Well, this book was exactly what I needed right now with all the uncertainty in the world. Queer, heartwarming, hopeful, and there is BAKING!!

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT is as promised: a wlw romcom set in the deep dark wilds of Hollywood. Having been an assistant myself, I'm familiar with the power dynamics when coming up in the industry, and this book covers it pretty well. Ok, to the romance part: I love a slow burn. The slower the better. I like to form an attachment to the characters before they realize they are into one another, and this book is right on the slow-burn money. Other things I appreciated: consent-positive, sexual harassment, gender politics--all handled respectfully. Aside from a couple of very small things (personally, I prefer less eye rolling and name usage, and also, 40 isn't that old...) this book is a solid 4.5 that I didn't want to put down. Can't wait to shout about it on my Instagram!

Okay this book was soooo fun!!! I had a few issues with it, but I think I'll settle for a 3.5⭐ rating!!

PROS :
• f/f romaaaance!! Need I say more? YES. Because one of them is middle aged and one is in her mid twenties and I LOVE how this normalizes age differences in relationships 🎉🎉🎉
• I really appreciated how queer rep was represented and defended in this book, as well as how sexual harassment in the film industry was dealt with. The reaction from the confident was IMPECCABLE
• Loved loved loved how a powerful, rich woman uses her money and influence to help other women who don't have her ressources
• Badass babes uplifting each other
• Intricate, diverse relationships with their friends and family
• The SMUT at the end!! I needed MOREEEE
• I loved the ABSENCE of "oh, this is my first time with another woman, bla bla bla". No. They were both very established in their sexuality
• Very diverse cultural, social, and ethnic backgrounds

CONS :
• At one point I was aggravated by what felt like a childish spat and it lasted for WAAAAAY too long. This happened a few times throughout the book
• I felt like the two POVs could sometimes be confusing. The way they were formulated, sometimes I really couldn't tell who's POV I was reading 🙈
• Slow burn romance, which is difficult for me because I love it hard and FAST (😏🤣🤣) and I was getting impatient lol.

Despite the cons, I can't believe this is an actual debut novel!!!!! 💪

When Hollywood renaissance woman Jo Jones attends an awards ceremony with her beloved assistant, Emma Kaplan, rumors spark that the two must be dating-- and those sparks ignite a flame that neither of them are willing to admit. Trying to skirt around the rumors becomes difficult for them both, but the chemistry is undeniable. Something to Talk About is a very slow-burn, will-they-won’t-they romance between two sapphic women that many folks will find endearingly relatable, an ongoing dance of “does she like me that way, or is she just being nice?” that so many of us experience in our love lives.

Differently queer women? Check. Comeuppance for toxic masculinity? Check. Kissing? Check.

This is a very charming story about two women who work in Hollywood and must confront their feelings for each other after tabloids speculate about the nature of their relationship. I appreciated how respectful they were of each other the whole way.

This book gave me butterflies. Every fake dating au I have ever needed and wanted. I want to live in this book, with these characters.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and it turns out I liked it but didn't love it. I'm SO HERE for more f/f romance, and I always have fun with things set in Hollywood, so I was prepared to really love this. I mean, the two main characters go to an awards show together, and yes I want to read that, yes yes yes. But there were some issues for me.

The first thing is that no one is kidding about this being a slow burn. The amount of angst spent on thinking about things that almost happened but didn't made me lose patience a bit. At some point it actually reads sort of immature to me for a book about adults. I hate to say that.

The second issue intersects with the first. The tension is mostly external-- it's a boss and a subordinate, so the tension is in the power imbalance. That combined with the slow burn means there just has to be a lot of plot about undoing a power imbalance, and yes, GREAT, but I guess I just want to read a book where people are together more than they are handwringing about how to be together.

The weirdest thing for me was that this has a sexual harassment plotline. It's real, we all know it, but it was really left hanging, and I kind of felt like I was more traumatized by it than the characters themselves seemed to be? Which is certainly possible. I just wasn't expecting it in a book with a lot of "romcom" trappings and the resolution left me really unsatisfied.

Still, I am always a sucker for a story line that involves a person finally recognizing want they want in life and verbalizing it and going for it and getting support. It just always makes me happy!

*** Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review. ***

What a wonderful story! I loved the character development between Jo and Emma. This story was had humor, sadness, anger, basically all the feels you want in your romance novels. The chemistry between these 2 women was electric. The author knows how to build the sexual tension in the best kind of way. I'd recommend this title to anyone who enjoys and good love story.

Boss/employee romances are tricky because of the power dynamic, and this one does a very good job of navigating that. Told in alternating viewpoints, the love story told is a sweet slow burn that will be an excellent addition to contemporary romance collections-both for personal and public libraries.

There is a lot to talk about in "Something to Talk About"...

Emma Kaplan is the assistant for Hollywood's powerhouse, Jo Jones. Former child star turned producer and writer, Jo is strong, confident, and a total boss. When Jo invites Emma to join her for an awards ceremony, a photographer captures the two of them sharing a laugh... and the entire world presumes they are dating. They are not. Why would you even think that? But as the rumors continue to swirl, both Jo and Emma are realizing that those gossipy tabloid rumors may have some truth: that they do have feelings for each other. Not that they can or will act on them. Right?

A lovely f/f slow-burn romance, Wilsner's fantastic debut has bright heroines full of depth and liveliness, handles real issues seamlessly, and will have you eagerly turning the pages, screaming at Jo and Emma to just kiss already! Also really love all the details about working in Hollywood, to include the glamour, the mundane, and the ugly.

Seriously, you should be talking about this! It is the queer f/f romance you’ve been looking for. Thank you so much to @berkleypub for sending an advanced copy my way last week (and netgalley e-copy this week!).

Jo, a famous Chinese-American Hollywood writer, and Emma, her Jewish assistant, are photographed looking cozy on the red carpet, and rumors start to fly. As Jo is wrapping up her work on a successful TV series and starts to work on the script for a James Bond-type movie, the two women get closer, and the paparazzi continues to read into their every move. How will that impact Emma’s move to a new position and Jo’s first foray into movies? Do they actually have feelings for each other or have rumors just gotten out of control?

I finished reading this book at 1:30am the day after I received it, so clearly I loved it a whole lot. 😂 It is a slow-burn queer romance featuring two strong-willed, ambitious women. As a post-#metoo office romance, the power dynamics of their relationship were handled extremely well. Jo was very very careful not to abuse her position of power. Throughout the book, they both lifted each other up and made each other better. There were some miscommunication plot points as they were each silently figuring out their feelings for each other, but these didn’t feel over the top or dragged out. This whole book was a romp.

It took me a little while to get into this book but once I did I was glad I stuck with it. Jo is a child actor and a writer for a hit TV series. She has been slated to write for the new Agent Silver movies, but it hasn't been announced yet just rumors. She invited her personal assistant to the SAG awards with her in order to serve as a buffer. While on the red carpet the reports start asking about Agent Silver so Emma steps in and says something funny to Jo and the picture that is taken says 1000 words or 1000 wrong words and now the world thinks they are dating.

I'm a sucker for a slow burn and anything about movie stars, so this was the perfect combination. I'll definitely be looking for more titles by this author.

I loved this book so, so much. It was such a slow burn it was excruciating, but oh boy was it worth it.

Emma and Jo were both such great, strong characters in their own rights. Jo is so admirable for what she's gone through as a woman of color in Hollywood, and how she stood up for the racism she faced in the show she was on as a child. Emma is so bright and strong and I loved how she stood up for herself throughout the book.
I also loved the friendships in the book. Emma and Avery, and Jo and Evelyn had the most fantastic friendships I've seen in a long time. The support between these women was just so wonderful.

The romance here was sooooo slow burn. There is a miscommunication-type trope throughout much of the book, but I think it is justified given the further plot of the book. I really liked how Jo and Emma would get close to finally admitting their feelings to each other, but then they'd pull back for reasons. They were so respectful of each other always, and the consent between them was amazing. There wasn't a lot of physical affection between Jo and Emma, but the little there was...it was so good.

Overall, I loved this book so, so much. I think the tease and slow burn got to be a little too much eventually, and their first kiss was a little confusing/too vaguely written. But, this was the wlw romance book I've been waiting for, and I want everyone to read it when it comes out!

*Thank you to the publisher for providing me a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my review!*

This novel combines a number of my least favorite tropes, and the Hollywood setting is not my cup of tea -- but the writing is solid, most of the characters likeable, and I know it will be popular at the library. I'll certainly recommend it to rom-com and romance fans who may be looking to branch out a bit from m/f contemporaries.

This book was all kinds of wonderful. It was playful but held serious tones to it. I feel it lightly covered difficult topics that arise when one is part of not only the LGBTQ+ community, but also being a successful woman in a male dominated world.

At times, it felt very similar to the movie The Proposal, until the story takes off and it becomes its own entirely. I loved this book from e-cover to e-cover and I literally did not move from my position on the couch until I was done reading.

Wilsner delivers a beautiful story of two women trying to find comfort in a workplace that challenges them, and learning what it means to truly let yourself have what you deserve in life. It was a lovely read and one I will definitely revisit when hit officially hits shelves.

What a wonderful and charming debut! More books like this one are needed in the marketplace!

I really loved Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner. There's something so fascinating about watching two people come to the realization that they MAY IN FACT have feelings for each other. Even better, these are two women (we need more romances like THIS). I hope the author continues writing similar novels because I know so many readers are going to eat them up!

Actual: 4.5 stars

I got an early request for this book, and because I live in a conservative area I wanted to know what the scandalous factor was ahead of time. I love the idea of a cool romcom for the LGBT crown, but honestly, this was not very rom or very com. It was a quick read, but honestly, it was pretty boring. The best character was the sister and she wasn't even that funny, more just cute and supportive. The Hollywood angle was vaguely interesting, and some of the references were only thinly veiled, but it didn't feel like anything written by some super in-the-know-insider. The racy factor was so-so. Spoiler, they didn't even really kiss until like 90% in, and didn't do more than that until the last chapter, which was not very explicit. Meh.

This was a new one for me I was really excited to see such inclusivity and not only the cover but the writing in contact as well. A cute story a nice contemporary romance I was all Lynn from start to finish.

Jo Jones is a famous, and notoriously private, actor and screenwriter. So when a red carpet picture of her and her assistant Emma leads to rumors of a secret romance, she sticks to her policy: no comment. But as the rumors continue to grow, Jo and Emma both begin to wonder if there is more to their relationship than they realized.

LOOK AT BERKLEY!!! DOING QUEER STUFF!!!! BY A QUEER AUTHOR!!!! I'm so happy they picked up this book. It's quite the slow burn and it took me a minute to get into it, but I was absolutely charmed by Jo and Emma by the end. The boss-assistant relationship, especially in Hollywood, is very rocky terrain, but Wilsner doesn't shy away from the complicated power dynamics involved here. In fact, #MeToo plays a big role in the plot, and issues of power and consent are placed front and center. This is a fun, clever, and sparkly queer romance that I thoroughly enjoyed.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the community of women it created who supported, uplifted, and backed each other up. Even apart from the beautiful and well earned love story between Jo and Emma, this book focused on the ways women can help each other succeed, and help each other overcome injustice, and that was a message that really spoke to me. Jo and Emma's relationship had an excellent foundation of friendship underneath it. Their feelings built from many small actions, and Meryl Wilsner made sure to show them, so the reader could also get swept up in their journey. I also really appreciated that the author didn't gloss over the power dynamic between the two, but allowed them to sensitively navigate it, and finish strongly. This book was a real joy to read, and I finished wanting even more from all of the characters!