On the whole a really delightful take on Pride and Prejudice with the right levels of steam and swoon. However, it lost its way slightly in the last quarter where it all became quite rushed and messy and lost some of the magic. An intriguing idea with a few execution problems.

The premise was simple and efficient and as a former drama student, I had high expectations for this one. It started off strong and I really liked it, the whole cast of characters engaging, but the story lost steam with Brennon and Eden’s on again off again, which went on for so long that it was like the author herself didn’t know how to end her story and it felt rushed. Overall a nice read.

DNF at 17% - I just couldn’t get into this one. The FMC seemed fine, but I wasn’t a fan of the MMC at all.

this is a sweet, tension-filled story! I loved the Pride & Prejudice obvious overlays to the plot & enemies-to-lovers story happening between the main characters. I loved the setting & unique plot of stage actors in a musical P&P production, & I especially loved the characters playing different roles than their real personality traits from P&P (lol if that makes sense).

Eden & Brennon’s love story felt a little rushed to me, especially from his side. there was definitely some tension between the two that was fun to read. I felt for Eden as she tries to keep her professional & personal pride while also trying to bury her past jobs. She felt a little too whiny to me at times, but I greatly appreciated her friends/coworkers calling her on it & her being receptive to fixing it.

overall, very fun, sweet, unique, quick read! thank you for the ARC!!!

I devoured this in two sittings on the same day and I have thoughts. I was looking for something to make my heartbeat accelerate, and boy did this book deliver! As a thespian myself, I loved the all the little behind the scenes nuggets about what being on and off stage is like. There is an undeniable sexual tension between the two protagonists of "The Stage Kiss" and the pacing of them getting together was really something else (hot hot hot). I have mixed feelings about each of them in terms of personality traits, but to my surprise, I ended up disliking the FL more than the ML (I found her super unprofessional at times, and I'm glad her friends called her out on her whiny behaviour). I do think the ML fell a little too hard too quickly but for the sake of drama, I accept it. Overall, if you're a fan of Broadway or stage plays, of Pride and Prejudice and a good dose of behind the scene dramas with a well fleshed out enemies to lovers trope, you're going to like this novel for sure.

Pride and Prejudice takes center stage in this natural slow burn enemies to lovers rom com!

Set in a touring company of Broadway’s new musical: Lizzy & Darcy, this book was fun, nostalgic, and quick read.

Eden finally has her chance to take over the role of Lizzy Bennet when the original actress quits quite suddenly. The only issue is her co-star Brennon Throne. In true Austen fashion, the two get off on the wrong foot and passions run high.

What I liked:
- I loved the intricacies of the plot being set in a P&P musical and that each character in the musical never played their Austen counterpart in the story.
-all the theatre references

What I Didn’t Like:
- I thought the love realization was a bit rushed. It didn’t seem as deserved.

Overall, a fun experience.

My thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for this Arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

✨ARC Review✨

The Stage Kiss
By Amelia Jones
Pub Date: 12/12/23
My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to @netgalley and @alcovepress for giving me the opportunity to read The Stage Kiss in exchange for my honest review.

The Stage Kiss is an enemies-to-lovers, he falls first story about Eden, an on-stage alternate as she deals with arrogant co-star Brennon.

Brennon doesn't start with a good impression as he makes fun of Eden's commercial career during their first meeting. And it doesn't go much better from there. It takes Eden a little while to warm up to him as she works through her insecurities being in a lead role.

There's rivalries, jealousy, bets, misunderstandings, and some good drama. Overall, a good, quick read!

This book is so good. I'd never read about teather before, and I liked how the author described how the things worked, and how can people can be in that type of business. For me, the best thing about this book, was that the thing that break up the main characters, happened at 50/60% of the book and we could see the characters go through their problems and trying make up for the mistakes they made. By the end of the book the female character was getting on my nerves, because girl he loves youu, wake up !!!

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
And I'm sorry about my grammar, but English isn't my first language

As a fellow thespian I really appreciate this book. How it delved into the world of a performer was a perspective that I had honestly never read before!! It was a hood story but about Hal way to 3/4 of the way through I just started getting annoyed with the main character. Her flip flop anxiety and self doubt began to get repetitive and no longer relatable. I skimmed through a few chapters and finally got to the end and it was a lovely conclusion. I just wish the author had gotten there a bit quicker.

One of the fun things about an Austen-inspired contemporary novel is watching how the author maps her narrative onto an already familiar arc. Amelia Jones did a great job of using the tried-and-true P&P framework to create an enjoyable modern enemies-to-lovers romance that kept me reading well into the night. It was fun knowing who the villains were without knowing exactly how their true colors would be revealed or if/when they would get their comeuppance.

The novel's dual-third-person perspective really lets readers understand what's going on in the minds of both Brennon and Eden. I especially loved how this allowed us to see Brennon's character growth without making it seem like his core personality traits changed. Like any Darcy character worth our time, he comes across as a judgemental elitist in the beginning, but the narration style of this novel lets us see that he's consistently prone to saying the wrong thing, even after he realizes that he needs to prioritize people over prestige. Brennon is as flawed at the end of the novel as he was in the beginning, and I for one love him the more for it.

I also enjoyed the Adam & Maddox subplot, although it maybe could have been developed a bit more. There wasn't quite enough there for me to fully buy-in to Maddox's level of pining through most of the novel. That being said, I was thrilled with their reunion and careful approach to reconciliation.

Overall, The Stage Kiss is a fun and enjoyable novel that ticks so many boxes for me: it's well-paced with believable characters and plenty of spice. This will definitely go on my recommended reads list for steamy romance lovers.

3.4
I somehow went into this not knowing before hand it was P&P? The characters, who are all actors, somehow went through a whole touring run of a P&P adaptation without realizing they were living the story out irl? Huh.

This is a clever rom-com perfect for theater and Jane Austen lovers clearly written by a great lover of both. I found the writing charming Ms. Jones clearly understands the hectic joy that is working in the theater. I love the idea of a Pride and Prejudice musical though I might question how no one in this particular book realizes that everything happening to them is a literal repetition of the story they perform nightly. Jones' leads are lovely and her clear love and respect for the hard working board treaders trying to make it to Broadway is evident. I was rooting for everyone to get their happy ever after and pleased as punch when they did.

There's nothing like a wink between the reader and the author - Jane Austen did it so well and it's wonderful to see Amelia Jones having fun with the text in this modern, millennial and very meta retelling of Pride and Prejudice. The gang are all here, thinly disguised and doing their thing - Lydia, Jane, Bingley, Wickham - it's just all delicious! Brennon has all the swagger of Darcy, and also his insecurities, how fun to be an alpha on the outside and a cinnamon roll in hiding;) Eden is delightful - she has Lizzy's ticker and her talent, and grapples with her well-meaning but utterly appalling mother.

The inside running on staging a musical with all the parties bickering and meddling is just gold. I never knew the detail of the choreography, and how actors communicate with each other while on stage. This behind-the-scenes detail gives the whole book so much more depth. New York also features prominently with all the divisions between the Upper East Side and downtown. Eden and Brennon are captivating together and there's angst and swoon and steam before they can really trust each other with a satisfying HEA..

This is a very clever debut from Amelia Jones and I'm looking forward to her next novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

2.5 | I think I set my expectations a little too high, but bare with me cuz this is LONG..

I loved loved LOVED the attention to detail when it came to the theatre parts. I love theatre and musicals, but never went deep into details and the stuff of it all so it was so fun reading about all this.
Loved the side characters like Adam, Mad and Lilian, but had mixed feelings about Veronica and absolutely hated Gabi which is a good thing. I really wanted more of Edward, but alas.

At first I hated Brennon, thought he was a narcissistic jerk, which was a good thing since it’s supposed to be an enemies-to-lovers, but eventually he grew on me and I just think that he needs a nice big warm hug :3
Eden on the other side? Oooh boy!
I didn’t dislike her, I was more like indifferent about her at first, but by the the second half she was just pissing me off. Constantly. Which leads me to why I rated it the way I did...

Overall I felt that they went into the “I love you” territory way too fast, ironic since it’s supposed to be a slow burn as well. I just kept saying “why? Why do you love each other you barley got to know each other in the first place?!” I just kept thinking that it all led to them just wanting to have sex! Like that’s all they wanted since they kept bringing it up. All. The. Time. And Eden kept getting on my nerves cuz she knew she was being unreasonable and her friends were telling her that and giving good advice and telling the right ting to do yet SHE DID NOT DO ANY OF IT!

Everything could’ve been avoided if they both sat down and had a good ol’ conversation tbh.

I thought that this was a really enjoyable story

The story was well written and the plot was well developed but I did find that it was a little slow in places and to be fair it was billed as a slow-burn romance, but it soon picked back up.

The characters were great and I really enjoyed following their stories and getting to know more about them as the book progressed.

It was a romantic and sexy read too – it was a great way to spend an afternoon reading

It is 4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended!

I enjoyed the writing of this novel but Brennon was far too unlikeable for me to fully immerse in the romance. I also found the side character plots ran purely on miscommunication which felt overplayed and didn't really add any tension or meaning to the plot development.

I loved the inclusion of theatre and different musicals!

This charming take on Pride and Prejudice is set during a traveling performance of a Pride and Prejudice musical and features an understudy taking over the role of Lizzy and falling reluctantly from a seemingly grumpy and condescending actor playing Mr. Darcy.

I love Pride and Prejudice and all its retellings, and this one is especially wonderful because it is as fun and dramatic as I want it to be in the world of Broadway bound performers. The side characters were a delight, and the banter and emotional journey of the main characters was stellar.

Thank you so much Amelia Jones and Alcove Press for the eARC!

This was a really entertaining debut! As someone who loves theatre and musicals, I loved seeing some of the behind the scenes of the business. Honestly, I wish the focus had been more on that rather than the romance. I found myself skimming a lot of the romance parts and just waiting for more insight into the Broadway/actor lifestyle and drama.

I also really didn’t love the miscommunication trope but that is just a personal preference. Lastly, I think it would have made a HUGE difference if this book was written in first person with dual POV. I find it really difficult to connect with a romance storyline when it’s not first person.

Overall, this was a really solid debut! I would definitely recommend it to Broadway/theatre lovers.

showmances are simultaneously some of the most fun yet heart wrenching things to happen behind the scenes of a show. and as someone who experienced one all i can say is that this this book made me happy while also incredibly upset. and i loved every second of it.

off to a very rocky start when our mmc, brennon, recognizes our fmc, eden, from a cringy commercial. and it honestly goes downhill from there to the point where you don’t think it can get any worse… but it does. but then suddenly along the way, so slight you don’t even really realize it, they start falling for each other, having to balance keeping it professional while also knowing they want more of this.

they were so cute together. i genuinely didn’t want this book to end. the cast of characters were a family and it was so evident how much they all meant to each other. adding amelia jones to my list of ‘must read this persons entire backlist’

I had such a hard time with this book. There wasn't one likable character in this story. Everyone was just so mean. I struggled to finish it, hoping that it would get better and we'd have at least some redemption in the hero - who was not nice at all, and the heroine, but sadly, it just didn't tie together nicely for me at all.
3 stars.