Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle was one of the cutest rom-coms, dare I say, I’ve ever read. I am utterly obsessed with the characters and Katelyn’s writing and banter took it to the next level.

Just Some Stupid Love Story caught my attention because it had a few romance tropes I love: second chance romance and hollywood, but I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was excited to check out this debut. The emotions and feeling this book drew was incredible; and the spice!

I read Just Some Stupid Love Story in less than 24 hours— to say I couldn’t put it down, is an understatement. I absolutely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun rom-com this summer. I will be recommending this to anyone who will listen. I can’t wait to read what Katelyn Doyle does next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved the humor in all of both characters’ observations of their families, friend and environment. However, their banter with each other is so very good. The novel was so much fun to read, and I was rooting for them throughout the novel. Supporting characters and settings were also excellent.

While Just Some Stupid Love Story was quick and easy to read, I just couldn't warm up to the main characters. I found Molly Marks to be a tad annoying and Seth's optimism just grated on my nerves a bit (especially as a divorce attorney!). I thought the plot was quite interesting but I would have liked to have seen more chemistry between Molly and Seth.

Although I wasn't totally keen on the way the book evolved, I would definitely be interested in reading another book by Katelyn Doyle. Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron books for this ARC.

DNF @ 42%

Just Some Stupid Love Story was as boring and formulaic as every trite rom-com main character Molly claims to hate. I thought the "romance" between Molly and Seth was written so that any relationship they have previous to their eventual pairing seemed doomed to fail (and pointless to read). Even after almost half the story, I still don't understand how these two were high school sweethearts in the first place, let alone into each other fifteen years later.. (You mean to tell me that these people have been pining for literal teenagers for more than a decade???)

I personally hate dual POV-written novels, especially when two people are having a conversation interrupted by both a chapter break and a POV shift, something which this novel does quite frequently. Seth as a character and a narrator was annoying, and Doyle could have written a really great romance from the sole perspective of Molly—a child of divorce, scared of commitment, begrudgingly romantic, and, IMO, the more interesting protagonist—but the frequent shifts into Seth's perspective wore me down to the point where I had no interest in finishing the novel.

This delightful read had so many things I love in a book - cinnamon roll, grumpy-sunshine, healing from trauma, banter, and so much more. Molly & Seth are overall likable characters that you want to root for, but sometimes want to smack for being obtuse. This book was entertaining, emotional, fun, and heartfelt - a great read.

Molly is a rom-com screenwriter who is quite cynical about love, and her high school ex-boyfriend, Seth, is a divorce lawyer looking for a happy ending. They reunite at their fifteen-year high school reunion and make a bet on five couples to see which one is right about love. They decide to meet again in five years and see who wins.

I'm in the minority here, but I didn't enjoy this book as much as I expected. The premise is good, but the execution and the pacing drove me off.

The writing is good, and the banter between Molly and Seth is fun. But the plot is dragging. All the misunderstandings in the past and present were a little too much. I felt like this book was repeating itself for no reason. However, I liked the ending. My issue was with the middle.

Regarding the characters, they are not likeable, but at first, I thought that was the vibe. Even if Seth was painted as "a nice guy", he is a toxic person. I can empathize more with Molly, but at some point she became annoying.

The plot spans through years, but we never see more than a few mentions of Molly's therapist. That was a weird choice, considering her mental health is part of the conflict.

Overall, for me, this book was a little too long and lacked focus. They were wrong for each other, and even if the end keeps the fun elements from the beginning, I was rooting for Molly and Seth to not end together.

This is my personal opinion, but it is a waste that, since the initial bet was on some couples, with a single update for each one, they consider the point won or lost when they were 5 years old for that to change. I think it could have been more interesting if that subplot was better integrated.

As a side note, I feel that including COVID-19 as part of the plot takes away from the story's timelessness. It's not an issue, but in a few years, it will feel dated.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle is a romance that's different from a lot of romance novels that are out there but one that is definitely worth checking out. I wouldn't say that the main female character is the most likeable but I enjoyed reading this. The characters were a little infuriating because I didn't agree with some of the choices/actions that they made but I will say it made it a very interesting read. I think this will be a breath of fresh air especially to those who read a lot of romances. The writing was well done and kept me entertained.

Dated in high school, Molly breaks up with him because she’s scared, trauma from her parents’ divorce affected her too much. Seth is very eager when it comes to relationships, he wants to settle down and have a family. They see each other at their 15yr High School reunion, end up sleeping together and making a bet on which of their classmates would be together or broken up in time for their 20th reunion. Including the status of their relationship. Then we proceed months later or a year later with fate intervening on Molly and Seth reaching out or bumping into each other. Having both POVs was useful in getting to know them better individually and helped move the plot forward. I enjoyed the timeline on the how their story was told, I was delighted in rooting for them throughout their journey. The writing made it easy to feel engaged into the story

A twist on the grumpy/sunshine, second chance love story. Molly and Seth dated in high school until she suddenly broke up with him and they never spoke again. They meet at their 15 year reunion and clearly have feelings for each other. Molly does not believe in true love, while Seth does so they make a bet to predict the fates of 5 couples in 5 years including them. The book covers the next five years and them figuring out whether they're going to be together or not.

You might like this if you like all the angst, young love rekindled, second (and more) chance romances.

You might not like it if characters making the wrong decision time after time will infuriate you.

I really enjoyed getting to know these characters and the various other couples over 5 years even though it was a Rollercoaster ride for sure.

WOW! I LOVED this book. Not your typical romance novel and it was sooo perfect. The female main character is sarcastic and hilarious and the male main character is the biggest cinnamon roll. I can’t believe that this was a debut. When I finished, I was desperately hoping that this author had more books for me to read. Would recommend - 10/10!!

I really liked this book. I was totally on board with Molly's hangups (her relationship with her dad sounds a lot like the one I have with mine). I would absolutely recommend this book to my friends.

I was HOOKED from the beginning. I loved this book and I would gladly share this with my patrons when it is published.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"Just Some Stupid Love Story" by Katelyn Doyle is a fun and heartfelt romantic comedy. Spanning five years, we follow Molly and Seth (a former high school couple, who broke up at prom) as they reconnect in their early thirties. Throughout the book, they come together and fall apart in mostly realistic ways and navigate complex family drama, friendships, and romance. I really enjoyed the dual POV and the second chance romance trope, though I did get frustrated with Molly's self-sabotaging behavior by the end of the book. The main characters had great chemistry, camaraderie, and banter. Highly recommend for a quick and fun summer read!

Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle is a hilarious rom-com with all the feels and tropes that a tongue-in=cheek story about a screenwriter of, well, rom-coms, should have. This is a second-chance romance with serious grumpy/sunshine vibes. I read this in less than a 24 hour period; once I started it, I simply had to know what the ending would look like for Molly and Seth. There is some serious spice and so much hilarious dialogue, in addition to the fantastically flawed characters and twisty plot. Doyle is an award-winning writer of historical romances under the name of Scarlett Peckham; I can't wait for her to write her next modern romance!

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this fantastic e-galley!

I really wish I would have liked this more. I struggled with the characters, Molly and Seth both were just too much for me, they would have these very introspective moments and then would both become so chaotic and lost, at times it made me feel anxious. Unfortunately, if felt unnecessarily long towards the end, and at times I had a hard time determining which POV I was reading. I'm not sure if I got lost along the way because it covered such a long period of time? Did we really need that third act breakup, the whole book was them breaking up some way or another. This one may not have been my cup of tea but I'm sure others will enjoy it.

Many thank to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

3.5 stars

This was a quick read for me, such a good time. I really enjoyed getting to know the main characters, Molly and Seth, through dual POVs. Seeing their thoughts and feelings was an interesting way to watch their relationship redevelop over time. The grumpy sunshine, friends to lovers romance had a nice balance of spice and fade to black, with great banter all along the way.

I would recommend this book to romance readers that like a slow burn, friends to lovers, grumpy sunshine story with plenty of pining, banter, and personal growth.

An ARC copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book! Doyle does a fantastic job of capturing the second chance Rom Com trope. I really did enjoy the nostalgic pieces of the early 2000s. However, I did find a few things to be slightly cringy - including where Molly and Seth try to act like teenagers to recover their previous relationship at the age of 36. Some of it was just a lot. There were moments where I couldn't stand both Seth and Molly - I found them unlikable and annoying to read. But at the same time there were some really high highs with them! I think they are a great example of being HUMAN and that made it all worthwhile in the end. All in all, I think this is a fantastic and very realistic Rom Com that led me to smile at the last page. It was a bit long for my taste, but after sitting with it, I can say it was all worth it!

I love a good reverse grumpy sunshine, but Molly was kind of annoying. Other than me finding her obnoxious, I actually really enjoyed this!

This is easily one of my favorite second chance romances now. Never has a 'right person, wrong time' resonated so much with me as much as this one. The repeated encounters and something just not being right each time was so perfect. The novel's divided into many parts, so the narration jumps from one time period to the next, so I loved not having to read irrelevant bits of information. I'd say this was a fast-paced novel, and dual POV, as always is awesome.

I can't exactly say the MCs are opposites, but they have contrasting beliefs about love, which are ironic given what they do for a living. Seth is a family lawyer, going from one serious relationship to the next, in hopes of finding his true love as fast as possible. Molly is a rom com screenwriter but doesn't believe in love after being emotionally scarred by her parents' divorce. Molly's insecurities, need for validation and love, basically all her flaws made me love her even more. Seth on the other hand, appeared to be almost perfect. He's the guy that every girl wants, and every reader roots for. The way I completely got it when Seth's older brother was being overprotective of him!

Like many times before, I read this ARC and then completely forgot to review it. I was going to skim through before reviewing, but ended up rereading the whole thing, start to finish. I can't explain it, but this book felt long and short at the same time. It's easy to read and I finished it in a day both times, but I found parts of it to be too long and repetitive. Weirdly, I was engaged the whole time, yet impatient to get to the climax and the good stuff. Nonetheless, the ending was totally worth it, I couldn't have asked for better closure.

To summarize this VERY long review, Just Some Stupid Love Story is imperfect. but deserves tons of love and attention, so I definitely recommend it!
PS- The cover and title don't do justice to the story. IMO "Better Luck Next Time" suits it better.

While I fully enjoyed the idea of this plot line, it dragged out a bit too long for me. The back and forth over and over became too much. Seth is a sweetheart, and Molly was awful to him so many times. I personally didn’t think she deserved to get him back at the end.

While I fully understand part of this takes place in 2020, the Covid comments became insanely annoying. My final straw was when was late 2021 and he’s like “I’m grateful for N95s so I can fly to see you”. Who says that during an engagement lol I would have given this 4 stars if it had less Covid comments. It was a horrible year for me and I use books to escape. I don’t want to be reminded of it.

Also totally not important, but I kept picturing the allergy doctor on tiktok Dr. Rubenstein as Seth 😂 I kept trying to slide in Adam Driver or someone hot but my brain kept going back to the doctor LOL.