I think the characters lacked a lot of chemistry which makes it hard to get into the story itself. It felt like the story itself lacked a lot of depth. The cover itself I feel like could be worked on. I don’t hate it but I don’t think it captures you so much.

4.5/5 - This cute quarantine tale has a lot going on. An out-of-work protagonist about to be evicted gets an offer she can't refuse. Well, she could, but it would mean moving back in with her mother, a fate to be avoided at all costs. Her boyfriend isn't suggesting she move in with him so instead, she takes her radio DJ-ing neighbor up on his offer to let her stay with him unaware that his motives are less than altruistic. From there the tropes get acknowledged with a wink as they play out in the most wholesome of ways in a not-rushed-at-all manner.

It’s the middle of a pandemic, Angela has no job and is getting evicted. Luckily her neighbor Colin has an extra room and is looking to do a good deed. Even though she hated him, Angela moves in with Colin and goes into quarantine with him. And of course, they start to develop feelings for each other.

When I saw there was already a Covid/quarantine romance coming out, I was very intrigued. This was another cute romance. It wasn’t super memorable, but in the moment it was a light, easy read. It’s the kind of self-aware romance that almost makes fun of itself with references to romance novels, which I appreciated. I didn’t think Angela and Colin had the best chemistry, but it also wasn’t terrible. If you accept this book for the cheesy goodness that it is, it will not disappoint.

Thank you to @netgalley and @booksgosocialclub for this advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review. Love and Lockdown will be released on March 4.

Thank you netgalley for letting me read this ARC!

This was a light and quick read for me. I’ve been getting into romance lately, so I enjoyed it. I usually get attached to characters very easily, but I definitely did not feel any attachment to these characters. I appreciated the connection the author is trying to make with what’s going on today (Pandemic), but it might be too soon.

Overall, it was a cute romance!

This was a quick read and it had glimmers of potential but I never really felt fully connected to the characters. I thought I would be into a pandemic-based romance but it may just be too soon for that.

I read this book voluntarily on netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy!

Overall, this is your classic enemies-to-lovers story, with a unique twist that it takes place during the pandemic. I must admit, it was a bit awkward to read about a lockdown romance when we're still in the midst of the pandemic. But, I appreciated the realistic descriptions of cautious interactions and unique situations that we have all experienced during lockdown in some way, shape or form. While I usually love enemies-to-lovers tropes, I found that these characters in the book were meh. I didn't feel connected to them and didn't really care to see them together. However, I enjoyed the author's writing style. It was a cute/light read.

Colin and Angela live in the same building and they can't stand each other. When Angela can no longer afford her apartment due to the pandemic, Colin offers her a place to stay in his apartment. It's the perfect setup for a modern day enemies to lovers story.

It feels a little odd to read about a romance set in a pandemic while we are in a pandemic. The author included little Quarantine activities that everyone did, including making sourdough, which helped make the story feel relatable.

I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style; there was an overwhelming amount of similes, metaphors, and anecdotes. In the middle of his radio show Colin went off on an internal monolog of when he soundproofed his room and painted it beige for two paragraphs.The author does poke fun at the tropes in this book by having Colin's radio listeners discuss the forced proximity and enemies to lovers trope.

I didn't think that there was a lot of chemistry between the two main characters. Angela was unfortunately hard to relate to. I was hoping that the romance would help with that but it took about 100 pages for the romance to get going and the book is only 269 pages long.

Overall it was a nice and easy afternoon read!

I was provided this digital ARC by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to Books go Social for providing me this arc via Netgalley!
I was really excited to read this, because I wanted to see how the whole pandemic situation would be handled, and frankly, I quite liked it. It was funny, without being disrespectful and it portraited very real situations. In regards to the romance itself, it had everything to be amazing, but it wasn't. The characters had absolutely NO chemistry and I couldn't care less if they ended up together or not, which I don't think has ever happened to me.

A love story about lockdown - while much of the world is still locked down? Yes please!

This story follows Angela and Colin, two millennials who fall into quarantine together. Angela is a solopreneur who finds herself unable to find work to pay bills as the pandemic hits resulting in her being evicted from her studio apartment. Colin, a radio DJ sent on a mission from his boss to perform random acts of kindness, spots her sitting outside her door in tears and offers her a space to stay for free. After sharing the act with his audience, his listeners have to know what happens next between them. In an effort to thank him for living rent free, Angela helps him right stories to tell his audience about the budding relationship that isn't "actually" happening between them... or is it? Sarcastic banter turns into shameless flirting as Angela and Colin fall hard for eachother.

I loved the idea of a pandemic love story and appreciated getting a glimpse into someone else's quarantine, even if it was fictional. I appreciated Angela's straight forward personality and Colin's easy going charm... In fact, I couldn't put the book down until I got 75% through the book. At that point, I just felt it slow down and lost a bit of interest until I reached the very okay ending. I also had a hard time relating to the characters age as I felt they were written to be 5-10 years younger than they actually were. As a fellow millennial who is about the same age as Colin and Angela, I can tell you that myself nor any of my friends use the slang and terminology that was used in this book.... In fact, the only reason I know what it means is because I worked on a college campus with students 10 years younger than me. This is obviously a bit nitpicky but I couldn't help but feel that it was out of place and forced every time I came across one.

Overall, I would recommend this book as a casual read if you are looking for an easy romantic read.

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

Though the premise was decently cute (and well timed given that it takes place during the pandemic), I found that it fell flat overall. The characters were one-dimensional, and the romance felt unnatural. I also didn't like how often they referred to themselves as romance tropes; even though they were writing a romance story, it got excessive. I thought Colin's radio show added a little more interest to the book but not enough to completely counter the lack of chemistry.

dnf @ 13%

I can't with this book. Maybe it's too early to be reading a book about the pandemic and lockdown, mostly because we're still living in it? I tried to give this book a chance but it just wasn't catching my attention and I just didn't want to read it. Off the bat, her best friend is so toxic, I think that's what threw me off and made me lose interest. Not here for toxic friendship.

A huge thanks to Net Galley and the Publisher for providing me an e-arc for review.

As a huge fan of romance novels, I should have loved all the tropes in this. But it really just felt like a jumble of concepts from romance novels, without any real romance in it.

Angela and Colin are in the midst of a pandemic when Angela is evicted. Collin needing a good deed to share about on the radio, offers for Angela to stay with him. Collin finds himself ranting about his new roommate on the air sparking a new topic that his followers absolutely love. Needing more content, Collin asks Angela for help... but can they write a believable romance?
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This book was a classic case of enemies to lovers. It was written well, but I just couldn’t connect with the characters and really really really wanted to abandon the book outright, but I didn’t. I felt Angela was a bit rude which was the biggest issue. There were hints of romance and a few rounds of comedic banter, but nothing too enticing. Thank you to NetGalley and Alyce Caswell for this free e-ARC in return for an honest review.
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Favorite Quote:
“Do whatever makes you happy.”
•

Overall: ⭐️⭐️ (2)/5

I have mixed emotions with this book. On the negative side, I always felt background information was missing. We don't know why the characters have such a bad relationship with their parents, only one or two comments to justify why neither of them wants to talk to their parents. Angela's relationships with her boyfriend and her best friend suddenly end, but there's nothing to help us understand why, all of a sudden, what happens happens.
Both Angela and Colin start finding each other attractive, but not because they get to know the other better, just because they are in lockdown.
On the plus side, the situations are funny, and I liked Colin's coworkers a lot, I would have liked to learn more about them.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book.

I liked the concept of that. I felt it was a bit too far from reality at times which took away from my enjoyment slightly and I ended up skipping some pages. Overall loved the story though.

This was a cute, light read that made light of the current pandemic situation in a way that was relatable and funny. I enjoyed many of the tropes in this book and they were definitely well executed however, I didn't feel much of a connection with either of the main characters which makes it harder to really root for their relationship and care about the story.

I really enjoyed this book. I must admit, at first I found it a bit slow going and didn't really like the characters, but I'm glad I persevered past the first couple chapters as they grew on me so quickly that it ended u up where it was midnight, and I was saying to myself just 1 more chapter. I'm not sure if the author has already thought of this, but it would be nice to see a spin off story about ishani and robs stories

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

We’re still in the midst of a pandemic, so I can understand why people wouldn’t want to consume media that is set in or comments on that very same pandemic. But I decided to take a chance with Love and Lockdown. I wasn’t disappointed, but I wasn’t blown away, either.

DJ Colin Cooper needs a new inspirational piece for his radio segment, something feel good to have done, or his boss is going to fire him. Out of work Angela Tweedle needs a place to stay. Colin invites her in without telling her his slightly selfish reasoning and the two find that, when quarantining together, they’re each not as bad as the other thought. Maybe even better.

I’m not an aficionado of romance novels. I love a good romance in a story, but those plotlines always come second to me. So it’s a little strange to be reviewing a contemporary romance. I’m not sure what the tropes are, what’s required, what’s standard.

Well, I do know what the tropes are, actually, because this novel tells me what they are. Angela starts writing a romance novel during her quarantine, as well as scribbling out a radio segment for Colin that deals with a fictional version of their courting. It’s a very self-aware novel, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what you’re looking for. It’s tongue in cheek, not taking itself seriously but readily admits to being an indulgence that you might want to, well, indulge in while the world’s going to shit.

The pacing is fine, the writing’s easy to read. The plot makes sense and carries along at a decent clip. My main problem I guess is that I had problems with the main character, Angela, and her ‘’sexy banter.’’ I liked her for the most part, I understood her. She has a mother, a best friend and a(n ex) boyfriend who don’t treat her right. But to them, she’s perfectly cordial (which is, of course, a problem). However, I feel she’s just downright snippy to her romantic interest Colin a lot. The novel tries to play it off as “sexy banter;” that’s the phrase the characters themselves use for it. But Angela comes off harsh and competitive rather than cheeky about half the time. I didn’t hate her for it, but there was a disconnect for me in the way that I associated with the back and forth between the main characters. I had it in the back of my mind that Colin was going to get hurt at some point, but the book sort of passes over her attitude like it’s not a fault.

Things I Liked About this Book:
+ The new best friend, actually. Ishani is a great character and, frankly, I would have read a romance between her and Angela more readily than one between Angela and Colin. There were good supporting characters all around, interesting if not likeable, but Ishani really takes the cake.
+ When the banter worked, it did work well. It was cute and endearing and made me smile to see the two love interests interacting.

Things I Did Not Like About this Book:
- The lack of sexy. For all that each character comments on the other’s curvaceous figure or assets outlined in their skinny jeans, there’s no real sexuality written on the page. Which is fine. If you want this to be a PG -13 novel and just hint at sexy things, that’s a perfectly valid choice. But don’t mention the spark between someone’s thighs if you’re trying to keep it clean. Because you’re going to make your reader(s) think that there’s a sex scene coming that just isn’t.

All in all, Love and Lockdown wasn’t a bad read. I enjoyed myself, but it’s definitely on the lighter side and not all that it could be. I’m not sure when else I’d read this other than now, so if you are in the mood and can handle a few, passing serious references to the virus, then give it a shot. (less)

Disclaimer: I got this ARC from @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This took me a while to get into it, but the premise made it sound really cute! I was kind of let down by the fact that it wasn't as exciting as I thought it was going to be.

I received a free advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had to abandon this book. Eventually, not even my usual burning desire to at least find out how the story ends was not enough to propel me forward anymore.

Nearly all of the relationships in this book were unhealthy. In particular, the female lead Angela’s boyfriend and supposed best friend were so incredibly over-the-top toxic that I just couldn’t stomach it anymore. It was uncomfortable to read, and I just ended up feeling awful for a woman whose self-esteem was clearly so low that she didn’t even seem to notice anything was amiss and simply continued to subject herself to mistreatment. It was so bad that eventually I couldn’t even see a way that an eventual happy ending with the male lead would be able to make up for it. I was left feeling as though the Angela should maybe consider some time in therapy and develop some boundary-setting and self-respect before attempting another romantic relationship with anyone.

There’s supposed to be a new friend character for Angela in the form of a local coffee shop owner, but it’s like this woman goes from a complete, total stranger to Angela’s new BFF and “hey, you can crash at my place if you get kicked out,” after they’ve literally met once!! And we aren’t even really given any context or reason beyond “they chatted for awhile and had a lot in common.” There’s zero development, and while it’s uncomfortable in a different way than Angela’s other relationships, it’s still uncomfortable.

And then, of course, there’s the fact that the male lead, Colin, was low-key lying to Angela and utterly violating her privacy by talking about her, albeit somewhat anonymously, to a bunch of listeners on his radio show. Could you imagine achieving a healthy relationship with someone after finding out they were airing who-knows-what about you publicly without your consent? I, for one, could not. And while I like Colin well enough, I just couldn’t really feel any connection or spark between him and Angela beyond “she’s the hot neighbor” and “I find him annoying for no obvious reason.”

For what it’s worth, Kindle tells me I made it 35% of the way through before giving up.

Maybe this is just my personal opinion, and other people might find this book more enjoyable. I just couldn’t get past the toxic parts any longer.