I received a gifted galley of EXES & O’S by Amy Lea for an honest review. Thank you to PRH Audio, Berkley Publishing Group, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

EXES & O’S by Amy Lea follows Tara Chen, a book obsessed nurse making a name for herself in the world of romance in the bookstagram realm. After her most recent relationship ends badly with a broken engagement with a man she must face on a regular basis at work, Tara begins to think that revisiting her exes for the potential of exploring a second chance romance trope might be the way to go. With her new roommate Trevor in tow, Tara begins to explore the ones who got away.

Though not labeled as part of series on Goodreads, this book does follow the author’s first book, SET ON YOU, which I enjoyed last year, so it was fun to revisit some characters from the first book. That said, this book does entirely stand on its own if you haven’t read the prior book. I really loved Tara as our central character. I mean, a book obsessed woman with books piled all around her house from stack challenges and bookstagram photo shoots, what’s not to love? Though her main reading tastes weren’t exactly my own, she was very relatable as a character overall.

I also really enjoyed Trevor as a character and he’s exactly the friend you want in your corner. The chemistry between the pair worked really well and of course the book heads down the path to a happy ending with a few bumps in the road along the way. I think the author did a fantastic job of developing the relationship from their first VERY awkward meeting to the end. I loved seeing how her love of reading bled over into their relationship and had him picking up some of her less romance heavy books along the way.

The audiobook was a fun binge read over a weekend. This is one I would recommend to all the book lovers and especially the romance fans.

This book! I am at a temporary loss for words on how to describe this book. So heartwarming, sweet, and endearing. I have never had a romantic comedy with such a touching happily ever after (HEA) that I was emotionally drained, in the best of ways, by the time I read the last page. One warning – I was not aware this was book #2 of a series when I read it. For those interested in reading the first book in the influencer series, Set on You, read it BEFORE reading this one as it does tell you essentially the entire third act of that book.

Tara Chen is a romance book reviewer who has a habit of blurring the lines between fantasy and fiction. With a recent breakup and an unexpected move, Tara finds herself desperately seeking her really life HEA. Taking her grandmother’s advice, Tara decides, with the help of her gorgeous firefighter roommate Trevor, to go back through her past and make her own second chance romance come true.

Trevor still can’t figure out how he has gotten roped into Tara’s “brilliant” plan to rekindle a relationship with a former ex in time for the Valentine’s Day gala. As each hilarious encounter crosses an ex off the list, Trevor finds himself, not only growing closer to his roommate, but becoming personally invested in her ending. The question is, can fantasy handle what reality has to offer.

What I like about the book: It was hilarious to see the role of a book influencer, book reviewer fictionalized. Going with the idea of life imitating art, imitating life; I had to wonder how much fellow influencers have blurred that line, especially in the realm of falling in love with fictional men – i.e. the coveted book boyfriend. I liked how Tara tried to keep her grip on reality but every situation spilled over to a trope for her, giving her the “answers” she needed to figure out the situation, not realizing that real life doesn’t work that way (which of course is hilarious as this is a roommates to friends to lovers trope making fun of itself!) As for spice – the heated scenes between Tara and Trevor will leave condensation on any window. To be frank, while the steamy scenes were enjoyable, the most astonishing part about their connection was what was coming from Trevor. To see him cracked wide open like that, if you hadn’t fall for him already, you were doomed to be consumed. Another book boyfriend crush has been born!

What I love about it: I loved how layered Trevor was in the book. Sure, he was the “hot playboy with a trouble past” but I enjoyed how Amy used that past, like a real person, to build his present. There is so much more to him than a pretty face and a great body. We get to know him as Tara does and we can see how the fantasy corrupts the realistic situations that do happen in real life (a much needed reminder that the guys normally written in your average romantic comedy are WRITTEN for women). When Trevor made his declaration, I couldn’t breathe and had to stop reading so I didn’t start crying. I can’t say I had as much luck with the ending, I bawled like a baby!! Happy tears though, all happy!

To dive even further, I loved how much Tara’s grandmother shares her abundance of knowledge, dispelling the allure of the fantasy and grounding of reality through her advice. She’s right, problems can’t be fixed by one conversation and in real life, miscommunication is inevitable. It isn’t just about communicating, but learning how to effectively communicate (and there is nothing wrong with seeking outside help to make this happen). It is also important to speak your truth, consequences be darned because they’re nothing more powerful than owning how you feel, who you are, and not compromising for the sake of not being judged.

For a romantic comedy novel to stand the test of time, it needs to be one that provokes such strong feelings, you are drawn to it time and time again to get that fix – whether it is overwhelming joy, a much needed laugh, confirmation of self worth, etc. This book provides all that and more. I can’t wait for others to fall in love with this story and whatever else Amy writes in the future!

A fun and sexy rom-com, Exes and O’s is a friends-to-lovers romance between roommates Tara and Trevor. I read Set on You last year and loved it, so I was excited to start Exes and O’s, which focuses on the younger sister of the protagonist in Set On You. I liked Tara even more than I thought I would, and her love story with Trevor is fabulous.

Tara is as big a fan of romance novels as I am. I love novels with characters who love reading, and this story includes so much talk about romance novels. I loved it!! Tara’s feelings about the books she loves remind me so much of myself, and she’s so easy to relate to. She’s also a bookstagrammer and is determined to live out her very own second-chance romance. Tara searches for her happily ever after by revisiting her past relationships, and she recruits her sexy but commitment-averse roommate Trevor to help. Hilarity, embarrassment, and some wonderfully tender moments ensue, and it’s pretty entertaining.

At first, I wasn’t a huge fan of Trevor, but the more I learned about him, the more I liked him, and by the halfway mark, I was in love. Much like Tara, there’s a lot of depth to his character, and their past relationships and experiences define a lot of their feelings and actions in the present. It’s interesting to see how this new friendship with Tara changes Trevor and makes him more open and vulnerable. Just sayin’ – Trevor makes the grumpy, commitment-phobe firefighter with a soft heart trope look good. And his feelings for Tara are off-the-charts swoon-worthy!

Tara and Trevor have the best romance, and their connection is fantastic. They start off as friends and really get to know each other before they move into relationship territory. I enjoyed the slow buildup and the way their relationship grows and changes. They come a long way from strangers to roommates to friends to more than friends. And their banter is fantastic. I love the dialogue throughout the book, and the awesome pop-culture references. The Office, Star Wars, how to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, CASPER – they’re all great, and they made me smile so much. Their conversations felt very natural and organic and kind of reminded me of myself and my hubs when we first became friends. Plus, Tara and Trevor’s story has an amazing epilogue, swoon-worthy declarations, and so much chemistry that my kindle had a hot flash.

I would definitely recommend Exes and O’s to lovers of rom-coms or contemporary romance. It’s entertaining and funny, and it has a swoon-tastic love story that is both sexy (and a bit steamy!) and sweet. And I loved the pop-culture references and comical conversations, many of which made me laugh out loud. Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed Set on You by Amy Lea and was excited to read the follow up book. I enjoyed Tara's story and what she learned about herself while going through her list of ex-boyfriends. I also loved Trevor, the new roommate she was apparently "never going to see", but who manages to very quickly get very involved in Tara's life.

I really appreciated the character of Tara and how she shows that sometimes it is okay to be dramatic, enthusiastic, and want a bit of a fairytale. I of course wanted her and Trevor to realize their feelings even sooner, but I enjoyed the journey that they went on to figure out each other and that they don't have to change in many ways.

I adore the authors brand of romance, she writes such authentic feeling stories and as much as I loved her previous book, I am obsessed with this one! The characters were the best, Tara is a romance book reviewer so clearly I thought she was super cool and Trevor is a firefighter who has the whole broody sexiness thing going on. They were both so well drawn and such a perfect match for each other and their love story was hard fought. Romance readers will delight in the way the author uses well loved tropes as part of the story, Tara’s love of second chance romances prompts her to revisit past relationships to see if there’s still a chance with any of her exes and I adored that fun premise. You also get forced proximity mixed with some friends to lovers with some sexy moments and lots of fun banter. Safe to safe I really loved this one and can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

😍😍 this was so good! I absolutely loved this one!! This was such a slow burn, but it was such a fun journey to read. I knew from the beginning it wasn’t a good idea for Tara to try to reconnect with her exes, but it was very entertaining. Trevor is amazing!! Playboy forced proximity is always a great trope to read, but Trevor was so much more than the trope. I really really want to read chapters from his pov! I needed more!

I can’t wait for everyone to read this in January. I am a little bummed this isn’t coming out on Valentine’s Day!

Thank you so much Berkley Romance for my gifted copy!

Thanks to Berkley Romance, the author, and NetGalley for the free gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Exes and O’s is Amy Lea’s second contemporary romance novel! And I definitely loved it more than the first one - it was way less cringy. I love a forced proximity romance that has friends to lovers - the tension was VERY high in this book which I LOVED.

I definitely could relate to Tara and her obsession with romance novels and unattainable standards for men. The main character Trevor was a great guy and definitely swoon-worthy.

I saw sooooo many 5-star reviews for this romance so I think a lot of people loved it a lot more than I did, the writing just gave me cringe vibes throughout so it was hard for me to LOVE it. Obvi most romances have cringe to it but for some reason both her books gave me a little more cringe factor than most.

But if you love a steamy tension-filled forced proximity romance with friends-to-lovers vibes and a little cringy romance then this one is for you.

This book was absolutely amazing. I loved the love story and the classic trope where a guy helps the girl date other guys and then they fall in love in the end. Actually, this book was filled with tropes. And I am a trope lover. Also, is Trevor my new book boyfriend? I think he just might be. He was amazing and I loved every single scene with him in it. If you do anything, please let it be reading this book. 10/10

this was very cute and fun! i loved the main character and i thought the romance was slow burn and believable. with the author's first book, i loved everything (background characters, food descriptions, subplots) more than the romance, and with this one it's the opposite - and i'll take it! i liked this one much more.

Do you read a sequel and automatically find yourself comparing it to the one that came before?

As much as there are many similarities between Lea's debut novel "Set on You" and "Exes and O's," they're also set well enough apart to be considered on their own. That's not to say that family and friends don't play a role in this novel but the action is (as it should) focused on Trevor and Tara. How tee-rific.

This is a room-mance with a generous helping of second-chance romance because Tara spends a healthy portion of the book trying to make her favourite romance novel (or movie) trope come true for herself: the second chance romance. We follow Tara through several unsuccessful dates and a few other iffy encounters - and Trevor too is along for the ride on at least two occasions. And then he goes from coach to a full participant in this charming and sexy (but not overly sexy) novel.

Things that stood out for me about this novel: It's set over the course of several months which allows us to really get to know the characters and for them to grow and develop too - it's well worth the wait!; I also love that the main character (Tara) didn't LOVE or HATE her job - in fact she seemed a little ambivalent about it - which is refreshing because I find most fmcs fit into one of those categories. And of course, how could I not mention how much I love that Tara is a Bookstagrammer!?!? Was Lea looking for bonus points or something? Well, she got them all!

YOU'RE KIDDING!!! THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD 100% made for romance book girlies. it was so so heartwarming and hilarious and i related to tara SOOO bad--in the way that she was obsessed w romance, the way she viewed life, the way she set her expectations, and the things people said to her!!! felt so realistic to our life and i was so so in love w this book. and TREVOR??? HOTTIE SOFTIE FIREFIGHTER?? YOU'RE KIDDING??? idk im just absolutely in love w this universe and this book and when it was over....i was so upset bc i wanted so much more!! the love confession, the steamy scenes, all of it !! it's just so amazing and i absolutely love it and i recommend it to anyone who lose romance novels!!

Delightful. Tara Chen is a NICU nurse in Boston and after a year is finally recovering from her broken engagement. It doesn’t help her ex still works at the same hospital. She become roommates with buff firefighter Trevor Metcalfe and of course there is a memorable meet cute. Tara has a list of guys from the past that she wants to make contact with to see if there could be the possibility of a second chance romance. In includes everyone from childhood best friend to college fling.

The book is told entirely from Tara’s POV but all along the journey Trevor is there to laugh with her, pick up the pieces or be a sounding board. She also shares her adventures with the romance book followers to who she live streams. This book is fun for romances readers as many of the typical tropes are discussed and of course some fit the story (forced proximity).

Trevor is a yummy sweetheart. He enjoys hook-ups and avoids anything with feelings. But he slowly shares his softer side with Tara. I like the communication between them. The epilogue is swoon worthy. This is wonderful, creative, romantic read for the start of 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Amy Lea, Netgalley, and Berkley Romance for the ebook ARC. This is Amy’s second book, and this time it is centered around Crystal’s sister, Tara.

AND IT IS HILARIOUS. I truly laughed out loud so many times that my daughter told me I couldn’t read it while she was watching TV next to me. It’s so witty and hilarious.

The premise is that Tara wants to settle down. She’s a bookstagrammer and her favorite trope is second chance romances. So, she convinces herself that she should revisit the ghosts of relationships past to see if any could qualify for a second chance romance of her own.

Plus she’s moved in with a very hot roommate. So, y’know.

Honestly this book is wonderful. It’s creative, it’s got a bookish element, and it’s so, so funny.

Well done! I think you’ll all love this one!

I cannot let another day go by where I don’t tell you about this book! If you haven’t checked out Amy’s debut Set on You yet - you must! Such a good romance.

Right when I met Tara in Set on You I was SO hopeful she was getting her own book. Tara is a nurse and a bookstagrammer (see why I loved her immediately!?) She’s had no luck in love and being a huge fan of second chance romance books - she tries to create her own second chance romance by revisiting all of her exes with the help of her new roommate, Trevor.

SUCH a fun premise and it’s done so well. It was a blast seeing Tara go through her list of exes, and of course some embarrassing, and some hilarious situations arise. Trevor - the firefighter, womanizer - becomes Tara’s ally and friend- he watches The Bachelor WITH HER, becomes protective of her….and yup you see where this is going. He made me melt.

I love Amy’s use of pop culture references and her humour. I definitely laughed out loud a lot. Let’s not forget the steam - 🔥.

Trevor and Tara appeared in Amy Lea's excellent Set on You as the respective best friends of the main characters. Now they get their own book, as roommates who have a meet-horrifying but settle into a nice friendship. Tara decides it's time to figure out why her past relationships went wrong, and Trevor offers to come along for the ride. But spending all that time together, it's possible that the answer to Tara's future might not be in her past at all.

These two have sparkling chemistry and really enjoy each other's company, too. I was definitely rooting for them.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

I was left feeling sentimental and warm and S-W-O-O-N-I-N-G. This felt like a nod To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before but make it a sweet, steamy adult romcom 🥹 also Trevor Metcalfe *bites knuckles* firefighter by day, moonlights as Flynn Rider by night and so on? I'm weak in the knees for him🧎🏻‍♀️

Loved seeing the development between Tara and Trevor. I really liked Trevor’s character and how sweet and caring he is. Tara was funny and charming; I admired her courage and bravery. This was such a cute rom-com. I related to Tara a lot!

Loved this one! I dove right in & couldn't put it down. It was funny, sexy & highly addictive. I loved the chemistry between Tara & Trevor. Tara was a great character; she was funny & relatable. I enjoyed the slow burn of this book & was really happy with how the story played out.

Full review posted to links after embargo date.

This was such a great read! I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but felt it was a little oddly paced in places, and the conflict a bit underbaked. I think Lea is really in the swing of things here - Trevor and Tara are both fully formed characters, and I especially love that Tara’s a bookstagrammer who loves romance, but Lea doesn’t keep dropping real-life authors and titles in the book, which almost always feels like pandering to me. Trevor’s relationship with his niece is so sweet, and I loved moments where we got to see him through his best friend Scott’s perception.

I do think again that people may be frustrated with the communication style between the two, but it feels much better reasoned and handled than the first book did. Tara’s desperation for love is a little painful to watch at times, too, but it’s all part of her journey and I can’t imagine her another way. So fun, and I would love to see more from this friend group!

I enjoyed this one just as much as I'd enjoyed Amy Lea's debut, Set On You. I related way too much to the main character with her love for romance books and having no other hobby besides reading lol. I also related a lot to Trevor which was fun too in a way (if you've read it, you'll know what i mean) but overall, I really enjoyed this one and ended up reading it in one sitting, in about 5 hours

I enjoyed the premise of the ex list too and the way she was using that to hide her growing feelings for her roommate. I did think it was a lil too over the top about sharing that much personal information on her channel, as well as the information/ pictures of the exes without their permission but I do tend to get stuck on small details like this that don't affect the story whatsoever so that was just a me thing I guess. It also did irk me a few times just how self deprecating Tara got, specially in conversations with Trevor, but to be fair, she did go through a very rough past year and the emotional abuse from Seth over the years before that, so it did make sense.

I absolutely loved the epilogue though like I have to mention how great it was, like the way it connected everything from how they started out and their little inside jokes also perfectly sprinkled in. Just beautiful.

All in all, I did really enjoy this one, and had a great time reading it. I highly recommend it to all romance lovers who love second chance romance but even more to those who like forced proximity and roomances more!