Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I DNF’d this one unfortunately after 21%. It was super smutty unlike I expected and I didn’t really feel a real connection between the characters.

This was a fun book. I'll confess I have not seen When Harry Met Sally, nor have I read that book, so I did not have any expectations or preconceived comparisons relating to it. It was a very quick read, and hard to put down.

The book was hot, lots of spice to it and that was very well integrated into the story. I think it may have been helpful to have seen the movie because the book felt like it was a movie - the pacing felt like it had a lot of time skips that felt very movie like and were somewhat disorienting at times in the book. I wish the book had been somewhat longer because I really wanted to see Harry and Sal grow more, and grow together, and we didn't really get that.

Overall, a quick enjoyable hot read.

I was excited about the premise of this book but thought it fell flat. First, it doesn't really read like a retelling of When Harry Met Sally. Other than starting with a post-college road trip to NYC and few other similar scenes and plot elements, it's really nothing like WHMS. The main thrust of the movie is an exploration of relationships, served up with lots of great banter between the main characters and with their NYC friend group. I found this book by contrast didn't dig into the philosophical questions about relationships and lacked the wit and charm of the movie.

But, putting aside that it's not really doing the same thing as the movie, I also think considered on its own, without regard for the movie, it's a rather meh book. There's a lot of the story that's told in summary fashion rather than through dialogue and detail. Sal is not a very likeable character, I didn't really want Harry to end up with him. Harry owning a pet pig and some of the plot points around that were just rather bizarre. I also thought the author seemed to be rather judgmental in his portrayal of characters engaged in a more promiscuous sex life. It's relevant to the story that different characters want different levels of monogamy and commitment in their relationship, but that shouldn't be because we judge nonmonogomy or threesomes or whatever as bad, but rather because partners should be clear about their expectations and needs and should not stay in relationships that don't match what they want. Also, for being a queer book by a gay author, I thought it was an odd choice to make one of the main characters bisexual and then have him apparently pivot to being all in as a gay man in NYC. It was never clear if he decided he was gay not bi, or if he just was at a point where he happened to not be meeting women. His social life was 100% in the gay community. I guess being silent on that is fine, but it was certainly a choice to have the character identify as bi early in the book and then proceed to write the rest of it as if he were gay, not bi.

Also I'm not sure if this is supposed to be revised from the 2009 version or if it was just offered as an ARC to get more buzz, but for a book that's not "new" there are a lot of typos and grammar errors (two instead of too, a stray "and," numberous other examples) and odd turns of phrase like "dark black hair." I typically don't comment on these issues when I read an ARC but this book has been around long enough for these things to be picked up with some pretty basic editing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC I received.

Really liked this book, great character development and I couldn't put it down. I have no idea how to write a review on this one without it being one long spoiler so just take my word for it.

A fun romance inspired by When Harry Met Sally. It' entertaining and I had fun.
The characters are a bit forced at times but it's an entertaining read.
3.5 upped to 4
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book was boring AF. What's with all of these super idealized, boring characters? I realize romance is a form of fantasy, but there's nothing to hold onto when all the rough edges are smoothed away.

I had to put this one down a few times. There were just quite a few things that threw the story off for me. I did finish it though.

The author noted that he understands that many straight women both read and write MM romance, but that he wanted this book to appeal to his gay male readers most of all. As a straight female reader, this one just missed the mark for me. It wasn't charming like the film When Harry Met Sally, and I found most of the intimate scenes to be off-putting. So maybe I just wasn't the right audience for this title. I will not be recommending it to patrons in search of good LGBTQIA+ books.

2 stars; this book did not meet my expectations. I honestly never came to think too highly about either Harry or Sal. I didn't DISlike them, but I never thought they were "real" people, or if they could be, that I could care about either of them much. This was going to a 2.5 book, and I might have rounded up, but then the author came to describe certain characters in a very stereotypical way, mostly Sal's erstwhile BF/hookup Braden. He was described as very "twinky" and effeminate, as if either were bad, less manly, or just not ideal. I could be perceiving this all wrong, of course, but... I don't think I am, and so what was a sort-of okay book just went downhill. In any event, ultimately, the characters just had little-to-no nuance, nothing much of interest to me the reader, and said and did some pretty cringe-y things, so... moving on.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange of my honest opinion.

When Harry met Sal had me from the very beginning. And there was never a dull moment. In the beginning, Harry was with Mark and he was leaving Stanford to go to New York for grad school. Sal was with Marla and he was bisexual. Marla asked Harry to give Sal a ride to New York as he was going there for a job. And thus began their relationship. But when they got to New York, they went their separate ways.

7 years later, they met again through a mutual friend, Roger. They got together again, but Sal was with Brayden. Brayden was a dog to Sal. He could never have sex with Sal alone. There always had to be another person or a group. In the meantime Harry was in the wings. Harry and Sal would have a marvelous time together, but then Sal would go back to Brayden.

At one point, Harry thought Sal was over Brayden. They had a wonderful time together, but then one day Brayden called Sal and Sal told him that he was alone and made plans to meet up with him. Harry heard their exchange and he was deeply wounded. He decided to give Sal up for good. He left his house and wanted nothing more to do with him. Over time he was able to get over him.

In school, Harry has studied interior design. He had his own business and was doing extremely well. Sal had become a professional poker player and he too was doing very well. While Harry was getting over Sal, he spent his time getting lost in his work. Sal had hired Harry to remodel his home which he did. But in the end he ended up having his associate complete the work.

Harry found himself completely over Sal. On New Year's Eve, Marla invited Harry to a party. Harry didn't want to go because he was afraid Sal would be there. The rest is the end of the book which I won't disclose. As far as the book is concerned, the characters were well developed and I found the storyline very easy to follow. I gave this book five stars.

Fresh out of college, Harry is about to embark on a cross country road trip to begin his new life in New York. At the last minute he is joined by Sal, a favour to his best friend. What follows are nights of passion. Until New York and they go their separate ways.

Seven years later, Sal is a professional poker player, and Harry a famous interior designer, and they find they’d way into each others lives. And so beings numerous moments of flirting. Harry trying to hold out while Sal is in love with someone else. But as they get closer Harry’s resolve weakens and they cross numerous friendship boundaries.

Will they end up together, or are they set for a life of sneaking around to have each other whenever they can?

Honestly, this started great. The scenes from the road were steamy and kept me interested. From there it went downhill. It all felt a bit lazy,and the steam fizzled

Not necessarily a book for me, but still a fun retelling of When Harry Met Sally.

Harry Beckham's best friend asks him to add her casual boyfriend, Sal Sorentino, to his drive from California to New York. They end up being lovers on the road, despite Sal seeming to be straight and Harry having a boyfriend back in San Francisco. But Sal is actually bisexual and Harry can't resist the mutual attraction. When they get to New York, they go their separate ways, with Harry becoming a well-known designer and Sal becoming a professional poker player. Seven years later, they run into each other again and the physical chemistry is still there. Can they make it work this time?

Overall, I think this was a good retelling of When Harry Met Sally, with a very similar mood to the movie. We also got a similar amount of detail to a movie, which I think was my biggest challenge. This book covers a long span of time (a road trip after college, then basically a year when they meet up again) all in less than 200 pages. I didn't fully get to know the characters and I think there was a lot of telling-instead-of-showing necessary to convey emotions in such a short story. However, I did really like Dolly (Sal's pet pig) and think it was a fun, quick read.

Overall, if you enjoyed the movie When Harry Met Sally, you'll also like this book. I think perhaps, since I didn't love the movie, I didn't quite fit with who would enjoy this story the most. I am definitely very curious about the other classic romcom retellings Ryan Field has done though.

Gross. The intro is full of the 'author' bigging himself up. I got to 9% when Sal is lying there with his chub and couldn't take anymore.

Give me a fay romance by a female author anyway, because if this is how a guy man writes, ugh, he can keep it.

Rarely does a novel elicit such visceral disgust in me as does When Harry Met Sal. Purportedly, it is a gay take on the famous story When Harry Met Sally. But the gay men in this novel are sexual sluts concerned mostly with their enormous phallus. The backstory is lightly drawn and pretty hard to believe. As a gay reader myself, I looked forward to a good story with real gay characters. I did not get it in this porn- style novel whatsoever.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my review.

I love When Harry Met Sally. I must have watched that film 50 times so far. Which was why I wanted to read this book. The premise was very similar to the movie. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for the cheating, nor Sal. And if I cannot understand why these two men should be together then I lose interest. The ending was a bit rushed in my opinion. Overall, it was an okay story but definitely recommend the movie!

When Harry Met Sal is a m/m retelling of When Harry Met Sally (one of my favorite movies). I really had high hopes for this story but found the characters less than loveable. The author wasn’t able to capture the charm and wit of the original. I stuck with it and the ending redeemed the tale.

I wanted to love this because the movie is one of my all time faves but I just never liked Sal, there was really nothing to like. The throwing in the charity tournaments sure tried but it didn't work, he was a horrible person and the cheating was just too much. I loved Dolly and saw the issue a mile away with the housekeeper.

I really wanted to like this book. It has some great twists on the “When Harry Met Sally” story beats, and I love Harry. His character is developed well and so sweet. But Sal did not show much character growth, and I think Harry could do better.

There is quite a lot of steam in the book, and a really cute pig.

I think it is worth checking out if you want to see a mm take on the movie’s premise with a lot more sex and less emotional content. The tone of the book is pretty consistent, so if you like the first few chapters, you should be fine. I just really hate cheating in romance.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.