Thank you NetGalley and St Martin Press for this ARC of Booked on a Feeling!

I first want to say I know you aren’t supposed to judge a book by it’s cover but this one is so cute I immediately want to read it!

This was a cute and easy read about life, love and navigating burnout within our careers. Both characters struggle with this during the book and I think this is a great topic to cover because it makes the story more believable!

I love that Lizzy and Jack find happiness in the end!

Eeeek! This book was VERY good. It follows Lizzy, an attorney whose goal to become a partner at the firm she works at seems to be coming up quickly! When she suffers a panic attack during an important-for-her trial, she decides to take a three week break to collect herself. She goes to the hometown of her best friend, Jack. While there, Lizzy takes on a project with the owner of the apartment she is staying in who happens to also own a bookstore beneath the apartment. The project in question? Give the bookstore the update it deserves. Lizzy is able to rope Jack into helping her with this project, and after spending day after day together, the two best friends really have to look at the friendship they have and if there is something more.

I think Lizzy and Jack romance was really quite sweet. The love and care they have in their hearts for each other is obvious as soon as you read the way in which they talk about each other. This value they both hold for their friendship definitely proves to be a massive hill to climb over when it comes to them finally acting on the feelings that both of them are harbouring for each other, but when they finally DO act on them... pure chemistry! Their friendship turns into a romance that is passionate, goofy, and downright adorable.

This book DOES contain a classic miscommunication storyline, but I think that it's justified. Lizzy is finally taking a plunge into waters unknown to her - the sea of "this is not what my parents planned for me." Meanwhile, Jack is ALSO taking a plunge and doing something for himself that he worries will upset his family. Both Lizzy and Jack seem nervous to voice their fears and feelings, which is VALID considering it concerns such major life changes, and make plans behind each others backs. Lizzy's plan takes her from Los Angeles to Jack's current small hometown where Lizzy can explore who she is and be closer to Jack, or so she thinks... All while Jack formulates a plan to leave his hometown and go to Los Angeles where he gets a new job and hopes to be near Lizzy. In an effort to not spoil the book and the rest of the storyline, these decision that Lizzy and Jack make lead them to a lot of self-discovery, which I think was so beneficial to their characters.

Overall, I really like how this story unfolded. Lizzy and Jack were both so sweet and very likeable, so it was easy as pie to root for them and their relationship. It was only after reading this book that I realized there are two books BEFORE this one about side characters involved in the story, so here I come book one and two!

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

A cute and cozy friends-to-lovers story. Lizzy and Jack have been friends for twenty years, she is an attorney in LA and Jack is a bookkeeper for his family’s brewery in small-town Weldon. When a panic attack threatens everything Lizzy knows, she decides to take 3 weeks off work and spend them in Weldon.

Lizzy and Jack decide to help a local bookstore revamp its image, here they fall in lust (and insta-love) with one another. Unfortunately, their romance didn’t fully do it for me. I love friends-to-lovers, but the problem I had was that they knew each other so well that I felt like the author decided not to do much character building. They both fell a bit flat for me.

I also am not a big fan of the miscommunication trope (even though I feel that most romances do this) and I think the issue could have been easily settled.

One thing I did love was how they portrayed the characters as not knowing EXACTLY what they wanted to be in life, which is so relatable. 30 is still young and you can still make changes in your life, nothing has to be set in stone.

Ultimately, Booked on a Feeling was still a cute and quick read. I loved the bookstore backdrop and I want to read infinitely more books from that perspective. I will also seek out the author’s other books because it was still enjoyable even if it wasn’t the best romance I’ve ever read.

3.5 stars.

4/5 stars
A cute, humorous, cozy, read and I enjoyed the writing. A bookstore being revamped, Korean culture representation ,friends to lovers/miscommunication trope, and enjoyable POV’s from each of the main characters.

The romance over all was super sweet however there were moments of either being too quick and glazing over things or slow with the character developments. I wish there was more backstory to how their friendship came to be because they were such likable characters. Overall recommend if you’re looking for a cute and quick romance read.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved reading about a lawyer who felt out of sorts with her career, and the love interest feeling the same way! Their struggles were relatable and felt honest, and so did their slow burn relationship. At no point, while reading the book, did I think their relationship was rushed/rang false.

I also really enjoyed how *attractive* Lee made Jack sound, and how *steamy his and Lizzie's relationship was.

Lizzy & Jack, Lizzy & Jack, Lizzy & Jack!! This story is about lawyer and overachiever Lizzy and childhood friend and maybe more Jack. I’m personally always a fan of a book that has bookish themes, and this novel certainly reaffirms the magic and joy of small bookshops, independent bookstores, and being a book lover!

I honestly love when authors write about characters experiencing burnout, navigating expectations versus reality, and finding the real joys in life. Lizzy seems to be a perfect example of this reality that many people face when transitioning and growing in adulthood.

I personally haven’t read the other books in this series, but Booked on a Feeling made me want to read more! If you like friends to lovers with a “grow through what you go through” mentality, this book is for you.

I’m grateful to have received this ARC from NetGalley and look forward to seeing more peoples’ reactions and reviews this summer!

Y’all know I’m not usually a friends to lovers type of gal but I can make an exception. Jack and Lizzy made me wish I was a bit nicer to the guys in middle school 😩

What it’s got:
🎀 Friends to Lovers
🎀 Korean Representation
🎀 The iconic “No dad, I’m giving up YOUR dream” but remixed
🎀 Mature and Self Aware Characters
🎀 Also iconic, “If you love something, set it free. If it’s meant to be, it will come back to you” but not remixed
🎀 Existential Crisis/Burn Out
🎀 Small town bookstore makeoverrr

What I really liked about this book was how relatable it was, especially for 20/30 somethings who aren’t sure whether they’re following the right career path or not. This becomes even more difficult with parental influence, especially for first gen immigrant kids who want to make their parents happy since they sacrificed so much to come to the U.S. but also at what cost??

I do wish that more happened in the plot. The first 40% of the book was a bit slow and I felt that some of the dialogue between the MCs were childish? Their thought processes seemed weirdly immature for 30 year olds.

I do think I’ll pick up another Jayci Lee book after this ☺️

I absolutely adored this book! It reminded me so much of love and other words but we got to see so much more of their relationship! Jack and lizzy have my heart and are the kind of characters that make you feel warm and gushy on the inside. I will definitely recommend this book!

If your enjoy friends to lovers trope, you will enjoy this one. This is my first book from Jayci, but I’m excited to check her other books out. I love that you get a bit of second chance romance in the mix too. It was a light and sweet read. I love the cover too so chances are, I’m getting a hard copy as well.

I really enjoyed this book! It had me hooked from the first chapter, and kept me on my toes the entire time! I fell in love with the characters and the romance!

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!
My feelings about this one are complicated. Booked on a Feeling does include a beloved trope, Friends to Lovers- a plus. It also involves being super into indie bookstores and craft beer- also a plus. The overall story line was great... but. I think this came down to a matter of personal preference for writing style. I just wasn't into the overly descriptive style. A couple times I even thought 'show, don't tell!'
I'm sure other people will adore this book, it just wasn't for me.

I loved this book, I loved being back in Weldon! I really enjoy the way Jayci Lee writes. Lizzy and Jack have been best friends for twenty years, and Jack has loved her for every single one of them. Lizzy is trying to get on track to be partner at her law firm, after five years of working hard, she’s finally realizing how hard she’s been working. She needs a break from LA, from work, from everything. So she goes to Weldon for a couple of weeks since Jack is there and she’s always loved that town. Jack works at his family’s brewery, which is his twin brother and their sisters dream come true. Not Jack’s, he just feels helpful enough to make people happy, but not himself. but now with Lizzy in town he gets to spend real time with her, and she’s helping out the local bookstore owner so of course he is helping them both out. They quickly realize they have feeling for each other, but they keep things pretty surface level, and don’t talk about the future.

I love friends to lovers so so much. They both clearly cared for the other deeply, romantically and non romantically. They had very similar story arcs which I liked! They were just kind of going in opposite directions?! It was so good to see them both going for things they wanted. They were both finally finding their place and what actually made them happy. I didn’t like that they kept everything a secret from the other one. They never clued in the one person that was sort of crucial to their plans! But once everything was said and done and figured out it was pretty great. And the epilogue was SO GOOD. I’m hoping there are still more books to come, I’d love a story about Shannon and maybe Alex???? Together??? Or even separate!? Either way I’ll read anything and everything Jayci Lee writes!

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest receive from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press! It comes out July 26th, and I’m so excited for everyone to read it!!

3 1/2.

This is a story of best friends turned lovers.

Lizzie and Jack have been best friends since they were 10. Jack has a major crush on Lizzie but she doesn't know. Since they live four hours apart, he's able to hide his feelings for her.
When she comes on vacation for three weeks to his town, the more time they spend together, the more they find out there's more to their friendship.

Sexual content and language.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

After Lizzy faints during the opening statement of her current trial as an attorney striving to make partner at her big, Los Angeles law firm, she decides to squash her burnout by visiting her platonic best friend, Jack, in his hometown for a few weeks. Meanwhile, Jack is pining in his unrequited love for Lizzy and decides to apply for a job in LA to be closer to her after he comes face to face with his dissatisfaction working for his family’s brewery.

During Lizzy’s vacation, she pops into the local bookstore to check it out and strikes up a friendship with the owner. Feeling listless as a recovering workaholic, Lizzy volunteers to help transform the bookstore from a cold, disorganized mess into a cozy, book lover’s haven. And she enlists Jack’s help.

In this dual POV novel, they spend time together & both are trying to sort their feelings for each other independently. Lizzy’s mother has always pushed her to work hard & has never been satisfied with her accomplishments. I thought this showcased the unique perspective of Korean-American family dynamics.
Jack feels lost, like he doesn’t have a place in his family’s business. His brother and sister are the ones who brew the beer & Jack feels like his contributions as a bookkeeper and part-time server are unfulfilling. And they both discover that they may be interested in each other beyond their platonic friendship of 20 years.

Unfortunately, once I got about 50% through this book, it got incredibly descriptive of every single interaction Jack and Lizzy had. After several non-starts, Jack and Lizzy finally tell each other how they feel and then this is where the book really drops off for me
Every chapter just becomes a lusty, raunchy laundry list of details about their sexual encounters & they somehow manage to make every single glance, touch & interaction… sexual?
I found myself completely suspending disbelief due to the “friends to lovers” trope feeling entirely forced as they go from barely able to look at each other to hot & bothered all the time. Because of this, I found it lacking in substance during the last half of the book. I mean I can only read their internal monologues about how they want to jump each other’s bones every 5 minutes so many times before I’m bored… and cringing a little.

I’m disappointed because I was very excited to read this book based off of the story premise & multi-cultural representation.
I would have loved to see more of the dynamics between Jacks family members to understand why he felt so empty & useless working at his family’s business. I thought the way they were so supportive of his career change, in contrast to Lizzy’s mothers disappointment, could have been explored a little deeper.

Overall, I loved the idea of this book. I love a plot or protagonist who is a book lover, but I think the over abundance of spice in this book really lended to the plot lacking dimension in the second half of the book.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press & Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I really wanted to like this book, I feel like it had great bones! But, it didn't deliver. I didn't feel connected to either of the characters. I also felt like they both acted a little immature for their age. He was still living with his parents at 30, kept calling Lizzy adorable and had no confidence. This was written in 3rd person, and I didn't love that either.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶

Between the adorable cover and heroine who struggles with anxiety/panic attacks, I really really wanted to enjoy this book but it completely missed the mark for me. I contemplated giving it 2⭐️ but the sweet friendship between Lizzy And Jack is what brought this up to 3⭐️. There were a lot of characters mentioned once or twice which was weird to me but that was before I realized this was the third in a series 🤦🏻‍♀️. Other than that, I had a hard time just focusing on the story. Too many coincidences for me to really dive into the story. I mean, a bookstore owner just lets a stranger re-do their whole store, and watch it for them, all for free? I want to say this is a mostly a closed door romance. I gave it 1 🌶 because you get all the fun details leading up to “it” but nothing during. There is no doubt that I think many of you will enjoy this book but it’s a one and done for me.

A perfect execution of childhood friends to lovers 👌 I loved that the MCs were Korean (steamy Kdrama, anyone?) and their relationship was so fun!

A little predictable, but a quick read and I was hooked!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

An absolutely adorable best friends to more story and I was so excited to discover there is even more from Jayci Lee out there! Overworked, overanxious, and in serious need of a break, Lizzy nearly blows her first big case by having an anxiety attack just before opening statements. Thankfully she pulled it together and even better she realized she needs a break. Lizzy decides there's no place like "home" which in this case is anywhere near her best friend Jack.

The story here is a bit of a slow burn in the best way.

4/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exhange for an honest review.

This has a lot of potential, however I found it very cheesy/cringy. The chemistry between the main characters was off and on. Sometimes I found their dynamic really well written, and others I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes at how silly they sounded when talking. I also don’t believe their relationship as well described. I didn’t get the vibe that they were good friends, I was just told they were good friends. This was lacking solid writing.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

This was a e-book I won through NetGalley. I like the storyline straight out of the door. It focused on Lizzy and Jack. Jack was the awesome best friend always there for her. They were best friends but he had a 20 year crush on her. It follows them through their careers, friendship, Jack's love for Lizzy. I found Lizzy to be a bold character often speaking her mind. Jack was more reserved and quiet often internalizing his emotions or thoughts. I don't want to give too much away but I really liked the book. The storyline seemed very slow at the beginning and it took me several days to really get to a place where I couldn't set it down. At about 30% into the book, it really took off and I couldn't set it down. I ended up finishing the book in one sitting. The author did a great job of expressions the emotions of Lizzy and Jack and you could feel them as if you were the characters. This book focused on finding yourself, finding what you want to do in life, about taking chances, about failure, self doubt, and lastly communication. I felt as though sometimes the characters were too caught up in their own heads instead of talking about what was going on.