I was drawn in by the premise—academia, publishing, and a reality-blurring romance sounded like a perfect mix—but the execution didn’t quite land for me. While the dynamic between Toni and Addie, especially their viral wedding and shared history, had promise, the storytelling often told rather than showed. I struggled to connect emotionally because the writing lacked depth and immersive detail.

The pacing also felt uneven—some parts dragged, while others glossed over key moments. Toni’s role in the publishing world and Addie’s creative pursuits were intriguing in concept, but both arcs felt underdeveloped.

There were sparks of potential, and I didn’t dislike the book entirely, but it ultimately left little lasting impact.

Toni and Addie is a thoughtful romance with two unique characters. They are both well developed and consistent. Their backstories were well thought out and it reflected. Demi readers will appreciate the thoughtfulness of the spice. I was surprised by how long it took to get to the titular moment, but I found myself appreciating how their relationship progressed before it got to that point.
Overall, a cute romance I will be recommending.

All opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Bramble for the ARC!

This sweet sapphic romance was lovely!

For the purposes of this review, I will call the two FMCs by their names (Addie and Toni) for clarity. Addie was so much more emotionally put together than Toni. A couple of times I wanted to shake Toni for her wrong-headedness and bad, embedded thoughts; but we all know how realistic that can be—people really do get those sorts of wrong ideas and struggle to overcome them. That’s realistic character building right there.

The plotting was solid and I loved seeing the character growth throughout the book, especially Toni’s. I was rooting for these two to get together and work it out! The spice was probably about one-to-two chili peppers and I enjoyed the spicy scenes a bunch.

The resolution was very satisfying. I will recommend this to patrons who enjoy relationship fiction and especially those looking for lesbian relationship stories.

Give me a sapphic second-chance romance any day, but I was especially eager to read Toni and Addie Go Viral when I realized it was set in the publishing and academia realms. Unfortunately, the pacing drags, filling space with unnecessary scenes that are all tell and very little show. A large amount of trimming in the first 20% could have kept readers focused on the initial meeting between these characters, allowing us to EXPERIENCE the long-distance yearning that occurs. The emails are too quick, too short to convey that desperation, though Addie's niavete definitely steals the show (in the worst way).

Thank you to Netgalley, Melissa Marr, and Tor / Bramble for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read This Book If…you’ve had an emotional unavailable ex!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
Toni and Addie Go Viral by Melissa Marr

Genre: Queer romance
Spice Level: 4/5🌶, 3-4 explicit scenes
Setting: LA and DC
POV: dual, 3rd person, past tense
Tropes: friends with benefits, fake marriage, virgin, one bed, role play, “good girl”
Content Warning: extreme homophobia and attempted assault of a character

My Thoughts:
Overall, I believe these two are Happy For Now and not Happily Ever After. Here’s why…

There was zero character growth until the 90% mark. While they did make an effort, they are fundamentally incompatible. The cycles of self sabotage and keeping secrets got repetitive before the main event even happened.

HOWEVER, I still enjoyed this read! Toni and Addie were interesting characters with plenty going on in their lives outside of the romance. I loved getting to see their relationship develop before the titular viral moment and how they both reacted.

I particularly enjoyed the journey of the newly-out Addie and her journey of demisexuality and what sex even means. I really enjoyed the spicy scenes and thought they were well-written.

Again, I enjoyed this read, but you will be screaming at the characters to just talk it out multiple times!

Memorable Quote: “I’ve let myself think this is some big romance, but maybe I was just…convenient?”

Thank you to the publisher for my advance copy!

DNF. Was excited to read this, but I think the writing style is not for me. As an employee at a small independent bookstore we will unfortunately likely not be able to carry this for the sake of space.

Two people who want really different things out of relationships meet and just can't resist each other. We see this general plot in romance novels a lot and for the first half of this book I would have said that Marr did a great job taking that simple sentence and making it her own. I loved the historian writer and actress in the period piece based off her book set up. There were a lot of clever details that made me want to keep reading, but I really felt like the last 1/3 just dragged. It seemed like they had the same miscommunication multiple times and it could have been 20 pages shorter if there had only been, say three or maybe five "Addie deserves someone better, who can giver her everything she wants" and it would have kept the pace moving better.

More like 4.5 stars but rounded up for Goodreads since it was overall a good reading experience. The characters Toni and Addie are both distinct and you will find yourself rooting for their romance. I have just a couple quibbles. I felt the chemistry in some of the sexy scenes could have been stronger, I found myself starting to skim them a little. Additionally, the plot is a little wobbly, and a lot is balanced rather precariously on some anxieties from Toni that don't feel well founded. Like, I get where they're coming from and what the intentions were, but in a way they felt unrealistic enough that it seems like the author was grasping for something to keep the characters apart. But these quibbles are minor enough in the arc of the story and characters that I think many will still really enjoy it, as I did!

I have never read a romance book before so I didn't know what to expect and I guess that has perhaps given me a different perspective on looking at the work as opposed to those of you who have been reading these things for years due to the reality that I have no idea how these books normally play out.
In saying that, I did notice some of the issues that have been brought up in the comments but, me being ignorant as I am of the way things typically go in these romance books, I was not bothered by them as some of the others were and I think that must have meaning, because I was able, in my apparent ignorance, to enjoy the book for what I belive it was meant to be... a love story.
Love stories are not typical, and no two look the same. People are not typical and no two are the same. To say that someone is too this or not enough that is really nonsensical.
For what it is worth, coming from a romance book amateur, I really enjoyed the book and I belive that there will be others who will enjoy it too.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory.

This book appears to have some interesting aspects, but I found myself unable to finish it due to the character of Addie. Her level of naivete and the way she was dishonest with Toni about knowing her, along with her persistent following of Toni, made me feel quite uncomfortable. As a result, I decided to stop reading.

I went into this thinking I'd adore it. A sapphic romance with fake dating and a ton of email flirting! I mean, that sounds like it was made for me, but in the end I was a little weirded out by Addie. I just struggle with lying in general and in a romantic sense it is just so incredibly deceptive that I was heartbroken to find it just wasn't for me. That said, the writing is wonderful, and I stand by the notion that not every book is for every reader! I was not the reader for this one, but you might be! Don't miss out on my account!

This book doesn't seem terrible, but I could not finish it because of the type of character Addie is. Her level of naivete and the way she was lying to Toni about knowing her and then she continues to essentially stalk Toni, all of it was making me extremely uncomfortable and I did not want to continue.

I was really excited to read this sapphic, second-chance romance set in the world of academia / publishing. I really hoped to get swept away in some classic sapphic yearning and lovely romantic moments. While the concept of the story was really fun, and while Toni and Adelaide's relationship was sweet and there were a lot of cute moments between them, the execution of this concept fell a bit flat for me. As another reviewer mentions, the time jump that happens halfway through is extremely jarring and I was unable to reorient myself in the story - it really interrupted my reading experience and left me feeling unsatisfied. Overall, this book absolutely had its moments, but it didn't hook me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Melissa Marr, and Tor / Bramble for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was such a fun and heartfelt read. I really enjoyed how Toni and Addie’s relationship unfolded—from a one-night stand to years of flirty emails to a full-blown fake wedding photo going viral. Their chemistry felt natural, and I loved the blend of romantic chaos, career pressure, and unexpected vulnerability. Toni’s sudden rise to fame as an author (and the debt she’s trying to escape) added real stakes, while Addie’s insecurities around acting gave the story emotional depth.
The story balances humor with heart in a way that makes it easy to root for both characters. I also appreciated the playful jabs at publishing, fandom, and the weirdness of internet fame—all wrapped in a genuinely sweet romance. If you're into fake dating tropes, celebrity chaos, or just want a good sapphic rom-com with substance, this one definitely delivers.

I was excited about the premise of this book—the mix of academia, publishing, and a reality-blurring romance had so much potential. I went in expecting sharp tension, layered emotions, and a whirlwind of media-fueled chaos, but I found myself struggling to stay engaged. The story had moments that kept me interested, and I liked the dynamic between Toni and Addie. Their history and the unexpected viral wedding made for an intriguing setup, but the execution fell flat for me. The writing leaned heavily into telling rather than showing, and I found myself wishing for deeper, more immersive scenes. I wanted to feel their emotions, the pressure of their circumstances, and the tangled nature of their relationship—but instead, everything was laid out too plainly, which made it hard to fully connect. I also felt like the pacing didn’t always work in the book’s favor. Some sections dragged, while others rushed past moments that could have been explored further. I loved the idea of Toni navigating the publishing world and Addie chasing her big break, but their individual arcs felt underdeveloped in ways that left me wanting more.

While I didn’t completely dislike the book, it didn’t leave much of an impression.

Toni and Addie Go Viral is a fun, sapphic, romcom that will appeal to readers of Delilah Green Doesn't Care.

I was so excited to read this book, but I ended up being so disappointed in this book. I have been wanting to read a Melissa Marr book, but have a hard time with paranormal romance, so I thought this was the perfect solution. Sapphic romance, especially with second chance aspects is my favorite genre, so I thought this would be a home run of a book for me. However, this book was a really rough read for me. I thought the time jump in the middle of the book was jarring and could have just happened before start of the book for a better effect. It felt strange to have that amount of time in the book even though much of it was waved away in the time jump. I also felt that this book went beyond communication issues and went straight for a lack of communication that was really hard for me to read. Toni's refusal to give Addie any information or do any self-reflection for so much of the story was really hard to read. I felt that Toni crossed many lines, and it felt unbelievable to me that Addie would have stayed with her and continued to pursue a relationship with her. This almost felt like a lit fic story rather than a romance. I think it would have been a stronger book if it had been treated as lit fic and they hadn't ended up together in the end, honestly. I wanted to love this book so much, but it just wasn't for me.

DNF 48%

I couldn't anymore. I thought the problem was the ARC itself, but then I realized that I wasn't invested in anyone. I couldn't figure out why Toni thought Addie was brave when she was just weird, I couldn't bear to hear one more time that Toni believed she'd turn out like her dad. I couldn't figure out why Addie didn't clock Toni's commitment issues, and...otherwise, Addie feels like she's a completely flat character. From about 40-47%, I thought "If it ends in therapy, maybe I can handle it" but when a chapter repeated the same conversation twice that we'd already heard dozens of times in less than 200 pages, I hit a wall. When we heard about lesbian history not from our main character lesbian history professor but some random character whose name I already forget, parroted in the driest way possible, I was done. I realized I was never going to care whether I FINALLY get anything interesting about our characters except the two things the author was hyperfocused on: Toni's anxiety and Addie's sad reaction.

Hopefully this isn't the last pass, but if it is, this book is a mess.

Marr’s writing effortlessly pulls you into this romantic world, and the dynamic between Toni and Addie is both funny and touching. It’s an emotional rollercoaster with the perfect mix of romance, humor, and oh no, they didn’t moments. A total win for book lovers who adore heartwarming stories about love, identity, and learning to take risks.