I read so many great reviews on this that it became one of my most anticipated of the summer. A debut second-chance rom-com, I loved the characters in this book. Molly is a rom-com movie script writer who doesn't believe in romance, and Seth is a divorce attorney who believes in true love. That alone makes for an exciting story. Spanning several years, including the pandemic, Molly and Seth tangle and try to decide if their views on love might be the same after all.

The story of Molly and Seth told over a number of years. Will the be together of break each other's hearts by the end of the book? I liked how it was told from both points of view.

I am a fan of the slow burn romance and the chase, so this one was right up my alley. It’s a little bit of a clever premise. High school sweethearts reconnect at their reunion and place a bet on which couples will be together at their next reunion. This gives the couple a second chance at a happy ending if they can overcome their differences and her anxiety.

Over the next five years they float in and out of each other’s lives as they are never quite in the same place in life to restart their relationship. I really did fall in love with Seth and Molly right from the start. I just recently heard of two from my class that didn’t date back then and just married. So it can happen.

I rooted for the two from the start both in their relationship and in their lives. The grumpy sunshine trope is always good for a little fun when done right and this one was. And to throw in a twist, it was Molly as the grump and Seth as the pollyanna.

I know I mentioned their relationship is a bit of a slow burn, but they did find time to have the sparks fly. There were spicy scenes to keep me entertained while their chase played out.

Christine Lakin and Tim Paige bring Seth and Molly to life. I love that there was dual narration for this love story. Christine does a great job of narrating Molly’s anxiety and mental health issues while Tim really nails Seth’s golden retriever like optimism. I think the audiobook helped bridge the long span of the book and keep me interested.

If you love the chase as much as the relationship, you should pick this one up.

Not your average romance=adjacent protagonist!

I have to admit that I'm getting a bit tired of the on-the-nose FMCs who write romance, read romance, and speak romance -- while novel at first, the fourth wall break is starting to feel like pandering. Cue my relief when our intrepid Molly put a twist on the trope -- she HATES romance, and doesn't believe in love.

Enter our divorce attorney MMC, who is surprisingly (albeit weird and goofy) sunshine-ish in this grumpy/sunshine dynamic. Except in the bedroom, where euphemisms fly out the window and we go straight into male-gaze porn territory.

Thrown in a high school reunion backdrop and plot device -- quelle horreur, but I can't look away -- and this was a really fun one!

The dichotomy was a bit jarring but not unpleasant. I love this one for the beach bag, and the cover is adorable.

Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle is a wonderful duel POV, second chance romance novel that shares the story of a Hollywood Rom-Com writer and her ex, Sean. Sean is a successful divorce attorney who has been looking for love.

Molly Marks is a romance writer, which is how she knows “romance” is a racket. She was ghosted by the one romantic relationship that she had over fifteen years ago.
Seth Rubinstein believes in grand, fated love, despite his job. Over the last decade, he’s searched for love in countless bad dates and rushed relationships. He knows his soulmate is out there however he always compares them to the gal who broke his heart in HS, Molly Marks.

Molly returns home for her fifteenth HS reunion and of course runs into Seth. When alcohol and repressed feelings combine a random hook up changes everything and it starts with a bet. Together they work to resolve the bet before the next reunion and to determine their true feelings..

This story is funny (truly laugh out loud), sexy and has some brilliant and unexpected moments. A true Rom-Com at the heart of it and one of the best books I have read this year!

A delightful second chance romance. I loved the premise and the humor throughout. Definitely a writer to watch.
Many thanks to Flatiron Books and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a fun read. High school sweethearts turned exes run into each other at their 15 year reunion, and make a bet about what will happen to 5 couples in the next 5 years. She's a cynical romcom writer, while he's a love-loving divorce attorney. Thoroughly enjoyed seeing how that bet played out over the following 5 years! I don't want to give anything away but this was fun and satisfying!

Just Some Stupid Love Story centers around Molly, a cynical rom-com screenplayer writer and Seth, a jubilant divorce attorney. After dating throughout high school, Molly dumped Seth because she was afraid of commitment. They reunite at their high school reunion and make a love bet.

I enjoyed reading the story from both Molly and Seth’s point of view. I also liked that the protagonist was a rom-com screen writer didn’t believe in love while her “leading man” a divorce attorney and hopeless romantic. It made the story more unique and interesting. Also, the banter in the book was spot-on!

However, at times, I found the novel frustrating and slow, but it was realistic.

I went back and forth on the rating, but I think overall it’s a 4 star read. Maybe 4.5?

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dani’s Rating: I went back and forth on the rating, but I think overall it’s a 4 star read. Maybe 4.5?

4 stars!

I did not think I was going to like this one as much as I did. It started out rocky and some of the language/statements made were giving me the ick BUT I was invested, I was laughing out loud (the last chapter I literally was wheezing), I was emotional! A solid 4 star read simply for the vibes, the storyline, and the ending. Cute!

This was a great right person-wrong time second chance romance. Our FMC Molly is an absolute mess. She has serious abandonment issues that stem from her father, an acclaimed author, divorcing her mom at a young age to only alienate her while marrying several woman after his fame took off. Molly was dating Seth in high school for 4 years during the divorce and blew up their perfect relationship after prom and never spoke to him again. Cut to their 15 year high school reunion, and not only does Molly end up sitting next to Seth, but the two end up in a hotel room that night and set off a 5 year chain of events that alter their lives.

Molly is a a romance screenwriter in LA who doesn’t believe in love and would rather have casual hooksups or date men she know will lead to nothing. Seth is a divorce lawyer in Chicago who is a hopeless romantic always believing that he’s met THE one and fantasizes about being married and having children endlessly. Despite his occasional word vomit and unbecoming phrasing at times, he is a nice guy and I enjoyed that for once it was a man who wanted love so badly. Seth has always loved Molly and while Molly likes to pretend their high school relationship wasn’t serious, its the only one she’s ever had and deep down she knows that she truly loved Seth.

I liked watching these two form a connection long distance as friends who chatted about the bet they placed after their high school reunion hookup. It was a rollercoaster of events that kept bringing these two back together over and over again and I enjoyed every minute of it. I think for me that kind of killed it was the third act break up. How after 4 years of talking again, knowing Molly and all her fears of relationships and commitment, Seth thought it was a good idea to propose to her after such a short time was simply beyond me. Like you know her, you love her, and you put her into this over-the-top situation? It felt careless despite him being a complete romance nut and loving her, he did not have to do that to Molly at that time when everything was still so fresh coupled with her dissolution of her best friends marriage.

While some reviewers hated that Covid and the pandemic were mentioned in this storyline, I personally thought it was done with taste. Seth and his new girlfriend quickly get engaged and move in together during the pandemic. A recipe for disaster that so many couples faced at that time. You think you love someone until you’re stuck in the same 4 walls day-in and day-out during a global pandemic and then your true feelings come out.

Overall, this was a great story and I was sucked in from the start. I truly appreciate this arc from NetGalley and Flatiron Books!

Impressive and frustrating. This is popular historical romance author Scarlett Peckham’s contemporary debut writing under another name. I was continually engaged and frequently horrified by the bad behavior. Never bored. Angst abounds as former high school lovers take years to work out their kinks.

This was an interesting story with Molly being a main character and her personality is off putting from the beginning. I totally understand needing characters to be their unique selves, but since Molly was the one discussed quite a bit, it was difficult to redirect my attention when the storyline turned and incorporated other important characters. However, the further one reads into the book you realize how deeply emotionally impacted she has been because of her childhood upbringing. Then we have Molly's boyfriend during her younger years present due to a high school reunion and we have the surprise element of her ex being an emotionally in tune person who knows what he wants in his future. The exes haven't seen each other in years and their younger life experiences play a significant role in everything that transpires.
There are many funny moments and statements made that broke up some of the monotony of the storyline that I felt was lacking. Lastly, in a turn of events, the main characters learn from their parents and friends who prove to them, life will ebb and flow, yet, the desire for one another will motivate the couple to hold on to their love.

Thank you #NetGalley and #KatelynDoyle for the ARC and the opportunity to see family and love through a different perspective.

Molly Marks cranks out love stories like she's Nora Ephron, despite not believing in love. Unfortunately, she is too cynical and leans too far into her "Class B*tch* reputation, that I just couldn't get behind her own love story with Seth. There were some fun moments, like the screenplay at the end, but every moment in between had me wishing it was the 20th reunion again so I could down another Palm Bay Preptini.

hmm this is such an odd dichotomy that i’m currently feeling. on one hand, i reflect fondly on reading this but at some points (particularly some character actions/the writing) was not always for me. as of right now, i am going to leave this at a three star rating and would recommend to others i think it would be more fitting for

Really enjoyed this one. Molly the MFC is a little annoying at times and Seth is a little over the top but I enjoyed the ending and I thought it was a great story overall.

First of all, even though I only had this digital copy, I am obsessed with the cover and sprayed edges! Go team. Secondly, Seth is the hot romantic cinnamon roll we all need. I loved him so much, please write more characters like him. Molly was also very relatable in terms of her pessimism when it comes to love. I really enjoyed the side characters, as well. I'm normally not a big fan of second chance (or third or fourth chance in this case), but it was done so well! I'll definitely be recommending this to my book club.

Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle
Contemporary romance, romantic comedy. Second chance. Dual POV.
Molly Marks decides to attend her fifteenth high school reunion and is seated with her high school boyfriend. Whom she had ghosted on the eve of graduation. They have a surprisingly good time together and he dares her, bet and all, that she would be calling on him before the next reunion.
Seth Rubinstein believes in love, the true fated kind, even though he’s a divorce attorney that has seen some of the worst between a couple. But no matter, which app, or how he finds a potential wife, every try has been a failure. No one can compare to how he felt about Molly.
As they leave the reunion, Molly knows she won’t be calling Seth. But Seth holds a spark of hope in his heart.

Years go by. Each has their own relationships. Molly finds herself thinking more and more about Seth and wanting to call him. Is Seth right? Molly was so sure she’d moved on. And certainly Seth’s family doesn’t want Molly around again. She destroyed him the first time around. Why let her have a second chance?
Dating apps and the stories everyone hears about their failed dates follow from both Molly and Seth’s POV, slowing turning Molly’s thoughts to “could he be right?”
Molly does call Seth and while it’s not then or even soon, they do get together before the five years to “try again” to get their fated HEA.

For me, it was too late. Seth goes through so much and Molly always seems to ride the surface. I’m sure other readers will love their eventual reconnection. I did love the epilogue and was happy they finally found their love, regardless of whom it was with.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

Thanks, Flatiron Books, for the early review copy via NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook. #MacAudio24 (Available now)

Molly, a Rom-Com screenwriter, is a bitter cynic who doesn’t believe in lasting love. Her high school ex-boyfriend, Seth, is a successful divorce lawyer who all but sings about soulmates while twirling around in the Swiss Alps. They meet up (and hook up) at a high school reunion and bet on the 5-year success rate of five couples from their class, one of whom is Molly and Seth.

I thought to myself, “This book is five years long? I hope it doesn’t feel like it.” Actually, it felt longer. This was a rocky but promising premise for me, bogged down by uneven pacing and emotion after 30%. (Even the steamy scenes were uneven. Two were “fade to black,” and one included explicit details we didn’t need for the story.) Not only was I not invested in the characters, I didn’t think they were right for each other!

The audiobook narrators were excellent. I like having two narrators who each take a POV, and each delivers a masterful performance. The writing was okay, and as a debut, I’d be willing to pick up the author’s next book.

If you're a writer (or love reading about writers) this is definitely a book for you. Molly is so relatable - her trust issues are heartbreaking but you find yourself understanding why she's in the position she's in - even though you're screaming at her to stop self-sabotaging. And then there's Seth... your heart breaks OVER AND OVER AGAIN for this man. He is perfect. He is everything. All he wants is love and to be loved and even though you know it's desperation that drives in through most of the book with other women, you know that isn't the case with Molly. Everything about this book will have you reading, racing to get to the end and hoping they can both get over their shit enough to just love each other.

I adored this book! Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle is a rom-com about ex-high school sweethearts who rekindle their relationship at their high school reunion. Molly Marks is a rom-com screenwriter who doesn’t believe in love. Seth Rubinstein is a divorce lawyer looking for his soul mate. The two couldn’t be more opposite if they tried. Still a little bitter over getting his heart broken by Molly fifteen years earlier, Seth makes a bet with her at their reunion about the fate of five couples and the winner will have to admit that soul mates exist, or don’t exist if Molly wins, at their 20th reunion. They each take turns picking couples, but the fifth couple Seth chooses is them.

Molly is not an easy character to like. If not for her point of view, I may have seen her as just an awful person who stomps on hearts and has no emotions. BUT her point of view adds SO much to her character. I identified with her in many ways. She’s introverted, parties make her both anxious but also give her the social stimuli she needs. She enjoys her secluded life and clings to the friends that she truly loves. Everyone else gets the surly Molly.

Seth is like an energetic puppy. He’s all sunshine and rainbows, not much throws off his optimism. The only person who seems to be able to get under his skin is Molly, and even with her he is the optimist. His choice to be a divorce lawyer was inspired by Molly and her mother and what her father put them through. Seth was there for the aftermath. He sees Molly and all her bravado for what it is: a shield to prevent getting hurt. But now it’s his turn to finally push Molly to see what they can have together if she’ll just open herself up.

Told in alternating points of view, the romance unfolds. I’m not sure I would personally classify this as a rom-com, though it definitely follows the tropes. Molly is the grumpy to Seth’s sunshine. They are exes who still have a thing for each other, neither quite ready to admit it. I loved how the story unfolds over the course of five years from their 15th high school reunion to the 20th. Each section is broken up into parts telling a mini story about their lives at that point in time and how they keep missing each other. It reminds me a lot of Beth O’Leary and Emily Henry’s books, a heartfelt story filled with all the feels.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Just Some Stupid Love Story. I was fully invested from the first words to the last. Molly and Seth’s story is beautiful and fun in its own way. I love all the little moments that add up over the course of the story, not to mention the character growth of both love interests. If you are looking for an addition to your summer reading, I highly recommend this one.

This is my favorite kind of romance, where we get to see the couple develop over time. Molly is incredibly frustrating and I’m not sure she deserves the cinnamon roll that is Seth, but it was a fun ride. The storytelling lacked a bit of propulsion for me, which makes it a four star read.