This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, steamy and kept me reading. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

Ava Wilder's sophomore novel is a wonderful Hollywood romance that doesn't ignore the realities of being a working actor. Which, amidst the ongoing (and historical) Writer's Guild strikes, is an important and refreshing tone.

The story is dual-POV and follows actors Lilah and Shane, whose explosive chemistry lands them the two lead roles in the paranormal show, "Intangible", years back. Despite this chemistry, "acting" on it off-screen leads to a messy relationship that ends with them unable to stand one another. After Lilah fails to make a name for herself in pursuing a film career, she and Shane reunite for one last season of Intangible. And even though their hatred for each other has not waned, their professional commitment to ensure this last season ends with a bang means they just might have to put aside their differences... and maybe fall in love???

Most times, when books advertise themselves as enemies to lovers, they are actually full of shit. But there were many times in Will They or Won't They where I genuinely went, "Oooooh, that's bad" during the present timeline. Shane and Lilah's dislike for one another is REAL and helps to set up necessary and painful growth for the two as individuals, as colleagues, and then as lovers.

This is a perfect summer read for anyone wanting a romantic comedy with depth, and characters who feel real!

Will They Or Won’t They was exactly the contemporary romance page-turner my summer brain needed! I really enjoyed Ava Wilder’s How to Fake it in Hollywood, so I jumped into this angsty second-chance celebrity romance with gusto.

Here, Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are reluctantly reuniting as costars on the popular tv series they made a success. While their fans are shipping them AND their characters, these once secret lovers and current nemeses are just gonna grit their teeth and try to do their job without causing a scandal. Easier said than done!

Will They or Won’t They was an engaging read, with interesting characters and nice mental health rep. Though reader be warned — the plot does rest heavily on misunderstandings. I do wish I had felt a bit more invested in Lilah and Shane’s romance, but even so I found this to be a fun and fast read!

Thank you to Ballantine, Dell Books and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy!

Will They or Won’t They is a perfect descriptor for this story. A strangers to lovers to enemies, angsty, Hollywood romcom. It took a little too long for them to get the story going for me with the miscommunication. Overall very cute with characters I wanted to root for.

✨PUB DAY REVIEW!✨

Will They or Won’t They by @avawilderwrites

I’m 2 for 2 on loving anything AW writes! I was a big fan of her debut “How to Fake it in Hollywood” so I was extra grateful for the netgalley approval for “Will They or Won’t They” 🎉

While celebrities, these characters had “real-life” issues that made it super easy to feel a connection towards them. Shane and Lilah are two actors who gained their fame as a couple starring on the same show. This led to an offscreen, whirlwind, passionate love affair between the two up and coming stars, which later crashed and burned much due to insecurities and misunderstandings. Shane and Lilah continued to film the show despite their strong hatred towards each other and soon after Lilah left to pursue other opportunities. Years later, when the show films their finale, Lilah is asked back so that the show can rekindle the onscreen lovers romance and end in a HEA. I’m sure you can guess that this leads to a tension-filled story as Shane and Lilah confront their past and learn how to move forward.

Lilah was my kinda FMC! She was assertive and blunt and didn’t take any mess from anybody! She also dealt with anxiety which I can totally relate to. I loved seeing her growth throughout the story.

Shane takes a spot on my favorite book boyfriends shelf!! He was hilarious (so many witty one-liners), patient, forgiving, and stubborn in his own way and as a reader the slow burn was 100% worth it in the end.

I also loveddd the couples therapy! Truly some of my favorite parts of the entire story.

What to expect:
💘second chance
💘celebrities with flaws
💘anxiety rep
💘banter like no other
💘angst & tension
💘a little enemies to lovers
💘the steam was on-point
💘slowwwwwwburn

OUT TODAY!! Definitely recommend grabbing you a copy asap and trying her debut if you haven’t already!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Thank you to @netgalley & @randomhouse Ballantine books and Dell publishing #dellpublishing for the early copy - all thoughts are my own.

Will They or Won’t They is a master class of lovers to enemies to lovers and second chance romance. The tension and angst between Lilah and Harrison was so palpable that it was almost overwhelming at times. Their banter when they “hated” each other was laugh out loud funny but it was obvious that their hate was really love and frustration. Harrison driving 40 minutes out of his way for Lilah’s favorite donuts (to make her happy OR to make her mad) was such a perfect touch to his character and also showed how deeply she was entwined in his heart.

I truly did not see the third act twist coming. I thought the story was following a predictable narrative and was honestly a little annoyed about it but Ava Wilder totally got me and I absolutely love what she did. There’s no sophomore slump here, this follow up novel is truly a must read for all fans of romance, romcoms, Hollywood behind the scenes, enemies to lovers and second chance romance.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book

Loved this book so much!!! It Definitely is a great summer beach read! Highly recommend it! The characters will stay with you long after the book is over!

Happy pub day to this gem! I loved last year’s How to Fake it in Hollywood so I was super excited for this book and Wilder knocked it out of the park! Told from dual POVs and timelines, I loved this emotional second chance, enemies to lovers celeb romance! Lilah and Shane felt authentic and their chemistry was palpable. I was also fascinated by the behind the scenes look into the making of a tv show.

thank you to netgalley and random publishing house for this arc!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️
this was a fun second chance, celebrity romance! this book definitely reminded me of vampire diaries and the drama between nina dobrev and ian somerhalder! this book had a good past, present timeline going on and had you itching to find out why shane and lilah hated each other so much! I did struggle with how frustrating both these characters were. while they both had feelings for each other, they remained immature with each other and refused to communicate their feelings until later in the book.

This was my first Ava Wilder Hollywood romance book and I really should have started sooner. This was so much fun and was such a great, easy read and exactly what I wanted after reading a few heavier books.

Shane and Lilah are reuniting on the set of their hit TV show for a last season after Lilah had left to start and end a disastrous film career. The two of them had a previous relationship in the first season but after a blow up, spend the rest of their time on the show together disliking each other and otherwise trying to make each other miserable.

There is a ton of tension and palpable chemistry between Shane and Lilah right from the get go which was fun for me as the reader. There are also flashbacks peppered throughout so we get a sense of what happened between the two of them before the present day. There was maybe a little too much going on there and I felt some of the flashbacks were a little misplaced but overall I really enjoyed seeing what happened and how the two of them could potentially find a way forward despite all the hurt feelings.

Lilah was sort of a hard character to like? She seemed disproportionately mean to Shane than he was to her and even though it is explained Lilah has an anxiety disorder, it doesn't really change some of the truly awful things she does and says to Shane so it felt unbalanced.

That being said I had a fun time reading this book and was rooting for the two of them. I weirdly didn't love the ending which didn't have much of a payoff or catharsis but ultimately they all landed in a good spot and I would recommend it.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was really cute! I liked that the main characters had their own flaws and had to work through them and recognize them. Shane was so cute! Definitely my favorite of the 2! The middle was slow at points, but it picked up pace towards the end.

""What do you want me to say? That when you were gone, it felt like I was half a person? Like all the best parts of me were missing? Like I died all over again?""

I LOVED this book and it was just what I needed when I might have been going into a romance slump. Gave me The Notebook vibes.

I really just enjoyed the we're two actors who were FWB and then we weren't. We lost touch, and we reconnected almost in the same way as before. The only thing that changed was that we matured and learned how to better communicate with each other.

I don't think that either character was perfect, but I think that they were perfectly imperfect & I want them to live together in my brain for the rest of time.

This book simply made me happy to read.

Thank you to netgally & Penguin Random House for providing me this copy in exchange for an honest review!

I loved How to Fake it in Hollywood last year when I read it, so when I had a chance to read the next book from Ava Wilder early, I couldn't pass up the chance, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Will They or Won't They was a great story about learning about yourself, experiencing life, and second chances. I loved the way this story was told and Ava's writing style is one I easily get sucked into.

The characters of this story are flawed, and while famous, I felt they were still very relatable. I enjoyed the banter we had between them and I loved getting to watch both of them grow throughout the whole book. I loved the way Shane clearly cared about Lilah and I enjoyed the internal debates he had going from the first moment they were brought back together. Lilah's character took me a little longer to connect with as she just felt a little too cold for me at the start, but that did quickly turn around and I ended up loving everything about her. Her character growth in this one is very clear and I love how she got there.

This is one I would easily recommend to anyone who enjoys the following.

✔️ Second Chance
✔️ Workplace Romance
✔️ Lovers to Enemies to Lovers
✔️ Banter
✔️ Celebrities
✔️ It's Always Been You Vibes
✔️ Third Person Dual POV

JKDHFAEKFJASDUKJFGHDJGHVAGUHDIOZGHDUGLKSDGILSDHG!!!!!!!!! This was honestly one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and it did not disappoint. It lived up to every expectation I had and even more. "How to Fake It in Hollywood" was one of my favorite books of 2022 and I was STOKED to find out @avawilder was writing a follow up so quickly (other authors, take note!! We demand a release a year!!) and I quickly pre-ordered this, but of course, I wanted an ARC. And Ava DELIVERED. On multiple fronts.

The chemistry in this book was UNREAL and apparent on every single page. This was a delicious slow burn with a very, very enjoyable payoff. But beyond writing amazing chemistry, Ava knows how to write about multi-dimensional characters that have real struggles behind the glitz and glamour. I absolutely love love love both the mental health and Jewish representation; because I am both of them 💖. I love the look behind the curtain into Hollywood (a common theme in a lot of the books I've read recently!) and Ava does such a good job at world building that it all seems so, so real and I'm disappointed it doesn't exist in this world.

Will I be forcing (ah, er, convincing) everyone in my life to read this book? Yes, yes I will. And that is just a burden I will have to bear for every single one of Ava Wilder's books.

P.S. Please look at a Who? Weekly themed Guess Who my friend made me for my birthday. Crunch crunch.
•••
Thank you @penguinrandomhouse and @avawilder for sharing this advanced copy with me!
•••
Recommended song pairing: Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash

Will They or Won't They is about Lilah and Shane who were the stars of the hit TV show Intangible. Their on screen chemistry translated into a hot "relationship" which abruptly ended leaving for some tense moments. Then Lilah left the show to pursue other career options while Shane kept the show going. Now in its last season, Lilah is back for a final season with her on -screen love interest, Shane. But will they be able to put aside their past and tensions for the show? And what happens when those on screen butterflies return in real life?

This book is perfect for fans of:

* Celebrity romance;
* Co-workers
* Second Chance;
* Angsty slow burn;
* Therapy rep.

Lilah and Shane are such compelling characters. I loved Shane and how he kind of lucked into stardom versus Lilah who worked hard to get to where she is at. This book is full of angst and pining and is definitely in the SLOW burn category. The pull between the main characters kept me turning the pages to find out what happened.

Ava beautifully weaves aspects of mental health, therapy, and childhood trauma into these complex characters in a way that makes your heart squeeze for them.

I wished we had gotten to see more of Lilah and Shane together. The get together was so late in the book we didn't really get to enjoy it., But other than that, I enjoyed this read.

I voluntarily read an EARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

THEY OR WON’T THEY

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse Ballantine for the gifted copy!

Happy #pubday to @avawilderwrites and Will They or Won’t They!

I loved this book! I really enjoy reading Hollywood romances and this hit the spot for sure!

𝕊𝕐ℕ𝕆ℙ𝕊𝕀𝕊:
Shane and Lilah are the stars of a hit TV show, as well as have a history behind the scenes that has led to utter hatred on both sides. When Lilah returns for the final season of the show after leaving years prior, the animosity comes out in full. But as Shane and Lilah continue to spend time together during their promotional tour, they realize their past wasn’t what they thought, but their future could be.

𝕎ℍ𝔸𝕋 𝕀 𝕃𝕀𝕂𝔼𝔻:
• I loved Shane’s and Lilah’s chemistry and relationship 🥰
• the supporting cast was awesome
• gave me feels of Entourage without the career melting poor decision making, but if you liked Built to Last by Erin Hahn or Marlowe Banks, Redesigned by Jacqueline Firkins, you’ll love this
• loved this take of second chance, lovers to enemies to lovers
• not interconnected with How to Fake It in Hollywood, but in same universe and I loved the reference!

𝕎ℍ𝔸𝕋 𝕎𝔸𝕊ℕ’𝕋 𝕄𝕐 ℂ𝕌ℙ 𝕆𝔽 𝕋𝔼𝔸:
• Lilah had a great arc, but she also had a lot of mental struggles. I felt like they seemed to “solve” themselves pretty quickly. Would have loved to have seen some of the “behind the scenes” work she did to get to the right headspace as I think this is a great rep for mental health, but could be a better rep

𝕆𝕍𝔼ℝ𝔸𝕃𝕃 𝕋ℍ𝕆𝕌𝔾ℍ𝕋𝕊:
This book had the perfect amount of antics, spice, and emotion that was very balanced. Strong lead and supporting characters, and was an awesome take on what goes on behind the scenes of a TV show. Will They or Won’t hit shelves today, so get your copy from your favorite bookstore!

4 stars

Going into this book, I thought I was getting a lighthearted enemies to lovers rom-com, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that even though there was lots of banter and some funny moments, there was a ton of character development and emotion too.

Lilah and Shane meet as 20-something unknowns while auditioning for a TV show. Their incredible chemistry earns them the leading roles and practically overnight they skyrocket into superstardom and the show becomes a huge hit, running for 9 seasons.

During that time they secretly date, suffer a really ugly breakup, Lilah leaves the show for a few seasons, and there are a few years where they hate each other with the fire of a thousand suns, but when she decides to rejoin the cast for the final season, they are both older and more mature, and ready to deal with the issues that keep drawing them together, but are also keeping them apart.

I really loved this story. It had a lot of heart and was so well written. Realism is a huge factor for me and everything about these characters and their industry came across as very authentic. I speed read the through the first half at lightning speed because I just couldn’t put it down, but then I felt like it hit a bit of a lull where the lighthearted moments did not come as frequently and the second half lost some of its momentum and chemistry and struggled to regain them.

Overall though, this was one of the best books I have read recently and is a perfect Summer beach read. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of Will They or Won’t They.

Top Pick - 4.5 Stars

Lilah and Shane both work on a popular paranormal tv show. Their characters are madly in love, which adds to the popularity of the show. The on-screen chemistry can not be denied by the two. The two were once a heavy item in real life until it everything crashed. Yes, they are still keeping it going until Lilah realizes she can’t do it any longer.

Lilah leaves the show to venture off for other movie opportunities. Unfortunately, the market is not really looking for her. Television is different from film work, and Lilah decides to go back to her popular show to close out the final season. This time around, everything is different as their characters are forced to face their true feelings as well as Lilah and Shane in real life.

I liked the idea of the tv show being the main storyline to help pull the characters together. Lilah and Shane’s characters are not actually an item on the show, but they love each other. They just haven’t jumped into that relationship status. The irony is that in real life, the two jumped that ship, and it imploded quickly, leaving them both hurt is just the interesting twist.

The company execs are noticing the tension on the set and nudge them to get therapy together to help iron out issues so they can get that old chemistry back. The problem is that too many emotions are surfacing.

This is the perfect case of lovers to enemies and back again. I just love the banter and bickering. It adds to the sexual tension and excitement. Shane and Lilah have in tenfold. This was about to be the perfect five-star for me, but Lilah really did push my buttons a lot. I almost wish we could have swapped her as the main character of the actual story. The author does throw in another twist or two, which just pumped up the angst side, but I love how it all worked out in the end for them in real life and on screen.

The story is light and fun, with just the perfect amount of angst for contemporary romance lovers.

~ Samantha

thank you netgalley for the arc !

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 3/5 stars *ੈ✩‧₊˚

read if you like:
♡ second-chance romance
♡ lovers to enemies to lovers
♡ angsty hollywood love-story
♡ dual pov and dual timeline
♡ forced proximity
♡ anxiety rep

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ fraught with off the charts sexual tension electrifying between two jilted former lovers, ava wilder’s sophomore romance novel will they or won’t they will whip you off your feet bridal-style… and dump you right into a vertiginous emotional rollercoaster!

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ years after saying goodbye to her role on hit paranormal tv show intangible, actress lilah hunter is doing the walk of shame back for the ninth season, following a failure to make it big on her own. but reprising her role also means being reunited with former onscreen love interest and off-screen sworn enemy shane mccarthy who she left on less than amiable terms with in her wake. forced into close-quarters, struggling to stop their work environment from becoming collateral damage and under pressure from fans to finally unite their characters for a happy-ending in the final season of the show, lilah and shane seem to be finding themselves rewriting their own bitter ending.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ in having lilah fill the office of the emotionally unavailable half of the couple, wilder opts for a more subversive and less moth-eaten spin on the right person wrong time trope. anxious, perfectionist and at her core, possessed of an impeccable fear of abandonment, lilah keeps a stubbornly white-knuckled grip on the distance between herself and shane. through piecemeal references, we will later come to recognize her ‘prickly’ veneer and self-sabotage in her relationship with shane for what it is: a stirring symptom of an unhappy childhood. sure, she may very well drive you up the wall one too many times, but she is an unflinching, tough as nails, if veristic fmc. the barbed comments, the cool affectation are nothing more than a pretence for the sake of concealing a pitifully soft underbelly. and it’s not merely a troubled past which prevents lilah from being true to herself - the sad truth is as a woman in hollywood she cannot afford to be vulnerable or to be anything other than what the public eye would deem acceptable. whilst shane may get away with a co-star entanglement scot-free, she knows full well she could only dream to be so lucky. no, for an actress any relationship is indelible and comes with more than what you bargain for.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ shane himself proved equal to the task of being just as flawed as lilah, albeit in a less self-evident fashion at first glance. he is in many regards more riddled with insecurity than lilah, suffering from the looming shadow of his imposter syndrome. this in turn then muddies the waters of his and lilah’s relationship when he inevitably draws assumptions propelled by his insecurity. it’s a classic case of confirmation bias really and these negative conjectures and suspicions beget more rancorous offspring until you have one big miserable brood of misunderstandings. to add insult to lilah’s injury, shane of the past is part of a semi-fraternity group of dude-bros comprised of less than savoury misogynists who continuously bad-mouth and take disgusting tones with her. yet her golden retriever boy has his head so far up everyone’s ass he could wipe for them - thanks to a pathological need to be liked by everyone - that the most he does is offer a mild reproach in defense of her virtue.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ what is then truly masterful craftsmanship, is how in the face of all of these unlikable traits wilder still makes you fall head over heels for lilah and shane, to say nothing of then finding yourself shipping them so viscerally you groan and fight begrudged tears whenever they are at odds. still not over the angst and i’m normally a card-carrying member of the anti-second chance romance novels. when they are at their best they are tender and cotton-candy soft with chemistry like a nuclear power plant. shane redeems himself for his former indiscretions (i.e. not standing up for lilah when she’s being degraded by a sexist) by going on to take up arms for her whenever she’s at the receiving end of misogyny. he’s a total softy for her and i wound up with a huge incurable crush on even when we got off on the wrong foot. also, they have stellar banter absolutely sizzling with electric currents!!! even when they’re at each other’s throats - on second thought you know what it might be the better for that…

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ funnily enough, these same strengths in character were, perforce, what cauterised my rating… i was so embroiled in the drama and angst that in my darkest hours i kind of hoped they’d break up. there is a fine line between realistic angst and toxicity. i’d be the first to admit there were more than a few moments where i felt that shane in particular was a total schmuck.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ there was some lag in the pacing which became more palpable towards the end but overall it was a well-oiled machine. also the plot twist?!? despite seeing it coming it was mwah, chef’s kiss.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ conclusion:
some writers just get it when it comes to understanding people and such is the case with wilder. will they or won’t they is pretty much a bespoke romance novel for those of us who enjoy our romance to be more faithful to real life with messy characters.

I really loved Ava Wilder's last release, but this one did not do it for me. I highly disliked the two main characters. I thought that Lilah was so shitty towards Shane and I just couldn't get past that and her immaturity. In that sense, I felt really bad for Shane. I liked his character a lot more than Lilah. There was just a ton of miscommunication here and i think some of it couldve gone without. I like the author's story of the "hollywood scene", just because i didnt like this book doesnt mean i wont continue to read her work. Honestly, Lilah just killed this one for me.