'Exes and O's' is the most adorable rom-com with a main character who is incredibly relatable to any romance reader. After really enjoying Amy Lea's debut novel 'Set On You', I was so excited to read any future books which she writes in the future, and after finding out the synopsis of this one (romance book lover decides to try to find her second chance romance by tracking down her exes but actually ends up falling in love with her hot roommate) I knew I would love this book, and I definitely did.
I loved the relationship between Tara and Trevor. This book was pure rom-com perfection. I couldn't stop laughing throughout this book at all of the crazy things that kept happening, especially when Tara and Trevor met for the first time. I loved that Trevor was always there for Tara throughout everything and how you could clearly see the connection between the two of them.
Tara was such a relatable main character. I absolutely adored her. I loved the references to so many of the romance books which I have read and loved. I loved Tara's grandmother, she was so adorable and funny.
I just really loved this book. The cover of this is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to have a copy of this book on my romance bookshelves because I just absolutely adored reading it.

Tara is a hopeless romantic and a sucker for hopelessly romantic fiction. But she finds herself single and starting over again after another failed relationship.

Inspired by her grandmother's second chance romance, she decides to revisit some of her exes in the hope they can rekindle something and find their happy ever after.

But there's a slight hitch. Her incredibly hot and caring room-mate. Who she can't deny falling for. But he's made it a abundantly clear he doesn't do love.

Can Tara being herself change his mind?

A delightfully light read, but with some real truths about toxic relationship dynamics and mental health, I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Firstly this was my most anticipated read for 2023 and I was hugely let down. This was not an enjoyable book and I ultimately dnf'd it at 40% because it was honestly putting me in a reading slump.

The premise of the book is really good but the execution did not work. I loved Amy Lea's Set on you and the reason I think it worked was because the influence lifestyle was Crystal's career, she was inspiring and head strong. Tara is none of those things. She's whiny, obsessive and a little stalkery.

There was potential in the second chance dates as if these had been written in a romcom style it would have worked but because it was a serious tone the dates weren't enjoyable to read and were awkward. You would think Tara would learn and develop from her conversations with her exes but somehow she get whinier and expects them to all still want her. She seems a little delusional.

Her romance with Trevor was sooo slow and not in the fun way. Trevor wasn't that interesting tbh and I didn't read him as a heartthrob. I just couldn't put any more time or patience into this as it was dragging me into a reading slump.

I think it felt insulting to romance readers because I feel like Tara is a stereotype of what people assume that we are like. As if we cannot separate romance novels and real life.

It didn't feel like Tara was growing from the experience and her relationship with Trevor had no chemistry. And as much as I love romance novels I don't want to read about a stereotypical romance reader who is actually unlikeable and messy.

Honestly, such a disappointing read.

Exes and O's at a glance:
Bookstagrammer heroine!
Grumpy tattoed hero.
Slow Burn
Open Door
Disney refs.

First off. I LOVE books about bookish people, so the fact that Tara is a bookstagrammer instantly made me want to read this book. All the banter about tropes—I am here for it ALL.
The meet-cute was hilarious. Trevor is a grumpy, but soft on the inside reformed badboy, who of course, tooootally falls first! SWOON.

Overall: An excellent, fast-paced, fun read.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for my eARC of this one ✨

Some of you might remember from last year that I really enjoyed Amy Lea’s first book Set On You - a fun, cute, steamy romance that was perfect for a cosy winter read. SO obviously I was excited to get my hands on a copy of the second book in the series!

If you liked Set On You, I think you’ll find a lot of the same things to like here - the characters are all connected from the first book, as we focus on Tara this time around. The same focus on how friends and family support us and drive us crazy is here, and the same easy relatability of Tara in her worries and thoughts. The book also continued important discussions on race, which was so well done.

I found the discussions on gaslighting and emotional manipulation here so well done. A lot of it hit quite close to home for me, so I’d be aware of that going in, but I found it really refreshing to read Tara’s arc and see this issue dealt with.

Some of the same issues as Set On You are here too, which for me let the book down. It is absolutely amazing to see a different kind of female lead in these books - someone who isn’t super skinny and perfectly polished. This body positivity is mostly only for the women, though. Attractive men are literal firefighters, or close to it in their physique. I would have loved to have seen something a little different in this one, and maybe we’ll get that in the third book.

If you like romance novels, especially if you enjoyed Set On You, I think you’ll love this - it’s fun, it’s got more than a little spice, and it’s a good restorative escapism read! I read this over the Christmas break, and I think a holiday is the perfect setting for it.

I was SO looking forward to reading thisbook but unfortunately, due to formatting issues I was unable to. I plan on purchasing this book so that I can enjoy it, as it sounds fabulous.

Review is based on the blurb

Happy release day @amyleabooks 🥳🎉 Exes & O’s is available in ebook now and the paperback is available in the UK on the 19th! Thank you @penguinukbooks for sending me an eARC. ✨

AD/Review: Exes & O’s had the feel of an early 2000’s romcom film but with 2023’s values. One moment I was laughing and the next my heart was melting at the sweetness.

Nurse and romance bookstagrammer Tara wants to find love and decides to try and engineer her very own second-chance romance by getting in touch with all of her exes. Tara was so easy to empathise with throughout the ups and downs of her journey and I really enjoyed seeing her come into her own by the end.

Tara is dramatic AF at times and I loved it! She wears her heart on her sleeve and stays true to herself. Anyone who’s been told they’re ‘too much’ will appreciate this one. The gaslighting Tara experiences is awful but sadly I think a lot of people will be able to relate to her experiences.

While some of the scenes felt quite heightened there’s plenty of quiet moments to bring everything back down to earth. Anyone who’s been on an awkward date will give a few sympathetic giggles at Tara’s experiences.

Fireman Trevor is Tara’s flat mate and is very much closed off to the possibility of love. As the ex search brings Tara and Trevor closer together we learn why he’s so reluctant to open up.

The slow burn romance between Tara and Trevor was killing me in the best way! There’s less spice in this than in Set on You (Crystal’s book) because the relationship dynamic was completely different and they’re in the friends secretly pining for each other zone for most of it. That said what spice there was is well written and really moved their relationship and the story forward.

This was a joy to read and I can’t wait to read whatever Amy Lea writes next!

Read For:
• Roommate romance ❤️
• Nurse and bookstagrammer FMC 🩺📖
• Fireman MMC 👨‍🚒
• A memorable first meeting 👀🙈
• Date disasters 😂
• The return of Grandma Flo and other characters from book 1

Rating: 5/5🌟
Steam Level: 3.5/5🔥

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

If you liked the vibes of What’s Your Number, then read this!

After having her heart broken for the 10th them, romance novel enthusiast wants to find the one but isn’t keen on the new ways of online dating. So she decides to revisit her exes in the hopes one of them will now be her perfect man. And she enlists the help of hunky fireman roommate Trevor to do so.

This is the sequel to Set on You and follows Crystal’s sister Tara. I really enjoyed the first book and this one was no different. It’s an easy romcom read that does exactly what it says on the tin. It took me back to the romcoms of the 2000s and I love nostalgia like that.

A roommate romance just hits different and I love how the 2 characters have to be around one another in their downtime, there’s little room for hiding your personality and then little by little they fall for each other🥰 Tara was neurotic but loveable and Trevor was a bit cliche but still a sweet and perfect gentleman to Tara. My only criticism is it played a little to much into stereotypes for me, but so do most romcoms. A light and entertaining read all the same.

This is the perfect book to read for Valentines Day coming up. I absolutely loved it and I adored the characters in this book.

Having read Amy Lea's first book "Set On You" and enjoyed it I was looking forward to her latest book and it didn't disappoint. In my opinion this book is better than "Set On You" and we also get to enjoy cameo roles from Crystal and Scotty in this book. There are some proper laugh out loud moments in this book especially near the start!

Tara moves in with Trevor who is Scott's best friend to room share after experiencing yet another heart break. Always looking for love and putting herself out there she decides to go through her Ex list and contact them to see if any of them were the ones that got away. Her Instagram followers encourage and follow her escapades. Also Along for the ride is player Trevor who never seems to commit to women. As their friendship develops Tara starts to think maybe they are more than friends but he reassures her it's a completely platonic relationship.

It's a fab and fun read that I very much enjoyed. And although it is light-hearted there are themes of gaslighting, manipulation and self-loathing which helps to understand Tara's insecurities but she never gives up on her quest to find love. Such a great read and I enjoyed it so, so much.

Thank you @netgalley @penguinukbooks for allowing me to read this before release.

#netgalley #exesandos #influencer #fireman #selfloathing #gaslighting #manipulation #love #friendship #funstory #valentinesday #roommates #bookstagram #booksforlife #lovetoread #lovereading

☆☆☆☆/5

Tropes: roommates to friends to lovers, forced proximity, opposites-attract, reformed player, slow-burn romance

This book is a love letter to the bookstagram girlies in their swiftie era and I love that for us! Having screamed for the Exes and Os since reading the little snipper at the end of Set On You, I was so excited to get my hands on this one.

Exes and O’s follows Tara Chen - romance novels connoisseur, nurse, bookstagrammer (is this f play about us??) and sister to Crystal (who we met in Set on You) - and Trevor Metcalfe - hot firefighter with the honey coloured eyes and Scott’s bestie - who after becoming roommates embark on a journey to aid Tara in reconnecting with one of her exes to experience her favourite trope, a second chance romance. What ensues is a ‘what’s your number?’-esque storyline, as the slightly crazy ex girlfriend Tara with the aid of her standoffish roommate Trevor seek to track down her exes.

This was such a fun follow-up to Set on You! It had me cackling at 2am at some of Tara’s antics. Were their times when I cringed at certain scenes or I thought Tara took oversharing with her followers to the extreme? Sure. But it’s all part of her charm I loved the over-arching message of being unapologetically yourself, holding on to your ideals and not changing yourself to fit other’s people vision of you.

I liked the natural progression of Tara and Trevor’s relationship, from that hilarious and awkward first encounter to becoming friends and confidants to something more. Their romantic relationship unfolded in such a sweet manner, I only wish we had more of an opportunity to see them together as a couple. I would even go a step further to say this story would have benefited from being dual-POV, it would have been nice to see what was running through Trevor’s mind as certain events unfolded as he was kind of aloof/not as open as Tara was, so it was hard to know what he was thinking at certain times. That being said, you could still tell how much he loved and cared for Tara. Their chemistry was crackling (here’s looking at you hot tub scene) - it was very ‘to all the boy’s I loved before’ but the adult version.

I loved how Amy incorporated pop culture references in Set On You and it was no different here, if not a bit more balanced! There was a lot of ‘I understood that reference’ (hi captain america) going on here, and it made the reading experience all the more enjoyable for me.

A super-cute, fuzzy, flirty, slow-burn romantic comedy that will have you laughing and swooning in equal measure.
And that epilogue? “As long as I’m your favourite hero in the end.” I want to live inside that epilogue, the sweetest ever <3

Looking forward to the third book in the Influencer series!

"Tara, I've had it bad for you for months. You. Are. Everything. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

romance bookstagrammer x hot tattooed firefighter???? say less I was there

I feel like Tara perfectly embodied all of us romance girlies with her high aspirations and dreams for love and I love how she was such a hopeless romantic even after all the heartbreak she went through. I loved the whole thing about her exes thinking she was Too Much and how Trevor didn't think that at all and loved her even more for it!!! Trevor was perfect, I loved him so much, he just wanted to read books with her and he supported her search for her exes even though he was pining so badly!!! He just wanted her to be happy <3

I liked this book a lot more than the first one but I think it would have been so much better with dual pov!! We do get to see Trevor pining a little and being jealous but I wanted to be in his head just to see how tremendously bad he had it for her!!

This was incredible! Imagine a mash-up of all your favourite rom-com books in one place, add:
-Sunshine romance-obsessed heroine with lots of feelzz
-Grumpy, tattooed firefighter hero who doesn't do love
-A list of exes
-Room-mance
-Hot tub liaisons
-So. Much.Pining
-Disney references
-T Swift
And yet this still manages to offer something new & fresh. There was something about the FMC that resonated on a personal level & I think it was her embracing being unapologetically herself. There were even moments when I found myself cheering for her out loud! The struggles of dating & finding romance in the age of social media & what is ‘expected’ is discussed with humour, albeit it does ring true.

“It’s way easier to settle for a paperback prince than it is to put yourself out there.”

The topic of gaslighting was handled so brilliantly along with the term ‘crazy ex’. It was such an empowering read.

“I don’t consider basic honesty, respect, and healthy communication to be demands. And it’s really too bad they’re so unachievable for you…”

Amy Lea is an author I’ve never read before but now I’m planning to read Set On You & have added her next book to my TBR.

Am I the only one already imagining this being turned into a movie?

Having read Set on You I was really excited to read this. Thank you so much for allowing me access to this as an ARC.

I loved both Trevor and Tara! From the start they are both characters you could warm too. As a book lover I adored the bookish link and could relate to Tara’s love of different tropes.

The book was easy to read (some format issues on kindle but I made it work). I was grateful that the chapters weren’t too long and that the story was easy to follow.

Tara and Trevor become roommates by default when Trevor’s roommate leaves to live with Tara’s sister. The two strike up an unlikely but funny friendship that had me laughing and swooning throughout.

This was a slow burner, forced proximity romance which I usually don’t like but enjoyed the way this was written.

I am excited to read Amy Lea’s next book.

4.5 stars rounded up!

I enjoyed this book so much!! From the very beginning Tara was so likeable and I loved her character. She’s a bookstagrammer and a big romance fan, so I found her so relatable and fun! I loved her exploration of her past relationships and her wishes for a second chance romance, even if this isn’t how it all turned out!

Forced proximity and friends to lovers are two tropes I love and they were so well done in this book. Trevor was an absolute Angel and such a swoon-worthy male lead. Their blossoming friendship to something more was SO CUTE. I also loved his backstory and his relationship with his family - he’s just a full on sweetheart.

The ending was PERFECT and the epilogue was everything I could’ve wanted. Perfect for Tara and their romance. Super cute and definitely recommend this read!

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK for this E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book, I already had high expectations because I loved set on you when I read that last year but I think I loved this one even more!
I didn’t even realise this one was about Crystal’s sister until I started reading it but I always love companion novels so that was a great start and then I completely fell in love with Tara and Trevor.

So many things made me happy while reading this book, including:
1. And they were roommates! (I love a roommates/forces proximity trope)
2. The rekindling with here exes plan that you could see was making Trevor more and more twitchy with every passing ex
3. Taylor swift references (need I say more)
4. The references to bookstagram and booktok
5. The banter and tension and chemistry between Tara and Trevor the entire book

This book was amazing! Cute, funny and a little bit of spice!

Set on You was a really enjoyable read so I was very excited to read this book but unfortunately it did not hit the same and I was a bit disappointed.

I was just bored most of the time, which was a shame. It did get better towards the end but at that point I was fed up and just wanted to finish the book. I guess the biggest problem was that the slow burn was TOO slow! So much so that most of the book didn’t even feel like a romance to me. The main characters barely interacted in the first 30% because of the whole “finding my exes” thing and even when they did, nothing really happened; and even after the 30% mark, things were still very slow and I feel like they didn’t start connecting until much later. It was really hard to stay motivated and interested. Also, I think this book would have really benefited from a dual POV; if nothing else to help us understand what Trevor was thinking/feeling.

Overall, not my cup of tea. It had so much potential, but it was a bit underwhelming. Having said that, I’ll definitely check out Amy’s next book- hopefully I’ll enjoy that one more!

A big thank you to Penguin General UK and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute slow burn rom-com.

Unfortunately I didn’t really feel a connection with the main character Tina although I really enjoyed the last 10% of the book.

Tara is down on luck with dating when she moves in with Trevor, a firefighter who has a revolving door of women in the apartment. Tara is a bookish girl who decides she wants her romance story worthy relationship and decides she's going to reunite with all her exes in hopes of reigniting love.

I found the story sweet (but fairly predictable) and just a bit slow for me. I think it could have been cut about 10%, but I still enjoyed myself while reading. I didn't read the first in this series 'Set On You', and didn't feel I was missing any context by not having that background.

Sidenote: I find it so wild that this was written prior to Taylor Swift's Midnights being released, considering the ''Can I Ask You a Question?' storyline. What a fun coincidence!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Tara is a hopeless romantic, who loves intensely and devours romance novels. Trevor isn't a fan of relationships, he prefers to remain unattached with one night stands. Tara and Trevor become housemates when Trevor's previous housemate Scott leaves to move in with his girlfriend Crystal, Tara's sister. Tara needs a date for her workplace Valentine's gala and decides to start a project, contacting her exes to see where things went wrong and if there is still a spark there. And she enlists Trevor's help with the endeavour. Will she be second time lucky with love or will she find something closer to home?

I really enjoyed Set on You, the first book in this series focusing on Crystal and Scott, so I was looking forward to continuing on in this world with some familiar characters. While the book is light and romantic, it does look at some more serious topics, like how women and their feelings get treated (like how people dismiss women as 'crazy' when they show intense feelings). I enjoyed the balance of light and serious. The book is much more slow burning than Set on You, almost frustratingly slow at times.

I enjoyed this, it was a nice way to start the new year but it was too slow for me, I prefer when the couple gets together earlier in the book. That said, I'm pleased to see that there will be another book in this series which I definitely intend to pick up when released

I cannot express how much | enjoyed this book! If you like a good romcom, you will love this. Strictly speaking, this follows on from Set on You, but follows the sister of the main character in the previous, so can be read alone. Just the right dose of delicious steam!