In Work It Out, we see Hollywood star Jake fall head over heels - literally - for Rayah, gym owner and trainer extraordinaire. Jake is desperate to get into superhero shape for a role, but he has a secret condition that could hold him back.

Rayah has built a business with a crew of very dedicated - and muscular - friends, some who witnessed her at her lowest. One in particular held my heart more than others. I hereby petition Blaine to get an HEA and that I get to read it 🤣. That poor man. I know he and Rayah weren't meant for each other, but a tiny part of me wanted them to be together!

“Buck those traditional gender roles, cupcake. Haul your man back to your cave and take what you want! I’m totally down. One hundred percent consent here.”

Blaine aside, the romance between Jake and Rayah was very sweet. He was persistent but respectful and had no issue with the fact that she could literally carry him up a hill. There was a big surprise when things finally heated up, but I think both the author AND Jake handled it well!

“ 'What am I going to do with you?' Love me."

I do believe this is my favorite microtrope now 😍. It always happens when there's a cinnamon roll MMC and a weary FMC, and man does it pack a mighty punch!

Work It Out was such a fun and hilarious novel!! I had a difficult time putting it down to act like a productive member of society. 5 stars. Highly recommended!

Thank you, Eva Siedler, Entangled, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

This book was so much fun to read! While it does have some darker situations that could be considered triggering, I loved this romance story from start to finish. Work It Out is a grumpy/sunshine, chronic illness rep, he falls first romance between Rayah, a reformed gymnast running a high end training facility, and Jake, the hometown actor returning in order to get in shape for a movie role.

These two hit it off immediately and I seriously loved the chemistry between them. I thought the romance story was really well-written and I felt like these characters had real dimension! I loved Rayah and Jake but every character in this book had something special about them. Learning Rayah’s history and seeing how strong she still carries herself really hit home and the fact that Jake saw right through it had me swooning!!

The found family between all these characters who came together was a really sweet addition and how all these people would do anything for each other no matter where they came from. I loved the friendships, the plot, the relationship between Rayah and Jake… ugh just an overall amazing romance between two people who fit together too well to be ignored💜

This badly written Chris (insert your favorite Marvel Chris last name) fan fiction that somehow got traditionally published should have heavy revisions because it is too heavy on the big man small woman must protect from other 🐓 toxic behavior..... It's going to be a no for me.
I will however not post any bad reviews because just because I don't like it does not mean it won't be someone else's cup of tea.

Actor Jake Newman returns to his hometown to train for a new superhero role. He joins a health resort owned by Rayah who is a former gymnast. Sparks fly between these two. But when Jake hides his health condition from Rayah, will it burn the relationship that was building between them?

This book was so entertaining! I absolutely loved the author's humor. Rayah was a powerhouse. That woman was sassy and feisty. What made it even better was those were the traits that Jake admired in her. He had so much respect for her. I absolutely adored these two together. Not only was their chemistry off the charts but they also supported one another.

It had a homey feel to it because of the lovable and quirky characters. The side characters added so much and the dynamic between them made this book fun. I had such a great time reading it. Great humor with a lot of heart.

4.5 stars

Work It Out by Eva Siedler is an intriguing romance between a television star trying to get in shape for the next big superhero film & the owner of the fancy gym he’s training at. There’s two people with secrets, pasts & a running chemistry between the pair…can they work it out?!

I highly recommend checking out the content warnings because this covers some difficult topics.

Work It Out is great for fans of…
💪 Celebrity Romance
💪 Forced Proximity
💪 Disability Representation

I was ecstatic to see that this book has POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) representation because I only know of two books with it. I was also super excited because there was a hero with POTS, which I’ve never seen before. I loved how that played an integral part into the story. & I could relate heavily to the beginning aspects of his journey. Disability representation is so important & one of my greatest passions. I’m so grateful that it exists, especially in romance.

I see a lot of potential with this author. I sometimes struggled with the hero & the things he said. I really appreciated the authenticity of his Dysautonomia though.

If you’re looking for a cheeky, forced proximity romance to work out your blues, I recommend checking out Work It Out!

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Entangled Publishing for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

Content Warnings: This book mentions &/or contains past sexual abuse.

Work It Out is a super mature and interesting novel. I confess that I was a little scared because of the setting of the story, because I had never read a book where the protagonists are involved in the gym environment. It's not something that appeals to me, but although it was a big part of the story, it didn't bother me one bit. I found the community very fun and the protagonists didn't irritate me like they do in some novels. In fact, I loved the prota. Jake is so light and kind, everything Rayah needs to overcome some ghosts from the past. I found the progress of the novel a little physically fast, but in general I really liked the story and Eva Siedler's writing.

Loved this book! The premise made for want to read it, and the author delivered! My love language is acts of service, so I was glad to read about it in the book. The FMC is very aware of herself, and I love how self-assured she is. The characters were likeable and relatable. I'm a sucker for books bringing awareness to conditions most don't portray. Definitely recommend this book!

Work it Out by Eva Siedler is an incredibly cute addition to the Entangled Publishing (Amara) lineup. It features a small town atmosphere and a love story that will keep you invested from start to finish. The story is set in a private gym in a small mountain town owned by Rayah, a former gymnast who, though slow to trust, has such an endearing heart. Jake is a television actor trying to break into movies by earning a superhero role and returns to his hometown to seek the help of his best friend who works for Rayah. Both have their secrets, and watching them navigate the waters of their past trauma and how it affects the present gave the book so much depth.

I simply can’t say enough good things about this book. There was so much to adore here:

A fantastic romance
Heart breaking revelations that added an element of reality to the story
Amazing side characters who were so incredibly well developed, including quirky residents of the town
A male main character who is unafraid to be vulnerable
An ending that will leave you swooning!

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

If you are a fan of contemporary small town romances, this book is definitely worth checking out. There are so many likable characters, I can’t help but hope that perhaps some of them will get a spin off in the future! For now though, enjoy the residents of Bigbone and all the quirky situations they create for Rayah and Jake.

I actually didn't finish this one. The premise and vibe sounded right up my alley for a quick and fun read. However, I didn't connect with the book as much as I'd hoped. Maybe it's because I'm a mood reader and just wasn't feeling it? Idk. It seemed like the plot was a little all over the place with several different character storylines, and it just didn't flow well for me. Maybe I'll try again later, but it's a DNF for me for now.

Still, thanks so much to Entangled for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jake Newman needs to get in shape quickly if he hopes to land the next big superhero role. Rayah Summers owns a full-service fitness resort in his hometown. It’s a match made in heaven. Or it would be, if Jake wasn’t hiding a secret that could cost them both everything.

I had mixed feelings about Work It Out. Jake is an actor with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a disorder he wants to keep a secret – especially considering he wants to land a superhero role. The problem isn’t his medical condition – it’s that he keeps it a secret from Rayah when starting an extreme diet and exercise regime. Jake lacks some maturity which made me kinda “meh” on him as a character. He does have some cheesy charm, however, and his adorkableness could be cute. Rayah is a former gymnast who is determined to make her resort a success not only for herself but the found family she has working with her. I liked Rayah’s determination and wished we’d gotten more into her backstory and personality outside of Explosion business and her burgeoning relationship with Jake. Their romance is cute, but may be a bit campy for some readers.

Work It Out follows a fairly predictable path and it did leave me wanting a bit more. Eva Siedler wrote in some secondary characters that had a lot of potential and made me want to dive deeper into them. About three-quarters of the way through the book it really picked up the pace and that’s when I truly became invested in Rayah and Jake’s story. It’s a pity the book took so long to capture my attention because when it did I was glued to the pages. So while overall I thought Work It Out was just OK, there’s enough there that I liked that I would absolutely pick up another one of Siedler’s books.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Rayah pours her life savings into opening a wellness resort. Jake is an actor and just landed the lead role in an action movie. He temporarily moves back to his hometown in Arizona to train and build muscle. He and Rayah start to fall for each other, but he’s also keeping a major secret about his health from.

I loved the relationship between the two of them! They had great chemistry! Also, it was nice to see the MMC in more of a vulnerable role for a change. I thought the spoke did a great job touching on his illness.

This was such a sweet and heartwarming book. Exactly what I needed to read. This book started out really fast, but then slow down a little bit. I still had a hard time putting it down. It definitely kept my interest and I really enjoyed this book!

📘: Work It Out by Eva Siedler
🗓️: January 29, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Eva Siedler, and Entangled Publishing,LLC for this ARC!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Reviewed on NetGalley, Amazon, and Goodreads.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of ‘Work it out’ by Eva Siedler. I am always so excited when I see a romance book come out with female athletes in it and was keen to dive in.
This story wasn’t for me, honestly a big part of it had nothing to do with the story at all and was actually related to the off putting language in the dedication at the front of the book and the repeat of the phrase during the story that kind of put me off and things never quite recovered for me.
The story is about a fancy gym in a small town called Explosion and the other staff from the gym will likely make up the next main characters in what I assume will be a series.
The main characters are an ex-gymnast who owns the facility and a Hollywood actor who grew up locally. There is instant attraction from both sides and a large focus on her past trauma guiding her actions and behaviour.

It had potential but just fell flat for me.

The constant comments about the physical appearances was painful.

The storyline started strong but just fell apart 25 % in and there were too many side plots and things going on to keep me engaged:

Thanks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Initially, I found this book to be quite promising. The dialogue was engaging, the humor was fun, and the setting was interesting and new to me (I don't often read gym/workout books). However, my enthusiasm waned as the story progressed. The pacing felt off—rushed, and overloaded with too much information.

The dialogue was often overly cheesy, and some elements seemed forced rather than earned. And really, cheesy was better than the sometimes annoying or immature-sounding inner monologue that would come from the characters.

Also, the povs were also hard to follow sometimes. While I generally appreciate third-person narratives, in this instance, incorporating simple identifiers like character names at the beginning of chapters could have enhanced reader understanding.

Overall, the humor is delivered well and the overall plot holds promise. Unfortunately, this particular book did not resonate with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for this book.

The story, plot, setting and characters were good, hoemwever the book felt a bit rushed to me. The humor was brilliantly done and I did find myself invested in the story, but jyst felt thete should have been more.

Overall it was a good read, but not top if my go to list.

Three stars for me.

This rom-com had its hilariously funny bits and some spicyyyyy bits too! I enjoyed the forced proximity romance between Rayah and Jake. I always enjoy when both of the main characters have flaws, secrets, or things they have to overcome in the story. That piece gave the story a bit more. There were times that the story or pacing felt a bit all over the place. This made me loose interest midway through the book, but picked back up and I did enjoy it overall.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for approving the request for this book.

Thanks a lot even though I didn't enjoy this. I read romance for chemistry not for both MCs who keep drooling over each other bodies and can't get their eyes off of each other's asses. I understand that the author was supposed to write it as spicy but nahh I got irritated.
To be honest, I couldn't focus on what was happening in this book, sometimes it felt too slow, and other times I felt like I missed some pages in between and honestly I wasn't even that invested to read it properly. I DID read 70 pages of the start with a lot of interest but I couldn't keep up with too many people who kept appearing out of nowhere and then again MCs with their traumas.

Anyway, it might be perfect for some people so ill tell everyone to give it a try. It wasn't just for me.

This book started off really strong - the first 25% was witty, cute, and definitely had rom-com potential.

Then it all started to fall apart. There were so many side characters and side plots that it was hard to understand what was happening in the story. I got the vibe that the author was going for a Gilmore Girls style town - with all these cooky neighbours and a festival devoted to hunting aliens. However, it just bloated and it was hard to follow the narrative or really invest in the main characters.

I did really like the disability representation of a MMC with POTS but it kind of got buried beneath all the other things happening in the book. Similar to the FMCs plot line about gymnastics - it didn’t have the resonance it really deserved because so much other kept happening.

Overall, I would be willing to read other books by this author. The humour was great and i think this sort really had potential - it just needed some thinning.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Entangled for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read! It kept you entertained throughout the entire story.

The FMC is Rayah. She's a short girl with big heart and even bigger attitude. As a former gymnast turned gym owner in a small town, she does not put up with your crap. She also has to manage multiple "meat head" man trainers, who are not only eye candy to all the older ladies of this town but also treat her as a little sister.

The FMC is Jake. He was raised in this small town but left to further is acting career. When he was up for snagging a superhero roll, he needed to show that he could look like a superhero. His best friend, best friend who works at Rayah's gym, took him on as a client. Jake is very charming and well.. an actor and is hiding a secret.

Cue pretty much everything that could go wrong, went wrong, but it was also oh, so right!

I really loved all the "Chrises", MCU and DC universe jokes!

If you like a good ol' small town romance with chronic illness rep, forced proximity, good banter, some steamy sessions, tons of buff protective men protecting, then you will love this! I would say it's around 2 🌶!

Even though this story is a happily ever after, make sure you check your trigger warnings as there's content that could be sensitive to certain individuals.

**3.75

TLDR: Recommend! But check TW.

The cover and title gives off easy going vibes, but this book packs a punch with some heavy topics. The author easily takes you from battling with the limitations of a disability when you expect more of yourself to steamy scenes to PTSD from sexual abuse with ease. Not to mention that there were definitely times I was laughing out loud.

Sometimes this book felt a bit long, but I think you really needed the extra pages to give these characters the development they deserved. There are a lot of characters, but they all play an important part in the story and in Jake and Rayah's lives. And the little sidekick that shows up later on - I can just picture it when it's first introduced! So freaking cute!

If you're looking for a lighthearted romance, I'd say save this book for another day so you can give it the attention it deserves.

TW: There are scenes of sexual and physical abuse.