"Last Night Was Fun" by Holly Michelle is a contemporary rom-com.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager for the e-ARC (via Netgalley).
Opinions from this review are completely my own.

Emmy and Gabe are work colleagues competing for a promotion.
She is the also the only female analyst for a profesional baseball team.

You will enjoy the book if you like:
- work rivals to lovers
- woman in STEM
- mistaken identity
- only one bed
- forced proximity
- slow burn
- accidental texting

After Gabe received a wrong number from his date, he starts texting a mysterious woman that he calls "Bird Girl". What he doesn't know if that she is his work colleague and rival.
I liked the interactions they had via text, the fact that they reveled their vulnerabilities this way and that they discovered the truth at the same time.
They manged to get to know each other and were able to be more truthful than face to face.
Even if they had chemistry in real life, the competitivity made them ignore it.
Gabe was so sweet and I loved the wedding part of the story.

This would have been a 5 stars book for me, but I did not like the misunderstanding and miscommunication from the last part.

Solid 4. Started as a 5 for me but around the middle started getting a bit muddled. It’s not that I wanted the reveal to happen later, but the pacing started feeling slower once we knew. Especially since the wedding happens so quickly after. I appreciated the backstory’s of both MCs and I felt it added necessary depth. The ending, however, annoyed me - not only is the misunderstanding unnecessarily childish, the grand gesture being during his very first game in his new position makes Emmy seem even more immature and selfish than she was for overreacting. I did catch the little nod to James’ previous novel which was fun.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Unfortunately this didn’t really work for me. The protagonist’s (adult) sister was written like a sulky teen and the female protagonist came off as quite superior at times. The text exchanges, while cute, didn’t feel snappy and fun.

OMG! I fell in love with this book!! It was everything I’ve been looking for when reading, romance and humor. Emmy is everything I aspire to be. Seeing how her and Gabe both were working toward something for themselves due to a tragedy shows how we can’t judge a book by its cover without getting to the good parts.

Based on the reviews, I’m definitely in the minority here. So I think you should still give this a try if you like: hopelessly cheesy set ups (think you’ve got mail), women in male fields (only two women in the company they work for and she’s up against her rival for promotion), math (they’re stat geeks - honestly they don’t nerd out much in this but the few spots that were geeky I loved), and a sports romance (heavily, heavily discussed baseball. They work for a baseball team. The rival is an ex-all state player and her brother was a professional player before his tragic death).

I was really into this until about the halfway point. For me, once the cat was out of the bag about who the mystery texter was, the story just felt too long. I found I didn’t care much for their relationship once their identities were revealed. I also was so frustrated with our FMC in the third act conflict. This was all very predictable from the very beginning and her being described as this hyper intelligent woman while jumping to ridiculous conclusions and not letting him even speak was rough for me. But at the end of the day, and this is a personal thing, it was too much sports for me. And I should have known that going in, and it’s certainly not the authors or story’s fault that I don’t care for sports romance.

I always enjoy the “You’ve Got Mail”/secret penpal/accidentally texting the wrong number storyline. While this isn’t the most original idea, I had a lot of fun reading. The banter was great and their relationship growth felt believable. Overall it was like a mix of “The Hating Game” and “A Cinderella Story” (Hilary duff version). Cute, funny, and a little predictable.

Once in a while, I'll come across a romance book that I can just tell will be something I love from the first few pages. It's going to be a book that I think about a lot, and it's going to be a book that I'll want to reread over and over. And that's what happened with Last Night Was Fun. I finished it at 2am and am already thinking about reading it again because that's how much I loved it.

Emmy is just hanging out at home, rotting (as one does on the weekend) when she gets a text from an unknown number saying 'Last night was fun'. She quickly figures out it's a case of mistaken identity and the texter was given a fake number, but starts chatting nonetheless. There's some jokes made, some bird puns exchanged, and before long, the mystery texted, affectionately nicknamed Axe Murderer, becomes Emmy's favorite part of her day. Which is good, because sometimes she needs something to look forward to, between stressing over a promotion at her baseball data analyst job against work nemesis Gabe and her sister's upcoming wedding in Mexico. Once she finds out her ex is going to be at the wedding, she needs a date...and who better to ask than her mystery man? Except he turns out to be Gabe: gorgeous, competitive, know-it-all Gabe who is standing between her and a promotion. Is the emotional connection they found texting enough to overcome everything going on between them in real life?

There are so many things I loved about this book:
•THE BANTER. Right off the bat (pun intended), the teasing and the jokes found in the texts had me smiling and laughing. Then even when Emmy and Gabe were at work or out with their coworkers, I was still giggling and kicking my feet because some of the moments confused Emmy, like she wasn't sure if he was actually flirting with her instead.
•The emotional connection between Emmy and Gabe. There were vulnerable moments between them even when they were just Jameson and Olson, so I loved the way the reader got to see the connection between them exist outside of who they were when they were texting. Both had some traumatic things happen to them and my lil heart squeezed when they were opening up to each other.
•The comedy of it all - this reminds me of 2000s rom-coms with a modern twist in the best possible way. This actually had me laughing while reading, from the clever sarcastic remarks from both Emmy and Gabe, to the night out with their co-workers, to the bachelorette party on the yacht, there were these bright spots of funny that only added to the story.

This is my favorite romance I've read so far this year. It was everything I could hope for in a romantic comedy, while still delivering heartfelt moments and a little angst, making it a winning combination for me. Will 100000% recommend.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for the eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This had me the moment I saw it had “You’ve Got Mail” vibes. This was a cute story that had lots of elements that I love. The flirty texting banter was amazing and I loved how this author wrote the dynamic between Emmy and Gabe.

The snarky dialogue between Emmy and Gabe lead to some delightful workplace tension, especially with the reader knowing who was behind the texts. What I enjoyed the most about this book was that the heart of the story was Emmy and Gabe. I enjoyed getting to know them as individuals and watching them break down each other's walls. There were so many layers to each character and I enjoyed unraveling them.

This was my first book by this author and I hope it’s not my last. Though this book is predictable, I still enjoyed the ride until the end.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was such a cute Rom Com. It felt like a mix between The Hating Game and Mr. Wrong Number. I was drawn in with the bird band puns and could not stop reading after that! There were grand gestures, banter, tension and spice. I loved the book, it is one of my favorite reads of the year. 5++++ stars. Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.

4.5 stars

Just because you know where you’re going doesn’t mean you can’t love the journey there! Describing this as You’ve Got Mail meets The Hating Game is very accurate and got me hooked instantly as I loved both of those stories. I’m not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope but at least I knew to expect it and could brace for it, expecting to end up with the HEA I needed.

Those flirty texts had me absolutely kicking my feet. I loved their exchanges and that they were able to switch between silly and sarcastic and vulnerable. Emmy and Gabe obviously had great chemistry and I agree with Pedro - I would have put money on them from the beginning too if I had been in that office with all that tension! Half way through I was convinced it had actually been a set up and that someone that knew Emmy gave her number to Gabe on purpose. I’m not disappointed that wasn’t the case - the randomness of it, the astronomical statistics of the fake numbering really played into their career/interests.

To make up for the miscommunication trope I’m soooo glad we also got a favorite of mine - only one bed. Thanks goodness Gabe came prepared! I was waiting for a little spice in this story and we got it - just enough to let that tension snap without being overwhelming.

Overall I devoured this story, it was an easy relatable read and the characters were never annoying. I read it in less than 24 hours but if I didn’t need to sleep or go to work I would have read it in a single sitting without a doubt.

This page-turner is a light-hearted read that captivated my interest from the first page to the last. I love the plotline of a text-based relationship with the love interest turning out to be the competitive co-worker that one would have least suspected. I love how their love blossomed and the simple text awakened the feelings they have never acknowledged.

Thank you to Netgalley, Holly Michelle, and the publisher for this advance readers copy.

[Thank you to Avon/Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.]

This story is filled with some of my favorite tropes (Slow burn! Fake dating! Rivals to lovers! Only one bed!) but there's a fresh twist, featuring two baseball analysts who fall in love. Plus, it's always inspiring to watch a woman succeed and thrive in a male-dominated field.

Emmy and Gabe have this wild chemistry. They're stubborn and competitive at work but when they're texting as Bird Girl and Axe Murderer, they can reveal their vulnerabilities and softer sides. The contrasting interactions allow the reader to fully understand Emmy and Gabe's insecurities.

The story touches on serious topics like death of a family member due to addiction (which happens prior to the story), parental expectations, and having a healthy work/life balance but they're all woven into the story in such a purposeful way.

This book is just an absolute delight. Most of the time I was either laughing or smiling. You're absolutely going to want to get your hands on this book!

Wow!! What a truly fun and swoon worthy book.
The banter
The tension
The comedy
And ohhh the romance!!
Plus having it based in San Diego was an extra special treat. I devoured this book in less than a day and will definitely be a comfort read I go back to again and again.

This story was the sweetest romance! I love enemies to lovers / co-worker tropes. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. It was very easy to follow along and was quite enjoyable to read. And I like that it centered around their love for baseball !

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I never knew that much about baseball and I certainly never knew there were people being paid to run numbers and algorithms and all that stuff in the background. What a lesson! I dug it!

I also really really loved the secondary characters, especially Beth and Pedro. So funny, so well- described, I felt like I could see them! Piper is also lots of fun.

Fun book. Glad I got a galley. 💜📚

This book was exactly what you expect and what you want from a romcom. Brain Candy of the highest order.
I loved the characterizations, the inner turmoil and the pairing was utter perfection.
Being set in the best city in the world was a lovely added bonus! 5/5 would (and have) recommend.

You've Got Mail meets The Hating Game AND it's set in San Diego??? Say less.

I was honestly worried the book wouldn't live up to its comps, but I worried for nothing. I thoroughly enjoyed this story - the setting, the characters, and the emotional journey. 5/5 stars. Add to cart.

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my review.

This was a cute story. I always love the enemies to lovers trope. Although it was predictable from the start that Gabe was the guy in the texts, the story was still very enjoyable. The writing flowed nicely and the author did a great job keeping the story interesting. It was a fun, easy read.

This book was a lot of fun. Did it have a lot of the typical romance tropes? Absolutely, but it was exactly what I wanted in a romance novel. As it was inspired by romcom movies, it truly felt like one reading it. Gabe is a kind, hardworking, swoon worthy MMC and Emmy is a strong, smart and spunky FMC. Throw in my favorite tropes (one bed, forced proximity) and it is a recipe for success.

I went into this knowing very little about baseball. My relationship with the sport is essentially rooting for the Yankees to win the World Series when they get there (still bitter). I wanted to give this book a chance despite that and I am so glad I did! I learned a bit more about the sport and as someone who detests math and statistics, the book was very good at making it an integral part of the story, but still keeping the focus on Emmy and Gabe.

Was it revolutionary for the genre? No, but it was perfect at what it sought out to do. It was very quick to read (as the catalyst for the book is from text messages conversations, of course) but I am glad that the book wasn't formatted in text messages for too long. It did what it needed to do and didn't overstay its welcome. Overall, it was a super fun and super cute book. Can't ask for more!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Holly Michelle for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are fully my own.

This book was the perfect love child of The Hating Game and an updated You’ve Got Mail. It was a quick, easy read with good banter, enjoyable characters, and a believable love story. Docking a star because I hate a late-in-the-story miscommunication trope (and it didn’t really feel necessary), but a very enjoyable read nonetheless!
Many thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.