I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced release copy of this book. I really enjoyed this story even though at times it seemed a little repetitive.

Freya is a single woman living in London, hopeless romantic and working towards her dream job to be a literary agent. Jake Richards is a bestselling romance author struggling to trust if HEA is even a possibility anymore. A forced proximity storyline has them exploring New York City together while also attempting to save Jake’s career at a romance writers conference.

While I enjoyed the behind the scenes peek into the publishing world and loved to explore NYC through Freya and Jake’s POV, the story fell a little flat for me. Some of the writing was tricky to follow and miscommunication between main characters frustrates me more than it entertains.

This was a quick read with a guaranteed HEA and some armchair traveling! If you’re looking for something fun and easy this might be good read for you.

at least it's a quick read. i guess.

i like my men grumpy. sure. i don't like them misogynistic. if a man tells me to calm down, i'm puking on his shoes and he'll just have to deal with it.

I’ve never read from this author but this book was so good! It was perfectly executed with love, emotion, character depth and life lessons. It was swoony and fun! I enjoyed getting to know the characters and live their lives alongside them!

Long Story Short is the story of Freya, an assistant to a hot shot literary agent, and a moody romance author, Jake, who had recently had been overheard talking shit about writing romance novels, and the fans that he makes money off of.

The timing couldn’t be worse. An article went out before a major romance book conference that is make it or break it for both Freya and Jake. Oh, and by the way, Freya has been a huge fan of Jake Richards for years. His books inspired her career, her love of happy endings, and her dreams of finding that big, life-altering love.

Long Story Short may be another “enemies to lovers” trope romance novel, but it hits different. I found Long Story Short to be quite addicting. The journey is detailed, it’s complicated, and full of growth. Our main characters are funny and likable. The story doesn’t just focus on the romance brewing between the main characters, it has depth. Freya explores her next chapter in her career. She explores the world (well, NYC during the free hours she isn’t at the conference). She finds her voice. It was refreshing to see the female main character’s career be an important part of the storyline, especially in a romance novel. Love isn’t the “be all end all” here but it’s a great part of Freya’s story.

Long Story Short does more than tell a love story between our main characters, it’s a love story to one’s self. Long Story Short tells the story of Freya and Jake finding themselves in life, in their careers, before they can fully find each other.

“Making a book easy to read is damn hard to write.”

Long Story Short was a light and cute romcom. Most of the story happens during a romance event in New York, and as I anticipate several events I’ll attend later this year, reading this book was a nice way to wait.
I liked that the author used Cancel Culture as a motor for the book (even though I wish it had been more developed), and as a way to introduce her author character who doesn’t believe in Love anymore. Something, however, lacked in the book for me to be able to be completely invested. The pace was a bit slow for a classic romcom, especially because a lot of things felt repeated. It prevented me from growing completely attached to Freya and Jake. I wasn’t a super fan of how Freya’s boss is villainized, and didn’t have any redemption, while men had this arc. If I liked Freya’s Bridget-Jones-like clumsiness, it felt a bit too much sometimes, especially when it led Jake to be quite patronizing.
I regret that because I usually love books occuring in the publishing industry, but these things made this one fall a bit short, even though it remained an entertaining read.

Thank you to the author and Boldwood Books for the eARC via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

📚 BookTok Review: Long Story Short by Victoria Walters 💕​

Long Story Short by Victoria Walters is a steamy enemies-to-lovers romance set against the vibrant backdrop of New York City. The story follows Freya Harrison, an ambitious assistant literary agent, who is tasked with managing the agency's most challenging client, Jake Richards—a bestselling romance author whose recent controversial comments have jeopardized his career. Their forced proximity at a high-profile romance conference leads to unexpected sparks and challenges. ​

What to Expect:
-Classic Romance Tropes: The novel expertly weaves together beloved tropes such as enemies-to-lovers, grumpy meets sunshine, forced proximity, and slow-burn romance, creating a captivating narrative. ​
-Character Dynamics: Freya's determination and Jake's brooding demeanor create a compelling contrast, leading to witty banter and palpable tension as they navigate their professional and personal boundaries. ​
-Themes of Redemption and Growth: As Jake seeks to repair his tarnished reputation, both characters embark on journeys of self-discovery and emotional growth, adding depth to their evolving relationship. ​

If you're in the mood for a spicy, trope-filled romance that delves into the complexities of love and career, Long Story Short is a must-read.​
#LongStoryShort #VictoriaWalters #EnemiesToLovers #GrumpySunshine #ForcedProximity #SlowBurn #RomanceReads #BookTokRecs

Jake and Freya have to work together to fix his reputation. She's hoping this leads to a promotion, he hopes to stop his career from tanking more thanks to stupid comments he made. Honestly, his reasoning for holding on to his anger wasn't quite what I expected, but it was a relief when it was finally revealed. Jake and Freya bond over the failure the trip starts out as. They naturally fall for each other. Their trust issues are the biggest conflict, but we of course get the happily ever after. It was nice to get the cameos from the other books. The Love Interest remains my favorite.

When I first read the blurb, it seemed promising, particularly with tropes I usually love in romance novels, but it ultimately fell short of my expectations. The male lead was simply rude to her, and Freya’s professional life felt more compelling than the romance itself. It’s an easy read, though it’s worth noting that the story sticks solely to her perspective throughout, which might not appeal to everyone.

Biggest thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing this ARC.

i am a sucker for anything publishing related and when reading the description of this book, i was immediately drawn in. even though the premise was interesting and the storyline was sweet, the execution of the book and the writing often icked me out in different ways. the characters fell flat and i often felt like the books was extremely long with very slow progress. the writing and tone of the book felt very young and did not speak the best to me. however, i really did enjoy the setting, especially being located in two of my favorite cities - new york city and london.

This was a cute read. It didn’t feel like there was a ton going on and I’m not sure quite felt the chemistry between the main characters but I did enjoy the story overall.

This book has too many issues for me to finish it completely, even though I tried. It seems very immature in both tone and writing style, and while I am all for a good trope, it is silly how unoriginal it is. The characters are shallow and undeveloped, the story is ridiculous, and it seems like a Hallmark movie would have more depth. I don't know if good editing will save it. A hard pass for me. I will not post a review online because I don't want to be this mean about a book, but it almost makes me upset at how bad it is.

Unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me. I liked the idea of the enemies to lovers within the work setting and going on the trip, however I think the execution just wasn’t quite right. I just couldn’t quite connect with the characters and the dialogue was a bit stop and start rather than flowing and I struggled to maintain interest. Ultimately it had the enemies to lovers, redemption arc, grumpy to sunshine tropes in romance books that are popular but the execution just missed the mark.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

📖✨ A fast-paced and addictive read! The writing style, chapter length, and character development kept me hooked from start to finish. The New York setting added a great backdrop, but it was the growing relationship and emotional depth that made this one stand out. A mix of romance, career ambition, and personal growth—beautifully done. 💛 4.5⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a free ARC copy to read!

Sometimes, a book falls squarely into the category of “just okay”—entertaining enough to finish but not compelling enough to revisit. Long Story Short is one of those reads. While it has its moments, it ultimately doesn’t justify a permanent spot on your bookshelf and would be best as a library rental.

The book has a solid premise, opposites attract between a disgraced romance author and the admin to an agent (who wants to become an agent herself). Freya gets assigned to accompany Jake to NYC for a romance convention to help restore his reputation after he was overheard disparaging the genre. Freya is up for a promotion to an agent if all goes well, but Jake doesn’t help matters during interviews. Apparently, he had a big personal secret that was wrecking him and he chose to badmouth romance and its readers so that another author wouldn’t learn the secret. This is my biggest pain point: just don’t tell the secret. Say you have personal issues and leave it at that. None would be the wiser. Jake was I believe in the age range 34-39 and is full adulting at this point. The personal secret didn’t seem to warrant his reaction and subsequent actions. May be more understandable if he was younger (definitely under 30). It just threw off the vibe for me. This is a low spice, open door romance.

Thank you Boldwood Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute romcom. I didn't completely jive with this book, and I think it would benefit from another round of copyediting. A few too many grammatical errors tend to take me out of a story, which happened with this one.
I did like the setting and overall plot was interesting. I liked that it was set at a romance book conference, and the community drama was entertaining!

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for giving me an advance copy. I loved this story. I like how the story developed. How the characters found their true selves. How Freya learned to stand up and speak up for herself and Jake being honest and confronting his fears and most of all accepting it. How things get rocky in life but can overcome it sooner or later. It was a cute love story. Definetly recommend it if you're looking for a funny short romance with a little bit of spice. I will definetly be checking out more books from this author. Thanks again to NetGalley and the author.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for honest review.

The premise of this book sounded so interesting to me. An assistant to a book agent is taking over her boss for 5 days at a romance conference. She'll be representing their client, a romance author who recently said he didn't believe in love and romance but was happy to take his readers' money. The conference is the opportunity to redeem himself and serves as a chance for our FMC to prove herself to her boss and become a literary agent herself.

Billed as an enemies to lovers, but there wasn't much in the lines of enemies. More grumpy/sunshine IMO. There's lots of tropes in here, maybe a few too many. I think I would have preferred several of them to be more flushed out instead of focusing on quantity. My least favorite trope is miscommunication and this one was full of them. If I was a fan of miscommunication tropes, this easily would have rated higher for me.

Things I loved- the setting of the romance conference, seeing the side of book publishing from an author's and agent's POV, their dates in NYC.

Overall, this was a cute and quick read. Romance lovers will definitely want to add this to their list!

The first chapters i was very hoocked with the story and the characters, however I did not like the book at all. I will not post this review on goodreads becuase I know it will be bad.
Although the execution didn’t completely resonate with me, I appreciated the creativity of the literary conference setting. However, it fell short of the immersive atmosphere I had hoped for, only skimming the surface of the glamorous publishing world rather than fully exploring its richness.

That said, the happy endings for the side characters provided a refreshing touch, offering brief yet heartwarming moments. Their subplots added emotional depth and authenticity, infusing the story with warmth. Another standout was Victoria Walters’ writing style—smooth and engaging—making this a quick and accessible read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (More like 2.5, but rounding up)

This book had all the ingredients for a fun romance—forced proximity, a grumpy-sunshine dynamic, and a heroine working in the publishing industry (which is always a cool setting). Freya, a literary agent obsessed with romance, is suddenly forced to help save the career of Jake, an author who just got canceled for admitting he doesn’t even like romance novels. Cue the awkward tension and lots of bickering.

The setup had potential, but pretty early on, I noticed a pattern—Freya spends a lot of time doubting herself, overanalyzing everything, and repeating the same internal struggles. She’s supposed to be focused on her job and career, but honestly, it felt like her biggest concern was figuring out why Jake doesn’t believe in love, rather than, you know, actually doing the job she was supposed to be doing. Meanwhile, Jake has his own personal struggles that led to his big PR disaster, but we don’t really get to see much of his growth until very late in the book. Their chemistry was fine, but I never fully believed in their emotional connection (until muuuch later in the book).

The middle dragged for me. There were too many repetitive conversations—Freya doubting herself, Jake regretting his mistakes, both of them skirting around their feelings. Even though the New York setting was nice, I genuinely think at least 10 chapters could have been condensed, because at a certain point, I was just waiting for something new to happen. The dialogue was often longer than necessary, with characters repeating the same thoughts in different ways.

One thing I did appreciate was how the book handled consent—Jake always made sure Freya was comfortable before taking any steps forward, which is a refreshing change from what we usually see in the genre.

However, by the last stretch of the book, I was struggling to stay engaged. The climax took too long to arrive, and after so many repetitive conflicts, it felt a bit underwhelming. And then, in the final chapters, the dialogue became oddly simplified—almost cartoonish—like the book suddenly started over-explaining everything as if the reader couldn’t follow what was happening. It was a strange shift that took me out of the story.

Overall, this wasn’t bad, but it lacked that spark that makes a romance really stand out. It had potential, but I think this easily be a 20 chapters shorter and better structured. If you love rom-coms and don’t mind some drawn-out introspection, this could still be an enjoyable read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!