The author's writing style is engaging, but the pace of the book suffers from repetition. The constant ping-pong between Rose and Tristan, particularly Tristan's spoilers, feels like a scene on repeat, slowing down the plot's progression. Despite this, the chemistry between the leads is undeniable, and the steamy tension is palpable.

Rose is portrayed as both insecure and strong, while Tristan is a complex character with depth. His vulnerability and motivations are well-explored, making him a compelling and relatable character. The book sheds light on OCD, a topic often overlooked in literature, which I thought is a welcome addition.

While the friends-to-lovers and brother's best friend tropes are well-executed and I enjoyed the romance, the slow burn felt overly prolonged.
Overall, the book has definitely its moments, but the pace and depth of the plot could have been improved.

Thank you to NetGalley for an electronic advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a college romance. College romances entail poor life decisions, questionable characters, and sex placed high on the priority list, and this book didn’t stray from the criteria. The premise of The Spoiler is so cute and different, but the execution was not my favorite. Tristan is spoiling movies knowing she hates when he does it. Does he have a reason? Yeah sure. Does it make sense? Yeah sure…but it was also connived by a college boy, so the reasoning is flawed at best. Tristan is also problematic because he is not a great communicator. He cannot seem to string a full sentence together to bring his point across to Rose. I would be 100% more understanding if we got a back story for why this is, but I can recall receiving no such explanation. It was all very confusing. Now Rose. As someone with a very lax case of OCD, I do not fully grasp the severity of Rose’s situation. However, it does seem like she should have gotten help ages ago. Her parents are relatively decent people, so why had no one driven her to get help if it was blatantly affecting her daily life? And it did. With all of the isolation she experienced, her ability to communicate effectively and coherently with others really took a hit. She made assumptions about people and situations out of lack of understanding and self worth, and it was both painful and sad to watch.
What I did like was that Rose and Rob (her brother) were friends and lived together through college. I thought that was cute.
Overall, the premise was not executed as I would have hoped and the characters were unkind to each other more than half of the time, so I probably wouldn’t recommend.

(Book review may contain spoilers.)

@l.e.todd did an excellent job making the characters, life situations, struggles, doubts, fears and mental health feel real. I found it easy to relate to the main characters. At the climax of the plot I could see the major problems the characters were facing and the self sabotage sucked me even more into the story. I had to keep reading to find out how the characters prevailed.

I love the element of the main theme of: movies and how the movie quotes were a major part of Rose and Tristan's story. Very creative!

The angst, the hope, the romantic scenes were just enough to make this book a good read.

Book babes, if you're looking for a bit of romance and a story about conquering your inner demons I recommend you keep an eye out for the upcoming release of The Spoiler.

#thespolier #arcreader #bookreview #bookreviewer #ilovebooks #romancenovel #michiganblogger

A poignant contemporary romance that tackles deep emotional themes with grace. The author’s prose is exquisite, the characters are endearing, and the love story is both tender and powerful. Undoubtedly, a touching and an unforgettable read.

This book had me intrigued from the very beginning. Rose is extremely relatable to me as someone who has mild ocd and extreme anxiety. Tristan has seemed to make it a priority to be the most annoying character ever and he is very good at it! It all makes sense in the end though.

The movie and hockey content made this book very interesting to me. My only complaint would be just wanting a little hockey banter from the boys.

By the end of this book my heart was melting. Overall the book was funny, relatable, great mental health rep, and swoonworthy.

There was so much more going on in this book, but what it kept coming back to for me was this:

Rose has crippling OCD and spoilers are a trigger.
Tristan is an asshole who likes to spoil things on purpose for her and send her into screaming fits when she begs him not to.

I am so sick of "pulling pigtails" style romances. "Oh, he's annoying you? hurting your feelings? crossing your boundaries? showing up uninvited in your spaces? OH!!! that means he LIKES YOU!"

If that's how you love me, love me less... Good god. Use your fucking words. If she has so much mental stress on her plate from her OCD then why add more by playing little games, ruining her dates, and putting your insecurities and jealousies on her? THEN the big thing is like "OH, I did that so you would put all your anger on me instead of yourself.." Awwww.... WHAT? no... no AWW... why not give her some space? why not see if she needs resources? why not respect her boundaries in a healthy way?

I would LOVE it if the most romantic thing a man could do for a woman in a book was respect her. I would absolutely ADORE IT if that were the hot and sexy thing and that women would rate that 5 stars.

And yes I read the book and no, I don't want to debate it in the comments with you.

Unfortunately this book irritated me so much that I couldn’t finish it. Tristan was beyond obnoxious, to the point I was worried Rose would end up in a DV relationship due to how possessive and purposely provoking he was. Although this book is listed as new adult, I feel it would be better placed in the young adult category because their actions were those of middle school people rather than university students. It was good to see a main character with OCD as that’s not the normal state of affairs, but wish the book had been developed better so that it was easier to gel with the characters and feel for them, rather than feeling stuck in a nursery dealing with squabbling toddlers

How I loved this book. Anyone who is or loves someone who is neurodivergent will see Rose and understand her on an emotional level. This book hooked me from the beginning and I couldn’t put it down.

The character arc and evolution of Rose was wonderfully written. She suffers from OCD and anxiety. As the book is in her point of view we get to see her triumphs and struggles first hand. The supporting cast of characters around her was perfect. The ups and downs the author effortlessly weaves through will have you rooting for Rose.

This is a slow burn with 2 or so ‘open door’ scenes.

Overall this book felt cozy. It has small town feel while also giving college campus energy. If you love a boy next door/ brothers best friend, he fell first, with a touch of found family, this book is definitely for you.

A special nod for the metal health trope. This is simply not talked about enough. Mental health is real and therapy/treatments are just as important for those who need them.

LE Todd has quickly become an ‘auto buy’ author from me with this one.

I enjoyed this book, although there were parts (more towards the 3rd act) where it felt like I had to "work" to get through it. I really loved the depiction of the FMC mental health and how she experienced her daily life. The MMC was also very complex and I found myself wanting to know more about him long before we got the information, which makes sense because we were experiencing this story from Rose's perspective. It was a "longer" romance book than what I am used to and there was a lot more to the plot, but I did not dislike this - I just don't think this is a quick-fluffy-romance read. I loved the story and again, really appreciated the way mental health was written about in the book and I look forward to picking up more of the author's work.

Thanks Net Galley for this arc.

If Rose and Tristan do not stun a reader, then LE Todd's beautiful prose will. This book was such a treat to read. Every page I wanted to learn more about Rose's OCD and past history with Tristan. Very rarely do we ever see a Native American main character/love interest, and when we do typically it is in a very objectifying or stereotypical way. LE Todd wrote her Indigenous (Monacan) hero how we need to be seen, as fully formed characters in the contemporary context. She wrote with care and nuance and as Native reader I appreciated it so much. This book is spicy with witty banter that KILLS. This book is a new favorite.

This was a delightfully unexpected and cute spicy pepper of a book.

I came across the authors Instagram post calling for ARC readers, responded, and they graciously sent me a copy, but I also wanted to send my feedback via NetGalley!

For me - and I'm sure for many who will read this - Rose is an incredibly relatable protagonist. Like Rose, I have been my own worst enemy and gotten in the way of good things. The crippling anxiety, the intrusive thoughts, the self doubt and self deprecation...hi, it's me! It's been awhile since I've read a book and have been able to clearly see parts of myself in a character. While sometimes her assumptions and actions are frustrating, it's easy to see how she would assume the things she does in this story. My real frustration throughout was with Tristan. I was practically screaming "SPILL IT!" when the time came for him to say how he feels. Man, I wish Robby would have played telephone operator between these two in the beginning but where's the fun in that?! ;)

This slow burn, friends-to-enemies-to-lovers, revenge fueled, early '00s based book snagged me in my feels and didn't let me go until it was finished with me. I loved it. Particularly that ending...even I missed that potential spoiler! 4.5/5 Stars

Quirky! Fun! Tension Building Romance!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / ⭐️.5
This book has everything you want in a romance with some small town vibes and a little bit of spice! As someone who has suffered with OCD and anxiety my whole life, I really resonated with Rose as she goes through her journey and tries to navigate a confusing, yet tension building, romance. I don’t want to share too many details in this review because I want every reader to be able to experience the fun nuances and movie references without a Spoiler! 🤫 But I’ll just say there were more than a few times I wanted to yell at my kindle! And then chapter 19! 🤭

I am a fan and I will be first in line for when she writes her next one! 🥰🤩