•a friends to lovers story where I genuinely believe in the friendship before feelings develop? be still my heart!! what a find!!
•influencers as main characters is so intriguing to me especially with how one’s audience factors into your life/how you view it/what you decide to share. It makes me excited for Mel’s book since she’s the most “famous” of the trio I believe
•I think I wanted a little bit of a deeper meta analysis about romance novels vs. the real world? The strongest emotional development occurred when people called Tara out for whittling everything down to a trope and I just would have loved even more of that (like discussing miscommunication & how that resolves… catnip for me!!)
•this does lean a little into cringey millennial writing, but in a way I found charming because I really liked the characters (and I am also a cringey millennial I suppose)

This was very cute! It appears I read this out of order so I’ll have to go back and read the first one. I loved the romance-obsessed heroine and the self-awareness of the tropes. Also, we love a reformed rake trope! Or whatever the modern equivalent is? I think this is a great fun read with lots of feels!

LOVE LOVE LOVE. Oh, this was so cute and funny. I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately and this helped pull me out of it. Perfect choice for February. I liked the friends-to-lovers and forced proximity tropes used. I felt the pacing was well done and kept my interest the entire way through. I enjoyed how the author made two flawed characters who fit wonderfully together. Tara’s character is clingy and cringy at times but also endearing while Trevor struggles to take risks with relationships. I liked reading the development of each of their characters. I adored The Office references and that Amy Lea made Tara bookish. The epilogue is too sweet. I recommend and want to read Set on You now!

Fun book with a cute room-ance story line. Reviewing late but will definitely recommend. Thanks Net Galley for the advance ecopy.

Tara is coming out of a year of healing after her engagement was called off by her toxic ex, who she still works with. With therapy and romance books helping her through, she is moving into a new place when she meets her new roommate, ass-first, mid-thrust, defiling the kitchen, after she was mugged.

Trevor is a firefighter who doesn't do relationships. While Tara keeps trying to figure out what his playboy backstory is, Trevor shows her who he is and opens up to her. Trevor's actions showed how he cared for her, especially as he aids her when she decides to track down her exes (really anyone she ever liked) and go for a second chance romance, convinced they were all good guys.

As Trevor supports her on this journey, where her idea of these men is dismantled, Tara develops feelings for Trevor. And while her bookfluencer followers ship them, neither believe they will work.

Honestly, I had to keep putting this book down from the second-hand embarrasement and general annoyance I had with Tara. As Trevor says, "they're exes for a reason," so her hope in these trash men made me think she was too detached from reality, but as I got through it, I couldn't put it down because Tara does get these harsh reality checks. I ended up being amazed by how brave she was to put herself in a position to be humiliated. She became more patient and analyzed herself and her reasoning for this. Her character development was necessary so her and Trevor could work out. Trevor also becomes better through his relationship with Tara so by the end, you believe they're meant for each other and are rooting for them.

Your heart will be warmed by Trevor's protectiveness, kindness, and excellent romance hero-ness, and Tara learning what she deserves and not taking shit about who she is anymore.

Tara is the sister of the first book's, Set On You, heroine and Trevor is the roommate, best friend, and coworker of Set On You's hero.

Feat: opposites attract, roomates to lovers (room-ance), mutual pining, friends to lovers, single POV, grumpy/sunshine

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars
1 spice

LIKES:
📝 funny, breezy, relatable writing
📖 bookish vibes
🤳 influencer energy (bookstagram!)
👩🏻 Tara is a stunted, clingy, kind nurse
👨🏻‍🚒 Trevor is a loyal, funny, yet distant firefighter
🫂 forced proximity (3/5 steam)
👩‍❤️‍👨 friends to lovers
💞 second chance romance
🗓️ + a dating sequence
😊 cute & sweet
🌱 themes of personal growth
•
DISCLAIMERS:
⚠️ dm me for TWs
🧀 cheesy
🙄 exes plot got a little silly
👎 FMC became a bit annoying
•
VERDICT: a cute romance completely carried by the MMC (a HOT, loyal, PERFECT firefighter) + side plots but know the FMC felt younger than her age & the dating sequence plot got a bit repetitive

4/5 stars!

Amy Lea shines again with a romance filled with tension and emotion. I loved watching these two characters fall in love with not only themselves but also each other. If you love a book where he falls first, she's obsessed with romance novels, and they were roommates, and a FMC who thinks she's too much for other people but comes to love herself as she is instead of changing herself for others, then this book is for you!

Thanks for reading!

Exes and O's is a timely story of a social media book reviewer who makes a list of all of her exes in order to rekindle romance and hopefully find a date to her work's Valentine's Day gala. Needless to say, it goes terribly for her but wonderfully for us because she has a hot fireman roommate who is obviously obsessed with her.

I immediately downloaded everything else Amy Lea has written.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my opportunity to review this book. All thoughts/opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored this book and the way it broke all of my expectations for it. Exes and O's is about a bookstagram influencer who is in love with romance books and romance tropes. It makes so many references to the real bookstagram world and pop culture that it was on the verge of fourth wall breaking, but I loved it so much!

Our main character is on the hunt for love, specifically second chance romance love, she has pulled her "ex files" and is reuniting with all her past boyfriends to see if any of them are soulmate material. During this escapade she enlists the help of her firefighter/player roommate. She starts to learn that sometimes real life is way better than any trope could be.

I do think that this book has a bit of my least favorite trope of "miscommunication" in it but it feels so real and honest about that I hardly noticed it was happening.

This is definitely one of my new favorite romance books of all time!

This was such a good follow up to Set On You! I loved that Tara was a romance loving bookstagrammer and a nurse. I found her incredibly relatable and entertaining. (Although a little over the top)

Trevor was a great love interest. I enjoyed slowly getting to know his true character that was hiding behind his gruff exterior. I would have loved some chapters from Trevor’s perspective, but this book didn’t suffer too much without it (But for the record, I’m always pro dual POV). The chemistry between Tara and Trevor was palpable, and I enjoyed the slow burn build up.

If you love fun romcoms that touch on a few heavier topics, then this book needs to be on your radar.

... and THEY WERE ROOMATES! As someone who isn't big on the friends-to-lovers trope, this read was an unexpected delight. If you're looking for a romance novel that is OH SO FUN, this is *it*! I couldn't put it down, and thoroughly enjoyed the characters, setting, and plot.

SYNOPSIS: Tara Chen loves love, romance novels, and is obsessed with finding "The One". She decides if she can't find love in new places, why not revisit the love of exes past? But she can't do it alone, and enlists the help of her new (sexy, firefighter) roommate, Trevor. Trevor agrees reluctantly even though love isn't his thing, but can't resist the magnetic pull of Tara. I think you can see where this is going ;).

That being said, I have not yet read "Set on You" which is book 1 in this universe, but it didn't affect my experience with the book. I loved the characters and connected right away, even without reading the 1st book.

Amy Lea is such a bright spot in the romance world today, and after thoroughly enjoying <i>Set on You</i> last year, I could not wait to get my hands on this next installment in the <b>Influencer</b> series. It did not disappoint. Forced proximity and slow burns are a few of my favorite things, and you’ll get all of that and more from this book (and this series). If you’re looking for a sweet, funny, charming, and all around good read, you should definitely check out this series!!!

Set on You was one of my favorite rom-coms of last year, so naturally I was very excited about this book. Amy Lea blew me away with her sophmore book - I think I loved this even more than her first. Tara and Trevor were just perfect for each other - I loved reading about them slowly getting to know each other and opening up. They were slow burn, but the wait was definitely worth it (and Trevor is one of my new fave male leads). I also really appreciated the discourse around how women's emotions are often villainized (and how women are called crazy when they show emotions). This was funny, romantic, and so hard to put down. I can't wait for Amy's next book!

This book spoke my language, well, our language. The main character in Exes and Os by Amy Lea is a bookstagrammer!! Okay, the book is about a whole lot more than Tara’s love of books, but I admit to getting a bit side tracked by her stack of paperbacks for a bookstack challenge and what she is posting. Imagining her roommate, a gorgeous firefighter was delightful fun too.
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In a quest to have her own real life second chance romance trope, Tara makes a list of her ten ex boyfriends and systematically reaches out to them to see how things could be between them now. Her sister and her best friend are along for support, as is her new roommate, Trevor. With her eyes fixed on the prize, a happily ever after with a former flame, Tara does all she can to ignore the close proximity room-ance that is happening right in her apartment!
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I loved these characters so much and loved their connection. This is such a fun romcom that had me smiling throughout, and sticking my head in the freezer to cool off through the steamy parts.
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Very enjoyable, very relatable, and one you can grab now as it came out a couple of days ago. Thanks so much to @BerkleyRomamce @NetGalley for my advanced ecopy so I could read and share with you all.
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I read a lot of romcoms and adore most of them, but there are some that hit me in the heart and take it to the next level. Exes and Os is one of those special books.

First, Lea’s writing is hilarious. I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book. Tara’s antics and turns of phrase were on point.

And Trevor. Oh my sweet, sexy, grand gesturing man. I don’t usually like the playboy, but Trevor is different. He’s so thoughtful and how he treats Tara really did make me emotional. So sweet!

And can we just talk about those perfectly executed moments of sexual tension between Trevor and Tara. And the spice in this one is so good. I couldn't put it down.

There are also plenty of romance book, bookstagram, and Disney references, which, let's face it, speaks the hearts of most of us book nerds. ♥️

Exes and O's is a fun and light contemporary rom-com... and feels like such. It was maybe a little *too* fluffy for me (I don't know if that's the right word, per se, but it lacked *something*). The female main character is definitely over-the-top (which, I believe, she is supposed to be) but I was left feeling like she was too characterized.

There is definitely a market for this book but it just fell short for me.

I’m going to preface everything with I’m not typically a romcom reader. Or, perhaps, it takes a certain subgenre of romcoms to hold my interest. I also do a lot better with romcoms in audiobook formatting. I don’t want to be unfair to the book or author because it’s actually well written.

This is the second book in The Influencer series and I didn’t read the first. I’ll give it a try though.

As a romcom there are a lot of moments that elicit a chuckle. And there were certainly moments within the story that just gets you excited. Hello forced proximity, I love you.

Tara is a book influencer. By definition, I thought I would be interested in her simply for the fact that I can relate. I don’t consider myself an influencer but I love romance novels and I am on bookstagram. But wow. There couldn’t have been an MC that is more opposite than me in nearly every way than Tara. I couldn’t really wrap my head around her insistence on creating her own second chance romance. However, I usually find that trope boring anyways. So I can’t say this didn’t influence my perspective. Trevor was closed off at first but his instances of showing how he cared was pretty adorable. I would’ve liked this better if it were told in dual POV. And less time on her chasing her exes.

I think anyone who loves romcoms and loves books that self reference tropes would enjoy this. It’s pretty cute at the end of the day once you warm up to Tara. It screams fluffy make you want to squeal kinda romcom if that’s your thing. And while I can’t relate to Tara, I think a lot of readers will. It’s a solid read if you’re looking for something fun and cute.

A roommates to lovers romance full of angst along a journey of self discovery!

After the dissolution of her engagement, Tara Chen finds herself the dumpee yet again. As a book influencer, she prides herself on knowing the tropes found in fiction inside and out, but real life isn’t fiction and she’s learned that the hard way. When she meets her new roommate (and brother-in-law’s best friend), Trevor, in quite possibly the most scarring way possible, she knows things have to go up from here. With the impending Valentine’s Day Gala hosted by the hospital where she works and no prospect of a date, Tara finds herself on a journey of rediscovering ex boyfriend’s past and discovers herself along the way.

I read this book right before Valentine’s Day and this was truly the perfect mood read for me. Like myself, Tara loves LOVE and the inclusion of her book blog lives was a real treat. This book gave a little To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before in a Contemporary, Adult setting and I absolutely loved it. There were the perfect amount of romance book references without it being too much and the side characters were really wonderful as well (especially Grandma Flo). I loved Tara’s word vomit conversations and how she was truly unapologetically herself.

Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for an E-ARC of this book. This is available for purchase now wherever you buy books!

Exes and O’s is such a fun and engaging book! I loved reading about a heroine that was a little flawed - lord knows I’ve made similar dating mistakes in my life. I wish I would’ve read SET ON YOU first to get to know the characters a little better, but I can’t wait!

I enjoyed this! This has a super slow burn which was VERY hot. I did want more from Trevor but that’s hard with single POV, also because it would give away the slow burn pining. But It was so fun to have a book influencer be the main character.

With that being said, Amy tends to do some weird cishet stuff that I just don’t like???? It’s always “no woman could smell Trevor and not be turned on” and like couldn’t t she just say person? It’s nitpicky but still. I'd like to see Amy get sensitivity readers or discuss with LGBTQIA+ readers what wording/phrasing might be most inclusive.

Overall super enjoyed this.