Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee. Pub Date: July 26, 2022. Rating: 3 stars. Following the theme of friends to lovers, this is a sweet and heartwarming story that is a slow burn. Small town setting with coziness throughout the story makes this a cute, fun book to read. I found this book to be slow, but overall sweet. The multicultural representation was an added bonus. I think everyone can relate to the main theme of this book about taking a chance on a friendship in hopes it turns into a romance and not losing that friendship. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley

I read this book based on the cover and it having to do with books, as well as it being like the rom com type books I liked. Added bonus, the book starts with the main character as an attorney (what I used to want to be). This was fast paced with some good romance parts and a good overall story. The characters could be slightly annoying, but it may just be because some parts felt very repetitive and dragged out. Overall I enjoyed the book.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for opportunity to read and review this arc honestly.

I really wanted to love "Booked on a Feeling" because I loved everything about the premises. However, I found it really difficult to keep myself reading the book. The prose didn't seem to flow as well to me and I felt like the stakes weren't strong enough. I pushed through to the end and overall it was an okay book, but I didn't feel any super strong feelings towards the characters or for the romance this time around. There were moments when I thought it was getting better and that I could really cheer for the characters, but then it would go back to being just 'okay' and I was left a little disappointed.

Overall, just not the best book by Jayci Lee even though I love childhood friends-to-lovers trope.

I love a good friends-to-lovers trope! The drawback is that it sometimes feels slow and the will-they-won't-they can get annoying. I did appreciate the culture and fluffy nature!
Thank you to Jayci Lee, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!!

I enjoyed how easy this book was to read. I finished it pretty quickly, I enjoyed the journey the main characters went through in this story. I loved the fact that this story had books involved within the story (you know what I mean). Lizzy has the majority of her life planned out until she takes a spontaneous trip to Weldon where she sees her childhood best friend, Jack Park. I really enjoyed how their relationship developed, definitely will be re-reading in the spring/summertime. I recommend to any rom-com lover! This book is more from than com.

Sweet, lighthearted & fluffy childhood-friends-to-lovers read with great food and a bookish smalltown vibe! Overall, this unfortunately fell flat for me, but I do appreciate the Asian American representation and the main setting being a bookstore lol. I may consider reading the first two books in this series and hope that they work better for me than this one did!

I have graciously learned that I am a sucker for childhood friends to lovers. Something about it just gives me this giddy feeling and that's what I got from this book. I loved this one way more than A Sweet Mess and I can't wait to read The Dating Dare.

Loved this sweet book store romance. They might seem repative and cheesy. But I still love them. I guess because I secretly wish I could find love in a bookstore.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Booked on a Feeling is the third installment within the A Sweet Mess series. Sometimes you need a really cute romcom to jump into. Or maybe that's just how I feel from time to time. Either way, I really enjoyed jumping into this book because it was just way too adorable. It also doesn't hurt that I just really liked getting to know Lizzy and Jack throughout this.

On top of that, I was also impressed with the anxiety representation. Now I don't suffer from this, but I do know a lot of people who do. It's kind of rare (for me) to dive into a book where this is represented so clearly in a main character. Add a slow burn, friends to lovers, romance and I was completely hooked.

In the end, I'm really happy that I got the opportunity to dive into all three books of this series via NetGalley. If another one comes by my, I will be over the moon because Jayci's writing is so easy to get lost in. Definitely can't wait for her next book!

It was actually really hard not to DNF this book. I did end up skimming a lot though.

It was just so boring. Not a whole lot was happening and the characters weren't interesting enough to really care about them. They were all so flat and you didn't really get to know them that well so you couldn't connect.

I really wanted to like this book because I love the concept of helping out a bookstore and making it nice. I love the FMC's love of books and organizing...that's really the only thing I could connect with throughout the whole book.

This isn't one I would recommend to anyone
😬

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC. All opinions are mine and mine alone. :)

I’m a sucker for any story that uses a bookstore as a backdrop and BOOKED ON A FEELING did not disappoint. I was charmed by this sweet (but also sometimes spicy!) friends to lovers romance that featured top notch banter and several laugh out loud moments. A quick and easy read that has everything you want in a rom com.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the advance reading copy.

A simply (keyword: simple) adorable childhood friends to lovers romance novel! Nothing new here, but a good palate cleansing book. I really liked the premise but failed to connect to either of the characters but this might be someone else's cup of tea.

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for an advanced digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

**I also received an advanced listener's copy of this novel and completed the novel mostly with the ALC**

Three stars for me, is typically middle of the road. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. A plateau of indifference. The couple was cute and there were some parts that were adorable but overall this really didn't hold my attention/really get me invested in the romance at all.

With the ALC: The narration wasn't an issue but I do read at 2.0 or 2.5 times the speed so I'm not sure if that helped or not.

Overall, it was fine but I've since read other romance novels that stand more concretely in the 4-star or 5-star range for me. Had I not had two advanced formats of this novel I may have DNFed it to move on to novels that gripped my attention and my investment in the romance more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Unfortunately this was not for me. The writing was too cringey and I wasn’t in love with any of the characters. It was. DNF

Whew, Jayci Lee... I never knew owning a bookstore could be so... stimulating. But for Lizzy and Jack, working to spruce up a bookstore in Jack's small town seems to be all the spark their relationship needs to, ahem, get the pages turning.
Lizzy is a tightly wound lawyer who has been working her way up in the corporate world. She can always count on her best friend Jack to have her back. But when she decides to take a break from the hard-core lawyering and come to his small town, he is unable to avoid his feelings. The slow burn aspect of this romance did start to feel a little draggy at times (how many times can we discuss tool belts before we just need to take the tool belt off?) but once it got revved up it was on fire.
I did really enjoy the relationship between Lizzy and Jack. The friends to lovers trope is one that I personally enjoy. I would have liked it a little tightened up in the middle when it started to feel like we could have avoided some of the circuitous nature of the story, but Jayci got me back at the end when both Lizzy and Jack found their place... not just with each other but also with their careers.
This is an enjoyable read that would be a quick travel book. Light, enjoyable, easy to pick up and put down. The characters are so sweet and realistic that I felt like I could call them on the phone by the end.

This was a very sweet best friends-to-lovers romance! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I enjoyed the story, but it didn’t blow me away. Jack “a little pining never hurt anyone” Park has been in love with his best friend for years, but it seems to have never occurred to Lizzie that she might like him as more than a friend. When Lizzie takes some time away from her lawyer job in LA, she goes to Jack’s small town to relax and figure out what she wants. Pretty quickly she realizes that what she wants is Jack. I liked the story, but for me it lacked the kind of tension that really pulls you in and keeps you rooting for the characters.

When I requested/downloaded this book I didn't know it was a book 3. I tried to start the series and sadly I just didn't connect with any of it. Instead of forcing it and not liking it I'm just going to say this one is not for me and move on.

Title: Booked on a Feeling
Author: Jayci Lee
Publication Date: July 26 2022
Rating: 4 Stars
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.
Synopsis: Life plan? Lizzy Chung has one. She is a lawyer at a successful firm and is on her way to becoming a partner. Well, until…she has a panic attack and passes out during one of the most career-defining moments of her life. When her job then sends her on a mandatory vacation for some much needed rest and relaxation, she travels to Weldon, CA. Weldon is a small town where Lizzy spent many happy summers with best friend Jack.
Not one to rest on her laurels, Lizzy takes up a part time job at the town bookstore that she loves. And who does she run into? Jack. Elated to see her old friend, what Lizzy doesn’t know is that Jack has harbored a secret crush on her for years.
Will Lizzy toss out her own rule book and five year plan to take a chance on love and a different career than she ever imagined?

Thoughts: This was such a sweet book! This book is a light hearted romance and the story of Lizzy and Jack is heart-warming. I loved the setting of the bookstore which held its own type of magic during the book. I really appreciated Lizzy’s character arc where she almost seems to shed the life she thought she should have for one that would actually make her happy. This book would make such a great Hallmark movie!

For Fans of: Romantic comedies, Hallmark movies, second-chance romance, friends to lovers, bookstore settings.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for graciously providing my complimentary copy of Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee. I’m leaving this review on my own with my own opinions and thoughts.

When I requested this book, I didn’t realize it was the third book in a series. I’ll be honest — it was an impulse request. I saw the cute cover and the title and immediately wanted to read it. Thankfully, it can be read as a standalone.

The characters are likable and the story is familiar and relatable. I liked the banter between Lizzy and Jack and was cheering for them throughout the story. I liked that it touched on some heavier stuff in the book to balance out the sappy sweet stuff.

If you the enjoy friends-to-lovers trope, books about books, and some spice in your books, this is definitely for you!

I’ll be going back to read the other books in the series. Thanks St. Martin’s Press!

This book is what you would expect from a friends to lovers romcom. The characters were great and the story was well written. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. It had a good start, but teetered out toward the middle.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.