Wow, what a debut novel! I really loved this. There was so much more to this book than I realized. A girl who realizes she doesn’t really know what she wants out of life and meeting one man changes everything for her. Serena meets the man of her dreams in a dingy bar during Mardi Gras in New Orleans who she finds out lives in very close proximity to her across the country. That one night changed her whole life and started a chain of events that would ultimately bring her to happiness. What I loved most about this book is that it started out as a typical meet cute story, but her love interest who makes her question everything about her life doesn’t even come back into the book until closer to the end. She makes a series of brave choices and we see how they all play out throughout the book. Meeting Julian made her look within her self to really determine who and what she values. A beautiful story and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Serena has lived her life the past eight years how she imagines her deceased mother would want her to live. An intense deep connection with someone who she meets on a bachelorette trip she didn't even want to go on makes her rethink her whole life. I would say the plot is based around a romance, but the book itself is more of a love story about a woman finding a way to fall in love with her life, which I admired.

I also appreciated the lessons and themes involved including: making decisions for yourself simply because you can make them and not because someone else told you you should, living life in way that makes you feel free and alive, understanding everyone grieves differently, etc. I was really invested in the beginning when Serena and Julian meet but found myself wanting more depth and realism as the story progressed, so it did fall a little flat for me. That being said, I can see how people would enjoy this particular escapism. So if you are wanting a light, cheerful read, then LOVE BUZZ is what you're looking for.

Thank you to Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and NetGalley for the ARC!

Love Buzz is Neely Tubati Alexander’s debut and is perfect if you are looking for a women’s fiction read with a side romance storyline.

Synopsis: Serena Khan spent her 20s staying within her comfort zone. From her secure job, stable boyfriend and growing savings account, she nows she will be making her late mother proud. However, after a bachelorette trip to New Orleans leads to a run-in with a guy who she believes is her soulmate, Serena begins to reexamine the choices she’s made and where she wants to be at 30. With this new mindset, will Serena finally find the happiness she is looking for or will her life end up in ruin?

Thoughts: There was a lot I enjoyed in the story. As a soon to be thirty-year-old, I appreciated the themes of finding what makes you happy, knowing it is never to late to change your career path and following your heart. Serena is definitely a main character a lot will relate, as she has real struggles, makes mistakes and has those crying breakdown like we all do. What did not work for me as much as I hoped was the plot itself. I really struggle with the idea that you can meet someone for 15 minutes and know right away they are the love of your life. I also would not have that mindset while dating someone else, but again this may just be a me thing. There was also not as much romance as I wished. At the end, we learn how AMAZING Julian is, and while I know so much of the story was about self-discovery, I would have loved to have some chapters at the end that focused on their relationship since Serena was thinking about Julian the entirety of the book. Still, this is one I would recommend to read!!

Read if you like:
-Women’s fiction with a side romance storyline
-Strong character growth and self-discovery
-Stories about finding your soulmate
-Chemistry-based relationships
-Adorable meet-cutes
-Nola and Seattle settings
-Nirvana

Thank you Harper Perennial for the ARC. Pub date 5/2/23

I really enjoyed this book! Serena is in New Orleans for a bachelorette party when she meets Julian. She's never felt this way after meeting someone. Suddenly they are separated and she leaves the next day. After being home she can't stop thinking about Julian and has to find him (luckily he is only 30 min away). But will she find him?

Thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!!

Loved this book. My first book from this author. Made me a total fan with this book. would read this again and again.

Well, Seattle is one of my favorite cities, so I picked this book solely on the cover art.
It's a cute, goofy romcom about a chance encounter across the country that leads to a long hunt to find each other again, all while Serena unintentionally loses and finds herself. Parts of it were maddening... but romcoms always have to have that unrealistic moment where everything could have easily gone right, but then it would all just be over.
I liked all of Serena's relationships- especially with her bestie Clarence and his budding romance- and her memories of her single mother who'd passed away.
I enjoyed all the nostalgic music throwbacks and seattle references. Honestly, I didn't really *love Odette, the woman she met on the plane and told all about Julian- she felt, at times, like an unnecessary (and somewhat raunchy) addition, but maybe she was the mother figure Serena was missing.
Now that I'm writing this review, there really was A LOT going on in this book. The falling out with Serena's cousin, the maid-of-honor from hell, the feminist fashionista, Tatiana, her store, and the online business Serena wanted to create for her. There's great representation of races & sexual identities in this one- very inclusive.
This definitely feels like a first novel and like the author is throwing all she's got into it. But, even with all there is to keep track of, it flows well and kept me engaged and I'd definitely read more by Neely Tubati Alexander. It's not a simply, quick romcom, it has depth and heart and I certainly recommend it.

LOVE BUZZ is a fun, addictive read with a lot of heart and substance. Tubati-Alexander’s prose is effervescent and bursting with humor. The novel deftly maneuvers through the existential questions many women face on the cusp of their 30s. Readers will root for protagonist Serena as she takes you on a funny yet touching exploration of how passion, purpose, and duty can shape who we are.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this story but I really loved it! This story was deep and meaningful but also had a spicy romance aspect that kept me intrigued!

Love Buzz by Neely Tubati Alexander

One moment can change your life forever.

Serena is in New Orleans celebrating her cousin’s bachelorette party. It hasn’t been the best experience, but that all changes when the group goes to a Bourbon Street bar. Once Serena meets Julian, she knows this has to be love at first sight (something she doesn’t believe in). The encounter doesn’t last long and they separate before exchanging any information. All Serena knows is that Julian is also from Seattle.

Back home in Seattle, Serena is on a mission to find Julian and see if that powerful connection was real. She has always been rational and now this has changed her outlook on life. Turning thirty, honoring her late mother’s aspirations for her, and preparing to be interviewed by her college alumni magazine has her questioning everything. Maybe she will find Julian or….maybe she will find herself in the process.


Review

This novel had a bunch of fun characters and I loved that it was set in Seattle. Don’t get me started on all the Nirvana references (which were perfect) especially the title! The main focus was not just about Serena finding love. That theme doesn’t compare to the search of finding happiness in life and the risk it takes to get there. A couple of shocking twists were added throughout the novel and I enjoyed them a lot. The only criticism was that I needed MORE romance because Neely Tubati Alexander did an amazing job building the characters chemistry.

3.5 stars rounding it up to 4 stars.

This debut novel will be out May 2, 2023.
Thank you Netgalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for this ARC.

The review will be posted on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sasharenee.h/ run date of this review will be uploaded on March 7, 2023. Once I post a review and picture, it stays on my Instagram.

Do you enjoy books set around where you live?

I do! If, and only if, the author has done their research or lived here themselves – otherwise I get too annoyed lol.

Once chance encounter, at her cousins bachelorette party in New Orleans, throws Serena’s carefully laid out life for a loop, but that’s all it took. Love at first sight is real, as Serena quickly learned. She’s shocked to find out that her new love interest, is not only utterly handsome, but lives in the same commuting area as her. But, before she has to get his contact information she is forced to leave.

Now back home, she can’t get over him and struggles picking up her life. Suddenly everything seems out of whack and she begins to realize that she is looking for her true passion. Will she be able to figure this all out, and find her mystery man, before her life ends up in total ruin?

This was a fun romantic debut, and it left me wanting more from this author. I do think the pacing was a little slow for my liking. While this book was supposed to be a romance, it was all chemistry based, and even then, it was mainly Serena looking for her partner. It was like a one-sided romance, while Serena had a coming-of-age story. I think I would have enjoyed this one more if Serena would have met her partner way sooner and figured her life out in the meantime. To me this is more of a women’s fiction novel with a flair of romance. This one was a solid read for me and I would still recommend it however, just know what you’re getting into.

This one is out May 2nd.

Thank you to the publisher, Harper Perennial and Paperbacks, Harper Paperbacks, @harperperennial, Netgalley, @netgalley, and the author, for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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

I want to start by saying that this was a promising debut for Neely Tubati Alexander, and I sincerely look forward to what she does from here! While you'll see that the story itself didn't necessarily resonate with me the way I'd hoped, the overwhelming positive is her voice, which is fun and emotive and all of the things that make reading a romance or women's fiction novel enjoyable.

For the story itself, this one didn't land for me as a whole. The interesting thing with Love Buzz is that everything about the novel's marketing, including the cover, title and summary, made this seem like it would be a definite romance, when I'd 100% categorize it as women's fiction (a genre name that I generally hate, but that's a different conversation!). The vast majority of the book is about Serena Khan turning 30 and reevaluating her life and choices up to that point, while learning to live for herself. Now, to be fair, it's not lost on me that the bait-and-switch to the readers matches up to the ultimate points of the book, but I think it's worth mentioning since I predict similar confusion from readers once it hits the market officially.

While the cast of characters was genuinely fun, the book moved extremely slow for me, which I'm certainly not opposed to if it's earned by the ultimate conclusion. In this case, though, the conclusion of the book didn't feel like it made the journey worth it. Mind you, that's incredibly subjective, but it just fell flat for me. While he isn't there for around 90% of the book, there's so much constant plot rotation around this love interest, so to get such a small amount of time to feel any attachment to him felt odd. I'll refrain from expanding further to give anything away, but I'll be curious to see if anyone else feels similar once more people have gotten the chance to read it!

Again, I feel sincerely optimistic for Neely Tubati Alexander's voice, but my hope is that her future books will be marketed in such a way that makes it a touch more clear what you're in for.

I wanted to love this book so much more than I did. It just seemed like it took so long for them to meet again and I started to get bored in the middle. Once it started to pick up again, I was back into it. I loved the ending and I loved how it turned out for the main character.