Thanks so much for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a sweet romcom about Lizzy and Jack, two longtime best friends who are finding out their true passion in life, and doing so alongside one another.

I loved all the silly and cute banter between the characters; It was a great palette cleanser after all the darker romance I’ve been reading.

However, third person POV (personally) has never been my go to so it took a little bit of time for me to get into this book.

At about 40% in, you start to see their relationship start to build. By the time you’re at 60%, you’re like okayyyyyy here we go. And then it fades to black. I’m not sure if this is YA or NA because the feel of the romantic/love making scenes had verbiage that would lean towards NA, but then it kind of cut flat and went back to the lightheaded YA tone. Personally, I would have enjoyed more background about their relationship and growth as far as how the intensity of their love seemed to be going.

The ending was super sweet! Overall, it was a cute read for anyone needing a small town vibe/friends to lovers/silly banter/HEA type of romcom to read next!
3 stars!

great romance about friends to lovers and trying to find oneself . I loved that she took a break but found a place to work and help in the bookstore. I loved the family and friends. I loved the slow burn romance and not wanting to change it but wanting to try. I loved the bookstore .

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book has a cute premise. I think some of the elements were harder to get into, such as Jack being best friends with this lady and her being a lawyer and never picking up on how he might be treating her differently because he loves her. It was a cute read but I wish there would've been more dimension.

This book was a really cute and fun read! It was a super easy read and I finished it pretty quickly. The characters were like able, however I do wish they would have been a bit more fleshed out. Overall I think this was a sweet read, nothing too deep. It was a great pallet cleanser!

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

Elizabeth Chung is an excellent attorney who is up for a promotion to become a partner in her firm but once she finally had her first win, she didn't feel right, so she planned a three week vacation in Weldon, where her best friend lives.

Jack Park is a bookkeeper and part-time owner of his family's microbrewery; even though he helped it grow into a successful business, he often feels insecure that he is spending his life doing something he didn't feel passionate about; hence he applied for a job in L.A to prove himself and to be near his best friend.

Booked on a Feeling is about two childhood friends that are finding their passion and proving it to their self while realizing their hidden feelings with each other.

I love that this book is about finding one's dream and they should chase it and don't let what others say let them feel guilty about it.

I never thought I'd like this trope; it exceeds my expectations. I appreciate Jack's self-control and waited for the right time, but I felt frustrated that they didn't communicate properly, causing unnecessary conflicts.

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

This book fell so flat for me, which sucks because I am always so in for a love story that involves books.

Lizzy is so close to making partner at her law firm, until she passes out during a big career moment. Suddenly Lizzy is taking a break from her career and going to Weldon to be with her best friend, Jack. What Lizzy doesn't know is that Jack has been in love with her for about a decade. Three weeks in Weldon change everything, Lizzy is questioning her career choices, and Jack is ready to take a risk on his feelings.

The blurb for this book sounded right up my alley, so I was disappointed when the character's didn't feel complete to me. There was no background that made their feelings for each other believable, and most of the draw to each other was pointed out as attraction and being childhood best friends. The portrayal of their feelings reminded me of middle schoolers crushing on each others.

Everything felt rushed, but also super slow and dragged out. I feel like if the characters were better developed I would have enjoyed this a lot more.
Thank you so much Netgalley, Jayci Lee ,and St. Martin's Griffin for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

↠ 2 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm not usually a romance novel reader, but I picked this one up for the promise of some bookishness (which it thoroughly delivered). I'm a sucker for anything set in a bookstore or library as I know many bookish people are.

I found some of the dialog to be a bit cringey and the plot to be fairly (okay really) predictable, but I feel like that's just part of the romance novel territory. Either way, it took me out of the story via eyeroll at points. Overall it was a pretty fun read though.

It may be a part of the author's A Sweet Mess series, but it stands well on its own as well. Some of the characters and locations may be more familiar if you've read the others (as I learned from reading synopses after the fact), but you will never be lost without having read them.

Crossposted to Goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4655055324

I received this book as an eGalley.

I haven't read the first two books in this series, but it didn't feel like I was missing anything vital.

Overall, a cute read. Perfect amount of yearning. The main couple has good chemistry and banter. There are spots of hilarity in their inner monologues, as well, especially when they're in denial.

The narrative switches back and forth between the two main characters' viewpoints, and you're really in their heads sometimes. At other times, the characters have fully-formed personal epiphanies kind of out of nowhere. But you don't see the progression from vague idea to complete thought, which made some of the character development feel rushed, especially toward the end.

I also wanted Lizzy to feel more consistent. The author played around with some great ideas briefly, but I would have liked to see them pop up more than once or twice. For example, she is a lawyer, and she uses her skill of being inscrutable and giving noncommittal answers in a way that makes people notice that she's probably a good lawyer once. And she loves romance novels, and toward the end, she describes her relationship using romance tropes and tries to orchestrate a chance meeting, but she doesn't seem to use the romance plot filter for her life before that. And there would have been plenty of opportunities for her to at least note the similarities her life had to a romance plot (big city lawyer goes to small town, falls in love with local and learns to slow down and appreciate life). I really liked the glints of self-awareness when they happened and wish they were more present in Lizzy. But none of us are perfect or necessarily consistent, so it's not really the biggest deal.

In summary, I had fun reading this and felt invested in the characters enough that I made a ton of Kindle comments that were just, "OMG TALK TO EACH OTHER."

3.5/5

This book was good, but it took me a while to get into it. After a few chapters, I really enjoyed it. There was great chemistry between the characters and left me feeling happy. Overall, it was cute and quick read.

ARC supplied by St. Martin’s Press.

I love cheese as much as the next person but this book was so cheesy I couldn’t finish it. Each character felt stiff and cookie cutter, none of them had chemistry, and all the conversations felt unnatural and pointless. It also had multiple scenes that were unnecessary to the plot and character building. There was also a lot of description that seemed excessive and would make the book feel really dated in a year or two.

I really had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately it fell short.

(Did not finish)

An absolutely adorable read!

Small town vibes, beer and books! Got the opportunity to read this book early thanks to netgalley. Loved the characters and the sweet vibe.

I have been reading a ton of high fantasy lately and this was the perfect palate cleanser. A sweet fun romance, with just a bit of spice.

Would definitely reccomend adding this to your TBR when it comes out!

This was the CUTEST story that found me at the perfect time. I'm always a sucker for a good love story and this one had a bookstore and two stories of self discovery. This book had the perfect mix of fun, flirty, and serious. I look forward to reading more by this author!

3.5/5 ⭐️

As a fellow (almost) lawyer I understand Lizzy’s pain all too well. I appreciated the accurate legal references and the realisticness of how hard a career in big law is. I think some readers might be inclined to skip the first chapter, while the legalese was understandable, it’s still boring.

I wish there was more about Lizzy and Jack’s friendship instead of just “here are two best friends with no background.” While Jack pined for Lizzy for years, she seemed to fall head over heels in a matter of two days?

Their relationship is cute, I will give them that. The sex scenes were surprisingly spicy, but the author seemed to pull back in the middle of each scene. I took it as not being sure whether this was supposed a YA or a NA book, so it tried to bridge the two worlds. Overall, the characters are likeable and I was rooting for them to be together and achieve their dreams.

4.5 rounded down

I LOVED this book!

Friends to lovers??? Falling in love while volunteering at a book store together?? Say no more!

Jack and Lizzy are PERFECT in every way, I loved them individually as characters and together as a couple. I related to both of them on so many levels and even when I was frustrated with them toward the end, their decisions and thought processes always made sense to me.

Lizzy is such a special character to me because at times it felt like looking in a mirror. A lawyer with anxiety?? Who hates billable hours?? Who would rather be in a bookstore/curled up with a book?? I was rooting for her this entire book and seeing her journey and seeing her find herself and what she really wants out of her life made me so happy. The same goes for Jack, he’s a very loyal, witty, and hardworking man and I loved seeing his dynamic not only with Lizzy, but with his family. I loved that while Lizzy was on her journey, Jack was on one of his own, trying to make sure that his dreams came true and that he was fulfilled by the life he’s living. That’s also something that I loved about their relationship. They made sure that they were not only happy with each other, but happy in their own lives. Instead of one of them having to make some sacrifice for the other, they figured things out and found a way to make it work while maintaining their dreams.

Outside of our main characters, I loved the setting of Weldon and especially the Sparrow. I think fixing up a local bookstore was such a cute idea for a romance novel! I also loved the side characters and think they really helped round out the book and made everything feel more fully realized.

Lastly, I wanted to mention that I thought the author did an amazing job with the anxiety representation. Lizzy’s anxiety and how it presents and the way she works through it was very realistic and accurate and I really appreciated seeing that portrayed properly in a book. I also appreciated that the legal terms used in the book were correct. It’s a minor thing but that’s a pet peeve of mine when legal concepts are thrown into a book and aren’t properly used and that wasn’t an issue here at all!! Everything mentioned made complete sense and that kept me immersed in the experience!

Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend reading this when it comes out in July!

Thank you SO much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for this ARC!

The characters were a little flat to me, and although I'm a big fan of almost any friends-to-lovers book, I'm almost never a fan of the miscommunication trope, unfortunately.
I thought this book was written really well, and would love to read some of the author's past work, but I don't think that this was the book for me, which was a little disappointing!
This book had everything that I normally love. Who wouldn't want to read about two best friends who revamp a little bookstore together?
This book had cozy vibes, and great characters that just- fell a little bit too flat. I know that this is a standalone in a series, but we never get a lot of background on them. If a book is a standalone, I wish they would at least recap the friendship. Additionally, I thought that their relationship was simply... juvenile? It's a classic hallmark-y book that's great for a light read when you're not wanting anything too heavy, but just know that the miscommunication *will* drive you insane.

Maybe I would have liked this book more if I had not read it straight after Sophie Go's Lonely Hearts Club, and I might have been saturated with the "Asian parents are unreasonable and we cant be happy because we need to fill parental expectations" storyline. However, even without that its just an ok book. It was, in my hallmark channel ranking, what I would call a predictable and naughty. I knew exactly how it would end up from chapter 2 and the buildup to it was not as fun. There was too much chemistry and too little backstory for my taste. I want to know more about their background, why were they friends, why did jack never say a thing for 20 years. Also the mom, really what is up with asian mothers in literature (or at least my literature this month) Are they really this stereotypically bad? The big positive: I loved all the book talk and kind of want a bookstore to sit down and read in now.

This is a delightful book about a man and woman that have been best friends since they were little. . Both are having doubts about their careers and where their life is heading. Taking some time off ends up becoming a full time job helping a woman get her bookshop into shape. Things start to get quite hot and steamy as the story unfolds. The typical storyline that most romance novels have but the inclusion of a bookstore gives it a fun twist for anybody that loves to read. A fun and Quick read. Thanks to St Martin’s Press for the chance to read the arc.

I enjoyed this next story in the series and getting more writing from this author! This was just what I needed and I enjoyed the characters. I can’t wait to discuss more with others once it is released!

I’m embarrassed to say that out of the hundreds of romance novels I’ve read, I haven’t actually read a friends to lovers romance. I tend to enjoy enemies to lovers so I thought friends to lovers might be boring. I was very wrong...

After a panic attack hits at a time when Lizzy should be thrilled with her accomplishments, she decides to go out of town taking a 3 week vacation close to Jack, her best friend of twenty years. After only a few days there, she starts becoming a little too aware of him and they have to figure out how their friendship will move forward while they also work to discover what they individually really want out of life.

I struggled with Jack’s point of view being realistic. For the first quarter of the book, I felt like all he was thinking was how much he loved Lizzy and couldn’t stop thinking about her but needed to stop thinking about her. It was maddening but not in a sweet way. Second, I don’t know of any straight man that says “cute“ or “adorable“. Many times he talks about different habits or traits of Lizzy’s being cute. I asked my husband what a man would actually call an endearing trait in his head and he couldn’t even articulate it. He just usually chuckles, gives me a look or just knows that’s what I do but he’s not actively thinking “that list-making she does is so cute”.

I did enjoy the spicy buildup of their romance though! I loved the development of the little book store and their growth as they found their paths and each other. I give this 3.5 stars.

A sweet friends-to-lovers romance. Lizzy is an associate at a big firm gunning for partnership. Jack is her childhood best friend who lives in a small town four hours away. They try dating. Plot ensues. Lee has a knack for capturing her character’s fears. They don’t say the right thing or act perfectly because they’re human and flawed and that’s why you’re drawn to them. Booked on a Feeling is a quiet, slow book. You root for these kids to figure it out but you’re not going to lose sleep or sob over it. And that’s okay! Sometimes you’re in the mood for a low-angst friends-to-lovers.

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.