📚BOOK REVIEW📚

Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee
Release Date: July 26, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/5


Lizzy Chung has been living up to her strict Korean parent’s expectations. At 30, she is primed to make partner at her law firm in a years time, anxiety be damned. Until one day the anxiety takes over and she passes out during trial. Deciding she needs some time off from her high stress life, she takes refuge in the small town where her best friend, Jack lives.

Jack Park is a numbers man, who helps keep his family’s brewery on track. However, its just not the life he expected to have at 30. Oh, and he’s also hopelessly in love with Lizzie and has been for the last 20 years.

When Lizzie surprises Jack on his morning run one day, his whole world goes upside down. And little does she know, hers will too. When they volunteer to help restore the local bookshop, life choices are questions and revelations are revealed.

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If you need a sweet as pie story to get you by, this is the one. It is a super sweet, friends to lovers story. I gave it 3.5 stars. I love the story. I love the characters. I typically prefer an enemy to lovers story, but don’t mind a friends to lovers occasionally. But I tend to like a little drama in the story. This one had like 10% drama. I was ready for the tension and it barely came. But it truly is a sweet story that I ultimately enjoyed.

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✨Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read this before it is published!!✨

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#bookishthings #currentlyreading #romance #romancenovels

"Booked on a Feeling" was so so good! A romance about friends to lovers, trying to find your place in the world, to figuring out who you are. I love that it mostly takes place in a bookstore. The perfect setting!
It was such a good read. If you love rom-coms, be sure to add this to your TBR list!
Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this rom-com!

Rating: 3.5
Releases: July 26,2022

3.5 stars for this super cute but super predictable childhood best friends-to-lovers rom-com! I can't wait to read more books from author Jayci Lee!

Lizzy is an overachieving but successful lawyer in Los Angeles who has just won her first trial. She should be on top of the world, but a panic attack mid-opening statement and a lack of contentment with her win have her questioning her place in her chosen career. She decides to travel to Wheldon, CA to spend a 3-week vacation with her best friend, Jack. Jack is also struggling to find his place in the world as he has spent most of his life helping live out his twin brother and sister's dream of growing their family's brewery business. During her vacation, Lizzy volunteers her time to help Sparrow, a local bookstore, freshen up and become more customer-friendly. Jack also offers to help so he can stay as close to Lizzy as possible because he has been in love with her since he was 10. Unfortunately he thinks she has him firmly planted in the friend zone. Could he be wrong? Could she be in love with him, too? They have three weeks to figure it out.

I did not realize "Booked on a Feeling" was part of a series, but I am certainly interested in reading Jayci Lee's other books now! This romance has a decent amount of open-door steam, it's charming, and it's mostly enjoyable. Lizzy and Jack are great, relatable characters, and I found myself rooting for them to get together. This book deals with burn-out, following your dreams, and doing what you want despite what your family might think. I loved the Korean representation and culture woven throughout the story. There is also a respectable amount of banter between characters. Also, what a cute cover, right?!

Unfortunately, the pacing can be slow, and it takes a while to get to the meat and potatoes of the story. I had to stop reading it and come back a few times before I pushed through to the end. It's not poorly written by any stretch of the imagination, but Lee certainly takes her time unfolding the story.

I think "Booked on a Feeling" is worth your time despite being predictable. The bookstore scenes are sure to make you swoon!

Tropes: childhood best friends-to-lovers, second chance romance, small town, romantic comedy, third-person dual POV

**Thank you to NetGalley, and the author, for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated in any way for my review.**

OMG I could not put this book down (well aside from when I had to sleep or work). I literally loved it. I was interested the whole time and I feel like there was never a point where I got bored or wanted to give up.

As someone who deals with anxiety, it's always nice to connect with a character because they deal with the same issues you do. Lizzy was that character for me. She deals with anxiety when it comes to her job and trying to make her family proud which are things I definitely understand.
I loved Jack. He was so sweet and caring towards Lizzy and wanted the best for her. He feared disappointing those close to him and was unhappy which I am sure we all have felt at some point. He learned to stop doubting himself and that he needed to live his life for himself.
I loved Jack and Lizzy's friendship. Their banter and the angst was to die for. They are literally so perfect for each other. They both needed to discover who they were and I feel like they really did that.

Highly recommend to any romance lovers!
Tropes: friends-to-lovers, slow burn, small town romance.

ARC BOOK REVIEW

Booked on a Feeling
by Jayci Lee

Publishing Date: July 26, 2022

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 rounded up to 4 stars

Lizzy is a Los Angeles attorney and she just won her first trial case. But she suffered a panic attack in the courtroom due to anxiety and stress resulting in her fainting. She's a chronic over achiever, and feels pressured by both her mother and her employer.  Lizzy DESPERATELY needs a BREAK.

Lizzy heads to Weldon for a 3 week vacation. Weldon is  also the home of her life long best friend Jack- who is the bookkeeper at his families brewery.  While in Weldon, LIzzy has committed to helping a local bookstore come to life. THIS Is her idea of relaxation! ( She LOVES to do lists) Lizzy also has Jack help with bookstore duties and she starts to see him differently than she has before.....did she never notice his 6 pack? and why is she so turned on by his toolbelt?!

Lizzy knows that these 3 weeks away from LA are going to fly by....how will she return to Los Angeles, knowing she is so unhappy there? Is being an attorney the right career for her?And what is she going to do now that she loves her best friend? (Does he love her back?!)

REVIEW: Ok this was super cute! I saw alot of myself in Lizzy...the anxiety, the pressure to be an over achiever, the to do lists...she was a very relatable character. I love friends to lovers and also really enjoy books that talk about books/bookstores. So this one hit a bunch of my boxes.  I LOVE Jack and Lillys relationships- both their romantic and platonic banter.

This doesnt get 5 stars because I didn't get that " heart warming, feel it in your gut" sensation, but it was a quick read that made me smile!

I'd add this one to your TBR  if you like feel good romance.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the arc!

Lizzy, a hardworking, successful lawyer, is questioning whether this law thing is really what she wants. She decides that taking a three week break from work is exactly what she needs to help clear her mind. She travels to a small town outside of the busy L.A., where her best friend of twenty years Jack lives. But what Lizzy doesn't know, is that Jack has loved her since they were ten years old.

Lizzy and Jack begin to spend lots of time with each other, and Lizzy likes the freedom of not having lawyer duties. And she also finds herself falling for her best friend. But does he love her back?

This is such a sweet book! I really related to all of Lizzy's quirks, and enjoyed the small town vibes. I admired how Lizzie took charge of her life and did something she wanted to do, and not what others expected of her.

Jack is also a very well written character. He also follows his dream, which is a big step for him. I also enjoyed the way he loves Lizzy. He was truly supportive of her, and her quirks, and knew exactly what she needed.

The spice level of this book is perfect. It had me wishing I had a friend I could fall in love with.

I recommend this to any friends to lovers fan!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Jayci Lee for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Waiting for her to find her own way was the best way he could love her now. No matter how much he missed her. No matter how much he wanted her. He would love her by waiting."

This story was cute. Lizzy and Jack have been friends for 20 years. Both have been secretly in love with each other. I really enjoyed the bookstore setting and loved all the moments with Lizzy and Jack. I loved Jack, he knew Lizzy so well. He was patient and understanding. Loved him!

Read this if you like:

📚Childhood friends to lovers
📚Rom Coms
📚Dual POV
📚 Happily Ever After

Release date: July 26, 2022

Thank you to @netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Everything is going according to plan for Lizzy Chung. She’s a lawyer, joined a prestigious law firm, and she’s on her way to becoming partner, and she lives in LA! What’s not to love? A panic attack leaves Lizzy whirling, and she takes three weeks off to recover from the burnout in her childhood town and see her best friend.

Jack Park was not expecting his best friend Lizzy to return to Weldon. He’s had a decades long crush on her and would love to be with the girl of his dreams. Only what does he have to offer? He’s a bookkeeper for his family’s brewery and he’s never left his hometown. He doesn’t want to ruin their friendship, but could a few weeks change everything?

If you’re looking for a friends-to-lovers book, this may be the one for you! I enjoyed the dual POVs because they really helped to understand Jack and Lizzy’s perspectives. I loved how this story addressed anxiety and panic attacks, and the Korean culture was a plus. There was a lot of miscommunication between the two, but I liked that both Jack and Lizzy wanted to find themselves without the interference of friends and family. Unfortunately, I did not love this book. It was not super memorable or has a wow factor. I think incorporating more flashbacks, considering Jack pined for Lizzy so long would have enhanced the story. Plus, just incorporating more of their culture and some unpredictability would have changed the progression of the story and set it apart from others.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

When I first started this book I thought I was in for a predictable romance novel. However, I really enjoyed this book! I always appreciate books that encourage and help me learn about different cultures. This book included interesting information about the Korean American culture and the differences in family relationships. I also was impressed that Jayci Lee stressed the importance of finding yourself, knowing what you want from life and believing in yourself before you can truly be in an honest relationship with someone else. Thanks #NetGalley #jaycilee and #stmartinspress

Friends to lovers in the nicest possible way. Like - everyone was nice. Even the mean people were nice. Not for me, found myself skimming way too much and just generally not caring.

Firstly I want to thank NetGalley for this arc!!
*2.5 stars*
Okay so to start off I found it hard to connect with the characters for majority of the book and I found myself not caring for most of the plot as well.

I think part of that is because this is written in 3rd person pov and that made it harder to connect with each of the characters.

I found that I wasn’t too invested in the book up until the last bit of it. For around the first 80% I didn’t care much for the characters or the plot and found them immature at some points in the book.

Other than that I really enjoyed this. It was a fun and cute romcom.

I really wanted to love this one! I mean we have a book store, friends to lovers, etc. what’s not to love?!

While I didn’t hate this, I also didn’t fall in love with it and after really thinking on it…I think my main gripe was that I never truly felt the chemistry between them.

It felt forced?

Oh well - it was cute.

Lizzie just won her first big trial and is on the fast track to becoming a partner at her firm. But the success isn't making her as happy as she thought it would and the anxiety just keeps creeping in. So she decides to take a few weeks off of work and visit her best friend since childhood. Jack is surprised to see Lizzie in his small town, but happily goes along with her plans to help a struggling bookstore in the area during her vacation. Jack is also feeling out of place in his small town. He used to love working in his family's brewery, but now it doesn't feel like the right place for him. Also, his crush on Lizzie since childhood makes him question whether a high-achieving lawyer like Lizzie would ever want someone who doesn't know what he wants in life. This was such a sweet friends-to-lovers romance. It was mainly set in a bookstore and had the cozy vibe to go along with it! I related to Lizzie and how she struggled with anxiety and loved how the book talked about her anxiety. I will admit that my timing when reading this book was not ideal. Reading a book about a woman with anxiety who realizes she hates being a lawyer is not the best plan a week before you take the bar exam. But I really did enjoy this read! I have not read the first two books in this series, and I cannot wait to pick them up! I loved this cozy romance and can't wait to read more books like it!

Lizzy, a hot shot LA lawyer has a panic attack during a trial prompting her to seek out some much needed time off. When she decides to head to Weldon, a small town a few hours away where her best friend lives, she's faced with free time, less stress and a bookstore in need of a revamp. What more could a girl ask for? Maybe a love interest? Her best friend Jack, who has been in love with her for 20 years and whom shes only ever seen as a friend, might give her just that. Is the glamourous LA lawyer life the one she's meant to live or is small town life with all it has to offer, where it's at?

I'm sorry but this one just didn't cut it for me. One of the first things I read was that Lizzy put Jack in the friend zone a long time ago so the shift from friends to lovers, after 20 years of friendship, felt really random and forced. I could see it if they didn't see each other for years or decades on end but that just wasn't the case.

Some of the dialogue was really awkward and I didn't love the constant pet names, dingus and doofus.

I loved the premise of this book which is why I asked for a review copy. Unfortunately for me, this was a DNF at around 35%. Nothing about this story engaged me, I felt like I was reading and accounting of a day in a teenager's diary. I am not a fan of flashbacks in books at ALL but because of Lizzy and Jack's friendship and background I almost wish there were some in this book because then maybe I'd care about them.

I appreciate being granted an ARC of this one, but it just didn't work for me.

Booked on a feeling review

This was gifted on NetGalley as an ARC

I didn’t realize it was a friends to lovers story & while my real life relationship happened that way it’s not my favorite trope to read about. It was cute though.

The story starts with Lizzy having a panic attack while giving her first opening statement as a lawyer alone at court. She ends up passing out & her best friend Jack was there to save the day. Of course Jack is in love with her and has been for a very long time. She realizes that she needs a break from the burnout she’s been facing & goes back to surprise Jack in his home town for 3 weeks where she volunteers to help at the bookstore. It was always her dream to own a bookstore when she was younger because they make her feel at home.

This book deals with mental health & the struggles that come with that. Lizzy also doesn’t want to disappoint her Korean parents so that brings more anxiety into the mix. I have dealt with mental health such as panic attacks & anxiety so i felt like i could related to the character. That’s part of why i requested this book. It can be hard to read about mental health especially when you deal with similar situations.

Truthfully if you like friends to lovers you’ll like this. The characters are great & the story line was nice.

3.5 stars

Overachieving lawyer Lizzy Chung works at a prestigious law firm and is working her way up to make partner. In an attempt to recover from her burn out, Lizzy heads back to the small town where she spent her summers as a child with her best friend Jack Park, who has secretly had a decades-long crush on Lizzy.

This book was so cute! I really loved the bookstore setting and Lizzy's drive to fix it up. At times I found the book to be a little bit slow and predictable and felt there was something missing for it to absolutely blow me away. I think maybe I was looking for a little more chemistry between Jack and Lizzy and wish they would have talked sooner. I also didn't feel as connected to Jack as I would have liked. That being said, there were many elements of this book that I really loved, including the mental health representation. Personally, I found Lizzy's character to be extremely relatable as she dealt with her anxiety, panic attacks and burnout, as well as her love for to do lists and checking things off. I also liked the idea of Jack and Lizzy putting themselves first and finding what they really wanted to do that would make them happy.

Overall, I liked this one despite the lack of communication between the two MCs. If you are looking for a cute friends to lovers romance with dual POV featuring a struggling bookstore and all the bookish references that also has great mental health rep, check out Booked on a Feeling, which comes out July 26, 2022!

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

💗𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 ~ Booked on a Feeling💗

💬 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨: Lizzy isn't happy with how her life is going. She's a successful lawyer in Los Angeles, but she is suffering from extreme stress and anxiety. She decided to take some time off from her job, and go stay in the little town where Jack, her best friend of 20 years, lives. There she learns to slow down, to live life for herself, and finds out what truly matter to her. It doesn't hurt that she's suddenly very attracted to her "best friend" who just so happened to have been in love with her since they were 10....but she didn't know it.

This story was so cute! Honestly I don't normally like friends-to-lovers (more of an enemies to lovers gal myself...), but this was definitely the exception. It was so good! I now need to go back and read the rest of this series ASAP because I had no idea there were 2 other books!

Jack. Oh jack you adorable marshmallow. I loved his character, and how he was always there for Lizzy. I loved that he decided to follow his dream even though it scared him to make a change. Lizzy!! I loved her. Poor Lizzy though, constantly trying to live up to her mother's impossible standards. I absolutely loved her growth throughout the story, and how she finally decided to live for HER and no one else. I thought they were both well developed characters, and I really enjoyed their journey in finding themselves.

This is a sweet, lighthearted romance, that deals with sensitive issues well and will have you smiling throughout it! Swipe to see the beautiful cover and read the synopsis!

📖 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮:
• cozy bookshops
• best friends to lovers
• dual POVs
• anxiety rep
• following your dreams
• slow burn / pining
• second chance romance
• books about book lovers

✍🏼 𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧: Jayci Lee
🗓️ 𝙋𝙪𝙗 𝘿𝙖𝙮: 7/26/22
📚 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: Contemporary Romance
💕 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙔𝙤𝙪 St Martin's Press!

Super cute friends to lovers book! Very sweet main characters and a cute relationship. Slower paced book but still enjoyable! Looking forward to reading more of her books!

Thank you NetGalley and Jayci Lee!

I really wanted to love this one but unfortunately it just didn’t work for me. I felt as though Lizzy and Jack lacked chemistry. I didn’t find their interactions to be cute, instead I found them to be a bit cringy. I also found myself bored most of the time. I enjoyed the fact that Lizzy leaves her job and helps at a local bookstore. I would love a job like that. I know all us book lovers would love to own a bookstore. I did enjoy all the food talk! Made me hungry most of the time lol overall, it was an okay read.