I really enjoyed this book! At first Seth was kind of cringey, feeling that every and any person they come across could be THE ONE is weird. I was glad that they both dated around before they gave each other a shot. They're playfulness with each other was fun to read and ultimately, I'm glad that Molly overcame her abandonment issues.

I love a good grumpy sunshine, especially when the guy is the sunshine. This book is all the best parts of a hallmark movie. Although slow in the beginning, it was a very fun read.

The character development is well done and tactfully executed. Although Molly’s self-sabotage is predictable and can be irritating, Seth’s love and care for her and outweighs it every time. Her growth was so fun to see.

High school sweethearts Molly Marks and Seth Rubenstein's love story took a tumultuous turn when Molly shattered Seth's heart. Fifteen years later, fate reunites them at their high school reunion, igniting a passionate one-night stand. Despite their lingering mutual attraction, both are certain this fling won't evolve into anything more—yet.

Molly, a seasoned rom-com screenwriter, harbors a cynical outlook on love, dismissing the notion of happily ever afters. In contrast, Seth, a dedicated divorce lawyer, firmly believes in the enduring power of true love and the importance of family.

Katelyn Doyle's debut novel introduces a rich tapestry of characters beyond Molly and Seth, including supportive friends and family members who contribute to the story's depth.

Spanning the gap between their fifteenth and twentieth reunions, Molly and Seth's relationship encounters numerous false starts. The narrative unfolds through dual perspectives, offering readers insight into the complexities of each character's inner world.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to review this engaging debut. I eagerly anticipate future works from this promising author.

Molly Marks writes rom-com for movies but doesn't believe in love. Seth Rubenstein is one of Chicago's best divorce lawyers, but he does believe in love and is looking for "the one." The two dated in high school but broke up at graduation.

They meet again at their fifteenth high school graduation and realize the love they had for each other had never really gone away. But Molly is still the sort who runs away from relationships and Seth is still the one who leaps into them too soon. They make a bet with each other: if they can correctly guess the fates of five couples at the reunion, including themselves, each will adopt the other's point of view regarding love and soul mates.

Then the story leaps ahead to various encounters the two of them have during the next five years which are all ill-fated. For example, she's willing to give their relationship a try just as he commits himself to someone else. Or he makes a play for her just as she is disappointed again by her emotionally distant father. And again, and again. They meet at the wrong times for one or the other of them.

It was interesting to watch each of the main characters grow up and amend their views of love and soul mates. It was also painful to read about all the times they tried and failed to build a relationship and communicate with each other.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔥🔥🔥

▫️ let's talk about it

High school sweethearts Molly (love pessimist) and Seth (hopeless romantic) reconnect at their 15-year reunion. They make bets on whether five couples from their lives will be together or not at their 20 year reunion. The 5th couple? Molly and Seth.

This was well written, and had a great mix of flirty fun, will-they-or-won't-they, and personal growth. The story spans five years, where they spend time exploring/fighting their feelings for each other. (this is a pandemic era book, btw)

I loved Seth and his golden retriever, squishy romantic heart. Unfortunately, I didn't love Molly. She is an April Ludgate-level black cat. I hoped she'd grow on me as the story went on, and although she did grow as a person, I never did come around. 😬

As a general rule, I give 3rd act break-ups some slack because I know that the rom-com formula asks for conflict/resolution. Don't get me wrong, if it's missing, I'm the first to shout 'hallelujah'!
I just tend to let them slide. This book doesn't only have a third act break-up, it has years worth of breakups, and I was frustrated pretty much the entire book.

Overall I think super-spice/super-angst lovers could really enjoy this.
While I wasn't over the moon for this one, I would try more books by this author!

If you loved The Rom-Commers, you will enjoy this debut novel! Second chance romance, cinnamon roll MMC, she is grumpy and he is sunshine. He believes in happily ever after and she doesn’t. I couldn’t put this book down once I started. Molly and Seth dated in high school, Molly broke up with Seth at graduation and they spark up their friendship again at their 15 year reunion. Their friendship is full of sexual tension and comedy. They are adorable together and once they admit their feelings for each other again, the spice is spicy. Seth helps Molly navigate some of her past trauma and the ending was very sweet. I definitely recommend.

Thank you to @flatiron_books and @netgalley for this ARC copy of a second chance romance that really worked for me!

First rule of second chance romances is that the initial breakup can’t be too awful or nasty or else the whole idea of them being together is yucky. Molly and Seth broke up after high school, and given that this is 15 years later when the book starts, it’s water under the bridge (ish). At least for the reader. Seth hates Molly (ish). Seth is a golden retriever, a man very in touch with his feelings, and the new hot shit mini trope of the contemporary romance world, he’s a completely bright eyed and bushy tailed, startlingly non-cynical divorce attorney. You might ask yourself why that’s popping up in many books this season and you will not get an answer from me - I find it hilarious because I don’t know any personally and I am a lawyer.

Molly, Morticia Addams, is deeply embarrassed about the high school breakup and also deeply sorry but she doesn’t know how to express herself because big feelings are scary when you’re a child of acrimonious divorce. Molly is also a deeply cynical romcom screenwriter.

I found this grump/sunshine pairing bonkers in the best way, honestly. She’s goth and angry and writes cute, he’s flowers and puppy dogs and handles your dissolution of marriage.

Somehow they manage to bang it out in 2018 after the reunion, and then the breakup gods are appeased. Ok not really, they make a wager that in 5 years, four couples they know will make it or break it, and one couple will end up as dates (it’s them). Then, they pine and orbit around each other as they navigate other relationships and each other and bad timing. There are horrible grand gestures from both of them that go awry, the way that bonkers grand gestures should go awry.

This book was really fun. And I can’t possibly ever say no to a half-Jewish golden retriever attorney, can I? Listen, Katelyn Doyle is a fantastic writer, and some of you know this already because she’s Scarlett Peckham. 🤯🤯🤯

But in all seriousness, this comes out 6/4, so put it on your TBRs.

Unfortunately, this story didn't really work for me. I love second chances and a story with a bit of pining, but I didn't love the characters. Molly's inner thoughts didn't always match up with her outer actions and sometimes she was just mean for no reason. Seth was all the way on the other end of the spectrum, but in a toxically positive way. He was a big too "smile though the pain". And after taking a whole year away from talking to Molly to figure out how to fix his penchant for jumping into relationships too quickly, he makes the same mistake again by proposing to her ridiculously soon (what is probably the world's worst idea). I really was just dying to find them both a therapist. But what really soured me on the book is all the COVID content. A little lip service would have been fine, the isolation of the beginning was a good catalyst, but it kept coming up, right through the end of the book. I don't need that much of a reminder of that terrible time in my romance book, thanks.

I really wish I could have given this a glowing review, but hopefully it's better for you than it was for me.

I absolutely loved this book! A fantastic, well-written grumpy-sunshine, second chance romance where the locations feel like characters. I really enjoyed Just Some Stupid Love Story and loved getting to know Molly and Seth.

Molly heads to her 15th year high school reunion in Florida and is seated next to Seth--not just her ex, but her ex who she dated for all four years of high school, who she broke up with on prom night and didn't speak to for fifteen years. Molly is sarcastic and doesn't believe in love, an ironic twist for a rom com movie writer living in LA. Seth is a bonafide romantic who also happens to be a Chicago-based divorce attorney. They reconnect at the reunion and make a bet about five couples who are there and whether they'll last or stay together--and they'll decide on the winner at the 20th high school reunion.

The bo0k jumps timelines so we're not just sitting and waiting for Seth and Molly to recongize that they're each others' soul mates. They go through ups and downs as friends and as more and as less, all the while trying to figure out how to let go and work through their own emotional baggage in order to find their way back to each other. It's a good struggle that doesn't go on too long unnecessarily and isn't something that gets cleared up with a simple conversation. I really appreciated that Seth and Molly were always talking about their needs and their fears and not holding it in like they would in so many other books. The ending is worth it.

This was my first book by Katelyn Doyle, but won't be my last. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was really good. This is a second chance romance for a pessimist and an optimist. Molly, the pessimist, was so easy for me to relate to as a pessimist and an introvert. Seth, the optimist, is so happy-go-lucky you want to see the world through his eyes. There are so many bumps in their relationship you’ll feel anxious but you just know they belong together. Definitely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

Thank you for the chance to read an ARC, NetGalley!

This was a fun and cute romcom that I overall enjoyed reading. The characters were fleshed out with individual traits and witnessing them interact read very naturally. Sometimes the relationship between Molly and Seth was, forgive me for saying, cringe. He always seemed way more into her than she ever was into him. By the end of the book, I could finally see that she really did love him. The cringe did tend to make the story and characters more believable and real; I'll say that. The side characters really enhanced the story. I loved their friends, with the exception of Rob. You could tell they all cared for each other. I just wish there was more oomph in the story. It was very slow at times.

This, unfortunately, did not work for me at all. I found the main character to be just plain mean - not grumpy of a grumpy sunshine trope. I also wasn't sold on the chemistry between the characters. When it comes to a second chance romance, I am a pretty hard sell because the author has to convince me that the characters are worth getting back together, and I don't think that was accomplished here. I was hoping they would become friends and then find the person that they had chemistry with, which is what I don't think should happen when I'm reading a romance. I know this book is already getting a lot of love, and I'm so glad it is. It just wasn't for me.

3.5⭐️

The writing itself is fantastic.
This was a super fast read for me and I couldn’t put it down.

However, I didn’t like Molly and I got tired of her constantly running away from Seth and breaking up with him.
Apologies are worthless if you repeat the same mistake.

Unfortunately, by the end of this book I don’t believe this is a HEA relationship.
I don’t believe that Molly healed enough to pursue Seth again.
But also Seth allowing her to come back after running away 3x also says something about him.

This book is so silly and tender and everything I wanted it to be!

It’s a second chance, grumpy (Molly) sunshine (Seth) romance novel featuring two former high school sweethearts that meet again at their 15-year reunion and decide to bet on other couples’ relationships, including their own.

Seth is one of my favorite male MCs I have read in a while. He’s goofy and so in love and not afraid to show all sides of himself while also being a good communicator (yes!). Molly has gone through some stuff, so that makes her a bit romantically guarded in a very realistic way.

I really enjoyed watching Molly and Seth’s story unfold. The friend side characters were fun, and I appreciated the honesty regarding Molly’s awful father and their rocky relationship.

Thank you Flatiron Books and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A second (and third, and fourth, and infinity) chance romance that had me feeling all the feels every time Molly and Seth crossed paths year after year. I think we all play the "what if?" game, and this felt like it brought all of those scenarios to life, making me feel so invested in what the outcome would be.

Seth has the patience of a saint, and Molly became a tiny bit insufferable about three quarters of the way through the book but she turned it around for the ending!

Okay, I was *immediately* drawn into by the amazing cover and first chapter. It's captivating right off the bat.

JUST SOME STUPID LOVE STORY opens with jaded rom-com screenwriter Molly Marks visiting Florida for her fifteen high school reunion. She's immediately (and reluctantly) reunited with her high school boyfriend Seth, an in-love-with-love, charming, (now) divorce attorney who is enthusiastically searching for his soulmate. But still, he holds a candle for Molly, who ghosted him on the eve of their graduation and gave him his first heartbreak.

As the two reconnect at the reunion, their clashing beliefs in love lead them to wager a five-year bet involving the romantic fates of a handful of their close-friend couples -- and themselves. This story is funny and a right person, wrong time journey that has you aching for the love interests to finally just FIGURE IT OUT and get together. It's a sexy romp that will really be some readers' cup of tea.

It wasn't totally mine, however. While it started strong, I was a little put off by Molly's "not like other girls" energy -- it grated on me more and more as the story progressed. And while I loved the narrator for Molly, I didn't like the male narrator for Seth, and that made it hard for me to like him as a character. And in order for me to root for Molly and Seth's relationship, I needed a much stronger development of their high school romance (beyond the fact that they were physically attracted to each other). I just didn't understand how they could fall in love in the first place, given how truly opposite they were. I think more solid flashbacks to their teenage connection could have helped make the eventual romance more believable, and the struggle more worth the resolution. By the middle, I was increasing the audio speed to finish more quickly because I was losing interest and investment in the outcome.

I genuinely hope this book finds its audience, because the world needs more literary rom-coms. It just wasn't a knock-out for me unfortunately.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and Netgalley for the e-ARC, and to Macmillan Audio for the ALC, in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. JUST SOME STUPID LOVE STORY is out 6/4/24.

This was a spicy, somewhat cute and occasionally funny slow/fast burn rom com. I say slow/fast because the main characters are exes who start hooking up early on in the book but it takes them awhile to get together. That was a bit frustrating but to be expected, I guess.

I liked the characters most of the time, especially the side ones. The structure with the different time periods helped the story flow smoothly. It felt like a movie. It was kind of interesting to see how the pandemic played into things. It made the story feel more realistic in a way that was almost refreshing.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC of Just Some Stupid Love Story. This was a fun one -- I loved the story told over five years, and Seth was the ultimate cinnamon roll who you couldn't help but root for. I thought adding the premise of the pandemic was very well done. Overall, a cute story with a great ending.

Another incredible debut novel of 2024!

Just Some Stupid Love Story had me enraptured from the very first page. There is nothing I love more than a sassy, cynical heroine and Molly Marks was just that! As a reverse grumpy/sunshine, I anticipate a lot people struggling with her, but I promise if you give her the chance, she will grow on you because the character development was REAL!

The hero, Seth Rubinstein, is Molly's high school sweetheart who she ghosted on graduation night. Despite being a very successful divorce attorney, he continues to believe in soulmates. When Molly and Seth get seated next to each other at their 15 year high school reunion, things get heated after a night of booze and nostalgia and before departing, they place a bet on 5 couples for their 20 year reunion and they are couple number 5.

The story follows the next five years with plenty of heartbreak, character growth and love. Even the side characters have incredible growth. This story really shows how much we can all stand in our own way when it comes to getting what we want. That learning how to deal with our own shortcomings and flaws, learning to forgive, and communicating one's feelings can go a long way. I absolutely adored Molly and Seth's story. I can't wait to see what Ms. Doyle does next!

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

3.5 stars

I was between 3.5 and 4 stars, but ultimately landed on 3.5 stars because I just couldn’t related to any of the characters (not that I wanted to either to be honest). The story was interesting, but I wish we saw Molly truly grow over the 5 years and work on not being a bolted and I didn’t feel like that really happened. She does stay in the end but I feel like she could have done more. Molly and Seth have what I’d consider to be an unhealthy relationship, and while I enjoyed the little bit of spice and thought they had some good banter, it just doesn’t work for me.

I wouldn’t not recommend this book, but I wouldn’t recommend it either.