The best kind of friends to lovers. We having secret pining, friends since they were children, adults learning to search for their own dreams, and family dynamics. I especially enjoyed that both Lizzy and Jack needed to figure out their own stuff, and were mature enough to let the other do it. Yes, there's a black moment and it's sad and you want to shake them both. But they also both then stepped back and thought about how the other was not wrong and was doing their best to figure out their own dream. I really appreciated that. I loved the humor, the real conversations, and the chemistry that sizzled. The family dynamics include both the supportive and not so supportive varieties. Highly recommend.

CW for toxic parent, stressful work environment resulting in anxiety, anxiety attack on page

I don't know how to describe this book. It was set up to be so good, with all of the things that I liked. A hardworking and accomplished female lead (who's a lawyer no less), tons of time spent in bookstores and friends-to-lovers. However, the writing was just completely off for me. Some parts were so cringey, and I feel like there wasn't any compensation or balance between the cringe parts that were supposed to be relatable and sweet and genuinely good writing. My second and last criticism was that there were so many topics that were brought up but never explored, such as Lizzy's relationship with her mother, her professional life, Jack's feelings of inadequacy and being 'stuck' where he was, and Shannon's work as a small business owner. I just feel like the story had the potential to be so much more, and it was hyperfocused on the romance which left a lot to be desired. I wouldn't recommend this as a 'fun summer read' unless you solely want Romance with a capital R, with a side of absolutely nothing else. Nonetheless, I'm sure Jayci Lee and St. Martin's Publishing Group worked very hard to make this book a reality and I don't mean to undermine their work. I'm sure there's an audience for it, I just wasn't it. Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book, and look out for it in bookstores on July 26th 2022!

I had to stop reading this book because the writing style was difficult to get past. There were so many superfluous details that the scenes and plot would get lost in them. I was distracted from the actual events. I also didn’t feel like the relationship between the two main characters was well developed. Everything seemed to be described and it was hard to find it compelling. Unfortunately I found it to be overwritten.

This book was so incredibly adorable. I’m definitely a bit of a sucker for friends to lovers where the guy falls first as well as small town romances and this book checked both the boxes for those tropes. Just from the synopsis I loved the idea of this book and I thought the plot was excited extremely well.
There was a noticeable spark between Lizzie and her best friend Jack right from the beginning that had me hooked on their (friendly) relationship instantly. It was also noticeable that Lizzie’s heart wasn’t 100% in it with her job and that got me excited to see how her life was going to change over the course of the book. I definitely think Lizzie still needs to work on the real meaning of relaxing but I love that she spent her entire time off work helping save a failing bookstore. It did seem to help with her burnout and put lots of things into perspective for her so it definitely worked out in the end. I liked that both Lizzie and Jack had pop’s in the book, that is something I’ll always appreciate in books because it makes it easy to understand both sides of the story. Also having Jack’s pov was the absolute cutest. He’s so incredibly in love with Lizzie but terrified to ruin their friendship.
They both had to work through a bit of a struggle with the fear of disappointing their families because of what they wanted with their jobs. I thought that part was worked into the story well and didn’t become the main focus but wasn’t just an off-handed comment that only got mentioned once. Jack’s family was a lot more supportive just in general, and I love how they always treated Lizzie like family. Definitely fit into the small town storyline quite well.
There was the, what seems to be usual in romances, time jump at the end but it seemed to work into the story better than other romances I’ve read. It didn’t feel like I was missing a bunch of time and information about the characters. I thought the ending flowed easily and felt fairly natural. The hea was as adorable as ever and left me incredibly happy. I'll definitely be checking out Jayci's other books after this.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Ms. Lee is a new to me author. I could absolutely relate to the pressure that many ethnic minorities are under to succeed. I can totally relate to Lizzie's mother and the pressure that she puts on her daughter to succeed in a profession that is looked up to in the community. The fact that Lizzie might want to run a bookstore would be viewed as such a failure. I am happy that Lizzie is able to break out of the mold and buy some thinking time by going back home to the small town where she grew up and spend time with her childhood friend for whom she has romantic feelings.
What I have trouble with is the progression of the story. It just seems to spin in place with neither protagonist taking a step forward on the relationship front. How much running or sharing can a story take? Not my most favorite book of the summer but I did finish the story and happy to get to the epilogue etc.

I received an e-galley of Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee from St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

A friends-to-lovers story set in a bookstore featuring Korean American characters? Um, yes. Let's add that to my reading list right away please. I was intrigued by all of this in Booked on a Feeling from the get go and it didn't disappoint. It was just the love story that I needed in my life this summer and I enjoyed reading Lizzy and Jack's story. I thought that the romance between them read well and I also liked the way the story allowed them both to grow independently in order to make the relationship feel more healthy and less co-dependent.

This was just a really sweet, fun read. The author touches on some important issues like anxiety, family dynamics, and self-acceptance, and does it in a really lovely way.

I really liked the small-town setting, and the juxtaposition between it and what Lizzy has worked for makes for an interesting comparison. Lizzy is an admirable character; Jack is the perfect book boyfriend..

Overall, this was a really great reading experience.

I've enjoyed all books in this series and each one you can read as a standalone. This one was just a little bit slow to start but I did enjoy reading this one, just not quite as much as the first two. I'm really looking forward to Alex's story cause that one has to be next.

Best friends to lovers trope for the win!! This is my favorite trope and this book delivered. I especially love when books include bookish aspects and themes. It makes my heart so happy. I also adore any book that includes multicultural representation-it’s a definite win for me. Lizzy and Jack were perfection. Their chemistry was great, and even though it wasn’t super spicy-you could feel the connection between them.

This story deals with self-discovery, and has some anxiety representation as well. Overall it’s a sweet book with the perfect amount of angst.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I DNF’d this book. I couldn’t get into it at all. I tried and tried. There was too much lawyer jargon at the beginning in my opinion. It was hard to get hooked.

I loved Jayci Lee's The Dating Dare and jumped at the opportunity to read another book by her... Unfortunately Booked on a Feeling just wasn't for me. I found the pacing a bit too slow for my liking and never really felt invested in either of the main characters or their friends-to-lovers romance. It just wasn't my cup of tea!

Thank you to Netgalley and SMP for the arc!

This book was definitely a very cute read. I loved the representation of anxiety throughout the book. Seeing how Lizzie struggled with her anxiety and finding her purpose in life was one my favorite parts of the book. I was more into her life than the relationship she had with Jack. I was disappointed that this one is written in 3rd person. I typically prefer romance books written in 1st person, but that is just a personal preference. All in all a decent read, but nothing we haven’t seen before.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jayci Lee, and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Review posted to Goodreads & will be posting to Instagram today!

Honestly this book was pretty slow paced for me. I'm not really the biggest fan of friends to lovers so that's probably why it felt slow to me. I LOVE that it took place in a bookstore!

2.5 stars

Booked on a Feeling had a lot of things I enjoy in a romance: dual POV, small town vibes (and bookstore vibes!), and friends-to-lovers.
I've personally read a lot of books lately where the main character is a lawyer, and she's usually killing it, so when this book started out that way, I wasn't sure if this was the right time for me and this book. However, when we learned more about Lizzy and her anxiety, it felt like a fresh take.
Ultimately, this book is about two people trying to find what brings them joy. Lizzy takes an unexpected vacation from her high stress job to go visit the small town her best friend, Jack, lives in and ends up volunteering at a bookstore. Jack, trying to find a job outside of the family business, is thrilled as he has harbored a years long crush on her.
It felt like the beginnings of a cute romance, except it never really got there for me. Jack's internal monologue bugged me, as he apparently has loved Lizzy for years but as soon as things take a romantic turn, he had such cold feet. It just felt juvenile and like a game to me. And on the other hand, Lizzy's feelings seemed to take a complete 180. The writing felt more telling than showing, and maybe that's why I didn't feel very connected.
There also didn't seem to be a lot of tension, both characters were seemingly going through the same dilemma with their jobs and breaking away from their families. The tension in regards to the romance and ruining their friendship just seemed unbelievable.
This book is part of a series, but is easily read as a standalone.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had a tough time with this one.
I liked the premise of returning to your small hometown and discovering love. However, I didn't think the main character's choices made a lot of sense, the story moved liked molasses and the hero harbored a crush on his best friend for a decade. I'm sorry but if someone nurtures a crush for that long his side of the friendship comes off as icky in my opinion.

I wanted to love it because it had a lot of the scenes in a bookstore, but it fell flat. It was back and forth with the same jargon throughout the whole book. Will they or won’t they? …but you know they will. One of the main characters was extremely repetitive. It was the same script every chapter. It goes from friends to lovers so quickly that you feel like you are reading about completely different characters then the ones you started out with. The cover is cute. It was raunchy in some scenes. I have no doubt a true romance lover will enjoy this book. I’m glad I was given a shot to read this ARC from NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this book. Owning a bookstore would be awesome. I’ve read the first two in the series. I like these characters. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Review 3.5
I didn't realize this was part of a series but I do feel like it stood well on it's own without reading the previous books. This book had everything I usually love in a romance: dual POVs, friends to lovers, and delicious food descriptions. However, I found it really hard to get in to for the first half of the book. It may have been part of the author's intention but as Lizzy was feeling the burnout from her stressful job as a lawyer, I felt the beginning of the book was sort of dragging along. However, as Lizzy started to grow and realize her passions, the book became more lively and the story finally started to build. The romance was cute but I felt it could have been a little bit more developed on Lizzy's side. She went from seeing Jack as a friend, to seeing him as major hottie but I seemed to have missed what made Jack start to stand out to her as a love interest. I LOVED the bookish subplot and I now want to have my own bookstore as my second career. Overall, it was cute and it did make me want to see what the other books in the series.
Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for a digital copy to review

Fun romance, nothing particularly unique but you don't always need that in romance. Wasn't a fan about what happened in the last act but the HEA was satisfactory.

Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee

Lizzy Chung is a lawyer in a high end law firm in Los Angeles. She is working on her first case to go in front of a judge. During opening statements she has a panic attack and passes out. Then at the end of the trial she wins. Lizzy is on the upward trend to become partner in a couple of years. This should be all good news for Lizzy but it isn't she is burned out, tired and has been stressed from her mothers expectations. She decides to take a 3 week vacation and spend it with her best friend Jack.

Lizzy and Jack friendship begins to blossom into something more will it work out for them? How will Lizzy's mom react to her taking a vacation and the changes she is making for herself? Will Lizzy find happiness in all aspects of her life? You will need to read this heart warming sweet romance to find out what happens to Lizzy.

Even Jack had issues with his current life situation and wanted changes. He works for his family brewery business doing all the accounting. He is bored and wants more to do. He has also had a long time crush on Lizzy.

I really enjoyed this story for many reasons one it shows the struggles women have in sacrificing so much to move up in the legal field in big law firms. Burnout happens because of the long hours that are put in to win cases. Lizzy had no life other than her job and that is not sustainable for no human being.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for a free copy of this book for an honest review.