This book is for all types of romance readers. The romcom Bridget Jones lovers, the spicy readers the hopeless romantics. Lindsey Kelk has a way of writing stories and characters that you fall in love with. Her writing has so. many quirks, references and overall humour I love it!

I personally loved the plot to this story and the nod that romance books, authors and readers can be looked down upon by other readers, authors and the industry because of the genre. I thought it was an incredibly clever sub plot and very timely with the absolute boom the romance genre is having at the moment.

I loved the plot twists, and didn't see the final one coming. As someone who isn't a full on romance reader, I'd still recommend this to everyone who likes a bit of romance or a lot.

The banter and the humor in this book is so fun! But i’m a little conflicted, I really liked the plot but the way the story unraveled wasn’t what I expected. Insta love stories aren’t my thing so that what made it hard for me to fully get into the book.

This is a pretty good romance and if you like the tropes you should totally go for it and the writing is good, it just wasn’t a book for me sadly.

3.5 ★

Thank you Lindsey Kelk, Harper Collins & NetGalley for an e-ARC copy.

I absolutely LOVED this book! Sophie is a main character you’re rooting for from the start. Whilst most people think she’s ‘just’ a teacher – she’s actually a hugely successful novelist of a bestseller called ‘Butterflies’ – but for a number of reasons (mostly being that it’s a romance book – and her parents and ex are sniffy about such literature that they deem not sufficiently high brow) she’s keeping her other identity under wraps.

Whilst the book is fundamentally a will they / won’t they between Sophie and Joe – there is much more to it. The snobbery about romance / women’s fiction / chick lit is exposed for the utter bullsh*t it is (I particularly loved when Sophie reels off a list of amazing writers of the genre – Mhairi McFarlane, Emily Henry et al – the only mistake being that Lindsey Kelk was missed off the list!) And family relationships are also unpicked really well and true to life (having children of a similar age to Sophie’s younger sister – I can see how well that age group is represented in this book!!)

‘Love Story’ is also ridiculously sexy! In a building up the tension way – not a ‘I’m reading a porno whilst waiting to pick the kids up’ way. But I very much enjoyed this element too.

This – like lots of the books I’ve reviewed recently – is out on Thursday 4 July. There is an amazing range of fabulous options published on that day (even if choices for other things on that day are less exciting!)

A big thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for my ARC.

Love Lindsey Kelk. I am not a Taylor Swift fan so anything relating to her I missed. Bring on The Bell Witches!

This was really cute. Loved the storyline, good humour, and I liked the family dynamics (even if half of them are really something). The romance was really cute, and I liked Joe a lot. Only downside is I would have wished the « secret » around Sophie’s identify didn’t take this much of the book (definitely made sense at first but she let it go on for way too long), and that the miscommunication hadn’t been so predictable.

Love Story is a lovely story centred around Sophie Taylor, primary school teacher and secret best-selling smut writer writing under the alias "Este Cox". She is desperately trying to hide her fame from her family of literary critics, who would clutch their pearls in horror, and from her school, who would probably fire her. Things were going so well until in walks tall, dark and handsome, Joe Walsh to muddy the waters and be an all-round pain in the butt.

This was such a cosy read for me. The characters were entertaining, the problems were real and realistic, it even got a good chuckle out of me at points. I truly wish I could score this higher, but the sheer amount of product placement and trendtalk in this overwhelmed me completely. At times, it sucked me straight out of the book.

But, if you're in the market for a cutesie romcom with all the latest fads, this is the one for you!

Lindsey Kelk's new novel Love Story, is exactly that- a laugh out loud read featuring books and authors aplenty, along with an enemy to lover storyline.

Sophie has a lot on her plate, a teaching job she (mostly) enjoys, an overwhelming family (made up of extremely successful Literary Types), and she just happens to have secretly written a best selling novel, Butterflies, under the pseudonym Este Cox to boot. Butterflies is an 'erotic' novel featuring, from the sounds of it, some very steamy scenes but, it happens to be a genre so looked down upon by her rather domineering acclaimed literary critic mother. Her sister on the other-hand is obsessed by the novel and has decided to turn all book detective to reveal the Butterflies true author.... what could possibly go wrong?

Sophie, however, wants to keep her best-selling-author identity secret, something made harder when she accidentally meets Joe (also of the publishing world) on a clandestine work lunch with her editor, and the two keep crossing paths. Their chemistry is intense, and their will-they-won't-they romance kept me hooked.

When Joe, and a large proportion of the publishing world descend at her parent's house for her Dad's big birthday weekend, chaos ensues. This is one awkwardly tense weekend, with mishaps aplenty! The story also follows Sophie as she tries to find her place in the world, accept her talent, and conquer her domineering family. Kelk's ability to right witty conversations, and cracking one-liners kept me chuckling throughout. Love Story is a perfect escapist read.

Thank you for this ARC :)

I am huge fan of Lindsey Kelk and boy this book did not disappoint! Such a cute lovely book with a fantastic storyline and good wit throughout. Read this in one sitting, of course Lindsey Kelk did not disappoint!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I thought this book was super fun and sweet and since I have read other books by Lindsey Kelk, I might just have to say that this is my favorite of hers so far. I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a fun and laid back read for the summer. I definitely recommend this book, and I am looking forward to Lindsey's next book!

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Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Primary school teacher Sophie Taylor has an alter ego: best selling romance author Este Cox. The only people who know are her brother (her agent) and her godfather (publisher) and she absolutely does not want anyone else to find out. Not least her parents, both who are big in the literary world and look down on the genre she writes. While having lunch with her godfather about her sequel, a marketing director for her publishers called Joe Walsh is also in the same restaurant. The two instantly clash, which Sophie doesn't think much of, as she rushes off home to celebrate her Dad's 60th that weekend. Where just one thing after another just seems to go wrong. Can Sophie get everything back on track and keep her secret hidden?

If you're looking for a fun summer read, this is it! There's romance, there's humour, there's a bit of chaos. The whole thing is set over the course of a weekend and I love books like this. Sophie has to deal with her feelings for Joe, face her ex at her Dad's birthday party, try to keep her secret while trying to keep her cool at hearing people like her mother say mean things about Este Cox.

The book explores literary snobbishness and how romance is looked down on at times. It talks about tropes and I loved how Bridget Jones' Diary is mentioned a few times, as Sophie's favourite book. There's a hilarious punch up between two characters that just screamed Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver, as well as some other moments that seemed Bridget Jones-ish, it was really well done.

Romance wise, this is probably the steamiest of Lindsey's books, I really enjoyed it and the balance between this part of the plot and everything else Sophie is dealing with. And of course, there's Lindsey's trademark humour. I read this on holiday and devoured it in one day, it was that good!

Love Story is a cute and lighthearted rom-com. It follows Sophie as she tries to keep her identity as a successful romance author under wraps during her dad’s birthday party weekend.

The setting made for an entertaining read, with a group of people who don’t all love or even like each other gathering in one place as alcohol starts flowing. There are many laugh-out-loud moments, particularly between her dad and his longtime publishing nemesis.

I really liked the main character and the reasons why she didn’t want people to know she’d written the romance novel. It felt very fleshed out and realistic especially when looking at her parent’s background, working in the publishing industry.

It’s interesting to read about the literary world. We get a glimpse of the romance industry and how some people view certain books. Kelk shows how much the romance genre has changed from being criticised as poor writing in the past to being reclaimed as a successful feminist genre as new generations have discovered the novels. It feels quite empowering and meta to read a book about rom-coms from one of the queens of the genre herself.

There are many pop culture references throughout – from real life author shout-outs to Taylor Swift references. In true Lindsey Kelk fashion, it’s filled with humour and witty dialogue – making it a really fast and easy read.

Stand-out side characters include her immediate family, especially Charlotte and her free spirit attitude to life. She added a lot of joy and laughter to the story – with there being a big age gap between her and her two older siblings.

There’s plenty of banter between the two lead characters for most of the first three quarters of the book which makes for an entertaining read. But I didn’t love where the plot went after that. There are tropes in this book that aren’t my favourite, including insta-love. I thought Joe was a good character but he was slightly one dimensional and his story felt slightly rushed. It’s still a fun book and I’m sure there are other readers who would love the direction of the story more than I did.

Lindsey Kelk will always be one of my auto-buy authors and this one is definitely a great feel good rom-com that you should add to your summer reading list.

Sophie has a big secret and when she returns home to her spend time with her bookish family things come to a head. She has to make a split decision, fill her enemy in on her secret or tell the truth. He’s the least person shed tell under normal circumstances but she’s desperate. Her family cannot find out she’s Este Cox the bestselling romance author the entire world is desperate to unmask.

This felt like a love letter to all the romance readers. For the fans of Lindsey Kelk, “Beth O’Leary, Fallon Ballard, Ali Hazelwood, Sarah Adams, Hannah Grace, Lucy Score”, the list goes on. The bookish community better get ready because its a good one.

Joe pushes all her buttons, some good others not so much but ebbing stuck together for the weekend quickly brought them closer. They can relate to one another, trying to make their own path in the literary industry without their parents. Their sexual chemistry is palpable, the forced proximity making it all the better, you can’t help but root for them. Although there are layers to the story mainly due to Sophies use of a pen name. Her family is very opinionated and navigating that isn’t an easy task.

The balance between comedy and romance is incredible, one of the things Kelk always excels at in my opinion. This was one of my most anticipated reade of the year and will most likely end up being one of my favorite 2024 reads. Can’t recommend it enough.

Read this if you like
⚡️Enemies to lovers
🛏️One bed trope
🩷Romance
🌶️Spice
🎤Pop culture references

Really enjoyed this and got sucked into the story. Main characters Sophie and Joe have their own in depth storylines but their paths cross and gradually intertwine. Throughly enjoyed, classic contemporary romance by Lindsey Kelk. Perfect summer reading. I really connected with Sophie as a character and found this such an enjoyable, easy read.

I really enjoyed this book. It's so funny and just the best time. The humor is so great, it had me laughing out loud a few times. I flew through the first part of the book in what felt like minutes. It did get a bit too tumultuous towards the end and at points I did not feel the connection between the two main characters. And there were way too many Taylor Swift and other current pop culture references. Like to the point I got really annoyed. And what will people think who read this book in 5 to 10 years? It might be trendy now, but this will never be a timeless piece because of those references.
But in all in all it was a sweet story.

I am a big big fan of Lindsey's and to see I had been given the opportunity to read and review this ARC I was so excited, thank you Harper Collins and Net Galley.

I absolutely adore Lindsey's writing style she always has such great characters and those hilarious moments.

Sophie Taylor has a huge secret. She has written a best selling romance novel. Not just a best selling novel, but THE best selling novel. She has sworn her agent and publisher to secrecy as she comes from a literary family and knows that her parents would have kittens in disgust if they found out what she had done.
Whilst on a lunch with her Godfather, Mal, who is also her publisher, they bump into one of his colleagues, Joe Walsh, who also happens to be the creative director behind her cover designs and who spots a special edition of her book on the table. Cue more lies. She ends up spending the rest of the day with him before going off to her parents for the weekend for a party for her Dad's 60th.
It's only when she gets there that she realises she's lost the tote bag containing not only her laptop and the special edition book, but also the printed draft of the sequel with her notes scrawled over it.
As it happens Joe comes to the rescue in more ways than one and a comedy of errors concerning authorship of the book and both their families beings.
Beautifully written with characters that we can all relate to all the way through. I loved this book.

4.5 stars

Lindsey Kelk can do no wrong. This book is as much a homage to (whisper it) chick lit and the brilliant authors out there, as it is a brilliant rom com, peppered with Taylor Swift references.

Sophie Taylor, school teacher by day, has written a novel. Not just any novel, but the bonkbuster of the year and she’s struggling to keep her identity hidden from her friends, fans and parents, who happen to be publishers and very scathing of the hot novel.

The supporting characters and locations are brilliantly drawn. The action is fast paced, the humour is quick and this is a lovely easy read, perfect for a holiday.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

There is just something about Kelk's writing that has you hooked from the word go. I was obsessed with her recent release, so when I saw this, I RAN for the opportunity to read it. The characters are charming and well developed, their story is well paced, realistic and funny. Kelk has the ingredients for a perfect rom com nailed. A perfect beach read for this summer!

Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me.

I couldn’t connect with Sophie at all for the most part and I found the fact that she was the master of her own miscommunication very annoying. I didn’t think that there was any real chemistry between her and Joe and although some of there interactions were amusing, a lot of the time they fell a bit flat for me.

I also was not a fan of the whole third act. It all felt a bit out of the blue and then the resolution was very rushed and it even though it featured a ‘grand gesture’ it just didn’t seem to make all that much sense. It felt a bit like drama for the sake of it and then it just ended, which felt a bit abrupt.

There were some laugh out loud moments and I did enjoy the dynamic between Sophie and William and Sophie and Sarah as I thought that was where Sophie truly shone. A lot of the other side characters felt a bit like caricatures of people and so that made it hard to connect with them also,

“How come when a woman writes about sexual frustration she’s a bit of a joke, but when a man writes about his sexual frustration, he gets an Oscar.”

Love story is first and foremost a tribute to Romance as a genre, and a travel into the publishing world (in broad terms). The very cutting tone, loaded with tons of humour, got me, starting page one.
That situation, with her parents in the industry, made a very interesting starting point for Sophie’s conflict. I adored her fragility, and her impostor syndrome, tightly paired with her fear to be discovered as the anonymous author of the current romance bestseller. In this situation, the use of a unique POV (Sophie’s) made the book more interesting, because that’s her personal journey, more than anything else, that we follow. I truly enjoyed her character, as much as Joe’s. They are both clumsy in their own way, and make things worse just as they try to be nice to (each) others. It was a brilliant idea to make them begin as almost caricatural characters, to become more flawed and “real” as the story unfolds.
If the numerous references to Taylor Swift bored me a little (but it won’t be the case for most readers), I loved the tribute to many contemporary romance authors, to come “in defence of the genre” while remaining truly light and funny. I would say that for 80% of the book, it was one of my top romances this year. Unfortunately, I less loved the party sequences, it was a bit too much, almost burlesque or vaudevillesque, where feminism turns into irony, and the empowered woman into a “paste” knight in shiny armour, or when a sexual assault is just a “attempt to seduce”. Yes, it is what is said most of the time, yet how it was told later in the book made me uncomfortable (because of the lack of a second voice), no matter if the victim is a man or a woman. And… I still don’t know what to think about the end. I completely hesitate if that gesture that steals Sophie’s thunder makes the whole feminist discourse collapse, or if it just enhances the human side of the characters. I’m still debating, so I'll give the story the benefit of the doubt. Despite these details in the third act, I really enjoyed that flash read (I couldn’t put it down).

Thank you NetGalley, Lindsey Kelk and Harper Collins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own.