An adorable second-chance rom-com perfect for reading on a sunny day. Kara, a romance author tangled up in an impending book deadline, writer’s block, and prepping for her best friend’s wedding, is caught off guard when her college ex, Ryan, turns out to be the groom’s childhood best friend. Yikes! But the only thing triggering Kara’s writing is seeing Ryan--even though each hangout makes her even more and more confused about why they broke up in the first place. Double Yikes!! But also--witty banter! Ryan has a bulldog! Steamy moments! Heartbreak! Sprinkles of every great romance ingredient in Bromely’s debut, and very enjoyable.

This combines the best of a second chance romance with a bit of enemies (bitter exs) to lovers. I read this in one sitting and just couldn't put it down. I thought Kara and Ryan had great chemistry and I believed their history. All the side characters were phenomenal and really helped create a full world. I do thing that the actual romantic journey wasn't my favorite and I honestly don't know if I was 100% routing for the couple, but I am happy with how the story ended. And having a excitable and zealous bulldog taking up page time is never a bad thing.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my gosh! I just loved it!

Kara is a historical romance novelist. She is in desperate need to finish her next book but cannot find the inspiration to put words down. And the deadline is fast approaching.

While attending her best friend’s pre-wedding party the inspiration she needs walks right up to her. It’s her ex-boyfriend from College, Ryan.

There is a lot of hurt and anger between the former couple as they are thrown together for the wedding festivities. Can they overcome their past? Can love shine again? Or are they destined to go their separate ways after the wedding?

I loved how Kara’s life as a novelist played such a huge role in this book. With Ryan always asking about her books knowing how important that is in her life. I think that will resonate with a lot of readers. We all want our partners to understand and support our passion for reading.

I loved the chemistry between the characters and even though I may have guessed much of how the book would play out, it didn’t take away from the read for me at all.

A rom-com weekend buddy read with Susanne💞

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing – Graydon House for an ARC to read and review.

Review to be posted on blog: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

What Happens When You Reunite with your First Love 10 Years after You Mutually Break Each Other’s Hearts?

Chemistry, Sparks, and Witty Banter Galore! Bring it On!

Kara is a writer and a bookstagrammer whose best friend is getting married. Kara is ecstatic for her until she goes to the pre-wedding party and sees Ryan, her first love there. Turns out he’s good friends with the groom and Kara never knew it!

On a tight deadline with her new book, Kara needs inspiration. Who knew that seeing your ex for the first time in years would do the trick?

Both Ryan and Kara have plenty of reasons to be angry at each other and yet, neither can deny the sparks that fly when they are around each other or the fact that they still have feelings for each other.

You know the old saying, it’s not over till it’s over! And for Ryan and Kate, it’s definitely NOT Over!

Oh, what a crazy, fun rom-com this was! While I really liked the book.. my favorite character might just have been Ryan’s dog.. (lol).

A buddy read with Kaceey that we both enjoyed!

Published on Goodreads, Twitter, and Instagram.

HJ Recommends

Talk Bookish to Me was every bit as charming as the title suggests. The witty banter, quirky-but-cute characters, and love story that spanned a decade added up to make a rock solid debut from Kate Bromley.

As a fan of second chance romance and enemies to lovers tropes, the fact that Talk Bookish to Me combined them both into one story was a win-win. On top of that, Kate Bromley had a fab writing style that was filled with quick and hilarious dialogue, as well as our heroine Kara's seriously entertaining inner monologues. Bromley's prose had an almost comedic edge to it that literally had me smiling–if not outright laughing–almost the entire time. (It didn't hurt that she also included some humorous scenes with our hero Ryan's roly poly bulldog Duke.)

Kara was an interesting mix of being a completely modern woman who also basically had an old soul. She mainly wrote historical romances–and we got to see some chapters from her current work in progress as they were sprinkled throughout the book. Kara seemed like she felt emotions very deeply. Which meant that past hurts stuck with her for a long time. Including what happened between her and Ryan back in college. I really loved the fiery back and forth between Kara and Ryan. (As well as Kara's fun interactions with her friends & family!) It started off antagonistic between them where things didn't end well about a decade ago, but then it morphed rather quickly into sexy flirting and teasing.

It was when things got steamy between Ryan and Kara–and when real life butted back in–that it got super complicated. I won't rehash what happened. I will say that I had been almost speed-reading until towards the last quarter of the book, when something Ryan did threw me for a loop. I had to put my kindle aside in anger, to be honest. But don't worry…thankfully it all ended in a much better place than I was expecting. So much so that I think readers will finish the final page with a happy sigh, even if we might have made a different choice than Kara did.

Split between two exciting settings: NYC and Italy, Talk Bookish to Me has me hooked on Kate Bromley's expressive writing. I can only hope that her next novel will again have the same magical combination of whimsical characters and genuine emotions.

This was not as good as I thought it was going to be. I love the two main characters but this book was all over the place about what it should it be? Part suspense, detective, fluff fiction, romance.... just pick a genre. Plus the actual story was not believable to me. Definitely not what I got when I saw this title, it is not about the books/reading but it is loosely thrown around. Disappointed and cannot recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kate Bromley and Harlequin Trade Graydon House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 5/25/21

*sigh* I wanted to love this more than I did. A love story about love stories involving a bookish heroine? It was entertaining and fluffy, but there was something missing.

Kara is a romance novel writer & bookstagrammer who is the maid of honor in her best friend's wedding and coming up on the deadline of her latest novel. Her ex college boyfriend (and first love) Ryan also happens to be in the wedding and feelings (both good & bad) she buried deep down have resurfaced which may help inspire her to finish that novel and write her own happy ending.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I loved the banter & sarcasm between main characters, the fact the main character was a romance novel writer herself and her independence. On the other hand, I did not care for the body shaming coming from Kara's mother (and herself sometimes) and the secret Ryan kept from her. Getting past those points, I am happy I received an advanced readers copy of this book and would recommend to anyone who enjoys rom coms with flawed characters.

I liked the chemistry between the main characters. *Slightly* hard to believe storyline but enjoyable nonetheless. A nice fluffy love story about love stories.

I’ve noticed a trope in romance novels where the heroine is a romance novel writer. It figures since that’s what authors know and who wouldn’t want to imagine a hunky hero for oneself?

Kara is the heroine/novelist in this one. She encounters her college boyfriend, Ryan, at part of her best friend’s wedding party. They had a very ugly break-up and, apparently, neither of them ever got over the other. It’s ten years later and they soon pick up back where they left off. And then Kara finds out the secret that Ryan had been hiding from her.

He defends himself and tries to explain what happened ten years ago and now this time. Of course, we want Kara to forgive him, but I wasn’t sure that, outside of a romance novel, that would happen.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

The reader meets Kara and her college boyfriend Ryan. Kara is a romance writer and is struggling with her latest book and worse she is on a deadline. Her best friend is getting married and the best man happens to he her ex Ryan. Ryan was her everything. I liked how the relationship is shown in this book. It wasn't a cookie cut relationship. I like the complexity of the relationship plus you get backstory of their relationship. The reader also gets a book within a book (you get to see Kara's romance novel). PLUS PARIS.

How could I pass up an enemy to lovers, second chance at romance storyline? Never! I love these type of rom-com's and Kate Bromley delivered. I laughed, sighed and swooned. I enjoyed Talk Bookish to Me much more than I thought I would, and it was a great reminder of why I love this genre so much! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read such a delightfully fun book!

This is a quick read sent to me by Netgalley on Kindle for review. The protagonist is a writer and meets her long ago boyfriend. Sparks fly...it is a light read for those who enjoy entertainment for an afternoon.

I really enjoyed this Romcom! I’m a sucker for a second chance romance and this one delivered. Witty, snarky, and fun. The last 3rd was a bit slower for me, but it came back around and I loved it overall.

This was a surprising delight. Were the exploits of Kara and Ryan predictably frustrating? Yes. Did I care? Nope. This was a nice piece of escapism, with some very sultry scenes. All-in-all, this was exactly the book I needed to read right now.

For Libraries: Your romance readers are most likely going to devour this one, so it's a pretty sure bet.

Not normally a fan of "love stories" I found Talk Bookish To Me fast paced with a decent balance of amateur detective work along with the romance.

I enjoyed this book for the most part. but about half-way to 2/3 of the way through, the pacing got very weird. I liked the character development, which really says something, as I do not usually like "second-chance" stories in which the characters already have a past. I did feel like their "new" relationship evolved well, though.
As a romance novel, I knew a wrench would be thrown into the relationship of our two main characters, and was not expecting what happened at all--I did not see it coming. But as soon as the big "event" happened, the story felt strange. It was like everything took a hard right turn and I was reading a completely different book. I wasn't sure if the one character should even forgive the other one, and a new--very interesting--character was introduced who I felt I wanted to know much more about.
The last portion of this book was kind of a let down as it didn't feel coherent or organic. Due to that, I am taking off a star from my rating. The book was good, but could have been much better.

Talk Bookish to Me is an adult contemporary romance by debut author Kate Bromley. I was utterly charmed by this book. I honestly loved every second of my reading experience here. Talk Bookish to Me is a combination of second chance romance with an element of enemies to lovers. The two main characters, Kara and Ryan dated in college and they did not end on good terms. They both have a lot of hate for each other in their hearts. Or is it love? If you are a fan of second chance love and smart, adorable and compelling romances, then Talk Bookish to Me is a May release that you need to grab! I really loved this book, and I can't wait to read more from Kate Bromley. I can't believe this is her debut release. 

In Talk Bookish to Me we meet our main character Kara as she is the maid of honor for her friend's wedding. At one of the pre-wedding festivities she finds out that her first love, Ryan is one of the groomsman. Throw in some forced proximity and time together, one adorably overweight bulldog and you have a recipe for instant chemistry and an amazing time! I loved Kara and Ryan. You can obviously tell that these two have an intense history as a couple and each on their own. Talk Bookish to Me is such a compelling read because we get to watch these two individuals not only fall back in love with each other, but see what they missed out on in each other's lives. It was such a beautiful story! There are plenty of ups and downs with Kara and Ryan, but I loved the moments where they just let themselves be the most. When they are together and relaxed, they are pure magic. It was also super satisfying to watch each of their individual character growth in the span of their story. Kate Bromley did an excellent job making them feel completely relatable and realistic. 

Kara is an author who is having a hard time finding inspiration for her newest novel. Inspiration that seems to come easy when she is around Ryan. I loved that Kara is an author and a bookstagrammer. It was so much fun to listen to her talk about her book setups and the bookstagram world. The author aspect of the story had similar vibes to Beach Read by Emily Henry, which is another book that I loved. Talk Bookish to Me is a fantastic romance that would be perfect for a movie. (big screen or small screen) Talk Bookish to Me is an upcoming release that you will not want to miss. Talk Bookish to Me is a fantastic romance! 

4.5/5 stars

Charming and fun, this contemporary romance kept my attention long enough to be a single day read. I do enjoy a nice romp amongst the books.

I really wanted to like this book. It has all the components that I love- romance, books, travel, yet it didn't do it for me. I was rooting for Kara and Ryan in the beginning. It was obvious from the moment we learn their history that the author's intention is for them to get back together. However, when I realized Ryan was hiding something from her (the cell phone was an obvious giveaway) and then his "fiance" shows up, I realized they're still not grown up enough for a relationship. When Kara took her trip to Italy, I was expecting a new romance to bloom there and was disappointed when it didn't work out with Liam. The only redeeming feature for me was the North Carolina references, particularly the shout-out for Cheerwine.