Milo and Prue were fantastic characters to follow through this book, and they deserve every star I'm giving them--but I wanted more with this. Milo's background was often explained in vague terms without giving the full picture. I wanted to see their relationship overall develop more because as it stands, this was rather insta-lovey.

On a more personal reading level, this may not have been the book for me; I'm quite tired of the "inexperienced girl who's desperate to no longer be inexperienced and conscripts a very sexually adventurous many to change that for her." The way that was approached brought nothing new to the table.

Overall, 3.5 rounded up.

Hannah Bonam-Young delivers another heartwarming romance filled with slow-burn tension, and all the cozy vibes. The characters are lovable, and the chemistry is undeniable. Perfect for fans of heartfelt romance, this one’s a must-read!

As always with Bannah Bonam-Young books I have a hard time putting just how much I love these stories, characters, and settings. Baysville was such a cozy, heartwarming, and overall lovely town that I hope to one day visit the actual place it was based on just to experience that atmosphere. Having dealt with the caretaking of family members in my late teens to early 20’s I was able to relate to Prue on a deeply personal level and also found myself having a lot in common with Milo as well. People Watching is by far one of the most well written romances I have ever read and the spice was just *chef’s kiss* and it was glorious.

This was really sweet. HBY has such a tender voice when it comes to love stories it just feels like a warm hug when you read one of her books. I love that it was set in Muskoka, represent! I loved Milo and Prue and it did just feel like a lot of their connection was written in the stars. It felt like instant intrigue and it was nice that they both had things to work through before committing. I do wish Milos issues with his parents were more touched on. I feel like crumbs were dropped but never fully dealt with, though I think it could have also been part of the set up for the next book which I am so excited for. I think Prue's mom was dealt with the perfect amount for a rom-com. I found in books like “Say You'll Remember Me” it was too much and made it a really heavy read. It was a good balance of mutual respect and love and a joy to read.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley. I was so excited when I got approved for this ARC!

If HYB writes it, I will read it. She has quickly become one of my favorite authors and was so thrilled to get two of her books this year!

Milo and Prue. How could you not love them from the first chapter?

Milo- an artist, nomadic wanderer, getting away from his chaotic past and just always searching.

Prue- she has had to deal with a lot in her 24 years. She put her life on hold to become a caretaker for her mom, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s and a dad who was diagnosed with cancer. She has become isolated in her life and scared to put herself out there and start living.

Milo comes to Prue’s small town to help his brother with his kids and open his bar. Milo meets Prue on day one. They are instantly drawn together, though Prue fights it and Milo, well, it’s insta love for him. Milo is convinced he should keep a distance between them because he has no plans to stay but can’t. He's a moth to her light.
Milo sees Prue’s mom and quickly realizes that she was his favorite art teacher. She had taken him under her wing and they had a special connection. Which continues during her good days.

On her birthday, sitting on the dock with a couple of beers, they start to play truth or dare. Milo learns she’s a virgin and Prue wants him to teach her. The lessons begin…..

This might be my favorite of her books. I loved it so much.
Two lost souls who are each other's missing puzzle piece. Milo’s closure from his past, the reconnection with his family, and the lost boy finding his home and his place.
Prue finally experiencing a life that she had only dreamed of, the adventure without leaving, finally feeling completely seen and being at peace.

Him having her tattoo, her having his painting 🥰🥰

A refreshing look at a romance story with firsts for both: Prue has never been in a relationship, and Milo has never committed to one, he’s always been more of a player than boyfriend material. Because they approach their time together with newness, curiosity, and an innocent exploration, it feels like something the reader gets to discover anew as well. A great book with endearing supporting characters, this feels like a real Love Story.

I gotta say, the cover was what drew me in. And I’d seen so many rave reviews of the author’s prior books. I just wish this did more for me. I really liked Milo, but the insta-love he had for Prue turned me off a lot and her being “perfect” when doing physical things for the first time made me cringe. I did like the connection they had through her mom though. And I wish we could’ve delved more into his past and getting through that with his siblings.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

THE WAY I AM 1000% CONFIDENT THAT THIS WILL REMAIN MY FAVORITE BOOK OF 2025 😭🫶🏻

this book was love at first sight with me twice, once when i saw the stunning covers and secondly after the first chapter. i dont remember the last time i have been THIS sucked into a story from start to finish!!! am i surprised by any of my feelings towards this book? NO not one bit bc mrs. HBY can actually do no wrong. i am constantly wowed by the way hannah takes such delicate real life issues and makes them into such beautiful stories of people falling in love despite all of the conflict they deal with day to day!!!

milo kablukov my most favorite bi chaotic disaster ive ever had the utmost pleasure of reading, words cannot even begin to describe the chokehold this man has me in 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ milo could punch me in the throat and id literally thank him. without a doubt the sweetest and funniest mmc i have read in like ever. the growth that milo went through during this book was stunning to day the least. this man was so convinced he was this awful human being but was quite literally the best???? the way he constantly shows up for the people in his life despite believing that he does the exact opposite, ugh what a man!!!!!

prudence welch you beautiful welsh witch i could not be more obsessed with her if i tried. i absolutely love how relatable HBY characters are, especially the women. while i read to escape the horrors of reality i absolutely love when i get to sit down with a book where the fmc feels like shes in my head and i get to watch her come out on the other side of whatever issues shes going through. prue feels like a big warm hug from your favorite person. its quite literally no wonder why mr. commitment issues fell head over heels bc i would do the same 😭

this book was HOT, everything about it. their wit and banter, the way 99% of their conversations felt like foreplay was insane for me. like its a slow burn, the spice doesnt even start until a little after 40% in and i felt like every other convo was leaving me hot and bothered 😂 these spicy lessons i think were hands down my favorite ive ever read and for once its because of the mmc!!!! LIKEEEEE the constant consent, his being vocal (WE LOVE SLUTTY LITTLE WHIMPERING MOMENTS), the coaching, the begging, etc!!!! I DEVOURED AND DIEDDDDDD DEAD R I P ME

there were so many layers to this book like the most beautiful onion 🧅

and i will be that person that if you didnt like this book youre simply just wrong!!! i make the rules!!!!

i already cant wait to read this book like how soon is too soon before i pick this up again???? i cant wait to get my hands on the audio of this and when i do prepare to be sick of me bc the way im going to listen to this at least once a month after i do oh lord

Hannah Bonam-Young does it again with this heartwarming love story. I love these characters and the small town vibes. The way Milo is able to open Prue up and show her love is both heartwarming and super sexy! The caregiver part of this story is very well thought out and I enjoyed the dynamic between the parents and Prue and Milo and his siblings. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll get worked up from the spicy scenes! ❤️

It's official. I absolutely adore Hannah Bonam-Young. I was 1 page in, literally just the dedication, and I thought I was going to cry. I loved our characters, their challenges, and really resonated with their needs. Bonam-Young approaches childhood trauma as well as the experience of caring for an ill loved one with subtlety and grace. This is a wonderful book for late bloomers who need to be reminded that the only timeline they need to follow is the one they want. Additionally, this is my formal request to Ms. Bonam-Young to craft me my own personal Milo, please and thank you. The only reason this was not five stars for me is because I felt like it could have been a little longer. There were some things that I wish we could have explored more between our main characters and I would have loved to have spent more time getting to know them. That being said, this is a fun read for a late summer/early fall beach trip or for hopeless romantics who adore charming characters. Keep your eyes peeled for this release on Sept. 9th!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing this ARC. It was an absolute treat!

Thank you so much for the ARC! This book was so touching. I think Prue is one of my favorite contemporary romance FMCs so far. She’s different enough to not be basic, but she’s not “sooo different and unlike other girls,” which is what makes a lot of “different” FMCs completely insufferable… There wasn’t a single time where I thought she was being unnecessarily difficult, naive, or made any ridiculous decisions. Milo and his family were also so interesting, and I’m guessing we will be receiving a book about Nadia from all the Easter eggs we were given throughout this book, which really makes me excited. Milo is so precious and is basically the embodiment of golden retriever energy. You want a character that is DOWN BAD for his woman? Milo Kablukov is who you’re looking for. I loved it. Hannah Bonam-Young has a way of writing such tenderly romantic but also incredibly meaningful stories. All of her fans are going to LOVE this.

My only gripes– I wish it was longer so that all of the characters/relationships could be explored further (for increased impact). We don’t know much about how any of the main characters make their money or what they want for the future. I feel like an extra 50 pages of character development would’ve made this a 5 star read. Also, it needed to take place over a longer timespan… The quick relationship progression between EVERY character was at lighting speed, and the insta-love between Prue and Milo was a bit hard to believe… But hey… All romance books have an unbelievable element to them, it’s what makes them fun.

I want to start off by saying I don’t think Hannah Bonam-Young could write a bad book if she tried and People Watching was no exception! This was a 5 star read for me.
The chemistry in this book was palpable. These two wrote the book on chemistry.

I really appreciated their communication during any intimate moment.

The only complaint I have is that it wrapped up a bit early, there were a few too many “pins” left that weren’t discussed. I would have liked to see them work through that a bit more.

Overall, I really loved this book! I cannot wait for HBY’s next bool!

***Spoilers*** (kind of)

She was able to write insta-attraction without doing insta-love. It was really nice to see the characters have this instant pill toward each other without it being forced or over the top.

Both characters work through their pretty trauma well I assume this will be a series, because the scenes talking about Milo’s parents were not talked through well enough, so hopefully Nadia’s book is next and that’s a bit more developed.

Hannah Bonam-Young does it again. This is my second five star from her and every time I am blown away by her writing and how she writes such beautiful love stories. Prue and Milo's story was breath taking and made me feel so warm inside. I can't wait to see what she writes next.

wow wow wow!!!! hannah!!!! first off, i absolutely love this cover so much, it’s beautiful. this was so good, and so spicy hehe. milo, mr no commitment is so perfect. him and prue are soulmates. milo an artist, prue a poet find comfort in one another with their tough family situations (prue is a caretaker for her mom and milo has a hard time opening up about his childhood). milo coaches prue in sex lessons while falling for her. i loveeeeed that this was dual pov and set in a small town! i really felt for this characters and relate to them each with certain aspects. hannah just has a way with writing that i really enjoy.

do check content warnings — prue’s mother has early consent Alzheimer’s Disease and is the caretaker for her. her dad has a cancer diagnosis. milo comes from childhood abuse from his parents.

thank you dell romance for the earc that i desperately needed

People Watching by @authorhannahby

SHE DOES IT AGAIN FOLKS!!! Milo and Prue are so soft and so swoony and so so sexy. Sex lessons!!! Whew. 😅 I love them, I love their families, and I loved the Alzheimer’s rep in this book. It most definitely ripped my heart straight out of my chest and then shoved it back in. My grandmother passed almost 3 years ago, and lived a very long life, but seeing her lose her memory at the end and not able to remember my son and the other children in the family was heartbreaking. This is a real, heart wrenching portrayal of what people with Alzheimer’s go through and what their families go through as well. I was crying reading the authors note at the beginning because BEEN THERE. This book is very special to me. She managed to balance the serious topics in this book with so much love and hope and light heartedness and community. Well done. 👏🏼

Thank you to @netgalley and @dellromance for the arc! 💛
Pub date: 9/9/25

Easy 5 stars.! This book was absolutely lovely. Milo had me hook, line, and sinker from the get go. The journey he and Prue go on together had me eating this story up and not wanting it to end at the same time.

I don’t know how Hannah does it but these characters, this setting, the emotions, the details - all of it - feel so familiar, so real, and relatable. I absolutely loved this book! Happily will read again and again and will recommend to anyone who will listen to me at the bookstore and beyond!

I will never have anything but incredible things to say about Hannah Bonam-Young and her books. People Watching is no exception. I finished this book in one sitting because it hooked me from the start. Prue and Milo are both such complex characters going through their own issues as people. The way that their relationship grew over time into something beautiful is something I will think about for a long time. I have read every book HBY has published and it always ends the same way; me wanting more. She is a powerhouse of a writer and has such a profound gift. I will sing my praises of this book from the rooftops and I cannot wait for September to start handselling her book at work. Kudos to another book absolutely well done and cannot wait for the next one.

More a 4.5. Such a delight. This book manages to tackle Alzheimer’s, cancer, child abuse and still be light and affirming in a way that doesn’t feel cheap.
It’s able to be sexy and fun and have you rooting for the couple.

Hannah cannot write a bad book, it’s been scientifically proven (by me)!! I adored this so much.
My heart went out to both of our MCs, Milo and Prue.
Hannah’s ability to string words together into these perfect beautiful sentences will always have me in awe. The depth we get with Milo, I would read an entire book on just him and his family and his life! I loved Prue as well, I wil say I wish we got A LITTLE bit more on Prue, but even without it, it’s still a 5 star book
And the spice!!! So good, definitely her smuttiest book
This book has heart, depth, chemistry, everything you need in a romance!

The first few chapters of this book were phenomenal and I genuinely though that I was going to rate this 5 stars. Sadly after that the story took a completely different turn and it wasn't in a good way. The pacing of the story was good and I feel like we lost the plot? I couldn't romanticize the male main character because he was a bit older than her (which is not a problem) but the FMC was a forcing and his inner thoughts made me feel a little uncomfortable and uneasy. I was expecting something more emotional but their relationship was solely based in physical attraction to be completely honest. By the end, I was glad I was done with it. I am sure others will enjoy this but I couldn't.