What could have been a really sweet story between two different but ambitious girls turned out a very confused, surface level attempt at romance. Wish the two characters had better conversations and the whole introvert with a list and bar keeper with a minimalist attitude didn't vibe with me. Well, it's still a good read. The writing was good and ofcourse the whole Game (read to know more) was a fun "how do you do". It felt the main characters and their love for each other felt a bit forced and surface level.

Amy Spalding truly knows how to write the trials and tribulations of a queer quarter life character. I recall feeling like Max so many times while reading this story. I couldn't ask for more than that. But then Spalding added Sadie and the romance floated me away. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

A funny and relatable tale about figuring out life and creating chances for yourself.

I received an advance copy for free from Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Mousy, awkward and not dealing with life in a way she expected to be. Max is 26. Somehow she would have thought she would have had her life on target right now, but nothing is further from the truth. Yes, she is living in L.A. working an assistants job for a Hollywood talent agency. A job she actually loves. But still, Max is the same tiny queer girl that no one expects anything from. Oh and she has the biggest crush on bartender Sadie. A girl way too cool to actually notice her. When her successful influencer roommate convinces her to try out a self-actualization app, Max has no idea what she signed up for. Maybe, just maybe, all she needed was a kick up the behind to make her dream life a reality. Hopefully Bartender Sadie will be part of it.

Everyone that has once doubted their own abilities will recognize themselves in this book. It’s written from Max’s POV and you get an intimate look into her self talk and the way, essentially, she is holding herself back in accomplishing her dreams. I loved reading about the connection Max and Sadie build. They are in the same boat, looking for someone who actually sees them and believes in them.

Max is hilarious but not in a forced way. The dialogue flows easily from funny banter to sensitive subjects. It’s a very smooth read. The backdrop of L.A. is wonderful. Especially as it’s not focused on the well known hotspots but more on the casual vibe that both Max and Sadie have. The bar Sadie works at is one of those important places that helps build the story because of its history and nature.

What I loved most about this story is that, although Max sets out to change herself, at her core she stays exactly the same. She only learns to unlock her potential. And that is something we all hope to do.

At Her Service is a great reminder that anything can happen, once you set your heart and mind to it.

*thank you for the ARC*

This book was already dated from the time it was conceived. While the premise is standard enough, the average of one pop culture reference per page is kind of exhausting. In between the Apple Watch, postmates, Levi’s jeans, Yaris, TikTok, keurig, yeti mug, and whatever else came up, you can piece together the story of oddly average Max and her crush in the local bartender. As she undergoes a self actualization course for her influencer roommate, she grows more confident and life starts turning. The stakes are never high and the characters never get a ton of depth to them. While I was hoping for standard rom com levels of quality this just didn’t hit the mark for me.

While dropping in random pop culture moments that were clearly just author preferences and do nothing but distract is annoying at best, the lack of interesting plot was also hard to get around. Now listen. I’ve read my fair share of these books. I know a thing or two about rom coms. My bar is accurately calibrated. But when you throw so much into the plot that it becomes a trudge and at the same time doesn’t accomplish anything, then I have a problem.

I think it’s been accurately described as lacking romance.

I am also firmly rooted in the idea that authors think they are more clever than they are. Myself included. Giving a character the nickname “BBQ” is just hard to read and takes away any semblance of flow.

Unrelated but a personal pet peeve is the historical commission to save a building plot line only because I work in this field and can promise that it is not like this. It is insanely hard to get in the register for good reason.

This is a very cute coming of age story. Max is deeply awkward, but very likeable. Sadie is quietly insecure but otherwise very perfect. This is basically two awkward, just starting their lives people realizing that being a grown up is hard and that everyone kinda sucks at it. Very sweet RomCom. Loved the whole process of going out to discover your own found family.

My favorite romance I’ve read so far in 2024. Which is no surprise, since Amy Spalding never disappoints.

I related to Max on so many levels: short person woes, never being taken seriously at work despite being a dependable and dedicated employee, having trouble making friends, being too shy and insecure to successfully woo anyone, and needing to cocoon alone at home to recharge the introverted batteries.

Sadie had me smitten from the get-go and is my newest book girlfriend. She’s so fun and sexy, and I was amused by her aversion to smartphones and “robot watches.”

Max and Sadie had excellent chemistry. Their romance was slow burn, but the spicy scenes were worth the wait.

I also was excited to see Nina and Ari from For Her Consideration again. And I enjoyed the camaraderie of the kickball team.

This was very much a coming of age story, even though it’s about someone in their late twenties. Which honestly was super refreshing because some of us well past our twenties are still desperately trying to figure out how to be an adult. I’m not sure that journey ever truly is over.

Honestly, I’m feeling kind of inspired after reading this, as cheesy as that sounds. Maybe I should take some of the advice Max received from her journey to heart.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

This is a cute book with a new adult vibe and lots of angst. I wouldn’t really call it a rom com because Max’s anxiety is pretty over-the-top. Her perspective on the world is so skewed that she should really be in therapy or on medication or both. I’d call the book chick lit more than romance.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

One thing I find when I read a Spalding book - she writes about just existing as a queer person in the world in a way that really resonates with me. There's a lot of honesty in it that I find really enjoyable to read. Max van Doren feels like her life isn't going anywhere because no one else believes in her ability to be more than she is - so after a very bad day she agrees to team up with her influencer roommate to work with app start up You Point Oh to turn her life around. I really like Max's journey toward realizing that part of being an adult is taking responsibility for the things in your life you don't like. To realize that the world isn't going to give you anything you aren't working toward or asking for. I think the romance takes a backseat in this to Max's personal journey, and I did really want to shake her a few times (but that's because I recognized a lot of my mid twenties self in some of her struggles). While I didn't love this one as much as For Her Consideration, I am looking forward to the next installment of Out in Hollywood (maybe about Paige??)

I had mixed feelings about book 1, but I loved Max and was still really interested in reading her book. But I ended up with mixed feelings again. I did still like Max as a character, but this barely felt like a romance for most of the book. So much of it was about Max's job and the self-actualization program she was following, and these things were frankly making me more anxious in an already stressful time.

I think this author’s writing isn’t my style. It’s very flat and unengaging, and the characters just don’t come to life for me.

amy spalding’s writing style is so fresh and relatable. i was rooting for max and sadie the whole time and i loved that they were messy gays!! the spice was very good and the whole book was swoon-worthy. i overall had a great time reading this one and i would recommend it to anyone in search of a sapphic, bartender, queer kickball league, found family, off-the-grid, saving a queer bar, romcom!!

After loving For her consideration I was so excited to read Max’ story! I fell in love with the characters in this book again and mostly Max. I loved seeing someone in their mid-twenties that hasn’t figured everything out yet and is still looking for what they want, it felt so refreshing and relatable. I really enjoyed the You Point Oh storyline and Chelsey, as it really added so much to the story. A truly amazing sapphic LA romance, Amy Spalding has done it again!

An amusing novel about Max, a woman who tries using a self actualization app to find herself and change her life which has gone stale but finds, much like Dorothy, it's all inside. Good characters (well I wasn't a fan of Sadie) and relatable situations make this a good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Another nice LGBTQI offering set in Hollywood from Spalding

In At Her Service. Max is looking to level up her life and starts a program to achieve her goals.

I read For Her Consideration and loved the characters - I cheered for them and my heart broke for them. The second book in the series is no exception. Amy Spalding’s characters are so relatable that you’re immediately sucked into their lives. I am often not a fan of first person storytelling because I find it hard to enter the world. Amy Spalding’s world is so real and genuine that I easily fell into Max’s world. I felt her awkwardness and insecurity and felt like I grew right alongside her.

Amy Spalding's At Her Service is a delightful second installment of her Out in Hollywood series. Both books stand alone, but if you read For Her Consideration you met Max and this is her book.

Spalding does a great job of letting us really get to know her characters, not just the main ones, but all the fringe folks as well.

Poor Max is really down on her life when we meet her, and fixing up her world doesn’t come easy - but that’s where the richness comes in, right? Max has to work her way through it all, but there’s a very happy HEA which is truly worth working for. Most enjoyable.

I initially DNFd this book, it wasn’t gelling for me. But I decided to give it another chance, and whilst it wasn’t my favourite read, I enjoyed it.

Four stars!

Thank you to Amy Spalding, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

After reading For Her Consideration—the first book in the Out in Hollywood series—when it was released at the start of 2023 and absolutely loving it, At Her Service became one of my most anticipated books of 2024, and (even after all that time waiting) it didn't disappoint.

Amy Spalding is back which her particular brand of sapphic magic. At Her Service is as funny as its predecessor, featuring Spalding's signature (and all too relatable) disaster lesbians, sapphic pining, and a diverse cast of distinguished career women, queer friends, and some absolutely wonderful cameos appearances by everyone's favourite For Her Consideration couple and a new furry friend.

I was super excited when Spalding announced that Max Van Doren would be getting her own book. Max was one of my favourite parts of For Her Consideration, from her spectacularly dreadful dating life to the way she had a meme for every situation, and, of course, her blossoming friendship with Nina. It felt so right to me that Max should get a book of her own, and I couldn't wait to read it.

"Goal #1: Get a Promotion or At Least a Mentorship Offer. Make Joyce see the value I could bring to a bigger role here. Get her to take me seriously!!"

Max has been stuck in the same position at Exemplar for a few years now and all she wants—besides a girlfriend—is to move up the ladder from assistant to junior agent. While Max has her goals she doesn't have the confidence to achieve them. Yet.
In comes her influencer roommate Chelsea, who offers to use her platform and a sponsorship with self-actualisation app You Point Oh to help Max get what wants out of life. All Max has to do is make a series of videos baring her deepest desires for Chelsea to post on her socials for hundreds of thousands of followers to see. What could go wrong?

"Goal #2: Fall in Love, Ideally with Sadie. Figure out a way to not just have a crush but to pursue something real with her, or at least find out it something real is worth pursuing, and if not with her, with someone. I want to be in fall-over, swooning, out-of-control, deeply connected love. I want someone to see me for everything I know I can be, and I want that for her too."

Though Max's dating history is pretty abysmal—there was that girl who tried to get her to join a cult, after all—she's had her heart set on one girl since she first walked into her local queer bar, Johnny's. Max has heart-eyes for vintage t-shirt and faded cutoffs wearing Sadie, the hotty-with-a-body and unironic flip-phone user bartender who makes Max a perfect Paloma whenever she stops by. Which is almost every day. Max just can't stay away, and who can blame her when Sadie's so mysterious, gorgeous, friendly, and easy to love.
Soon, Max has committed herself to helping Sadie save the bar—so she can eventually buy it from her late uncle Johnny's partner, Billy—in exchange for Sadie showing her the wonders of off-the-grid LA.
But is there a future in which Sadie could reciprocate Max's feelings for her when Max accidentally admitted an all too embarrassing secret to Sadie when she'd had one too many Palomas? And besides that, Sadie doesn't know about Max's involvement in You Point Oh's campaign, and with her views on the toxicity of social media would she even understand?
Still, there's an undeniable connection between the two, if only the Sadie would let it play out, but can that outweigh Sadie's emotional baggage and Max's sort-of-lie by omission?

"Goal #4: Get a Group of Friends. I watched The L Word a lot when it was still on Netflix and I thought for sure that when I arrived in LA I'd find my queer chosen family. Instead I found out the original series was mainly shot in Canada and it is much harder to connect with people than I thought."

Something I really enjoyed in For Her Consideration was Nina's found family, and while Max doesn't have something quite like that in At Her Service, I think that Spalding set up the foundations of one for Max wonderfully throughout the book. Showing how Max actively seeks community and starts to find that for herself during the course of the book sends a really hopeful message to readers who relate to Max's situation.
I do wish that that kickball had come into the narrative earlier on though. I'd have loved more time with Max's teammates, and I'm really hoping that the next book is about Paige so that there can be more of Secret Weapon Max and the But I'm A Kickballer team. Also, I just really love Paige. The way that Max and Paige patched things up after their terrible date was a nice way to show solidarity and community between queer people, and queer women in particular. A really nice inclusion.

If you enjoyed For Her Consideration you'll enjoy At Her Service, and maybe even more. For me, Max and Sadie are far more relatable characters than Nina and Ari (though they're both goddesses and Dr. Cristina Yang Fox-Rice is a fantastic name for a dog), but this book has all the same humour and wit as the first in the series. It's just as angsty and adorable, as well.
I loved getting to know Max better. She's such a fantastic and well written character. Max is sincere, caring, a little awkward, and though she isn't totally sure about who she is, she knows what she wants and she fights hard for it. For me she's as aspirational as she is loveable—which is very!

I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of At Her Service on publication day, put your phone far enough out of reach that Sadie would be satisfied, and enjoy.
And if there's only one thing you take away from this book make it this: you can spill food on your crush in a busy restaurant and still be the one to make them weak in the knees.

"'Sometimes I feel like I've loved you since whenever it was you first walked into my bar and ordered a Paloma. The way you looked at me_'
'Oh my god, I'm sure I seemed embarrassingly thirsty!'
'You seemed like you wanted to get to know me,' she said. 'And when a cute girl wants to get to know me, it could make me pretty weak in the knees. You made me pretty weak in the knees.'"

I enjoyed this book a bit more than its previous book. It wrapped up a bit better than the first one, and the main character had more of an arch. I don’t agree with one aspect of the ending but I’ll look past it. Besides all of that, I think my biggest issue was how boring the 2 main characters were. Our narrator, Max, is definitely more developed and slightly more interesting - but I thought Sadie was extremely unlikable and not ready for a relationship.

Regardless, I enjoyed reading this book. A huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Now why did the summary for this book tell me about the third act breakup and hint at the fact that the love interest might be less-than-stellar ("But when one of Chelsey’s posts reveals Sadie’s part in the app’s campaign, Max is poised for heartbreak on all fronts") just for it to turn out to be a video by the influencer roommate that simply SHOWS THE LOVE INTEREST walking out of the main character's room...... and that was enough for the third act breakup..... Sadie's "part" in this whole campaign? Yeah it was literally just being the love interest..... Be so serious actually.

At Your Service by Amy Spaulding
3.5/5

Sometimes you wanna go where everyone knows your name.

Max Van Doren is coasting through life. Everyday seems like the same— the job she’s both good at but dearly wanting to advance from, no friends, a roommate she wants to be friends with but doesn’t think the other feels the same. But everything fades away when she goes to her local neighborhood bar to get work done on a nightly basis and sees the hot bartender, Sadie.

But one night, Max reaches her breaking point and agrees to be the test subject for a new self-actualization app, You Point Oh, who wants to sponsor her influencer roommate. Max’s life will never be the same.

Mex has a very relatable life. When working a 9 to 5, it is hard to prioritize other things in your life besides work and it is easy to fall into stagnancy. This book emulates the reality that while an app is helpful, it is your choices that determine your life and your future. As with Max, it is easy to be complacent and accept things as they are.

You Point Oh gives basic advice but sometimes the most basic and to the point advice is what you need. This book definitely got me thinking about my life and things I like to change. Wanting to change is easier said than done, but maybe it is time to just say yes, be bold and make that big move.

#netgalley #atherservice #kensingtonbooks