At Her Service by Amy Spalding
Out in Hollywood series #2. Sapphic romance. Can be read as a stand-alone. New Adult.
Max Van Doren has a great job as a Talent Agent Assistant. She juggles tasks, phone calls, errands and reads scripts. Sure, she’d love to have her boss’s job one day, but she’s still learning. And her job keeps her busy so she really hasn’t made any friends. She does have a favorite neighborhood bar but that may be because she has a huge crush on the bartender, Sadie.
Max has goals but she is not really sure how to make them a reality. Roommate Chelsey, a gorgeous and self-assured influencer convinces Max to sign up for a new self-actualization app and document the process through Chelsey’s page. Max now has actionable items for her career, finding new friends, gaining strength and moving forward on love. Max feels like her life is finally coming together. But the public exposure can also cause problems.

Oh the angst of dating, career and responsibilities. It can be daunting in your 20’s. Or 30’s. Or any age. This story has heart and drama. It has sexy love and uncomfortable friendships. It has career ambitions and uncertainty. It’s has feel good moments galore as Max learns more about herself and what she really wants. And it has love. It takes work but finding and keeping love does. And it’s okay.
Chase your dreams. You’re worth it.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

If you loved the first book, For Her Consideration, you’re going to love this one as well. The characters are heartfelt and genuine and Spalding creates a dynamic you truly want to root for

Something I really love about Amy Spalding's Out in Hollywood series is how smart and honest it is about working in the entertainment industry. Even something as simple as buckslip hierarchies are true to life details that make her books stand out. I also love her focus on found family and queer community, and in honoring people and paths that don't follow a certain type of middle class ideals of success. I really loved seeing Max come into herself in this book, and I strongly related to changing paths in Hollywood. I accidentally requested the UK and the US arcs of this book; whoops! That's how excited I was to read it.

Book #2 in the Out in Hollywood series!

We met Max in book #1 and I was definitely ready to see her get an HEA! We want all the good things for Max since she was so relatable.

The dedication is to adults who still feel like they are cosplaying and if that’s not relatable idk what is. Adulting is hard. And Max is hard on herself.

Sadie was a hot mess but I still adored her. The friends to lovers aspect of their relationship was *chefs kiss*

I’m excited for more of this series and wonder who the next book will be about.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for this ARC of ‘At Her Service’ by Amy Spalding.

This book was so sweet and lovely. The chemistry between Max and Sadie was amazing and I was really rooting for them. I do think Max wasn’t always 100% likeable but I think that just adds to the story. Cannot wait to read more from this author!

I enjoyed the first book and where we get to meet Max, so when i saw that Max was going to be the focus in the second book I was really excited to read it. But this book was so boring for me and it just felt like it dragged on and on about Max and her life crisis of figuring herself out. for being a romance book, mid-way in the book there still was no aspect of the relationship developing at all with Sadie. I found myself so uninterested at that point and it was difficult to finish this one.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a wonderful book!

3.5/5, a genuinely enjoyable read! This did feel overall less about the romance than it was about Max’s individual journey, but I found her a compelling enough character that I was willing to go along for the ride. Max and Sadie had a good dynamic and chemistry — I just think we could have seen more of it. I felt similarly that the side characters had the potential to be really fun and fleshed out, but they didn’t get enough of the book equivalent of screen time (page time?). The critiques of the influencer/Hollywood lifestyle is a good backdrop for both the individual and interpersonal conflict here and made me interested to go back and read the first book in this series. The “I love you” confessions sure do come quick but I guess that’s the sapphic romcom way! At least it didn’t end in an engagement.

I enjoyed this! I felt this was enjoyable even coming in as a second book in a larger series. The specificity of detail in Amy Spalding’s writing makes this a very vivid book. And as a former entertainment industry worker, I found her knowledge of the field to be pretty dead on!

If I see a sapphic romance, especially a sapphic rom-com, I'm always down to give it a try. Max Van Doren is feeling stuck in life, both personally and professionally. She's good at her job as an assistant for a Hollywood talent agency, but trying to make her way up the ladder is difficult. Personally, she has a crush on Bartender Sadie, who she feels is way out of her league. Maybe Max's influencer roommate convincing her to try a self-actualization app will be the motivation and confidence boost she needs to take the next step.

The plot of At Her Service feels very relatable, and hits on feelings that most if not all early adults struggle with. I appreciated that aspect here, as well as the traditional romantic tension and energy of this book. I did struggle a bit with some of the side plots going on. While it felt like they did help move the narrative along, sometimes I wanted a little more focus on the central romance. Overall a solid read if you're into sapphic romance!

I really enjoyed this book! The relatability of how Max feels about having a crush is accurate to WLW crushes. I found Max and Sadie both very relatable even though they were so different.

Not only did I love seeing Nina again of course I really enjoyed Chelsey and Ava as well! There’s a lot to take from this book and honestly, I could read Amy Spalding all day long! Thank you netgalley and publisher for an ARC of this incredible book! One of my favorite sapphic novels yet!

Would recommend for fans of…
🎬 For Her Consideration
🎬 One to Watch
🎬 Playing With Matches


You know that feeling when you love a book and get SO nervous for the sequel, worrying that it won’t live up to the beloved first book? That was me heading into At Her Service.

For Her Consideration was one of my favorite books of 2023 and I was eager to continue spending time in this universe, this time with agency assistant Max, who’s looking to improve all aspects of her life. Spoiler alert: I loved everything about this book!

One of the things that I love most about this series is that even though these books are true romances with a HEA, Amy Spalding is able to elevate them to so much more than “just” a romance. The characters, particularly Max, are super relatable and Spalding absolutely nails the depiction of feeling “stuck” in life. I think At Her Service (and For Her Consideration as well) will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt frustrated by their work, personal, or romantic life.

Beyond the Max + Sadie romance, Spalding incorporates all sorts of thematic elements into the story. From self-improvement culture to influencer life to even little Hollywood details (all of which were spot on), there are a lot of topics to spark discussion. It seems like a lot to manage, but she deftly weaves these plotlines together in a way that feels organic and realistic.

I’m pretty sure there’s a third novel coming out next year (and if there isn’t, I’ll be devastated), so take that as your sign to start this series now! At Her Service is out now. Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A few weeks ago I listened to For Her Consideration that is the first part in Out in Hollywood so I was Happy to get a chanse to read At Her Service via NetGalley. At Her Service is about the delightful underdog Max that you really cheer for. Thanks to her influencer roommate she gets a chanse to develop her career, social life and most importantly her love life. Not all goes as planned but in the end all works out. I really enjoyed the read that really gave me a good feeling afterwards.

(This review is admittedly late (I’m sorry, Amy Spalding because I love you and Sadie and Max (And Nina and Ari). I was given this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, but life got in the way and I wasn’t able to read until my physical pre-order copy came in but I’m so glad I did!)

I was so excited when I found out that for her consideration was going to be part of the out in Hollywood series because I loved the story, and the queer fat femme rep and it was such amazing writing that explored self growth in such a unique way. This novel does the same with new lovable characters with their own set of fears, anxieties, passions and mutual crushes with cameos from old favorites. Both Max and Sadie were deep and relatable and really modeled that: if I’m an adult, why don’t I feel like one or know what I’m doing mid-twenties feeling. Life isn’t Friends or the L-word and it takes a lot of trial and error to find friends and love and success. You will feel seen and smitten.

I enjoyed this book about as much as this author's previous one, For Her Consideration. I think it's often tricky to navigate a story where the main character is making lots of personal growth but then it all crashes down as part of the 3rd act conflict. I will say that I enjoyed this more than some other books that follow a similar storyline. I really liked the LI here and everything surrounding preserving the bar. I wish there had been a little bit more with that.

Overall, I would likely recommend this to fans of the author's previous books, but it wouldn't be at the top of my list.

So cute! I've loved Spalding's YA titles and the adult titles are no exception. This book is cute, cozy, and full of heart. I'm excited to read more adult titles from Spalding in the future.

I got 22% of the way through this and decided it wasn’t for me. Such a slow start and I couldn’t see myself being invested enough or connecting at all with the main or supporting characters to finish it out. There was a lot of repetitive internal dialogue…a lot. I do appreciate that this was a diverse based read with the Sallie aspect and references to social awkwardness. I haven’t read the first book in this series or anything else by the author to know if this is the norm for her. I do feel bad for not finishing Max’s story through…maybe I will pick it up at another time.

At Her Service is a good fit for those seeking a heartwarming and empowering story about self-discovery, love, and the importance of authenticity in today's digital age.

This book isn't for me! I'm not connecting with the characters and overall I'm bored. I hope others continue to like it but I will be DNF'ing this one. My review will only be posted on netgalley.

A (stand alone) sequel to For Her Consideration (Feb 2023) this story focuses on Max Van Doren and is told entirely from her POV. Max is an assistant to a successful talent agent. She does her job well but doesn’t know if she can take it to the next level and move her career forward. Likewise her personal life is on hold as well. She sees her influencer roommate with cool friends doing fun things but she lacks her own confidence. And she is smitten with Sadie who is a bartender at her favorite hangout.

Her roommate Chelsea offers her a chance for an overhaul promoting a self actualization app. Of course everything has to be shared via social media. The app seems to help boost Max’s confidence at work and even with Sadie. But how much of it is real change or the extra money, clothes and personal training she is getting as part of the makeover. There are a lot of insecurities and stories at play in this book. Like For Her Consideration, I felt it was more like this was women’s fiction with the focus on the main character’s journey with a side of romance. I enjoyed the story and the appearance of characters from the first book. But when a book is promoted as a romance, I want the romance to be the focus. (4 Stars)