Molly Marks, a rom-com writer, does not believe in love or soulmates. Her life growing up left her with the flight response to strong feelings which led her to break up with her high school boyfriend, Seth. They meet again at their 15 year high school reunion, and sparks fly again. They make a bet and keep in contact with goals to meet again at the 20 year reunion. You follow their story across 5 years and it was cute, but it was just lacking. The goofy love interest would throw me off, and some of the modern terms felt like they were forced in there to try and be relatable to younger audiences? I don't know, they threw me off when I read them.
I did enjoy the book, and it was a fun storyline and concept. I usually like a story that takes place over a long time period, and seeing the changes of their life and the characters around them.

What a fun fast indulgent summer romance read! I was quickly drawn in by Molly and Seth’s hookup at their class reunion despite having broken up 15 years prior. Their chemistry is visible by their family and friends. Molly is her worst enemy in following her heart.

Thank you Netgalley for this enjoyable second romance ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I will define recommending this one!

The blurb gave me such hope for the potential of this book, but it missed the mark for me.

Stars: 2/5
Spice: 2/5

Seth and Molly were high school sweethearts who haven’t seen each other since the night of graduation. At their 15-year class reunion, they make a bet on whether or not 5 couples will be together at the 20-year reunion. The catch is that they are the 5th couple.

I haven’t read anything by this author before and when I read the blurb for this book, it had such great potential. But it just fell flat for me. My biggest issue was I did not connect to the characters. Molly seemed more cruel than grumpy. I felt bad for Seth because he was so in love with her (or the idea of her?) that he seemed to just brush things under the rug (even if it wasn’t right away) when she’d treat him poorly. There were multiple times when I thought to myself that the dialogue didn’t make sense, as in no one talks like this or unnecessary synonyms were used that made a sentence much more complicated than it needed to be. The book was marketed as funny with witty banter. The humor didn’t land for me, but I know it has for other readers. I love a second chance story. It is one of my favorite things. But this wasn’t just a second chance. I lost count of how many chances this couple had, which ultimately just left me frustrated and pulled me out of the story.

If you enjoy second chance, reverse grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, reluctant to love – give this book a try. It may have missed the mark with me, but a lot of other readers have loved it.

Solid rom com story that follows Molly and Seth who were high school sweethearts. Molly and Seth find themselves at their 15 year reunion sitting at the same table -- all the emotions returning. This was a very entertaining read - with a level 2-3 spice. You get second (multi) chance romance, high school sweethearts in this one. This one was a 4 star experience for me.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and FlatIron Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this one a lot. Molly and Seth were high school sweethearts until she brutally dumped him on graduation night. At their 15th reunion, she's a rom-com screenwriter and he's a divorce attorney. They reconnect.

I really liked how well done the characters were--not just Molly and Seth, but also their friends and families. The side characters all clearly have their own lives going on and they're all well-drawn. Molly and Seth each almost verge on being too stereotypical--Seth, particularly, at times comes off as too perfect for his own good, but we do see his foibles.

I particularly appreciated how Doyle shows Molly and Seth both deal with their inner demons and problems. There are references to Molly's therapist and while Seth might not have one himself, he does figure out what he needs to work on in himself. I like that Molly is jaded about a lot of things, but we also see her be a good friend and still have normal (non-romantic) relationships and her inner monologue about her reactions is spot on. The dialogue was well-done; it felt more natural than it does in many other books of this genre.

Also, there was a surprise baseball scene, which was both exciting and distracting, because the 2019 NLCS was not between the Cubs and the Dodgers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Molly Marks is living her life but can't get beyond her past. She doesn't believe in love and soul mates. Her two friends have given her grief about sabotaging every relationship. Seth Rubenstein and Molly were first loves through high school. Everyone thought they were going to make it but Molly's past comes roaring through and demolishes that. Now 15 years later at the high school reunion, they are seeing each other for the first time. A bet is made as to who will still be together in 5 years. The fun begins because Seth is a family lawyer who deals with divorce and Molly is a Rom-com screenwriter. In the end, Seth has the calming effect Molly needs to confront her past in order to have their HEA.

This is the rom com you didn't know you needed! She's the grump who doesn't believe in soul mates and somehow manages to write rom com movies and scripts. He's the sunshine divorce lawyer that believes in soul mates and true love. She broke his and her own heart once, but will they let it happen again? Sarcastic wit, fantastic dialogue, wonderful characters and a plot that has you laughing, crying and laughing again. There are so many relatable characters and moments in this story that I can't even begin to get into them. Getting the POV of both main characters totally brought the story to life and showed the difference in thinking between them! It also shows how the experiences that we each incur as we go through life shape how we react to situations. I absolutely couldn't stop reading this book and can't wait to dig into another story by this author!

Katelyn's debut rom-com novel is a funny and entertaining story of two friends who become lovers. Dive into the lives of Molly and Seth in this page-turning romantic comedy. But be prepared because there are some spicy scenes, and boy do they get steamy. Consider this your official warning!

Molly Marks and Seth Rubinstein dated fifteen years ago in high school. Molly decided to end the relationship suddenly at the end of their senior year. All in hopes of avoiding the potential that Seth would either find someone else after high school or break her heart. Their fifteen-year high school anniversary has arrived, and normally Molly wouldn't be caught dead attending any extravagant event that included big white tents. However, her two best friends have somehow convinced (or drug her along) her to attend. 

One unplanned rekindling, including far too many cocktails, ends in a drunken hookup between Molly and Seth. Molly, being the one who doesn't believe in soul mates, and Seth, being the opposite, decide to make a bet. Whoever can more accurately predict the outcome of five relationships by their twentieth high school reunion will win. The prize, you might ask? Molly admitting that soul mates do exist, or Seth admitting that they don't. The biggest surprise in this bet is that Molly and Seth are the fifth couple.

Molly is sure nothing more than their one-night stand will happen with the relationship between the two of them over the next five years, and Seth is sure they'll end up together the night of the twentieth reunion, if not beforehand. All in the name of love and some casual flavoring of spice. Dive into the story as Molly and Seth navigate friendship, love, and heartbreak.

Thank you to Katelyn Doyle, Flatiron, and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is officially out and ready for those of you who are (or want to be) rom-com readers to purchase. Happy publishing day yesterday, Katelyn!!

I totally picked this up just as we’re in the midst of planning our 20-year reunion because I couldn’t resist the premise. Two high school exes reconnect 15 years after a heartbreaking split. What follows is a drunken hookup and an epic 5-year bet as a jaded rom-com writer and divorce lawyer both try to predict the fate of five couples—including themselves!

While I’m thankful my high school ex won’t be in attendance later this year, it was fun to live the experience through these two, while also following along with the couples they bet on. Told between alternating POV chapters and in multiple parts, I thought author Katelyn Doyle did a great job giving us insight into what’s going on in Molly & Seth’s heads throughout the ups and downs of their run-ins. I enjoyed the pacing, the mix of text/emails and the friendship between the ladies as well!

Are they both a bit of a mess in their own ways? Yes. Do they seem to repeat patterns over and over again? Also yes. But did this book also offer super cute banter, a lot of Florida fun and an epic rom-com speech at the end? YES. For me, this was a fun, easy read because I wanted to see how this would all play out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was a total surprise and a total delight. I cannot wait to read more from Katelyn Doyle! It was one of my most anticipated new romance books of 2024 and did not disappoint.

Sometimes you pick up a book because the summary just speaks to you and you come to discover a new author that rocks it. Granted, I knew that though this is Katelyn Doyle’s debut novel, she has written historical romance books under her pen name Scarlett Peckham which I have devoured so I was hoping that she’d deliver when it came to contemporary romance as well and she does.

Just Some Stupid Love Story is this beautiful, quirky, second chance romance between two complete opposites who once loved each other as teenagers but whose hearts were broken on their high school graduation day.

Molly and Seth dated for four years until she shattered his heart (and her own) when she dumped him on graduation day. Flash forward 15 years and they find themselves face-to-face again for the first time at their high school reunion that Molly attends begrudgingly.
This awkward re-meet cute set the stage for how much these two “fit” one another despite their complete opposite views on love and relationships.

Seth is the adorable, cinnamon roll-type hero I don’t usually gravitate to but I could not help but fall for. This man was desperate to find his soul mate, his partner, his wife yet he pretty much knew it was the woman he fell for at age 14. I found it endearing that he would throw himself whole-heartedly into relationship after relationship believing that each could be the one but that also left him heartbroken time and time again when they didn’t work out.

Molly, however, is the heroine afraid of relationships. She is carrying around some significant daddy issues and family trauma that kept her from ever fully embracing relationships since she broke up with Seth because she’d rather be the one to leave before she was the one left.
But Doyle weaves this incredible slow burn, second chance romance between these two opposites that made me believe that they could finally find their happily ever after together.

Her characterizations were so spot on but she didn’t succumb to generalizations that could have made this book seem predicable at best. Instead, my heart ached for these two when they couldn’t get their timing quite right or when they fell victim to their same old patterns.
At the same time, I also loved their maturity in that they could recognize their destructive patterns and try and work on them together because they truly loved each other.

THIS is why I love reading romance and THIS is the book that reminds me why.

Molly and Seth could have easily rubbed me the wrong way but Doyle’s banter and self-reflections were just so well-written that I was hooked and thoroughly enjoyed this read. It’s truly one of the best romance books of 2024 I’ve read so far this year. I highly recommend it!

*Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Rom-coms are Molly Marks’s thing. It seems that someone who works so extensively on a genre all about romance would be a believer in true love, but skeptical Molly in her all black get ups couldn’t be further from a believer. In fact, she’s at best a skeptic. Meanwhile Seth Rubinstein practices “family law” (which is a polite way he tries to use to describe divorce). Seth is far from a skeptic about soulmates, though. He’s a believer! And possibly his ex-love interest who he’s never quite gotten over could be his. Molly, naturally, disagrees.

It was a fun little twist that the opposites-attract featured a romance-hater whose career is built around romance, while a romance-believer has a career built around the dissolution of marriages. Opposites attract, even in their career choices! Of course these two have a lot to work through if they are going to have any chance to make it to their happy-ever-after. Molly dumped Seth in high school brutally and without explanation, leaving him sad and confused. They never spoke again.

Molly seems tough on the exterior—she has a wall up that protects how vulnerable she can be from the outside. But inside Molly is a relatable character with emotions, doubts, and fear of getting hurt swirling around. Chapters alternate between Molly’s and Seth’s perspectives, giving the reader insight into their perspectives on their relationship, break up, and reunion.

They hook up. Of course they hook up! They have unresolved feelings, irresistible attraction, and a few too many tropical drinks at their high school reunion for the night to end any other way. And despite Molly resisting it, they’re in their own rom-com. Her challenge is to try to circumvent the cute moments she knows so well from escalating into something scary—love.

Molly is so certain that she won’t fall for Seth, and Seth is so certain she will, that they make a bet. Predict the fate of five couples from high school, including themselves. The book chronicles their interactions over the next five years. The emails, the texts, the phone calls, and the in-person encounters. The banter between Molly and Seth is a highlight of the book. Seth is very sappy but in a sweet way. Molly is a bit too closed off for me (a total softie) to relate to. I found her infuriating a lot of the time, but she won me over with what an amazing caring friend she is. Doyle also includes a good background on how Molly ended up so averse to love and vulnerability.

Charming and funny!

Thank you Flatiron Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.

Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle is a romcom that spans five years with former high school sweethearts Seth and Molly.  The pair, who reconnected at their fifteenth reunion, strike a wager that will keep their relationship alive until their twentieth.

The characters are very well-developed. Molly, for instance, suffers from a fear of commitment, which has led to a string of failed relationships. Seth, on the other hand, battles with imposter syndrome, constantly feeling like he's not good enough. These anxieties have defined them, creating complex and multifaceted characters who are often not likable. But together, this grumpy sunshine couple somehow makes sense.

The story went on a bit long. The constant back and forth, filled with misunderstandings and miscommunications, created a reading fatigue that made the book feel intolerably lengthy.  This repetitive pattern of conflict resolution, or lack thereof, was a major aspect of the plot and not my favorite trope.

However, what truly captivated me was the premise of the wager between reunions.  It injected the story with a delicious tension, akin to an enemies-to-lovers narrative, complete with witty banter that I couldn't get enough of. 

All in all, Just Some Stupid Love Story offers a delightful exploration into anxiety, triggers, and childhood wounds, making it a very entertaining read.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book, but I was happy to find an honest to goodness “true love” story.
Molly and Sam dated in HS and their attraction is still strong when they see each other at their 15th HS reunion.
She’s a rom-com film writer who doesn’t believe in true love or soulmates, and he’s a divorce attorney who believes in both. They make a 5 year bet on the longevity of the relationships of their classmates, including their own.
Shakespeare said “the course of true love never did run smooth” and this couple illustrates that quote perfectly. They learn a lot about themselves and each other over the next 5 years as they navigate their own personal second chance rom-com. 4.5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Molly is a Hollywood rom-com writer that doesn’t believe in love.

Seth is a divorce attorney that believes in fated love.

They both used to date in high school until Molly broke up with Seth before graduation leaving him heartbroken. Now 15 years later they meet again for the first time at their High school reunion and after some awkward tension, an unfortunate seating arrangement and one to many drinks they hookup. In the morning after, after an awkward moment they talk about love and realize how they both view love very differently and each of them wanting to be right agree to a bet that they will pick five couples from their high school reunion and they’ll bet on if the couples break up or survive over the next five years. The loser has to admit that the other is right about love. What could possibly go wrong?
Oh, and the fifth couple? It's Molly and Seth. Where Seth believes, Molly will be so madly in love with him that she will ask him to be her date to the next high school reunion, and Molly believes she’ll break Seth’s heart all over again just like she did back in high school.

***

This book spans over several years (won’t say how many as it could be a spoiler ) and with those years we get only the moments where our FMC and MMC interact or a lead up to their interaction I can understand why this was done but it leaves a lot of information out that would have helped with connecting with the charters, as an example there’s a moment where something is revealed and upsets one of our main characters and then it jumps several months later where were then told a recap of what has been going on, I understand the reasoning but it's doing a lot of telling me what’s going on than showing me, and I feel like we lose a lot of ways to connect with the characters in doing it this way.

Molly has been burned by the divorce of her parents and it’s affected the way she approaches any romantic relationship including the one with Seth and within the book I could understand her hesitation but there’s no steps taken to actually help her heal from her past and I wish romance books would include this, instead of having us believe that the will of love alone will cure all.

Seth is a breath of fresh air and a big walking green flag. He’s a man that goes for what he wants, who’s open about how he feels and who’s not afraid to show his emotions, he reminds me so much of Wade from the movie Elemental practically the same vibe, he complements Molly’s grumpy very well.

I also wanted more from the ending, I think it was rushed and everything was wrapped up too fast and really wanted more pay out for the buildup on the last third half of the book.

If you love reverse grumpy x sunshine, second chance, friends to lovers, right person wrong time this book is for you.


Solid 4 stars

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

I thought the premise of this one was really interesting for a second chance romance! Seth, who is basically a golden retriever personified, and Molly, the same but a black cat, used to be together back in high school until she broke up with him, leaving him high and dry on a very important night. Flash forward fifteen years and the two meet again at their high school reunion.
Molly is a talented screenwriter for romcoms, which is ironic given her view on love, and Seth is a divorce lawyer—- which is also ironic given his view on love. The two have always held a torch for each other, and while Seth will easily admit that, Molly is keeps all of her emotions very bottled up.
A reunion hookup later, these two make a bet regarding the fates of 5 couples, the last being themselves. Molly is essentially like “dream on” while Seth believes he can get her to see how much she really does love him. And he spends the next five years, until their 20th reunion, doing so.
These two experience heartbreak and great times, and this was a good rom-drom-com listen. I thought the male narrator did a really great job at portraying the golden retriever energy that Seth is.
If you’ve ever seen the movie “Love, Rosie”, this one gave vibes similar to that.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley.

⭐️rating: 4/5

I wanna watch this in movie form! This was so enjoyable with wonderful writing, fun banter, and snarky humor that I loved reading💙

The bet at the reunion was fun, and I enjoyed their encounters through the years after. Wonderful build up in this second chance romance.

And the sexting in chapter 22 oh MY🥵

It also gets deep and emotional. They’re flawed characters dealing with those flaws and the traits that have hurt their relationships. But there’s so much love there between them, they just need to work through their issues and fight for each other and for their relationship. It made them all the more real, which I always enjoy.

The ending was also great, it all came full circle and was a great way to wrap everything up. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would for sure recommend it!

Thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In Just Some Stupid Love Story, a cynical RomCom film writer and a hopeless romantic divorce lawyer meet again at their 15 year high school reunion in Palm Beach, FL. She broke his heart by abruptly ending things on the night of the graduation, and while they think they’ve moved on, they realize there is still a spark there.

Molly says she only writes romcoms because that’s where the money is, Seth says he still believes in soul mates. They make a bet about who will still be together at their 20th reunion, including themselves.

We follow them over the next 5 years, in and out of relationships. She is trying to heal from abandonment issues, he is trying to figure out why he accelerates all relationships too fast. They have more meet cutes and keep in touch and continue to grow toward each other.

You can expect:
Reverse Grumpy x Sunshine
Second Chance
High School Sweethearts
Bad Timing
Witty Banter
Soul Mates Wager
Mental Health rep
5 year Timeline
Mid30s MCs
Dual, 1stP POV

I enjoyed the banter, tension, and care the MCs had with each other. It was fun traveling with them all over the US, from Florida to Chicago to Los Angeles, visiting NYC and surrounding areas. Since there are a lot of timeline jumps it took me a bit to get invested in the characters, but by the second half I was fully in.

I don’t always love second chance romances because they dwell too much on the past, and while it does get analyzed here, most of the discussions and healing is done over emails and texts, so it didn’t feel as angsty. For a romcom there is a lot of focus on divorce throughout, both from the FMC’s childhood trauma and current friendships, and the MMC’s career causes a lot of conflict. Since the FMC is a writer, she analyzes their moments via tropes and bits, which is fun but sometimes a little too on the nose.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing an eARC for my honest opinion.

High school sweethearts Molly and Seth run into each other at their high school reunion. Molly is all kinds of awkward and surprised to find how Seth seems to be over how they ended. A drunken hookup and a bet on their old classmates later, they predict five couples who will make it or break it by their next reunion, including themselves.
I can't say I loved the (albeit small) focus on the pandemic - I read for entertainment and escapism most of the time - or some of the scene transitions. However, there were so many moments and the characters that more than made up for those minor complaints. I really appreciate how the rom-com screenwriter who doesn't believe in endless love keeps circling around the divorce attorney who is on the hunt for THE ONE. Katelyn's an author to watch and I'll absolutely try her again.
This duo of narrators, Christine Lakin & Tim Paige, were excellent choices for the main characters, seamlessly bringing the words to life.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the complimentary audiobook and to SMP and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Happy Publication Day!

Oh my goodness, this one deserves all the stars! Hands down one of my favorite romcoms this year!

Molly doesn’t believe in soulmates or happily ever afters due to her parents nasty divorce that resulted in her father leaving her mother devastated and a 13-year old Molly in charge of picking up the pieces. Despite that, she did find friendship and love in her high school boyfriend Seth. He was able to help her mend her broken heart, making her feel safe for the years they dated. But as college loomed, she broke up with him. If someone was going to leave, it would be her.

Fifteen years later, Molly and Seth reunite at their high school reunion. Their playful banter immediately connects the two and they fall into their old habits - dancing, being silly, and teasing one another. Seth would love to pick back up where things left off; Molly would too but….soulmates don’t exist and neither do happily ever afters.

Can Seth change her mind or will Molly always push people away?

This was such a great read that had wonderfully spicy moments as well as very real and heavy conversations.

This is definitely a 5 star read! I highly recommend it for those who enjoy romcoms!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Flatiron Books for early copies of the audiobook and ebook via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Just Some Stupid Love Story put such a smile on my face while listening to it! It’s a second chance romance with a grump/sunshine, but with the female as the grump. And yet she’s a romcom screenwriter and he’s a divorce attorney! The book starts at their fifteenth high school reunion and covers the five years before the next reunion. I have not attended any high school reunions, but the prep school they attended has quite lavish events, making them almost wedding-like.
I thought the book was really well done - I did a mix of listening and reading it, and it may have felt a little on the long side if I were just reading the ebook. Written in dual POV, both Christine Lakin and Tim Paige did an excellent job with the narration. There are a number of really funny scenes, and one extra steamy scene stands out. I found myself identifying with the main character Molly in probably a few too many ways 🤣The state of Florida takes some hits, as it’s where the main characters and the author grew up, but I thoroughly enjoyed laughing along.