Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

Absolutely adorable romance! I loved Hannah and George's romance. I also loved seeing Hannah come into her own as a confident woman by the end. Beautifully written! Thank you to Netgalley and West Brunswick Press for the eARC of this novel.

A big thanks to Netgally, Author and Publisher for early access to the ARC book. Greatly appreciated.

This engaging story from very beginning to end was a beautiful read.
Both characters had wonderful traits, including topics such as anxiety, hearing difficulties, bookish topics (book shop and author), business ownership, and a topic of lesbian relationship.

This was my 1st read of this genre, which I didn't actually mind. Honestly, some other romances don't even match how well this story was written and the strength of the relationship between characters.

I was, however, expecting a bit more drama in the reaction to the authors identity being hidden from the cafe owner. It was kinda just brushed over and happily pushed away and forgiven. Was just expecting more to it for them to work through.

Overall, I loved the story, characters, and the bookish themes. I will recommend this book to other readers.

This was a beautifully written heart felt romance. It’s light hearted whist covering really sensitive topics. The characters feel like they become your friends and all you can do is cheer them on. Definitely a must read! I can’t wait for the next release

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much. It was wonderful!

A cute sequel. I enjoyed the writing and descriptions of the characters.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this

I have read and enjoyed this authors other (two) books, and this one was no different.

It's a sweet romance, and I loved the concept of the shy author (anxiety) and how she deals with mistaken identity and covering up her hearing issues.

I also thought it was intersesting how the author dealt with the fallout from past relationships (on both sides) but perhaps this could have gone a bit deeper. I did feel like there wasn't the dark moment you normally expect in a romance and I kept expecting something to happen... but it was just a
cute small town sapphic romance with a bit of spice.

Novel Problems by Elizabeth Luly is a cute small-town romance written beautifully about finding love in places you were not expecting. The book follows Hannah, a bestselling author hiding her identity in a quiet town after a divorce and going through writer's block. She wanted a small town where no one knows her and kept her identity hidden from locals. The story takes off when Hannah finds herself employed at Novel Gossip, a cozy bookstore café owned by George, and the first time they meet is a perfect set-up for their relationship.
Elizabeth Luly balances the dynamics between Hannah and George beautifully, and she writes their growing connection with a lot of depth. Both characters are beautifully flawed and relatable, with past traumas and personal insecurities that add layers to their interactions. I really resonated with Hannah's journey in particular, as she deals with a lot of anxiety.
I really enjoyed this book, and it was easy to read, although at times it was more telling than showing.

This was an enjoyable novel. I liked it enough that I’m going to be grabbing the other novel in this series sometime soon (I didn’t realize this was a sequel!), which I think is a great endorsement on its own. I think this is a firm 4-star novel; I enjoyed reading it a lot, but there are likely other novels I would recommend over it.

Ultimately my main feedback is simply that I enjoyed reading this novel. It was fun, with a lot of little delightful things sprinkled throughout. Writing this review, I’m having difficulties placing my finger on anything specific (not that that’s a bad thing!). This novel had a lot to offer. I liked the writing and the characters. There was a lot of subplots that were woven together in a way that worked out really well.

On the flipside ill say that I’m not sure what the overall plotline is, except that it’s a romance and a love story. The novel moves through several subplot arcs in a way that flows nicely but doesn’t seem to have a clear throughline (aside from the fact it’s a romance, of course). This isn’t a bad thing, but something I noticed that makes it hard to easily summarize what this novel is “all about”.

There were some elements to this novel that I didn’t like or didn’t like as much. There was a section where one of the characters was hiding a lie and we were just waiting for everything to blow up in their face; some people like that type of plotline but I do not. I can’t enjoy all the fun or sweet things that are happening because I’m waiting for the entirely avoidable blow-up. Thankfully this didn’t carry through the entire novel, so it wasn’t a deal-breaker.

My other critique would be that this novel sometimes suffered from telling-not-showing, which was a disappointment. I have seen worse for this, but also much better. There were a lot of scenes/sections where the reader was informed of what happened instead of living through the scene; I suppose this allowed for more content to be packed into the novel, but with less detail and reader investment than there could have been.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. I loved the concept of classic miscommunication that ended up getting Hannah working in a small town bookstore. The town was so quaint and depicted so well. I wanted to live there myself!
I loved Hannah's character. As an introvert myself, I appreciated her efforts to maintain her anonymity and was truly crushed when her identity got leaked - and to find out she did it herself! I enjoyed getting to see her character grow and develop throughout the story.
I did find that it felt like there was *a lot* packed into the story and a couple scenes felt like ~extra and not totally necessary to drive the story forward. The one that comes to mind was the pet parade at the end. I understand it was there to illustrate how nice of a day they had leading up to the "I love yous", but it felt like it dragged on a little bit.
Overall, I did enjoy the story and I will recommend it as I can!

I'm not usually a big fan of the mistaken identity as a miscommunication trope, but this book absolutely did it right and in a way that built up the story instead of sabotaging it. This book was adorable and very fun.

This book was everything I needed and so much more, I didn't expect to like it so much but I think liking it is an understatement because I LOVED THE WHOLE HANNAH AND GEORGE STORY LIKE CRAZY.

Just now I'm not having a good time mentally speaking and reading Hannah's story, seeing how she came through with all her anxiety, with her book, with finally saying what she felt, god I was happy for her, I felt happy for her and most of all I felt myself in her, she is one of those characters that will stay with you forever, plus she found in George the love she needed, because not only did they love each other, George helped her in the ways she needed, these two were without a doubt soulmates, they were what each other needed and I’m here for it.

Their story is beautiful because there is NO DRAMA, everything is so cute and beautiful that I just had a smile while reading, stories like this are the ones that are worth it, with such a beautiful representation that I want and long for everything to work like that in real life for everyone, this story reads fast, it's beautiful, am I a little in fan mode? I don't care, I will read it again when I feel I can't anymore and want to give up because without a doubt Hannah and George became so special to me and their story gives me hope.

📌I received a ebook copy through netgalley, and this is my honest opinion/review of it.

Another sweet, sapphic book from Elizabeth Luly that’s perfect for summer!

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of the first book in Luly’s *Sapphire Springs* Series, and I was excited to have the opportunity to read this second book and follow the story of George—our bookstore cafe owner who we met in Book #1—and her journey to find love with Hannah, a best-selling fantasy author. Facing extreme writers block and a disastrous end to her marriage, Hannah escapes to the small town of Sapphire Springs to find refuge and—after a significant miscommunication—ends up with a part time job at George’s bookstore cafe, Novel Gossip. What ensues is an emotional and realistic-feeling story of love, in all its messiness, as it blooms in a small town cafe.

>> ❤️What I loved: This is a genuine, funny, and thoughtful sapphic romance. The small-town setting was super cute! Both FMCs have personal insecurities and baggage to work through, but they do so in ways that are supportive of themselves and one-another while also not being too heavy. The pacing of the story was great and we got some cute check-ins with Blake and Jenny, the couple from Book #1
>>💔What I didn’t love: I don’t love a miscommunication trope, and while this one was mercifully short compared to others, it still will never be my favorite way to set up a relationship. There were also some moments in the writing where I felt we were “telling” instead of showing character development through the dialogue, which didn’t feel necessary.

If you love Hallmark-style low-stress romances but wish they were queer, this is definitely worth a read. I hope to see Luly continue more stories in the *Sapphire Springs* series—they would definitely be an automatic read for me!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 (4-4.5)
**Acknowledgments & Disclaimers**
✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Elizabeth Luly, and West Brunswick Press, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book.
✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

Thanks to Netgalley and West Brunswick for this copy in exchange for my review.

This book was soooooo damn good. It was light-hearted and low stakes, a nice change of pace from some of the books I've been reading, but still engaging. Both George and Hannah come from different worlds, but bond over their love of books and good food. Their chemistry is immediate and never feels cliche or rushed. They have their own baggage, especially Hannah who is coming out of a divorce and suffers from Generalized Anxiety Disorder. It's a constant issue that gets Hannah into some trouble, but we get to watch as she comes into her own and take control of her life.

Recommend this for anyone looking for low stakes romance that will make you go 'aww' and kick your feet (mentally or physically, it's up to you).

this was super cute! i loved the slowburn and the chemistry between hannah and george was really fun! it was a great book

The premise of this book was really interesting, an author and a bookstore owner, but the prose was too ‘tell don’t show’ and there was no real strife. The characters were sweet and likable.

I really liked this small-town romance novel. There was witty banter, good representation of mental health issues like anxiety, and had dual POVs which is always fun. All in all, a great easy summer read!

Thank you to West Brunswick Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.25 ⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: contemporary romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A sweet small town sapphic romance
𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Small town romance
Author x bookstore owner
Romantic comedies
Sapphic romance
Heartwarming and light hearted reads
Great banter

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Mental health rep
Anxiety rep was very relatable

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Miscommunication- but it is worked out and there is character development so I didn’t mind it as much as I usually do

The title of this book was the first clue to how delicious this story would be. Elizabeth Luly has created a fantastic world in Sapphire Springs. Can't wait for her next book.

Thank you to West Brunswick Press and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

the first sapphire springs book (“not just gal pals”) has been on my tbr since it was released and I never got round to it, but upon seeing “novel problems” available on netgalley I decided to jump right into this small town world at book 2. I can confirm this is great without having read the first book, but I’m definitely excited to go back and catch up!

I have to admit I was initially cautious about this book. I often get very frustrated by the miscommunication trope as it can so easily be done badly, but I needn’t have worried. it’s not dragged on for longer than needed, and there’s really nice character exploration and development surrounding the miscommunication which I found to be pretty meaningful.

I fell in love with the characters so quickly it almost shocked me; I instantly wanted to know more about both Hannah & George, as well as the wider friend group! I had a wonderful time following these two getting to know each other and really enjoyed some of the funny scenarios that they wind up in. and, most importantly for a romance, the relationship always felt so real and natural. I was rooting for them from the first interaction and didn’t waiver for even a moment. I have sooooo much love for them!!

unfortunately despite my love for these two, this has landed as a 4 star read for me. the writing sometimes felt a little repetitive & some points felt a little too laboured. more show & less tell would’ve been ideal. nevertheless, I won’t hesitate to jump into another of this author’s sapphic books!

thanks to netgalley & publishers for this arc!