This book was so, so special. This book will, without a doubt, be one of my 2021 favorites. I was hooked from the moment Kara and Ryan met and was rooting for them SO! HARD! every step of the way. I absolutely loved how this book incorporated all my favorite tropes - enemies to lovers, a little bit second chance romance, a sprinkle of forced proximity... and on top of all of that, the story is set in New York and Italy, two of my favorite places! UGH SO GOOD!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with this ARC on NetGalley.

My rom-com fans will adore this title as I did. Ryan and Kate were the perfect pair and I enjoyed seeing how they worked through their relationship. It was more than they typical "wedding-matches" story and my summer readers will love it.

I've been slowly diving back into the romance genre and when I stumbled across this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it! A second chance romance that follows a thirty year old romance author slash bookstagrammer, SIGN ME UP! While a tad slow in the first few chapters, the story then takes off once we have our hero under the same roof!

We have Kara and Ryan, college sweethearts torn apart ten years ago, finding themselves meeting again at her best friends wedding party. Kara notices that her writing slump is disappearing the closer she gets to Ryan, and with the deadline for her manuscript days away, why not take this opportunity and make the best of it, right? Kara, with the help of her friends, sets off with a list to get her life similar to that of the characters she invents in the pages of her own novels. Sparks fly. Drama ensues. A dash of Italy. Bada-bing we have ourselves a very witty rom-com.

The banter between our two main characters was the main ingredient that kept me turning the pages! It was funny and witty and everything that I love in a rom-com. That mixed with the fact that our character is just as book obsessed as I am. I absolutely loved the bookstagrammer aspect; seeing Kara place out books and props to capture the perfect image for her feed was the cherry on top. The "act out your book" scene... need I say more?! Perfection!

Now Beth, why not a five star then? Well, there's this 'issue' if you will, about 70 percent into the book that I just cannot agree with, regardless of how it plays out in the end. The fact that what tore them apart ten years ago was dealt with as a bigger deal than what happens present day was little unrealistic. I get it... love. It just doesn't jive with me. BUT I did find myself missing their relationships and Ryan, so take that for what you will.

In the end, if you're a lover of romance, I would recommend you pick this book up. Whether you agree or agree to disagree with my stance on the 'issue', it's still worth it for the book nerd that Kara is.

Talk Bookish to Me is the perfect romance for all the book nerds out there. It follows Kara, an author and bookstagramer, as she runs into her college ex during her best friend’s wedding week. This is the perfect romance for all the book lovers out there.

Review: Talk Bookish to Me, Kate Bromley (out 5.25.21)

Sigh. This book was the perfect rom com.

Witty banter.
Second chance romance.
A little novel within a novel.
An ode to Bookstagram.
An adorable bulldog.

Kara and Ryan’s story was sweet and endearing, but also real. They both carried emotional baggage, and like real humans they avoided talking about it.

I adored Kara. Her friendships, her sense of humor, her commitment to using humor to deflect. She was so relatable.

And, Ryan. Oh, Ryan what are we supposed to do with you. I can’t say much without giving away spoilers, but even when he royally screws up, I just wanted to pull him into a squishy hug and never let him go.

Loved this book so much! It's a sexy, funny, and emotional second-chance love story with a killer premise: romance author Kara is fighting a wicked case of writer's block and the only cure is hooking up with her ex Ryan. Kate Bromley's writing is as sharp as it is heartfelt. Romcom lovers, add this book to your TBR list immediately!

This was a really enjoyable read for me because I am a sucker for a rom com and this book was a great one especially with the addition of the fact that the main character was a romance writer herself. I have been in a bit of a book slump and this was just the light fun read I needed to pull me out of it. It wasn't over predictable and the characters were relatable, which always helps me get further into a read. The book was about second chances and the fact that life rarely mimics what we read, even for those who write it .

This book has a cute premise but felt just a bit long for me. I appreciate the journey of the MC but it felt just a bit forced and the dialogue didn't seem quite believable. I enjoyed it well enough but it's not my favorite of this genre. I am looking forward to this author's next book, however, to see what else she has up her sleeve!

This book was cute. It was a quick and enjoyable read. It had unexpected twists while coloring slightly outside a typical romcom formula.

Talk Bookish To Me by Kate Bromley

Romance author Kara is stuck having to reunite with her ex, Ryan in the lead up to her bff’s wedding. While she’s not thrilled with this reunion, Ryan is the only thing that triggers her creativity.

This book was such a lovely ode to all things bookish, romance and tropes! I’m always a second chance romance sucker and loved the chemistry and banter between Kara and Ryan. It was so clear the two had history and the build up was delicious. I also very much enjoyed the book within a book. Highly recommend this one!

God, I love this book. Kara is a romance novelist who gets a chance at her own trope-fulfillment when her first love, Ryan, comes back into her life suddenly. You get the added bonus that they kind of hate each other at first-reunion. Tons of snark. The wittiest of banters. And, of course, some explosive sparks. This is every romance reader's dream. There's discussion of the romance genre as a whole, bookstagramming, all things book and writer-related. The two main characters are also charming, and even though it seems like you know this plot, there are some plot turns that take you by surprise. Both Ryan and Kara have a lot of growing up to do, and I appreciate that the author gives them the time and space to do it. You can see that they belong together, and you're rooting for them, but you also feel how real their issues are. Mostly, I just laughed A LOT. This book gave me tons of joy, and whether you read romance typically or not, how can you turn down something so wonderful?

I love a good steamy RomCom and this one was perfect. A book within a book and a second chance love! I just reviewed Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley. #TalkBookishtoMe #NetGalley

Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley is a delightful romance about former loves, Kara and Ryan. They broke up many years earlier, but are brought back together by Kara's best friend's wedding. Apparently Ryan is part of the wedding party too. Kara is not thrilled about Ryan's reappearance in her life, but for some reason he inspires her creativity with her next historical romance novel that she's been working on for months. This story was light and charming, and I would highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

So cute and escapist - perfect pandemic read! A recommended purchase for collections where contemporary romance and light WF is popular.

A fun, quick romantic comedy read - I devoured this in one sitting. I especially recommend this to people who love Bookstagrams. I learned quite a bit about the art of instagramming books while reading this book. Also, the main character is a romance novelist and I love the addition of her own writing sprinkled in throughout the book. There is lots to love here for us romance bookworms.

Ryan and Kara were once college sweethearts, but went through a bad breakup. Now they're being thrown together again for their best friends' wedding, and needless to say, it's bringing back all the feels from college. I had a few issues with Ryan keeping secrets, but I actually enjoyed his redemption in the end. For me, the best part of the book was all the laughs and great dialog. I have to add that my favorite character by far was Duke the bulldog - I absolutely LOVED Duke and his snoring and shenanigans. He definitely made up for some of my issues with Ryan.

Well worth the read if you're in the mood for a funny and quirky second-chance contemporary romance.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review this advanced reading copy!

Kate Bromley's debut, Talk Bookish to Me, is romance catnip for me. A second chance contemporary romance where the MC is a romance writing Bookstagrammer? Yes, please!

This starts off as an enemies-to-lovers story then shifts into a steamy sexy second chance at love. The banter is witty and the dog is adorable.

I loved Kara talking about what's involved in getting that perfect Bookstagram shot. It was definitely written by someone who's looked for the perfect prop to pair with a book cover and get the pic before the light changes.

I also loved that Kate Bromley gave us a book within a book, sharing snippets from Kara's work in progress. Let's hear it for high-spirited historical heroines and sexy as hell rakes.

The main characters have serious heat between them. Kara's takes on Ryan were entirely relatable, even when (maybe especially when) they punched me in the feels.

The majority of Kara and Ryan rediscovering their feelings takes place in the days leading up to the wedding. No slow buildup here which really amps up the tension, romantic and otherwise.

This is an enticing, engrossing, fast-paced second chance romance with serious heat and a thoroughly likable MC romance author/Bookstagrammer. For fans of Emily Henry's Beach Read. Plus a bonus bulldog!

CW: Cheating

Call me naive but I honestly almost flung my poor, antique Kindle Voyage across the room after hitting the 75% mark in this story.

This second chance romance between two former college sweethearts, told in 1st POV from the romance novel writing heroine Kara Sullivan's perspective just did not work for me at all. I don't care how cute your bull dog is Ryan, good bye to you.

I also personally don't like the "book within a book" trope so I didn't care about the historical romance scenes mirroring Kara and Ryan's romance. I needed more time spent seeing why she'd ever forgive him.

SPOILERS AHEAD

[Kara, a romance novelist, is aghast to find out that her ex and former love of her life Ryan is now to spend a week sleeping on her couch before their mutual friends wedding. His bulldog is real cute, but she's concerned her feelings will make it awful. But she's on deadline and the last time and Ryan was the spark that helped her write her first romance all those years ago. Of course, sparks fly, and they soon fall into bed and back into a love that seems to have truly never gone away. BUT, at the wedding, we discover Ryan has been engaged this entire time. to the woman she thought he was cheating on her with the last time they broke up (he wasn't, but now he is. And she's the other woman). GROSS. I was so so so angry at him. And then Ryan has the audacity to claim her keeping a 6 month Italy trip she's paid for and planned for over a year is the at the same level of bad secret keeping (NO IT IS NOT). She goes to Italy, for six months. Has a brief kiss with another man and a date, and then Ryan shows up to drop off ONE letter and a journal, and she forgives him after he she misses him in Italy, so she goes back to him. The end. I didn't buy it. Dislike.

What a book! A book about writing books and living as a bookstagramer. Every bookstagrammer and wanna be can relate. It is so much fun just like this story! If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. The best rom-com I have read in a while! I love the banter of Kara with Ryan and her sister. It's full of reading nerd anecdotes that are so relatable! It is steamy and laugh out loud hilarious! Relationships have depth and warmth at the same time. A story within a story. I loved it all! This is a must read for fans of rom-coms.

AHHH! I loved this book with all it's bookish charms and references! A fun romance for any lover of books.

Thank you NetGalley and HARLEQUIN for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“Bookstagram is time consuming but intensely worth it. And the sense of community is magical.”⁣
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If you love books (which we all do) and you can enjoy a cute romance this book is for you. This was so fun to read. I loved all of the bookish references, from reading romance novels, to writing them, making sure you have the best photo to post on your bookstagram, and all of your book Knick knacks. ⁣
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Sullivan has read romance novels her whole life. After the break up of her first love and the death of her father she becomes a romance novelist herself. Flash forward, she’s published 7 novels and now has two months until the deadline of her next book and she has nothing. ⁣
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Her sisters having a baby, she’s the maid of honor in her best friends wedding, and her other best friend is also dealing with a lot with her family. Sullivan has a tight knit group, they are always there for each other and encouraging Sullivan to be her best self.⁣
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Ryan is always serious, always in control but is also a great friend to Jason since they were kids. He’s also Sullivan’s ex; and Jason is Sullivan’s best friends hubby to be. ⁣
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I loved everything about this story. The characters were charming, the story was charming, the tension was filled with electricity, the banter was hilarious and quirky, this was the perfect bookish romcom.

Oh and there’s a cute, obese bulldog named Duke. What more could you really want?
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Thank you @netgalley and @graydonhouse for an ARC for my honest review. Pub date 5/21⁣
#bookstagram #books #bookcommunity #romance #romcom #talkbookishtome #netgalley