Well written, compelling, entertaining. I had fun and enjoyed. A good romance that made me root for the characters Excellent storytelling
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this digital copy, all opinions are mine

“Some write to be seen. Some write to be found. Then there are those who write to hide. To be forgotten. To be buried under a sea of words.”

What a book! This was the perfect book for me to start 2026 off with.

Slow burn? ✅
Enemies to lovers? ✅
A story about a writer and an editor? ✅
Set in Tokyo? ✅

What else could I ask for? 😅

I showed up for a humorous enemies to lovers story set in Japan, and I’m staying for the characters, the slow burn, the mystery...well, everything!

I hadn’t turned the first page of chapter one and I was relating so hard with Ran. I felt so seen! And then Eizo is introduced, I just wish I could sit and talk with him about books over coffee. The slow burn is perfect. I was not expecting to be so invested in the mystery that hovers over this story. Byrd Koto did a wonderful job, and I can’t wait to read more from her.

4.5 ⭐️
It’s safe to say I’m starting this year with some fantastic reads. I’m usually not one for a good laugh, something a certain someone loves to remind me of (you know who you are). But this one? I was absolutely cracking up and completely fell in love with it.

I’ll admit, all the writing, editing, and publishing-related details were a bit hard for me to follow at times, but I did my best... promise. And the slow burn? Chef’s kiss. Their story is genuinely beautiful, and I cannot wait for the sequel to see what happens next.

This is also the moment I realised that Byrd is a fantastic writer,
'He had never fallen in love before, but if love were a flavor, all it took was the first sip for him to fall hard.'

Our Funny Love Story is book one in the Resistance series. If I'm being really honest I don't love this book. I feel like romance was lacking, slow burn that didn't burn, romance that was barely mentioned. That said the book is written well, just didn't feel like a romance IMO.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC.

I’m so sad this didn’t work for me, because the blurb immediately spoke to me. I mean: slow burn? Enemies to lovers? A mystery element? Yes, yes, YES! 

BUT I had so much trouble connecting to these characters, Ran specifically. Their banter felt so forced, their animosity didn’t make sense to me, I didn’t get why they hated each other, and Ran’s toilet ‘humour’ and crass-ness just really didn't work for me, so I dnf’ed at 23%.

I know this is the first of a duet and so the upcoming plot and even the next book will probably give me explanations to their behaviour and characters here. But I just can’t make myself pick this one up again, even though I did like Eizo and the writing is good: lucid and a touch mysterious - I really get the comparison to Murakami in that sense. 

I simply think this isn’t my cup of tea (hence me not rating it) but if the blurb speaks to you, don’t let my review stop you from checking the book out yourself! 

Also: the cover is gorgeous!

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the chance to read this ARC. This is my honest opinion.</i>

When Enemies Might Become Lovers... Eventually

Our Funny Love Story is Byrd Koto's debut novel and the first in what appears to be a series, likely a duology. The story follows two characters who start off as enemies and slowly—very slowly—begin to develop feelings for each other. We experience both perspectives as secrets pile up around them and their relationship inches toward something more. It's a gradual burn that tests your patience but ultimately keeps you invested enough to want the next installment.

The writing style is genuinely strong for a debut, flowing smoothly even while switching between two viewpoints without causing confusion. Byrd Koto handles dual perspectives well, giving each character a distinct voice. When the story hits its stride, it draws you in despite the pacing issues, which is no small feat. By the end, the groundwork laid throughout pays off enough that you'll find yourself curious about where the relationship goes next. There's real potential here, and the fact that it manages to pull you back in after slower sections speaks to Koto's storytelling ability.

The main challenge is the pacing—around the two-thirds mark, the book starts to feel long. You're waiting for something meaningful to happen between the characters, for that spark to finally ignite, but the enemies-to-lovers development moves at a glacial pace. Only near the very end do you get even a hint of genuine romantic feeling between them. Add to that the numerous secrets surrounding both characters, and the frustration builds when you're still largely in the dark by the final page. It's the kind of slow burn that might work better once the full series is out and you can read straight through.

Our Funny Love Story is a solid debut that shows promise, even if it requires patience. If you enjoy enemies-to-lovers romances and don't mind waiting for payoff across multiple books, this is worth picking up. Recommended for readers who appreciate character development over instant chemistry and who are willing to trust the journey, knowing the destination is still a book or two away.

This was disappointing. The premise sounded fine, but the execution wasn't my taste at all.

Ran and Eizo don't feel like characters that are fully fleshed out in a way that makes sense to me as the reader. Honestly, it feels like I should know more about them than I actually do. Their personalities are dripped to us, but the way we start out gives me the sense that I should know them a lot longer.

The entire story feels like fanfiction. There's nothing wrong with fanfiction by any means, but it feels like this universe and setting and characters exist already and I have no idea what that IP is. It would definitely work better if these characters were already established to some degree. I don't find them believable because I'm having a hard time grasping who they are in the first place. They lack overall.

The banter between the two also caught me really off guard. I don't mind the cursing or abrasive speak we get from Ran right off the bat, but it makes it really hard for me to take it seriously. I think it also draws back to not knowing who they really are when we're launched into the story, because there's no gradual build up. We're just plopped into it, and it doesn't really work.

I know this is a slow-burn romance, but the plot doesn't have to be exactly. The plot doesn't feel like it's going anywhere, if I can even spot a plot. There's not enough of a ticking clock on the plot.

I did like some of the intimate moments the characters shared, even if I was half believing them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Twig and Hwyl Books for the eARC!

Thank you netgalley and author Byrd Koto for accepting me as arc reader🫧💗

To be honest, I didn’t like it at the start. The pace of the story was very slow, often switching from Ran’s point of view to Eizo’s. And very often, even though the individual stories co-relate with each other, the MM wasn’t spending as much time together I had hoped. And I didn’t like Ran at all at first. In my eyes he was ill-tempered, immature for his age and I just couldn’t get the reason why he and Eizo became enemies in the first place. But as I continued reading, I started to enjoy the story and grew to like Ran (maybe because there are more interactions between the MM afterwards). I could feel the MM are falling for each other towards the end, but again, I hope the author could have showed how and why they started falling in love. It felt a bit abrupt, like suddenly their hearts started racing when they see each other. I would also prefer if there are more dialogues. But still, it was an excellent read from a debut author. I’m looking forward to read Book 2 this year.

- 7 years age gap
- Enemies to lovers
- Slow burn
- Grumpy, cunning, short editor 🫶🏻Secretive, friendly, tall writer
- Both are handsome and never dated (which I love it)

Starting my arc read for the year with a bang. When I was approved for this book I went into blind and had no idea what to expect. The cover gives the idea that their are two men involved with each other but rest I was leaving on time.

And was I surprised by the way this story was written? yes!

If you're someone who loves genre blending this one is for you. If you like slow burn mm romance where the first book is about banter, teasing, pissing each other of and the accidental hand brushes that makes the mmc feel things, you are at the right place.

I already have a couple of theories about the next book of this duet and can't wait to know more about it.

This is very much a slow, slow burn, heavier on mystery and character tension than romance, and that worked for me more than I expected. Eizo and Ran’s dynamic is sharp and messy, with banter that sometimes lands perfectly and sometimes feels intentionally uncomfortable, which fits the story’s focus on masks, half-truths, and control. I was more invested in the literary mystery and the emotional subtext than the romance itself, but by the end, the quiet pull between them finally starts to click, and I’m curious enough about where it’s headed to keep reading.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in March. This was well written but simple not for me. I didn't particularly understand why the characters were behaving the way they did and it made it hard to see them as potential love interests. But that's just personal taste, and you might like it so I do still recommend it.