If Ava Wilder decides to write into her 80s/90s, I will be over the moon because I know I will never get enough of her writing! WILL THEY OR WON'T THEY has everything I want in a romance with the perfect balance of humor, banter, tension, angst, love, swoon, charm and spice. And including some of my favorite tropes such as slowburn, second chance, lovers-enemies-lovers, and dual point of view.

I loved HOW TO FAKE IT IN HOLLYWOOD so much that I just knew WILL THEY OR WON'T THEY was going to be really good, but didn't not realize just HOW really good. It's remarkable how the author can take something so saturated and fabricated as Hollywood and pop culture into something so real, authentic, and refreshing. With the characters fully developed and complex in their own ways, the flow and pacing of the writing, and everything just so believable I was fully immersed into the world on every page.

At times I found myself biting my lip, fanning my face, and wanting to squeal and giggle. Pretty sure my heart sped up every single time Shane said or did something. And I think the whole time I read this book, I held my breath (yes, I did read it in one sitting). Realizing now I'm so glad I didn't have anything else that needed my attention while reading because it certainly wouldn't have gotten it.

Shane and Lilah are both so lovable, relatable and beautifully flawed. I wanted to wrap their hearts in bubble wrap and at the same time tell them they need to get their stuff figured out so they can be together! I'm so grateful to have experienced Shane and Lilah's story, and will dream about this couple to tide me over until I can pre-order the author's next book.

Thank you very much to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

Wow, Ava Wilder has done it again with another stunning romance novel. Perfectly angsty and heart-wrenchingly gorgeous, WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY is a delicious read from start to finish. I love Ava Wilder’s three-dimensional characters - they are so gritty and complex in the best of ways. If you are a fan of slowburn romances, I cannot recommend this novel enough.

YES this was SO good. lovers to enemies to lovers done exceedingly well. such a charming, delightful read about love, second chances, and forgiveness. an instant autobuy author.

Wow, Ava Wilder has done it again with another stunning romance novel. Perfectly angsty and heart-wrenchingly gorgeous, WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY is a delicious read from start to finish. I love Ava Wilder’s three-dimensional characters - they are so gritty and complex in the best of ways. If you are a fan of slowburn romances, I cannot recommend this novel enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: generalized anxiety disorder, panic attack (on-page), growing up with parents experiencing drug addiction (past), family tensions, brief mentions of dieting

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f second chance romance
-hollywood romance
-lovers to frenemies to pining idiots to lovers
-slooow burn
-sizzling chemistry
-hate how attracted to you I am
-this is just a hookup
-Jewish rep
-hand holding

I had been so hyped for this book and somehow it exceeded my expectations. Everything I adore about second chance romances this book exceeded at. The glimpses of their past, the understanding of why they broke up and the growth of the characters, and just the sexual chemistry of two people who know what it's like being together. Ava Wilder looks at tropes and then drops the mic expertly wielding them.

This book is very much about taking the leap of love, especially after being burned, whether by family or other aspects of your life. How much trust and just kind of blind faith, and how much you can get in your own way. Lilah and Shane had amazing chemistry, But after messily letting go of their hookup whoops they're stuck with each other costarring on the same show as love interests that the world is invested in them being together.

GAHHH Every moment of these two returning to eachother's lives. The clear sexual attraction that they were terrible at fighting, how they both roasted each other while also secretly looking out for each other. Every time they held hands I screamed, the tender way these two slowly opened up to each other and just made each other laugh. The 10 Things I Hate About You vibes (trust me you'll see it) and just the absolute angst of can we risk this again when it didn't work the first time, can I trust you with my heart.

Lilah and Shane were just perfect for each other. This is a love letter to everyone who shipped characters in a show, to some of the most iconic moments of costars who dated and broke up, and sweet and tender as these two finally admitted to themselves and each other their feelings.

A masterpiece.

Steam: 3.5

Lilah and Shane have a complicated history: they met at their audition for a paranormal TV series and sparks flew immediately. Fast forward to nine years later and Lilah’s returned to the show after a dramatic and unfriendly exit several seasons prior. She and Shane will do anything to make the other miserable, but that proves difficult as they’re put together again and again. It’s a great story that feels really immersed in Hollywood, without feeling out of touch with reality. One of my favorite unexpected elements to the story is the reverence paid to therapy-both characters have a lot to work on independently (and together if they’re going to make it through the final season)…

I loved How To Fake it in Hollywood, so I was excited to read Ava Wilder's newest book, Will They or Won't They. I'm pleased to report it lived up to my expectations! Lilah and Shane have a tumultuous history which they both felt was best left in the past... until they're forced together again (much to their dismay and the dismay of innocent bystanders). There is a lot of hurt, misunderstanding, and just overall poor timing to overcome if they hope to ever have a chance at being friends. They soon realize that they're more alike than they thought - both have insecurities and self-doubts they're desperately trying to hide from, they just protect themselves with different types of armor. Lilah is this tough, unshakeable force while Shane is a golden retriever people pleaser. Yet they somehow bring out the opposite in each other. Will They or Won't They is a story of forgiveness, taking chances, and vulnerability. It's about loving others for who they truly are and trusting them enough to let them see your ugly parts, too.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Shane and Lilah hate each other. Their characters on their TV show are in love though. It’s a problem. Lilah tried to escape, but after an embarrassing movie flop, she’s going back to the TV show that gave her her big break. That means she’s also going back to her nemesis, but he wasn’t always her nemesis. Hate and love are both passionate emotions, so which one will Shane and Lilah choose?

The third person point of view switches between Lilah and Shane’s perspectives, so the reader understands both of their feelings. This was a quick read that didn’t shy away from showing the sexual tension between two flawed characters who really just needed better communication skills. This is a great second chance romance, enemies to lovers read that all romance readers should pick up.

“Forget lucky. Are you happy, baby?”

Ava’s debut stunned me. Her follow up revived me and then stunned me again. Lilah and Shane were honest, visceral, sexy, and exactly what I wanted and needed.

She plays with tropes in a real and refreshing way. Enemies? Yes, but make it realistic. Friends to lovers? Somehow also yes. The core of a good romance to me is believing in the way the leads fall in love, and Wilder executes this like no other! I laughed (“why would an island need a moat?”) I cried, I swooned.

WTOWT is perfect. I’m so grateful for this book and I can’t wait to re-read!

Ava does it again! Absolute perfection! The desire and tension radiating from the pages was beyond words. Shane and Lilah’s chemistry is unmatched. I was lost in this world. I can’t wait to see this book on shelves and will continue to recommend to everyone’s TBRs.

This book was just ok for me. I liked the two main characters but I found their relationship to get a little too frustrating. Also I didn’t like that we had to wait so long for them to finally get together.

I loved Shane and lilah so much they are for real couples goals even when they aren't a couple I still loved it. You could feel their chemistry from space it wasn't like will they or won't they it was a matter of when, and lilah has social anxiety and that was so relatable to me cause I have it pretty bad anyways you should give it a go

I adored Ava Wilder's debut, How to Fake It in Hollywood, so I was incredibly excited to get my hands on an ARC of her second book, Will They or Won't They. I loved it just as much, if not more than, the first one.

Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are former co-stars of a hit paranormal TV show, Intangible. Lilah leaves the show at the end of season five for a film role she hopes will take her career to the next level, only for the movie to flop and become a joke. Now she's back for the ninth and final season of Intangible, which means facing Shane again. They had a fling during season one, things ended badly, and they've hated each other ever since. Their characters are finally getting together, something fans have been hoping for since the show began. With their post-show careers on the line, they'll have to try to get along — and promote the new season together.

The drama between Lilah and Shane was delicious, full of "I hate you but I also think I love you but I don't WANT to love you" tension. I loved the way Wilder shared their backstory, doling it out in pieces but not dragging it out too long. It was clear they had feelings for each other in the past, and there was a lot of hurt on both their parts that explained their hostility.

As they spend more time together both on- and off-set — through a nude photo shoot (!), an awkward talk show appearance, network-mandated couples therapy sessions, and spending a night together in an Airbnb with only one bed — they hash out their past and grow closer in the present. I loved watching their animosity slowly give way to a burgeoning friendship and a reminder that their feelings for each other never really went away. It was angsty, but it never felt heavy or overly dramatic. These characters felt like real people dealing with real issues, just with a Hollywood backdrop. (A sidenote, but as someone who has GAD I thought this book offered great representation of what it's like to have anxiety through Lilah's character. CW for an on-page panic attack toward the end of the book.)

The closer I got to the end, I kept waiting for a third-act breakup, but this book does a beautiful job of subverting the break-up in such an interesting and thoughtful way. It surprised me, but it also made for a really satisfying HEA.

This second-chance, slow-burn romance was so witty and sexy, with characters I absolutely loved. As much as I wanted to draw out my reading experience and savor this book, I devoured the second half in a day. I'll be yelling about Will They or Won't They to everyone I know leading up to release day.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.