Member Reviews
This was such an interesting premise for a book! I truly enjoyed every single part of this story. The characters were fun and interesting! I definitely recommend this book!
While I enjoyed both of these authors’ previous works, this book wasn’t for me. The writing was engaging and seamless enough that you couldn’t tell it had been written by two people. It was the characters that didn’t work for me - Harper and Alice both came across as materialistic and shallow, Laney was almost a caricature. Chelsea was an interesting character and the London setting was great but I just struggled to connect with Harper who seemed to be ditching Chelsea most of the time. Well written book but some key characters weren’t painted in the most positive light.
would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this amusing book
though i found this book amusing at times it had some serious bits to it....
harper and alice are about to go on an adventure...both are hopeless romantics and love a good love story but the idea of going to london to try and meet a princess and fall in love was to good for them to miss after all it happened in one of their favourite books so maybe just maybe it could happen in real life...
plus harper and alice knew someone who lived in london that may put them up for the 3 weeks of fun and adventures they wanted....
chelsea was the girl that was going to put them up that she was the one that got away from harper all those years ago added to the excitement of meeting up again
the fun and excitement is clearly felt from the very start of the book and carries on throughout.... though there is a more sinister side it doesnt distract from the actual storyline... its a feel good book with hopefully that happy ending everyone wants
Harper's book club has been reading a book about falling in love with a princess. On a whim, Harper takes her best friend, Alice with her to England to find a princess. The two of them plan on staying with Harper's ex, Chelsea, while they are in London.
Harper does find a princess but she is not at all what she expects and spending more time with Chelsea makes her see that she may not need a princess after all.
I would recoomend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazing!
Harper runs a book club, and her best friend Alice talks her into this crazy idea of them going to London to go to all the places the characters in a book they’ve just read did when the main character went to London and fell in love with the woman of her dreams. Harper hasn’t seen Chelsea since college and staying with her during their impromptu visit might just give them a chance to reconnect, but when they arrive, a chance meeting with Laney adds complications.
Such a fun story, and Alice and Harper were really having this amazing adventure that was just like the romance novels they read. Upon meeting Chelsea, it was obvious she and Harper had a history and something they might be able to build on. They fell back into their friendship so comfortably, I really thought it was going to be all about them finding romance, and perhaps Alice having the whirlwind adventure on the side but it really wasn’t and those extra levels of complication really gave the story the drama and magic all great romances need.
The collaboration between MA Binfield and Toni Logan is absolutely genius. Such a creative story with ups and downs that had me gasping at the drama and the unexpected twists and turns, laughing at Alice’s infectious energy for this trip and her excitement at making connections between their trip and the book, and smiling stupidly when Harper and Chelsea had moments that were truly magical, even with everything happening between Harper and Laney.
Really enjoyable and a great read I will definitely read again and again. It was a lot of fun, beautiful, and made me smile.
I really enjoyed The Romance Lovers Book Club.
It was different from what I normally pick up but I loved reading about:
- Reconnection
- The one that got away
- Walking in other people's shoes
This book evoked so many emotions. I was frustrated, shouting at our MC and laughing so hard at the witty banter.
Definitely worth checking out!
I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley. This review is voluntary.
This was a sweet sapphic romance novel about second chance love. I was super frustrated that the main characters allowed Laney to continue to manipulate them and spent time with her, it brought the book down some for me.
Have you ever read a book that you loved so much you wish you could live the experience of the main characters yourself? Well, that’s what Harper and her best friend Alice do in The Romance Lovers Book Club! After reading a book about an American tourist falling in love with an English princess, Harper and Alice decide to take a trip to England themselves in an attempt to visit all of the famous landmarks mentioned in the book and maybe find a little romance of their own. Harper also sees this trip as an opportunity to reconnect with an old college flame Chelsea, namely the one that got away. But, Harper and Chelsea’s attempt to reconnect gets slightly derailed when Harper meets an actual royal, Laney, who dotes on her and showers her with fancy meals and special events. Will Harper get her fairytale ending with Laney, or is Chelsea the real deal?
While I, unlike the characters in this book, did not necessarily feel the need to immediately get on a plane to England after finishing it, I overall enjoyed it. I am a big fan of the second chance romance and friends to lovers tropes so Harper and Chelsea’s story was very sweet to me. But with that said, I cannot stand the miscommunication trope, so a lot of Harper and Chelsea’s unspoken feelings really frustrated me. Also, a lot of Harper’s decisions had me taking deep breathes to keep me from yelling at her throughout the book. But I can't be too mad at Harper and her decision making because I too am a people pleaser so I understand where she was coming from. Good books are supposed to make you have strong feelings and make you feel connected to the characters, right? Even through some of my frustrations, I was able to empathize with both Harper and Chelsea based on their past experiences and in the end, I enjoyed the plot as well as the happy ending. I would definitely read a book by these authors again and would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a romance novel that is equally plot driven as it is character driven.
Thank you to Bold Stroke Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC of The Romance Lovers Book Club in return for my honest review.
This story is very much a fairy tale, although this is clear from the moment you read the synopsis and the first chapters, so nothing to complain about. Because that's what Alice and Harper are looking for with their trip to London. And although a little distorted in the end, this is what they end up finding.
In between, Harper reconnects with her first love, Chelsea, with whom she lost contact after having a short, one-time love affair while the two of them were studying at university in the US. Chelsea had to rush to her hometown, London, after that night of consummation, without notice and for tragic reasons that meant that they could not maintain even a long-distance relationship.
This adventure trip now allows Harper and Chelsea to reconnect, although both are reluctant and do not want to show their feelings for fear of the other's rejection and on top of that, Princess Laney appears, with her courtiers in the form of influencer Oliver and his team, who as soon as they meet Alice offers her to star in their makeover blog, which Alice cannot resist.
Princess, blogger and the entire entourage take Alice and especially Harper into extravagant situations typical of royalty and people with power, harming the intentions of Chelsea, who cannot compete with that. The outcome, and some behaviors, have been a bit childish, also typical of a fairy tale, perhaps. But the result has been interesting, just to meet the stoic Chelsea is worth it.
Very witty and enjoyable. Both authors did an amazing job.
Thank you, Bold Strokes Books, and NetGalley.
This was a charming second chance romance set in London that featured former college flames Harper, from Arizona, and Chelsea, who today lives in London. Harper and her best friend, Alice, read a romance novel in their book club about an American tourist traveling to London who falls in love with an English princess. They head to the United Kingdom with lofty intentions of the same thing happening to each of them.
This was definitely a slow burn second chance romance with Harper and Chelsea never originally admitting their love for one another while in college due to circumstances beyond their control. Now that they are reunited in London, it takes them quite a while to admit their renewed feelings for each other due to a real-life princess encounter.
This was an enjoyable read with some life lessons in the mix and an over-the=top best friend, Alice. 3.5 stars
Harper and her best friend Alice decide to visit London after reading a romance based there. An old college friend, Chelsea offers to host them. For both Harper and Chelsea it is a chance to reconnect with the one that got away. I love London and was excited for the setting but it wasn’t a big part of the story. What should have been a second chance romance gets all muddled up. I kept being told that Alice’s dynamic is wonderfully fun with Harper but I found her know all attitude and pushiness annoying. But she doesn’t deserve the treatment she gets in the book. Chelsea is the most fleshed out character, and I did like her plans for a restaurant to honor her brother’s memory. And Harper seems like a pushover, very seldom standing her ground on anything. I wouldn’t even consider her a good houseguest.
Instead of focusing on the romance, more time was spent on drama and manipulation, including having actual villains. And when all was said and done it was just busyness and filler. I think it was supposed to be fun, wink, wink, that the authors would mention book tropes as part of the storyline but it wasn’t working for me. I really didn’t connect with the characters so the romance didn’t win me over in the end. I wish I had enjoyed it more. (2.5 Stars)
✨ARC Review✨. All the opinions expressed are my own.
First things first, we all need a Alice in our lives because if she hadn't pushed Harper by drunk texting Chelsea, then Harper would never have reconnected with Chelsea. Despite their many ups and downs, they were it for one another. Second chances don't happen often but when they do, everything always feels right in the universe. Such a cute queer read. Highly recommend checking it out.
Romance book lover travels across an ocean to find her own British princess. Only to find out she’s met her already. A lovely second chance romance to help you believe dreams can turn into reality.
I received an advance copy from Netgalley for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Harper runs a popular sapphic romance book club. Her own love life is stagnant though, to say the least. When her club talks about a book starring an American meeting a British princess and falling in love, Harper’s best friend Alice convinced her to throw caution to the wind and go on an adventure of themselves in London. Ready to reenact all the lovely parts of the book, they set off. A trip to the UK also finds Harper reconnecting with her old love Chelsea. Chelsea offers to let them stay with her and play tour guide. Harper hasn’t seen or talked to Chelsea in fifteen years. Will her heart still remember her as the one that got away?
Chelsea’s life is a mess. From her beloved brother dying to her family’s restaurant getting sold. And don’t even talk about the recent breakup with a woman that clearly was only interested in her success and money. Now Chelsea is back at square one, sullen and down. When she gets a text message from her college friend Harper, she doesn’t hesitate. Maybe this is a sign. A sign that she will get her second chance with the woman she fell in love with years ago before it all went sideways. What Chelsea didn’t expect is having to compete with an actual, real life princess.
It took me a while to get into this story. Somehow it didn’t grip me from page one. But when I finally found the groove, it was a lovely way to spend a few hours.
I loved the dynamic between Harper and her friend Alice. They are hilarious together and are not afraid to call each other on their bullshit, all while being each other’s ride or die. Alice gets Harper to enjoy the adventures that she didn’t expect.
As a reader you know from the start that Harper and Chelsea belong together. The interference of the annoying and bitchy princess Laney is somewhat over the top. And I did want to scream at the pages a few times for Harper and Chelsea to get their heads on straight and just talk to each other. When they do finally fall back into each other’s arms it is as sweet, and may I say hot, as you’d want it to be.
As for Alice’s storyline, she is picked up as a guinea pig for an influencer makeover. It’s no surprise that he takes advantage of her and paints her in a horrific light only to get more subscribers. Luckily Alice gets her revenge.
All in all this is a lovely story to lose a few hours in!
Had to drop it a quarter of the way in. The dialogues were unnaturally infodumpy, and I just couldn't get on board with the collective swooning over the "charms" of London and British aesthetics. With that baseline of romantic/dreamy setting fundamentally not working for me, even the premise of second-chance sapphics wasn't enough for me to pick it back up again. I tried, I promise, but I was rolling my eyes too much at Harper being touted as an intellectual, when her favorite author is Radclyffe Hall and she is misty eyed over history/architecture that are literally artifacts of colonialism. Sorry, sapphics, but it's a hard pass for me.
The premise of this book was super promising. I loved the setting so much. And as a hopeless romantic myself, the idea of living out my favorite book is so fun! However, where the book didn’t work for me was the characters. I had a really hard time connecting with any of them. I didn’t like how Alice was portrayed. She was was plus size and it was always commented on how much of something she was eating. That was a personal annoyance.
This book just didn’t do it for me.
Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.
This second chances romance follows Harper and Chelsea as they find their way back to each other after Harper and her best friend Alice impulsively book a vacation. The book was enjoyable, but I had a hard time feeling very invested in the romance--mostly because we never really get the context for their first romance. Also, the drama for the second half felt over the top for me and made it hard for me to stay engaged. Lot of potential, but ultimately didn't really work for me.
I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.
Harper and Alice decide to go London to see if they can live out their dreams after reading a book they both love. Harper reaches out to Chelsea the one that got away who lives in London who agree to be their tour guide and to put them up. Harper and Chelsea still feel something after all theses years but with them both keeping their feelings close causes miscommunication and Alice isn’t helping the situation with her craziness and then add in Laney who is horrible and the authors written her well as the villain that I was rooting for her fall. Enjoyable read with second chance at love and seeing what’s it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes because you never know what they are going through so you should never judge.
I think Binfield and Logan should collaborate more often. This story was witty and enjoyable and who doesn't love a fairy-tale romance.
Harper and her best friend Alice decide to go to London and live out the scenes from a book they both loved. When Chelsea, the one who got away offers them a free place to stay and be their tour guide, it seemed like a second chance.
Harper and Chelsea were frustrating in not talking to each other and keeping their feelings to themselves that caused a lot of issues, and Alice didn't help matters at all. Alice had some funny moments, but I found her be to pushy and manipulative when she wanted something, but nowhere near as bad as Laney. The villain was written perfectly and made me hate her from the almost the first moment we met her.
This was a slow-burn with lots of miscommunication and misunderstandings, but did deliver a happy ever after which is all anybody wants. The writing was engaging and I loved the setting in London as well as both MCS even though I wanted to knock their heads together, it meant I was invested in the story which is a win in my book.
I enjoyed it. I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
An interesting plot, how many times romance readers imagined themselves in the shoes of one MC or another. Good villain as well, the kind that makes one huff in anger. A decent read all in all.
Free ARC via NetGalley