I had a hard time getting into this book. I was excited to read it, but it wasn't what I was expecting. I liked the writing, but I feel like it talked more about Lucy's past and bad experiences in her life. It wasn't much of a rom-com as I was expecting.

I couldn't get into this book. I had a difficult time enjoying the characters. This story seemed to really process Lucy's healing from bad past experiences. This book focused less on the potential romantic partners but more on Lucy's other ongoings - her sister, her ex. For a romcom, I didnt find myself laughing or smiling to myself as much as I would expect. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5 🌟

I like Sophie Ranald's writing style and The Love Hack was another cute and fun read from her.

I enjoyed the premise of Lucy, a bit of a geek and single for a while, taking on the role of an agony aunt for men and learning so much about them and herself whilst trying to solve their problems.

There are no big surprises, just a good escapist summer read.

With thanks to Netgalley and Storm for the ARC

This is a fun romance. Lucy has an office crush on Ross, and she’s just taken a new job as “Ask Adam”, the agony aunt column for a men’s magazine. Lucy had a terrible experience with a previous office romance and she’s not sure she can come up with advice as Adam. She’s terrified she’ll be exposed as a fraud, and won’t go farther in her relationship with Ross because she’s afraid of being hurt.
I liked Lucy’s journey as she became more emotionally aware.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book had a very fun premise however I found it quite slow to get through. I really enjoyed the characters and they had a really sweet romance, there was just something missing for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Love Hack by Sophie Ranald was an a-okay book. It's not quite a romance, not quite a comedy... More like a slice of life of the main character, Lucy. We follow her from being made redundant from one magazine to getting a job at another, where she pretends to be an Agony Uncle and writes the Ask Adam column, where men write in to get relationship advice. At times it was somewhat funny. At times there were hints of romance between Lucy and her coworker Ross. But overall it wasn't heavy enough on either to be called a romcom, in my opinion.

Ross was a likeable character. Not a dick, unlike a lot of the men who wrote emails to Ask Adam. I also liked the side character Chiraag, and I wish we'd got to see more of him. Lucy was... Annoying at times. She was clearly still hung up on her past relationship which ended badly, and I feel like at times there was way too much focus on her past than her present. I liked how her job as Adam got linked to her relationship with her sister. There were quite a lot of references to contemporary things (Covid lockdown, Andrew Tate, #BeKind, Hinge, Brexit, Fenty Beauty...) which I didn't really like myself; it'll be okay for contemporary readers but I do feel like it wouldn't age very well because of it.

All in all, this was an okay story, but not a very memorable one. Every time I opened the book back up, I struggled to remember what had happened the last time I read it, even if it was only yesterday, and none of the characters had enough depth to them for me to really are about them or what happened to them. It was an okay story but not much more than that. ⭐⭐️⭐️/5, and I'm being generous.

This book took me a long time to read, it felt predictable and it was boring. I didn't really enjoy it! I didn't connect with the characters or the story line very much, and I didn't like that I could see where it was going. I felt like the FMC was immature and it was a frustrating book to read.

It was just okay, I was expecting a lot more but it just fell short for me. It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t read it again.

I always want to start my reviews by thanking the author and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book early. Cute, but predictable book that I enjoyed.

If you want a solid read, with all the good romance, Ranald never fails. What she does fail at, is letting me get sleep because this was consumed in a night. A perfect beach read for this year

My first book by this author but not my last.
Lucys story is about transformation and beginning to trust men again but the way to do this is nothing as you would expect.
Taking on another persona , Lucy develops from a person trying to grasp on to life to a woman who is confodent in her own right.
The twists and adventures on the way pull at your heart strings and have you on the edge of your seat wondering what her choices will be.
I loved this book it made me smile,cheer and most of all believe in love.

focuses on alot on the mc's journey through her job and life as a whole. it is pretty good but it does get a little repetitive with events. i was not really rooting for the main couple to get together, which in its self is flawed but it was an enjoyable little read


there is an ethical concern with having ai and an unexperienced person write life, relationship and general advice for a panel that's purpose is to be helpful. if someone were to tell me to "communicate" and not tell me HOW TO BRING UP THE CONVERSATION i for sure wouldnt be listening to their advice. (the mc's only advice for these men was to communicate)


thanks to the author and netgalley for the acr !!

An absolute delight from start to finish! as someone who devours rom-coms, i found this book to be a perfect blend of humor, romance and modern-day dilemmas. I like it's modern take on dating scene. the book is a clever nod to the role technology plays in our love lives today. Serena's foray into the world of dating apps, complete with awkward encounters and laughable mishaps, was both entertaining and painfully accurate. Ranald captures the essence of online dating perfectly, making it a relatable read for anyone who has ever swiped left or right. The chemistry between Serena and her love interest, Alex, is electric. Their relationship develops organically, with plenty of swoon-worthy moments and genuine connection. I appreciated how their romance wasn't rushed, allowing me to savor each interaction and root for their happy ending.

Ranald's writing style is engaging and effortless, making it easy to lose myself in the story. Her humor is sharp, her characters are well-developed, and her ability to balance light-hearted fun with deeper emotional moments is commendable. The supporting characters, including Serena's friends and family, add depth and richness to the narrative, making the world feel full and lived-in.

Overall, "The Love Hack" is a heartwarming, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that I couldn't put down. Sophie Ranald has crafted a story that is both timely and timeless, filled with relatable characters and real-life scenarios. If you're looking for a feel-good read that will leave you with a smile on your face and warmth in your heart, I highly recommend picking up "The Love Hack."

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Storm Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you so much!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! Love Hack by Sophie Ranald is a typical, feel good rom-com. When Lucy, a journalist, gets the can she feels as if life couldn’t get worse. With the help of her sister, she is able to climb back out of her hole and find a new purpose at a new online magazine. There, she meets Ross and he turns out to be not quite what she expected. Through all of Lucy’s ups and downs, the reader gets to see her true personality, her doubts and her fears. The story also underlines the proverb “blood is thicker than water “. Overall, a worthwhile read.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange of my honest review..

Honestly, I thought this book would be a lot different. It was not an enjoyable read for me.

This book was charming, funny, intriguing, and pure joy. I would recommend this to anyone that is look for a modern romm-comm.

Who let this get published. The female main character was intolerable and such an unrealistic character. the plot had potential as a skeleton but unfortunately was terribly executed. I cannot emphasize enough how terrible the female character was and everything about her was terrible. The use of AI was so bad and unrealistic, anyone who has used chatgpt knows you can't change the algorhym. Also why did the female character hate all men after one, although truly shitty, situation that she did not help herself out of. How was she possibly so clueless about men to this extent. I genuinely pushed through just to see it through and it felt like time wasted. The weird competition with her sister was so awkward and made me dislike the character even more. The romance was barely existent, I feel like there was some one sided build up and a lot more about the cat, and then it just rushed to resolution. Just... overall not a good book despite having some potential to be the hating game meets dolly alderton

I had a hard time getting into this read but I enjoyed it! I thought the characters felt well rounded and I was invested after the initial set up.

Loved this one! I am a sucker for romance. and I loved this cover so I had to give it a go. Very sweet story and kept me engaged the whole time! I did not want to put the book down.

2.5-3 ☆
thank you netgalley for this arc 💗

i don’t usually write reviews, so i apologize in advance if this review is all over the place 🤍

⤿ the plot: lucy is an advice columnist who writes relationship/girl advice for men while impersonating a guy named "adam,” and ross happens to be one of her colleagues.

i feel like this books was trying to be a romcom but it didn’t feel like one. basically, here’s how the books went:
40% of amelie and zach’s relationship
30% of lucy talking about not understanding men
20% of lucy talking about her cat
10% of lucy and ross

going into it, i was expecting it to be a cute romcom. but when i felt like there was no progress there, i thought, okay, maybe it’s a slow burn? but the thing is, i didn’t sense any tension between the two love interests. when they first met, lucy described ross as a “middling man.” so it’s kind of weird how she quickly developed a crush on him.

overall, this wasn’t the worst book i’ve ever read, but it also wasn’t the best. 🫶🏻