What an interesting Romance novel. I love that it flipped back and forth between the past and present and the love story actually took place over several years as opposed to a short amount of time. The reference to the pandemic was well done. Not too heavy or dark, but enough to remind the reader of how tense and potentially lonely it was for so many people. I loved both of the main characters and am glad that they played off of each other so well. I understand never wanting to go back to your high school reunion LOL

High school sweethearts Molly, a cynical rom-com screenwriter, and Seth, a hopeless romantic divorce attorney, reunite at their 15-year high school reunion and make a bet over whether soulmates exist. From there, it's anyone's guess whether they will end up back together -- for good this time.

This was a spicy, entertaining, heartfelt story that spans three states and a global pandemic as Molly and Seth and their friends ride the emotional rollercoaster that is love. It was wildly frustrating for me to listen to at times as Molly has some severe trauma that has left her emotionally stunted. *Alexa, play "The Bolter" by Taylor Swift*

While this book plays on many tried and true tropes, it does so in ways that are unique and somehow unpredictable. It dragged a bit at times and I think some of the banter was unnecessary, but it's a sweet tale. The audiobook narrators have an engaging and witty style.

3.5 stars.

I finished this in one day. It was a light, funny, romantic breeze of a story that I would highly recommend. The narrator was perfect and really made you feel like you weren’t between pages but rather traveling to Florida and Chicago and LA then back to Florida. 😂

Molly is a rom-com writer, yet she has commitment issues and anxiety due to an absentee parent and failed relationships. She tends to bail on people before they can reject her.

When her friends drag her to their fifteenth high school reunion, she runs into Seth, her high school boyfriend—the one she dumped: Seth, the guy of grand gestures and a big heart. But after a few too many drinks, Molly and Seth find themselves reminiscing about high school in more ways than one.

The two debate whether true love exists. To further this notion, they bet on the people in their high school friend group: Name the fate of five couples - who will be together at the next reunion (including us).

Told in dual POV, it was great to see how Molly and Seth felt about each other, even though they wouldn’t tell each other. They both had separate lives in separate cities, but they kept crossing paths. This romance went through the drudgery of life: work got in the way, Covid shut things down, and personal fears pushed them apart.

This is a funny and super sexy second-chance romance that had me rooting for Seth and Molly the whole time. Some deep-seated issues get fleshed out as Molly and Seth work out their love story.

🎧 I loved having the audiobook to pair my reading with because the dual narration was perfect.

Thank you @booksparks and @greatlyn for a gifted copy. #SRC2024

Thank you @macmillan.audio for the gifted audiobook.

I am always more critical on romance novels - i did not connect with this story like I have some of the others. The characters fell flat for me. It is spicy but for me does not have that feel good feel that draws me into a rom com.

This was really cute. Usually it seems like it is the woman who is pining after the guy, and the woman who wants to get married and have her happily ever after. This book turns the tables though, and it is the guy who wants to be married with kids.

I knew from the beginning that the two would get together, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the ride. The characters were very human and relatable. Sometimes the guy was a little over the top, but overall, I rooted for him.

I absolutely HATE second chance, miscommunication & large time jumps.
But I enjoyed this book! Super cute (even if extremely irritating) couple that break each others hearts over and over again.
I'm with her friends CALL HIM! 😂

Publisher's summary
For fans of Emily Henry, 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
Molly Marks writes Hollywood rom-coms for a living—which is how she knows “romance” is a racket. The one and only time she was naive enough to fall in love was with her high school boyfriend, Seth—who she ghosted on the eve of graduation and hasn’t seen in fifteen years.
Seth Rubinstein believes in love, the grand, fated kind, despite his job as, well…one of Chicago’s most successful divorce attorneys. Over the last decade, he’s sought “the one” in countless bad dates and rushed relationships. He knows his soulmate is out there. But so far, no one can compare to Molly Marks, the first girl who broke his heart.
When Molly’s friends drag her to Florida for their fifteenth high school reunion, it is poetic justice that she’s forced to sit with Seth. Too many martinis and a drunken hookup later, they decide to make a bet: whoever can predict the fate of five couples before the next reunion must declare that the other is right about true love. The catch? The fifth couple is the two of them.
Molly assures Seth they are a tale of timeless heartbreak. Seth promises she’ll end up hopelessly in love with him. She thinks he’s delusional. He has five years to prove her wrong.

Thanks to NeGalley & Macmillan Audio for this ALC of this book!

Just Some Stupid Love Story
A Novel
By: Katelyn Doyle
Narrated by: Christine Lakin, Tim Paige
Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
Publisher: Macmillan Audio

When you don't believe in love, you make regrettable decisions. Molly doesn't want to go to her 15 year class reunion and she especially doesn't want to see the love of her life whose heart she broke. The story follows Molly and Seth as they keep winding up in the same places and continue to try to get their relationship right. Likeable characters and a fun storyline.

I absolutely love a good grumpy/sunshine, especially when the grump is completely turned off of love. I loved Seth and Molly. Seth felt a bit whiny at times but he came through in the end. Definitely recommend this one! As far as the narration, the narrators did an excellent job bringing this to life. I had never listened to anything narrated by them before. I listened comfortably at 2.0x

This was pretty cute! It had some sections that felt a little off to me, and sometimes I felt like there wasn't much "stand out" about it... BUT it was well written and pretty darn cute. Narration was quite well done too!

This book was such a sweet surprise! This new to me author is a great find and I hope to read more by her in the future.

What a clever plot.....two former loves meet up at a class reunion and place a bet. These two are polar opposites. He's the hopeless romantic who happens to be a successful divorce attorney (irony for sure) and she's the cynic about love who writes rom com screen plays (I mean how?). It was truly the perfect scenario and this author executed it with skill. I was hooked from the beginning and could not stop reading/listening.

I couldn't help but pull for Seth and Molly. They both grabbed a piece of my heart while I read this book and I believe I'll be thinking of them and their story for a while. They really touched me. They were both affected by the surroundings and the way others had treated them. Molly, specifically, was scarred by her parents' divorce and the callous way her father treated her. It messed up the way she viewed love. She continually expected others to disappoint her so she often tried to beat them to the punch by leaving first.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The narration was good. I loved being able to go between the ebook and audiobook and was completely immersed in the storyline. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for early copies of both the ebook and audiobook.

Molly writes romcoms for Hollywood. Simon believes in love. Molly and Simon used to date back in high school but is the second time around going to work out better for them?

Honestly, I’m being honest with this review. I didn’t love the audiobook version. I think I might have liked it more if I read it. The miscommunication at their age was so frustrating.

I received this book for free from netgalley in return for my honest opinion.

I really enjoy a romance where the main characters are opposites and I am very willing to suspend my disbelief about how they make it work. However, in this situation, I was skeptical that Josh and Molly could make it work long-term. I love he falls first and he falls harder but I need to be convinced she is in it too.

One thing that Katelyn Doyle nailed was Molly and Josh's banter. We see their relationship over a number of years (including the pandemic for people who'd prefer not to read about that period). They always have a connection and care about each other.

What they don't really have is wanting the same things. They know each other really well but I don't know that they use that knowledge when it comes to trying a romantic relationship. I ended up wanting Josh to find someone else. I wanted Molly to get therapy and leave him alone. Not the feelings I want at the end of a romance.

I think if you love banter and don't mind angst you might give this one a try. It is certainly well-written and it is fun to watch the bet they make about their friend's relationships develop.

What I really do recommend is the audiobook version of this title. Christine Lakin and Tim Paige do a great job with the dual narration. Romance readers may recognize Tim Paige from the Icebreaker audiobook and Christine Larkin from the Just for the Summer audiobook.

I loved this story. I loved the two narrators…it truly made it a great listening experience. Definitely spicier than I anticipated but that didn’t bother me. Such a fun listen!

Just Some Stupid Love Story was cute. It was a very slow burning relationship between the two characters in the beginning but it finally picked up 75% of the way in. I, personally, did not need the book to be that long. It kept me interested enough to finish it and see it through.

This was such a cute story. I loved the highschool reunion aspect of the plot and how each of the M/Cs viewed the relationships between their friends. Thoroughly enjoyed my time with this one.

❤️ REVIEW: Just Some Stupid Love Story ❤️

SUMMARY: Molly Marks is a screenwriter who doesn’t believe in love. Seth Rubinstein is her ex-boyfriend – and a divorce attorney – who does. After reuniting at their 10-year reunion, is a second-chance romance in the cards for this pair?

I ended up REALLY liking this book!

At first I was worried, because the main characters bring very strong black cat/golden retriever energy, and I was worried I could not handle Seth’s brand of golden retriever. He was just too excited and too cheerful – it was hard to imagine even being in the same room with him!

But as the evening of the reunion wore on, and Molly and Seth reignited their old chemistry, he became less of a caricature and someone I was really rooting for!

The promo material around the book likens it to Emily Henry, and I can definitely see that! Adults with baggage and significant history have a complicated slow-burn romance. If you’re a romcom reader, it’s worth checking out. I could definitely see myself re-reading this one again down the road.

You can expect:

❤️ Grumpy/sunshine
❤️ Second-chance romance
❤️ Self-sabotaging FMC
❤️ Romance that’s years in the making

I listened to the first part via audio and was so into the story, I switched to the ebook halfway through.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

DNFed at 15%.
At 15% I could tell the book was sex over content. The language was foul, including the way body parts were described. The narrator for the MMC sounded more like an advertisement than a normal person.
I liked the premise of the book- a bet that lasts 5 years- but at 15% between the casualness of cursing, derogatory way scenes were described, & just the general (yet terrible) sexual scenes- I couldn’t go any further.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

This book has such a great set-up. Molly and Seth were high school sweethearts. They run into each other at their 15 year reunion. She's rather cynical about love, even though she writes rom-coms for a living. And he's a true believer, even though he's a divorce attorney. They make a bet on whether 5 couples will make it to their 20th reunion. And he bets that the two of them will.

In some ways, this is a second chance romance that takes a look at how both characters need to grow and change to be ready for a relationship with each other. But in another way, it doesn't follow that script at all. Many of their interactions with each other are via text or email over time. But we also get insight into both character's perspectives.

I appreciated the longer storyline that fit the five years. And given those five years started in 2018, I was especially impressed by how well COVID-19 was incorporated. It felt realistic without in any way becoming a main part of the story.

I greatly enjoyed this and laughed a bunch while also getting emotional. And I owe some of that enjoyment to Christine Lakin and Tim Paige. Both did a great job narrating the ten and a half hour audiobook.

Molly and Seth.
Molly is a romcom screenwriter that doesn’t believe in true love. Seth is a divorce lawyer who can’t wait to find his soulmate and live happily ever after. The two dated in high school and are brought back together at their high school reunion. Will they have their second chance at love?

This was a fun debut!

I loved the standard role reversal ideas to love, second chance and relationship spanning over years concepts. However, this felt a little too stretched out and seemed to carry on longer than it should have. It did take me longer than anticipated to warm up to Molly. In the end, I was still rooting for the two.
I appreciated how much Seth understood and cared for Molly. Even though I had a hard time with Molly and her thought process, the character development was undeniable.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio!