As an Amy Lea fan I was SO excited to receive an ARC of Exes & O’s and it did not disappoint. 🔥

Exes & O’s follows the story of 30-something bookstagrammer Tara, who’s on the hunt for the romance novel-worthy man of her dreams. How does she intend to find him? By going through a list of all her past exes and hoping to find that the embers of a past flame might reignite into something more. She’s helped on her journey by her swoon-worthy, seemingly off-limits firefighter flatmate Trevor. And if anyone understands how sparks can turn into a fiery blaze, it’s him. 👀

Dare I say it, as someone who loved Amy Lea’s Set on You, I think this might be my new favourite. It had funny moments, emotional depth, just the right amount of spice, and a sprinkling of pop culture references thrown in. I loved how unapologetically romantic and chaotically optimistic Tara was, against Trevor’s steadfast, calmer and more reserved nature. 🥰

If you’re on the hunt for a slow-burn, friends-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine romcom with lines that’ll make you laugh out loud and tons of relatable bookish moments, put Exes & O’s on your wish list for next year. I’ll definitely be grabbing a physical copy to keep on my bookshelf. 📚

Set on you is sitting unread on my shelf and that will soon be rectified. Exes and O’s was a fast, engrossing read.

Tara is at the end of another relationship and finds herself moving into a place with a hot firefighter as a roommate. Tara is a 30 year old nurse and Trevor (the firefighter) is 5 years younger than her but it doesn’t read that way; you’d say Tara is the younger of the two.

Tara is a romance reader and second chance romance is her favourite trope, so she sets out to reconnect with all of her exes to find that second chance romance. But with Trevor on the scene, we all knew where this was going.

The whole book is from Tara’s POV and I felt that we needed some of Trevor’s perspective because there were times when I didn’t quite feel/believe their connection beyond friends. It was a good read but was missing something without that insight, or maybe I love a dual perspectives so much that I now find single pov lacking? It’s likely a me thing.

Slowburn, adorable, and wholesome!
The main character Tara creates a list of past exes that she might be able to rekindle a relationship with but also to take to a work gala event, all while doing so, moves in with her brothers best friend Trevor. Trevor the fire fighter is your typical no relationships, lady killer and someone who knows he is good looking. These two living together nothing will happen surely? Oh yes it will. These two are matches made in heaven, put all romance tropes together and they're there. I really like Tara, I loved her attitude and her kindness to others. Trevor was funny and so well written. I do have to say it is extremely slow burn, but the steam definitely makes it worth it😉 as an author I absolutely adored the inclusion of bookstagram and book related podcasts!! Honestly anyone in the community would love this book!

This was a twist on the tropes and romance novels; the female character wants all of these. I kind of liked that about it; it was different. I love a slow burn, but for me it was a bit too slow. Thats just my personal taste though, so other people will totally love it.

Wow! I absolutely loved this book. This was my first Amy Lea book and it won't be my last. I will be ordering Set on You ASAP. I was very much looking for a cute fun romance with a bit of spice and Exes and O's was just that for me. I read it in under 24 hours.
Nurse and bookstagrammer, Tara Chen, has been heartbroken a grand total of 10 times during her life, and more than anything, Tara wants to find love. After a chat with her grandma, she decides to revisit her exes and see if the second chance romance trope can work for her. With the help of her new (extremely good looking) roommate, Trevor, who is best mates with Tara's sister's fiance, the two look into Tara's past relationships and become closer in the process. Unfortunately for Tara, Trevor is a commitment phobe and seems set on helping her review her list of exes as any good friend would do.
This is a perfect slow-burn love story. I fell completely in love with the main characters and both Tara and Trevor's character development throughout the book was perfect! An easy 5 stars for me.
Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin UK Books and Viking Books UK for the ARC.

This was a very sweet and funny romance, with a delicious slow burn.

Tara embarks on a journey to find all her exes, tired of dating she wants to see if any of her past love interests might end up being her soul mate.

She ends up moving in with Trevor, Scott's friend from Set On You - you don't need to read Lea's first book to understand this one, but I'd highly recommend it anyway as it's a great story. Trevor then helps her on her quest, and naturally they develop feelings for each other.

It's all a slow burn and so satisfying when they finally admit to their feelings. I also really loved the side characters, like Angie, and I loved how Tara and Trevor became friends first - their teasing and banter was cute and fun.

There was slight miscommunication, which I usually hate, but it was brief, resolved quickly and actually fit the plot well.

This would have been a 5 star book for me, if it wasn't for the main character. Tara just seemed incredibly immature to start with. I found her annoying and childish - she's supposed to be a 30 year old nurse, and whilst I found her sense of humour and friendliness great, everything else about her was irritating. I like that she does seem to grow, but I feel that it took slightly too long to get to that stage.

There's one thing that really bothered me about the plot. I understand that Tara is a bookstagramer and wanted to share her journey with her followers, but why on earth would she share all the guys names? How is that okay to do, I feel like giving out other people's information to thousands of people online is a huge invasion of privacy. Big no.

But overall this was a very easy and fun read, full of tropes - every reader's dream!

Such a unique book, I loved the plot and oh my god the characters we're so amazing!! I definitely will be recommending!!

A sweet rom-com with a fun twist, playing with different well worn romance tropes. Although I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as Set on You, it’s still a great, light read with some very funny moments, and characters you’ll really root for.

Tara has had her heart broken ten times, and yet, she is still determined to find her perfect man. As such, her new plan is to reach out to her exes in the hope of finding a second-chance romance. Her room mate, firefighter Trevor is enlisted as her wingman.

I admittedly have not read any of Amy Lea’s earlier books, this is something I now intend to rectify!!! I found this cosy romance to be the perfect summer-by-the-pool read and now, I can’t wait to get my hands her previous work too.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin General UK for the opportunity to read and review this heartwarming ARC.

This is the first Amy Lea book I’ve read but I am hooked!

The dynamic between Tara and Trevor was incredible right from the start. I loved how he was your typical closed off love interest who only opened up to her, you could tell how much Trevor cared about Tara straight away and I loved watching their relationship develop.

I loved how their relationship developed as Tara went on the hunt for the perfect ‘second chance romance’ but ended up with something completely different.

Amy Lea knows how to write great characters and develop them properly so nothing feels rushed. At first I thought the book was going to be a little predictable and even though I had an idea of how it was going to end, the way everything unraveled took me by surprise.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is a 5⭐️ read and I’d recommend it to any romance reader.

I admittedly have not read the previous book in this series but was intrigued enough by the fun premise of 'Exes and O's' by Amy Lea to snap up the opportunity to read it. Tara is unlucky in love and pursuing every romance trope in the literary business to find the person she is meant to be with. We have childhood sweethearts, the one that got away, second chance romance, friends to lovers, all filtered through rediscovering a litany of 10 ex-boyfriends. Helping her in her quest is her new roommate Trevor (forced proximity anyone?), a drop dead gorgeous firefighter who prefers to keep it casual... oh I wonder who Tara will end up with?

This is a sweet read. I enjoyed Tara's quest for love and her chemistry with Trevor. Her moments as an influencer are a particular highlight, her seeing tropes everywhere great fun for any lovers of the romance genre. There are, however, some nice moments where Tara realises not everything can be reduced to a trope and we see some real growth from both her and Trevor as they confide in one another and deepen their relationship. I finished this book a week ago now and the story is not hugely memorable. So, it is very fun in the moment but not something life changing and earth shattering. I enjoyed it enough I will be keeping an eye out for Mel's story which Lea is publishing next. And perhaps even delving into 'The Set-up'!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A very good New Romance. I’m not sure how I ended up reading this as I usually avoid the genre due to being a bit prudish about the more graphic love scenes. I’ll be honest, I skipped over these. Interestingly, p the protagonist commented on this at one point (when listening to an audio book) which made me smile a bit. I liked the handling of the genre-within-the-genre, and the book club questions at the end were also helpful. I also enjoyed the veering away of some of the more obvious plot lines traditional within this genre. Enjoyable lead characters (although I didn’t really understand many of the other characters in the ‘supporting acts’. I’m not a big follower of social media so this part might be more appealing to other readers but it was enjoyable.

This book is so lovely. It is fun, romantic, funny, heart warming and has a wonderful fairytale feel to it. If you love a good chick lit book don't miss it.

A swoon-worthy rom-com that will make your heart smile!

This book is for all those women out there who love romance novels and wish to find a fairytale in real life.

The book's female lead, Tara Chen, is no different. She is a NICU nurse who makes bookish content on the side.. She is obsessed with romance novels. However, Tara has faced heartbreak numerous times over her 30 year old life and has been labelled as the CRAZY EX GIRLFRIEND after each relationship. Tara finally decides to change her life after her painful breakup with her fiancé by moving into her soon-to-be brother-in-law's old apartment. The only catch? Her flat mate is Trevor Metcalfe, a ridiculously handsome firefighter who runs away from love.

Tara embarks a mission to rekindle love with one of her exes. (She's all in for the second chance trope). She makes a list of all her exes and reaches out to the ones who are still single after confirming through a rigorous stalking procedure! Despite her ardent devotion to her mission, she can't help but NOT IGNORE the attraction she feels towards Trevor. One by one Tara goes through her list of exes which turn out to be hits and misses; mostly misses. During this time, an unexpected and wholesome friendship blossoms between Tara and Trevor.

Read to find out if Tara finds her happy ever after with one of her exes or with someone she never thought of.

This book has all the ingredients of a perfect rom-com! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this to be adapted into a movie. This will be one of the BESTEST rom-coms of 2023!!!! Mark your calendars, it releases on 19 January 2023!

Overall rating: 4/5 because it took me around 50-60 pages to actually be hooked into the story. Once I was hooked, I didn't put it down until the very end.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin General UK for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

“Love has the power to strip you raw, to the bone. And that’s the beauty of it. There’s an immeasurable bravery in opening your heart and baring your soul when all hope is seemingly lost. Knowing, even in the face of heartbreak, that this is not the end. That you’re still standing, after it all crumbles around you.”

Thanks to this book, I’m turning my instagram into an Amy Lea fan account. This book was ADORABLE. This is the perfect forced-proximity, funny and swoon-worthy romance we needed in 2022.

Tara Chen is a romance novel obsessed hopeless romantic who is desperately seeking her own story, filled with the important tropes and grand gestures. Unfortunately for her, she’s had more than her fair share of heartbreak and love never seems to work out in her favour. Luckily, Tara has an idea inspired by a recent interview, and that’s to revisit her relationships with her previous exes. What better story than a second chance romance? Of course, all main characters need a sidekick to help them complete their quest, and that’s where Trevor comes in, Tara’s new (and conveniently handsome) roommate. Together the two track down and come up with ideas to get Tara back into her exes lives, all whilst trying my to ignore their growing feelings for one another.

This story was ADDICTIVE. It was actually an inconvenience to have to go work and stop reading. Exes and O’s is a wholly adorable, quirky and addictive slow-burn romance, the emotional connection between these characters was intense and the build up had me screaming. I couldn’t wait for them to finally realise their feelings for each other. It was so obvious to us as the reader as to how they felt about each-other, when they remembered the smallest details about each other and did whatever they could to provide them comfort in any trying situation. Also, Trevor is the ideal book boyfriend, and with Tara being such a romance obsessed romantic, we are very similar in that aspect. So now I’m left with one question, where is MY Trevor?! I hope all romance readers are destined for a story like Tara’s.

I absolutely CONSUMED this book and cannot wait to read more from this author. I highly recommend this book and will now be in the worst reading slump trying to find something that compares to this masterpiece.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books UK/Viking Books UK for sending me an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh Jesus the slow burn in this book is painfully real…but like all the best slow burns it hurt in the best way. And the pay off is SO worth it.

I am fairly confident that every woman who reads this is going to immediately identify with Tara…the 30 something bookstagrammer who is a little intense but desperately wants to love and be loved. I loved that Tara had no big character development but instead through the process of trying to date her ex-boyfriends grew to learn her worth exactly as she is.

And Trevor….well he's just an utter swoon feast. He's comes across as a bit of a playboy bro to begin with but developes into an absolute sweetheart.

This story take a really interesting look at how we talk about 'crazy' ex's and the ways in which false promises that are said by partners can be interpreted, leading to someone perhaps reading more into the relationship, leading to a power imbalance in the relationship. Tara comes across as intense when really she just loves fully and believed her boyfriends when they told her things.

Given that this book has a romance obsessed FMC - books, tropes, and romance and almost like a third main character in the book which I adored.

If you enjoyed Set on You, you're going to enjoy this. Crystal and Scott do feature in the book and it's written with the same funny light style which I really enjoyed in Amy's first book.

It absolutely lives up to the hype of Amy's first book.

5 stars!

This was simply delightful. It's sweet, and angsty, and fun, and sexy, and very entertaining.

Tara is a romance novel enthusiast, running a social media account to discuss all her bookish thoughts. Trevor is a broody firefighter who keeps to himself. Tara has had her heart broken multiple times, and is hoping she'll be able to find the One and get herself a happy ending like her beloved romance novels. Trevor avoids romance at all costs.

When Trevor and Tara begin living together, a new adventure starts for the both of them.

This is honestly all I love to see in romance novels. It has a pretty entertaining plot and absolutely awesome characters who grow with the story and with each other.

Absolutely worth a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Although I haven't read Set on You, I didn't miss any key information or backstory for this book. It's steamy and the most lovely slow burning romance. The writing is exceptional and I really found myself rooting for both Tara and Trevor. Highly recommend

It isn't that I didn't like Exes and O's; I did, I really did. I sped through the entire book in two days. I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love with Amy Lea's writing. It was good - no, it was great.

But there was something about Tara and Trevor's personalities that really didn't mesh with me. I'm not sure if it was because her actions didn't match up to the age or that I didn't believe they were in love. I thought they were in lust - I felt the chemistry between them, I just really didn't fall in love with their love story, and I felt they would have been better as friends.

Despite that, I ADORED the bookish references, and I would definitely recommend this to a friend

✨Let me tell you now, when I had the email to say I’d been accepted to read this as an arc I was screaming, crying throwing up and it lived up to expectations FOR SURE!!

✨UGH, this is the PERFECT booksta/booktok book everrrrrr. I absolutely loved how Amy included the book community into the story!! I even learnt a couple of new things😉.

✨This is sunshine in a book (with a side of grumpy). It genuinely made me feel happy. It was such an easy, light read that I didn’t want to put down!

✨I adored both Tara and Trevor. Both characters were written so well and were SO likeable you couldn’t help but root for them! In some parts I was internally screaming at them to admit how they feel🙃.

✨The spice scenes are on par with my favourite ones from The Deal. I love when they’re written well without being too over the top and cringey and these were perfect. Let’s just say I’d like a hot tub now….🥵.

✨I’m also now on a countdown until The Catch is released to find out if Evan stays that grumpy because he seems something else😂.