This sweet romantic story is a gem. All of the characters are so lovable Phoebe, Ren, Suzanne, Bel, and Myrna. Phoebe’s story is about a strong woman who got away and truly grew. (Trying to avoid spoilers.) I can’t say it better than Bel about Myrna, I want to be her when I grow up. I hope I have her and Ren’s ability to be exactly who they are, loudly and with no fear or care for what anyone else thinks.

If you’re searching for a heartwarming and delightful summer read that will leave you with a smile on your face, “Love Me Do” by Lindsey Kelk is just the book you need. Overflowing with charm, wit, and a healthy dose of sunshine, this friends-to-lovers romcom is a captivating exploration of love, friendship, and the unexpected twists that life throws our way.

The story revolves around lovable Brit Phoebe Chapman, who finds herself amidst the glitz and glamour of Hollywood Hills, thanks to her sister’s invitation. However, what she didn’t anticipate was the whirlwind of emotions that would sweep her up, thanks to the charismatic personal trainer, Bel, and the sweet, sensitive carpenter next door, Ren.

Kelk weaves a tale of unrequited love with finesse, as we witness Bel’s head-over-heels infatuation with Ren. The dynamic shifts when Phoebe steps in as the cupid-in-disguise, offering to play matchmaker. The ensuing romantic escapades are filled with hilarious mishaps, heartfelt love letters, and a touch of serendipity.

But “Love Me Do” isn’t just about romance; it’s about self-discovery and friendship. Phoebe’s unexpected bond with an 82-year-old reclusive film star adds depth to the narrative, as she explores the true essence of Los Angeles and the people who call it home.

Kelk’s writing is a breath of fresh air, immersing readers in the sun-soaked world of Los Angeles. Her characters are endearing and relatable, each with their quirks that make them feel like old friends. Phoebe’s journey from a skeptical Brit to someone embracing the magic of love and the city is heartening to witness.

“Love Me Do” is a celebration of love in all its forms. It’s a story that tugs at your heartstrings and fills you with warmth, leaving you believing that love has the power to work its magic in the most unexpected of ways. Perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Emily Henry, this dreamy summer love story is a must-read for anyone seeking a dose of joy and romance.

“Love Me Do” by Lindsey Kelk is a charming, feel-good book that will brighten your day and leave you with a renewed belief in the magic of love. With its captivating storyline, lovable characters, and vibrant setting, this book is a perfect companion for lazy summer afternoons or cozy nights by the fire. Grab your copy, dive in, and let the enchanting journey sweep you off your feet.

Rating: 4.5/5

Phoebe Chapman, who writes greeting cards for a living, always knows the right sentiments for someone else to express how they’re feeling. Traveling from the UK to LA, she soon begins helping a new friend woo the man she’s actually falling for herself.

With a playful mix of Cyrano and The Holiday, this story was delightful. The LA setting was so vibrant and rich that it was its own character. I love a detailed setting, and Kelk’s LA was so vivid, from the climate to the natural surroundings and animal life—it really let us see the city from the eyes of someone who was in love with it. The architectural details were also well painted.

There were entertaining and side characters, especially Myrna, the aging starlet who lives down the street from Phoebe’s sister. This was a heartwarming read that was solid the whole way through.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the advanced copy of this manuscript.

This is the first book I’ve read by Lindsay Kelk, but not the last! She definitely has a dry, sarcastic sense of humor- similar to Emily Henry, which is pretty much my ideal situation. The secondary characters were incredibly fun, especially Myrna, and it gave me “The Holiday” vibes. (Kate Winslet’s storyline, though Jack Black is no Ren.) My one complaint, in fact, is that Ren seemed very unrealistic, but I honestly was content to convince myself otherwise as I read. I would recommend this one, and I look forward to reading more by the author! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc.

Lovelorn Brit Phoebe Chapman has barely set foot in her sister’s house in the Hollywood Hills when she’s swept up by lovable Bel, her sister’s personal trainer, and handsome Ren, the sweet and sensitive carpenter next door. Bel has a head-over-heels crush on Ren but Ren has no idea Bel even exists. Certain that the two of them are meant to be together, Phoebe offers to play matchmaker. Caught up with writing love letters and an unexpected friendship with a reclusive 82-year-old film star, Phoebe finds herself falling for the real Los Angeles – but is that all she’s falling for?

This was a fun escapist slow burn romance. You do have to suspend some disbelief here. It is a bit insta-lovey. I loved the LA background and all the things Bel and Ren took Phoebe to on her vacation. Both Ren and Phoebe are these old soul chill characters I really related to. Myrna's character was perfection! I need her in my life! I wish we would have gotten to see more romance between Ren and Phoebe. I felt like it was very much concentrated towards the last 1/4 of the book. The one thing I didn't love was the character Bell. She is somehow extremely unlikeable but yet everyone seems to fall under her charm. She seemed a bit immature. She just thought Ren was her soul mate because he was hot? Ugh that is so high school. And when she didn't get her way she guilted everyone with her problems as if everyone didn't have those same problems.

Overall I'd give this 3.5 stars. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 9/5.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. This novel gave me similar feelings to The Truth About Cats and Dos mixed with The Holiday. This was fun and quirky. Low stakes but well thought out plots. I enjoyed this a lot! Love the cover too!

DNF. I didn’t like the writing. Didn’t even make it past the first chapter. It felt like it was written very poorly and esch dialogue quote that should be using “” is using ’ instead

One hundred and twelve- That’s the number of highlights I made while reading Love Me Do by Lindsey Kelk. This book is hilarious, endearing, and, if you haven’t gathered by that triple digit number, so relatable. I could not stop laughing and smiling all throughout reading this story.

The characters were incredibly lovable and their friendships were natural and genuine. I didn’t enjoy the romance as much as I had hoped, but I loved the friendships enough to make up for that. Phoebe’s friendship with Myrna, a reclusive and grumpy 82- year-old retired film star, outshone all of the other relationships.

I just wish the ending had been a little less rushed. So much happened at the end, and I think some of these events deserved a little more development- especially with the romance. Even though the romance wasn’t the main focus of the story, I was still hoping for a more passionate declaration of feelings. But if you’re looking for a story that’s more focused on friendships and self-growth, you may not mind that.

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Love Me Do comes out September 5, 2023. Make sure to add this to your TBR if you want a great end-of-summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of Love Me Do! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Phoebe comes to LA to visit her sister during the week her ex is getting married. She hopes to just have a few weeks having fun with her sister, but when Suzanne leaves for a business trip the day Phoebe gets to LA plans change a little bit. Soon after arriving, she meets the cute neighbor and strikes up a friendship with him & with Suzanne’s personal trainer.

I wanted to like this book. It seemed like a fun idea and I loved the setting of a nice mansion in LA, but it really fell flat for me.

Liked:
-the LA descriptions, living here it’s always fun to see the city depicted in books

Didn’t like:
-the characters, none of them felt super likable to me and they all were annoying in one way or another
-it felt like it was trying to hard with pop culture references
-phoebe got close to people in this book unrealistically fast imo
-the love letter thing was SO cringey
-halfway into the book I still felt like we knew nothing about the main character
-the whole hike situation with Bel made literally no sense
-the kiss cam scene at the Dodger game
-I don’t understand at all how it was possible for every single character to hate themselves so much

special thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, and Lindsey Kelk for an ARC of this book!

this was a super fun summer read! the L.A. setting was so cute and made me wanna book a one way trip to LAX ASAP rocky. the little hints and nods to celebrities (i'm looking at you Harry Styles and the three name drops you had in this book) made it even more fun and i loved the illusions to old Hollywood. the romance was lighthearted and perfect for chick-lit. excited to read more by Lindsey Kelk in the future!

A fun and cute read but nothing really special. I didn't connect with the characters well and the love wasn't as 'swoony' as I would have liked. Phoebe's commentary is laugh out loud funny though.
I felt really predictable at times and no real surprises or cliffhangers to keep you intrigued. The Myrna storyline was interesting but also felt random and out of place at times.
Overall a really easy cute read but nothing special or memorable.

I loved this book! My favorite movie is The Holiday, and it definitely gave me the same feels! Check it out if you are in the mood for a fun, light book that will definitely make you laugh!

Love Me Do is a new favorite rom com for me! This is my first Lindsey Kelk book, I’m not sure how she escaped my notice. I’ll be checking out her back list for sure!
It takes a lot to make me laugh but Love Me Do had me laughing out loud throughout the whole story.
I loved all the other elements that were expertly woven through the love story (no spoilers). Lindsey’s characters had depth and were relatable in their own unique way. Honestly Myrna was the absolute best, I loved her humor and life experiences. I loved her more than Ren and Phoebe. I’d love to read Myrna’s story; it could be epic!
The slow burn romance between Phoebe and Ren was done beautifully. I loved seeing their interactions and connections grow as the story progressed. I was caught off guard by the kissing scene, I didn’t see it coming at all, which I loved (no spoilers).
Thank you NetGalley, Lindsey Welk and Harper Collins for the ARC, in exchange for my review.

Oh how i fell in love with Phoebe and Ren. Their chemistry was incredible. It broke my heart as Phoebe started helping Bel with dating Ren, all while she was also slowly falling for him. When they were at the game and Bel took out Phoebes letter out of the jacket and start reading it. Ouch, it hurt having to read how she had to pretend it was another letter from Bel for Ren. I’m glad Ren and Bel realizes they’re are not compatible. Also, I’d love Myrna as a friend please and thank you! I live about a 15 min drive from Disneyland and I love that the sisters made out to the park. I’m glad they had their special moment where they could finally express their feelings and baggage. Oh how I would like to one day get a reservation at Oga’s Cantina. In the end, I’m glad Phoebe realized “why not her?,” she deserves it. She deserves love and happiness, and that’s with Ren.

ARC REVIEW

Love Me Do
By Lindsey Kelk

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Publishing date: 9/5/23

Phoebe travels from the UK to LA to visit her sister Suzanne. Unfortunately, Suzanne has to work the majority of the visit, so Phoebe befriends her sisters trainer, Bel. Phoebe also meets Suzanne's neighbor Ren, who Bel is coincidentally INFATUATED with.  The problem is, every time she tries to talk to Ren, Bel loses her ability to speak and is totally head over heels.

Phoebe offers to break the ice and writes a love letter to Ren, pretending to be Bel. Ren feels an instant connection with the letter, but for some reason, the connection with Bel isn't flowing as naturally in person as it does on paper.

And what is Phoebe going to do when she realizes that she also has feelings for Ren.....everything she wrote in the letters pretending to be Bel was ACTUALLY how she felt.....oh no!

REVIEW

I read my first Lindsey Kelk book last year at Christmas. And it's EASILY, my favorite Christmas story. (The Christmas Wish, add it to your TBR) When I saw this one on net galley, I HAD to have it!

I loved this story! I really enjoyed the Los Angeles setting. I have never been to California and loved the LA references....a Dodgers game, hiking in the hills, Hollywood parties, etc.

The characters were fantastic. The standout for me was Myrna. I was ACTUALLY laughing out loud. The relationship between Phoebe and Myrna was so cute. Excuse me @lindseykelk can we get a book about Myrna as a young hollywood star?!😍

Overall, cute book. I liked it and think you will as well if you enjoy romance!

Thanks @harpercollins360 and @netgalley for the chance to read this one early!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper360 for this advance copy of Love Me Do by Lindsey Kelk in exchange for for my honest review. This one is out 9/5/23, only a month away!

I really enjoyed this one and the ease of how it read - we’re following Phoebe, who is on holiday from the UK visiting her sister Suzanne in LA. For some reason, Suzanne bounces for a few days to work and Phoebe finds herself in her house alone and meets up with Ren, her attractive bird-loving neighbor and Bel, Suzanne’s personal trainer who seems to have boundary issues. While this one is super easy to read, I think it could’ve used just a touch of focusing - Phoebe is noted to be a greeting card writer, which I suppose provides the premise of the love letters, but it’s literally never mentioned again. And Bel is really unlikable - Phoebe seems to not mind when she does really ridiculous things and I’m surprised these two managed to connect as friends because Bel was really hard to relate to. And honestly, the whole side plot with the grumpy next door neighbor made zero sense, and just provided Phoebe a “reason” to stay in the end, but if it’s a contemporary love story, shouldn’t love be reason enough to stay? I don’t know, I found myself rolling my eyes at her parts and wondering what she added to the story.

Ultimately, I’m landing on 3.5 stars and rounding up because it was very easy to read and the mermaid scene at the kids birthday party had me laughing out loud and cackling. Many thanks again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for this review. Pub date is coming soon, 9/3/23!

She's a greeting card copywriter and knows how to write a good romance... except now she's found herself writing a love letter and playing matchmaker for her friend... to the very guy she herself might be falling for, too bad he doesn't know it's her words he's fallen for. Phoebe is spending time with her sister in the US, after a terrible relationship and breakup with her ex in the UK it's time for some much needed vacation. It doesn't hurt that her sister is super rich and living in Hollywood and that she'll have the place to herself for a bit. On her first day there she also happens to meet her sister's neighbor, a handsome carpenter who loves birdwatching named Ren. She also meets her sister's quirky personal trainer, Bel. Bel and Phoebe become instant best friends but Bel tells Phoebe that she has harbored a giant crush on Ren and wants her help, so Phoebe does what she does best, write the perfect romance letter, except what she doesn't realize is that she's using her own feelings for Ren. Ren thinks the letter is from Bel, and so Bel enlists Phoebe's help on going on dates and talking to Ren... yet the more time Ren and Phoebe spend together the more Phoebe's own feelings begin to grow. Can Phoebe go after the guy that's stolen her heart without breaking her new friend's and making sure that Ren doesn't think she was trying to make a fool of him or was it never meant to be in the first place? This is a mix of a Cyrano story with a dash of rom com fun. Overall its a cute story and a fun read for fans of the cyrano classic story.

*Thanks Netgalley and Harper 360, HarperCollins for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Love Me Do is a delightful romance, but I was even more excited by the story about the friendships in the book. I couldn’t put this down because I needed to know what was going to happen. It was a really cozy, fun book.

I loved this and I loved Phoebe. This is a perfect romance. A great pick to read while longing at the pool for the day. It sucks you in and you completely lose track of place and time.
I just reviewed Love Me Do by Lindsey Kelk. #LoveMeDo #NetGalley
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This is my first book by Lindsey Kelk but it will certainly not be my last. The writing was fabulous and the humor in this book was so great. This Rom/Com was the most perfect vacation and summertime read.  All the characters were charming in their own way.  Phoebe is going on holiday in LA to see her sister. When she arrives, she meets an extremely good looking neighbor/bird watcher named Ren. Phoebe quickly puts him in the friend zone when she discovers her new friend Bel has a crush on Ren. She becomes a matchmaker for the two, despite her own growing feelings for Ren.. The story shows love, growth, personal development and friendships. Love the story and hope to see the characters in a future book, especially what happens to Suzanne.

Thank you to Lindsey Kelk, Harper 360, Harper Collins, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.