Wow what a book. When I read set on you back in the summer I knew Amy Lea was an author I’d want to read more off and this one did not disappoint. I was laughing from the very first chapter and I remember being 2 chapters in and messaging a friend saying “ drop your current read and pick this one up right now” because I knew I was going to love this book and she would too. I never liked the appeal of getting back with an ex as let’s be honest they are Ex’s for a reason but it’s definitely funny reading about them. This book was entertaining, heart breaking, heart warming, light and funny.

When I say this story was absolutely addictive, I’m not over exaggerating! From the first page I was hooked, Tara is such a relatable and lovable character I stayed up till 3am to see where her story took her!

From insta ‘love’ with a mugger on the subway to the Ex Files box, this book truly had me in hysterics the whole way through. It’s been such a long time since I smiled so much reading a book!

‘As a lifelong connoisseur of romance novels, I’m keenly aware that eye contact lasting longer than three seconds is ripe with romantic potential.’

Tara really does represent that part of us that will always go ‘but what if’. She is the spokesmen for the people who expect the unexpected, the ones who fall head over heels with someone’s voice or a smile. She’s not afraid to take a chance and that’s seriously beautiful.

‘I remember what I loved most about love in the first place. 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. Knowing, even in the face of heartbreak, that this is not the end. That you’re still standing, after it all crumbles around you.’

She feels and she feels strongly and I couldn’t be more pleased that the author showed this is such a positive light! She’s shown as strong for her feelings by the end, no matter how her ex’s try to manipulate that. How often is passionate confused with ‘clingy’ or ‘crazy’ and Tara really takes the crash course in accepting yourself and just being unashamedly ’You’ during her quest for a ‘Second Chance Romance’.

“Should I trust you, deliriously handsome stranger?” His mouth shapes into a crooked smile as he stands, towering over me on the bathroom floor. “Nah. Probably not.”

Trevor. Could I put in a request to find a real life Trevor please? This man, he takes the grump in Grump x Sunshine to the perfect level and yet he has a heart of gold. All his sweet gestures really do make this book so special, he doesn’t want Tara to be anything but herself and that is so refreshing!

This book genuinely exceeded all of my expectations, and I really did love the first book. Like Tara I am an absolute sucker for a good book trope and the Friends to Lovers in this was just perfection! I honestly can’t recommend this book enough, it’s the perfect feel good spicy read that’ll put you in the best mood ever!

I was lucky enough to receive an arc of both of Amy’s books. I enjoyed the first book but loved this one even more!

This was quite the page turner for me and a great addition to this authors works, preferring this to the former book, I had a lot of fun!

I loved the tone of the book as a majority, it made me smile and ache for the MC but I did feel that changes in the last 20% or so.
The beginning of the book is a good pace, interesting and has a great take on ‘crazy’ girlfriends POV.
I feel like the roommate trope is done really quite well done and the MC character arc is satisfying, developing but never losing herself along the way.
We meet some really great characters that add to the story and plot well, to the point where I honestly felt like the romance, at times, may not to the way I initially thought.

The end of the book did change in tone a little as the plot wrapped up it was much faster in pace and some drastic changes and miscommunication came into play but that is somewhat expected from a room-ance laced with the type of characters involved in this story and it needs to wrap up somehow, sadly we can’t stay in sexual tension land forever!

A really fun and fulfilling read

Thankyou so much to the publishers penguin general-fig tree for this Brilliant romcom .

I loved Amy first book won't lie this was even more amazing ,I was hooked from the first page I feel this book every romcom lover will fall in love this book it's going be big in 2023 .
It's a great fluffy ,slow burn with a bit of spice for all the smut queens out there .

This is what sold it for me roommates a sexy emotionally unavailable fireman, fire (needing putting out here ) a sceond chance romance which normally I'm not in to them ,but Amy did nit hold back and gave this book so much life and you could really connect with the characters . I loved Amy very flirty, Tango in cheek humar.

I did think that the main characters were pretty morally grey which to be honest I very much enjoyed it gave me all the vibes of Girl more girls At times the characters are pretty complex but I think that you can find that anywhere in real worked for the book.

The book overall had me gripped absolutely loved it from beginning to end If you love your rom comes I can guarantee this year you are going to love this book with lots of sexual tension Romance And a fireman did I say that before lol I promise you will love this.


I give this book 5 slow burn stars

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

Unfortunately the file I got was filled with numbers through out the whole text and it made the reading very unpleasant. I felt like I couldn't focus on the story and after a while I had to put it down. Since I loved her last book I suspect I would have liked this one too but I have to buy it when it's released instead.

I have given fours stars because I hope that's what i would give if I've read the whole book.

3.5 stars

Thankyou to NetGalley, Penguin and Amy Lea for providing me with an eARC of this book.

Exes and O’s follows Tara, a book influencer and nurse, who has recently become roommates with Trevor, a grumpy (and very hot) firefighter. Tara begins reconnecting with her ex-boyfriends in an attempt to create a second-chance romance for herself, with Trevor initially helping her. However, over time, a connection between Tara and Trevor begins to form.

This was a cute, lighthearted rom com with some slightly grittier themes woven throughout. It was heartwarming in parts and was laugh out loud hilarious in others.

The banter between the two characters and some of the predicaments they find themselves in were especially funny. I really loved seeing them become friends, and then seeing their relationship develop. The romance was really sweet and unfolded in a natural way. There was some spice, but I wouldn’t say this was a spicy book.

I also liked how Tara refers to her relationships as “tropes”. This book has a lot of my favourite tropes including forced proximity, friends/roommates to lovers, the guy falls first, and reformed player. There’s also a lot of pop culture and 2000’s references which I really enjoyed.

I really liked Trevor as a character and I felt that although he wasn’t super fleshed out, he did grow from the beginning to the end of the book. He was really sweet despite his rough exterior, and I loved how he looked after Tara and accepted her for who she was. I personally would have loved this to have been a dual POV book, as I feel that we would have gotten to know Trevor even more if we were in his head.

While I liked her well enough, I have to admit that Tara did grate on me at times. I found her to be overly dramatic, obsessive, rash and irrational. At times, I wanted to just shake her and tell her to chill out. I also wish we got to see more of her life. She’s a NICU nurse, but we don’t really see much of that. We do see some of her bookfluencer antics, but the transcripts were a little bit cringe to read.

The plot with the ex-boyfriends was intriguing, but I’d say that this is secondary to Tara and Trevor’s relationship. I didn’t mind this at all, as I was more interested in Tara and Trevor. However, some of the dates and events are told in passing retrospectively, and I wish we had been able to see these happening in real time.

The ending was really satisfying, although I felt that the FMC’s declaration of love was a bit weak compared to the MMC’s, which was swoon-worthy. However, I’m so glad we had an epilogue, which I honestly think was perfect for the characters.

Overall, this book was a quick, cute read that is easy to read in one sitting. Does it stand out against other rom coms I’ve read? No. But if you enjoy this genre, I’d recommend giving it a read.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Amy for providing me with an e-ARC.
This is hands down one of the best romance books I have ever read. I honestly could not recommend it enough, I am OBSESSED.

Tara is on an expedition to live out her second chance romance fantasy - revisiting all her ex-boyfriends. But who’s by her side the whole time? That’s right, her tattooed, grumpy, firefighter roommate Trevor.

This book is for the sensitive, romantic, emotional girls. It’s for the girls who have always been told they’re “too much”, “too clingy” or “too intense”. It’s for the girls who just want to love and be loved in return!!!

It also calls out the whole calling women crazy thing and I love it. Sensitive, passionate women are not crazy!!

Trevor, our hero is just wonderful. They start out as strangers, who become roommates, transition into friends and then obviously…
Trevor is one of those men that’s got a hard exterior but is so so sweet and loving on the inside and he’s genuinely perfect for Tara.

This book is self aware but in the best way. It’s constantly filled with social media references, quotes and memes and references to romance tropes. But it’s not done in a clunky, cringey way (I’m looking at you, Book Lovers). It’s just so loveable. There’s also a tonne of references to Disney (tangled in particular - my favourite) and Taylor Swift.

It’s also a sloooowwww burn but SO good and keeps you hooked!

Amy’s last book hero (Scott - Set on You) gave Chris Evans. This man to me gives tatted Aaron Taylor Johnson (without the weirdo wife).

This is like if To All The Boys was for adults

As much as this book is a romance, it’s also about self discovery and self reflection - going on your own journey and really looking hard at yourself. It also focuses on the importance of female friendships, opening up and being kind to others. I honestly could not rave about this enough.

PS one of the best epilogues I have ever read. Bawling

Well done Amy Lea, you’ve stolen my heart.

Exes and O's by Amy Lea

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to netgalley, Penguin and Amy Lea for the opportunity to read this book

I'm going with 3 stars for this one. There were things I liked and things that I just didn't quite get on with.

Let me start by saying I haven't read the authors previous book set on you, which appears to be about our FMCs sister and our MMCs best friend so I may be missing some backstory here.

Trevor is adorable and I'd quite like one of him for myself thank you very much. I really enjoyed the fanily aspect of the book too. The romance was cute and largely believable, although I do think we should have stuck with them growing to love each other rather than claims of battling feelings the whole time.

The book really reminded me of one of my favourite romcoms, what's your number. Ehat with the search for the exes being aided by the player neighbour/roommate.

I do wish we'd had a little more competition though, none of the exes felt like viable options. And I must admit everytime seth came up I had the urge to throw my kindle. I think that was the point but it did ruin my enjoyment.

Sadly as much as I like reading books about fellow book lovers i did not get on with the outtakes from videos being added to the story. Something about her naming these men in the videos really put me off. By all means tell your story but it was just a bit odd to have her go that far. And yet it seemed like only one of them actually saw the videos.

All in all I'd read it again, for Trevor, but it wouldn't be the first romance I'd pick up.

This was a really fun read, the story was really cute and I liked that it played to romance fans but didn’t feel like it was pandering

I did think that some of a characters fell a bit flat, I could have done with more depth. Particularly from Trevor, I get that he’s meant to be mysterious but sometimes he didn’t feel like a whole person

Obsessed! This is my second novel by Amy Lea and she is quickly becoming one of my favourite romance writers. Tara is a Bookstagrammer (love that!) who is obsessed with romance tropes. In an attempt to create her own perfect second-chance romance, she makes a list of all of her exes and contacts them to see if the spark can be reignited and lead to a lasting love affair. She enlists the help of her new firefighter roommate, who has a fear of commitment and brings home a different girl every night. The friendship that blossoms between them is so realistic and charming - and just like Amy Lea's first novel - their chemistry and witty banter is electric! I really, really loved the healthy communication between the main characters, and of course the addictive, steamy, slow-burn friends-to-lovers plot. And the secondary characters were a joy to read - and of course there's cameo appearances from Set On You's Crystal and Scott! This is as close to perfect as romance novels get - I loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Truth be told I was a little disappointed by this. I felt the plot was quite cliched (which was perhaps the point but didn't make it any more interesting) and the characters were also a bit boring. It was an easy read, but just not for me, perhaps because I don't care that much about the whole influencing aspect!

3.75 / 5 star rating⭐
1 / 5 spice rating🌶️
2.5 / 5 tension rating🔥

Exes and O's by Amy Lea is a slow-burn romantic comedy that follows the story of Tara and Trevor, two newly acquainted roommates. Tara is a book influencer, and a nurse, while Trevor is a grumpy firefighter.

Tara is trying to get her second-chance romance in real life by reconnecting with her exes. Trevor initially helps her with this task by helping Tara choose outfits and chaperoning her dates. However, as Tara and Trevor's relationship deepens, they become more focused on each other, and the lines start to blur.

One of the standout features of Exes and O's is the dynamic between Tara and Trevor, who bicker and tease each other throughout the book. The back-and-forth banter is so entertaining that I caught myself giggling to myself a few times.

Throughout the book you are given an insight into Tara's online communication with her followers... the transcripts can be a little cringe at times and I found them hard to get through.

The book is filled with pop-culture references, including Taylor Swift, Gossip Girl, The Office, Shania Twain, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It also includes a mystery element, as Tara wants to solve the identity of Angie, a person Trevor is texting frequently.

Despite some slow and cringe moments in the beginning, Exes and O's ultimately becomes a heartwarming and enjoyable read. The love story between Tara and Trevor is sweet, and their dynamic is endearing. However, the only thing holding this book back for me is the average spice scenes, and some of Tara's friends do not seem particularly supportive.

Overall, Exes and O's is a cute and entertaining read, perfect for fans of slow-burn romance and romantic comedies. Just be prepared for the miscommunication trope.

Genre: contemporary, romance
TWs: gaslighting, toxic relationship, ableism
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩? 📚
Tara Chen, a nurse who’s also a romance bookstagrammer, has had her heart broken ten times. Regardless of all the heartbreak Tara has experienced, she is still determined to find her Mr Right. After living with her sister for almost a year, Tara decides to move in with Trevor Metcalfe, a firefighter, who will be the first to rush into a burning building but the last to rush into a relationship.

As Tara goes on her journey to rekindle her previous romances, Trevor reluctantly helps her along the way. But the more time they spend together, the more Tara realises that Trevor seems to be the only one who appreciates her authentic self. To claim their happily-ever-after, can Tara and Trevor read between the lines of their growing connection?

𝙈𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 💭
Oh my gosh. I fricking LOVE this book. ‘Exes and O’s’ perfectly fulfilled everything I was looking for in a light-hearted romance read. I honestly felt like I was watching a K-drama but better. 💫

I also love how this is part of a series, ‘The Influencer’, and one thing to know about me is that I’m a sucker for a series like this! There’s also a few cameos of Scott and Crystal from ‘Set on You’ (which I read earlier this year) and aah, the nostalgia. 😩

Trevor is literally a walking green flag, and oh my – it feels so good to finally read a book where the MMC isn’t an alpha-male who’s possessive, toxic and controlling. I also absolutely loved how Tara is a bookstagrammer and a booklover, too! 🫶

The epilogue was adorable and I quite literally smiled when I was reading it. 🥹

Yes, some parts were a little cringe – but isn’t it like that in all romances? And aren’t we all cringe sometimes, too? 🫣 So honestly, I personally didn’t mind those parts of the book because overall, it was a super enjoyable and fun read. I can’t wait to read more of Amy Lea’s books. (P.S: I’m super excited for her next book, ‘The Catch’, which focuses on Mel’s story!) 💜 ✨

This book is for you if you’re looking for a perfect romance book that’s light-hearted, has a HEA and makes you feel like you’re escaping into another world ☃️

Thank you to the author, Amy Lea, and the publisher for letting me read this early in exchange for an honest review! 🥰

This book. Wow. I love this book so much.
Tara and Trevor gave me all the feels right from the start with cute banter and tension you could cut with a knife!
Tara does an apartment swap so her roommate and sister can live with her boyfriend, now she has to live with serial non-dater and firefighter Trevor. Tara is a romance book fanatic who decides to follow her heart, and her favourite romance book trope, to orchestrate a second-chance romance with all her exes but she needs Trevor's help!
I read this book before reading the first book in the series, Set on You, about Tara's sister Crystal and Trevor's best friend Scott so I will definitely be going back to read about them and everything else by Amy Lea in the future!

Tara Chen is a nurse in a children’s hospital and a bookstagrammer/romance fanatic. Exes and O’s explores the idea of second chance romances- is it worth trying to rekindle a romance with an ex or is it just failed to work once again. Tara has recently been dumped by her fiancé and decides that it might be worth reconnecting with her exes to see if she can have the perfect romance and walk off into the sunset with “the one”. And every heroine needs a trusty sidekick, so she enlists the help of her new roommate Trevor.

I loved how Amy delves into the myriad of romance tropes and the stereotype of the romance reader in this story. Tara isn’t the easiest of characters to like at times- she’s obsessive and a bit of a stalker so it was hard to warm to her. Trevor on the other hand, is the standout character for me- fireman, kind-hearted, loyal but terrified of relationships. There is some hilarious banter throughout this story and if you like the forced proximity, friends to lovers tropes and slow burn romance, this is the story for you.

A cute, contemporary romance that you can fly through in one sitting, Exes and O’s is out on January 19th. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the arc.

I’m so sorry to the publisher and Amy Lea but I had to DNF at 50%

Tara was such an unlikable character for me and she was honestly getting worse as the story went on, I thought she’d start changing her ways and better herself but she just got creepier and more obsessive.

I’m sure it works out that her and Trevor get together and it all works out but considering she is the epitome of everything he hates in a girl I don’t see how it’s going to be believable.

I had such high hopes for this book. The premise sounded right up my street and would’ve been a fab way to end my 2022 reading. Unfortunately the plot was cringey and I honestly thought I’d lost my eyeballs to the back of my head the amount I rolled them.

It felt a bit of an insulting stereotype of romance readers and I’m so disappointed. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read and review this, I’m holding out hope for her next book!t

Exes and Os was such a cute read! It had the roommate trope, and I loved all the bookish and bookstagram references (though I have to say I don’t look for book tropes in real life).

Tara is determined to find her second chance romance with one of her ten exes, with the help of her new roommate, Trevor. I absolutely loved Trevor. He is a firefighter, he is hot af, broody, and caring and he has his flaws, meaning he is the perfect bookish boyfriend. Also, he loves Tara the way she is, even though she can be a bit too much. And he encourages her reading which is so adorable. Tara was a really relatable heroine, and I saw a lot of myself in her, which was really refreshing. However, as I said, at times she was even a bit too much for me with her marriage and kids obsession but I think that was the point. I didn’t like Tara’s friends since I felt they were dismissive of her and they weren’t really supportive. I did like Scotty and Grandma Flo though! And I had a moment of panic when Daniel appeared but I’m not spoiling anything!

Overall, it was a cute, contemporary book, perfect for reading in one sitting and a bit of fun. I totally recommend it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ARC REVIEW - Thanks Amy Lea & Net Galley.
Releases 19th January.

Tara is your typical unlucky in love, sunshiny, wears her heart on her sleeve FMC whilst Trevor is the typical tattooed, grumpy, built like a tree MC.

You first meet Tara in Set On You but you could read this as a standalone but for backstory I'd recommend you read Set On You first. Tara & Trevors relationship starts with a bang, quite literally as she walks in on his playboy ways & he's honest from the start, he does not do love.

Tara embarks on a mission to find a second chance romance like in the books she reads after her fiancé calls off the wedding, enlisting Trevors help as she goes through her list of ten ex boyfriends from a male perspective. She is totally relatable & I think we've all been there sitting by the phone waiting for that text back. 😬😫

There's lots of humour, awful dates, disney references & I loved the bookstagram references throughout with all the different dating tropes. Trevor and Tara could not be more different but I loved the slow burn and natural progression between both characters and when they finally admit their feelings, the spice hits 🤌🏻.

This is the first book that I’ve read by this author and I’m so pleased that I finally have. I actually have a physical copy of her first book sitting on my bookshelf that I have not got to, I’m definitely pushing it up the TBR after reading and enjoying this one.

♥️ Forced Proximity
♥️ Opposites attract
♥️ Friends to Lovers
♥️ Firefighter
♥️ Influencer
♥️ Slow Burn
♥️ Sexy

In this book we start by meeting Chen, she is a nurse in the local hospital and in her off time she is a book influencer. Her flat mate just got engaged and her fiancé was moving in and as she couldn’t find anywhere she could afford to move by herself she did a complete swap with the fiancé and moved in with his flat mate. That takes us to Trevor, well he certainly gave her a surprise when she moved in, I will let you discover that by yourself though. Trevor is a hot as sin firefighter who is terrified of commitment so he definitely plays the field in his spare time.

This pair are complete opposites in probably every part of their life, but you know what they say about that.

I really enjoyed this storyline a lot, it was filled with so much fun and made me laugh out loud a lot. There was a lot of chemistry and some really hot scenes flung in too, but they weren’t over the top, the spiciness fit the story and the characters perfectly. I loved all of the characters, actually that’s a lie, I hated Seth but you will too, I can guarantee that haha. It was a slow-burn trope done well, I wasn’t sitting there thinking, come on get in with it, rather I really enjoyed the lead up as it was packed with so much goodness.

I definitely recommend you grab this book when it’s released on January 19th.

Thank you so much to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book, all thoughts are my own.