Romance

A romantic beach read with a healthy dose of women's empowerment thrown in.

Alexander Woodroe was introduced in Spoiler Alert. He is an actor in a show called Gods of the Gates. He plays Cupid on the show. He is gorgeous, impulsive, loyal and reckless. His activities have created some gossip that has reflected negatively on the show, so his producer hires a minder for him. Lauren is the producer's cousin, who was on vacation in Spain when she gets roped into helping out her cousin. The cousin is a d-bag, who has always made fun of her - mostly for her looks and weight. Lauren is between jobs and taking the job as Alexander's minder will give her more time to figure out what she wants to do. She has been working as a hospital therapist, but has gotten burned out.

Alex loves to tease Lauren as she is pretty stoic. Getting a reaction from her makes his day. After a while, Alex cannot imagine life without Lauren's input. That friendship evolves into like and into love. Both Alex and Lauren have insecurities from their past that interfere with the decisions they make. Some of which cause issues for the relationship.

It's a romance novel, so you know what's going to happen, but the journey was well worth it and the deeper messages are there. Quite enjoyable.

I read Spoiler Alert and liked it, but I loved All the Feels! Alex is such a delight. We got bits of these characters in book 1, but then diving into this one from their perspective and understanding just how fully even Marcus, Alex's best friend, misunderstands Alex and the situation he's in just breaks my heart and makes this one even better.

I've read this premise before: famous "bad boy" gets in trouble and has an enemies to lovers romance with the woman who's hired to keep him in line. Except, Alex isn't a bad boy. He's just perceived as one because people assume the worst of him. And Alex and Lauren aren't enemies. After their first meeting, he is kind and thoughtful to her and really wants to be her friend (with a lot of witty banter and joking insults,, though before she gets to know him, she thinks he's actually insulting her.) They're both really willing to sacrifice themselves for others, though that shows up in different ways, and they are able to recognize it as a problem in each other but not themselves. Their personality differences are really endearing, and Alex says pretty much everything that comes to his mind, which I honestly just found really delightful.

I wanted a little more closure with the Ron situation...we may get it in later books, but with him being Lauren's cousin, I really wanted to see her take him down a peg or ten. At times, I thought that the fanfic tropes were a teensy bit overexplained, but in the end it made sense that they were. This book teased at fanfic roleplay and I'm honestly a little bummed that we didn't see it on the page, even in an epilogue. I think that's something fans of this series really wanted to see, and something that would've made total sense with these characters, so I'm slightly bummed that we didn't get it..

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book so much. It had great representation of ADHD & of mental health worker burnout. I also loved how it explored how Alex's past traumas & dealing with them impacted his ADHD & mental well being. I also loved how Lauren refused to give in to the people who said horrible things about her & her appearance. Aside from that I loved the development of the relationship between Lauren & Alex. You saw how they slowly fall for each other. Also Alex is hilarious!! A great read & a great continuation of thus series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔥🔥🔥

I loved this book! All The Feels was funny, sexy, and everything I wanted from the sequel to Spoiler Alert. Olivia Dade is a goddess and I want everyone writing fat women in romance to take notes.

This book is about Alex, an actor on the popular TV show Gods of the Gates (*cough* Game of Thrones *cough*). Alex has a PR problem, so his showrunners hire Lauren, who takes the role of Alex’s “minder” as a favor to her (terrible) cousin. I highly recommend reading Spoiler Alert first. We see the start of Alex and Lauren’s story in the first book, but in this sequel we truly get to know them.

Pick up this book if you enjoy:
- Forced proximity: these two are contractually joined at the hip!
- A male love interest with golden retriever puppy energy
- A female love interest with Big Harpy Energy (I need this merch!)
- Sarcasm and lovable teasing
- Great ADHD representation. Alex has ADHD and openly discusses taking medication and the impact that ADHD has on his work and life
- Exceptional fat representation. As a fat woman, I started crying when Lauren explained to Alex that part of why she hates flying is because of the bruises she gets on her hips from airplane arm rests. Olivia Dade’s attention to detail to lived experience is SO GOOD.
- More ~incredible~ Gods of the Gates fanfiction
- Beautiful friendships, both between the MCs and with their respective friends
- Late thirties love interests that just happen to be in their late thirties. No long diatribes about why they haven’t fallen in love yet or tragic backstory – they just are single. MORE OF THIS PLEASE.

Read this book!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hooray! When I read Spoiler Alert I felt so much love for geeky couple Marcus and April and I thought I couldn’t enjoy second book more! But I was definitely, truly, extremely wrong! I gave Spoiler Alert five stars so I should give All the feels six stars to be fair!

Those incredibly witty, funny banters, hilarious text messages gave me stomach cramps because of laughing too hard. I knew Alex from the first book but when I learn from his traumatic , his guilt feelings, his sweet and vulnerable sides, his illness, I just wanted to give him longest and tightest hugs!

And what about Nanny Clegg, harpy, Wren, Alex’s Wren...don’t get fooled of her cool, tough, blank vibes she gives: that’s just the facade. Of course she’s kind hearted, trustworthy, reasonable, a real friend you can lean on and share all your secrets: those amazing traits make her the greatest trauma therapist. She lets people criticize her looks, her choices. She get used to be insulted for years. Even her loved ones don’t truly understand what she’s been getting through.

When the popular TV shoe Gods of the Gates’ Cupid a.k.a. charming, charismatic, ultra witty actor Alexander Woodroe involved in a bar fight, finding himself at jail, the show runners hired someone to control and watch him 24/7 not to harm his character and public image. And this babysitter is showrunner’s cousin Lauren Clegg, an ER therapist who needs a current break from her job, but she cannot say no to her family and her holiday plans in Spain are canceled when she makes mistake to stop by at show set to say hi to her cousin she truly hates.

Now she’s been hired to accompany him at everywhere including LA house till the show airs its last episode. If Alex doesn’t do what Lauren says, they will replace her with more vicious babysitter and he will suffer from the legal and professional consequences outlined in his contract.

Lauren is trapped in her job because she cannot say no to her family and the money they offered will give her enough time to think what she’s gonna do with her life without worrying about her bills.

And Alex is trapped with her because he has commitments, sending regularly exact amount of fund to charities and his mom and he doesn’t want to ruin his entire career he’s built!

At the beginning he acts like a spoiled child who wants to get full attention of their parents around her, talking nonstop, making jokes, doing everything to crack the facade she’s built around to make a connection.

At first Lauren thinks she’s gonna blast because of babysitting a whiny, selfish, narcissistic Hollywood brat! But as soon as she learns more about him and spend more time with Alex, she finds out he’s kind hearted, being loved by his entire crew and generous man who helps the people suffer from traumatic experiences.

A true and genuine friendship blossoms around them which eventually turns into an intimate relationship. They have feelings for each other but the people can be so mean, hostile and criticizing with their biased thoughts when they talk about a Hollywood star’s love life.

Alex can be so impulsive, acts violently without pondering and his volatile manners can ruin his entire career when he sees someone he cares hurts! And Lauren never stands for herself, letting people hurt her not to get involved in fights !

Can they change them and meet in the middle for a second chance of happiness? Or are they doomed to fail from the beginning?

Oh boy! I can repeat millions time: I love this book so much! I love this book so much! I love this book so much! I love this book so much! I love this book so much!... it goes on and on!

I highly advise you to take this freaking amazing novel at your reading list. This is one of best five romance reads of the year! I laughed! I smiled! I cried so hard! But when you finished the last page: I felt extremely good! This is the magic of great book which always heals your soul and fills your heart with happiness!

So many thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I said it before when I wrote my review for Spoiler Alert just a few short weeks ago - this is the romantic comedy we didn’t know we needed. Sequels are always so tricky because they have so much to live up to, and Olivia Dade completely exceeded even my ridiculously incredibly high hopes and expectations with All the Feels. I even preordered the book, not knowing that I’d actually get the chance to read it in advance!

I had all the feels with this one indeed. All the same sentiments I had with Spoiler Alert still apply - the importance of self-love and acceptance, embracing our differences and faults, and learning that our pasts don’t define our futures. I didn’t think it would be possible but I love Alex and Lauren even more than I loved Marcus and April. We first met Alex and Lauren in Spoiler Alert, and the first half of this book overlaps with the entirely of it. I really appreciate this crossover, which we don’t usually see in sequels. As with all sequels, I love looking back at the first couple and revisiting them, which we do a little bit of her but not as much as I hoped. The focus is firmly on Alex and Lauren and the development of their relationship from “babysitter” minding her charge, to friends and eventually lovers. Unlike with Spoiler Alert, there is less focus on the fandom and fanfic in this one, but what we are getting in return is more character development. More insight into how Alex got to be the man he is, his friendship with BFF Marcus (this may have been my favorite part of the story to be honest), how Lauren came to be his minder, and why they seem to be able to connect despite their differences.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon/Harper for the opportunity to read this amazing book 4 months ahead of its release and saving me the agony of waiting for my preorder to become available!

Oh boy, do I have all the feels... I loved this book. I think it was a very strong follow-up to Spoiler Alert, which was one of my favorite books so far this year. Alex is the fun and lovable idiot who is so utterly passionate about everything that I fell in love immediately. Lauren is so genuine, witty, and, in my opinion, a great representation of a "bigger woman." These two made me laugh out loud several times and definitely made me feel for them in the end. We love some good and healthy character development.

This book gets many, many kudos from me and I am definitely going to stay an avid Olivia Dade fan.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: October 26, 2021

Five stars for the entire book being body positive for the main character, and also for having a neuro-divergent hero character.

That being said, this is very niche, and there are so many specific references to different fandoms and tropes that it was hard to keep up sometimes. Fanfiction plays a big role in this book and at times I found it a little too campy, even for me. This is a sequel so it may do readers well to make sure to read Spoiler Alert first.

This book has definitely given me all of the feels.

When Lauren is forced to take on the role of handler for Alex, the actor portraying Cupid on a big budget blockbuster television show they don’t get off to the best of starts. Alex promises to be on his best behavior and they soon realize they can offer each other what the other is missing, despite not being a conventional match.

I absolutely loved the character of Alex. He’s hilarious, giving and always in motion. His ADHD means his mouth is always running (giggity) and even though there are a couple of instances where his jabs might be misunderstood, they work through things and communicate effectively. He emboldens Lauren to finally stand up for herself more and helps her to see what she really wants out of life. On the flip side, Lauren helps him work through his own trauma and guilt that he’s carried with him for most of his adult life. The romantic parts are the perfect combination of hot and sweet.

I loved the ADHD representation and the self-love Lauren has for herself. I haven’t read Spoiler Alert, but will be in the future. The snarky references to a certain big budget fantasy show had me cracking up, as did all of the mentions of fanfiction and tropes. Plus there was one bed! And the pegging 😂 I loved this book so much.

*gets approved for arc*
*starts it the next day*

Anyways. I love Olivia Dade and the way she writes characters. She has given me another chaotic Alex to fall in love with which apparently is becoming my favorite type of character. Alex and Lauren have fabulous banter and I love how sure they both are about themselves. They are both late 30s and they discuss their concerns/issues right away (for the most part) and they just feel mature.

This has so many cute moments and I just smiled the entire time I read this.

My only complaint (v minor) is that their isn't a super strong plot in the last third of the novel and is more the characters just figuring out themselves, WHICH WAS MOSTLY FINE WITH ME, but it felt a bit unnecessary and went on a bit too long until we wrapped everything up.

TW: domestic abuse (mentioned; off page)

All The Feels is the sequel to Spoiler Alert, which you definitely need to read before this book or you lose out on a lot of context. This is a forced-proximity romance between Alex and Lauren, who were first introduced in book 1. I really liked Alex in Spoiler Alert so I was really looking forward to this one!

Alexander Woodroe plays Cupid on the super popular TV-series-adapted-from-book-series Gods of the Gates (obvious analog for Game of Thrones). When the book opens up, he’s just been released from Spanish jail for getting into a bar fight and the showrunners are tearing him a new one for his irresponsible behavior. To “keep him in line” until the show finishes airing in 9 months, showrunner Ron assigns his cousin Lauren Clegg to be Alex’s “minder.” Lauren is between jobs, having decided to take a break from her emotionally draining job as a therapist in an ER (I forget exactly what her job title was), and decides to accept this role because it will give her more time to decide what she wants to do next, and a little bit because of familial obligation.

I really enjoyed the chemistry between Alex and Lauren, and their banter was top-notch! The steamy scenes were great, and I absolutely loved how well consent was handled in this book. I also liked the body positivity in this book. There are insults towards Lauren for her general physical appearance and she is sensitive to the threat of sizeism, but it isn’t on the page. I really liked how she was confident about her body and that made the steamy scenes even more satisfying.

However, this book unfortunately fell short for me in a few ways. I found it to be rather slow paced, especially in the first half. I also found some of Alex’s behavior to be really red-flag-ish, especially for someone who’s supposed to be 39 years old. His motives might be noble, but his disregard for consequences made me really uncomfortable and I found it hard to root for their relationship, even though there may have been multiple reasons for this behavior, and he does eventually get called out for it. What really didn’t work for me, though, was the conflict towards the end. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it uses one of my least favorite plot devices. I was also really missing some of the things I loved about the first book, which was the actors’ involvement in the fandom! I was expecting (and hoping for) the fanfiction to be a bigger part of this book, and I’m kind of sad it wasn’t (though I don’t know how it would have fit in).

Overall, I did enjoy reading this, and I definitely recommend it for readers who love Olivia Dade’s books and who loved the first book. I also recommend it for readers who love relationships between celebrities and “normal people” or forced proximity / only one bed.

CW: an abusive relationship of a secondary character is mentioned but not on page

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is such a great read. I have never felt so seen in a romance novel. Dade writes about the experiences large women in a world that wants them to stop taking up space. It is not the focus of the book, but there are definitely details that I have never seen in a romance novel before (such as how embarrassing and painful air travel can be).

At the same time, this is a funny book. I laughed out loud repeatedly and greatly enjoyed the banter between Alex and Lauren. They spend the novel becoming friends, then lovers, and then learning to love themselves. It is powerful and enjoyable. And for those who loves Spoiler Alert, don’t worry, this book has some fun fan fiction elements too.

I always used to be afraid to read romance novels that dealt with the lives of a plus size woman, as often she either has to undergo a makeover or the hero loves her despite her size. This book includes neither of those things. Lauren doesn’t miraculously change, and Alex loves everything about her. It was wonderful! Thank you Dade for another great book. Now I really wish her librarian series wasn’t out of print.

You don’t have to have read Spoiler Alert to enjoy this book, but it does introduce the characters and the plots overlap a bit. And, honestly, it is also a really fun read. So just read them both! You won’t regret it.

Trigger warning for discussion of domestic violence.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher and Net Galley in return for a fair review.

I devoured the second book in Olivia Dade's romance series as fast as the first. Her writing, characters, and romantic situations are that wonderful and engaging! When Lauren Clegg is bullied by her cousin - and producer on "God of the Gates" - into working as handler for problem actor Alex Woodroe, she doesn't expect much more than what life has already handed her. A challenging job as an emergency clinician and open mockery for her ugly face and body. But Alex, flawed is so many ways himself, sees a different facet of Lauren. As he slowly teases her from behind her wall, she sees that life is so much more than what she thought. Full of humor and tears, this amazing book made me giggle and teary with just one page. I can't recommend it enough for fans of "Spoiler Alert".

First off, a huge thanks to NetGalley and Olivia Dade for providing me with an ARC in return for an honest and fair review.  I'm just getting back into officially reviewing books and I appreciate the kindness.

Now on to 'All The Feels",  We hear this a lot lately, that representation matters, representation in all forms, being able to see yourself as the heroine, or main love interest of a story isn't something you expect when you're short, round and not necessarily conventionally attractive.  I had high hopes  after reading the first book in this series, Spoiler Alert, then I saw the cover for this one and saw me, Lauren looks so much like me, I feel like I am Lauren, I am fragile, geeky, loving, ride or die.

This is going to hopefully be as spoiler free as I can make it.  The story overlaps its timeline with the first book, so we see all of our fave Gods of the Gates friends, and we explore their group dynamic and friendship further. 

The plot is full of all your favorite bits from various tropes. and we delve into even more tropes through fanfiction and AO3. It's the Olivia Dade we all love, her pacing, her cadence, very specific fandom references that I think we can all recognize and appreciate. And honestly, as a person who was really displeased with the last couple of seasons of GoT please know that no scorn is spared for their GoG counterparts the dragging is epically enjoyable.

The main characters are complex, and layered and it all unfolds at an excellent pace, popping in some surprises along the way. It's a must read if you enjoyed the first in the series, are a geek, love fanfic, or never thought you were the type of gal someone would pine for. 10/10 would recommend.

This book is addictive! Sooooo sweet!

The writing was wonderful and funny but it was also reflective and honest at times and the humor was evenly spread through the book, which is important for a good rom-com.
Alex and Lauren are both so well developed and so loveable, and their chemistry was THROUGH THE ROOF!

Overall, I loved this book and I can definitely see myself rereading multiple times it in the future.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

BIG HARPY ENERGY!!! Alex and Lauren are everything I was hoping for. They served the fanfic dreams, with a mix of snark and humor. If you want:
-grumpy sunshine but he’s the sunshine
-self love
-one bed trope
-ROAD TRIP
-friends to lovers
And more, this book is absolutely for you. I cannot rave enough about how much I enjoyed watching the relationship between Alex and Lauren grow, and seeing how they care for each other but also exist as individual characters. There’s a continued theme from book one of involving show details, fanfic, etc and it’s simply perfect. A 5 star escape for any nerd who dreams of love!

Olivia Dade does it again! I thoroughly enjoyed Spoiler Alert, and this was a great follow up. Alex was an amazing leading man, and Lauren was a totally relatable leading lady. This had some of my favorite tropes, although they're also the ones that make me the craziest (self-sacrificing, not communicating, THERE'S ONLY ONE BED!). I was intrigued by Alex in Spoiler Alert, and I was so excited to see his story and learn about Lauren's role in his life.

At the end of the day, I really appreciate that Olivia Dade writes romance novels that incorporate fandom, neurodivergence, and plus women and the men who love them. It's really hard to be mad about this.

LOVED THIS! The banter in this book was sublime! I loved Alex and "Nanny Clegg" so much. The characters were so real and relatable. The storyline was a fun return to the world created in "Spoiler Alert". So much fun and such a great read. Can't wait for another from Dade and this series!!

All the Feels is an appropriately titled book. I felt all the feels. Alex is pure chaos. He is fiercely loyal, loves hard, and just can't seem to keep himself from doing what's right, even (especially) at his own expense. Lauren is supposed to be his nanny, a shadow intended to keep him from spoiling the final season of Gods of the Gates before it airs. The thing is, Alex (along with all the other cast members) hates that final season, and when given the choice between his career and standing up against misogynist pricks, he chooses the latter. Despite her absolute bafflement at Alex's abysmal self-preservation instincts, Lauren begins to admire Alex, and the business arrangement turned friendship just keeps evolving. Perfect for any romance fan, All the Feels is a delightful follow up to Spoiler Alert!