You’ll fall and love and root for these two characters! The back and forth pulls at your heart in the right way. I loved every part of this book, it kept me engaged and wanting more. I didn’t want it to end at all.

Four friends from college are always supporting each other.
Lark finds herself jobless and she needs a quick solution. Sexting earns her quick money. She can't tell her best friend Toby, because of how he'd take it but also due to her secret feelings for him.
A light and easy read

Great premise but fell flat for me for a few reasons.

Lark works in tech as a dev (the author's use or over use of the word dev bothered me), and is fired after an embarrassing mishap during a presentation. She starts looking for a new job but in a male dominated field and with no degree, she is striking out until her friend suggests a unorthodox way to make money.

I liked the romance storyline between Lark and Toby. Lark's friends annoyed me to no end. I couldn't stand their 'advice'.

The premise was a bit predictable and I wish there was more texting, based on the title.

Overall, good STEM rep, bi-rep and unique storyline.

The premise was catchy but something with the miscommunication and then how often they talked about college yet also talked about how they didn’t have formal educations just as much really threw me. I felt like these were people in their mid twenties but they are mid to late thirties?! I don’t know I just felt like a lot of things either contradicted themselves or seemed way out of character. Like she says they were such good friends they took trips to the Adirondacks then two chapters later she’s saying she hasn’t been hiking since third grade….. The gallery scene at the end is the only thing that redeemed this one for me.

A fun and funny friends to lovers story. A program developer is let go from her job and her promiscuous best friend gets her into sexting until she gets back on her feet. Meanwhile her guy best friend just broke things off with his girlfriend. Do they finally take the leap from friends to lovers? Funny, awkward, and mildly steamy.

Man, how excited I was for this book but unfortunately it fell short of expectations. As a debut novel, I think Roberts shows that she has the technical skills to be a successful writer but her storytelling needs work.

The plot for this romance sounded so good. A woman down on her luck after being fired and not having any luck finding a new job ends up sexting for money. I mean the fun you could have with this story! Unfortunately, the heroine (I can't even remember her name) is just always complaining about her situation and how awful she is at sexting. I agree. I mean her "awfulness" could have been really fun if written right but the text exchanges were just cringeworthy and really didn't get any better.

I also didn't buy her connection with her friend as they had no chemistry together. Even the night he made a pass, she brushed him off because of her new job. Who cares what you're doing to make money? It's your life and if you're afraid your best friend is going to judge you then that's telling you something.

I could of course see it a mile away who she ended up texting in the app and growing close with but even those exchanges were lame and didn't propel the story.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this advanced copy but I was struggling at 20% and it just didn't get any better.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Text Appeal by Amber Roberts was an okay read; the characters felt a bit flat and did not engage me. However, it was entertaining in parts!

This was cute. This was fine. I don't know that this will stick with me long after finishing it, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

I definitely think the premise of this book is hilarious and unique but found myself uninterested after a while. Cute cover though!

This was a debut book that I read as an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publisher. I thought that this book had a cute premise and end goal however the characters were very flat and I could not get into this book as I had hoped. The characters did not click with me and I felt that the book was kind of dry. I wish this novel stayed as strong as it started but it began feeling rushed.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had a hard time getting into this book. Overall, it ended up being find, but I didn't love it.

Before I get to the review, a quick thank you to NetGalley and the publishers over at Alcove Press for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Text Appeal is the story of a girl in the tech industry who after a very rom-com style accident ends up fired from her job and in search of something to pay the bills. Lark has always been considered cookie cutter in bed, but, in order to pay the bills while searching for a new coding job, she decides to give sexting a shot. Billing at $3/minute, Lark provides role playing fans the opportunity to live out their fantasies...via text. But it all could come crashing down when a romantic client and her real life clash. Text Appeal comes out on August 8th and is available for preorder now.

I think the author did a good job with Lark as a character. She’s the most well rounded one in the bunch. I think most of the other characters were too flat to make a lasting impression which is a shame. And I can see how one thing leads to another which leads to her taking this unusual job. I can also see how she finds herself connecting to a client and trying to figure out if that even fits with her real world. I also liked that we had a bisexual main character whose whole point in the book wasn’t just to be bisexual. We’re finally getting to the point where a lot of the books with LGBTQIA+ characters are allowed to have challenges other than being part of the community. I also enjoyed that we got an ARO character, but struggle with her place in this novel a bit. She was often doing things against the main character’s wishes and seemed to be more of an antagonistic character rather than a best friend. I like the history and the chemistry between Lark and the male lead, Toby. He seemed so sweet and so considerate throughout the novel.

I think my main struggle here is the sexual content. I’m an asexual so I’m not surprised really. But I think other readers may find that this book is too in the middle. It’s not really as spicy as I expected it to be and probably not spicy enough for the girlies who love that kind of romance. But it’s also not closed door enough for this asexual to feel comfortable. I think this just rides the line a little too much for anyone to really enjoy that aspect of the story. I also don’t love how much this one felt like a running theme of “I’m not like other girls” which hasn’t been enjoyed for at least a decade at this point in the genre. I loved seeing her excited about data and numbers and coding and board games and nerdy shows and movies. But I don’t need that as a selling point for her as a main character, ya know? Be like other girls. It’s fine and probably healthy.

I think this was a fast and easy read that’s good for anyone looking for a romance. I ended up putting this one between two SFF books because I needed a break and this provided it for me. It was exactly what I needed to cleanse the palate.

Too much is going on in this book. I could not follow it. I was looking one way than I was looking in three different directions and trying to follow 800 different things. It was just too much. Not for me.

I’m gonna be honest, this wasn’t it for me. This was almost a DNF but I kept going. The book was far too busy. Too many things going on. I felt like I almost couldn’t keep up. Some of the scenes didn’t even feel relatable. They felt way too fantastical and not quite how real life works. I didn’t even realize who the love interest was until 1/4 of the way through the book. It didn’t help that I didn’t like the main character at all. I didn’t find myself rooting for her once. I did love her friend Toby but I don’t know how I can root for him and not for her. Teagan was a horrible friend and did some really awful things to Lark. Plus, don’t get me wrong, I love a slow burn but man, this was SLOOOOOOW! I really didn’t enjoy this books.

This book had the makings of an absolute hit and was sure to be one of my favourite books of the year but I just could not get into it. The characters seemed to be very self serving and it felt like a lot of other 'similar' books around at the moment. Nevertheless, it was a good book to dip in and out of over the last few weeks. Not to say that this was a bad book but just not what I had hoped for.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the arc in exchange of an honest review. It uas light-hearted romance.
I am a big fan of penpals book but this was not for me. I usually try not to DNF an Arc. It had an very slow place and didn't like the character development throughout the book.

this was a really slow moving book and i found the heroine to be a tad bit unlikeable and the hero unrealistic. even one fourth of the way in, it felt like we hadn't really gotten into the plot yet and i couldn't stay for any of the characters :( its a rly good concept it just wasn't for me

2 Stars I really wanted to like this one, but I just didn't, mostly because I couldn't get over how Teagan was a terrible friend to Lark. I get that she’s needed to create the initial conflict that leads to the main plot of the sex work, but she didn’t take nearly enough accountability for that guy getting Lark’s number and Lark losing her job. And she wasn’t as remorseful or supportive as she should’ve been. Bad friend and like you said, toxic. I wanted to like this book but I can’t get over Teagan and how Lark lets her walk all over Lark’s life. I also felt like the main love interests (Lark and Toby) had no real chemistry beyond friends. The "twist" of who the guy that Lark was sexting for her job was also very predictable.

A absolute wonderful feel good romantic comedy that anyone who is a fan of the genre will fall in love with

This was an adorable and engaging contemporary romance!

Here’s what I loved: Modern female MC’s and secondary characters with careers who know what they want. Multiple sexual identities among them (queer/bi/aro/het). Diverse careers (screenwriter, programmer, sex toy sales, sex work). Body positivity. Sex positivity. Friends who communicate about everything, not just historically “safe” or “appropriate” topics. Friends who would literally cross all the boundaries known in the world to do something for each other. An MC that finds her own way (with success!) after a toxic masculine environment kicks her out.

Here’s what I didn’t: miscommunication trope 🤣 But I say that on every romance review and at this point it’s only a minor annoyance. I should probably get back to the “what did I love” section since there’s a severe lack of things I didn’t like 😅

Overall, this was a fun, flirty, slightly spicy, totally contemporary (hello sexting as a job) romance that’s completely swoon-worthy.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Alcove Press for a review copy!!