A fun romantic read can be found in Booked on a Feeling. Lizzie is a successful attorney, but is having a physical and mental breakdown. Returning to the town where her best friend lives, Lizzie hopes to rest and recover during the three weeks. But her best friend, Jack, and his family have other ideas. Following a fairly classic and simple romance formula, Lizzie and Jack are best friends, have a series of close encounters, have a falling out, and eventually find each other. While the formula is often trite, I did enjoy the romance and funny encounters between the two. Jack, in my opinion, was a more believable and likable character, but the story does help the reader learn why Lizzie was so compulsive.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the privilege of reading Booked on a Feeling. All opinions offered are my own.

Loved the title, and loved the story just as much! Moving to a small town and fixing up a bookstore is the absolute dream. It’s renovations and books combined, my two favorite things. Those scenes were my favorites!

Jack and Lizzy’s romance was so sweet. I love decades-long secret pining, especially when the friendship is just as fun to read as the romance.

The one thing that felt a little awkward was the jump between Lizzy working so hard to make partner, winning her first case, should be feeling great–and then deciding to leave it behind. I’m no stranger to feeling burnt out at work and longing for a simpler job, but the pacing there felt off.

I had no idea this was a part of a series until I went to mark it as read on Goodreads. I was wondering why the epilogue suddenly made it seem like we knew who Tara and Seth were more than in passing, so that answers that question. I’m excited to read the previous books now!

I really loved this book! I’m a sucker for friends to lovers but I really enjoyed this book. I loved the bookstore concept and really liked hearing about all the different family members. It makes me want to read more from this author. It was really good and I can’t wait for more!

It’s been a while since I’ve read a really heart warming and gooey centered romance novel and booked on a feeling was so much more! Very often in our 20’s, have so many people asked the same question: am I pursuing a career that I’m at least 50% interested in or passionate about? Even if the responses vary, I’ve witnessed so many times a person being unhappy because of their career choice. When they were starting with this as their career option, it seemed right but somehow in the years between that started to become the center of much of their displeasure and struggling with finding happiness or feeling content in their life.
Booked on a feeling does revolve around thai major theme. A friends-to-lovers story surrounding this theme talks about so many aspects that I appreciated. Lizzy is an attorney and is guaranteed to be made a partner at a top law firm in few years. But little does she realize that the core reason for her panic attacks or unhappiness stem from her job. On the other hand, Jack, Lizzy’s best friend since they were ten is handling accounts of his family owned brewery. In need of finding his passion and helping out his family business, he somehow always chooses his passion the least. To add, he’s loved Lizzy since they were ten. When Lizzy finally decides to take an impromptu three week vacation to Jack’s hometown, fire sparks between them and the rest is history. But through this love story developing, both of them are finding themselves and that’s what made me love the story. Realistic and yet capable of making your heart melt, Lizzy and Jack’s love story involves both of them figuring their true selves out and how they both motivate each other to come to reality with this true. As a bonus a very important chunk of the story revolves around bookstores and that made my heart grow a size more! It emphasizes on the importance and the uniqueness independent bookstores bring, the reasons why people read romance (which is not always because they want to read a love story) and what it means to be a bookstore owner.
Sometimes the path to the rest of your life has been in front of you all along! The epilogue was the sweetest bit ever and I’m thankful to the author that she included this snippet because the story feels whole to me with that bonus chapter!
Thank you netgalley and St. Martin’s press for giving me an ARC copy of this!

This book was a cute romance read! If you’re a fan of fluffy romances that just feel comforting and easy to follow, then Jayci Lee’s books are perfect for you. I think my biggest issue with this book was the lack of direction with the plot. And sometimes it felt as if there wasn’t a plot at all while reading. The friends to lovers romance was easily my favorite part, Jack and Lizzy were made for each other and I loved seeing their friendship bloom into more. Though I wasn’t a fan of the storyline, I did thoroughly enjoy the romance and small town setting, making this book overall a cute summer read!

Link to my instagram review is attached below.

I thought this book was really cute. It had so many thinks to love like all the commentary on romance & tropes. I also love any book that has realustic anxiety representation.

DNF. The main characters were extremely immature and annoying. I also really didn't like the writing style and how every little movement the characters did were documented by the paragraph. Thank you for the opportunity.

Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee, book three in the Sweet Mess series, is a sweet friends to lovers romance. Lizzy Chung had her entire life planned out; she would make her parents proud, be successful, and live happily ever after. At least that was the plan. But plans go awry, and after a panic attack in court, she jumps in her car and heads to Weldon where she spent her childhood summers with her best friend, Jack Park. Jack has crushed on Lizzy for so long that he is thrilled to spend three weeks with her. When Lizzy needs his help saving the local bookstore, he agrees and their journey together begins. Soon, they move from friends to lovers along with some personal growth. They are both at a professional crossroads, with decisions needing to be made, affecting family expectations as well as personal relationships. Together, Lizzy and Jack work to find solutions to these decisions, helping each other deal with Lizzy’s anxiety and Jack’s feelings of unworthiness. This only leads them to growth, life-changing decisions, and a happy future together. I highly recommend A Booked on a Feeling to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

So, this book was just not for me. 🫠

What Worked:
- The cover is cute.
- The IDEA is cute.

Areas for Improvement:
- Who EDITED this?! There were so many issues with the storyline. How did Jack and Lizzy actually meet? Did I miss that somewhere? So she says her and her family moved to LA from Korea when she was little. Jack has always lived in this small town 4 hours away. How have they known each other and been so close since they were ten? There were random mentions of her visiting him as kids, but then she makes a comment as an adult that she doesn’t know where things are or how they work in this small town, like she’d never been there. Also, she mentions that before she starts high school her parents moved back to Korea but she stayed in the US to complete her education. How? Who did she stay with? Was that how she met Jack? But they’d have been older than 10. I just 🤯. It’s hard to support this friends to lovers relationship when we don’t have a solid understanding of their friendship.
- Also, the dialogue was so awkward and too proper, people don’t sound like that when they talk.
- There was so much repetition of why they couldn’t be together, how they felt, etc.
- The story just fell flat. Which is a bummer, because overall it’s a cute idea if it had been drafted and put together better. Maybe the final story is better edited? I read the ARC so maybe some of this was fixed.
- Also the epilogue was just ridiculous and unnecessary.

Overall, like I said, this book just wasn’t for me, which is disappointing cause I love friends to lovers rom-coms.

This came out last week, but it took me forever to finish it because I just couldn’t get into the story. 😕

This one was such an experience! As someone who watches k-dramas for some reason this one just felt like I was watching one! Before I dive more into this review I do want to thank Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this opportunity!

Now back to Booked on a Feeling haha. From the romance to the progression I just felt super comfortable reading this 🥰 it was a change of pace but a good kind!

I wanted to be friends with Lizzy Chung if only to be able to complete to do lists haha it just feels so rewarding when you’re able to just mark something as done :) so I definitely understood her excitement! It was the way Jack did little things for her here and there that made this a TRUE friends to lovers.

What I mean by that is that they were friends for 20 years before their romance FINALLY happened and in those two decades jack park got to know her the most. Knowing the things she liked or disliked, her little quirks and even things that stressed her out so when he would do things even before her even asking really showed that he was always attentive of her in the best way 😍❤️

It was dual pov so I really enjoyed having both sides of the story but because it was third person it was a bit hard to stay focused BUUUUUT that is just me! I know there’s people that love third person pov, sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t it just depends so if you are one that loves third person then this won’t be a big deal at all and you’ll love this!

My favorite part about this book was all the bookish references and the fact that it was set in a bookstore. The romance seemed a little disjointed to me. Jack has been secretly in love with Lizzy for 20 years and she has had no inkling of his true feelings. When she takes a hiatus from work and visits him in his hometown, his feelings, or at least his attraction to her comes out in the open. It seemed to me that Lizzy jumped full force into this and was all about exploring the attraction, which all of a sudden she has too. When she wanted to go full throttle, he was pressing the brakes. He said he wanted to take things slow and do things right, but it seemed like they were never on the same page with their relationship and life goals. They were at opposite ends of the spectrum until it was all wrapped up and they weren’t anymore. I guess I would have liked to see a little more development between Lizzy and Jack and maybe a little more with the conflict resolution as well.

The book starts with Lizzy who is a lawyer, having a panic attack on one of her cases. So she decides to take a few weeks off and go visit her best friend, Jack, in a town called Weldon. Firstly, when the book starts, I felt like I was already behind. Like the two characters are not only best friends already, but each one is already in love with the other. Maybe it's just me but I just feel like I couldn't grasp their connection since it was already there. Secondly, the ending was kind of a let down. (Spoilers) I mean they have one fight (again after being friends for two decades) and then they don't speak to each other for two months AND they just immediately break up? It just felt very sudden and just kind of thrown in there. The middle seemed like a lot of fluff, but I did enjoy reading some of their interactions.

Such a heartfelt, sweet romance with lovely characters warming your heart! It’s a great example of feel good reading!

Sometimes it can be hard to find a romance that has the romance, but also substance. Plus, tension and very relatable characters. This book had all of that. Lizzy's battle with anxiety brought mental health a very necessary and relatable spotlight. I appreciated Jack's ambitions to dream and the fact he gave Lizzy space when she needed it to find herself and her dreams. I thought tye story also highlighted well the added pressures that can be put upon children by their parents, to succeed. But also that what they assume isn't always what you get and people can surprise you. Success may not be what you think their standards are. Add in the slow burn sizzle between these two, a bookstore, and a brewery and I just wish I was actually in Weldon watching this love story unfold. Drinking tea at the bookstore by day, having a beer by night.

I wanted so much to like this one - a rom-com with books involved? Sign me up! While I related to the FMC’s anxiety and journey in finding happiness career-wise, overall it fell flat for me and I just wasn’t invested in the characters. However, if you enjoy a sweet friends to lovers story, this one might be worth checking out.

I love a pink book cover and this one has an absolutely darling cover. This is the third book in the A Sweet Mess series, of which I have read the second book, but any of the three can can be read as a standalone. In this friends-to-lovers romance, best friends Jack and Lizzy explore their feelings for one another while Lizzy is on leave after an intense court case. While in town Lizzy helps out at the local book shop she is renting a room from and discovers she loves it a lot more than being a lawyer.

I liked this book but didn’t love it. I enjoyed the book while actively reading it, but when I put it down I wasn’t instantly pulled back to it, which is likely why it took so long for me to finish a 300 page book. I really love the Korean-American representation in the whole series. While the cultural aspects of the book were not at the forefront of the story, I liked the subtle references to tradition.

I liked both Jack and Lizzy. I appreciated Lizzy’s struggle with anxiety and how it was depicted in the book. I didn’t love her sudden change in careers. I get it, being a lawyer is hard, but usually you figure out the field isn’t for you during the three years of law school. I get that her job was causing her anxiety, but it felt like a rash decision without a plan that was never really resolved on the page. I really liked Jack, but felt like despite the book being dual POV, I never got enough of him and his motivations as the book was so focused on Lizzy’s journey. Overall this was a fine 3 star book, but not one that I’m going to return to again and again.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars = Good+

Hallmark movie feel with lovely bookstore bits and some identity/self-discovery pieces. Nice chemistry between the main characters. Enjoyable contemporary romance (Language, sex)

Read/Listen If You Like:
❤️ Reading Diversely
❤️ Second Chance Romance
❤️ Childhood Friends to Lovers
❤️ Small Town Vibes
❤️ Finding Your Happy

Book Review:
For the plot/book content this one gives you a high achiever burning out and running away from her work and responsibilities to try to find her happiness after winning a trial and having no joy come of that win.

When she returns to the small town that she grew up in she starts to find her happy working in a bookstore and helping to get it fixed up and to a point to thrive instead of surviving. As she is doing this, she is reconnected with her childhood friend and they teeter between the will they - won’t they get together that comes with weighing the pros and cons of exploring more with a strong friendship first and foremost.

While teetering they lack communication skills that ultimately gives some miscommunication trope vibes that leaves you wondering- is it worth the risk to attempt to be more than friends and take a risk on love?

You will have to read to find out is what will be the reason for her happy and will she find in a small town?

I was so excited to be approved for this ARC, and so disappointed by the actual execution. Books about books? Yes please! Golden retriever love interest? Yes please! Bland, boring dialogue; over-description; and absolutely no surprises to be found anywhere? No, thank you :( I will give Jayci Lee another try, but this was not the one for me.

Childhood friends to lovers is always a fun combo especially when one of the characters is a clear overachiever. That being said the real shining glory of this is the setting, not the characters.