Oh wow, what a marvelous surprise Katelyn Doyle's Just Some Stupid Love Story turned out to be!!! I kind of wish they'd named the book something else, just because that title really doesn't do the story justice. The pretty cover caught my eye, so thankfully there's that.

These characters... just wonderful. There's terrific chemistry between the MCs, really interesting drama between the family members and the friends, love found and love lost. Honestly, just everything I really enjoy about a good novel, Just Some Stupid Love Story has it all in spades. This would make a fantastic film.

The audio version of Just Some Stupid Love Story is beautifully performed by Christine Lakin and Tim Paige, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

<i> A debut about a rom-com screenwriter who doesn't believe in love and a divorce attorney who does, forced together at their high school reunion fifteen years after their breakup </i>

Just Some Stupid Love Story is not in fact stupid, but rather a fun, sweet love story, a second chance romance that spans several years (including the pandemic era, which is written into the story, but not overly so). It was delightful to watch Seth and Molly banter and dance around each other as their story unfolded.

Christine Lakin and Tim Paige did a nice job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Katelyn Doyle, Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

✨ Book Review✨
Just Some Stupid Love Story
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Let me start out by saying this book intrigued me from the beginning, especially when Seth entered the picture. He was fun, funny, and light hearted. I loved the nostalgia of the high school reunion. I laughed quite a bit and enjoyed the fun banter between Seth and Molly.

As the story progressed, she began to frustrate the heck out of me. She was confusing. And I get that she’s confused and traumatized but I just did not like the way she treated Seth. I wish the story ended about 60% in so I would have felt more satisfied with the ending.

Overall, I was entertained because of the audiobook performances. I was definitely not expecting the spice in this story. It only had 2 spicy parts but they were 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

I do think the title is very fitting because I will remember it as eh, it was just some stupid love story.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio #MacAudio2024 and @netgalley for the advanced audiobook. #JustSomeStupidLoveStory

I liked how the main characters weren't always together but found ways to stay in each others lives which felt realistic. I was also excited to see how the bet would turn out in the end. I think this was a cute romance that people who are fans of second chance romances will enjoy.

Just Some Stupid Love Story is an entertaining, enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, rom com and I enjoyed it.

The story follows Molly and Seth, who were high school sweethearts until Molly broke up with him, who meet again 15 years later at their high school reunion.

Molly is a romcom screenwriter who doesn’t believe in love while Seth is a divorce lawyer who believes in love.

After too many drinks they hookup and before parting ways, make a bet on who can predict the fate of five couples before their twentieth reunion themselves included. Whoever loses has to admit that the other is right about true love.

The story unfolds over a numbers of years and is told in both their POV. Both characters were complex individuals who couldn't be more different in their view of love. She's a cynic and he idealized love but as the months go by, they continue to communicate via email and share updates on their personal lives and updates on the couples they bet on.

I really enjoyed the back and forth banter between these two and seeing how their relationship slowly progressed and as time passed I loved that they both realized they had to work on themselves and I loved the growth outside of the romance.

This was my first time reading this author and I enjoyed the novel. I would definitely recommend it to lovers of romantic comedies.

🎧 I listened to the audiobook version of this novel which was narrated by Christine Lakin and Tim Paige. They did a great job with the characters and bringing the story to life, however I didn't care for Seth's voice at the start of the novel especially at the reunion but it did change as the story progressed and was much more enjoyable.

I really like this book. I found both characters completely relatable. A perfect second chance romance. I liked that we saw her struggles to being open to love and how patient he was with her and supportive.

I have put off writing this review. I so wanted to love Just Some Stupid Love Story but it fell a bit short. My 20th high school reunion is coming up so reading a book about rekindling with your high school flame seemed fun! And while this book covers many topics, I'm not sure I would say fun is one of them.

Molly, our female lead, is kind of a grumpy. hot mess. So I obviously loved her. Her friendship with Dex and Alyssa was hands down my favorite part of the book. I struggled with Seth. A hopeless romantic who is a divorce attorney? Yeah. I am not buying it. Honestly if it wasn't for his amazing family and the talented Tim Paige narrating, I would have skipped over many of his sections.

This book also wove COVID19 into it's storytelling. I did find it interesting as I am sure the stay at home mandates killed many relationships. Saying that, I'm just not sure I want to read about the pandemic which was an awful time for so many.

Overall, this was a well thought out story. I just think I want my romantic comedies to have a bit more romance and comedy.

There has recently been a trend with romcom books that have characters in the books that are somehow tied to romcoms, and I have so much enjoyed how meta this is! In this book the main female character Molly is a romcom screenplay writer. Naturally, however, she doesn't believe in love. Seth, her high school boyfriend that she breaks it off with just after graduation, is the hopeless romantic. Of course, they come back into contact at their high school reunion and emotions run high, and old flames are reignited. It all culminates into a bet being made regarding five different relationships in their high school class- betting on who would still be together romantically and who would be divorced by the next reunion. The final couple, according to Seth, is going to be him and Molly married at their 20 year reunion.

I really liked this story! I thought it was a quick and easy read, and I could not put it down because I wanted to know how these two seemingly opposite characters fit together. I enjoyed that it was a book that took us over five years. Seth is just such a cinnamon roll of a main male character. All he wants is to have a wife and kids, and he yearns for this. Molly is a bit too grumpy at times, but I still did enjoy her softening and development over the course of the book. I think one of the best parts of the books was seeing how each character is growing when they were not together. I was rooting for this couple the entire time, and I enjoyed the ending. Ironically, I could easily see this turning into the plot of a romcom movie. Overall, this was a great beach read that kept me entertained with the characters banter and gave me butterflies when it ended.

Loved the narration of the audiobook. I thought the narrators did a great job bringing these characters to life and I enjoyed how well it brought the story together.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

What a fun book! This is a laugh-out-loud, sometimes cry-a-little, rom-com about Molly Marks and Seth Rubinstein and their on-again, off-again romance that began in high school. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was right on target with both voices.

Seth is the romantic one; Molly has abandonment by daddy issues, and she tends to run when things get intense. She’s done that to Seth multiple times. At first I wondered why he put up with her shenanigans, since he’s a darling—-so thoughtful, kind, and a real catch. He’s a family law (read:divorce) attorney in Chicago, and she’s a romantic-com screenwriter in Los Angeles.

The book begins when they are at their 15-year high school reunion. Their banter is engaging, and they gave a one-night fling then, which leads to their betting on the fate of 5 couples at the reunion, including themselves. The rest of the book takes us through the ensuing five years, with Seth and Molly flirting with being a couple. There are moments of joy and happiness as well as such heartbreak.

I really liked the book! I did think it dragged a little getting through the five-year timeline, but after about 60 percent it picked up, and I was wondering how it would all be wrapped up.

Definitely recommend it! I’ll also look forward to another read from this author.

I didn't partiularly like either of these lead characters to be honest but I liked the banter between them.

‘Just Some Stupid Love Story’ is a fun, entertaining second chance rom-com. I listened to the audiobook and the narration was lovely! I loved the chemistry between the two characters as well. Looking forward to more books by Katelyn Doyle!

Many thanks to Katelyn Doyle, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for providing me with an ALC of this book.

I am a fan of the slow burn romance and the chase, so this one was right up my alley. It’s a little bit of a clever premise. High school sweethearts reconnect at their reunion and place a bet on which couples will be together at their next reunion. This gives the couple a second chance at a happy ending if they can overcome their differences and her anxiety.

Over the next five years they float in and out of each other’s lives as they are never quite in the same place in life to restart their relationship. I really did fall in love with Seth and Molly right from the start. I just recently heard of two from my class that didn’t date back then and just married. So it can happen.

I rooted for the two from the start both in their relationship and in their lives. The grumpy sunshine trope is always good for a little fun when done right and this one was. And to throw in a twist, it was Molly as the grump and Seth as the pollyanna.

I know I mentioned their relationship is a bit of a slow burn, but they did find time to have the sparks fly. There were spicy scenes to keep me entertained while their chase played out.

Christine Lakin and Tim Paige bring Seth and Molly to life. I love that there was dual narration for this love story. Christine does a great job of narrating Molly’s anxiety and mental health issues while Tim really nails Seth’s golden retriever like optimism. I think the audiobook helped bridge the long span of the book and keep me interested.

If you love the chase as much as the relationship, you should pick this one up.

What I enjoyed: A main character who shares a name with my daughter ;) and Seth's character was so sweet and caring. The final grand gesture was very sweet too. The "bet" was fun and kept the story moving. What I didn't enjoy: I just felt like Molly was way too mean! It felt unrealistic that they would keep coming back to each other based on her behaviour even if it was authentic and rooted in childhood difficulties. 
I would recommend if you can really get behind an angsty love story that flip flops a lot!

This book wasn't bad, but didn't give me a spark. I think some people who like this troupe will enjoy it.

4.5/5

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the copy. This is one rom-com I will recommend.

✨ Genre: Romance
💜Steamy rating: Moderate
⚡️ Profanity: High

“You should text him with your thoughts and prayers and boobs.”

Molly and Seth are high school sweethearts, but Molly dumps Seth the night of high school graduation and completely ghosts him. Fifteen years later they’re both back in town for their high school reunion and are seated at the same table. Molly writes romcoms for a living, and Seth is a divorce attorney. Based on their expertise, they make a bet on who can predict which couples will be together at their 20th reunion.

This was a really good romcom. It’s told in first person rotating between Seth and Molly and even flashing back to their high school years. I liked the grumpy vs sunshine dynamic. Surprisingly Molly is the grump. I found the plot engaging and the characters lovely… besides Molly’s dad and Robbie. This one showcased Molly’s grief and fear of abandonment from her own father, which made her character easy to cheer for even when she pushes others away. The narrator, Christine Latin was new to me, but she did amazing.

🎧 Method: Macmillan Audiobook
📙 2024 book count: 88

Triggers: Abandonment, infidelity, and infertility struggles

#justsomestupidlovestory #katelyndoyle #fiction #romance #romcom #macaudio2024 #macmillonaudio

I enjoyed this romcom. I mean the characters almost drove me crazy because they made it harder than it needed to be, but overall it was such a fun one. The audio was very good!

First off, thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to the ALC of Just Some Stupid Love Story.

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable little listen - major credit given to the narrators (Christine Lakin is always a star).

I did struggle with the pacing, even listening at my normal 2x speed. I think that was in part because their periods of not speaking, etc. were drawn out over five years. Collapsing the timeline even by just a year (or two?) would have tightened the narrative and made for a quicker, more uptempo story.

It was nice to see the grumpy x sunshine flipped a little, with the FMC as the grump (and boy was she). Molly Marks does not want to end up like her mother after her father left - sad, alone, and a little bitter, so instead of seeing those circumstances and avoiding the pitfalls herself she just bulldozes and sabotages any chance of romance she has in her life. Seth Rubinstein, the sunshine in our equation, is the opposite - a (surprise!) divorce lawyer who loves love and jumps in with both feet. Their dynamic was interesting, but I wish we had seen more growth from Molly. It just seemed like most people around her told her what was going on/how she should act and she just...did it. We saw Seth grow a lot more than Molly over the course of the story, and this is another instance where I think collapsing the timeline would have really helped.

Overall, a cute listen.

Such a great debut! A fun second chance romance that starts at a high school reunion and spans years with lots of fun emails and texting. Seth was whatever is more than a golden retriever hero - maybe a golden doodle??? He was SO SWEET!! Well narrated and perfectly paced!

For me, the book felt like it dragged somewhat and was a little too long. I think part of that may have been because their bouts of friendship/not speaking/attempts at reconciliation are drawn out over five years. At some point it just became tiresome. While the banter between the two main characters can be entertaining at times, it’s clear they don’t have a healthy connection with each other (romantic or otherwise).
This is the first book I’ve read from Katelyn Doyle, and while this one wasn’t really for me, I would give another book by her a try.
I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ALC! I found the premise of this book so dreamy and couldn’t wait to start it. Unfortunately, I DNF’d at 70%. I wanted to give a fair amount of time to see if the book and characters would grow on me but I continued to struggle and was unable to root for the relationship. I found the male main character especially cringey and I felt the audio narration brought that out even more. Also, I want to note that a portion of this book takes place during COVID for those that find that time period triggering.