6/18/2023: This was selected as a book club pick. I picked up the published paperback copy from the library and finished it within the day. The voice felt was extremely young, which I had thought the last time I tried to read it. This definitely suffered from too many characters, too many side plots, and not enough self-editing down. The slow burn was too slow, but only because there was so much other stuff going on that dragged the book out. I think, had this book been 50 pages shorter, it would have been perfect.

9/11/2022: I couldn’t get into this. I don’t know if it was the first person POV or the way the character monologues or maybe the voice just feels too young or maybe the references to romance books just kept kicking me out of the book and back to reality. I stopped at 8%. Romance is already slower moving with our patrons and this one just won’t cut it on our shelves. I don’t see it moving.

Side note - I LOVED set on you :-)

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

As a person who - based on the cover, title, and blurb - was expecting a romance, I can’t help but be disappointed. This book is Tara's journey of self-reflection and rediscovery in her identity when it comes to her romantic relationships. After her fiancé leaves her weeks before their wedding, her Gran suggests that maybe she should reconnect with an ex, and thus begins Tara's semi-obsessive, very much hopeful quest to find if one of her exes has turned into “the one” after their break-up. And yes, at the very end of it she ends up falling in love, but I feel like that is hardly the main focus of the book. Trevor feels like just one of the many secondary characters in this book, just grabbing your attention at the very end.

Romance book tuber - check!
Firefighter - check!
Roomies and all the forced proximity - check!
Canadian rep - check!

All of the makings for a summer beach read

Tara and Trevor's first interaction is her discovering him having sex in their soon to be shared kitchen. Ick. That should've told me something. The relationship was set to simmer for most of the book and by the time it finally happened I was losing interest in the story. Romance aside, I found Tara a bit insufferable. She seemed like a twelve year old masquerading as an adult woman - what kind of adult sticks to chicken nuggets and Cheetos, especially one who's a nurse?

This is an enemies to friends to lovers and also the first book in the series. This book is very adorable, witty and hilarious. Crystal is a curvy fitness influencer who uses social media to let people know it is okay to feel good in your own skin, no matter how you look. She ends up meeting Scott who is a firefighter, which starts off as enemies and then friendship and THEEEEEEEN into love. I recommend you read this is you're looking for a quick read.

I was expecting to DNF this because I haven't been feeling romance novels lately, but it was surprisingly charming. I liked the characters, and their dynamic seemed real. Ultimately I saw a lot of things coming, but not exactly how they unfolded, you know?

A book about a romance bookstagrammer and her fire fighter roommate?! Who is hot, grumpy, & has tattoos?!⁣
SIGN ME UP 😍⁣
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⁣A friend was raving about Exes and Oh’s so I knew I was going to enjoy it & love Trevor!⁣
This was a cute read with some laugh out loud moments

Even though Tara is a big fan of romance books, she never expects when she moves in with Trevor that the forced proximity trope will be the start of her love story - her heart is set on a second chance romance. Trevor is anti-relationships, so he reluctantly agrees to help Tara on her journey to revisit her previous boyfriends to find out what went wrong. Except the more time Tara and Trevor spend together, the closer they get to their happily ever after.

This was fun! I love books about books, and Tara and I have very similar tastes in literature. I liked Tara and Trevor, and I enjoyed their love story.

Well that settles it. Amy Lea is now on the list of favorite Romance authors. How dare she write such lovable, funny characters? How dare she write another fun read that I couldn’t put down. I literally got nothing done today thanks to this book. Along with the fun banter, steamy sexy times and lovable characters, this one left me with the warm and fuzzies. Can’t wait for the next one!

"If there's anyone in this world I want to try for, it's you."

°•*⁀➷

I definitely liked this one muuuuch better than the first. Much more realistic, and more relatable to my own likes and dislikes. I felt myself laughing along with Tara so much. And I just adored getting to know Trevor and watch him grow into who he becomes in the end. Character growth is one my absolute favorite things to read, and it's why I had to give this four rather than three stars.

Because I wanted to. I think it's just the way Lea writes. It's not for me. The story for this one happened to be right up my alley and I loved that!

Tara is a bookstagrammer who has never given up on love despite it always giving up on her. She comes up with a plan to go back to all her exes and see if any of them are worth trying again with. I love that she mostly realizes that exes become exes for a reason, maybe an intuition before they turn into the person they're meant to? And it's not because they're bad people, in reason, but that their personalities don't mesh.

And I love that Tara realizes that her own opinion of herself is what matters most. That who she is already is who she should be working towards being better at. I love that Trevor begins to realize that very quickly, and in fact brings up that he never wanted her to change who she was after they begin seeing each other.

Their progression seemed so true to their characters, and so kind to the reality of what loving yourself should look like, and the progression of it.

As Tara's followers follow along on her journey, so do her friends and co workers. It becomes a story about the need for separation in a public life as well as how fun it can be to have a large support system rooting you on. It was an easy read, perfect for vacation, and I'm happy I gave it a go despite not loving the first.

Absolutely incredible and loved this story! Thank you so much for the chance to review and read❤️
The story was so swoon worthy and I’m not surprised why everyone is now obsessed!

very adorable Romance novel that im sure anyone can fall in love with! It's definitely a book i'd love to gift to reader friends!

A hopeless romantic and also hopeless in relationships, NICU nurse and bookish influencer Tara Chen needs a new approach to dating. With some grandmotherly advice and penchant for second chance romances, Tara decides that her new approach should be to revisit her past, specifically her past ten exes. Needing all the help she can get, she enlists her new roommate, Boston firefighter Trevor Metcalfe to help her find said exes. However, during their journey to connect, Tara finds herself falling for other tropes, namely forced proximity and grumpy x sunshine. Will Tara get her second chance romance? Or is she writing an entirely new story?

“When you’re with the right person, being in love never feels like the bottom is going to fall out.”

Do you like Taylor Swift references? Do you like grumpy men who turn out to have really soft hearts? Do you like book influencers? Do you like women who are hopeless romantics but still don't give the time of day to that one specific ex who happened to be a very serious piece of work? Do you like grumpy x sunshine, friends to lovers, forced proximity or hot firefighters?
Great news! There are five perfectly good reasons to read this book right here.

I devoured this in less than a day because it's such a fun, easy read. Exes and O's is a light, fluffy, fun read. It's the exact type of book that makes you feel good while you read it. The type of book that brings you joy while you're curled up reading it. It has the perfect mix of romance, humour, plot, and a little bit of spice (!)

*Thank you to NetGalley and Amy Lea for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I loved this book! 5 star read for me. Great second book in series. Her writing style is constant humor and cleverness and I really enjoyed the story she wrote!

This book is a DELIGHT. The chemistry between Tara and her roomie Trevor is absolutely SIZZLING — but I also just adore their genuine affection for one another, and the friendship they develop as roommates. They have a real connection and I just cherish the special bond they form over the course of the book, supporting each other and being there for one another. As Tara looks to spark her own “second chance romance” with one of her exes, and Trevor stands by his bachelor lifestyle, the two discover that what they think they want may not be what they really need.

You can read this as a standalone, but bonus if you’ve read SET ON YOU, as it features characters from the first book. I ordered myself a finished copy even before finishing because it was THAT good.

Tara has not been lucky in love… but second chance romance is a trope in books for a reason. Inspired by her social media followers on her romance book account, she decides to track down her exes to find love. Even her grumpy new roommate, Trevor, gets roped into Tara’s ex search, and maybe he’s not as closed off as Tara first thought. This book was so cringey and secondhand embarrassment inducing. It was hard to read. The friendships were fun to read, and the end romance was worth trekking through the awkward moments.

This book was an absolute delight. The combo of fun, charm, and steam paired with characters I'd want to hang out with made this the perfect summer read.

Exes and O’s by Amy Lea is the second book in the contemporary romance The Influencer #2 series. As with a lot of romance series each book in The Influencer #2 series changes the main characters so they can be read as a standalone or in any order if choosing to do so.

Tara Chen is prepared for her fresh start as she is moving into a new place and hopes that starting over will help her find her “one’ in life. Just as Tara arrives at the new apartment though she runs into her new roommate in a rather awkward encounter.

Trevor Metcalfe is a firefighter who rushes into burning buildings but definitely not romances. Tara and Trevor know they are wrong for one another but do become friends in their new living arrangement. When Tara comes up with the plan to revisit her exes to see if maybe her “one” got away Trevor is there to be the friend she needs.

When first picking up Exes and O’s by Amy Lea to read I never even realized this was part of a series and simply enjoyed my time getting to know these characters and their stories. After finishing I can definitely say you do not need to read the first in the series to enjoy this one. Exes and O’s is a fun read with a few laughs along the way as the romance slowly builds from friendship to more. Definitely an author I will return to in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book is one of the hardest to rate because there were some aspects I really, really loved and others that really, really fell flat for me. The positives: I loved Trevor. He was so funny and charming and I loved his easy chemistry with Tara. Tara was also a fun character but she got to be a little immaturish, especially as the story went on. I really found some of the BookTok, TikTok, etc references to be a little bit eye rolling too. Solid three stars for me.

Cute proximity/friends to lovers trope, with second chance romance woven throughout. It was vute and very quick to read with a little bit of spice