3 stars!

Love Lettering ends its first chapter perfectly. Like, it's been a while since a first chapter hit me with full impact. It gets doozy in the middle, and picked up the plot again after 80% mark. The ending was suitable and satisfying. Overall, it is not your average funny romance (it has its moment), but it deserves your time if you do love romance.

This is easily one of my top 5 books of 2019 (and I read over 200). In a word, it’s lovely…a beautiful, slow-burning contemporary urban romance that is both a love letter to New York City and a love story that defies the common tropes found in most books of its genre.

It all begins with a M-I-S-T-A-K-E, secretly incorporated in a wedding program designed by Meg, an uber-talented calligrapher and artist. One year later, Reid, the groom (who has a gift for numbers and deciphers the code) seeks her out to ask how she knew that his relationship was doomed. Since she’s experiencing a creative block and could use a friend, and he hates NYC and is eager to finish up a work project so he can move away, she invites him to seek out literal signs throughout the city in the hopes that she’ll find inspiration and he’ll come to appreciate her adopted home. He suggests making it a game, and, in the process, they go from awkward encounters to thoughtful conversations, resulting in a love that embraces their differences and celebrates their respect for and loyalty to each other. Although there is angst, conflict, and a surprising twist that tests the strength of that loyalty and their feelings for each other, Clayborn doesn’t rely on manufactured miscommunication and lies to create drama. Reid is a flawed, but lovely, respectful, swoon-worthy hero, the antithesis of the controlling alpha males prevalent in popular romance. Meg has a successful business and a clear vision for her future, so her feelings for Reid aren’t based on a need for him to direct her life. The female friendships in which women celebrate and support each other, even the way that Meg and Sibby painfully navigate their evolving relationship, are another refreshing element in this enchanting novel.

It is clear that Clayborn respects the intelligence of her readers by creating a story that celebrates the relationship between the imagery of hand-lettered signs and the patterns found in numbers. In a field dominated by books that feature explosive or sexually-loaded relationships, it is refreshing and comforting to witness a romance that builds slowly and acknowledges the complexity of emotions involved. Highly recommended!


I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Kensington Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

When I first came across Love Lettering a few months ago, I wasn't sure it was going to be for me but eventually let myself get swept up in the excitement and wonderful early reviews. I'm disappointed that I haven't enjoyed this as much as other readers seem to have. I found the writing really difficult to get through: between each single line of dialogue there were often three or four paragraphs of exposition, meaning that two line exchanges took actual pages to get through. It left me with the feeling not that it was beautifully written, but that it was trying really, really hard to be beautifully written. I felt as though I was dragging myself through it, continuously waiting to feel as blown away by Love Lettering as others were.

Kate Clayborn does it again! I loved everything about this book. Ms. Clayborn's books make my heart ache and my mouth smile and my eyes cry. She makes me feel all the feels and then squeezes me just a little more. Her books have something extra, something other books are unable to make me feel. I think it's maybe joy in the actual reading of the words. Her words, in the order she puts them, are lovely and sharp and tender and full.

Wow! Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn was definitely a book worth reading. The whole plot was unique. Different than my usual romance titles, this book hit a spot others didn't. There was this huge emotional rollercoaster. Happy, shy, intense, fear, sad, and romantic that I was hooked. I was deeply into the characters' lives. Their thoughts and feelings excited me. Their actions were just as entertaining.

Inside this book, a young woman is very good with letters and letter codes. She hasn't exactly found her exact career yet until a particular man steps into her life. This man is just as good at numbers and codes as she is with letters. I found it interesting. The pair was a perfect setup. But I kept wondering what would become of them.

The raw emotions and tensions rolled into this epic thunderstorm. I was not sure of the outcome. However, Kate Clayborn caught my attention and kept it. The plot was a bit slow in the beginning and then sped up gradually. Like a new learner to driving. It doesn't happen over night. The story was charming, warm, and realistic.

Love Lettering is the type of novel that kept me constantly on the edge wondering what next. I enjoyed it.

Now that I’ve read the full book, I can honestly give this the 5 star rating it deserves. I absolutely loved this romance and agree with every praise it’s received. Yes, this novel is about a romance between two characters, but it’s so much more. It’s about mistakes made, about friendships falling apart, but most of all it’s about staying and sorting things out.
Meg and Reid are in every sense opposites of each other, yet they compliment each other so well. I loved how we got to see them go from awkward strangers to kind of friends to something. I loved how they came to understand each other despite their difference, how they embraced each other’s quirks instead of trying to change them. Most of all, I loved how they encouraged and supported each other. They’re definitely relationship goals!
I like to also mention Meg’s growing distance with her friend Sibby. I love how the plot weaves that thread through the story and I genuinely liked how the conclusion wasn’t what I thought it’d be. It was refreshing and satisfying.
All in all, this is a must read!

I really enjoyed Love Lettering. It is a really sophisticated and elegant romance that had me completely invested in the characters. Meg was this super talented artist who just sort of existed in a life where she avoids all conflict. Reid is a man who lives by numbers and rules but not emotion. Life is very black & white for him while Meg sees art in everything. They shouldn’t fit but they have more in common than you would ever think. I liked how flawed they both were because they were real and so relatable. Of course the circumstances of how they meet and begin their relationship make you wonder when everything is going to blow up in their faces.
I liked the steam of this book and definitely liked the little bit of intrigue/drama that I never saw coming. Overall, it was a beautiful, sensual and heartwarming story that had many layers. The writing is incredible elegant and you will be pulled into this story. As a native New Yorker, it even made me love NYC a little bit more when I think of all the hidden gems and history there that I will pay a little more attention to next time I’m navigating the city streets.
I highly recommend Love Lettering.
I received an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am not really sure how to describe this book, exactly. I just know that I loved it.

The author has done a wonderful job with these characters, the two main characters are very different people on the surface but they actually have a lot in common. Meg who had the tough family situation, who was always struggling so hard for everything; Reid who was misunderstood by so many. Somehow, these two just work. And even as a cranky middle-aged woman, I was charmed by their romance.

I also liked the secondary characters; Sibby who played such a large part in Meg's life, until she didn't. Lark, the lady who looked like she had everything you could want in life, but didn't. And I loved Reid's family, so much. Cecelia and Lachelle - good friends, both.

So much warmth and love; it shines through, even through the hard and bad bits. This is not some sort of sappy romantic book, at all. It is gritty, it is real and yet it is so beautiful too.

Highly recommended read.

5 unreserved stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books.

Unique New York City romance

This is a different type of romance, at least it is to me. The protagonists are unusual and the setting of New York City is handled beautifully.

Meg Mackworth is a consultant that does hand lettering and calligraphy, primarily on custom planners and journals, but she's done wedding work in the past, too.

Reid Sutherland was a child math prodigy who is now a quantitative analyst (still not quite sure what that is) at a large Wall Street firm.

They initially meet as Reid and his then fiance come into the shop that Meg works out of to go over the wedding package she's designed for them. Reid comes back at a later date to confront Meg about a code he found in the wedding program.

This is a tale of two very different people falling in love and the trials and tribulations they go through.

I recommend this romance highly.

I received this book from Kensington Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

Love LetteringMeg Mackworth has made enough of a name for herself to be able to support living in New York... NEW YORK. Her hand lettering has even netted her an opportunity to have her own line for a larger stationary (something to do with paper) line of her own. But her secret (putting codes into the designs she makes) is about to be uncovered.
Reid Sutherland was astonished to see the word Mistake spelled out on his wedding programs. It made him rethink the whole marriage. Now he's in the shop where Meg used to work (and is coincidentally filling in) asking her why she thought that it would have been bad for him to follow through.
The two opposites (Meg is into words; Reid works with numbers) start to lean on each other to see the world through a new lens which gives each time to relax.
A lot of people are loving this book and I can see why. It is a book that is going to make you start to notice things. However, there were two distinct points where I thought, "Wow, this is wrapping up to be a satisfying ending" and looked down to see that there were 50-150 pages left in the book. It felt as if there were chunks just pasted on to the end. Otherwise a lovely read.

Three stars
This book came out December 31st
ARC kindly provided by Kensington and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

What a wonderful book! I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it.
I connected with Meg from the beginning. How she sees lettering throughout the city and her avoiding confrontation/arguments. Me. Totally me.
Reid? I adored Reid and his mathematical mind. Loved their little games while out exploring the city, It makes me want to go back to NYC immediately.
This was my first book by Kate Clayborn but it will not be my last.

Really enjoyed this! It was very different from anything I’ve read in a while. It was kind of a sleeper in the beginning and then both characters caught me off guard. I love how they found each other and how they’re relationship developed.

Love Lettering was one of my favorite romance novels from 2019 and it’s out in the world today! I enjoyed every moment of this smart, sweet, original rom com and read it in two sittings because I could not put it down. Reading Love Lettering felt a lot like watching two people fall in love in real life. Due to the circumstances of their initial meeting, and Reid’s discovery of Meg’s secret message that brings them back together, the beginning of their relationship is filled with distrust and a bit of animosity, creating that enemies to lovers vibe that I love so much.

It was a complete delight to watch Meg and Reid slowly break each other’s walls down as they spent more time together. Meg is a successful and relatively well known hand letterer on the verge of a big break when Reid comes walking back into her life. He is understandably confused and upset when he confronts her, forcing Meg to deal with some of the issues that have been holding her back. Not ready to let him walk away again, Meg decides to take a chance when she asks Reid to help her with a big project. Reid, despite being distrustful, has some big issues in his own life and decides a distraction might be just what he needs to get through it.

I loved that so much of the time they spent getting to know one another was so centered around Meg’s career. This book made me want to learn more about the art of hand lettering and gave a fascinating peak behind the curtain of someone in this industry. I would definitely describe this as a slow burn, but when the two do finally hook up, it’s deliciously sexy and steamy as hell.

As much as I enjoyed the main storyline, there were also some terrific side characters that I was completely charmed by. The conflict between Meg and her best friend was so realistic, and when everything was finally laid out on the table I was hurting alongside Meg while simultaneously rooting for them to find resolution. Clayborn created some really fantastic female characters and peppered them into all aspects of Meg’s life. All of these small side stories were woven in perfectly and I did not want to put this book down. The whole plot moves at a satisfying pace, and while I was certain there would be a happy ending for Meg and Reid, nothing could have prepared me for the final twist right before the conclusion.

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy romance that makes you swoon while also feeling really fresh and unique. I would place Love Lettering in the same category as The Flatshare and The Friend Zone as all are great love stories that deal with some heavier topics as well.

ARC: Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn is about Meg whose hand lettered projects gained her quite the following. When one of her old clients, Reed, shows up with questions about a secret message she left in his wedding program. When the wedding didn't happen Reed went to Meg with his questions. They begin to build a friendship that could lead to more.

I really enjoyed this book! It was my favorite book to read in 2019. The characters were very well written as well as the story. I highly recommend this book!

I fell in love with Love Lettering. It’s just that simple. Told from Meg’s point of view it’s a tale of two unique, a bit quirky people who discover who they really are as they wander the streets of New York City reading signs, checking numbers, seeing the city in a brand new light. And perhaps discovering that they fit each other as well.

The cover description tells you enough to draw you in – and I’m not about to spoil your enjoyment of this one in any way. I liked the main characters, even though Reid is shown to us through Meg’s viewpoint that didn’t stop him from becoming a full, complete person in his own right as her observations show not only Meg but us, who Reid truly is. The full circle of emotions gets involved here as each learns lessons from walking the streets of the city, seeing things they may have never noticed before and added more pieces to their individual puzzles on life.

I enjoyed myself immensely with Love Lettering and would not hesitate to recommend it to any reader who simply loves a good story, one that will capture your attention and have you thinking long after the final page is closed.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

This was a gorgeous book, Meg Mackworth is feeling very isolated, she has come to New York to escape her parents, and her history, on the coattails of her best friend Sibby, and in the last year she has developed her hand lettering business very well, into designing bespoke wedding stationery and doing planner spreads for people, with a sideline in staffing a beautiful papierie.

She is feeling more isolated than ever, as her friend has pulled away from her, and spends all her time with her new boyfriend. Meg has a secret though, sometimes she hides messages in her work, and when the groom of the couple she designed wedding stationery for comes into the shop, holding the invitation she designed, sans Bride, she thinks her career might be over, however, it’s just the start.

This was a proper slow burn romance, both Meg and Reid are wary, cautious creatures, very unhappy in their own ways at the start, they very very slowly come to understand each other, and although this took a while, it was lovely to let the romance develop slowly, it’s quite unusual in most of the books I read, there is definitely more ‘instalove’. I really appreciated this, as it felt very believable. There was a lot of Will they/won’t they, as Reid was keen to leave NY, and his job, while Meg’s career is balanced on the cusp of something big.

I loved the dramatic plot reveal, that explains Reid’s very cagey, reserved demeanour, and I liked the games they played as they walked around the city, and the way the book is a bit of a love letter to NYC, as well as a love story. The whole thing felt really believable and honest, and the focus on planners and lettering felt very modern and of the moment.

Highly recommended.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book and all opinions are my own.

Also posted on Goodreads

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Publishing house for this wonderful ARC of this book.

This has been the best book I have read in 2019 so far and I have read it many times since I got it. It has been undoubtedly the most fun I had reading a book in a long long time.

I really don't know how to review this. I don't have enough words to put this book to justice. It is that good of a book. But none the less , I am gonna try to make you all fall in love with it too.

The main theme of this book centers around our protagonist Meg who is a Hand letterer and Calligrapher living in NYC. She is somewhat famous but recently been drawn into a bit of block and has a bit of a bad habit of leaving hints into her work that she shouldn't. Just like her hidden message which may or may not have left , led to Reid Sutherland calling of his wedding. Now imagine seeing him after all this time in her work place , demanding explanation of the cryptic 'message'. That sounds like a career ending disaster but was actually the start of a wonderful story.

This book was not only about romance. The author stated that she prefers to write about female friendship and looking back , I can see that about this story. The way she had explained about the rough patch between Meg and her female friends made me fall in love with this book a bit more. I absolutely adored Lachelle , Cecelia , Sibby and Lark. The dynamics of the Meg's friendship and love life developed in the same frame. Her career and her artistic block and the huge role Reid played in making her realise things about herself , both personally and professionally , made me root for these two 'Opposite attracts' a bit more. Coming to Reid , I need a Reid in my life. I completely and absolutely fell in love with that man. He was a genius guy , a bit of a social pariah and a bit awkward at times but a great guy at heart. He was a brave man and a good guy who deserved to have his happy ending with Meg.

The cover was probably what made me wanted to read this book in the first place but the great writing and the solid plot twist with absolutely realistic views of friendship and love is what made this one special. And ofcourse NYC. This book made me fall for New York City. You can read the love that Meg had for NYC and her determination to make Reid fall in love with it too. Don't be fooled by the cover because the chemistry between these two was off the charts. There is a huge plot twist near the end which ya'll just have to read and find out for yourself. This book deserves all the stars and I highly recommend every romance reader to give it a try at least once.

Happy reading!

A review: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/love-lettering-by-kate-clayborn/

"Love Lettering is a way to end the decade on a perfect note. Or perhaps it’s a way to start the new decade on a perfect note. Whichever option you choose, my enthusiastic recommendation remains the same. It’s not a book to race through and devour in a short span of time. My advice is to linger on each page and let the words engulf you. Love Lettering is about signs, art, words, and the power they wield over us — it’s only fitting that the reader treats the neat black letters on the page with as much gravity as the book does."

This might be my favorite book by Clayborn so far. The premise is really original and refreshing, which is something I think can be applied to all of her books so far. The tropes are not new, but she always bring a fresh spin to them and she has a very distinctive voice with her writing.

I’ll take “Things I Love for $1000,” Alex.
*
Meg Mackworth is a hand-letterer & calligrapher who’s Brooklyn famous for her custom journals & hand-written invitations. She’s maybe-sort-of gotten everything she’s ever wanted. She’s maybe-sort-of started letting little hints of her job/life dissatisfaction sneak into her work. But what’s the harm? They’re flights of fancy, & they’re hidden to everyone but her. But when Reid Sutherland stalks into her shop & demands to know how she correctly predicted that his marriage would fail, she’s forced to face up to him AND those dissatisfactions.
*
LOVE LETTERING is the kind of book that makes me weep for genre categorization & marketing, because those all but ensure that it will never pass before the eyes of a whole subset of people, & will be passed over by another set who consider themselves too serious (or too male) to pick it up. And that’s a shame, because Clayborn is a fantastic writer. Her characters are smart & specifically drawn. Her dialogue crackles off the page. And as much as this is a book about a relationship, it’s also about a unique way of viewing & moving through the world, infused as it is with an appreciation of aesthetic & design; of the art inside our everyday. (Also, I wouldn’t call this a love letter to New York *persay*…but if you’re a person who’s had to work to love NYC, then BOW HOWDY does this book get you.)
*
Looking back through my 2019 reads, I DNFed more romance novels than I finished, and mostly it was because they lacked what this one has in abundance: complex heroines who don’t suddenly have all their shit fixed because a man showed up to love them; complicated female friendships; women (multiple!) who are passionate about their work. This book also surprised me by having a male protag just as fully developed as its leading lady—you’ll fall for Reid not because he’s a swoony romance hero (but like…he is also that), but because he’s a messy thicket of a human being, and his spark with Meg feels real and organic.
*
Happiest of pub days to this emotionally intelligent & fiercely feminist book, & HUGE thank you to @kensingtonbooks and @netgalley for the ARC!! I can’t wait go buy & read it again.