From the first lines of THE LOVE INTEREST by Victoria Walters, the intelligence, warmth, and relatable characters dropped me into the deep pleasure of a well-told story of friends and enemies falling for one another. Aiden Rivers and Liv Jones are old acquaintances, fallen into bickering, fending off, and making fun. When they share the flat that Liv has been living in with her brother, everything changes. Among the many joys in this book is Liv's determination to write a love story when she has never had a lover remotely like Mr. Darcy -- the references throughout and her struggles to write a romance were a luscious layer in a delightful story. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

It was a cute story, but nothing special. It was predictable and the dialogue was cringy, but I somehow still wanted to keep reading. I read the entire thing in one evening.

I thought this was gonna be a slow one for me since miscommunication isn’t a trope I usually enjoy but DANG it was so freaking good!! The ending literally had me in tears!’ And her writing throughout it? Impeccable! Will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author!

📚💻💝Movies, books, grand gestures and Mr. Darcy brought to life!

The Love Interest had a good enemies to lovers plot and any Pride & Prejudice and/or romcom fan will have a good time with the frequent discussion of MC Liv's "Perfect Love Interest" and references to Mr. Darcy and some modern classics in the romantic movie genre. Liv is a die hard romantic who has ambitions to be a novelist, and it drives her to write a romance novel. But she soon finds her own dreams and desires totally enmeshed in her plot and Aiden, her older brother's BFF, an unexpected inspiration for a hero.

I liked the selection of side characters, from Liv's family to her brother's boyfriend and Liv's university library colleague who Liv inspires to go after her own dream.

For me, the story was weakened a bit a) by Liv herself who seemed to act somewhat immature for her age, like her obsession for painstakingly matching her outfit, hair and makeup to an occasion, and b) by inserting a goodly helping of steam into what I thought should have been the most romantic scene in the book. I also would have liked to know Aiden better; most of the story concentrates on how Liv perceives him.

But, I must admit, Aiden's "grand gesture" was one lovely act. So much so that it got me thinking that I'd want this story made into a movie just so I could see it, too!😉

I would definitely read more by this author.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

I loved the premise of the book and was so excited to get an arc. If you are looking for a lighthearted, fun, romcom with a bit of realistic spice, I think you will enjoy this.

If you enjoy "enemies" to lovers, forced proximity, brother's best friend, AND...I am going to throw in 2nd chance, even though I know that is a stretch...I think you will enjoy this book. I enjoyed watching Liv grow as a person via her relationship with Aiden as she wrote her novel. Her self-discovery and the impact that she believes romance books have had on her will resonate with the diehard romance fans.

The banter between Liv and Aiden was fun (most of the time) and I really wish we would have had dual POV in this book. I think seeing Aiden's perspective throughout may have made the ending more understandable and less disruptive. I honestly felt that the Aiden that came out for a bit was so extreme compared to the version of him that we get in the rest of the book and it took me out of their story.

I also have to note, that while the Mr. Darcy thing was cute the first time (or two), it became a little overdone and started to just make me uncomfortable...giggle...but uncomfortable.

Overall, a cute, funny, and enjoyable romcom for anyone who enjoys watching the tension turn into something more.

This was a really fun concept & pretty lively text. Liked the layers and characters. Enjoyed and recommended.

The Love Interest is a story about overcoming self doubt and taking a chance on love. Liv, an aspiring romance author, is attempting to write her first novel but can’t get inspired. It isn’t until her sworn enemy (and brother’s best friend!) comes to live with her that inspiration strikes and the words begin to flow, but how much does the story mimic her real life? Is there more to Aidan than someone to antagonize?

I loved the premise of the book and the backdrop of a local London university. I do wish the characters had been a bit more developed. I found myself wanting to know more about Stevie and Dan. Liv and Aidan come across as deeply insecure but the root of those insecurities is never explored.

The Love Interest is definitely an easy and comforting read and I found myself able to read it in one sitting. If you love grand gestures, Mr. Darcy, and a little spice, give this book a read.

cringey dialogue, not a lot going on at all, with main characters who need to mature quickly. i don't understand the "grand gesture for a man's attention" still being a model for a way of relationships.

The Love Interest had such a good plot! I could not put the book down once I began reading it. I cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

This book features two of my favorite tropes: enemies to lovers and brother's best friend. It's also set in London (yay!) and has an Irish male lead (double yay!). I loved the supporting cast of the brother and his boyfriend and that subplot was really strong. However, miscommunication is a main driver of the plot. At first, it's okay because the characters were teenagers and teenagers can be forgiven their idiocies. But then, as adults, it quickly becomes frustrating. Beyond the miscommunications, there really wasn't anything keeping the main characters apart and I started to lose interest.

I liked that Liv is a budding romance novelist and bases the characters in her book off of her and Aiden. I thought that was a really cute idea. I think this book has a ton of promise and ton of things that readers will really enjoy. It wasn't my favorite, but I enjoyed it and can imagine re-reading it at some point.

This was unexpectedly cute!! I was smiling throughout reading The Love Interest . I think Victoria Walters has done a fantastic job at capturing how a hopeless romantic and a fangirl views her own love life (I say this as a fellow hopeless romantic fangirl myself). At first the dialogue felt rather stilted and clunky, but things improved as the book went on. The dialogue flowed much better as the book went on and especially when Liv and Aiden were bantering. To be really honest, I actually found myself squealing a little at certain points in the book. There were moments in there that made my little romantic heart scream.

All in all, The Love Interest is one book that I definitely see myself reading again and again when time comes!

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for early access to The Love Interest!

Liv has wanted to be write a novel for her whole life but as she starts finally drafting and writing, she struggles to create a love interest on par with her dream guy, Mr. Darcy. After her brother's best friend, Aiden, who she always bickers with, gets a job as a professor at the university she works at and moves in with her and her brother temporarily, she gets an idea to use him as the love interest in her novel. As she gets to spend more time with Aiden, she realizes she might have had him wrong all along and he might be her perfect love interest in real life.

This story was sweet and a quick read but overall was a like not a love. Some of the writing felt unedited and the slow burn switch flipped too quickly in my opinion. I'm off to watch Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth now with all the mentions of the lake scene in this book!

What a wonderful feel good read.
I am always a fan of enemies to lovers, but it was adorable how the enemies element of this made the miscommunication trope work so well!
Having a book lover (and librarian) as our FMC is always a hit and I loved how her love of books was juxtaposed with our MMCs love of films. The pacing worked well and whilst you know you're heading for a happy ending, the will they're won't they throughout seemed genuine and natural. I enjoyed the side character stories too and felt they made for a really well written storyline. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author.

so i started this book, read about 70 percent of it and then had to skim the rest. it was just slightly too cringey for me. i didn't mesh with any of the characters and i just felt bored. this may be attributed to the fact that i am getting bored of reading books where the man is supposedly obsessed, and has been the whole time, but we just don't get his pov. romances that aren't dual pov should be banned... there i said it. this may work for someone else, maybe i just wasn't in the mood for it.

I had to DNF this book at the 50% mark. The writing was slightly robotic to me and the main character, whose name I can't remember for the life of me, was pretty annoying. It's an interesting premise, that I just wish had been better for me.

A light hearted read about a part time librarian name Oliva who is trying to write a romance novel, but it is difficult to write a romance, when you never felt that intense love before.
The first half of the book had me intrigued, because the banter between the two main characters Olivia and Aiden was hilarious!
The only reason this was not a five star book for me, because I became more intrigued and invested by the side characters verses the main female character. I really enjoyed the main male character Aiden, but as much as I like Olivia, I just couldn't connect with her.
If your looking for a funny light hearted read about enemies to lovers give this book a shot!

The Love Interest was a cute read! This follows a librarian/aspiring romance author, Liv Thomas and her brother's best friend, the enemy, Aiden Rivers. After mixed feelings float around, situations lead them to where they are now, Liv and Aiden have come to a realization. I think it was super cute to see how their relationship progressed because of an incident. To see them go from bantering enemies, to bantering I-don't-know-what-we-are-but-I-like-you.
Thank you so much NetGallery for providing me with an ARC of The Love Interest!
This is great if you like:
-English main characters
-Story set in London
-MMC roleplays FMC favorite scenes
-Enemies to Lovers
-Brother's Best Friend
-MMC professor
-FMC librarian
-Obsessed MMC

The Love Interest is one of those books that was written with all of catnip I love:

1. Brother's best friend
2. Forced proximity
3. author FMC
4. lots of banter

Aiden and Liv were such a cute couple, and I looooved this plot. With so many contemporary romances out there, it's hard to find a unique one.Such a fun, sexy read!

I’m given this 3.75⭐️

The Love Interest was a cute and quick enemies to lovers read that I truly enjoyed.

I thought that Olivia and Aiden’s initial banter set the stage well in the beginning and the only fault I found was the miscommunication, which personally I’m not a fan of in any book.

I would recommend this to other romcom fans.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

Publication: February 12, 2024

Rating: 2 stars

I personally struggled with this book. I usually devour enemies to lovers plus a bookish FMC- sign me up! Plus the cover is gorgeous! The biggest thing I couldn’t get behind was the writing style. It felt forced, too descriptive, and repetitive. I was not the right reader for this book however I think it would be perfect for fans of:

- 1st POV
- Singular POV
- Frenemies to lovers
- Brother’s best friend
- Bookish FMC
- New to romance genre readers
- Emphasis on Mr. Darcy
- Light read
- Palette cleanser read