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💐 friends to lovers

“she promised herself not to buy any more books until she put a dent in her to-be-read pile.” — lol felt that !!! 😫

sadly dnf at 32%, which was a shocker to me because i never do that but i really couldn’t! this was just not my thing, the plot seemed to lack a lot and nothing really happened at all (given that i did stop pretty early on but literally NOTHING happened) , it was kind of all over the place in my opinion.

the main characters were also just very immature considering the fact that they’re 30 years old, didn’t connect with them.

i did however like the modern & relatable feel of it and the korean representation! also the book cover is so cute ✨

thank you to netgalley and st. martin’s press for the arc!

Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee is the third book in the Sweet Mess series but can be read as a standalone. I was also given the audiobook arc of this book. This was a cute friends to lovers book with some good pining and a great addition to the Sweet Mess series.

Lizzy Chung and Jack Park have been long time best friends. But Jack has been pining for his friend for a long time. Both are also feeling unsatisfied with their careers. Jack works in Wheldon, CA as the business manger at his family’s brewery ( though he calls himself the book keeper). He decides to starts applying for jobs in LA. LA is where Lizzy is, being a high powered/overworked attorney. That’s really close to making partner. After a big win in a case leaves her unsatisfied she decides to take a vacation to think some things over. Her vacation is in Wheldon where she gets to spend time with her best friend. Spending this time together brings out feeling Lizzy didn’t know she had. They spend even more time together than they thought when Lizzy gets involve in helping a Indy bookstore make changes to help business. See bookstores are Lizzy’s safe haven. And she ropes Jack in helping her. While they get closer and closer will their new plans for their career paths destroy any chance and them getting their happy ever after.

This was a cute and enjoyable friends to lovers romance. The pining Jack did for Lizzy was probably one of my favorite parts. Also like what Jayci Lee did with both being unsatisfied in their current work and both needed to find new paths. Most books I read only had one character doing that but I like this twist. The book element was something I loved. As an avid romance reader I just found that part easy to connect with and relate to. Also love how important the bookstore was to the story. Listened to the audiobook and enjoyed Cindy Kay’s narration. Her voice was very scathing. Also loved seeing the characters from the past books in the series.

Overall rating for this book from me is 4 stars.

Thank you Net Galley, St. Martins Press and Dreamscape for the arcs for this book.

"Booked on a Feeling" is a fun, romantic read with likable characters. The romance (longtime old friends finding themselves attracted to each other) is believable, with realistic obstacles. And the food culture in the book made me want to rush out and try some new ethnic restaurants; I was suddenly conscious of how I've been stuck in a rut.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me a read an ARC. I really enjoyed this book!

Sometimes a little more time with the girl of your dreams is really all it takes to push you closer together. When Jack and Lizzy find their ways back together for this friendship after Lizzy heads back home, feelings start to grow more than either of them really anticipated.

Get ready to laugh at some of the things Jayci Lee gives you in this book because it’s a little piece of an inside look on life.

I much preferred the first novel in this series, The Dating Dare, over this one. I adored that one's unique family brewery setting and unexpected situation for falling in love. While I absolutely loved the descriptions of yummy Korean food and the portrayal of burnout, Booked on a Feeling fell short for me in quite a few ways. I noticed that a few of the plot points felt underdeveloped or unnecessary, like their morning runs, Lizzy's body insecurities or her love of the romance genre. This one is a personal "ick" for me (i.e., it may have been a hit with other readers), but karaoke scenes always make me feel uncomfortable -- and this one went all out on the cringe factor. This book was a very played-out childhood-friends-to-lovers plot, and I was left feeling like I wanted more unpredictability and excitement out of it.

I think I’m just not a fan of friends to lovers, but even if I loved that trope this book would have still felt just as jilted and awkward. The characters interactions were all SO awkward, and not in a cute and quirky tongue tied way. More like a “dear god please make it stop” way.

I found this story really hard to get hooked into. I almost marked it DNF, but decided to keep going in case it got any better. I found the beginning of the book boring and even when Lizzie went to Weldon and started talking to Jack in person, I didn’t find their chemistry to be all that exciting. For those of you wondering about the sex scenes in the book, don’t expect much from them in this one. They were limited and kind of faded to black (not telling us much). Maybe I didn’t like this story as much because I’m not a big fan of the friends-to-lovers trope, so if you do like that trope you can give it a try, but I wouldn’t expect the best story of your life.

This book was archived before I had time to read it, so I am not able to give accurate feedback. Thank you for the opportunity, sorry I was unable to get to it in time.

Lizzie is a stressed out lawyer with panic attacks. Jack is working for the family brewery, but feels unneeded. They have been best friends since childhood. When Lizzie wins a high profile case after passing out during her statement, she decides to take a leave of absence and goes to visit her hometown and reconnect with herself. She ends up roping Jack into helping her renovate a local bookstore. It’s through this renovation that she realizes how much she loves him and reconnects her to her childhood dream of owning a bookstore. Meanwhile, Jack is looking for a job in LA to be closer to Lizzie. When the inevitable happens and they both pursue what they think they want, it takes them time to realize what they actually need and want. This was a great friends to lovers book and I loved it.

This book! this book right here just checked off all the boxes for me! oh my goodness do I love a bookstore setting but the save a failing business trope to save yourself! all the tears! honestly I feel like almost all of us after the past few years can understand and see how dangerous burnout can be and how breaking yourself for something that just doesn't serve you isn't ever going to be in your best interest. The change I am seeing in romance novels to express the importance of taking care of yourself and your mental health is huge but I still don't see burnout talked about nearly enough which is why I was so thrilled to request this one. I think Lizzy is someone many of us can relate to where we almost kill ourselves to become this perfect image of what success looks like and success and perfection should guarantee happiness right? Very rarely is that true. I loved her journey to figure that out for herself and going back to where you were last truly happy and free is just so beautiful again to see. 10/10 recommend this book and I cant wait for my physical copy to come in so i can reread it!

I couldn't put this one down!
Lizzy is such a funny, lovable person- I was rooting for her the entire time. Her and Jack together was just amazing, their chemistry and transition from friends to dating felt natural. They're so good together you couldn't help but want them together.
Everything about this was five stars for me!

5/5 for Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee

SO SO SO GOOD

Think all your favorite tropes: small-town, coworkers, found family, childhood friends and rich girl/wanderer guy, and first love.

I was drawn in from the first page when we are introduced to the main characters Lizzy and Jack. Their names are already pretty compactable. Lizzy leads a fast-paced life as a lawyer and wants to take a break, so she decides to come to her childhood summer home. There she runs into Jack again, literally, the two reconnect and end up working together on a project.

Jack is so sweet, like he is the ideal s/o. Caring, attentive, handsome, and pretty seggsy, you must admit. All those muscles from running (heart eyes).

What surprised me the most was the SPICE. It came out of nowhere...but not complaining. Loved it!

All the mental health issues, Asian experiences and simply life problems discussed makes this book even more special! I really hope to get my hands on a physical book of this book now!!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Jayci Lee for an advanced copy.
All opinions are my own :)

It’s a cute and easy-to-read romance with a splendid set of characters. I loved it has friends to lovers (my favorite trope), slow burn and spicy scenes. I especially enjoyed the incorporation of Korean culture. (I’m not Korean but I love to learn about other cultures).

I look forward to reading more books by Jayci Lee

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Fun book, love the romance and the build of the relationship, totally recommend it. Lizzy and Jack are so adorable . Like jack is so caring, supportive and so lovable as a boyfriend . Really adore him.

Sweet, friends to lovers story that follows best friends since childhood, Lizzy and Jack, as they navigate career choices, living up to family expectations, and taking their friendship to the next level. And of course, a book with a character who also loves books and bookstores is a bonus! The anxiety representation was well done, as every one experiences anxiety on different levels. I adored Jack's character, such a kind and gentle soul. Overall this story leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy after devouring it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lizzy has a major panic attack at trial as an attorney in L.A. After winning the case, she decides to take a 3-week vacation in her best friend Jack’s town several hours away to recoup and hopefully feel ready to return to her job. Jack has been in love with his best friend for two decades and hopes spending more time with her will help him move on. Lizzy offers to help a struggling local bookstore spruce up its look and wrangles Jack into helping. She loves the work and all of their time together has Lizzy seeing Jack in a new, sexy light. Can their friendship survive a foray into seeing if they can be something more? What will happen when Lizzy returns to her old life in a few weeks?

A cute romance.

In this adorable rom-com, old friends become new lovers. The author did an excellent job of incorporating Korean culture into the plot ( I am apart of a korean family). Since they were ten years old (more than two decades ago), Jack and Lizzy have been friends, and he's always had romantic feelings for her. Lizzy chooses to take a three-week vacation from her profession as a lawyer in Los Angeles and return to the little town where she and Jack grew up. When Lizzy visits Jack's family-owned and operated local brewery, he wants her to feel at ease and have a wonderful time. This story does a great job of capturing the difficulties of being in a long-distance relationship.

Lizzy is a lawyer with anxiety who just won her first trial. Instead of elation over the win, she's feeling stagnant and unimpressed. She decides that a short vacation leave is in order, and goes to visit her best friend in a small town 4 hours away from the hustle and bustle of LA. Jack, her best friend since they were 10, has been hopelessly in love with her for all these years. He decides that NOW is the time that he needs to just Get Over Lizzy. But now Lizzy's realized that Jack's a total stud, and throws a romantic wrench into the works.

The beginning was slow. Glacial. It didn't hook my interest for the first chapter and a half, really. Once Jack finally shows up, it starts getting interesting, but it felt like it took a while. The love scenes, once they get there, are pretty steamy, and it winds up being a good story. A few bits were predictable, but it's a pretty good romance novel nonetheless.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee
Monica: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Jayci Lee writes a sweet, sentimental and swoon-worthy mutual pinning/friends-to-lovers/guy falls first love story.

Tender moments, fantastic tension, perfectly paired characters and independent journeys of self discovery purposefully propel the story with ease.

The writing is simple and sweet with great moments of humour sprinkled throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed the well developed and unique characters as well as the integration of Korean culture throughout.

Overall this is a lovely modern romance for folks who empathize with the way a book-lovers’ heart yearns for the comfort that comes from being surrounded by neatly overflowing shelves, family and the love of their life.

✨ Sincere thanks to Netgalley, Jayci Lee and St. Martin’s for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. ✨

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

This book fell a bit flat for me because I found it difficult to see the chemistry between the two main characters. There was a lot of telling rather than showing when it came to their interactions and chemistry, and I wish we had gotten a better glimpse at what the two main characters were like as friends growing up together. Also, I really disliked how the author gave away how the story would wrap up in the end.
That being said, I did like that this romance was easy to read, and I appreciated the portrayal of anxiety and doubt over life/career choices.