
Member Reviews

When I first started this book I thought I was in for a predictable romance novel. However, I really enjoyed this book! I always appreciate books that encourage and help me learn about different cultures. This book included interesting information about the Korean American culture and the differences in family relationships. I also was impressed that Jayci Lee stressed the importance of finding yourself, knowing what you want from life and believing in yourself before you can truly be in an honest relationship with someone else. Thanks #NetGalley #jaycilee and #stmartinspress

Friends to lovers in the nicest possible way. Like - everyone was nice. Even the mean people were nice. Not for me, found myself skimming way too much and just generally not caring.

Firstly I want to thank NetGalley for this arc!!
*2.5 stars*
Okay so to start off I found it hard to connect with the characters for majority of the book and I found myself not caring for most of the plot as well.
I think part of that is because this is written in 3rd person pov and that made it harder to connect with each of the characters.
I found that I wasn’t too invested in the book up until the last bit of it. For around the first 80% I didn’t care much for the characters or the plot and found them immature at some points in the book.
Other than that I really enjoyed this. It was a fun and cute romcom.

I really wanted to love this one! I mean we have a book store, friends to lovers, etc. what’s not to love?!
While I didn’t hate this, I also didn’t fall in love with it and after really thinking on it…I think my main gripe was that I never truly felt the chemistry between them.
It felt forced?
Oh well - it was cute.

Lizzie just won her first big trial and is on the fast track to becoming a partner at her firm. But the success isn't making her as happy as she thought it would and the anxiety just keeps creeping in. So she decides to take a few weeks off of work and visit her best friend since childhood. Jack is surprised to see Lizzie in his small town, but happily goes along with her plans to help a struggling bookstore in the area during her vacation. Jack is also feeling out of place in his small town. He used to love working in his family's brewery, but now it doesn't feel like the right place for him. Also, his crush on Lizzie since childhood makes him question whether a high-achieving lawyer like Lizzie would ever want someone who doesn't know what he wants in life. This was such a sweet friends-to-lovers romance. It was mainly set in a bookstore and had the cozy vibe to go along with it! I related to Lizzie and how she struggled with anxiety and loved how the book talked about her anxiety. I will admit that my timing when reading this book was not ideal. Reading a book about a woman with anxiety who realizes she hates being a lawyer is not the best plan a week before you take the bar exam. But I really did enjoy this read! I have not read the first two books in this series, and I cannot wait to pick them up! I loved this cozy romance and can't wait to read more books like it!

Lizzy, a hot shot LA lawyer has a panic attack during a trial prompting her to seek out some much needed time off. When she decides to head to Weldon, a small town a few hours away where her best friend lives, she's faced with free time, less stress and a bookstore in need of a revamp. What more could a girl ask for? Maybe a love interest? Her best friend Jack, who has been in love with her for 20 years and whom shes only ever seen as a friend, might give her just that. Is the glamourous LA lawyer life the one she's meant to live or is small town life with all it has to offer, where it's at?
I'm sorry but this one just didn't cut it for me. One of the first things I read was that Lizzy put Jack in the friend zone a long time ago so the shift from friends to lovers, after 20 years of friendship, felt really random and forced. I could see it if they didn't see each other for years or decades on end but that just wasn't the case.
Some of the dialogue was really awkward and I didn't love the constant pet names, dingus and doofus.

I loved the premise of this book which is why I asked for a review copy. Unfortunately for me, this was a DNF at around 35%. Nothing about this story engaged me, I felt like I was reading and accounting of a day in a teenager's diary. I am not a fan of flashbacks in books at ALL but because of Lizzy and Jack's friendship and background I almost wish there were some in this book because then maybe I'd care about them.
I appreciate being granted an ARC of this one, but it just didn't work for me.

Booked on a feeling review
This was gifted on NetGalley as an ARC
I didn’t realize it was a friends to lovers story & while my real life relationship happened that way it’s not my favorite trope to read about. It was cute though.
The story starts with Lizzy having a panic attack while giving her first opening statement as a lawyer alone at court. She ends up passing out & her best friend Jack was there to save the day. Of course Jack is in love with her and has been for a very long time. She realizes that she needs a break from the burnout she’s been facing & goes back to surprise Jack in his home town for 3 weeks where she volunteers to help at the bookstore. It was always her dream to own a bookstore when she was younger because they make her feel at home.
This book deals with mental health & the struggles that come with that. Lizzy also doesn’t want to disappoint her Korean parents so that brings more anxiety into the mix. I have dealt with mental health such as panic attacks & anxiety so i felt like i could related to the character. That’s part of why i requested this book. It can be hard to read about mental health especially when you deal with similar situations.
Truthfully if you like friends to lovers you’ll like this. The characters are great & the story line was nice.

3.5 stars
Overachieving lawyer Lizzy Chung works at a prestigious law firm and is working her way up to make partner. In an attempt to recover from her burn out, Lizzy heads back to the small town where she spent her summers as a child with her best friend Jack Park, who has secretly had a decades-long crush on Lizzy.
This book was so cute! I really loved the bookstore setting and Lizzy's drive to fix it up. At times I found the book to be a little bit slow and predictable and felt there was something missing for it to absolutely blow me away. I think maybe I was looking for a little more chemistry between Jack and Lizzy and wish they would have talked sooner. I also didn't feel as connected to Jack as I would have liked. That being said, there were many elements of this book that I really loved, including the mental health representation. Personally, I found Lizzy's character to be extremely relatable as she dealt with her anxiety, panic attacks and burnout, as well as her love for to do lists and checking things off. I also liked the idea of Jack and Lizzy putting themselves first and finding what they really wanted to do that would make them happy.
Overall, I liked this one despite the lack of communication between the two MCs. If you are looking for a cute friends to lovers romance with dual POV featuring a struggling bookstore and all the bookish references that also has great mental health rep, check out Booked on a Feeling, which comes out July 26, 2022!
Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

💗𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 ~ Booked on a Feeling💗
💬 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨: Lizzy isn't happy with how her life is going. She's a successful lawyer in Los Angeles, but she is suffering from extreme stress and anxiety. She decided to take some time off from her job, and go stay in the little town where Jack, her best friend of 20 years, lives. There she learns to slow down, to live life for herself, and finds out what truly matter to her. It doesn't hurt that she's suddenly very attracted to her "best friend" who just so happened to have been in love with her since they were 10....but she didn't know it.
This story was so cute! Honestly I don't normally like friends-to-lovers (more of an enemies to lovers gal myself...), but this was definitely the exception. It was so good! I now need to go back and read the rest of this series ASAP because I had no idea there were 2 other books!
Jack. Oh jack you adorable marshmallow. I loved his character, and how he was always there for Lizzy. I loved that he decided to follow his dream even though it scared him to make a change. Lizzy!! I loved her. Poor Lizzy though, constantly trying to live up to her mother's impossible standards. I absolutely loved her growth throughout the story, and how she finally decided to live for HER and no one else. I thought they were both well developed characters, and I really enjoyed their journey in finding themselves.
This is a sweet, lighthearted romance, that deals with sensitive issues well and will have you smiling throughout it! Swipe to see the beautiful cover and read the synopsis!
📖 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮:
• cozy bookshops
• best friends to lovers
• dual POVs
• anxiety rep
• following your dreams
• slow burn / pining
• second chance romance
• books about book lovers
✍🏼 𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧: Jayci Lee
🗓️ 𝙋𝙪𝙗 𝘿𝙖𝙮: 7/26/22
📚 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: Contemporary Romance
💕 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙔𝙤𝙪 St Martin's Press!

Super cute friends to lovers book! Very sweet main characters and a cute relationship. Slower paced book but still enjoyable! Looking forward to reading more of her books!
Thank you NetGalley and Jayci Lee!

I really wanted to love this one but unfortunately it just didn’t work for me. I felt as though Lizzy and Jack lacked chemistry. I didn’t find their interactions to be cute, instead I found them to be a bit cringy. I also found myself bored most of the time. I enjoyed the fact that Lizzy leaves her job and helps at a local bookstore. I would love a job like that. I know all us book lovers would love to own a bookstore. I did enjoy all the food talk! Made me hungry most of the time lol overall, it was an okay read.

What bookworm doesn’t have dreams to work in or even own a bookstore? Lizzy, is a successful LA lawyer, but she’s struggling with feeling burnt out and decides to take some time off to visit her best friend Jack. Jack is the business mind behind the family brewery but he’s been feeling unfulfilled and ready to set out on his own, maybe somewhere in LA close to Lizzy. With Lizzy in Jack’s hometown he decides it’s time to get over his crush but the little moments they’ve shared have other ideas. While Lizzy and Jack help revitalize the local bookstore, they explore their feelings for each other and decide to use their limited time together as a trial run for their new relationship.
It’s easy to tell Lizzy and Jack are best friends and giving into their feelings is a big step for their relationship. Both of them struggled with some insecurities that clouded their relationship and needed to be worked out before being successful together. If you love a book about a bookstore and best friends then you should definitely read this book.
Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

BOOKED ON A FEELING
Overall, this is one of my new feavorite rom-coms. I'll definitely be recommending it to as many people as I can. I think it has a lotof strong points and goes above and beyond the expectations I had going into it.
THINGS I LIKED:
The title was fantastic
I love Lizzy and instantly connected with her. She definitely jumps off the page
So many lines were laugh out loud hilarious
The "prepare to be dazzled" scene was swoon worthy. I love the dynamic!
Jack's family is so fun and I like how Lizzy fits with them
The vibes of the bookstore and town are immaculate
The texting was so well written, like it really gave both characters personality while seeming realistic
The first kiss was perfect
I LOVED THE ENDING
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
There wasn't a clear reason to me why Jack didn't feel comfortable making a move on Lizzy
I wanted to feel like Jack and Lizzy had more history, like references to inside jokes (without being too cringeworthy) or silent conversations or something that makes them feel really like best-best friends isntead of like... secondary friends. They have a good dynamic, but they don't feel close except for when the reader is told how close they are.
Also, Lizzy showed feeling a lot faster than she should've for this type of romance- I wish it was more drawn out
I connected with Jack's POV a lot less than Lizzy's, so I would've loved more of something that made him endearing

Lizzy Chung, Esq. is on track to have her perfect life/career. She left the small town she grew up in to be a lawyer in the big city, at one of the most prestigious firms. She gives her job her all and will likely be the newest partner in a couple of years; a huge accomplishment for someone still fairly new to the profession. Everything is great and going smoothly...until it isn't. The stress of her first major case and the race to make partner are proving to be a little too much and she realizes she's likely really burnt out. Three weeks in her hometown of Weldon in the Sierra Foothills is just what the doctor ordered. Not to mention her favorite person, her best friend of over twenty years still lives there. Some time away from the big city can really clear a persons mind and help find what's truly important. Plus, work will still be there once she's refreshed and ready to go. While some that know Lizzy are concerned she is taking so much time off, there's never a bad time to indulge in self care, right?
What a sweet, and at times overly so, story this was! This is also part three of a series, and since I hadn't read part one and two I was afraid of being even a little lost, but that was not the case. Lizzy was very relatable for me from the beginning which I really appreciated and enjoyed. I loved how Ms. Lee was able to create a calming atmosphere on the page when Lizzy arrived in Weldon. I could picture the town really well, and I loved that there were a couple of indie bookstores in the book as well. The chemistry between Lizzy and the other characters, especially Jack, was very enjoyable and funny. I really enjoyed how Ms. Lee developed all the various relationships in this book. The dialogue was always sharp and never over wordy which made this book a really fast and easy read. I will definitely be checking out parts one and two in the future.

This was a cute friends to lovers romance! It was light and easy to read, so it was a nice summer time read. It felt kinda just “meh” about the characters and their relationship…it was just okay. I thought their struggles were relatable but maybe there was just something missing in the romance. I’m glad I read it but it wasn’t very memorable or my favorite rom com.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for a honest review

This was such a warm, feel good read. It was like this book was giving me a hug. So many supportive, loving, warm characters; with some really cute funny parts.
This was a friends to lovers trope, covering anxiety, self discovery, family drama, and amazing character growth.
It was also surrounded around adorable book stores and a brewery which was a lot of fun!
I absolutely adored the interactions between Lizzy and Jack, and loved how they were besties for so long, tried to be more, but struggled until they knew for sure who their true selves were, knowing loving themselves first could help them love each other better.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fun friends-to-lovers story.
Lizzy Chung has followed her mom's plan for her whole life: become a lawyer at a prestigious firm and become partner as early as possible. But as she's working towards this goal she has a panic attack in court. Lizzy decides to spend a few weeks recharging in Weldon, a small town where she spent her childhood summers with her best friend, Jack Park. Jack has had a crush on Lizzy for decades, so he's excited to spend this time with her but also unsure about what to do about those feelings. Lizzy ends up deciding to help the local bookstore do a little revamp, and drags Jack into this project, all while he's stressing about his own life plans. Can they fight their chemistry as they spend all this time together?
First off, I have enjoyed every book Jayci Lee has written and this one is no exception. We get immersed in the world she builds, capturing Korean-American culture (and the food!) and the feeling of small town life in Weldon. We also get a chance to return to the characters we got to know in the previous books in the story, which I loved. Lizzy is very relatable as she tries to balance parental expectations and what she actually wants out of life. Jack has similar struggles and it's interesting to read about him working through them. They are 100% there for each other no matter what, and I can feel their chemistry coming through the writing.
My biggest frustration with the book was the conflict. Lizzy and Jack are both so determined to be there for each other that they don't actually figure out what that is very well. I could see the conflict was coming, but yet they still fell right into it.
Overall, if you've liked other Jayci Lee books, like friends-to-lovers stories, or just want a fun flirty read, definitely pick up this book! It would read fine as a standalone, but it's also great to see all the Weldon shenanigans. Will we get Alex's story next? I hope so!

3/5 - Book #3 of a Sweet Mess; Audioboo via NetGalley
So I didn't hate this book, it just more of wasn't anything special. A friends to lovers romance with a whole lost of secrets/miscommunication trope. This book was adorably sweet, and even with the spice, was just predictable and nothing different than so many other romances.
Brief Plot: Jack and Lizzy have been best friends their whole lives. When Lizzy takes a sabbatical from work, the two spend more time together than ever, and that time leads to them both questioing the romance between them, and how they could have a romance when they live different lives typically so far apart.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC copy of Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee. This is my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced copy of Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee.
Lizzy Chung is on a well planned course to make partner at her law firm, but a panic attack and burnout from her job sends her to small town Weldon to recharge. Weldon is also where her best friend for two decades, Jack Park, lives. Jack, who has a decades long crush on Lizzy, has to decide whether to ignore those feelings, or make them known.
This is a friends-to-lovers, big city - small town, second chance romance. It was a cute and quick read, and great for those who love the slow burn turned spicy rom-com! And, of course, I loved the bookish elements of it.
For me, it was a little too cheesy and repetitive in the "I must make myself feel this way". More communication would have gone a long way for these main characters. ;) It also felt heavy on the lust, which made me doubt the love part? I predicted how this book would end almost immediately, but by the time I got there, I was invested enough that I was happy my prediction came true.