When it comes to a good romcom you can’t go wrong with Amy Lea. I enjoyed Set on You and I loved Exes and O’s even more.

Hospital nurse and book influencer Tara Chen is looking for love, but after her engagement had abruptly ended a year earlier, she hasn’t had any luck. With online dating out of the question and trying to meet people in public places not going at all well, Tara decides to take a page out of her grandmother’s book and reconnect with her former loves to see if there may be a second chance to love. With the help of her handsome new roommate, Trevor Metcalfe, Tara tracks down her ex-boyfriends in the hope that the romance is not over, but the more time she spends with Trevor, the more she struggles to pretend that they can be just friends.

If you’ve read Set On You, you have already met Tara and Trevor. Tara is Crystal’s sister and when she and her now-fiancé Scott decide to move in together, Tara moves in with Scott’s friend and colleague Trevor. And the two of them couldn’t be more different. Despite many heartbreaks, Tara has never stopped believing in love and looking for it. On the other hand, Trevor is a one-night stand kind of guy and doesn’t do relationships. Tara is messy and leaves all her books laying around their apartment, Trevor is always cleaning after her. She loves junk food, he follows a healthy diet. Tara is sunshine and Trevor is grumpy and together they are simply adorable.

Exes and O’s is a really fun read: it is witty and sexy, featuring a slow-burn romance and two fantastic protagonists that kept me glued to the pages. Highly recommended!!!

It’s not often I read romance/rom-coms but I’m starting to realise that when I do, I tend to really enjoy them! Exes and O’s by Amy Lea is no exception! This was my first book by Lea but it will not be my last. I found it funny, relatable and it warmed my heart. I’m so glad I picked this up in February as it was an ideal Valentine’s read!

Where to start with what I loved about this little gem? The bookstagrammer MC that is also the person that’ll eat your discarded McDonalds pickles?! I’m 1000% that friend so this girl spoke to me! But really, I loved Tara as the main character. She’s a sweet, quirky romantic just looking for her second chance at true love. Trevor was also a very welcome addition. I really enjoyed reading as their friendship developed, their banter was just great! 

One of my favourite things about this book is that the main character is a bookstagrammer. I know we’re starting to see more books with this but I thought it was great! The aftermath of taking book photos, the random stacks around the apartments, discussions about tropes and challenges, lives; loved it all! I could literally look around the room while reading and see aspects of the story in front of my eyes. 

Overall, this was a quick and easy rom-com read and I really did love it. The characters and the story were so good and I cannot wait to read more of Lea’s work!

* Please research any trigger warnings before reading *

I love a sexy rom-com with relatable characters and a cute romance. I didn’t love the heroine of Set On You, Amy Lea’s first book in this series but I did love her sister Tara, which thankfully this book follows! I definitely enjoyed this one more and I’m curious to see if I’ll meet any of these characters again in future books from her.

Tara Chen is a devourer of romance novels and loves promoting her favourite books on social media. She has also had her heart broken a grand total of ten times and is struggling to find The One. With little faith in dating apps, Tara decides to take her grandmother’s advice and revisit her past relationships to see if a second chance romance will work for her. Tara’s new flatmate is firefighter Trevor, who isn’t interested in a serious relationship but he begrudgingly agrees to help Tara out on her new quest for love. Could Tara and Trevor’s newfound friendship turn out to be something that neither of them were looking for and yet both of them need?

Tara is aware that she jumps into relationships with both feet and becomes emotionally invested very quickly. She has almost certainly been told this before by her exes but if you naturally believe humans to be kind, sensitive creatures, it’s hard to change this behaviour. Some readers might dismiss this trait as juvenile and naive, which isn’t accurate for a woman over 30 but I can assure you that these women exist and that there’s nothing wrong with being romantic and emotional. I actually loved reading about a heroine who was the literal opposite of emotionally stunted, as it felt like a refreshing treat within a contemporary romance.

If this is the Crazy Ex Girlfriend/Overly Attached Girlfriend meme that actually exists, that girl really isn’t how I imagined Tara to look at all. Due to the slight name change, I think this is a fictional meme with the same vibes as the real one but it certainly made me think about the effect the real Overly Attached Girlfriend meme would have had on its actual subject.

The first date that Tara goes on is with a man she had a fling with and he is filled with horrendous misogyny. Tara quickly realises that this isn’t going to work out but to read about something as icky as the Crazy Hot Matrix made my stomach churn. I have no idea whether this really exists and have no desire to know.

As a romance reader, Tara knows all about tropes and delights in pointing them out in her real life. I really enjoyed this aspect of reading the book too and loved psycho-analysing each of the men she dated. Whenever I read a romance book with a character who is distant and reluctant to accept someone else’s advances, I know that the dark parts of their past are going to be revealed at some point and I loved that Tara knew that too because it felt like we were on the same wavelength.

I really loved watching Tara and Trevor get to know each other and settle into the easy conversations that they have. At first, they seem to be quite mismatched (her so invested in romance and him so dismissive) but it was only as their connection grew that I realised how great they were together. Of course, I knew how things were going to work out between them but I loved the journey.

Exes and O’s is a cute, funny exploration of revisiting your romantic past and realising how far you’ve come from the person you used to be. Tara is a relatable, warm-hearted heroine who I couldn’t help but root for and the slow burn friends-to-lovers romance is really fun to watch. If you weren’t a fan of Set On You, don’t be put off reading this one because I think it’s much better!

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review..

A wonderful, easy read. Recently single Tara is the sunshine, chatty new roommate to Trevor, the quiet, hunky firefighter. Trevor "supports" Tara with her project - helping her rediscover her exes as she thinks her future lies with the trope 'second chance' romances. This is a slow burner and I was totally invested in Tara and Trevor. Would recommend.

"I want to do literally anything as long as it means being with you, because I am so in love with you, I don't know what to do with myself."

- Friends to lovers
- Forced proximity (roommates)
- Bookstagrammer and NICU nurse x firefighter

Hopeless romantic, Tara switches places with her soon-to-be brother-in-law, Scott (from Set on You) and moves in with his colleague, Trevor. After spending time with her grandma, she realises that maybe her true love is someone she's previously dated. So she goes on a quest to meet up with her exes. Trevor is (reluctantly) with her every step of the way and as her quest continues, her friendship with Trevor subsequently deepens.

So, first things first. I really liked Tara. She was funny, endearing and a true optimist. This book was as much about the romance as it was about a journey of self-discovery and Tara accepting herself as she is.

Then you have Trevor, who is an expert at not letting people in. But then along came Tara who wanted to know everything about him. "For the first time, I wanted to let someone in." I loved seeing him let his walls down for her.

The way Trevor loved Tara was swoon-worthy. He was her friend and so much more. He took care of her, he supported her and her mission and he listened to her. And most importantly... "He does what no one else has done. He accepts all of me." Their friendship and relationship were both heartwarming 🥹.

To get it to the 5-star mark, I would have LOVED getting Trevor's POV like SO badly 😅. I also thought their 3rd act breakup/disagreement was unnecessary. There was no need for the drama when they'd just gotten together and it felt like it was inserted to tick a box, you know?

But overall, I personally found this to be a lot more enjoyable than Set on You and would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to Penguin Books UK and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Ahh, what a book. This is definitely one of the best books I've read this year. I think I enjoyed it even more than Set on You, which is shocking to me because I absolutely loved that one. Amy Lea's writing style is absolutely addictive. I loved Tara so much and how hopeful she was in finding the one. While light, this book touched on heavy topics such as gaslighting, cheating, and emotional abuse, so beware of the trigger warnings.

And now for the best part, Trevor. Metcalfe. He is the man of all men! He was written so well, flawed and all, yet so loveable and loving and that had me melting. The tension between them was amazing, and when they finally got together it felt so organic. I absolutely love the forced proximity trope, and the author executed it perfectly. I also enjoyed that Tara was a fellow bookstagrammer who loved the same tropes as me.

This one is definitely worth the read. Thank you so much to Penguin Random House for giving me the opportunity to read this eARC.

This was a very enjoyable and addictive read by Amy Lea. I did not realise there was a prequel to this story so I look forward to reading that in the future. Well done!

REVIEW: Exes and O's 💔

Author: Amy Lea
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Format: E-book ARC

Disclaimer: This digital ARC copy was kindly sent to me by @prhinternational through @netgalley 🍬

"Real life isn't a ninety-minute movie or a three-hundred-page novel. It takes time to truly understand what someone else needs and how the other person communicates their love."

A four-star read for me.
This is a room-ance - I love this pun, I find it so fun! 😆 Basically, Tara is a bookworm, her favorite trope being second chance romance, so that's what she's seeking in this book. Then, we have Trevor, the hot, unbothered roommate who's a firefighter and wants no relationship. Just one night stands once in a while.

These two have the best friendship dynamic. They start out amazing and finish even better. The opening scene, when these two met, I literally cried laughing. 😂 I could not stop for a whole two minutes, it was exactly what I craved. This book can be read separately from the first one, Set On You, even tho it is a continuation, just with the side characters, Tara and Trevor - double trouble 💔

The things that made me fall for this book were the deeper themes such as loss, cancer, friendships and hard family relationships. We see our characters going through so many things at once and we realize that this is realistic. This happens. And I felt seen reading Tara's POV, I felt very close to her character.

Once again, this book is NOT YA! DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE CUTE COVER! 🥺 (It's so cute, isn't it?) Also, by the time you hit the 60/70% mark in the book, you can't let go.

Read if you like:
📚 Slow-burn romance;
📚 Clingy, over-emotional (not) FMC;
📚 No emotions (so many tho) MMC;
📚 Plus-size representation;
📚 Books about books;
📚 TV Series mentions (The Office, Friends, etc. BE MY DWIGHT SCHRUTE);
📚 Heavier themes (cancer, death, family);
📚 A best friend trio (their personalities match Rachel, Phoebe and Monica);
📚 A happy-ending.

Set on You wasn’t my favorite, but I wanted to give the second book an other try. Sadly I found this book worst than the first one.
Tha hardest art was the main character. Because I couldn’t connect to her the whole feeling of the book was just off.

I’ve read it because of Trevor but honestly I didn’t understand how did he fall for Tara. Let’s say the ‘i fall for you because you’re chasing your exes’ part didn’t stick with me well.

Thank you for the arc!

Exes and O’s is the second book by the amazing Amy Lea - an author you should all check out as she’s definitely broken into the romance scene with a strong voice and amazing stories to match. I definitely clicked with Crystal more than Tara, but preferred Trevor to Scott 😂 this had my entire heart though as it’s a fantastic slow burn that had me on the edge of my seat and ready to yell at Tara to notice what was right in front of her. Some of the ex’s were hilariously awful, and her ex-fiancé I wanted to absolutely smack - I wish he’d had more retribution for his arsey ways! If you’re in the market for a laugh out loud slow burn romance with a bookish heroine, look no further than Exes & O’s

When Tara Chens sister and roommate gets engaged and wants to move in with her partner, it means a roommate swap for Tara. From her sister, so her soon to be brother in laws best friend - who just so happens to be a super hot fireman. Having been unlucky in love, and inspired by her gran, Tara decides to find her own second chance love by going through all her ex boyfriends. With Trevors help, will Tara get her second chance romance?

This is the second book in a series of standalone books. So this can be read before Set On You with very minor spoilers being that Taras sister is the MC in that book.

I forgot how much I loved a good, cheesy, predictable and hot romcom! It was just perfect. Tara and Trevor were both amazing characters. And grandma Flo was my absolute favourite!

Tara being a bookstagrammer as well made her even more relatable, us booksta girlies have to stick together! And the epilogue made me melt, it was every bookish girls dream🤍

If you want a fun, romance book with a bit of steam then this is for you! I definitely recommend!

I liked but didn’t love Amy Lea’s first novel and had been looking forward to the second one. Unfortunately this had more of the things that I didn’t like about the first one and less of the stuff I did. I thought Tara might be a challenge to rehabilitate after the first book but was hoping she was just misunderstood for Romance Novel Reasons ™️ but she was just exhausting and infuriating and I found her really hard to like. Trevor deserved better, but they both needed to sit down and have a proper conversation!

Exes & O’s follows Tara, a romance bookfluencer who doesn’t have the best luck in the world with love. She’s got a list full of exes and has recently just split from her fiancé. Tara moves into a flat where she meets Trevor, who becomes her new wingman.

I really enjoyed this book, I’m not a huge romance girly so I was so surprised that I did enjoy this as much as I did!!

I absolutely loved the bookfluencer aspect with all the references to booktok, bookstagram etc. and I felt like this really added to the story. I found Tara to be such a likeable character and often laughed out loud at her failed dating moments. I loved all the romance tropes throughout this book and feel like they were used well.

I knew exactly where this book was going as soon as Tara moved into the flat but I really enjoyed all of the details in between which really added to the story and didn’t make this book boring. Trevor just sounded like the most amazing and caring man ever🥺 I absolutely loved reading about Angie and the storyline regarding her.

I did find myself getting annoyed at this book at times because I was like why can’t she just try and find happiness on her own, being in a relationship is not the be all and end all. I’m glad she started to realise this slowly at the end and realised that she wasn’t necessarily the problem of her failed dating life.

A cute little romance read perfect for Valentine’s Day🫶🏻 I’m hoping to get my hands on set on you soon which is Amy Leas first book🤍

Loved this book alot. This is the first book I've read from Amy and it won't be the last. The story was great, the characters were amazing and I loved the humour too. Once I started reading I couldn't stop.

I absolutely adored Exes and O's! The writing was great, the characters were endearing, and it was just a fun, light-hearted read. I read Set On You just before this one, and think in the end I enjoyed Exes and O's slightly more, but in general I think Amy Lea is a wonderful author writing in the romance space. I can't wait to read any future books from her.

After her last relationship ends, hopeless romantic Tara is still determined to find the love of her life. An avid reader she decides to manifest her own book worthy romance, and were better to start with the second-chance romance trope. With the help of her (ridiculously hot) roommate Trevor she tracks down her 10 exs to see if they still have that spark.

Overall I did enjoy this book, it was a tad predictable (I’m the most comforting way). Tara was a little infuriating, however did have great character development & Trevor was beautifully written. Some aspects of the book are definitely aimed at ‘book-tok’ which was fine but sometimes a little stilted.

If you’re after a cozy forced proximity, grumpy x sunshine romance then this is worth a read for sure!

I think exes and o’s was written with a particular audience in mind and unfortunately I don’t think I’m that audience. The premise is what hooked me as it sounded similar to a rom com that came out a few years ago, but the mentions of tiktok and influencing took me out of the story. It would appeal to readers who are heavily involved in the online community mentioned.

I utterly adored this funny, smart, loveable romcom - it has soared straight to my favourites list. It ticks all the boxes and strikes a gratifying balance between fluffy romance and rousing spice.

Tara is loveable and endearing, she’s a nurse and book blogger who’s kind-natured, naively trusting, and hopelessly romantic. She’s a book lover hoping to find her own real-life romantic trope, so she sets off to ignite a second chance romance amongst a sea of frogs.

Trevor is divine. That’s it, enough said. A fireman, a roommate, a delectable human being.

I truly loved everything about this book; I delighted in how relatable Tara is, she’s so extra but in the most endearing and faultless way. I loved how healthy the friendships and relationships are, how I was invested in Tara’s story from the first chapter, and how I was chuckling and snorting away by the second - not to mention the endless swooning.

For fans of Ali Hazelwood and Mazey Eddings - a perfectly balanced romcom.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a fun and easy romance read (kind of like a comfort rom com tv show) where you can sit back and relax to read.

I’m glad I didn’t see some of my most hated tropes in romance and it didn’t break my heart. This book felt quite wholesome (although I wasn’t on board with the whole ex hit list plot) it made sense with the type of character that the FMC is.

One of the only books I can kind of see myself in the character’s personality which was nice as well.

I do have an ick on the whole ILY too soon trope but this was a bit borderline so it’s a pass for me.

Would recommend!

A bookstagrammer heroine on a quest for her own shot at second chance romance, living in her main character era? A firefighter hero who accepts her for who she is and her bibliophile personality? Sign me up!

Amy Lea hit it in the park with this book, with her engaging and witty writing, and the banter and chemistry leaping off the page. This feels like a warm comforting hug at the end of a busy day, especially for a romance book lover like me, and I only had a good time reading.

Firstly, I appreciate Amy’s note at the start of the book as it set the tone for me before reading, what to expect and be aware of. It was through that I was able to enjoy reading and not judge the characters too hard, especially with Tara’s situation, so I appreciate that.

The next reason I loved this so much is Tara Chen. This is such a cute love letter to us and I was living vicariously through her the whole time. All the terms and technicalities of a romance book lover and reviewer were spot on. She does a better job at it than me, I can only wish to do the same.

Next, Trevor Metcalfe. A bookstagrammer’s dream man! I mean he:
Organizes her books
Gets acquainted with tropes
Talks to Tara about her current read
Reads her books and with her
He is also so thoughtful of the people he cares for and he doesn’t give himself enough credit.

Tara and Trevor go together like bread and butter, and them not considering each other romantically at the start made me root for them all the way! Well, she was on her search for her exes to experience a second chance story while he stands by his one-night stand lifestyle. Two polar opposites but somehow still fit together so well. There’s a part by the end where healthy communication was addressed and I highly commend that, both for their character arcs and as part of the message of the story.

Add this book to your TBR list! I really highly recommend!

Rating: 5 ⭐️

Instagram review: https://www.instagram.com/p/CnUkGDPrfwL/
Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5147050099

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin General UK for this eARC.