It’s a love story - 4.5 stars ✨

What a start to the year!!
I went into this blind and honestly loved the experience. Being my first Annabel Monaghan I was surprised it’s taken me this long to read her books. The writing gave me comfort feels of Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez, like the feeling of a warm hug. Watching Jane’s character develop over the course of the book was beautiful while having the moments of humour and banter throughout. The perfect balance of everything. Excited to read more of Annabel’s books in the future!

I really enjoyed this book from Annabel Monaghan. I adore her writing and it is so easy to read whilst also being super descriptive and captivating! I loved this story and the romance beautiful!

I always look forward to Annabel’s books and this is another book I will think about for a long time! I would definitely recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and Aries Fiction for an ARC copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Aria & Aries for providing this ARC for free via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was my first Annabel Monaghan book, so I had no idea what to expect.

I was instantly drawn in by the hilarious inner monologue of our FMC. I found her humour blunt in the best possible way.

I really appreciated the natural build up of Jane and Dan’s relationship. Their love was the quiet kind, without the need for grand gestures. Also, you know it’s a true enemies to lovers when you have to double check he’s the love interest, so well done Annabel.

Unfortunately, I found myself losing interest at times due to the slower pace. It felt like not a lot happened plot wise. I also found the third act a bit frustrating, as Jane seemed determined to sabotage their relationship, despite Dan’s attempts to support her.

Overall, I’d still encourage fans of slow burn, cozy romance to give this one a try.

I have yet to find an Annabel Monaghan book which doesn’t instantly make it into my favourite romances of all time, and this latest is no exception - I couldn’t put it down! This was a great storyline, and I loved our main characters Jane and Dan, and their excellent chemistry! Plus his whole family stole my heart, along with the gorgeous sounding Long Island location.

I keep saying it, but I really think Annabel should be every bit as hyped as Emily Henry - she’s my favourite romance writer!

It’s a Love Story made me smile. An enveloping, comforting read. The perfect beach companion!

Jane Jackson found success at an early age playing a character on a Nickelodeon-style popular sitcom between the ages of twelve and sixteen. Now thirty-three, Jane works as a Creative Executive for a major studio but has yet to see one of her scripts green-lit for a movie.

And Jane holds Cinematographer Dan Finnegan responsible for much of her professional failure, ever since the fateful day he publicly rejected a new script she was very excited by. And now he’s trying to sabotage her again – this time he loves her script choice, but feels it needs something extra to appeal commercially. Not willing to let Dan quash her dreams yet again, Jane promises she can get famous singer Jack Quinlan to write and record a song for the movie soundtrack – even though Jane only met him briefly on set, nearly twenty years ago. Uh-oh! Jane’s faced with quite the pickle.

When Jack doesn’t answer her calls, Jane reluctantly admits to Dan that she doesn’t know the singer as well as she pretended to. Surprisingly, Dan has a solution. Jack Quinlan will be playing at a music festival in his hometown the same weekend of Dan’s parent’s 40th anniversary party. He invites Jane to spend the week with his family in order to track Jack down, the golden opportunity for Jane to pitch her idea to him. Out of options, Jane unenthusiastically accepts.

It’s going to be an unforgettable life changing week for Jane and Dan!

I’m not a ‘Swiftie’, but because I don’t live under a rock, even I know that the title of this book It’s a Love Story is a line from Taylor Swift’s first mainstream popular song Love Story. This novel was so sweet and adorable, and as it stands my favourite so far by Annabel Monaghan. And it featured so many of my favourite tropes – slow burn, hate to love, enemies to lovers, acquaintances to lovers, friends to lovers, workplace/work colleagues romance, slight open-door but mainly closed, forced close proximity, and forced to share a bedroom.

I loved Jane and Dan’s teasing, comebacks, fun banter, and the heated arguments about ridiculous things. I appreciated how much they slowly grew to care about each other, and had one another’s back, even though neither were ready to admit it. I adored their ‘meet cute’, and all their romantic moments, and physical admiration. And of course there was their sizzling chemistry.

Dan’s Long Island hometown of Oak Shore had everything I could possibly want in a romantic setting - small town cozy vibes, a gorgeous beach, bike rides around the picturesque town, and a rustic farmhouse in the countryside. Not to mention all the glorious food - the delicious home cooking, beachside dining, cookouts on the beach, and ice cream at the local diner. The Finnegan family were warm, big-hearted, and welcoming, creating a sense of belonging that was missing from only child Jane’s life growing up with a single mother and no father in the picture.

As you know I like my romances with a side of unresolved trauma and past baggage where during the course of the novel, and with the support of a loving trusting accepting partner, a character’s journey leads to healing, confronting one’s past, and finding your people and your happy place. It’s a Love Story contained a lot of real-world issues like abandonment and absent fathers, bullying, loneliness and feeling unaccepted for being different, and the pain and rejection of a first crush. Also, the downside and exploitative nature of growing up in the spotlight and experiencing puberty in front of a TV audience.

I really loved the 2009 Sandra Bullock movie The Proposal and It’s a Love Story had a fair bit in common with that. A complete win for me, and I’m sure It’s a Love Story will make a lot of reader’s top favourite contemporary romances list for 2025.

I’d like to thank Netgalley UK, Aria & Aries, and Annabel Monaghan for the e-ARC.

Publication Date: 29th May 2025.

annabel monaghan books are definitely hit or miss for me, and unfortunately i did not love this one... i found myself not being very interested in the plot but i think that this kind of romance just maybe isnt for me. if you liked her book nora goes of script, i think you would also like this one! i found it very easy to bing but unfortunaetly DNF'd it at 50%

Annabel Monaghan has fast become one of my favourite authors and I loved this book so much. Monaghan writes the most perfect settings and this one is no exception - possibly even better than usual because there’s both Long Island and LA. But my favourite part of It’s A Love Story was Dan’s fabulous big family. I could have happily hung out in that farmhouse forever. A gorgeous book.

”You live your whole life so that you can be surrounded by too many people in too small of a room and tell the story of how it all happened.”

There are books that feel like a hug, and this was one of them.

When Jane and Dan first met, they felt an instant connection. But then an artistic disagreement occurred, a fight followed, and things between them soured.

Now, they are enthusiastic about the same idea and must work together to make it happen. Working together entails chasing a celebrity, staying at Dan’s parents' place in Long Island, and hanging out with his family.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll probably say it again: I love books about big families. There’s something magical about them—life is rarely messy in book families, the parents are wise, understanding, and supportive, and so are the siblings. They are always there to make you feel unconditionally loved and accepted. What’s more important, these families give us so many book boyfriends!

Jane and Dan were adorable together. Dan had this unique approach to life; he knew what was important and did his own thing regardless of what the world had to say about it. I loved his quiet confidence and his big heart. Jane had issues, which unfortunately caused the third-act drama, but I’m just going to pretend it didn’t happen. I’m so sick of third-act breakups, I’ll just pretend they don’t exist. That’s my new strategy.


I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

“It’s a Love Story” is the first book by Annabel Monaghan that I read.

Thank you Aria & Aries for the ARC.

Unfortunately I need to DNF this book at 24%.
The cover is the reason why I applied for this ARC and I was looking forward to reading the book.
I tried to get into the story, but I do not like the characters and the plot is not engaging.

i really enjoyed this book!

i absolutely LOVE jane. i also love how we get to hear her backstory and find out why she is the way she is.

this book is a classic “enemies to lovers” but i really enjoyed that the enemy part didn’t last forever and that jane and dan came together naturally.

i’d definitely reread this!

A feel good, sweet, realistic romance!
Overall feeling with my first Annabel Monaghan book was CUTE! gives all romantic vibes, you can feel them falling in love! i adored all the summer feeling movie moments so easy to get invested in their love story.

I absolutely loved the big family dynamic, the teasing and banter but ultimately feeling all the love between them, so wholesome.Janes growing relationships with Dans family had me, love a found family trope.

"love happens over breakfast"
"you bring your real self to breakfast" i loved the meaning behind these quotes! id love to see Reenie & Cormacks love story🥹

Thankyou Netgalley and Aria & Aries for this arc all opinions are my own.
-adelereadsromance

i’d like to be the person who could take all of your sad things and make them happy. like i’d hunt down each one and turn it over.”
“i don’t think anyone’s that person for anyone,” i say.
“i don’t think so either.but i’d like to be that person for you.”

oh annabel monagan’s soooo back to us and i can say this because the first time i received this book was at the end of 24’ and when i started reading jane’s story i was simply done for it because well… I TRULY FELT SEEN thanks to annabel’s storytelling but i wasn’t surprised if i have to be honest because since i started reading her books she became quickly one of my favourite authors and when i requested it’s a love story i knew i could have trusted her and she really surprised me by outdoing herself!

as i said before i felt seen while reading jane’s and dan’s feelings because i could relate to both characters… why?because annabel’s stories and protagonists are ALWAYS so raw, real and relatable hence for this it’s very easy and unique to empathize with them and being captured in her stories :’)

jane’s an ex child actor but now she’s in LA as a executive creative at a film studio and she has a good feeling about a script but she needs help from dan aka the director of photography who squashed her first film deal…and so u can imagine her feelings about working with him right? well! prepare yourself to go to long island because these 2 will go there to find a famous singer from jane’s past and guess what’s also the island where dan’s parents will celebrate their anniversary so what are the odds? 😁

dan and jane i wish i could write all the emotions i felt while reading about these 2 characters separately and them as a couple because besides me relating to them they were everything… THE TENSION? THE INTIMACY OF THEIR MOMENTS? THE JEALOUSY? THE HUMOR? THEIR DIALOGUES STOP IT THIS IS REAL LOVE TO ME!!

from the vibes her books can seem just romcoms but in the end these stories aren’t simple romcoms because they are even more trust me because with this book i couldn’t stop thinking about some specific quotes or parts of the stories and well i ended up rereading it this month so when i say that i truly loved this book now u can understand the level of love i’m talking about and if u know u know that this feelings’s rare for me like i’ve already reread an arc ? me ? yes! no but realistically speaking i’m begging to have the physical copy asap because of the need to annotate my fav lines and reread!!

a lot of thanks to netgalley and to aries fiction for sending me the e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I loved Jane and Dans story. Jane and Dan end up on a totally unexpected whirlwind adventure, chasing old ghosts and learning more about each other. The journey they take to find each other and accept themselves was heartwarming. A very fun and engaging read!

not my favourite but it was enjoyable and entertaining and I had a good time reading. A summery wholesome read.

Annabel Monaghan returns with another comforting, escapist romance, this time set on the fringes of the film world. Her books are easy to read but written with a lightness of touch and sharp sense of humour that isn't always present in this genre. I think she's great.

Another great read by Annabel Monaghan! I love how her characters always seem more mature than many you read in romance novels, however I do think these characters were slightly younger than her previous books I’ve read. I loved the mental health rep and wanted to wrap Jane in hug and at the same time shake her so she would wake up and accept that love exists and she’s worth it! I enjoyed the small town feel on Long Island. I wasn’t quite as in love with these characters as our MC’s of Annabel’s but I still thoroughly enjoyed this one and 100% recommend it. Unfortunately the timing of when I read this book was straight after a 6 star read for me, so it had a lot to live up to. While I didn’t get the 5 star feels I really did love it and highlighted so many passages with Annabel’s beautiful way of writing and capturing thoughts and emotions. 4.25 stars for me!

Feeling very lucky I was approved an arc copy of this book. This story has me craving summer like right now. It follows Jane Jackson, former child actor turned film executor and cinematographer and rival- Dan Finnegan. When Jane gets her hands on a script she has her heart set on making, she is determined to get it made, even if it means working with rival Dan and tracking down her former teenage fling- Jack.

I loved the vibe and setting that this book gave. The two main characters biking to the beach, laying in the sunshine, sitting on the swing outside the house just felt so wholesome and cosy summer to me. I am itching for that feeling! I also adored Dan’s family and feeling they gave me when reading. I honestly felt what Jane was feeling when she was spending time with them.

Jane is a very reserved character in the sense of she thinks through every small detail of her life when we really find out she is holding on to some pretty big trauma. I enjoyed seeing her opening up and letting down her barriers.

This is my first Annabel Monaghan book but will definitely be adding her others to my TBR. Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for sharing this digital arc with me in exchange for my honest review.

DNF

this is my second attempt at reading something by this author, and once again i couldn’t make it past the 5th chapter, it simply didn’t work for me. there’s something so anticlimactic about her writing style that stops me from connecting with the characters or the story. I think it’s time to accept that her books and I just aren’t a good match.

many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange of an honest review!

I have loved every book by Annabel Monaghan so I had high expectations going into this one, and it really lived up to them.

While I thought the beginning was a bit rushed, I soon became completely invested in Jane and Dan as individuals and as a couple. They are both very real and relatable characters, and I was rooting for both their individual character development and their romantic development. You can really see how they both grow throughout the book, and how deeply they care for each other. I wasn't completely keen on the insta-love of it, but with how much growth they showed, I didn't mind in the end.

Annabel Monaghan's books always feel like more than a romance and this one was no exception. The emotions that are described feel real and raw, and I could fully connect to the characters and what they were going through. However, I wasn't completely invested in the Jack aspect of the storyline, and I do wish that we had seen Jane stand up for herself more in this regard. With all the growth she was showing, it would have been good to see.

Overall, though, this is a moving and realistic love story packed with emotion.

3 stars

Im sad to say It's not my favorite book from Annabel. I did have fun reading it, and our main couple was super adorable together, and yes, it was a bit instalovey, but it was cute enough I didn't mind.
My main issue was that I didn't feel like there was any real "drama" or that it wasn't "that deep" so I lose my interest at times (a first one for me with AM books) but still this was a super cute read about finding the✨️ spark✨️ in ourselves again.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.