I adored Kate Bromley's debut book, "Talk Bookish to Me," which was a feisty, lighthearted, and surprisingly inventive rom-com. I came for the classic enemies-to-lovers plot with a bookish twist, and stayed for the truly witty writing, charming characters, and will they/won’t they tension that left me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

The story follows Kara, a romance novelist and bookstagrammer, as she reconnects with Ryan, her college boyfriend - her first love and her first heartbreak. They meet again after nearly a decade apart when they are both involved in the wedding of mutual friends and are soon thrown together and living at Kara’s apartment for an entire week. Both are keeping secrets and trying to hide years of pain they blame the other one for, but soon they realize that they need each other – for inspiration, emotional healing, and a bit very steamy fun.

As a bookstagrammer living in New York City like Kara, I really loved the parts of the book when she spoke about the community and work that goes into her page. Throughout the course of "Talk Bookish to Me" Kara is working on her next English historical romance novel and I really enjoyed that Bromley put in the extra effort to essentially write a book inside the book by providing excerpts of Kara’s work, often providing a parallel for what is happening in her real life.

I highly recommend this this book for lovers of “Summer Reads” by Emily Henry, “The Bookish Life of Nina Hill” by Abbi Waxman, and “To Love and to Loathe” by Martha Waters. I am looking forward to what Bromley writes next!

While I am continuing to post my regular content, the BLM movement is still going on. Please keep referring to my story and linktree to find ways to help out.✊🏻‼️
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Another netgalley review!! Whooop!! I am so happy I finally got an enjoyable read after so many disappointing titles. Let’s jump into it, shall we?😁
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Talk Bookish to Me focuses on our main character Kara Sullivan, an author/bookstagrammer who is desperate for the type of love she writes about. One day, while at her best friend’s wedding party fate takes the wheel when her first love, as well as her first heartbreak, Ryan Thompson is there as a groomsman. Soon after Ryan shows up Kara’s writing inspiration sparks a new high, and she might need him to stay around so that she can finish her book to combat her writing slump once and for all.😏
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This was a fun romantic comedy that I totally needed after reading some super dense memoirs. Though I did enjoy this for the most part, I did end up docking a star because it really started to drag towards the end, which caused me to skim some of the completely unnecessary drama which felt edge memory forced. We also got some snippets of Kara’s historical romance book she was writing, which was just not good? It really took me out of the story, and really distracted me from the main premise. Overall, if you love romcoms, or Beach Read by Emily Henry, I think you should totally check this out when it comes out in March!🥰
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What do you love about romantic comedies? Let me know!💋
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Dm me to talk about all things book or writing related! I’ll be looking forward to it! —Em😌

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I really enjoyed this book! Kara Sullivan runs into her ex, Ryan, at a friends wedding and ends up having to spend a week together. Great characters, secondary characters, funny and romantic, definitely recommend!

Kara and Ryan’s college romance ends very badly. Ten years later the meet again at their friends’ wedding. So angry with each other yet having Ryan helps Kara, a romance writer, get over her writers block. Will these enemies become lovers again?
Of course the answer is yes but getting there is such a treat! There’s angst and healing and, best of all, a chance to get inside Kara’s steamy romance novel. I would recommend this book to my patrons.

Talk Bookish to Me instantly became one of my favorite rom-com reads. Kara and Ryan were college sweethearts before communication and trust issues tore them apart and left them both with broken hearts. A decade has passed and suddenly they are face-to-face as wedding party members. Kara has become a successful author and bookstagrammer, but hasn’t found success in her love life. Kara and Ryan are initially enemies, but as fate would have it, they wind up falling for each other again. Of course for these two, now adults, life is never that simple and Kara and Ryan must determine if they can make room for each other in their current realities. I really enjoyed the writing style and dialogue by author Kate Bromley. The book was a quick read for me and will be perfect for the beach and pool this summer!

A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the debut from Kate Bromley and I LOVED IT. This book was funny, but also equally heart breaking and heartwarming. Once I started this book I COULD NOT STOP. Not even knowing that my 3 children would imminently be waking could get me to stop reading to see where the story was going to take me. This was a book that gave me chills, I felt my heart physically squeeze in moments of grief and sadness – I had to control myself from laughing out loud so as not to wake my sleeping husband. It’s a rare book that can balance romance with comedy and hit all the emotional beats at the right moment. There were so many quotes I highlighted while reading that just spoke straight to my book lover’s heart. The struggles of two people who are absolutely flawed, but cannot deny their long standing attraction is beautifully captured in the pages of this story. Kara is a romance novelist and so throughout the book as she finds her voice again you get glimpses into the historical romance she is writing – so it’s almost like you get 2 books in one which I found to be delightful. Kate Bromely’s story telling skills feel more mature than just one novel and I’m looking forward to reading more from her in the future.

Kara Sullivan is a NYC-based author of romance novels who is not very successful in the romance department herself in Talk Bookish to Me. Her friend Crissy is getting married, and as maid of honor Kara is doing her best to make the wedding day as smooth as possible for her friend. At a pre-wedding party for the happy couple, Kara is shocked to find out that one of the groom's best friends, in from North Carolina for the wedding, is her old college sweetheart, Ryan.
Even though it's been 10 years, Kara still has unfinished business with Ryan. He graduated before she did, and while they tried a long-distance relationship, she could never believe that he wasn't seeing other girls. After going out with Ryan for drinks, Kara finds that her writer's block has mysteriously disappeared. She's able to finally make progress on the novel that is due to the publisher in only a few days. Since Ryan seems to be the key to finishing the book, there's only one thing to do: spend as much time as possible with him while trying to maintain her aloof demeanor (guess how long that lasts?).

As Kara works on her latest novel, we get chapters of that book showing the progress she's making. Helpfully, Kara explains the romance genre to Ryan in great detail, which of course he's only too eager to absorb. She details the various types of romance novels (Kara's own specialty is 19th century British historical novels), as well as the tropes that appear in all romance novels.

While there was some funny banter in the book between Kara, Ryan, and her friends, the action moved along at a glacial pace. The same things were gone over and over (the misunderstandings that led to the initial breakup, parental problems, etc.) without much progress being made. I also didn't understand the romance-writer tutorial that was sort of awkwardly thrown in. Still, Kara and Ryan's relationship did employ several of the tropes she mentioned, so at least this book followed the guidelines!

Talk Bookish to Me is a love letter to book lovers and rom com fans alike. Our leading lady Kara Sullivan is a romance novelist and a Bookstagrammer. Be still my heart. The only problem is that she's on a deadline and has a case of writer's block. Enter past love Ryan Thompson. He might just be the answer to more than her looming deadline.

Many thanks to the author, narrator, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

*Reviewing ARC Copy from NetGalley*

Kara Sullivan, bestselling romance novelist, is sorry to say her real life romance has stagnated. Or is she sorry to say that? She is actually really happy with her life. She has a great career (albeit a quickly approaching deadline and writers block), great friends, a supportive family (albeit a mother who sometimes drives her crazy) and her own place in New York City. So she's mostly happy. But as Kara's best friend's wedding week gets under way, Kara is thrown face-to-face with her college ex. If she's being honest, no man has ever made her feel the way Ryan Thompson did. As Ryan finds a way to push all her old buttons, Kara's writer block finally breaks and she is caught between wanting to draw him closer in order finish her newest novel and wanting him back in her life long term. They've both come a long way since college, but some wounds are still fresh and trust is hard to rebuild...especially if one of them is keeping secrets.

VERDICT is that this is one of my must read romance novels of 2021. This is an enemies to lovers contemporary romance with enough tension and sizzle to satisfy any romance reader who likes these tropes. As with most of my favorite romance novels, there is more than just a romance happening here. While Kara and Ryan of course take center stage, the author includes some female friendships, platonic male-female friendships, and deals with complex topics like parental relationships and grief. As an added bonus, Kara's character is a romance writer and readers get a romance novel within a romance novel as excerpts from Kara's latest novel are included.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I found this contemporary romance funny and witty. Both protagonists have engaging, sarcastic banter that kept me wanting to see them together. But their constant rehashing of the past left me exhausted and eager for the end. Neither of them willing to move forward with what they already knew that neither of them was over the other even after 10 years. The fact that she was a romance writer put an interesting spin on things but honestly could have been better without.
Overall, a good, solid second chance romance.

This was a delightful read! Witty and fun, this is a wonderful book. It's a perfect read on a cold winter day, because this will give you all the feels. Reminiscent of a Christina Lauren book, definitely give this one a try.

I'm in the minority of reviewers in thinking this romance was ok but not great. I liked it a lot at the beginning - the romance author main character and the weaving of her historical romance novel into the main text of the book. But as the book when on I became annoyed by the main characters and the story seemed to drag.

This was the adorable story of Kara and Ryan who dated and broke up years ago but meet again at a wedding.

Kara, a talented writer, is on a deadline, and finds as infuriating as he is, Ryan is the only muse able to stop her block. With the deadline drawing nearer, Kara finds more and more opportunities to be together, but can she forgive?

This book was charming, and I really liked both characters. I would love to read more by this author.

If she wants her bestselling romance writing career to continue, Kara has to overcome a serious case of writer's block in a hurry. However, life is not cooperating as she is thrown into the chaos of a friend's wedding, where she reconnects with a former flame. This is fun to read, full of humor and action, with lots of appeal to readers who enjoy contemporary romantic comedies.

This one definitely took me a little while to get into but once I did I flew through it! The dialogue was hilarious, and the friendships between Kara's friends and family were great. I loved this one and laughed so hard at some parts I think I have abs now.

I love the aspect of this romance novel that has author and bookstagrammer Kate using her attraction to her college boyfriend, Ryan, in order to amp up the romance and tension of her in progress romance novel! This hit some favorite tropes perfectly, putting Kara and Ryan into close proximity, wedding stress and bliss, and second chance love.

In wondrous stong defense of romance novels - a book within a book - deeply drawn lovable characters - and a good dog! This book has it all. Do read it!

Thanks NetGalley for an advanced readers' copy! I loved it!

Kara Sullivan is a successful writer of romance novels and an avid bookstagrammer. (I LOVED the latter part!) She is on deadline for her latest book and is scrambling to complete a draft. Her best friend is getting married, and she's in the wedding party. Lo and behold, the college boyfriend, Ryan, who broke Kara's heart ten years ago is on the groom's side! Ryan ends up needing a place to stay, and Kara offers her couch. Having him nearby is inspiring her writing, so it's all good, till it gets too friends and a big, giant complication splits them apart.

I'm a sucker for books where the characters call each other by nicknames. For me, that adds a more realistic touch. So, I fell for Ryan the first time he called her Sullivan. Also, he loves his dog. Dogs are always a plus. I really wasn't sure how the giant complication was going to be resolved, but I was satisfied with it. This was a fun read and I recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in return for an honest review!

My Thoughts
If you have been a regular follower of my blog you should already be aware that I love books about books, bookstores, libraries, authors… you name it, as long as it is book related. This book has “Bookish” in the title and it about an author and Bookstagrammer! There was no way I could pass this one up! Here are my pros and cons for Talk Bookish To Me:

Pros

1. The female protag is an author and an Bookstagrammer!! YEAH! I just recently started my own Bookstagram so I was totally relating to her crazy need to share books she loved.
2. The lead male protag has no clue what a Bookstagrammer is and he tried to describe it as “a secret librarian photographer”. I laughed out loud… although, he wasn’t really wrong. HAHA!
3. I thought the characters were relatable and realistic.
4. I enjoyed the snark and tension and obvious strong emotions between Kara and Ryan.
5. Since Kara is a romance novelist, she discusses a lot of the tropes used in romance novels and she indicated that the enemy to lover trope was one of her favorites. That is also one of my preferred tropes and this book is a great example of it.
6. I was pretty much hooked from the first chapter and raced through the rest of the book in record time.
7. This book has some depth to it as well – family issues, unfortunate miscommunications and assumptions, unfortunate timing. It isn’t all snark and swoon!
8. Speaking of swoon… I thought this book was pretty tame with regard to the love scenes. I’m not really into the super steamy stuff, so I appreciate that this book included that part of the story without describing every single thing in graphic detail.
9. I enjoyed the sections from Kara’s historical romance novel (the book she was writing in the story) that were interspersed throughout the book. I’m also glad a conclusion to her book was included because I was getting interested in that story line as well!
10. The ending is perfect.

Cons

1. As with all romance novels, there must be a conflict near the end that the couple needs to work through and resolve before they can get to happily ever after. I didn’t like the conflict in this one because it didn’t feel realistic to me. All I will say is that Ryan did something bone-headed stupid and it did not feel like something he would have done (based on how he was written in the rest of the story). I wish the “conflict” had been something else entirely, because the situation used in the book felt unlikely and contrived.

Summary
I really enjoyed this book. I liked the romance, the book-related content, the situations, the traveling… all of it. It is fast-paced, contemporary, angsty, funny, and genuine. I would recommend it to anyone who loves a solid contemporary romance.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin/Graydon House for providing an ebook, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This contemporary romance read completely mesmerized me and had my heart. Wholeheartedly. Here, Kara Sullivan is a popular romance author and bookstagrammer. She's dealing with her best friend's upcoming wedding stress, her latest book deadline, and writer's block. Then, her first love and ex-boyfriend Ryan shows up for the wedding to her surprise and he sparks some sort of writing inspiration in her that gets her book on track. So, we get some good forced proximity and second chance romance tropes here that I became utterly obsessed with and couldn't put this book down. Can she embrace Ryan, her unlikely and handsome muse, to get everything done and find her own happily ever after too? I'm always down for a fun bookish romance, and this totally fulfilled that niche for me, and that GAH, so freaking cute. Ryan and Kara have such a sharp, fun, and engaging banter, and it leads to such a cute romance read. I just couldn't, nor did I want to, put it down before I finished this read. It's so sweeping and cute. Then, even when the biggest freaking bombshell dropped, my heart ached and I just wanted a HEA for our hero because I had fallen for this book and Kara+Ryan have such a connection and that spark. It's so heartfelt, vulnerable, and emotional yet so sweeping and squeal-worthy. Author Kate Bromley didn't just write one book that I need but two because I also need Kate's full manuscript in real life. Then, that epilogue is absolutely precious to boot. It's so fun, full of compelling language, and an enjoyable romance read for all us bookish girls.