Seth and Molly were high school sweethearts, that is, until Molly broke his heart and fled to college. Now, at their 15-year reunion, they find that the spark is still there, much to Molly's dismay. She's built her life as a screenwriter around being cynical about love, traumatized from her parents' divorce, and unwilling to let anyone in. Add in the fact that Seth is now a lawyer specializing in divorce, and there's no way she could ever love him. However, over the next five years, life throws them together in various scenarios, forcing Molly to decide if this is a love worth fighting for.

Even with all of the serious material, this was a genuinely funny rom-com, and I found myself laughing out loud multiple times throughout the story. Seth and Molly were realistically flawed thirty-somethings, who both had valid reasons for their behavior, but their flaws complemented each other so well. All of the side characters were fleshed out enough to add to the story, but not steal the spotlight, and the COVID isolation plot line reflected that time period well without taking over the story. By the end, I was truly rooting for Molly and Seth to make it work, just like in one of Molly's scripts.

Thank-you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book. This book is a romcom that is a second chance at love. It features a semi jaded (in my opinion) FMC. The opening of the book was to me the hardest part to get through and once you got through that-I felt the book shines. I wish the author would've did a little vignette of the characters before throwing them into a class reunion. It took me a minute or two to ascertain what exactly was going on.
Overall this was a romcom with some emotional moments. I think if the beginning would've been changed -I would've given it a higher star rating. The author's writing is superb and I can't wait to read what's next, l'm giving it a 3.75/5

This is a fine if not blow the doors off great version of the "in 10 years" and "right person wrong time" book. I think I wanted more on-page growth from both lead characters versus what we actually got, which was trauma bonding experiences and unhealthy attachments every few years and reunions.

Just Some Stupid Love Story is spicy! It’s a hilarious enemies to lovers of two people who reunite at their high school reunion so expect lots of banter. Seth and Mollys second chance at love will have you turning the page to see what happens next.

There has recently been a trend with romcom books that have characters in the books that are somehow tied to romcoms, and I have so much enjoyed how meta this is! In this book the main female character Molly is a romcom screenplay writer. Naturally, however, she doesn't believe in love. Seth, her high school boyfriend that she breaks it off with just after graduation, is the hopeless romantic. Of course, they come back into contact at their high school reunion and emotions run high, and old flames are reignited. It all culminates into a bet being made regarding five different relationships in their high school class- betting on who would still be together romantically and who would be divorced by the next reunion. The final couple, according to Seth, is going to be him and Molly married at their 20 year reunion.

I really liked this story! I thought it was a quick and easy read, and I could not put it down because I wanted to know how these two seemingly opposite characters fit together. I enjoyed that it was a book that took us over five years. Seth is just such a cinnamon roll of a main male character. All he wants is to have a wife and kids, and he yearns for this. Molly is a bit too grumpy at times, but I still did enjoy her softening and development over the course of the book. I think one of the best parts of the books was seeing how each character is growing when they were not together. I was rooting for this couple the entire time, and I enjoyed the ending. Ironically, I could easily see this turning into the plot of a romcom movie. Overall, this was a great beach read that kept me entertained with the characters banter and gave me butterflies when it ended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron books for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

3.5 rounded up.

An enemies to lovers - Emily Henry-esque spicy novel.

A high school 15th reunion brings two people back into each other's lives and they make a bet about who will/wont be together at their 20th reunion. Cleverly written with chapters trading between Seth and Molly,

Liked, didn’t love. But a good in between if you’re reading a bunch of dark twisty thrillers lately,

Thanks to netgalley for an early reader

Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle was an engaging, solid story from start to finish. I was rooting for Seth and Molly from the beginning, they were both likable characters that were well fleshed out. The story starts at a fifteen year high school reunion with Seth and Molly seeing each other for the first time since she dumped him at graduation. The two reconnect and end up making a bet about couples at the reunion with a plan to settle up at their next reunion in five years. The catch is that the fifth couple is them, but they aren't dating or really even friends. Seth has five years to show Molly they'll be the perfect couple and she'll fall head over heels in love with him.

This was a really good debut book. Katelyn kept me entertained through out this book. This story take place over a span of time so it's not something that happens fast. I think Seth and Molly were well written characters. Molly had trauma from her past so she feels like she doesn't deserve love. She had a lot to work through throughout this book. I’m I This book did have me laughing out loud and blushing at times from the spice! I had a good time listening to this book and look forward to the next book by Katelyn. I would recommend this book if your looking for beach read vibes!!

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

2.5 stars

I was into the story because I got through it pretty quickly, but there were just some things that I didn't love about it. This is definitely a personal feeling and almost soured the story for me. This is definitely a spoiler! But when they had their third act breakup, it felt like the main female character couldn't function without the male character, and that just always rubs me the wrong way.

The timing hasn’t been right for a second chance romance between former teen couple Molly and Seth. After meeting again at their 15th high school reunion, they make a bet on whether true love actually exists.

I liked this more than I expected to! I enjoyed the plot (a woman who doesn’t believe in true love writes rom-coms reuniting with her divorce attorney former boyfriend) and the fact that it spanned years (and this was done well). I liked that we switched the POVs and the characters largely remained true to themselves. Overall really enjoyed it!

I read so many great reviews on this that it became one of my most anticipated of the summer. A debut second-chance rom-com, I loved the characters in this book. Molly is a rom-com movie script writer who doesn't believe in romance, and Seth is a divorce attorney who believes in true love. That alone makes for an exciting story. Spanning several years, including the pandemic, Molly and Seth tangle and try to decide if their views on love might be the same after all.

The story of Molly and Seth told over a number of years. Will the be together of break each other's hearts by the end of the book? I liked how it was told from both points of view.

I am a fan of the slow burn romance and the chase, so this one was right up my alley. It’s a little bit of a clever premise. High school sweethearts reconnect at their reunion and place a bet on which couples will be together at their next reunion. This gives the couple a second chance at a happy ending if they can overcome their differences and her anxiety.

Over the next five years they float in and out of each other’s lives as they are never quite in the same place in life to restart their relationship. I really did fall in love with Seth and Molly right from the start. I just recently heard of two from my class that didn’t date back then and just married. So it can happen.

I rooted for the two from the start both in their relationship and in their lives. The grumpy sunshine trope is always good for a little fun when done right and this one was. And to throw in a twist, it was Molly as the grump and Seth as the pollyanna.

I know I mentioned their relationship is a bit of a slow burn, but they did find time to have the sparks fly. There were spicy scenes to keep me entertained while their chase played out.

Christine Lakin and Tim Paige bring Seth and Molly to life. I love that there was dual narration for this love story. Christine does a great job of narrating Molly’s anxiety and mental health issues while Tim really nails Seth’s golden retriever like optimism. I think the audiobook helped bridge the long span of the book and keep me interested.

If you love the chase as much as the relationship, you should pick this one up.

Not your average romance=adjacent protagonist!

I have to admit that I'm getting a bit tired of the on-the-nose FMCs who write romance, read romance, and speak romance -- while novel at first, the fourth wall break is starting to feel like pandering. Cue my relief when our intrepid Molly put a twist on the trope -- she HATES romance, and doesn't believe in love.

Enter our divorce attorney MMC, who is surprisingly (albeit weird and goofy) sunshine-ish in this grumpy/sunshine dynamic. Except in the bedroom, where euphemisms fly out the window and we go straight into male-gaze porn territory.

Thrown in a high school reunion backdrop and plot device -- quelle horreur, but I can't look away -- and this was a really fun one!

The dichotomy was a bit jarring but not unpleasant. I love this one for the beach bag, and the cover is adorable.

Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle is a wonderful duel POV, second chance romance novel that shares the story of a Hollywood Rom-Com writer and her ex, Sean. Sean is a successful divorce attorney who has been looking for love.

Molly Marks is a romance writer, which is how she knows “romance” is a racket. She was ghosted by the one romantic relationship that she had over fifteen years ago.
Seth Rubinstein believes in grand, fated love, despite his job. Over the last decade, he’s searched for love in countless bad dates and rushed relationships. He knows his soulmate is out there however he always compares them to the gal who broke his heart in HS, Molly Marks.

Molly returns home for her fifteenth HS reunion and of course runs into Seth. When alcohol and repressed feelings combine a random hook up changes everything and it starts with a bet. Together they work to resolve the bet before the next reunion and to determine their true feelings..

This story is funny (truly laugh out loud), sexy and has some brilliant and unexpected moments. A true Rom-Com at the heart of it and one of the best books I have read this year!

A delightful second chance romance. I loved the premise and the humor throughout. Definitely a writer to watch.
Many thanks to Flatiron Books and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a fun read. High school sweethearts turned exes run into each other at their 15 year reunion, and make a bet about what will happen to 5 couples in the next 5 years. She's a cynical romcom writer, while he's a love-loving divorce attorney. Thoroughly enjoyed seeing how that bet played out over the following 5 years! I don't want to give anything away but this was fun and satisfying!

Just Some Stupid Love Story centers around Molly, a cynical rom-com screenplayer writer and Seth, a jubilant divorce attorney. After dating throughout high school, Molly dumped Seth because she was afraid of commitment. They reunite at their high school reunion and make a love bet.

I enjoyed reading the story from both Molly and Seth’s point of view. I also liked that the protagonist was a rom-com screen writer didn’t believe in love while her “leading man” a divorce attorney and hopeless romantic. It made the story more unique and interesting. Also, the banter in the book was spot-on!

However, at times, I found the novel frustrating and slow, but it was realistic.

I went back and forth on the rating, but I think overall it’s a 4 star read. Maybe 4.5?

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dani’s Rating: I went back and forth on the rating, but I think overall it’s a 4 star read. Maybe 4.5?

4 stars!

I did not think I was going to like this one as much as I did. It started out rocky and some of the language/statements made were giving me the ick BUT I was invested, I was laughing out loud (the last chapter I literally was wheezing), I was emotional! A solid 4 star read simply for the vibes, the storyline, and the ending. Cute!

This was a great right person-wrong time second chance romance. Our FMC Molly is an absolute mess. She has serious abandonment issues that stem from her father, an acclaimed author, divorcing her mom at a young age to only alienate her while marrying several woman after his fame took off. Molly was dating Seth in high school for 4 years during the divorce and blew up their perfect relationship after prom and never spoke to him again. Cut to their 15 year high school reunion, and not only does Molly end up sitting next to Seth, but the two end up in a hotel room that night and set off a 5 year chain of events that alter their lives.

Molly is a a romance screenwriter in LA who doesn’t believe in love and would rather have casual hooksups or date men she know will lead to nothing. Seth is a divorce lawyer in Chicago who is a hopeless romantic always believing that he’s met THE one and fantasizes about being married and having children endlessly. Despite his occasional word vomit and unbecoming phrasing at times, he is a nice guy and I enjoyed that for once it was a man who wanted love so badly. Seth has always loved Molly and while Molly likes to pretend their high school relationship wasn’t serious, its the only one she’s ever had and deep down she knows that she truly loved Seth.

I liked watching these two form a connection long distance as friends who chatted about the bet they placed after their high school reunion hookup. It was a rollercoaster of events that kept bringing these two back together over and over again and I enjoyed every minute of it. I think for me that kind of killed it was the third act break up. How after 4 years of talking again, knowing Molly and all her fears of relationships and commitment, Seth thought it was a good idea to propose to her after such a short time was simply beyond me. Like you know her, you love her, and you put her into this over-the-top situation? It felt careless despite him being a complete romance nut and loving her, he did not have to do that to Molly at that time when everything was still so fresh coupled with her dissolution of her best friends marriage.

While some reviewers hated that Covid and the pandemic were mentioned in this storyline, I personally thought it was done with taste. Seth and his new girlfriend quickly get engaged and move in together during the pandemic. A recipe for disaster that so many couples faced at that time. You think you love someone until you’re stuck in the same 4 walls day-in and day-out during a global pandemic and then your true feelings come out.

Overall, this was a great story and I was sucked in from the start. I truly appreciate this arc from NetGalley and Flatiron Books!

Impressive and frustrating. This is popular historical romance author Scarlett Peckham’s contemporary debut writing under another name. I was continually engaged and frequently horrified by the bad behavior. Never bored. Angst abounds as former high school lovers take years to work out their kinks.