My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Extra rating: the fact that Mia literally was the author of her own love story was everything 😭💕✨

There is no bookish trope I love more than childhood friends to lovers and this book kind of has that trope. It stars Mia who is fresh off a breakup and heartbroken 💔 then she meets Gavin who coincidentally is her ex’s roommate and through that initial awkwardness they become friends🥹✨

That’s until many years later as an established writer she needs inspiration for the finale of her successful romance series and GUESS WHO SHE ASKS TO BE HER FAKE BF TO PRACTICE DATES WITH😭💕🫧🫶🏾‼️🌷😩

It was dual POV so one side you’ll read how she’s unsure but on Gavin’s POV he’s literally fist bumping the air, glad that he can have these moments with her 🥹🥹 I loved most especially how the characters in her books literally mirrored her relationship with Gavin and how she (knowingly or unknowingly) was writing a relationship she desired with Gavin through them😭✨

If it’s a friends to lovers, with LOTS of yearning and kind of slow burn you were looking for… THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU!😍🌷

Love is an Open Book-a standalone

✍🏾By Chandra Blumberg- I read Second Tide's the Charm and gave 3

📅Publication 8-12-25, Read 6-10-25

📗Format: e-book 304 pgs.

🌎Setting: Chicago

👆🏾POV: 1st person, dual

Genre: Rom-Com, Adult Fic

Tropes: friends to lovers, fake dating, female/male friendship, off page sex, books about books/book lovers

👩🏾FMC- Mia Brady-30, bestselling author. Her series turned into TV series. She is having writer's block for the final book in the series.

👨🏾MMC- Gavin Lane-30, manager at a tree nursey and garden center with landscaping on the side. He suggests that he fake dates Mia to help her write from experience instead of going on dating apps w/ strangers.

Other Characters
Ted-Gavin's roommate, broke up w/ Mia nine years ago and confessed liked her sister Kim
Kim-Mia's sister, now married to Ted for six years
Evie-Mia's critique partner and friend
Seraphina and Joe-Mia and Gavin's friends-married and having a baby
Scott + Amber- Gavin's brother and sister-in-law

🤔 My Thoughts: This was a light romance that I couldn't connect with the couple because the spice was missing. They pined for each other but kept the "will they/won't they" trope going a little too long.

Overall Rating:
3/5 ⭐⭐⭐

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing |Canary Street Press for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Mia and Gavin
Mia is a rom/com author. She is having writers block so her best friend Gavin decides to help.
Gavin is a landscaper who has been best friends with Mia for a decade. He decides to do tropes to see how Mia can develop her characters in her new book more.
As they do the trope activities, things start to change for Mia and Gavin. As the saying goes they are going from friends to lovers.
Gavin is attentive and shows Mia patience. Their love is built up and not over the top. Great writing style. I will read more from this author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! This was just ok for me as I got a bit tired of the will they won’t they charade

⭐⭐⭐/5
This story was tender, emotionally layered, and full of yearning. Mia and Gavin’s bond—rooted in friendship, chemistry, and deep pining—was the highlight for me. I adored their dynamic: romance writer x plant daddy, he-falls-first, and all the mutual longing your heart can handle.

Gavin’s quiet devotion was beautiful, and it was clear from the beginning just how deeply he felt. Mia’s struggle to move past her grief was valid, but her emotional walls made it hard at times—especially when it came to Gavin. I wished she’d allowed herself to grow and accept her feelings a bit sooner.

The slow burn was real, the angst intense, and the friend group rooting for them made everything feel warmer. While I would’ve loved a hint of spice, the emotional payoff still landed. A sweet, heartfelt friends-to-lovers romance about healing, timing, and taking the leap.

Thank you again to NetGalley and Chandra Blumberg for the arc💖. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you for the eBook, NetGalley!

This was a cute story about friends to lovers, Mia and Gavin. They meet in college one night after Mia has a devastating breakup with another friend who had turned into a lover. Fast forward ten years, and Mia has this rule about never dating a friend again and has become a famous author who now has writer's block because of her rule, which was suppressing her in all aspects of life.

I think this story had great structure and all the ingredients of a great story, but it was too safe. Mia just took everything on the chin and never just acted on pure emotion. Her issues all stemmed from her ex and her sister, and she just ate it like she didn't have a right to be thoroughly pissed off with the way everyone in her life was moving and making decisions that impacted her more than she was willing to let on. This could have been fleshed out more within the story.

I also wanted to shake Mia for most of the book. She was so used to being a victim that she turned herself into the perpetual victim that was wronged. I also wish the ending was more elaborate for Mia and Gavin; they deserved more.

2.75- 3 ⭐️

About the book:
✨️ Best friends to lovers (no spice)
✨️ Scared to love, treasured friendship
✨️ Author main character
✨️ TEN YEARS of longing
✨️ Chosen family

This book centers around best friends- Mia and Gavin. Gavin likes Mia almost immediately, but unfortunately for Mia, she meets Gavin the day of a breakup. This breakup clouds her judgement FOR TEN YEARS.... because of this she feels like she and Gavin can never have anything more than friendship because "anything other than friends is too risky".

This book had some cute moments, but here's my issue: Mia admits later in the book that this breakup (where they were friends first) was with someone she didnt love and the relationship was very short. As a grown woman in her 30s, she let a short relationship that didnt work out stop her from giving Gavin a chance for the next 10 years. That was hard to believe because over that decade was there was no emotional work or character growth?

The second half of the book was a little repetitive in Mia's mindset and her inability to see anything other than friendship (or that the characters she was writing were a direct reflection of her + Gavin) was pretty frustrating.

I liked Gavin but Im not sure he felt fleshed out as a character. His whole identity was plant man + bestie. He let Mia kind of walk all over him and blamed it on "friendship", apologizing for speaking his mind and being true to his feelings just because it made her have to confront hers. Honestly, Gavin deserved more!

Overall, it was hard to emotionally connect to the characters. While closed door romances are completely fine, I think this book had a missed opportunity for the characters to connect physically (in ANY way other than a simple kiss) because there was a lot of longing (10 years of it lol) but no real reader pay off. Also, we spent a lot of time talking about if Gavin was going to take over his family's farm, but he never actually told Mia he was staying? Did I miss that?!

This book had interesting concepts of a plan, but the execution just wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Love is an Open Book is a friends to lovers romance that will keep you on your toes and leave you wanting more. I really enjoyed this book! I think the writing is very straightforward with a few highlight worthy lines (especially in the beginning)

The chemistry and tension between the characters was pretty good but I think there could have been more later in the book

In the third act I started to get frustrated with the stubbornness of the FMC but that’s honestly normal with this trope plus she had some internal conflicts to get through

But like every romance, ends with a HEA and I really enjoyed it!

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced copy of this book <3

It was incredibly cute, quick, and honest read about the dynamic between friendships and love. it supported my own personal belief that you need to be best friends with your romantic partner. Mia and Gavin have a wonderful introduction and continue to grow adorably throughout the book. I LOVED that mia's books were being turned into a tv show and that it was basically her and gavin's story. My one comment is that i got a few of the side characters mixed up and felt like there were maybe one or two too many side characters for the plot to continue forward with them as a necessity. it could have easily been a smaller character pool.

Love is an open book, but the bedroom door is closed. This was a cute, friends to lovers romance with some flirty banter. When I originally picked this book up I didn't realize it was a closed door romance. I prefer at least a little bit of spicy-ness when reading romance books because I feel like it adds depth to the relationship. Because of the lack of intimacy here I didn't really feel the connection between Gavin and Mia. I don't think it's necessary for books to have spice, but if they don't they should have some cute cuddles or other form of intimacy and I felt like this one missed the mark a bit on that aspect. Overall the book was good but I was expecting just a bit more.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mia and Gavin have been friends for about a decade. They been each other’s confidant, cheerleader, nursemaid, plus-one, and so much more over the years. When Mia suffers a severe case of writer’s block, Gavin offers to help in a way that may test their friendship. The unusual turn of events prompts several questions. Can your friend be your soulmate? Is crossing the line between friend and lover worth the risk?

This book has all the right ingredients. A swoon-worthy meet-cute. Fun banter. Mutual pining. Forced proximity. Yet the story falls flat in some areas. It’s hard to invest in the couple when one of the romantic leads feel so two-dimensional. All readers know about Mia is 1) she’s a writer and 2) she had a humiliating break up in college. For a majority of the novel, Mia rarely interacts with anyone besides Gavin. Her interactions with secondary characters is centered around her writing. Mia frequently brings up her parents as one of the reasons she believes HEAs are temporary, yet she has no interactions with them on page. Meanwhile, the reader knows that Gavin’s nephew enjoys fishing and the Gavin is a big-time Brewers fan. I’m glad Mia had a come to Jesus moments with her friend, Serafina, and her sister, Kim. Those key scenes saved the story for me. These moments were the readers first glimpses of Mia fully letting her guard down. It made the grand gestures towards the end more believable.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing.
Review posted to StoryGraph on 6/1/25.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for granting my request to read this e-ARC and provide my honest thoughts.

Do friends who become lovers ever truly get their happy ending? The friends-to-lovers trope can be tricky—because after years of awkward phases and inside jokes, love isn’t always the obvious next step.

Gavin and Mia had one of the best meet-cutes I've ever read, and I just have to say this: the "He has always loved her" trope whilst dating other people have never been a huge fan.

I loved how Gavin and Mia (yes, #Mavin 🤪) transitioned from the safety of friendship into something flirty and romantic. The shift felt natural and earned—the trope ate and left no crumbs.

Overall, I really enjoyed watching them navigate the messy, sweet, and sometimes scary process of falling for your best friend. A solid friends-to-lovers romance!

A writer that is struggling to write her book asked her best friend to help her gain some inspiration. What could go wrong in a situation like that? What I loved about this book is that while it was predictable, it was still an enjoyable read to me.

There was a lot of internal dialogue in this story that did kind of drive me crazy at some points in the book. I wanted Mia & Gavin to stop worrying about losing their friendship and get together quickly. They knew they belonged together in the beginning. I felt bad for Gavin because he was all in while Mia was the one second-guessing everything. If you like friends to lovers, funny friends, and a slow burn, this story is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley, Chandra Blumberg, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this book sounded super fun and I loved the whole friends-to-lovers angle. Plus, the idea of a romance author testing out tropes with her best friend? Adorable. I absolutely loved the MMC - he was seriously perfect in every way, and I was rooting for him the entire time. The FMC, though, drove me a little nuts. She kept pushing him away, not accepting him pouring his hear out and it felt like she was stringing him along, which got frustrating. There were also a few parts that felt kind of choppy, like scenes didn’t flow quite right or jumped ahead suddenly. And even though I enjoy a good closed-door romance, I didn’t really feel the emotional closeness between them as much as I wanted to. I think it had a lot of potential but I just wish a few things had come together a bit more smoothly.

This story follows Mia Brady, a romance author that is trying to write her final novel in the series that’s also a television series, and Gavin Lane, who is extremely talented with plants and is her best friend. Mia is struggling to write her novel and proposes an interesting idea to Gavin, trying out different tropes together. Will they just remain as friends? Or will the trope trials show that they deserve to be more than friends?

This book was cute to me, I loved the idea and how relatable it can be. This book has friends-to-lovers, slow burn, and closed doors relationship. Gavin was perfectly written to me and how he showed his love to Mia was perfect, sweet, and tailored to who she is. The problem with me for this book was Mia. She was difficult in some parts of the book and constantly mentioning that she has a fear of dating friends. Now, I understand that, but it’s brought up so many times to the point where it became annoying. She also kept questioning if Gavin actually likes her or not throughout the book when he made it pretty obvious to her I don’t know how many times. Overall, it was a decent book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Chandra Blumberg and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Chandra Blumberg for the ARC.
Mia and Gavin the definition of friends-to-lovers trope. I adored their story so much, the way that their love was written and how it came to life from friends to something more. It was cleaver, witty and the banter. Mia learned a big part with her life to move through obstacles and how to open up her heart from the past. She always had Gavin by her side to lean on when something went wrong, she’s always second-guessing herself when it comes to love and wants to protect her heart. Gavin is the definition of loyal best friend, a total softie and is there for Mia all the time. They know each other and they are in sync with one. When Mia gets writers block for her upcoming novel the idea of trope testing is grown out there and who better else to do it with her then her best friend Gavin, together they test out different tropes to try and help Mia get out of a funk. The lines get a little blurry somewhere along the way. Chandra really wrote a beautiful story and I am happy I got to read it, I loved the writing style and the characters.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

This is a hard review to write, I wanted to love this book, friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes but this just fell short for me. While I loved Gavin, I had a hard time relating to Mia. Her lack of communication with her sister and how her sister’s relationship affected and hurt her frustrated me. There were times I considered not finishing, not because it’s not well written, just because it wasn’t for me and I found myself not caring about what was happening. I think there will be those who absolutely love this book, unfortunately just not me.

I had such a good time with Love is an Open Book. It’s clever, warm, and brimming with that friends-to-lovers tension that begs you to keep turning pages. Chandra Blumberg has a knack for capturing those small, vulnerable moments that make you root hard for the characters—not just to fall in Love, but to get each other.
Mia was relatable in the best way: stuck, frustrated, second-guessing herself… basically, human. Her writer’s block was more than just a plot device—it felt real and heavy, especially when paired with the pressure of fan expectations. And Gavin? Total softie in the best way. Loyal, patient, emotionally intelligent—a unicorn of a man, honestly. Their chemistry felt natural, and their banter had me smiling more than once.
I especially loved how this take on friends-to-lovers didn’t fall into the tired trope of one person being hopelessly in Love while the other is completely oblivious. Nope—both Mia and Gavin clearly cared for each other, and past heartbreak and bad timing kept them in the friend zone. It made their journey feel earned and their emotional walls more compelling.
The “romance tropes as experiments” setup was fun, especially for someone who devours romance like me. There’s something meta about watching two people knowingly fall into cliché and still getting swept away by the feelings. The story occasionally leaned heavily on the tropes rather than digging into the deeper emotional stakes. Still, even when things got predictable, the characters carried it through with heart.
This one’s a cozy, proper treat with a bright, emotional core—worth curling up with.

3.5/5
Overall, I thought the book was such a fun concept.
An author that’s afraid of being hurt struggles with writing her next book. She decides to “role-play” with her best male friend in hopes that it will get her out of her funk… and I think we know the rest 🥰

I liked that we got a friends to lovers trope, but also with a different take on fake dating.
My only criticism is that I felt like the ending was a bit rushed with the way they resolved their conflict. But it was overall a fun read.

This was a very mediocre read. There is more inner turmoil than actual plot and I had a hard time investing. I understand Mia’s past but a decade is a long time to stay stagnant in a belief and not grow. Gavin deserved so much more than he got. When a book has so much angst between the characters as the main plot, a 3rd act breakup becomes redundant. The “we can’t be together, I can’t lose the friendship” drama, was enough conflict. Also, for a book about a romance writer, filled with innuendo and tension, the less than closed door approach to the ‘physical’ scenes was almost jarring, taking away some of the ability to really connect with their relationship (I don’t say this because I need open door scenes in my romances but there was a lot of lead up and then very little follow through when the author is trying to make you believe in the chemistry between the characters). Overall, I can see the potential but the execution wasn’t there for me and I know this is an uncorrected proof, but it for sure needs a few more passes by an editor.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.