2.5/5 stars, This is my first foray into HBY's books. I'm not impressed. DNF at 40%.

Tropes: virgin-heroine, experienced-hero, moustached-hero, small-town-romance, Alzheimer

This book was just a collection of stereotypes. It's like the author made a checklist and checked off all things on it, without any regards to whether they made any sense or not.

1. Bisexual hero? Check
2. Virgin heroine? Check
3. Bi hero who has had 200 partners? AND mentions it to the virgin heroine? Check?
4. Hero who is (INSTANTLY TURNED ON) by the virgin heroine? Check?
5. Hero's (slight. ahem) sexual experience attracts heroine (REALLY, she didn't think that he has commitment issues? Like, at all? She was immediately turned on?)
6. Hero has had threesomes and thinks of them at opportune times, especially when he feels some sort of way about the heroine? Check. This one really made me feel the ick.
7. He speaks russian oh-so-fluently with the heroine's dad? Check

At first I DEFINITELY thought I would despise Milo. I really hate f*ck boy energy, even when they suddenly become down bad. I still don't fully get the WHY of why he turned into a f*ck boy, when it seems like his siblings handled it a bit better. However, he really is a cinnamon roll and made me see that he is a good guy at heart. Some things definitely worked for me as far as the smut goes, while not my top HBY novel, it's probably top 3.

thank you to the netgalley and the publisher for this arc! it was a cute story, and i had fun while reading.

Hannah Bonam-Young always delivers an emotional, tender, and realistic feeling love story. This was no different from her usual, but what I loved about People Watching was both Prue and Milo, and really, Milo's siblings, and Prue's dad felt so messy. This was a messy story with some wrong-doing, some highly emotional reactions, and a lot of growing up. I absolutely loved it. These characters felt like such a realistic depiction of flawed humans coming from, or living in really tough circumstances and learning how to love themselves and love each other wholly.
I will forever read and recommend anything HBY writes and I HOPE her next book is what I think it is!!!
Thank you to Dell for the eARC in exchange for my honest review

I enjoyed the small town setting of this romance as it was realistic without being to sweet. The characters faced real strugggles with caring for a loves one with dementia and dealing with childhood trauma. I appreciated the way in which love scenes were written to highlight communication oand consent. My only wish was more resolution for the characters who had suffered a traumatic childhood.

As always, Hannah Bonam-Young knocked it out of the park with People Watching.
No surprise there—but it’s still such a joy to pick up one of her books and know it’s going to be sweet, emotional, heartwarming, funny, and just… lovely. Milo and Prue’s story was all of that, and as usual, my heart feels full to the brim with all the feelings.

Prue and Milo are both delightful—kind, imperfect, beautifully human—and I loved every second of getting to know them and watching their story unfold.

I wish you could all read this book right now, but in the meantime, let this be your official warning: get your hands on it as soon as you possibly can. (That’s September 9th, in case you’re wondering.)

I had such high hopes for People Watching but it sadly was a total miss for me.

Although it is a cute story and the characters, town, and families are loveable I feel like it lacked so much depth that could've really made it extra special. It started strong but it felt like it fell away from that original strength. It's such a great premise but I found the conflict between Prue/Milo and her dad's diagnosis so predictable, disappointing, and frankly annoying.

The insta-love between Milo and Prue despite the hardships and personal struggles they were going through was sweet but that was kind of it. Just sweet. I wanted more tension and more growth for them rather than the almost instant gratification they got. Yes, they had their struggle but it was singular when I think in reality there would've been many. I also found the spicy scenes so cheesy and at times uncomfortable?

I'm excited to have it in store. I think it'll deservedly do well with the right audience that audience is just not me.

I think fans of emotional romance novels would really enjoy reading this! Content warnings include dementia, child abuse, alcoholism, mental health , physical abuse and sexual content. A really good heartfelt book, honestly go in blind you wont regret it. Hannah is incredible!

I received an early copy of this book as a bookseller. Thank you Dell books for the opportunity!

I think it’s safe to say that by now I will probably read anything Hannah writes. I’ve only read a handful of her books and sincerely appreciate the care and thoughtfulness that goes into addressing some of the big themes in her books.

I always leave feeling like I’ve truly witnessed an honest and real story of two grown adults dealing with all the shit life throws at them in a way that doesn’t romanticize or idealize these situations. Life is hard, but the people we surround ourselves with, our community, is what gets us through the worst of it. Hannah always helps me see that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you for bringing hard and real topics like this to life! They aren’t always easy to capture in romance books but Hannah does it expertly well!

I just couldn't get into this one and ended up DNF'ing. I've tried a few from this author but they never seem to click for me. I know several people who love her though and I'm sure will enjoy this book!

I really loved these characters! Cozy, romantic, hopeful, and emotional. This was a fantastic read! I will definitely be sharing this with my book club.

This book had so much potential and while it fell a tad-bit short for me, it is still my favorite Hannah Bonam-Young book. I am always down for a "teach me/inexperienced" relationship and the chemistry was piping-hot, but It went from lust to love too fast for me. My favorite aspect of this book was the character depth and the heartbreak that both Milo and Prudence had to sort through in their personal lives. The past few books that I have read by Hannah Bonam-Young have all been missing something for me, but I fear that this one will be hard to top! I hope we will see more of the Welch and Kablukov families in the future.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher, and Hannah Bonam-Young for allowing me the chance to read the arc of this book. I cannot wait to read more books by this author in the future.

Hannah Bonam-Young's book show her writing growth, but continue to feel like a warm, hug from your best friend.

I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I’ve always appreciated Hannah Bonam-Young’s writing and her other stories. However, with this one, I struggled to connect with the characters, especially with Milo. He came across as a bit too much for me at first, overly confident. That said, I truly admire how Hannah incorporated serious topics like early-onset Alzheimer’s. She handled it with such grace and sensitivity. While this book didn’t fully resonate with me, I would still recommend it to others. It has meaningful themes and her writing remains strong. This book was more than a romance book, so read with care.

I loved Out on a Limb by this author so was thrilled to be approved for her latest release! The heart of this book was there, but something felt off to me about the romance. Things moved so quickly to love and we needed more scenes to really feel that this wasn't just lust. By the end, I was glad I read this but there were a few moments when I didn't really want to pick the book up to dive back into the story. The side characters helped me stay engaged but I would have loved more backstory about Milo and his siblings as their parents and childhood trauma was alluded to so often. A like not a love for this on this one!

This new era of Hannah Bonam-Young does not disappoint. It’s more character-driven than her past series, and both Milo and Prue leap off the page. Milo is the embodiment of deflection—charming, globe-trotting, and hiding behind confidence to keep his traumatic childhood at bay. Prue, a small-town poet and caregiver for her mother with early-onset Alzheimer’s, is almost too self-aware—but that’s also what makes her feel so real. She’s grounded, loyal, and not willing to leave the life she’s built, no matter how hard it gets.

Their meet-cute hits like a lightning bolt—Milo is instantly captivated, and if you love an MMC who doesn't play games, you’re going to love him. Prue is too busy to flirt back, but his persistence slowly shifts how she sees herself. And when she confesses how little experience she’s had romantically, she’s the one who proposes something bold: lessons in sex!

I’ve read a few romances this year featuring caretakers and themes of dementia/Alzheimer’s but HBY takes a totally different approach. This is 100% a spicy romance, rooted in emotional growth, small-town camaraderie and devotion to family. It reminded me of a steamier version of Sarah Adams’ When in Rome series.

If open-door romance isn't your thing (and I'm talking about wide, wide open), then this won't be the book for you. But if you love adult romance like I do and crave a hero who's a little broken but fully embraces his emotions, then this is it! The addition of Prue's poetry and Milo's art was a master-class in writing, and the Kublokov siblings are now officially burned into my heart. I’m already counting the days until the next book.

People Watching by Hannah Bonam-Young was such an enjoyable and entertaining read. The two main characters felt very real and they dealt with their issues in ways that real people would. The writing was so well done and I felt the chemistry between the love interests and I was rooting for them. Milo was such a treat, I enjoyed reading from his point of view. Hannah Bonam-Young really does know how to hook you into a story and I cannot wait to read everything she writes. This was a fantastically good book and I cannot wait to recommend it to anyone looking for a great romance.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Dell for the ARC! Hannah Bonam-Young is one of my favorite authors and People Watching did NOT disappoint! Prudence and Milo had chemistry that was off the charts. As a teacher, it warmed my heart to see how much Prudence's mom meant to Milo and the impact she had on his life. This story tugs at your heartstrings and makes your heart ache for a family who is starting to mourn someone who is right in front of them! I loved getting glimpses into each of their families and seeing the change in characters as the book progressed! Cannot wait for the next in the series!

It was a good read, Milo and Prue had a fun dynamic and I enjoyed learning more about each of their families. I hope for another book about Nadia.

People Watching follows Prue and Milo are two very different people searching for the same thing: meaning. Prue feels stuck in her hometown, and Milo feels stuck in a cycle of movement. When a family emergency brings Milo into Prue's life in a quiet small town, they find comfort and companionship in one another, pushing them to re-evaluate their priorities, their goals, and their place in this world.

Hannah Bonam-Young never fails to write characters that feel so utterly realistic. Both Milo and Prue feel like people I would run into and fall in love with on their own, and especially as a couple. While the family dynamics were a big part of the book for both characters, it made sense due to the nature of their backgrounds. Pushing them into a very quick coupling conflicted with each of their characterizations in my opinion, but I love a man who yearns so I can't complain too much about how hard and fast Milo fell for Prue!