This is easily one of the most interesting romance books I have ever read. The novel's unique premise—a literature professor finding herself literally caught up in the pages of her favorite romance series—sets the stage for a delightful and imaginative journey that blurs the line between reality and fiction.

Eileen Merriweather is a character who will resonate with anyone who has ever sought refuge in a good book. Her love for happily-ever-afters is put to the test when she ends up stranded in Eloraton, a charming town that is as fictional as it is real. Polston's description of Eloraton is so vivid that it feels as though the reader, like Eileen, has stepped right into the pages of a beloved story. From the sweet honey taffy at the candy store to the predictably rainy afternoons, the town is a perfect blend of nostalgia and magic.

The plot takes an intriguing turn with the introduction of a grumpy yet irresistibly captivating bookstore owner. His mysterious presence in a world that should be familiar to Eileen adds depth to the narrative, creating a tension that keeps the reader eagerly turning pages. As Eileen grapples with her role in bringing the town to its storybook ending, she discovers that her own happily-ever-after may be more intertwined with this fictional world than she ever imagined.

I mean, yeah I ugly cried.

This was so cute and I absolutely loved the characters in this magical little town! I mean yes we didn't know how and why the town happened but there is just something about the magic of it all that made me not care to know.
Also, I agree with other reviews about the third act breakup being slightly ridiculous and not needed because it took some of the romantic magic away but other than that I loved every second of it !

Thank you to the publisher for a copy!

I love Ashley Poston’s writing and her cozy settings, but I didn’t connect with these characters. I knew that Elsy loved these people and this town, but I struggled to care or connect as an outsider.
I also felt like the romance was minimal for most of the book and then super amplified the last 25%

I think this could have benefited from being a duology!

Elsy, on her way to seclude herself with her books for the week, finds herself in the middle of a strange town that she vaguely recognizes after a big storm ⛈️ turns out it’s the town her favorite book series takes place in! How will she get out and who will she meet along the way? 🧐

I LOVED dead romantics - it was the last book I read in 2022 and it was so good! Seven Year Slip was a bit of a disappointment for me but I still enjoyed it and I was excited for this one! Novel Love Story slots in with Seven Year Slip - it was good but I think Dead Romantics just holds such a high bar 🫣 I didn’t really trust the romance but I liked Elsy enough as a main character and the story itself was super interesting! 😍

I love the magical realism and stories Ashley Poston writes. This one was so fun and I love the living in a favorite series. This gave me pleasantville vibes kinda. The characters were so unique and I love the way it was told. The ending wasn’t my favorite. It just felt fast and lackluster.

*Thank you netgalley and Berkley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love Ashley Poston and the dreamy, somewhat magical romances she writes. A Novel Love Story hooked me from the very beginning. This book was truly for the book girlies who long to be transported to the setting of their favorite novels. And that’s exactly what happens to Elsy. I really felt for Elsy - while all of her friends are celebrating new milestones in their lives, it seems like she’s going backwards. Who hasn’t had moments where they feel like that? When her friends cancel their annual reading retreat, Elsy decides to go it alone.

And that’s when things get interesting.

A Novel Love Story reminded me a bit of Pleasantville with just a dash of Once Upon a Time and a sprinkle of Stars Hollow. As someone who loves all of those things, it’s no surprise I enjoyed this one. The setting was everything. Poston really transports you to Eloraton and the town just felt alive. Elsy was a great main character to root for and all of the secondary characters felt fully fleshed out. The romance between Elsy and Anders wasn’t my favorite, but there were plenty of other things I enjoyed here. 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for a review copy.

Who wouldn't want to step into the world of their favorite book series? For literature professor, Eileen, she gets just that opportunity when her car breaks down on her way to a book retreat. As she gets to know a different side to all of her beloved book world besties, her mind and heart are opened to the fact that what's on a page doesn't define who you are. I enjoyed this premise and found it entertaining. I struggled at times with the drawn out nature of the book. I look forward to the author's next release!

Thank you to PRH Audio for the audiobook and Berkley for the eARC.

Not sure totally what this is supposed to be and unfortunately I don't think the author does either. I enjoyed the first 40% of this, along for the ride of what it was building up to. I think it's such fun worldbuilding to live in the books you love so much and interact with your favorite author's characters in "real life", there are so many options for an overarching "lesson" with that kind of premise. But then the worldbuilding got.. weird. And normally I like weird but no it stopped making logical sense and I don't mean that in a I don't understand magical realism way it was in a we're just going to make and break any kind of rules way. I left this with so many questions I didn't care to know the answer to because I also didn't really like the plot or the main characters.

I am so sorry but there is little to no chemistry between the supposed love interests. I would have believe this more if the FMC was sent there to set the MMC up with someone else and then go on her own journey, maybe have a second chance romance situation with her ex. And also she slaps him so hard that he has a red mark later but we're just supposed to find it funny cause the small town gossips about it? Gave me the ick early on and the romance just felt forced later.

Also, the narration wasn't my favorite. She has a Southern accent which doesn't totally make sense to me because this is supposed to be upstate New York. Not only that but I felt her style of acting out the scenes and dialogue really wasn't romantic or for a romance novel, it was more for a quirky 1950s historical fiction, just really not matching the character's inner ruminations, heartbreak, curiosity, and eventual romance.

Ashley Poston is definitely the queen of magical realism! I enjoyed the concept of the story because who wouldn't love falling into their favorite romance book and Ashley Poston just knows how to write a story in such a vivid way, you feel like you're in the book. That being said, this book was kinda disappointing and fell a little flat for me. The romance felt so rushed and kinda forced, I can't say i was the biggest fan of the FMC, and again the third act conflict felt super rushed and and came out of nowhere but was then magically resolved 5 pages later. I'll still read her books because I truly love them but this one just was not for me.

Anything Ashley Poston writes, I will read and I will love. A Novel Love Story is no exception.
This charming novel poses the question every reader desperately wishes to be asked--what if you could travel to the world of your favorite book?
Ashley Poston's immersive prose allowed me to be fully swept up in the story and romance of Eloraton. I read this book in a single sitting, and never wanted to put it down. The chemistry between our main characters was electric, and was balanced well with a sweet emotional depth.
I adored this book, and I can't wait to see what Ashley Poston does next!

Ashley Poston is an author who I am still trying to understand. I had vastly different experiences with her previous two adult romances, one in which I disliked so strongly and The Seven Year Slip which I was recommending to everyone I spoke to. Unfortunately this book did not agree with me in the same way that The Seven Year Slip did. I actually found this book to be ridiculous.

Eileen Merriweather loves a great HEA storyline and her life can use some romances with a guaranteed Happily Ever After. Her fiance broke up with her a week before the wedding and left her to pick up all the pieces. She still has not recovered completely. To make matters worse, all her friends from her romance book club cannot make it to their annual retreat this year.

Eileen decides to go on her own, but her car breaks down and she finds herself inside her favorite fictional town of Eloraton. She has no idea how it happened, but she is inside a fictional town that is in limbo. They are stuck between the author's previous book and the unfinished last story. When she meets the grumpy bookstore owner, she thinks that he must be part of the last story and she unknowingly starts changing things in the town.

Ashely Poston's books are so original and this one was no exception. I love the idea of a romance story within a story. The book is magical without seeming impossible. It was delightful and difficult to put down #gifted

Elsy is a romance reader who is in search of her own HEA. She is on her way to her annual smutty book club retreat, but takes a path that leads her straight to the world from her favorite books. Elsy believes she has been led to this world to help wrap up the unfinished pages. She sets out to help the characters find their dreams & happiness. However, there's one grumpy bookseller that she just can't place & he does not want Elsy meddling with the townspeople lives.

I've seen many reviews saying this book is a love letter to romance readers & I 100% agree with that statement. I'm sure many of us have that book that just feels like home. Youu feel like you're a part of that world & know the characters like they're your best friend. Elsy has the opportunity to experience her favorite books come to life.

The romance was a bit lackluster but I wasn't too bothered by it. I was more drawn to the characters of Eloraton & watching Elsy attempt to help them while also working on her faults along the way.

This has been my favorite Ashley Poston & I can't wait to read her next book.

I absolutely adore Ashley Poston and even though this isn’t my new fave of hers (the Seven Year Slip is), I still really enjoyed this. I loved the magical realism and book within a book concept, but the romance just didn’t work for me the way her other books have. I’m not sure where my disconnect was! The premise was so cool but the execution just didn’t quite work for me! Even though this book should have checked all the boxes for me I just didn’t really love the way it played out (and that third act breakup 🤦🏼‍♀️).


Thank you Berkley for the ARC!

I LOVED the concept of this!!! So original and fun! The setting and atmosphere gave me such Gilmore girl vibes and I loved the ending of this too!

I just didn’t think the chemistry of the MCs was there - kinda felt like it came out of no where and parts of the book just felt a little all over the place. Also listened to this mostly on audio and I just really didn’t vibe with narrator - especially compared to Ashley’s previous 2 books.

I had such high hopes for this one, and while I did enjoy the premise, it ended up falling a bit flat (especially considering how much I love and adore Ashley Poston's other romances).

My favorite part of this one was undoubtedly the premise. I think any reader would love the idea of somehow finding themselves in the world of their favorite book series and being able to interact with their favorite characters (for anyone wondering, I would love to happen upon the world of Well Met so I can go to the renaissance faire and meet Simon as his pirate self). In fact, I felt that Elsy's interactions with all of the characters outshone the love story itself.

However, there were elements of this one I found to be increasingly frustrating.

First and foremost, the mystery of Anders's presence in the town. Elsy spends most of the story theorizing over who he is, and finds herself (incorrectly) convinced that Anders was meant to be the love interest in the author's final unwritten book in the series. Maybe it's just me, but I felt that the truth behind Anders being in the town was fairly obvious, especially after Elsy sees him in the hidden graveyard.

I also found myself annoyed with the book's "third act break-up". While Anders's reasoning for taking so long to reunite with Elsy, I fundamentally did not understand Elsy's reasoning for [SPOILERS AHEAD] leaving alone, believing that Anders would want to stay in the town with the character that most closely mirrored the author of the series in real life.

Overall, as with many of Ashley Poston's books, this one was fun and whimsical, and I would recommend it for that element of whimsy alone, but it would not be my go-to recommendation of hers.

✨Book Review✨
A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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I'm not sure exactly why, but this book sort of fell flat for me. It was a cute concept, but I wasn't super invested in the love story, the characters seemed a little two-dimensional, and I just didn't feel excited to keep reading. If you are super excited about the idea of falling into the town where your favorite book is set, you might like this one more than I did and I would say it's worth a try!

Thank you to Berkley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Novel Love Story has such a unique concept, but the delivery ultimately left me wanting more.

Elsy, our female protagonist finds herself emerged into the world of her favorite romance novels, as she begins to question how this is even possible she also begins to wonder why she can’t seem to place Anders, the bookstore owner, and his relationship with this town and its people. Elsy’s love for this town is so clear and it also makes her question if she wants to find a way back to her reality or if she should just stay in the comfort of Eloraton.

The parts of the book I loved most are the parts where Ashley Poston writes about books and the sheer magic they have on readers’ lives, the beauty and comfort that comes from finding a book/author that you feel completely connected to and seen by.

While I did love this premise from the start, it was also what ended up causing a few issues for me and my reading experience. Elsy knows Eloraton and all of the people that live there, but for us, the readers, we only know them through Elsy, which made it hard for me to truly know and love them in the same way that she does. And I really really wanted to.

If you ask me which authors helped usher in my newfound appreciation for magical realism and novels with fantastical elements, I’d raise you Ashley Poston.

I read THE DEAD ROMANTICS when it came out in 2022 and was surprised by how much I liked a ghostly love story. Cue last summer’s THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP, which played with time travel in a really unique way and I was hooked.

In A NOVEL LOVE STORY, Poston once again plays with magical elements, but this time, a lonely English professor gets trapped in the town from her favorite book series. After Elsy’s entire book club ditches their annual cabin retreat, she decides to go on her own. While en route, her car breaks down leaving her stranded in the town from her favorite romance series. While she can recognize almost all of the townspeople from her beloved books, she’s stumped by Anders, a grumpy bookstore owner. As she tries to usher the town into the happy ending it deserves—the author passed away before finishing the final book—she wonders if it might be time to write her own happily ever after.

This book was written for the book girlies! If you’ve ever dreamed of living in the world from your favorite book series, then you’ll devour this. The setting and atmospheric elements truly shine in here. There’s a quaint bookstore, a haunted B&B, and a Gilmore Girls-esque diner. It was sweet to experience Elsy’s excitement at being in this world, and there were some fun nods (the starlings’ song, the graveyard). ALSO—can we talk about the callbacks to her other books? Poston’s writing is warm as ever, and the way Elsy figures out what she wants was a highlight of the book.

Unfortunately, this one faltered for me in terms of actual romance. I didn’t quite buy the connection between Elsy and Anders, largely because it was lacking in tension and chemistry. I think a lot of airtime was given to setting up this world, and when it came to creating a full-bodied romance, this one was lacking.

All in all, a great read in terms of atmospheric elements, but I wouldn’t write home about the romance.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫Book Review

Everyone on Bookstagram should read this book it is so fitting for us all. Finding community and friendship through books. I loved the magical realism, it made for a fun and entertaining story. This cover is just gorgeous too! I got lost and bored in the middle…and the concept of a book within a book was a little confusing, but overall a fun read! There were a lot of good quotes in this book and I couldn’t pick just one!

Quotes:

“The bridge came, and I passed over it. And I turned the page…”

“Find me in the romance section.”

“There were still happy endings to be found…even if they weren’t my own.”

"Sometimes a book can change your life. It's hard to explain that to someone who doesn't read, or who has never felt their heart bend so strongly towards a story that it might just snap in two."

TROPES
* Magic realism
* Small town
* Forced proximity
* Grumpy & Sunshine
* Book about books

Spice: 🌶️