“How could a life that looked so glossy from the outside feel so terrible on the inside?” (Laura Bradbury, 2023, quote from ARC)

3.5 stars.
Adorable and relatable characters, including a self-confessed nerd rock star with anxiety issues and a devoted daughter and sister wasting talent with some kind of martyr complex, make “Oxford Star”, by Laura Bradbury (Grape Books) an easy, entertaining and compelling read.
I loved the main characters – Jack, Lucy - their altruism, devotion and love for each other, and the differences that make them fragile, vulnerable and very human and relatable.
Jack’s panic attacks and anxiety were well written and I appreciated that the author didn’t sugarcoat its debilitating and sometimes bewildering effects. It’s rare to find such a good depiction of these conditions.
It’s ironic that such a famous and privileged person hides so much pain.
The way the author characterized both protagonists’ appearances was compelling, too, creating a good visual image of them.
Their reencounter was so cute. I liked the second chance they’re given in several dimensions of their lives. Having dual point of view was helpful, too.
I felt the transition from music to astronomy was perhaps a bit simplistic. Emphasizing the hero’s nerdy tendencies was achieved more by telling than showing.
There is also a lot of mutual lusting over the characters’ physical attributes.
I liked the setting and the secondary characters and how they are so supportive of the protagonists.

A light and easy (but very steamy) second chance romance, Oxford Star is a pretty solid story, perfect for when you want a guaranteed happy ending and some characters to swoon over!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was so cute! One of my favorite tropes is a celebrity romance so this was right up my alley. I felt it was easy to read, engaging, and had just the right amount of spice. I loved Jack and Lucy. I think the way their history was woven into the present day was well done and was rooting for them all along. The ending felt a bit rushed but otherwise it was great.

This was a really fun read! It had a lot of things I like in a book! Set in England, a boy in a band, and a really cute love story! I loved that Lucy was a more normal body type and struggled with loving herself. Also, I loved that Jack represented anxiety so well. This was a great book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading Jack and Lucy’s love story.

3.5 stars!

"Oxford Star" by Laura Bradbury is a bit of a mixed bag for me. The book starts strong with an engaging, intriguing premise, but gets bogged down along the way by this and that. The main characters, Lucy and Jack, must get reacquainted with each other after Jack broke Lucy's heart, and took her place in the spotlight, years ago. Jack has been in love with Lucy ever since they were teenagers. Even after he broke her heart, he never stopped pining for her. This book has great panic attack/severe anxiety representation. I appreciate the way Jack's attacks aren't written to make him look "less than" (which I've seen other books do in the past!). I love how Lucy doesn't hold back what she thinks, even when faced with insurmountable pressure while being at the lowest of low points in her life. When Lucy unexpectedly bumps into Jack on an airplane to Oxford, she's not interested in reconnecting with him, and she tells him as much! She's strong but also vulnerable and not super confident in her abilities as a potential lawyer or as a singer. There are a couple of strong moments of connection between these two characters, but it's not full of the best chemistry. Luckily, it's not a tough book to get through, and I read it in just a few sittings.
I was not too fond of the third act with the random antagonist of the book. I saw this plot point coming from a mile away, but it made little sense and doesn't fit with the rest of the story. It's also a little silly to think that, after a few weeks in Oxford, Jack winds up doing what he does in such an inordinately short amount of time?? Like, no way is that even possible? I know this is fiction, but *come on.*

One thing's for sure, I will definitely keep an eye out for Laura Bradbury's future works because she made me laugh on multiple occasions while reading this book. It just felt like it needed more tightening and editing, plus a reworked third act. I'm seriously still scratching my head about that one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Laura Bradbury, and Grape Books for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

This book was perfect! Enemies to lovers, fake dating, famous and unknown. It was absolutely amazing. I would give this a 6 star review if I could.
I just reviewed Oxford Star by Laura Bradbury. #oxfordstarlaurabradbury #NetGalley
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I had somehow overlooked the first installment in Bradbury's Oxford series, Oxford Wild, yet Oxford Star turned out to be a nice modern romance novel with a few tropes that I enjoy, such as fake dating and second chance romance (I am a sucker for second chance).

I really loved how Laura Bradbury tled about anxiety/panic disorder. And I really loved that they together learned how to live for themselves and not for others anymore, it is such an important topic !

NB: there is still some editing mistakes that break the fluidity of the reading pace (at least in the version I received)

A fun read, enjoyable story line and characters than you want to have a happy ending, definitely one for the beach this summer

I love all of Laura Bradbury’s books, and Oxford Star did not disappoint. This was a cute love story between Lucy and Jack that left me wondering all the way until the end how their life predicaments would be resolved. I admire the author for making Lucy a huskier young women. Most love stories always have beautiful sexy women, so it was nice to read a more realistic romance. My only issue with the book was the ending. The lady with the gun was a bit far-fetched. Otherwise, great book!

I really enjoyed Oxford Wild and I loved Oxford Star! I really liked the story execution and the way heavy topics were addressed.

Jack and Lucy 🤌🏻

I just finished reading Oxford star by Laura Bradbury and here are my thoughts.

When Jack starts to feel the anxiety and burn out from being a rock God, he takes refugee at Oxford for 8 weeks to study. He didn't expect to be sitting next to Lucy on the flight there. The girl he fell in love with and left before the biggest audition of her life.

Lucy gave up on music when Jack abandoned her right before they were both supposed to go on stage and took to studying law. She is at Oxford for the same 8 weeks as luck would have it and her and Jack… across the hall from each other.

It's like fate. He needs to have a fake girlfriend so the paparazzi stops thinking he is in rehab and she needs financial support for her mother and sister. It's a win win right? What could possibly go wrong?

Ok I'm all for cute romance stories but this one might have been too cute for words.
I connected with Lucy right from the get go! She takes the weight of the world on and the brunt of the responsibility for her family.

I am still a little upset with Jack for abandoning her. His excuse for not going was flimsy and I get he was young but…. I'm a grudge holder. I did find the banter between the two of them was quite adorable and the storyline throughout was well thought out and I really did feel engaged all the way through.

What didn't I like? I found the ending a little u realistic but other than that… I thoroughly enjoyed this cute little romance read.

4 stars. Would definitely read more from this author!

Thank you to @netgalley and grape books for my review copy. Out now!!!

I started out loving Oxford Star. I am not kidding, I laughed out loud like 5 times in the first 3 chapters of the book. The books follows Lucy as she unwittingly because reacquainted with her teenage first love Jack, who is now a mega rock star in need of a sabbatical. They both were supposed to audition for Canada's Got Talent, but Jack betrayed Lucy by signing an exclusive contract to join a band known as Northern Junk. Four years later the two end up at Oxford College together. Lucy begins studying for an advanced pace law degree to support her mother and baby sister since her dad died in a boating access. Jack is suffering severe panic attacks and starts a research project on his favorite star in the universe (he's an astronomy nerd). Through forced proximity and a fake dating scheme the two fall back into love with each other and come to term with the way their futures are shaping out.

I really liked the romantic scenes that the author thought out. There were several super cute things that Jack did for Lucy that really warmed my cold dead heart. She has a penchant for fairy lights, which is a surefire way to get my mental picture of the scene to go into overdrive. I also enjoyed that Jack was not aggressive in the alpha male way that many rom-com's portray. Even though he's a mega star, he's down to earth and normal in a nice way.

I was severely disappointed with the absolutely unhinged turn the very end of the book took. I feel as thought the usual third act break up in rom-com's would have been way more agreeable than dramatic scene that solidifies Jack and Lucy's love. I know that this will also be a niche take, but it's clear the author doesn't know how the scientific field works. The idea that a student could, in less than 6 months, make a major academic discover, write, and publish a paper is laughable. That's just not how it works and irritated me rather than what I'm sure was supposed to be a heart warming ending. All of the junk in the last two chapters was what made me knock a star off of my rating.

This was such a brilliant read, I couldn’t put it down and finished it in less than 48 hours! Despite not reading the first book in the series, I still found I was able to follow along easily and got to grips with the characters.

I always love when there’s plus-size representation in romance novels and I thought this story handled it well. Lucy and Jack are loveable characters that you root for throughout the story.

Oxford Star was a good contemporary romance book that included a few tropes that I like for an example fake dating.

Apparently this is book number two in Bradburys new series called Oxford and I don't know how I have missed the first book that goes by the name Oxford Wild.

In Oxford Star we get to meet the main characters Lucy and Jack.
Lucy was really easy to like from the beginning since I felt like she was a strong young woman with a sharp tongue. When it comes to Jack it took a few pages in before I really liked him. He is a rock star who is a space nerd and struggles with his mental health.

The writing and story was really good and I finished reading it in just a couple of hours because I didn't wanted to put it down.
Now I will try to get my hands on Oxford Wild to get to know Alfie and Cedar that also appears in this one.

I give this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5.

Thank you so much to the author herself for allowing me read this one through NetGalley.

4.5 *

Oxford Star is a story about Lucy and Jack, about second chances in life and in love. They met while rehearsing for a Canadian singing competition, but Jack's career took off while Lucy's didn't. Unfortunately, when they parted ways, Lucy felt betrayed by Jack, who signed a deal right before the competition and left her hanging, thinking she'd just go perform on her own. She did not, and left deciding to never sing again. Several years later, they cross paths again, both headed for Oxford to study. Lucy has decided to study law, in order to better support her mother and sister. Jack has taken a hiatus from performing in a bid to get his massive anxiety under control while studying his true passion of astronomy. Lucy is very unhappy to learn that Jack will be invading her new home, but hopes she won't see much of him since their subjects of study are so different. For his part, Jack is happy to be near her again, and hopes she can get past her anger and allow herself to get back to singing. Due to her overwhelming sense of responsibility, Lucy feels that she has no choice but to study law, and Jack feels trapped in his singing career by a ridiculously bad contract. Can they manage to free themselves and find a way forward, doing what they love, together?

I thought this book was just lovely. As a music lover and occasional reality-tv watcher, I really liked the rock star/musician aspect of the story. I also adored all the star talk that was sprinkled throughout.

The spice level felt just right; not overdone, but definitely not invisible. There were some very romantic scenes, and I felt some flutters at times. It was very sweet, and a fun story to read that had a couple of very tense moments.

Oxford Star is a story that would be great for readers who love a good second chance romance, a bit of enemies-to-lovers, some close-proximity, and a lovely found family that are worth their weight in gold. I would definitely recommend this for a light, sweet but spicy read.

Jack Seary has loved Lucy Snow for the past four years. Yet all Lucy feels is betrayal as Jack stole her dream of a singing career. So, when they meet again, all their past rushes back to them in full force. Yet now, Jack is a famous rock star, who suffers from debilitating panic attacks and has escaped to Oxford, to pursue his childhood dream of studying astronomy. Lucy is also attending Oxford, to gain a degree in law, to financially support her mother and sister. And when Lucy finds herself agreeing to be his pretend girlfriend, to help save him from financial ruin, Lucy can’t believe how much she wants to save him.
I enjoy the dual POV and how it was handled in this storyline, as it gave me an opportunity to explore the issues that both Jack and Lucy had. Jack’s admiration for Lucy is apparent from the first page, and his perception of Lucy, is a far cry from the one that she has. Whilst Lucy sees him as a gorgeous and successful rock star, his internal dialogue and how he acts, does not reflect this. Jack is sensitive to others, and his crippling anxiety attacks, make him so relatable. He sees Lucy as a beautiful, talented woman, whilst Lucy struggles with her own worth. It was so lovely to see the self-confidence of both characters grow, as they spend time together. A sweet read with a slow-burn romance.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I found the book to be swoony and romantic. It's a second-chance rockstar friends-to-lovers romance. Although I struggled with the connection between the main characters at first, I found that the book's second half was more substantial in character development and communication. The representation of Jack's anxiety and panic disorder was approached well, and I appreciated Lucy's supportive role in this. Although Lucy's growth was slower, I appreciated her realizing that taking something for herself was okay. The Oxford setting provided a fun and historical backdrop to the romance, and I appreciated the body positivity and how it was woven into Lucy's story. Overall, I found this book quite entertaining, and I recommend it.

4 cute romance story

Author Laura Bradbury takes us back to Oxford in this charming romance. I read the first Oxford book right before this one, so that felt fun to revisit old friends as some of the same characters appear in both books.
Just like Cedar in the first book, this one has two new Oxford students coming from Canada in a new program.

We meet Lucy on the plane to London and get flashbacks from her life in Canada where she almost made it big singing on a TV talent show. Her partner, Jack, signs a big recording deal and leaves her right before they were to go on air. Lucy will never forgive him.

Now Jack has become a huge rockstar but he’s hiding a big secret, he’s paralyzed by panic attacks. He’s taking a break by studying his true love, astronomy, at Oxford for one term.

Cue the dramatic music!

Just who happens to be sitting next to Lucy on the flight to London? Jack of course!

As the two fight their attraction, fight off the paparazzi, and try to learn something, I couldn’t help but see the two of them together eventually!

Lucy is buckling down for a demanding two-year law program and trying her best to ignore Jack. I love the “fake boyfriend/girlfriend” trope and this one delivers as Jack agrees to this plan from his odious manager. Is there a way for Jack to break free of the rockstar life he doesn’t want and for Lucy to find success as a singer?

It’s a good thing Bradbury writes fairly quickly as now I’m ready for the next installment and a return to Oxford! These are enjoyable reads but have some real issues with plausible characters. I love that Lucy is a plus-size heroine and that Jack doesn’t try to change that. And it’s refreshing to see characters follow their real dreams. The focus on mental health is noted too and it just doesn’t magically go away.

Jack and Lucy were great characters and had great chemistry. Love the concept and the romantic parts of this but unfortunately for me the Oxford setting was a bit confusing. Also, the parents of Jack, his manager, and Lucy’s mom drove me crazy. Glad the author hit on anxiety and panic attacks, it’s very common and some people just try ignore it. Thought the bandmates would have been more supportive of him getting better. Lucy was a strong character and was realistic with wanting to be a star but knowing she had other responsibilities to take care of. Love that Jack made her see herself the way he saw her. Good book and am thankful for the opportunity to read it for my honest opinion. Would definitely read this author again.

Great romance, be still my heart...

I am a huge fan of Laura Bradbury, starting with her "Grape" books and continuing with her more recent Winemaker's trilogy, Unlikely Match, and now the Oxford books. This has got to be one of her best. It's a wonderful romance with all the needed plot twists and turns to keep you turning the pages! Highly recommended (as are the rest of Ms Bradbury's books). What a pleasure to read during the dreary final days of winter!

Thank you to the publisher who lent me a time-constrained e-arc via Netgalley. This review is optional and my own opinion,