As an introvert myself, I was super intrigued by the title! I really really loved our main character and definitely found her relatable! I was rooting for her the entire time and loved how this story unfolded. She was the main character I desperately needed growing up and would love to be real life best friends with her! I loved her character growth and would recommend to anyone as a cozy fall/winter read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lauren Appelbaum, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

This was such a cozy and endearing read. I think many introverts can relate to Mallory's story. She would rather be at home working on her computer than go to the office where there are people every day. I can relate. After her grandma passes, she is tasked with taking care of her grandpa. She also left her a house. A house that needed a lot of work, which she gets help with from Daniel. While she is there, she realizes that her life in the big city has been cold and unwelcoming. She knows she needs to figure out what kind of life she wants to live. I loved how things worked out. I do wish we had gotten more of the town's characters to make it more memorable. Something was missing with this one, but I can't put my finger on it. Overall, I enjoyed this read. I would recommend it.

Would give this a 3.5 ⭐️

I loved the plot of this story and the summer seaside setting I felt throughout it. I adored Mallory and being able to relate to her constant introverted energy!! She spoke so much to my awkward, anxious and homebody soul. She grew a lot throughout the story and I felt her genuine warmth towards life as this happened. The relationship between her + gramps was so sweet.

My only wish was that the romance felt more centered in this story as you would expect based on the title/cover. I didn’t feel their relationship blossom until the last 30% ish. It wasn’t a ground breaking read but it was definitely worth picking up!

This book reminds me very much of Happy Place by Emily Henry. Mallory seems like a character many introverted or lost souls can find themselves identifying with. Going to Florida to take care of her grandfather sends her on a journey to figure out what she wants out of life. The romance in this book felt unfortunately spare for it being something so central to the story. A majority of the things that happened between her and Daniel seemed to take place within the last 80-90 pages. My only wish was that, for a book calling itself “a guide to life and love” the two were a little more balanced.

Okay, so this book really made me think and reflect — I’ll be honest, it started off a bit slow for me, but once I was in, I was totally hooked! Daniel? Honestly, he’s the ultimate boyfriend goals: supportive, kind, and that perfect balance of masculine without being toxic. Their relationship with Mallory (it’s her story, after all) was just so comforting to read. The slow, healthy build-up based on friendship and respect? Yes, please. Plus, their communication game was on point, even though Mallory doubted her social skills a bunch of times — relatable!
Also, Mallory’s sweet relationship with her grandpa gave me all the warm, fuzzy feels. I mean, who hasn’t worried about being alone sometimes? Watching them become each other’s safe space was absolutely beautiful.

Overall, Mallory was such a relatable and lovable heroine, and I really enjoyed this read. It’s a cozy, heartfelt story about growth, connection, and finding your place — perfect for when you want something thoughtful but totally comforting.

It started a little slow for me, but once I got into it, it was amazing! I think Daniel has to be the blueprint for what men should aspire to be: supportive, kind, and healthily masculine. His relationship with Mallory (or, vice versa, it’s her book, after all) was so comforting to read. It was a healthy build-up, based on friendship and respect, and they were very good at communication skills, despite Mallory doubting her social ability on multiple occasions!

Mallory’s relationship with her grandfather, too, was so heartwarming. We all worry about being left alone at some point (or maybe that’s just Mallory and I), and the way they both came to depend on each other and be each other’s comforts was lovely.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read, and Mallory was an extremely relatable FMC to read!

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with this arc! Im giving this book a 3.5 stars. I loved the premise of the story and liked a lot of the characters my only thing is that it is advertised as a romance when its really more about the FMC finding herself and getting out of the rut she is in and the romance is more of a subplot. This is also totally a personal preference but I prefer when the book has a solid ending instead of being open ended. I would have loved and epilogue of the FMC and MMC actually deciding to be together and how they've grown together since she has moved and how her grandfather is doing but over all I really enjoyed this book!

This book follows Mallory an introvert living her best life in Seattle, when she inherits her Grandmother’s house in Florida and the expectation of caring for her Grandfather. While she thinks she is going to take a quick trip to check on her Grandpa and rent out the house, her plans are quickly changed.

I enjoyed this book. I very much so connected with Mallory as an introvert myself. And also loved reading a book that took place where I grew up. I loved Mallory’s relationship with her Grandpa and watching her leave behind her small life in Seattle.

4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for my ARC!

This was cute! I enjoyed the characters and what they went through. It was a 3.5 stars. Some parts dragged

We are introduced to Mallory as she navigates small town life, unexpected friendships, and the challenges of stepping outside her comfort zone. With gentle humor and emotional depth, this story explores love, grief and personal growth.

Mallory definitely grows and changes in this book as she tries to navigate what she wants to do when her life is in Seattle, but things have opened up for her in Florida.
Mallory annoyed me some. But I did like her grandpa and how she helps him.
Her romance with Daniel does develop slowly, but it worked for them.

A cute read about figuring out where you belong.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

Amazing book loved the characters and plot. I couldn't stop reading I stayed up all night. I loved the book so much thank you for the arc.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

After her grandmother’s passing, Mallory heads to Florida to settle family matters, expecting a quick trip. But between helping her grieving grandfather, tackling surprise cottage renovations, and reconnecting with Daniel—the mystery man behind a memorable kiss—her temporary stay turns into something much more meaningful. As her bond with her grandfather deepens and her feelings for Daniel grow, Mallory begins to wonder if her future still lies .

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the free advance copy. I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

Mallory unexpectedly inherits a home in Florida, while living and working remotely in Seattle. She takes a trip to sort out the house situation and also spend time with her grandfather while he's grieving the loss of his wife.

The grandfather, Gramps, is pretty cute. He's also an introvert that was fading to the background of the few early scenes before he spent any time with Mallory one on one. Gramps being an introvert was infantilized by almost everyone in his family, and they all acted like he was incapable of taking care of himself now that his wife had passed. It was a little strange. Gramps also moved on pretty quickly considering the entire book spans like 2 months.

Mallory has a lot of virtual meetings. A lot. She also spends a lot of time talking about her virtual meetings. In fact, I'd say she had more of a relationship with zoom and slack than she did with Daniel.

Daniel is the property manager Mallory hired to manage the rental of the newly inherited home. He's nice enough, and it's pretty obvious that they had some chemistry, but this book really shouldn’t have been marketed so heavily as a romance. It is a fiction book with a romance subplot. At 83% they'd only kissed twice. The epilogue barely mentions him. Also, I think the man only owned bike shorts and undershirts. He was rolling around Florida on a bicycle. In summer. In spandex. The sweat situation must have been the reason there wasn't any spice on the page.

3.5 ⭐️

Mallory, is the quintessential introvert.
Works in tech remotely from home, buys everything online so she doesn’t have to deal with people, doesn’t leave her apartment unless absolutely necessary.

When her grandma passes away, leaving Mallory to inherit the family cottage in Florida while also being tasked with taking care of her grandpa, Mallory is stunned to say the least.

Needing help with both of these items, Mallory decides to go to Florida, check on gramps, and get the house ready for some new tennets. She enlists the help of local property manager, Daniel.

With working remotely, she doesn’t have to be home.. nothing can go wrong, right?

This book was super cute! I loved it! Gramps was amazing. Love his character.

Definitely was a slow, slow, slow burn. I found myself getting annoyed with Mallory at times.

Huge thanks to the author, publishing company, and NetGalley for the arc read!

3.5 ⭐️ I loved the whole concept of this story but I felt some places may have fell flat. We meet Mallory, an introvert who has her life turned upside down when her grandmother passes away. Stuck with a house she doesn’t want she ends up learning of love and grow. I was so proud of Mal for stepping out and learning to roll with the punches. The relationship between her and her grandfather was so cute. I loved seeing. The relationship between her and Daniel was cute and wholesome. Thank you NetGalley and Forever publishing for an advanced copy!

An Introverts Guide to Life & Love is a sweet & delightful story that takes place in a small coastal town in Florida. I wouldn’t really call it a romance though as the main focus of the story is about healing and self discovery of the FMC and her grandfather and the romance part is more of a fun sub-plot.

While Mallory is an introvert she is also rather immature and letting her insecurities dictate the way she lives her life. She’s just surviving it - existing insider her comfort zone - rather than living a fulfilled life with joy and connection. After the passing of her grandmother, Mallory finds herself inheriting a beach cottage under the condition that she “look after her grandfather.” So, her boring and predictable life gets upturned when she temporarily moves in with Gramps in his retirement community in FL as she learns how to be a homeowner, navigate DIY renovations, and help Gramps through his grief … while also continuing her remote work for her unfulfilling tech job back in Seattle.

The evolving relationship between Gramps and Mallory is honestly the most endearing part of this story. The way they comfort and care for each other while getting to know one another in a more personal way helped them both to find their confidence to live their lives intentionally and joyfully. Their growth, both individually as well as their relationship with one another, was incredibly heartwarming and sincere.

Meanwhile, sparks are sparking between Mallory & Daniel, her property manager for the cottage she inherited. The relationship between these two was both sweet and entertaining. But for me as the reader, it felt lacking and a bit surface level. From the start, it was clear there was mutual attraction and chemistry between them & as time went on, they found a sort of friendship. But the development and growth of any real affection that they had for one another - beyond the mutual attraction & him just being a genuinely nice guy - felt almost as closed door as the spice they eventually share. I wanted to witness more of it - more conversations with shared vulnerability, tension and banter that would stir up my emotions and attachment to these two as a couple.

That being said, I still very much enjoyed this book. I appreciated how Mallory was able to find her confidence and courage to live her life in a way that matters to her - daring to right her wrongs, seek her passions, and cultivate meaningful relationships in her life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a nice cozy read. I loved the relationship between Mallory and Gramps. As an introvert myself, I found Mallory to be very relatable and seeing her blossom was a bit inspiring.

Rating: 4
Spice: 0.5
Tropes: family oriented. friends to lovers.

A nice story about stepping outside one’s comfort zone. Being a massive introvert myself, it was refreshing to relate to a character to such a degree. The characters are all well drawn (particularly the main character) and universally pretty likable. The story is perhaps a bit predictable, and the problems/conflicts resolve a bit too easily, but honestly, that was just what I needed. A good read. No notes.

I really enjoyed how authentic the characters felt. Mallory, in particular, was very relatable for millennial readers. The plot struck a great balance. It was sweet without being overly cheesy. I also appreciated that the story included a coming-of-age arc, not just the rom-com between Mallory and Daniel.