As someone who is constantly frustrated by the will they wont they kind of trope, I have absolutely no idea why I was so drawn to this book. And yet, I am so glad I requested it! The perfect dramatic romantic comedy to read as a break from finals. Loved every second of it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC!

How to Fake it in Hollywood was such an incredible debut from Ava Wilder and Will They or Won't They was an amazing way to follow it up. You still get the Hollywood setting with celebrities and award shows and drama which is perfect if you loved How to Fake it in Hollywood. The main characters Lilah and Shane were relatable and complex which made their relationship more compelling. If you're a fan of a more slow-burn romance with a lot of tension and chemistry and longing glances from across the room, then Will They or Won't They is perfect for you!
I can't wait to see what Ava Wilder will put out next!

This second chance, enemies to lovers romance was simply fantastic! I loved How to Fake it in Hollywood, so when I saw this new book, I was so excited. It definitely lived up to my expectations! Highly recommend and a great summer read.

I loved this book — Ava Wilder does it again! While this is also set in a celebrity/Hollywood plot, this story is more angsty, right person wrong time, friends to enemies to friends to lovers (but lovers really the whole time).

I really appreciated the character depth in this, as well as the growth (we love a good therapy example). Ava Wilder manages to make her books fun and thoughtful, while her characters are flawed but lovable, and Shane and Lilah did not disappoint.

I’m so glad I got to read this arc so I can recommend this!!

I think that I enjoyed this one more than the first - How to Fake It in Hollywood - although it has been a while since I read the first book. Why did I like this one better? It was because, from the start, I liked both of the main characters and was rooting for them to find their way through the antagonism to admit their feelings and be a couple. Ethan's drinking in the first book made him pretty unlikeable for quite a while.

The writing is well done and there are some great lines and great banter between the characters. I wanted a bit more time with the Hags and some of the cast and crew, but they stayed very much secondary and I guess that's ok. I mean, you don't want to have to follow 10+ characters because then you don't get to know the leads. The one thing that I maybe found a bit less awesome was how long things took to evolve. There was more will they or won't they than was strictly necessary to get things moving, because in the end, you totally know they will because, hey, it's a romance and how often do alternating POVs (even if third person) not end up with the leads in a relationship?! I think I can count on half a hand how many times that's happened.

The two characters are believable as stars and human beings, and the plot isn't so far fetched. I also REALLY appreciated that there was no major drama moment that felt forced in order to cause a break and reunite scene.

A good read. A good romance. Happy to see where Wilder goes next.

Will They or Won't They covers Shane's and Lilah's very turbulent relationship over the course of nine long years. Co-stars in a network TV series, their working and personal relationship is intense; "almost like an arranged marriage." Romantic partners for the first season, then adversaries for the next four seasons, this is their second chance / enemies to lovers romance. After leaving the show at the end of Season 5, Lilah is returning for the ninth and final season of the show.

When they met in their early twenties, Shane and Lilah had a unique bond. Between the pressures of work and fame, their relationship cracks. Finally reunited, they need to figure out how to work together and whether they can open themselves up to each other again.

In some ways, the roles are flipped in this story. A perpetual optimist, Shane opens his heart to love. As someone who copes with pervasive anxiety, Lilah is fearful of relationships because she worries about getting hurt. Shane is a warm, insightful and charismatic hero. Lilah is extremely vulnerable and talented, brave and caring. I was moved by the journeys both characters needed to take to be ready for each other.

I received an ARC and this is an honest review.

*Posted on Goodreads on 5/4/2023*

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Will They or Won’t They tells the story of 10 year long second-chance secret romance between two main actors on a popular supernatural drama. It’s the last season on their show, and not only do they hate each other, but they can hardly stand to be in the same room. The novel takes us through their present, with flashbacks to their secret relationship and what went wrong.

This one was a tough rating. Ava Wilder is undoubtably a phenomenal writer, and she writes characters that are very captivating. I also love that she sets her books with a “Hollywood” framework, those concepts are just so intriguing to me and I love seeing behind the curtain of the entertainment industry. There’s no doubt in my mind that I generally enjoyed this book!

The reason I didn’t rate this higher, is because of the characters and relationships. I think that Lilah was very likeable - to every single character except Shane. This makes things iffy, because 90% of interactions and conversations are between Lilah and Shane. I was just so frustrated by her immaturity. The self sabotage was running RAMPANT, and I felt that the first “breakup” between Lilah and Shane was so random and flimsy. I also hated how she disregarded and downplayed Shane’s feelings. That was a huge no-go for me. Shane was better, but not by much. In general, neither characters seemed like they were in their thirties… I would guess early 20’s at best. At a certain point, reading about their repeated toxicity was a bit of a downer. I’m all for flawed characters and development, but that needs to be paired with a growing self-awareness, and ANY sort of acknowledgment of taking responsibility for actions.

Another thing was the enemies-to-lovers trope. I LOVE this trope, but in this book, it was definitely more depressing. The remarks between the leads were less banter-y and humorous, and more cutting and destructive.

All in all, I don’t think this one was for me. It was entertaining and had incredible chemistry, but the toxic behavior was a little too much for my liking.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher (Random House - Ballantine) for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions!

StoryGraph review in link. Thank you for the book.

This book was really good, I liked the characters and the plot.

In the chapters, it doesn't specify whose point of view it is so it is kind of confusing at least the begining. vQQ2 kept on showing up randomly in the book, it would be in the middle of dialogue usually.

I have always been a bit cynical when it comes to the enemies to lovers trope in books. But this one was well paced (to the degree that I didn't feel compelled to skip ahead to find out what caused their rift) and the cause of their animosity actually felt believable. I do think their reconciliation was a bit rushed but I've never gotten back together with someone I'd known for 9 years so who am I to judge. It did read similarly to many of the other child actor secret romance flash forwards I've read recently but that's a pretty tight niche so I'm not surprised. Ava Wilder did manage to throw the slightest bit of a curve ball with how the ending was handled, which I actually enjoyed and appreciated. RIYL The Reunion by Kayla Olson or Built to Last by Erin Hahn. 3.5/5 stars

WILL THEY OR WON'T THEY is so real and raw. This is my second book I've read from Ava Wilder and I'm a big fan on her depiction of characters and how she doesn't sugar coat romance and love. The plot of this book is fun and you are wondering the whole time, if they will or won't get together.

3.5 Stars Will They or Won't They by Ava Wilder is a great Hollywood-set enemies-to-lovers romance. Though technically, it's a coworkers-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers. Actors Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy have spent years playing characters in a "will they or won't they" romance on a hit paranormal TV show, that is until Lilah left the show after five seasons. After a major film flop, Lilah is back for the TV show's ninth and final season to try to salvage her career. Being back on set means facing her sworn enemy, her ex and costar, Shane. Forced to play nice for the sake of their post-show careers, Lilah and Shane are constantly thrown together both on-screen and off. Will they be able to move on after years of animosity or will they implode once again?

I loved the angst, the banter, and the pining between Lilah and Shane. I'm glad that Wilder didn't make the readers wait too long to piece together what happened in Lilah and Shane's past. The GAD-rep was also great and a realistic driving force for Lilah's actions made out of fear and anxiety. I wish we'd gotten more of a glimpse into their HEA after wrapping up the series, but overall it ended on a perfect note.

Couldn’t put down! I was so excited to read Ava’s next book. This book had all my favorite tropes; celebrity romance, second chances, with some enemies to lovers. Lilah and Shane had amazing chemistry and tension.
This was so well written and I loved the direction that Ava took with their love story.

I truly enjoyed reading this book, I could not put it down! Luckily I could take it with me anywhere I went so I really didn’t have to put it down. The celebrity workplace romance coupled with the second chance and enemies to lovers, this book covered all of the tropes I love so much and it was amazing! Ava Wilder wrote so much emotion and personality into Shane and Lilah, I could feel all of the sexual tension and chemistry. I also enjoy the dual POV and getting the man’s perspective too. Especially towards the end when we read the flashbacks from Shane’s POV, it was perfect and made me love him even more to see him being such a good guy this whole time. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy once it is published into the world.

I loved Ava Wilder's book, How To Fake it in Hollywood, so I was so excited to read this and it did not disappoint. The tension between Lilah and Shane was written so well, and I loved the time jumps to go back in time and see why they are the way that they are and how much they have grown since they first met. This is also one of the rare romance books where I didn't see the ending coming from a mile away, so I loved the journey to the end even more for that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC! I can't wait to see what Ava Wilder comes up with next.

Thank you NetGalley, Ava Wilder, and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC copy of Will They or Won’t They - in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

This was my second read from Ava Wilder, and once again she did not disappoint!

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes - and watching Lilah and Shane go through their own version with a twist was incredible! (Lovers-enemies-lovers again).

Celebrity romances are hard. Balancing fame, gigs, decerning people’s true motives are all facets many of us “normal folk” will never actually grasp the realities of. This story takes us on a journey between co-stars who hit it off at the beginning of the show… with explosive chemistry that reeled fans in - to not being able to stand each other. There’s a saying that goes “there’s a fine line between hate and love” and these two prove that to be true!

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Ava has a way of writing that truly keeps you engaged and entertained. If you want to try out the celebrity trope - I highly recommend giving this one a go!

What can’t Ava Wilder do because, this book? Hello? Perfection isn’t real, we know this. But from start to finish, this book was a pleasure to read. If say it was great, but even that isn’t a good descriptor. It was that and more. So much more.

will they or wont they by ava wilder is an amazing book considering its only the second book shes written. it's about these 2 actors shane and lilah who act on this tv show who used to be a thing but now they hate each other and she left the show but now she has come back and it is them navigating their relationship now. you get some flashback scenes to when they were together during the start of the show which i did like but some of them were kinda boring and completely unnecessary if you ask me but the ones that were necessary i loved i just thought it was weird because im so used to like present and past chapter books it was like an every other chapter kinda thing but this just had random weird past chapters. I think besides the unnecessary past chapters this book was so good and i loved it so much and you all should read it.

This book was EVERYTHING I wanted and more!

Ava Wilder’s dialogue is fresh and hilarious, always jumping off the page and making me laugh out loud. Shane and Lilah have the most interesting, funny, tension filled banter and I just couldn’t get enough.

What I love most about this book, which Wilder always excelled at writing, is how fully developed and complex Shane and Lilah were. I understood their best qualities, and their struggles. The reason they didn’t work out in the past but are able to try again in the present timeline of the book is a testament to Wilder’s ability to write about believable character development.

There’s so much to say, but before I finish I need to commend how well Wilder incorporates her supporting characters AND how diverse her cast always are. Instead of feeling like a “progressive act”, the characters felt like Licea le representations of the world around us and the people in it.

This is my first Ava Wilder, and partially due to being in the industry, too, it takes a lot for me to be into Hollywood romances. That said, the thing I struggled with the most was how unlikable Lilah was and how Shane, despite her behavior, insisted on claiming she was the one. While the writing itself was good, I think both of their growths were too quick for me to believe in—and I couldn’t see what Lilah did to deserve Shane’s love. I recommended the book to friends who love the drama of an on-and-off relationship. I don’t think I am the one for that.

Will They or Won't They solidified Ava Wilder as one of my favorite authors.

Shane and Lilah instantly hit it off as costars on their hit show Intangibles. Five seasons later, Lilah left to pursue other avenues. Nine seasons in, she's back to play her character and reunite with her ex, Shane.

Everyone's watching them to see how they'll react. They have to be close again, that's what the show wants. The bigger question: will they or won't they fall back in love?

I flew through Ava Wilder's sophomore novel, Will They or Won't They. The dual points of view captivated me and I yearned to know what really happened to break up Lilah and Shane. The therapist sessions were hilarious and I wish we had more! I felt the steamy scenes sprinked throughout were appropriately placed and loved the ending. I can't wait to see what Wilder has up next!

Thank you Random House Ballentine and Netgalley for my earc in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.