Thanks Harper Collins and NetGalley for this ARC of Love Story by Lindsey Kelk

I have been a fan of Lindsey Kelk's writing since her I heart books and she is the original queen of rom comic my eyes. With Love story, Lindsey trumps again. What's not to love? Enemies to lovers, one bed, forced proximity, all the tropes of a fantastic love story are right in here.

Soph is a schoolteacher with a secret, Joe is the hot guy she is trying to avoid, they are in a situation where they need to share a room. and this lovely love story with so much wit, banter, heart and fun is a brilliant read.

I loved it and I hope this becomes a series.

I was SO excited when I received the notification that I got this one as I absolutely adore Lindsey Kelk, I don't think she can do any wrong in my opinion.

Shes probably my favourite romance author ever since her I Heart series and gives me so many warm fuzzies.

This book was filled with more spice than is usual in a Lindsey Kelk but its very easy to skip past if you're not into that like me.

I really liked Sophie and Joe and usually I'm not that on board with the insta love trope, but actually Lindsey made it work.

Loved the best friend, couldn't stand the sister but actually gave me quite a lot of joy disliking some characters. I think the family could have been eked out a bit more as I found them all quite unredeeming when I don't think that was necessarily the intention.

But overall I did really enjoy this, it was the perfect company during my many night feeds in my newborn bubble and would recommend it for an easy read.

🎧Audiobook Review🎧

#adprproduct

💞Romance
🤣Funny
✨Forced Proximity
🤫 Hidden Identity

I don't know what to say except I LOVED this book! The sarcasm, the slow burn, everything was perfect. The cherry on top was the book Butterflies, which I now need a copy of, please and thank you!

Can we also take a moment to appreciate Kristin Atherton and her incredible narration? If she narrates a book then I am listening. Her ability to provide unique voices for each character is sublime, I often forget it's just her voice.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Small town, bookstore and book related, hate-at-first-sight, witty banter between two intellectuals romance? Sign me up! I love Sophie and Joe and the way their relationship moves. It's not exactly "enemies" enemies to lovers but it is indeed, quite the story. Joe is a pretensious prick and Sophie is a headstrong woman and both of them engaging in verbal combat while navigating a very difficult and probably would've been avoidable situation was amazing to read. It's funny and cute and everything you need from a romcom.

The fear of disappointing your parents, especially when they've never expected you to do well, and that fear growing into a hindrance that stops you from living your best life, is what drives Sophie to do what she did. Talk about relatable topics in a YA romance book. The fact that I finished reading this in literal one sitting, 4 straight hours of non stop reading, should tell you how much I loved it. I have mixed feelings about the small miscommunication trope that the author managed to weasel in whilst explicitly writing in the book that readers do not like miscommunication trope, but I think that's kinda the point of it.

All in all a good cute read for me!

I'm having mixed feelings after finishing this one so we're going 2.5/10.

Look, I love a cheesy little romance as much as the next gal, but Love Story just didn't totally do it for me.

I will say that this book was fun enough. The premise was cute and there were plenty of times when I could feel myself getting sucked into it.

Unfortunately, every time that happened it was very quickly followed by something that pulled me out. There wasn't anything bad enough to make me feel like I had to DNF (well, except one thing, more on that in a sec) but there were a few things that stopped me from really loving the book. It was pretty trope-heavy at times and some of the dialogue just didn't feel believable for me.

The one thing that did almost bring me to the brink of DNF (and probably would've if it had happened any sooner than forty pages from the end) was Joe's secret marriage arc. The third-act breakups kill me every time, but I will eat it right up if it makes sense for the couple and the story at hand. Here, it came entirely out of left field and its only purpose seemed to be serving for the third-act breakup rather than the characters themselves. I might just be being picky on this part because I feel so strongly about a good third-act breakup, but this one missed the mark for me.

i loooooove lindsey kelk!!!!the hate at the first sight tension, the story line, the banter, the falling in love!!!
everything about this book just MAKES SENSE! I absolutely loved this and i will probably continue to return to this book when im sad.
its perfect, its great. read it. giving me when in rome vibes but more angsty!!!!

This is such a fun and witty read! Sophie comes from a family of overachievers, her father is the head of a publishing house and her mother is a feared literary critic. They’ve made it clear what their idea of fine literature is, and it does not include the steamy romances that Sophie writes. As a result, she doesn’t do any interviews or publicity and has a job as a teacher.

Joe is a hot marketer from Sophie’s publisher who suspects that she might be Este. He protects her identity, and their initial attraction to each other turns into more when they thrown together in a cabin with only one bed.

I didn’t want to put this one down. There are lots of Taylor Swift references that I’m sure I missed but they didn’t affect my feelings about the book.

From the Publisher:

Sophie Taylor has a secret and Joe Walsh thinks he knows it (all). He’s devilishly handsome, incredibly hot – and far too sure of himself.
Unfortunately, Sophie desperately needs his help. She has lost her laptop – and her sequel to the sensational, spicy romance that everybody’s talking about.
Because Sophie is not just hiding something small. She is Este Cox, the mysterious romance author the entire world is desperate to unmask.
When a trip to Sophie’s home town leads to the disgruntledpair sharing a one-bed cottage, it’s a short step to sharing a whole lot more besides… Can Sophie trust Joe with the truth – and be herself?

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Oh wow, Lindsey Kelk still reigns as queen of rom coms for me! Is there ever gonna be a book written by her that I don't absolutely love? I really hope not, because whenever I pick one of her books, I know I am in for a real treat. I can escape to her stories and I know for sure that I will find the most charming characters, I will laugh, I will get emotional and I will feel better with the world. And with each new book, she manages to surprise me with her wit and her amazing characters.

Love Story surpassed all my expectations. I know Lindsey Kelk had said that this story was a bit spicy and wow! She definitely nailed it. The spice was perfectly balanced into the story. But what I loved the most was that this story really was an ode to romance books. For me, they have always been a oasis in my stressful life and have given me endless hours of comfort, laughs and empowerment. And Kelk reflected all these feelings in the pages of Love Story and I couldn't love her more for it.

I have lots of Lindsey Kelk's books over the years, and I usually have loved them - although the last could of releases have been a bit more miss that hit with me.
However, I feel like Kelk is back on form after reading this book!
I found the characters to be super likeable, and super real - it didn't feel too far fetched or over the top - in character and in plot.

The story has lots of different strands and sub-plots but all were super engrossing. Sophie - our protagonist is so much fun and I could relate a lot to her! She just wants to make everyone happy... but sometimes this meant that she was left unhappy.

Kelk's writing is so filmic, and I could picture it so vividly playing out in my head - imagining a film or tv series. It would make a great netflix original!

So pleased I'm back loving Linsey Kelk again! Bring on her next book!

What a funny warm unputdownable love story. I loved every minute of it. I just can't get enough of lindsey kelks writing. Magic

I enjoyed this novel more than I expected to. The plot revolves around Sophie, a romance writer, who has a very successful first novel, written under a pseudonym.. she comes from a literary family who have no tolerance for romance novels, so she doesn’t tell them that she is the author. She meets Joe, who works for her publisher, and they have a clash. They then get unexpectedly thrown together. Sophie try’s to her secret, but this may not succeed. This is a fun novel, a quick read, but quite enjoyable. Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK, Harperfiction for an ARC of this novel.

What a fun novel! I almost wrote love story then and was like oh cringe but that’s what this is. I really enjoyed Joe’s development and how the two of them seemed to navigate the ups and downs of what they needed and wanted! It was well paced and an enjoyable read!

this was a quick and easy read with some good banter and funny moments, but overall fell a bit flat for me. the entire story essentially took place over a weekend, but i felt like we waited a really long time for anything to happen between the two main characters, and it didn’t feel like much else was happening to move the story along.

i wasn’t expecting the twist at the end though, and that bumps this up a bit for me!

i would’ve loved an epilogue with a little flash forward for our main couple, but still glad we got a happy ending. ☺️

thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for providing me with a digital ARC copy.

⭐️ 3.5

This book kept me laughing until two in the morning. I had a great time reading it, the story is good, so it was a win.

It's my first book by this author. I only read it because of the beautiful cover, and yes, it does it justice, I liked Sophie and Joe as the main characters. The story revolves around Sophie, a romance author who writes under a pseudonym, she's so famous (even has a movie deal), but she doesn't want anyone to know because her family (especially her parents) are prejudiced. Now, she meets Joe, and they spend an evening together and they get drunk. The moment of the lost computer mentioned in the synopsis isn't very dramatic, Joe finds it and discovers that Sophie is the famous author. The entire book is about hiding her identity from her family, who, I must say, annoyed me at times (especially her sister). The relationship between the two was good, but that ending made me rethink everything. Seriously, this book had me laughing until tears, which is why I'm giving it this rating, the story was more than decent, but, again, that ending was a bit strange for me.

📌I received an e-arc through netgalley, and this is my honest opinion/review of it.

‘Love is the most incredible thing, it can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. You can’t buy it, you can’t force it, but almost everyone wants it and some people will do anything to get it.’

What an absolutely beautifully written, laugh out loud feel good romance, have I just found my new favourite author of the slow burn variety? Yes ma’am.
Soph is so relatable, and sees the world much in the same way many of us do..
but joe Walsh? Men like him don’t exist in the real world, do they? If so let me know 🤞

Lindsey Kelk’s writing style is so easy and fun to read, and that’s so important for a reader like myself, but more to the point, she seems so incredibly down to earth it’s insane. How many authors do you know that write so lovingly and beautifully about other wonderful writers of today?

We’ll played Lindsey, I can’t wait to read more of your work 🙏❤️

A story about a romance writer who hides behind a nom du plume .. Sign me up !!
Este Cox’s book is the talk of the town, but no-one knows who the author is, except for us who learn from the start that it is Sophie Taylor. Afraid of all the strong opinions of her literary family, she doesn’t want to reveal her secret. But that is not gonna fly if it is up to her little sister Charlotte and “helpful” Joe.

I like the concept of the book, plus it was a unique take to have a romance book featured + discussed in the actual book. Having said this, I liked the beginning and most of the ending (even though I’m not a big fan of the 3rd act break-up or miscommunication tropes). The middle was enjoyable and it had some real funny moments, but I could have done with a quicker pace since it seemed to slow down significantly in the mid section.
Where the ending made the whole Charlotte’s bookstore idea a reality, it felt like there were some pages missing to have the HEA aspect of Joe & Sophie’s romance completed. So I could have used like 10 or 12 pages extra to finish their love story in my mind .. or perhaps a small epilogue to show of their new found happiness?!

I have read some of Lindsey’s “I Heart” series, so I knew that her stories contained fun dialogs and witty banter. In this one I particularly enjoyed the Taylor siblings’ banter. Especially the Charlotte and William combo made for some awesome comebacks and laugh-out-loud moments.
The MCs interaction and intense chemistry did not disappoint either. They had me cracking up one moment and swooning the next. Even when the spice was not completely open door, I found it quite fitting within the story.

Overall I had fun reading this single POV summer romance and I liked that aspects from the romance book world are highlighted by Sophie or Charlotte in conversations. It made me identify more with the characters.
Plus it made me appreciate the Moral of this story: !! Don’t judge readers by their romance covers !!
aka Let people read whatever the F* they want and most of all do what makes you happy!

Thank you to HarperCollingsUK and NetGalley for the chance to read a free advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I love Taylor Swift and I lately I love reading romance books so this book was the perfect one for me. This was the perfect read for me in my local gardens with the sun out, easy and fun to read.

thankyou to NetGalley for giving me an arc of this book!

This was really good!! The premise was executed so well, it was sweet, it was quite a lot of instalove which I typically steer away from but this was written well, I didn't find myself cringing, and I enjoyed myself so much I bought the physical edition!

What can I say about Love Story. ‘Typical Lindsey Kelk’ might not sound like the best review, but it really is. This author writes awesome book after awesome book, and Love Story was another hit!

Firstly, I loved the characters. I loved the background and the enemies to lovers trope.

Lindsey Kelk has this brilliant ability to write characters so well that you feel like you know them. Realistic and believable.

I really enjoyed this and look forward to the authors next piece of work.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 📚

I was so excited by the premise of Love Story, I really wasn't sure how it was going to work. It almost broke the fourth wall because it was so much like real life and I feel like it will really resonate with romance authors.

Sophie Taylor is a teacher by day and a spicy romance author by night. Daughter of publishing heroes, she keeps her identity a secret fearing their disappointment, and publishes under the name Este Cox.

She meets the arrogant and charming Joe Walsh at lunch and spends the day getting drunk with him before making her way to her parents house for her dad's 60th birthday celebrations. She doesn't realise that Joe will be there too.. and he knows who she is.

There were so many hilarious moments and awkward encounters throughout the book and I couldn't wait for Sophies secret to be revealed. The tension between Sophie and Joe was off the charts but I personally feel that's maybe where it should've stayed.

Now.. this is where it gets awkward. There is an incident of sexual assault towards Joe. It's completely disregarded and actually written as if it's hilarious which really pissed me off. I think Sophie actually calls it hilarious at one point.

Call me a fun sponge if you want, but if a woman was cornered alone in a bedroom by a much older man, grabbed in the crotch and begged to be together, we'd expect a trigger warning.

Without that scene I'd definitely be leaning more towards a 4.5-5 ⭐️. The characters were great, I especially loved William, he was the ultimate comedic brother. Charlotte absolutely drove me insane and I didn't like the way Sophies mum treated them all so differently but it provided an emotional aspect in the family dynamic.

Overall, I enjoyed 90% of the book but that one scene really let it down for me. It's a shame because I adore Lindsey Kelks other books.

Thank you to Harper Collins and netgalley for sending me a copy of the book.