Kara Sullivan is a bestselling romance writer coming quickly to the deadline of her next book...and she's blocked! It's just days before her best friend's wedding, and she's the maid of honor. At the rehearsal dinner they finally meet the groom's best friend, none other than Kara's college ex Ryan Thompson. Some unforgivable things were said in the breakup and now they both hate each other, but that needs to be put aside for the sake of the wedding. As Kara spends more time with Ryan, their snarky banter has an unexpected side effect...she's writing again! When Ryan needs a place to stay until the wedding, Kara offers her home to her unexpected muse and his adorable bulldog Duke.
Unlike your typical romance as described in detail in the book, these characters seemed more real with their own problems and mistakes. Real life isn't black and white and sometimes it's the hardships and mistakes you learn to forgive that make for true love and romance. And these two have plenty of those! I absolutely loved Ryan's dog Duke too! He reminds me off a couple dogs I've had in the past. Sometimes it's those interrupted romantic moments that are most memorable and hilarious.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Oh, I loved this book! I fell in love with both Kara and Ryan and had to find out what happened so read the book in one day. For fans of romcoms, second chance romances, and a book with all the feels, this is one you'll love! I'd gladly read more by Kate. Thank you for allowing me the chance to read and review.

I found Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley just ok. The main characters Kara and Ryan dislike each other because they broke up ten years ago. Kara is a fiction author with a great book contract but is unable to produce the book she's already been paid for. Somehow I never got excited about a potential rebirth of romance and I didn't get frantic about the book's deadline. Even the vacation in Italy was just ok. Maybe Kara and Ryan are just not my type.

i really enjoyed getting to read this book! it was so precious and cute and fun! i'm so glad netgalley chose me to read this before everyone else. thanks so much netgalley!!

I loved this story, it had all of the things you want from a romance, a past love, a second chance, new beginnings, joy, broken heart, soul searching, forgiveness, and a future. I loved the characters in this story. Kara could be feisty and fun but she carries so much quilt for something that was not her fault. Ryan is sexy, cocky, has the most adorable dog and is still in love with the one he lost. This story takes us through Kara and Ryan reuniting, the anger still there, the chemistry still there, and the love that grows again. Like most romances there is angst, hurt feelings, mistakes, and sadness. I enjoyed reading about her time in Italy and I liked meeting Liam. I loved what Ryan gave to Kara, the letters were beautiful and honest. Her friend Liam gave her the best advice in the whole book and that was the only reason I was okay with the decision she made, it changed everything. The wrap up of this story was really sweet and the epilogue was fantastic. I also want to say I really enjoyed her being a writer and loved the story within a story. Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for giving me a digital ARC for my honest review.

I would love to give this book more stars, but just can't. It was too predictable. The tension and banter between the main character and her ex was fun, but the story didn't have much substance.

Realistic RomCom. Kara Sullivan has loved reading and books her entire life--she is now an author with a few noteworthy titles under her belt. She is living a pretty good life--other than not really having a decent man to romance her. When Ryan (an old college boyfriend) steps back into her life, she is sideswiped with some negative feelings (anger, distrust, hurt) but able to write some pretty decent chapters (she had been in a funk recently). So when she gets an opportunity to take advantage of this old/new muse, no one should be surprised--least of all, Ryan or Kara! Overall, a fun and engaging read ;)

I had high hopes for this book, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me.

Kara is a romance writer who is suffering from writer's block. When she runs into her college ex-boyfriend at a wedding she realizes he may be a muse for her writing. She's willing to overlook the fact that their relationship did not end well so she can keep Ryan in her presence and therefore keep her writing flowing.

I had a hard time following the dialogue in the book (which was pretty extensive, btw) and knowing who was speaking when. There was some overlap with the responses and it made it confusing to know who was who - I'm not sure if it was a formatting issue or a composition issue, but either way - it was hard to follow. While I loved the chemistry between Kara and Ryan, there were certain elements of the story that really changed how I felt towards Ryan. Overall not terrible, but not the great rom-com I was hoping for.

Thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I gave this one a 3-star rating.

What I loved about this book?
Second change romance trope
A meet cute at a wedding
The flirty banter between Kara and Ryan
Kara's confidence in who she was and who she isn't
Kara prioritizing her emotional health over a relationship and implementing healthy boundaries
The book inside a book trope mirroring Kara & Ryan's relationship


What didn't work for me?
Cheating in a relationship
Kara's understanding and baggage around her father's death seemed immature for her age
Too much bookstagram explaining


This is a cute rom com with all the essential elements including a best girlfriend, escalating flirting, miscommunication keeping them apart and extra family dynamics that complicate things. If you love rom coms, this one is for you.

Cute, enjoyable, yet somewhat predictable romcom. The character development was great. The storyline of the writer with writer’s block is overplayed. This is fine for an all female book club.

I couldn't put this one down! Kara is a romance author suffering from writer's block, and gets the ultimate inspiration when she'd reunited with the college boyfriend who broke her heart. Talk Bookish to Me is filled with so much to love; bookish folks will appreciate the explanations of well-known tropes and bookstagram culture, while good ol' fashioned romance fans will enjoy the steaminess of Kara and Ryan's reunion, and the compelling forces that lead them to reconsider their current relationship status. While the book has a definite rom-com vibe, the story feels rooted in reality with Kara and Ryan both working through different forms of grief and regret that they've carried for years, which makes the ending all the more satisfying. As Kara describes the similarities between romance novels and baseball, I see it; nothing truly new or game-changing happens here, but it's still an exhilarating read that I was glued to until it reached it's thrilling conclusion with a home run.

Talk Bookish to Me is the cute story of reunited exes thrown together in the midst of their best friends’ wedding week. The plotline is somewhat familiar although Bromley did her best to reengineer the characters’ backstories. Even though the story was at times expected, I found the plot engaging and easily finished the book in one sitting.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fan of rom coms and admittedly love-hate relationship dramas are a guilty pleasure. This one is reminiscent of Beach Read and as an added bonus the protagonist is a bookstagrammer. With all this in mind, I will definitely be looking for more novels from debut author Kate Bromley.

Reluctantly though, I must admit that I struggled with what to rate this one due to the story’s end. I must caution anyone before reading this that after getting 75% of the way into the book the plot turns anything but predictable. I wished the ending hadn’t quite unfolded the way it did. Bromley definitely put a different spin on this tale, and it left me with mixed feelings on a relationship I had previously liked. -- Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest review.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
Not your typical formulaic romance, but it felt more realistic somehow. The characters had amazing banter and chemistry.

A light, easy read with terrible characters. This book has a very Happiest Season vibe where you aren't sure why the main characters have stayed together after all of the trauma they put themselves through. Kara has horrible friends! I wasn't fond of the breakaways to the book within a book either. I'm sure we are meant to glean a little bit about Kara's thoughts and feelings about the situation she finds herself in, but it was really distracting and I ended up just skipping over those parts. I thought the dialogue was good, a lot of bantering between people who are familiar with each other, but it's more sitcom-like than real life. But who is looking for reality in a romance novel?

I adored this book it had good pacing and the chemistry was so good between our main characters. I really loved how complete this story felt. the twist was good, the backstory on their relationship and the events around the time it ended... the time they missed out on and I felt for them! I got through it so fast and definitely will check out more stories from this author.

I really enjoyed the writing in this book. The dialogue was snappy, and the chemistry between the two main characters was really entertaining. The story didn’t follow the path I was expecting, which is great in romance, as so many of them can be predictable.
The main character is a romance novelist, who is in the process of writing a historical romance. Parts of her novel are sprinkled throughout the book. My only critique is that I felt that was unnecessary, and didn’t really add anything to the story.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This romantic comedy novel is a quick fun read.

As the author of a number of romance novels, it would stand to reason that Kara Sullivan would have a love story to rival her books. Not so, especially since her college boyfriend let her down spectacularly so many years ago. Now she is perfectly happy being a best selling author with a looming deadline on the horizon. Despite her very real writers block, Kara immerses herself in her best friends wedding only to find herself face-to-face with her ex-boyfriend who is also a member of the wedding party. In Kate Bromley's humorous and very plausible Talk Bookish to Me, the author flirts with the themes of friendship, love and forgiveness in this lovely nod to a literary based rom-com. An easy read and worth the effort.

What a great debut novel by Kate Bromley! Talk Bookish to Me is a funny and touching second chance romantic comedy about romance writer Kara and her college ex-boyfriend named Ryan. They haven't seen each other in ten years since their heartbreaking split. When Ryan shows up as a groomsman for her best friend's wedding, they both realize that they have been suppressing their longing and heartache for one another. Ryan's re-entry in Kara's life is somehow rejuvenating her writing mojo that has been missing for a year. The two become reacquainted with one another and they begin to slip back into a relationship they are just realizing they wanted.

I loved the second chance story in this book! From the beginning, Kate Bromley intimates that Kara and Ryan's relationship in the past was intense and consuming. Their disdain for one another at first is a good indication that they crashed and burned and it wasn't pretty. When we finally find out how their relationship ended and the other following their breakup, my heart was breaking for them. There were so many unfortunate circumstances for this couple and it was clear they were meant to be together but life happened.

Of course, as a romance reader, Kara's character spoke to me! I loved how she spoke about books, the bookstagram community, romance novels, and love. I found myself nodding my head in agreement anytime she talked about romance books. I liked that Bromley included some excerpts of the novel Kara was writing in the book. It made me want to read more historical romances!

I really enjoyed Bromley's writing - it's smart, clever, and the dialogue was on point. There were funny moments and then there were moments were Kara and Ryan were vulnerable with one another. The witty banter had me laughing out loud which is always a big plus for me.

I'm looking forward to reading more by this author. Maybe some of the supporting characters like Maggie or Liam can get their own book!

Steam level: 🔥🔥½
⚠️: death of a parent

Adorable romcom reading throughly enjoyable. The characters are what you come to expect from chick-lit, romantic comedy literature whatever you decide to call it. Buy one for a friend and enjoy it together or read it in a book club.