I loved the concept of this book, and I thought that parts of it were really cute! I generally really like a lot of books in this specific category. For me though, a lot of it just didn’t hit the spot. I didn’t feel super connected to the characters, and the setup in the beginning made me really dislike the fmc that was hard to undo even with all of the good stuff that happens later in the book. There wasn’t a ton of development that I saw either because, in the beginning, we see Max have a huge crush on Sadie but there was no “friends to lovers” or “enemies to lovers” trope it was just “bartender and customer to lovers.” I think we were supposed to like Chelsey the roommate at the end, but I just couldn’t get over how annoying she was during the whole social media campaign. I’m glad that a lot of people seemed to enjoy this book, but it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC

Amy Spalding is so consistently good. Her characters always feel like real people with delightful senses of humor who feel deep love. At Her Service won me over.

3.5/5 stars

What a fun Hollywood romp! This book follows Max, an assistant for a talent agency who feels a bit too awkward and uncool to really thrive in LA. I feel that almost everyone in their twenties will relate to Max with her feelings of not being adult enough, not being taken seriously and not feeling confident with who you are. Most nights she escapes hanging out with her very confident influencer roommate and her friends by hanging out at the local bar, pining over the gorgeous bartender Sadie. This book almost felt like a late coming-of-age story but for mid-late 20s queer folk, which is something I definitely want to see more of.

I admit that usually I am definitely someone that prioritises romance plot lines over everything, but this book pleasantly surprised me. Although much of the story is focused on Max navigating her career, friends and overall life in LA, I actually loved these moments. While I did want a bit more of Sadie and Max together, especially towards the end, I really connected to Max and enjoyed her development (which there was a lot of!). Sadie was similarly loveable and on her own journey of confidence and acceptance (what, the mysterious hot bartender also gets their own character development?!?).

I think overall the best thing about this book is the cast of characters. There were just heaps of loveable, flawed and relatable queer characters that felt so three-dimensional. There were no clear villains and heroes, instead all of the characters messed up in little ways but we still love them because of it. Because a major underlying theme of the book was about queer connections and belonging, this cast of characters really felt like the beating heart of the story.

If you go into the book for just the romance, you might be a bit disappointed. But if you want a sweet romance with a larger story of self-acceptance and belonging, then you are definitely in luck! Also bonus, although I’ve never been to LA, this book really made me feel like I was right there, such great setting-building and I’m sure there are lots of hidden Easter eggs and in-jokes for people actually living in LA.

Unfortunately I didn't read the first part, but I got along very well with it.
This is its own book and not part of a series that follows one another. So all the characters were new and sometimes a bit much...still all likeable and crazy supporting characters.
Max herself is just at a point where everything she wanted to achieve seems out of reach and then there's her total crush on Sadie, the bartender. She is so sweet and nice and everything that makes the dream woman for Max.
So, she's way out of her league for her, or so Max thinks... out of a desperate situation she says yes to her influencer roommate and an app that changes everything.
I have to say that the feelings and the developing romance between the two MC‘s was sometimes a little too short for me and I would have liked to have had more love and pure attraction, but maybe that’s just me.
I enjoyed reading it though!
Thanks to the Author Amy Spalding and Kensington Books for the ARC!

In the sequel to 'For her Consideration' Max, the only queer assistant at Exemplar Agency, is a dating disaster.
Worse, she drunkenly confessed to the cute bartender, Sadie, AND is suffering a wicked hangover.

THEN Max spilled cheese sauce on poor Sadie's butt.

Despite all this, Max carries on trying to get promoted and get a date.

(We also catch up with Nina from the first book, but this novel works as a stand alone)

And Max roommate influencer wants to make her go viral.

(And that's only the first 1/3 of the book!)

Really good, fun read. I was hoping we'd get Max' story after the first book. and I'm glad we did.

3.5⭐ Max Van Doren has a wish list, and a great career and a girlfriend are at the top. But despite being pretty good at her job as an assistant to one of Hollywood’s fastest rising talent agents, she has no idea how to move up the ladder. And when it comes to her love life, she’s stuck in perpetual lust for an adorably perfect bartender named Sadie. Her goals are clear—and Max has everything but the self-confidence to go for them. Even her mother seems to assume she’ll be crawling home to her childhood bedroom at some point.

When Max’s roommate, Chelsey—an irritatingly gorgeous and self-assured influencer in plus-size and queer spaces—offers to sponsor her for a new self-actualization app, Max gives in. If she can’t run her own life, maybe an algorithm guiding her choices will help? Suddenly Max is scoring big everywhere, and her dreams are achingly close to coming true. But when one of Chelsey’s posts reveals Sadie’s part in the app’s campaign, Max is poised for heartbreak on all fronts. Tired of the sponcon life with its fake friends and endless selfies, Max realizes that to have true influence, she’ll have to find the courage to make her own, totally authentic way in the world .

This was a fun read, but felt more for younger readers. I imagine I'm older than the target audience for this one! It was fun watching Max and Sadie find themselves and each other. I really enjoy Spalding's writing and character building.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

Fantastic! Hope for the cynical with sharp, sexy wit. My fav trope, found family, and main characters the reader will definitely fall for! I think what Amy Spaulding does best is crafting real, relatable characters - no matter who you are!

"Giving up a crush had sounded bad enough; giving up my hangout was somehow even worse."

And Max's list in chapter 23 has some great advice, no matter where you are in life, especially:

"#5. Improve your form, literally and metaphorically speaking."

This book was really cute!!! I loved the sapphic representation! I also think the story concept was really cool! The romance was good. I do feel as though it dragged in some parts. Other than that I enjoyed this book and would recommend to others!

I just love Amy Spalding - her YA books are amazing and her two adult romances are so so good. The characters feel so real, the friendships are what we all hope to have, and the romance makes me happy. After meeting Max in For Her Consideration it was fun to spend time with her here - I wasn't sure how she would hold a whole book but it was great, and really captured those starting-out/becoming an adult moments so well.

Ah, I can't believe it took me so long to realise that this was the second novel in a series that I started when I read For Her Consideration earlier in the year. It was only when I finally recognised not just the name Nina but the small bit of backstory that was given between her and Ari Fox that I thought to myself... that sounds familiar.

In all other ways, this is a completely stand alone novel. I will say that I didn't love this main character, Max, as much as I liked Nina. She's much more of a mouse, which is a difficult decision to make for the main character of your story. She doesn't move the plot around a whole lot. She's scared a lot of the time. And reading a first person narrative from that point of view makes for a nervous session of reading. Especially when we realise only later that she's such an unreliable narrator that we can't believe the way she thinks any of the other see her.

The saving grace here is that Max does want to change her life. To turn it around. She's just not quite sure how to go about it.

At work, Max feels like she's being taken for granted by a boss who (rightly) doesn't see that she's very forceful in getting what she wants, and so how is she supposed to be forceful to get what clients might want? At home, she feels as though she's a burden or an inconvenience to her much more outgoing, influencers roommate. She hardly feels like she can be in the rest of her own house outside her bedroom. In love, she is pining for a bartender who works not more than 5 minutes away from her house and who she's never dared share her feelings.

Look, I still love Amy Spalding's writing. The story was well written and came together with a satisfying ending. I just feel as though, for me, it was the main character who let me down with this specific novel.

I was given the upcoming novel At Her Service by NetGalley.This was the first book I’ve read by Amy Spalding but I definitely need to add her to my must read list. I absolutely loved both of the main characters. I loved both of them together and I want more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really wanted to like At Her Service more especially given I've liked past works by this author. Unfortunately I came off of forcing myself through another book and didn't want to ruin reading for awhile which led to this becoming a DNF. I hope to go back to it to see if I can get into it but the story was not hooking me in any way as of now.

This was a fun read! I liked the character development, and I was so happy to see a plus-sized character being represented in a sapphic romance novel!

This was a sweet sapphic romance about self development and found family. I liked the supporting characters in the story more than the main character, Max. The subplot of the life of an influencer was interesting, as was the origin story of the neighborhood bar that she frequented. Max seemed a bit too needy and insecure in this, and I did not really feel that she grew as a character in a way that would make her more appealing. The story arc did not fully capture my interest, so I never felt really drawn into the book.

I would recommend this to readers of modern LGBTQIA+ romance with some reservations.

I liked this one so much more than the first in the series - though I enjoyed that one too!

Max is a twenty-six year old assistant living in LA and barely making rent. She’s feeling lost and alone, and spends most of her time either working or at a bar near her apartment. She has a crush on the hot bartender and embarrassed herself out one night. She goes on a date with a different girl she met at the bar and in a fit of sadness, joins her influencer roommate for the launch of an app about finding self-fulfillment.

Max’s insecurities, thoughts, anxiety, and basically everything about her, made sense to me. We’ve all been there. Hell, I’m still there some days. She was so so so relatable that I swear the author was writing from my brain. I loved her growing relationships with the people around her and her romance with Sadie. I loved how much Max grew and changed.

This book was really, really great. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another banger from Amy Spalding! I read so much that there are few writers whose characters just keep on living inside my head long after I finish their stories, but Amy Spalding does it to me every time. I found myself revisiting Ari and Nina in my imagination long after I’d finished For Her Consideration — and I’m positive Max and Sadie will be cozied up in my noggin forever now too. Yes, that Max! Joyce’s queer assistant from the last book takes center stage in At Her Service. What I loved most about this book was Max’s hilarious, heartfelt, entirely relatable journey toward self-actualization. The romance was so sweet and sexy and comfortable, but it was really the cherry on top of a wonderful tale about the trials and joys and heartache and triumph of becoming a happy queer adult. I especially loved that Max wasn’t always the most reliable narrator about herself (especially about how other people felt about her) because that’s what it’s like to
be human! I was so move finding out, right along with Max, how people really perceived her, Spalding makes me cackle out loud so much I won’t even read her books in bed because I know I’ll wake up my wife with my giggling. I’m also always endlessly impressed with how deeply versed she is in queer pop culture: all her references and jokes are so organic they feel like my own friends and I could be making them. I hope there’s even more to come in this series, but either way, Amy Spalding’s got a lifelong fan in me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.

"At Her Service" by Amy Spalding is a delightful romantic tale that not only sweeps readers off their feet with its adorable love story but also resonates deeply with anyone trying to navigate the complexities of adulthood and self-discovery. This book captivates with its fun romance and the authentic portrayal of a young woman striving to find her place in the adult world.

What sets "At Her Service" apart is its exploration of the modern challenges faced by young adults, from the complexities of relationships to the constant pressure to present an idealized version of oneself on social media. Max's decision to use a self-actualization app adds a unique twist to the story, highlighting the way technology infiltrates our lives and influences our choices. "At Her Service" beautifully captures the essence of self-discovery and the courage it takes to embrace one's true self. Max's journey to authenticity is both empowering and heartwarming, reminding readers that it's okay to stumble along the way as long as you stay true to yourself.

This was a very solid novel. I hadn’t read the first book so there were a few times I was a bit lost in the backstory of a character or two. There were also a few storylines that had pretty big holes or felt like they deserved some more attention. It still was a very sweet and comfy story. Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of this novel!

I just couldn't get into this book. I kept waiting for something to hook me, a character to suck me in and it just didn't happen. I got a halfway through before just admitting i did not care at all what happened to these people and dnfing. Maybe for some people, not for me.

Amy Spalding knocked it out of the park with At Her Service. When Max embarks on a roommate led social media campaign to get her life together and reach her goals, she didn't exactly know what was abut to happen. This story is so relatable, touching on the annoying thoughts of self doubt and longing towards crushes. I found myself rooting for the main characters throughout the book and highly recommend this fun read to all.