Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I’m so sorry to say it really wasn’t for me, and I didn’t enjoy it. I ended up speeding up the audiobook to get through as much as I could before ultimately DNF-ing it, unfortunately.

The plot itself is quite interesting, and I really liked that it was dual POV. I thought the way the author showed both characters’ perspectives and inner thoughts was done really well.

I think I expected a bit more of an enemies-to-lovers dynamic or rivalry between the main characters, and that didn’t really come through, though that could absolutely be down to me misinterpreting the blurb when I requested the book.

I just needed a bit more from the characters in this one, and a story that felt more fast-paced to listen to. For me, it felt very slow and needed a bit more momentum to keep me fully engaged.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the narrators, which might be part of why I struggled to enjoy it. I found their delivery a little flat, and I think it could’ve benefited from more emotion and variation.

That said, the mental health representation in this book was brilliant - such an important theme, and handled really well by the author.

Overall though, I felt a bit disconnected from the story and the characters, it just didn’t have the spark I was hoping for.

I just finished Up Close & Personal by Ana Holguin and honestly, I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s such a tender, beautifully written romance, and the mental health rep—especially around anxiety—hit really close to home.

Jo felt so real to me. Her anxiety, the way it showed up in her thoughts and actions, was written with so much care and honesty. I saw a lot of myself in her, and it made her journey that much more powerful. Watching her slowly let her guard down and start to trust Silas? Genuinely moving.

And Silas… he’s the dream. Supportive, patient, never trying to “fix” her—just showing up and being steady while she found her footing. Their relationship felt so natural and earned, which made every moment between them even more impactful.

The way this book handled mental health was incredible. It didn’t sugarcoat anything or rush Jo’s growth, and I really appreciated that. It felt honest and hopeful at the same time.

This was such a cute romcom 🤭🥰 I initially was interested bc I saw this author being brought up in a few different spaces and wanted to support her. I’m genuinely pleased with the outcome! There’s great mental health representation navigating chronic anxiety and the MCs flowed so well together. For this being Ana’s debut novel I can’t wait to see what else she puts out there, because I’ll be reading it! I listened to the audiobook and the narrators fit the characters perfectly.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this 🎧 ARC.

Let’s be honest- romance books are often very predictable. This book fell into that category, but the main characters felt relatable which was huge for me wanting to see where their story went. I loved them starting as strangers, becoming friends, and then growing their relationship to even more. Jo’s journey with mental health was handled very well. I loved how outgoing she was and the banter between Jo and Silas was great.

This audiobook was an easy read and the narrators voices were pleasant.

Read if you like:
🚲 Dual POV
🚲 Slowww Burns
🚲 grumpy x sunshine
🚲 Strangers to Friends to Lovers

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was... interesting. I liked how the book was paced, from them being strangers to friends and eventually lovers. The 'will they, won't they' vibes was well done and I actually enjoyed it. However, I just did not feel like the characters, Silas especially, were fleshed out past their jobs. We got to see more to Jo, got to glimpse her struggles with anxiety and depression and got to see her with her friends, which I appreciate, but we got none of that for Silas except for his friendship with Derek.

The book is your basic stereotypical romance in the sense that I was able to guess to a T what was going to happen, and I found the 3rd act conflict ridiculous, but overall it was still a pretty solid debut in terms of writing.

Since I listened to the audiobook it went by pretty quickly. I liked listening to both narrators although the volume went up a couple notches everytime the male narrator came on and I admit I jumped everytime.

<i><b>Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review</b></i>

A wildly popular spin instructor’s carefully constructed life is upended when a cynical journalist, who initially seems to be her opposite, unexpectedly challenges her perceptions and potentially her heart. But is his interest genuine, or is he planning to cash in on her life story?

I loved this smart and funny novel. It’s compelling and heartfelt, with characters I couldn’t help empathizing with. I enjoyed the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Absolutely loved this book!
Jo is a popular spin/fitness instructor who meets Silas, a grumpy journalist assigned to write an article about Jo and Haven Fitness. Silas thinks Haven is a cult and thinks yelling from a bike all day is ridiculous. As he gets to know Jo, his thoughts about her and her job start to change.
I loved seeing Jo and Silas’ relationship develop. His care for her and her mental health was so refreshing and I loved seeing Jo open up while battling with her anxiety. Overall this was such a fun book that also touched on some important topics. A great debut from Ana Holguin! I look forward to reading more from her.

Thank you to the author, Forever, and Hachette Audio for the ALC!

Well I devoured this one quickly! This was a contemporary NYC romance between a popular spin bike instructor and the unconvinced journalist writing an article about her. Being a member of the cult of Peloton myself, I really enjoyed that part and loved all the (fictional) behind-the-scenes details. Beyond the largely predictable romance, I totally adored the FMC’s relationship with her 2 best friends and appreciated the focus on mental health.

Thoughts on the audio: I love duet narration. Both narrators were super clear and crisp. At first I wasn’t sure these were the right narrators for the story, though I knew I’d love to listen to other books by them both. By the end they won me over.

2.5 stars

Our two main characters take on anxiety, depression, self-love, and the wild rollercoaster of post-crisis recovery—and honestly, those parts were written with care and a good dose of realism. I will say the pacing had me checking how much was left more than once. Not terrible, but definitely not my favourite either.

Now, Jo and Silas as a romantic pairing? Ehh. I wasn’t exactly swooning. Their chemistry felt more like lukewarm tea than sizzling tension. I just didn’t buy into the spark they were selling, especially since their conversations consisted of discussing either their work, mutual friends or mental health.

Silas’ development also felt a little undercooked to me. We got a deep dive into Jo—her friendships, her mental health, her whole emotional roadmap—but Silas? He kind of stayed on the surface. I would've loved a bit more insight into his internal world, especially around writing the article and what it meant for him to shift his perspective.

Where to start well I’ll start by saying I truly enjoyed this book so much more than I anticipated. The book had such a fun and interesting storyline and it immediately got my attention. The story follows Jo, a well known and prestigious Spin class instructor, and Silas a journalist that believes her to be just another pretentious and shallow influencer and decides to take her class to discover her true self and intentions. His goal was to write an article to reveal the true Jo but in the midst of his research he discovered more than he bargained for. The book was such a cute rom com with many serious elements and real life problems expressed by the characters but it was very well executed. I laughed and smiled and even cried at point throughout the story. If you are a fan of Abby Jimenez books I think you will really enjoy this one. Overall this was a great book and I highly recommend it. The narrators were also great in this audiobook! This was a 4.25 stars rating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hatchett Audio for the Audiobook Arc in exchange for my honest review. The review expressed my thoughts and feelings after reading this book.

A spin class instructor and a self-proclaimed contrarian journalist start developing feelings for one another when forced to collaborate on a project.

While I appreciate characters being passionate about their work, I was itching for more romance and banter. The focus heavily leaned towards Jo and her career, making Haven's classes front and center rather than the developing relationship between our main characters. Additionally, the audiobook narrator for Silas was disappointing, delivering emotional scenes with a monotone quality. The novel has its enjoyable moments, but didn't make much of a lasting impact as far as a romance story.

An appealing romance that cleverly taps into the Peloton craze from several years ago. Both Jo and Silas are interesting main characters, and I like the premise of him as a skeptic of her wildly popular spin classes spurred to investigate and write about her, thus bringing them together. The story nicely incorporates mental health by highlighting the anxiety and depression that these two grapple with, which helps them understand each other better and meaningfully connect. While I admire Silas' strict adherence to journalistic integrity in holding off on starting anything with Jo until after he finished his article and how this allowed them to get to know each other so well, there could have been a bit more heat between the pair in the form of angst and pining to make the moment when they finally come together really pay off. There is a niggling plot thread dangling over most of the story that predictably leads to the final act conflict, but I appreciated the efforts made by both to heal and improve afterward, resulting in a satisfying resolution at the end. This was an enjoyable debut and the audiobook is well narrated by both Maria Liatis and Kellen Boyle, who do a terrific job bringing these characters to life.

I absolutely loved this book! Ana Holguin has such a knack for writing characters that feel vibrant, real, and utterly captivating. From the very first chapter, I was hooked by the raw emotion and the sparkling humour that balanced so beautifully throughout the story.

The audiobook experience? Great! The narrator brought very moment to life with the tone on the voice and the energy on delivering the book. This story made me laugh, get slightly angry, and maybe a little bit emotional.

The relationship felt a bit slow and then quickly developed, it had tension, connection, and interaction. I could listen even more of this book.

4.5 stars.

I loved both characters and their development throughout the book. The narrators of the audiobook were great. Jo's voice fit her perky spin instructor personality and Silas's voice was perfectly cynical and dry. Originally, I felt like Silas was the main character as we kind of got to know Jo through his eyes, but it took a while for us to know him personally. Their chemistry was great, undeniable and despite the questionable start to their relationship, I totally believed in their evolution. Also a fun peak into the spin cycling phenomenon.

Highly recommend.

Thank you to Net Galley and Hachette Audio for the ARC.

Incredibly slow and no chemistry for a romance. I loved the idea of a reluctant celebrity having a journalist try to write a hit piece on her but then he falls for her; that was cute. However, the chemistry just wasn’t there. If I have to be told they’re falling for each other rather than feeling it through the writing, then it’s not really there. This would have done better as a single POV as Silas’ added nothing to it. I wanted to love this as the cycling guru angle was fun but it just didn’t work for me.

I wasn’t sure at first, but this story really grew on me! Jo and Silas’s slow-burn connection strengthened throughout the book, and was heartfelt and believable. The story also touched on important and timely topics like the impact of social media on mental health, and handled them with honesty and sensitivity.

Read if you like: Cult-following fitness empires, SSRIs, strong female friendships

One note - I listened to the audio version, and didn’t love the male narrator. Not in an “I can’t even listen" way, but he had a way of speaking that sounded a little cheesy.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for providing me with a copy of the book.

Thank you so much to @readforeverpub for the eARC and to @hachetteaudio for the ALC!

This book was excellent. I’ll admit that much like the MMC, Silas, I wasn’t super into the idea of focusing on a Peloton instructor type. I could not have been more wrong. While I’m not a fitness fanatic (don’t get me wrong, I see the benefits of exercise and get the Peloton or home work out appeal - I just would rather do about anything I o get out of cardio) this book dealt with something that I can absolutely resonate with: anxiety and depression. Jo was such a realistic portrayal of that and I found myself identifying with her experience quite a bit. Silas was a great character as well and I appreciated his journey and self-reflection on his actions - he took accountability and that’s attractive. I love a love interest who knows when he messed up and realizes he has a gem.

This book had authentic emotion, steamy moments, cute inside jokes (when you’re here, you’re family 😂 iykyk) and a couple that I couldn’t help but root for. I loved this book and can’t wait for more from this author! This was such a great novel, hard to believe it’s her debut!

Thank you to Hachette Audio & Netgalley for the ALC.

This was a heartfelt, but flirty slow burn book between a well known spin instructor and the journalist interviewing her for a magazine feature. This story featured themes of mental health, anxiety, and career burnout in a relatable way.

I appreciated the slow build up of chemistry/tension between the main characters without the usual insta-love/lust that is prevalent in many romcoms.

My only gripe is the inevitable third act breakup/conflict that felt a bit contrived. It was a miscommunication that could have easily been solved earlier. I didn't love that Silas didn't come clean with Jo before they were intimate.

I thought both narrators did a good job and kept me engaged with the story.

First line of the book: “I’m getting bangs” - I thought this had such potential and was excited for that first line but I struggled through this. It was very slow to me and I was bored.

Our two main characters battle anxiety, depression, self love, and the recovery process it takes after a mental health crisis. Which I think was written nicely and accurately for the most part.

I honestly didn’t feel the connection between Jo and Silas in a romantic way, the chemistry didn’t feel believable to me.

*Narrated by Maria Liatis & Kellen Boyle*
11 hours & 35 minutes

The narrators fell flat for me too, it was hard to stay concentrated on the story.
I’m not sure if it was just me, but they sort of sounded too similar to each other?

Thank you NetGalley, Hachette Audio & Ana Holguin for the ALC.

I read this because I impulse downloaded it when it was read now one day. I thought it was fine but I didn’t love it. The characters grew on me and had some growth, but there were things that irked me and the pacing was off. Not awful but not great.

Audiobook specific, I did not care for the male narrator for narrating romance. When his first chapter started it was immediately off putting. Would be totally fine with him in general fiction or like sci fi maybe but not here