I liked this book - it took me a while to get through the beginning but then the story took off and I really enjoyed it!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review.
Some of the steamiest non-sex scenes I've ever read! I love that this book can be this sexy without being overly graphic. This couple's awkwardness is so cute.
The plot was a bit on the light side which made it drag a bit in the little. Also has the miscommunication trope which personally isn't my favorite.

This story is marketed as a very sweet friends to lovers romance. It is filled with the frustrating moments of stubbornness and insecurities that comes with the territory. I realized reading this book that it isn't my cup of tea. I found the story, despite being sweet, very slow to progress and it didn't really catch my attention. I couldn't grow attached to the characters. I agree with other reviewers that the story lacked the appropriate amount of background to help the reader attach to the characters

Friends to lovers, hallmark feel, cute romantic read.
Booked On A Feeling was a pretty typical romance read. Not horrible but nothing outstanding. This would be a great pool side read.

Friends for 20 years and they know each other so well but don’t know they are attracted to each other? Just couldn’t get into it. Felt cutesy and shy and unbelievable considering their length of friendship.

In this bookish friends-to-lovers romance, lifelong best friends come to terms with their dreams for the future and how they factor into each other's plans. Jack has long been in love with Lizzy, but they only see each other a few times a year. While Lizzy has been off in LA building a successful law career, Jack has been working for the family business in small-town Weldon. While the brewery is his siblings' dream, Jack feels stagnant and superfluous. Meanwhile, Lizzy's success isn't as glitzy as it looks. While the road to partner is exactly where her mother wants her to be, the grind of billable hours and the competitive work environment stoke the fire of her anxiety. When Lizzy has a panic attack during her opening statement and then fails to summon enthusiasm for her trial victory, it's a wake-up call. She takes some unprecedented time off work to give her space to think and hopefully to spend some quality time with her bestie. Three weeks in Weldon is all it takes for Lizzy to start seeing Jack in a new light and for Jack to realize he can't push his feelings down any longer. The two decide to try dating for a "trial period" during Lizzy's visit in the hopes of preserving their friendship no matter what, but we can all see where that's going.

To me, this book is a weak link in an excellent series. It could be because friends-to-lovers is generally not my favorite trope, though I don't hate it. The same problems are restated again and again-- 1) Jack fears jeopardizing the friendship (the same reason he never acted on his feelings before), 2) he's insecure about his career and compares himself to Lizzy's success without realizing her career is sucking her dry, and 3) they have a special brand of miscommunication where they each make plans for the future based on what they assume the other one wants, ending up on wildly different tracks because of their folly. You know what happens when you assume, etc. Because the same unhelpful thought patterns keep cycling through in the same form, it becomes annoying. Also, I wish I was more invested in the non-romantic parts of the plot since they kept happening at me. Namely, the characters are helping fix up an indie bookstore. Book-themed romances are iffy for me since it's a preaching to the choir situation. Like, you don't need to convince me of the value of romance novels or indie bookstores. I picked up this book, didn't I? So the mini-rants or gushing meant to draw out my empathy made me feel like "get a move on, already." Plus, there's an insta-friendship plot I would have enjoyed more as an actual arc.

Is it a bad book? Absolutely not. Lee always treats her characters with kindness and gives them room to learn to be kind to themselves. She keeps things spicy, and I never worry about consent issues or icky power dynamics. At the end of the story, I was satisfied with the romantic resolution. Though third-act breakups are annoying, this one is at least handled well by both parties in the aftermath and provides angst without getting drawn out. While it didn't meet the high bar set by the first two in the series in my opinion, I think people who love the friends-to-lovers trope and readers who like to read about bookish things will have a good time with it. Thanks to SMP Romance for my copy to read and review!

I think this had the potential to be much better than what it actually turned out to be for me. A 3rd round purchase for most libraries

Reading the MCs ignore/not pay attention to their attraction was....a choice on the author. What's a will they won't they if there isn't some clue of if they actually will. Obviously it's a romance, so it'll be a they will, but the whole book was them thinking of they would work as a couple. I have read books where they don't get together until the very end but this one was just entirely too much.

I think I'm starting to realize that while I can appreciate Jayci Lee is popular among her fans, I'm not sure she's for me.

Her books come off as overly saccharine for me at times, and I think I just need more complex characters.

This book was so adorable! Love Lizzy and Jack, and their slow burn friends to lovers romance. The chemistry was great but not much spice. I liked the anxiety rep and the message about focusing on one's own needs. Well done!

Thank you to NetGalley + St. Martin's Press for the review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lizzy was a girl after my own heart making to do lists and checking tasks off one by one. After a panic attack where she passed out, she takes a vacation from being a lawyer to re-evaluate her priorities. Lizzy heads to Weldon where she spent summers with her best friend Jack. He’s secretly harbored feelings for her for decades, but he’s never made a move because he’s afraid of ruining their friendship. So when Lizzy pitches in to help a failing bookstore by giving it a much needed makeover, he’s right by her side helping out.

This was a sweet friends to lovers romance with low angst and plenty of steam set around a bookstore. I loved the small town vibe and the cameos of characters from the previous 2 books in the series. Loved the Korean food descriptions and the bookstore renovations. Both characters had difficult decisions to make and could have saved themselves a lot of headache if they had talked to each other more.

Ultimately this one didn’t stand out to me as much as the first 2 books, but was still enjoyable and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

A bookstore and a brewery....what's not to love?!? This was a sweet romance with Hallmark movie vibes.

Not my favorite book ever. Very simple and basic read, felt like a teen romance with two adults playing the lead. I liked the concept of the story with finding ones professional desire in life, but the road to get there seemed awkward.

I loved this book so much! Her writing is always spot on and this was no different! Such a great story and strong characters

Lizzy wants a vacation from her legal job, so she relocates to the hometown of her closest friend and chooses to volunteer at the neighborhood bookshop as well. Along the journey, she discovers more about herself and her affections for her closest buddy, Jack.

Now the part I didn’t quite like was the miscommunication trope… it just didn’t work well in my opinion.

I enjoyed the cultural aspect and Lizzy as a person, but the rest wasn’t as much fun to read.

I just don't think the writing style is for me. It felt pretty tell not show and flat as far as the character emotions.

This took me a long time to slog through because I just kept getting bored and wasn't interested in the story. As a young female lawyer, I didn't love some of the very early scenes depicting female lawyers fighting and the negativity towards plaintiffs.

I don't see myself picking up anything else from this author in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Just couldn’t quite get into this book, might try again later but currently 01/23 a DNF for me. Hopefully down the road I can get into it !

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

This was a super cute story, and I immediately fell for Lizzy and her such bright light! She was so relatable in so many ways, but especially the overachieving anxious independent woman aspect. This has such good anxiety/panic attack representation, coming from someone who has experienced that themselves. Lizzy's journey to understanding herself hits home so hard and I loved watching her grow and blossom.

The romance is very cute, and that's saying a lot because I usually don't like friends to lovers! The one issue I had was the sheer amount of miscommunication that was basically the only source of conflict for them. It was hard to keep from screaming at them to just communicate. But they were really sweet together, and I loved how their stories weren't focused on being "saved" by each other but they actually found themselves on their own and then complimented one another.

If you're a romcom lover, definitely check this series out!

I liked this book - fast moving plot, good characters, and fun to read. The author did a great job with the story, plot, and setting. Overall, I would definitely recommend!

I chose this book because it was lighthearted, and I was looking for something very lighthearted during this stressful time. Unfortunately, this book was a huge disappointment. I don’t mind that romance books are formulaic. I actually enjoy the happy endings especially during a stressful time. However, I love the ones that are written so well that you are still engaged and forget that fact. This book wasn’t one of those. There were a few cute moments in this story, but overall, it was a bit boring and almost frustratingly unnecessary.

The MMC has been in love with the FMC for over twenty years and suffers severely from his insecurities. The FMC is a traditionally overworked, anxiety-ridden millennial that magically develops feelings for her best friend. The sexual tension is mentioned throughout the story, but it isn’t felt. With that said, I really struggled to be engaged in this story let alone root for the couple. I’ve always believed that the slow burn is hard to accomplish, and this is an example of it gone wrong. I didn’t feel anything when they had to separate and even less when they rekindled.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.