Overall, the story was quite entertaining but dragging, it only paced faster towards the end and wrapped up pretty abruptly, like the author just wanted to be done with it. I also found the main character quite immature and lacked character growth throughout the book.

I received a free copy of How to Win a Breakup from Netgalley and Melanie Munton in exchange for an honest review.
Reasons Why Not to Date the Best Friend is the third book in the Shell Grove romance series. I adored the first two books and now this third one has lived up to all the hype I gave it in my mind. Munton’s characters are full and complete humans, and they are so funny.
Date the Best Friend is a childhood friends-to-lovers romance that has been built in the background the two previous novels. Finally, we get the payoff: a who novel focuses on the hilarious best friends Finn and Maggie. Their romance is fiery, cute, and ultimately satisfying to the reader.
I think it’s important to note that this series is quite spicy, too, so if you’re looking for some good spice let me tell you: you’ve found it.

Truly a spectacle of a story. I love when a synopsis pans out and the book ends up being a hit.

I just finished but sitting with my thoughts about certain moments within the book, I would say this is equivalent to How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days, just more modern and sex.

The narrator was phenomenal. She made Declan so dreamy and she was ultimately such a good voice for this book.

Jo and Go host a podcast spelling out the rules for dating without committing to a relationship. So when her co-host and best friend gets engaged, Go (Margo) is feeling abandoned and deceived. But as the Maid of Honor she accompanies the bridal party on a two week trip, all expenses paid by a sponsor of their podcast. With the podcast in limbo, Margo is determined to come up with new content. And Declan, the Best Man and her high school nemesis might be the perfect target.
Declan was a great character! Shy and sweet and vulnerable. It was Margo that was hard to like. She was annoyed at everyone and self centered. She and Jo are supposed to be best friends and have this podcast together, but I never really got a good feel for their relationship. So while there was a lot going on with the vacation, the trip and the wedding but there was a lot more I would have liked to know about the characters.

I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers romance (forever my favorite trips) I really related to Margo and thought the podcast aspect of the plot was so fun. Would recommend and also LOVE the cover! I had to buy a physical copy just for the summery vibe.

A podcaster hooks up with her highschool nemesis at a wedding. I love this trope - she thinks he's an enemy and he's been secretly pining for her since highschool. Seven rules for breaking hearts was cute yet satisfying.
ARC courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley - already published (I am so lagging.) This is an unpaid review.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

This was a quick read and a cute beach read but there was nothing spectacular about it.
I can't say it wowed me and for that reason I can only give it three stars.

“Seven Rules For Breaking Hearts” was a quick and angsty summer vacation romance. I loved quite a lot about it, but in the same breath there were some situations that had me giving some bombastic side eye.

I was excited to find that this book mostly took place in Catalina/California. The California coast takes me back to my childhood and I loved reading about it. Catalina Island has been a place I’ve wanted to visit my entire life and this furthered that want.

Something I loved from the start of the book was the influencer/podcast/social media discourse. Being that our main character, Margo, is a podcaster, I was really unsure how that would play out because some authors get that world, and some don’t. This author definitely does. It was refreshing to read and accurate. I loved that we got to see that the way some influencers act is wrong, but equally so is the way some are treated by disgruntled people for simply being influencers.

Speaking of Margo, I thought she was likable, even in the moments where she was supposed to be unlikable. Even when she is given a rundown of how stupid her Seven Rules are and is forced to see that certain things are completely her fault, I still sort of rooted for her.

And our male love interest, Declan? Swoooooon. I love a good “he falls first” romance. Declan was nice and sweet and funny. I loved that he was extremely shy, but still brave enough to be upfront about his feelings and communicated them most of the time. I liked the whole opposites attract thing too–Margo being an outgoing influencer, and Declan being a shy engineer who likes his privacy.

Now, the few things I didn’t really enjoy about the book. Keeping on the topic of Margo and Declan, I found it super weird how Margo first reacted when Declan said that he didn’t want to hook up with her. It’s totally valid for Margo to feel embarrassed and rejected, that’s understandable. But to get angry and be mean? If the roles were reversed, Declan would be crucified for having this reaction. I was so surprised and annoyed by this that I’m not even completely sure if this was even resolved or brought back up later on in the book. I know for sure it wasn’t immediately discussed. It was sort of a downer and I found my interest dwindling after that.

I also really didn’t like the relationship with Margo and her best friend Jo. They do the podcast together, live together, and we are meant to believe that they are best friends. But throughout the book they are rarely honest with each other. How does that work in a best friendship? I also found it weird how Margo didn’t even really know Peter, Jo’s fiancé. There’s a point in the book where Margo says it was the first time she had ever been alone in a room with Peter. For childhood best friends, that’s weird.

Speaking of Jo, I wanted to a bit more about her and Peter and how they came to date. Peter is sort of passed off as an airhead and I genuinely don’t believe them as a couple nor do I see that marriage lasting from what we are given as readers.

And lastly, some things that left me wanting something more. I would have loved to see what happened with Margo’s mom and Tony. They captured my attention way more than Jo and Peter. I also was bummed that we didn’t get to see the consequences for who turns about to be the minor villain of the story. They sort of committed a crime and then nothing came of it?

Overall, I really, really liked the romance between Margo and Declan. The main couple’s romance was absolutely the highlight of this one for me as was the incorporation of social media.

It was cute. But I just can’t handle rooting for the whiny victim mentality girl that won’t stop talking about high school I need to see why people are friends with her. I stopped reading at 65%. Just over it

This story follows influencer/ Podcast co host Go or Margo Anderson who has sworn off commitment. Her podcast that she hosts with her best friend Jo covers all you need to know to stay away from commitment. So Jo surprises Margo by wanting to get married at a sponsor's offered all-expenses paid wedding on Catalina Island. Margo and Jo have the internet to answer to, how could one of them commit after preaching no-commitment for so long. In a tight spot, Margo decides to do a social experiment. What if she breaks all her commitment rules to prove her point? Luckily for her an old high school enemy, also the groom's best friend Declan Walsh just might be game. However, what if her rules aren't all that she thought they were? What can heal Margo's heart?

This book was entertaining. It is very social media heavy. However, I will say the author gave me just enough to stay interested. The romantic connection is what kept me interested. There were a few elements of this story that I did not enjoy. I felt like the main characters were very childish in many ways which made it hard for me to enjoy. The drinking and drug use was not my cup of tea. I also felt like parts of the story were rushed particularly the ending. I thought the characters need more time to actually come back together.

Read if you enjoy:
Relationship podcasts
Romance
Enemies to Lovers
Third Act Break ups

Thank you St Martin's Griffin publishing for the ARC. All thoughts are my own!

Cute. I really enjoyed this one, and would probably round up to 5 stars. I'll definitely read more from this author.

As a perpetually single dating/relationship podcast listener and romance fan, I really liked the premise of Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts. Jo and Go are a podcasting duo who have amassed a following of listeners based on their shared experiences as single, independent women who don't feel pressured into seeking out relationships because society tells them they should. Until Jo breaks the rules that they've set forth for years and falls in love.

This novel was exactly what I expected and needed in a novel. The story felt relatable and was relevant to my life as a single woman sometimes struggling with the balance of being independent while also sometimes feeling lonely. Declan and Go's relationship evolves naturally, but there was always the feeling that something could go wrong at any moment.

It was a light, quick read that would be perfect for fans of Christina Lauren or other cheery romance authors. Teetered between giving this one three or four stars. Ultimately decided on three because while it was cute, it was somewhat predictable and wasn't a can't put it down type for me. I'll still pick up the next one from Kristyn J. Miller though if I'm looking for another easy, enjoyable read in the future.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you, St. Martin's publishers, and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I did enjoy the premise of the podcast but the reason I rate this so low is that the female main character appears really immature and/or self-centered. I felt some of her inner monologue wasn't making her likeable. She wanted to break the rules and go more with the flow, but she kept some tunnel vision even just using the love interest as her intended 'breaking the rules' target. I also felt the high school drama wasn't necessary. If there isn't much of a backstory/history of the couple presented, then I don't know why we needed to know that he was a class clown/prankster, and she was on the receiving end years before this book took place?? If this was embedding the second chance romance, then I wanted more of their history rather than monologue of the main female being upset over her friend's marriage "ruining" her podcast.

Since this is the first/only novel I've read by the author and I liked some aspects of the novel, I will likely pick up a later work of this author in hopes I like the later work more than this one.

Had I not DNFed: estimated rating 2-3 stars out of 5

This was a great summer beach read! I enjoyed the characters and their chemistry. There were times where Margo said things that annoyed the hell out of me, but overall a fun and fast read. Was missing a little depth too.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC

Thank you to @netgalley @smpromance and @stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @prhaudio for a free download of the audiobook.

In the spirit of How to Lose a Guy in 10 days…with their podcast, Go and Jo head off to Catalina Island to plan and host Jo’s wedding. This is the opportunity Margo (Go) takes to enforce her dating rules, especially when it comes to a former classmate.

The banter and dialog are fun, and the characters are well developed. You couldn’t help but root for Go to abandon her rule book and give love a shot!

5 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #smpromance #stmartinspress #prhaudio #ltbreaderteam #sevenrulesforbreakinghearts #kristynmiller

This one was pretty cute! When Margo Anderson says no more- she starts a podcast with her bestie about hoking up- for fun only. But, when her counterpart decides to get married and takes a completely sponsored trip for her nuptials, all hell breaks loose. She decides to throw all her rules for dating out the window- and leaves her breathless and excited for what comes next!

There were parts of this story that I thought were cute, like the second chance romance. But I struggled to get into the story of it all.

I loved Declan, but Margo was a difficult character to follow. She was often selfish, and didn’t have a lot of self-reflection.

I did think the second half of the book was better than the first.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Read this closely: GIVE THIS BOOK A SHOT.

At first, I was NOT feeling it. Some random chicks with a podcast that somehow blew up? And they were having a FULL wedding sponsored? It seemed too good to be true. Like yes, I know influencers are a thing, but also I might have been rolling my eyes a little bit at the beginning.

But I stuck with it. I pushed past my initial dislike for the influencer story, and boy am I glad I did! I ended up really enjoying this one!

Margo, the MFC is 1/2 of a team on a podcast about remaining single. Truth be told, I thought she was annoying at first. She was mad at her best friend for finding a partner, scared for what that meant for their podcast (and living situation), and she just tried way too hard for social media. HOWEVER, she grew on me. She was NOT a static character; she went through some growing pains but ultimately made it out on the other side better. I felt like by the end of the story, she was a lot more genuine/relatable.

Now, let’s talk about the romance. The banter is fun, quick, and feels natural. Personally, I became a huge fan of Declan who knew he deserved better than to just be some random story on a podcast. He was a dream, and I might’ve fall in love with him, too. I got caught up in their adventures around Catalina. Let’s be honest, I got caught up with them. They’re very cute together and just a good fit in general.

So, maybe this book started out as a two for me but easily moved up to a 4.5. It’s the perfect romcom for when you need something light and fun to improve your mood. I highly recommend it!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for this eARC. Reviews are live on Goodreads, Amazon, and soon to be on Bookstagram.

This was a very cute read and I liked how smooth and quick the story was.

Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope so this was definitely one I knew I was going to enjoy!

Took me a little time in the story to connect with Margo, but overall I really enjoyed this one.

Writing style is captivating! Looking forward to read more works of the author!

Special thanks to NetGalley

I sadly DFN this but did pre-order it so I do own a copy of it. Maybe I will try again but for now, I stopped at 65% of the novel and didn't finish. I did not like the writing style or the characters.