I enjoyed the beginning of this book but the romantic twist was disappointing. Kara was a great main character and I enjoyed her narrative voice but the way her "romance" played out with Ryan was disappointing. This is the author's first book and I enjoyed her style enough to keep reading her work but I will wait for more in-depth review next time.

I really enjoyed this fun rom com and the second chance romance that it featured. I wanted to read this book as soon as I read the blurb for it and it gave me exactly what I was looking for. It did start off a little slow, but then really got going and ended up being quite a page turner for me. The writing is witty and the banter between the main characters was one of the best parts of the book. There were certainly some situations that seemed a little unrealistic in some ways, but it's meant to be a fun romance and it definitely meets that criteria. If you're looking for a fun romance that is definitely a bookish book, then this one is one for you.

This is the book that I needed during a really rough week! It was light, witty and fun... a perfect debut!
The bookstagram references were spot on- and so appreciated! I loved the characters, there was a nice level of steam and the writing was great!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you’re a book blogger, you’ll love this book.
If you’re a bookstagrammer, you’ll love this book.
If you’re a casual reviewer, you’ll love this book.
In short, if you like books at all, in any way, you’ll love this book.
Not only is there a lot of discussion about books, genres, tropes, character motivation, etc., but it’s all relayed in witty dialogue with charming characters and a great plot.
It’s a romance, so you know that it’s probably inevitable that the main couple will end up together. But I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun reading a couple’s trajectory.
The main characters (Ryan and Kara) re-meet cute. The tension is great, the chemistry is off the charts almost immediately. You can’t help but root for them.
I thought the subplot of Kara needing to finish her book and could only do so with Ryan’s influence was clever. It may seem far-fetched to some, but I thought it worked well.
I totally identified with Kara. Not because of her situation in the present, but because the description of her in college felt familiar. I could have been her. I probably was her.
In some ways, even the relationship she and Ryan had was similar to one I had. Mine didn’t have the arc theirs did though. Thankfully.
Anyway, back to the book.
The real charmer in all of this is Duke. He added so much humor and he couldn’t even talk. But anyone who knows a character like Duke will be able to relate to how much truth there was in his scenes.
Of course, the path to true love never did run smooth (or however that saying goes). Sometimes in Rom Coms, the thing that keeps the couple apart seems contrived. In this case, it totally fit with the plot and the characters.
I also enjoyed the descriptions of Italy because I’ve been there a few times so that brought up nice memories.
Honestly, I just loved everything about this book. It is definitely the perfect beach read, and it should go to the top of your TBR list for the summer immediately.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you also to Graydon House Books for the opportunity to be a part of the Blog Tour.
Kara Sullivan is a bestselling romance author with a lot of responsibilities—she's got a looming deadline, writer's block, and is the maid of honour in her best friend's wedding. But she's happy to support Cristina as she ties the knot with Jason.

At Cristina and Jason's rehearsal dinner, Kara comes face-to-face with her gorgeous and infuriating college ex-boyfriend, Ryan. Not only is he one of Jason's childhood friends, but he's also in the wedding party. Considering neither Kara nor Ryan were prepared to see each other again, it's decidedly a meet-NOT-cute. As in there is nothing cute about this situation, except maybe Ryan's dog. But when Kara sits down to write, the words flow and her writer's block is gone. She wonders what's changed. Are muses real? And is Kara's muse...Ryan?

If you are a bookstagrammer, you will adore this book.

With an abundant love life because of the fiction she writes, Kara is an intriguing leading lady, especially when her personal life begins to mirror those of her characters. And although Bromley tackles the familiar unresolved love trope, Talk Bookish to Me is anything but common. It's charming and funny with the right amount of tension. And there's also a Celine Dion-loving bulldog named Duke.

This rom-com is pretty close to perfect with Bromley's witty banter and engaging cast of characters. The only thing that doesn't work are the inserted passages of the book that Kara's writing throughout—they disrupt the flow of the story and given that are few and far between, the reader won't remember this side plot.

Sexy, flirty, and fun. Talk Bookish to Me is a sparkling debut.

4.5 stars! This is an phenomenal debut! I absolutely loved this book! The Bookstagram references were just added brownie points! I thought the storyline was very fun and unique. The characters were amazing and I ended up rooting for them hard. This book was witty, fun and steamy (all the things I love in a rom-com)! The only thing I didn’t enjoy as much was a 20% portion near the end of the book (I don’t want to ruin anything so I won’t go in details but it kind of felt like a different book altogether). Overall, an excellent read! The writing was great and I will definitely seek out this author’s future books!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Some elements I liked, some I just couldn't buy. And I'm in the apparent minority that doesn't find bulldogs cute.

This was such a fun book! I was rooting for Kara from the beginning and I absolutely adored Ryan. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

DNF at 30%

Well, this one started out pretty strong.

There was a lot of sarcasm and delight between the two MCs. It was easy to overlook the Wikipedia-like (and maybe slightly condescending) description of bookstagramming because the snark was that strong. I even spit out some of my water after reading one scene.

But then I set it down…and when it had been a few days between picking it up, I realized I wasn’t excited for it. I looked at some of the reviews and saw a huge plot point that if I would have known about, I never would have requested the book.

So, I skipped to the end and it’s just not satisfying for me, especially with all of the history between the MCs. Instead it feels trite and the characters deserved better.

Two stars instead of one because the banter that I did read was fantastic.

**Huge thanks to Graydon House for providing the arc free of charge**

This book was a sort of Second Chance/Enemies to Lovers story, but it just didn't land with me. The female lead is HILARIOUS. I continually snort-laughed. And the male lead is similarly likable (at first).

But there is a twist in this book that will be wildly problematic for most readers (and it was for me). After the twist is revealed this book goes on what is *intended* to be a journey of self discovery fir one if the main characters, but really just reads as filler. Nothing too meaningful happens, the reader just slogs through chapters and chapters and fluff until a very sudden ending in which that problematic twist is somehow, inexplicably, magically forgiven and forgotten.

This book had great characters and a very good start, but fell apart 2/3 in and never really recovered.

I received a gifted copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Congratulations to this debut author on a great book. This was the first book I have read with a bookstagrammer as a main character. This book had a fun premise with an author struggling to write her book and her ex boyfriend becoming her muse so she can finish the book. I loved the chemistry between the main characters. They were a fun couple and their dialogue was very entertaining. The second chance romance trope is one that I really like. This is a binge worthy book that is great for summer reading.
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3 1/2 stars. This was an enjoyable read, but to me, it was very predictable. Very little happened that I didn't see coming. Oddly, I found the historical fiction sub-plot, or book within a book, VERY interesting, which is not usually my genre.

I will definitely read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Talk Bookish to Me is... well, it's a little bit of this and a little bit of that. We have romantic comedy, enemies to lovers, and second chance romance wrapped up with secrets and angst. The characters are interesting and I really liked Kara, so it was easy to get caught up in her journey and to root for her HEA. The story does get pretty angsty at times, but Kate Bromley tempers it with some well-timed wit. What it boils down to is this debut is an emotional, humorous, thoroughly entertaining story, and I'll be interested to see what Bromley does next.

Kara Sullivan has it all, she’s living her best life in NYC, she’s a bestselling romance author and an influential bookstagrammer. But right now, she’s stressed. Her latest book is just about due, and she doesn’t have it written, and she’s the maid of honor in her best friend’s wedding. Trying to keep on top of all the wedding prep, write her book when her brain isn’t cooperating, and dealing with her mother is almost more than she can handle. Then the surprise of all surprises. It turns out that her college boyfriend, the one who tore her heart out and stomped it happens to be friends with the groom and is also participating in the wedding. Is Kara going to be able to handle Ryan being around on top of everything else?
I became so invested in Kara and Ryan’s story that I didn’t want to stop reading, I mean really, who actually needs sleep? I love their chemistry, their interactions, and that plot twist!! This book has great writing, a wonderful story arc, and it’s full of interesting and well-written characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and was sad when it ended. If you’re a fan of rom-coms, I definitely recommend this story!

*I received an ARC of this story from Netgalley and this publisher and this is my honest and voluntary review.

This cover encapsulated this book so well! This was light, fluffy, and the perfect bookish read. I loved all of the characters, and the romance was done remarkably well.

I'll admit that I love reading books with characters in the book world. So of course, I loved Kara and her author-ing. I loved reading the snippets of her historical fiction novel, it added an entirely new element into this story.

I also loved the romance between Kara and Ryan. It had angst, but it never felt unnecessary or irritating. Instead, it kept the tension constant. At one point, I wasn't even sure if they'd end up together. (I blame Colleen Hoover for that one) All of these are markers of a good romance for me, so I really enjoyed this!

Finally, I really enjoyed Kara and Ryan as characters. Ryan did make one rather large blunder at the 75% mark that frustrated me, but thankfully it resolved itself. And their relationship with Duke was adorable! There's no trope I love more than characters with pets, and although I'm not a dog person, I loved this.

If you're a fan of enemies to lovers, snarky banter, and adorable dogs, I'd definitely recommend this! It was the perfect book for a warm summer day, and im so glad I read it.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was a big old DNF.... fatphobia early on turns me off. Sorry, Net Galley, but I just can't do it.

Thank for the opportunity to read this book. I ended up DNF this book due to some content that made me uncomfortable.

CW: infidelity, fatphobic commentary, slut-shaming

I had high hopes for this one but it didn't land for me.

Second chance romance is my favorite trope so I enjoyed that aspect of it. Kara and Ryan were together in college. Things ended badly and it's been ten years since they've seen each other. Now he shows up when her best friend is getting married, as part of the wedding party on the groom's side. I liked how it was a surprise to them both and how they put aside their differences in order to make their friends' wedding go smoothly. The banter between them is fantastic and funny at times.

After that, I found the book pretty problematic. Kara is a romance writer and bookstagrammer. Even though she's successful, no one in her life takes her chosen profession seriously. Ryan has some charming moments but overall he's a jerk. I can understand why they were drawn to each other after so long apart. However the final obstacle they face in being together is something I'm surprised a heroine in a romance was able to get past.

Also, considering all the crap Kara gets for writing "sexy" books, this actual novel didn't have a ton of steam. The major sex scenes between Kara and Ryan didn't have any foreplay, which I found appalling and disappointing. There are so many other romances out there that are much better so I can't say I recommend this one.

This enemies to lovers book featured witty dialogue and fun characters! The main character is a bookstarammer like myself so I loved that aspect. Unfortunately, this lost it’s way for me as I don’t find cheating to be a good plot point in a romance book. Most of the book was realistic but it lost its way for a bit and didn’t seem to ring true. I liked that the character was an author but we didn’t need her book excerpts, as it didn’t add anything to the story. I skimmed those and didn’t lose anything from the storyline. The was a fun read, and I enjoyed the banter. I’m looking forward to reading more from this debut author! My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 Stars

Thanks #NetGalley @HarlequinBooks for a complimentary eARC of #TalkBookishToMe upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Kara is a romance writer and her best friend is getting married. Pressure mounts as a deadline for her next novel is approaching along with the typical wedding stress and activities. What she wasn’t expecting was for her first love, Ryan, to be a part of the bridal party. Although this unexpected meeting is uncomfortable, his appearance does spark some creative writing and adds some steam to her historical fiction work in progress. Maybe she should embrace this turn of events which would facilitate her writing and ease tensions in the wedding party. Could she save her career and create her own happy ending?

A love letter to the romance genre! Reading a romance about a romance writer is very meta! Kara is struggling to write her romance while we enjoy a romance read. Talk Bookish To Me reminds me of Beach Read by Emily Henry where two writers (one a romance writer) work on their novels while we enjoy a romance featuring them!

Story-Within-a-Story: We are treated to passages of Kara’s histfic romance within this story. I’m not a huge fan of the story-within-a-story structure, so I sort of skimmed over those parts! (bookish confession)

What I enjoyed most:

* Likable Characters (mostly….see disclaimer below)
* Engaging and Fast-Paced
* Snappy Writing
* Second Chance Romance
* Enemies to Lovers Trope

What I wished:

* Ryan was likable until he wasn’t. I didn’t care for the turn of events that caused a pause in his relationship with Kara. He was earnest in his attempts to make things right with her…..but it left me feeling disappointed with the inevitable (romance genre) HEA.
* I wished there hadn’t been a story-within-a-story.

Content Consideration: Moderate steam (2-3 on a scale of 5); some open-door romance

If you enjoy an occasional romance (rom-com) and an engaging (and somewhat steamy, open door) read, you might want to consider Talk Bookish To Me. For fans of light women’s fiction…perfect for weekend or vacation reading.