I couldn't put this one down!
Lizzy is such a funny, lovable person- I was rooting for her the entire time. Her and Jack together was just amazing, their chemistry and transition from friends to dating felt natural. They're so good together you couldn't help but want them together.
Everything about this was five stars for me!

5/5 for Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee

SO SO SO GOOD

Think all your favorite tropes: small-town, coworkers, found family, childhood friends and rich girl/wanderer guy, and first love.

I was drawn in from the first page when we are introduced to the main characters Lizzy and Jack. Their names are already pretty compactable. Lizzy leads a fast-paced life as a lawyer and wants to take a break, so she decides to come to her childhood summer home. There she runs into Jack again, literally, the two reconnect and end up working together on a project.

Jack is so sweet, like he is the ideal s/o. Caring, attentive, handsome, and pretty seggsy, you must admit. All those muscles from running (heart eyes).

What surprised me the most was the SPICE. It came out of nowhere...but not complaining. Loved it!

All the mental health issues, Asian experiences and simply life problems discussed makes this book even more special! I really hope to get my hands on a physical book of this book now!!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Jayci Lee for an advanced copy.
All opinions are my own :)

It’s a cute and easy-to-read romance with a splendid set of characters. I loved it has friends to lovers (my favorite trope), slow burn and spicy scenes. I especially enjoyed the incorporation of Korean culture. (I’m not Korean but I love to learn about other cultures).

I look forward to reading more books by Jayci Lee

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

Fun book, love the romance and the build of the relationship, totally recommend it. Lizzy and Jack are so adorable . Like jack is so caring, supportive and so lovable as a boyfriend . Really adore him.

Sweet, friends to lovers story that follows best friends since childhood, Lizzy and Jack, as they navigate career choices, living up to family expectations, and taking their friendship to the next level. And of course, a book with a character who also loves books and bookstores is a bonus! The anxiety representation was well done, as every one experiences anxiety on different levels. I adored Jack's character, such a kind and gentle soul. Overall this story leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy after devouring it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lizzy has a major panic attack at trial as an attorney in L.A. After winning the case, she decides to take a 3-week vacation in her best friend Jack’s town several hours away to recoup and hopefully feel ready to return to her job. Jack has been in love with his best friend for two decades and hopes spending more time with her will help him move on. Lizzy offers to help a struggling local bookstore spruce up its look and wrangles Jack into helping. She loves the work and all of their time together has Lizzy seeing Jack in a new, sexy light. Can their friendship survive a foray into seeing if they can be something more? What will happen when Lizzy returns to her old life in a few weeks?

A cute romance.

In this adorable rom-com, old friends become new lovers. The author did an excellent job of incorporating Korean culture into the plot ( I am apart of a korean family). Since they were ten years old (more than two decades ago), Jack and Lizzy have been friends, and he's always had romantic feelings for her. Lizzy chooses to take a three-week vacation from her profession as a lawyer in Los Angeles and return to the little town where she and Jack grew up. When Lizzy visits Jack's family-owned and operated local brewery, he wants her to feel at ease and have a wonderful time. This story does a great job of capturing the difficulties of being in a long-distance relationship.

Lizzy is a lawyer with anxiety who just won her first trial. Instead of elation over the win, she's feeling stagnant and unimpressed. She decides that a short vacation leave is in order, and goes to visit her best friend in a small town 4 hours away from the hustle and bustle of LA. Jack, her best friend since they were 10, has been hopelessly in love with her for all these years. He decides that NOW is the time that he needs to just Get Over Lizzy. But now Lizzy's realized that Jack's a total stud, and throws a romantic wrench into the works.

The beginning was slow. Glacial. It didn't hook my interest for the first chapter and a half, really. Once Jack finally shows up, it starts getting interesting, but it felt like it took a while. The love scenes, once they get there, are pretty steamy, and it winds up being a good story. A few bits were predictable, but it's a pretty good romance novel nonetheless.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee
Monica: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Jayci Lee writes a sweet, sentimental and swoon-worthy mutual pinning/friends-to-lovers/guy falls first love story.

Tender moments, fantastic tension, perfectly paired characters and independent journeys of self discovery purposefully propel the story with ease.

The writing is simple and sweet with great moments of humour sprinkled throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed the well developed and unique characters as well as the integration of Korean culture throughout.

Overall this is a lovely modern romance for folks who empathize with the way a book-lovers’ heart yearns for the comfort that comes from being surrounded by neatly overflowing shelves, family and the love of their life.

✨ Sincere thanks to Netgalley, Jayci Lee and St. Martin’s for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. ✨

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

This book fell a bit flat for me because I found it difficult to see the chemistry between the two main characters. There was a lot of telling rather than showing when it came to their interactions and chemistry, and I wish we had gotten a better glimpse at what the two main characters were like as friends growing up together. Also, I really disliked how the author gave away how the story would wrap up in the end.
That being said, I did like that this romance was easy to read, and I appreciated the portrayal of anxiety and doubt over life/career choices.

In this friends to lovers romance both Lizzy and Jack are afraid to admit their feelings for each other especially since they live four hours away.
However Lizzy decides to take a much needed vacation in the town that Jack lives in. She ends up renting a place right above a bookstore. With the help of Jack, Lizzy volunteers to help out at the bookstore to turn it into a cozy and inviting place.

This was a nice light summer read and I loved the bookstore setting.

Thank you #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the advanced copy! This book comes out July 26, 2022.

When young attorney Lizzy Chung has a panic attack during opening statements for her first case, she decides to take some time off to re-energize. And what better place to do that then Weldon, a cozy little town that just happens to be the home of her longtime best friend, Jack. Jack has been in love with Lizzy since they were ten, so you can guess where this goes next.

Unfortunately I had a lot of issues with this book. For starters, we never really got much background on any of the characters. It was like we were expected to know exactly who Lizzy and Jack were from the very start of the story. I kept waiting for an explanation of how they became friends, but (unless I missed it) there was none.

There was also very little build up. The characters were together and in love by halfway through the book, so if you're looking for a slow burn, this is not it.

Overall I felt like the plot dragged and there was so much repetition. For example, both main characters had a sudden "I'm in love" realization at least 3 or 4 times. Lastly, I know with romance you gave to expect some of the book will be cheesy, but this was cheesy to a point that it was almost unbearable.

Nonetheless, thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Friends to lovers romance that was on the cheesy side and ended up way steamier than I expected. Overall, I really liked it! The dialogue was a little much sometimes.

This trend of romance books about romance books is making me incredibly happy and I hope it never ends.

In need of a change of pace, Lizzy takes time off of work to visit her life-long best friend and enjoy small-town life. While Jack is thrilled to be able to spend time with Lizzy, he has no idea how he could possibly spend the next month hiding his 20-year crush on his best friend.

Booked on a Feeling was exactly the kind of fun, fluffy romance I needed to cleanse the pallet between fantasy novels. I had such a great time with this book and I think you will to if you enjoy any of the following:

- Friends to lovers
- Pining (so much pining!)
- characters who love reading!
- book stores!
- beer + dessert combinations
- journeys of self-realization


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Read if you like:
⬗ Friends to Lovers
⬗ Slow burn
⬗ Spicy romance
⬗ Anxiety rep

Thoughts: A friends to lovers romance set in a bookstore? I thought this would be a guaranteed five star read. While there were certain elements I loved, overall, it was not my favorite.

Let us start first with the positives. I love that this book was set in a bookstore and that the MC shared my same love of books. I also appreciated the anxiety rep as someone who suffers from it herself. Friends to lovers is my favorite of the tropes so I enjoyed that aspect of the story as well and really enjoyed getting to see the progression of their relationship.

As for the negatives, books told in third person never allow me to truly connect with the characters and this was no exception. By the time to conflict was underway, I realized I had zero emotional attachment to either Lizzy or Jack, and if you know me, this is key to whether or not I will enjoy a book. I also felt that it was a bit too much of a slow burn for me and I really struggled at times to get through it.

Overall, I found it to be okay. Others who love the elements of this one, will probably really enjoy it, so if you are on the fence, but this is the kind of story you normally love then I would say to give it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP Romance for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Lizzy is living every bookish person’s dream: getting to save a small town bookstore. Her sweet and tension filled romance with Jack is the icing on the cake. It’s so fun the follow along as both characters grow and find themselves. Definitely a must read (and how could you not the title is very punny)

Booked on a Feeling was such an enjoyable book, friends to lovers with Lizzy and Jack knowing each other since they were 10 and realizing something else is there.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

This was a friends to lovers romance. I liked both Lizzy and Jack and their friends & family. My favorite parts were the bookstore scenes. I didn’t realize it was part of a series when I picked it up, I don’t think that affected my enjoyment. Overall a decent read.

Can friends really stay just friends?

What starts out as a friendship - then a fling might turn into something more? That's if Lizzy and Jack can move past their own anxieties and figure out what risks they're willing to take. All while navigating growing careers that might not bring them closer together... I really enjoyed how Lee worked through Lizzy's anxiety the most though. Hearing a character work through her thoughts and deal with her anxiety was relatable, all while navigating life and love.

This was an adorably sweet best friends to lovers story that I couldn't read fast enough!! Lizzy is a type-A, list-loving lawyer who suffers from anxiety and panic attacks and when one gets so bad she passes out in court she is forced to take a break, returning to her home town and best friend, Jack (who has been pining after her for years)!

Where Lizzy is searching for what will make her happy, Jack knows his happiness doesn't lie in the family brewery. Together Lizzy and Jack start hanging out and take a chance to see what might be between them. As Lizzy spends more and more time at the local bookstore, she realizes her true happiness can be found with books and she's no longer willing to live her life just to please her mother.

Full of heart, humor and some great steam - this was the perfect end to Jayci Lee's Sweet Mess series with an epilogue that is sure to make your heart gooey. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copies. Recommended for fans of The banned bookshop of Maggie Banks, The boy with the bookstore or Better than fiction.