DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

She’s a bookstagrammer and a romance writer, he’s in need of a place to stay, and they have a past.

This is not a novel of suspense.

It’s TALK BOOKISH TO ME by Kate Bromley

I’m a sucker anytime BOOKISH aspects are included in the story. I find the life of a writer to be fascinating and love reading about them.

This book is as much about rom coms as it is about the love interest in the story. I admit, if you’re not a book nerd, this one may not be for you.

If you’re bookish, maybe...

There’s a book within the book, writers, a muse, hijinks, and more.

I’m not an expert in rating the steam level of romance books but for this one, the cringe factor is so high that any steam created quickly evaporated.

Awkwardness all around for everyone to share and as far as romance goes it wasn’t very romantic.

So in summary, strong on bookish elements, and weak on romance, which is unfortunate given that the character is a romance writer.

This one landed at about the middle mark.

TALK BOOKISH TO ME…⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kara the historical fiction writer is getting ready for her maid of honour duties for her best friend. She is bringing a present up to the pre wedding party. She is trying hard to keep her best friend as calm as anyone can for a bride of a 250 person wedding. As the party is starting she is reintroduced to her ex boyfriend from college. Their break up wasn't amicable. This story works through all the steps of any romantic story that Kara outlines due to experience as being a writer.

I love how excited she get when she explains all the other themes of each romance novel and you realise this is a enemies to lovers trope (and learning a new word! Trope!)

This is a quick read that is perfect for the summer.

Thank you so much for the ARC from the publisher and Net Galley

This book follows Kara and Ryan. Kara is a novelist. She needs to finish her book but needs inspiration. She meets her ex boyfriend from college Ryan. There is a lot of past hurt between the ex lovers. The characters have chemistry, but I felt like the book didn't go anywhere.

Was not able to read the entirety of the book and cannot give an accurate or overall rating/review . As a librarian for a big library system, we most likely have a copy of this item. I will look forward to reading it in future since I am sure I will.

I am a huge fan of enemies to lovers romances and this one did not disappoint in that regard. I enjoyed the snark and banter between the MC and the antagonist. It was fun to see how the MC who is a historical romance writer come up with her plot lines for her book.
What I wasn’t a fan of were what broke them up and how the antagonist acted then and now. So sadly I have to give a lower rating.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

Okay I absolutely loved this debut but the “conflict” left me with my jaw on the floor and will definitely be a miss for a lot of people. I’ll drop a TW for it at the end of the book. I had to take my own personal feelings aside of this to not rate the book lower because I personally don’t think I could have forgiven Ryan. With that being said I thought this book was an absolute delight. I thought the banter was hilarious and the acting out of the romance novel was super hot. Not very steamy but overall really enjoyed it.

This book was enjoyable in the beginning. There was enemies-to-lovers drama followed by second chance romance. The banter was fun to read. Then we find out about Ryan's big secret which I did not like and the best friend constantly forcing Kara to accept his bad behavior. Unfortunately, it really put me off the book. Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC.

This book is what’s wrong with women today. If you don’t want to read spoilers then please, STOP READING THIS!!! ***********************************
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Okay you’ve had your chance to turn back and stop reading. When a book has a woman end up with a man who lied about being engaged (to the woman who broke up their relationship 10 years prior) there’s a problem!! I’m sorry but I can’t get down with someone who lies and cheats!! And makes someone who is completely innocent in the situation become a guilty party to it. Just no!! He had a chance to explain everything in the beginning when they first saw each other again and the book could have been about him winning her over again but nope. He had to be a scumbag and she had to take him back. Hated this with everything I am. Want to give it zero stars but can’t 🙄

Objectively, Kara Sullivan has had a great five years: she’s published 7 romance novels, owns an apartment in New York City, and has some very close friends, one of whom is getting married in a week. As maid of honor, Kara is ready to help Christina with anything she needs, plus it gives her a reason to continue to avoid working on her next novel. The deadline is imminent, and she’s lacking any inspiration - until she (re)meets one of Jason’s groomsmen: Ryan, the boy who was her first love and broke her heart in college. With the wedding looming and a non-refundable six month stay in Italy on the line, can Kara get her book written and deal with the reappearance of her old flame?

This is a fun romance novel, and Kara’s job as an author of romance novels gives readers a chance to rhapsodize about the genre and subgenres with the protagonist. If you like romance novels with bookish protagonists, or the exes reuniting trope, this is definitely a solid choice. I wouldn’t suggest it as a first foray into the genre, since I think there are more dynamic stories, but this one definitely delivers on the promises of the genre and is a nice escape from reality.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.

Wanted to love this one more than I did! I just wanted there to be a little bit of a deeper connection between the characters.
It was a fabulous debut and I look forward to reading more from Kate Bromley in the future!

This book was a fun read! It’s definitely a standard contemporary romance novel, but that’s half the fun.

This book centers around Kate, the romance novelist and bookstagrammer who is in her best friend’s wedding. The surprise she didn’t anticipate is that her college boyfriend Ryan shows up at the engagement party as a groomsman. Apparently he and the groom were independently friends and no one knew it because he lived in another state. The focus of the book is on Kate trying to navigate painful memories from her past while fighting the attraction she feels to Ryan, and knowing that they’ll be separated as she has planned an upcoming sabbatical in Italy if they do rekindle their romance.

(It’s a romance novel, so of course they rekindle their romance!)

Where this book felt weak to me is the reason for Kate and Ryan’s initial breakup. This is an area where many romance novels struggle. You have to strike a balance between it being believable that the characters would break up, but without the reason being too over the line.

Throughout this book, Ryan made several poor decisions. Maybe I’m just frustrated by people who put off conversations that will only get worse with time, but that is exactly what Ryan does. Case and point, they broke up because Kate thought Ryan was cheating on her when she showed up at his apartment after he ignored her calls, only to find out a woman spent the night. Years go by, only for him to bring this woman to the wedding as his fiance AFTER rekindling his romance with Kate and not telling her before they run into each other. Yeah, he didn’t cheat on her actually, but it was still a massively easy thing to see could only end in disaster.

Overall, I gave this book 4 stars. If you like romance novels and don’t mind kind of contrived reasons for breaking up and getting back together, then you will love this book. Despite my complaints about Ryan, he is a good (if frustrating) character and this book was really fun to read.

Kara is a romance author who is up against a deadline and her best friend is getting married. She has enough on her own plate for the next week, when Ryan, her ex from 10 years prior shows up at Christina's pre-wedding party. Her whole life is turned upside down. Will they rekindle their romance, or stay as far away from each other?

Thank you to Graydon House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This was a cute rom-com. Parts of it felt predictable with a couple of surprises thrown in. One thing I didn't like that I thought I would, was the story in the story. Kara, the main character, is in the process of writing a book and keeping up with her story as well as the story she was writing, it was a bit too much. I think the story would have been just as effective if it would have talked about the story she was writing without including it in the book.

Overall this was a cute story and I will read more by this author.

I DNF’d this at 30%. It is just not the book for me. It is well written and does have a cute storyline, so if the synopsis sounds interesting, definitely check it out. After reading the synopsis again, I should have known it wasn’t going to be something I would enjoy. I decided that I didn’t want to spend time on a book I didn’t love when I have an ever growing TBR.

This book made me laugh out loud from the first chapter! I love the idea that she's the one that gets left behind for the Hallmark movie ending, lol. Then, she gets her ending tailored for her life. Great concept and so much fun to read!

‘Talk Bookish to Me’ by Kate Bromley sent me on a wild roller coaster of emotion. The enemies-to-lovers trope is one of my top favorites, so I was all on board with this book from the beginning. The chemistry between the main protagonists was fire, the plot intriguing, funny, and a touch angsty. Each element just meshed together perfectly. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end and absolutely recommend it!

This was your typical average romance. Nothing overly amazing but it was well written and the characters were interesting enough. I didn't really care for the ending and felt like things wrapped up a little too quick and then we got a weird epilogue that was years into the future to show the happily ever after. I personally didn't like the small excerpts from the book the main character was writing (a historical romance). I thought it distracted from the story and was unnecessary. Overall just an OK read for me.

Please tell me why I took so long to read this book!?!?!
Kara and Ryan's romance was just so sweet! I love the witty comments and their banter. Their chemistry was undeniable and so engaging. I must have had a silly smile on my face while reading! Kara is a writer and was struggling for inspiration and lucky for her Ryan walks into her life, again and quite literally turns it upside down. I love how the characters developed and how both Kara and Ryan were given time and space to find out who they really are and how much they mean to each other. Too quickly we tend to fall into love and romance without really learning about what we want, as individuals. A definite must read! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A cute, fun, and easy-to-read rom-com. The book doesn't get too deep, but enough to get you attached to the characters a bit and care about their story. A perfectly good romance.

This book is cute. I love the main characters, Ryan is adorable and I feel like one of the first "quirky" heroes I've ever read instead of a quirky heroine, which was refreshing. Kara is a romance novelist, which is fun enough that I can forgive some other flaws. Their second chance at love encounter was so very good, up until the breaking point. I don't want to spoil, so I won't say, but the mistakes made here were a bit of a no-go for me, so it made rooting for them in the end tough. There is a fun historical romance draft weaved into their story, there are some mildly interesting side characters and a cute dog. Overall a decent read, just not my perfect cup of tea!