Overall, this was an enjoyable read. The best parts for me were the descriptions of the food and the bookstores. I felt that the start was pretty slow, the main characters were relatively two-dimensional, and sometimes the writing felt repetitive (e.g. everybody thinks everybody else is "adorable") or cliched.
Booked on a Feeling was fun, but I don't think the characters or story will stick with me.

The concept of the book was cute; your classic friends to lovers trope. I also loved that a bookstore was at the heart of the story. Overall though this story just wasn’t for me. The pacing of the plot felt off for some reason and moments that were supposed to be dramatic just fell a little flat.

This was a cute book, but not too out of the mold (very predictable). The writing style was nice and made this an easy, quick read. I liked the friends-to-lovers thing. It’s much more enjoyable to read than the enemy-to-lovers trope. However, there were also things I didn’t like. For instance, the gender discrimination case. It would have been nice to see a better representation of the challenges faced by women in corporate workplaces instead of writing the defendant off as a “disgruntled former employee”. That aside, overall a very cute romcom read.

Best friends to lovers? ✅ Pining? ✅ Bookshops? ✅ Girlboss? ✅ I’m emo? ✅

Lizzy is a big-shot attorney in LA and just won her first major case at the higher level. In a year or two, she might even be made partner. But, after a panic attack during her opening statements, she decided to take some time off and relax. She just happens to do that in her best friend, Jack’s, hometown where he lives and works for his family’s brewery as their bookkeeper and business analyst. Jack is so happy to have her there—he’s been madly in love with her since they were kids. But Lizzy can’t sit still, so she takes on a project for the three weeks she is there: revive the frumpy bookstore into a fun, cozy haven. Jack wants to help her. He’d do anything she wanted. And as they work together on the shop, they start to find out that maybe Jack’s feelings aren’t unrequited. 🥹❤️ Jack also wants to be the man Lizzy deserves, and isn’t loving life at home. He wants to work somewhere new, where he can be a real business analyst with a career. The two of them are just finding what—and who— they really want.

This was so SWEET. You know I’m an enemies-to-lovers stan, but my god a besties to lovers story like this melts my soul. This was adorable. Jack is the dream. Lizzy is so motivated and hilarious. And horny! She wanted Jack to dick her down IMMEDIATELY. I respect it.

My only critique on this book was that the fire play was very detailed, but when it was time for the penis to go in the vagina, or for oral, it was fade to black. What the hell? You just talked about her stroking a cock with her hand, but can’t describe their p-in-v encounter in vivid detail? DON’T BE STINGY, JAYCI!

This book is adorable, the Korean representation was so refreshing, and the food in the book made me hungry, and the characters were delightful. When this comes out on July 25th, you sexy bitches better read it. It’s approved. #girlboss

*I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Lizzy Chung is a burnt-out lawyer who just won her first case, but can't figure out why she is so unhappy. Jack Park is her childhood best friend who feels stuck in his career and has secretly been in love with her since they were 10. When Lizzy decides to use her vacation to save a small-town bookstore, she ropes Jack into helping, but when sparks fly they have to face the truth about their own lives before they can face the truth about their relationship.

This was a super cute, steamy read. Lizzy and Jack had great chemistry, which helped make up for how disjointed the writing felt at times. This had 3 of my favourite things:
1) small-town bookstore
2) karaoke night
3) friends to lovers

I also loved the journey of self-discovery that both Lizzy and Jack went through in order to be together. Their journey was about more than their journey as a couple, each of them needed to grow and change independently in order to make the relationship successful.

If any of those appeal to you, I think you would really enjoy this book! It was a super solid, enjoyable romance and I had a good time reading it!

This book was a friends-to-lovers romance that included a small town - - and it was a book about BOOKS! There was so much goodness in this book that I enjoyed. However, I'm giving this a 2/5 because there was more I wanted from this book and something that didn't sit well with me.

In chapter one we learn that Lizzy is an attorney in a gender discrimination case where she represents the corporate defendant. The corporation that is being sued is described as hardworking. The woman Plaintiff is described as a disgruntled former employee who, "genuinely believed that she was discriminated against."

I FULLY understand that this scenario can be true in real life - - but it seemed oddly unnecessary for this to be the contents of the case that the author chose to write about in this book.

I'm a firm believer that we have to create spaces where women feel comfortable coming forward in a workplace when things are inappropriate. So to have an author begin an entire story with this kind of origin just feels like a punch in the gut to me as a woman working in a corporate environment. Choosing this as a case to highlight and brushing a woman off as "disgruntled" felt unnecessary and offensive.

To be clear, the contents of this trial would make no difference to the story. It could have been a boring contract case, a murder trial.... ANYTHING and the rest of the book wouldn't have to change. So I found it incredibly disappointing that this was the choice of the author.

Representation in pop culture matters and books are pop culture. In my opinion, this isn't how gender discrimination should be represented.
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Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the arc!!
I love a bookstore romance novel, but I did not love this as much as I wanted to. It was a little too predictable for me and was a little too one dimensional. I wish we had more information about the characters and their childhood friendship, I felt like we had such a brief description and I wanted more. It made it really hard to connect to the characters. Jack is in love with her ever since they were 10 and I really wish the author worked with that more! Overall a silly, cute romance. I just wish the characters had more depth

I was so drawn to this book and was really excited about Lizzy’s character when I read the synopsis.
While overall it was an enjoyable read, I didn’t loved it as much as I expected.

I loved the bookstore theme and the friends to lovers trope. This book is a cute and somewhat predictable romcom that did feel a bit slow at times. I also wish we learned more about their childhood friendship and felt like knowing the characters better would have helped me connect with them.

Overall a good read and I would recommend checking it out if you like cute romcoms.

I was instantly drawn to this book because of the title and cover, and while overall it was an enjoyable read, I can't say I loved it as much as I expected to. It started off super slow, and I was confused and personally had no clue what was going on in the first chapters because of all the legal jargon. While this book had a lot of potential to be an amazing read, it fell flat for me. I found myself bored a lot during this book, and while it was cute, it wasn't very exciting. It was predictable and didn't hold my interest.

The characters and storyline just felt very one-dimensional, and while there was tension, I felt like there was no real build up or growth. I wish we knew more about Jack and Lizzy’s friendship. We know they were childhood best friends, and that Jack has had a long-standing crush on Lizzy, but I think I would have connected more with these characters if there was more background on said friendship.

While this book wasn't exactly for me, if you're a fan of the friends to lovers trope and like cute romcoms, I would definitely recommend checking this one out when it’s released.

Cute. Somewhat predictable and cheesy at times. Love the bookstore theme and the plot was very well tied together

The premise was good, but I struggled so hard to connect with Lizzy. The writing of her felt very juvenile and braggy.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I read this book in one sitting and it did its job perfectly: it was a fluffy, childhood friends to lovers rom-com that involves books and is about books. What more could you ask for? This is my first book by Jayci Lee and her style is fun and really kept me engaged, even though I found it hard to relate to the characters sometimes. If you're looking for a light-hearted contemporary romance with LOTS of steamy scenes, this is the one! Not one of my favorite romances ever but I am very glad I read this, especially during AAPI month with our lovely Asian characters!!

3.25 stars!

This is such a sweet book! I love Lizzy and Jack’s relationship, and the friends to lover trope is always a win win for me.

Lizzy the lawyer, and Jack the "Bookkeeper" get the chance to spend a 3-week period together after Lizzy takes a vacation from her job. Jack has loved Lizzy (the overachiever) since they were 10 years old, and never admitted it to anyone. The two main characters find themselves spending more time with each other during Lizzy's vacation all the while falling in love. So dang cute! I have to say, I’m also a bit jealous of Lizzy getting to live out my personal dream when she realized what hers was too…trying not to spoil much.

The author touches on real life concerns so eloquently. Anxiety, family problems, relationship problems, finding yourself, and learning to live life for you and not for others we’re all touched on very well. There is a small portion of the book where Lizzy and Jack don’t communicate well which ultimately ends poorly. That could have been shorter, but wasn’t a deal breaker for me. All of the characters were written well, and were relatable/lovable.

Overall, this is such a sweet book. I would highly recommend it, and will be reading the other books written by this author as well!

Sweet, heartwarming, and absolutely adorable.
Booked on a Feeling is the perfect rom-com for any "friends to-lovers" or "books about books" fans. I absolutely love Jayci Lee's writing style, and although this book's premise didn't draw me in as much as the previous two of hers,

ARC provided by Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest, thank you.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A rounded up 3.75

This book is a very cute and fluffy romcom! If you like childhood friends to lovers, boy falls first, hallmark-esque romances, and bookstore stories, this is for you!!

Lizzy and Jack have an instant care and connection for each other, and being together in Jack’s small town while Lizzy takes a break means sparks are bound to fly!!

What I loved:
- tropes (especially childhood friends to lovers)
- funny moments
- lighthearted, but addressing mental health as well
- HEA

I did wish for a bit more depth in the characters and their relationship, but this is a great summer/beach read for a fun time!

Friends to lovers is not my favorite romance trope- but I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was completely swept up in the story. The main characters were really likable. I very much enjoyed the bookstore setting and protagonist’s love of check lists. I was rooting for them to make it- and when they did the spice was just about perfect for me. I’m planning on going back and reading other books from this author as I am hoping that they focus on some of the auxiliary characters we meet. This book is the perfect escapist palate cleaner. 4.5 stars for the genre— I’d read it again as a comfort read honestly.

I tried really heard. I did. but I DNFed at 30%. reading it was just really boring. I feel like it was hard to connect to the charcters.

Bookstores, romance, booklovers, and foodies oh my! These are a few of my favorite things..

But really. Booked on a Feeling is a well-written, adorable romance, featuring solid characters and a well-paced plot. Did it break new ground in the genre? I don't necessarily think so. But was it delightful? Absolutely.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine alone.

I really enjoyed this friends to lovers romance! Lizzy and Jack were definitely made for each other and more then just friends! I loved that there was a book store involved and they were helping Shannon make it more open and inviting. I really liked the ending (don't want to spoil anything) just a all round sweet romance.

Recommended: sure!
For a romance that is all the right things a person would want, for a HUGE amount of dirty thoughts and actions, for a story that just makes you feel good

Thoughts:
This story was a little unbelievable, but in the best way. Everyone in it was a little perfect in their love, which isn't bad but made it a bit Hallmark in that way. Even though you know there's going to be some kind of conflict, it doesn't feel too dire because you also know they're going to figure their shit out eventually. That was the mood, anyway! So if you just want a sweet and sexy friends to lovers romance, this is 100% filling that box.

Speaking of filling a box, there is SO MUCH SEX in this book! DAMN YA'LL! It does not keep you waiting, I'll tell you that. The actual scenes themselves are generously detailed so don't expect the subtle fade to black implication here -- it's spelled out very clearly what's happening. Besides those, there's also a lot of almost-happened moments, and very naughty thoughts by both sides. And yet that sweetness I mentioned earlier keeps it well in balance.

There is also a plot in here, but it's almost entirely focused on the romance. It moves forward pretty consistently, and almost every scene and thought and conversation revolves around it. The side plot is based on fulfillment, particularly in career, for both of the main characters. We do get both of their perspectives, too, pretty equally. Each chapter usually starts from Lizzy, and ends from Jack.

This book didn't blow me away or anything, but it was a pleasant read. Great for a beach day or loungey bath time. It's a very comfortable story because the stakes don't feel too high. The point of conflict was stupid but inevitable, so I'm willing to overlook that part for the rest of the enjoyment I had.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free advanced copy. This is my honest review!