First of all thank you so much netgalley for sending me this digital arc, I really appreciate it.
I requested this book because the cover was really cute and the blurb sounded just like something I'd like, so I wanted to read it.
I started the arc and it was cute and fun, but I just couldn't continue the book. I couldn't relate to the fmc, Lucy, in any way. I felt like the book was more about her not understanding men, or her talking to or about her cat than the romance.
I feel like there definitely was some potential but unfortunately I couldn't enjoy the book and had to dnf it.

I received this book from NetGalley as an ARC. I feel like for a romance this needed to focus on the romance a bit more. The FMC was focusing on her sister, not understanding men, and her ex. The MMC was in another relationship and then a small amount of the book focuses on their relationship. As a reader, how can you invest in a romance and the outcome if it is not there. Closed door, very little angst or spice.

Lucy is facing a crisis - her job is a risk unless she finds solution pronto. After a discussion with her sister Amelie, she creates the Ask Adam column for the online lad mag she is now working for. The big problem is that her experience of men is very limited, but Amelie promises to help. That is until she gets married and then decides that her husband wouldn't like her dealing with other men's problems.
Turning to the AI used by her brother in law to write his wedding speech, she deals with the problems sent in.
At the same time she has to deal with her crush on one of her colleagues who ended up with one of other hens on her sister's hen night.
Funny and uplifting and it has a cat which makes it special in my book.

Lucy's new job involves her running a column as agony uncle, "Ask Adam", where she gives relationship tips to men, but her own dating life isn't as hot. Her new coworker sets off butterflies in her stomach - but she's got rule against dating coworkers.

I always enjoy a workplace romance romcom - it's one of my favourite tropes. It's a bit of a slow burn, with good banter and a strong relationship between Lucy and her sister. However, I just didn't buy the romance - that Lucy was infatuated within a week, and their chemistry was a bit lacking that I didn't feel myself rooting for them.

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for an e-arc of The Love Hack, all opinions are my own.

This looked like my kind of read and the "Blurb" sounded great, however, expectation and reality were very different, the character Lucy was all over the place, she had so many thoughts without actually saying anything, it was a bit weird with her cat and the fact she got a job helping with a "Agony Uncle" column but knew noting about romance, I didn't' finish this book, sorry.

The Love Hack
4.3/5✨
1/5🌶️

I love books which include office love stories, so this book got my attention with this trope 🤭. Thank you Sophie Ranald and NetGalley for this e-copy!

Lucy is currently working at Fab magazine, but her job will soon be uncertain. So, she needs to figure out how to get another job before she remains without a steady pay. Amelie, is Lucy's sister and, one day, she has a brilliant idea for Lucy - to write advice for men who have different life struggles. So, she ends up working to the men side of the magazine, called 'Max'.

In her new job position, Lucy has to work in an office with only men and that fact is scarring her, especially after how her last sort of relationship ended up and hurt her very much. Now she believes that she doesn't understand man at all, therefore she feels unprepared to give them life advices. She will have to face on her own a problem which is connected to her real life, brought by her "Adam" column (this is how they named it) and has to choose the right thing to do.

I liked that things were kept in a pretty genuine side. I think that many of us can relate to the subjects which were touched in this book and how hard it's to make the right decision in such situations. On the other side, I liked the relationship which formed between Lucy and her co-workers, but especially with Ross. They had a slow burn and the spice level was very decent.

Overall, it was a nice book, which I enjoyed reading and made me think a bit about how I'm facing some things in my life. It convinced me that, sometimes, we have to chew the information before we give an answer 🤭.

Tropes:
✨#WorkplaceRomance;
✨#EnemiesToLovers;
✨#CloseProximity;
✨#OneSidePov;

Lucy is facing a lot of change. She's forced to switch gears at work, moving from tech editor for a women's magazine to an advice columnist for a men's online magazine; her sister is getting married and moving stateside; she's battling an office crush after being burned by a previous coworker in a relationship that was never what it seemed. But she's doing her best to work through her personal hiccups while also posing as a man offering advice to other men writing to her advice column.

I really enjoyed this book. I found Lucy really relatable, her insecurities and concerns are something I think a lot of people can relate to. A close family member/friend getting married and moving to another stage in life; a pivot in career circumstances; tossed in with some romantic tension and genuine concerns regarding workplace romances. This was such an enjoyable, funny, warm romantic comedy with a dash of family drama that kept me turning pages late into the night.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book!
It was a real slow burn! I knew beforehand who the two love-interests would be, so I was very confused that they didn’t get together until like 85% into the book. They were just colleagues and sometimes friends? I loved the side story about her sister and her friends in it.
There were also a few life lessons in this book, those were beautifully written!

Would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review. Tropes include: workplace romance and friends to lovers. This was a good book! The plot instantly drew me in, as I have never read a book where the FMC pretends to be a man (Adam) and gives love advice to men. I loved reading each guy's questions they had for the advice column, and the book kept me engaged throughout. I loved the sister bond they showed and how realistic the book was. The chemistry could have been better though in my opinion.

Not my favorite but, but definitely not the worst either. Did I read it in a day, yes! Cute rom-com concept, but kind of lacked in some areas for me and I feel like things could have been smoothed out. Overall, it was like taking a great book, and cutting parts out in the movie version...far fetched ideas with little substance behind them. Like how did she lose her job and find one immediately? Does someone really just fly to NYC to find a girl? I wanted to like this so much more than I did. Felt rushed.

First things first: I see myself so much in Lucy that I could easily and quickly connect to her. Minus the coworker stuff, that is the stuff of my dreams, but sadly work with no one I would be interested in. This book was heartwarming and fun to read, especially after getting off the latest Emily Henry book. It is the perfect stay-in-with-your-Kindle-and-wine read or something to enjoy by the pool. (I did both). This romcom made me grin and gave off all the happy and relatable romance vibes. It's all you could ask for from a rom-com

Omg this book was not worth it. I am not a person who DNF’s normally, so I did struggle through but I wish I had DNF’ed.
This was like the slowest burn, and for what?! There was no real connection between Lucy and Ross, it was just not there. The plot was all over the place and just messy

When Lucy is about to lose her job as cuts are being made, she comes up with the idea to write a column as an agony uncle "Ask Adam' giving out advice to men. The downside to this is that Lucy is quite inexperienced with the male species and has to ask her sister for advice. I like the idea behind this story and although it's a bit of a slow burn to start with and maybe a little 'saucy' in parts for some people's taste, it's worth a read. Thanks netgalley and publishers for an advanced copy.

Wow, this was very, very, VERY, slow. The only good thing in this book is the cat, Astro.

Halfway through the book, not a single problem. The love interest doesn't even appear in half the chapters. I was more invested in the sister's story than in our main character.

Lucy is a delulu, and boring. Why are you in love with a coworker you have known for a week, and then jealous when he gets with another woman after you've expressed 0 Interest in him?

Negative stars to this one.

This is a very non spice romcom. Predictable but without the 3rd act misunderstanding (a bug bear of mine!), likeable characters and it's definitely a good palate cleanser.

I honestly had to DNF this and that makes me sad. The plot was all over the place and I just really didn’t like the FMC. The writing and the banter was good I just couldn’t get passed the characters.

Thank you Storm Publishing and NetGallery for this ARC. This book looked so good and I was really looking forward to reading it. Even though I did not hate it, it just didn't live up to my expectations. I felt that Lucy and Ross lacked the chemistry that you see in other romance books.

It was an easy read but hard to keep my interest because it just did not have that spark for me.

** spoiler alert ** i am delusional but not as delusional as lucy. i was very excited to read this because of the cover (i know i know don’t judge a book by its cover!) and the premise but i just couldn’t get into it. another review said this as well but my last straw was lucy using AI to write her columns… come on 😭

nonetheless thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review :D

This is my first Sophie Ranald book and I don't think it will be the last. A sweet easy romantic read which I enjoyed (and read quickly).

Lucy has found herself in a new job surrounded by men - providing advice to men (via her 'Ask Adam' column) - of whom she knows nothing about. Lucy gave up on men following a failed relationship years earlier. But as she spends more time with her coworker she begins to see men (and one in particular) as 'real people'.

Lucy's sister is getting married to a man which Lucy isn't a fan of. Following the wedding and honeymoon her sister becomes distant and Lucy begins to sense something is wrong.

Will Lucy find herself a man again and solve her sister's love life while succeeding in her role as Adam? A book full of fun, romance, friendship and a little twist of modern-day tech.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of The Love Hack in exchange for a review.

The plot of the book had enough to seduce any reader seaking for a light romance. Unfortunately, it does not deliver. The romance is profoundly lacking in this story, so much so that you actually question how and why the two protagonists are getting together.

When Lucy loses her job to Ross, she comes up with the idea of a column to provide men with love and life advice. Problem is, she has no clue about it herself and actually needs the help of both her sister and AI to deliver.

The book mostly goes around two main topics: Lucy's issues writing her column and figuring men out and Lucy's sister, who recently got married and whose love life does not seem half as happy as it should be.

Thank you to NetGalley and StormPublishing for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.