Thank you Forever and Hachette Audio for the gifted copy!

Up Close and Personal is a must read for the Peloton girlies! This sweet rom com follows Jo, a fitness instructor reluctantly becoming a household name after the viral success of Haven’s at-home cycling classes. Our leading man is Silas, a skeptical journalist who thinks the whole thing is a cult — that is until he actually starts taking classes and begins to feel the sense of community Haven fosters. And of course, when he starts falling for Jo!

Silas and Jo’s love story unfolds gradually and feels organic, with fantastic banter and plenty of fun NYC adventures. Beyond the romance, the book also thoughtfully explores mental wellness and diversity in the fitness industry, adding depth to an already delightful read.

Audio: Dual POVs and dual narration — love to hear it! Both narrators deliver strong performances, especially in the emotional moments. This one’s a great choice in either audio or print!

🎧 AUDIOBOOK REVIEW 🎧

Thank you NetGalley and Audible Audio for the audio ARC

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First of all…wow! I’m speechless with how well this was written for a debut author.

But first the audio. Loved it. The narrators were great. It flowed great. There was chemistry. Great audio.

The book absolutely beautiful. It was a slow burn 🔥 but also didn’t feel like it cause the chemistry between the two main characters was amazing. Silas is a book boyfriend for sure the way he loved Jo from a far and parts where he carried for her was beautiful. The whole book was just beautifully written. I’m still in shock this is a debut author and I can’t wait to see what she brings next! Highly recommend.

Up Close & Personal is a (kind of) enemies-to-lovers, (sort of) celebrity romance with workplace-adjacent vibes. As cynical journalist Silas gets to know the subject of his latest assignment, celebrity fitness instructor Jo, and each finds that there is more to the other than meets the eye. This book had a really slow start, and the writing did a lot of telling but not much showing. The characters read really young, despite being in their 30s, and the narrators' voices had an equally young sound. This book attempted an exploration of mental health, and while I applaud the effort, I found the depth to be lacking. I think this book will find its readers, but it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to Hachette Audio for gifting me with an ALC to review. All opinions are my own.

3.5⭐️
I ended up enjoying this much more than I thought that I would due to the slow beginning and audio production.

As far as the plot it took me a bit to get into the audio as I kept checking out and. It paying attention making me have to rewind a bit. But then around 20% I started to get pulled in and became invested in the story.

I enjoyed reading about a topic that I’m not used to (cycling) and the slow burn romance was fun albeit at times frustrating. My biggest issue plot wise is the miscommunication trope. It’s just not necessary and this plot could have been kept mostly intact with choosing a more realistic avenue. And then as is common in books with this trope and hallmark movies, the ending is rushed as the author ties it up neatly.

Now for the audiobook aspect. This is a duel narrated, dual POV work which was quite obvious was not recorded the same. There are many audiobooks recorded in a home studio or similar that matches seamlessly with the other actors recordings but this was not it. It was pretty jarring to go from the female, Maria Liatis part to the male, Kellen Boyle part as it was clear that it was recorded differently and not seem less. In addition Ms Liaris vocals fit the female characters for the most part but to me personally, Mr Boyles did not. He made Silas sound nerdy and it just didn’t come off as authentic to the character written.

Thankfully, eventually you got used to the above issues (probably because i sped it up to 2x so I didn’t have to listen to it as recorded) which not so coincidentally helped me focus on the story a bit better.

So in the end, I recommend the book itself but don’t recommend the audiobook. But that’s my personal opinion!

I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from Hachette Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Many thanks to Ana Holguin, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for this ALC, as well as Maria Liatias and Kellen Boyle for their -very well done- narration.

Up Close and Personal follows Jo, a successful Spin Instructor facing personal struggles, and Silas, a journalist writing an article about her despite being skeptical of her profession. I must admit, the whole "gym instructor worship" aspect feels a bit odd to me, but it was a pleasant read, especially considering it’s Ana Holguin’s debut novel.

It's dual POV, which I love. Jo and Silas start off on the wrong foot, but then, the story mainly focuses on building their friendship. They are kind, relatable characters whose struggles with mental health add unexpected depth to the story. There’s a bit of miscommunication toward the end, but given the characters’ personalities, it made sense. It’s a well-rounded story that I’m sure many readers will enjoy.

Ana Holguin's debut tells the story of a fitness influencer and a journalist who is determined to expose the true woman behind the image. This reads a little like a debut novel. It starts off slow and the characters could be more developed. However, both characters were likeable, it realistically dealt with anxiety/depression, and was good once the story went from friends to lovers.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the writer comes up with next!

Thank you, NetGalley and Hachette Audio, for the ALC!

Up Close & Personal by Ana Holguin is a contemporary romance releasing on April 29. I was lucky to read the ARC, so my focus here is on the narration.

🎧 Listening speed: 1.5x
🎙 Narration: Duo performance by Maria Liatis & Kellen Boyle
Kellen Boyle’s delivery has a “matter-of-fact” tone that perfectly matches the character. Maria Liatis has a great voice, though her masculine tones were sometimes hard to distinguish.

A cute, lighthearted rom-com—perfect for an easy, feel-good listen!

The narration was exactly what I imagined their voices to sound like. This story was even more enjoyable as an audiobook and loved that the pacing was so good originally that speeding it up to my favorite speed didn’t alter their voices too much as well!

This novel gave me vibes of "How to lose a guy in 10 days" meets the phenomena of Peloton / Orange Theory set in the hustle and bustle of New York City 📝

Jo is one of spin's hottest instructors and founding member of Haven, a fitness studio that attracts in person and online clients by the thousands. She meets Silas, a reporter at a party and the pair immediately butt heads about Jo's career choice. She invites Silas to try out one of her classes and cover her career in an article. . . What could go wrong?

I really enjoyed how this novel was told from dual POV, especially with the mental health aspect I thought it added depth to both main characters in a meaningful way ❤️ Their individual development throughout the novel was inspiring and I loved the balanced mix between fun/light-hearted moments and meaningful conversations between Silas & Jo and their friends.

I will acknowledge that I thought the ending was predictable, but I think that's OK in a romance. This was an enjoyable read that captured my attention right away and left me feeling happy with the ending 🥰


I really enjoyed the main male character narrator but the female narrator had a voice that felt too young and annoying to be a famous fitness instructor