It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan is a delightful and witty romantic comedy that blends humor with heartfelt moments. The story follows Jane, who unexpectedly finds herself with feelings for her colleague Dan, that defies expectations and first impressions. Monaghan’s writing is sharp and engaging, filled with quirky characters and charming dialogue. The book skillfully explores themes of love, self-discovery, and taking chances, all while keeping things light and fun. While this enemies to lovers plot may be familiar to fans of the romance genre, the author's unique voice and relatable characters make this a heartwarming and enjoyable read.

I just finished this book last night and it was such a great book. It has great banter between the main characters, emotional growth, romance without the cringe and just a hint of spice (fade to black scenes).

Jane used to be a teenage tv show star and now she’s a creative executive at a Movie studio. She is trying to get a movie script that she loves green-lit, but there’s one catch the studio wants something big for the movie. She tells the studio that she is close with pop star, Jack Quinlan. They have a past when she was on the show, Pop Rocks, and it is the movies cinematographer, one time crush who she now hates, Dan Finnegan who helps her with her.

The banter between Jane and Dan was just perfect and felt so real. All of the emotions that Jane was going through in the book really hit home for me and made me tear up at parts. I only rated it 4/5 stars because I was left wanting more in a good way. I wanted to keep reading about Jane and Dans relationship maybe even some chapters in Dans POV.

Favorite quote: 🫶🏼 “Love happens over breakfast.” “But at breakfast everything’s just as it is, in the light of day. No one wears lipstick to breakfast. And this is where you talk about your day and the part of the roof that might leak this fall. You bring your real self to breakfast.”

This is a perfect summer read for any lover of romances.
▪️enemies to lovers
▪️forced proximity
▪️relatable characters
▪️Hollywood romance
▪️second chance

I am so lucky that I was given the opportunity to read this book early. Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy.

I love this author and all of her books are the ideal beach read because they always feature a summer romance! This book had charming characters and the tension between the two leads had me begging for them to kiss! Highly recommend this one!

This was a really good read! Monaghan's latest is going to be a big hit for readers who have loved her books in the past and I predict a popular read this summer.

Her characters always have heart and feel like real people coming to life on paper and this book was no different. In her acknowledgements, she stated her inspiration came from Jennette McCurdy's memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died (an excellent read), and one reason I think this book gives us a more weighted, serious tone, but doesn't read too heavy making it a great beachy romcom with substance reminding me of Katherine Center's books. I think my favorite of Monaghan's is still Summer Romance but this is a close second and I'd recommend!

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.

SO CUTEEEE! I was giggling and smiling majority of the time! I really enjoyed the character growth of Jane, and enjoyed the chemistry between her and Dan! The slow burn was getting to me and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for things to progress!!!

This was a perfect read for me in the middle of the night while rocking my baby to sleep! It brought a smile to my face and comforted me.
This will be reading more of Monaghan’s books!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

A cute, lighthearted book that if you like any of Annabel Monaghan's books, you'll like this one too. Former child star Jane travels to Long Island with a colleague she despises to track down one of her former co-stars who she needs to help make a movie. I really loved all of the characters, and I liked getting to see Jane evolve and grow as a character. A great book for a summer read!

Thanks to Penguin & NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you’ve read and enjoyed Nora Goes Off Script, Summer Romance, and Same Time Next summer, you’ll love Annabel Monaghan’s latest book, It's a Love Story. I highly recommend picking this up when it’s released. Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Expected publication: May 27, 2025

This is my 45th book I’ve read-listened to and this is my first five star of the year. This book was so good. My favorite troupe is enemies to lovers. This book did a really good job of building up the chemistry between the two main characters, Dan & Jane. I absolutely loved his family and also wanted to be a part of it. The end there was an acknowledgment that the author Annabel had read the book I Am Glad My Mom Died but Jeanette McCurdy & she got some ideas for this book from that. I wanted to let others know, I didn’t like that book at all, but please don’t let that keep you from reading this book at all, they are completely different. This book is one you will find your self smiling as your reading.

Did I just read my favorite 2025 book and possibly favorite romance of all time?! This is Annabel Monaghan at her BEST! I wish I could accurately describe how much I adored this book. I connected with the characters and story immediately, and truly couldn’t put it down. It’s SO bingeable with DEPTH. I laughed, cried, and swooned. I have a feeling this is going to be the book of the summer!

THANK YOU to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC

Ok- let’s skip to the end- I really, really liked this one. From the start? I wasn’t sure- it didn’t have me picking it up, but once they get to Long Island and meet Dan’s chaotic (but loving) family??? Sold. As Jane relaxes and learns to let herself be true- sold even more. I cried, I laughed- it was a delight. Monaghan is brilliant at writing characters with real flaws and having them work through it in messy, realistic ways. Delightful.

Janey probably was the most awkward FMC I’ve read to date. I absolutely LOVED her. She was so funny even when she wasn’t trying! I loved that Dan was an undercover hopeless romantic. This couple balanced each other so well.

I devoured this book in a single day! I quickly became invested in the plot and characters- I think my favorite part was Dan’s family and the dynamic with his brothers. I’d say this is a good summer read because of the beach setting and the Notebook-style romance, but I do love a good beach read in the middle of winter. I’d recommend this for fans of Emily Henry and Carley Fortune. This is my first read from Annabel Monaghan and I can’t wait to read more! Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

DNF at 30%

I really enjoyed Monaghan’s first two novels (Nora Goes Off Script and Same Time Next Summer) but the ones after that were duds to me, her writing is rather choppy and her characters undeveloped and lacking depth. Because I liked her first two novels, I wanted to give her writing another chance with this one. The cover art work is really eye-catching!

The story put a lot of weight on the mantra “fake it til you make it,” which was kinda odd to me. This story / plot line didn’t capture my attention.

30 something Jane, (childhood actress, now studio executive) tells a fib to her boss in a big meeting to get her script made into a movie, then has to proceed to make said fib into a reality. The whole basis of the story was based upon the main character (Jane, who doesn’t believe in true love) telling a lie and then having to dig herself out of it. Not an intriguing trope to me.

Dan, one of the main characters was a huge jerk and quite annoying (like such a jerk and plain rude. Why even write a character like this??) and I didn’t see much in Jane either. She was also rude and uninteresting. Neither main character were all that likable or relatable. Then they are forced into close-proximity for a week in a small, cutesy town while they team up to try to fix Jane’s lie.

I wanted to give this one a fair shot but I couldn’t get past 30%. Monaghan’s writing seems to have gone downhill from her first two novels. The dialogue between characters was also confusing and hard to follow.

A little bit of enemies to lovers and a little bit of second chance romance. The first 30% of this book was a one star for me but the back 70% was five. I found the character building in the beginning painful. Jane, the female lead, is just hard to like. I think that may be why I felt so deeply for Jane as part of her love story is learning to fall in love with herself? I didn't like her in the beginning, but I damn sure did at the end.

Monaghan's writing style is really abrupt and not flowery or sexy but it felt so so real. There are just so many lines from this book that are clanging around my head like an overplayed Taylor Swift song. I've never had that from a book before and I kind of love it.

Four stars for the rough start.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!

Unfortunately, I could not finish "It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan. I'm not sure if it was the plot, the style of writing or what but I just could not bring myself to finish it. The idea of the story sounded fun but it could not capture my attention.

Annabelle Monaghan has become synonymous with the perfect summer romcom—those books where the characters are a little older, and the romance a little sweeter than the usual spicy chick lit you might expect. *Although It’s a Love Story* may not have been my favorite of her works, it still delivers a charming, easy read with relatable characters. For fans of romantic comedies, this book will be a hit. It has that same playful, breezy vibe as the iconic scene in *How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days*, where Kate Hudson visits Matthew McConaughey’s house for an extended, spontaneous adventure.

Overall, it’s a sweet, lighthearted read that’s perfect for lounging on the beach during a warm summer day.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC. I have devoured every single novel by Annabel Monaghan, It’s a Love Story is no exception!
Annabel always tells a fantastic love story, this one had it all.
Jane and Dan’s enemies to lovers story is the type of romance that makes your stomach do flip flops and your cheeks burn. Friendship and family also played a central role in this story. The love story I wasn’t expecting was the self love story that unfolded as Jane came to terms with how she viewed herself and her own self worth. I cannot recommend this one enough, you will not be disappointed!

so i guess because this author or her people appreciate that i read and review her books positively (and yes i do also enjoy them) i was lucky enough to get an ARC of her upcoming book. this book comes out at the end of May which is a great summer kickoff. this is definitely a rom-com, great beach read with several tropes i like, such as opposites attract and the enemies-to-love story.

the two characters seem so different it was interesting how well they seemed fit together. the female main character, Jane was a child tv star who had a great voice but she was always known as the quirky and goofy sidekick comedy relief so she doesn't view herself as pretty or worthy of love. that is sad because a lot of times personality also be so much more meaningful than just looks. she judges herself way too harshly. as an adult she is trying to make it as an executive who finds the next big thing in movies. she meets the male main character, Dan, on the street one day and they seem to hit it off and realize they work in the same industry. they both end up trying to work on several projects together but he shatters her dreams when he shoots down an opportunity for a movie she wants to do and she decides she hates him. a while later she thinks she has finally found THE script but her boss wants her to get a popular singer whom she did happen to star with on the same tv show to sing a song for the soundtrack before greenlighting the project. so she decides she needs to go to this festival in New York to try to make this happen. ironically Dan is from the same area where the festival is being held, so they are sent to accomplish this and start to spend a lot of time together. i loved how well Jane fit in with Dan's family and really let her guard down and was not afraid to be herself around a family that clearly liked and accepted her as she was, not who she pretended to be. i also like how Jane helped Dan feel more comfortable with his family. i was so happy when Jane finally realizes she starts to have romantic feelings for Dan because she is jealous and it was so obvious he also did not want his brother hitting on her because HE liked her. so it was quite frustrating when she starts to have doubts, thinking things are too good to be true and there is no way it could last, and almost ruins things completely when she has a meltdown after her great big plan does not work and instead of turning to him for support she pushes him away. i can understand being scared of being hurt because it is really hard to be vulnerable like that sometimes, but you have to at least try to think there is any possibility and go after what you want. so after a lot of drama and a great grand gesture she makes to show him how wrong she was, eventually they do finally end up finding their way back together thank goodness. definitely a great summer light read and i will recommend it to everyone, along with this author's other books since i have enjoyed all of the ones i have read.

thank you so much to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons and to Annabel Monaghan and her people for sharing this one of the most anticipated romances' digital copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

We've got Jane Jackson, former child actor, on uneven footing professionally/personally desperate for a big break to jump start her career. We've got Dan Finnegan, creative genius, introvert, a man who knows his own mind, hottie with a body, etc etc. Jane and Dan do not get along in the early parts of this book. Jane tells a lie at work, chaos ensues, Dan/Jane take a trip to Long Island to attempt to resolve the drama created by the lie, Dan's family lives in Long Island, Dan/Jane stay with his family during the trip, more chaos ensues. Real talk: the Finnegan "the mob" family dynamics were so funny. Without question, my favorite part of this book. The parents, the siblings, their partners, their kids? The scheming. The antics. The old-habits-die-hard sibling dynamics. All of it. Spectacular. Enchanting.

I will say I didn't love the third act breakup/conflict in this story. I think conflict resolution needed a bit more time in the spotlight than this book gave it. Particularly appreciating how EARNEST <3 (!!) Dan was. His character felt like he deserved a more mature apology than he received from Jane & more time for them to unpack the slash and burn job Jane put on their very new relationship.

Annabel Monaghan... the woman that you are. One thing about me is that if Annabel Monaghan writes a book, I am absolutely going to read it. TY for the ARC XOXO

Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the early chance to read and review “It’s A Love Story.”

I really enjoyed this enemies (sort of) to lovers romance featuring Jane and Dan (who was really a perfect swoons match for the FMC). But even more than the romance, I was particularly drawn to Jane’s story of personal growth, reconciling the hurt and anguish from her younger self and allowing herself to become the adult person she was meant to be. The secondary characters, especially Dan’s very large NY family were well drawn and really added an emotional depth to the story. This might be my favorite of Annabel Monaghan’s contemporary romances. 5 stars.