I loved the peak into the entertainment industry and specifically the different perspectives that Shane and Lilah had on their shared experiences. However, I just couldn't fully connect with these characters. The dual POV and the alternating timelines were effective, but I just ultimately wanted even more of their history in order to fully understand them. It felt stilted and out of order at times so I couldn't get fully invested in their story.

First of all--the cover should've had the vibe of "How to Make It in Hollywood." This is too meet cute and light for the plot.

I love Ava's pulse on the industry--if you read enough Hollywood bios and read/watch enough celebrity gossip, it totally checks. And she knows how to write complicated characters that still suck you in, even at their most terrible (like Ethan Atkins in the latter half of HTMIIH)
This was turning into a solid 5 for me the whole way but Lilah is just so. un. likeable.

Not necessarily from the get-go--she seems lighter at the start of the book, when she meets Shane at the audition for "Intangible" and sparks fly. But flipping out on Shane a year later when he thinks they’re getting serious, to the point of saying some pretty hurtful things that drives him to go on a very public prowl with his douchey bro squad afterwards, is what kicks the whole feud off.

I get the whole "pushing people away because you're afraid of commitment" thing (as little sense as it makes to me overall), but even when things are looking good, she still can't stop with the biting comments.She’s “new and improved” after a decade if she’s only jabbing someone (like Shane) in the ribs at the best of times, and not below the belt when she’s fully in destroy mode. And yet she has been to therapy? Yeah, lots of growth there.

Lilah’s behavior isn’t an obvious plot contrivance; we’ve seen and met self-destructive people like this. But while Grey had the maturity and self-esteem in how she dealt with Ethan’s own self-destructive tendencies in HTMIIH, here Shane’s “kill them with kindness” approach, storming off when things don’t work out when not outright sulking, reads as weakness. (The whole people-pleasing mode is a weakness he acknowledges in himself.)

The HEA ending, if you can believe it, still left me feeling duped. I’m sure I’m not the only one reading it as HFN instead.

But I’m definitely here for Ava’s next book.

Bobby and Lindsay. Will and Alicia. David and Maddie. Hawkeye and Hot Lips. Sam and Addison. These are just a few of the many, many couples I have “shipped” in my decades of TV fandom, from soaps to sitcoms and every type of show in between. (A “shipper” is someone who roots for a relationship between two characters—or sometimes even real people.) In her second book, Will They or Won’t They, author Ava Wilder takes readers on a wild roller coaster ride of a romance, producing an absolute delight for shippers of all types of relationships.

For the rest of the review, click on the link below.

Wow I"m such a Ava Wilder fan. I love a celeb & second-chance romance, and this delivered. The banter, the tension, the messy characters were all done SO well. I also really loved the scenes when they were working with the couple's therapist. Overall, I just wanted more of the good stuff.

Will They or Won't They by Ava Wilder was a very cute read. It's entertaining and the perfect read for the summer.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

I enjoyed this enemies-to-lovers romance. The balance between banter and bedroom scenes was just enough to keep you wondering whether Lilah and Shane would ultimately end up together.

I’m drawn to this author’s books for a few reasons: the writing is engaging and page turny, like I literally I read this within a span of 4 hours; there’s hella angst and hella heat; and I love a good Hollywood romance, and second chance at that. It’s a personal weakness of mine.

We have a statuesque (almost as tall as the hero!), “unlikable” heroine, an uptight ball of anxiety wrapped in a boatload of issues behind a thick layer of self protective walls. As much as I was exasperated by Lilah sometimes, I also understood her. Plus I like unlikable heroines on principle. On the other end we have charming golden retriever puppy Shane, the sunshine to her grumpy, the open book to her closed off ice queen. He’s the “likable” one, and my heart hurt for him repeatedly, but he wasn’t as interesting. Even though he was exactly what Lilah needed to level her out. And his complete devotion to her is just soft and beautiful.

Ngl, at the beginning I wasn’t sure if their romance was ever gonna work out, if a second chance was even necessary with the level of toxic animosity between the two. I was like wow, they probably shouldn’t be together. But as we go on this journey of healing and working through their baggage with them, it suddenly doesn’t seem so impossible. The author has a way of writing chemistry and every interaction, hostile or sweet, that feels like foreplay, which makes it all very hot, even though this shouldn’t technically be high on the spice meter? Idk it’s the ✨ tension ✨ and the ✨ anticipation ✨ and the ✨ will they or won’t they ✨ HA

The reason for their falling out does feel a bit insubstantial but it makes a lot of sense too when you consider their ages at the time and their profession and her crippling anxiety. The way they inch back to each other is gradual and all of a sudden they’re no longer feral cats clawing at each other but two opposite and equal souls clicking back into place. The climactic portion fell a little flat for me, and I don’t love the lack of an epilogue, but I do enjoy that babies aren’t mandatory.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. This book was fun. A story of two celebrities who dated in the past and now a story told through enemies to lovers. I think I would have enjoyed this more if the chapters rotated between last and present and I just didn't vibe well with the two characters.

I loved the Ava Wilders last book, how to make it in Hollywood. But this one is just not my jam. I could not root for the MCs. Their chemistry was not palpable for me.

I struggled to root for them at all. I was bummed about this one!!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion! I was such a big fan of this book, and cannot wait to read Ava Wilder’s first book! I find ‘enemies’ to lovers can be a tough sell for me sometimes, but this one just works so well. Lilah and Shane are both wonderfully flawed characters that make so much sense together. I love the second-chance aspect of this book, and would highly recommend to anyone looking for a cute and fun read, that doesn’t lack plot!!

I cannot remember the last time I simply could not put a book down the way I couldn't with this one. Every free moment this weekend, I filled with Ava Wilder's Will They or Won't They. This book was such a delight. Lovers to enemies to lovers. The chemistry is off the charts. The characters so well crafted. The story felt like binging a favorite tv show. I loved every second of it.

Short synopsis: Lilah and Shane were onscreen (and offscreen) lovers in their hit series Intangible. After a nasty breakup, 10 years later the whole cast is reuniting.

My thoughts: After reading How to Fake it in Hollywood last summer I knew going forward I would read anything Ava wrote!

Ava has a way of creating such relatable and Real celebrity characters. Their stories are messy, and honest, and sweet with a hint of spice.

I adored this second chance, enemies to lovers romance. The disdain between Lilah and Shane wasn’t eye rolling, but the tension was just perfection. I loved watching them become honest with each other and themselves about their feelings for each other.

Read if you love:
💕 Lovers to enemies to lovers
💕 Second chance romance
💕 Celebrity romances
💕 Slow burns
💕 Great side characters

This book is easily one of my favorites of the year so far. I loved reading a book that was based around actors on a tv show and I think the dual timelines are what made the story

This book really delivered. The will they won’t they premise really brought me back to my middle school self who was obsessed with shipping co-stars. Lilah and Shane were so frustrating at times because it almost like both of them made up these terrible versions of each other in their heads. If the two of them just would have let themselves be vulnerable and communicate each other their heated situation would be solved. But what wold be the fun in that. I loved how Lilah said I love you to Shane first especially with everything happened the first time Shane said it to her. I really hope that this author continues writing celebrity romances because it really works.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I should have liked this book. Celeb romance ✔️ second chance ✔️ but I just couldn’t get into their relationship. I think it was a little confusing with the dual timeline and it took me out of the story several times. I’m not exactly sure why they stopped hating each other. Could be a case of me not being in the right headspace for this one because I should have loved it.

Will they or won’t they? That’s it. That’s the entire book. I loved Ava Wilder’s debut, but this one did not work for me. The MC female is just really shallow and hard to like. The MC male is just such a pushover and is written in a way to be the stereotypical what women want. I am not a big romance reader, so this book will likely appeal to others in a way that it did not appeal to me. The women in my book club generally loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Random House Publishing Group for granting a digital copy of this book!

I was interested in this book mainly for the endorsements from Abby Jimenez and for "(f)ans of Emily Henry and Christina Lauren," and I was not disappointed.
Lilah and Shane are coworkers - the two main characters that are of course madly in love - in a very popular TV show. However, off screen, Lilah and Shane's relationship is tense. So much so that Lilah left the show for a couple seasons and is now back for final season.
I loved the flashbacks throughout the story; small reveals of what happened to the two costars that lead them down the road to their current relationship, and added even more to the slow burn. Even though I prefer the dual point-of-views. I'm glad the author decided not to do it this time because it added to the tension between Lilah and Shane since you only read from Lilah's point-of-view. I was consistently trying to determine Shane's perspective and was often times wrong.
The ending was perfect and I'm so glad the author decided to go the direction that she did, even though I did contemplate throwing my Kindle across the room at one point.
Would definitely recommend this book if you like enemies-to-lovers and slow burns.

I adored this book. She does it every time. I can always trust Ava Wilder to deliver. 5 stars.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow! 5/5 stars—this book was beautifully written. The tension. The chemistry. The build-up. Everything. I really loved this book and how it played out; they felt like real people. The details of the show, therapy, and everything else were so well done. This book was refreshing, and I couldn’t have loved it more!

a cute and charming enemies to lovers romance that was delightful.

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.