3.5 stars

This was a quick read for me, such a good time. I really enjoyed getting to know the main characters, Molly and Seth, through dual POVs. Seeing their thoughts and feelings was an interesting way to watch their relationship redevelop over time. The grumpy sunshine, friends to lovers romance had a nice balance of spice and fade to black, with great banter all along the way.

I would recommend this book to romance readers that like a slow burn, friends to lovers, grumpy sunshine story with plenty of pining, banter, and personal growth.

An ARC copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book! Doyle does a fantastic job of capturing the second chance Rom Com trope. I really did enjoy the nostalgic pieces of the early 2000s. However, I did find a few things to be slightly cringy - including where Molly and Seth try to act like teenagers to recover their previous relationship at the age of 36. Some of it was just a lot. There were moments where I couldn't stand both Seth and Molly - I found them unlikable and annoying to read. But at the same time there were some really high highs with them! I think they are a great example of being HUMAN and that made it all worthwhile in the end. All in all, I think this is a fantastic and very realistic Rom Com that led me to smile at the last page. It was a bit long for my taste, but after sitting with it, I can say it was all worth it!

I love a good reverse grumpy sunshine, but Molly was kind of annoying. Other than me finding her obnoxious, I actually really enjoyed this!

This is easily one of my favorite second chance romances now. Never has a 'right person, wrong time' resonated so much with me as much as this one. The repeated encounters and something just not being right each time was so perfect. The novel's divided into many parts, so the narration jumps from one time period to the next, so I loved not having to read irrelevant bits of information. I'd say this was a fast-paced novel, and dual POV, as always is awesome.

I can't exactly say the MCs are opposites, but they have contrasting beliefs about love, which are ironic given what they do for a living. Seth is a family lawyer, going from one serious relationship to the next, in hopes of finding his true love as fast as possible. Molly is a rom com screenwriter but doesn't believe in love after being emotionally scarred by her parents' divorce. Molly's insecurities, need for validation and love, basically all her flaws made me love her even more. Seth on the other hand, appeared to be almost perfect. He's the guy that every girl wants, and every reader roots for. The way I completely got it when Seth's older brother was being overprotective of him!

Like many times before, I read this ARC and then completely forgot to review it. I was going to skim through before reviewing, but ended up rereading the whole thing, start to finish. I can't explain it, but this book felt long and short at the same time. It's easy to read and I finished it in a day both times, but I found parts of it to be too long and repetitive. Weirdly, I was engaged the whole time, yet impatient to get to the climax and the good stuff. Nonetheless, the ending was totally worth it, I couldn't have asked for better closure.

To summarize this VERY long review, Just Some Stupid Love Story is imperfect. but deserves tons of love and attention, so I definitely recommend it!
PS- The cover and title don't do justice to the story. IMO "Better Luck Next Time" suits it better.

While I fully enjoyed the idea of this plot line, it dragged out a bit too long for me. The back and forth over and over became too much. Seth is a sweetheart, and Molly was awful to him so many times. I personally didn’t think she deserved to get him back at the end.

While I fully understand part of this takes place in 2020, the Covid comments became insanely annoying. My final straw was when was late 2021 and he’s like “I’m grateful for N95s so I can fly to see you”. Who says that during an engagement lol I would have given this 4 stars if it had less Covid comments. It was a horrible year for me and I use books to escape. I don’t want to be reminded of it.

Also totally not important, but I kept picturing the allergy doctor on tiktok Dr. Rubenstein as Seth 😂 I kept trying to slide in Adam Driver or someone hot but my brain kept going back to the doctor LOL.

I love when the grump in the grumpy sunshine trope is the FMC. it’s a nice change of pace and I always relate because, well, I’m the grump in my relationship. I’m also a sucker for second chance romance so this book was right up my alley. This book was well written and edited and the characters were very developed. Molly cracked me up and Seth was the most hopeless romantic ever. Cute book!

OMG so cute!! I first requested this title because the author and I share the same spelling of our name (something rare for Katelyns) and I had little background knowledge of the story. I loved how the story flowed through the years between reunions. The right person, wrong time trope was perfectly paired with second chance romance. I loved seeing Molly and Seth grew together. I'll definitely be sharing more about this one!

Well yes! I am a sucker for second-chance romances and this one hit all the spots.

Just Some Stupid Love Story follows Molly, a rom-com screenwriter with a cynical view of love, and Seth, a golden retriever & hopeless romantic divorce attorney. They were high school sweethearts until Molly broke Seth’s heart, but 15 years later they reunite at their high school reunion and make a bet on who can predict the outcome of 5 couples, including themselves.

I read this entire book in one sitting on a Saturday evening, and loved every second of it. Katelyn Doyle did an incredible job at making me believe that there is a rich history between our two main characters (which I personally believe is where authors tend to go wrong with the second-chance trope). Seth was so patient and forgiving, and Molly reminded me so much of myself, which was both uncomfy and enjoyable to read.

I truly adored Molly & Seth and can’t wait to read more books by Katelyn Doyle!
Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle is a second chance romance featuring Molly Marks, a rom-com move writer who doesn’t believe in love, and Seth Rubenstein, her high school boyfriend and a divorce attorney who very much does. In high school golden retriever Seth was an unlikely match for the prickly and sarcastic Molly and so it was perhaps not a surprise when she broke his heart on prom night and they went their separate ways. A drunken one-night stand following their 15 year high school reunion should have given them the closure they needed but they suddenly find themselves thrown into each other’s orbit despite living thousands of miles apart. Will it ever be the right time for another chance?

Just Some Stupid Love Story had a very When Harry Met Sally vibe to it in terms of the time jumps and unplanned/unexpected encounters that took place between Molly and Seth before they decide to try and make it work, which I enjoyed. Second chance romances can be tricky for me – sometimes it’s hard to forgive characters for past transgressions or buy into the HEA. That’s why I tend to gravitate more to those where it was “right person, wrong time” and where the original relationship takes place when the characters are really young. This one had a little bit of that in terms of their first relationship as teenagers and then when they are ships passing in the night as adults, but fundamentally the problem that drove them apart originally ( Molly’s (realistic) trauma from her parents’ divorce) never seemed fully resolved (despite Molly’s years of therapy). As a result, I did struggle a little to see how these two would really make it work given how many challenges to overcome. Overall though, I thought this was a quick and entertaining read and look forward to more of what Doyle has to offer.

Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for the e-ARC; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you want to cry in the middle of a coffee shop, this is your book. I’m most definitely not speaking from experience. Nope. Not even a little.

But truly, Molly and Seth are a delightful grumpy-sunshine pair in Doyle’s story. The self-aware rom-com is done a lot now, but I really did enjoy this one! Relationship betting, second chance, grumpy sunshine tropes set up Molly and Seth for a multi-year journey towards being soul mates. Maybe. If he isn’t engaged to someone else. Or if she gets over her daddy issues. I was rooting for them, and for Molly, even when I expected not to.

I was provided a complimentary e-galley on NetGalley by Flatiron Books in exchange for an honest review.

Molly Marks and her high school seeetheart Seth run into each other at their 15th reunion, for the first time since she broke his heart. They end up hooking up after lots of drinks and decide to make a bet on the couples from their class, their fates, and whether or not they’ll hook up again within the next 5 years.

The plot follows that timeline in great detail and it was a lot of fun to read along. Both MC are relatable in their own way and the plot doesn’t drag on, it’s genuinely entertaining and you get caught up in it.
I would recommend this book and I’d likely read it again in the right situation.

dnf at 58% - in the beginning, i felt like this was gonna be a new favorite, a new five star, but there's too many sex scenes and i don't like the incorporation of covid into a contemporary romcom :( i don't see myself finishing this unforch

thank you katelyn doyle, flatiron books, and netgalley for my arc <3

In this reverse grumpy sunshine tale, Molly, takes on the role of the pessimist, while Seth, embodies the good boy puppy. It's a twist on the grumpy sunshine trope, deviating from the typical dynamic. I have mixed feelings about this book. As I got deeper into the book, Molly started to annoy me. Yes, I understand the reasons for her behavior, but my patience ran out. I don’t know how to accurately rate this. Because the writing is good, characters are fairly well developed, and the dialogue is natural. I really enjoy the characters having their own voices. The story was just not for me so I am giving it 3 stars.

This is a second chance romance that takes a very long time to resolve - 5 years. And this is after Molly and Seth have spent 15 years apart.
I understand Molly had very serious issues as to why she couldn’t commit to a real relationship - father abandonment. However, after 15 years or so, and admitting you have feelings for your first love, therapy should have been number 1 on the list. Molly was rude, selfish, and hurtful to those who loved her.
Seth was a total pushover and a bit whiny. He also could have pushed Molly more on dealing with her hang ups instead of just ignoring them or trying to make them disappear.
It took a long time to get their hea - 20 years! And Molly had no growth or movement in her mental health until miraculously at the end. She was just over it, and could now be in a relationship. Um no. Unresolved trauma doesn’t just disappear like that.
So sorry, but this book wasn’t for me. Three stars for good writing and editing. All the best to the author and publisher, I know other readers will find this book more to their liking.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Katelyn Doyle, Flatiron Books and NetGalley for an advance reader copy of “Just Some Stupid Love Story” coming out to a store near you on June 4, 2024.

This is my first foray into Katelyn Doyle’s writing and I am a fan! I will be on the lookout for other books. I really enjoyed the format the story was written. It was a little different but in a good way. Doyle writes characters well. Anyone who has struggled with anxiety and abandonment issues will feel seen in this book.

Molly and Seth dates in high school, broke up and haven’t seen each other in 15 years. At the night of their high school reunion sparks fly and they have a night to remember (if only so many drinks weren’t involved). Molly, who runs at signs of emotion and attachment, doesn’t believe in soul mates or true love, makes quick work out of letting Seth believe he doesn’t mean much to her. They make a bet that they can each guess correctly if 5 couples they know will stay together or not make it. They agree to meet up in five years at the next Hs reunion.

But over the next few years they run into each other at different times, regardless of not living anywhere near each other. They both date others, go on with their lives and finally attempt to heal the parts of them that hurt.

This was such an enjoyable read. I loved spending time with these characters and am looking forward to her next book.

This was such a clever way to write a love story and I loved everything about it. Katelyn Doyle did a wonderful job building character traits and setting up the plot and premise of the story. I never quite knew what would happen and it kept me wanting to read more. This was my first read from Doyle and I'll definitely look for her books again. She writes so well that I found myself falling in love with these characters (including secondary and tertiary characters), and rooting for them along the way. Definitely give this one a read!

Loved the premise of this and found it to be an enjoyable read that I'm sure will be popular with patrons! Grumpy/sunshine (or cynical and optimistic, I guess) is one of my favorite things to read! I totally judge books by their covers and really like this one! Very striking! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Molly Marks writes Hollywood RomComs fro a living but she doesn't believe in romance. She did at one time in high school but it didn't work out. Seth Sebastian does believe in love especially the grand type of love even though he is one of Chicago's top divorce attorney's. Sell still feels he is going to meet that one person but it has. been 15 years since he met his original one, Molly Marks, in high school and she broke his heart.

it is 15 years later and Molly goes to her high school reunion in Florida. She sees all her old friends including Seth. Molly and Seth end having a one night stand. The two them and friends all end up making some stupid bet about love and couples. They wonder do soul mates really exist? This book spans over five years with Molly and Seth connecting again over and over. Molly writes a screenplay based on her and Seth. Before she can tell Seth about it he gets an email that Molly mixed up and accidentally sent to him with the screenplay in an attachment, Molly freaks out and when she realizes what happened she head to Chicago to see Seth. She find Seth and he has read the script. In the script she professes her love for Seth. So as Molly and Seth meet they are now realizing they both are in love with each other. Now five years later and they are all back in Florida for another reunion, Molly and Seth are married and Molly finally realizes that soulmates really do exist.

There is surely an audience for "Just Some Stupid Love Story," but it wasn't my favorite for a rom-com. The leads didn't have chemistry that made the novel a page-turner and while the beginning showed promise, the middle of the book didn't maintain the pacing. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this novel, but I wouldn't discourage anyone else from giving it a shot.

A Grumpy/Sunshine but the FMC is the Grump and the MMC is the sunshine??
Molly Marks writes rom-com scripts and though she is good at it, it has yet to convince her that Soul Mates are a real thing. Enter Seth Rubenstein, attorney at law, goofball, hopeless romantic, and Molly’s high school sweetheart.
After reconnecting with each other for the first time in 15 years at their high school reunion they strike up a friendly bet to prove if Soul Mates are real.
Initially, in the first 30-40 pages this was not working for me, Seth’s character came off bizarre as heck and their dynamic didn’t make sense to me. And it threw me off that it starts with a one night stand. BUT, once Molly and Seth go their separate ways after the reunion and communicate via email and phone calls, I began to get a better feel for their characters. I’d say it took me about 60 pages to get invested but once I figured out these characters quirks (of which there are plenty) I discovered they were hilarious, and the banter equally so.
Molly is a cool girl, pessimist, and quite mean and sad. and Seth is a total golden retriever/dork/silly goose/serial faller-in-love. These characters have real ISSUES so it made alot of this is like watching a train-wreck but you can’t look away, Molly is so flighty and Seth can’t stop himself from moving way too fast even when he knows it consistently doesn’t work out for him.
This was funny, and messy, and I love how it didn’t take itself too seriously! This felt like a totally fresh take on a rom-com while still having the romantic formula we all love. I would recommend this book!