I don't mind pop culture references but I hate when author's make the FMC a huge bookworm and that's all she talks about because it just feels author self-insert-ish. Please, don't talk about Booktok in your books, it's just annoying. The jokes weren't really funny either so that kinda sucks for a rom-com. The romance itself was fine, just a it bland and the characters didn't have a lot of chemistry which was disappointing. Just very meh in general.

What I love about love me do is it make me laugh a few times loved the plot the characters i was so invested loved the sarcastic between 2 characters this is the 2nd book i read of Lindsay Kelk 4 stars and thank you net gallery and HarperCollins for the ARC

**Listened the the audio book as well as reading hard copy**

I have lots of Lindsey Kelk's books over the years, and I usually have loved them - although the last could of releases have been a bit more miss that hit with me.
However, I feel like Kelk is back on form after reading this book!
I found the characters to be super likeable, and super real - it didn't feel too far fetched or over the top - in character and in plot.

The audio book narrator was one of the best I've heard in a long time. She was just fab at portraying each of the different characters. She really added to my enjoyment of reading the book!

The story has lots of different strands and sub-plots but all were super engrossing. Sophie - our protagonist is so much fun and I could relate a lot to her! She just wants to make everyone happy... but sometimes this meant that she was left unhappy.

Kelk's writing is so filmic, and I could picture it so vividly playing out in my head - imagining a film or tv series. It would make a great netflix original!

So pleased I'm back loving Linsey Kelk again! Bring on her next book!

I absolutely ate this one up! I knew that I would probably enjoy it, but I did not realise just how much.

This book has me laughing out loud in the middle of the street multiple times. There was a great balance between romance and family which gave it a feel of being almost a Romeo and Juliet retelling. This was funny as it was commented on later on in the book.

I did find the family to be a little frustrating but that was definitely intended. I loved the comment on the importance of Romantic Fiction as I have felt like I've had to defend loving romance books quite a lot. I did like how it was also resolved and the development arc of the characters in reaching that resolution.

Insta-Love is definitely not a favourite trope of mine but I loved how LK dealt with it here - with a nice sprinkling of smut to keep us all sweet.

I absolutely loved the audiobook and feel like this will be one that I revisit when I am wanting a light-hearted romantic comedy.

Thank you so much for the opportunity, HarperCollins!

I ATE THIS UP, 4 stars

this was the perfect, no brains, pure vibes fluff read I needed. Love Story is funny & adorable at the same time. could I predict most of the plot? yes. did I still enjoy it? also yes.

bonus points for all the romance, fantasy & litfic book/author references.

I already loved this book from ebook format but the narrator has an amazing cadence, great accents and some star inflection. Really elevated an already stellar book.

I have read most if not all Lindsey Kelk's books and enjoyed them all I was looking forward to this one.

Sophie is a primary school teacher and has secretly written a bestselling book under a pseudonym Este Cox. Only two people know who the author really is , her editor who is also her godfather and her agent who happened to be her brother. Both are sworn to secrecy but are encouraging Sophie to reveal herself as the author and claim the limelight. Sophie is adamant that she will not because she fears she will lose her job and that her literary industry parents will be ashamed of her because of the genre of the book.

The book is called Butterflies and I would definitely want to read it if it wasn't a fictional entity.

Along comes Joe with an instant attraction between them despite this being Sophie's most disliked trope.

We get to meet the family and are entertained by them, especially her brother. I disliked the bag scene, it seemed unlikely even for a fake. I also felt very uncomfortable about a scene with an aunt and the main male character and felt it should have been handled better by the female lead rather than being seen as amusing. It was an assault and under the umbrella of sexual violence after all. If it had been against a woman would it have been laughed off?

I probably didn’t get all of the Taylor Swift references although I did get the title, but I did get the Bridget Jones ones. I have also read most of the authors Sophie mentions. Overall it was a very enjoyable read and the narration was excellent.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK audio for the DRC.

For some reason this appears to be the first Lindsey Kelk novel I’ve read/listened to. I have no idea why. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I fear there were a lot of Taylor Swift references that might’ve flew right over my head, I caught a few therefore I can only assume there are many.

There’s absolutely nothing original about this book, but that’s sort of the beauty of it. It’s old blanket in its simplicity and predictably, a cozy read or a beach read I’d say. Give it a go!

The narration was fantastic and definitely boosted the rating by at least half a star.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins audio U.K. for the opportunity to listen 🎧

Love Story is the first Lindsey Kelk book I have read and I loved it. How have I never read anything by this author before? I most definitely won’t be overlooking her books again. It’s the story of Sophie Taylor who is a primary school teacher with a big secret. She has written a best-selling sexy, romantic fiction novel, Butterflies, which readers just can’t get enough of. She’s written it under a pseudonym though and people are desperate to find out who ‘Este Cox’ is.

Sophie’s parents are high flyers in the publishing industry and they are partly the reason she has kept her identity a secret. She didn’t think they would approve of her book or be proud of her as they were rather disdainful of romantic fiction, being more involved with what they’d consider more literary fiction. Sophie’s sister, Charlotte, was a hoot and I adored Sophie’s no-nonsense friend Sarah. And then there’s Joe Walsh… Joe and Sophie do not get on at all when they first meet but oh that attraction between them! There were some seriously hot scenes in this book, perhaps steamy enough to rival Butterflies itself.

I liked the way that this book looked at the snobbery around romantic fiction and showed that it is worthy of as much respect as any other genre. It played on many romantic fiction tropes such as enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, love/lust at first sight and others I won’t mention as it will give away too much of the story! There were so many mentions of some of my own favourite books and authors that it felt as though this book was written just for me. There is one scene where Sophie is looking around the shelves of her sister Charlotte’s bookshop and notes that in these books “every single person is seen, heard and represented“. I really feel that’s the case for romantic fiction. It shouldn’t just be dismissed as insignificant. Across the various sub-genres such as contemporary fiction, historical fiction, romantasy, LGBTQ+ and so on, every single person and experience is represented.

I should mention that I listened to the audiobook version of this book, very ably narrated by Kristin Atherton. I felt she captured the personalities of all the characters really well which was no mean feat, as she had many characters to voice.

Probably like most people who will read this book, I am now desperate to read the fictional Butterflies book. What a pity it doesn’t exist – perhaps Lindsey Kelk could write it as her next novel? Love Story is a love letter to romance novels with a joyous ending worthy of any rom-com film. It’s smart, funny and passionate. I loved it!

Really fun little story. Had a lot of fun following Sophie/Este as she wiggled her way through trying to hide the fact that she wrote the bestseller spicy romance novel from her family, and all the shenanigans that follow in the wake of that. Overall enjoyable read, quite fun little romcom.

However, one scene where MMC is accusted by an female character was a little off the vibe. The way it was handled by the FMC was uncomfortable. She basically laughed it off but the MMC was left traumatised. If the geners had been reversed, this scene would probably have cancelled the whole book.

Love Story is truly a love letter to the entire romance genre and had me giddy the entire time I was listening to it.

We follow Sophie, who is an elementary school teacher by day, but secretly a best-selling steamy romance writer by night. She's written her book under a pen name, partially to keep her job, but partially so she is not criticized by her very literary family of book critics and editors.

This book has so many elements I love, including a snarky FMC, forced proximity, a big weekend-long event, a quirky family, farce-like comedy, pop culture references, book about a book/writing and English accents (at least the audiobook version).

Loved it and will definitely be reading more from Lindsey Kelk!

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for the audiobook ARC!

5 stars!

I really loved the audio version of this book, which was brought to life by the narrator. Sophie Taylor’s secret career is entertaining, I loved her family and Joe and enjoyed the journey. An entertaining summer read! Thank you

Never having read a Lindsey Kelk book before I wasn’t sure what to expect. So you can imagine my delight as the hilarious banter, the one liners, the comfort, and the emotions I found myself feeling at times while reading.

The story is perfect for a summer read, however I will be re-reading it in Autumn, Winter and spring too!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars.

I expected to enjoy this book but I was surprised by just how much I did!

It got off to a great start by being a book about a book, then add in the tension of enemies to lovers with two great characters and you have the framework for a compelling story.

The writing was great, with fun dialogue, lots of literary and cultural references I enjoyed and many laugh out loud moments.

Although the plot was a little predictable, that’s actually something I enjoy in a romance.

The narrator was very good and I raced through the audiobook because it was such a fun listen.

4.5⭐️

Love Story put a smile on my face. It is a book written for our romance loving readers, an ode to tropes & book clubs, special editions & loving books for what they give us beyond their literary aspirations.

The characters were fun, from feisty tik tok trending Charlotte, to Sophie's dad & his eccentric birthday party ideas. The banter between Sophie & Joe & the inevitability of their romance was great & I loved the nods to 90s & 00s films & books throughout.

Kristen Atherton was a fabulous narrator & I loved the distinctive character voices, particularly in the busy party & book discussion scenes.

My only problem is that now I want to read Butterflies too please.

𝟑 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 .𐦍༘⋆

The plot of “Love Story” was really unique and well fleshed out. I do think we could have gotten a bit more regarding the whole secret author thing, it felt like once it was revealed it wasn’t a big issue to everyone else which kind of just felt like a let down. I was just expecting more from the plot.

Unfortunately the romance also did nothing for me, but this may be more of a me issue since I’m not a huge fan of the insta-love trope. I just don’t realistically see them lasting that long as a couple.

Character wise, I think Lindsey Kelk did a really good job at making all the characters easily distinguishable from one another and gave them their own personality.

Kristin Atherton did an amazing job on the audiobook and honestly helped me get through the most of the book when it was feeling a bit too slow for me.

Hate to DNF an ARC but hate this book more.
Pop-culture references are overused to the point of exhaustion and make the book feel like it's trying too hard to be hip and cool. Maybe I set myself up for this when I failed to realize the title is a Taylor Swift song, but still. Cringe-worthy lines aside, everything was so shallow it crumbled on a breeze.
Maybe I'm too old or not cool enough to read stuff like this.
The narrator did a wonderful job but I still can't shake the feeling that she's more suited for historical fiction.
Read if you like Taylor Swift and that one author I refuse to support, I guess.

Thank you NetGalley/HarperCollins for the ALC.

Yes to this entire book. I could leave my review there but I should probably write some more words as to why this book was so epic!!

Not only is it book centred, with right on the nose insights to real world books, bookstagram, booktok and all that comes with being a bookfluencer, but the main central plot storyline was just perfection.

Our main character, an author come English teacher, is the anonymous best seller of the hottest romance novel around. And from the snippets we got from the book, I wouldn’t mind reading ‘Butterflies’ too. I think I would also be a hardcore fan groupie.

I loved Sophie’s character and her romance story was divine. The book was also so damn satisfying in its conclusions and mounting plots that fist pumping for joy when certain people got their comeuppance is inevitable.

And can I just say, the narrator of the audiobook (Kristen Atherton) did THE most amazing job ever and I think now is one of my favourite audiobook narrators. She voiced all of the characters perfectly and had the exact amounts of comedic timing to really do the humour justice and had me laughing, teary and so engaged that the book flew by.

I seriously loved this story and audiobook and it’s a definite reread for the future.

A note on the audiobook: Kristin Atherton is one of my favourite narrators, her incredible performances always elevate the reading experience for me. She was the perfect choice for this book.

I couldn’t resist picking this one up. The cover, the description and the author’s stellar reputation drew me in immediately. However, I was trepidatious as this book’s main character is an author. I tend to avoid romances centred around authors and publishing because it can feel like the author is breaking the fourth wall and not in a cute way. The fact that it’s set in England also means all the specific references may hit too close to home.
This is important to note because I didn’t feel that way at all while reading Love Story.
With skill hitherto unmatched, Kelk managed to not ONCE give me the heebies. Even with talk of various British authors, bookshop chains and BookTok. It never once felt like a memoir in disguise, but rather a book perfectly written for English romance readers.
I loved Sophie’s chaotic family and friends; they all had such unique voices and made the story so rich. Paired with quintessential English (borderline-farcical) humour, we really got to know Sophie as a person living in the world and not just the protagonist for this story.
Even with Sophie butting in every now and then with, ‘if I had to write this scene, I would say…’, the romance was perfect. It was realistic yet swoon-worthy, and just the right amount of self- aware to make us romance readers feel seen (who hasn’t looked at their partner and thought ‘you were definitely written by a woman’?).
All in all, Love Story is a romance book that is a love letter to romance books without a shred of pretention. A really comforting, well balanced story with heaps of heart and humour. Sophie would love this comparison, but if you love classic English movies like Bridget Jones’ Diary (particularly the ridiculous fight between Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver) then you’ll love this.

Thank you so much to Harper Collins Audio and Netgalley for this audiobook arc!

Love Story is a fun, witty, and swoony read perfect for lovers of rom coms.

In fact the central thread of the story is very much an unapologetic ode to romance books. I loved the peppering of jokes, name dropping and references to female romance authors throughout. Sophie and Joe have great chemistry and their relationship development felt perfectly paced. Sophie’s quirky and self focussed family made for hilarious interactions, and I loved their character development.

I loved this so much I read it both as an ebook and audiobook. Kristin Atherton’s narration was animated and immersive, and really brought Sophie and Joe’s bickering and banter to life. I also really enjoyed her characterisation of Charlotte.

I picked this up after reading (and loving) Love Me Do last year, and can’t wait to delve into Lindsey Kelk’s other books.

Thank you HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for this book. Opinions expressed are my own.