4⭐️

Second Chance Romance. Reverse Grumpy Sunshine. Right Person Wrong Time.

I was smiling, giggling, pulling my hair out throughout the book but I really just felt what Molly was going through. She was really struggling from her past and as much as I was yelling at her I understood it. Those feelings. How scared she was. And I’m so glad at the end she finally just plunged. She’s not perfect, neither of them were but they were working through it together. And that’s what love is all about.

I really enjoyed the writing. There were times though that I thought that it was taking too long to get to the ending. In reality it wasn’t but it just felt dragged out when reading. By 70% I really just wanted to get to the ending. However, I did enjoy how everything played out throughout the story.

I can't wait for it to be published so I can add the physical book to my bookshelves! I am so thankful for the opportunity to get to read this before release.

I did not like this. The first 10% was paced weird - but then once we started into the time hopping, I was starting to get into it. Sure, I couldn't really figure out WHY everyone liked/didn't like one another, but whatever, it's still early yet. But then the middle of the book happened and I was right back to disliking this. Why did Molly start liking Seth? The whole point was that she didn't? But flash forward a year and they have had TWO fun conversations and now she's in love with him?

Another issue is that the book didn't show anything, you were told everything. And even random background info. Like apparently when Molly's parents divorced, her mom fell apart and she had to grow up really quick. But does this ever come out in any way that is impactful? Does it play into anything we want her to unpack? No. Instead it's used as a throw away to make Molly sympathetic. And that's outside of the relationship too - both are obsessed with one another, but we are never really told WHY. Because they dated in high school? Which we don't even get flashbacks of. The whole thing is weird, any actual cute moment is skimmed over.

And finally, the end. Or the final act breakup. It completely ruins the Seth character (even more!) Seth's whole deal was that he was a serial monogamist and rushed into things too quickly. So he takes a year to heal. Great! Sure we don't see any proof of this, but we are told he healed. But then, after dating our main character LONG DISTANCE FOR FIVE MONTHS, he proposes. Does that sound like the sound of someone who has healed? Especially when he knows she's a bolter AND they haven't discussed it! It shows a complete lack of growth and a lack of respect for Molly. Who, while incredibly annoying, is at least consistent.

I would not recommend this book, but I would try another Doyle novel in the future, since I know this is her debut.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this e-book.

This book was a goddamned delight despite being full of tropes and events I don’t usually enjoy. I don’t know that I’ve ever actually laughed out loud so many times from a romance book before. This was not what I expected and I cannot wait to re-read!

Spice: 2/5 - explicit language, some on page, some fade to black

Thank you to Flatiron Books for my advance electronic version via NetGalley. My thoughts are my own.

Molly is scared of feeling her own emotions, and big feelings trigger severe anxiety. So she lets herself be cynical and projects serious April Ludgate vibes. Seth, on the other hand, is a cinnamon roll who believes in true love. He overcommits too soon in his search for his ideal soul mate. I was sure that the cavalier attitude toward mental health at the beginning would be a turn-off for me, but the rep got a lot better as the story evolved. I appreciated that the story played out over the recent past (think: pandemic), and ended up being more realistic and sweet than it seemed like it would. Heads' up for the open door romantic scenes and an overall sex-positive plot, and some flawed main characters that are worth your time.

Trigger warning: abandonment

I mean it was pretty cute.

Is it just me, or is it a little weird that people keep planning highschool reunions every five years? Maybe thats a me thing because I grew up in a small town, and went to a highschool that was a group of small towns together, but I can't say I'd need to see those folks every five years. Maybe thats the introvert in me.

Also Seth was an actual golden retriever, which was fine, but I think the narrator took me out of the story a few times because it was a little too golden retriever-y.

I think part of my issue with this book is that for both Molly & Seth, both characters had the potential to go a little deeper, but the emotional part of it kinda stayed in highschool. I wanted some more depth, and I think that would have made this better.

In the end, this is a fun and flirty beach read, but I wanted some more chew.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and Flatiron for an early copy.

Really great story, kind of slow to get into but good when it gets going. Characters are lovable (my least favorite quality in books is when the characters are boring and annoying) so I loved it!

This was a fun, entertaining rom-com. The characters were very well developed and I felt like I understood them. The timeline of things made it drag on a bit, but overall it played out nicely, as anticipated. Definitely a fun summer read with the classic rom-com feel!

A fun second chance romance between two people who make a bet about others. Molly and Seth had a thing and then they didn't, Now, 15 years after high school, she writes rom coms and he's a divorce attorney who is the romantic of the two. Their high school reunion brings them together (and into spice) and that's when they make a bet about the fate of five couples-including themselves. Know that this has an extended time line-five years- and it might seem to stall a bit but it definitely picks up. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A fun read.

Short synopsis: Molly runs into her Ex Seth at their 15 year high school reunion, they make a bet about whether romance is fake for their 20 year reunion.

My thoughts: This was a fun debut, the premise was cute and original. A second chance romance with a high school sweetheart. Don’t let think light hearted cover fool you, there is some definite heartache and pining in these pages.

Molly was such a cynic, and I can see why based on her history. I thought it hilarious that she was a screenwriter, for Rom-Coms and definitely does not believe in true love. Seth, is a divorce attorney but can’t wait for his HEA! They both went through a lot of growth throughout the book, and ultimately knew what they wanted in a future partner.

I really struggled with the constant breaking up over nothing, and lack of communication for the majority of the book. And I felt like the spice was a little too spicy for my personal preferences, I was blushing and had to skip past some parts on audio!

The audio was very well done. I felt like the narrators complimented each other very well!

Read if you love:

Opposites attract
Second chance romance
Grumpy sunshine
High school sweethearts
Character growth

Just Some Stupid Love Story deserves to be the beach read of the summer! It is funny and sexy and so emotional… I found it to be so satisfying and gratifying and just really rewarding to read! It takes course over 5 years, between teenage sweethearts Seth and Molly. She’s a cynical rom-com screenwriter who doesn’t believe in love or soul mates, and he’s a divorce lawyer who is a hopeless romantic just waiting for ‘the one’. After she broke up with him before graduation, they haven’t spoken in fifteen years… until the night of their high school class reunion. After “reconnecting” that night, she brushes it off as a one time thing but they make a bet… one of them has to admit the other is right about love and soulmates at their next reunion in five years if one of them can accurately predict the fate of 5 couples. Instead of avoiding each other for the next 5 years, they keep crossing paths and feelings get murky. Seth starts to experience the less fun side of love, while jaded Molly starts to see the positives. But can the once polar opposites get themselves on the same page long enough to make a true go of it? If you love Emily Henry or Rebecca Serle or Alison Rose Greenberg, I highly recommend reading this!

Short synopsis: Molly runs into her Ex Seth at their 15 year high school reunion, they make a bet about whether romance is fake for their 20 year reunion.

My thoughts: This was a fun debut, the premise was cute and original. A second chance romance with a high school sweetheart. Don’t let think light hearted cover fool you, there is some definite heartache and pining in these pages.

Molly was such a cynic, and I can see why based on her history. I thought it hilarious that she was a screenwriter, for Rom-Coms and definitely does not believe in true love. Seth, is a divorce attorney but can’t wait for his HEA! They both went through a lot of growth throughout the book, and ultimately knew what they wanted in a future partner.

I really struggled with the constant breaking up over nothing, and lack of communication for the majority of the book. And I felt like the spice was a little too spicy for my personal preferences, I was blushing and had to skip past some parts!

Read if you love:

- Opposites attract
- Second chance romance
- Grumpy sunshine
- High school sweethearts
- Character growth

I devoured Just Some Stupid Love Story. I loved the plot of this story! I thought the opening bit of the story was clever and unique. It was cute watching Seth and Molly's relationship progress over the years. Seth and Molly's banter and chemistry was chef's kiss. The dual POV's gave me a deeper understanding of where the characters' heads were at. I enjoyed Seth and Molly's characters. Seth had the perfect golden retriever energy. Molly was funny and relatable. I thought the side characters were well developed. Kudos to Doyle and her editors because this book ready smoothly. I will eagerly be awaiting her next book! Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC.

3.75 ⭐️
This is a super cute debut romance novel!! Katelyn’s writing style and descriptiveness about everything felt very mature and I really liked that. And I really love the whole concept of this book. This story is about Molly & Seth and they are former high school sweethearts, she is now a successful romcom screenwriter and he is a divorce attorney, and they haven’t seen each other since they broke up. They both find themselves at their 15 year high school reunion and the seating just chart just so happens to have them sitting at the same table. After they talk for awhile they both realize that he very much believes in love and soulmates and she is the exact opposite, she doesn’t believe in any of that stuff. Essentially they come to this agreement and the make this bet where between the two of them they choose five couples, or people they think will become couples, and they each predict where they think these people will be at their next high school reunion in five years. They’re basically predicting whether or not these couples will stay together or not, and if these other people will form a new relationship in those years leading up to their 20th reunion. The last couple that Seth chooses is him and Molly, and she is certain that they will not be be together and he is very certain of that fact.
Molly and Seth run into each other a handful of times over the next five years. Times where he’s ready for something to happen between them and she’s not, other times where she’s ready and he’s not, and when they’re both ready.
I will say one of the things I didn’t love about this book was how back and forth it felt a lot of the times between Molly and Seth. I understand it to some extent, but it just got to the point where it felt like whiplash. And at their ages it just felt like they should’ve been able to talk things out easier and more often.
Overall though I thought it was a really cute book and again I love the concept of it. I thought it was really cool to be able to see into the minds of both Molly and Seth and to be able to see the way they think towards life, relationships, and themselves after their breakup and after things that have happened in their pasts.
I definitely look forward to reading Katelyn’s future work 📚✨

Thank you NetGalley, Flat Iron books, and Katelyn for allowing me to read and review this ARC 🫶🏻

My review is posted on here, StoryGraph, TikTok, and Instagram

So, I don’t like second chance romances that often but this one worked for me. He’s ready to settle down while she’s sort of a mess. The wager between the two got me and I had to see how it played out after the 5 years. Both characters were well fleshed out and even though she was annoying as heck I still ate it up. A cute beach read I’d recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. I think it mostly because the FMC was terrible in my opinion.
Seth wasn’t super ideal at first either but he actually had growth in this book. He recognized his issues and he addressed them. He worked on himself. I can’t say the same for Molly. The first half of this book was pretty good. I was into it. Eventually though, I got tired of the fmc continuing to be a walking red flag. If I were Seth I don’t think I’d ever be able to trust her. Especially after only a month since she broke up with him. I get that she had actual trauma and it messed with her head but that doesn’t mean she didn’t treat Seth terribly. Over and over again.

With all that said, it was an okay book. There were some cute moments. The friend groups were nice. There’s a lot of examples of toxic relationships but also some nice relationships too. I liked the writing style. I just didn’t completely love the storyline. I’d be happy to read a different book by this author in the future though.

Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle delivers a delightful rom-com rollercoaster ride! Doyle crafts characters with depth and humor, making you root for Molly and Seth from the very starr. Their banter crackles with chemistry, and the plot twists keep you guessing until the very end. It's a refreshing take on love, packed with wit and heart. Doyle effortlessly captures the essence of modern romance, proving that sometimes, love is just a bet away. Don't miss this five-star gem!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC.

This story follows Molly and Seth who were high school sweethearts. Molly dumped Seth ruthlessly the night of graduation, and they don’t talk again until they bump into each other at their 15 year high school reunion. The book takes place over 5 years as their paths cross and they try to figure out how to make their relationship work.

I liked the reverse grumpy/sunshine aspect and I thought Molly was deliciously bitchy. I understood her hang ups with relationships and her daddy issues, and I liked that she was so cynical about love. It was a fun comparison to Seth who loved love and was just aching to find his soul mate. He even comes on way too strong the way a lot of women do in romance novels. I liked the meta way romance was talked about since Molly writes romance screen plays, and the different tropes that their friends fell into. The setting of a high school reunion was very entertaining, and even had me feeling nostalgic since I’m nearing my own 15 year high school reunion. I think that some flashbacks to their high school relationship would have been helpful in this case because despite all the years they pined for each other, I didn’t feel the chemistry and I think their relationship hinged too much on the nostalgia of a first love. I also think I didn’t really feel that magic between them because the plot meandered too much and it dragged through the middle. There are long passages describing something that had no bearing in the main plot and it had my attention drifting. Also, these two broke up too many times that by the end I was exhausted. It wasn’t even in a angsty type of way that I usually enjoy, it was just two people who couldn’t get their shit together and it slightly drive me crazy.

While I appreciated what this author was trying to do in terms of turning tropes on their head and narrative format, I just don’t think this book was for me. It could definitely work for someone that enjoys second chance romance with two very flawed but relatable characters.

This was a cute, quick read that I blew through skipping back and forth between print and the audiobook. Doyle did a great job of writing a plot that takes place over five years and makes it feel extremely organized and concise. What worked less was the “I know I’m going to break your heart” nonsense that is never my thing. Like, Molly, girl, get it together - you’re too old for this! While there were things in her backstory to make it somewhat believable, it took me out of the story a bit.

This black cat (Molly) x golden retriever (Seth) second chance story was a great summer read! She's a Nora Ephron-esque screenwriter (or is trying to be) and he's a divorce attorney, so their respective personalities are pretty funny when compared to their jobs. The basic premise for this one is: high school sweethearts who broke up when she dumped him as they graduated from high school reconnect at their 15-year high school reunion and make a bet. They pick five couples and each decide if the couple will be together or not by the time of their 20th reunion. The fifth couple is themselves.

This is a dual POV book that brought in so many tropes and so many romance novel/movie beats and I honestly loved that. I had a hard time with how cruel Molly could be to Seth, but I think the author did a good job giving enough of her background to understand how she had become so jaded. I will say that I expected this to be a rom-com, and it felt more like a straight romance to me. There were several hard issues dealt with throughout the course of the novel, and I was light on laughs. That said, I did like both POVs and I did want them to work it out, and I thought the friends and families were all fantastic side characters.

The banter and steam were both great. I normally go for full open door romances, and for me this was more of a "cracked door," but this certainly had enough spice for me to love it (no full sex scenes, but a surprising amount of dirty talk and one very descriptive mutual masturbation situation). I feel like a lot of reviewers have said this was too much spice, and it's certainly not an Amish romance, but it felt very reasonable to me and I wouldn't have minded more. For context though: I'm mostly reading hockey romances right now so my spice meter may be on the fritz?

Warnings: the five years this book covers includes the pandemic, and it does play a role in the book. Some romance novels have skipped that lately, but this one doesn't, so if that's uncomfortable for you this may not be a good fit.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and definitely suggest it for anyone looking for a summer read with a little substance and a lot of heart.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and netgalley for the chance to read and review!

Molly Marks writes scripts for romantic comedies but lives her life as though soul mates do not exist. Seth Rubenstein ardently believes in true love despite his career practicing family law. When the two high school sweethearts reconnect at their fifteenth reunion after a breakup that ruined them both, however, sparks begin to fly. In the aftermath, the two strike a bargain predicting the likelihood of the survival of five couples, to be settled in five years’ time. As the years pass, the two experience more of the world and of each other, and only time will tell what the outcome of their upcoming reunion will be.

This charming romantic comedy does not follow the traditional pattern of similar stories. While there are steamy romantic scenes and a slow-burn romance that will please readers as it unfolds, much of the storytelling revolves around the protagonists’ feelings and emotions as they each attempt to discover what it is they want. The narrative is told through several parts and in alternating perspectives between Molly and Seth, allowing for the passage of time while granting readers insight into each character’s motivations. Additionally, the use of text messages and email communications amplify the fact that much of the interaction takes place over long distances.

Carefully crafted, this narrative effectively presents Molly and Seth in unique ways, and the witty and playful banter among them and their friends is accessible and believable. Strong language is used throughout the book at choice moments, and relationships among the characters are endearing despite their adherence to familiar tropes of this genre. Occasionally, the fourth wall is broken and the characters speak directly to the reader, which permits the reader to feel even more invested in the outcome of the novel. Best suited to mature readers, this is a delightful summer romp that is difficult to put down. It is a positive addition to adult fiction library collections.