One thing I've come to discover about myself is that I absolutely love romances that follow the "You've Got Mail" plot. Is it the most original book? Perhaps not, but I still enjoyed it! This book had all the staple tropes: fake date to a wedding, one bed, rival coworkers up for the same promotion to name a few. I thought the book did a great job of adding some new elements to them though. It also focused a lot on the misogyny that Emmy faced in her job, but my one problem was that a lot of it was at the hands of Gabe. We do get an eventual "explanation" for this and he redeemed himself in my eyes but I wish it didn't all have to come from him.

The fact that the book revolved around baseball was a unique touch. Emmy and Gabe both work as analysts for a pro baseball team but each have an individual and sad tie to the sport. Gabe was an ex-player who had a career-ending injury but has all the marks of a pro athlete, but his personality on the inside is completely different and heartwarming. Still, in another world this book was definitely a sports romance.

"Last Night Was Fun" was a really heartwarming read with lots of great banter. I personally enjoyed the use of many of my favorite and familiar tropes - they're such a source of comfort and when done right, which I think they were here, give me such butterflies. And the spice was phenomenal - it was nothing too crazy, but it was very well done. This is a perfect comfort read for romance lovers!

A cute holiday baseball romance, enemies to lovers with some serious "You've got Mail" vibes. It is lighthearted and fun, and about finding love in unexpected places. Emmy Jameson is a baseball data analyst for a Major League Baseball team, she is outstanding at her job but has to face many hurdles at work being a female in a male-dominant industry. She is up for a promotion and in competition with the other strong analyst, Gabe Olson. Emmy holds her personal life close to the vest and doesn't share personal details at all with her coworkers. She has sworn off dating, but one fateful night, she gets a text from a mystery number saying "Last night was fun." It turns out that some girl at a bar gave a guy a fake number, which just so happened to be Emmy's number!

What are the odds? (I mean, Emmy and Gabe could probably calculate the odds, but we couldn't.)

They exchange texts over the course of a few weeks and start to develop feelings for each other, to the point where Emmy is ready to invite the mystery man to her sister's wedding in Cancun. Now, this isn't technically a spoiler since it is in the blurb, and you can see it coming a mile away, but of COURSE the mystery man is Gabe. There is so much built up anticipation about the identity of the texter, who Emmy has listed as "Axe murderer" in her phone. I promise you, the witty text banter is worth it, and you will love seeing Emmy and Gabe feel safe sharing their lives with each other on text and falling in love. All of us want to believe that if we share ourselves with someone, that they will still be able to love us.

The narrative accurately and infuriatingly describes being a woman in the workplace, and how much harder women, especially in male dominant fields, have to work in order to be taken seriously.

If you enjoy a sports romance, witty banter and a good rivals-to-lovers storyline, this is a great summer beach read for you!

Thanks to @netgalley and @avonbooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published June 10, 2025.

One of my all time favorite rom-coms! If you love 90s/2000s rom-coms and/or baseball, you have to read this book! The description mentions being You've Got Mail inspired and it draws the perfect amount of inspiration from You've Got Mail while remaining original. The banter between Emmy and Gabe is fantastic and had me smiling from start to finish.

I went into this thinking it was enemies to lovers but it was obvious from the first encounter that Gabe had feelings for Emmy. The end “twist” was too obvious and I wish they had gone without the miscommunication trope.

The Hating Game is one of my all-time favorite romance novels, so of course I jumped at the opportunity to read Last Night Was Fun. I devoured it in one night!

I loved the banter between Axe Murderer and Bird Girl. Emmy and Gabe are both mature MCs, and I loved the exploration of work/life balance and the stress of parental expectations. I particularly liked the focus on baseball and what it’s like to be an “only girl.” Everything about this romance was peak relationship goals - highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Last Night Was Fun! Going into this book, I was not aware that Holly Michelle was a pen name for Holly James. Having read a few of Holly James previous works, I was surprised by the writing of Last Night Was Fun. I don't know what was different with this book, but this story was out of the ballpark (hee hee) compared to the other books I've read by this author. I'm glad this book was rebranded as a Holly Michelle book because I'm not sure if I would have picked this one up. Besides the very long sentences, I thought the writing and pacing were spot on. As someone who doesn't prefer third-person narratives, I was shocked that I didn't mind the writing style. I liked the plot of this story and the baseball theme. The beginning relationship between Emmy and Gabe was adorable. I loved the texting scenes between them. The banter between Gabe and Emmy was perfect. Readers will get butterflies from them! I wish the texting exchanges were labeled. There were a few points where I got confused on who was texting. I also enjoyed the in-person moments between Gabe and Emmy. The night out and baseball scene with them was fun. Michelle did a great job adding comedic bits to the story. The first "meeting" scene had me laughing out loud. I liked how the author included an Easter egg from her book, Name Your Price. I liked Emmy and Gabe's characters. They were layered enough that I didn't feel left wanting. I thought they were a good match for each other. I wasn't a big fan of the miscommunication with one of the characters at the end of the book. I felt like the side characters could have been developed better. I wanted more from Beth, Pedro, and Silas. The grand gesture scene and epilogue were cute. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.

Aww, I loved this! It is a sweet, fun romance between two leads who care about and complement each other. The plot is engaging and both Emmy and Gabe are easy to root for (especially once we get to know Gabe a bit better).

There is a bit of miscommunication near the end which I did not appreciate but it was still easy to root for Emmy and Gabe and the ending was charming. Recommended to fans of workplace romance, enemies-to-lovers, and forced proximity tropes. 4.5 stars.

(I did not realize it was written by the author of Name Your Price, Nothing But the Truth, The Deja Glitch until a reference to Name Your Price in one of the chapters. I have adored every book by this author and this was no exception.)

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Emmy and Gabe are in the minority of MCs that where I liked both of them! Emmy is about her business and likes to keep her personal and work life separate. She’s one of a few women in a male dominated industry, and she wants to climb the ladder that seems to be going against her. Gabe is a former baseball player who had an accident that ended his playing career. He stayed close and worked in baseball on the business side. He’s a favorite around there and is a bit of a golden boy.

I found myself eager to get to the parts where Gabe and Emmy interact. I was less interested in the other relationships because I liked them so much! When they found out they were each other’s secret pen pal, it was like that scene in The Office when Michael meets Deangelo for the first time at the bar. It was sooooo funny to me.

This book read much like an actual romcom movie. There were so many coincidences back to back to back to back in the beginning that it was starting to be a bit much, but luckily the story moved on before I got bothered by it. The text messages were so cute though.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ellie and Gabe are bitter rivals in their MLB baseball world of data analytics. They are both up for position of senior analyst and there is no love lost between the two. To make it worse, it's a total boys' club at the baseball team. Ellie is trying to make a name for herself, but it's tough hwen

Ellie gets a random text from an unknown number. "Last night was fun." She banters back and it's revealed that the mystery man was "wrong numbered" by a girl at the bar. They exchange easily back and forth in a relaxed way that surprises them both. As there fun and flirty exchanged become more intimate, should they meet up? Her ex didn't understand her laser focus on her job and broke up with her over it. Will this guy be the same? Will Gabe stay out of her way?

This enemy to lovers was tropey in all the best ways was oh so fun! I love the data analysis, MLB subplot! This one comes out in June. Thank you Avo n and Netgelley for the advanced review.

Loved this! Read it pretty much start to finish-- co- workers do not like each other, then fate intervenes Emmy gets a text from a stranger one morning who rapidly becomes the favorite part of her day which gives her something to look forward to especially in her male dominated role at a baseball team where she is up for a promotion against her arch nemesis Gabe- with her little sisters destination wedding coming up she needs a date - she's been texting the stranger for weeks could he be her plus one she gives it a chance after her last heartbreak and what happens is a huge shock but will love win out or will she be left heart broken again with a a great family dynamic and fun bestie and a couple of fun coworkers weaved in this was a great book highly recommend!

Last Night Was Fun by Holly Michelle is a lighthearted yet emotionally resonant exploration of love, self-discovery, and the complexities of modern relationships. The book's strength lies in its relatable characters, particularly the protagonist, whose internal struggles and vulnerabilities are portrayed with sincerity. While the dialogue is sharp and engaging, at times the plot feels overly familiar, leaning on well-worn tropes that fail to offer much new insight into the genre. The pacing can also be uneven, with certain sections dragging before the narrative picks up momentum again. Despite these flaws, Michelle’s writing has an undeniable charm, and her ability to capture the nuances of romantic connection makes the book an enjoyable, if not groundbreaking, read.

This was everything I needed in a contemporary romance novel! The characters were fun and the banter was great. The side characters were adorable. Definitely had "You've Got Mail" vibes and I loved it.

Many thanks to NetGalley for sharing this novel’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I really wanted to like this book. I think it has a lot of potential but maybe could have gone another round of editing. In the beginning there were some really strange similes ("his comment speared her like a cocktail umbrella through a wedge of pineapple") and it was strange. There were a lot of loose ends, or more likely things that were written that didn't have to do with anything and shouldn't have been there. I think this author has potential, but I more editing of the book would have made it stronger in my opinion.