ashley poston writes such beautifully complex love stories that always have me teetering on the line of giddiness and brokenness (in the best of ways). her characters feel like long-lost friends, returning home after a long trip away. they rip my heart out and stitch it back together, and I think this one ruined me the most.

the premise of this book was so unique, and I loved every second of it. all readers think of living in their favorite book, but what happens when you get the chance to do just that? what happens when you finally find a home with a person you cannot keep and a place you cannot stay? can you find a way to make it work? will falling in love be enough, or will you have to set your love free to live the life you both deserve? ashley poston explores this in such a beautifully heartbreaking way, and I think it has forever changed me.

anders and elsy are such a lovely couple. their banter was fun. their tension was palpable. their love was complex, complicated, and comforting all at the same time. they existed together in such a confusing yet albeit perfect way, and I couldn’t get enough. they are everything.

I utterly loved reading this book! I love her writing so much, and this idea of being in the town of your favourite book series? Sounds like every book lovers dream! But it was such a great story about love and loss and grief, and I loved it! Because after loss, there is that fear of trying again, of future loss. I really enjoyed watching this book explore that!

Two years ago, Elsy went through the worst year of her life, and this series, which she loved previously, helped her get through it, bringing together this book club. That when she really needed it, she ended in this town that was made up for the series? So glad that it worked out that way!

Oh, and that cameo of Benji, and then Clem as well? That was just so sweet and so perfect, and totally made sense, for him to be a part of a book club! And in this book where she goes to the made up town from the series that brought the book club together? Yeah, I loved that! That was just a perfect addition to this story!

Her relationships with the people who were the main couples in the books was really interesting, she knows them so well, but it's one sided, as well as-they were left mid-way through the 5th and final book. So that was interesting to read. On top of that, was her relationship with Anders, the grump that he is that hides such a great interior, and a few secrets as well. It was all just so great to read, and I loved it all!

This was such a fantastic read and I can't wait to read more by Ashley Poston!

Thanks again to NetGalley for this ARC! Another great love story from Ashley Poston! What I love most about Ashley Poston's rom-coms are the supernatural/magical twists that she throws in. Elsy ends up in the fictional town from her favorite book series, this should be unbelievable and ridiculous, but it works!! I fell in love with the whole cast of characters and I was both excited and sad to come to the end of their story. Ashley Poston has become an author that automatically gets added to my TBR list!

This was just such a cozy read. I loved the premise. I immediately fell in love with the charming, imaginary town. I felt like Anders lacked some depth, but overall did enjoy this.

Many thanks to Berkley Romance, NetGalley, and Ashley Poston for a gifted digital copy of this wildly entertaining book that is both a romance and a love letter to romance novels.

Eileen Meriweather and her friends do an annual romance book reading getaway, but she is going alone this year. Bummed that all of her friends bailed, she is making the long drive alone, but when her car breaks down, she finds herself in a town that feels both odd and oddly familiar because it is Eloraton, the quirky small town that exists in her favorite romance novel series. The series was left unfinished when the author passed away, and the town is also unfinished, frozen in the author's unfinished manuscript. While waiting for her car to be fixed, she does what any fan would do - visit all the places and talk to all the characters she loved in the stories. But there is one character she can't place, Anderson, the handsome & grumpy bookstore owner, who seems to be the only character that knows they are in a story, and he doesn't want Eileen messing with the plot. The longer she spends in the town, puzzling out the people, the bookstore owner, and the mysteries of the plot, the less she wants to leave.

Like in The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip, our main character has a magical intervention that helps her find love and discover something important about herself. It took me a little time to connect with the story because many of the characters aren't developed in the same way they would have been if you were reading the series in which the magical town exists. You are dropped into a town Eileen is already familiar with from reading the series, and we are told the characters' backstory rather than experiencing it - because they aren't the story; Eileen is. Once I readjusted my thinking, I enjoyed the book and related to the desire to experience the worlds that incredible authors create. I loved Eileen and Anders's journeys, the meta-like storytelling of writing a romance novel about being inside a romance novel, and the idea of what happens after the happily ever after. Overall, it was an incredibly thoughtful book!

I had high hopes for this book, as I’ve loved Ashley Poston in the past, but it ended up being a pretty big let down. Poston’s prior books have done such a wonderful job weaving together the main character’s personal journey, a compelling romance, and elements of magic. In this book, however, these pieces felt confused and unbalanced. The pacing was inconsistent and often jarring. There were so many side characters that most of them ended up feeling underdeveloped. Elsy made references to charming, witty banter that fell pretty flat for me on the page, and I didn’t feel like the romance developed in a way that was natural or satisfying.

Before I started reading I saw another review mention that the whole book could be boiled down to a few repeated descriptions and thought to myself “it can’t possibly be that bad” … but turns out that it kind of is. I read the phrases “minty green eyes” and “smelled/tasted like black tea” so many times that it was distracting, and it highlighted for me how I didn’t ever get a grasp on Anders as a character beyond the repetitive descriptors.

This does have moments and even full chapters of loveliness, and I was surprised to find myself tearing up near the end (though not at all for the reasons I would have expected). I think there’s a great book in this concept, but it was muddied and ultimately disappointing in its execution.

This book was so close to perfection! The setting was immersive, the banter engaging and witty, and each character had charm, humor, and depth. Elsy's arc to minimizing her own wants less and finding who she wants to be is beautiful and real and an important story to tell.

I have only read Ashley Poston's YA stuff prior to this, and I was a fan of those books so I knew I'd probably enjoy this one going into it. I did enjoy it! It has a really interesting premise of a small town straight out of a romance series that the main characters find themselves in. It's like if I went on a road trip and drove right into the town the Winston Brothers series is set in. However, I'm was really hoping that I would fall in love with the characters in this town just like Elsy does, but I didn't feel a connection with them. They felt almost like set dressing. Still, the book is charming and a fun read.

Are you truly a reader if you’ve never dreamed of visiting in your favorite fictional town?

Ashley Poston takes that dream and paints a wonderful story around it like only she can. This is a book you’ll want to read again and again and again. It feels like coming home.

After reading and LOVING the seven year slip last year, I screamed when I saw this available to request on netgalley! And although I didn’t love it as much as her others, it was still so good!!

Such a cozy and unique story line! I dream of what happened to the FMC, Elsy, to happen to me! Can you imagine ending up in the town of your fav series?? A DREAM! And it also made the romance in this story even more special and sweet feeling to me, the reader. I am already looking forward to Poston’s next book! She’s def one of my fav romance authors.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Berkley for the early digital arc in exchange for my honest feedback.

I feel like I went into this book expecting a classic Poston love-story, and instead I found a beautiful ode to the contemporary romance novel. Poston reminded me of exactly why I love this genre so much, and expertly crafted a world that put all of that love on true display.

The townspeople of Eloraton grab at your heart, and the way Elsy moves through their world brings to mind all of our most secret desires to escape into the world of a book. I believe that one of Ashley Poston's greatest strengths as an author is in how she makes her main characters so real, and thus makes her readers feel seen. I felt myself in Elsy, and in her desire for escape. Not to be too emotional on main, but I've had a really rough time over the past several weeks with some personal news and was definitely reading this to find an escape: and seeing that same desire reflected in Elsy was so validating for me.

The fact that Poston was able to craft that emotion within this book, while still making it a fun read that I'd reach for even when my emotions were in tip-top shape is just stunning. I can't wait for this book to be published.

If you’re a lover of contemporary romance, I highly recommend picking this one up in June. I adored it, and it’s definitely one of my new favorite Poston novels!

Look, I will always read anything that Ashley Piston writes because she is the queen of heart-wrenching romance stories with magical elements in the mix. Anything she writes automatically becomes a five-star read for me. And A Novel Love Story isn’t any different. 
A Novel Love Story will bring the readers to their knees when they find out that the main character ends up in their favorite series universe. Like, that’s a dream come true. Do you know how many books in the in the universe I want to be?! So many without a thought. And the main character ends up in her favorite novel universe.
Eileen definitely thought she was on something or was dreaming when she ended up in her favorite series universe. It wasn’t a dream; it’s actually all real. She is just stuck with the characters, who are currently stuck in their lives since the author of the series died and the series isn’t finished yet. 
Eileen didn’t expect to spend her vacation with her favorite series characters on her annual book club retreat. She thought she would be alone on the retreat since everyone backed out, including her best friend. She desperately needed her time off to think about her life. Something isn’t quite as right as she thought it would be. And she hadn’t realized it until she started helping these fictional characters get unstuck in their universe.
It’s pretty tippy how eye-opening it is when Eileen realizes how stuck she is in her profession and personal life as she helps her fiction characters grow in their lives. It gives her a new perspective on letting go of her past experiences and growing into her own life. Stop living someone else’s story and become her own main character in life.

This is my second favorite book by Ashley Poston! First is the Seven Year Slip. But this one was like a big hug. I loved the premise of it. I highly recommend!

In true Ashley Poston fashion, this book is whimsy and makes you believe in magic for just a little while. This one is unlike anything I’ve ever read. It felt very hallmark, but that was definitely the point. Our protagonist is very much in a cross roads in her life and stumbling into an unknown but known situation really sends her life into a tailspin. It was a little cheesy at times, but again I think that was intentional. But this one really makes you think about love and that happily ever after whatever that means. Mentally anticipated being emotionally destroyed and confirm this happen. I just love her books always have a little magic in them because I think that we could always use a little magic.

This was almost something, but didn't quite deliver.

Poston has a knack for romantic magical realism. I liked The Dead Romantics and loved The Seven Year Slip. She has successfully made me swoon while also tackling tough topics like grief.

A Novel Love Story has a good premise, especially for a book lover - a girl stumbles into the town from her favorite romance series. But every point of this felt like a first draft (and I was reading an ARC so maybe some of this will be ironed out?). It felt like something was missing or maybe I missed something.

The biggest examples: SPOILERS Junie and Will finish the inn and then kinda get engaged (again?) and Elsy talks about an upcoming wedding. But we are never told that this wedding is happening the next day...it is just assumed, I guess. She asks Anders to go with her and then we are told it is the next day. Was this already being planned? It was just so disjointed.

And the conclusion to fixing up the inn SPOILER the inn's toilet has been making a weird noise, which already felt like a weird plot point that was being given more weight that it should. then Elsy suddenly realizes that the author had left clues that it was the possum blocking the plumbing...but as far as I can remember there is no mention of this possum or that it is missing or anything. It is just dropped at the end as if we the reader should have see the clues along the way?

Elsy and Anders' relationship doesn't feel fully developed either. They meet and dislike each other and then we get one scene where she helps him and suddenly they are very into each other and it has been obvious the whole time how much they like each other? Again, felt like it was just dropped into the story and there was no buildup.

Poston also does Easter eggs from her other two magical realism romances. Benji, from Dead Romantics, is a tertiary character in this. That's always nice to see the connections. But then she SPOILER makes the book Dead Romantics a thing in universe. Florence from that book has written her and Benji's story and it is a book. That's fine. But then Poston also addresses criticism of Dead Romantics - she drops lines about the overuse of doggo and the insta-love, all the critiques you see on goodreads for that story. I didn't hate it...but it was...weird?

All of this is to say, this was fine. It just didn't click or sweep me away like Poston's other books have.

Imagine stumbling into a fictional town and befriending all of the characters from your favorite book series. Well, that’s exactly what happens to Elsy.

Despite “love story” being in this book’s name, it was quite light on the romance and heavier on emotional growth. The narrative is centered around Elsy’s friendships (in fiction and real-life), struggles post-breakup, and homecoming journey.

This book is full of the best literary references, deep introspection, and highlightable quotes. It’s poetic and whimsical and a wonderful depiction of what it means to be a reader.

While I appreciated the depth of descriptions in this book, the repetitiveness was overbearing. Yes, I understand that Anders smells like cedarwood and tastes like black tea. And “minty” was used to describe his eyes/gaze 19 times. 19!!

Also, there were parts where a conversation between Elsy and another character would be interrupted by her lengthy internal monologue. Then it would jump right back into the conversation, so that was a little jarring for me. I had to go back and reread a few times because I was so lost.

Ashley Poston strikes again! After the masterpiece that was 'The Seven Year Slip', you would think it'd be hard to top it, but not for Ashley!

Read if you like:
📚 Books about books
🍁 Gilmore Girls vibes
✨ Magical realism
❤️‍🔥 Slow burn
🎯 Found family

When all of Elsy’s book club friends ditch their annual trip, she decides to go on the trip solo. And promptly gets lost. Landing her in a small town that seems a bit familiar…almost like it’s the town she’s been reading about for years..though the only new addition to the town is the bookstore’s owner- a grumpy hunk with an adorable cat.

Ashley Poston did it AGAIN!!! It’s no secret that I’ve loved The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip so I had high hopes for this one.
I really don’t want to spoil anything so I’m just going to ask you this: how COOL would it be to stumble into a town you’ve read about and meet all the quirky characters and join them on their adventures??

It’s such a fun and unique plot that everyone who enjoys a touch of magical realism needs to pick up 🧡

Thank you to Berkley for the gifted arc 🧡

This is a romance book written for book lovers.
For every reader who wanted to literally be transported into the pages of their favorite book.
For everyone who fell in love with amazing characters.


I mean, look at some quotes I highlighted. How perfect are they?
I think The Seven Year Slip is still my favorite, but I really liked this one!
And I bought The Dead Romantics recently and can't wait to read it!

This book was made for the girlies who would do anything to meet one of their favorite fictional characters in real life.

Eileen's wedding has been called off, her best friend is getting engaged, and her annual book club trip has transformed into solitary cabin reading. However, when her car breaks down en route, she finds herself in a charming small town that bears a striking resemblance to her favorite romance series... because it is!

This book encapsulates every reader's fantasy: stumbling upon the setting of their favorite book series, complete with a grumpy yet attractive bookstore owner. Sign me up! I know this is not an original thought, but it's worth noting that these books lean more towards literary fiction with a romance subplot. The character development and the narrative of the people in Eloraton take center stage, accompanied by a heartwarming romance that will leave you giggling and kicking your feet. As someone Taylor Swift might refer to as a "pathological people pleaser," I found the main character's journey highly relatable. I adored how the main male character seemed to grasp her essence from the moment they met. Though their connection could be considered insta-lovey, as it unfolded over a few days, their genuine care for each other was unmistakable and endearing.

Ashley Poston's stories feel like a dream and that's precisely what I adore about them. Her writing is addictive and I feel like I could follow her characters around in their day-to-day life and never get bored. I read The Dead Romantics almost 2 years ago now, and it still sticks with me. After reading this, I will finally stop procrastinating and pick up The Seven Year Slip!

I truly can't wait for more people to experience and fall in love with this story like I did. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sending me this ARC. A Novel Love Story comes out June 25th!