3.5, rounded up.

I really liked this one. The writing is beautiful, the setting was perfect for the story and the premise was fun. Something was amiss for me and I can’t figure out what it was. The author did write about anxiety and eating disorders, which I thought was great, excellent even and it fit the characters very well. The story brought forward these topics in a way that felt right for the characters without bringing down the mood or making these themes darker than they are.
This book was very messy though. I didn’t quite agree with all of the conflict and drama the characters found themselves in at times. I read somewhere else that this was a retelling of Notting Hill and I can absolutely see those characters from the film brought to paper with this set of characters, I just didn’t love that movie and probably didn’t enjoy this book more than I did. I will take full responsibility in admitting that I am the problem here.

Still a fun read, and I will be looking forward to more stories written by this author.

This novel is perfect for fans of celebrity romances with a focus on queer discovery. This story features commentary on former child stars and the trauma that can come from that. There’s also the exploration of grief as one character lost her mother a couple years prior. My favorite part of this book is the found family Jude had with her friend group. I adored them!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press Trade Paperback for a copy of this eARC.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

A light romcom, meet-cute novel about Kat and Jude. Kat is famous for being a child actress, and trying (and struggling) to further her acting career as an adult. Jude works at a bookstore that used to belong to her mother, and her dream is to buy back the store. This was my first sapphic novel and it was an easy read that flew by!

Trigger warnings: eating disorder, death of a parent, anxiety, panic attacks, trauma

I enjoyed Jude’s arc about struggling with change. She wants things in her life to stay the same, but eventually comes to realize that change is natural and can lead to better things. With the help of her friends and Kat, she learns to accept this.

Jude’s friends were great, I loved their energy so much. They supported Jude all the way, but were also so real and honest to her.

The book was a fun and easy read and I liked the energy and chemistry between the characters, but I didn’t like the third act breakup. I also felt like Kat had broken so much of Jude’s trust, and Kat was forgiven a little too easily.

Also, I didn’t like Kat’s manager and how much control she had over Kat’s life (she was basically parenting her) but I understand that this was purposefully written that way to reflect what child actors go through and how they can be manipulated.

4 stars
e-ARC
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC! Thoughts/review are my own.*
This was SUCH a cute romance! I absolutely loved our characters - Jude, a bookstore manager, and Kat, a child star who is trying to reclaim her career. I felt like the book did a great job of respectfully covering the difficulties of child stardom, as well as eating disorders, grief and loss, and figuring out your sexual identity. Lots of heavy topics covered with grace throughout this generally lighthearted romance.
There were some points that I felt were a little too convenient or cheesy, but when you're picking up a romance, you're probably expecting some of that. I absolutely loved Kellogg's writing style and hope to read more from her in the future!
One of my favorite parts of the entire book was at the very end where we see an excerpt from a romance the two main characters both read at the beginning of the book, complete with annotations from one character to the other. This was such a unique, fun way to further enter the characters' world and I really enjoyed diving a little deeper!

Meh. I wanted this book to be so much more than it was. I think a romance set in a book store speaks to my soul but this didn’t hit the way I wanted to. Too much insta-love, the characters weren’t super well developed, and the ending didn’t match the rest of the book.

Before I get into my review, I first want to say thank you to Netgalley and The Dial Press for the ARC of “The Next Chapter”!

This book was messy, in a good way, and just kept getting messier! This book is a retelling of Notting Hill, and it did it so well!

I really liked the main characters, Kat and Jude, and all of Jude’s friends. The only thing I have to say badly about this book is that Kat did some very questionable things that really just could’ve been avoided but ended up getting resolved

this book truly felt like watching a rom-com; it has great representation and did a wonderful job of showing the death of a parent, panic attack, and eating disorders.

4.5 ⭐️

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book!! I was so excited to read it and was not disappointed!! This book made me feel seen as I’m currently trying to discover my sexuality!! I liked and didn’t like the characters at times. Jude and Kat’s relationship was very cute and I want something like what they have!! The banter was good and the tension!! The spice felt too much for me, but good overall and kept my attention. I love spice but not too much of it. This book was very entertaining at times and sometimes I wanted to hurl it across the room hoping the characters would sort out their differences because it was a little frustrating. I love queer books and will never stop reading and recommending them.

As Camille Kellogg's sophomore novel, I feel like she really settled into the genre and did a great job!! I honestly loved her first book and this one matched or even made me swoon more than the first. Jude has my heart, I love her, I love that she runs a feminist bookstore, and I love their connection throughout the book. Kat was more of a wildcard for me and her character didn't quite connect for me as much. A great Notting Hill retelling. 4 stars

thank you for letting me read this early. as delightful as nottinghill. what a great showcasing of learning to how love yourself and being OK with not fitting into an expected box/label.

The Next Chapter is a breezy adaptation of Notting Hill into modern New York as a queer love story. As an avid romcom lover, I leapt at the chance to pick this one up.

Kellogg has an easy to read writing style that makes for great summer-ready reads by the beach or on vacation (which is where I read most of this book).

Unfortunately, Kat, one of the two main characters, is too awful for me to root for the main romance. In Notting Hill, Anna is a bit cold, but never to the calculating and petty degree that Kat is. This is especially exacerbated next to Jude, whom the book takes great strides to make out to be a great person and partner.

Ultimately I think this would have gotten a higher rating from me if I could actually support the romance here.

Thank you Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the ARC!

Katrina dreams of being an actress that wins awards, instead of a washed out child star that is the star of many memes. In addition, she is finally coming to terms with her identity as definitely not straight. In an attempt to learn more about her sexuality, she visits a bookstore and meets Jude, a butch bookstore manager struggling with her own identity struggle after losing her mom. There is an instant attraction and a series of misunderstandings. Will these two find love with each other, or simply learn to love themselves?

A unique coming of age story that stresses it’s never too late to be who you are. Kat is a former child start who is looking to refresh and mature her image. She also happens to be in the closet. Her manager’s solution: oh just come out it’s super trendy right now. If the manager was more a central character I think this book would have been more difficult to digest. Luckily for Kat and for us, the readers, she happened upon a sweet, affectionate and lovable “butch” who is happy to show her the ropes of the queer community. Jude was a perfect yin to Kat’s yang and shows that the masculine or butch roles in queer fiction can still cry over fictional characters (book girlfriends, they’re just like us!). Jude’s friends were fully fleshed out and made an excellent supporting cast, which very much highlighted how much Kat had no one in her corner before Jude. There are a few spots where you may get frustrated with both FMC’s but there was definitely measurable growth which was important to me. Overall a sweet and engaging sapphic romance worth the read.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️ This was a cute little sapphic novel. Celebrity recently coming out as queer meets a bookstore worker. I really liked the fresh starts and personal growth throughout the novel. Judging by the cover, I assumed it would be more of a closed door romance but there’s definitely a spice scene mixed in there.
I appreciated that one of the characters had anxiety and that it was handled in a way that felt real and relatable.
I felt like the celebrity’s manager as a bad guy trope though has been written a lot.

This was a sweet sapphic love story and overall I thought the storyline was promising but wished this was a bit more developed. I didn't feel the characters felt relatable. That being said, I would recommend it to my friends as a sapphic rom com!

Perfect pride month romcom. Inspired by nothing hill ! This book was cute, witty and fun! It still has a lot of emotional depth and chemistry.

This book is a great easy read that touches a lot of important and relevant topics. Most of the main characters are lovable, diverse, complex, and you really do feel a part of their little circle of chosen family.

Jude’s story and character overall was much more enjoyable to me. I was invested in her story and wanted the things to work out. Kat in the other hand wasn’t as likable but I did appreciate the her character highlighting mental health and identity well.

I adore books with flawed characters. Kat and Jude were perfectly flawed! I loved reading their story of falling in love and seeing one another's imperfections and further reasons *to* fall in love with one another. While there were parts that felt over dramatic, I don't think it took away from my overall enjoyment of the story. My one, major gripe, however, is the redundant overuse of perfect tenses. In a single paragraph, the word "had" could pop up 5+ times! Overall, I loved reading this - definitely gave me the warm fuzzies inside.

This sounded like a book I would love and I did enjoy the Nottinghill premise, but it just felt a little rushed for me, or choppy? I can't quite put my finger on it. I tried to really enjoy it, but the something just fell a little flat for me. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Next Chapter is a retelling of retelling of Notting Hill. It is a story about a young woman, Kat, that once was a well-known child star and trying to rebrand herself realizing she is queer. She meets up with a woman in a bookstore, Jude, who has always known who she was but has suffer a loss. T

I felt the story at times was over dramatic showing adults to be petty and childish. I did not like Kat nor her manage, in fact most people Kat interacted with were just plan unlikable. While I felt bad for Jude, I kept wish she would just grow a backbone. I know this was supposed to be a rom-com but somehow I felt that was missing as well. Needless to say, this book was not for me.

Thank you, Camille Kellogg, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Next Chapter by Camille Kellogg is a queer reimaging of Notting Hill. In all transparency, I have never seen this movie, but this book captured my attention from the opening scenes, where Jude cries over a book while working in a bookstore. Camille Kellogg was able to capture all the warm feelings of a new relationship while questioning everything about life, oneself, and one's decisions.

This relationship between Jude and Katrina was so messy and filled with both love and turmoil! With complex emotions and real struggles that made them feel authentic. I loved that Jude had such amazing friends who cared for them and pushed them to see what was right in front of them. I did shout out multiple times for those of the MCs to go to therapy, lol, but overall, I really enjoyed reading this romcom and was rooting for them to get out of their own way! I would recommend giving this book a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the review copy!