Ever wished you could just jump into the world of your favourite book? Whilst driving to holiday in a cabin in upstate New York, Elsy is caught in the rain and finds she is in Eloraton, the fiction town where her favourite romance series is set. With her car needing repair, she's stuck there until it's fixed and finds herself getting to know all her favourite characters. Whose lives are all slightly frozen due to the author Rachel Flowers dying unexpectedly before publishing the final book. Can Elsy help these these characters, who feel like old friends to her, who is the new bookshop owner and what plans did Rachel Flowers have for him?

The book is definitely a fun twist on a romance story, a very light sci-fi element to it. It reminded me slightly of In a Holidaze by Christinas Lauren in that regard. It's like if you landed in the middle of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls, the small town vibe and all the characters knowing each other and having their own dramas. I loved the little details like how the menus in the restaurants are not fully legible, due to author never imagining a full menu, it's a fun touch.

Romance wise, it's not the spiciest or the most involved part of the plot. It is cute enough at times, there is a very slight enemies to lovers story between to two but it's more of a 'we started on the wrong foot' that sworn enemies. But I didn't feel like there was much chemistry between the pair. Elsy having to do some soul searching and work through some past heartbreak seemed like a bigger element of the plot. Maybe having some chapters from Anders point of view might have helped?

I like that Ashley Poston brings something new to romance novels, having also read The Dead Romantics I think I prefer that over this book but I will pick up The Seven Year Slip too.

I absolutely loved "A Novel Love Story" by Ashley Poston. This book has the same charm and uniqueness as her previous works, like "The Dead Romantics" and "The Seven Year Slip."

The story has a cozy, nostalgic feel, perfectly capturing the small-town aesthetic that makes for the most heartwarming romances. This book is sweet, funny, and a bit emotional, making it a wholesome and fun read. I was thoroughly invested and even found myself sobbing towards the end. "A Novel Love Story" is a brilliant holiday read and a must for anyone who enjoys small-town romances.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this amazing book. This review has also been posted on Goodreads and StoryGraph.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for this ARC.

Elsy is an English teacher with a great love for romance books. Her book club meets every year in a deserted cabin but this year none other than her can make it and on the way there she gets stranded in a strange little town called Eloraton which turns out to be the small town from her favourite book series come to life.

Now, who has a favourite
book series they read over and over until they know it by heart? Who are these people who read books multiple times? How do they find the time? I can't ever hope to read all the books on my Kindle and they go a second or fifth time on a book? Also, Eloraton sounds like a name out of a fantasy series rather than a romance read.

I love romance books and this is an ode to romance books, with tons of tropes like insta love, grumpy/ sunshine, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, small-town romance, third-act break up etc.

It should therefore work but it just didn't grab me. It feels like I should have read the fictional book series first to find the fascination in burgers that are always a little burnt and a possum that no one can find.

I'm not sure I liked Elsy as a character. It is not ok to slap a man! He even says afterwards that he deserved it. Now imagine a woman had said that! I really thought we'd left this particular action in the past where it belongs.

Also, no offense but mint green is an awful colour, especially for eyes. It really didn't need repeating that often. We get it, you like his eyes! And they are green! Who cares about his other attributes, the most important thing is his eye colour!

There was quite a bit of swearing in the book and some vulgar descriptions of people's sex lives, something I really don't care for. Why do Americans in books insist on broadcasting their sex life to the world?

This book can't decide whether it wants to be traditional or modern and therefore is neither, landing somewhere in-between. I don't think that's bad but this romance novel within a romance novel just didn't work for me. I didn't find the chemistry between the two main characters believable, the magical realism took over and there were too many characters to keep track of, which also weren't fleshed out enough as they were summarised from four fictional previous books. It's ironic that in a romance book that celebrates romance books the romance fell flat because too much time is spent on back stories for all the side characters that get no real room to grow anyway.

I'm sure this will work for a lot of people as an easy, fluffy, escapist read with a predictable Happy Ever After. However, I needed more of a romantic journey and less of minty eyes. Basically, I love the premise of the book but not the execution.

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up
I absolutely loved this book, just like The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip. I really enjoy Ashley Poston’s writing style and the uniqueness of her stories!

This book felt so nostalgic to me for some reason.. the cosiness maybe? Or just how it perfectly it portrayed that small town aesthetic which is a staple of the most wholesome romances? Whatever it was, this book gave me warm fuzzy feelings the whole way through.

And Anders! Top 5 book boyfriends maybe ever??? The slow burn, the banter, the tension, his acts of kindness towards Elsy. Everything. I loved it.

This book even had me sobbing towards the end, which really is the sign of a really good book. This booked had me whole heartedly invested, and emotionally in a chokehold ❤️

thank you netgalley and hq for my copy!!


still deciding on a final rating but sitting at a 3 for now, think i went into this with too much expectation after the seven year slip putting me in a book hangover after an amazing 100000 star read that it was HOWEVER- ashley knows how to write IT. i am forever jealous i cannot transport to my favourite book universe!

After reading The Seven Year Slip recently I was excited to dive into another Ashley Poston book and this one did not disappoint. I love how the author blurs the lines between the real and the mystical and this one was a cute, cosy read I couldn't put down. This book felt like a warm cup of coffee in the best way. The author has outdone herself once again.

While this wasn’t my favorite of her books it was still hands down better than most other books I’ve read this year! Ashley Poston has become one of my, if not THE top, favorite authors. I’m convinced she can’t write a bad book. This one was a little slower to get going, but I felt invested from chapter 1. I adore a grumpy man so this was right up my alley.

This made me CRY ON THE TRAIN, it was absolutely perfect, Ashley Poston can do no wrong. Beautiful setting, beautiful characters, beautiful plot, such a unique concept. I am in awe

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘘 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊.

I was really intrigued by the premise of A Novel Love Story: what would happen if you stumbled into a fictional town and got to interact with the characters whose innermost thoughts and feelings had been your stalwart companions through the ups and downs of your own life? Would you assert your own opinions, hopes and forgotten dreams on these characters, and meddle in their affairs as if you were sitting down at a keyboard to write fanfiction? Would you maybe... fall in love with one of them?

Without going into too much detail about the plot and intricacies of this particular brand of magical realism, the FMC (Eileen), having stumbled into the fictional town of Eloraton (completely made up, but think Virgin River), finds herself meet-cuteing/entangled with the MMC (grumpy bookshop owner called Anders) who she can't recall ever gracing the pages of her favourite book series. Everyone else is there - but who is HE? Is he the main character of the tragically unfinished fifth book, doomed to fictional stagnation by the author's tragic and untimely death? In a world built upon the power of HEAs, bad coffee, tropes and predictability, will his written-for-him, romantic love-interest ever make themselves known? Or will he live out his days in a kind of stasis, the pages forever failing to turn?

At the end of the day, this is a Grumpy x Sunshine, Forced Proximity, Enemies(?) to Lovers Small-Town Romance. The FMC sticks her nose into all the fictional characters' business - to varying degrees of success, annoyance and general "but why would she SAY that?" - and s̶l̶o̶w̶l̶y̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶s̶u̶r̶e̶l̶y̶ rapidly falls in love with the local loner. The majority of the book takes place over a handful of days, so it's a strong case of insta-love if ever I saw one, and that's where my main issue with the book lies (that, and how repetitive it is - if I hear one more mention of burnt burgers or minty-green eyes I'll scream).

In a similar vein to The Seven Year Slip (which I absolutely adore, for the record), A Novel Love Story deals with grief and growth in really interesting ways. I think it's where Poston excels as an author, honestly. There's a lot of catharsis and healing to be had between these pages. BUT magical realism and a mature interrogation of grief aren't enough to overcome the main issue - which is that I just didn't find the core love story believable. There wasn't enough build-up. There wasn't enough yearning. There wasn't enough chemistry. We had fireflies, but where were the SPARKS?

I'm actually staggered to learn this is nearly 400 pages long because it's very light on actual plot. It spends too much time humouring flashback after flashback (which isn't a style of writing I particularly enjoy, especially when said flashbacks interrupt present-day goings-on for chapters at a time).

Overall, a really fun idea that interrogates romance tropes in an interesting and insightful way. (I like that it's its own hype-book when it comes to romance as a genre more generally.) It's at its best when it leans into that magical-realism-to-interrogate-hard-emotions space, but failed to woo me when it came to the main couple. A love story that, sadly, felt a little short on 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 despite its general prevalence as topic of conversation.

I want to wake up in a picture perfect small town from a series I love. And meet the characters including one who could be my soul mate.
I loved it, rooted for the characters and didn't want to turn the last page.
Escapism at high level, a great mix of fantasy and romance
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston.

In this book, join Eillen on an exciting journey as she embarks on her annual solo book retreat. Despite encountering a setback when her car breaks down, she stumbles upon a charming small town that feels oddly familiar. As she spends the night, she comes to the delightful realization that she is in Eloraton, the enchanting town from her beloved book series, where everything mirrors the captivating tales she adores.

The first half of the book is relatively slow-paced, so it took me a while to get into the story. Anders' grumpiness definitely fits in. I loved how she was in her favorite book. I did feel I needed a bit more plot for me to understand what was going on in the story, and I'm glad the book picked up. All the grumpy x sunshine vibes promised were delivered. A nice, cute, easy read.

QOTD: Would you like to be trapped in your favoirte book series?

ANovelLoveStory #BookRetreat #FavoriteBook #GrumpySunshine #BookwormLife #ReadingAdventure #EscapeInABook #BookishMagic #BookLover #LiteraryEscape

Thank you HQ and NetGalley for this E-arc of A Novel Love Story
When I was chosen for this ARC I was seriously, overjoyed! I have loved The Seven Year Slip and The Dead Romantics. And whilst it isn't totally necessary to have read either of these books before reading this. You do meet a few recurring characters and, well, Ashley is incredibly gifted at writing Romance novels that have a lot of heart, unforgettable characters. So I would recommend reading them just because they are fabulous books.

So it is really no surprise that I fell in with this book, Eileen is this loveable dreamer who loves her boyfriends to be fictional and her men to be imaginary. She is a bookworm who ends up by accident in this picture postcard of a town ( for fans of Gilmore Girls the show, this gives me so many GG vibes- Stars Hollow anymore?)) with Mr Grumpy Sunshine of the small town, Eloraton, the town's handsome bookshop owner....this story is such a lovely close door, feel good summer romance.

Ashley Boston knocks it out of the park again, and I really hope that everyone buy and reads this lovely rom-com which releases just in time for the summer hols. So it'll be a brilliant holiday read too!

Ashley Poston has done it again! This is another fabulous romance book with a bit of a twist!
I love the idea of falling into a small town where my favourite book is set.

Ashley Poston's writing always makes me smile, and i especially liked when we got all the previous cameos from her other romance books! These always make me happy!

This book made me cry! When I had a feeling what was going to happen I cried and then 10% later I was sobbing on a red eye flight when everyone was sleeping around me!

3⭐️
After suffering a broken heart, Eileen and her friend join a romance bookclub where their favourite topic are the books set in the little town of Eloraton. They have annual meet ups a a cabin but this year nobody is able to attend except Eileen. So she decides to go there by herself.
On the journey she gets lost and finds herself in a small town that is very familiar. She feels like she knows the people already apart from the mysterious grumpy bookshop owner.
Has she managed to find herself in Eloraton? Who is real and who is the man with the minty eyes?

This is a nice romance book which unfortunately did not grip me the way others have done in the past.
The repetition of certain phrases really began to annoy me towards the end. The phrase “minty eyes” was used 19 times, although it felt like a lot more. (We get it, his eyes were green)

I did like the concept of the book but there were a lot of characters to keep a track of, I felt like I should have read the fictional Rachel Flowers books first to understand everything that was going on.
All in all a bit of a let down but I did enjoy the ending.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This review is for A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston which releases in the UK on the 25th June! Thanks so much to Netgalley and HQ for giving me an eArc copy for this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve come to the conclusion that Ashley Posten books hurt me, but in the best way possible. I’m always a blubbering, heart broken mess after reading but I wouldn’t have it any other way. They’ve cemented themselves as a must read author for me now, and honestly can’t decide if this book or Seven Year Slip was my favourite. It was so easy to read, and literally couldn’t stop reading it (yes I went to bed at 3am because I couldn’t stop, leave me alone).

This book was emotional yet whimsical, and it truly felt like a dream come true. It’s not a super romance heavy novel which was actually super refreshing, and focuses a lot on the main character Elsy finding herself and discovering who she wants to be.
In short, Elsy goes on vacation after feeling lost in her own life. On the way, what she finds instead is a small town that feels so familiar… it ends up being the town featured in her favourite book series but with a mysterious character she can’t seem to place.

The book perfectly captures what it’s like to be a book lover thrown into their favourite series. It’s written for the people that find comfort in fictional worlds, who wish when the world gets tough that they can escape into their favourite fictional world. I relate to Elsy so much in this, the comfort and happiness you can find in the pages of a good romance novel.

I would so recommend this to any romance readers out there. It’s not too spicy, but the slow burn is incredible and I cannot recommend Ashley Poston enough.

Well this book is just a bit confused, like the protaganist. There is lots of flowery description of our hero - much repetition of his minty eyes (is that even a thing - after a while I was looking for the polos) and a sketchy plot (in more ways than one) that involves being able to land in a fictional town and fall in love whilst you are there. I've realised I'm not really a lover of where fantasy blurs closely to reality - this is the second one where I've just been left feeling dissatisfied after reading it. That's not to say it's all bad - the few moments we had with the best friend and book club were good but overall there was just too much whimsy in this book for me.

Ashley Poston strikes again!

A Novel Love Story is the third from Ashley, combining a romance story with what I would describe as magic/other worldly elements. We’ve had the Dead Romantics where the love interest turned up as a ghost, Seven Year Slip where a magical flat ensures the protagonists are never in the right place at the right time and now A Novel Love Story where Eileen drives straight into the town from her favourite book series!

Of course there’s a dashing, albeit a bit moody potential book boyfriend to be found but there’s so much more Eileen can help the town out with, including all the former protagonists of her favourite author’s previous books.

Filled with heartbreak, humour and love, it is clear what a love letter to the romance genre this is and the importance it has in our world today… and I mean that ending- chefs kiss! 😘

5 🌟

𝐀 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 | 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧
★★★.¾

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟
⟡ Romance
⟡ Magical realism
⟡ Books about books

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:
This author creates and cultivates magic in her romances. This is my second novel by her and I am struck once again by how much love is poured into her books, in terms of both romance and towards reading in general. Polston manages to remind me of my love for books whilst providing a romance that is both endearing and funny to read.

I loved the main character in this, Elsy, she’s both witty and relatable. The author manages to put thoughts and feelings that are difficult to word into character traits and helps the character explore and resolve them. This book was like a warmhearted cosy therapy session.

This wasn’t a typical romance in its beginning or its ending. The reader is wondering if the love interest is even a viable love interest as feelings build and then the ending wasn’t conventional either. Instead the focus was on personal growth as a theme as the characters ensure that they put their own happiness first. Polston shows readers that love isn’t about having to sacrifice or compromise your own happiness for someone else’s, but for each person to support the other in their quest for happiness, whether that’s together or not.

𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬:
“𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘰. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘦‑ 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦, 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬.”

“𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦?”

“𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘌𝘭𝘴𝘺,”

This was an interesting concept, which is what attracted me to the novel. However, there were so many things that niggled me about it. For example, how does a woman end up in a fictional town? How is she the second person to end up there? The romance between Eileen and Anders didn’t flow - there was no chemistry that I picked up on and then, pow, straight into sex scenes! From zero to calling her ‘sweetheart’ felt very creepy. And how many times can Anders’ “minty green eyes”? be mentioned? I don’t recommend a drinking game because, if you drink a shot every time, you’ll have a hangover!

Strangely enough, I was more interested in the fictional town and its residents and I would have enjoyed this story even more.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was my first time reading an Ashley Poston novel, and it did NOT disappoint! The magic and love and warmth woven in this book had me hooked from the very beginning. It is an ode to love and literature, a novel that nurtures the inner child and the lover of intimacy that exists in the present.

The characters glow in their own unique way, and the world building was exquisite. If you are ever feeling lost, or fearful, or uncertain- read this book! A Novel Love Story is home in the form of words, and I can already tell I will revisit Eloraton time and time again, and the characters will welcome you like a warm hug and chai latte on a cold winter’s morning.


Thank you so much to NetGalley and HQStories for sending me this wonderful ARC to review. A new firm favourite has been found!