Hannah Bonam-Young my beloved, you have done it again!!! When B.K. Borison said “you guys aren’t ready” SHE MEANT IT!!! What an emotional, sweet, spicy romp! I adored this book from front to back and I wish I could pluck Milo and Prue from the pages and be best friends with them

Disappointed is the only word that comes to mind. I picked this up because I’ve loved Hannah Bonam-Young’s previous books—Out on a Limb especially felt full of heart and sincerity. But People Watching felt like a different author entirely.

The emotional depth just wasn’t there. Prue’s story had the potential to be incredibly moving—a young woman navigating caretaking, small-town life, and rediscovering herself—but it never truly landed. Instead, the plot leaned too heavily on physical attraction and surface-level tension, with little time spent building a believable emotional connection between the characters.

Milo, while positioned as a charming, free-spirited foil to Prue’s quiet life, came off more pushy than endearing at times. Their relationship moved too fast to feel meaningful. The imbalance between their life experiences—he’s seen the world, she’s barely left town—only made it harder to invest in their connection. I found myself more frustrated than intrigued.

The nickname “Killer” was used so often it lost any charm it might have had, and the third-act conflict felt contrived, resolving just as quickly as it appeared.

There were moments of promise. The portrayal of Prue’s mother’s Alzheimer’s was compassionate, and a few of the side characters brought warmth to the story. But overall, it lacked the emotional resonance I’ve come to expect from HBY’s work.

More steam doesn’t mean more impact. I wanted vulnerability, growth, heart—this book gave me none of that.

This is a really cute autumnal romance and whilst it’s not my favourite by Hannah, I’ve found myself highlighting so many beautiful quotes that will stick with me. I love the overall message of this book and the plot. The way Milo teaches things to Prue and the way Prue teaches Milo stuff about himself was really cute. It was just missing something but i can’t put words into what it is which i frustrating. But still in the middle of a reading slump it was a really well appreciated reading.
My one disappointment was the tittle. I like what it means but i wish we had more of these “people watching” scenes and references throughout the book. It’s only vaguely spoken about.

time of dnf: 22%

unfortunately i could forsee my dislike and i fear i don’t have the best experience with HBY’s work since her books seem to max out at a certain level for me and this one did that in record time


thank you to netgalley and ballantine/dell for this arc to review nonetheless!

I am so sad to say that I didn’t finish this one. I couldn’t get into it so I put it down and revisited a few weeks later. It just wasn’t for me. The characters were flat and felt like they didn’t belong together.

Hot, funny, and very heartbreaking and heartwarming. Milo and Prue are different in ways that feel larger than life, but their chemistry is fantastic and so effortlessly sexy. Despite that, they have a complexity and a humanness that bring them back down to earth in a way that feels grounded and natural. The book was fast and brought you right into their little town—a great summer read.

I do want to be best friends with Nadia.

Thank you to the publisher and thank you to NetGalley for the chance to review this e-ARC. Full review will be available soon

This was a sweet little story. It wasn’t to much or to little. It made me want to keep reading but it also wasn’t something I went out of my way for. One of those nice things to read at the end of the day.

Very mixed on this one. Some of the heavier aspects of the novel were very well fleshed-out (Prue's mother's dementia, for example, felt very real and was handled extremely well). Other topics were glossed over, like Milo's childhoood trauma. Because I never understood the full scope of his trauma, it didn't feel satisfying or altogether believable that his love for Prue was able to transform him so radically. The setting and side characters were lovely, and the relationships between Prue and her parents - past and present- were real and very touching.

I am so grateful to have been able to read People Watching as a beta reader! To be able to see the bones of a story Hannah is crafting feels so special! I can’t wait to follow this story every step of the way!
Milo and Prue are so special and both unlike any HBY characters I have read. I love her ability to put her unique voice in all these different stories but still, sound like her. Prue's journey with her mom and dad makes my heart ache. It’s so foundational to who she is and makes me love her character so much. Milo, the Sweet, hot man you are! The exploration of Milo’s need to run alongside seeing him fall in love and choose to stay was beautiful! I love family dynamics a romance I think it fleshes out our characters, and Milo’s siblings was no exception. I loved how reluctant to friendship Prue was, but we got to see with her all the reasons Milo was worthy of letting her guard down. Two artists In love was special to read. I am so excited to enter a new HBY world and already have hopes to see some of these side character get a story! I feel SO LUCKY t0 read these stories!

WOW this was excellent. I just adore everything Hannah Bonam Young writes and this was no exception. Simultaneously sweet, spicy and emotional, this was truly a heart wrenching journey. I loved Prue and Milo. Their chemistry was just off the charts and WHEW - I was clutching my pearls at some scenes!! Loved how family oriented the plot was and how delicately themes around illness and past trauma were handled. Overall a complete 10/10!

First of all I want to send a HUGE thank you to dell romance and Hannah for sending me a copy of this early!! When I say I was shocked to get this one, that would be an understatement.

[4.5] this was my first time reading one of hby’s books (I listened to the rest of them…doubters) and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, like I was hooked from beginning to end, not wanting to stop in between.

As someone who heavily related to Prue in this book, in more ways then less, I really appreciated the brutal honestly she took throughout and how that developed into such a trustworthy and loving relationship with Milo. The family aspect of her life hit close to home as someone who is a huge homebody and would do anything for my parents.

Milo, OOH a man that yearns! I love finding stories where the man falls first because you know that they have so much love to give and that allows for a book to flow in a way that it doesn’t the other way.

I truly loved reading this book and hby has quickly become an auto-read author for me since the beginning of this year, nadia and aleks story soon pls??

Thank you again endlessly to Hannah and Dell for gifting me a copy to read early, I’ll forever be recommending this one 🙂‍↕️

Five stars all around. People Watching has great emotional depth while still also giving A+ flirting and spicy moments. This is certainly HBY's strongest writing yet and I can't stop thinking about these characters! People Watching is perfect for fans of:

- small town romance
- friends to lovers
- sex lessons
- complicated family issues (TW: mmc grew up in abusive household; fmc has a parent with early dimentia)
- bisexual characters
- heavily tattooed, adventuresome, very "experienced" artsy mmcs
- sweet, introverted, poetic souled fmcs

People Watching is great for Carley Fortune, Abby Jiminez and BK Borison readers.

⭐️: 5/5
🌶️: 4.5/5

WOAH!! This book definitely made me emotional!! The fact that the conflict came so late in the book, made me think that it wasn’t going to work out. I was scared and I couldn’t put it down!! I love Milo and Prue soo much!! I am jealous of all the confidence Prue had despite never being with a man. We definitely need a second book.. Maybe highlight on Nadia and Aleks.. come on HBY!!

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing for the ARC.

I read this as a part of a 5 Romcoms in 5 Days challenge I did for myself before my girls got out of school for the summer and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT. In fact, I was so happy because Out of the Woods was such a disappointment to me, especially after loving Out on a Limb so much. If you are looking for romance and steam upon steam upon steam you will HAPPILY LOVE THIS BOOK! I loved the entire premise and the MMC was so different from the types of MMC we're all accustomed to reading in other romcoms. All around, I really enjoyed this and I know my steamy/bordering on smut loving sisters will love it too!

Thank you to Ballantine | Dell and Netgalley for this eARC! I always appreciate the opportunity to read and review early!

People Watching is one of my most anticipated releases of the year, and it not only lived up to that excitement, but it is also now my favorite Hannah Bonam-Young book.

Milo and Prue’s story was so full of heart, heat, and healing - I found myself tearing up several times and rooting for this couple from the very start. The found family and world that Hannah built here has me wishing we had dozens of stories heading our way from this small town!

I highly recommend this book for anyone that enjoys a small town romance with artsy characters, found family, and sex lessons (although the “sex lessons” to me felt less Lesson-y, and more like gradually learning what your partner likes and trying out fantasies, which I greatly preferred!) - but check the content warnings and proceed with care if past abuse or Alzheimer’s in particular are tough subjects for you.

I rated People Watching 5 stars, and I absolutely cannot wait for the second book in this duology (especially if it’s about who I think it is 👀).

This book was so well done. Beautifully written as the author always does. I can’t wait to get it on my shelf. I’m 100% certain it’s going to fly off the shelf for fall reading

3.5 - While I historically have loved HBY’s books, this one wasn’t my favorite.

It still has a lot of strengths including the style I have come to expect of Hannah, e.g., the characters who are flawed but lovable, the relationships you are rooting for, the writing that pulls you into the story. I also loved the town and am excited to read Nadia’s story!

However, my biggest issue with the book is the characters didn’t feel fully thought through so their actions were hard for me to understand. For example, Milo clearly had trauma from his childhood but it was never really discussed, even when it impacted his relationship with Prue, yet we were supposed to believe meeting Prue helped him change so dramatically (e.g., talking about emotions, wanting a relationship, willing to stay in one place and prioritize other people). Another example is with Prue, were her personality was told more than shown (e.g., she went to a different high school to get space to grow but it wasn’t effective). I personally would have enjoyed the book being longer to give space to go into Milo and Prue’s motives and thus further helping their characters come to life.

Thank you to Hannah Bonam-Young, Dell, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn into this story from the very beginning - it is very spicy and steamy and is the perfect fall read for romance lovers. The characters are wonderful and the way their relationship develops over time is so heartwarming.

this was my first book by this author, although surely not my last! I’ll be checking out her backlist soon. The premise of this book sounded so good and it was! I loved the execution and the characters, would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes romance and early 2000’s rom coms!