🎧Audiobook Review🎧

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I want to thank NetGalley for approving me for an ARC of this book.

☀️Grumpy vs Sunshine
🏡Small Town Romance
💞Community
✨Magical Realism

Wouldn't we all love to travel to the setting of our favourite book? Ashley Poston delivers on all the well-loved bookish tropes and the magical realism is my favourite part of her stories. A fun, charming read!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this lovely story with a touch of magical realism that the author brings to her books.

It’s such a lovely thought to think you could find yourself in a place that features in your favourite fictional series.

Eileen finds herself in Eloraton and we find out lots about the people who live there and she loves meeting them as these are characters she thinks she knows so well from reading about them in her books.

It’s a romantic story and Eileen and Anders find themselves falling in love with each other. There is a touch of grief and feelings of not being able to move forward and that added to the enjoyment of the story and the character development.

Do you ever imagine yourself accidentally in the world of your favourite book, where the characters are living breathing thinking beings? That's what happens to Elsy in A Novel Love Story, but things get more complicated...

Elsy is totally relatable in that she's had her heart broken and doesn't believe love story endings are in the cards for her, so she'd rather get lost in a novel.

I also loved Eloraton and its people, I feel like it was representative of many of my most-loved fictional small towns.

Ashley Poston's writing just does something super special for me that I don't regularly experience, she leaves my heart aching in the best of ways. I love the way she writes love, and the reading experiences I have with her books are always standouts in my mind every year 🥹

If you love romance that comes with a fantasy twist but will always leave you deep in thought, I'm sure you'll enjoy this ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this ARC in return of a fair review!

I love the cover, concept and general feel of this novel. It’s the perfect escapist read for rainy summer days, full of beautiful details of a fairytale small town, charming characters and elements of magical realism. Ultimately however, after the first quarter of the book, the writing and plot line fell quite flat for me. I’ll definitely still be looking into Poston’s previous novels though!

Ashley Poston’s previous two romance novels have been some of my all-time favourite books. There were both the perfect combination of adorable romance, captivating characters and a magical realism twist. So, of course I was excited to read another romance by her as soon as I could.

A Novel Love Story is a magical romance made for book people. I loved the characters, the setting was charming and I loved the romance. It may not have lived up to the other the author’s other two romance novels in my opinion but it was still exceptional.

Elsy loves to get lost in a happily-ever-after. The fictional kind that is, because imaginary men don’t leave you at the altar. Books are her safe place which is why she is so set on going to her annual book club retreat this year. But, when her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a town that feels like it is right out of a novel. Because it is.

Somehow she finds herself in Eloraton, the town from her favourite romance series and it feels like home. Elsy is sure she must be there to help bring the town to its storybook ending. Expect, there is a character here she can’t place, the handsome and grumpy bookstore owner who doesn’t want her to finish the book. Which is an issue because Elsy is starting to think the town’s happily-ever-after might be intertwined with her own.

I think all readers will relate in some way to Elsy. In particular due to way she seeks escapism, peace and happiness in books. Her real life isn’t going well so she seeks the ‘perfect’ life through books like so many of us. She is an excellent main character but I did wish she would stop meddling in other people’s life as much as she did.

Anders is introduced to us a grump bookstore owner who is avoiding happiness. As we get to know him he in fact incredibly sweet, caring and trying to open up more. I loved his backstory and seeing how this has affected him as a person.

We get to meet quite a lot of side characters throughout this book and I loved so many of them. Each of them brings something unique to the story and they were all easy to distinguish between.

The romance in this book is wonderful. I was a big fan of the fact that there is time taken for the character to get to know one another on an emotional intimate level before the physical intimacy was shown. I think each of them could have controlled their emotions a little better at certain points but they worked well as a pair.

I loved that one of the focuses of this story is how books can change your life. Throughout the story there is a lot of focus on this as Elsy recovers from heartbreak and learns to love herself again. Books are a magical thing and this story highlights this perfectly.

The setting of this book is so well described that you can visualise it in your head perfectly. You can imagine exactly what the small town of Eloraton looks like, the sort of people who live there and how charming the location is. Ashley Poston always writes settings in such a beautiful way.

For me, this one was lacking something that I found in the other two romance novels by Ashley Poston. I can’t quite explain what it is but there was that spark missing that was very clear in the other two. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy this one though, it just didn’t quite live up to the hype. Ashley Poston is still going to be a romance author whose books are an auto-buy for me. She is spectacular.

Overall, A Novel Love Story is a sweet, emotional, funny and heart-warming romance novel which I would highly recommend. It is a romance made for book lovers about book lovers. It was a lovely read.

This was my second read by Ashley Poston, and it’s easily my favourite yet! We follow Elsy, who stumbled across the fictional town from her favourite book series after her car breaks down en route to her annual book club retreat. Amidst all the familiar and much-loved characters, she meets bookshop owner, Anders, who isn’t quite who he seems. Elsy finds herself in a plot all of her own, and has to work out if she wants to be a side story in her fictional world, or the main character back in reality…

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Ashley Poston’s ‘The Dead Romantics’ remains one of my favourite romance books of recent years; the combination of swoony romance, charming settings and a really fun magical realism twist make them really stand out in the romance market and I think they’re pretty special. While I enjoyed ‘The Seven Year Slip’ a lot, it didn’t quite hit the heights of ‘The Dead Romantics’ for me, ‘A Novel Love Story’ was right back on the top.

This is a book written for book people, and I am book people.


Have you ever found yourself lost in a good book … literally?

Eileen Merriweather loves a good love story. The fictional kind, anyway. After all, imaginary men don’t break your heart.

That’s why she’s so excited for her annual book club retreat – instead, when her car breaks down en route, Eileen finds herself in Eloraton. A town where every meet is cute, the rain always comes in the afternoon, and the bookshop is always curated with impeccable taste.

It feels too good to be true … because Eloraton is the setting of her favourite romance series. And Eileen is sure she must be here to bring the town its storybook ending.


But there’s one character she can’t place. The grumpy bookshop owner with mint-green eyes, and an irritatingly sexy mouth. He does not want Eileen to finish this story, but how else can she find her happily-ever-after?

It’s like book people catnip.

I think that you’d be hard-pressed to find a reader that hasn’t wished to step inside their favourite books and meet the characters, explore the settings and help to right some wrongs of the novel, and Elsy gets to do just that. I loved the way that she occasionally slipped up, revealing way more than she should know about the inner-workings of the town and the characters, and the focus on the power of books and stories that we love. Elsy is a firm believer that books can change your life and they do change hers.


There’s a lot of focus on this as she recovers from heartbreak and learns to be a full person on her own again. There’s a passage on this topic that really resonated with me as a single woman in her 30s who lives alone and it made me feel a bit emotional seeing it written down in that so I’m going to be a bit vulnerable and share that in case it’s something that you’re grappling with too:

“You don’t realize how much of life is built for relationships until, newly single, you find yourself with a broken ankle, cooped up on the couch in your one‑bedroom apartment, and you need to go to the restroom. The problem is, you’ve knocked your crutches over and the pain prevents you from moving too much at all. You go through the Rolodex in your head of whom you can call, and every one of them has someone more important than you in their lives to take care of. You have to weigh how much of a bother you’re going to be, and how much you can rely on them. (Obviously you can rely on your friends. Obviously I’m not saying you can’t, but there is always a limit of how much before you’re a burden.)”
— 'A Novel Love Story' by Ashley Poston, p96-7
Ashley Poston did that same gut punch with grief in ‘The Dead Romantics’ too. The emotion is so vivid and real in her novels and she writes characters with such care and depth that they become very real. That focus on characterisation did potentially come at the expense of the romance a little in ‘A Novel Love Story’ as while I really enjoyed Elsy and Anders’ relationship, it felt a little rushed at times and their chemistry didn’t jump off of the page in the way that I have come to expect from Poston’s novels.

Absolutely nothing was lacking from the setting, however. Eloraton is perfectly rendered; it’s a Hallmark movie town and setting, and I fell for it completely. I already know that if these Rachel Flowers novels existed, I’d be obsessed with them. It has all of the tropes: the small town inn being renovated, the charming cafe that everyone flocks to, the product or industry that sets the town apart, the friendly rivalry - it’s all there and it’s utterly charming.


Ashley Poston’s swoony, emotional, funny romances have become auto-buy for me and I’ve already trawled the internet looking for any murmurings of what’s next from her…

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the review copy.

Written by Sophie

This is a sweet and romantic read that takes you right into the pages of your favourite romance - literally! Eileen’s taken a solo road trip to a cabin retreat when her book club all bail on her, but after taking a wrong turn somewhere she finds herself in the fictional town created by her favourite author. It was a really fun concept and I enjoyed seeing Eileen’s excitement meeting the various people in town that she knew from her beloved stories, and the puzzle of Anders added a layer of intrigue to keep us guessing. Overall, I enjoyed this but I did feel it was missing a little something for me, but having loved Ashley Poston’s The Dead Romantics I can safely say it isn’t her writing in general but perhaps more plot based. I liked Eileen and Anders, and the side characters, though I did find it confusing keeping track of who was who, but maybe a book inside a book isn’t quite the right story for me. Still, I enjoyed reading it and know that plenty of other people will adore this unconventional story.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc!

This was my first Ashley poston book and it didn’t disappoint. It took me longer to get into the meat of the story than I thought it would but it was a very unique concept that I have never seen done before. The ideas played really well and the crossover was excellently done.

I would highly recommend this book!

I was very excited to be approved for a copy of A Novel Story as I have heard nothing but good things about Ashley Poston books. Unfortunately I was disappointed by this book.
I loved how it started off and the cosy vibes of the bookstore but it quickly went downhill. I found the magical/fantasy element of the story, the fictional town the main character ends up in to be a bit confusing and hard to follow. The romance between the two main characters was very hard to believe, there was very little chemistry between them and when there was finally a spicy scene it was completely skipped over. The whole book felt very long winded and I don't think it was necessary for so many descriptions of Anders 'minty' eyes.
I loved the premise for the book and the blurb is what really sold me but this story just did not work for me, sadly!
I do already own the authors previous books and will definitely pick them up at some stage.
Thank you for the advanced copy.

This was cute, but unfortunately wasn’t entirely for me in the end.

A Novel Love Story was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, having read The Seven Year Slip last year and adoring it. I have to say that I absolutely love the magical realism elements Ashley Poston adds to her romances, which definitely give them an edge in comparison to other contemporary romances.

The idea of this one sounded so intriguing and honestly genius, and I did thoroughly enjoy the set up of this. Essentially, we follow Elsy (or Eileen) as she ends up finding herself in the fictional town in her favourite romance series, where she meets Anders.

Where this didn’t work so well for me was in the character development. I didn’t love our main character, and found a lot of the characters to be somewhat lacking in depth. There were so many exciting directions this book could have gone in and didn’t, so it ended up falling a little flat for me personally.

I still enjoyed this and will 100% be reading everything Ashley Poston comes out with, because I think her ideas are so unique and brilliant that I couldn’t possibly skip them.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but not a favourite. That being said, I would still recommend this if the premise sounds interesting to you!

I have adored all of Ashley Poston’s books and this was no different.

I’m not a huge contemporary romance fan - I often find them cringey (and yes, I do see the irony of this comment on a book where the main character wholeheartedly loves romances of all shapes and forms) - but the magical twists that Ashley Poston puts on them never fail to draw me in despite this.

Elsy feels left behind. Her best friend is off to, probably, get engaged. Her fiancé left her several years ago because she was always fitting herself around his life. Her book club friends have all backed out of their annual cabin trip to read and spend time together. So here she is… alone.
She decides to take the trip by herself anyway, much to her friends chagrin, but along the way she discovers something she never could have imagined.
A tiny town, that doesn’t exist, except in the pages of her favourite book series. It’s impossible. And yet, she’s in Eloraton. Surrounded by her favourite characters, and one mysteriously grumpy bookstore owner who she’s never seen in the pages of her favourite books.

I do adore a grumpy x sunshine romance done well, and this was such a wonderful example of that. Elsy’s sunny nature - despite feeling stuck and lost and alone - in contrast to Anders sullen countenance was a dynamic I really enjoyed.

The writing felt very self aware - almost breaking the fourth wall at times to bring in the audience - and witty, which I appreciate.
All the characters were fabulous, and I absolutely loved how Elsy herself was able to see that some of them seemed stuck where their author had left them before her tragic death, and how the presence of someone else in town kick started their stories and gave them the opportunity to fill the plot holes and empty spaces for themselves.

Overall, if you enjoyed either of Ashley Poston’s previous adult romances, this is a must read, and if you love romances in general (or honestly, even if, like me, you don’t particularly) I would highly recommend giving this one a shot.

An adorable, witty romance with a magical twist.

If you’re looking for a good cosy romance book then this is for you! Really enjoyed it and felt all mushy! Thanks Net Galley

I couldn’t contain myself when I was approved for this one, I had to dive straight in. I love books about books so this one ticked all of those boxes and the romance was cute too. Just not enough of it for me, I felt I wanted more. Would definitely read more by this author, read with a mix of Audio too the narration was fun to listen to. Would recommend reading or listening.

this was a great summer read for me and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!! I have seven year slip which is also by this author and I'm looking forward to reading that this summer too!

I liked the author's writing style in this book, and thought that for the most part the character development was solid. the premise was fun and I enjoyed the personality of the characters coming to life throughout!

I would've liked a bit more development in the romance aspect of this story, but still enjoyed nonetheless.

thank you so much to net galley for this e-arc!

First I would like to say thanks to Netgalley for giving me early access to this book prior to release. All Opinions are my own.

This book follows a professor of literature Eileen Merriweather, who is so caught up in her work and wanting a happily ever after, that when she is on the way to her annual book club retreat and her car breaks down she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels straight out of a novel… Because it is.

I wish I loved this book as much as Ashley Poston’s other stories. This one just felt like something was missing throughout, I thought it was grumpy sunshine (which I love) but really it was grumpy depression because the main character is so self deprecating and wrapped up in her breakup from three years ago that there doesn’t feel like much character development. She won’t message friends because they have someone else who needs them more but seems annoyed when they don’t reach out to her either.

I agree with other reviewers that this felt like Ander’s story more than Eileen’s but it’s not dual POV so we are only ever hearing what Eileen feels or is experiencing, I think it would have been good to have a 2nd perspective as I was struggling to understand the relationship - especially as she slapped him at the 20% mark. And because we are only with Eileen for the whole book it made the story hard to get into at the beginning because I just didn’t really care if her life got better or she found her happily ever after. She also is a walking contradiction, claims she isn’t nosy but then follows this man to see where he is going when he says he doesn’t want to come home with her.

The magical realism that I love in Ashley’s books fell flat in this one, there were too many plot holes that it made it hard for me to like the ending. There was also a lot of repetitive phrases which took me out the story - we got it the first time his gaze is minty, I don’t need it 14 more times.

And I wish I loved the love story but I just couldn’t get onboard with it, a woman who had been pining over her ex for the past 3 years falls in love with a character from a book in the space of a week. I get that she had read the books before but I didn’t get the spark.

Overall people will love this book but this one just missed the mark for me - 3 stars.

There was once a magical town, and it didn’t exist…

Eileen is a bookworm at heart. Her annual bookclub week away is on the horizon, but when her best friend books a last-minute trip to Iceland with her fiancé, and the other members bail last minute, Eileen decides to go on her own. However, with her car breaking down on the way, she ends up in a quaint little town. She then quickly realises that all of the town’s residents seem familiar, and it dawns upon her that they’re all characters in her favourite romance series. Except for one.

💫

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and sadly it has ended up being a disappointment. Whilst Poston ks know for expertly crafting magical romance novels, her latest has fallen flat on this front. Whilst still containing elements of magical realism, it felt more like chick lit than her usual romance. I was expecting something akin to Seven Year Slip, but sadly the romance didn’t feel genuine. The male love interest was one-dimensional and repetitive descriptions of his appearance felt tiresome. I did not particularly like the main character, either, and secondary characters could have been explored more.

I have given this book 2⭐️, which was disappointing especially as this was such a highly anticipated book for me!

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.
I liked Ashley’s writing style.
He had great character development and I enjoyed the premise of the story, I personally found it enjoyable and fun.
I did find the romance hadn’t quite meshed enough for my personal taste.
It was a wonderful summer read and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future

I've always wondered what it would be like to step into the set of my favourite small-town romance novels, so this book was the perfect read for me. It's gorgeous!

Eileen (Elsy) Merriweather is on her way to her yearly bookish retreat when she takes a wrong turn in a storm and finds herself in the charming small town of Eloraton, the town of her favourite romance series. It's as wonderful as she thought it would be, except for two things: 1. It's frozen in time, trapped in the late author’s last unfinished story; and 2. There's an unfamiliar character - a grumpy bookstore owner who does not want her finishing this book. Stranded in the town while her car is being fixed, Elsy soon realises the fate of this town might be intertwined with her own.

This was such an escapist, fun and comforting read. It felt like being on the set of the Gilmore Girls, while reading my favourite book. I love how Ashley Poston blends romance and magical realism, and this book was no exception. A lovely, feel-good read that I would highly recommend to any romance fan.

This book is for the romance readers. It has some many fun references throughout the book. It’s the perfect book to escape to. This is my first Ashley Poston book and it definitely would be my last. I feel you go through a journey of grinning and laugh out loud in this book.

The book follows Eileen who is attending a weekend getaway with her book club. She hates driving in the rain and stops in this town. There is no room at the bed and breaks so a towns person suggests stay at the local book sellers Anders loft. The next day her car breaks down so she is forced to stay longer.

I really enjoyed this book. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.