I'm such a sucker for a book based in or around a book store. Despite the fact that I didn't really connect with any of the characters, I connected with the setting of this book. I really do love the idea that life can throw you in any direction, even if you thought you were headed to one destination you may end up in another. It wasn't that the book was bad, I just wish that maybe I had connected more with the characters. 3.5 stars rounded down, I just wish these characters gave me just that little bit more to push this story towards a four star.

From my blog post (link is attached): I’m a sucker for a series/companion novels and am so glad that I got to read the first two books, A Sweet Mess and The Dating Dare, especially when this one had cameos with characters from them. Who wouldn’t love reading a book where there is a lot of time spent in a bookstore? The entire time, it just felt right between the two main characters (which this was dual POV, so SCORE) who are 1) best friends, 2) seeking something new and 3) finding the beauty of what has always been there. This was such a great book with lots of lusty thoughts, especially when toolbelts are involved (you have to read to understand, lol), some spicy moments and nosy family & friends.

Unfortunately, I can't speak to the narrator because for some reason, this was not on my netgalley shelf after I was approved for it but I can speak to the actual story and I loved it, I hope we get the other twin's story too!

An unfortunately forgettable book. I loved reading about a heroine that had such severe anxiety like myself. and the descriptions of food were mouth watering. (Honestly, thank god I live in Korea while reading this book because the foods would make me open up the delivery app immediately).
But that said, I just couldn't get into the story, I'm not the biggest fan of friends to lovers, and its hard to get me into that kind of love story. I thought the other aspects would be enough to hold my attention. It wasn't. The writing was decent, and the way Lee writes about food, I honestly don't think I can talk about it enough.
My dislike has everything to do with my own personal preference for certain tropes.

What’s better than reading a book involving books!

BOOKED ON A FEELING was a sweet romance, between Lizzy and Jack, that takes place in a bookstore. Featuring one of my favorite tropes, friends to lovers, Jack was such a sweet, supportive character to Lizzy, who suffers from anxiety.

I loved that the author showcased this as a theme of the book, and she herself also suffers from anxiety. It was reassuring to see how Lizzy was affected, and how she was able to cope with it, while having support too.

The audiobook was an enjoyable experience, narrated by Cindy Kay, but I actually preferred the physical book over the audiobook.

*many thanks to St Martins Press/Dreamscape Media for the gifted copy for review

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Dreamscape Media for the ARC and audio ARC of this!

I love a good friends to lovers and this one was so cute! There was a lot of character growth and general figuring out life alongside the romance that was fun to read about, especially all the bookstore content. Recommend for fans of So We Meet Again, second chance romances, and books in books!

The thing about requesting romance novels on NetGalley is that later you have to review them. Most of the time I feel so stupidly neutral about a straight romance that I feel like a zombie walking around going “I had fun! It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad!” I read this as an audiobook egalley and the narrator felt REALLY slow so I ended up listening to it at 2x speed, which didn’t really help. Love the cover! I felt…. pretty neutral about the book. Wish I liked any of the characters more, or maybe I wish I read it in print. Three stars.

Lizzy is an attorney. She just won her first case. But, she is not enjoying her work at all. She decides to take a much needed vacation and she runs to her childhood best friend, Jack. Jack has plans of his own though. He has a secret. He is applying for a job close to where Lizzy lives. Hopefully if he succeeds, he and Lizzie will finally become more than friends

I have always had a problem with this author’s characters. She creates these smart individuals but then they are so stupid in their decision making. I really wanted to snap Jack bald headed during parts of this book. He has carried his torch for Lizzie for over 10 years…10 YEARS! And this went on for several chapters and I was like…YOU ARE A GROWN MAN…STEP UP! This is just one example of my frustration with this book.

Now, if I had physically read this book, it would have been a DNF. But I have more patience with audiobooks. So, I did finish it. Basically because of Lizzie’s love of books and the narrator, Cindy Kay.

Need a romance with a bookstore and a sweet setting…this is it! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I listened to the book on NetGalley's audio reader app (which I really liked, BTW), and it was a fun romance. Lizzy and Jack are best friends, both pining after each other for decades, and finally, after like 20 years, things work out. I have to say that Jack captured my heart more than Lizzy, who seemed a little too selfish for my liking. Jack, meanwhile, put his dreams on hold to work in his family's brewery, and, well, you have to reward that kind of family loyalty. He was also just 1000% devoted to Lizzy, which made me swoon.

This book wasn't for me. I wanted to like it, I just couldn't get into it. I'm sure others will enjoy this it just wasn't for me.

You can’t help but to fall in love with a romance set in a bookstore! Booked on a Feeling is a Hallmark, feel-good movie without the holiday and with people of color at the center. A super cute reminder to pursue what you love, whether that is a person or a passion.

I didn’t know that this was part of a series, but it’s part of a series in that you see cameos of characters from other books mentioned. If I had read the previous books, they would be a nice shoutout, but even though I didn’t read the previous books, I didn’t think that took away from my experience.

And of course we have to talk about the level of spice for this one! Don’t let the cutesy cover fool you, the intimate scenes in this one are super hot. Caution if you are listening to this audiobook in public because you will blush.

Despite the level of spice, I love me a wholesome best friends to lovers trope. It just feels so good not to have to cringe at toxic relationship dynamics being glorified. Lizzie and Jack were so good to each other, so good for each other. Friends to lovers felt like a natural transition for them.

I recently saw a TikTok about the difference between authors of color writing books for people who share the same culture as them and books for white readers. The main difference is how different aspects of culture are explained. Are they over-explained in a way that feels alienating to the reader with the shared culture, or do they normalize culture? Booked on a Feeling felt very Korean American in that Korean culture didn’t overly saturate the story in a way that felt fetishizing, but the culture also wasn’t completely erased, whitewashing the characters.

Overall, I would recommend this cute read for the beach or as a palate cleanser between heavier reading material. Or even if you just enjoy cute romances!

Cindy Kay narrates Jayci Lee’s Booked on a Feeling, A Sweet Mess 3, by about two lifelong best friends who surrender to the chemistry simmering between them while helping give a bookstore a new look.

Lizzy Chung, Esq. is an overachiever with her life all mapped out. Her big goals are:
X Become a lawyer
X Join a prestigious law firm
___ Make partner.
Two down, one to go. Lizzy should become a partner in a couple of years and live a successful, fulfilled life in L.A., making her parents proud. But her plans didn’t include passing out from a panic attack during a critical moment in her career. So to figure that out and get past the burnout she feels, Lizzy drives to Weldon to visit her best friend, Jack Park.

Jack’s surprised to see Lizzy back in Weldon. But he’s thrilled to spend three weeks with his dream girl. Lizzy’s utterly oblivious to his decades-long crush on her. And Jack’s going to keep it that way. Lizzy’s a high-powered L.A. attorney, and Jack’s just a bookkeeper at his family’s brewery who’s never even left his hometown. Besides, he’s afraid of risking their friendship on the off-chance Lizzy might like him back.

Lizzy can’t resist helping to bring the local bookstore back to life with a revamp, and Jack can’t say no to helping her. However, the more time they spend together, the harder it is to keep ignoring the chemistry/attraction sparking between them. Lizzy and Jack have been searching for the right paths to future happiness. But could it have been right in front of them all along?

Kay’s dynamic and expressive narration complements Lee’s narrative style—her balance of humor and intense emotion. Her narration brings the characters from the written word into the readers’ imagination, brilliantly bringing Booked on a Feeling to life on audio. She portrays the characters and scenes by providing distinct voices for the characters with cadence, dialect, and pacing that capture their personalities, emotions, and moods for each scene. The narrator effortlessly switches tones from humor to angst, to sexy, to anger, etc., and nicely voices male and female characters.

Her narration perfectly fits Jack and Lizzy’s characters. She captures Lizzy’s overachiever, type-A, planning nature and balances it with her romantic dreamer side fed by her love of romance novels and reading. Lizzy’s voice is more relaxed in Weldon—revamping the bookstore, being with Jack. I love Kay’s narration of Lizzy’s inner monologue when trying to resist her desire for Jack. It’s hilarious! Kay’s narration for Lizzy wonderfully depicts Lizzy’s panic attack and expresses her anxiety and fear when talking with her mother or worrying about how her parents will react to her life choices. Kay reveals the confusing contradictions in Jack’s character concerning his beliefs about his value/worth and contributions. Her voice for Jack expresses his boredom with working for the brewery, uncertainty about the future, and insecurity about fitting into Lizzy’s life as an equal partner, where he fits in at the brewery, and his contributions. But his voice is confident when working at the brewery, taking Lizzy out for hikes/runs, or helping her with projects.

Lee’s development and evolution of Jack and Lizzy’s characters and relationship through sweet, humorous, sexy, emotional, and steamy banter, dialogue, and interactions are top-notch as always. Jack is reliable, savvy in business management and development, an intelligent problem solver, and handy with tools. In addition to being a skilled attorney, Lizzy is an organized, creative planner who loves books. Jack and Lizzy’s sexual tension is off the charts once she finally catches on and stops being oblivious to it. When she does, it’s hilarious how thirsty she becomes for him, especially when he has tools in his possession. Jack has always been thirsty for Lizzy. Together they are a hilarious mess of thirstiness. Their love scenes are as emotional and intimate as they are sexy and steamy—even when left to the imagination.

I love Lizzy and Jack’s friendship and how they can always rely on each other and bring balance to each other’s lives. Except for the part where they are extremely dissatisfied and unhappy with their lives and have esteem issues destined to interfere with any romance between them but won’t talk to each other about it. And unfortunately, it may be too late by the time they do.

I love the cover. So vibrant, colorful, and eye-catching, it’s an excellent match for Booked on a Feeling, which is a sweet, funny, angsty, sexy, emotional, friends-to-lovers romance.

Advanced review copy provided by Dreamscape Media via Netgalley for review.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for my gifted audiobook!

This was a sweet contemporary romance that had a mix of friends to lovers trope, a strong woman who needs a break from an ambitious list of career goals, and some spicy romantic scenes.

Things I loved about the book:
1. Lizzy decides to take a break from her career and travels to a place where she spent her summers as a child.
2. Lizzy's break includes living above a bookstore and revamping this bookstore that is currently failing.

This was a quick, cute read that didn't have any "wow" factors for me which is why I am rating it three stars. I listened to this book, and enjoyed the narrator.

This book was sweet. I like that Lizzie is written as a strong, career-focused woman who was still gentle and sensitive. Jack was also a gentle soul who felt pressure to take care of his family. This book was cute and fluffy! Perfect if you are in a rom com mood.

This was a cute story, and I think that rom-com lovers are going to enjoy it. I didn't feel completely connected with the characters, and I would have liked to see a bit more out of their development, but overall, it's a good story. I do wish I would have known this was part of a series. I think I may have enjoyed the story more, however, I do think this can be read as a standalone.

A bookish delight with excellent narration. A recommended purchase for collections where romance is popular.

Booked on a Feeling
by Jayci Lee
Narrated by Cindy Kay

I received a digital copy of this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a friends to lovers romance about (to borrow a phrase from the podcast Heaving Bosoms) two hot dummies (and I mean that affectionately) who are obviously hopelessly in love with each other but shove those feelings down to “preserve their friendship” and focus on career (Lizzy) and family (Jack).

However they both come to realize that their prior goals and focus are no longer as fulfilling or appropriately fitting as previously.

They come to the realization that they need a new life focus and so much the better if that involves more time together even if they are “just friends”.
Also independent bookstores.

And just like when finding the culprit in a mystery, their next steps provide means, motive and opportunity. (I may be listening to too many true crime podcasts.)

This story features Asian American (Korean) leads to provide some much needed diversity in the romance genre. Familiar concept of heroine named Lizzy/Elizabeth favoring Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice in particular. Solid performance by the narrator.

4/5

Jayci Lee always makes me laugh! I think this might be my favourite of hers yet - bookstore renovations have ALWAYS been romantic, and definitely fit into my ideal life :D I could have spent a lot more time in those bookshops with these characters.

Cindy Kay does an excellent job narrating this lifelong friends turned lovers romance. Similar to the rest of the series, this story brings us back to Weldon. This romance is set in a bookstore where Lizzy, a lawyer in Los Angeles, ends up for a break after having a panic attack during a trial. Jack, Lizzy's childhood friend, helps run his family's local brewery in Weldon. Friends since childhood who don't spend much time together are pushed to interact and spend time together since they are in the same small town. This pushes them to change their relationship. Miscommunication has the couple fighting their love but eventually they give in to their true feelings.

I struggled to get into this book. I kept waiting for something to happen to draw me in. The writing was good, the story was just missing something. Overall this book hit more neutral with me. Maybe I’m just not the market reader.

I did not realize this was a third in a series. Luckily it is able to be read as a stand alone as well.

I think this would make a great summer beach read or pool side story.

It was super cute and I liked the mental health inclusion.

The characters Lizzie and Jack were likeable, but at the same time I with they had some more depth.
I may read the previous two books in this "series", but I'm not sure I will go out of my way to do it