3.5 stars. When I first saw the premise for The Love Hack I was really excited. I love a workplace romance, I love an advice column, and I usually love any writing that is said to be similar to Emily Henry. There are parts about this book that I enjoyed. The "Ask Adam" portions were great! Ross and Astro were lovely! Unfortunately though, I didn't love it as a whole. It was a rom-com that lacked most of the rom.

The main cons to this book were, of course, the lack of actual romance between our MMC and FMC until 80% through the book but also the main female character, Lucy, was so incredibly pessimistic it almost made her unlikeable for me. I can understand pessimism to a point but when the entire novel is how she isn't likable enough or not confident in job or the guy she likes could never like her... it just got to be too much. Even after you find out what happened with Kieran, I could only feel so sympathetic towards her.

My other big issue was the pacing and the amount of subplots. It took so long to find out the full story with Kieran and all of Lucy's insecurities. Between the Lucy/Kieran, Ross/Bryony, Amelie/Zack stuff I just felt like there was so much going on and the book lost focus of what the end goal was of Lucy/Ross HEA if that's what the author was going for.

All in all, I didn't hate this book. It was fine. The romance (what little of it there was even with all the blushing and the super subtle flirting) was good and it was an easy/fast read.

The Love Hack eARC by Sophie Ranald — ★ ★ ★.5

Tropes 🌷
- workplace romance
- forced proximity
- rom-com

“Relationships are scary. At least, they are when there’s something real going on. When you care about the other person a lot.” — Ross

This book had such strong rom-com vibes, and I enjoyed how Lucy navigated her male-dominated field. 🫶🏻

I especially liked the ‘Ask Adam’ segments; they certainly made the book fun. Reading the emails from men seeking advice, some of which were hilarious, added an interesting and entertaining layer to the story. 💗

However, near the end, the book fell a bit flat. Lucy seemed uncertain about what she wanted, often saying one thing but doing another. Her fixation on Ross felt rushed, and their relationship seemed hastily developed.

All in all, the book was well-written and had so much potential. I would still recommend it if you’re into workplace rom-coms and lighthearted, fun stories!

This book comes out on June 7, 2024. Thank you so much @stormbooks_co @netgalley @sophieranald for the eARC! 💗💗💗

Lucy takes on a new position in an online men's magazine writing an "Ask Adam" agony column. Having an unsuccessful love life she finds this difficult, but gradually is drawn into the advice needed. On a personal level she is attracted to one of her coworkers, Ross, but from bitter experience is not keen to start an office romance.
It is interesting as a man to read a story where a girl is writing an agony column pretending to be a man, rather than a woman. I could sympathise with Lucy where her previous experience had left her distrusting men, but could see her gradually changing as she read the letters to the column. Ross came across as a decent guy, but things never are straightforward in stories. This was a story that gradually grew on me, ending up reading it in the middle of the night. I would give it 4.5*, but have rounded it up to the full 5".
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

This book was such a fun workplace romance! I loved that it was different than the average workplace romance with all the added mystery and drama about the letters. I thought the secondary plot with Lucy's job was so well fleshed out that it gave this book some extra oomph. Sometimes in romance the secondary plot feels like an afterthought but this one was weaved in so well and felt so intentional that it really made this book stand out. Ross was so sweet to Lucy and I loved the vibe he had between Lucy and the rest of their coworkers. The way he would stand up for her in front of them had me swooning! I couldn't put it down!

Despite my current obsession with field hockey romances even office romances have a special little place in my heart. And The Love Hack is no exception.
It reminded me a lot of Sophie Kinsella's novels-with their stories full of misunderstandings and awkward female protagonists who are easy to become attached to precisely because of their spontaneity and genuineness-with a dash of Sally Thorne's The Hating Game.

Thank you so much to Storm Publishing and Sophie Ranald for the ARC copy!

(Complete review on my blog weeklyreadingit.webnobe.it)

I think this is Sophie's slowest, least romantic book yet. While I do love a good women's fiction, I would have loved to see more development for the FMC and less for other characters in the book.

I also just... really can't relate to ditzy/oblivious women. Part of the reason (but not a large reason) for the lower rating is because of that.

Sophie's writing is still very easy to read, but this was a flop. It felt a little rushed, as if she couldn't take the story to where she wanted it to be and just finished it as fast as she could. (I'm sorry! Your other books are amazing!)

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you to Net Galley and Storm Publishing for this ARC!

Unfortunately, this ultimately ended up being a DNF for me. I'm not sure if this is Sophie Ranald's debut book, but this was a sweet workplace rom-com that fell flat for me largely due to writing style. I'll start by saying that our main female character starts an advice column for a men's magazine - despite being a woman - in order to save her job. This is all good and fine, but feels like it was largely a way for her to move offices to be surrounded by men and unfortunately, some misogyny. What got me at the start however, was how....meh the advice column was. The book is certainly guilty of a lot of tell, not show. We are told that Lucy spent a lot of time wracking her brain, thinking of how to answer this man who doesn't know how to take care of her daughter after being widowed -- and then the answer that Lucy gives is the blandest, most generic response ever. And the worst part is, the book tells us that we should feel this advice was so thoughtful and well-written and her work crush is impressed by it. How??
I would also say that in general, this book is told in what feels almost like stream-of-consciousness. Every little detail is elaborated on - who said what in the Whatsapp group, what Lucy did at the bar first, then second, then third. It just felt like a lot of unnecessary details, as if the author wrote out a plot and then proceeded to fully imagine what each step to get there were. There's a reason we get movie magic and we don't see every taxi ride to the bar, or how friends intend to split the bill - unless its relevant to plot or character building! And so because of that, it feels like this book was bogged down with no room for quips and funny jokes that I would've imagined existed in a rom-com book and also in a book that is predicated on Lucy being great at giving advice.

Unfortunately this was not the book for me, I had to DNF it & am very disappointed. I truly tried but I just couldn’t get into it.

I have to say I really wanted to love this one. What first caught my eye was the cover. It practically screams rom-com. Then I read the description, and while that didn’t exactly scream rom-com it hinted at potential. And really that is what this book really amounts to, missed potential. First off I really have to say I quite enjoyed Sophie Ranald’s actual writing style and I thought quite a few of the characters felt quite genuine and endearing. So what’s the problem? It’s that missed potential I mentioned, especially in terms of the setup, so much promise. Lucy is a columnist, unfortunately the magazine she works for is going under, being absorbed into it’s sister magazine online (a mens magazine at that) so to speak, so she’s going to be out of a job unless she can come up with a unique hook for a new column. Brainstorming with her sister she comes up with the idea for a men’s romance advice column, but she knows men won’t take advice from or share their problems with a woman so she’ll do it under the guise of Ask Adam! But here’s the thing, Lucy isn’t all that experienced with dating or men in general, so at the start her sister says she help with the advice. Of course there is a guy in the office (who actually does the column she used to do for her magazine that she finds attractive) yep the potential love interest. But with her sister getting married, Lucy is soon on her own when it comes to giving out advice. There is so much potential here! First off I would have loved if the others in the office had no clue she was the Ask Adam columnist. That alone would have created some tension and potential for humor, they could have had the editor in chief encourage the entire office to submit questions to help get the column up and rolling and Lucy with be privy to all their problems. Second when Lucy’s sister stopped helping her with the answers it was a great opportunity for some absolutely hilarious and hilariously bad dating advice. Unfortunately this is a romance novel that just felt weak on romance. Yes there are relationships going on, but the romance pacing felt off. Half the time you feel as if you are just spending time with a person going about their daily life…while nothing really all that interesting is going on. And don’t get me started with her sister’s relationship with her fiancee/new husband…just don’t. As I said, there is so much missed potential here. Would I give another Sophie Ranald book a chance? Maybe. As I said, I actually enjoyed her writing, but this story just seemed like a car stuck in neutral slowly rolling down the gentlest of inclines. Oh what could have been. 2.5 stars. I’d like to thank Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of The Love Hack.

The premise of this romcom appealed to me. I enjoy books with advice columns (like Dear Mrs. Bird). Reading the letters and the responses reveals a lot about the current time period. In this case the publication is called Max! and is aimed at men. Lucy becomes their new columnist calling the advice piece "Dear Adam." I was not wowed by the book, but there were some things I liked:
😻Lucy's cat Astro is a big part of her life. Love that little cat!
🍎Some of the characters spend time in the Big Apple (NYC). Some of my favorite sights are mentioned like: The Brooklyn Bridge, 9/11 Museum, High Line, Katz's, and the Met.
🥰There is a happy ending.

Unfortunately there were two things I did not love:
👎The overuse of a slang term for a part of the man's anatomy (30 mentions in 333 pages).
👎A very casual attitude toward intimacy. This author is not for me.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very predictable and hard to pick back up and keep reading once I say it down. That bummed me out bc I have moved all of her other books

I did not finish this book.

I couldn't connect with the writing or story. Truthfully, I felt there was not much of a story. I was definitely left wanting more.

Also, this is not a romance. I needed more romance. I was waiting for it. It's more contemporary fiction. There was also very little to no humour. So we had no romcom vibes at all.

I didn't enjoy this at all.

After becoming redundant at her previous job, Lucy embarks on a new career path within the same publishing company. There's just one problem: she is posing as a male advice columnist - Ask Adam, which is an advice column for men in relationships. I enjoyed reading this. I think it was definitely a slow-burn and the backstory was interesting and I liked the relationship between the protagonist and her sister Amelie.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

i like how the author writes she has an easy style that you fall into and the characters are people that you can relate to....

i just wish this subject matter had been a bit more meatier... and of interest to me...

but i am ever hopeful that with this writing style i will find a book this author has written and enjoy it... until then this is book is a miss for me... its the subject matter rather than the anything else...

I was surprisingly captivated by this book.

3.5 stars rounded up. ⭐️

It’s definitely not your usual romcom because it has quite a bit less romance and comedy than other reads, but it still made me laugh and say “awww” quite a few times. I really do love a good workplace romance.

In this book, the characters are flawed but in a very realistic way.

Lucy, our FMC, has a really hard time understanding relationships and men in general. She has serious trust issues because of some bad decisions she made with a previous guy and has a heavily dependent relationship with her sister. In short, she is totally lost in life, which I found very relatable. At the beginning of the book, she is extremely shy, has a very bad view of men, and has no confidence in herself whatsoever, but goes through very good character development throughout the book.

Her sister is in a very toxic relationship and essentially gives up everything she loves for her man. Plus, she has a very messed up view of herself because of how the parents treated the sisters growing up. Again, very realistic and also a great learning opportunity for people. You can’t just continuously compare siblings, saying one is the pretty one, the other is the smart one. You mean well, but it messes with kids' heads.

Our MMC is a totally adorable golden retriever boyfriend with, again, some pretty bad past trauma on his shoulders. I was absolutely in love with him.

Even though all the characters are going through quite a lot, the book itself didn’t feel heavy at all. I liked the humor, the pacing, and the ending.

Something that bugged me a bit, but again was very realistic, is how much Lucy used the fictional version of ChatGPT for her work. It felt like cheating, but at the same time—who doesn’t use it today? (I am using it now to cross-check my text for grammar errors.)

Overall: A fun and relatable story with some good humor and romance. If you want something light and fluffy, this won’t be for you. But if you like to read about flawed characters and them overcoming issues, then definitely check this out.

I truly wanted to love this one. The premise seemed so fun and unique but it really never felt like a romance novel to me and it was just SO SLOW. I never felt a spark between Lucy and Ross. I also couldn’t appreciate the Seinfeld quotes- which likely leaves me in the minority! I felt like all Lucy did was complain about not understanding men… then why did she push for writing an advice column for men?!? And why didn't she try to learn more or get multiple perspectives? I felt like she could have used other sources other than her sister and she could have grown throughout the story. Unfortunately, I just could not get into this book and I didn't enjoy any of the characters. I want to try another book by this author… I hope this is a one off.

this book was ok for me....started off decently interesting but fell flat for me somewhere along the way. I just think the plot lacked and the characters were just blah for me. I didn't find myself reaching for the book. It wasn't a fun rom com and the romance lacked for me. The mfc Lucy bugged me for multiple reasons.

This book starts with Lucy being made redundant when the magazine she worked for had to make some cuts but then she speaks to her sister and they come up with an idea - why not move to the men's version of the magazine and start an agony aunt column? Men need advice too right? So she pitched this idea to her boss and they were onboard. Only problem is, Lucy knows nothing about men. Her one previous relationship was with a colleague in a previous job but it turns out he was just using her for sex.

Lucy uses a chat bot to help her answer the men's questions because she doesn't know how but over time she does realise that men are just people too and that most of them aren't dicks. I do think her sign off for all letters should be "don't be a dick" regardless of whether or not the letters were dickish.

I didn't find any of the characters relatable and Lucy was just annoying. I know she's been hurt previously but she's clung on to the hurt and just automatically decided she doesn't need a man so when she meets Ross, she decides she can't even put herself out there to make a move on him or really even talk to him. But then he meets someone else on a night out and starts dating her, further cementing Lucy's idea that she doesn't need a man because she would only end up with her heart broken again.

Thanks to NetGalley & Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

The Love Hack is such a fun, insightful story that had me laughing one moment and doing some serious introspection the next.

I absolutely loved our feisty female main character and her job doling out dating advice to clueless guys in a magazine. The way she ruthlessly bashed men in her reviews of their letters was hilarious - you really got a sense of why she had such a negative view of the opposite sex after being burned before. At the same time, it was fascinating to see her slowly start to understand the inner workings of the male mind as she continued to correspond.

You'll have to dive in yourself to see how our FMC ultimately deals with her past hurts and whether she comes to change her perspective on relationships. While it may not be for everyone, I think most readers will find themselves thoroughly entertained by this one. It's a super fun, thoughtful read - definitely recommend!

The Love Hack by Sophie Ranald

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level 🌶️🌶️

I’m not usually a romance girlie but I enjoyed this one. The authors witty humour made me laugh out loud!

Not a fan of long chapters however they seem to go really fast and not drag which shows how much I enjoyed the book and was engrossed in it!

I loved the mixed media with Lucy’s text messages and the emails to the agony uncle webpage ‘Ask Adam’

I liked how we weren’t told the story of Lucy and Kieren all at once, we were drip fed information throughout the book which kept the anticipation high as to what happened with them and where it all went wrong.

The perfect ending for me would have been if Lucy took the new job and recommended Amelie to take on the job of Ask Adam! I loved Amelie’s humorous take on the emails coming in to Ask Adam, especially her mantra to all men “Don’t be a dick”

Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend! It was a great uplifting palette cleanser I needed to get out of my book slump!

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Sophie Ranald for this free ARC in return for an honest review. I am leaving this review voluntarily

I will also be posting my review on Instagram, Goodreads and Amazon on publication day.