcy in their life. Aiden made me swoon. I get it Olivia, I totally get it. I love how only Aiden is the one that calls Liv, Olivia. I really enjoyed reading about every character’s relationship to each other. I loved Liv and Stevie. Dan and Theo are so sweet. Even Jasper was “nice.” I know for most, miscommunication is the worst, but I truly enjoyed the way it was written because we got to see both Olivia and Aiden work through it as true adults.

I didn’t mind the idea of this enemies to lovers story. You know what you’re going to get from this trope. I didn’t mind the relationship, but I just didn’t like the focus on Aiden being Darcy. It was so repeated and I don’t feel like it added anything to the relationship other than Liv getting to live out her fantasy.

I loved this story! This really was the perfect easy to read RomCom story, ideal for when you want to forget all else. Liv tells the story first person and Liv was my kind of girl, quirky, but in a good way. I loved Liv’s relationship with her brother Dan and she also had a special friendship with her colleague Stevie, but her interactions with her “love interest” Aiden and all their banter definitely stole the show. I could easily picture it all.... in fact I think this book would make a wonderful RomCom movie! It had everything you expect from a good RomCom. cute characters, chemistry, banter, laughter, drama and some steamy romance.

A wonderfully romantic novel and had me swooning. Stunning characters and a believable development of the characters. This was the perfect rainy weekend read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a review.

This was cute, but very Hallmark-esque. I was able to guess what was going to happen pretty early on. With that said I did enjoy the story! I thought the characters were cute and relatable. I also really enjoyed the story being set in London.

@currentlyreading__
Book 13 of 2024

Thank you to @NetGalley and @vickyjwalters for the e-copy of ‘The Love Interest’ and what a lovely cosy read this was! Our main character is Liv Jones, university librarian who, like me, has dreams of writing her own book. Unlike me, she’s not a massive procrastinator! She uses any spare minute to flesh out her book and bring to life her romantic characters but when Mr Darcy is the only romantic hero she can think of, a person closer to home starts to take shape in her novel.

Aiden Rivers is her brother’s best friend and she hates him but her brother has offered him a place to stay (along with Liv) whilst he prepares to start work (at the university Liv works at). Cue, many romance tropes - forced proximity, brother’s best friend and enemies to lovers.

Liv finds herself unexpectedly inspired and the leading man in her novel begins to bear an uncanny resemblance to Aiden. He can never find out though: she’d never live it down. Because Aiden can only ever be her love interest in the pages of her book – and definitely not in real life… right?!

A definite one for all of you romance lovers out there. Out now and currently free on Kindle Unlimited and 99p on Kindle otherwise.

#bookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm #book #booknerd #bookstagrammer #kindle #instabook #reader #bookobsessed #victoriawalters #theloveinterest

This is cute and funny, but just sort of middle of the road to me -- nothing that I really loved about it, but nothing that I really hated either. It was fine!

A great read, the story of Liv and Aiden. She though they connected years ago and he messed everything up. Now they are in forced proximity will it be their second chance? I loves the setting.

2.5⭐️

The Love Interest is a serviceable enough romance that unfortunately lacks in both love and interest. I felt like the idea for a good story was here, it just failed to achieve its full potential.

Thank you Victoria Walters, Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.