This was so cute and real! Enemies to lovers, second chances, and all the things that can happen in a real life relationship. This was adorable.

This enemies to lovers romance is for those who are willing to be patient. Juliana finds herself back to work after her husband dies and meets Ben on her first day at the office. That same day she overhears him disparaging her to someone over the phone. She decides it is war and holds a grudge for two years until they are forced to work closely together on a project.

The tension is high and the romance is steamy. Charlotte North’s narration added to the enjoyment of the novel. Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy. All opinions are my own

I adore this book, super sad but sweet story of finding romance after losing your spouse.

Publisher's summary
After Juliana Ryan's husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her with two grieving kids and a stunted career from years as a stay-at-home mom, she has no choice but to make it work all on her own. But her confidence crashes around her when she overhears her condescending but infuriatingly attractive new colleague, Ben Thomas, talking about how her kids and inexperience are a liability the company can’t afford. This sets off a feud between the two, as Juliana vows to prove him wrong.
Two years later, their feud rages on, but it may be charged with something they aren't willing to admit. When they are forced onto a career-making project together, Juliana has no choice but to call a truce. As their lives become more intertwined in and out of the office, Juliana finds it hard to ignore Ben’s perpetual smile and charming determination. What started as a truce grows into more, as boardroom-clearing arguments turn to desk-clearing kisses. Could the man she deemed her nemesis understand her life–her stress and responsibilities–better than anyone?
But just when Juliana decides to open her heart again, Ben’s past threatens their newfound bliss, and she has to figure out whether this second chance at love is worth it after all.

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this audiobook!

Let's Call a Truce
By: Amy Buchanan
Narrated by: Charlotte North
Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
Release date: 01-14-25
Publisher: Macmillan Audio

I can't believe that Let's Call a Truce was Amy Buchanan's debut novel! It was an absolute wild ride. Packed with humor ( loved the tally sheet Juliana was keeping), heartfelt moments, and just the right touch of sexual tension, this second chance at life romance kept me hooked from the start. Juliana and Ben's chemistry and complex journey really made it impossible to stop listening. I can't wait to see what Buchanan writes next!

Juliana is back in the workforce again after the sudden loss of her husband. On her first day, she literally runs into Ben. They seem to hit it off and Juliana leaves the situation feeling good until she later overhears Ben complaining about her and her choice of her daughters over work obligations. The story then picks up 2 years later. Ben and Juliana are still at odds but the interactions lean more towards banter than meanness. A common friend and their working relationship keeps them in one another's circle. They constantly find themselves fighting their attraction for one another as the tension builds.

I enjoyed this story. The author's dealing with the passing of the husband is handled well. Ben has his own troubled past that comes up and really comes to a head at the end of the book. While I didn't love the way he dealt with the situation, I enjoyed these two together overall. They felt like a good match and I enjoyed how they supported one another in the end. The children are present without being too much or annoying. The audiobook was narrated well and kept me entertained. This was a fast, enjoyable read for an afternoon of puzzling.

I am completely blown away by this book. I laughed, I cried and I even yelled! A book that makes you feel the emotions that the characters are feeling is truly something special. This narrator has such an incredible voice and I’m blown away by her talent. She brought the story to life. Thank you for writing this Amy. Thank you for letting me listing to such a beautiful book. We will be purchasing this book for our patrons to enjoy at our library. Thank you!

This is my first book by this author. I was completely surprised in the best way by this book. I listened to this one all in one day, and I did not want to stop listening. This book was very well written with GREAT conflict. I thought maybe this book would be like a lot of other surface level enemies to lovers stories. This was not. Again, I was pleasantly surprised at how much wonderful emotion there was in this organic love story. The back stories of both the female and male main characters were deep and believable. Juliana's single motherhood struggles were believable and hit me in all the feels. I usually pass at work place romances, but I even loved the story line and what the characters were trying to accomplish. The steam in this book was just icing on the cake. I only wished we got Ben's POV in this story. Charlotte North is one of my favorite narrators. She did a fantastic job of bringing this book to life. Huge thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen and review this book.

3+ stars

“'It is not my job to accommodate her kids.' The memory shot through me like a physical blow. He’d made his stance perfectly clear and I wouldn’t open myself up because of one kind look.”

On her first day back to work since her husband’s death, Julianna overhears Ben’s complaint to a mutual colleague - it’s the last thing she needs as she balances worries about her young daughters and concerns about proving herself in a new job she might be under qualified for.
We fast forward past 2 years of cat and mouse petty fighting between Julianna and Ben as they begin to settle into a more civilized relationship in the workplace and perhaps a more steamy relationship outside of the office.

Debut author Amy Buchanan takes great care with the single parent themes and albeit predictable, they add an authenticity to the novel. I felt there was 1 or 2 too many “oh, this is going to be the end of them” segments, as the final outcome was apparent. Clocking in at just over 10 hours on audio, some editing would have moved the plot forward in a more seamless manner without creating plot holes.

I rarely read romances but after taking a chance on a new Christina Lauren book last year I decided to give this a try. The workplace environment, along with a Boston interlude (loved) from the Orlando, Florida setting prompted me to pick this up.

Charlotte North’s narration was excellent, particularly in her range from young girl voices to mid 30s male and female characters. Spice meter was in the red zone with multiple scenes ramping up 1/3 of the way in, so be aware that if you normally skip through these types of scenes, you will be doing a lot of skimming.

I really liked this book. I loved the different twists it took on the common romance novels. It was great to see a rom com about a single parent that is struggling with her ability to manage work life balance, her love life and her role as a parent. I found the FMC relatable and the story even brought unexpected tears to my eyes on several occasions. Definitely recommend!

I genuinely liked this rom-com. Typically the story is very blah, and you're only reading it for the spice, but this one actually had a story with some substance. I liked the single mom widow angle. I feel like that's not a typical character in the contemporary romance genre. The spice level was also good. I really, it was enjoyable if you like the genre.

I really enjoyed this one. I enjoyed the single parenting aspect, trying to move on after a spouse passes and learning what it means to forgive yourself. It was refreshing and fun and a great read.

Emotional. Great character development. Good narrator.. trigger warnings for death of a spouse, grief, and absentee parent.

First let me say that star ratings are not adequate for explaining all the complexities that go into an author writing a story. That being said, I had all different thoughts on Let’s Call a Truce, and will attempt to explain why.

Amy Buchanan can write. She has a knack for storytelling and I felt like Ben and Juliana were real people with real lives. This story is as much about living with grief as it is a love story and how it is possible to find romantic love after having it once before. Friends and family also play a big role in this story. Juliana is a widowed mom to two young girls and it really does take a village to help her navigate life post spouse. She has a great support group of friends, one who is best friends with her workplace nemesis, Ben Thomas. As they say, keep your friends close but your enemies closer. The initial spark between Ben and Juliana is doused quickly when Ben makes the CRITICAL mistake of judging Juliana’s work ethic as less than satisfactory BECAUSE she has kids. Note to all men—don’t do this! And here’s where the story jumps forward two years.

This one incident is used as the fuel to Juliana’s hate fire for Ben. Okay, I’m a mom, I get it, but instead of getting to know Ben, she just lets it keep festering. There are so many opportunities for Juliana to actually talk to Ben about this, but time and time again she chooses the stubborn, “he’s a terrible person” mantra which after several chances came off as immature to me. And that’s okay. Characters can be immature as long as they grow, but Juliana’s unwillingness to see Ben in any light other than work nemesis for SO LONG, almost made me DNF. I groaned aloud when once again, Juliana found fault with Ben because I just wanted her to give him a chance.

But do you know what made me come back? Ben. He is the best MMC and honestly, probably too good for Juliana. He really really wants her and pursues her, loves her kids (the miscommunication is finally fixed and there is a good grovel), and thinks she’s amazing at her job. To me, Ben never really misstepped; he was even very forgivable in the third act break up. In a way, he was the opposite of Juliana; he knows what he wants and he goes for it and his “rivalry” was more his way of dealing with Juliana’s childishness in a placating way.

This book does have a pretty great ending, Juliana does grow and realize that she wasted a TON of time fighting with Ben, and I ultimately enjoyed the second half of the book. But if you’re inclined to dislike heroines who struggle with forgiveness, Let’s Call a Truce might put you a bit off. I will say that I would definitely read more from Buchanan. She knows what women want in a hero and can write a workplace romance sex scene, I just think rivals to lovers may have not been my favorite trope from her. I received an early copy. All opinions are my own.

Audiobook: I have heard Charlotte North narrate romance before and have enjoyed her. This was the first time I heard her “kid” voice which erred on the side of pitchy, but I thought she did a good job of narrating both Ben and Juliana’s voices. She understands pacing and I can definitely hear her in my head as these characters.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟.5
Steam: 🪭🪭
Narration: 📣📣📣📣

I ended up DNFing this at 51%.

I TRIED to push through this book. I really did. But my biggest issue all comes down to the main characters' relationship just really not doing it for me. It didn't seem to make sense and their interactions really were just a ton of back and forth over the same things. The lack of communication on both of their parts really made me just not want to see them ending up together. And at 51% it felt like we were being forced to try to believe that our female MC was feeling things for our male MC. Except to make it was really just giving that she was lusting for him and was not ready to move on from her husband or his death. It was very much feeling like lust and then us being told that the feelings were more, not being shown that they were.

If there's one thing that a romance novel HAS to have for me, it would be a relationship and characters I am rooting to end up together. This didn't have that and it left me VERY disappointed. Once I saw that I was only halfway through the book, I just knew that I wouldn't be able to finish it. therefore choosing to DNF it.

One of thing I love in romance books is messy characters, messy situations, messy relationships. We’re introduced to Juliana, a widowed mom of two children whose return to the workplace after years of being a stay-at-home mom goes mostly well… with exception of one coworker, Ben, who makes a snide comment about her struggle to balance motherhood and her career.

Fast forward two years and we get to see Juliana and Ben, whose relationship has developed into a full-blown, almost petty sort of feud. However, there’s no denying that there’s a different sort of tension there, and it comes to a head when they’re forced to work on a project together.

You’ll love this book if you love:

🩷 ORLANDO! There’s a very specific scene in this book that might seem insane to outsiders, but is 100% factual to anyone who went to elementary school here. IYKYK.

🩷 Blended families and conversations on the seemingly impossible (but very often necessary!) task of balancing a full-time career and motherhood.

🩷 Themes of grief, rebuilding life after tragedy, and stepping back into yourself.

🩷 Funny moments! Juliana and Ben’s banter is chef’s kiss and genuinely made me cackle.

🩷 Spice! It’s there and it’s hot, folks 🥵

Starting this year off right with an amazing debut novel from Amy Buchanan. Let's Call a Truce is the perfect *Single Mom*, *Enemies to Lovers*, *Steamy Office Romance*. Juliana is a widow returning to the workforce after several years of staying home to raise her children. Ben, a single dad, quickly becomes her office nemesis for the next few YEARS. Let me tell you how relieved I was when these two finally came together! Although the book spans several years, it was a fast paced read with plenty of banter to keep me intrigued. The characters and the plot are well developed.

Thank you to MacMillian Audio via NetGalley for the early copy copy of this audiobook. I really enjoy Charlotte North as a narrator. She has a strong talent to carry a romance novel as a solo narrator. As far as production goes- I enjoyed the audiobook preformance very much.

As for the story itself- This book is an enimies to lovers workplace romance. I will say, I do not typically enjoy fluffy rom-coms, but I requested this title because our FMC is a widow and I thought there would be more emotional grit to the story. I also really enjoy single parent romances. Unfortunately for me, there was not much emotional grit to this story. While our FMC does struggle with the idea of finding love after the loss of her husband, I did not feel her sadness was tangible enough for me.

For me personally I'm giving this a 3 star. I enjoyed it, but did not love it. Some people are going to love that this book is. bit more lighthearted than serious. That is actually a deterrant for me. I also get kind of annoyed when we have the same circular arguments over and over again and for a good 30% of this story it felt like the two main characters were hashing out the same things over and over again.

This was such a standout enemies to lovers office romance debut that sees two single parents forced to work together on a joint project where they quickly learn that while they got off to a terrible first start, they actually have more in common than either realized. I loved the messy family drama, the panic attack/anxiety rep, the chemistry between the leads (things get spicy y'all!) and highly recommend it for fans of books like Pick-up by Nora Dahlia. I definitely look forward to reading more by Amy Buchanan. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This one started a bit slow for me, but I was completely invested in these characters and their future by the end! I will start by saying that the character development is so well done for the main characters (and most of the secondary characters as well, but a couple I wouldn't have minded to have been a little more fleshed out). Both Juliana and Ben have well developed backstories that are unique and carried throughout the book. Each of their children is also well developed, and it was fun to read all of these people and how they come together in the end. I thought the way Buchanan executed the relationship development was well done and realistic for the situation. This is a heart-warming romance with plenty of steamy elements that I highly recommend!

Juliana and Ben are workplace rivals whose lives continue to intersect outside work. Amy Buchanan masterfully builds their relationship slowly from enemies to lovers. I love that Juliana is a mom who always puts her kids first, and her decisions throughout the novel include them. Sometimes, the children and family seem to take a backseat in romance novels, but they are at the forefront of this one. It makes the characters more relatable and real, making it easy to fall for them and want them to be happy. I loved Amy Buchanan's writing style and can't wait to see what she comes up with next.