She's a rom-com writer who believes romance is a scam. He's a divorce lawyer who wears his heart on his sleeve as he awaits his soul mate. Fifteen years after Molly broke Seth's heart, they are reunited and make a bet. If she wins, Seth will have to admit soul mates do not exist, but if he wins, Molly has to accept that they do. Will love triumph all?

This book was fantastic! It was funny and witty and hit all the right notes for me. I loved the way Molly and Seth played off each other. Their banter was top notch and fun to observe, but I also was really hoping that their relationship would take off.

They were high school sweethearts, and Molly left Seth in pieces when she walked away. But now they are older, both have grown in so many ways, YET, Molly still distrusted her heart. The damage done by her father abandoning her as a kid still kept Molly from putting herself out there and giving love a chance.

With the universe continuing to put Molly and Seth in each other's orbits, they begin to reconnect as friends. There are a LOT of ups and downs with distance and poor timing playing a role, but their feelings never waned, and neither did my desire to see them together.

Surprisingly, I think this book has convinced me of the value of the third act breakup because I was a wreck! I find it amazing that authors can still do this to me when I know I am reading a genre romance. I know how it will end, but still, the tears were flowing. To me, this is proof of how invested I was in this relationship.

Just a heads up, this story begins in the past and part of it takes place during Covid. It was pretty gentle, and I am still not sure how I feel about Covid in books, but it was ok. Doyle filled this book with so much humor and fabulous characters that it kept me from recalling my own feelings about the virus.

Overall, I adored this book! The characters were vibrate, the dialog was snappy, the friendships were strong, and the premise was interesting. I simply had a wonderful time spending the years with this couple as I waited for them to finally find their forever together.

I had such high hopes for this debut. Unfortunately it fell flat for me. It’s a second chance summer romance, and while I often enjoy that trope, that wasn’t the case here. I honestly struggled to care about the characters, or to find them interesting, and the spice level and language made me cringe. I had to skim a number of parts.

It does have it’s moments, but overall this book was just not my cup of tea. These are my own personal opinions and others might enjoy this one. I do not like to have to write a negative review. I try my best to respect an author's work and efforts. Most of the time I will DNF the book before it gets to that point. Unfortunately I felt like I had to continue because it I’d committed to the arc.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron books for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My rating may have been higher had the book been shorter. The story takes place over multiple years pre covid through covid then post covid its too much. This book is also very explicit which I wasn't expecting.


****************I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion. ***************

A cynic with major daddy issues who is afraid of relationships and her high school boyfriend, a golden retriever who loves love make a bet at their 15 year high school reunion on the fate of five relationships including theirs and where they will be at their 20th reunion. The book plays out over the next five years as their relationship ebbs and flows.

What I liked: The bet made for a really interesting plot point! Following all the characters through five years of history was interesting. The characters were well drawn. I liked all the side characters as well.

What I didn’t like: The FMC was very frustrating. I realize her teen trauma and the way her father treated her had really messed her up. But it felt like she needed a better therapist. Even in the end it didn’t seem like she had really worked through the root of her issues. Likewise, the MMC never really figured out the source of his problems.

Additionally, I almost DNFd at 27% because there was a detailed, multi-chapter scene of a National League Championship Series baseball game between two teams that didn’t make it that far in the playoffs that year. If you’re going to set your book in a particular time and place, you should make the history line up with reality.

So for me this was a mixed bag. I liked some of it. I didn’t like other parts of it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for my review copy of this book.

REVIEW: Just Some Stupid Love Story ⭐⭐⭐

Just Some Stupid Love Story was so fun, cute, and romantic. Our main characters, Seth and Molly, were high school sweethearts who broke up right before college. At their high school reunion, they catch up and discuss whether there is such a thing as a soulmate or not. Seth, a love-obsessed divorce lawyer, thinks there are and Molly, the cynical rom-com writer, thinks not. They decide to make a bet on five couples to see who will still be together in five years to prove their point. The fifth couple, Seth chose Molly and himself.

This story has such a fun premise and a great take on second-chance romance. Just Some Stupid Love Story is told in a dual POV, which helps you learn more about the characters. Each point of view in the audiobook is a different narrator, and they are both excellent. I also really appreciated the turn on the grumpy sunshine trope. Seth and Molly are great examples of opposite attraction, with Seth being the romantic who jumps into relationships fast, while Molly is more cynical about romance and afraid she will ruin any commitment.

Seth and Molly had great chemistry. They just gave off the relationship vibes that make you want to root for them. Just Some Stupid Love Story had some spicier parts, including some dirty talk and even videoing themselves. Additionally, I really liked how strong the supporting characters were. Molly’s best friends, Alyssa and Dez, were deeply involved throughout the story.

The only thing that was a bit difficult at times was the stretched-out timeline of the story and some slow progression. It was hard to see if they would connect because sometimes it was almost a year before they would talk to one another.

Overall, I really love Just a Stupid Love story. The characters, the story, and the dual POV really brought it to life for me. I especially liked the narrators in the audiobook, who brought the characters to life.

Thank you, Netgalley, Flatiron Books, and Macmillan Audio, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

#bookreview #bookrecommendations #arcread #bookstagram #books #booklover #bookish #romancereader #booksofinstagram #audiobook

Such a fun and cute rom-com! I loved the growing relationship between an ex high school couple. We meet them at their high school reunion, where their banter and flirtation begin. They remain in touch over the years, after making bets about other couples at their reunion. It’s a story of missed romance, as the two can’t ever seem to be on the same page. I loved the alternating perspective, between Molly and Seth. It flowed smoothly in audio and e copy. I also loved learning what was going on through both of their minds throughout the story. They were fun individually and together. I also loved out the supporting family and friends were important and awesome characters as well. A fun escape from reality and great beach read for the summer.

Thank for NetGalley for my advanced reader and audio copies.

Read if you like:
🥈 Second Chance Romances
💕 First Love
🎰 Bets
🤣 Banter
🌥️ Grumpy x Sunshine

If you like opposites attract meets grumpy x sunshine meets second chances and a dash of enemies to lovers you will really enjoy this debut!

For me, the pacing was a bit off and jumped around a bit too much which pulled me away from the development of the rekindling of the romance. It was also hard for me to believe that the two had been dating for all of high school and never lost their virginity and then the FMC went off to have some meaningless hookups. For me this just didn’t feel like it worked fully, especially with them hooking up pretty quickly after reconnecting.

I did love the female grump as I felt that was well done and always have a soft spot for a grump FMC character.

Thanks so much to the publisher for my ARC & ALC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This book is my JAM. I could not love it more. I would scream about it from every rooftop in all caps, but I am worried my enthusiasm might freak you out.

I am a real sucker for a Romance with a difficult heroine and a golden retriever love interest. Molly has been seriously damaged by her parents' divorce, and her asshole of a father. It's partially because of that, and her fear that she will be left, that she is a bolter in relationships. She and Seth have such a sweet and lovely romance in high school, and she bolts. She is lucky enough to find love again with Seth, and he is SO GOOD to her, and they try so hard, but bolting is what she does. In between all of this bolting, there is some sexual tension and banter that is WORLD CLASS. Seriously, Katelyn Doyle can writer herself a RomCom. Like, there is nothing missing here. There is sexy talk, and sexy sex, and sexy meal-prep. There are very adorable dates, and so much try-hard trying on Seth's part. There's also a lot of very serious and deep stuff here about families and friendships. And if you love nostalgia, this book is the one for you. It takes pining to a whole new level.

The third act breakup is heart-wrenching, I am not going to lie. Even though I knew it was going to happen, it really shook me. I want better for Molly--I want her to do better. Seth is perfect. I love him and will defend him to the ends of the Earth. You know how it ends because RomCom, and the ending is really earned. It is cinematic.

I hope this is enough to convince you to read this book. It's not sappy even though it could be. It's not always easy because Molly is messy, and I freakin' love Katelyn Doyle for writing this character. It's everything that I could want in a book.

Thank you NetGalley for the free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After reading a highly touted romance novel (from a different author) that I absolutely did NOT love, I needed this book to make me believe in rom coms again.

Hilarious, heartwarming and gut-wrenching all at the same time, this is the quintessential rom-com and I devoured it from beginning to end. It highlights the ups and downs of falling in love from both a traumatized pessimistic view and a crushingly optimistic one. The on again-off again angst is palpable, taking my emotions on a rollercoaster ride that I wanted to both keep riding and get off simultaneously. I love the banter between Molly and Seth…she is so sarcastic and his good natured clap backs are fantastic. It's been a while since a rom com has gutted me like this and put me back together again and I loved every minute of it.

I liked this way more than I thought I would. But I was also shouting multiple times for these two to communicate properly 👏

The book is pitched as for fans of Emily Henry and I'm of the mind to agree. I'd say it's a bit People We Meet on Vacation x Happy Place in terms of vibes.

Molly and Seth are high school exes. Due to insecurity and unresolved personal trauma, Molly dumped Seth out of fear of losing him as they entered a new chapter of their lives.

They meet again fifteen years later at the high school reunion and it becomes obvious they have never fully gotten over each other. The two wind up getting drunk and hooking up. Their long, rollercoaster of a reunion starts from there with a series of bets.

I can imagine people not liking it because so many problems could be solved with more open and honest communication. Personally, the chemistry is what sold me on this book. Because despite Seth and Molly's numerous issues, I truly believed they loved each other.

Now is this the sort of relationship I would root for in real life? Probably not, as a friend, I can't imagine not just sitting my friend down at one point or another and being like 'You two need to figure your shit out'. Relationship drama should not span twenty years.

Nevertheless, I was entertained and looked forward to each chapter following these knuckleheads through the years.

Second chance romance is my weakness in contemporary romance. So is the grumpy/sunshine, and opposites attract tropes, which is why as soon as I read the blurb, I couldn’t help but hit that request button. Just Some Stupid Love Story introduces high school sweethearts, who reconnect after attending a high school reunion and falling into bed. The next morning doesn’t immediately bring them together, but they make a bet about relationships and which of their friends will still be together by the next reunion.

Molly Marks writes Hollywood romantic comedies, but she doesn’t believe in lasting love. Her high school boyfriend, Seth Rubinstein, believes in soulmates, and a forever kind of love, despite being a divorce attorney. Their teenage romance ran hot and heavy, until Molly broke it off suddenly right before college. The reunion brings them together again, and their friendship and feelings for each other are rekindled. This book takes place over several years so there are a lot of ups and downs. Dating other people, always coming back to each other. There was almost a When Harry Met Sally feel as they navigated the relationship over the years.

The extended timeline felt almost too long. I enjoyed their love story and watching them work through their issues that have kept them apart for so long, but I kind of wished it was over a shorter time period. I kept having to go back and check the year and date before each chapter to see where they were in the time jumps. There is a HEA, and I liked the angsty last several chapters and resolution.

I can honestly say that I was just as invested in the secondary couples’ relationships as with the main characters. The bet kept them at the forefront of my mind throughout the book, and I wondered along with Molly and Seth who would make it and who would end up with a new partner.

While I had some issues with the long timeline, I did enjoy this read. I’ll definitely be looking forward for more from this author in the future.

"But you know what? I think you both stayed a little bit in love with each other all those years. And that's why you fell so hard again. In fact, I think he's the only boy you've ever loved."

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I was intrigued by the plot, as I am a sucker for romance writer MCs and love the irony of them falling for their opposites (in this case, a divorce lawyer). In an adorable twist, Molly is the cynic and Seth is the hopeless romantic.

I love a story that spans a long time period, and getting to see the ways in which the characters grow apart and back together. Think People We Meet on Vacation, but with more breakups.

Seth and Molly’s banter and genuine affection for each other, even when they haven’t spoken in a year, is so sweet. It makes you believe that “soulmates are real” 😉

3.5 rounded up

The MCs Seth and Molly dated throughout HS, however broke up at graduation. They see each other again 15 years later at their HS reunion and the book covers the 5 years after their reconnection.

The time jumps in this book I enjoyed, they reminded me of the first part in When Harry Met Sally, they felt natural and I liked checking back in with the characters as the years moved on and seeing what they were up to. I did not really feel the connection much between the love interests, however. Maybe flashbacks of them dating in HS would have solidified their connection for me, but as it was it was just two people who used to be together popping back into each other’s lives yearly. I wasn’t dying for them to get back together.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, it was well written and I liked reading it. Seth as a MMC is a delight. He is a wonderful golden retriever who just wants love and I just wanted him to be happy. Molly was pretty brutal to him at times and she didn't have the character growth I would have hoped for to make the HEA believable though, I felt Seth deserved better.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I love a good second chance romance book. The characters must fit together and not a lot of talk that doesn’t add to the story.
Seth and Molly needed to connect and have more chemistry more for me to really care if they ended up together and happy. For me as I was reading, I just did not feel the connection between the two. I wanted to feel emotion and then I could cheer and hope all would turn out for them.
With all that said this book fell flat for me and when I was at the end it was a book that I read to fill time but never got engrossed in the story.
I do have to say the title of the book was very fitting.
Thank you NetGalley, Katelyn Doyle and Flatiron Books for the ARC of the book Just Some Stupid Love Story. This is my personal review.

What do you get when you put together an LA rom-com screenwriter and a Chicago divorce attorney? You get the uproariously funny “Just Another Stupid Love Story”!

Molly and Seth were high school sweethearts until Molly broke Seth’s heart and broke up with him graduation night. Fast forward to their 15-year high school reunion where they find themselves seated at the same table. A few too many craft cocktails later the two end up spending a hot and steamy night in a hotel room and agreeing to meet at their next class reunion to settle a bet about the success of five couples’ relationships with them being the fifth couple. Seth, a starry-eyed romantic, believes in trying to make divorces as amicable as possible and Molly, the queen of cynicism and doubt, thinks soul mates are pure bull and doesn’t believe in true love. Molly tries convincing Seth that they are just another typical casualty of her lack of belief in “forever love” and that he’s delusional.

During the ensuing 5 years they experience the Covid-19 pandemic, seeing or talking to each other sporadically, Seth falling in love with another attorney, and Molly dating a series of men. What ensues is a sexy, steamy roller coaster relationship between enemies to lover’s romance.

For those readers of a certain age, Molly and Seth remind me of the old sit-com The Odd Couple! If you enjoy a fun, funny, steamy, LOL rom com, this book is for you.

Ex-high school sweethearts Seth and Molly are seated together at their high school reunion and it couldn’t be more obvious how different they have become over the past fifteen years. Seth is a divorce lawyer on the hunt to find his one true love. Molly writes screenplays for romantic comedies and thinks soulmates don’t exist. Still, there’s a spark between them. After too many drinks and a night in bed, Seth and Molly decide to put their contrasting stances to a test - they wager which of five couples from their high school class (including the two of them) will be in a relationship in five years’ time. Seth thinks they’re fated to be together. Molly thinks he is out of his mind. They have until the next reunion to find out who is right.

This novel is set over a five-year timespan - refreshing to see in the genre that seems to rush from meet-cute to marriage in a matter of months. You get time to become acquainted with Molly and Seth, both individually and as a couple. The book is told from each character’s point of view, alternating chapters as you go.

Molly is sarcastic, prickly, and over it all. She has a distinct “cool girl” vibe. She lives in LA and spends her days networking and working on her next screenplay - using her sardonic voice to subvert romance tropes and add depth to her stories. But she’s flighty when it comes to romance, breaking things off before they have a chance to get too deep. To provide some insight on why she acts like this, you read about Molly growing up amidst a messy divorce and seeking approval from her self-centered father. You can see how she came to be cynical about love. I really liked how she starts to manage her anxiety over the course of the story. From recognizing and managing triggers, working with a therapist, using self-soothing techniques, reaching out to her support network… All of these things helped make Molly feel more real.

Seth was not as successful a protagonist for me as Molly was. In early chapters, Seth grated on my nerves with his overuse of parentheses, offering footnotes about everything from his opinion on a custom cocktail (“totally delish”) to his rationale for why he meditates every morning (“discipline is the essence of self-care”). His constant conflation of puppy love as “perfect” and “the real thing” was similarly irritating. I grant that it’s a challenge to have a male “sunshine” in the grumpy-sunshine trope. Maybe it felt disingenuous because I don’t often see men socialized as optimistic/hopeless romantic types as often as women are. Confident, self-assured? Certainly. But bubbly, life-of-the-party Elle Woods types? Not so much. While you do see Seth tone things down somewhere around the mid-point of the novel, it’s an uphill climb to build back enough goodwill to root for him. And where you get ample background about how Molly came to develop her outlook on love, you get fewer details about why Seth feels compelled to speed through every relationship he’s in and how he starts to course-correct. It’s harder to empathize with him.

That’s the tough thing about books with dual first-person perspectives, I find. The benefit of being inside a character’s mind is that you get to see the contrast between the person they portray themselves to be with the person they are at their core. You get to see the sunshine have doubts. You get to see the grump have hope. When you are privy to the internal workings of both sides of the romantic pairing, you lose a bit of the mystery. I think there’s a good chance I would have liked the book better if it was told solely from Molly’s point of view.

I feel fortunate to have received an advanced digital copy of both the e-book and the audiobook, and I think the story is equally as strong in either form. The two main characters are voiced by two actors: Christine Lakin and Tim Paige. Lakin did a great job portraying cool, sarcastic Molly. Paige was working with what he had from Seth’s chapters. I’ve heard him perform audiobooks before - my early dislike of Seth has nothing to do with Tim Paige’s acting ability. The audio flowed well and the pacing was nicely done. It probably is harder than listeners realize to coordinate multiple narrators to portray the same characters or speak in the same meter. There were no issues here.

By and large, I was not as solidly behind Seth as a character as I was for Molly, but I appreciated that the book took its time over a five-year span to build up to their reunion, and I truly enjoyed the mental health/family relationship aspects of Molly’s character. I think Katelyn Doyle has great potential as an author, and fans of Christina Lauren and Katherine Center will find a lot to like in her writing.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Katelyn Doyle, Macmillan Audio, and Flatiron Books for the e-ARCs in exchange for an honest review.**

This second chance romance debut had me giggling at the banter, falling for an amazing book boyfriend, and fanning myself after several spicy scenes.

Molly Marks is a romcom screenwriter who doesn’t believe in love. Seth Rubenstein is her high school ex, the one man she ever loved, and a total romantic who just wants to find love. When the pair are seated together at their 15 year high school reunion, they make a bet about who can accurately predict which couple will still be together at their 20 year reunion, with themselves as one of the couples. Seth is sure Molly will fall for him, while Molly is positive that’s never going to happen.

What an incredibly fun setup for a rom com! The high school moments deliver a healthy dose of nostalgia, while that first night hookup reminds us that these are two single adults today who have loved and lost in the years since high school. The banter is zingy, Seth’s inner monologue is deliciously playful, and the chemistry is smokin hot.

There are some deeper parts to the story as well, such as when we find out why Molly doesn’t believe in true love or the dark moments when she thinks she is incapable of truly falling for someone. Her character felt authentic, and her reactions made sense to me even as she frustrated me in one particular moment,

I loved checking in with the characters over the five years as they ran into one another or did a little texting. This was such a fun, entertaining read and I cannot wait to read whatever Doyle writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron for the arc. All opinions are my own,

This story will break your heart over and over again - but it is so worth the emotional trauma.

In JUST SOME STUPID LOVE STORY, we follow exes Molly and Seth. Molly, a rom-com writer who doesn't believe in love, and Seth, a divorce lawyer who most definitely believes in love, meet after 15 years for their high school reunion - 15 years after Molly ghosted Seth following graduation. At the reunion, Molly and Seth make a bet - whoever can predict the fate of five couples before the next reunion (in five years) must declare that the other is right about true love - and the fifth couple is the two of them. Over the next five years, we catch glimpses of Molly and Seth's encounters. Molly claims that they are set up for heartbreak. Seth believes they will end in love.

Like any classic rom-com (or rom-traum), this book continuously broke my heart. I loved Molly and Seth, and I repeatedly wanted to scream, "Stop being idiots!!" Their journey was emotional, difficult, and required a lot of growth (for both of them). The continuous acknowledgement of anxiety, fears, and the need to be better for themselves (and eventually, each other) felt natural and human. Molly and Seth are the definition of 'right person, wrong time.' And while their journey was at times devastating, I think they needed that time to grow.

JUST SOME STUPID LOVE STORY is filled with emotion, heart, love, and great banter. I was cackling through my tears. Katelyn Doyle gives us a love story that is worth waiting for - you definitely will want to read this.

Star Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:
🌶🌶 / 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

Thank you to Macmillan and Flatiron Books for this advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Molly and Seth were high school sweethearts and she broke up with him and ghosted him after graduation. It's 15 years later and they see each other again at their high school reunion. The rest of the book takes place over the next ten years. Snippets of them seeing each other, one's available, one isn't through the years. Such a good story.

Thanks so much to netgalley and flatiron for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me and was a DNF. I found the characters to be super annoying and I just couldn’t get into the story. I hate a cynical main character and I think she was trying to be funny but it was just more annoying than anything.

I hope others love this one but it wasn’t for me.