I don't know what it is about romance novels set in LA but I absolutely adore them. We start with Nina's horrible, no good, very bad breakup that makes me want to murder her now-ex in about a million ways, and that general sentiment towards her never really fades. Nina's initial crush on Ari from a distance for being one of the few out queer actresses was very relatable as well - that sort of general gratitude and awareness of public figures who choose to be out. I loved watching the two of them begin to interact and shift from polite awkwardness to mega crush to dating.
Spaulding's writing is a delight as always, and at one point had me laughing so hard I got a stitch in my side and had to set the book down. Absolutely amazing novel, I loved it. Stayed up until 1am finishing it. Going to be screaming about it to people until it comes out in February.

The parts I really enjoyed: the chemistry between the love interests, found family of the main friend group and the sweetest grandma I wish I had.

The parts that I enjoyed less: the main character's internal struggle. It was relatable but felt repetitive. The pacing also got kind of boring but then the conflict hit and I was hooked again.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it!

🌟ARC Review🌟

I was so excited to be approved to read this ARC and it did not disappoint. It follows the story of Nina, an aspiring scriptwriter, who is healing from a bad break up and living in her aunt’s condo. When she meets Ari, a queer actress who is beautiful and charming, Nina suddenly finds herself feeling old feelings that she didn’t know she could still have. As Nina continues her journey of healing, reconnecting with old friends, and navigating her feelings, it was a book I could not put down! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Nina was such a real character that was so relatable. She made me feel everything she was feeling and I absolutely fell in love with her chosen family. Her relationship with Ari was so cute and loving and as it continued, I couldn’t stop rooting for them the entire time. Such a fabulous book and I was so sad when it ended. As much as I loved Ari and Nina’s love story, by far my fav character was Lorna!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for letting me review this book.

A fun, queer rom com that takes place in sunny LA. My only complaint is that the main character Nina did get a bit tiresome in her insecurities. The supporting characters were great and Ari was perfect!

For Her Consideration tells the story of Nina Rice, an aspiring screenwriter whose current gig is writing emails for celebrities, and Ari Fox, an up-and-coming out lesbian actress who is one of said celebrities.

I loved that this is a book where a character actually calls herself a lesbian!! i was nervous at the beginning while reading bc Nina refers to herself only as a queer woman, and calls Ari a queer woman too, so i was worried this would be yet another sapphic book in which the sapphic character who does not like men never uses the word lesbian. but Amy Spalding came through for us and i was so happy to see the word "lesbian" on the page in a non-derogatory way and see how Ari is comfortable calling herself that, though i wish we had gotten that more than just a couple times.

the fat rep is also superb. Nina uses the word "fat" instead of "plus size" which is so refreshing, and i love how confident she is in her body and how she doesn't dress to hide it, how she mentions that she loves her thighs and her stomsch. as a fat person myself, i loved getting to read about this side of nina.

overall, this was a good read! i love a queer chosen family and all the side characters were so cool and interesting. *SPOILERS* I did think that there should've been more of an interaction between Nina and her ex, Taylor. Considering how Taylor's words drive Nina and her actions for over three years, I thought there should've been more between them than just a short paragraph mention of them saying hello to each other. However, I still really enjoyed this and I love where it ended!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the e-ARC! this book releases in February 2023 🤍

This was such a sweet, funny and entertaining sapphic romance with a great mix of quirky and angst, and a wonderful found family and one of the best aunts in literature!

For Her Consideration follows the aspiring screenwriter Nina Rice, who has been settling for a life in the LA suburbs working as a celebrity email account manager after a devastating break-up three years ago. She’s shut her friends out, believing they were siding with her ex, and has more or less hid herself from the world, feeling as unworthy and bad as her ex told her to be. But then suddenly the out and proud queer and beautiful movie star Ari Fox wants to meet to discuss her email management and suddenly Nina finds herself falling head over heal for her client and maybe wanting something more out of life after all.

I loved the fun and witty way in which the story was told, and all the banter and sarcastic comments. The love interest, Ari, stole my heart too right from the start. Her personality and character were the best parts of the story. She was so strong and confident, yet sweet and warm, and with an amazing humor (the thing with the elusive cat Steve was so hilarious!).

I also absolutely adored Nina’s feisty aunt Lorna and her friends, and not to mention Nina’s group of old friends. Found family is one of my favorite tropes and this one did not disappoint! The dynamics amongst Nina’s queer, loud, joyful and funny chosen family was amazing and I loved how fiercely loyal and supportive of Nina they were, even though she didn’t always deserve it, to be honest.

My only problem with the story was the main character, Nina, herself. I had trouble connecting with her and since the story was told solely from her POV, it affected the whole reading experience. I did enjoy her sarcasm and wit, and the way she grew character-wise throughout the story, but she still came across as a little too selfish, immature and annoyingly indecisive, and I didn’t like the way she shut her friends out (twice!) not even considering how that must have made them feel.

But all in all, For Her Consideration was a cute, heartwarming, quirky and fast-paced sapphic rom-com with the great message to believe in yourself and not let anything stop you from chasing your dreams!

I loved this book! It was super relatable, and a quick, easy read. I love celebrity rom coms, and the chosen family trope just hit all the feels. Loved it!

Thanks so much to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Okay, this was one of the best romances I've read in a hot second, and I think it's because it's not JUST about the romance. Spalding's love for Los Angeles, the LGBTQIA+ community, and found family really shined through in this novel. I don't know if Spalding is an LA native, but she seems to know it like the back of her hand, and I was instantly teleported to Hollywood, despite having never stepped foot there.

This was one of the few romance novels I've read where the friends don't get sidelined; rather, they are treated as real people with feelings and personalities. This seems bare minimum, but trust me, Spalding does it spectacularly. If you've ever had a queer friend group (and yes, you've probably all dated each other and have all the same exes), you will instantly recognize and love Nina's friend group. Also, there's some really cool casual nonbinary rep, which I don't usually see even in LGBT-centered books.

The romance was super natural, the feelings involving Nina's crush were so relatable, and the conflict was super well done. I can't say much without spoiling anything, but it's not your normal third act miscommunication trope. Both characters actually actively grow throughout the relationship, and I was invested through all their ups and downs. Also, Nina's main inner conflict following her breakup in the prologue of the book was so heartbreaking and so well done. I really think a lot of people will find it relatable and really see themselves in her.

Overall, I think this will be one of the best romance releases of 2023. I highly recommend you check it out.

Nina and Ari are amazing. Their friends were amazing. This whole story was amazing. Did I mention, amazing????


I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

I wanted to love this book––it’s a famous/non-famous romcom! it’s gay! there’s a huge emphasis on found family!––but For Her Consideration didn’t quite work for me. The main culprit: the story’s inconsistent pacing. The narrative drags, the prose is often repetitive, and Spalding rushes through or skips over scenes that feel necessary to the plot. Basically, there’s a lack of tension on the page, which prevents the author from building momentum (on a macro/story level) and from creating that ~spark~ AKA chemistry between the MCs (on a micro/scene level). A dual POV structure would likely be effective here––alternating between Nina and Ari’s voices would liven up the prose, and it would give the reader more insight into Ari’s fears & motivations, since we only ever get to be inside Nina’s head.

This was my first Amy Spalding novel, so I’m totally open to trying her out again. ATTN Spalding hive: let me know if I should check out any specific book from her catalogue!

Thank you Netgalley for the access to this ARC!

I went back and forth between 3 or 4 stars, but decided on four. This is a really lovingly, carefully written romance with satisfying depth in the main character and A+ representation. It also contains basically all the things that irritate me in romance novels, but it won me over anyway.

For Her Consideration is a romance, mostly, but it's also very much a slow-paced, deeply emotional character study. A person's opinion on this book will entirely depend on their feelings on Nina Rice. Nina is occasionally insecure about her plus-sized body, but she mostly loves it from the start, which I always love. She's overwhelmingly insecure about the general state of her life, however. Most of the book is centered around Nina removing her self-imposed exile and letting people in again. I appreciated the care that went into depicting how a bad breakup can destroy a person emotionally, and I liked that Nina got the healing and support she deserved as a certified Nice Person Trying Her Best.

Nina tells the whole story in charming, if occasionally rambling, first person narration. Pretty much all of the obstacles and conflict in the book stem from her own self-doubt, mostly inflicted by a scathing email sent three years ago from a terrible ex. Usually, this kind of self-doubt-is-the-only-obstacle love story bores me into a coma. Here, though, Nina's past trauma is so believable and so biting on the page, I was able to look past it.

It's a bit odd that the blurb compares this books to Casey McQuiston's. I suppose every millenial romcom gets compared to Casey McQuiston's now, that makes some sort of sense, but the style and the goals of this book are so different. McQuiston's books always have these insanely high larger-than-real-life stakes (an election, a murder investigation, a true love being lost forever in the electric currents of time travel) and this book goes hard in the opposite direction. It's light, it's breezy. If you like romances where the breakups aren't wrenching, there isn't a fight every few chapters, and everyone is generally really great to each other and gets along, this is the book for you. It's very slice of life.

The flip side, ofc, is that the central conflict could be solved with a referral to a good therapist--so, imagine my surprise when the central conflict was solved with a referral to a good therapist! I really appreciated that. The deep characterization of Nina also really sold this to me, as she did come to the right conclusions on her own even before her friends and great aunt stepped in.

Compared to Nina's rich characterization, I have to say Ari Fox was a little underwhelming to me. She was a hot queer actress who spent a lot of time being queer and hot. I guess she learned a tiny lesson at the end, but, she mostly stayed a constant Hottie North Star.

I tend to prefer romances where I see more of the other side of the coin. For the first half of the book, I legitimately couldn't have told you why Ari was so aggressively pursuing Nina (a lot of this may have been Nina's narration constantly downplaying herself.) So that's why I was on the fence between 3 and 4 stars. Ultimately, the care that went into the ending won me over, and I think the book succeeded brilliantly at what it set out to do. A sweet, slice-of-life take on the Hollywood love story.

This book gives all of the best parts of The L Word minus all of the unnecessary drama. It has an amazingly supportive found family, a steamy romance, and a peek into the behind-the-scenes world of celebrity. Add to that my new favorite octogenarian instagrammer and you’ve got one fabulous read!

I really loved this book because it drove home that you can find your people and your place in the world without having to be perfect. The people that are meant to be in your life will stay and love you for you.

Thank you so much to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the use of this ARC.

I loved this book so much! I felt so deeply connected to Nina that I was shedding a few tears within the first couple of chapters. I kept expecting the story to disappoint me somewhere and for Nina to do something irritating (perhaps I'm projecting, huh? 🤣) but the whole book was lovely and so real. I'm so sad that it's over. I want more time in this world.

The deal: Nina, whose job is to cosplay as celebrities in managing their email inboxes, is still in the shadows of a big breakup when she gets grafting with her client Ari, who is basically Kristen Stewart. (I got an ARC from Netgalley.)

Is it worth it?: Not particularly. The writing was a bit clunky, it dragged on, and the romance didn’t feel particularly real or believable to me. I think a secondary POV would have helped immensely. Also, I struggled with how often Nina was drinking and driving; nearly every date with Ari involved a bucket o’ booze, feeling tipsy, then eating a quick treat to “sober up.” Oh, and a Honda is not a shitty embarrassing car?! All that being said, found family stuff was cute, lots of LA locations, and if you want wlw romance fluff, sure, go for it.

Pairs well with: the Kristen Stewart canon, that one time Edith Zimmerman interviewed Chris Evans for GQ, Porto’s cheese rolls

C-

* sorry for taking so long to send review *

I really enjoyed this! I loved Nina’s character and her growth! I’m an absolute sucker for character development and this book had it! I loved the relationships! Well written and easy to follow the story, really sucked me into being invested in where Nina and Aris relationship would go! Beautiful read!

"I was taking steps toward love, after I’d told myself I couldn’t have this again. I shouldn’t have this again. But here I was, just having it. Having her."

trope: friends to lovers, celebrity romance, found family
pov: first person pov, one pov

rating: 4,75/5-Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. A bad break up, 3 years ago leads Nina Rice to isolate herself from everyone, and is now working for a talent agency from home, managing celebrity's email accounts. One of those celebrities is Ari Fox, a new actress who is on everyone's radar who requests a meeting so that the email sent by Nina could sound more like her. After meeting Ari, Nina starts to face everything that she abandoned 3 years ago, by seeing her friends again and finally having the courage to resume her dream of being a script writer.
This book was so much fun to read, I absolutely adored Nina and her evolution throughout this book. I also adored her relationship with Ari, with her group of friends and with Lorna, her aunt. Ari and Nina were so cute. I also really like the fact that Nina is plus sized, but that it wasn't a plot device or the story isn't focused on that at all.
This book is an amazing sapphic rom-com and if you're looking for a quick read this is for you. 

 rep: plus sized lesbian mc, lesbian li, sapphic relationship, lesbian and non binary side characters, sapphic side relationships.
tw: anxiety, depression

genre: Adult Romance 
#NetGalley #ForHerConsideration

[3.5 stars]

After a bad breakup, Nina Rice finds herself in a rut; she's living in her Aunt's old condo up in the suburbs and away from the hustle and bustle of LA, she drives a terrible car, her job is stagnant (but enjoyable) and she lost all her friends in the divorce. Enter: Ari Fox, an up and coming out and proud queer actress whose tipped to win the Oscar in the next year - and also change Nina's life forever.

I enjoyed this for the most part! The plot was simple but no less enjoyable and although the writing wasn't *really* my vibe, I still found myself eager to pick my Kindle up when I got a moment. I *loved* Ari. I thought she was a really interesting character and I loved that she never shied away from who she was or made herself small, no matter how often Joyce called her 'difficult' (I don't think she was difficult, I think she was just a woman trying to make a name for herself).

But some gripes that I had:

- The word 'lesbian' wasn't used nearly as much as I would have liked. Both of the protagonists were lesbians from what I understood - so why were they constantly described as 'queer'. It's maybe petty, but I wish the word lesbian was used more.
- It annoyed me how Lorna always called Nina 'Nina Louise' and Aria called her 'Nina Rice.' I'm usually a sucker for little name quirks like that (Oliver of Boyfriend Material always calling Luc 'Lucien' for example) but I just found it a bit annoying.
- The last 150 or so pages really started to drag for me, and I wish the pace was a bit quicker.

But other than that, I really enjoyed the book and would love to read more by Spalding in the future!

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review *

3.5 stars

For Her Consideration was a quick, fun, sapphic rom-com. I found that this was a quite easy read, and the writing felt witty and engaging.

However, I did feel like Nina, our MC, got a little tiresome with her insecurities in certain points, and I would have loved to see just a bit more of Ari than we actually did. The supporting characters were fantastic though!

After her ex breaks up with her, Nina Rice has been in a rut. She has cut off all contact with her former friends, put aside her dreams of becoming a TV screenwriter, and lives alone in her aunt's condo. Her main focus now is her job at a talent agency where she meticulously crafts emails for celebrities. When on-the-rise Ari Fox requests to see her, Nina can't help feeling attracted to the sexy confident actress. She thinks she's just lusting after the unavailable, but what if Ari is interested in her too?

We follow Nina's point of view for the entire book. I didn't miss the dual POVs that I normally prefer because both she and Ari are well developed and have their own strengths and weaknesses. When we meet her, Nina is insecure about herself and feels awkward around people in general. Her humor and feistiness shine throughout the book and I especially appreciated how Nina embraces and loves her plus size body in all its glory.

I have to say that Ari Fox is definitely charming and swoon-worthy. Her caring nature and thoughtful actions won my heart and I really loved her chemistry with Nina. Their back-and-forth flirty email exchange was one of my favorite parts and the buildup to their first kiss was amazing! The sex scenes were also great and I really wished there was more! I would definitely recommend this for those who enjoy wlw stories!

<spoiler>
Some wishful thinking:
After Nina and Ari make up with each other, I would have loved another scene of them having sex. It would have been nice to have one more steamy scene before the epilogue!

Some comments:
-When Ari is described as "difficult" by Nina's boss a few times, I felt the label didn't really make sense. It's understandable that Ari wants her emails to be written a certain way to have control of her image in the public eye. Maybe if there were more examples why she seems difficult, it would be more convincing why she is perceived that way professionally. She doesn't come across as really controlling to me (with the exception of her huge mistake in the last third of the book).

-The elusive cat Steve was a nice detail in the story. I also liked Lorna as Nina's supportive aunt. As for Nina's friends, they didn't add too much to the story for me. While they do help move the plot along, none are especially memorable. Chloe has the least amount of time in the book so I'm not sure she's really needed as a character.
</spoiler>

For Her Consideration
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 2/28/23
Author: Amy Spaulding
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Goodreads Rating: 4.06

TW ⚠️: Anxiety and depression; talk about adoption

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Kensington Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Nina Rice has written everything out of her life after a bad breakup. She's in her aunt's condo working her talent agency job from home, managing celebrity email accounts. But a surprise meeting called by Ari Fox, a young actress on everyone's radar, stirs up all kinds of feelings Nina thought she'd deleted for good... Ari is sexy, out and proud, and a serious control freak, according to Nina's boss. Nina suddenly finds it less scary to revisit her abandoned life than seriously consider that Ari is flirting with her. A relationship with a movie star seems like something she'll definitely mess up--but what could be more worth the risk?

My Thoughts: The story is narrated by Nina, from her POV. I tend to like the dual POV but it wasn’t missed here as Nina grows exponentially through this book so the single POV really works well for this story. The story resonates with body positive imaginary, which I love when that is incorporated. This was a really fun read for me. It really delivers a powerful message as you can do anything you set your mind to. The characters were well developed with depth, connection, emotional, showed growth, were likable, and absolutely relatable. The author’s writing style was complex, creative, thought provoking, and flowed really well. This author is a first read for me but will not be my last. I highly recommend that you pre-order this book that comes out next year, I have a feeling it will be a highly anticipated book!