I've never seen a rating that's genuinely so low on Goodreads, so I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail - clearly I'm not alone in saying that I did not love the book. I liked the concept and the cover, so I was excited to dig into this one. I'm a sucker for texting in books, and I liked the idea of her falling in an unexpected way with someone she already has feelings for. Unfortunately, the writing style didn't work for me - from the start - and the friendships felt toxic. I didn't really like any of the characters. So it was tough to get emotionally invested in the romance, and I ended up doing some skimming before ultimately leaving it unfinished.

Lark’s efforts are never enough in the tech bro culture she works in - her ideas aren’t taken seriously unless repeated louder by a man who will ultimately take credit for it ( and believe her, he will). When she unexpectedly loses her job, however, she’s forced to find a new way to pay rent. Despite how uncomfortable she is with the whole thing, her friends convince her to start sexting for cash. And sure, the app is filled with pervs, but the cash starts flowing in. As does a connection with the guy who simply wants to chat - no sexting needed.

This is objectively a fun concept, and I love it when books or media legitimize sex work as real work! I really liked how Lark went from kind of clueless about how to sext, to being mostly good at it(even if she was still copy and pasting her friend group sourced material most of the time). Her strong connection with her nerdy client is definitely a different experience, because she was comfortable just being herself.

I love friends to lovers, so I was rooting for Toby and Lark for the whole book - these two could not be cuter!! Their chemistry was so sweet, and the stigma that Lark faces when grappling with when to tell Toby that she was a sex worker was such great tension.

There were laugh out loud moments, and really sweet ones. I enjoyed this book a lot! I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a spicy little treat.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the eArc

This was fine, pretty cringey because of the sexting, which is easy to have go really wrong really quick. The friendship was toxic and I was just waiting for her to stand up for herself. Pro: very sex positive! Not too much to say, honestly it will probably be forgotten in my brain quite quickly.

Text Appeal by Amber Roberts was a cute read but I feel like the marketing and blurb missed the mark a bit. Amber Roberts writes friends-to-lovers well, building in and developing the emotional connection and tension between Lark and Toby in a natural progression. The pieces that fall short are the sexting -- we're "told" Lark is uncomfortable, but the writing doesn't really show that until we get to Lark's only real conversations with Toby in disguise. Added to that is the disingenuous behavior of the best friend and friend group. The first half of the story felt more like Literary Fiction than Romance, and while I do think that there is a market for that, Text Appeal might not land with those looking for a STEM-forward, steamy or spicy friends to lovers. That being said, I enjoyed seeing Lark build herself up from nothing and start a new business, showing that women can be strong and empowered and don't need to rely on men or get stuck under the glass ceiling to make themselves successful.

This was a really fun read. If you are a fan of friends to lovers, slow burn and STEM, then this book will be for you!

Lark's journey is one that you will immediately be sucked into and from the start you will be rooting for her. After loosing her job, Lark takes up sexting, as expected their are a more than a few weird people she encounters but after some time she starts to enjoy it. Whilst she has this going on, she is trying to hide her crush on her friend Toby. She also thinks she is doing a good job of hiding her sexting job from him.....

Some of the messages and interactions were funny to read and did provide a comedy element to the book. Whilst the Toby/Lark relationship was nice to see develop, I just felt it missed the mark slightly. I didn't really catch on to any real chemistry between the two. It wasn't very exciting and because of this, the book lost be just over half way through.

I am giving it 3 stars as I did enjoy the story line, the romance element just wasn't there for me.

I was really excited to read this book. With all the STEM related rom coms hitting the shelves, I was ready to read a new to me author. This book has great potential but it just moved too slow for me. Maybe slow burn was the idea, but I struggled to finish. I did love the concept though and I’m always a sucker for friends to enemies type books.

I was really excited for this one, but it was a miss for me. In a romance, you need chemistry between your main characters, and I wasn't feeling it. It was actually kind of cringy. We had great tropes/plot points, like STEMinists and friends to lovers with a slow burn. I loved the sex worker positivity too. The idea of the book overall was interesting. The romance just fell short for me.

The blurb of this book sounded so promising but it didn't live up to it. I thought this was supposed to be sex positive which it definitely isn't. There wasn't really a likable character. They were all pretty immature and Taegan is a horrible friend. There wasn't any chemistry between Lark & Toby as friends let alone as love interests and the pace was so slow I lost interest.

2 stars.

I really wanted to like Amber Roberts' "Text Appeal." Unfortunately, I found myself wanting so much more from this book. I was annoyed by what we got in this final product. Readers were promised a sex-positive story, but it didn't feel like it was. Lark, the main female character, is fired from her STEM job because she was sexually harassed by a man online and accidentally cast an inappropriate photo of him in front of everybody during a business meeting. Ummmmm, what???!!! While she flounders trying to find a new job, and just before she hits "rock bottom," she decides to take up a side gig sending sexy texts for money. This transition doesn't feel natural at all. It also implies that people only turn to s3x work as a last resort or when they are desperate for cash (which isn't always the case and is a huge misconception about that line of work!). Even though I fully support her decision to do this work, she doesn't actually WANT to do this job, which is not empowering, it's conversion! Her choice to do this felt icky to me under the guise of being "sex-positive." No no no. I wouldn't say I liked any of the characters, especially Teagan. With friends like her, ehh? What a horrible "best friend." If you identified with her in any way, RUN. Lark and the main male character, Toby, also got on my nerves. Neither of them will make a move! It's like, let's get a move on here! It is supposed to be a friends-to-lovers story, but I saw almost no chemistry between Lark and Toby. They hem and haw for most of the book until they hook up. Booooring. This book is painfully slow to unfold. I will read whatever this writer writers next, but this was a disappointing, grating bust for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amber Roberts, and Alcove for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

This book is so cute, I enjoyed reading the story, nice RomCom
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the book

Text Appeal by Amber Roberts is a delightful friends-to-lovers romance, infused with a captivating You've Got Mail twist. This novel promises an enjoyable and flirtatious journey, brimming with excitement and charm.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐
SPICE: 🔥🔥

I wanted to love this book. The premise was perfection: Lark, a woman in a STEM industry poised for her big break, falls from grace and from her job. When her best friend suggested she breaks into sex work, she finds herself sending dirty texts for cash. At the same time, her other best friend Toby is newly single, and having crushed on him for so long, this is the opportunity she is looking for to move to the next level, but should she come clean with her current profession?

Like I said, it sounds like a promising story, but I just thought this book was ok. The pace was slow, and I could not find any of the characters relatable. Lark's character development felt incomplete and eventually rushed. Am I wrong for expecting this book to be spicier given Lark's new venture?

** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Amber Roberts, Alcove Press, and NetGalley for providing an ARC. **

This was so fun! It was not what I expected in a rom=com but this book was such a fun take on the genre! There were times when I wanted more depth from the novel, but I really liked this one!

I love a good friends to lovers romance, and this didn’t disappoint! Amber Robert’s nailed the slow burn romance that makes your toes curl, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.

From the blurb, this book sounded great. I was left wanting after finishing the book. The romance could have been better. While the writing is good, given the context and genre of the book, it could have been a little more fun.

As the only woman coder in her firm, Lark is always overlooked and underappreciated. Every day she wants to quit, but being fired is a different story—especially for accidently projecting a risqué photo during a presentation. At the suggestion of her extrovert friend Teagan, she starts a job sexting complete strangers anonymously for money. After a few awkward encounters when she first starts, she actually starts to enjoy the work, especially with one sweet and nerdy client that keeps messaging. How will she explain her new job to her best friend Toby who she's secretly has a crush on for years?
I had high hopes for this book but it ended up just OK for me. With the arc copy, I had trouble with the format of the texts because they're pictures and wouldn't enlarge when I tried to adjust the font. Hopefully that's resolved in the final copy. The story was cute and I enjoyed Lark's closeness with her friends. I felt bad about her work situation and the men's attitude toward women in STEM. The sexting, especially her first attempts, was funny. But the plot felt a little flat halfway through the book and I really didn't feel the chemistry between Lark and Toby off the screen. Teagan was funny at first but after awhile I was starting to wonder why Lark didn't drop this toxic friendship. Overall just OK for me.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, engaging and cute, though I sometimes found the main character frustrating. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

I wish I had something good to say about this book. I’m so sad I don’t. This premise had the makings to be a five-star read for me. I found every single character deeply insufferable, immature and petty. There wasn’t a single not toxic relationship in this book. Was the sex positivity promised in the room with us? Because I found for a book about a sex worker, it was deeply puritanical. There was no chemistry between Lark and Toby. I didn’t like them as friends and didn’t root for them as lovers. I am truly devastated this book was as bad as it was.

I struggled with this story a bit. The premise felt a little extreme. Lark works at a company where she is constantly dealing with the boys club, but is convinced she will get a promotion soon. She loses her job under extreme circumstances and her best friend suggests sex work as a first option, which would be out of character for the FMC. It is a friends to lovers, but the interactions between the two are limited fairly far into the book. Things improve when there are more interactions, but it takes a while to get there.

3.75⭐️ | 2 🌶️

When I saw the adorable cover and read the blurb for this one, I was really intrigued so when NetGalley accepted my ARC request I was obviously thrilled!

It’s a quick read but not quite fast paced. It started off quite slow but ended perfectly! I did however wish I could love it more than I did.

I instantly fell in love with the FMC, Lark (such a cute and unique name btw!) and I really liked her character arc, she’s quirky and fun. The romance between the two MCs did feel a bit disconnected and disappointing, however their sexting interactions were quite fun.

This slow-burn, friends to lovers is a feel-good and LOL read. Overall it’s fun, flirty and mildly spicy.

While the premises of this book were amazing, it unfortunately missed the mark for me.