I loved this book so much! Ava Wilder's debut, HOW TO FAKE IT IN HOLLYWOOD, was one of my favorite romances of 2022, so I was especially excited to read WILL THEY OR WON'T THEY. And I think I may have enjoyed this one even more! Celebrity romance and enemies-to-lovers are two of my absolute favorite tropes, so I was all in from the very start. WILL THEY OR WON'T THEY follows Lilah and Shane, stars of a hit TV show who reunite to film its final season. It's true love for their characters—but in real life, the two can't stand each other. Will they be able to put their messy history aside in order to give the show the ending it deserves? And in the process, could Lilah and Shane find their own happily-ever-after, even when it seems practically impossible?

Lilah and Shane's chemistry was so well-written and palpable—from romance to angst to drama, each aspect of their connection was given so much depth and development. And, of course, their banter! Their interactions! The pining and tension! As their relationship evolved, they also matured as characters, which I enjoyed reading about just as much. I personally loved both the Jewish rep and the anxiety rep we got with Lilah's character. Her struggles with self-sabotage, letting others in, and realizing that she was deserving of love and success were also painfully relatable, even at their most frustrating points! Shane's growth was perfectly done, too—his journey to stop people-pleasing and living for others, and figure out what he truly wants, was really relatable and meaningful to see. I was rooting for both of them from start to finish, as individuals and as a couple, which made the ending even more satisfying. Ava Wilder has become an auto-buy author for me—definitely add her latest to your shelf this summer! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgallery for providing this book in exchange of an honest review.

This one makes me sad. I'm always excited and grateful every time I am given an ARC. This one in particular was very exciting. The whole premise seem fun and entertaining. However, the miscommunication trope is TOO strong in this book. I couldn't seem to see any chemistry between the characters, and they were just toxic together. I didn't find them likable at all. The internal monologues were very long and repetitive.

I wish I liked this book more, I really do but it was so hard to get through.

What I do want to say, is that the anxiety representation on this book was good. It felt real. Other than that I can't recommend this book.

Again, thanks to Netgallery for the ARC.

How do I feel when my heart is crushed yet repaired at the same time? That’s how I felt throughout reading Will They or Won’t They?" It’s such an angsty second-chance romance with a messy past and these messy characters.

Let’s start at the beginning. Will They or Won’t They starts off with Lilah and Shane reuniting again after not seeing each other for several years. And it’s not great between them. They have a history with each other. It’s messy and raw between them. And I am loving every second of it. If I am going to read about a second chance romance, then it needs to be full of emotions. The more angsty it is, the better the redemption. That’s my motto for a second-chance romance book.

But let’s get back on track. Lilah and Shane may not have seen each other, but they still have feelings for each other, even though they hate each other at the moment. We don’t get the full reasons for their breakup in the beginning, but we surely will when they start having therapy sessions. It may be inconvenient for them because they can’t stand each other in the same room, but it’s necessary since they have a full TV season to film.

These therapy sessions between them are the perfect tools for them. They have so much built up between them that they can finally express all of their feelings. It may not be pleasant at the time, but it’s necessary. Nothing is white or black in a relationship. There is always some miscommunication that can create resentment or fallout in relationships. And that’s what Lilah and Shane are going to realize as they progress into their therapy sessions, aka their pasts.

I will say that their past is messy. Like really messy. But that’s expected between them when you start a relationship when you are younger and work together. That will create a lot of miscommunication and tension in any relationship. It’s a good thing they have therapy. But expect a lot of tears, frustrations, and happiness while you journey with them as they revisit their past together in their therapy sessions. I know that I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!
This follows the story of Lilah and Shane, who are costars on a paranormal TV show brought back together for one final season after Lilah's several-year hiatus. I normally am not a fan of celebrity romance tropes, but this one was a fresh take on it. Throughout of the book we see the progression of their "hate/love" relationship, with flashbacks of where it all started when they were both starting out on the show.
liked the themes of them both working through their mental health and personal issues. Sometimes they frustrated me to the point I wanted to tell them to both shut up. But the way it ended was perfect! I really enjoyed this one!

This was a fun and steamy second chance romance with a Hollywood setting. These costars just could not figure out what they wanted. It was painful at times to watch them fight each other, but when they were on, it was so good.

I often felt like it needed to speed things up a little, but I really liked the ending.

3.5 rounded up

This book has some of my favorite tropes (second chance, enemies to lovers, forced proximity), but at first I was unsure I that was going to be able to connect with the characters OR even root for them to find their HEA. This changed throughout the story, and I am glad that their development as individuals was not rushed.

The tension, and constant will they wont they, had me on the edge of my seat with my heart racing. The twist at the end had my heart dropping, but was such a perfect addition.

The premise of this book sounded excellent, but unfortunately I found the main characters to be very bland.

You could practically feel my evil grinning when i saw this blurb. The drama, the angst, the romance, the history,everything was so delightful.

Ava Wilder keeps coming home with this hollywood romances and i need her to do it more

I have been desperately hoping to get approved for this book because I was SO excited for it! I love Hollywood romances and I was really looking forward to this one after enjoying How to Fake It in Hollywood.

Overall, this was very very fun! I loved Lilah and Shane. The tension was SO HIGH throughout nearly the entire book which was stressful but thrilling. Miscommunication trope made an unfortunate appearance near the middle but I’m glad it was smoothed over quickly.

I will say that the drama of the ending seemed absolutely unnecessary to me. I was sent into a panic spiral and was questioning my entire rating but I’ll stick with the 4 stars. For the most part, very cute and fun.

Thank you to netgalley and publisher for a copy in exchange for a honest review.

This is a second chance romance (lovers to enemies to lovers again) about two celebrities Lilah and Shane. They are brought back together for the final season of the show that originally brought them together.

This book honestly wasn't for me, both characters were unlikable and the side characters didn't add anything to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I really loved “How to Fake Dating in Hollywood” so I was super excited to be approved to review this book. I tore through the beginning but towards the end of the book I started to get a little bored. I felt like she introduced really good plot points (I.e the therapist) but then that kind of faded and all of a sudden both Lilah and Shane are “okay”. It threw me off and made the whole “LNL” situation unbelievable.

I’m still giving it a solid 3 to 3.5 star rating because I did enjoy the book there were just elements that bothered me. I enjoyed the twist at the end and the spice level was decent.

Will They or Won't They follows two actors Lilah and Shane, who must return to the set of their show and reunite. The only problem is that they absolutely can’t stand each other. As they return to set together, they must confront the issues that wrecked their relationship to begin with, and find out if they can fix everything that has happened between them.

This was a really sweet and very deep second chance, celebrity romance. I enjoyed the writing style and how Ava Wilder brings in a lot of emotional depth and character growth in her writing that makes it very easy to fall in love with each character.

There were a few things that made it hard for me to fully dive into the story. I wasn't the biggest fan of the conflicts in the book and found the characters dealt with them in an annoying way and was frustrated at time with them. While I enjoyed the mental health aspect of this book, at times I found it frustrating to read about characters who used it as an excuse to act the way they did.

However, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves second chance and celebrity romances.

Thanks SO much to Randon House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this one with high expectations after hearing such great things about Wilder’s last novel. I will say that I liked this one but it fell short of loving for me. Lilah and Shane are actors of a wildly popular show, plus engaged in a relationship that burned bright and hot for a minute. Then the relationship went down in flames and Lilah eventually left the show. She comes back for the final season and they both realize not all old feelings have burned up.
I liked the premise, even though I’m not a huge fan of second chance romances. I think some of my favorite parts were when they were in couples counseling and honestly wish there would have been more of that. I felt like a lot of the story felt rushed and I struggled to find a connection to the characters and their relationship.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I typically love enemies to lovers but this book wasn't my cup of tea. the writing style wasnt my favorite but i can appreciate a good book. As I said, not for me, but would be really good for someone else. I do reccomend.

I was really excited about getting this arc, but this book was such a disappointment. It started out really well and I was engaged with the characters and the plot, but by the 50% mark, it had slowed down, and the reading experience took a 180 for me.

My main issues were the plot was flimsy and the supporting characterizations non-existent. Lilah and Shane's relationship on-screen also could have been developed more. Other than a few scenes, we never actually see them really working together. The issues that were brought up regarding their work relationship were always told through other characters so the whole enemies thing never really gelled for me. It seemed more immature and unprofessional for both of them. The end was just a mess with an almost 3rd act breakup that just felt like it was put in there because there was no actual conflict in this book. And then they don't even show the resolution on the page! It's just talked about at the end, which annoyed me so much! Here is your conflict! Solve it on the page! For a book that was supposed to be a we hate each other, we love each other, they didn't actually show them figuring out how to make it work.

This book had 30 chapters. At 73% of the way in, they are attending a party with different dates. Why?? Why was chapter 29 a flashback to the start of their relationship? We should be wrapping up the current plot, not going back to how it all started. This is just messy and at this point, I'm not even remotely invested in will they or won't they because they jerked me around for 24 chapters. We start to get moving and then flashback?? It just pulled me straight out of the story.

I slogged through the rest and by the end, I didn't care at all if these two got together permanently. They both have major issues with communication, they are both immature despite being 35 years old, and neither of them have any idea how to be in a mature relationship.

My other issue was the secondary characters. They were completely one dimensional with diversity rep thrown in for points, not to build a character. I know Lilah had a group of friends of which one was a lesbian in a marriage to a woman. Couldn't tell you who though because it had no bearing on the story and was just thrown in to check a box. Other characters showed up to talk to Lilah and Shane about their relationship and then offscreen they go. Who are they? No one knows!!

Overall this book put me in a grumpy mood and I am not interested in reading anything else by Ava Wilder.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the arc for review purposes.

Another great celebrity romance trope…but even better than the author’s first book! I loved the chemistry and tension between Lilah and Shane. They certainly felt like they were “meant to be” from the start. I’ve been really enjoying celebrity romance books lately, and this was truly one of my recent favorites. I liked the glimpse into life on the set, interactions with other cast and crew, and the issues that arise with fame. The ending felt slightly rushed, but the little twist was something I didn’t see coming. If you’re looking for a fun Hollywood/celebrity romance novel, definitely give this one a try!

ARC review: Will They or Won’t They by Ava Wilder

5 stars!

Synopsis: Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy met at an audition eight years ago and hit it off immediately–their chemistry was so strong that not only did they both get the roles, but the show Intangible blew up and became a hit. People fell in love with the show and with their characters. Sounds great, right? Except for the fact that the two can’t stand each other after a secret, failed fling goes wrong. When Lilah returns to Intangible for the final season after stepping away for a movie role, it’s the first time the two had spoken in four years. As much as they want to deny it and claim it’s because they hate each other, their chemistry is still very much there. But is it real or are they just acting?

Read if you like:
- second chance
- lovers to enemies to lovers
- celebrity romance
- tension, banter, angst
- right person, wrong time

Thoughts: I read Ava Wilder’s debut novel How to Fake it in Hollywood last year and loved it. So when I saw this book coming out, I knew it’d be one of my highly anticipated releases of the month and of the year, especially seeing it was lovers to enemies to lovers, celebrity romance and the TENSION.

I was invested and hooked right from the beginning and read this book in less than two days! The prologue is set eight years ago and leaves you wanting to find out what in the world happened between Shane and Lilah to have them hating each other. The storyline is mostly set in the present but has a handful of chapters that take you back to the past. The past was woven really well into the story, so you understand their history and are even more invested in their present.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes because of the tension and angst between the characters as their feelings move from hate to love – and Ava Wilder did not disappoint with these two. The chemistry between Shane and Lilah was some of the best I’ve read. You feel the rollercoaster of emotions the characters do as you’re reading, and one of my favorite things is the characters feel so real. And yes, they’re flawed, but I think that makes the story stronger and what made me like the author’s debut novel so much. Shane and Lilah both have made mistakes and hurt each other but work through it with the help of couples therapy, which I loved the representation of that.

I was living for the yearning, brief touches and eye contact throughout the book as all of those old feelings came back (or maybe they never left)! The banter and humor between the two was amazing, and I really liked seeing the ways Shane stood up for Lilah even though it’s clear she can handle her own. They gave me a bit of black cat/golden retriever energy, as well as “right person wrong time.” Also Shane’s name in Lilah’s phone lol

But when I say my heart dropped at the twist… I had to go back and read it but then I was able to breathe again. The author wrapped this story up perfectly.

Thank you to Dell Publishing, NetGalley and the author for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I am not generally someone who is fascinated with celebrities. I don't wish that I was famous and I don't think that celebrities are generally especially worthy of their fame. Ava Wilder has now managed to write two books about celebrities that I have loved. She has a way of making their fame a completely secondary part of their character. It's integral to the plot but they're romance is the focus.

Second chance romances are also not one of my favorite tropes but this one was done so well. It had the enemies to lovers flavor that I adore and it was so rewarding to see Lilah and Shane grow as individuals and as a couple throughout the book. The dual timeline and dual POV helped add to the fullness of the story.

Lilah's general anxiety disorder and Shane's obsessive need to be liked (he will resonate with all fellow people pleasers!) shaped their characters and gave some depth to their characters. And this book is funny! Ava Wilder has a great sense of humor and it shows in her books.

I really enjoyed How to Fake It in Hollywood so was a bit nervous to start this one. I really wanted to like it. But I shouldn't have worried. It was excellent in its own right and I look forward to what the author comes up with next.

After really loving How to Fake It in Hollywood, I was very excited to read Ava Wilder's newest title, Will They or Won't They. It promised angst and a slow burn and friends to lovers to enemies to lovers which is always a great story arc. Overall this was enjoyable, but the pacing really didn't work for me. The slow burn lasts for over 80% of the book, and then at 97% the couple is still not together. For me, that was too much build up though it was satisfying to see their friendship re-develop and strengthen during the time.

Content warnings: Lilah suffers from anxiety and there are references to panic attacks, including one that happens on page.

I voluntarily reviewed a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I binged this so fast. After reading several fantasy books this was the perfect cutesy romance book i needed!

I’m a sucker for a lover to enemies to lovers second chance trope. Shane and Lilah’s chemistry was chef’s kiss and the TV stars storyline was one I haven’t read before.

4/5 stars!