Leighton has had a long line of bad dates, terrible set ups and has been ghosted more than a few times. All she wants is a romance like the novels she reads.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

So after another blind date, when she falls asleep reading a cowboy romance she doesn’t expect to dream that she’s the main character being sought after by a cowboy billionaire.

Suddenly Leighton can’t wait to escape reality to go back to sleep and dream about the cowboy every night. That is until one morning she wakes up and her dreams have somehow come true…

I really loved the concept for this book, and yes it’s a bit silly. But I think it really brings to life the dynamic of book boyfriends and living in your own book world and will be so relatable for loads of people in that sense.

The reason I only gave it three stars is because I just didn’t know how I felt about the book overall. I wanted a bit more build up from Killian, and there were times I started to dislike Leighton towards the end. I really loved the parts where she was in the book, so the real life side just made me want to shout at her to live a bit more.

I do however feel that one of the best parts was not knowing what would happen to Killian. The suspense made me race to the end.

Thank you Camila Isley, Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this advanced reader copy of It All Started With a Book!

This was such a unique book!!

Leighton’s dating life hits rock bottom after being ghosted by another Tinder match, leading her to swear off dating apps for good. I mean, aren’t book boyfriends always better anyways?!

One night, she discovers a second-hand book that magically transports her to Lakeville Hills, a small town where the men are ruggedly handsome. She meets Killian there in her dreams.

The plot takes an exciting twist when she wakes up to find Killian has crossed over into her world.

This was such a unique book that is an easy and enjoyable read.

For romance readers, this book is a DREAM (your book dreams come true?!)

If you’ve ever wished for your fictional crush to step out of the pages, this book is for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF. I could tell from the first chapter that It Started with a Book wasn't for me. I didn't really care for the FMC. I found Leighton's narrative pessimistic, especially when it came to describing relationships. I didn't click with her narrative voice. I also thought the plot was a little choppy and the pacing was slow to start. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC.

3/5 - Light, easy, quick romance. Book boyfriend came to life, cute idea and a nice read. Perfect for a holiday book.

📚It Started With a Book ✨by @camillaisley
Thank you to @netgalley for this ARC. here is my honest review!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌶️
My thoughts: ROMANCE BOOK LOVERS ‼️ I highly recommend this one for you. This is every romantic book lover’s dream 😻 A magic book that somehow brings your book boyfriend to life? and he gets to stay? Sign me up! I wasn’t expecting to love this one so much, but I couldn’t put it down and finished it in less than 12 hours. I like the watching the confidence grow within Leighton all from having Killian by her side. She had a rough time dating and trust issues, and Killian healed all of that by proving how much he loves her and how real it truly was. I devoured this book and definitely recommend it so you can too! 💗

This book was slow to get into in the beginning, but ever since their little dip in the lake, I WAS HOOKED!!! I love this book! The FMC is relatable and the MMC is the literal perfect book bf. If you like books that contain books, and every other trope imaginable, you will love this book. It is a slow burn, mostly closed door romance, but the storyline more than makes up for it. I will definitely be reading more of her books in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

I really enjoyed the premise of this - the escapist dreams of a romance reader suddenly becoming a reality. And there's a lot to enjoy for fans of the genre; a lot of tongue-in-cheek references to romance tropes. It's all good-natured and very meta, and a lot of fun. I did feel like I wanted a bit more substance to things - in particular, I thought the whole MacGuffin of the switch from fiction to reality was a bit *too* handwavey, and while there were vague, implicit parallels between the idea of AI and how you can test how 'real' it is (Leighton's research) and the 'realness' of her relationship with Killian, I think not going beyond the surface with that was a bit of a missed opportunity. That said - this is meant to be a quick, fun page-turner, so as long as you don't expect a deep exploration of things, you're bound to enjoy the read!

This was a really great book. Once I got into it I just couldn't put it down because I had to know what happened next. This was an interesting concept. We meet Leighton who is a single girl living in a world where all her friends are in a couple. That could be tough because everyone wants to see each person be happy and be a part of a couple. She's very much an avid reader and when she picks up this book with blank pages part way through she starts dreaming the rest of the pages to life. So much so that she actually brings the main love interest into her own world. Again, very interesting concept and one I'm sure many of us readers wish we could do. Bringing our book boyfriends to life and having them stay there.

She definitely has a lot of issues with trust and believing that Killian will stay in her world, so she's very doubtful and doesn't want to fall completely for him. It was interesting reading about her feelings and how much Killian really wanted to be in her life, in her world in her reality. I loved the book and kind of hope it happens again, but if it doesn't it was a great read and I would definitely recommend picking this up. gives you hope that somewhere out there there is someone for you.

A bookworm main character goes to sleep every night dreaming she is actually part of the book she is reading (a cowboy romance) until one day she actually wakes up next to her book boyfriend in her real life.
~plz lord I’ve seen what you’ve done for others~🙏
Fun idea but was overall just a simple, anticlimactic read. Rounding up from like a 2.5

Book boyfriend comes to life!!

——
Who wouldn’t love that?!! This is a story of woman who swears off dating for life after being ghosted by yet another Tinder match. When Leighton (FMC) stumbled upon on what I call a “mysterious magical” book on her TBR she was magically transported to Lakeville Hills but only in her dreams. She’s living a normal life during daytime.

One day, she woke up with Killian (MMC,the billionaire cowboy in her dreams) in her apartment. And it blows my mind, there’s a big question in me: How did it happen?

There is no explanation how and why this book boyfriend of hers turns into reality but hey this is everybody’s bookworm dream!!

It’s fun reading it but not my favorite reads for this year. Rated it 4 stars because I am looking for the explanation how it all happened, just a little backstory won’t hurt.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Received this as an ARC in ebook form, thanks to Boldwoodbooks and NetGalley :)

When I first started reading this book, I was quite annoyed by the idea of a fictional book hero becoming real. The idea seemed far-fetched and annoyingly unrealistic. Killian's arrogance and attitude doesn't make him likable either. Thankfully, I did not drop the book and read it till the end because it does get better, and so does Killian's attitude.
In the end, this book surprised me and made me realize how it is every book lover's dream come true. A handsome, kind, wealthy fictional hero coming to life and taking away all of the heroine's problems, or at least inspiring her enough to take control of her life.
Definitely an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC. This was a very cute and light rom com but I did find the dreamworld aspect a little annoying at times. Mostly because it added a slightly weird vibe to the whole encounter that made their romance feel almost disingenuous and discordant to my brain.

However I loved the banter, the author did do something different and it ultimately worked!

“It Started with a Book” is cute, albeit slightly predictable. I can relate to the main character‘s frustrations related to dating. I can also relate to her wanting to escape into dreamworld instead of reality at times. I wasn’t sure how the story was going to end… I kept waiting for something that never happened. In a way the book is a little annoying because while it’s a super cute story about finding love and happiness, it also describes a relationship situation that can never actually happen. Which is sad. But I’d still give this 4 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and Camilla Isley for the early access copy of It Started with a Book.

It Started with a Book tells the story of Leighton (Leigh) and Killian. Leigh is tired of dating apps and the proverbial coupled up advice on how she will eventually not be single. Leigh is tired of the looks and way she is made to feel for being single. After a particularly hard day, she finds a secondhand book in her book pile and begins to start reading it. Little does she know that the book will be her gateway to Killian, her new enemies-to-lovers book boyfriend in her western romcom she is reading. When things start to feel a little too close and real, the implausible happens and Killian is transported into the real world. Killian and Leigh need to learn to navigate this new reality and figure out what to do next.

It Started with a Book is a unique story of magical realism, enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, and discussions of romance book tropes in a romance book. This was an entertaining and unique read that left you questioning how you would handle if a book boyfriend came into your life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this romance. It is a perfect read for anyone who enjoys the Hallmark Channel, as well as books by Emily Henry and Carley Fortune. I am surprised it has taken me this long to read a book written by Camilla Isley. This might be the first book I have read of hers, but it certainly won't be the last. This is a light and fun read and I definitely recommend it!

—


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

********


If you are interested in seeing more of my reviews and other content feel free to connect with me here <3:

https://linktr.ee/bookreviewsbyjules (links to my Instagram, Goodreads, TikTok, Storygraph, My blog and Substack newsletter, etc)

If you are a publisher or author who has questions about my reviews (as well as questions about my stats, reach or engagement), please free to email me. I am also open to requests for book reviews from authors or publishers. Thank you again for taking time to read my review, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

It Started with a Book - Camilla Isley ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I recommend this if you love a small town rom com!

This book is the cutest read ever, a fab rom com !! Yet another brilliant work by Camilla!!
Loved this from the first chapter - the book is like reading the dream life of a booktoker!! The main character has a booktok, does unboxing hauls, a huge tbr - I've never felt more related to in a book! It begins with the FMC Leigh reading a cowboy billionaire romance book on her tbr, and the book morphs into her real life where she starts to dream about the MMC Killian... He was a fictional character, but then becomes reality when Leigh wakes up to find Killian in real life! Killian has to navigate adapting to live in the real world, and Leigh has to question whether Killian is right for her, after a long string of unsuccessful dates, can she finally believe in love?

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy!

Genre: rom com
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Spice: 🌶️
Series or Standalone: standalone
Tropes & Themes: bookish, small town, cowboy, billionaire, close proximity, fake dating, friends to lovers

Cute and fun, loveable characters and fun and exciting banter. Would recondmend as a light easy read

I LOVE Camilla Isley, but this was not one of my favorites. I really enjoyed the book though. I love magical realism and this has a ton of it. The characters were engaging and interesting, but something about the fmc's brilliant brain didn't mesh with the idea of the *spoiler* mmc. The plot was engrossing and I cannot wait to read another Camilla Isley book that might be more up my valley!

I got interested about the book when i saw the title. A book about book lovers? Count me in!!
And it was really an interesting read. And i had a love, like and dislike relationship with the book.

I loved some quotes, from the book. It felt like author wrote them from own experience.

drop dead funny. a laugh out loud rom com that will leave you swooning!! love camilla's books so much
fast paced, likeable characters and good plot