Cover Image: Exes and O's

Exes and O's

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Member Reviews

Exes and O's is a timely story of a social media book reviewer who makes a list of all of her exes in order to rekindle romance and hopefully find a date to her work's Valentine's Day gala. Needless to say, it goes terribly for her but wonderfully for us because she has a hot fireman roommate who is obviously obsessed with her.

I immediately downloaded everything else Amy Lea has written.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my opportunity to review this book. All thoughts/opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored this book and the way it broke all of my expectations for it. Exes and O's is about a bookstagram influencer who is in love with romance books and romance tropes. It makes so many references to the real bookstagram world and pop culture that it was on the verge of fourth wall breaking, but I loved it so much!

Our main character is on the hunt for love, specifically second chance romance love, she has pulled her "ex files" and is reuniting with all her past boyfriends to see if any of them are soulmate material. During this escapade she enlists the help of her firefighter/player roommate. She starts to learn that sometimes real life is way better than any trope could be.

I do think that this book has a bit of my least favorite trope of "miscommunication" in it but it feels so real and honest about that I hardly noticed it was happening.

This is definitely one of my new favorite romance books of all time!

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This was such a good follow up to Set On You! I loved that Tara was a romance loving bookstagrammer and a nurse. I found her incredibly relatable and entertaining. (Although a little over the top)

Trevor was a great love interest. I enjoyed slowly getting to know his true character that was hiding behind his gruff exterior. I would have loved some chapters from Trevor’s perspective, but this book didn’t suffer too much without it (But for the record, I’m always pro dual POV). The chemistry between Tara and Trevor was palpable, and I enjoyed the slow burn build up.

If you love fun romcoms that touch on a few heavier topics, then this book needs to be on your radar.

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... and THEY WERE ROOMATES! As someone who isn't big on the friends-to-lovers trope, this read was an unexpected delight. If you're looking for a romance novel that is OH SO FUN, this is *it*! I couldn't put it down, and thoroughly enjoyed the characters, setting, and plot.

SYNOPSIS: Tara Chen loves love, romance novels, and is obsessed with finding "The One". She decides if she can't find love in new places, why not revisit the love of exes past? But she can't do it alone, and enlists the help of her new (sexy, firefighter) roommate, Trevor. Trevor agrees reluctantly even though love isn't his thing, but can't resist the magnetic pull of Tara. I think you can see where this is going ;).

That being said, I have not yet read "Set on You" which is book 1 in this universe, but it didn't affect my experience with the book. I loved the characters and connected right away, even without reading the 1st book.

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Amy Lea is such a bright spot in the romance world today, and after thoroughly enjoying <i>Set on You</i> last year, I could not wait to get my hands on this next installment in the <b>Influencer</b> series. It did not disappoint. Forced proximity and slow burns are a few of my favorite things, and you’ll get all of that and more from this book (and this series). If you’re looking for a sweet, funny, charming, and all around good read, you should definitely check out this series!!!

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Set on You was one of my favorite rom-coms of last year, so naturally I was very excited about this book. Amy Lea blew me away with her sophmore book - I think I loved this even more than her first. Tara and Trevor were just perfect for each other - I loved reading about them slowly getting to know each other and opening up. They were slow burn, but the wait was definitely worth it (and Trevor is one of my new fave male leads). I also really appreciated the discourse around how women's emotions are often villainized (and how women are called crazy when they show emotions). This was funny, romantic, and so hard to put down. I can't wait for Amy's next book!

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This book spoke my language, well, our language. The main character in Exes and Os by Amy Lea is a bookstagrammer!! Okay, the book is about a whole lot more than Tara’s love of books, but I admit to getting a bit side tracked by her stack of paperbacks for a bookstack challenge and what she is posting. Imagining her roommate, a gorgeous firefighter was delightful fun too.

In a quest to have her own real life second chance romance trope, Tara makes a list of her ten ex boyfriends and systematically reaches out to them to see how things could be between them now. Her sister and her best friend are along for support, as is her new roommate, Trevor. With her eyes fixed on the prize, a happily ever after with a former flame, Tara does all she can to ignore the close proximity room-ance that is happening right in her apartment!

I loved these characters so much and loved their connection. This is such a fun romcom that had me smiling throughout, and sticking my head in the freezer to cool off through the steamy parts.

Very enjoyable, very relatable, and one you can grab now as it came out a couple of days ago. Thanks so much to @BerkleyRomamce @NetGalley for my advanced ecopy so I could read and share with you all.

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I read a lot of romcoms and adore most of them, but there are some that hit me in the heart and take it to the next level. Exes and Os is one of those special books.

First, Lea’s writing is hilarious. I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book. Tara’s antics and turns of phrase were on point.

And Trevor. Oh my sweet, sexy, grand gesturing man. I don’t usually like the playboy, but Trevor is different. He’s so thoughtful and how he treats Tara really did make me emotional. So sweet!

And can we just talk about those perfectly executed moments of sexual tension between Trevor and Tara. And the spice in this one is so good. I couldn't put it down.

There are also plenty of romance book, bookstagram, and Disney references, which, let's face it, speaks the hearts of most of us book nerds. ♥️

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Exes and O's is a fun and light contemporary rom-com... and feels like such. It was maybe a little *too* fluffy for me (I don't know if that's the right word, per se, but it lacked *something*). The female main character is definitely over-the-top (which, I believe, she is supposed to be) but I was left feeling like she was too characterized.

There is definitely a market for this book but it just fell short for me.

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I’m going to preface everything with I’m not typically a romcom reader. Or, perhaps, it takes a certain subgenre of romcoms to hold my interest. I also do a lot better with romcoms in audiobook formatting. I don’t want to be unfair to the book or author because it’s actually well written.

This is the second book in The Influencer series and I didn’t read the first. I’ll give it a try though.

As a romcom there are a lot of moments that elicit a chuckle. And there were certainly moments within the story that just gets you excited. Hello forced proximity, I love you.

Tara is a book influencer. By definition, I thought I would be interested in her simply for the fact that I can relate. I don’t consider myself an influencer but I love romance novels and I am on bookstagram. But wow. There couldn’t have been an MC that is more opposite than me in nearly every way than Tara. I couldn’t really wrap my head around her insistence on creating her own second chance romance. However, I usually find that trope boring anyways. So I can’t say this didn’t influence my perspective. Trevor was closed off at first but his instances of showing how he cared was pretty adorable. I would’ve liked this better if it were told in dual POV. And less time on her chasing her exes.

I think anyone who loves romcoms and loves books that self reference tropes would enjoy this. It’s pretty cute at the end of the day once you warm up to Tara. It screams fluffy make you want to squeal kinda romcom if that’s your thing. And while I can’t relate to Tara, I think a lot of readers will. It’s a solid read if you’re looking for something fun and cute.

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A roommates to lovers romance full of angst along a journey of self discovery!

After the dissolution of her engagement, Tara Chen finds herself the dumpee yet again. As a book influencer, she prides herself on knowing the tropes found in fiction inside and out, but real life isn’t fiction and she’s learned that the hard way. When she meets her new roommate (and brother-in-law’s best friend), Trevor, in quite possibly the most scarring way possible, she knows things have to go up from here. With the impending Valentine’s Day Gala hosted by the hospital where she works and no prospect of a date, Tara finds herself on a journey of rediscovering ex boyfriend’s past and discovers herself along the way.

I read this book right before Valentine’s Day and this was truly the perfect mood read for me. Like myself, Tara loves LOVE and the inclusion of her book blog lives was a real treat. This book gave a little To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before in a Contemporary, Adult setting and I absolutely loved it. There were the perfect amount of romance book references without it being too much and the side characters were really wonderful as well (especially Grandma Flo). I loved Tara’s word vomit conversations and how she was truly unapologetically herself.

Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for an E-ARC of this book. This is available for purchase now wherever you buy books!

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Exes and O’s is such a fun and engaging book! I loved reading about a heroine that was a little flawed - lord knows I’ve made similar dating mistakes in my life. I wish I would’ve read SET ON YOU first to get to know the characters a little better, but I can’t wait!

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I enjoyed this! This has a super slow burn which was VERY hot. I did want more from Trevor but that’s hard with single POV, also because it would give away the slow burn pining. But It was so fun to have a book influencer be the main character.

With that being said, Amy tends to do some weird cishet stuff that I just don’t like???? It’s always “no woman could smell Trevor and not be turned on” and like couldn’t t she just say person? It’s nitpicky but still. I'd like to see Amy get sensitivity readers or discuss with LGBTQIA+ readers what wording/phrasing might be most inclusive.

Overall super enjoyed this.

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Everything to love about a romance novel - forced proximity, room-ance - literally the exact storyline of book lover Tara Chen!

Synopsis: Tara Chen is obsessed with reading the same romance novels (ahem, I think I love her because she is me). She's also had her heart broken many times - most recently by her ex-fiance, Seth. An interview on her book-lover Live stream gives her the idea to reach out to all of her exes again to understand why she's been consistently the dumpee and not the dumper - and whether she can make one of her favorite romance tropes, the second-chance romance, happen.

Let's remember that, because of her breakup, she needed to find a new place to live, so she took the spot at an apartment with Trevor. With the help of her brooding, standoffish, commitment-phobic, yet devastatingly handsome roommate, she reconnects with old flames while realizing that the love she's been looking for all this time might be under the same roof.

Tara is so quirky and extra in the most endearing way, and I love the dynamic she shares with her roommate Trevor right away. There's great flirting, tension, and some juicy scenes, but there are also adorable declarations of love and hilarious date stories. There are moments where the story dragged on a bit - like the book could have been a few chapters shorter - but overall, this was an adorable read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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It was a super cute, fuzzy, flirty and a slow burn romantic comedy that had me giggling, laughing and swooning in the equal measure!!

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I loved this. It was one of those ones where you can't stop thinking about when you're not reading it. I loved everything about it and I seriously cannot wait to read the next one.

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I LOVED this book so much! It was such a funny & sweet romantic comedy, but with a good amount of spice. The author does a great job of creating relatable characters. Who doesn't at some point in their life, think of past relationships and wonder...what if? Plus, sometimes all we see what was good about those relationships and not the red flags or issues that made it not work out in the first place. I was thoroughly entertained by this book and couldn't put it down!

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tl;dr: I WOULD DIE FOR TREVOR AND I AM TARA.

This. Book. Is. Chef’s. Kiss. MUWAH!

We have a hot fire fighter roommate. We have a bookstagrammer heroine. We have friends to lovers. We have a list of ex-boyfriends. We have STEAMY STEAM.

We. Have. A. Winner.

I loved this book so much and I hope y’all read it ASAP! If you want to hear more of my thoughts, watch this whole video 💀

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Super fun, slow burn, friends-to-lovers read. I loved Trevor and his quiet patience and dependability, not to mention that he was a super hot firefighter who was a natural born caretaker. I loved that Tara was a bookstagrammer but I wish she had more confidence. She was so fixated on that list - something we all have done and it made me cringe because Amy Lea captured it so perfectly. I saw a lot of myself in Tara. Definitely a great weekend or beach read and love that we revisit with some of the characters from Set on You!

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This was an addictive, mostly happy, fun romance! Classic room-mate story of two people who move in together where no one thinks they would ever work as a couple.

Tara is a bit over the top BUT for good reason; after things got broken off with big d-bag doctor fiancé, she decides to go through her ex list to find the one that got away! Trevor is there for it all and helps her with her game to find the Flynn Rider to her Rapunzel.

Trevor is this sexy fireman (she finds out at first glance just how sexy from their scandalous meet ‘cute’). On the outside he’s a playboy for some deep emotional reasons, at heart he is beyond caring.

Tara is also a bookstagrammer so that was super fun being one myself and she loved food (same girl, same). Trevor is a man of a lot fewer words, super clean and keeps things to himself (sounds like someone I know even more so 🙋🏻‍♀️). It was really nice to relate to both main characters!

I enjoyed their chemistry and how she was able to help Trevor open up. I loved the Disney party. There were some 🔥🔥 scenes, whether dreams or not 😉. Tara’s Grandma, also a fabulous addition; especially as she started getting into social media. And one of my favorite things was the Boston setting 👌🏼.

I was immediately drawn in from the start of the book with Tara meeting a hot guy on the T…

I didn’t particularly like Tara’s friends. And I would’ve preferred a slightly different ending; each of them made some decisions I didn’t particularly love but every Romance needs a conflict! The Epilogue did finish it off very nicely!

A great read for LOVE 💕 month!

⚠️ Child illness, Fatal Fire, Death of a loved one

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for a free eARC in exchange for my honest review!

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