I was initially drawn to the book by the intriguing premise of two strangers bonding over past relationships at a wedding. While the idea was promising, I found the plot repetitive and lacking the humor depicted in the movie trailer. The excessive focus on the main characters' past relationships overshadowed their development and made it difficult for me to connect with them. As a result, I didn't feel invested in their journey or root for their relationship. Ultimately, the book fell short of my expectations and wasn't a satisfying read for me.

a quick and easy read, not the best but not the worst

I’m not big on flashbacks or dual timelines in my books, and this feels a lot like that, since their letters reflect back on all their past romantic misdeeds

still a cute concept and will watch the movie

The premise of the two characters writing each other letters about their past loves in order to get to know each other and falling in love was unique and cute. Sometimes the content was just a little much for my tastes.

That was awful, long drawn out, boring, and just bad writing. It could've been so good if done correctly but they focused so much on the past and not enough on the current.

I love Julianna Baggott's writing. Two people who have given up on love almost hook up at a wedding, but then they don't and that leads them on the romance of their lives.

I really wanted to enjoy this one because I really liked the description and it sounded right up my alley. However, I had a hard time with the narrator. I just really could not get past the voice and felt it really took away from the book. There were some redeeming qualities in this but overall I just really didn't enjoy the narration. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I chose this audiobook primarily because of the cover. I was/am a huge Pretty Little Liars fan and knowing Lucy Hale was somehow involved with this story...I was sold.

I had creeped the preview and it looked like I'd throughly enjoy this story.

Although there were elements that I DID enjoy, I found this story to be right in the middle for me. Narration was just average, story pretty average etc. Nothing made me go WOW!

I wanted a little bit more from this one and it fell flat. A right in the middle 3 for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this audiobook.

A pair of romantic flameouts meet at a dull wedding and wind up entwined in a deserted coatroom. Shockingly, Jane and John decide not to have sex. Instead, they embark on a far more dangerous sharing the stories of their past love affairs. They tell each other everything, aiming for radical honesty over polished seduction. Jaded as they may be, these two sense that they just might be soulmates.

I enjoyed the premise of this story, but I think it lacked a bit of depth. These were, after all, confessions to each other and they didn't even seem that deep. I liked the narration. It was a fun and really cute story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I recently saw the trailer for the movie adaptation and I was hooked: two strangers meeting at a wedding who instead of hooking up decide to dig deeper and share all about their past relationships with each other. Sounds right up my alley!

The book follows the same plot, so I was really into it in the beginning. I love the idea of two strangers coming together and getting to know each other quickly. But sadly, the plot got old fast. And unfortunately it was missing a lot of the humor that the movie trailer seemed to have. There was way too much focus on each of the main characters’ past relationships, which I get is the main point of the story, but It only made me dislike the main characters. And unfortunately it caused me to not want to root for them to end up together. Sadly this one just wasn’t for me!

Here’s hoping the movie is better!

Thank you, NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing, for sharing this audiobook with me! This was my first NetGalley book and I’m looking forward to future ones.

I grabbed this because I love to read a book before I see a movie. I had this movie on my lists to watch because the previews seemed fun.
The narrator was a good listen. The story for me however started out fun and silly but there were so many lines that made me cringe more than swoon or laugh.

One word: Cringey.

Jane to Elton: ‘“If you were a ride in the amusement part, I would buy a ticket just to see what would happen.” Was that what I was saying that in would RIDE him?’

“Hi cock. You, sweetie, deserve a letter of your own.” Just no.

Some funny parts like:
“There was a condom. Fiddled with the intensity of putting a worm on a hook.”

I would give the movie a try but the book was not for me.

This story was beautiful to hear on audio. I truly enjoyed listening to the romance between the two main characters get deeper and deeper as the story progressed.

I really loved this book and I looked forward to revisiting it through the audiobook but I didn't find it as captivating as I found the book. It's a great story, told in a unique way. Having the alternating narrators made it interesting as well.

A fun spin on a romance. There was a bit of drunk driving that seemed gratuitous but that did not detract from overall appeal of the story. You’ll root for the charmingly messy (messily charming?) main characters.

I was really excited to read this book, I had no idea what it was about when I went into it, but I was offered to read this movie tie-in version. I also have not seen the movie. It starts pretty fun with our FMC and MMC meeting at a wedding and then they decide to become pen pals, back when people still wrote letters. They used these letters to get to know one another and offer confessions of their past relationships. After a few letters, I was bored. I mean very bored. The book became less and less interesting the further we went on. Both characters are not likable, and their “confessions” make them less so. These two meet up again after a while of letter writing and their written words don’t seem to compare to their in-person chemistry. Some parts were really intriguing, and the whole of the story is well written, but it’s dull. Let's talk narration. I always love the dual narrators and they make the characters a little more bearable. Overall, I this story is nothing to write home about and I’m curious if this will be one of those rare movies that is better than the book it was inspired from.

Loved this! I listened to the audiobook. It was amazing. I went in blind, only knowing it was coming out on Netflix. Such a great work of fiction!

I liked the audiobook and thought it was well formatted. However, I found it was also very flat or maybe the novel itself was flat. I felt like it should have had some humorous moments that just didn’t hit.
I’m super excited for the movie, but I wish the book had been better.

After John and Jane almost have a sexual encounter in the coat room at mutual friends’ weddings, they decide instead to get to know each other first by corresponding through letters, laying bare the best and worst parts of themselves. When they decide to meet again, will the connection still be there?

I typically love epistolary novels, but this one failed to capture my attention. The more we learned about their pasts, the less I liked either character, which made it hard to root for them to get together. This book just wasn’t for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of this book.

This book starts off fun with a silly premise that quickly grabbed my interest, and then fizzled quickly. The two characters hook up at a wedding, realize they might actually have some chemistry, and so agree to stop making out and write letters instead. From there we have them trying to get to know each other, which turns into a long winded replay of every relationship they had from beginning to now, showing the ones who hurt them, and the ones they hurt. The problem come in that I don't care about their past relationships. It was a boring biography I didn't ask for. I think this would play out in movie form really well, but on the page fell extremely flat.

Thank you for the review edition.

I found the premise of this book interesting, but ultimately it felt a bit awkward and fell short for me. I did laugh out loud at times and did also find much of it to be quite "real" which I appreciated.