UGH, I'm so sad about this one.

Ultimately a DNF for me at 30% in, There was too much run-on dialogue with not enough between to make the scene feel authentic. The characters talked like reciting a script and it didn't feel organic to the scene. Tara's internal monologue was hard to vibe with imo. Aside from being all about love, I got over 100 pages in and knew absolutely nothing personal about her outside of her ex dumping her, her profession, and the fact she has a best friend (who I'm not entirely sure she didn't imagine because she was never there), and a sister we know (Crystal, Set on You), who sadly also doesn't appear on-page (at the point I DNFd anyways), and a grandma who has a second-chance love story.

Tara was just *that* character. The best way I can describe her is that she was like Giselle from Enchanted but without the fairytale world background to explain why she was the way she was. She was just... annoyingly naïve.

In the beginning, I didn't mind that because I'm someone who expects character development to occur throughout a whole book, so despite this, I was willing to keep reading with the hope that she would mellow out as her relationship with the intended love interest developed, but the problem with this is: THEY DON'T HAVE ONE.

At 100 pages in, there was nothing between the main couple who I SO wanted to root for. Tara was much too in her own head and the stereotypes of romcoms, and Trevor was so underdeveloped as a character. He had his moments of charm, but the will-they-won't-they flirtatiousness I expected between the two was non-existent and their scenes fell flat. There just wasn't enough to make them feel like they were moving forward, and at that point, there should've been *something*.

I LOVED the beginning. (spoiler alert) Robbed by a meet-cute and walked in on Trevor banging a one night stand: AMAZING. Being a girls girl and becoming friends with that one night stand: IMMACULATE. But (up to where I got to at least) that girl was mentioned once or twice and never seen again.

I thought the premise was super cute, very 'what's your number' with Anna Faris and Chris Evans, but Chris Evans Trevor is NOT. He was kind of boring tbh.

I stopped reading because there was nothing to keep me pushing forward. I wanted more sexual tension to at least allude to the possibility of Tara and Trevor ending up together. To me, they weren't great as characters. Trevor seems like he *could've* been a great Love Interest, except his back story, his personality, and the heat/flirting, were all so lacking I couldn't deal.

I understand slow burn and i LOVE slow burn, but this was the slowest of slow. I so badly wish the two MCs had more heat between them, or even a genuine friendship and smallest hint of attraction, so when Tara said things like "is this a ploy to hook-up with me" and Trevor replied "god no", we as the reader could side-eye him like, 'yeahhhhh sure, Trevor. We totally believe you...'

But no, I actually did FULLY believe that he didn't want to hook up with her because, despite her reluctance at being told she was too full on, she *really was*.

Most of the scenes in the book (Up to DNF point) were between Tara and Trevor, yet they advanced nothing. We know she thought he was hot as hell, but we know nothing of how he viewed her because he showed no emotion outside of being tired and he seemed kinda irked by her presence tbh. Usually, I adore sunshine/grump trope, but Tara and Trevor were the extreme ends of the spectrum. It was too much work to pretend they had any chemistry when she was a ball of blazing sunshine and he was SO apathetic.

Perhaps the book would've worked better dual-pov, so we could see Trevor's internal monologue, because with Tara's only, it didn't work.

FOR ME, at least.

It's a shame because I loved Set On You so I really wanted to enjoy Exes & O's. But it wasn't for me. I'm sorry.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amy Lea and Penguin UK for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Exes and Os will be a great read for the New Year. It feels like a warm hug. The perfect thing to get over the Christmas season.

Tara Li Chen is such a great character. I felt such a kinship towards her. My heart broke for her in the beginning.

This book exceeded all of my expectations. It was polished, funny, and so cute. It was a love letter to people who romanticize love letters and entirely-innocent-but-what-if… eye contact in public spaces. It is also the perfect read for Valentine's Day.

Exes and O's by Amy Lea is a social media influencer (bookstagrammer!) determined to find a swoon-worthy romance of her own.

This was such a good book! Tara is actually the best MC, and I loved that she was a bookstagrammer/social media influencer. It's so fun reading about things you do too, and the many little comments and jokes that you pick up on because you can relate.

Trevor is the cutest love interest I've read all year, he's actually so perfect. He and Tara are absolute goals and honestly I just want to reread this book again because it's so damn perfect.

The sense of humour in this book is so entertaining, I laughed multiple times. Tara is so unapologetically clingy, and her uniqueness made this book stand out.

This is perfect for my fellow bookstagram/booktok/book obsessed friends, as well as lovers of romcoms! Great book, highly recommend.

Tara just can't catch a break. After having her heart broken 10 times in a row, she isn't sure where she's going wrong. As she gets the idea to revisit he exes, new (delicious) fireman flatmate Trevor helps her work out how to get the most out of her second chances.

This book was really sweet, with a slightly annoying but still pretty relatable heroine, and a closed off hero. I did love all the discussion of romance novels and seeing characters from the previous book, Set On You, and the steamy bits were a solid 9/10. Overall, an excellent afternoon romance!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Tara is a bookstagram influencer and loves a good romance. But when her own romance is not as good as her books she goes on a mission to find a 'second chance romance,' tracking down her exes and seeing if the flames they once had can be reignited.

Trevor is living his bachelor's life, but when Tara becomes his roommate she may just be the person to allow him to open up and maybe let love in.

I read the first novel in this series and absolutely fell in love with the characters as well as the author. We still get a glimpse of Crystal and Scott, which I really enjoyed, and of course, get to dive more into Grandma Flo.

I felt myself cringing at Tara and what she was doing but also feeling bad for her while understanding she was wanting to find 'The One.' Tara is such an upbeat, strong, independent, and bubbly character I couldn't help but want to help her and protect her.

I loved how Trevor opened up and his vulnerability shone through. But I also wanted to shout at him to get with Tara. I became so involved with this narrative I couldn't put it down.

Lea writes another fantastic romance. The first novel is still my favorite and I am already excited to read novel three. This is a definite go-to author for me, I cannot recommend them enough.

This was such a cute, relatable, and fun read. I enjoyed almost every page, and will definitely be reading more from Amy Lea!

I am not a rom com girl by any means, but I absolutely devoured this book.

Tara was a fab character to journey through the book with, and completely relatable. I love the nods to reading and bookstagram (organising shelves, book stacks and live videos!) Our protagonist is very into rom coms and a lot of the book delves into discussing popular tropes - especially the second-chance romance. I love when books can almost satire but celebrate their genre! We also meet the meet-cute, forced proximity and room-ance tropes.

However, if I never see the phrase "bruising the beef curtains" again, I will live a happy life.

Similar to all rom coms, not a particularly twisty plot, but a page-turner nonetheless. With great multi-layered characters who develop beautifully, and absolutely hilarious commentary all the way through!

I didn't know this was the second in a series (and don't feel I lost anything by reading it first) but will definitely be getting the rest of Amy Lea's books immediately.

I had high expectations after loving ‘Set on You’ and this did not disappoint in the slightest. Grandma Flo is once again a star in her own right and Tara and Trevor’s developing relationship is a joy to read.

Thankyou Ne galley and Penguin General UK - Fig Tree for an early e-arc in exchange of an honest review.
i was initially interested in reading this after finding that it could be a pick for the Illumicrate Afterlight Box early next year. I haven't read anything from Amy Lea and was curious. Well, I'm so glad I did as I loved it! I found the characters really relatable and likable. It really exceeded my expectations and I'm now going to have to go back and read the first which even though its the second book of the series, I didn't find that it hindered my reading experience at all.

Exes and O's
A fresh, funny, chemistry-filled rom-com from the author of Set on You
by Amy Lea
Earc:NetGalley
Publisher:
Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business, Penguin
Publication Date: 19 Jan 2023
Genre :Romance, Women's Fiction, General Fiction

A very cute witty romance story. Tara has had no luck in love and now is currently hunting down her former lovers. She's an influencer on Tiktok called Tara romance queen and had follower who spied her roommate tell her to get with him. She big on the booktok scence about romance books.

Crystal and Mel her two best friends they all team up at points in this book. The girls have a beautiful friendship one that loads would envy.

Trevor the room mate and a firefighter. He's a looker and good at his job.

Angie pulls so much at your heart strings. I want to cuddle and take care of her so much.


It took me a bit longer than I wanted miss me getting this book but once I got any I couldn't put it down. It has a feel good feeling and I highly recommend it to any romantic comedy lovers.

#NetGalley #bookstagram #bookreview #goodreads #romance #generalfiction #womensfiction #exesandos @amylea


NB:Will be published to public Silkybookloverfun on Instagram, and other sites

Trevor Metcalfe = dream boyfriend 👩‍🍳💋🤌 (chefs kiss)

Really liked this book - forced proximity, cute fluffy scenes spread throughout, a lil bit of spice 🌶

Plus the fmc is a romance book fanatic and the mmc also reads (win win)

It did take me a bit to get into it - but that’s probably because I didn’t realise it’s the second book in a series 😬😬

But overall it’s a fast paced, great book - with an epilogue set one year later ON VALENTINES DAY of all days of the year 💕💕💕

I didn’t particularly like this book. I almost DNFed a couple times to be quite honest. I made it through and it was entertaining but I probably won’t be recommending it. I understand that her being a walking trope was the point but it felt like it was reinforcing the stereotypes of romance readers even more. I found her to be exactly what she didn’t want to be portrayed as. She didn’t want to be too much (bc no one is ever too much, be yourself!) but she is the exception. I didn’t find it amusing or cute that she was hiding in bushes, stalking or naming her boyfriends on the internet. Also, didn’t really feel the connection between the leads. So I guess maybe this romance novel wasn’t the one for me. 2.5/5

I was very excited to have received this arc as I have seen this book all over bookstagram. Loved the pace of the book but it is a slow burn. This has various tropes and I especially loved the main character who is a bookstagrammer. I highly recommend this as one of the most popular romance new releases of 2023.

Huge thank you to netgalley & Penguin books for sending me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book! After reading Set On You earlier this year and hearing that Tara was also getting a book, I was very excited to read it - especially as she's a bookstagrammer!

I loved the relationship between Tara and Trevor. Seeing them develop from roommates to friends to lovers was so cute and I really enjoyed seeing their feelings change. Trevor was so sweet with Tara and really loved her for who she was and seeing him treat her so well after her previous relationships was so cute!

I really liked how Amy Lea addressed the idea of the 'crazy ex girlfriend' and seeing how being perceived as this affected Tara's view of herself. I liked that Tara acknowledges the standards that men put on women and then twist it to make women look bad - I thought it was addressed really well.

Overall, this was a really sweet romance and I loved Tara and Trevor together!

A delicious slow burn!!

The slow burn in this was impeccable, the building of tension between Tara and Trevor was so good. Normally I'm not a huge fan of a slow burn however this was done so good it was deffo worth the wait at the end

Trevor is going on my list of book boyfriends cos he's just so 🥰🥰🥺🥺🥵🥵

4.5 stars

Was delighted to get my hands on a copy of this book! Tara is recovering from a heartbreak, after being dumped by her fiancé Seth. She moves not shared app, with a firefighter Trevor. After their awkward first encounter, Tara and Trevor begin their friendship.

What I love about Tara is that she’s a book influencer and talks about bookstagram and doing book stack challenges etc! Love this aspect of the character. Tara is a true romantic. After her last relationship fails, she decides she wants to try her hand at the second chance romance trope. She begins to develop her “ex files”. Tara enlists Trevor’s help with her endeavour. As Tara is trying to find love with her exs she can’t help but fantasise about a room-romance with a Trevor, which she knows is not possible as he only wants non-committed flings!

I loved the contrast between the two main characters. She’s an all out big romantic gesture kind of a gal, and he is a one night only kinda man!!! I fell in love with Trevor. He seems like such a genuine guy. He is constantly reassuring Tara about her insecurities when faced with disappointment after disappointment. It seems to be that Trevor is the only one who appreciates Tara for who she is…. Trevor carries his own baggage with Tara tries to understand. I found Trevor so relatable. Lovely easy read

A must read for romance book lovers! Exe’s and O’s should be one of the first romance books you’ll read in 2023.

“EVERYTHING IS FINE. EVERYTHING IS FINE.
I mentally repeat that phrase as I haul myself up the stairwell to my new apartment. To my new life”
Wow !!! This book made my entire week … no, it made my year !!!!
I loved this contemporary romance !!
Fan of the movie “The Ugly Truth”, this book is exactly what you don’t know you needed !!!!
Tara is a romance reader. She knows it all; every tropes, every characters’ stereotypes… every fictional men you could fall for.
I absolutely fell for Travor … hard … really hard!!!
He is, not perfect, but he encompasses everything I love about book boyfriends … and I’m not going to say more about it because y’all need to read the book!!
The pace for this book was great and I loved going through Tara’s endless chances at second chance romance with her ex-boyfriends.
I loved how, despite everything she’s been through, she still believes in love. And I loved the role Travor played in making her realise her worth.
And whenever in a book there’s a very funny, outgoing and modern grandma … the book is a masterpiece !!!
And don’t let me start on the spicy times or the tension between the main characters … I had actual chills throughout the entire reading !!!!
I’m so glad I had the chance to get through this story and I truly hope the same for everyone who will have the chance to read it !!!
“Nonfictional feelings for fictional men”
“Crystal says I have an annoying tendency to box people into romance tropes and stereotypes."

Wow! This book was so much fun. It was light but had enough depth for the characters to feel real. It was soooo much steamier than Set On You in a good way. I'm not sure how I got my hands on this through Netgalley but not complaining!! It was such a joy to read 🥳

Tara is always the dumpee and never the dumper. After another failed relationship she finds herself rooming with a sexy firefighter who has no trouble getting women. But can he help her find a forever in her list of Exs?

It sort of reminded me of the movie He's Just Not That Into You and To All The Boys I Loved Before.

Reasons you should pre-order this book:

👨‍🚒 Sexy firefighter (seriously 🔥🌶)
❌️ Destruction of terrible ex boyfriends
🙌 Friendships
💁‍♀️ Fun MC
🌶 x100 👏
👨‍🚒 Did I mention the sexy firefighter?

Thanks to Netgalley, Viking UK for this ARC in return for an honest review. I looooved it!!!

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
I loved every thing about this! It’s cute, it’s funny and it’s an Ex hunt! How fun is that?! Adding a hot firefighting roommate to the mix who has more layers than meets the eye and a bunch of witty side characters and I just couldn’t get enough. The main character is, like most of us, a Bookstagrammer believing in all the love tropes! Making it super relatable! Such a quick paced fun read!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Romance
An Ex hunt
Bookstagram
Witty characters

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦-𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘳 𝘛𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘯--𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 "𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦-𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳" 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘛𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮? 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵-𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘴. 𝘚𝘰 𝘛𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦-𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥-𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.

𝘉𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘛𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤, 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘛𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺-𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘛𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?