“At Her Service” was such a cute romance and I read it so fast, but I think I still enjoyed “For Her Consideration” more. The characters reminded me a lot of Casey McQuiston's “One Last Stop”, so if you liked that one, you'll probably like this one too. The love story between Sadie and Max was so refreshing from both sides but it was Max’s friendships that shone for me, the different connections she had with each of them was so lovely in their own ways. Max is such a relatable character as she wants to move ahead at work, make friends and have a long lasting loving relationship. Sadie has dreams of her own. Sadie and Max learn to lean on each other and trust each other. It is great to see the relationship develop and grow. I liked how they described Johnny’s as community and worked to save it. I definitely wanted to shake Max at the beginning of the book, but we've all been stuck in our rut at points. Sadie the bartender is a shy, humble, great person that you will be cheering for. I wished we had more of Sadie and Max at the end of the book. I loved when Ari and Nina popped up from FHC, but I wanted MORE of that couple. I know they weren’t the main characters of the book, but I still wanted to read about them more than what we got. I'm hoping we get a sequel featuring them since it seemed like Amy created a nice opportunity for an Ari/Nina sequel with what we learned in AHS. Thanks to Amy Spalding, Netgalley and Kensington Books. I am looking forward to whatever Amy writes next.

I really enjoyed At Her Service , although I felt some of it was a bit rushed in places and I would have liked certain characters to have the opportunity to develop more.
Loved the concept of Max following the series of things to that were meant to help her take charge of her life- I wish I had something like this 😂

This was a great read to start off 2024

Where was Amy Spalding when my twenty-year-old self needed a cool, relevant writer to produce stories that were this authentic? Probably not born, but ah, well, at least she is releasing stories now that are likely hitting their intended audience.

At Her Service is going to be released in early 2024, and I am telling you know, jump on it. Pre-order, add it to you’re TBR, but bump it up towards the top. Just make sure you check it out.

Max is an adorably sweet assistant who dreams of becoming the next great talent agent. She dreams big while sitting in a bar, across from the sexy bartender she is crushing on, and life is great. But is it happening fast enough?

When her roommate Chelsey, social media influencer, catches her on a bad day, she agrees to ‘self-actualize’ in front of an audience of half a million followers, because getting the dream job, and the dream girl, seem like something she could never do on her own.
In the end, Max has to understand that the things she really wants are there for the taking. Sometimes, though, it takes a little longer than expected.

My favourite thing about any Amy Spalding book I have read so far is how relatable her characters are. She does a brilliant job of dragging them in off of today’s streets and introducing the reader to a broken down, yet ready to be built character. The authenticity seeps out of the pages, and the mistakes that are made are cringeworthy because we have all been there! At Her Service is a beautifully written story we can all relate to in one way or another.

I received an ARC from the author via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

For Her consideration was an awesome novel in 2023.

I love the authors writing and this cover is awesome nice and colorful. I love any setting with social media or podcast. Was definitely a great book and great plot. I love the characters and the build again from the previous book.

Its more of a queer fiction and not romance. I will still read anything from the author.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

If you read Amy Spalding “For Her Consideration” you might recognize the main character Max who makes multiple appearances. This book can be read independently from “For Her Consideration” but I definitely recommend reading that one also!

Max has big dreams but has always shed away from making big moves in her life. When her influence famous roommate suggests a chance for her to join “You Point Oh” a self-actualizing app. Max is hesitant at first but after a disastrous day she gives in and decides to join.

Sadie the “Bartender” that Max has fantasized over ever since she discovered the bar she works at. When Max starts to learn how to be confident and “Make the big Move” she finally has a chance with Sadie. When Sadie discovers Max is working with the app and sharing all of her journey with her roommate. Including there relationship things take a turn and Max is headed towards heartbreak.

This book did not include as much romance as I would have liked but I really enjoyed the story of Max and how she develops into her true self. I loved getting an update on Nina and Ari!!

Thank you Kensingtons Books and NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review

I decided to give Amy Spalding and her adult sapphic romances another shot because this was a butch4butch story and we don't get a lot of those. Unfortunately I ran into the exact same issue as last time: Spalding's writing is boring and the target audience are clearly fellow LA/Hollywood liberals (although this book does have some relatively interesting things at the end about pricey self-help services).

Despite this book being supposedly a romance, it's more about Max' life, her career (which is is very similar to the one the MC in For Her Consideration had, Madame Amy Spalding I know what your career is) and about influencing. Sadie as a character never stood to me in any particular way but once again I believe this is due to Spalding's writing being boring especially when it comes to characters as well as the story lacking a strong emotional hook that made me want to keep reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I feel like I read this at the perfect time. The new year and something about this year, particularly, has really made the quarter life crisis start setting in. I’ve felt so much anxiety about how I’m not where I thought I would be and how I still feel like a kid (the dedication is something I’ve said countless times). I felt like once you’re a certain age, you’re supposed to have it all figured out because everyone else around you (seemingly) already has. Amy Spalding did such a great job of organizing thoughts like these and exploring them through our main character, Max. I couldn’t believe how relatable she was, feeling lost and pathetic being in her mid-twenties and not living the exact life she had dreamed of. Also related a lot to Max’s self-fulfilling prophecies. She was so convinced of her own shortcomings that she was unable to see all the ways people admired her. I also really appreciate how Spalding portrayed almost every character as relating to at least some part of Max’s struggle. It’s so easy to get in your own head and convince yourself you’re the only one who is “behind” just like Max did, but in reality, most people in her life also felt behind and even like Max was “outdoing” them. It’s all about perception and for some reason we’ve all been fed this idea that you’re supposed to magically have it all together once you hit a certain age.
I do wish we had seen more of Max and Sadie together. I went in thinking it would fully be focused on the romance, but I think it was more about Max coming into herself and making strides toward the life she wanted. Which I still loved, just didn’t fully expect! I still would’ve liked to see more of Sadie.
Also, the way this brings up the importance of queer spaces and community is so heartwarming.
Overall, this was highly relatable, funny, and just a really uplifting story. I’m glad it’s coming out soon because I think it’s perfect for starting the new year.

The first book of the year is complete!!

This was cute, it was a bit touch and go with how invested I was at times but ultimately It was a nice read. In the beginning, I found Max a bit exhausting, the constant putting down of herself was A LOT - but also it's a real thing a lot of people struggle with so it was nice to see an MC challenge that.

I liked Sadie as a love interest though I would have loved to actually get her POV - I think it would have really helped contrast how Max sees herself with how the world sees her.

I liked Chelsey for most of the story but think she got let off a bit too easy for her decisions near the end, not that she's a terrible person who needed to be exiled but idk I would have liked at least a bit more grovelling tbh.

The reason I couldn't give this more than 3 stars is that I just don't think it left much of an impression on me, and for a 4-5 stars It's really gotta hit me hard.

Summer of Jordi Parez was SO damn good and I've just yet to have any of Amy's adult books stick with me that hard.

Thank you to Netgally and Kensington Books for an E-Arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

I got to read this arc, and I was so excited to start reading it. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher. I enjoyed this book. Would recommend it to someone looking for a quick read.

Totally my fault for not realizing that this was a follow up/same universe to For Her Consideration, which I haven't read. However that did not affect my reading this one much at all. At Her Service is a delightful and fun Sapphic romcom filled with tons of queer rep and wonderful characters.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

This was a good book but I don’t think it was really for me personally. It was hard for me to get into and I think that was mainly due to the social media influencer/self-actualization journey storyline which was much heavier plot than the romance itself. I’m mid-30s so while I usually don’t have trouble connecting to younger characters in novels but I did this time unfortunately. I mostly struggled to connect with Max, but Sadie I was able to a bit more. I still think the book was good and I would recommend to others but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it as a romance, more as contemporary queer fiction.

For Her Consideration was one of my favorite reads of 2023, so I was really excited to get an early copy of At Her Service.

Max is feeling like her life needs some new direction when her influencer roommate approaches her about taking on a self-actualization challenge using a new app. At first Max is skeptical, but after a particularly bad day, she decides to go for it.

One of Max's goals is regarding her love life, and the object of her affection is a local bartender, Sadie. Sadie has goals to own the bar that her uncle opened, while making it a more modern space.

I loved all the characters -- although there are times I would have liked to shake some sense in to Max, I was rooting for all of them, and I loved seeing the changes that Max was making while working towards her goals. I enjoyed her relationships with her coworkers, and the dynamic with her roommate. I also loved the cameos from the characters in For Her Consideration -- loved seeing how things were turning out for them.

I especially enjoyed the team that Max joined and what a sweet and fun community that turned out to be for her.

You can read this without having read For Her Consideration, but I recommend reading that one first. The main character has a reoccurring role in this book, and Max is in the first book as well. 

I also that Max is five-foot even because I am too! She used this in such an empowering way and I loved to see that.

I am definitely an Amy Spalding super-fan now and will be eagerly reading all her future books!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

This book was so good and so cute! A queer romcom dobe right. I love the main character and could relate to a lot of what she was going through. So excited I go to read this story.

This book was such a lovely surprise for me to read.

The main character is on a journey of self actualization and is navigating her personal and professional life. I felt as though the character was so relatable as she struggled with feelings of inadequacy, making friends and just not feeling as though she accomplished anything.

My favorite part was the backstory of the bar where our main characters meet- it’s beautiful.

This was my first book by the author and I’m looking forward to reading more!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

I love a good life makeover romance and this was a fun one. That said, there were definitely points where I was mentally yelling at both Max and Sadie to get it together (and then I remembered my 20s and forgave them), and I struggled a bit with the requisite misunderstanding breakup part (but I often find them to be kind of silly so that might be just me). The ways that Max came out of her shell were sweet and fun and I loved watching her build a community and realize that everyone is struggling a little bit inside, even if it’s not always obvious. It was also fun to have Los Angeles as an important character itself. It’s great when a place is central to a story like that and has you falling a little in love with it too.

I really enjoyed For Her Consideration and I was waited for this one. I wanted to know Max better and I was not disappointed. Max is a wonderful character and I love her so much. I love Sandie too, but Max is my favorite.
The chemistry between those two is amazing. Nina and Ari (Ari my beloved!) was really good, but Max and Sandie have more sparks. I enjoyed this.
I loved the cameo too.
This book is a cuddle and I really can’t wait to have more of it, to read the other instalment of this series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

At Her Service is an enjoyable and heartwarming read, and I loved the image of LA's Hollywood and queer scenes that it portrayed. However, there were quite a few quibbles for me - as the novel is from Max's POV, and Max is so completely in her own head a lot of the time, I was left wanting to see the other characters more fleshed out. Even Sadie, who is so charming and engaging, doesn't feel like a character we truly get to know in depth. I also found myself actively frustrated by the inevitable third-act miscommunication and fallout - though I realise it's a romance trope that usually has to be adhered to. That said, seeing all of the different facets of Max's life gradually blossom as she came to know herself more, and watching her relationship with Sandie develop, made for a lovely read that balances humour, emotion, and introspection - with some welcomed cameos from the characters of For Her Consideration.
3.5 rounded up to 4.

This was my first Amy Spalding book and it did not disappoint. This story follows Max as she looks to expand her professional, personal, and love life. I absolutely loved the characters we met through the book and was so invested in the story. I was rooting for max since page 1.

Thank you to Netgallery for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

At Her Service follows the story of Max who is trying to climb up the corporate latter at her job, find love, and find herself along the way. At her favorite local bar that she is a regular at she has a huge crush on her bartender, Sadie. Both women truly are the epitome of trying to find yourself in your twenties.

I loved this book. It was relatable in the sense that you could see yourself and the people around you in every character. I audibly laughed at some of what the characters were saying and by the end of it I felt connected to them. Definitely worth the read!

The second story set in LA settles in nicely. Like [book:For Her Consideration|61193071], the details of the jobs in Hollywood are totally convincing and I can just see the restaurants, bars, and apartments. Does anybody else actually write scenes about what happens when you are stuck in traffic? It almost makes me want to spend some time in LA, and that is saying a lot.

Also, I'm trying to think of another sex scene that actually moves the plot and characters forward as much as this one and I just can't think of anything close. Maybe that is what is missing in other books, the story comes to a halt while they are in bed.

At this point, I'll read anything Amy Spalding writes. Lucklily for me, there are a few more books in her back catalog waiting for me.