A narrator can make or break an audio book. There’s something about these two voices that make this already delightful book even more enjoyable.

Sometimes the passage of time in a book can feel constricting or wildly unbelievable. I have tried to pinpoint how this one bypasses that common problem, but it does. Doyle deftly handles the ebb and flow of life’s relationships and aging with such a gentle hand. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to reveal that this book also incorporates Covid & it doesn’t feel awkward or forced. It just feels like… a thing. A moment. These characters and situations are so far outside of my lived experiences, and I love that about it. I hate when people recommend a book by referencing another author, but… in this case, if you like Beth O’Leary or Emily Henry, I think this one will land nicely.

Just Some Stupid Love Story is a long timeline, second chance romance that carries a "right person, wrong time" theme. The FMC, Molly, is a cynical rom-com screenwriter (ironic, right?) who runs into her high school boyfriend, Seth, at her high school reunion. In a very When Harry Met Sally style, the two run into each other over a few years after their initial run-in and it's always the wrong time or Molly is afriad everyone will leave her. The audiobook is a very easy listen due to the fact that there are two narrators for each main character!
This well-balanced rom-com combines romance with a side of challenges like family and friend drama. I would definitely recommend this book to people who like When Harry Met Sally, second chance romance, long time frames, dual POVs, and drama!
Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook early in exchange for an unbiased review!💖

REVIEW: Just Some Stupid Love Story ⭐⭐⭐

Just Some Stupid Love Story was so fun, cute, and romantic. Our main characters, Seth and Molly, were high school sweethearts who broke up right before college. At their high school reunion, they catch up and discuss whether there is such a thing as a soulmate or not. Seth, a love-obsessed divorce lawyer, thinks there are and Molly, the cynical rom-com writer, thinks not. They decide to make a bet on five couples to see who will still be together in five years to prove their point. The fifth couple, Seth chose Molly and himself.

This story has such a fun premise and a great take on second-chance romance. Just Some Stupid Love Story is told in a dual POV, which helps you learn more about the characters. Each point of view in the audiobook is a different narrator, and they are both excellent. I also really appreciated the turn on the grumpy sunshine trope. Seth and Molly are great examples of opposite attraction, with Seth being the romantic who jumps into relationships fast, while Molly is more cynical about romance and afraid she will ruin any commitment.

Seth and Molly had great chemistry. They just gave off the relationship vibes that make you want to root for them. Just Some Stupid Love Story had some spicier parts, including some dirty talk and even videoing themselves. Additionally, I really liked how strong the supporting characters were. Molly’s best friends, Alyssa and Dez, were deeply involved throughout the story.

The only thing that was a bit difficult at times was the stretched-out timeline of the story and some slow progression. It was hard to see if they would connect because sometimes it was almost a year before they would talk to one another.

Overall, I really love Just a Stupid Love story. The characters, the story, and the dual POV really brought it to life for me. I especially liked the narrators in the audiobook, who brought the characters to life.

Thank you, Netgalley, Flatiron Books, and Macmillan Audio, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

#bookreview #bookrecommendations #arcread #bookstagram #books #booklover #bookish #romancereader #booksofinstagram #audiobook

This was a fun take on the second chance/high school couple trope. I liked the idea of their bet, and I loved following all five of the couples over the next few years. I really enjoyed the banter between the main characters, and the dual POV with two narrators for the audio!

This was definitely a slow burn, with big time jumps over the course of these five years. The big time jumps did take me out of the story a little, as it felt like we missed a lot that we then had to be caught up on every time. The book followed both Seth and Molly as they had relationships with other people and other big life changes. This book had a lot of angst and pining, and a decent amount of spice!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance reading copy.

Read if you like:
🥈 Second Chance Romances
💕 First Love
🎰 Bets
🤣 Banter
🌥️ Grumpy x Sunshine

If you like opposites attract meets grumpy x sunshine meets second chances and a dash of enemies to lovers you will really enjoy this debut!

For me, the pacing was a bit off and jumped around a bit too much which pulled me away from the development of the rekindling of the romance. It was also hard for me to believe that the two had been dating for all of high school and never lost their virginity and then the FMC went off to have some meaningless hookups. For me this just didn’t feel like it worked fully, especially with them hooking up pretty quickly after reconnecting.

I did love the female grump as I felt that was well done and always have a soft spot for a grump FMC character.

Thanks so much to the publisher for my ARC & ALC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Unfortunately, this book's title was spot on. I found Just Some Stupid Love Story's main characters rather unlikeable (which is kind of a dealbreaker in a romance book), the writing style confounding, and the sex scenes embarrassingly cringey. The best part of this audiobook was the nostalgia of female narrator Christine Lakin's voice taking me back to Step by Step and the 90s. Your experience with this book may be different if you enjoy:
- high angst
- second (and third and fourth and fifth) chances

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for gifting me with an ALC to review! All opinions are my own.

Molly is a rom-com screenwriter who doesn’t believe in true love. Seth was Molly’s high school boyfriend, a relationship that ended when Molly dumped him and broke his heart. Molly, the love cynic, and Seth, the believer in true love, reunite at their 15 year high school reunion, and toy with the idea of second-chance romance.

The premise of the book had me intrigued—second chance love, opposites attract: two tropes that I regularly enjoy. I found some parts of this story entertaining and charming (namely Seth), but a couple of things didn’t work for me. Molly’s character was a little confusing because she was written as having this tough exterior, emotionally closed off cynic of love, however, this seemed to contrast with her actions and internal dialogue. I also felt the timeline was too spread out. A little something would happen between Molly and Seth, and then a year would go by without them having any contact with one another. A little something more. Then another year went by. It just didn’t feel like it flowed well, and there were a lot of gaps as a result.

I did enjoy the dual narratives—told in alternating chapters between Seth and Molly. The audiobook narrators of each character did a good job on the audiobook presentation.

I had one little gripe with the audiobook version. There are multiple e-mail and text exchanges that occur during the story. I think this format likely reads very well in print, however, it was irritating on audio to list to the narrator read “to:, from:, e-mail address, date:, subject:”, etc repeatedly.

All in all, it was a decent novel. It would make a good summer beach read— romance, a little spice, and a smattering of funny banter to keep your interest.

Just some classic, amazing, and HEA love story you can't help but love. These characters are the friends you wished you had, the funny, sweet, self depricating, and gambling friends avoiding their feelings.

Narrated expertly, you feel right in the world of these two. Their likes, dislikes, and discomforts. This reads like a best selling romance. I loved the banter, back and forth, and plot build.

4.5 rounded up! Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook copy!

What a great debut novel! I enjoyed the characters and loved that we followed them throughout multiple years. Found it a little off that they hadn’t seen each other for 10 somewhat years pre-chapter 1, and then the book is now coincidence after coincidence of “wow here you are!”

Highly recommend!

4.5 Stars
I thought this was really good, especially for a debut from the author. The story was cute, the dialogue was snappy and the romance really got my heart going and I couldn't help but pull for the characters. I loved both Molly and Seth. They were just good people who really needed to be together.

I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Christine Lakin and Tim Paige. They both did an awesome job of expressing the different emotions and the different characters. I really enjoyed it!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the copy of this audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

This book was so bad, like a porno and a horrible love story I couldn’t finish it the characters were so shallow and there was no room for growth sorry but pick something else

Tropes:
Second chance
High school sweethearts reconnected at their 15 year reunion
“Never the right time”
Lawyer MMC/screenwriter FMC
Long distance
Romcom

Perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld, and The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center.
A few things to note, this one is a bit spicy and some of the book is set during 2020 and 2021 with descriptions of pandemic life.
I appreciate that this title had a reverse grumpy sunshine trope with Molly being the grumpy one who doesn’t believe in soul mates. Molly is clever, snarky, bold and isn’t letting dating guide her life plans. Seth, Molly’s high school ex, is a golden retriever type man with a big heart and a humorous geeky side. Molly is a romcom screen writer and Seth is a divorce attorney. The two have fantastic banter as well as some deep conversations about mental health.
The two see each other for the first time after breaking up in high school at a high school reunion. At the reunion they make a 5 year bet of which couples will end up staying together. One of the couples in the bet, none other than Molly & Seth.

Thank you Flatiron Books and Macmillan Audio for my #gifted copies of Just Some Stupid Love Story!

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐧 𝐃𝐨𝐲𝐥𝐞
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐦 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐞
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

4.5★

This was a fun one! I mean a a rom-com screenwriter who doesn’t believe in love and a divorce attorned who does…it’s perfect, right? Then add the extra layer that of second chance romance and you’ve got the perfect novel! Katelyn Doyle did a great job with this one! I loved both Molly and Seth and found their characters to be so unique and well-developed. I loved how the author incorporated the reverse grumpy x sunshine trope into this one too! I love books that are able to balance humor and heart, and this book did just that. I found myself laughing out loud so often! This was such a sweet and fun book and one I would definitely recommend you add to your summer reading list!

🎧I alternated between the physical book and the audiobook, narrated by Christine Lakin Tim Paige. I thought Lakin and Paige both did an excellent job bringing Molly and Seth to life and I loved my time listening to the audiobook. Both narrators worked so well together and I highly recommend the audiobook format if that option is available to you!

💜High School Sweethearts
🧡Second Chance Romance
💜Dual POV
🧡Slow Burn
💜Dual Timelines
🧡High School Reunion
💜Grumpy x Sunshine
🧡Rom-Com Screenwriter + Divorce Attorney
💜Open-Door

Posted on Goodreads on May 24, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around May 25, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on June 4, 2024
**-will post on designated date

Thank you so much for the ALC of Just Some Stupid Love Story.

The narrators were doing great, but this book was just not for me. I DNF.

The FMC is the grumpy and the MMC is the sunshine, but both take it to the extreme. Don't get me wrong I do love a good grumpy FMC and a golden retriever MMC, but it just wasn't hitting right for me. It felt almost forced with no chemistry. This is strictly my opinion and I know that a lot of people did enjoy this book, and its ok to not like the something others do.

The storyline was cute, but this one seemed to fall a little flat for me. I think it was because of the long timeline that it seemed to drag a bit in some parts. I did enjoy the witty banter between Seth and Molly.

Thank you to NetGalley and FlatIron Books for providing an advance audio copy in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

4 stars

Although Just Some Stupid Love Story was predictable in almost every way, I still really enjoyed this book! High school sweethearts meet again at their high school reunion and realize they haven’t gotten over each other. Throughout the book these two just cannot get it together enough to works things out and have a romantic relationship. But the best part of the book is they way they finally are able to make things work! There are funny, serious & steamy parts in this story, which makes all make for a great read!

The narrators did a great job as well, the dual point of views were awesome!

***Thank you Netgalley and MacMilan audio for an ARCcopy in return for an honest review***

Just Some Stupid Love Story - 2.75⭐ and 1.5🌶️- SPOILERS AHEAD

I need to preface this by saying I'm beginning to worry that my threshold for sex has gotten incredibly high. 😂 I'm seeing reviewers on Goodreads and StoryGraph calling this book "spicy" and I would not categorize it that way in the slightest. Was there sex discussed? Yes. But I think only twice did we ever see the sex through to completion, and one of those times was phone sex. Definitely far out of the range of what I'd actually describe as "spicy."

That said, this story was...fine. I would call this reverse grumpy-sunshine or golden retriever romance with an overlay of second-chance (they were high school sweethearts). A first, I liked the banter and I felt the romance. I liked the wager at their reunion. I thought there were a lot of cute directions this could have gone. But over time you begin to notice that the MCs were pretty much the only barrier to love for themselves; so after quite a long book, it wears on you that they could simply...step out of their own way.

I also felt like the FMC was really clear about her needs and anxieties with the MMC, but he just didn't care? He had marriage tunnel vision and forced the FMC to agree that "soul mates" exist. His story goes like this: He tries to force the FMC into a relationship and she rejects him, then he rejects her when she says she's ready, then he proposes to a woman he was dating for 6 months, then they mutually break up during quarantine and he victimizes himself, he takes all this time to "heal," only to return to the FMC THE EXACT SAME MAN. I thought they could've had a mutual relationship but he was giving majorly toxic vibes by the end. He is always a victim. He is supposed to be a "hopeless romantic," but actually seems hell-bent on controlling the narrative of romance around him. Very strange.

On the other hand, she has incredible levels of fear of romance and love. She mentions seeing a therapist, but I think that needed to be much larger for this character. By the end, I didn't see her having changed much either (she definitely evolved more than him). Overall, it makes me feel like either he'll continue to push on her traumas or they'll get divorced. Not really like they're soul mates, which I believe was the intention. I think the book started so high that tend fell more flat for me, unfortunately.

This was most defiantly NOT just some stupid love story, it was sweet, funny, spicy, and very entertaining! I loved this audiobook while I was doing laundry, I laughed out loud a few times and my husband said “It must be a good one”. I was engulfed by this sweet story.

3⭐
Genre ~ contemporary romance
Setting ~ Florida & Illinois & California
Publication date ~ June 4, 2024
Est Page Count ~ 318 (42 chapters)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 31 minutes
Narrators ~ Christine Lakin, Tim Paige
POV ~ dual 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ debut, 9 parts, HS sweethearts, reverse grumpy/sunshine, slow burn, second chance, some steamage, side character infidelity

Molly & Seth
Molly is a rom com screenwriter that doesn't believe in love and marriage due to her father's example. Seth wants nothing more than to find 'the one' and live happily ever after. He thought he found that with Molly when they were in high school, but she left him and broke his heart. Now they're at their 15 year reunion and the attraction is still there. Can they easily find their way back to each other?

Oh Seth I felt so bad for him. He wears his heart on his sleeve and just wants someone to love him forever. He keeps getting his heart broken and his emotions clearly came through on the page, or in my ears rather.

Eh with Molly. I never really warmed up to her on the romance front, but she was a great friend to her bff's.

Overall, this is fine as a debut. There were enough funny bits to keep me entertained, but I just felt like so much time was wasted.

Side note ~ there are a lot of emails and text messages, which I wouldn't have minded if I was reading it, but to hear all the info following 'to..., from..., date..., time..., subject...' over and over and over again annoyed me.

Narration notes:
They both did fine. Tim still needs to work on his lady voice.