What a delightful debut! Thanks @emily for the rec!

Short Synopsis:
Jo De La Cruz is one of the country’s leading spin instructors. She’s a well-known figure in the fitness world and her hair has its own Instagram account. But she’s not sure if she wants to continue being a spin instructor and her anxiety has her questioning everything. She’s kept interviews lockdown, but decides to give one to Silas - who she shockingly has a lot in common with.

My Thoughts:
This was such a cute novel. And honestly makes me want to go to a spin class pronto.

Jo and Silas were just adorable. I loved how Silas was so down bad for her. And just the sweetest when Jo’s anxiety got the best of her. The slow burn in this worked so, so well. They had amazing banter, tension and build up. I adore how Silas goes from “why is there a waitlist to a spin class” to “I’m Jo’s number one fan” so quickly. Let’s protect both of them at all costs mmmmkay?

What You’ll Find:
Celebrity Fitness Trainer
Writer MMC
Forced Proximity
Anxiety Rep
Slow burn
Tattoos 👀
Dual POV

Unfortunately I didn‘t feel the chemistry between the two main characters and the story in general fell a bit flat for me. I am not a regular audiobook listener, and I just recently got into listening to audiobooks, so maybe it was a little bit harder for me to connect with the characters and the story?! I don’t know exactly what it was, the book itself is not bad, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
3 ⭐

This was such a fun listen! I really enjoyed the development between the two characters and the progression in which they got to know one another.

I loved how strong-willed Jo was, and the mental health rep with her was really good. I enjoyed Silas as a character and how down bad he was for her—we love a pathetic man!!!

Now I’ve gotta check out the Oliver Garden in Times Square.

Thank you netgalley and hachette audio for the rree alc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. This was so well done its outstanding that it is also a debut book. I loved the narration, the spin classes felt so accurate the high of working out and in a team like effort is 100% facts. Look forward to seeing what the author does next.

4.5/5☆

Thank you to #NetGalley and #HachetteAudio for an advance listening copy of #UpClosePersonal. Four stars!

Up Close & Personal by Ana Holguin is a friends-to-lovers, SLOW burn romance. This was a dual POV narration performed by Maria Liatis and Kellen Boyle.

Jo De La Cruz is the face of Haven fitness, the woman with the amazing hair who motivates and inspires others to dig deep and give it their all during spin class. However, not many people know the real Jo, a woman who has struggled with severe anxiety and is questioning what she wants for her future. Silas Anders is a journalist for Metropolitan Magazine and assigned to do a piece on Haven fitness, determined to expose the "cult" for all that it is. After meeting Jo through a mutual friend, he realizes she is so much more than he thought. I LOVED the slow burn of this story, the representation towards mental health and wellness, and the positive image towards fitness (not weight loss). The narration was excellent, especially from Maria Liatis! The author did a great job highlighting Jo's journey to tell her story and I loved how Silas was able to support her mental health throughout.

Thank you NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and the author for this audio e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

OH MY GODDD
this was so good!! The slow burn, the tension AGHHH the writing is lowkey giving emily henry (best compliment ever imo)

This was a dual pov, work environnement slow burn wich is always something I love. The read was very light but the characters still had a great emotionnal depth, I think finding a good balance between the two can be a challenge sometimes so that's really something that made me enjoy the book a lot!

Silas is def my new book bf! He cared so much for Jo and evolved a lot through the story!
Jo was so relatable to me and I loved her with my whole heart<3

The audiobook narrators were very great at portraying the characters, it was very immersive if I can put it like that!

Overall, I def recommend this book to anyone that likes a good romance with spice that isn't too much! 5⭐

- slow, Slow, SLOW burn.I like a slow burn but this was just too much.

Rich, insightful and well written on mental health issues with really good discussion of male mental health issues. This is not something we see a lot so I appreciated it.

Dual POV narration is something I enjoy

Another slow, slow slow aspect was narration. I ended up reading it at 1.5x just to keep it going at what I expect is a normal pace. I ‘read’ audiobooks every day so I value my opinion on this (LOL)

I’d say this was not the book for me but I can see others enjoying it.

This was a sweet easy rom com. I really enjoyed the authors writing and it's surprising, that it's her debut book. It felt fresh. The descriptions of places were really nice. And the friendship group these characters have is just the best. All of them so supportive.
It was a SLOW burn, like, so so slow. I would like more romantic moments from both of them.
And I found the MMC really annoying at times.
I appreciate the anxiety & depression rep, but as someone who is anxious and depressed, I could not understand some things that Silas did. And it could be so easily avoided! You could also tell from the beginning what happens.
I really liked the parts with breathing exercises, though. It felt fresh.
Jo the FMC was the sweetest and I really liked her. I enjoyed her inner thoughts, and could see myself in her.
Overall, it was a nice easy book.
I had the audiobook version. The narrators did a really good job with it. The voices were nice, calm and realxing. Sometimes too realxing haha. The sound was clear which I appreciate.

Thank you to net gallery shelf for the audiobook version of ARC. I am glad I got to listen to it.

While I did really enjoy the premise of this book and the overall plot I did find the writing repetitive. It even felt like the same sentences were used multiple times and some minuscule subjects were over explained.

Over all it’s a very fun, fast, and easy read!

Cozy, tender Romcom
LATINA!!!
Fitness instructor (spin) and Journalist
Dual POV
Anxiety rep

Loved listening to Silas the part time hater (journalist) and Jo (fitness instructor) book. Jo fools everyone with her smiles and hair flips. She’s wants to find her spark again, she’s bored but wants to tell her story. Silas is writing about the industry and is expecting the worst but finds that he enjoys her class and her company.

I will be purchasing a physical copy on 4/29

I enjoyed this audiobook however there are a few things that I thought it could have been better.
I thought the whole " we met under nefarious purposes " went on too long. I don't think it should have caused that much inner turmoil, especially because the MFC knew what he through of her to begin with. They were both using each other to accomplish something.

I did appreciate the candid discussion of mental health for both MCs. I liked that they were both the black sheep in their family but together were perfect.
I liked the narrators, found the pacing to be thought out and while the story was predictable, I found myself wanting to keep listening for the resolution.

Ana Holguin's debut, Up Close & Personal, is such a fun romantic comedy and a new favorite of mine!

Jo (FMC) is a famous spin instructor and a role model for so many, but behind the scenes she battles with anxiety and mental health.
Silas (MMC) is a writer who is skeptical of Jo's following and asks to interview her for an article in the magazine he works for.
It's a SLOW burn romance that with have you anticipating THE MOMENT! 😘

The ONLY thing I didn't really care for in this story was the conflict towards the end, it just felt immature and avoidable.

I received the ALC of this novel, thanks to NetGalley & Hachette Audio!
I highly recommend the audio version, Maria Liatis and Kellen Boyle did a fantastic job. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 (I listen at 1.5x speed)

Read this if you like
- SLOW Burn
- Pining
- Strangers to Friends to Lovers
- Spin Class/Peloton
- Anxiety Rep

Silas, a New York based journalist, is tasked with writing an article about the craze around the local fitness club, Haven and their star instructor Jo. The problem is Haven has a waitlist that is months long and traditional channels to request access for his article will take weeks to months.

Silas discovers a mutual acquaintance through social media and works his way into Jo’s inner circle and slowly they become friends and his guilt of misleading Jo starts to surface.

This is a great read - light reading even with the mental wellness issues Ana has written on throughout the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early review audiobook.

This is a powerful, fun, entertaining read. Silas and Jo are interesting, wounded, strong, complex, relatable, intriguing, entertaining, complicated characters. I enjoyed their romance and the path it took to get to their HEA. The secondary characters added to fabric of the story and my enjoyment. Holguin handles the themes of anxiety and depression with depth and compassion. It adds a dimension to the plot and the main characters. The story is overall easy to read and get into, with powerful moments.

I enjoyed the audio version of this book and the narrators.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

DNF at 54% the premise was promising and was excited for a Latina fmc, but the pacing was glacier, and the couple had no real chemistry on page. We were being told that feelings were developing, but I saw friendship built on a foundation of lies at best. Despite being told exceptionally private things about Jo and her struggle with popularity, this guy sought to hide the true intentions and scale of this article the whole way. It felt greasy to the point that I could not root for them as a couple. Also, this is maybe a bit nitpicky but as a Latina I've seen this a few times, where a character is from a specific culture and it's jist kind of like a tacked out detail, it doesn't really add anything to who she is. I'm not saying as Mexican she needed to make tamales and wear a sombrero, but there was a chance to add a bit more, her relationship with her family who didn't understand her career, them potentially not understanding her mental health issues, etc, common generational issues within latin american families.

Up Close & Personal by Ana Holguin is the kind of romance I wish we saw more of—raw, real, and rooted deeply in emotional truth. This isn’t just a love story between two people, it’s a love story about learning to accept and cherish every part of yourself, even the parts you think make you "too much."

Our FMC Jo De La Cruz lives with chronic anxiety and symptoms of panic disorder. Not only is Jo diagnosed with mental health disorders, but it also touches on Male mental health issues. Silas Anders has battled depression longer than he's been diagnosed—and that representation hit me straight in the heart. As a grad student in behavioral health, I absolutely LOVED seeing mental health, especially male mental health, handled with such care and nuance. This book says loud and clear: you are not alone, and you are lovable—monsters and all. You, my fellow readers who have any kind of mental health condition diagnosed or not, deserve love to. This book is an example that you don't have to fight your "invisible monsters" alone. You will find the right person/people that will fight with you. Someone that truly loves you will come along and want every single part that makes you, you. Monsters and all, you are loveable in your entirety. Jo De La Cruz, is loveable in her entirety.

The emotional intimacy between Jo and Silas was beautiful. And while the spice was minimal (2/5), the slow burn and vulnerability between them? Chef’s kiss.

My only real critique: I wanted more of Jo’s Mexican-American identity. There were brief nods to her culture—Spanglish impressions, Tex-Mex food—but for someone as layered as Jo, I wish her heritage had been more integrated into the narrative. She’s a strong, successful woman of color navigating both mental health and public pressure—that deserved more spotlight. She is "the girl behind the bike". She is a strong woman who is also part of a population within America that gets abused by its government and citizens.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the Arc Audio of this book.
I really loved how this Author brought mental health and anxiety to the front and showed that a lot of people, even people in the public eye struggle with mental health. She made both main characters so relatable that it just sucks you in. Definitely a slowww burn but oh so good. I love that they become friends first and that the MMC truly works so hard to become friends with her. A few things that he did that I don’t agree with and of course made the angst avoidable and a little predictable but it was still so cute and I couldn’t stop listening. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

I didn’t know what to expect when I first started listening to this book. The title and the cover had me hooked though. I loved the romcom feeling of the book. As well as the drama in it kept me involved. This book was a good quick listen!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to listen and review this book as an ARC

Up Close & Personal, the debut of Ana Holguin, is about a Peloton-esque spin instructor and the skeptical reporter assigned to write a feature on her cult-like following. Unfortunately the audiobook was slow moving with narrators that fell flat and a predictable third act conflict that had me rolling my eyes. While I appreciated the mental health representation, this story lacked spark.