4 ⭐️

this one was a cute, fun & quick read! insta love story (so be warned y’all!) she goes on a vacation, meets a guy & falls in love within 2 weeks. but it was so fun to watch it happen! the plot was pretty good considering insta love is not usually my favorite thing in a book, novellas sure, but books usually I never liked it. but I really enjoyed this & Lindsey did a great job with the story line!! both characters were fun & I loved watching their story play out!! the comedy in this book was top notch. it was absolutely funny! I was laughing throughout the whole book!

Love Me Do by Lindsey Kelk is perfect story with tons of laughs. I love the character Phoebe. She is a love/hate character but that is what makes you love her! This book reminded me a lot of the movie the Holiday but only following one character and not a switch. I've read this author before and I this is her best book yet!

Thank you to Harper collins and netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: phoebe travels from England to la to visit her sister and avoid her exs wedding. However her sister is called away for work so phoebe is left to explore la. She meets her good looking neighbor and mysterious neighbor along with her sisters trainer and gets caught up in adventures and a love triangle.

What I liked: this is a great romance. I loved the writing, characters, and plot. Phoebe was real and authentic, Munda was a gem, her zingers made me laugh out loud many times. Ren was the heartthrob but so much more. Suzanne was gone for a lot of the story but their interactions really show sisterly love. Bri grew a lot during the story. The ending did wrap up nicely but it aligned with the story and setting. I highly recommend this for romance lovers

A girl from Britain, Phoebe, comes to LA to be her sister. Her sister has to leave town as soon as she arrives on a business trip. Phoebe makes friends with her sisters neighbor and her personal trainer. She also makes friends with the neighborhood recluse who happens to be a old movie star. This books is funny and heartwarming. There is also a romance that develops. I enjoyed this one.

This is such a charming romance!

Phoebe is from England and is visiting her sister in LA. Her sister has a work emergency and Phoebe is left to her own devices in her beautiful home. She finds herself befriending the hot bird-watching neighbor, Ren, her sister’s personal trainer, Bel, and Myrna the eighty something year old retired Hollywood actress.

This is a romance but the relationships Pheobe develops and the adventures they had are what made the book. It was an addictive read with some laugh out loud moments. I adored the characters, especially Myrna. It was heartwarming read and I was sad to let go of the characters at the end.

This was an adorable funny RomCom. You can’t help but love Phoebe and want to kick her at the same time. The trials she goes through to understand herself in love is quite relatable and in that she comes to understand what she writes. “Who decides when to give it a name and what to call it?”

I loved this - I was so delighted to get to read this ARC. I have a huge soft spot for an LA romance that has a side of old Hollywood mystery and glamour. This very slow burn did not disappoint! It perfectly balanced heart and antics and created a world and cast of characters that I wanted to dive right into. I was rooting so hard for Phoebe and Ren, even while she Cyrano'd her sweet but simple friend Bel! I loved that the story was so sweet but didn't shy away from hard topics - the family dynamics and the brokenness from Pheobe's prior relationship all felt so real and relatable. This would have been the perfect world to dive into as a vacay read!

Gah!!! Such a book hangover after finishing this book! I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to recommend to friends. Myrna, oh Myrna…by far my favorite character!! I caught myself laughing out loud so many times at the things she said. Definitely reading more Kelk books in the future.

such a fun read! i definitely feel like i could have read it by the pool!

very good, light hearted! definitely will make you laugh! i loved all the british humor. i love all the characters especially phoebe. the ending was super slow as well as their romance i mean superrrrr slow burn. that’s my only complaint!

Another fantastic Lindsey Kelk book! I just love her writing and characters and plots SO much and this book was no different. The LA setting was perfection and made made me want to visit more often. But can I stay in Suzanne’s house please?! Or Rens?! Or Myrna’s?! I loved all the details about the homes. From the beginning I was rooting for Phoebe and loved her so much. I also was laughing out loud throughout the book. Myrna and Bell were the perfect side characters and I loved the friendships Phoebe builds with them. My only complaint is that there wasn’t just one more chapter or an epilogue. I wanted a little peak into all the characters futures! And what about Samantha?! Can she get a book please?! A novella?! Haha!

Love Me Do had great potential to be a fun romcom set in the sunny city of Los Angeles. Sadly, I felt disappointed because the book really leaned into LA stereotypes that felt too much like caricatures.  This detracted from my overall enjoyment of the story and characters.

I guess as a resident of LA, I was looking forward to a more nuanced portrayal of the city and its people. While yes, these stereotypes exist for a reason, it felt way too stereotypical. Maybe those who aren't from this city will be able to enjoy it more at face value, but it just wasn't for me.

There were certainly moments of charm and humor. Namely:

The hilarious scenes between Phoebe and her new friend, Bel (the mermaid scene was SO over the top, in the best way)

The unlikely friendship between Phoebe and Myrna, an retired Hollywood star

However, I ultimately felt disconnected from the characters and the plot. Despite the promising premise, it simply fell short of delivering a truly enjoyable Los Angeles romcom.

Love Me Do by Lindsey Kelk is a hilarious slow burn poolside read! This feel good story was just what I needed to end my summer reading! Check this out if you like genuine friendships, laugh out loud moments, and crotchety former movie stars.
4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was very cute! I liked the gender bent, fresh take on a classic story like Cyreno de Bergerac.

The book was a fun, cute summer read! There were also some parts where I laughed out loud, which is rare for me!

Thank you @harpercollins @netgalley for a copy of this book. I always enjoy books set in LA and this was a cute story about Phoebe who is visiting her sister in LA. She meets her sisters neighbors and fitness trainer and goes on some sightseeing adventures. The supporting cast of characters were great and really made the story. The love story was a slow burn and Ren is just the sweetest.

Lindsey Kelk has written a classic story filled with themes of friends to enemies, self discovery, damage from verbal abuse and learning to accept and love yourself once again.

Phoebe comes to the U.S. to visit her sister on her vacation in Los Angeles. From the moment of meeting Phoebe the reader sees the protective walls she has built to around herself. She finds it much easier to express herself and her feelings in writing. This is why the contents of the love letters come naturally for her.

Little by little Kelk reveals Phoebe’s past relationship with her ex-boyfriend who is responsible for those walls she has put up. She was in an abusive relationship - not physical, but verbal. After years of that abuse Phoebe now struggles hard to believe in herself once again.

Luckily, there are several people who help Phoebe find her way again …

Ren is the easy going, very good looking next door neighbor that makes Phoebe’s heart beat faster. And although they begin as friends there is no doubt where they will end up.

Suzanne is Phoebe’s sister and their bond grows stronger when secrets are revealed between the two.

Bel instantly becomes good friends with Phoebe. She just pushes her way in with all her brightness and joy.

Myrna - she is the BEST character - every time Phoebe and her are together I laughed so hard. Kelk created a character who says & does what she wants with no regret. It is refreshing!

I do think there are plenty of chances for Kelk to speed up and move the story along more quickly. I wished there was more interaction between Phoebe & Ren. Still, this book is an enjoyable and delightful read.

This is an ARC review and these are my honest thoughts and opinions. I am so happy that i was approved for this book, I absolutely loved the characters ❤ Phoebe is our MFC who flys to LA to spend time with her sister but ends up alone when her sister take on a job. While alone Phoebe meets Ren (our MMC) the ridiculously sexy neighbor who turns out to be the crush of her sisters personal trainer Bel. Phoebe decides to try to hook Bella and Ren up... but there is one BIG problem...Phoebe is beginning to fall for Ren too! This book kept me laughing for sure!
I will definitely recommend this book to others!
I want to say thank you to netgalley, Lindsey, Harper 360, and Harper Collins  for my ARC to read and review. As always ,please check the TW!


Read this if you like:
- friends to Lovers

Sometimes books literally make a “SPLASH” - in this case, Love Me Do literally landed in the water!

I devoured this book in one-day sitting poolside as I couldn’t get enough of the story set in the Hollywood hills.

Then the book decided to dip its page edges in pool. While a bit wet, I was still able to read the love story of Ren & Phoebe. The book just looks a little fluffier now, and a bit loved.

Friends to Lovers
Laugh out loud moments
Love letters
Slowburn
LA setting
Sunshine filled

I fell in love with the summer #ROMCOM of 2023! Thank you HaperCollins for the complimentary paperback.

This was cute and there was real potential there, but it was lacking for me. This is 100% chick lit and not romance. Maybe 10% of the book was romance, and that’s being generous. Now I did like our main character Phoebe and she had some fun moments with all the other characters. I wish we could have gotten more moments with her and Ren because from the little bit we got there was some good chemistry between them. I really wanted more of Ren too. I felt like he was barely in the book.

I didn’t love reading about the love interest kissing someone else halfway through the book… it made me not root for the romance between Phoebe and Ren. It was a fun idea of her writing these love letters to help her friend, but I don’t know… I’d rather not read nearly the entire book with them together and then finally have Phoebe and Ren get together in the last 10% and then not get an epilogue.

No trope listing on this one cause I don’t really feel like there were any!

single POV
3/5 stars ⭐️
0.5/5 spice level 🌶️

This was such a delightfully charming read filled with the dry humor I love and set in a Hollywood I definitely want to visit!

Phoebe Chapman has flown from London for some quality time with her sister but impending work catastrophe takes her sister to Seattle, leaving Phoebe to fend for herself in the Hollywood Hills. Lucky for Phoebe, she's got quite the slew of characters to keep her busy! From her sister's sunshiny personal trainer, Bel; Ren, the hunky birdwatching neighbor; and, Myrna, the peevish, yet endearing old-woman around the corner, Phoebe has no shortage of entertainment while her sister's out of town. But, why not throw in just a little more excitement by playing match maker with smitten Bel and hottie neighbor Ren. The only problem...Phoebe likes him too!

This book was a whole cast love story for me! Each relationship was quirky, endearing, and utterly delightful. I enjoyed watching Phoebe develop relationships with each additional character and I would venture to say that it's all of these relationships, not just the romance between Ren and Phoebe that made this book so endearing. I smiled from start to finish and if you, like me, love a grumpy, no filter, sarcastic, yet lovable wise old woman as a side character, read this book for Myrna! She is the best!

I voluntarily read & reviewed an ARC of this book provided by NetGalley and HarperCollins 360. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Consider me a Lindsey Kelk fan, I had a blast with her holiday read last year and am so glad I got a review copy of Love Me Do, thank you Harper 36o!

Love Me Do is a fun romance but it is so much more, which is really what I loved about this book and what I like about Kelk's books in general: she gets that a good romcom requires well developed characters, a little self growth, and good friends/family members for depth, humor, and fun scenes. I like a book with a story that is more than falling in love and meet cutes and this is it. Love Me Do also has a great character in Myrna as well, it is great to have characters of all ages to enjoy in this book.

There is a lot to recommend in this read and pardon me while I go and read more from this author!