DNF at 43%. I felt like the story wasn't progressing as I hoped. There was very little backstory which would be fine if the main characters didn't have a lifelong history that I felt was missing. Even as Lizzy is taking a break from being a lawyer, it felt like law was abandoned altogether. Literally was not mentioned the moment she got back into her hometown. Maybe it comes later but it felt almost unnecessary to the story. She could have got burnt out from any job at all. This is all personal preference though, some people seem to have really enjoyed it.

After lawyer Lizzy passes out during a trial, she takes a much-needed break to visit her best friend Jack. Spending her days helping out at a struggling bookstore, and hanging out with Jack in the evenings, she finds herself relaxed for the first time in a long time. She also starts having romantic feelings for Jack. She wonders if maybe it's time to leave LA for a slower-paced life. Little does she know that Jack has applied for a job in LA so he can be closer to her and pursue his own dreams apart from the family business. Being pulled in different directions, can Jack and Lizzy find a way to make their new-found romance work?

This is a sweet-and-steamy romance with a small-town feel, but it's not a small-town romance. I loved the way Lizzy and Jack worked together to save the bookstore. Beyond that, there was a lot of focus on the physical attraction between them. This book kept me guessing until the end.

CW: anxiety, parental bullying

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This book just made me feel good while reading it. I smiled a lot and it warmed my heart. The characters were sugary sweet (in a good way), and I was rooting for them the whole time.

I have really been loving friends to lovers tropes lately, and this was such a good example of friends to lovers. I loved Jack and Lizzy. This was just a good example of a cute, easy and quick read that I really enjoyed.

30-year-old Lizzy Chung, avid list maker and perfectionist, is burned out from trying make partner at a prestigious LA law firm. As her anxiety continues to flare up and exhaustion takes over, Lizzy decides to take 3 weeks off to immerse herself in small town life. Lizzy travels back to Weldon, CA, home to her very handsome best friend, Jack Park, and the idyllic community where she spent her summers as a child. Unable to relax, she decides to help a local bookstore by giving it a much-needed facelift. She is so thankful for Jack’s help, but as they spend more time together, sparks fly and she suddenly finds herself wanting to be more than friends with Jack. Can she figure out how to be happy and does it include Jack?

Meanwhile, Jack has spent 20 years pining after his best friend. Having this extra time with her is wonderful, but he is struggling to hide his feelings for. He is also dealing with a career crisis of his own as he decides whether he wants to continue working for the family brewery.

This was a cute read. It is a classic case of “I have loved you for forever but don’t want to risk messing up our friendship.” I think friend to lovers can be a tough trope without a necessary dose of angst. I think overall, I just wanted more from the characters; a little more angst, a little more depth, a little more something.

This book does have anxiety representation but as someone who has anxiety, I did have trouble relating to Lizzy’s anxiety experience. Lizzy finds quick relief every time she takes medicine, which isn’t how I have experienced the condition. Personally speaking, medication has been helpful, but it isn’t a magic pill and still takes effort to manage. I do think everyone experiences anxiety differently, so it may better resonate for someone else.

I would still give this one a try if you enjoy friends to lovers, forced proximity and small-town romances.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have posted my review to Goodreads, Instagram and Amazon. Amazon review is pending but link below should work once it has been approved.

When we first meet Lizzy Chung she’s on the verge of a major turning point in her career. As a lawyer, her current case could be the break she needs to make partner. But in the middle of her opening statement, Lizzy passes out. With such a major misstep she figures furthering her career is now a case closed.

No stranger to panic attacks, Lizzy decides to approach handling them differently. So she leaves her high pressure job in LA behind, and heads to the quaint small town charm of Waldron for a little rest and relaxation. Not only is it where she grew up, it’s where her life long best friend, Jack Park, happens to still live as well.

While Jack is thrilled to have Lizzy back in town, he finds himself panicking for a different reason, his unrequited feelings for his best friend. While a part of him is itching to take their relationship to the next level, he doesn’t want to jeopardize their friendship. Besides, this is all assuming Lizzie feels the same way he does which can’t possibly be true, right?

Booked On A Feeling is a light read that is the technically the third in the Sweet Mess series, but could be read as a stand-alone as well. I didn’t read the other books, but I can say I didn’t connect with this one at all. The readers know that Lizzy is lost, but her frustration with her career seems to come out of nowhere as there is no build up. And speaking of build up, I found the relationship between Jack and Lizzy boring and forced, eventually succumbing to eye rolling cheesy love scenes. Oh and did I mention there’s Lizzy’s love for bookstores? It’s sort of a big deal in the book and yet not, all at the same time.

In the end, it’s sad to say, but Booked on a Feeling left me feeling more frustrated than anything else.

3.5 star

This is Lizzy and Jack’s story. She is making a name for herself and achieving all her goals until she has a panic attack. After winning the case she heads off to regroup for three weeks. She meets up with her childhood friend Jack who has loved her forever. But he knows her life is not here. When they take on a project together, they build a deeper connection but will is be enough for them or will one have to give up their dreams to have a chance at winning the other? I didn’t really connect with the characters in this story, so it made the reading a story a little difficult.

Lizzy is a people pleaser. She’s trying super hard to please her mom with her career even though it’s not really what she wants. Jack is the in the same predicament. They’re besties since they were young. (Loved this!) I loved the bookish nods in this book. Lizzy has a TBR like mine. LOL

Overall, a super cute and funny little rom com!

This book had the perfect combo of friends to lovers trope with a partial setting in a bookstore and I still couldn't get into it. I don't know what it was, but I just didn't like any of the characters. I flew through the book in just a day or two, but that's only because I was on vacation and was trying to sit and relax, and I also didn't feel like deciding on what other book to read. I've enjoyed the other books by this author, but this one was a bit of a dud for me. However, I still feel like this would be a book enjoyed by plenty of people, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Cute rom-com about best friends Lizzy and Jack. Liz is a lawyer working toward partner. Living out her mother’s wish in LA. Jack is the book keeper at his family’s brewery. Lizzy decides she needs break from LA and practicing law and heads to small town Weldon where Jack lives.
Friends to lovers type romance with minimal drama.

This was a sweet story, and I recommend this book for those who love the friends-to-lovers and small town romance tropes. Lizzy and Jack have such a positive relationship, and I like how supportive they are of one another. Their romantic moments were heartwarming, and I think the book had a delightful ending. Although I think a longer slow burn would've made their story so much stronger, I enjoyed this lighthearted and adorable romance.

Booked on a Feeling is a great example of a diverse romance—I liked how this story explored themes of family, dreams, and a good chunk of it focused on some really yummy food (Jack used Instant Pot at one point, but it was cute). I related so much to Lizzy's anxiety about not being able to carry out her parents' dreams for her and having to worry about these pressures. I like when romcoms also shed light on other relationships the main protagonists, as they are just as important to its overall development.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

This is my first book by Jayci Lee, and I am a fan. I love how the author described the MCs. The characters were very sweet and well flushed out. I completely relate to Lizzy because the pressure of being a lawyer is very very intense. I think Jayci describes this very well; specifically, when Lizzy has a panic attack at court. Being a lawyer can be very stressful; on top of that, Lizzy was trying to make her mom proud. That's a lot of pressure. I feel like Jayci is writing about my life. LOL.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Jayci Lee has a hit on her hands with this romantic comedy “Booked On a Feeling”. This book is a friends to lovers romantic comedy that deals with families, panic attacks, anxiety and life pressure. Lizzy and Jack have been friends for 20 years and are a cute couple. Lizzy is a high powered attorney living in LA and Jack works at the family brewery as a bookkeeper. Jack has had a crush on Lizzie for sometime and never told her and according to Jack he plans to keep it a secret. Now that Lizzie is in Weldon for three weeks to shed the burnout and figure out somethings in her life can she make a go of it. Jack is wondering whether or not he should make his feelings known to Lizzy or just forget about them. While Lizzy is in Weldon she revamps a bookstore and it seems to be helping Lizzy. I love the interaction and camaraderie between the two. Jack knew what Lizzy needed and was there for her. These two are great together.

I received an ARC via NetGalley and St. Martin Press and I am leaving my review voluntarily. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Press.

This book was so sweet! It's honestly the perfect example of a feel-good romance. There are definitely times when I'm not in the mood for a romance that has more sweet romantical elements, but this definitely came at the right time. I loved Jack. I found his character very enduring. He was sweet and supportive and just so darn lovable. I mean the fact that he's been in love with Lizzy since he was a kid is just so sweet. Friends to lovers romances always have this really lovely way of showing you how deep the relationship between the characters goes, even if they have been separated there is this added layer of knowledge of each other's pasts that I feel adds such a fun element to romance books and this one was no exception. Also, this came at such a fun time for me as I just started working in a bookstore so the vibes were so great for me.

I liked Lizzy's character a lot as well. I feel like she was very relatable and honestly just the fact that it depicts the strains that women go through in this incredibly stressful work environment. The fact that Lizzy's healing through all of this is done very well too is a major plus for me. Overall, I thought it was sweet and wonderful and definitely something I'd recommend to someone who is looking for a feel-good romance.

Super cute read! It's flirty, steamy, fun, and about books. It makes for a fantastic beach read that will have you swooning and cheering for these BFFs to become something more!

If you’re a lover a short romance reads that keep it light and easy, this is the book for you. That’s not my style at all, this book was not the one for me from start to finish. Honestly I sped through the last 40% because I knew what was coming. What I did appreciate was all the Korean culture the author added in and I loved seeing her love for food come through on the pages. Thanks NetGalley for giving me this ARC in return for an honest review.

3.5 Stars
This book has been by far my favorite in the series thus far. It was the first one that I really felt the emotional connection as strongly as the physical one between the MCs. The friends-to-lovers really worked in this situation. It was nice to get glimpses of the continuing stories of the previous MCs from the other two books as well. My favorite part of this book was probably all of the bookstore and reading love that it showed. Another plus is the anxiety rep that was shown with the FMC. I still find these books to be too wordy, and at times too repetitive. Some things get overly hammered home. And the wordiness just slows the plot and the books down unnecessarily.

Was provided a copy of this book by Net Galley in exchange for a review

Where to begin? You ever read the back of a book and just vibe with the description, like it mentions all your favorite tropes, you can already picture in your head where the story is going, and you think yes this is the one? Well, that's how I felt reading this book. It just didn't connect. I felt like the book wanted to be a loving tribute to Asian culture which is lovely and admirable but often came off sounding like a Koren take out menu. The stakes were also rather low as these two characters as these two people were already so engrained in each others lives that the idea of "what if we date and it doesn't work out" seems a little silly since they had managed to foster a multidecade friendship just fine.

All and all, the book for me was just ok for me, I do think there is an audience for this one out there it just wasn't necessarily for me.

Booked on a Feeling Review
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Jayci Lee for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lizzy Chung livers her life through To-Do Lists. She’s always ready to check the next thing off.

Become a lawyer - done.
Become a partner at a law firm - in progress.
Make her parents proud - to be determined.
Live happily ever after - we shall see.

After a crippling panic attack in the middle of opening statements Lizzy abandons her responsibilities in favor of a spontaneous trip to Weldon where she spent her summers.

Jack Park - Lizzy’s childhood best friend - spends his days (and nights) slinging beers at his family’s brewery and making sure bills and paid. But while his siblings have adopted the brewery dream, Jack dreams of doing something, well, more.

When Lizzy shows up in Weldon for a three week vacation Jack finds himself facing two truths: 1. He’s got it BAD for Lizzy and has for years. 2. He wants to make a career change. So when Lizzy asks him to help restore a local bookstore he can’t say no!

This story begs the question: when you have feelings for your childhood best friend do you risk telling them and potentially ruin years of friendship? Or do you keep the feelings to yourself?

I truly enjoyed reading this story, although I felt it wasn’t quite four star worthy.

While I fell in love with Jack and Lizzy, I found myself wondering what their childhood looked like. I felt like there wasn’t a lot of background given on each character - just the bare minimum. I would have loved to understand more of the parental pressures that both of them faced, especially since a lot of it seemed centered around their cultures.

I really appreciated the multicultural aspect of the story but found myself needing to research a lot of the terms used as there wasn’t a lot of context.

While advertised as an adult romance this did read to me as more young adult. The chemistry between the two was hinted at but ended in closed-door scenes that felt incredibly forced.

The story itself is adorable and it’s a quick read but I’ve personally read some romance books I’ve enjoyed more!

I have a few questions for this book. Such as the two main characters are supposed to have been best friends since childhood, but it is very clear that Lizzy isn't from Weldon. It does make some passing mention that she would go there in the summer? It never states how they became friends or how they stayed friends growing up in different places. It just seemed a little odd and a tad too unbelievable. I also found it to be really hard to believe that Lizzy had absolutely no clue what she wanted to do with her life. It was outrageously obvious and for her being such a smart person it didn't make sense that it took her so long to figure out. I can't say I could really understand why Jack had such a difficult time with talking to his family since they always were really supportive. Overall, the chemistry between her and Jack was really great. I loved their love story and how they were together. I just didn't really like their individual side stories. I would rate it more of a 2 1/2 stars.

It’s a good romance and nice chemistry between them. Also loved the history the two MCs had along with the setting.