I received Booked on a Feeling as an ARC from NetGalley.

At first, I didn't love this book, but as the main characters started to get more involved with each other, there were some parts I really liked. I did like aspects of their relationship and I liked watching them grow.

I think the part that was hard for me at the beginning was that the MMC, Jack, was already in love with the FMC, Lizzy, and the way they interacted with each other didn't feel like friends at all. They were very physically affectionate and attentive to each other in ways that I thought would be really odd in a friendship where feelings weren't involved. So it felt more like two people who hadn't put a label on their relationship rather than two people who were long-time friends.

Also, sometimes the banter didn't land right for me. It felt corny, and sometimes I felt secondhand embarrassment.

Once we got past the flirty banter phase and got into the relationship phase though, these issues weren't really there anymore and I did enjoy it.

Booked on a feeling is a feel good romance. Not much substance, would be great to skim by the pool or on vacation but nothing jaw dropping or amazing. I wouldn’t really recommend it for those reasons.

This book is magic. The banter is authentic, the pining is hopeful, and the resolution is heartwarming. I loved all of the nods to Korean culture which only added to the character's depth. The ending is brilliant. I have a feeling I will be reaching for this book over and over again!

An adorably lovable romance between childhood friends!

Lizzy was so relatable to me. Deciding her life direction initially to follow the career path her mother wanted and learning to instead choose a path that made her happy.

The fact that this was all things bookish down to the ridiculous tbr that we all have and pretend we can manage🤣.

Such a cute, heartwarming story. While it did have its slower moments and it took a while for the story to draw you in, it was well worth it in the end. I look forward to adding this one to my shelves!

Thank you to Jayci Lee, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

You know those book couples that are so good that you actually feel the singleness aching in your chest. That is Jack Park and Elizabeth "Lizzy" Chung. Lizzy is a hotshot L.A lawyer, gunning to make partner at her big law firm and doesn't have much support in her life other than her best friend, Jack. Jack is exhausted in his tiny town, working for his family's brewery to support other people's dreams; there is one person he's happily supportive of, Lizzy Chung because they're best friends... and he's head over heels in love with her. When presented with 3 weeks of Lizzy because she's escaping her job in his tiny town, Jack has to figure out how to 1. be around Lizzy as just friends or 2. get her to fall in love with him. The backdrop of a local bookstore in desperate need of a list-obsessed Lizzy is just the cherry on top of this heartstring pulling romance.

Lizzy is an ambitious, anxiety ridden, and overwhelmed lady with a tense relationship with her overbearing mother and I think I'm her. Her journey of learning to accept what she wants provided introspective I wasn't expecting when I picked up this book. The inversion of her career journey with Jack's also made my heart pound as I anxiously read page after page, trying to sort out where these two would end up. Their relationship was heart-wrenchingly adorable and much more. As a book lover and hopeless romantic, their love story is a masterpiece to me and this book is a new all time favorite.

This was a cute friends to lovers book! But I did not love it, I felt kind of disconnected from the characters. I feel like there wasn’t much of a backstory for them.

Besides that, this was super well written and a good contemporary romance for when you are in the mood for that!

Thank you Netgalley, Jayci Lee, and St. Martin's Griffin for the advanced readers copy!

This one just wasn't for me. My biggest problem was just that the story was predictable. I guessed the ending, almost completely correctly, within the first 2 or 3 chapters. That's not to say that I've never read a book where I've predicted what was going to happen early on, but in most cases, I still find the book interesting and, unfortunately, in this case I didn't find it interesting. I started losing interest around 40% in, but I kept reading because I wanted to see how things turned out.

I feel like I didn't know anything about these characters - main characters and side characters. There were moments and aspects that I could relate to (Lizzy's love of books and making lists and organizing things), but in general, I wasn't able to connect with either Lizzy or Jack, I just didn't care about what was happening.

I really wanted to like this one, but it just fell really flat for me.

Lizzy and Jack have known one another forever. But neither has ever wanted to risk how great their friendship is to see if there's something more there. At least, neither has until now.

I just wish that the desire to change things had more to do with recognizing what they want in a life partner instead of acknowledging things like Lizzy having "never seen Jack as a man before" and other objectifying statements like that.

There were some really good elements to this story and I liked them both as individuals. But as a love story, it missed the mark a bit for me.

Thanks to Jayci Lee, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance review copy.

Lizzy and Jack were such a cute pairing in this story. Lizzy is trying to figure out where to take her career as a litigator with the pressure of her moms expectations and Jack is trying to follow his path without hurting the family he loves. They are best friends who try to fight the pull and the way it happens just felt so real to me. I literally read this in a day. Such a lovely story

I obviously relate to the overachieving dorky lawyer who loves and finds her escape through books. So I don’t know why the story / dialogue felt so clearly not based in reality. Maybe it was just too cheesy (and I love a predictable romcom)? Or maybe it’s that I can’t believe she never once thought of Jack romantically when less than 1% into the book he is described with words sparking obvious lust / attraction (especially when she is obviously a sexual person). The big fight was the most grounded part of the book—those kinds of things happen and I could feel the anxiety and insecurities manifesting in that way. The romantic relationship building needed fewer manufactured obstacles (like ignoring obvious feelings) because that fight was all that was necessary.

But to end on a really positive note: I am happy with friends-to-lovers, bookstore setting, and cultural representation (especially the food descriptions). And it was a very quick read.

This was cute! and such a quick read, I loved the characters a lot and it was super fun overall!! We love a good friends to lovers plot!

Lizzy is a stressed out, badass lawyer who’s a little overwhelmed trying to meet her families expectations (relatable). While Jack feels stuck (also relatable). Don’t forget they are childhood BESTIES!!

I did feel like the pacing was a bit off at times. The resolution seemed to skip some steps? I do wish it was paced in a way that would have made the tension stronger throughout!

This was an ARC given to me through Netgalley from St. Martin’s Press, and reflects my honest opinion!

A quick, fun read. The characters were overall pretty delightful, and the descriptions of the setting and locales really made me feel as if I could picture the bookstores and the homes. My biggest grip was that the conflict between the two main characters seemed so forced. Each had their own personal demons that they wrestled with, but how these two would end up was never seriously in question. An enjoyable read, just not quite enough suspense for my taste.

Booked on a Feeling is a great representation of the friends to lovers’ trope. The banter between Lizzy & Jack is natural, fun and steamy. I was blushing HARD throughout the entire book. While this book isn’t about food in any way, Lee’s description of foods throughout the novel had my stomach growling. Lee’s writing style is incredabily easy to consume. Overall, a light enjoyable read.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This friends to lovers read was so sweet I may have a cavity now. I could not get enough of Jack and Lizzy. Between making Lizzy's career and personal struggles so relatable, and sharing Jack's insecurities and unease you can't help but fall for the characters and root for them.

A bit about the book: Lizzy is a big time corporate lawyer well on her way to making partner. After her first big win she starts to realize that anxiety and tension is eating her alive, so she decides to head to her best friends small town to spend some time staying near him and relaxing.

Jack works for his family brewery but knows that there is something else out there for him. The brewery just isn't his dream. Plus he has a huge secret he's been harboring about his feelings for his best friend so he is dying to live closer to her.

Once Lizzy shows up in Weldon this romance really takes off.

Overall I would totally recommend this one as a feel good romance read.

Lizzy and jack are absolutely on of my favourite couples. The book was heartfelt and it was a cute little read! I am a sucker for any book that revolves are puns bookstores and bookworms and this did the job perfectly! I would rate this book 4.5 stars only because it felt just a little slow at times

Booked On A Feeling was the cutest romance book I've ever read! The character development was so thorough and informative. Lizzy and Jack's life long relationship was incredible, who would want a man to show up for you like Jack shows up for Lizzy? The fact that this story includes a bookstore is the icing on the cake! Lizzy turning and surprising Jack like he did for her was a great turn in the plot and makes you want to keep turning the page. It feels like 3 weeks goes by so fast! Watching Lizzy and Jack overcome their fears, and lifelong anxieties while spending much needed time together is so beautiful. No spoilers here! Would definitely recommend reading!

After reading “A Sweet Mess”, I was very excited to read this story (especially with the involvement of books)! I loved the small cameos and mentions of characters from the previous books; the familiar setting of Weldon set the tone well for Jack and Lizzy’s story.

Although the beginning of the story felt out of place considering what was to follow, I appreciated the light shed onto individuals like Lizzy and Jack who feel trapped by standards, and are afraid of stepping outside of their boundaries to find their full potential. I’m always up for two characters who are genuinely good human beings with real ambitions, and these two did exactly that. The moment they finally became a couple, the real chemistry settled in and made me fully invested. However, the major conflict that had been building up resulted in an argument between the two that didn’t feel completely right. They were suffering from the same internal struggles, but couldn’t see eye to eye on that one fact — this trope is nothing new, but it did feel frustrating considering how mature Jack and Lizzy were in other aspects.

Overall, it’s a sweet romance that I would recommend to anyone looking for an adorable couple to invest themselves in! Thank you to NetGalley, Jayci Lee, and St. Martin’s Press for providing an ARC of this book for an honest review!

This story started as a five starred read ans stayed until end, I was wooed by the characters, heartfelt, genuine dialogues. I enjoyed the conclusion of the story.
It filled my eyes with tears and healed my soul.

Lizzy and Jack ’s beautifully heartwarming journey stole my heart!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Thank you so much to @netgalley for the opportunity to read my first ARC, "Booked on a Feeling" by Jayci Lee. Overall, I rated it a 3.75/5 stars!

What it was about: This novel told the story of Elizabeth "Lizzy" Chung who is an overwhelmed lawyer that just won her first big case, and her best friend Jack, who has been secretly pining for Lizzy since the two of them were 10 years old (they're 30 throughout the duration of the book) There is a twist towards the last 20% of the book, but ultimately, we find out if Jack & Lizzy are going to make it as a romantic couple in the end - if Jack is capable of getting himself out of that "friend zone".

What I liked: I loved that this novel talked a lot about the main characters "finding themselves". so to speak. They each discovered the reasons why they were unhappy at current job placements and worked to better each of their lives. I also liked that the characters were Korean, because I got to learn some new language/culture from this book. And lastly, I liked how mental health and panic/anxiety attacks were represented. The importance of self-care was clearly depicted through the author's words. And what better self-care than to surround yourself with a bunch of books? (in my opinion!)

What took points off: Some of the language was a bit too wordy/Hallmark'y. I enjoyed the romance between Lizzy and Jack very much, but the level of cheesiness was a bit too much at times.

However, the storyline was very engaging and kept me occupied the entire time. If I had the time, this is a book that I would have read straight-through, in one sitting. And it is also a book that I wouldn't mind doing a reread of in the future, either!

This book was cute and I loved the idea of a bookish themed book. The characters are super sweet and easy to fall in love with. I loved all the small bookstores included and has a super long tbr (very relatable.)

The fact that Jack has been in love with Lizzy since they were kids is just amazing. They fit together so well and I love how well they compliment each other.

The plot, the character development, the smoothness and satisfaction I felt while reading this book was spectacular and I'm definitely buying a physical copy of this book when it comes out!!