Bea is one angry girlfriend. It's hard for her to develop relationships of any kind so when her best friends announce their impending divorce, she has no issue running down one of the attorneys and giving him a piece (or three!) of her mind. Unfortunately, he also turns out to be her temporary colleague and she can't seem to get away from him. Bea is confronted with the why and how of never putting herself first and the fallout from it all.
Emily as a duo with Audrey Belleza has given me two recent retelling favorites over the last couple of years and I was eager to see what she'd do on her own. The writing style remains the same and there was so much to appreciate outside of Bea's intolerance for love and those who are responsible for her unhappiness. Her bravery for standing up for what she felt to be right was commendable and special. Nathan is such a great MC to her newly minted main character energy and, at times, I wondered why he liked her when she was so mean to him. But! Bea gets there in the end and all works out just as it ought to.

I think, ultimately, Bea was just too angry and wouldn’t let go of her grudges for too long. She called Nathan a 🍑hole far longer and way too frequently (total count 53), which if it had become her pet name for him, I would have gleefully accepted, but it was most often in disdain. That being said, I would absolutely read another from Emily, because one unlikable FMC out of three would never be a reason to not pick up again.

Thank you @gallerybooks for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

This was so good. I loved these main characters. They were layered and flawed and interesting. Their relationships with the other characters were beautiful and real. The banter was fun. The only thing I would have wanted was a peek at the MMC's thoughts (this had one POV from the FMC).

ARC provided by the publisher through Netgalley- thank you!

Bea is a third year law student who is barely holding it together. The apartment she can barely afford is in need of repairs, her job search is off to a slow start, and her close group of friends from undergrad is growing apart and a couple within the group is going through a divorce. When Jillian tells her that Josh has requested alimony, Bea loses it and goes to confront Josh's lawyer, the big-shot family law attorney, Nathan Asher. But then she finds out that the professor that she is TA-ing for is going on medical leave and his replacement is none other than Nathan. Spending so much time together, Bea begins to realize there is more to Nate than his job "destroying marriages" and she must come to terms with how her own history with her mother's divorces has affected her outlook on marriage and relationships.

I had previously read (and loved) the Austen-inspired retellings co-authored by Harding, so I was excited to read her solo debut. This one had all my favorite tropes - enemies to lovers, he falls first, she's dealing with past traumas, only one bed... It was an utterly charming story and it was hard not to fall in love with Bea and Nate as she overcame her relationship fears and he patiently dealt with all her hang-ups and insecurities. I also thought the secondary storyline delving into Jillian and Josh's divorce was mostly well done. I did find Bea's temper a little juvenile for an L3 which was slightly off-putting, but in most cases her anger was justified - I just wanted her to have a healthier outlet for the anger. Overall I would definitely recommend this one to any contemporary romance lovers.

Overall 4.25/5
Spice 2/3

HOW FREAKING ROMANTIC is a quick and light-hearted romance about two lawyers with a rocky first introduction (Nate is Bea's enemy as he's representing Bea's best friend's soon to be ex-husband) to colleagues to friends to lovers. It was fun to see the exploration and what it takes for Bea to start enjoying Nate's company after first ripping him a new one.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Divorce attorney, Nate Asher, is Bea Nilsson's current enemy number one. Bea's two best friends are getting divorced and she can't believe in the audacity of Nate's alimony petition on behalf of his client. But Bea is never one to stand down in the face of adversity, so she storms in to Nate's law office to tell him exactly what she thinks of his underhandedness. When Nate steps in to take over her law professor's class, Bea finds herself having to work as his TA, attend meetings, and network by his side. As they get to know each other, Bea must accept that there's more to her friends' divorce than she may realize and there's more to Nate as well.

I loved how Bea is portrayed as being feisty with a hard shell. I enjoyed watching Nate work hard to win her over and see beyond the rough exterior. I feel like a lot of contemporary romances have the female main character working hard to win over the grumpy male main character. It was nice to see the turnabout where the FMC can be stubborn and abrasive while also having a huge heart with a close-knit group of friends. I also appreciate the inclusion of a diverse group of friends struggling with personal issues of their own that went beyond just your average breakup.

*** I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ***

I absolutely loved Emily Harding’s How Freaking Romantic. The book centers around Beatrice (Bea) a law student who is absolute force of nature. When her best friend is going through a particularly nasty divorce she decides to drop in on Nathan Asher, the lawyer for the soon to be ex-husband, and she absolutely unloads on him. Little did she realize that wouldn’t be the last time she saw him. Before long she has run in to him at a networking event, fearful that he could blow up her chances at landing a job. Then things get worse, the professor she works for is going into the hospital and Nathan is taking over his classes and they’ll be forced to work together. The story features such classic tropes as enemies to lovers and forced proximity to name a few. I really loved how strong willed (some might say bullheaded) Bea could be. She felt real. The drama and tension between this pairing was so much fun. 4.5 stars. Excellent summer read.

4.5 Stars!

Ahh! This book was so much fun! An enemies to lovers book about a law student who is a TA for her new adjunct law professor who happens to be the same guy representing her best friends in their divorce. Lets freaking go!

Bea was one of my favorite characters. She was angry and I loved it about her! She was fierce and didn't take crap from anyone and unapologetic in everything she did. I loved the backstory of her childhood and you really got to understand who she was and why she was so focused and driven. I also like how she showed up for her friends, always, and was the glue that held the friendships together.

Nathan was so patient and understanding. I loved that he knew what she needed before she did and there were no ulterior motives. He just wanted to get to know her and spend time with her. I would have loved to get a few chapters from his POV just to see what went on in his head.

The tension between them was perfection! I got the anticipation tingles and Bea’s quick witted responses and Nathan's jesting really was one the highlights of the book. I could listen to their conversations and bantering all day!

I also liked the little bit of drama mixed in with this book. Her two friends getting a divorce really did help the story and propel it forward. It made for additional tension between Bea and Nathan. I also liked the dynamic of how friend groups from college change over time and how you have to adjust as these relationships morph into something different but how these people are equally important in your life forever.

This book!
How freaking sexy
How freaking relatable
How freaking anticipatory
How freaking feisty
How freaking amazing!


Huge thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The plot felt fresh and sweet, and the characters were well developed. Beatrice (or Bea) was a bit over-the-top with her anger at times, but I understood it was meant to serve the story and create dramatic contrast. Nathan (or Nate) was a perfect counterbalance—gentlemanly, likable, attractive, and kind.

The opposites-attract dynamic worked beautifully, and the subplot involving Bea’s friend’s divorce added emotional tension that enhanced the story, especially in building Bea’s connection to Nathan.

The spice level was just right—enough to satisfy most readers without overshadowing the romance. Overall, it was a smooth, easy read with plenty of heart.

Thank you to Emily Harding, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for the ARC!

I absolutely loved Emily Harding’s How Freaking Romantic. The book centers around Beatrice (Bea) a law student who is absolute force of nature. When her best friend is going through a particularly nasty divorce she decides to drop in on Nathan Asher, the lawyer for the soon to be ex-husband, and she absolutely unloads on him. Little did she realize that wouldn’t be the last time she saw him. Before long she has run in to him at a networking event, fearful that he could blow up her chances at landing a job. Then things get worse, the professor she works for is going into the hospital and Nathan is taking over his classes and they’ll be forced to work together. The story features such classic tropes as enemies to lovers and forced proximity to name a few. I really loved how strong willed (some might say bullheaded) Bea could be. She felt real. The drama and tension between this pairing was so much fun. 4.5 stars. Excellent summer read. I’d like to thank Gallery Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of How Freaking Romantic.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R3GMRV8XYNWJJJ/ref=pe_123899240_1043597390_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

How Freaking Romantic delivers all the fire, flirtation, and feminist rage you could want in a modern romcom. Emily Harding crafts a heroine who’s equal parts brilliant and brash—Beatrice Nilsson is the kind of character you root for even when she’s a little unhinged. The banter with Nate Asher, her law school colleague slash sworn nemesis (slash something else entirely…), is razor-sharp and deliciously tense.

But underneath the verbal sparring and law school drama is a story about shifting loyalties, emotional growth, and what happens when your best friends’ breakup cracks open your own idea of love. Bea and Nate's chemistry simmers, but what really makes this debut shine is its heart—and the way it challenges who gets to be right, wrong, and in love.

Harding’s voice is bold, fresh, and freaking romantic in all the best ways.

I was so excited to get my hands on How Freaking Romantic by Emily Harding.
This book was so much fun with plenty of emotional depth.
Absolutely adorable and will having you laughing and swooning the whole time.
The setting, the characters, the plot… perfection.
It was pure delightful. The romance is sweet, the banter is fun, and the setting is perfect.
So charming and sweet, with likable characters, sweet romance, and a rich setting.
Enthralling. Captivating. Hard to put down. All of these describe the charm that is captured in How Freaking Romantic.

In an effort to defend her friend, Bea confronts the ex's divorce lawyer, Nathan. Never expecting to see him, Bea is surprised to find herself crossing paths with Nate as her feelings for him evolve from hate to love.

I adore Harding's For the Love of Austen series and was excited to read her solo debut. I am happy to report that How Freaking Romantic was a hit!

Bea was one of those very layered characters. I think her mother said it best when she described Bea as a coconut - hard on the outside, sweet on the inside. Bea struggle with connection due to her childhood, but when she found her core group of friends at NYU, she held tight to them. Then everything began to change. Two left the city and the other two were getting divorced. This upheaval was very upsetting for Bea, and as the fixer of the group, she wanted to do what she could to make things better. Little did she know that her outburst would catch Nate's attention.

Nate was a high powered family lawyer who was representing Bea's ex-friend. She saw Nate as the enemy, but when circumstances pushed them together, she began to see the outstanding and kind man beneath the shiny veneer.

There was something special about this couple. Bea was intense. She had big emotions and would fight to the death for those in her circle, but she also seemed to keep others out of her world. She came off as prickly, but this was how she protected herself. Under it all, she was scared of all the changes and the thought of losing her friends. She was also lonely, but more afraid to make new connections due to the fear of losing them. I beg you readers - give Bea a chance because I believe she can capture your heart.

I was overjoyed that Bea piqued Nate's interest. He was a great foil for her and did a good job of balancing her out. He could see beyond her defenses to provide her with the type of support she needed. Together, they delighted me. I loved their banter and chemistry, and the way they seemed to complete each other.

Reading How Freaking Romantic was a grand experience. Packed with humor, fantastic characters, a worthy personal journey, and a stellar romance, I found myself glued to the pages with a smile on my face.

This book might have had the crankiest heroine ever. It almost made me give up. But the writing and the hero and the friend group all saved it. This is an enemies to lovers romance between a lawyer and a law student. Their pasts and personal struggles both combine to provide conflict but ultimately bring them together. They are so sweet when it works. Patience is required, but the writing and the romance make the wait worth while.

Beatrice (Bea) Nilsson is working very hard to finally finish law school. It has been a lot of work and she looks forward to finally making some money to start paying off her student loans.

Her good friend, Jillian Fox, has just had divorce papers filed against her by her husband, Josh. He quit work to go to graduate school then quit graduate school. Now, he decides he wants to divorce Jillian and is demanding that she pay him alimony as he is unemployed. When Bea hears this, she sees red. She has a temper anyway and when someone mistreats her friends, she is going to seek revenge. Thus, she heads to Josh’s attorney’s office. He is Nathan Asher and his office is very posh. She heads right back to his office and gives him a piece of her mind for daring to represent trashy Josh. Unfortunately, a few days later, she attends a get together for lawyers and meets him. It appears he knows her current adjunct professor going out for surgery and now, Nathan will be filling in for him. Thus, they will be working closely together. Oh joy.

Their working together isn’t an easy time as Bea is determined to stay angry at Nathan even though he is calm with her and does what he can to help introduce her to people that can help her get a job when she has passed the Bar. But a night out together finds them becoming friends and follows with a huge letdown and Bea again angry. Will this woman ever be easy to get along with?

The plot and how Bea truly cares for her friends and always seems to put them first is quite appealing. However, I did find some of her antics to be over the top which I felt needed to be tempered. All in all, a good story here.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Bea is a third-year law student who is a little jaded when it comes to love. Two of her best friends are in the middle of a divorce that appears to be going poorly thanks to one of the divorce attorneys. Bea arrives, unannounced, to give him a piece of her mind. What she thinks will just be a quick interaction turns into running into him in different settings and then needing to work with him more closely.

I really enjoyed Harding's co-written Austen retellings so I had a feeling I'd really like this one! I say this repeatedly, but I always like when a romance is more than a romance. Bea is a tough character to like until you understand why she does what she does and I feel like we, as readers, got to see that growth in this book. I loved her and Nate together and also loved all of Bea's friends. I wanted a little more from her mom, especially because of the start of the novel, but really enjoyed this overall!

Yes, I gave this 5 stars, I loved it to pieces, but it's not on my favorites shelf because I think the handling of the addiction story-line felt a little too pat and I wanted more details than what I got on that. I just thought that it was great to keep the main storyline on the heroine (Bea) and hero (Nate) so applause for that. Give me enemies to lovers or give me death, but I think that it went too light there considering the seriousness of the storyline.

"How Freaking Romantic" follows 29 year old law student, Beatrice (Bea to her friends). Bea is angry that her two best friends are going through a divorce. Instead of thinking of things rationally (hint she never does for the most part) she goes into her one ex-friend's divorce lawyer's office and curses him out and blames him for stealing money from her friend. Of course, this is a romance novel so Bea is forced to see Nate again and then even start working with him. And though she thinks he's trash, she starts to see a different side to him while fighting the urge to go there.

There's a lot going on with Bea and her friendship group (no spoilers). But the biggest thing I will say and have sympathy for is your friends you went to college with, often things change. Bea for many reasons loathes change and doesn't seem to get they can't all be the same to each other at their stages in their lives. I think her meeting Nate and facing how she needed to loosen her grip was wonderful to read about and see.

I loved Nate. Seriously. Someone calls him Paul Newman at one point and you guys...that's my kink. Not ashamed. Loud and proud.

Ahem.

Anyway I thought that Harding did what I wish more romance authors did these days, they stay focused on the main couple and the heat going from a low boil to a full blast. I got why these two characters were drawn together and I rooted for them the whole way.

The flow in this one was pitch perfect and the main and side plots did too.

The setting is New York, but a gritter and dirtier New York than we usually get in these romance novels. I just enjoyed it. Usually everything is sparkly and rich.

The ending was perfect and I will happily read anything else that Harding puts out.

Beatrice "Bea" Nilsson is in her final semester of law school, she has enough going on without adding an aggravating and annoyingly attractive divorce lawyer to the mix, and yet here they are. Nathan Asher is the counsel for her friend's soon to be ex-husband, and after a rage fueled first meeting, he's been firmly labeled as 'The Enemy.' But when she suddenly finds herself colleagues with said enemy, spending hours with a man who turns out to be not only funny and intelligent, but frustratingly patient with her, Bea's previous feelings of hate begin to waver.

I cannot get enough of Emily Harding's writing! I've been a fan of her 'For the Love of Austen' series with Audrey Bellezza, and was thrilled to get the opportunity to read her first solo work. HOW FREAKING ROMANTIC, filled with it's messy characters, snarky banter, and heartwarming relationships, was absolutely everything I hoped it would be and more. Bea is such a fantastic character and I would read an entire series of her life post-BAR in NYC because, let's be real, she's going to kill it as a lawyer. Then there's Nate - charming, sweet, and so perfect for her it hurts. Their romance was an expertly done enemies-to-lovers between characters who felt so real in their conflicts with each other and their struggles with themselves. Similarly, I adored Bea's relationships with her friends because, even when they were pissing her off with their divorce antics - looking at you Josh - she was one hundred percent there for them when they needed her. Bea is truly the friend we all hope we make in life.

I feel like I could talk about this book for so many more paragraphs, but don't want to give everything away, so, in summary, I cannot recommend this novel enough, and I sincerely hope we get more of these masterpieces from Harding in the future!

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I fell in love with Emily Harding when I read Elizabeth of East Hampton, a book she co-authored with Audrey Bellezza, and this is her solo debut! And what a debut it is!!
Bea Nilsson is unapologetically cranky, and I loved her for it! Not only has she had it tough, she is tough. Putting herself through law school, studying for the bar, and living in a building that probably should be condemned, she’s at the end of her rope emotionally and actually has reason to indulge in some self-pity. She doesn’t expect any help while being the support system to not only her mom, but her friend group as well. And in that vein, when she marches into the office of divorce lawyer, Nathan Asher in defense of her friend she never expects to have to work along side of him just a few days later. The more time she spends with Nathan, she realizes her preconceived notions about him might have been unfounded.
Nate might be confident and ruthless in the courtroom, but there’s a totally different side to him, personally. I was as enamored with Nathan as he was with Bea. He’s protective without smothering, patient, vulnerable and willing to accept Bea as she is, snark and all .
I’m not usually a fan of the third act break-up, but this is one of the first that was reasonable and was so well written that it made perfect sense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing the ARC.

This book and the vibes it brings are absolutely, 1000% immaculate. A million stars, no notes. Perfection.

Bea is a hardass that seems to just be angry all the time, so much that no one lets her forget it. But that anger is just armor protecting a soft and fragile human who loves and cares deeply for her people, she's their ride or die, and maybe could use someone in her corner to back her up when she needs it. When two of her best friends are going through a nasty divorce, Bea takes it upon herself to chase down the guy responsible for so much pain and turmoil to her friends. Enter Nate, the divorce attorney, and after getting dragged to filth by Bea in his own office, manages to insert himself into her life in a variety of ways.

These two are explosive in the best way. Their chemistry is off the charts, their banter is top notch, with Nate being the cool, calm, and collected to Bea's scathing sarcasm. Although there are moments where Bea is harsh, it never feels like their conversations veer off into mean or rude for the sake of being those things. It is affectionate roasting, with moments where the anger Bea exhibits feels justified. But where Bea is lighter fluid on gas, Nate is a balm that soothes her jagged edges. He knows exactly who she is, and doesn't cower from it or hide behind bitter words. He appreciates the fact that she sees through the bullshit and calls people out on theirs. He knows when to push her and when to be a shield. He provides her a safe place to shed her armor, so that she can be vulnerable. These two are probably my new favorite book couple.

Excellent book from Emily Harding. I am excitedly looking forward to more from her.

A solid solo contemporary romance debut that sees Bea, a passionate law student defending her best friend and verbally attacking her ex's lawyer, Nate who she believes is trying to take advantage of her. Of course this kicks off with a series of misunderstandings, lots of heated chemistry and forced proximity between the two leads when Nate steps in for the Law Professor Bea is TAing for. I liked the NYC, Suits vibes in this story but I felt more focus was spent on Bea's relationships with her friends than Nate. It was good on audio and recommended for fans of books like Overruled by Lana Ferguson (another romcom featuring rival lawyers) or Laws of attraction, the movie with Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @simon.audio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review.