3.5 stars!

Serena has a brief conversation during Mardi Gras with fellow Seattle-dwelling Julian. When they don't get each other's contact information, it leads to a search to reconnect.

There was a lot to love about this own-voices romance - a vibrant Seattle setting, decent side characters, and real-life issues (but not too many), however it is DRAWN OUT in a huge way. The majority of the story is Serena pining after a man she had a brief encounter with, but she does very little to solve her problem, despite the many, many clear ways she easily could have.

I did enjoy parts of this novel, but it was very, VERY predictable, and there was not quite enough conflict for me to buy in to the angst and drama of Serena's search for Julian.

There is a lot to like here, and it is a super easy read so it was perfect for a warm couple of days to enjoy reading outside!

[arc review]
Thank you to Harper Perennial for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Love Buzz releases May 2, 2023

Serena and Julian meet in New Orleans during Mardi Gras on their last night. Serena is there for her cousin’s bachelorette party, and Julian is celebrating his friend’s birthday. It just so happens that they both live in Seattle.
Their scenario presents itself as a love at first sight/the one that got away (at least from Serena’s one-sided perspective).

This seemed cute at first until I was made aware that the whole time Serena was daydreaming of and heavily pining after Julian, she was in an existing committed relationship. That really rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t care if nothing physical happened, emotional cheating is still a thing, and is gross behaviour that I don’t tolerate.
Even during the dinner with her boyfriend the first day back from her trip, Serena internally vocalizes things like “why does the idea of going on vacation with my boyfriend make me feel like I’d be cheating on Julian?” and “I continue having to remind myself that I do, in fact, have a boyfriend.”

I just can’t fathom the drastic 180 actions shown here. Serena and Julian talked for all of maybe 30 minutes, and that was enough for her to completely upend her life by quitting her secure job of 8 years, and breaking up with her boyfriend, whom she had no qualms about marrying just one week prior.

The extremely detailed sex dream Serena had involving Julian on the night she broke up with her boyfriend was straight up cringey.

This read like a post quarter life crisis with an obsessive woman and solidifies why love at first sight is not a thing. Lust maybe, but love? Girl you don’t even know him!
I wish this dived deeper into the familial bonds between Serena and Carol, and what it’s like working through grief as a 22 year old trying to get her life together with the added burden of living up to the expectations of poc parents who work so hard to give their children a chance at a future (because trust me, I know what that’s like).
Julian was not developed enough as a character to be convincing and it was more like this fantastical idea that hinged upon him being perfect and The One. I would have rather read a strictly womens fic novel without the romance since there were already strong points tied with Tatianna and Sadie.

Absolutely perfect novel about the myth of finding yourself and having it all figured out by the time you turn 30. It’s also a love story about finding the one but it’s really about making sure you’re the one first. It also tackles the grief of losing a parent and in the process of that pushing away the other people who love you.

The only unbelievable part for me was that in the year of 2023 these two bozos couldn’t find each other on the internet immediately. But I really did love it.

I loved this romcom read! It was cute, medium pace read. It covered all the bases of love, grief, friendship. As a woman of 30 I felt a connection with the mc Serena. The middle of the story was a waiting game, but the character growth and fun friendships I read, made it all worth it. The ending had me gasping in delight at Serena’s happy ending and how she took charge of her life for the better! It was inspiring.

2.8/5 - Saw this as a GoodReads giveaway so knew there’d be a Net Galley ARC—and that the title would be inspired by my fav Nirvana cover. So let the MC’s lovepunk griping over a Mardi Gras bachelorette party commence. Lime, hip-hugging gowns are the least of it. She’s a square trying to laugh through the hangovers and stupid dicpic games. At a Bourbon St bar she meets a brunet dude in a Nirvana T to trash then ironically indulge in the beads-for-bare-chests charade. Though it’s him flashing his abs. Douchey, as they each admit, so I’m not digging how hard she immediately falls for this flake. They both happen to be from Seattle, scared of pushing 30. So funny his best friend’s name is Kurt though I wish he looked more like Cobain than a stereotypical jock.

Her sense of humor is too sarcastic/judgey to dump on a stranger, especially one who heats your cheeks. Her m&m stealing story is told w/ too much detail/poetry to come across realistic, let alone in a party setting. It also makes her unlikable being so self-righteous that’s the only bad thing she can think she’s done. Characters are supposed to be flawed in relatable—not annoying—ways. At least she realizes she should change this and her sudden obsession w/ this guy helps. When she think she spots him on the street, she wants to jump from a moving Lyft. The teenybopper flashbacks w/ her cousin Coral are cute. They’re Indian but it doesn’t come up much, especially because the main girl doesn’t have parents and was raised very modern American w/ alcohol and man-hating.

W/ lawyer friends, being an accountant and up-and-coming instructor at her graduate school, she doesn’t come across grateful at all. If that’s a failure but her biggest dreams involve a basic stranger w/ abs, that’s rather sad. Love is more important than money but the guy she wants seems so lust-based despite crying the contrary. Neither of them have much personality besides jokey arrogance. 20% in and I consider giving up but a shock saves me—“Oh yeah, I have a boyfriend!!” Hilarious. She enlists her gay best friend Clarence to help her scope out Chamber Hill for the new guy—though he weirdly doesn’t ask if they hooked up or anything. It is interesting part of the reason she stays w/ her current sweet but too longtime BF is that her now-dead mother loved him. Her fixation on listing the two’s attributes does get repetitive so it’s hard not to skim, too genrey. Good upsets a third the way in. I wasn’t expecting such a vivid erotic dream but it’s done very well, not any cringey euphemisms and the buildup is super teasy. I also like how her BF never seemed like a jerk because that would make her trying to run from the relationship too easy. The unanswered nagging by her friend about who will be her plus one to the wedding is a good plot reminder/tension. I love her new interest in clothes so want that expanded. The end of part one is hilarious and suspenseful though a little too cartoony, especially her running away from the scene like a high schooler.

The website building talk really drags the last quarter and I could do with at least 30 pgs less in general. It was good that everything didn’t go 100% or even 60% smooth like I anticipate from genre romance though. 80% in we jarringly get the guy’s POV, so seems shoehorned in and melodramatic after the decent though predictable Life at 30 interview. Though the explanation for their Seattle “run in” is a nice twist, the POV sounds obviously written by a female author. Her cousin’s wedding at the end is heartfelt and funnier than the try-hard, raunchy old lady friend. This would make a better movie than book because it would breeze by quicker and the gags could be delivered w/ a dif spice. As everyone says, though this can be a tad sappy, it’s not a trad romance book. Just about a woman who changed her life perspective on life because of a crush/love.

This book is... certainly something. I would not recommend it if you're in the mood for a romance, but if you're in the mood for reading a book about someone deliberately imploding her life after meeting a man who makes her feel something for like thirty minutes, then this book is great! I used it for the Enchanted prompt for #SpringIntoLoveBingo because it definitely has the "please don't be in love with someone else / please don't have somebody waiting on you" vibe, as well as the literal "I was enchanted to meet you" vibe. And I was definitely loving the beginning. The first 19% of this book flew by. And then this woman who had worked so hard and was rapidly approaching her 30th birthday set her life on fire and it had me so alarmed.

I'm still not sure how I feel about this book as a whole because, honestly, I went through cycles of reading like I was watching a car crash about to happen and then reading in a way where I was fervently cheering for her. So I landed ultimately on 3.5 stars. Because this book was just complex in a way that I both could and could not appreciate. It might also be because I too sometimes feel like I've chosen a "safe" path, though my financial situation would definitely disagree. But regardless, I think this book has so much to offer and if you're also feeling like you're in a spot in your life where you can handle a lot of self-reflection and also grief content in your reads, I would recommend.

Oh, I also really appreciated the friendship evolution in this book. It was largely satisfying, though sometimes I felt a step too removed from being invested in the relationships. Anyway, definitely going to keep an eye on this author in the future!

This was a fantastic debut by Neely Tubati-Alexander!

Love Buzz was more of a women's fiction book than a rom-com, like I initially thought when I read the description. I still thoroughly enjoyed this book, and read it in one day.

I feel like I read this book at the perfect time in my life. As someone who is turning 30 in a few months, I completely resonated with everything Serena was feeling. The message of Love Buzz was something I really needed to hear.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Perennial for the advanced copy! I can't wait to read more from this author!

The cover has the Seattle skyline, so I was immediately sold on this book.

Short Synopsis:
Serena flies to a Mardi Gras bachelorette party. But while she’s there, she is convinced she has found her soulmate based on a conversation at a bar. She flies home and begins to push her life into utter chaos.

My Thoughts:
This was such a page turner, and there were many times I suffered from secondhand embarrassment for Serena, but I could not put it down. It was chaotic. And fun. And just a general blast to read. The last 100 pages really make this book and filled my heart with so much joy.

Read if You Like:
🍸 Seattle
🍸 Chance Encounters
🍸 Self Discovery
🍸 Amazing Side Characters
🍸 Nirvana

3 Stars Love Buzz is listed as a romance, but it straddles the line between a romance novel and a women's fiction novel since half of the story is the main character's emotional journey navigating her life and the other half is romance. Her journey was fun to read about, with a playful voice throughout.

The sun has popped through but I’m feeling the pull to stick closer to home today. So I decided to cuddle up with Love Buzz by @neelyalexanderwrites! I’m hoping this books gives me the warm fuzzies!

Thank you so much to @harperperennial for sending me a copy of the book!

After a chance meeting with a handsome stranger in another city, Serena’s life feels turned upside down. She finds herself contemplating how she ended up where she is in a job she doesn’t love and with a man who isn’t the handsome stranger, Julian. Serena can’t get him off her mind.

This book was cute, it was laugh out loud funny, and it was contemplative. Made me seriously think about how dangerous it is to go through the motions in life because your eye is on the prize. What are you missing that’s going by in the blink of an eye?

Serena is learning what’s worth fighting for and what’s worth taking a chance on and pivoting.

I very much look forward to reading other books by this author. Serena was enjoyable to go on a life journey with! I can’t wait to see what protagonists Neely Tubati-Alexander cooks up next!

Thank you to NetGalley, Neely Tubati-Alexander & Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for an arc of Love Buzz in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

This story follows Serena who is a Seattle native, is none too thrilled to be attending her semi-estranged cousin’s bachelorette party in New Orleans. That is, until she meets the man of her dreams – THE man. They have a great night together and she learns he is also from Seattle. Going back home, she is deadest on finding him with the only information she has: his name, a general area of where he lives, what line of work he’s in and his musical preferences. Serena is also close to achieving her career goals that her late mother desperately wanted her to focus on. Now she must choose whether or not to continue her crazy search for “the one” or stay the course and keep focused on her career.

This novel releases May 2, 2023, and you DEFINITELY need to pickup a copy. I hadn’t heard anything about this novel because a lot of the bigger names are overshadowing it, but let me tell you, this book absolutely deserves to be up there with the big name authors and the highly anticipated titles. This was Neely’s debut and if she continues to put out work like this novel, she’s going to be mentioned with those other big names (Emily Henry, Ali Hazelwood, Tessa Bailey, Christina Lauren, Mazey Eddings, Carley Fortune).

This story was just phenomenal from start to finish. There were no dull moment. The writing was superb and the characters were written to perfection.

I have added Neely Tubati Alexander to my watch list & wish her all the best with this book release!!!

5/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperback for my ARC of Love Buzz by Neely Tubati Alexander
What an excellent debut novel!! I loved this book! I was rooting for Serena the whole time. Serena was a fantastic female lead and I adored her. I liked the rest of the characters, too.
Basically a meet cute turned treasure hunt, Serena meets the man of her dreams, Julian. They have a brief interaction that is unfortunately cut short. Follow Serena on her adventures to find Juicy Julian, all the while on her own path to self acceptance, some big realizations and unexpected changes.

This gave me Kate Beckinsale in Serendipity vibes and I loved it!!!

This was so good, so fun, so fresh and new and I just adored it.

Found family, second chance romance and some Nirvana?! sold!! I loved this story so much and the characters are so easy to fall in love with.. even Melody 😝 but all fun aside this is an amazing, easy read that warms the soul and makes you swoon

Do you believe in love at first sight? Serena is unhappily on a bachelorette trip in New Orleans for her cousin and she meets Julian and instantly feels a connection. Julian is also from Seattle and they have more in common than one would think. They end up getting separated and do not see each other the next day. Serena comes back to Seattle as a changed person and makes major changes in her life. Will her and Julian reunite? Does she have regrets with her changes?

I’ve heard so much about this book so I had to find out for myself! Thank you NetGalley for giving me that opportunity!! This book has romance, growth, grief, healing and success. The main character is so real and relatable. Her grief journey shows how theirs no right or wrong timeline for grief and how one moves forward in their life not just moving on. I’m looking forward to more fun reads by this author!

Love Buzz is great for anyone who loves women's fiction with a little spice. This debut kicks off with a crazy bachelorette party which results in Serena meeting Julian, a hottie who she has instant chemistry with. Coincidentally they are both visiting New Orleans for parties but live in Seattle. This chance encounter with Julian prompts Serena to question many things and propels her on a journey that transforms her life in scary, but beautiful, ways.

Serena's worldview unravels as she plucks the threads that Julian has unintentionally begun to fray. As she pulls at them, undealt with grief over the loss of her mother surfaces. One thing leads to another and her life upends and she's left to figure out how to piece it back together.

I appreciated Serena's honesty and how Tubati-Alexander weaves the various aspects of Serena's life together as a result of one instance in her past. Like many who suffer loss, Serena has built a life around her grief, in ways she hasn't realized. This book is one of healing and celebration. It's sweet and endearing with a great cast of supporting characters.

Thank you, Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Overall this was a really interesting book! Even though the "love at first sight" premise had been done before, I liked that this focused on Serena and her journey regardless of finding Julian again. (That would've been way too easy!) I also liked that this wasn't about doing everything the "right" way. Serena learned to trust her instincts and follow what makes her heart happy/gives her peace and honestly everyone deserves a chance to do that.

What I liked:
- I LOVED that Serena found her purpose in the store. I thought the excitement and failure and eventual success was really interesting and loved that she didn't give up on it.
- Serena's interview and eventual Life at Thirty article. While it was brought up SO MUCH, the lesson for Sadie and for everyone was really great.
- That we got Julian's POV!
- ODETTE WAS HILARIOUS and I love that she just became a legit part of Serena's life.

What I didn't:
- The sex dream took me out. I would've much rather read about them having sex for real instead of a super vivid dream.
- Serena's avoidance... yikes. Homegirl was really content to just bolt when she wasn't feeling it.
- That Julian's POV was only one chapter and it was SO randomly in there. I almost feel like it would've been nice to get crumbs along the way. Like, we knew they'd find each other again.
- I think the reconciliation between Coral and Serena should've been stronger. That tension could've been done better, I think.
- Not knowing what was going to happen with Julian gave me so much anxiety TBH, haha. I mostly kept reading so I could see how things would play out. (That said, the journey was fun getting there, though.)

Thanks to Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was hands down a phenomenal debut. This book takes on life, grief, and hope. Neely Tubati Alexander writes a book that will captivate your soul. I put myself into the characters' shoes and felt the emotions that she went through. I am the same age as the character in this novel, and i myself dont have my life figured out yet, and it's a very relatible experience i had with the character. This might be one of my favorite novels of the year.

Cute little rom-com about how a stolen moment on a forced vacation to New Orleans can make you second guess your entire life's choices! Fun, flirty read that will have you rooting for the lead and high fiving her as she reevaluates her life and learns how to live for her.