I really enjoyed this book! I thought the plot was fun and the romance was believable!
I felt the writing was a bit jumpy in the middle but it straightened out towards the end!
I would recommend to others!

I was absolutely obsessed with this one for the first 75% and then it completely shifted into sappy/cheesy. For reference, I adored Annabel Monaghan's debut novel, Nora Goes Off Script, but since then I've struggled to connect with her books. Same Time Next Summer was a two star read for me and despite attempting 3 different times to read Summer Romance, I never could get past the first 100 pages of it. When I started reading It's a Love Story I was so hopeful that I was back on the AM train, but sadly I'm starting to think this author might just not be for me.

Jane is a former child star, now an adult working in screenwriting. She works with Dan, who has elevated himself to her nemesis after a work disagreement.

I love enemies to lovers so this story had me hooked from the beginning. I really enjoyed Jane and Dan as characters too. There was a lot of focus on each of their families, and I liked how that added depth to them as characters. I found dans family to be fun and a great cast of side characters that added to the story. I was not a huge fan of how much Jane’s current life hung in the balance of one piece of her childhood, and it frustrated me a bit to feel I kept reading about it over and over. However, I enjoyed the story overall and of course will continue to read and love this authors work.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC! This was a fun beach read and I love a good enemies to lovers trope. Loved the MMC’s family and their depiction of their beach hometown. Did not love the FMC’s inability to cope with adult emotions - how has she not gone to therapy when she clearly knows she has issues??? Other than that (and the 3rd act conflict it created), it was fun to see the love story play out. This was a great book to escape into and would be great to read on vacation.

I never wanted this book to end. Annabel Monaghan is a master at writing beautiful romances full of heart, chemistry, banter, and all the feelings. Not only did I love Dan and Jane and their story start to finish but I loved the entire Finnegan family and wanted to jump into the book and become a part of this big beautiful family. I need more of all of these characters. This will be going down as one of my favorite books of 2025!

An absolute heartwarming read. This book drew me in from the first page all the way to the end. The development of the characters and their stories kept you engaged and wanting more. Watching Jane and Dan's love story develop and grow had me placing my hand over my heart and rooting for them the whole way. A captivating story of find yourself and love along the way.

3.5 stars.

Anabel Monaghan has become a must-read summer author for me! While I enjoyed this book, it didn’t have the same hold on me as her other three have.

The FMC is very insecure and has a lot of unresolved issues and that made it hard for me to enjoy the book. What saved it for me was Dan’s family - Monaghan writes a found family type of characters and a small beach town so well!

If you’re looking for a cozy summer romance read with depth & heart, definitely pick this one up!

Annabel Monaghan you’ve done it again!!! Oh I absolutely LOVED this book. I was GIGGLING, twirling my hair, crying, smiling like a lunatic the whole time. DAN!!! JANE!!! I love them both so much. Truly the perfect summer read. Seeing Jane grow and come to so many realizations, I felt like I was growing alongside her honestly. Dan’s family, ugh my heart!!! Just perfect, everything Jane needed and everything I needed!! Also can I just say, I know he was WHIPPED from the beginning & his emotional intelligence *chefs kiss*

No notes, I’m obsessed!!!

Thank you so much to Putnam books & Annabel Monaghan for the Arc🫶🏼🌟📚

A warm, emotionally rich second-chance romance with sharp dialogue and undeniable chemistry. It’s a Love Story captures the ache of lost love and the magic of rediscovering it—with just the right touch of Hollywood sparkle.

Annabel Monaghan can do no wrong. I think I’d even read her emails.

The story of Jane and Dan, their quest for Jack, and all that’s in between was quietly grand. The big feelings, the funny moments, Dan’s parents..it’s all woven together so eloquently.

Just read this.

I loved Dan and Jane’s love story and watching them fall in love. I loved the beachy, summer feel without it being strictly a summer romance book. What I don’t love was the secondhand embarrassment I constantly felt anytime Jane did anything. I understand be self-conscious and that her childhood role did a number on her mental health but it was her entire personality. Listening to everyone tell her how they like her and accept her all the time for old quick. Not my favorite of this author’s books but will read anything new in the future!

This was a cute rom-com about a former childhood star, Jane, who is now grown and working in the movie industry. She’s found a great script that she believes in. So much so that she’s willing to reach out to a singer that brushed off her advances when she was fourteen to possibly make a song that would featured in the movie. And the guy that’s helping her track this singer down? None other than the guy who completely tore apart the last script she believed in, resulting in it not being produced. What could go wrong?

I loved the found family in this book. I did find the writing to be choppy in places, having to reread pages to understand how we got from one spot to the next. Overall this book was fun and lighthearted, would be a great beach read. 3.5 🌟

Thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan is exactly what the title promises: a love story—but with a bite of sarcasm, a dash of Hollywood glitter, and a healthy scoop of second-chance charm. If you like your romance with a side of cringe-inducing teen memories, witty banter that makes you smirk into your latte, and a heroine who’s trying to outrun her own sitcom past (literally and emotionally), then you’re in the right story.

Jane Jackson is everything I want in a rom-com protagonist: smart, mildly chaotic, self-deprecating, and very much still recovering from being a national punchline in braces. Now she’s a Hollywood exec trying to prove she belongs—until one white lie about popstar Jack Quinlan (former boy bander, current ghost of her awkward past) sends her into a tailspin of PR spin. Enter Dan Finnegan: talented, insufferable, and dangerously charming. The sparks are fast, the banter is furious, and the chemistry? Fireworks. Especially once they’re forced into a week of proximity on Long Island (cue: awkward sleeping arrangements and emotional revelations).

Monaghan’s writing is sharp, her comedic timing impeccable, and her understanding of the kind of emotional armor we wear to avoid getting hurt hits harder than expected. There are moments of sincerity that sneak up on you in between the laugh-out-loud lines—and those moments are what make this book more than just a feel-good rom-com. It’s a story about rewriting your own narrative, and about how sometimes the biggest lies we tell are the ones about our own worth.

Why not five stars? I would’ve loved a little more time at the end to sit with the emotional payoff—it tied up slightly too neatly for how messy and meaningful the journey felt. But honestly? That’s a small quibble in an otherwise delightfully bingeable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC! Monaghan continues to be a must-read author for anyone who likes their romance clever, cozy, and emotionally satisfying.

Recommended for: fans of Funny You Should Ask, Not in Love, or any rom-com that’s equally interested in heart and hilarity.

I thought this was a cute light hearted love story. I felt like I was right there with the characters. I absolutely adored Dan's family. I loved that he was secretly searching for his true love as well and that he was a romantic at heart. Jane's past show business reminded me a little of Robyn in "How I Met your Mother" along with her songs. This book is perfect for a cozy reading day!

4.5 ⭐️
omg what a cute romance story!!! this was the perfect book to get me out of my reading slump- the banter, the forced proximity, the coastal beach vibes & tight knit family was absolutely everything!!!

This book started off so well and I really wanted to like it more, but it was just an ok read. I couldn’t connect to the MCs, and I felt like there was so much filler at times that I started losing interest. Almost DNF’d a few times but had to push through.

3.5 rounded up!

This is my first Annabel Monaghan book and I enjoyed it! It’s a quick, easy read and perfect for summer. I liked that Jennette McCurdy was who inspired Jane.
This truly is a second chance romance - some may even call it frenemies to lovers - with a Hollywood twist since they both work in the industry. Jane, a former child actor now studio executive, wants to get a movie made, so she tells a small lie. She claims that she and Jack Quinlan, (a popular star who just so happened to be her first kiss) are friends and that he’ll agree to write an original song for the movie, To make this movie happen, she needs the help of Dan, the attractive cinematographer attached to the project, but also the reason Jane’s last movie didn’t get greenlit either. Will she be able to secure Jack Quinlan while working out her differences with Dan?

Wow. I have enjoyed every Annabel Monaghan book I’ve read, but I loved this one so much. I love good banter and this book had it all around-the main characters with each other, with family, his family with each other…you get it. The story of a woman who has never actually been in love because she never felt like she deserved it-ugh-it was both sweet and heartbreaking. “I have spent a lot of time lying in the past, pretend that I didn’t want to get invited to the ball because I never thought I could be invited.” Oh my-this quote broke me. Anyway, Annabel Monaghan is joining Katherine center and Emily Henry on my list of authors who are automatic pre-orders. Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for allowing me to read this early. It was fantastic!

This book felt like a big warm hug that I took my time reading as it felt like the type of novel you want to enjoy every word and not rush the ending. Annabel Monaghan captures love (as in all her books) in a way that feels lived-in, not made up. I especially loved the short chapters, the chaotic but lovable family dynamics, and the cozy small-town beach vibes that the majority of the novel takes place. It’s funny when it needs to be funny and serious when it needs to be serious, and written by someone who truly understands what it takes to find—and keep—real love.

I really wanted to like this book, but it was just okay for me. Jane and Dan work together, but she sees him as more of an enemy. He keeps getting in her way of films that she wants to produce. Their meet cute was so much fun, but it quickly changed once they realized that they were working together. She comes up with the idea to have someone from her past sing a song for the soundtrack of a movie. This will make it more marketable.

To try to make it work, Jane travels to Dan's hometown. As they spend time together, feelings start to develop. Where I felt disconnected is that their feelings changed for each other too quickly. I wanted more build up to their feelings, and it just didn't seem realistic to me.

I loved the found family aspect, and Dan's family was great!