I enjoyed reading Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

Let’s Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan is such a warm, relatable story that pulls you in from the very first page. It’s about second chances and mending relationships, but it’s also about finding yourself along the way. The characters feel so real, like people you know or want to know, and their struggles and triumphs really hit home. It’s equal parts heartfelt and funny, with just the right amount of emotional depth. If you’re looking for a story that will leave you feeling hopeful and smiling, this one’s definitely worth picking up.
I’d like to try listening to the audiobook not only because I enjoyed the story but because I love the narrator, Charlotte North 🫶 I wouldn’t mind revisiting the story so soon 😊

WOW!! This was an incredible debut!!!
Ben was so perfectly imperfect (and reminded me so much of my Ben)!
Juliana was so real and the chemistry was amazing from the very first interaction.
I love that the MCs are older and have life experiences that they had to deal with it. It was so real!!
I want to compare to The Hating Game because of the workplace enemies to lovers similarities, but this was just so much better - and I loved THG!!

Rating: 4.5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This book is perfect for book lovers that like the following tropes: Workplace romance, Enemies to lovers, Single mom/single dad, he falls first, second chance romance, great chemistry with the characters and great banter. This book is about Juliana, whose husband has passed away and is back to working full-time. She loves her job and is excited to work there until she meets Ben. Yes, he is attractive and when she hears hurtful words about her from Ben, because she must leave work to handle a situation with her kids, she is determined to have nothing to do with him. Until the day that she is forced to work with Ben on a career-making project, when other feelings other than anger start to show up. Will her nemesis end up being her knight and shining armor?

I really liked this contemporary romance, with it being a workplace romance and all the right feelings to go with it. I found the plot to be something fun, but at the same time the author did handle topics like grief, death, abandonment and being a single parent very well. I can’t believe this is a debut book, because the way that this author writes, she knows how to keep her readers engaged throughout the book, giving us what we need and want in a contemporary romance. I found this book to be fast-paced, and I honestly couldn’t believe that I finished it in one day, because I couldn’t put it down. I also liked that the twist that the plot took was needed because let’s be honest when you have children everything changes, and I could understand that being a former single parent. I found the characters to be well developed, and the side characters were great.

I enjoyed getting to know Juliana, you can see that she loves her children and understands what is needed to make sure that their lives are not just turned upside down. I liked the fact that she was understanding, fierce when it came to her children and friends, and she understood that she needed time for herself. I liked that she was flawed, that made it easier for me to connect with her characters and to understand her better. I loved the banter that Juliana and Ben would have at work and outside of work and can we talk about that chemistry between those two… it was written so well that it had me screaming silently. For Ben, at first, I didn’t like him but the more that I got to understand his character, he started to grow on me. I soon found myself swooning over things that he would say to her and the things that he was doing to her… HOT!! There was a 3rd act breakup but the way that the author handled it I could completely understand and didn’t mind at all.

I received the audio for this book as well and I found Charlotte North to have narrated this book so well. I liked the fact that she helped to bring the characters to life, and I felt as though I was watching the scenes happen rather than just reading about it. I would recommend this narrator to all my bookish friends and of course this book.

I want to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s and Macmillan for the opportunity to review this book.

3.5 stars! This was such a charming read. I love an enemies-to-lovers romance, and LET'S CALL A TRUCE was a great new take on the trope. Juliana and Ben had such strong chemistry from the get-go, but their connection was also handled in a beautifully nuanced way. Both characters have their own struggles that affect how they approach the relationship, and Amy Buchanan tackles the heavier topics (like grief and abandonment) with so much depth and care. Beyond the dynamic between our leads, I also loved reading about their relationships with their family and friends, especially their children—I haven't read many Single Mom/Single Dad romances, so I really liked that aspect of the story as well. It was so sweet to see not only how Juliana and Ben supported each other and really lifted each other up, but also how they had such a strong support system around them in other ways. The one thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the third-act breakup (this seems to be sort of a common theme with me and some of the romances I've been reading lately, lol), although I did understand why it was done in the way that it was! If you are looking for a heartfelt, heartwarming romance from a debut author to watch, definitely add this book to your TBR. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I really think that this is going to be one of the best romances of 2025 and I'm so happy and lucky that I got to read it in 2024! This romance was an absolute delight. Everything from the writing to the characters to their delicious (and hot!) tension was everything I look for in a romance book. I don't think I realized how much I needed a romance where the characters were in their 30s and where the main female character is a single mom with two kids. As someone who has two children I can absolutely relate to a lot of the conflict in this book. At it's core, this book is a workplace romance where the two start off "hating" each other and gradually fall in love.

I adored this and had trouble putting it down. Watching the two of them fall in love and become a family was an absolute joy. I will say the third act nearly broke me but the happy ending was lovely and so so needed.

Thank you so much to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early and gush about it weeks before it comes out. You wont want to miss this!

I loved this spicy romcom! The workplace tension, the love/hate witty banter, the spicy scenes, the forced proximity...all was chef's kiss! I loved the single dad, single mom storyline. Learning how to navigate grief and learning to love again was so well done. It's scary to take a step into love again after losing a spouse, and it was so well done.

Workplace romance, kinda second chance romance, instalust, jealous mmc, widowed mom, adorable kids, forced proximity, plot twists

I am so upset that it took me this long to pick this book up. I flew through this book, switching between the audio and ebook.

While I cannot personally relate to Julianna’s story as I am not a single mother, I was able to be able to feel every emotion she was during the story. Also, the woman deserves a vacation.

This is maybe a spoiler, but I have to discuss it, so skip this paragraph if you don’t want to know something. Ben having a daughter, and it being Juliana’s child, was so funny. Ben makes very good points about why Juliana shouldn’t be upset about not knowing anything about him, she was very vocal about not wanting to know anything about his life, so why would he tell her anything.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for an early read and listen for this book. All thoughts are my own, I do not accept money for reviews.

4.5 stars. This is a debut novel. Wait just a minute! This is a debut novel. This is a really good debut novel! I never would have guessed. The character development was superb. I liked the characters and felt like I really knew them.

Juliana and Ben are both single parents. They work for the same company, and things get rocky between them right off the bat. There's hostility and battles... but there's also off the chart attraction. If Ben could just get her past the anger, he would really like to work his way into her heart.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how vulnerable both characters were and how the story unfolded with the involvement of the children helping them along. I would definitely be interested in reading more by this author.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this copy. All thoughts are my own.

“My heart swelled, thinking back to my own ceremony, the joy and love I felt when I stood opposite Jason and pledged to spend my life loving him. Even knowing how things would end, the pain and heartbreak when I lost him, I would not have given up a single day with him. Nothing in this life was guaranteed, but the decision to choose love, for however long we got to have it, was always the right one.”

Let’s Call a Truce is a hilarious, heart warming debut novel that is a must read! It is a second chance, enemies to lovers, workplace romance full of witty banter,, angst, and heart with the sweetest HEA ending. The MC is a widowed single mom who is trying to figure out how to balance work life and parenthood all while battling the possibilities of moving on with life without her husband.

I thought it was really cute. It was exactly what I needed while being sick. An easy listen and easy to follow storyline. I appreciated the representation of mental health and panic attacks. I loved the funny and sarcastic tone throughout the story. I also thought all the pop culture references were a fun add on.

Buchanan did a great job with character development. I thoroughly enjoyed all the side characters just as much as the main characters, especially the children. They all helped drive the story and made the story feel realistic. They also helped the reader to see that family and friendship relationships are important, they showed how strong and resilient the FMC was, and how much she had changed & grew from the beginning to the end of the story.

The audiobook was a fun listen. The narration was clear and easy to understand. She did a great job portraying all the different characters giving them their own distinct voice bringing the story to life.

Thank you @macmillan.audio, @stmartinspress and @Netgalley for the #gifted ALC & ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I started this book listening to the audio, but I got so into, I had to finish reading it ASAP. This is so much more than a workplace enemies-to-lovers rom-com. It feels like a real story of love and grief and family and work/life balance. Parts of the MC’s reactions felt over the top, very all-or-nothing reactions. But I enjoyed so many other parts of the story that I’ll forgive them.

Thanks to St. Martin’s for the ARC.

This was a very emotional romance. I loved both Ben and Juliana and they were so sweet together. It was so heartwarming to see Juliana accept a romantic love into her life after being widowed a few years before. I also loved seeing Juliana go back to work after being a stay at home mom and how she succeeded there. The single parent aspect felt very realistic with both Juliana and Ben. I loved that they were coworkers, and the enemies to lovers was well done. I did not love the third act breakup. It was so out of the blue, and I just really didn’t love them together again after that. However, I enjoyed the story and would recommend!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Juliana and Ben have to end their feud to realize they have a second chance at love!

Juliana Ryan was scared for her first day at her new job with human resources with KMG after her husband died in a car accident because she had worked there before staying home with her daughters. But she never expected to have a run in with a new co-worker Ben Thomas after he commented after she left early on her first day leading to a feud between them especially when she finds out that her daughter Sophie’s best friend is Ben’s daughter Paris.

Everything changes when Juliana and Ben are assigned a project to work together and they have to put a hold on their feud because if the project works they will receive a major promotions. But working together makes them realize that they can’t ignore their feelings.

I Love Juliana and Ben getting a second chance at love and taking their daughters with them making a new family.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book so much! The banter and tension were great. I loved Juliana and thought she was an amazing mom trying her best during an extremely difficult time! It was definitely a slow burn but it was worth the wait. I also loved that Juliana’s friends loved her kids and were always accommodating so they could hang out!

Amy Buchanan's swoony and sexy debut will be such a treat for romance readers. This book really gets enemies to lovers right with high heat and high emotions.

LET'S CALL A TRUCE by debut author Amy Buchanan is a standalone contemporary Romance that touched me so deeply (in the best way), that I went from cheering, to crying, to grinning with teary eyes. Juliana's husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her to raise their two daughters on her own and return to the workplace after a long absence. On her first day, she encounters Ben, a hotter than is fair co-worker whom she overhears saying disparaging things about Juliana needing to leave work early because of her children. After two years of a rivalry, one night they decide to declare a truce. What follows is a romance that is sexy, swoon worthy, and one of the best enemies to lovers I've read. Not only did I love the main lead, Juliana, but I loved all the characters in this book. Juliana's love interest, Ben, was a multi-dimensional, handsome, and slightly flawed work rival that becomes a lot more. Juliana and Ben, I couldn't help cheering for you!

What I loved most about this book:
- The characters, every single one of them, were well-crafted, and felt like people I've encountered in real life
- The side characters were phenomenal. Juliana's daughters, Sophie and Clara, added humor, drama, and sweetness to the story. I especially loved the found family aspect of this book. Asia, her sister Dani, Quinn, and of course Paris
- Watching Juliana's journey from a hurting but holding it together recently widowed woman to someone willing to risk it all for love was touching and so well-written. My heart ached for her when she hurt, and swelled when she triumphed.
- Ben's journey is also important to the story, and I really like how he stumbles a bit but eventually figures it out. The differences between his previous relationship and Juliana's are palpable and so realistic.
- The settings in this book were so well-described! Orlando in its many seasons and then Boston also in its different seasons were great settings for this love story.
- This was a steamy one, folks! The author is great at writing chemistry and on page spice. It takes a careful balance between physical description and inner life to get scenes like that right, and this book accomplishes this excellently.
- I almost forgot: This book has a beautiful cover. Kudos to the artist who made Juliana and Ben come to life on the cover.

What didn't work:
- I can't think of a single thing I'd change in this passionate, sexy, well-told story! Hence the five out of five star rating.

LET's CALL A TRUCE is a romantic, sexy, poignant read that addresses the realities of having lost the love of your life and how finding the next love might look, how putting your heart at risk again, no matter how scary, may be worth it in the end. I highly recommend it. Run, don't walk, to purchase this fantastic novel! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for providing me with an eARC of this book for my honest feedback.

Let's Call a Truce is the debut novel from author Amy Buchanan.

Juliana is the mother of two girls and she is entering the workforce after being a stay at home mom to her girls. When her husband and the girls father was tragically killed in a car accident, she doesn't have a choice, but to go to work. When she starts her job as a job recruiter, she hits it off with Ben, who works for the company in their architecture department. Juliana and Ben get on just fine until she overhears him saying unkind things about how she had to cut meetings short and cancel them when one of her daughter's had an issue at school. For her, that was enough to make him an enemy.

Fast forward two years, and Juliana finds herself frustrated with Ben given he now wants her help after they have been sparring for most of the time since his comments. Knowing that in order to advance at the company like she wants to, she is going to have to work with Ben. Can she do that?! As the two begin to work closely together, their chemistry is undeniable. Can they get past what happened two years ago? Was there more of an explanation than Juliana knew?

Overall, I liked this book a lot and I enjoyed how the relationship between Ben and Juliana unfolded. I will say though, that in the final part of the book, I found myself frustrated. The drama that came about towards the end of the book just didn't seem necessary to me. There had been plenty for them to overcome, so I didn't feel like there was need for more drama. I rounded up to 4 stars, but it was probably closer to 3.5 for me.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

This book was so cute and so good!

Juliana Ryan is looking for a new job after her husbands unexpected death, leaving her with two grieving kids and a stunted career from being a stay-at-home mom. She starts work at a new company and she is all excited to dive in, until she overhears her condescending but infuriatingly handsome new colleague, Ben Thomas, talking about how her kids and inexperience are a liability. This sets off a feud between the two. Will the two be able to call a truce and work together or will the man Juliana considers her nemesis, actually understand her life more then anyone?

I absolutely devoured this book. I loved watching the connection between Juliana and Ben grow and them fall in love. Buchanan knows how to pull at your momma heartstrings and had me all in my feels while listening to this book. I loved the connection with the kids and I felt that she did a great job with the character development of each character. I also loved all the side characters! I cannot believe this is a debut book. Oh and that spice, that was a nice unexpected surprise! I cannot wait to see what else Amy Buchanan writes!

Read if you like:
-Workplace romance
-Enemies to lovers
-Cinnamon roll MMC
-Single parents

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the #gifted copy.

After the death of her husband, Juliana has returned to work after years away as a stay-at-home mom. On her first day back, mom duty calls, and she overhears co-worker Ben disparage her for putting her family first. Now, 2 years later, their feud is still going strong, and those angry feelings she has towards him seem to be mixed with another kind of…*tension*. 👀

This was a really cute workplace romance! It’s single POV, which I often have a problem with in romance, but I found I didn’t really mind it here. (But it may have made me take Juliana’s side in most of their disagreements. 😂)

I enjoyed Juliana’s journey, finding her footing after such major life changes. I also really loved all the side characters, especially Juliana’s friends and the little darling daughters.

The third act breakup wasn’t my favorite, but…I understood where it was coming from. (But that doesn’t mean I have to “like” it! 😜) And their makeup was very cute.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this one!

Audiobook Notes: I always enjoy Charlotte North’s narration, and this one was another job well done!

Thank you to and @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for providing me an early copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

What this book is giving:
✅ Contemporary Romance
✅ Single POV
✅ Workplace Romance
✅ Older MCs (35/38)
✅ Single Mom + Widow
✅ Animosity to Lovers

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5

What an amazing debut novel! I was hooked from the first page!

After suddenly losing her husband, Juliana Ryan is pushed back into the workforce to provide for herself and her 2 younger daughters. With all the fears of returning back to work, she’s also stuck with Ben, a coworker who had less than nice things to say behind her back about her work experience and putting her children’s needs first.

The two continue to clash through numerous work related issues. It isn’t until a work trip to Boston brings the two closer than anyone would have predicted possible. Will their work lives and personal lives mix or will personal interfere with their work?

Perfect if you like:
Single parents
Workplace Romance
Enemies to Lovers
Found Family
Love After Loss

I absolutely ate this story up! The tension and banter between the two felt perfect to me. Don’t get me started on the unexpected spice. The desk scene will live in my head rent free for eternity.

Ben is an amazing MMC. He is sweet, extremely patient and the little bit of groveling at the end really sent me over the edge. Dare I say he might be too good for Juliana?

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc and opportunity!