In this friends to lovers romance both Lizzy and Jack are afraid to admit their feelings for each other especially since they live four hours away.
However Lizzy decides to take a much needed vacation in the town that Jack lives in. She ends up renting a place right above a bookstore. With the help of Jack, Lizzy volunteers to help out at the bookstore to turn it into a cozy and inviting place.

This was a nice light summer read and I loved the bookstore setting.

Thank you #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the advanced copy! This book comes out July 26, 2022.

When young attorney Lizzy Chung has a panic attack during opening statements for her first case, she decides to take some time off to re-energize. And what better place to do that then Weldon, a cozy little town that just happens to be the home of her longtime best friend, Jack. Jack has been in love with Lizzy since they were ten, so you can guess where this goes next.

Unfortunately I had a lot of issues with this book. For starters, we never really got much background on any of the characters. It was like we were expected to know exactly who Lizzy and Jack were from the very start of the story. I kept waiting for an explanation of how they became friends, but (unless I missed it) there was none.

There was also very little build up. The characters were together and in love by halfway through the book, so if you're looking for a slow burn, this is not it.

Overall I felt like the plot dragged and there was so much repetition. For example, both main characters had a sudden "I'm in love" realization at least 3 or 4 times. Lastly, I know with romance you gave to expect some of the book will be cheesy, but this was cheesy to a point that it was almost unbearable.

Nonetheless, thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Friends to lovers romance that was on the cheesy side and ended up way steamier than I expected. Overall, I really liked it! The dialogue was a little much sometimes.

This trend of romance books about romance books is making me incredibly happy and I hope it never ends.

In need of a change of pace, Lizzy takes time off of work to visit her life-long best friend and enjoy small-town life. While Jack is thrilled to be able to spend time with Lizzy, he has no idea how he could possibly spend the next month hiding his 20-year crush on his best friend.

Booked on a Feeling was exactly the kind of fun, fluffy romance I needed to cleanse the pallet between fantasy novels. I had such a great time with this book and I think you will to if you enjoy any of the following:

- Friends to lovers
- Pining (so much pining!)
- characters who love reading!
- book stores!
- beer + dessert combinations
- journeys of self-realization


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Read if you like:
⬗ Friends to Lovers
⬗ Slow burn
⬗ Spicy romance
⬗ Anxiety rep

Thoughts: A friends to lovers romance set in a bookstore? I thought this would be a guaranteed five star read. While there were certain elements I loved, overall, it was not my favorite.

Let us start first with the positives. I love that this book was set in a bookstore and that the MC shared my same love of books. I also appreciated the anxiety rep as someone who suffers from it herself. Friends to lovers is my favorite of the tropes so I enjoyed that aspect of the story as well and really enjoyed getting to see the progression of their relationship.

As for the negatives, books told in third person never allow me to truly connect with the characters and this was no exception. By the time to conflict was underway, I realized I had zero emotional attachment to either Lizzy or Jack, and if you know me, this is key to whether or not I will enjoy a book. I also felt that it was a bit too much of a slow burn for me and I really struggled at times to get through it.

Overall, I found it to be okay. Others who love the elements of this one, will probably really enjoy it, so if you are on the fence, but this is the kind of story you normally love then I would say to give it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP Romance for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Lizzy is living every bookish person’s dream: getting to save a small town bookstore. Her sweet and tension filled romance with Jack is the icing on the cake. It’s so fun the follow along as both characters grow and find themselves. Definitely a must read (and how could you not the title is very punny)

Booked on a Feeling was such an enjoyable book, friends to lovers with Lizzy and Jack knowing each other since they were 10 and realizing something else is there.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

This was a friends to lovers romance. I liked both Lizzy and Jack and their friends & family. My favorite parts were the bookstore scenes. I didn’t realize it was part of a series when I picked it up, I don’t think that affected my enjoyment. Overall a decent read.

Can friends really stay just friends?

What starts out as a friendship - then a fling might turn into something more? That's if Lizzy and Jack can move past their own anxieties and figure out what risks they're willing to take. All while navigating growing careers that might not bring them closer together... I really enjoyed how Lee worked through Lizzy's anxiety the most though. Hearing a character work through her thoughts and deal with her anxiety was relatable, all while navigating life and love.

This was an adorably sweet best friends to lovers story that I couldn't read fast enough!! Lizzy is a type-A, list-loving lawyer who suffers from anxiety and panic attacks and when one gets so bad she passes out in court she is forced to take a break, returning to her home town and best friend, Jack (who has been pining after her for years)!

Where Lizzy is searching for what will make her happy, Jack knows his happiness doesn't lie in the family brewery. Together Lizzy and Jack start hanging out and take a chance to see what might be between them. As Lizzy spends more and more time at the local bookstore, she realizes her true happiness can be found with books and she's no longer willing to live her life just to please her mother.

Full of heart, humor and some great steam - this was the perfect end to Jayci Lee's Sweet Mess series with an epilogue that is sure to make your heart gooey. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copies. Recommended for fans of The banned bookshop of Maggie Banks, The boy with the bookstore or Better than fiction.

I really enjoyed this one! The banter between Lizzy and Jack was super cute and I loved the angst. Lizzy's love of reading and the bookstore was perfect for a book lover like myself! The only thing stopping me from giving this 4 stars was that I wish there had been more back story with Jack and Lizzy. We were told they were best friends since they were 10, but nothing too involved was said about it. If we had more of a look into their prior relationship, I think I could have seen them as a couple better. I loved that Lizzy had to figure out what she wanted for herself on her own, as I think sometimes this is something that books overlook. Overall, this was great and I will be recommending to friends.

I enjoyed this book overall but I had some issues with the plot.
FIrst of all this is a miscommunication trope so I was kind of disappointed when I saw it happen.
The love aspect of the story is really cliché and cheesy so if you like these kinds of books this book is for you.
I felt the story was a bit rushed. Jack reunited with Lizzy and already has 3 options planned out. They were already in love before the halfway point. This wasn't the slow childhood best friends to lovers I was hoping for.

Now for whatI did enjoy, I liked that the story revolves around finding what makes you truly happy. This story is about not following your parent's dreams but following your own!
The romance was cute in some parts but very cheesy!

I recommend if romance is usually your genre of choice

This book was really sweet. I love a good friends to lovers story, it is one of my favorite tropes. I was a little confused on when/how they were in school together though. It says they were, but also talked about them being from different towns and she didn't grow up where his family lives and has been living with their company. So that part felt like a plot hole or I just didn't understand. I loved all the book talk, independent book store love, redoing a book store, and finding yourself in a passionate job that doesn't suck out your soul. I really loved that journey for her. I also really hated their break up and felt he was so selfish, but ultimately once they talked again and I fully understood him and why he left for LA anyway despite what she wanted. I love that she actually came back even though it wasn't for him. I think the ending turned out way better than I originally thought it would.

Really cute story. Jack was dreamy and I loved him. I also liked how the author touched on normal everyday issues with family, anxiety, and self discovery. There were times that Lizzy was annoying and I wished her to respond differently but that is how life works. The banter and slow burn between her and Jack was satisfying and had me on the edge of my seat until they finally discovered the mutual feelings. I really enjoyed this one.

This was a cute and sweet romance. I don’t think it added anything new to the genre, however, I love the careers that Lizzy and Jack had. Working in a brewery is a bucket list item for me!

2 1/2 stars (rounded up). I really wanted to love this book, and liked the overall storyline, but the characters just didn't do it for me. I felt like they were very stilted and hard to cheer for. They weren't warm and didn't come alive off the page for me. I definitely found the Korean family interactions very believable based on what my friends have experienced.

Also a little nitpick point, but an attorney trying their first case would not be nearly up for partner at a huge firm.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I think the “friends-to-lovers” trope just isn’t for me. This book was slow and the relationship felt forced. The attempt at sexual tension was awkward in my opinion. The whole thing was super drawn out and then we only got fade to black scenes.

The ending also felt super abrupt. There was so much build up and then the ending just came suddenly with little to no real conflict. I think that’s why I was bored - there wasn’t enough conflict to keep me interested and make me care about the characters and their lives.

There were definitely bright spots - Lizzy is very relatable to me with her love of checklists and drive to get things done. She’s tenacious and loving and genuine. I enjoyed her friendship with Shannon. But that wasn’t enough for me in this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

I literally forgot I had to give feedback on this book because I read it so long ago but anyway. I really liked the childhood bet friends to lovers aspect of this book it was really cute. It wasn't my favorite though I think I just did not connect with the characters that much. It was still cute though.

Lizzy Chung has worked her whole life to be the perfect lawyer her parents always wanted, so why does she feel crippling anxiety, even when she wins a case? Jack Park, her best friend, has been floating along in his life shadowed by his twin brother and little sisters brewery dreams, but he feels like he finally wants more. These two best friends find themselves in the same town figuring out their entire life paths while also finding love they didn't realize they had for each other in Booked on a Feeling.

While this was a cutesy romance book and was a quick and easy read, it didn't really grab me as some others books that I have read lately. It felt like at points it drug on for far too long, especially because we all know the friends to lovers troupe in romance novels. I did love the representation of both Jack and Lizzy's Korean heritage. It's very nice to see diversity in romance! It just felt like the book was something that I have read time and time again, didn't seem to be a fresh take like I was craving.

I received a review copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley and I voluntarily provided an honest review. This does not affect the opinion of the book or the content of the review.

Rating: 1.5
I liked the plot of the story, but I didn't like the execution. The dialogue felt forced and cheesy and I didn't like the main characters, especially the guy. None of his choices made sense.