𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 3.75⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: contemporary romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A cute read that fell a little short

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Romantic comedies
Meet cutes
Great chemistry
Witty banter
Insta love
Daul POV
Workplace romance
Pop culture reference

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
A fun read

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Characters were a little immature at times
Miscommunication
Some things gave me the ick

I'm totally in love with Lynn Painter. I discovered her last year and have enjoyed every single one of her books. This one was no exception.

When a book is funny, the most I usually do is a little huff of air with a silent chuckle --- but this book made me laugh out loud. The banter between Amy/Izzy and Chest/Blake was hysterical.

I loved them so much and I loved the situation they were in.

Adorkable and quirky Isabelle Shay is on the brink of starting a new job. Running late, she answers to “Amy!” and grabs someone else’s unclaimed pumpkin spiced latte which she promptly spills on another coffee-seeking hottie she instantly nicknames Mr. Chest. They have a playful moment, and then bump into one another later in the elevator. He thinks her name is Amy until she’s introduced with her real name to Blake Phillips, her department VP. Fresh off a divorce from a lying spouse, Blake is less than amused, okay angry; okay, irrationally mean bordering on punitive when he discovers she was dishonest.

They eventually resolve things enough to start to become friends; as her direct report, Blake can’t date Izzy, so they keep things at a respectful if flirty arms-length until there’s a reorganization and she’s reassigned. For one steamy weekend. Now it’s Blake who is being deceitful.

The characters behave as if they are Gen-Xers, not thirty-year-olds, with their behavior and some of the references. The point of view changes frequently enough to give the reader whiplash, sometimes multiple times, mid-chapter. The structure is a mix of narrative and phone call dialogue or text messages, but in the ebook ARC, it wasn’t always clearly formatter, leaving me wondering, it that an inside his head thought? or did he actually convey that?

Blake and Izzy’s chemistry is fantastically written, and the banter shines most when it’s gentle wisecracking wordplay sprinkled with pop culture references that shown their common interests and shared frame of reference. The repartee slides off the deep end into bro-y dialogue between the love interests far too often for my tastes. It might be a turn on for Blake and Izzy to talk to one another that way, but as someone who left a verbally abusive marriage, numb nuts is never a term of endearment, even in jest. Neither is dipshit. Or asshole, dumbass, weirdo, or little shit. And, they refer to themselves in similar, derogatory ways in their internal monologues. It makes them seem immature, not evolved, and not self-aware. I’m especially surprised, because the book is a re-release (formerly self-published), with new editorial review; and to leave in language coded as abusive to self and partner without addressing it feels shocking and irresponsible.

I received a free reader’s advance review copy of #AccidentallyAmy via #NetGalley, courtesy of Berkley.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was such a funny fast read! I hope her cousin Josh and the other Shay cousins get their own books one day.

A great meet cute that doesn’t deliver as hard the rest of the book. One of those I liked it but didn’t love it. I think there might have been too much miscommunication trope and a little of self righteousness that made it less than enjoyable. But as a meet cute and first chapter this book takes the cake!

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

There’s just something about Lynn Painter’s writing and banter that I love! I was laughing out loud so many times at their dialogue or inner thoughts!

This was a cute novel. The premise hooked me and I really enjoyed it! It was really easy to read.

I thought Izzy was super cute and endearing and Blake was really sweet and fun-loving. I liked that he got along with her cousin and she got along with his brothers! They had a really healthy relationship I thought.

I loved that they gave each other a hard time but was also so loving with each other. Some of their interactions were really cheesy and could be kind of lame, but I thought the humor was funny so it worked for me.

I thought he would be angrier at her longer in the beginning of the book for pretending to be Amy, but I guess that wasn’t the worst thing in the world for her to have done so he didn’t need to be mad forever. Just with his history with Skye I figured he would be upset for longer.

The third act break up is exactly why companies don’t want workplace relationships haha I’m glad it didn’t last that long though. It added just the perfect amount of stress to the relationship without it dragging on too long or being over the top.

Quite a bit of spice and sexy talk, but nothing super descriptive and a lot of times it was fade to black, which I appreciated.

It dragged a little bit at the end but that’s only because I’m not a huge romance person and I like reading about the tug and pull of them getting together and don’t care so much once they actually get together, so that is more of a me problem.

It had a super abrupt ending. I didn’t expect too much more since it was the epilogue, but the last sentence that was used felt like there could have been a little bit more. Maybe it was because there was a snippet of another one of her novels at the end (which I loved by the way) so my Kindle told me there was another 15 some minutes of the book left that I got confused, but I still wish the last sentence was different. It almost seemed like Painter couldn’t figure out how to end it but wanted a call back to Starbucks Amy so just left it at that.

Despite that, I would still recommend reading this! Especially if you like Lynn Painter’s books or like cute romances with really funny banter. This book would be for you!

I love the idea of this book and let me cute aspect at Starbucks and how a lot appointing the story goes back to that, but it was too cheesy of a romance for me. It still was good, but that’s it.

This was fine? I feel like a lot of people didn’t like this one (which, go off!), but it didn’t bother me. I mean, sure, it was incredibly cheesy, but I absolutely expected that to be the case based on the synopsis alone.

That being said, I appreciated the forbidden office romance trope and the bit of spice we got. There wasn’t a lot of it, but enough! I’d say it was like 2.5-3/5 🌶️🌶️ I also read this one a couple of weeks ago and may be totally off in my memory, but oh well.

(Thank you, Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC. This a super cute, albeit fairly predictable romcom. The characters are light and fun and I enjoyed the meet cute.

Lynn Painter is a comfort read for me at this point. She is the queen of on page banter and flirting. Accidentally Amy is full of fun moments between the main characters and their attraction to one another was a delight to read! I was hooked right from their funny meet-cute and could not put the book down until it was finished!

This book ticks all the boxes for a fantastic RomCom: a charming coffee shop meet-cute, a dynamic of grumpy and sunshine characters, and a workplace romance to root for. The dual point of view is a delightful addition that enriches the narrative. I found myself laughing and kicking my feet with joy throughout the story, and I absolutely adore Blake and Izzy as a couple. However, Izzy's quirkiness might benefit from being dialed back just a bit, as it occasionally borders on the annoying. The romantic tension is perfectly pitched, the banter is top-notch, and true to Lynn's style, I was left brimming with emotion. This is a must-read I'll be suggesting to all my fellow romance enthusiasts.

Lynn Painter continues to be a powerhouse when it comes to rom-coms! The banter was top tier, the chemistry was quite literally OUT OF THIS WORLD, and the characters were so endearing. I love a meet-cute mixed with some fumbles and mishaps - I found myself giggling at multiple times while reading, either due to the ridiculous nature of the scenarios, or the wittiness between Izzy and Blake.
I will forever continue to put Lynn Painter’s books at the top of my TBR list ❤️

When Izzy takes the wrong coffee cup in a hurry to make it on time to her first day at her new job, and spills said coffee on a incredibly attractive man, sparks fly between the two of them. Imagine the surprise when Izzy arrives at work and runs into the same man... and finds out he is her new boss.

This was a short quick read. It started off very good, and kept a good pace. It got straight to the point and read more like a short story to me, which I was fine with. There was a decent amount of character development considering the short story, and the plot was good. I loved the chemistry between Izzy and Blake and their witty banter. I just adored the level of comfort they had with each other immediately and was rooting for them. Enjoyed that the complication and the third act wasn't drawn out to miscommunication trope. The very last chapter and the epilogue were the icing on the cake for me. I recommend picking this up if in need of a fast read!

I have been a big fan of Lynn Painter for years, and read the first version of Accidentally Amy back in 2022. When I saw she was rereleasing it I had to get my hands on it.
This books has all the makings of a great RomCom ! Adorable coffee shop Meet-Cute, grumpy sunshine love interests, work place relationship.
I love the dual POV and think it’s adds so much to the story. I was giggling and kicking my feet throughout this book and truly do love Blake and Izzy as a couple. However I feel that the ✨quirkiness✨ of Izzy could be toned down a notch or two because she does kind of get annoying from time to time.
The spice was great, the banter was excellent , and in true Lynn fashion, I was left with all the feelings.
I will be recommending this to all the romance girlies .
Thank you so much for the opportunity to read the ARC!

The ending was extremely weird to me and the romance just didn't feel like a Lynn Painter romance book which very much disappointed me. I almost DNFed it but I was already 80% into it, might as well just finish.

Thank you Lynn Painter for the opportunity to read this as an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.75 rounded up to 4

The book starts off with Isabella Shay (Izzy) at Starbucks where she realizes she is going to be late for her first day of her new job. Panicking, she hears Amy's name being called multiple times and her PSL on the counter waiting, she makes an impulsive decision to snag it and run (after all she did order the same drink). After stealing the unclaimed coffee, she slams straight into the chest of a handsome man. Running off before introducing herself, Mr. Chest believes her name to be what is on the cup, Amy.
Flustered and coffee-less, Izzy arrives at her new place of employment to meet her new boss who is strict, ethical, rule follower and is stunned to learn who she really is.

I found this book to be a lot of things: cheesy, cliche, fluffy but also hilarious, unput-down-able, and adorable. I consumed this book so quickly and it further demonstrated that I love Lynn Painter's writing. The banter in this book was top notch, the text conversations has me giggling and I adore how Blake's stickler character progressed throughout. And I can't not mention the cats names-- The Darkling? Goodyear? You bet I was cackling. Spoiler next: My only meh about this book is how Blake screwed over Izzy and she FORGIVES him so easily. GAH I was fuming.

But, I do recommend this book if you want a light-hearted, cutesy romance with adorable cats and a lil drama.

- Will post on instagram at a later time closer to release :)

Thank you Berkley for the review copy, I am a fan of Lynn Painter and it was nice to get to read some of her earlier, but newly revised, work. What works here is a smart, witty main character with Izzy, I really liked how she was written and that she was good at banter, at handling herself, and for exuded a confidence that was fun to read. I at times found Blake a little rougher, lacking some depth and I tend to dislike some of the black and white thinking, esp when it comes to "lying", as some of the early work interactions with Blake felt if not unrealistic then at least unfair to the book and to the character., especially as Lynn Painter as I know her is talented at giving male and female characters interesting and nuanced depth.
So this is a fun quick read, sure to warm hearts in the winter months when it is available, and one I'd recommend as a great book for a reading slump, great for reading on a chilly winter night, and just right for a quick, steamy escape read.

I loved this book so much!!! I had never read anything by Lynn Painter before and now I plan to read all her books. I will be recommending this book to romance readers.
The story was so well done with excellent pacing. I didn’t want to put the book down, I had to find out what was going to happen next.
I actually read it twice which is something that I rarely do.

I loved the characters in Accidentally Amy and wanted more to their story. I feel like the steamy scenes took over the book but Izzy and Blake were fun characters. Some of the scenes, like when they met in Starbucks and the game night still live in my head. If about 35% of the steamy scenes were taken out and a little more plot put in this would be an amazing book.

I LOVEDDDD THIS STORY!! I was sad when this book came to an end. Both the main characters in this book had me laughing out loud. I could not get enough of Isabella and her off the cuff comments. I’m glad Lynn gave these characters their own book, it was a delightful read.