This was just fine. I was sadly a little bored though to be honest.
The audiobook narrators were great though and their inflection was engaging!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced audio copy!

This was an absolute love f0r me- I couldn't stop listening!
Maria Liatis and Kellen Boyle were amazing narrators. I so appreciate the way that Ana Holguin handled Jo's anxiety - it was done with such care and love. I also love the concept of going behind the scenes of a Pelaton type company and how early employees grow with the company.

Up Close and Personal follows Haven Bike trainer Jo as she's thinking about making a change in her professional career and Silas a journalist who is known as a part-time hater who is tasked with interviewing her.

Both Jo and Silas were pretty complex characters, although I think Silas had a slightly less developed past which was fine but I think led to me being a lot more frustrated with him and the secrets he hid. The secrets he was hiding, were also pretty annoying and major. If you don't like miscommunication kinds of tropes, I do not recommend this book haha! I ultimately did enjoy the story, I'm not usually super bothered by the trope itself and could kinda see things coming but I was getting frustrated with how long it really went along. Jo felt super real, I think Holguin did a great job making her a complex character with how her anxieties were portrayed.

Overall, I did really enjoy Ana Holguin's debut! I think it was really good and I think the dual narration was also pretty good! No major complaints over it but it also wasn't anything spectacular. Dual narration is a great way to handle dual POV romances so I do applaud the audiobook on that! As I mentioned earlier, I don't think this would be a good read for anyone that doesn't like miscommunication.

This was really enjoyable as an audiobook. I found their pacing to be pretty fast and made for an easy listen. The slow burn was so good and had the perfect amount of build up and tension. Overall I will definitely be reading from googling again!

the narration was pretty good. no complaints. but the story itself was not for me. i kept wanting a little more from both Jo and Silas but they were honestly jsut not giving. i picked it up because i saw someone compare it to Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez which is one of my favorite books of all time. this was not that. at all.

I’d like to start this review off by saying a huge thank you to Net Galley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and Hachette Audio for this advanced reader copy. This book gave me major “how to lose a guy in 10 days” vibes in all the best ways. The setup of having Silas initially having negative ideas about Jo (writing the early draft of the paper), to Jo finding the paper and them falling in love in between. I really enjoyed the depth of Jo, and how it can help give some perspective on real life “influencers”. However, Silas really gave me the from his lying to just avoiding telling her the truth I found it hard to like him. The line “sexual Sistine Chapel” really through me. I did feel that this book really did capture the NYC charm. Overall, this was a very cute story with a 90’s romcom feeling!

This was a solid debut novel and an enjoyable romcom overall! I appreciated the thoughtful mental health representation, especially how the author handled the FMC’s anxiety. It felt honest and relatable, adding real depth to her character and making her journey more meaningful.

The audiobook itself was a mixed experience. I really enjoyed the female narrator. She did a great job bringing the main character to life and kept me engaged throughout her chapters. The male narrator didn’t quite land the same way for me, and it made parts of the story hard to focus on.

That said, I still had a good time with this story. It had heart, some sweet moments, and a strong emotional core. For a debut, it shows a lot of promise, and I’d definitely check out more from this author in the future!

📚 Up Close & Personal by Ana Holguin
🎧 Format: Audiobook
🎙️ Narrated by: Maria Liatis & Kellen Boyle
📕 Genre: Contemporary Romance
📖 Read: May 2025
✨ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦—𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴.”

‧₊˚✧ 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫 𝑰𝑭 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑳𝑰𝑲𝑬 ✧˚₊‧
ꕥ Grumpy/Sunshine
ꕥ Forced Proximity
ꕥ Slow Burn
ꕥ Mental Health Representation

I would have never guessed that this was Ana Holguin's debut novel. It was so well written and engaging. Her portrayal of Jo's struggles with anxiety and the nuances of living in the public eye adds depth to the narrative.The slow-burn romance between Jo and Silas is both tender and compelling, with moments that resonate long after the book is closed. Fans of slow-burn romances with emotional depth will find this book both enjoyable and thought-provoking.

𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴: 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮.𝘤𝘰𝘮/𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥.𝘢𝘯𝘥.𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨/

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio and Ana Holguin for giving me the opportunity to listen to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was not impressed with this book. I mean the story sound promising, but I just could get into this one,

Oh my God this narration was NOT good. I think I would've liked this book a lot better if I had actually read it with my eyeballs rather than listening to it. It was cheesy, all the voices sounded the same and I don't think the narrator did the story or characters justice. I'm giving it 3 stars solely because the plot and story was interesting, but the narration really lowered my enjoyment

Overall this was a middle of the road romance novel for me.

What I liked: I found the concept of the book interesting. Watching the FMC and MMC get to know each other and fall for each other through the interviews was fun and cute. I also liked that the FMC had two best friends and coworkers who truly had her back and loved her no matter what. Plus I always love a duel POV romance! Finally, I liked the anxiety and depression rep in this book.

What I didn’t like: The male narrator’s voice. He just sounded arrogant. It made it hard for me to like him even while he was supposed to be growing on us. I also thought the way Derek was written at the beginning was weird. He literally only cared about baseball and then all the sudden he was a normal guy. Another thing that irked me was the way the third act breakup went down. It was too predictable. Finally, maybe I had a hard time understanding the timeline but it felt like they fell in love a little too fast.

Jo and Silas were so cute! The narrators did a good job with the two main characters especially when they were bantering. I love a romance with good banter! In this book we follow Jo De La Cruz a popular spin instructor who is going to be interviewed by journalist Silas Anders. Silas is skeptical about the pretty instructor, he believes people who say she's changed their lives need to touch grass and at first he thinks she's nothing but a modeling reject. But when Silas signs up for one of her classes he realizes she's down to earth and very encouraging. I liked how the author touched on subjects like anxiety, panic attacks, and depression in a tactful and thought provoking way. This story does a great job of expressing how we never truly know what someone is going through no matter how their life may seem from the outside. I loved the inside jokes the two main characters had with each other, it added to the cuteness factor. Also, the ending was super cute! "When you're here you're family". 🥖 Iykyk. Overall, really loved this one and am so excited to get myself a physical copy to add to my library.


✨Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC in return for an honest review.

This book was a cute, fun debut book. I loved that mental health was a huge focus in the story. We need more of that in novels. I also loved the character growth in this story—especially for the FMC. The writing was solid. I wasn’t a huge fan of the MMC, Silas. I get that he needs to have change for his character arc to work but I just never really liked his character from start to finish. There wasn’t anything exceptional or different about this story that made it memorable. I found myself getting a bit bored while listening. I loved the narration voice of the female character. The male voice wasn’t my favorite, but I got used to it. I would definitely read another book by this author. I received this book from Hachette audio and Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book! It was funny, hopeful, and light-hearted. I was stressed waiting for his secret to come to light but enjoyed the relationship building immensely..

Up Close and Personal by Ana Holguin is a cute contemporary romance between a fitness instructor and journalist that touches on some deeper topics. Jo, a famous fitness instructor who teaches in-person and online spin classes, meets Silas, a journalist who is very skeptical of her career. Silas is writing an article about Jo, and Jo challenges him to get out of his comfort zone and try her spin classes with an open mind. The author includes anxiety representation, and I felt this was very well done. I found the main characters relatable, even though my life is much different than theirs--I am definitely not an insta-famous spin instructor! The book was a bit of a slower burn, but I find that I enjoyed this, as the book also goes into the issues the main characters are dealing with. The characters felt well-rounded and had lives outside of each other, especially Jo, and the career issues she was facing were fully explored on the page. They don't trust each other at first, and it takes time for them to build that trust. I listened to the audiobook. Both narrators were excellent and brought the story to life with plenty of personality. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a fun contemporary romance that explores mental health. Thank you to Hachette Audio for providing this audiobook for review via netgalley. All opinions are my own.

i did not love this one and i really wish i did. i don't know if it was because i listened to it as an audiobook but the boy narrator did not do a good job and it felt like it took away from the story for me. but i do enjoy a good anxiety and mental health rep in a book i really wish i loved this and am going to totally borrow it on libby to give it a try with physically reading it!

3.75 ⭐️

I really like this. It was fun and so cute. If you like stories where the characters really find themselves then this is for you. It was inspiring and showed really fun and real characters.

This was a true slow burn romance 🧡 I loved that Silas was so absolutely wrong about Jo. They connected on such a deep level. It was so much more than physical attraction. The more they opened up and got to know each other - the harder they fell. The mental health representation was one of my favorite elements to the book. Jo had extreme anxiety and Silas has dealt with depression since he was a kid. Jo was a popular spin instructor with a company that can compared to Peloton. Silas is writing an article about Jo and her success. I enjoyed the character development with both of the MCs. The secondary characters were also great. I loved reading about her friendship with Amber and Serena. They were the best! A great debut! I even feel inspired to prioritize working out more.

Going into this book, I knew very little apart from the blurb. It sounded interesting so I dived in. It's hard to believe that this is Ana Holguin's debut. She writes with such a degree of empathy and understanding. Crafting not only a story that is engaging but characters that have depth and that you want to spend time with. The narrators were also new to me. Maria Liatis and Kellen Boyle really embodied these characters. Jo and Silas have their own distinct voices from both of them and it was always easy to ascertain whose dialogue and POV we were in. The way they captured the emotions of what was happening, specifically during the mental health representation was brilliant. Speaking of the mental health rep, it was handled so beautifully. Not only inviting the reader/ listener into what was happening in the scene but the feelings and impact too. I also feel that this book has a great commentary on parasocial relationships with celebrities and influences and how pressure and social media can negatively impact someone. I also really enjoyed the chronic pain representation, as someone with chronic pain, I could relate to how Jo tried to deal with it herself and how she was feeling. This is a slow burn, anyone wanting things to happen at a fast pace, especially in the romance department is going to be disappointed. I do think it worked for the story. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ALC!

This book centers Jo, who is a popular cycling instructor, and Silas, a journalist/reporter for Metropolitan magazine. They live and work in NYC. Jo works at Haven Home; the concept reminded me of Peloton and/or Beachbody, as she taught both in-person classes with highly sought-after spots, and streaming classes where thousands of people tuned in for her rides from the comfort of their homes. At his job, Silas is known as a “part-time hater,” writing about local culture and arts with a critical eye. When he is tasked with digging deeper into Haven Home and what makes their instructors so popular that they are at the level of influencer celebrities, he expects to hate Jo and everything he stands for.

Suffice is to say, Jo is nothing like Silas expects, and as they grow closer during their interview sessions, a spark between them is difficult to ignore.

Right from the beginning, there were a couple things Silas did that I just knew would bite him in the ass, and boy was I right 😅 however, the angst didn’t draw out for too long and the resolution was satisfying. There were also just a few comments he made as the MMC that made me roll my eyes a little.

This book probably could have critiqued the fitness industry in general a tad more, but it sounds like Haven Home actually did serve a diverse population in terms of race/body size (though the cost for classes/the bike was another thing entirely, definitely not accessible to everyone), and the instructors didn’t seem to harp on weight-loss in their classes, which I appreciated as someone who’s been burned by diet culture and trying to heal that relationship with eating and exercise for myself. I appreciated the discussions on mental health throughout the story, including GAD and depression, using therapy, medication, breathing techniques, and support from friends. I also liked that this was an Own Voices story and that the characters were a diverse group of people.

In terms of audiobook narration, I liked the female narrator more than the male narrator, but he did grow on me over time. It’s dual POV which I always love, but I definitely liked Jo’s POV more!