In my opinion this book is perfection!
Ashley Poston can honestly do no wrong in my eyes as all 3 of her books that i have read have been 6 stars!

-I loved the characters and all the side characters
-Cozy atmosphere and small town vibes
-Funny
-Characters dont ahve their shit together always and thats fine
-Commentary of being a reader and having favourite stories
-Love interest
-Magical realism
-cute animals!

6 Stars

"If I was a poet, I could liken love to your eyes. If I was a gardener, I could plant a kiss on all the places you despise yourself. If I was a writer, I could write epics to your lovely lips. If I was a painter, I could explore every bend and curve so when my eyes failed me, I would paint you by memory."

After a bad break-up, college lecturer Eileen Merriweather decides that romance novels and their guaranteed happy endings are preferable to real-world heartbreaks. She buries herself in romance novels… and then, somehow, she finds herself in the middle of one. Eileen’s car breaks down in the middle of Elloraton, an apparently fictional town in the wilds of (?) New York. Eileen dives into meeting the cast of characters of her favourite novels, and soon discovers a love story of her own.

What a goddamn concept! I love Ashley Poston’s meta-fictional romance novels and while A Novel Love Story didn’t hit the highs of The Dead Romantics or The Seven Year Slip for me, it is still a really enjoyable romance novel, as well as an exploration of grief and an ode to romance novels in general.

I know this is a romance novel and not a fantasy one, so I let it go, but I was a little frustrated at how passive Eileen was about entering a new dimension (??) that was full of her favourite fictional characters (???). I would be absolutely chomping at the bit to figure it out! But once I got over it and let myself enjoy the kooky situation, I had a lof of fun. It’s a sweet rom-com - Eileen falls for the town’s grumpy bookstore owner, who could have used a little more character development and a little less descriptions of his “minty eyes” . Their romance is slow-burn and takes a little too long to kick in - give me more romance, Ashley, this is what I came for!

Criticisms aside, Poston’s worlds always feel so cosy; reading her books feel like slipping into comfy pair of pyjamas and turning on the heat. The characters living in picturesque Elloraton are lovely to spend time with, as are Eileen’s real-world friends - I would have loved to have spent more time with Pru especially! The novel is full of references and asides to both Poston’s other books and romantic books in general - shout out to the multiple Twilight references - that I really enjoyed. The final thing that gives this novel a lot of points is the depiction of grief, and how it makes us want to bury ourselves away from reality - it’s raw and real and sensitively done, and if we’d spent more time with the grieving character (withheld due to spoilers) it would have hit even harder.

There’s a lot of good in this book and it’s well worth reading, but I wanted it to lean harder on some aspects and less on others - overall, though, I had a lot of fun and will never stop stanning Ashley P. 3.5 rounded up x

I absolutely loved this one! Ashley Poston is one of my favourite romance authors, and always has a perfect blend of humor, romance, and emotion. Highly recommend!

This book was so good, i love ashley postons writing style and she will definitely be an auto buy author forever.
This was so fun, and warm i loved every second and adored the characters and the small town.

I was fully expecting to love this - I absolutely adored the other novel of AP's I've read but it was a bit of a disappointment in the end. It started well but I didn't get any chemistry between the leads, and I got to the point where I was seriously annoyed by the MC's eyes being described as "minty". I actually checked and it was 34 times. 34! How on earth did that get past editors?!

So overall a bit of a letdown for me but I would definitely read her next book.

I've come to the conclusion that as much as I want to love Ashley Poston's romance novels, they're really not for me. I like the whimsy and nostalgia that was in A Novel Love Story, but the romance feels very flat - which is an issue I also had with The Seven Year Slip. That, and the lack of logic. Elsy and Anders just had no real chemistry, and there's no build up of their relationship. I wasn't invested in their relationship at all. And on top of that Elsy genuinely doesn't seem bothered that she's been transported into a book series. Or why.

I like slow burn, angsty build up of romance and unfortunately I don't think Ashley Posten is ever going to do that for me. Overall the writing is good, but not for me.

I wasn’t expecting much from this book, but it intrigued me. It was a little melancholy to start but once Eileen arrived at her destination it was all go! I particularly enjoyed bringing a fictional series to life and understanding what influence a random secondary character could have. An interesting take on life as an author and a reader - this book has so many layers and angles that it would make a great Bookclub read. Again, I can see it could be frustrating as many great love stories are alluded to, but, given the situation Eileen finds herself in, they are scant on details and development - so a little too neatly wrapped up. My favourite character had to be Butterscotch the cat! I’m a true romantic!!!

Good development and some eerie scenes make for an amusing tale that drew me in - and made me root for Eileen. I don’t usually enjoy fantasy books but this book really worked for me.

5* as I think this will stay with me - which book would I want to be part of? Probably the Seven Sisters series!

One of the best romance books I’ve read, was so good! I don’t think this author can do any wrong in my opinion and I can’t wait for the world to read it

I enjoyed this, though to be honest I didn’t enjoy it as much as Undead Romantics, which to be honest would be a pretty tough challenge.

This took a little while to get going.

It would have been nice to see more scenes and moments between Anders and Elsy, it would’ve made more sense in understanding the attraction between them.

Additionally why did it take Elsy so long to realise he wasn’t a fictional character unlike the others? The obvious clues were there.

The talk of his minty eyes and blonde hair got somewhat repetitive too.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

This book is just joyful to read. It felt really relevant & as a lifelong reader I felt seen, like this a dream for any reader, you stumble among your favourite characters & there’s a love interest waiting for you…what’s not to love?! I loved the mix of magic & realism. How did she end up there? Who cares? It’s adorable. This is my first novel by this author but I have since purchased 2 more of hers to read & can’t wait to read more.

Thank you so much to Net Galley for this Arc! ☺️💗

I absolutely love anything Ashley Postin writes. She is an auto buy author for me!
I would say this book is the perfect cosy bookish read! She writes so beautifully!

I did find that the romance part of the plot was a bit lacking for me and I didn’t quite enjoy this book as much as The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip however that’s not to say it wasn’t an enjoyable read because it definitely was ☺️

Would I still recommend this book? Absolutely

3.5

I feel like this is one of those books that I need to sit with for a while to properly appreciate it, but on first finishing it, I don't think I loved this as much as The Dead Romantics or The Seven Year Slip. I loved the setting and the concept - who doesn't want to get lost in the world of their favourite book series? This is truly a book about books, full of bookish references and quotes and cosy corners. I think that my gripe with this book was that the romance really took a background role, and I would have loved to have seen more of Anders and Eileen developing the romance, whereas the vast majority of this book was Eileen trying to solve the problems of the town - I just would have preferred more of a balance. And I just didn't feel the ANGST that I felt with her previous two works, which is arguably one of the strongest elements to the unique spin she puts on a romance. I did enjoy this though; it's a sweet, gentle, slow time and honestly one that will appeal to so many, it just wasn't exactly what I was wanting, but as I said, one that I think will grow on me. And I will always read any Ashley Poston romance.

P.S. Benji is obviously her favourite child, but I wanted an appearance from Clementine so much!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, HQ, for granting me access to an ARC of this book!

This was a cosy read and I did enjoy reading it more than I didn't, but that being said, I did find it hard to get into for the first half. I think this is likely because I don't usually read 'fantasy' as such - I kept finding myself asking "ok but WHY ISN'T EILEEN QUESTIONING HOW SHE'S FOUND HERSELF IN A LITERAL DIFFERENT WORLD?". But books are meant to be fun and not necessarily answer every question!, and this was definitely a fun and light read, which I appreciated. Ashley Poston did a great job at writing a sweet romcom - though I would have loved a bit more character development from Anders, and maybe some more chemistry between Anders and Eileen. I still don't know how I felt about the plot twist with Anders though - I felt it was a bit underdeveloped.

All in all, I did enjoy this one!

This is a novel set inside a novel as Eileen (or Elsy) decides to go on a solo trip to a cabin in New York but gets lost and ends up in a charming small town that just so happens to be the main town in her favourite romance series. But she isn't the only one who has stumbled across the town from the outside, though she doesn't realise this until it's spelled out to her.

The author of the series dies before the last book is published and this seems to reflect in the town. When Elsy arrives, it's raining and the rain seems to come and go at the same time everyday, also the characters from the previous books seem to be stuck with whatever problem is happening to them which they can't move past. Elsy takes it upon herself to try and fix the things that are wrong, assuming the author would have left clues about the last book in the town. Though she doesn't actually find any clues until the very end of her time in the town anyway.

Elsy has her own "book boyfriend" in the small town. Anders is the grumpy bookshop owner and is someone she thinks she shouldn't be getting attached too because he must have his own HEA to look forward to. She thinks he must be who the final book was supposed to be about so she has to help him find the woman he's supposed to be with. But Anders is not what he seems and as he lowers his defensive wall and finally lets Elsy see who he really is.

I didn't really like the novel inside a novel idea, I thought it sounded like it would be quite good, but I don't feel like it really worked in this story. I couldn't really relate to any of the characters and I found Elsy to be quite self-involved and annoying, while inserting herself into everyone else's lives. She does get better as the story moves along and she finds something that will make her happy when she opens a bookshop with her best friend Pru, and she finally gets her own happy ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I read this in one sitting, literally! I needed to know what would happen next.

This is actually my first time reading a full length novel by Ashley Poston. I have read her novella from the Meet Cute series so I knew that I had liked her writing before and now I’m just going to have to read the rest of her books.

I loved the premise of this. I went into this expecting a stereotypical love story and I came out with all the feels. Magical realism is definitely my favourite genre. I love that it wasn’t just a love story; it was also about grief, heartbreak, learning to move on, and the uncertainty when making potentially life-altering decisions.

Now I’m off to read another magical realism book, and you should maybe also think of picking one up. Thank you to NetGalley for sending a review copy. All opinions are my own.

The premise of this novel was really good so I was really looking forward to reading it. I really wanted to like it, but I can’t say it’s my favourite book from this author. The writing is exceptional as always, although often repetitive, and I enjoyed the many friendships that develop throughout the novel, but I was expecting a more exciting romance and more chemistry between the two protagonists. All in all, it was an enjoyable read and I will certainly keep reading the author’s novels.

I loved the concept of this book, unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. I imagined it to be a page turner but it just didn’t have the hook for me. I’ve heard so many people love it though, so I think it’s just not the book for me, I’d still consider giving it a try, especially if you have enjoyed previous books by this author.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Such a good concept for a book, however I didn’t love the execution. I just thought it was quite boring. I did like the twist though, that was fun.. further thoughts posted on TikTok

What happens when your favourite series is left unfinished? What would you do if you found yourself in the setting of your favourite book series - are all the characters as you imagined? Are they all living their happy endings?

Cute, easy read.

unfortunately, every single time I tried to get into the book, I failed. I retarded it multiple times, and despite loving The Dead Romantics, I couldn't, for the life of me, enjoy A Novel Love Story. pretty sure its a me problem though.