In this friends-to-lovers story we meet Jack and Lizzy who have been best friends their whole lives. We witness their relationship change as they are pulled to lean on each other while they are each struggling with issues threatening their own personal happiness. What unfolds is a slow-burn romance that is very sweet; Jack and Lizzy take great care of each other’s hearts. Equally as tender is Jacyi Lee’s treatment of mental health issues - her portrayal of anxiety and panic is very real and relatable. As a book lover, I enjoyed reading about Lizzy’s love of bookstores and the work she did to help rehab one.

While these characters are certainly lovable, this book was hard to finish. There were many points throughout the book that seemed to drag on. I felt a lot of the dialogue between the main characters was immature, and the conflict between them predictable.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a very light-hearted romance, especially those who have read and enjoyed the first two books in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest review.

Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee is book three in the A Sweet Mess series. Each book is standalone so you do not need to read the others prior. However, I always recommend it as it helps with knowing all characters. Lizzy is career driven to becoming a lawyer and making partner. When she runs into her childhood friend Jack, sparks begin to fly as Jack has always had a thing for Lizzy. This is a sweet romance without a lot of steam. Overall a cute and fun read.

Thanks to Jayci Lee, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.

Lizzy Chung is a successful lawyer about to make partner, when she suffers an anxiety attack giving opening statements, she decides she needs a three week vacation to destress and think about her future. Jack Park, Lizzy's best friend since childhood, lives in a small town and is the book keeper for his families brewery. Jack feels unneeded in the business and is trying to figure out what he wants as well. Lizzy takes her three week vacation, in Jack's small town Weldon where the two of them get closer than they have ever been.

I enjoyed this book, it was a cute small town, friends to lovers romance. However, I nailed the ending within the first 50 pages of the book and then had to wait for the Lizzy and Jack to also figure out the ending. Overall, it was a cute summer read.

Wow what a book. This was so cute and charming from the beginning to the end. Absolutely loved the chemistry these two shared.

A friends-to-lovers rom-com troupe featuring Korean characters! What an adorable premise. I love how Jayci Lee described the food the characters ate in such detail. I was drooling and haven’t eaten Korean food for years. The characters Jack and Lizzy were adorable and I love how they had been life-long friends. The addition of a brewery and bookstores was just a bonus. This was a great rom-com and one I would totally pick up at the bookstore.

3.5/5

Sweet, easy, and cute friends to lovers romance.

Lizzy Chung needs a break from her stressful job as an L.A. lawyer after she suffers an anxiety attack. Visiting her best friend, Jack, in the small town of Weldon is the perfect getaway she needs. Jack Park is working as the bookkeeper at his family’s brewery, and he’s been in love with Lizzy for years. Can he put his feelings aside for their friendship? Or make her fall in love with him?

Overall such a cute idea for a story, but this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The dialogue felt a little awkward, and the characters, who are in their 30’s, seemed immature. However, if childhood friends to lovers is your favorite trope, you might enjoy this one!

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

Small town romance. Just couldn’t feel the connection between the two main characters. I felt it slow paced because of that. I wanted more, but just couldn’t pique my interest.

Amazing! Loved loved this one!! It’s such a feel good book especially if you are a major book lover! A new author for me and can’t wait to read more of her in in the future!

Easy, breezy, cheesy romance read.
This was cute. Any book with a bookstore gives me all the feels.
This wasn’t super intense, no big plot twist/ resolution. 30 year olds trying to figure out their lives and loves.

I got beef with the spice. Descriptive with everything above the belt, but when it comes down to it I’m kicked out of the bedroom. Headed toward bedroom at 69%. Sexual tension, make outs, and innuendos but no action for the reader.

Korean- American representation

Not one I would recommend-lack of spice and intriguing plot. But it was a pleasant read.

Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this digital ARC.

This book is the first book by Jayci Lee that I have read. Booked on a feeling is a friends-to-lovers book centered around Elizabeth Chung who is a lawyer and Jack Park, her childhood best friend. After Elizabeth (also known as Lizzy) wins her first-ever court case the feeling of excitement doesn't come around and the feeling of dullness does. In a spur of a moment, she takes a vacation to her best friend's hometown, Weldon. Coming from the bustling city of Los Angeles, Lizzy arrives and instantly feels at peace in the small town. Is it because of her developing crush on her best friend Jack, is it that she's helping save a local bookstore or is it that she doesn't need to be a lawyer?

I thoroughly enjoyed the main characters in the book. I found the heroine isn't embarrassed, meaning that she didn't make me throw my book across the room from something that she did. I genuinely appreciated that and I think so did my kobo. The main female character didn't do anything out of character. Jack was a very intriguing character, struggling with his family business and the drive to do more work. I enjoyed their chemistry together.

I found this book had the same plot structure of Emily Henry’s, Book Lovers, where the main heroine goes on a vacation to a small town and discovers love unexpectedly. In addition to the love interest having to work at his family business, even though he wanted to do nothing more than follow his heart by doing something else. I liked the complex word vocabulary that was used in the story and the bookish themes that were incorporated into it. I also found it nice the way that the author made it so that you could obtain one of the characters' thoughts and be able to switch perspectives in a way while still writing in the 3rd person.

There were many Korean representations in this book, and as a white person, I don't recall many Korean words or dishes from their culture, so it would have been nice to include definitions at the end of the page like there were in Malinda Lo, Last Night At The Telegraph Club, I feel like it could have improved and helped people understand a bit better.

This book is literally what dreams are made of for book lovers! This novel is adorable, heartfelt, and inspiring. I loved this romantic read, and readers who love books like The Love Hypothesis and Well Met will also enjoy this fantastic read.

3.5/5

a sweet friends to lovers romance and it was exactly what I needed! it was such a fun read fit for summer. I haven't read the previous books in the series but had to request this one because it looked so cute and now I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series! would recommend this if you're looking for a fun quick cute read

This was a sweet friends to lovers story. I haven’t read the other books in the series, but this story stands on its own.
Lizzy and Jack have been really good friends since they were about 10 and Jack has harboured a crush on her since about then. The story offers a dual point of view, which was so nice. The reader gets to see the inner machinations of each characters motives and feelings. The story starts off with Lizzy as a driven lawyer on her road to becoming partner. She experiences a high amount of anxiety during her first trial and feels rather unfulfilled after winning it. This prompts her to take a three week break from work, bringing her to Jack’s neighbourhood. The fun begins when Lizzy, being a workaholic, decides to help out the owner of the local bookstore restore her shop. In order to spend time with Lizzy, Jack starts to help her out.
Their dynamic is refreshing, heartfelt and sweet. The chemistry between them is genuine. When Lizzy realizes how good looking and amazing Jack is, they agree to try out a relationship. The back and forth perspective is fun and enjoyable.
The book deals with anxiety, friendship, and I cannot forget to mention the toxic parental expectations as well. Lizzy realizes she just may have to cut ties with both family and career. Jack also has his own struggles with creating his own place in the world and fulfilling his dreams. You’ll have to read to find out more.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an advanced copy of the ebook.

Lizzy has spent her life living up to her mother's standards. She's become a successful attorney and has panic attacks to prove it. Deciding to put herself first, she decides to take a short break from work and go visit her best friend, Jack. Jack, who has secretly been in love with Lizzy for 20 years, is excited that Lizzy is visiting. He also doesn't want to ruin their friendship over what he assumes is one sided affection. When Lizzy starts helping her landlord in her bookstore, Lizzy coerces Jack to help. In doing so, they find each other and Lizzy finds herself and what makes her happy.
This book was absolutely adorable. The characters were likable and well written. There is definitely a fairly large miscommunication without the entire book but I find that to be something to be expected when it's a best friends to lovers. While there was some steam, this was pretty closed door as far as spice goes. Overall, I really enjoyed the read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eArc of this book!

I wanted to enjoy the third book in this series so badly, but it fell super short for me. I never read the first one, I thought the second one was fine, and I unfortunately really didn't enjoy this one.

There were a number of things that kept me from enjoying this story. I thought the pacing and dialogue were weird. I wish we would have gotten less time of Lizzy's vacation and more time post-vacation. I don't think it needed to be half and half, but there was too much of one part and not enough of the other. The dialogue was cringey in some parts and didn't feel real or authentic. Another thing that bothered me was that Jack and Lizzy both felt incredibly immature. I think they're either close to 30 or are in their 30s, but they acted like teenagers, not only when it came to their relationship but also with other aspects of their lives. I also found Lizzy's relationship with the bookstore owner funny (not funny haha, funny weird) but I might attribute that to not really liking Lizzy's character. That said, the conflict resolution was too clean in my opinion. Lizzy's internal struggles were resolved too quickly and I think everything was wrapped up too fast. I wish I would've enjoyed it more, because the concept was cute. I did like that there was focus stories and how easy it is to get lost in a good book, especially when life is throwing curve balls at you. But, overall, this book had characters that I didn't make me want to be invested in them as individuals or a couple, weird dialogue, and bad pacing.

Booked on a Feeling is a friends to lovers rom-com between childhood best friends Lizzy Chung and Jack Park. Lizzy is an overachieving lawyer in LA and Jack is the bookkeeper at his family’s brewery in Weldon, a small town a few hours outside the city. Lizzy has always thought of Jack as her best friend, while Jack has been pining for her essentially since he was 10. The premise for this book is Lizzy is working towards partner at her law firm and after a panic attack during trial realizes she’s burned out and needs a break, three weeks to be exact. She takes that break in Jack’s small town where they spent summers together as kids. Jack has been into her his entire life but is too afraid to tell her because he doesn’t want to ruin their friendship, so he’s dealing with that inner turmoil. When Lizzy arrives she’s living above a local bookstore that needs some work, so that is the catalyst of Lizzy’s personal growth and the growth of their relationship.

Romance surrounding a failing bookstore, cute right? I thought so too, but unfortunately it was one of my most disappointing reads this year. I was really looking forward to this, and thought the concept was fun and it would be a light summer read. For me, it just was not it. Friends to lovers is a bit hit or miss for me, but one thing I expect and like from best friends is they know how to communicate between one another. Especially when the characters are approaching 30 – which they are. These 2 characters had such horrid communication skills, it felt very juvenile for me. When they were communicating just as friends, which was the first 40+% of the book, I was also kind of bored. I saw other readers DNF around 30%, and I wish I had done the same. I almost DNF’d at 70% if that tells you something. So I think if you aren’t into this book by 25/30% you should put it down.

The other thing that bothered me the how young Jack felt. You have been pining over this woman for almost 20 years and when he fantasized about them he was like shocked because he had never pleasured himself from fantasizing about her. That is the most unrealistic thing I have ever read in a romance, and I think that is saying something. His character sounded like he was 15 rather than almost 30. It just pulled me out of the story and made me not like reading from his perspective.

I personally don’t have a ton of good things to say about this romance, the writing style wasn’t my cup of tea, I didn’t’ emotionally connect to the characters, but I think those are more of my personal taste, and I don’t think it will be the same for all readers. There are plenty who love this author’s storytelling, and if you liked her past books I’m sure you’ll like this one too. I think if you want a rom-com that isn’t really spicy this might be for you. There is maybe one sex scene that is more descriptive and another that starts, but fades to the next morning, but it’s more kissing on page and pining that anything else. So if that’s you jam, this also might be for you. If you are trash for a childhood friends to lovers, this also might be for you. There will be plenty who like this book, but if your taste aligns more to mine, maybe skip this one.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was the book I needed right now! I have been looking for a new rom com that I could sink my teeth into and I found that in this book. One of my favorite parts of this book was that he fell first and it was a friends to lovers trope, add in a bookstore and Im sold! The banter between Izzy and Jack also just hits the spot!

I loved this book. A solid 4.5. Friends to lovers with a HEA I didn't see coming.

One thing I think makes this book standout is the fact that the author stayed true to what the main characters needed to be happy with themselves OUTSIDE of their love for the other person. I really enjoy that. The didn't give up their dreams and happiness for the other, they still fought for their own needs.

I also loved that the MMC is super into fitness and encourages the FMC to also care for her body. Not in a shaming way at all, but just encouraging each other to better themselves.

The premise of the book is besties of 20 years get a chance to be in the same town for 3 weeks. The MMC has a deep love for the FMC and has been trying to get over it so he doesn't lose his friend, but she begins to catch feelings too. But, will their need for personal fulfillment and desire to spare their friendship cause their relationship to fail?

I think the author did a wonderful job making both characters super love-able! You can easily identify with either character or both. I personally love that this is a very gentle book on the emotions and you can lose yourself without stress in this book. It is *chefs kiss*. My only complaint is I wish the spice was spicier.

I enjoyed reading this book, but I feel like I have read something similar before.

The main character is a lawyer who is burnt out from her job. She takes a vacation in a small town, where she finds her joy in a helping an indie bookshop succeed. Along the way, she also falls in love with the boy who has had a crush on her since childhood. While I did enjoy reading about their story, if you change the career and the characters, this story has been told a million times over. The plot was predictable. With that being said, Lizzy was a lovable character. I did enjoy getting the perspective of both Lizzy and Jack. Especially from the perspective on Jack, I enjoyed his thoughts in the beginning since he had been in love with Lizzy, but she had basically friend zoned him.

If you are looking for a cute, feel good story, this is a good one, but certainly isn't something that is unique. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This was a very well done and well rounded novel. I really enjoyed the characters and the development of the plot throughout.