Annabel Monaghan is four for four for me!

She has delivered another heartwarming story about a relatable woman in her thirties who is just trying to make it in a World that isn’t always kind!

Jane Jackson was a childhood actress who grew up in front of the camera playing the comedic sidekick to America’s sweetheart, Hailey. The fifth-favorite sitcom of its time, “Pop Rocks” featured 4 Pre-teens in a band, and her role as keyboardist Janey Jakes was to make her famous “Oof” face when things went wrong, bringing on the laughs.

Now she’s a Creative Executive at Clearwater Studios, preferring to stay behind the scenes and she loves the newest love story she has optioned-“True Story”. Unfortunately, her studio, and its arrogant cinematographer, Dan Finnegan, don’t agree, thinking the film won’t be commercial enough.

Desperate to get her first project greenlit, she claims that she can get Jack Quinlan, THE hottest popstar of the moment, to write an original song for the soundtrack. Although she and Jack sang once sang a duet on “Pop Rocks” and he was the recipient of her first kiss—she hasn’t actually spoken to him in twenty years.

Oof!

When reaching out on Social Media fails, Dan Finnegan offers up a possible solution. Because Jack is playing a festival in Dan’s hometown on Long Island, and Dan has an in there-they can fly New York to try and plead their case in person.

While trying to track him down, Jane spends time with Dan and his large, lively, loving family who have all gathered together to celebrate his parents 40th wedding anniversary. She may or may not leave with her “song” but she will leave changed, as it turns into a week of soul searching and self reflection.

This author writes “mature” women’s fiction/romance with likable characters and a good dose of humor, and I have loved everything she has written! Earning 5 stars means it made me to teary eyed at least once! 🤧

Beach Bag approved and publishing on May 27, 2025.

Thank You to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

I have read all of Annabel Monaghan's books, and this is her best since Nora Goes Off Script! It was funny, touching, quirky, and filled with heart. Jane Jackson is a young producer working in Hollywood who is a recovering child actress and has fallen in love with a script that she wants to see made into a movie. She's desperate to prove herself through this project, and through an exaggeration about how well she knows a pop star, ends up having to spend a week on Long Island with the family of this gorgeous man she works with and who she also despises. Enter a loud, chaotic family who both overwhelm and charms Jane, and of course, the man she thought she despised turns out to be very different than she expected. It's tender and adorable and explores what it means to make your own way in the world, both with and without family, and both as a product of and in spite of what may have broken you in childhood. I truly enjoyed every page! Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC!

Annabel Monaghan has officially become an autobuy author for me - and I think this is my current favorite book from her (that I have read). If you haven’t picked up any of her books yet, this is your sign—her characters and settings would be the perfect addition to your summer reading list.

As an only child, this one hit hard. I found some of myself reflected in Jane and her struggles. Her journey of throwing away her scripts—masks, costumes, and roles she adopted to become someone "worth staying for"—was emotional. Watching her rediscover who she is without the pressure to perform was both heart wrenching and hopeful.

And Dan? Dan may be one of my favorite MMCs. The way he naturally showed Jane what it means to be fully seen and loved, broken pieces and all, was beautiful and came so naturally to him - no grand gestures necessary. Their evolving relationship felt so real, showing up in the quiet moments, and their genuine connection.

In the end, Jane learns that "love happens over breakfast," and it’s a little concept that will stick with me. If you're looking for a love story that’s tender, authentic, and quietly powerful, It’s a Love Story is an absolute must-read.

This was a lovely book that took me a little while to get into but was ultimately worth it. The arc of the FMC was was fullfilling. This was a slow burn, closed door romance. Stick with this book.

ARC Review – It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 💕 Closed Door Romance
Release Date: May 27th, 2025

This book snuck up on me in the best way!!!

It took a little time to hook me, but once it did, it wrapped around my heart and didn’t let me go.

Jane’s journey, one rooted in deep emotional scars and the fear of being unlovable, absolutely gutted me.

And Dan? He might just be the quiet, patient, emotionally steady dream man we all need. Their connection builds slowly, like a sunrise you didn’t know you needed until you’re bathed in the warmth of it.

This is a closed-door romance with very little spice, but don’t let that fool you, the romantic tension, emotional depth, and genuine swoon factor were absolutely five-star worthy. I sobbed. I smiled. I closed the book and felt something in me just soften.

Annabel Monaghan beautifully explores the idea that love doesn’t have to be loud to be life-changing. It can be quiet. Consistent. Healing. Exactly what you didn’t know you deserved.

Highly recommend if you love:
Slow-burn, second-chance energy
Emotionally mature MMCs (hi, Dan—I see you!!)
Deep emotional healing with a romantic payoff that’s worth the wait
Stories that leave you feeling seen!!

Annabel Monaghan is back with the feel good romance of the summer. I love romances, but many of them can feel over to top or unrealistic and somehow Annabel Monaghan writes quiet, beautiful love stories that feel so real and yet so magical. I adored the story of Jane and Dan, it was fun to start in fast paced, glitzy Hollywood and end up in a family home on a potato farm in Long Island. I loved Dan's family and fell in love with them right alongside Jane. Their love story felt so real and I love that they loved each other for who they really were despite both feeling unable to be themselves around others for so much of their lives. I'll definitely be recommending this book to followers as a perfect beach read for the summer!!

This book dives right into the action and you’ll Immediately become drawn into a curious little spiral to uncover the story between Dan and Jane. Their similarities are stark — they’re both eager to bring their artistic visions to life, they want / need to make this movie happen. Yet, our introduction to their relationship leaves a lot unanswered. And when Jack’s character is introduced, well… I certainly spiraled in theorizing if we were in for a love-triangle.

But as soon as we get them outside of LA in the cozy corner of the Finnegan’s world, everything changes. Amongst the chaos and quiet of Dan’s family, within the quaint storybook streets of small-town life, Dan and Jane’s relationship finally blooms. But I think my favorite moments happen in the dark when they’re laying side-by-side in the small room they share, exchanging peace offerings, secrets, insecurities. Those little moments are when people fall in love. And it’s so sweet how Dan basically fangirls over having a “sleepover with Janey Jakes.”

I think one of my favorite things about this book is Jane’s growth. While she’s spent years trying to break out of the shadow of her childhood role of Janey Jakes, she never really shook her insecurities over the role and her reputation. She still saw herself as the “poor man’s Hailey Soul,” failing to give herself credit for who she has grown up to be. And that confidence translated to other parts of her life whether or not she knew it. But this little adventure with Dan helps her step out of that and into herself… even if it’s still not fully there, it’s progress.

Then there’s Dan’s family, which is just so wonderful, aren’t they? The way they embraced Jane filled me with so much warmth. The way they’re aware of one another and care for each other just makes you want it — Jane certainly does.

This is a cozy romance, perfect for the beach. Its big city escapes to small coastal town where she’s surrounded by so much love and care that she allows herself to fall in love.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for my gifted advanced copy, all thoughts are my own.

Overall, I liked this one. Parts of the story were cute and heartwarming. Something about it though didn’t allow me to fully connect, and it kind of kept going back and forth from just ok, to good, to just ok again. This may just be a personal issue! I can see how others would absolutely love this one, so I will still recommend to romance readers.

One major thing I liked about this story is how the FMC found a loving found family with the MMC and his parents/siblings. That trope always wins my heart over!

If you’re looking for a cute, low stakes romance, I think you’d like this!

Annabel Monaghan is another must read author for me, but this one was hard for me to get into at first. I am glad I stuck it out because it ended up being a sweet story and a solid read.

📚ARC REVIEW 📚

It’s a Love Story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jane Jackson is a former child star trying to find herself apart from the dorky girl she played on tv. Now an adult, she has a career as a film studio executive. After getting the green light to start a movie based off a script she loves, she finds out she will be working with Dan, her work nemesis. Surprisingly, he also likes this script and wants to film it. Jane promises to get a former friend and crush, Jack Quinlan, to write a song for the films soundtrack. However, she may have overstated her ability to do this. Now working with Dan and trying to get in touch with Jack, Jane has her hands full and the last thing she is looking for is love.

This was a cute, slow-burn romance. I liked Jane and Dan’s banter and how they found a safe space within each other. Dan was perfect with taking his time and showing Jane that she is lovable. While this book was a romance, it did have some depth to it and I loved how the author wrote that in. This is more of a fade to black than a closed door romance. Overall, it was really good and great for a summer read!

This book will publish on May 27, 2025. Be sure to add to your TBR list! Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for my advanced readerscopy. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

Absolutely obsessed with this book! I've been a fan of Annabel Monaghan for a while, and this book just rocketed itself to #1 for me. The love story between the two main characters felt like a breath of fresh air, and so effortless. I love a big family, and the MMC's family was so wonderful and reminded me of my own. I truly do not have any notes, such a fun beach read.

This was my first Annabel Monaghan book and it was really cute. The film set up was really interesting, I enjoyed the conversations about love and what real love looks like that were included throughout the book. The characters were intriguing. Dan was really sweet and I loved his family dynamic, it added some really fun scenes. Jane was complex, she was a little too negative at times which made it hard to like her all the time, but I understood her reasons for her mindset. I did relate to some of her story, and I appreciated how she adjusted her mindset towards the end of the book. There were some very important messages behind a lot of the conversations in this book which I really enjoyed. The romance was really cute, I loved their story and the way they found a safe space with each other. I loved Annabel’s writing, I’ll definitely be reading more of her books.

I really liked this one a lot. This had a great storyline and I loved the character development. The locations were fun and this was different from a lot of the romance novels out there. The trope of the girl being afraid to get to close to someone and pushing them away is kind of overdone in my opinion, but everything else was great.

Great read! I had a fun time reading this one. Very fun, lighthearted, and humorous rom com. Enjoyed it. Thank you NetGalley!

Feels a little flat. Dull. Lacks emotional depth for me in a way that feels authentic to real life. I did find it funny at times but nothing special from other romance novels. It doesnt stand out.

Annabel Monaghan does it again. This was a great light and transformational romance with a beautiful setting and even sweeter characters. I loved Dan’s family and Jane’s passion for creating her movie. I did really enjoy this one, however I enjoyed some of her other books like Summer Romance and Nora Goes Off Script better.

This was so cute! I fell into this story about movie-making colleagues Jane Jackson and Dan Finnegan and their quest to get their studio to take a chance on making a movie off the script they both believe in. Jane is a former child star trying to find who she really is apart from her tv character, and Dan is a struggling cinematographer who has a specific point of view that often gets him into trouble with Jane. I liked that they had initial met each other and been interested, and once they got to know each other professionally, the dislike set in. This was a true "we are both annoyed" enemies to lovers situation, which I appreciated.

Once Dan and Jane team up on a last ditch opportunity to get their movie made, that's when the story took off. I really enjoyed seeing them get to know each other as well as Dan's family. Other than them sharing a room (yeah, never with a colleague would I be okay with this...) I thought the whole premise was sweet and pretty believable. The subplot of Jane's identity crisis and her relationship with her mom really fleshed out the story.

<em>It's a Love Story</em> is top tier contemporary romance with minimal spice.

Many thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The story of former child star Jane who is trying to outrun her awkward child career and greenlight a passion project on her new career as a film studio executive. But part of the issue is that she is working alongside her work nemesis, Dan. Jane promises to get a former crush from her childhood (who is now a big rock star) to write a song for the films soundtrack but may have overstated her ability to do this.

Jane goes with Dan across country to try to talk with the former crush and ends up staying with Dan’s family. Jane finds the family that she never realized that she needed along the way, and the love that she does not feel that she is worthy of. Of course, typical rom-com chaos ensues.

This was a great beach read for the upcoming summer months. The story and characters were charming and likeable. I will say that the story was a bit formulaic but still fun to read.

4 stars,

Thank you NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced copy of Its a Love Story in exchange for my honest review. First of all, Annabel Monaghan is one of my favorite romance/women’s fiction authors, so I was very excited to read her new book. I am sad to say that I didn’t enjoy this one as much as her other works. I still liked it, but it just didn’t hit the same. I think that the two main characters got in their own way too much. A lot of their banter was great and I liked them together for most of the book, but not all. I found Jane to be a little irritating at times and it was hard to root for her during a couple of the conflicts. Dan was also hard to understand because sometimes he was very mature and sure of himself, but then in a couple others, he was more immature than Jane. The two of them together in the end just wasn’t believable unfortunately. With that being said, I still enjoyed a lot of the story itself. The middle chunk was a really fun read and the side characters were so so good! They are what made this get a higher rating for me. 3.75 rounded up.

I have really enjoyed Annabel Monaghan's books in the past but this one was not it for me. I feel like Jane was obnoxious and it made it hard for me to read at times. The thing that bothered me the most about her was that she kept repeating like a mantra that guys did not want to be in a real relationship with a girl who is funny. I completely disagree with this and it was distracting throughout that she kept harping on this. The whole deal of her seeking Jake out multiple times just for him to brutally put her down was rough and made her seem extremely desperate. She had a lot of obstacles to overcome, especially in her relationship with her parents. It was sad and made it hard for her to see herself in a relationship. I liked Dan's family and that whole plot/storyline.

There were several times when I did not finish this but ultimately I decided to stick it out until the end. I think part of the reason I did not vibe with Jane was the narration in the audiobook. Not sure why but it made her seem more grating. Sorry to be a downer on this but I was so looking forward to this and had seen many great reviews as well on this story.