Rachel Ryan’s Resolutions is one of those stories that simply resonates with its readers. How many of us have made similar resolutions, only to abandon them within a few days (or even hours)? Rachel tries – not always very hard, especially when it comes to exercising (and who can blame her?) – to stick to them, and as the story progresses the list expands slightly to take into account the difficulties she has in sticking to some of them.

But it is when Jack Harper comes back into her life that her struggles really begin. He broke her heart at university, and it seems she hasn’t really got over it. Trouble is, he knows it, and goes out of his way to inject himself back into her life, under a thinly veiled disguise of “I’ve changed”. (He hasn’t!)

Rachel, however, has few weapons up her sleeve (ones that she doesn’t quite realise are there yet, but she will) in the form of her best friend and flatmate, Anna, and her very good friend of four years, Tom.

At times, I was screaming in my head at Rachel: Listen to Anna! Don’t go there! Only for my warnings to go unheeded. By which time, damage limitation was needed. But, as most of us know, sometimes we have to make our own mistakes to learn from them. But, I’ll be honest, it did look as though Rachel and her blinkers were not ready to be parted!

Rachel Ryan’s Resolutions is a rom-com with a difference; as expected, it’s funny (laugh-out-loud chortling funny) and there’s romance (you just have to wait for it), but it’s also quite poignant in the way Rachel’s barriers are broken down so that she really can see what we, as readers, have known all along. No spoilers, but it’s quite refreshing to see how those layers are stripped away. I’ll admit, it brought a tear to my eye since I can empathise with the reasoning behind those barriers.

Structurally, I was a little distracted when the story switched without warning to another character’s POV, a character who I hadn’t really expected to mean so much, but who eventually became pivotal to the story. That aside, I loved the “realness” of the banter, the humour between friends, the office rivalries and jealousies, and the sheer awfulness of some of Rachel’s clients (Humphrey knows who he is 😉 )

A thoroughly enjoyable read. I’ll be sure to look out for more from this author. This is hilarious fun in word format, but so very visual and all-consuming.

I enjoyed my time with this book. Laura has done a fantastic job with her debut book. This book was well written and thought out, it flowed really well. The only things I have against it is that Rachel annoyed me quite a bit towards the end and I started to find her a bit unlikeable. I also felt that the information about Rachel’s backstory came out from a left field and took me by surprise as there was no foreshadowing before hand. Apart from those small little things, I really enjoyed this book. Can’t wait to read more from Laura

If you fancy a superb light read that gives you all the feels, then this is your read. Rachel Ryan stumbles into our hearts via a bush - as she watches her boyfriend of 3 years seduce a willowy model and frets over how to escape the scene unnoticed! Hilarious and heartbreaking. Jumping forwards 10 years and Rachel still has little romantic success as she fights off unwanted advances from an increasingly stalker-like Lawrence, finds herself in the awkward position of working alongside her ex - up close and very personal and discovers new elements to Tom, the friend who has been by her side in London for many years. Rachel takes us on all her ups and downs, with lots of laughter, a few tears and lots of tugging on the heartstrings. This has been my favourite romantic comedy of the year . There is nothing better than that happy contented buzz when you finish a book like this that is just fizzing with sexual tension, great humour and love .

This was a fun adventure, romcom, chick lit book! I liked the concept of sometimes things don't go to plan and that is okay! Super cute and would recommend to any of my rom com lovers out there

This book appealed to me for more than the fun, although there is that. I'm a planner from way back, and I love nothing more than goal setting, but it can be particularly difficult when life doesn't exactly go to plan! I was keen to read Rachel Ryan's perspective on all of this, and enjoy getting to know her character. So yes, it's a fun adventure, with great characters, but this story also takes you deeper into some bigger issues. I recommend this one! Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Romcom With Heart…
Resolutions are usually a fairly predictable affair and are also, fairly predictably, broken early on as life often throws constant obstacles into an otherwise, perhaps, predictable path. Rachel Ryan, with her somewhat predictable resolutions, is a perfect example. Romcom with a big heart, often emotional themes dealt well with dollops of humour and wit. A heartwarming tale.

A funny, relatable, heartwarming read. Highly recommended! I loved the characters involved, along with the warmth and humour portrayed. I normally read quite dark fiction so this was a lovely uplifting book.

This is such a cute story!!! People are going to fall in love with Rachel Ryan. Highly recommend for a book club!

Thank you NetGalley and Embla Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Rachel Ryan's Resolutions follows the life of copywriter, Rachel, who lives with her best friend, Anna. When the creative agency that Rachel works for is taken over, it goes from bad to worse when she discovers her new colleague is her cheating ex-boyfriend, Jack Harper. She's spent years trying to forget him but she's still drawn to him and his charms. And then there's her friend Tom, who is always there to listen (and pour wine). But when work stirs up her most painful memories, her best friend makes a major announcement and Jack dials up the charm, Rachel starts to question everything.

If you're looking for a light-hearted, fun novel - this one's for you! I got Beth O'Leary and Gail Honeyman vibes from this book. Similar to the main characters in 'The Flatshare' and 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine', I found Rachel, the main character very relatable and funny. I also thoroughly enjoyed the friendships portrayed in the book, Rachel and Anna's being my favourite. Although the book had a few emotional moments, I enjoyed the way this was balanced with some humour.

Personally, I wish the book was a bit more fast paced as I struggled to feel gripped by it. I felt like I was waiting for something big to happen... that never really came. I would have also liked to see more of Rachel and Tom's relationship progress a bit quicker than it did. The ending was a tad too predictable for my liking but it was still cute!

Overall, it was a cute, easy read so I think if you're a fan of Bridget Jones and The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary you'll enjoy this.

Enjoyed the start of this one, and then felt all the clichés that we know and love for this genre come out. But that ending was so much better than anticipated and showed so much depth to Rachel and other characters. Fun, flirty and lovely.

This clashed with my own values too much - it was painting a picture essentially that a girl cannot simply stay away from a guy and cannot resist him throughout. I also think that the resolutions were one entity and the rest of the book was another and they didn’t really seem to connect well.

This book is based around copywriter Rachel's New Year's resolutions, which are amended each month as life throws romantic and other obstacles at her.
I enjoyed the storyline and the characters were excellent. It did remind me a bit of Bridget Jones with the lead character who doesn't realise how attractive she is and the two suitors - one suave and slick, and the other a boy next door type.
Told mainly from Rachel's point of view, it was a little confusing when another character's point of view popped up nearly half way through!
I felt the book dragged on a little and could have been punchier if it was condensed.
Thank you to Embla and Netgalley UK for this ARC.

Rachel Ryan is starting the new year as she means to go on, with her list of resolutions in hand she dumps her bore of a boyfriend, downloads her jogging app and tries to be better at work. All is going well until the beautiful boy who broke her heart comes back into her life as part of a company take over. Emotional chaos ensues.
This was solid stuff 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. It has a cast of likeable characters that you want to route for and a couple you want to see flattened. I liked all the secondary characters especially Will, who could not love a posh, lawyer Santa man? It does however fall into a few tropey traps. Rachel’s got a serious case of “doesn’t know she’s beautiful”-itis. She goes on about how unconventionally attractive she is YET all the hot boys want her and her ex can’t let her go. And all it takes is a bit of lippy and some texturising spray for the alpha males to start tearing each other apart over her. Hmm…
Tom. Tom. Tom. Tom. Hot dude, who runs 10k at least twice a week, wears cardigans sexily off the shoulder and abs for days disguised by geek glasses and sitting Right There every Friday night at the Hope pining away for three years. THREE YEARS! Come on now.
There was A LOT of sub plotting and lot of information that didn’t really add anything to the main plot and as such made the book a tad long winded. Some could have been dropped and others given more space. I also felt, after the build up, we didn’t get much a showdown with ex boyfriend, it kind of happened off book. Rachel, however, does get resolution.

age: 12+
tw/cw: cancer, sibling death, manipulation, cheating, sexism, racism, homophobia, parental abandonment
genres: fictioin, romance, rom com
tropes: love triangle, second chance romance, workplace romance, friends to lovers, forced proximity

my ratiing: 4.5/5 stars (9/10)

This book takes hilarious wit, deep heartwrenching moments and stunning romance and rolls it all into an amazing narrative that I *could not* put down. I loved the workplace elements of the story and the friendships and side characters were beautifully developed. The slow realisation of the main characters' feelings for each other was exquisite and I laughed out loud so many times. Some of the themes of loneliness hit hard, as well as themes of isolation and hiding parts of yourself.

Absolutely adored this book and the characters have really stayed with me. A definite book hangover.

The style of this book is very reminiscent of the Flat Share by Beth O’Leary. I haven’t had a book make me reflect like this since I read Eleanor Oliphant is completely Fine. In many ways this book is a coming of age story. The protagonist might not be the age that we associate with the genre but the story has many of the same aspects as your typical coming of age story. Rachel is such a compelling and relatable protagonist. I can’t wait to read more books but this author.

3.5 stars
In Laura Starkey's 'Rachel Ryan's Resolutions', copywriter Rachel's work life is turned upside down after her company has been taken over and she discovers her new work partner is her cheating ex-boyfriend, Jack Harper.

Much to the chagrin of her best friend and housemate Anna, Rachel is still attracted to Jack, who claims he's reformed.

Each chapter forms Rachel trying to complete her list of New Year's resolutions.

While the book is not without problems - told in third person, its mostly from Rachel's perspective until most of the way through it jumps to the perspective of another character.
While I don't mind a dual POV (third or first person, doesn't matter to me unless written well), it would've been more effective that character's importance was brought up much further. Because the primary plot in this novel was her workplace. The way it was added in makes it seem like Starkey has taken parts of another book she was writing and added it to it.

The strength of this novel for me is watching Rachel realise her obliviviousness after being fixated on the wrong things at work and in her personal life. Its relatable, and I very much loved when she pieces it together to give the character their well deserved comeuppance.

I also enjoyed the workplace story, seeing her in action, being good at what she does. Usually most authors will just have other characters tell us the protaganist is good without actually demonstrating it (usually for brevity. But I liked those small scenes with Jack and Rachel brainstorming and her coming up with the solution for their difficult client. Too often we see heroines either be 'bumbling' at work or clearly not even doing any work, whereas Starkey brought the reader into the world of being a copywriter.

I enjoyed this book that I bought my own copy and have pre-ordered the audiobook.

Thank you to Embla Books and Netgalley.

I loved this book! I was invested in Rachel's life since the very start and was very pleased with the ending. The journey to the HEA was messy, pretty realistic and very entertaining to read. Looking forward to more books from this author.

3/5
Thanks Netgalley for the cute and fun read! I thought this was a perfect lighthearted read to weather the tropical storm that's been going on, and Rachel Ryan's Resolutions (love the alliteration in the title) managed to take my mind off the humidity. Total blessing. Would recommend!

I’m a sucker for a feel good romance and for that reason I enjoyed this book. It was funny and heartwarming, and had themes of grief running through it too which made it more than just a typical romcom.

Rachel’s ex boyfriend Jack who broke her heart whilst at university shows up at her workplace, with an interest in reestablishing their relationship. Rachel then faces a love triangle with Jack and her close friend Tom, who is genuine, kind and cares deeply for her.

I loved the friendships between the characters in this book, especially Rachel and Anna, and I would recommend this book as a light read with both emotional and funny moments.

I did have a problem with the POV in this book. It was told in third person but mostly followed Rachel. I just think it would have benefitted from being written in first person but that’s just my personal preference.