Cover Image: Booked on a Feeling

Booked on a Feeling

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Member Reviews

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, for this free review copy.

I’m on a romance kick and finishing some old NetGalley’s, that have been sitting for too long!

Another win and a great romance book! It did start slow for me, and was definitely a slow burn. A friends-to-lovers troupe that I really enjoy, and once I got into it, I wanted to see how it ended!

This is the 3rd in a series, but can definitely be read as a standalone!

Lizzy is an attorney that just won a big case. She should be thrilled! But she feels like she needs a break, and head to Weldon, to see her friend Jack. Jack has always had a crush on Lizzy, and he decides after a life time of being friends, it’s now or never. While on vacation, she helps her new friend with her bookstore, while renting the apartment above it. Her and Jack work together to bring it together, and learn a lot about each other and their feelings.

I’ve read some reviews about the other two books in the series being great, so I’m going to add them to my list and hopefully love them also!

All opinions are my own. Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher, for this review copy. ❤️

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What should have been a cute and fun friends-to-lovers romcom ended up feeling forced and I really struggled trying to finish it.

I had trouble connecting to both main characters, I found them annoying and over the top, and I did not like their inner monologues (they seemed shallow and very body/sex obsessed). I wanted more from their friendship and their eventual romantic relationship. There were many examples of a lack of communication and wrong assumptions that being made; throughout the book; all of which could have been avoided by communicating.

Thank you to SMP Romance and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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3 stars. This was a heartwarming, sweet rom-com. It was an overall enjoyable read.
Thank you to Jayci Lee, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

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This was a fun if yet forgettable rom com. Will I remember it in a week? Probably not. But I had a good time while I was reading it!

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Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee is an interesting novel. The main character is a high powered lawyer who finds little joy in her profession and life. She returns home and tries to revitalize a local bookstore. With an old acquaintance helping her, love soon blossoms. I really wanted to like this book more. I found it really hard to read because I could not connect with the characters. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

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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!

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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