A story about a widow of two girls and her office nemesis was a wild ride of supposing twists and sweet moments.

Though I on multiple occasions wanted to hit both of the main characters in the back of the head, sometimes struggle makes the HEA even better.

The girls were one of the best parts of the book, the same as the friends.

I was provided an ALC and ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. I thought the narrator did a great job narrating both leads. Typically you see books like this in dual POV format with two narrators, but Charlotte North does a good job voicing both characters

This follows Juliana, a single mom who is returning to work after the sudden death of her beloved husband. She decided to stay home and raise their two daughters after having a successful career in human resources. Fortunately her mentor hired after a hiatus, knowing that she could work her way back up the ranks. Parenting with two working parents is hard enough, but Juliana and her daughters are still grieving, and Juliana struggles with the transition from stay at home mom to working mom. The guilt of not being able to to juggle everything and be as on top of things as you want for both work and your kids is very real, and I thought the author did a good job capturing that. She also captured the disdain you get from colleagues when you need to leave early or take time off for your family, even if you are stellar at your job and complete all of your tasks. One of those colleagues Juliana faces off with is Ben. They don't know each other well, but they immediately get off to a bad start on her first day, and despite an attraction between them they are determined to snark at each other. When a project comes across their desks forcing them to work together, they call a truce. Their truce expands when their daughters become best friends at school, and they are forced to let some of their frosty feelings thaw as they get to know each other better.

It took me quite a while to warm up to Juliana. Her disdain for Ben was a bit over the top, to the point she was pushing away some of her best friends. Fortunately, she eventually figures things out and lets her guard down a bit. I appreciated that she had a good support network and her friends made for some great side characters. Ben was a bit grumpy at first but he redeems himself with his patience and kindness as we get to know him.

I personally did not enjoy the third act break up. Ben was working so hard to get Juliana to trust him and let him into her life and heart, then that happens. I won't spoil it, and I guess I can see why once their mutual bestie Asia explains it, but I feel like it could have been handled differently. I also guess I should have expected something like that to happen based on how many times Juliana mentions not wanting to let someone in and be hurt again.

Overall, this was a cute enemies to lovers romance. I enjoyed that both main characters were single parents and how much both of them loved all of the kids.

I didn't mean to get behind in my reviews but sometimes, life happens. I *did* read this timely (back in July) and I loved it! I love the newer idea of our favorite rom-coms having some meat behind them, and the idea of a woman going back to work after spending years with her kids only to show up the man who thinks she doesn't belong (or she thinks that is what he thinks about her) is sexy and sassy. I loved the tension, and while miscommunication always gets a bad rap, sometimes it's just a fact of life. That early miscommunication brought along all the tension - maybe they wouldn't have been interested if they first didn't have that drive to fight.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Juliana Ryan, mother of two, joins the workforce after her husband was killed in a car accident nine months prior. She joins KMG as a talent acquisition specialist in the human resources department, a company she worked for before having her daughters. On her first day, she quite literally runs into Ben Thomas, a hiring manager in another department. An emergency at her daughter's school forces Juliana to cancel the remainder of her meetings, including the one with Ben. When Juliana goes to meet Ben for their rescheduled meeting, she overhears his harsh commentary about , and is understandably hurt.

Over the next two years as Juliana climbs the ranks, she and Ben have a tense work relationship. Their physical attraction is undeniable, but Juliana cannot forget the criticism from Ben two years prior. When Juliana is facing another promotion, she must work together with Ben on a large project to prove herself. Fighting temptation and attraction, the pair must be professional and try to maintain the distance they've established. It's not long before lines are blurred and feelings are caught.

This book is well written and I easily devoured it within a day. I loved the characters and their vulnerability, and found myself crying and laughing throughout. The epilogue wraps the story up perfectly, leaving readers satisfied. 4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc of this hook! 3.5 stars for me! The beginning wasn't my fav, I really liked the middle, then I felt unsure again, and then liked the ending! Haha a bit of a up and down but overall a good story. A single parent romance with cutie lil daughters who were so likable!

4.5 Stars—

Such a good single mom trope. She’s headed back into the workplace after the death of her husband, so the last thing she needs is a rival.

The banter, the chemistry, INSANE.

Loved this book. Loved the characters, the relationships, the dialog, the fast and sexy dialog the barbs, quips and everything else. Main characters sharing a BFF who won’t take sides as things get down and dirty and hot and heavy. Lots of sizzle, lots of steam and some very racy scenes added that over the top this is gonna be something else vibe to it. The situations were believable and nothing felt contrived.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Publishing and NetGalley for a copy.

What a read! Still processing the personal feelings this brought up for me, but I devoured this! The back and forth banter was so good and I loved how the book started and then jumped forward two years to give time for healing after the loss of a spouse. Their relationship journey was fun to follow. The involvement of their children was very well done as well. The spicy scenes were oh my goodness....so hot

FULL REVIEW
This book was just beyond good, and it’s a debut, and I have no many things I want to say about it! This book perfectly balances swoon-worthy enemies-to-lovers banter with deeply emotional moments. Juliana’s resilience as a single mom rebuilding her life and guiding her two daughter through the grief of losing their father was inspiring. My personal single mom journey is more in line with what Ben goes through as a single parent, and it brought up a lot of feelings for me personally as I read. The way Juliana stands up for and protects his daughter just like she would her own had me wanting to yell, sing it sister! Seeing both Juliana and Ben navigate their shared struggles, while finding healing and love together made their journey feel real and unforgettable. Amy Buchanan was able to perfectly blend humor, heart, heat (that office scene 🫠) and healing into this beautiful story and it’s her DEBUT! I will be getting a trophy copy and I will be anxiously waiting for whatever she writes next!

Charlotte North narrates this beautifully. It is single first person POV, with some great inner dialogue and I was totally pulled in by her performance!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

Juliana's husband died and now she is heading back into the workforce to raise her two young daughters. Day one she crosses paths with Ben and while there is a connection and interest initially, things take a turn when she overhears him bad talking about her when she needs to leave early from work for a child emergency. Two years later and there is still animosity and a daily feud between the colleagues.

This is an enemies to more, single parents, workplace romance. Parts of the story I adored! I appreciated that Juliana truly loved her husband, and Jason remained a "good guy." Her grieving felt genuine. Her relationships beyond the romance were well done with her children, mother, bosses, and friends. I especially enjoyed the character of Asia who was best friends with both Juliana and Ben. She rocked being a true friend, never taking sides and being there for both of them. The kids in the story added a fun and authentic layer to the story.

Juliana and Ben definitely had chemistry even through their bickering and "hating" each other phase. I did not need so much of the lust filled dialogue and so many open-door scenes. I found the intimacy of their shared emotions to be more impactful to their relationship. And the last third of the book I despised! After everything finally was working out between our couple, we get the ex-wife who abandoned her husband and daughter to suddenly appear! Sigh. I understand Ben was taking his daughter's emotions into consideration, but letting the toxic woman stay in his home and everything else that transpired...yuck. That woman was truly vile, and Ben didn't handle the situation the right way which didn't seem like how his character would have acted.

Anyway, we finally come full circle, and everything turns out how it should, but getting there was kind of painful.

3.5 stars

This was a really good debut novel! I am a sucker for workplace romance and good banter!! Really enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"Let's Call a Truce" by Amy Buchanan was a different take on a typical, trope-y enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance. Although both of those tropes exist in this book, it focuses heavily on the emotional life of the main character, Juliana, who is navigating being a single parent after the sudden death of her husband. The grief aspects of this book were so well done and seemed to come from a place of deep empathy and realism. Some of the romantic conflicts and angst that occur in the plot were a bit too back-and-forth for my taste, but I can understand why the relationship between our two main characters wasn't linear. 3.5/5 stars

Thank you to Amy Buchanan, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of Let's Call a Truce. All opinions are my own.

This review and rating was hard. I thought overall the story and themes were really cute and it's a promising start from a debut author. However, I really was bothered by Ben's initial comments at the beginning of the book that started the animosity between him and Juliana, and how quickly all of Juliana's friends expected her to brush it off.

As a recent widow, she heard a coworker say some pretty heartless, cruel, and, frankly, misogynistic things about her as a woman and mother, and, in my opinion, was justified in her hatred of Ben. The fact that all of her friends expected her to basically ignore it and chalk it up to him having a "bad moment" was shocking to me. Everyone expected Juliana to essentially get over it without calling for Ben to express genuine remorse. It took most of the book to get an apology from him about his actions and words, and an explanation, and even the explanation didn't logically explain why he would even say those things in the first place as a fellow single parent.

There was also very little explanation to me as to why the relationship suddenly went from animosity to affection. It seems like a switch was flipped one day for Ben and he was suddenly asking Juliana for a chance. Why? Where did that come from???? I also think the back and forth of "will they/won't they" was dragged out a lot. Once is fine, more than that is repetitive and boring.

Overall, this book was fine. It's an admirable start as a debut, but not my favorite book.

(Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC; all opinions provided my own.)

Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan clearly has a lot of heart, particularly when it comes to the grieving FMC, who is processing the loss of her beloved husband and navigating returning to the workforce as a single mom. I related to part of her story as a mom who often feels like she isn't quite measuring up but really wants to.

But my annoyance over a plot element, added to my lack of 100% engagement in the story, made me begin to skim this one at around the half-way point.

Overall, I enjoyed Buchanan's writing style, which I think a lot of readers will connect to, but I didn't love the directions the plot went in.

This book started out feeling very “The Hating Game” to me, but it kept so similar to that story line in the beginning that it was hard for me to read it for its own merits and not compare it to one of the best contemporary enemies to lovers books. Ultimately, I think this book wasn’t a great fit for me as I had trouble connecting with the characters.

Debut author brings us a funny, heart warming, gut wrenching story in Let’s Call A Truce. Juliana Ryan’s husband Jason dies leaving her with her two daughters, Clara and Sophie. She’s forced to go back into the work force to make ends meet. She hears one of her co-workers, Ben, make condescending remarks about her inexperience and how her kids are going to be in the way of her ability to work. This leads to a two year feud. When they are forced to work together on a project, and as their lives being intertwined inside and outside the office, they call a truce. And just as Juliana is opening her heart up to Ben, someone from Ben’s past waltzes back into his life, threatening to break her heart yet again.

The description of this book doesn’t do it justice. This book will make you laugh and it will make you cry. Some of the things that Ben says will make your heart skip a beat. You’ll get frustrated that things aren’t working out the way that you want them to and at the person that shows back up in Ben’s life. Basically, it gives you all the feelings you can think of!

I really enjoyed how Buchanan wrote Juliana’s character. She’s so strong and witty, yet vulnerable. The banter between her and Ben when they are feuding is written so well. This isn’t always the case, but Buchanan really has perfected it! I loved the relationship between Juliana and her girls, as well as the relationships between the girls and the other adults in their lives. They really were surrounded by love, showing that they had such a strong village.

I will say that towards the middle, the back and forth of the should I, shouldn’t I with Ben did get to me a bit and I could have used a little less of it, BUT overall, I think the romance in this book was spot on. I felt the chemistry between Juliana and Ben, and that’s all I ever want when I read a romance book. Through all the heartbreak, there is sunshine, and in the end, this book felt like there is hope and a warm hug.

My last read of 2024 was an ARC that releases on January 14th, and it was fantastic!! It started a bit slow for me, but about 30 percent in, I got hooked! By the time I got to about 60 percent in, I was anxiously awaiting the expected 3rd act breakup, and it came with a vengeance. I don’t think I’ve ever loved and hated a MMC more than Ben. This story had me on the edge of my seat once I was hooked, and I couldn’t put it down!!

Honestly, I'm so uninterested in this couple. The story is thin. It started out much like The Hating Game (she even keeps a log of their interactions) but nowhere near as flirty or fun. The FMC is wishy washy and the MMC isn't holding my attention. They're just not developed characters in my opinion. There's a whole spicy scene that seems cut out of a completely different book. It just doesn't fit with the characters. It's just not as good as I had hoped.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the author for this eARC. I am leaving my review voluntarily and honestly.

After the tragic loss of her husband, Juliana Ryan finds herself going back to work to support her young girls on just one income. She is able to find a perfect and flexible job and jumps right into her role — with just one burr in her side named Ben Thomas. He’s gorgeous but after a few harsh overheard words, he is officially in the enemy column. Jump ahead two years. Juliana and Ben have important promotions and a project that requires them to work together. Will they be able to call a truce and successfully get the job done?

This was a super sweet, lighthearted read that still dug into some deep issues of emotional strength and self esteem. It also dove into loss and what family is and means. The enemies to lovers trope was well written and fresh and kept me turning pages. At times I got frustrated with our protagonists and their decision making but overall I really, really enjoyed this novel. I pretty much binge read it in one night! 4 stars.

Review based on a digital Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by St. Martins Press - St. Martins Griffin and NetGalley. Thank you!

I listened to Let’s Call a Truce on my morning commutes to work this week, and every day I got a little bummed when I had to turn it off and start interacting with other humans. Thanks to Macmillan Audio, St Martin’s Griffin, and NetGalley for early access in exchange for my honest opinion.
Fair warning, I shed some tears reading/listening to this one, so I wouldn’t plan to go in expecting a completely light read. Juliana’s husband recently passed away in a sudden accident, and she is left with their two young girls, needing to reenter the workforce after being a stay-at-home-mom. She is anxious, having a rough first day, when she meets her gorgeous coworker - who she then overhears bad mouthing her and her commitment to the job, wrecking her confidence and defining their roles as rivals. After two years working together, things have not improved, but the two are forced to collaborate on an account that includes traveling to Boston together. Her rival is originally from Boston, and I loved how he helped her explore the city.
If you’re a fan of workplace rivals-to-lovers, I definitely recommend Let’s Call a Truce! It comes out Tuesday 1/14.

Thank you so much to the publisher for the opportunity to read this title early. I've seen so many wonderful things about this book and cannot wait to dive in. Review to come!