One of the book’s greatest strengths is its emotional depth. The characters are not just thrown into a romance—they evolve, face personal struggles, and learn from each other. The slow-burn tension, witty banter, and tender moments make their connection feel organic and compelling.

This was an amazing debut from Harding. You instantly fall in love with Bea and question Nathan. Their banter is reminiscent of a real relationship and makes you root for them. Definitely recommend for romance lovers!

I adored this book! Beatrice loves her friends & is fiercely loyal to them. When Bea gets mixed up in the details of her best friends’ messy divorce, she ends up in their divorce lawyer’s office. She is yelling & upset, he is utterly charmed. The story unfolds from there as we see Nate (the divorce lawyer) and Bea (newly out of law school) thrown together in a variety of different professional settings. It is such a great read! Enemies to lovers, but they’re never *truly* enemies, he falls first, NYC setting. Highly recommended to all romance fans!

I love a good enemies to lovers romance and this was exactly what I was hoping for. Great banter, so many feelings and the perfect book to cozy and up read in one sitting.

I received an ARC of ‘How Freaking Romantic’ from NetGalley. This was such a fun read with some deep subplots mixed in. The main character, Bea, was such a real character; do I know her in real life? I had high expectations for this one as I’ve read several that this author co-authored— and loved each one. Add this to your must read for 2025!

*****I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion.******

This book will grab your attention from the opening scene all the way through the end. This was a solid 3.75 star read. Ever since her mother second wedding she has discovered a deep rooted anger towards love after all how would you react to your parent getting married six times? When One of your closest friends goes through the divorce process. It’s only fair for you to confront your friends ex-husband‘s lawyer…

How Freaking Romantic by Emily Harding is a cute romance story told through the female lead character Bea. Struggling through law school & trying desperately to hold her friend group together, Bea meets Nate, a fellow lawyer & opposing counsel in her best friend's divorce case. A bit of drama, a little passion, some laugh out loud one-liners, & a good dose of romantic swoon in this story.
Emily Harding is a very talented writer, but How Freaking Romantic involved enough characters that makes the story a bit challenging to follow sometimes, however overall a lovely story for the hopeless romantic at heart. Thank you, #NetGalley & #GalleryBooks! I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book with all thoughts and opinions being my own. If you enjoy romance, a little drama, & plenty of self reflection, then you'll enjoy How Freaking Romantic by Emily Harding.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Beatrice, a law student and teacher's assistant, upset with her best friend's divorce proceedings, makes her way into the office of the attorney =, Nathan, handling the divorce to give him a piece of her mind.

Soon after the embarrassing ordeal, Beatrice runs into Nathan....everywhere. Soon the enemies become something more.

I enjoyed the story did not focus just on the main romantic plot, but opened up to Bea's friends and their ordeals. Made for a more well rounded read.

4 ⭐️

Thank you to Net Galley & Gallery Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

How Freaking Romantic releases July 1, 2025.

This was a really cute rom com! Our FMC is a law student who has a lot of emotions (anger/cynicism primarily) around a lot of things, but very much so around love and romance. With her best friends’ divorce and the stress of law school looming heavily in her life, she storms into Nathan Asher’s office and rages at the divorce attorney who she blames for it all falling apart. When he shows up again and again, she realizes he may not be as much of an asshole as she initially thought.

This book had a lot of very sweet elements that made it an easy and fun read, while also hitting some emotional high points. I thoroughly enjoyed the emotional and funny journey of Bea’s anger transforming into connection and growth with another person as she learns to let him in. It also captured the anxiety and stress of law school very accurately. I definitely can’t wait to follow this author’s future releases!

I really enjoyed Emma of 83rd Street and Elizabeth of East Hampton, so I was really excited for this one! I love the voices Emily Harding creates, and this one was no different.
How Freaking Romantic might be totally different than what I’m used to from Harding, but it’s just as great. It’s angsty and angry and relatable. I’ll never turn away from the enemies to lovers trope and this one is *chef’s kiss*.

Unfortunately I didn't like this book solely because of Bea. You can only get in your own way, and totally overreact so many times before people would drop you for being toxic and exhausting. Nathan had zero reason to like her, why besides she was cute and stood up to him? Nothing. No chemistry. Thank you for the e-arc Netgalley and Gallery Books.

As a big fan of the For the Love of Austen series, I was very excited to read this. And may I just say it blew my expectations out of the water. I loved every second of it other than the fact that it ended. How dare! The characters are all complex and even though the protagonist can make things difficult for herself, you’re always rooting for her. This was the type of book that reminds me why I love reading. 10/10 would get you out of a reading slump. This book quite literally cured my depression.

Bea está estudiando su segunda carrera para convertirse en abogada y, a menudo, se siente atrasada en comparación con sus compañeros, que son más jóvenes y algunos ya tienen trabajo. Mientras tanto, ella ha enviado su currículum, pero no ha recibido respuesta. Además, sus mejores amigos, a quienes ella misma presentó, están a punto de divorciarse. Pero eso no es todo: Josh ha contratado a un abogado con la intención de arrebatarle todo lo que pueda a Jillian. Siente que su vida está fuera de control, lo que la lleva a explotar contra Nathan, el abogado, y expresarle su baja opinión sobre él.

Cuando cree que su vida no podría empeorar, Nathan se convierte en su profesor durante algunas semanas. Ahora, tendrá que convivir con alguien a quien desprecia, pero pronto se dará cuenta de que no es el monstruo que pensaba, sino inteligente, buena persona y atractivo.

~

La historia es entretenida, pero fue demasiado la actitud de Bea.



Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this book! I can definitely see Emily Henry fans enjoying it, it has that same sort of feel for a romance book.

Rival attorneys, relationship drama (they are working on a divorce case), funny banter, and well-developed characters. (Especially our FMC, she felt so real. She is angry about gender inequality and student loans, I really liked her!)

These characters were so much fun to read about and the writing style made it just fly by. And I really love when you can get sucked into a book and zoom through it in no time! I can easily see people reading this in a single sitting.

I am now very interested in reading more from this author and will definitely keep an eye out for more of her work (past and future).

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

This one goes out to all the angry girls, we all over our reasons, we don’t need adoring fan clubs, hundreds or friends (or even tens), we don’t need work families or large social media followings.
We just need a few key people who love us even though we are prickly because they know we will go to war for them. Yeah we fuck up, but once you’re in, you’re in.
It’s hard to get past our battle field, over the moat, through the gate and up the ramparts to storm our inner sanctum but when we meet the one who manages it, everything changes.
This book perfectly paints that picture.
Angry girl should be synonymous would hurt girl, and while no one else can heal you, you need the hope someone else brings to help you do so.
I loved this book. I know a just made a lot of grand sweeping statements and waxed poetic but just read the damn book and you’ll get it.

Loved reading this romance. Even though divorce is a difficult topic to read, I felt comfortable with the balance of new love within this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was my first Emily Harding book and I loved it. I found Bea to be pretty abrasive, but she seemed to have good reason. She could’ve said thank you more (or at all), when it was called for, but I liked how she supported her friends and that she found someone that saw through her belligerence and loved her and gave her space to change. Nate was great.

This one was such a cute and new plot for me. This would fall into a category of lawyer romance. I’ve never read a romance with lawyers and in a law type setting so I enjoyed that!

⚖️Lawyer romance
❤️Enemies to Lovers
⚖️Slow Burny
❤️Lots of tension

Bea is a law student. Nate is her besties soon to be exhusband’s divorce lawyer. There’s lots of attitude, tension and hostility due to the circumstances resulting in amazing chemistry. Bea’s character was definitely one of my favorites. This was my second book by Emily Harding and I’m loving the vibes her books bring!

How freaking brilliant. I need to re-read this book again because it was just so good.

I've loved Emily Harding's Jane Austen collaborations and this solo debut hit the spot. With its witty banter that had me laughing so many times, I absolutely loved the sparking chemistry between Bea and Nate and their slow-burn romance.

Bea is a fierce, protective friend whose spiky persona hides her loneliness. With her core friendship group fracturing due to one couple's contentious divorce, she throws herself into her job and finishing law school. Nate was a sweetheart, he saw Bea as she was and exceeded her low expectations of men every step of the way with his patience and care. The only downside for me was the way third-act misunderstanding was handled. The icing on the cake was the epilogue which refreshingly did not resort to the same old cliches that I detest.

A sharp and funny slow-burn romance with characters that had me captivated.

Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

emily harding wrote this one for the angry girls and i'm all for it!

as someone who's read emma of 83rd street and elizabeth of east hampton and loved both, i knew harding would shine with her solo debut but DAMN i wasn't expecting these emotional punches this story gave me. and i like a sucker for emotional stories, i loved all of it!

how freaking romantic is much more than bea and nate's love story, but more like a love letter for all the love out there in life. that even in its simplicity, it's powerful. which i guess is one of the reasons this book felt so incredibly real to me. this story managed to make the mundane sound wonderful, and i loved that.

now, i have to say, i already know some people will have a tough time with beatrice, but they can take that up to ME! no bad comments towards here will be allowed on my watch. i loved her even in her bitterness and angry moments. i love her character and i saw myself in her several times. and i'm so happy that she found the love she deserved with nate.

also, i might have to get a tattoo for "not easy, just simple" because hello?!?!?!