I love a good life makeover romance and this was a fun one. That said, there were definitely points where I was mentally yelling at both Max and Sadie to get it together (and then I remembered my 20s and forgave them), and I struggled a bit with the requisite misunderstanding breakup part (but I often find them to be kind of silly so that might be just me). The ways that Max came out of her shell were sweet and fun and I loved watching her build a community and realize that everyone is struggling a little bit inside, even if it’s not always obvious. It was also fun to have Los Angeles as an important character itself. It’s great when a place is central to a story like that and has you falling a little in love with it too.

I really enjoyed For Her Consideration and I was waited for this one. I wanted to know Max better and I was not disappointed. Max is a wonderful character and I love her so much. I love Sandie too, but Max is my favorite.
The chemistry between those two is amazing. Nina and Ari (Ari my beloved!) was really good, but Max and Sandie have more sparks. I enjoyed this.
I loved the cameo too.
This book is a cuddle and I really can’t wait to have more of it, to read the other instalment of this series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

At Her Service is an enjoyable and heartwarming read, and I loved the image of LA's Hollywood and queer scenes that it portrayed. However, there were quite a few quibbles for me - as the novel is from Max's POV, and Max is so completely in her own head a lot of the time, I was left wanting to see the other characters more fleshed out. Even Sadie, who is so charming and engaging, doesn't feel like a character we truly get to know in depth. I also found myself actively frustrated by the inevitable third-act miscommunication and fallout - though I realise it's a romance trope that usually has to be adhered to. That said, seeing all of the different facets of Max's life gradually blossom as she came to know herself more, and watching her relationship with Sandie develop, made for a lovely read that balances humour, emotion, and introspection - with some welcomed cameos from the characters of For Her Consideration.
3.5 rounded up to 4.

This was my first Amy Spalding book and it did not disappoint. This story follows Max as she looks to expand her professional, personal, and love life. I absolutely loved the characters we met through the book and was so invested in the story. I was rooting for max since page 1.

Thank you to Netgallery for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

At Her Service follows the story of Max who is trying to climb up the corporate latter at her job, find love, and find herself along the way. At her favorite local bar that she is a regular at she has a huge crush on her bartender, Sadie. Both women truly are the epitome of trying to find yourself in your twenties.

I loved this book. It was relatable in the sense that you could see yourself and the people around you in every character. I audibly laughed at some of what the characters were saying and by the end of it I felt connected to them. Definitely worth the read!

The second story set in LA settles in nicely. Like [book:For Her Consideration|61193071], the details of the jobs in Hollywood are totally convincing and I can just see the restaurants, bars, and apartments. Does anybody else actually write scenes about what happens when you are stuck in traffic? It almost makes me want to spend some time in LA, and that is saying a lot.

Also, I'm trying to think of another sex scene that actually moves the plot and characters forward as much as this one and I just can't think of anything close. Maybe that is what is missing in other books, the story comes to a halt while they are in bed.

At this point, I'll read anything Amy Spalding writes. Lucklily for me, there are a few more books in her back catalog waiting for me.

At Her Service is a companion novel for one of my favorite romances…For Her Consideration that I read and completely fell hard for earlier this year.

In this one you meet Max Van Doren who has dreams/goals for her future. With a self confidence boost she can go after the things she’s been trying to achieve… promotion, and a girlfriend… specifically one girl she has been crushing on, Sadie a local bartender who has some dreams/goals of her own. Get ready to go along on a self actualization journey with Max and the community/friends she meets along the way!

Amy writes Hollywood in a way that makes me wish I can travel back to my 20s and move to LA get a sweet job in the entertainment industry, make friendships and build community whilst eating overpriced food and visiting hole in the wall bars. Seriously I’m living vicariously through these one book at a time.

All the characters have a purpose and it’s easy to get attached to each one. I’ve been trying to be a detective and sleuth who’s book we will get next… 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻please say there’s more to come!

These moments made me pause and highlight…

“Could you blush over your entire body?”

“The only thing I do outside is brunch.”

“There is no wrong version of you who isn’t good enough for a relationship.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell us that twenty-five is so young.”

Thank you Kensington for this E-ARC

At Her Service is a standalone sapphic romance set in the same universe as For Her Consideration - while it's nice to have the context of the first book, you can read this follow up without having read the first in the series.

Max is in her early 20s and coming to terms with the fact that the reality of her life in LA is not living up to the high expectations she set when she moved there from Kansas City. She's stalled in her job as an assistant at a talent agency, she doesn't feel connected to her successful influencer roommate, she hasn't built up the found family that she dreamed of building in LA... and she's hopelessly in love with Sadie, the gorgeous bartender at her favorite hangout.

To try to overcome her challenges, Max agrees to act as a test subject when her roommate is asked to review a new self-help app. Over the following 30 days, Max leans into the advice given by the app, and everything seems to be going well. She builds up the courage to tell her boss she wants to grow at work, she joins a queer kickball team and becomes close with the team, her wardrobe improves as she reaps the benefits of becoming a social media success story, and she even starts building a close friendship with the bartender. Their evolving connection sparks and builds into a potential romantic relationship, but will things fall apart when Sadie learns about Max' publicly sharing her progress against her goals?

I love how well Amy Spalding depicts queer communities. The concept of found family is central to this story - both the isolation of feeling like you haven't found your community yet, and then the difference it can make when you build those relationships.

Sadie's backstory is also really beautifully handled. I don't want to spoil this, but learning the full history of the bar where she works brought me to tears. It's a small detail in the story, but stands out as one of my favorite moments.

I will say that the book is a little heavy handed at times when showing how clueless Max is about how others perceive her. We get it - she has low self-confidence and doesn't realize that she's actually holding herself back. I understand that Max's inability to view herself accurately is critical to the plot, but by the time I was about 2/3 of the way through, I was getting sick of her perpetual obliviousness. I knocked a star off for this, because it ended up making me almost dislike Max. She gets her redemption arc (of course - it's a HEA romance!) but it still left a slightly sour taste in my mouth.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of At Her Service. I really enjoyed this book.

I often get annoyed with books with characters in their twenties because they just aren’t relatable to me as an elder millennial. But I really liked max’s voice and related quite strongly to her. She had a number of challenges, many that were limits she placed on herself, and much of the book was centered on her self-realization that the stories she was telling herself about herself weren’t all true.

The book is solely from Max’s perspective, which gives us space feom some of the other characters, where it has become more common in romantic books these days to alternate viewpoints so the reader knows everything about everyone. I preferred the single narrator first person for this book because it was so much about Max’s inner experience of herself and others.

I would have liked some more depth on Sadie - I feel like we knew relatively little about her, and perhaps not enough for Max to be in love. A bit more depth on Chelsea too - but given the limited perspective and part of it being that Max had mistaken impressions of folks, this fits with the plot.

I would have also liked mental health to be addressed with a little more nuance. Max at the beginning comes off as extremely anxious, likely in General Anxiety Disorder territory. It isn’t as easy for someone with clinical levels of anxiety to just “be bold” or “say yes”. Some acknowledgement of the mental health aspect and the struggle would have made this more accurate for me.

It was a well written and more complex read than some similar books, and I found it cute and relatable despite being a 40-something far outside of Hollywood.

I liked the general storyline of the MC expanding her professional and personal life by being more bold, and the sapphic romance was really cute! If you liked Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald, you'll like this one too!

I wish that there were more emotional conversations on page though, there were probably just a few really honest conversations between the main ship, and like one conversation between the MC and her roommate (I loved that friendship sm!!) - it's probably why I didn't enjoy the book enough to give it 5 stars.

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

I liked many parts about this books but felt that the main character was too whiny for me unfortunately. I can very close to DNFing, but I am glad I didn’t because I love this author and her stories. It ended up better than I thought it would due to character development.

Max has a Hollywood job that she likes and works at too much. She has a local bar, Johnny's, that she hangs out at perhaps too much. But she doesn't have the job she wants, she doesn't have friends, and she doesn't have a lover. Enter her roommate with a life makeover app. Will some "free" advice in exchange for video content give her the life she desires?

I got hooked on this book. It took me until Chapter 8, but then I devoured it. I will be getting myself a copy of the first book, because I want to enjoy these characters more. I definitely wanted to shake Max at the beginning of the book, but we've all been stuck in our rut at points. Sadie the bartender is a shy, humble, great person that you will be cheering for. And speaking of cheering, yay kickball!

Get yourself this book and enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the free advanced review pdf copy. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for review. Have been loving Amy Spalding's transition to writing adult romance. Max is her 20s and feeling lost and left behind, romantically, career wise, and in building a friendship group. She embarks on a journey of self actualization, and I think this story will be so relatable to anyone who has ever felt that they are somehow not quite winning at life. (So pretty much everyone I'm sure). The romance was sweet and I loved the development of their relationship. The highlight is definitely seeing Max build her queer community and develop the self confidence to put her self out there.

i have been waiting for this one! the second book in the out in hollywood series didn't disappoint (though less fatness than in book one--so like, disappointed minorly as someone who wants more fats more of the time, but not in a way that you can't expect from the cover and description). this was single POV and really kind even when characters were making mistakes--everyone is redeemable and i know that's not what EVERYONE wants, but it was exactly 1000% what i needed while i was reading this.

also this had my FAVORITE QUEER ROMANCE ENDING trope (can i call it a trope if i have only seen it twice?) and i was bawling on my bed while i read it.

This was gifted to me by Netgalley & the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I did not read the first book in the series, and that is completely my fault for not seeing that it took place in the same world. HOWEVER, I did not need it to love this Sapphic wonder of a book!

Max has a whole ass Wishlist for life, and right at the tippy top is having a girlfriend.......next to a good career too. She's doing alright in the career department, but she is not doing so hot in the girlfriend department. But, she does have her sights set on the gorgeous, Sophie. The local bartender, if only Max could work up the courage to do something about this damn crush.

This is a delightful and fun rom-com filled with all types of queer rep. If that is your jam then I would check this book out!

A cute little queer book about a masc babe who moves to LA to strike out big but is blind to what they have going for them. Some self actualisation, confusion, and kickball all help to create the community and love that Max is looking for. Not something I’d read again, but it was cute and I enjoyed it.

this has potential for people to love it, but it lacked something for me, which is very much a me problem. i personally didn't feel super connected to the characters nor did i feel super invested in their romance/story. i personally prefer more tropes in my books which this didn't have but i know some people prefer it that way. overall, i didn't feel very connected to the story but that's on my personal preferences.

At Her Service is a sapphic, friends to lovers, dream of a sequel. I really loved entering this series again and the follow-ups we got to see of Nina and Ari from the last book! There’s a hot bartender, a fun queer influencer roommate, some awkward online dating content, and a very gay kickball team.

I really enjoyed the story and how realistic our characters were. If you aren’t a fan of miscommunication though, you might cringe and pull your hair out at times. 😅 Our MCs are lovably messy but need to figure out how to speak their minds!

AT HER SERVICE is such a wonderful testament to the strength of community, especially among twenty-something queer folks. While Max's self-actualization journey is largely lonely, the community she builds around her throughout the process is so important to both her goals and her ultimate success. Against the backdrop of the queer LA scene, we see Max navigating work troubles, feeling like the awkward nerd who doesn't have any friends, and trying desperately to be normal around the bartender she has a massive crush on.

Max is deeply flawed, as are her friends and the people surrounding her (as are we all), so her journey is simultaneously hopeful and realistic. Her love story with the hot bartender is sweet and tender at times, hot and steamy at others, and difficult and tumultuous when a hurdle is thrown in their path.

I also loved that the AIDS crisis was incorporated into the story, even in a background way, because so much queer history is being lost to time and including it into a modern narrative that focuses on growth and love.

I'm excited to read this again when it's released!

Max Van Doreen moves from Kentucky to California. She is roommates Chelsey who is an influencer and wants to help Max by sponsoring her on a self actualization app. Max sets goals and sets out on a course to improve her life.

Max is such a relatable character as she wants to move ahead at work, make friends and have a long lasting loving relationship. She is self doubting and throws herself into work thinking it will help get her ahead. Then she meets Sadie a hot bartender and she is all she can think about.

Sadie has dreams of her own. Sadie and Max learn to lean on each other and trust each other. It is great to see the relationship develop and grow. I liked how they described Johnny’s as community and worked to save it.

This book was funny and just so entertaining