Love Buzz by Neely Tubati Alexander is a heartwarming romance novel and a novel about the trials and tribulations of entering your thirties all in one. Serena Khan is a 29-year-old woman from Seattle who on a night out in New Orleans for her cousin’s bachelorette party, has a brief encounter with a man, and the two have undeniable chemistry. From that moment, everything begins to change for Serena, whose life is perfect on paper – perfect career, friends, and an upcoming feature in her alma mater’s Life at Thirty publication, but in reality Serena hates everything about her life – she feels stuck, she’s not sure what she’s doing, and she doesn’t feel like she’s ready for this feature. Quickly, Serena’s life starts to unravel as she tries to find the spark that she had on that night in New Orleans, and in the process, she finds herself.

This is a great light read, with a happily ever after. I enjoyed the romance in this book, but I found the portions of the story that focused on Serena’s challenges and growth as she figures out what she wants the next 30 years of her life to look like, more enjoyable. This felt like a “coming of age” novel for people who are adults but on the cusp of “real adulthood.” For so many of us, turning thirty signifies a big moment in our lives where it feels like everything changes and you have to have your entire life figured out, or you have failed. You must have the perfect career, enough money, the perfect partner – the perfect life. But Serena reminds all of us that this is an illusion and that it is okay to still figure things out or pivot and change paths in your thirties, because all of us are figuring life out, and at the end of the day “who cares!”
This was a fantastic debut novel from Neely Tubati Alexander! It made me laugh, cry, question my own life and the way that I think about getting older. Tubati-Alexander’s writing of Serena felt like a realistic representation of what life at 29 is for a lot of people – stumbling through and making mistakes…a lot of mistakes. We have all known a Serena and sometimes we have been a Serena.

Tubati Alexander’s writing overall is great, and the novel initially builds slowly and provides context into Serena’s past and her current life until about halfway through, and then progresses quickly as Serena figures out her next steps. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who wants a fun light read with a nice conclusion, or anyone who feels like they must have their whole lives figured out at 29. I am looking forward to reading more from Neely Tubati Alexander in the future.

Thank you to Harper Perennial and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book was full of all the feels. I really enjoyed this and will definitely be reading more of Tubati-Alexander in the future!

Thank you @harperperennial and @netgalley for the eARC of Love Buzz! All opinions in this review are my own.

Wow I don't think I have ever read a book where the main character implodes her life as much as in Love Buzz. That being said, it made the ending all the more satisfying. I appreciated Serena's journey towards her own happiness and not others' expectations of her. There are so many twists and turns along the way that I was able to absolutely devour this book and I can't wait to read more by the author!

The premise was so intriguing to me because my best friend also fell in love at a bachelorette party in Nashville, but her now husband THAT SHE MET THERE was from New Orleans.

I think this was kind of two stories in one where there was romance between Serena and Julian, and then Serena going through a mid life crisis deal. The writing was a little choppy for me, but overall I enjoyed the story.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC

A big-hearted romance that's a love letter for anyone in their 30s who are thinking about starting over—romantically, in their career, you name it! This was a fun read that sizzles in just the right way..

REVIEW

3.25/5

I finally got to this read after having it on my shelf forever!

Love Buzz is definitely more women's fiction than romance (though the name wouldn't make you think so)
Serena is a relatable main character, with many similarities to the typical 30-year-old trying to find her way. (And realizing none of us know what we are doing). The pacing was a bit slow for me, but a decent debut from the author. There is definitely potential for future stories from Neely Tubati.

Read if you like:
-Strong characters
-Meet cutes
-Instalove

Thank you to Harper Perennial for providing an ARC for review!

We often need to suspend an amount of belief and reality while reading fiction; but this was a bit much for me; especially for a contemporary fiction.



Serena has her life together. Everything is in order and she’s looked upon by her peers as an example. She meets guy at her friends’ bachelorette party and talks to him for 20 minutes. Then she throws her whole personality out the window. The rest of the book she is desperately trying to find him and upending her life; because maybe they are meant to be?



The book doesn’t necessarily give off romance or even rom/com vibes. It feels more about self discovery and this brief moment was just the spark that ignited her. The bend in the road as it were; but man shaped.



It is hard to get behind the absurd plot and the main character’s immature and erratic behavior. Because of how she is portrayed we don’t really feel like we know her and we are not really rooting for her to find this guy she has mostly built up in her and our imaginations. As the book goes on I was mostly thinking, “what the hell is this book about?” in conjunction with the ever annoying, “why the hell am I still reading this?”



I would recommend this book to those that will throw it all away for a chance at maybe nothing. Gamblers. Gamblers and addicts. There, I said it.

3.5 stars but so wishing I could give it more!

I was immediately drawn to the synopsis of this book. I love the concept of a chance meeting on vacation with a stranger who just happens to live in your city. This book had all that plus a big storyline of finding yourself amidst grief & following your dreams.

The book started out so strong and I was dying for more. But I got lost a bit in the middle. The story started to focus on the main character finding her way in the world and it was almost as though too much was happening. We lost the plot we had at the beginning and while I loved her journey of self discovery it felt a bit chaotic/jumbled in there. Happily, by the end, things in her personal and romantic wrap up nicely and I got back a little of the magic I felt at the beginning.

There are many interesting and wonderful characters in this book. I loved each and every one of them. It is worth reading for the friendships alone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts are my very own.

Loved this book. I was worried at the beginning that it would be a typical, fluff meet cute, but I loved that Serena fumbled, she didn't become a genius website creator, she found another almost boyfriend.....and then surprise the misunderstandings worked out. I read it fast, but it wasn't an easy, stupid read- it had integrity and a story and I'm definitely going to look for more books from this author in the future.

Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy. Serena is unhappily at her cousin’s bachelorette party in New Orleans, hating life and all the other bridesmaids and the drunken night. When her mother died, she lost the connection with her cousin and her aunt, and is only there out of obligation. Then at a bar on the last night, she meets a man and it seems like there is a real connection. He is also from Seattle, but that’s all she knows about him. She goes back to Seattle, and the story follows her desperate attempt to find him. And she also is still going through her grief, and figuring life out. This is a debut novel, and I enjoyed it. It’s pretty light but has a good story to it. #lovebuzz #neelytubatialexander #debutnovel #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #fictionreader #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #booknerd #whattoread #readingtime #bookaddict #ilovetoread #ilovebooks #needtoread #readallday #netgalley #advancedreadercopy

I really enjoyed this! Perhaps the “twist” is a little obvious but I loved seeing Serena’s journey to fulfilling her own desires.

A cutie little “I’m turning 30” Mardi Gras romance that truly reminds you (as the main character says)-“no one knows what the hell they’re doing” and that’s ok.

This was the first book I've read from this author. I really wanted to love it, but it was just okay for me. I had a hard time buying into the story with the main character's behavior. It seemed really exaggerated and hard to root for at times.

While this book had the underlining of a love story, it was really about one person choosing themselves, which I loved. Did not hurt that the love story was successful in the end also. Needed a bit more of the family stuff though I'll admit.

this book strays from what i normally read but it was super fun and a quick read! There was a few typo errors throughout the book but other than that great first book!

Serena meets a mystery man during a wild weekend in New Orleans and becomes obsessed with finding him and changing everything after she returns to her home in Seattle.

I just couldn't relate to this one, but I am also not a fan of cheating tropes. It is well-written and has great dialogue, and there story itself is an interesting idea.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A big-hearted novel about forging your own path while making room for love of all kinds. WIth echoes of the best 90s rom-coms, this book strikes the perfect balance of funny and sweet.

3.5 stars!

There were several times when I almost gave up on finishing Neely Tubati-Alexander's "Love Buzz." Something about main character Serena's attitude rubbed me the wrong way. But, as the book progressed, I came to understand her more as her journey unfolds. *SPOILERS* I think she went about starting her pilgrimage of self-discovery in a callous, brash way, especially where her boyfriend Danny was concerned. It's as if she was looking for excuses to break up with him after her cousin's bachelorette party in New Orleans where she met Julian, a total stranger, and built a fantasy life with him in her head after only knowing him for a grand total of 30 minutes. I'm not saying you should stay in an unhappy relationship just because you're comfortable, but Serena is sort of ruthless and gutless about breaking up with Danny, then has the audacity to get upset when she reads his Instagram comments about how he's better off? You can't have it both ways! Up until the trip to New Orleans, Serena has had her life figured out but comes to realize that she has essentially been living out the wishes of her deceased mother in an effort to get all of the opportunities her mom was not afforded as a single parent and immigrant. She has worked hard to be able to get relatively financially stable... and blows all of that up for a chance to reconnect with someone she barely knows. Serena repeatedly talks about how she has trauma from her mom never having enough money while she was growing up, even for her doctor's visits, and let me tell you, as someone with severe money trauma, Serena would NEVER quit her job without a backup plan if she was really traumatized by her childhood situation! It's not all bad. I think Neely Tubati-Alexander's writing style is fabulous, and I can't wait to read her next book. She has a good handle on banter and also scribes excellent side characters. I loved reading a book with an Indian main character! There are not enough Indian MCs in fiction! I loved Serena's eventual journey to finding herself and what makes her truly happy... but the back of my mind kept niggling with annoyance about Julian and her obsession with a stranger! But hey, if we can believe books about aliens and shape-shifters and fantasy realms, we can believe that a nearly 30-year-old woman would drop her boyfriend, quit her job, work for a chic boutique, and dedicate her life to finding some random dude she met in New Orleans, right?........right????

Thank you to NetGalley, Neely Tubati-Alexander, and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I was immediately sucked into this book but unfortunately I ended up disappointed. I was first sad to learn that she had a boyfriend. I understand that they weren’t quite compatible but the almost cheating was sad in retrospect. The second was the fact that she ended up working at this unrealistic clothing store. It was such a weird trajectory.

Serena Khan is, by all accounts, successful: her long-term boyfriend is about to propose, she's got a great job at an accounting firm, and she has an apartment in Seattle she loves. Still, a question has nagged her since her mother's death years earlier: "What if I don't want this life I've built?" It's a question likely to be familiar to anyone who's ever defined success based on someone else's expectations--and forms the heart of Neely Tubati Alexander's heartwarming debut novel, Love Buzz.

Serena is at an over-the-top bachelorette party in New Orleans when she meets Julian. The "like, serious, instantaneous chemistry" she feels with him is the polar opposite of the "calm at first sight" feeling she has with her boyfriend, and that spark of passion sets off a chain of events that includes quitting her job, breaking up with her boyfriend, and, for the first time ever, living without a plan. "There are no set paths, Serena. Only choices," advises Odette, the "potty-mouthed, Southern white lady fairy godmother" she meets on her flight back from New Orleans. There's a "Cinderella"-esque quality to Love Buzz (a chance meeting upends a woman's life, a fairy godmother offers guidance, etc.), but unlike the fairy tale, Alexander's debut is more than the romance at its center, and offers no neat and tidy happily-ever-after. Love Buzz offers readers a delightful story sure to spark moments of thoughtfulness and joy as Serena seeks a life crafted for--and by--herself, which just might include the very charming man she must find again. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer