"Booked on a Feeling" is a contemporary romance featuring a Korean-American MC, a slow burn friends to lovers romance, and a book about books.

I don't think this book really drew me in. Maybe I'm just looking for something a little deeper at the moment, which is no fault of the author, but I had a rough time getting attached to the storyline or the characters. DNFed.

This was a sweet and cute romcom but unfortunately I couldn't get into it, and after several months of trying to get through it I've decided to DNF. I felt the characters were very one dimensional and lack back story/character building, and since I prefer stories that are character driven that's a big no for me.

That being said, I feel like it's perfect for someone looking for a short and sweet romcom to read and just because I didn't vibe with it doesn't mean someone else won't. I say give it a shot!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

Life isn't perfect - and expecting it to be will always backfire. Lizzy is learning this the hard way and you can see it coming from a mile away. Everything felt predictable but it didn't detract from enjoying the book. There were lots of moments that made me laugh but I really enjoyed the friendship between Lizzy and Jack. It was clear that the chemistry has been sizzling for many years. It didn't take long to fall in love with them.

Things took too long to happen, but then they happened too quickly. I didn't get much chemistry between the characters, and the pacing just felt off. I liked the setting, it felt very cozy. I didn't like how quickly Lizzie and Shannon were basically best friends. There wasn't enough background on Lizzie and Jack's friendship, I think it could have used a flashback scene of them meeting at the beginning. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't the right book for me.

This is the third book in the A Sweet Mess series and follows friends Lizzie and Jack. Lizzie is a lawyer in LA working her way up the ladder and Jack works in the office at the family brewery in Weldon. After Lizzie wins a big trial for her firm, she's burnt out and needs some time to figure out what's going on with her career so she drives to Weldon. She's staying for 3 weeks and when Jack runs into her in town, he can't believe his luck. He's had feeling for Lizzie for years and now that she's in town with nothing on her agenda, he's going to make the most of their time together. But he knows that he can't risk their friendship for his feelings - but maybe if she had feelings too, that would be a different situation. I overall really liked this story but felt the relationship pacing was a little odd. I loved Lizzie and Jack as their own characters but I didn't quite feel their friendship on the page. Maybe it was because they were living hours away from each other, but they felt more like acquaintances than good friends. We do see how their families are intertwined and how much history they have with each other but it never quite felt like Lizzie and Jack had a deeper emotional connection like I expect with a friends to lovers romance. Friendship aside, these two had chemistry flowing off the page. I absolutely loved when they started getting together. I also really enjoyed how the main conflict for both of them is wanting to be in charge of their own lives and neither of them needed to give up on their dreams for the relationship. They both made their own career and life choices and then were able to come together stronger in the end.

Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. Publication date was July 26, 2022

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This book is about discovery-finding your passion and figuring out how to live your best life. Do you follow the money or do you follow your dreams? Tough choices. I liked Lizzy and Jack and the romance was cute. 3.5 stars

I personally did not enjoy this book that much. I don't know if it was the timing, maybe I just was not in the mood to read a romcom. I might try again in the future. I do think this is a book that many people will enjoy.

Cute friends to lovers romance. Writing was pretty good although it did feel dragged on. I felt the romance between the two characters, Lizzie and Jack, were either teetering on the edge of either cheesy or romantic. Not much character development so I didn't feel a strong connection to anyone. The background on the other characters were somewhat vague and I wanted to know about them just a bit more, particularly the mother. I felt that there could have been an added drama with her to round out the story. Overall, it was fairly good but just not too memorable for me.


Thank you to NetGalley & St.Martin's Press for the eARC.

This wasn’t my favorite of Jayci Lee’s books and that really made me sad! I enjoyed her other two books and really wanted to like this story, but I didn’t feel any connection to the characters at all.

I expected to absolutely adore this, but unfortunately it wasn't for me. I am a sucker for the friends to lovers tropes and I LOVE books, so this had all the ingredients to be extremely enjoyable, but something was missing. I just wasnt a fan of the main characters and I found them to be quite immature. I just couldn't stand it, so unfortunately this was a miss for me

This book had all the ingredients I usually love in a romance – best friends to lovers and a book about books. However, I wish I enjoyed it more than I did. I found it to be so cheesy at points that I couldn't stop myself from cringing. I also feel that Lizzy and Jack acted a bit immature for their age. For me, their lack of communication didn't really correlate with how close we were told they were. I was just hoping for a little more pining and drama!

I just love friends to lovers especially when one has having feelings they don't share cause they don't want to ruin their relationship. But when the other person is actually interested, things get interesting.

They are both trying to find their place in the world and in their worlds.

I loved how they re-evaluated their happiness and went on different paths for happiness. Your family can want what they want for you life but it is your life and you have to live it.

Jack was so sweet and the best friend not even sharing his feelings even when she thinks it's one sided and she forced it on him. So long alone with his feelings it took him awhile to process.

Very cute - friends to lovers story. Heartfelt - great writing.

I love how this author showed us how their relationship unfolded and recognizing what the other needed whether it was giving space to figure themselves or pushing each other.

I did like how the book explores how we/people view ourselves and coming to grips that we/ourselves are enough and don’t need to live up to someone else’s ideals. I think that is something most people struggle with and I like how it is tackled in such a heartwarming way.

I just love friends to lovers especially when one has having feelings they don't share cause they don't want to ruin their relationship. But when the other person is actually interested, things get interesting.
They are both trying to find their place in the world and in their worlds.
I loved how they re-evaluated their happiness and went on different paths for happiness. Your family can want what they want for you life but it is your life and you have to live it.
Jack was so sweet and the best friend not even sharing his feelings even when she thinks it's one sided and she forced it on him. So long alone with his feelings it took him awhile to process.
Thank you stmartinspress and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

What a wonderful summer romance! Lizzie and Jack have been friends since they were 10 years old. It is now 20 years later...Lizzie is a driven, hard-working lawyer in LA and Jack handles the business side of his family's brewery. The book is predictable and formulaic and I did not care in the least. It is beautifully written with realistic characters and an enjoyable plot. It was a fast read and I enjoyed every page.

This book was very sweet and enjoyable. The writting is great, and I will for sure be looking for other books from Jayci Lee.

The friends to lover slow burn is fantastically done, and while the misunderstanding is inevitable and frustrating, things wrap up nicely so it is forgivable.

The characters are enjoyable, with some great banter. It was clear from early on what Lizzy would end up doing, and I did get frustrated when it took her forever to realize it.. but her situation was understandable.

Lots of delicious food bits, which I always enjoy!

Definitely a romance novel I would recommend for anyone who enjoys the friends to lovers trope.

Your average rom-com. It was a good, quick read, and doesn't stray too far from the typical. Again, I would say that this book is fun to read, but I don't think I will remember much of it as it doesn't stand out from the crowd.

I really wanted to love this one; I just couldn't. Books and best-friends-to-lovers are normally the perfect recipe for a rom-com but this story spent all its time in the wrong places. Lizzy and Jack, said best friends, have been crushing on each other for years and of course they've never acted on it (frustrating part #1 because this leads to miscommunication tropes all over the place). When Lizzy, an ambitious lawyer, needs to take a break from life in the big city, she returns to her hometown to spend some time with Jack and clear her mind. While there, Lizzy takes it upon herself to help the local bookshop owner renovate her store to bring back business (frustrating part #2 because every time I read a scene where they were working in the store, I felt like I was also forced into manual labor, it was tedious). Anyways, Lizzy and Jack spend time together, finally admit their feelings, miscommunicate, separate, find out who they're meant to be along the way, the end (frustrating part #3 because there was really not a lot going on here). I wish the story would have delved deeper into Lizzy and Jack's characters and their relationship to each other. A romance is never fun when the main characters are in love just because.

2/5 Stars. Thank you, Netgalley, for the eARC.

A solid 3 star romance! Lizzy thinks she’s got her life figured out. She’s working her “dream job” and had her best friend Jack. But Lizzy isn’t really living. She decided to take a vacation from work and spend time in her hometown. 3 weeks of volunteering at a local
Bookstore, and spending more time with Jack has her questioning what she really wants out of her life. She’s tired of living just to please her mother.

Jack wants more than to just work at his families brewery, he wants to make a life of his own.

As these two realize what they really want out of their lives, they also start to acknowledge the feelings that have been there all along. Can 20 years of friendship really turn into a relationship? Can they risk that?

A cute closed door romance!

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC!