Member Reviews
This was a very cute rom-com. I loved all of Seth and Molly’s banter. Seth is the ultimate cinnamon roll guy! I thought Molly was kind of annoying at times, I just wanted to yell at her to give Seth a real chance. But I loved her big grand gesture at the end
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC of this book!
As most romances go we know the ending close to the beginning, but in this book I actually didn’t mind it so much. I enjoyed the interactions between the two characters and their interactions with the other non-primary characters. I also liked that the pacing didn’t feel rushed and that the relationship developed over the span of multiple years and tied back to their past dating in high school.
The only things I wasn’t a fan of was that we didn’t get more insight into more of the peripheral relationships (they felt fairly one dimensional and I think could have been developed more) and that the reason she originally broke up with him and didn’t talk to him for 15 years was never fully flushed out. 15 years is a long time to not reach out to someone you have strong residual feelings for.
Overall for romance I think it’s a strong 4/5.
4/5 Stars
Thank you to Net Galley & Flatiron Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
First off, Never have I flown through an arc like this; this book made me excited to read in a way I haven't felt in a very long time. The plot, the cover, the characters, and the years of history made this book what it was. Seth and Molly are perfect; the tropes are absolutely amazing in this, and I am obsessed with this book and cannot wait to rave about it once it gets published. The friendship dynamics also gave me a little fuel from my Happy Place hangover. This book had me tearing up, screaming into a pillow in frustration, kicking my feet over the chemistry, and flipping through the pages eagerly.
I recommend this book to people who love Emily Henry, Sethmer (Seth is Seth Cohen), banter, second-chance romance, and people who are scared to love. My only qualm with this book is the third-act breakup, but it is about a rom-com writer, after all... I really hope this book has a sequel because I do not want to leave this world...
This book - I cannot overstate my level of emotional involvement. Near perfect. If you’re a fan of right-person-wrong-time, second chance, slow burn romances with some depth, this is for you.
As a woman who is allergic to displays of emotion, I related so much to Molly, and the chemistry/rapport with Seth was spot on. Every time they almost got together only for something to go wrong had me on the edge of my seat. I always enjoy seeing older protagonists work through real issues, vs. cutesy rom-coms with little real-world conflict. No, there are some legitimate traumas and personal issues here that need to be worked through before our main characters get their happily ever after.
I loved the premise of the book - the cynical romance screen writer and the romantic divorce attorney making a bet on the fate of five couples. Even though some of those couples don’t get their own happy ending.
A wonderful contemporary romance debut. Can’t wait to read more from Katelyn Doyle.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book.
This had a cute premise/plot, but at times it was a bit too drawn-out for me. The MCs play a bit too much into their stereotypes at times, but I did enjoy the dual POV. The supporting characters are fairly diverse, which is always appreciated. A few scenes were a bit spicier than I expected, and a couple left me blushing…
Characters jumped between using an advanced vocabulary and swear words, which sometimes felt were thrown in just to be thrown in.
I’m always a sucker for the second-chance lovers trope, so overall I enjoyed this ARC!
Thanks to NetGalley and FlatIron books for the ARC.
I really enjoyed this novel a lot. The writing is fabulous, I adore this author's voice, the character development is excellent, the story is lovely. I'm a sucker for second chance romance stories and this didn't fail me at all.
I enjoyed this book enough I didn't want to read it too quickly because I wanted to savor it and not leave myself without a good book to look forward to each night. (I had been in a real rut for a while before I happened upon this, and now I'm back in a darned rut!).
If I had to complain at all, I'd say I got annoyed that they got so close to reuniting so many times only for external forces to kibosh it. I know, I know, this is storytelling 101, but it just got to the point where I wanted to dope-slap the heroine and tell her to go see a therapist and fix her problems with self-sabotage.
Other than that, my only regret is this author has no other contemporary romances to read, as I was at the ready to download any and all!
A classic timing-not right, opposites attract trope. I found myself really rooting for Seth throughout. Molly was likable, spunky, and funny and had awesome character growth as the book went on. You could feel the relationship deepen and develop with time. The ancillary characters were realistic and felt like real-life friendships. The writing was funny and quick-witted. I really liked this book!
Molly and Seth are high school sweethearts whose relationship was ended suddenly and heartbreakingly by Molly right after graduation. They run into each other again at their fifteen year reunion. This is a well written book but I just found it incredibly stressful. Most definitely it is a “me thing” but I did have to skim sections that made me too anxious to read closely. Overall, I’m interested in what else this author writes but this one was not for me. Received a digital copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
I’m pretty undecided on this one. On the positive side, engaging rom-com story. The flip side is I didn’t like the main characters. I don’t know if I was rooting for them but they probably deserve each other. Both were a lot. Red flags on both sides. He was a stage 5 clinger who couldn’t wait to get married. Her emo woe is me curmudgeon attitude got old. I was excited when they both had breakthroughs only to have them fall back into their red flags. I just wished I liked them more.
Thank you Flatiron Books for providing this boaok for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
This story made me cry, which is usually an indication that I’ve enjoyed a story.
Molly and Seth were quite the pair in all the good and bad ways couples can be. I love that their story spanned the course of 5-years with the full range of emotions and levels of friendship. I also appreciate the role reversals of the jaded and love crazy main characters.
Love love loved this. I was giggling and blushing and screaming. I already want to re-read. This was my first book from Katelyn Doyle and now I’ll be on the lookout for more of her books!
Molly is a screenwriter and Seth, her high school boyfriend, is a lawyer. They reunite at their 15 year high school reunion and the bets are on. This book made me literally laugh out loud and was so entertaining. There are some sexy scenes that made me blush. I was rooting for Molly and Seth to have true love.
This is my first book by Katelyn Doyle and I will definitely be looking for more. If you are looking for a book that will give you all the feels,
look no further!
Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC of Just Some Stupid Love Story which releases in June 2024
I wanted to read this because the synopsis says it’s “for fans of Emily Henry”, but I would never compare this book to any of Emily Henry’s. I was not a fan of the main characters in this book. There were a lot of things that just didn’t work for me with this book. I won’t list them all to be respectful, but know that I almost DNF’d multiple times.
Do you believe your true soulmate exists? That is the question Molly, a rom-com screenwriter and Seth her high school boyfriend now a divorce lawyer debate when they reunite at their fifteen year high school reunion. One a hopeless romantic believes in soul mates while the other a jaded cynic doesn’t.
This book will make you laugh out loud, cry, and blush a little over the steamy sex scenes. This book is a quick fun rom-com read that I highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley for my ARC.
I absolutely adored this book! I fell in love with the characters and their story. Second chance romance at its best! Molly and Seth were high school sweethearts who unwillingly reconnect at their 15th high school reunion and end up making a bet. After that initial reintroduction, they find themselves randomly in each other's lives again and we get to watch their relationship grow. I found the characters relatable and likable. I liked how the FMC was the cynical one and the MMC was the romantic one in this book. The supporting cast of characters was a great addition. I loved the banter between the main characters. Overall, a great read that I would absolutely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for allowing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This "stupid" love story was so clever and fun. I loved the dual point of view where the characters spoke directly to the readers. There were some fun and self-aware "meta" moments and Molly and Seth's opposites attract chemistry was off the charts. I loved their entire journey, even when their individual self sabotage felt tough (but hey, we've all been there). Already looking forward to what Katelyn Doyle comes up with next! Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for the advance reader copy.
Thank you to netgalley and flatiron books for the arc! I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book! Despite how flawed Molly was I personally found her extremely relatable. I found myself rooting for her every single time. Seth was the sweetest, most understanding lead I’ve seen in awhile. This book had me giggling, tearing up, and kicking my feet. I look forward to reading future books by Katelyn Doyle!
4.5 stars rounded up! I couldn't put this book down. JUST SOME STUPID LOVE STORY follows high school exes Molly and Seth, who couldn't be more different. Molly is a snarky screenwriter who's penned some hit romcoms—which is how she knows no matter what happens onscreen, "true love" doesn't happen in real life. Seth is a hopeless romantic who believes his soulmate is out there, in spite of his job as a successful divorce attorney. When the two reconnect at their school's fifteenth reunion, a drunken night together leads them to make a bet: whoever can correctly predict the fate of five couples before the next reunion must admit that the other has the right view on romance. The catch? The last couple is the two of them...
This was such a fun read! Molly and Seth were both such well-developed characters that felt so real—usually, I'm not a huge fan of dual POVs in romance novels, but here I enjoyed hearing from both of them. There was so much to love about following their relationship—their shared humor and banter, their vastly different careers and how those jobs played into their overall dynamic/views on love, all the "right person, wrong place, wrong time" moments that happened over the years, making it even more satisfying when it was finally the right place and right time. I also liked reading about the different relationships Molly and Seth had with their families and friends. I really appreciated how much depth and care Doyle gave to those connections, too! My one (minor!) gripe is that, while I thought the extended timeline was super well-done in general, is that sometimes I felt like readers were just told that the characters had grown over the years, rather than being shown that process. Molly would be stuck in a self-sabotaging pattern, or Seth would be stuck looking through rose-colored glasses, and then a time jump would tell us that they had decided to move past these behaviors, but I wished we were able to see them going through that whole emotional journey, rather than just hearing that they felt completely differently now, if that makes sense. Otherwise, I found JUST SOME STUPID LOVE STORY to be such an enjoyable read, and would highly recommend it for fans of smart, self-aware, and swoon-worthy romcoms! I can't wait to see what Katelyn Doyle writes next. Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC.
Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review! Doyle's debut novel is an enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, wrong place wrong time, and second (and third, and fourth, and fifth!!!) chance romance between Seth, a divorce lawyer who believes in true love and soulmates, and Molly, a snarky rom-com screenwriter who thinks love is make-believe. Although I'm not the biggest fan of enemies to lovers, I'm a huge sucker for the grumpy-sunshine trope. Not to mention, the enemies-to-lovers trope kinda gets squashed within the first few chapters. So that definitely gave this book a few points for me. However, "Just Some Stupid Love Story" fell a bit flat for me. The novel just felt so drawn out; the book spans the course of five years, and throughout those years Seth and Molly fall into the same traps over and over again. It was honestly frustrating to read at times.
And Seth! Ohhh boy Seth. At first I really truly loved how much of a hopeless romantic he was. Unfortunately, his rose-colored glasses ended up being his downfall. He's almost blinded by love, and it quickly becomes obnoxious. As soon as he and Molly were truly together, it was like he completely forgot all of the trauma she'd gone through. Molly's tendency to self-sabotage her romantic life was frustrating, but Seth continuously throwing Molly into "sink-or-swim" romance scenarios was absolutely unbearable.
What this book does have, however, are amazingly adorable meet-cutes and genuinely hilarious internal monologues. I wish we had some insight into the conversations with Molly and her therapist (how she's been in therapy for 5+ years and still hasn't made a breakthrough is an astonishing feat). I truly hope both Seth and Molly get individual and couples therapy because I really don't know how they're going to make this relationship work. And with them both wanting kids? YIKES.
Overall, this was just an okay love story - 3 stars.
Molly Marks and Seth Rubenstein were high school sweethearts, until Molly broke Seth'.s heart. When they meet 15 years later, at their high school reunion, they have a one night stand. Although they have mutual feelings, this relationship is not going to go any further.---at least not yet. In spite of Molly's career as a rom-com screen writer, she is cynical and does not believe in happily ever after. Seth, a divorce lawyer, believes in forever love and family as the key to meaningful life.
This is a solid debut novel by Katelym Doyle. Her characters have depth and are relatable. In addition to Molly and Seth, there are friends and family members who round out the cast of characters.
Between their fifteenth and twentieth reunion, Molly and Seth have several false starts in their relationship. The book is written in dual points of view, which enhances the relatability of each character. It gives the reader a view into each of their minds,
I do think that the book could have been about 50-75 pages shorter. While I loved both main characters, and their flaws, the story did become a bit tedious. At that point, I wondered where the comedy was in this rom-com. But, the story comes together in the end, and has some very funny episodes.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to review this book. I look forward to reading other books by this author.