Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

Set On You was one of my favorite reads last year, so I jumped at the chance to read Amy Lea's new book as soon as possible.

This book was adorable and heart warming right from the beginning. Tara, like many romance heroines, is trying to piece herself back together after her last relationship tore her to shreds (also, her ex fiancé, Seth, is such a douche). After her grandmother's successful second chance romance, she decides to take on the task of meeting with her own list of ex boyfriends, guided by her grumpy roommate, Trevor.

Over the course of the book, we learn that Tara has been falling for the wrong sort of guy, being called crazy and clingy for wanting open, honest communication from her partners, so much that she has convinced herself she is completely unlovable. Trevor's icy exterior melts the second she barges into his life, and he shows her all the ways that she is wrong.

I absolutely adored this second installment from Amy Lea. As someone who has identified with Tara on many occasions in the past, it was both terrifying and cathartic seeing past mistakes play out on the page. The book itself was well written, and I was drawn into the relationship that developed between the two main characters.

Loved this book! Can't wait for more from Amy Lea.

This book made me feel all happy and giddy! I absolutely LOVED IT!

This was a grumpy sunshine, forced proximity, roommate to lovers book and I seriously ate this story up!

OK, first off, Tara was a fantastic female main character. I could relate to her so much! She loves love and believes in happily ever afters and loves to read romance novels. She has had a hard romantic history with men breaking her heart. Men thinking that she was crazy and too much! But she never lost hope! And she always thought that she will still find love. And that made me so happy and hopeful!

Now Trevor!! holy shit y'all I couldn't stop swooning!! He started off as your typical playboy. But fell hard and fast for Tara once she was in his life. He was so romantic and sweet with Tara. He opened up to her and loved her so fiercely. It made my heart so freaking happy.🥰And best of all he loved, and accepted her for who she was, and gave her that happily ever after she was looking for! Oh my gosh, I am so in love with the story.😩 when is it my turn to be happy y'all?!

I will never lower my standards after reading this book!😌💖

The steamy moments were absolutely wonderful. They were so intimate and romantic. I love the way that they were written! Trevor and Tara's connection really had my heart pounding! 🔥🤭

Amy Lea really killed it with this book. It was fantastic! I adored the romance so much in this book, and I will be thinking about it for a long time. This is the romcom that y'all need in your lives! I highly recommend!💖

I devoured this book! It was so fun and the heroine so relatable in many small ways (her eating habits clinched it for me--no judgement!). I loved the slow burn and the pay-off. This couple also had great communication but also had to learn that no one is perfect and no relationship will be either.

This book is sweet, dreamy and swoon worthy. Friends to lovers done at its best! Ugh!! This book, it is like a magnet to all the romance lovers.

"The best love stories just magically fall into the laps of those who don’t expect or want them."

Tara is a romance girl. She goes on this stupid hunt of her exes. Not all of them deserve second chance, I want to shake her and tell this. Only the ones that were true to you and wanted you with anything be it more or less. Oh and her Bookstagram, loved it!

Trevor and Tara are cute, funny, witty, sarcastic and just perfectly flawed. Trevor is just, I don't know what to say, awesome, delicious and sometimes stupid?
{I need to find a Trevor for me? Or will one come along the way when I least expect it?}

"Love has the power to strip you raw, to the bone. And that’s the beauty of it. There’s an immeasurable bravery in opening your heart and baring your soul when all hope is seemingly lost."

This has a great message also, to be ourselves and love ourselves and just not bother with what the world thinks. The quotes, I have highlighted so much. The miscommunication section where Tara and Trevor discuss this trope, it is all so well written.

The more I read this, the more emotional it gets. This hot, forced proximity, slow burn romance is worth it. If you love the idea of love, are firm believer, an optimist and love Valentine's Day, this is FOR YOU!

This has to be the best ending or grand gesture I have ever read in a romcom. This book makes it to my list of bookd I would reread. Wow! I am speechless, wide emotional happy eyes(if it can be made).

This book was perfect and I highly recommend it.

This was a fun slow burn romcom. I loved the friendship they developed throughout the story.Hunting down her exes for a second chance trope was interesting. This book was full of bookish talk and Taylor Swift. Overall, I enjoyed it, but it didn’t give me feelings. I honestly think I’ve been reading too many romance books. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review.

𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖’𝘴 is what I’d like to think of as every 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 dream - a romance about a 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫. I mean, come on. I FEEL SEEN. I’d feel even more seen if I were still single. 😅⁣
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I’d also be out there trying to find a 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐞 of my own. 🤤⁣
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I have so been looking forward to this book ever since I finished 𝘚𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘠𝘰𝘶 by 𝐀𝐦𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐚, one of my favorite reads of 2022. I loved any time 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐚 was involved in 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥’𝐬 story and couldn’t wait to read hers.⁣
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It did not disappoint.⁣
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𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖’𝘴 is an adorable “room-ance” that had me swooning from the very beginning. It’s a sweet, sweet slow-burn and really set the tone for my romance reading for the year. The bar is high, y’all!⁣
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𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐞 is the perfect love interest who really took me by surprise. I definitely made a lot of assumptions about him in the very beginning that he quickly proved to be incorrect, and I love him for it.⁣
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Honestly, the only reason I did not give this book 5 stars is because 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐚 got a little ….insufferable, there for a while. I kinda wanted to shake her and tell her she was being an idiot, but I guess that was also largely the point. 🤔⁣
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Thank you so, so much to @berkleyromance for my advance copy of this precious book! Y’all run out and get your copies today like I’ll be doing after work!

Amy Lea has done it again folks! Not only a scorching hot slow burn (get it? Cause he's a fireman 🤣) But also just so goofy and FUN, and beautiful. This book is a love letter to every girl that was sold she was "too much," "too emotional." and needed to lower her expectations. And a big FU to gaslighting assholes. Plus she's a romance bookstagrammer so there is SO MUCH delightful trope talk, romance book talk, and just romance readers will love this book so much. Not to mention all the fun cameo appearances from Crystal and Scott! Now here’s to hoping there will be a book three for everyone’s favorite plus size fashionista!

I am so sad to say that this book was a DNF for me.

Going into this book, I had really high hopes and was excited. However, early into my reading I began noticing a variety of writing and dialogue that made me full body cringe. I struggled to connect to the story and felt like the dialogue at the beginning was unrealistic and, again, cringe-y.

I got over halfway through before realizing this book simply wasn't for me and I didn't have any motivation or connection to keep reading. I don't think this book is bad, but it certainty wasn't the book for me.

Close proximity trope… with a hot fire fighter… sign me up!

This book is the second in the “Influencer” series by Amy Lea. I didn’t know that though and did not read the first book in saying that I think you can read these out of order yes the characters from the first book are mentioned but it didn’t spoil anything for me. I plan to read the first one soon so I’ll have to check back to follow up.

Not gonna lie I resonated with this character quite a bit, Taras in her 30’s and is basically starting over from a shit relationship (been there), works as a nurse and has a bookstagram like hello….. Tbh if you’re from the bookstgram community I think you’ll like this one.

Tara is a hopeless romantic and decides to take her Grandma Flo’s advice and compile a list of her exes and track them down for a possible “second chance romance” By the end of the book I was over the list and was glad when it kinda taught her about herself and how to move forward.

I will say her ex Seth (barf)….. deserves the biggest throat punch for existing what a waste of air, a complete asshole and I feel like Tara didn’t go hard enough to stand up for herself and tell him off... #iykyk

Now Trevor on the other hand…. Yummy. A true brooding playboy with a commitment phobia. I loved their initial dynamic of being roommate and friends first because they really got to know each other and it wasn’t all lust and physical attraction, they really liked each other for who they are. But when it did get spicy…. flaming

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC of this book, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author!

In a book slump? READ THIS BOOK. Feeling dejected in love? READ THOS BOOK.

Tara is too goofy for her own good sometimes but that’s why we love her 😭 and Trevor…you alphabetizing, cheeto providing, bachelor watching, croc loving, cleaning machine 🥹🫶🏽

A slow burn, strangers to roommates to friends to friends pining for each other silently to LOVERS that keeps you shouting YOU LOVE EACH OTHER!!! with the turn of every page.

Also, that final line? OOF. Amy…YOUR MIND!

im pleasantly surprised by this book. I didn’t really liked the first one in the series, most of all being bc of the writing and the pop references but this second book was great!!

the story was fun, swoony and comforting. I felt like it was a love letter to us book lovers. and since it is really set in the context of reality the pop references didn’t bother me at all

exes and o’s is the perfect book if you are searching for a quick but cute romcoms

Rating: 4.5/5

I liked Set on You, but I LOVED Exes and O's. Something about Trevor & Tara resonated with my soul in a way that most books don't. Will be reading and daydreaming about this one forever,

After reading Set on You last year, I really didn't think Amy Lea's next book could top it. I'm so glad I was wrong — because Exes and O's is fantastic and it happens to be my first five star read of the year!

There are so many things I love about this book — Tara is a fantastic main character. I love that she's a hopeless romantic who wants to go on a quest to rekindle her past love connections to get her chance at a second chance romance. Trevor is so great too and I love seeing him let down his guard throughout the book because of Tara.

The romance is swoon-worthy and is perfect for fans of slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance tropes. The batner is perfection and the overall plot is just so fun. I just adored this book and I can't wait to read whatever Amy Lea comes out with next!

I despised the first 70% and was ecstatic for the final 30%. It moved way too slow and I was so frustrated with the FMC for most of the book.

𝗘𝗫𝗘𝗦 & 𝗢‘𝘀 was my first read of the year and it’s a cute, enjoyable friends-to-lovers rom-com.

Check this one out if you enjoy:
-Roommates-to-friends-to-lovers
-Slow burn romance
-Forced proximity
-Grumpy/Sunshine
-Disney
-Bookstagrammer rep
-Firefighters

I didn’t realize this is the second book in a series when I started reading it; however, this had no impact on my enjoyment of the book. It can absolutely be read as a standalone.

Tara loves reading second-chance romances — so much so, she embarks on the daunting, often-awkward task of trying to create her own real-life version. Aiding in her pursuit of reinvigorating past failed romance is her roommate Trevor, who, of course, isn’t one for commitment, let alone lifelong love. Will Tara and Trevor both get what they really want?

From a diverse MC to a sizzling slow-burn relationship with an obvious HEA, there’s a lot to like about this book. It’s not perfect — Trevor isn’t the easiest to root for, especially in the beginning when he’s depicted as a womanizer. Plus, the whole storyline about his ex reappearing in the picture is off-putting and never completely explained or shut down. It’s also tough to read a few of the scenes featuring Tara and her exes — some of those guys really are the worst (ahem, Seth) and don’t deserve a second of her time. I struggled to keep going with the book because of this, especially at the jump. (Almost DNF after a couple chapters, but made myself keep going and found the plot more and more engaging as it developed.)

Spunky, saucy and every shade of fun, Amy Lea’s Exes and O’s is a light, easy-to-read rom com. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it doesn’t need to. What matters is that it works, tropes and all.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Format: E-book/Audio

4 stars - I liked it!

Thank you @prhaudio for the complimentary audiobook and @netgalley and @berkleyromance for the #gifted E-ARC!

Trevor!! can we say new book boyfriend! This book was a lot of fun! I loved the nod to bookstagrammers, pop culture references, forced proximity, and how the plot played out by the end! I enjoyed how much growth the characters had throughout the book, and the nods to Set on You!

I preferred Set on You, but I will definitely continue to check out her books! They’re always so fun!

This was a cute slow burn romance.
Bookstagrammer Sara Chen has had her heart broken ten times by ten different men—all of whom dumped her because of her “stage-five clinger” tendencies. But Tara is still determined to find The One. Tara decides to revisit her exes in hopes of securing her very own trope-worthy second-chance romance.

Boston firefighter Trevor Metcalfe will be the first to rush into a burning building but the last to rush into a relationship. Love just isn’t his thing. When his new roommate Tara enlists him to help her reconnect with her exes, he reluctantly agrees

And our romance goes from here. Like I said, cute. But more about self discovery than romance? Maybe a fiction book with romance as a side character would be a more accurate description!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Amy Lea has done it again folk! Not only a scorching hot slow burn (get it? Cause he's a fireman 🤣) But also just so goofy and FUN, and beautiful. This book is a love letter to every girl that was sold she was "too much," "too emotional." and needed to lower her expectations. And a big FU to gaslighting assholes. Plus she's a romance bookstagrammer so there is SO MUCH delightful trope talk, romance book talk, and just romance readers will love this book so much. Not to mention all the fun cameo appearances from Crystal and Scott! Now here’s to hoping there will be a book three for everyone’s favorite plus size fashionista!

Amy Lea strikes again with a feel good romcom! This book had me laughing out loud, swooning, and crying. Tara is an extremely relatable character and so unapologetically herself, it was great. The chemistry and tension between her and Trevor was immaculate. The friendship they develop was so sweet and I loved peeling back the layers and getting to know more about Trevor right alongside Tara.
Overall, this was an amazing romcom that is easily one of my new favorites. I can’t wait until Amy Lea’s next book comes out!