Natalie and Rob. Two individuals who keep meandering around one another over the years as their two best friends are together. Upon first meeting, there's immediate chemistry between the two of them and Natalie is hopeful as the wedding of their besties' approaches. But the night before the wedding Natalie finds out that Rob has given her new novel a one star review. Someone she thought could be something new, has now become her harshest critic. And the worst part is, he isn't totally wrong. By the end of the reception, these two hope to never see each other again...

But of course they do! House-warmings, baby showers, and more has Nat and Rob seeing each other over the years and that chemistry, while possibly duller, is still there. Lurking in the background is the hurt between Nat and her friend, the growing pains of wanting something so badly for a career, but having to decide on your dreams or a more secure role, and the things we leave unsaid in order to save our oldest relationships.

This book is so real. It was written so well and I really enjoyed the characters, except maybe for Nat. She's incredibly cruel, selfish, and honestly, not a very good friend in general. I was rooting for her growth, but unfortunately it's not *totally* there...and for that I had to remove a star.

Everything else I enjoyed. Several parts made me laugh out loud and, of course, I love a happily ever after. And this one was lovely.

I really struggled with One-Star Romance. It’s tough when a book doesn’t hit the mark for you, especially when you know so many friends enjoyed it.

The story follows Natalie, a messy artist, and Rob, a rigid academic, who are brought together as maid of honor and best man at their best friends' wedding. The chemistry between them starts off promising, but things take a turn when Natalie discovers that Rob wrote a one-star review of her new novel. This revelation throws both of them into a whirlwind of self-doubt and tension.

While the premise had potential, I found myself having a hard time connecting with the characters and their journey. The book attempts to explore how opposites can eventually find common ground and even romance, but I didn’t quite get the emotional payoff I was hoping for. The progression from their initial clash to a deeper connection felt uneven, and the pacing of their evolving relationship didn’t quite engage me.

Despite the premise’s charm and the idea of an unlikely romance between critics and creators, the execution didn’t resonate as strongly with me. It might be worth a read if you enjoy stories about opposites attracting and navigating life's milestones together, but it just wasn’t the right fit for me.

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group and Laura Hankin for the arc!

Although this has the look & feel of a romantic comedy … the main focus is not a lovey-dovey fairy tale full of swoons, flutters & lol moments (except for the zip line entrance! 😅) like you would find in a typical rom-com.

This story is more about the balance & juggle of life through the years … the up & the downs, the growing seasons, the relationships, the friendships, the mistakes, the forgiveness & finally the discovery of where you are meant to be & who you are meant to be with.

I would definitely say that the MMC’s were the stars of this show & grew even more lovable as each page flipped. Honestly, I was a little annoyed with FMC Natalie, but she figures it out in the end, so there’s that.

This may not be the rom-com that is expected by the synopsis & the cover, but nonetheless, it’s a solid & heartwarming story about life & all that comes with it … good, bad & everything in between!

What would you do if you found out a friend of a friend, your wedding party escort in fact, was the author of a one-star review for a book you recently published?

You write a book about it! Or at least that's what you do if you're Laura Hankin!

Inspired by true events, at least as a jumping off place, One-Star Romance is about Natalie and Rob, total opposites, the only thing they have in common is a fierce devotion for their best friends who happen to be marrying one another. Upon first meeting, aspiring author, Natalie, senses some potential sparks with academic, Rob, but by their second meeting at their best friends' wedding where they're supposed to be walking down the aisle arm-in-arm as best man and maid-of-honor, Natalie discovers Rob is behind the one-star review she's been obsessing over for her recently published debut novel. As one would expect, they have a falling out hoping never to see one another again, but are, of course, thrust together repeatedly over the better part of the next decade through various friend-related events and celebrations.

One-Star Romance is being marketed as a romance and I think that potentially does the book something of a disservice as always I find expectations an important piece to my overall reading experience. One-Star Romance does not read like a traditional rom-com to me, though rom-com elements are present. I think it's more accurately categorized as contemporary fiction with a hearty dose of romance. I found the meat of the book really focused on Natalie and Rob's development and maturation as they move through their twenties into their thirties and much of this happens separately as they grapple with evolving friendships and struggle with their professional lives. Now, when they come together there are sparks and witty banter and all that one would expect from a rom-com so it's not wholly one thing or the other, but this is definitely the kind of the book that straddles genres.

I've read all of Laura Hankin's novels and I love that her stories go down so easy, but there's always a little something extra to chew on. One-Star Romance might just be the meatiest and most balanced of her offerings. There's really some depth here about growing into adulthood and finding one's path, friends growing up, growing apart, and evolving, and real honest moments of what being an author is like. I appreciated all of this and I think many other readers will as well.

Recommended for fans of Emily Henry's Happy Place and When Harry Met Sally.

I enjoyed reading One-Star Romance, however, I felt that the romance to a back seat to other story lines. While it is marketed as a romance, and it does a romance between the two main characters, by the end I didn't feel like their relationship had been given enough a foundation. While I did like the idea of their relationship flourishing throughout the years, the pacing of the book didn't lead to readers getting to see them fall in love. I would have liked if they had gotten more opportunities to get to know each other or had a few more interactions between the love interests. I did greatly enjoy the focus on Natalie and Gabby's friendship and seeing how that developed throughout their adulthood. It is nice to see true portrayals of friendships in books, and seeing how the characters resolve common issues that can arise between close friends. Overall, One-Star Romance was a fun, thoughtful story.

This was a really fun and way more emotional story than I was expecting. I love that it took place over the course of years and via somewhat brief interactions. Despite the name, I'd definitely still recommend this to anyone who is only a casual romance fan. It felt like a real adult coming of age story about finding yourself and your people. Legit went through all the feelings in the best way while reading it, so I definitely recommend it!

I love this book so so much.

I can totally relate to Natalie and being a little grumpy when your friends find partners and create families and you’re left stuck. And also feeling like a “dating jester” when all your taken friends wanna swipe through dating apps or get the tea on your dating life. My dating life is not your entertainment🥲

It also kind of reminded me of One Day as we see the characters for one event every year or two. I always love that concept.

And I just loved how it was a love story about friendship. Three boys too, obviously, but it really is more than that. It’s also about growing up and finding yourself- and taking your time doing so. Maybe being a little scared of growing up and the great unknown, but making your way through life anyways.

Nat and Rob are complete opposites, but keep getting thrown together every time their married best friends have a milestone to celebrate. Their relationship is especially tainted because the day of their best friends’ wedding, Nat learns Rob gave her book a one-star review and she cannot get past it. Throughout the years they are forced to reunite every time their friends celebrate another milestone. As the years go on, they find they might have more of a connection than they initially realized.

I loved the time jumps in this book and how we got to see how Nat and Rob’s relationship evolved over the years, and it was interesting to see that in comparison to the life events their friends were experiencing. Even though this book spans over years, it moves at a good pace where it doesn’t feel drawn out and at the same time the time jumps don’t make it feel choppy. I thought this book was incredibly relatable as we saw the characters grow up over time and was filled with humor. This was a fun read!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.

One thing I need everyone to know is this is NOT your average romance. There are TWO people Natalie falls in love with in this book, and the story starts with one of them — her best friend Gabby — getting married. The second one, the best man at the wedding, comes later 😉 but first and foremost, this book is about adult friendship.

The second thing I need you to know about this book is it has SUCH a great commentary on growing up. That transition from selfish, hot mess 20-something (this Natalie relates to fictional Natalie on that) to every setback and every heartbreak that turns you into a 30-something functioning adult.

Laura!! ya nailed it! I totally identified with Natalie, her intermittent singleness, her creative desires crushed by stupid things like needing money to survive, her friends settling down while she feels like she’s standing still. It was a bit too real tbh 😅 and I loved the cast of characters and the fact that the book takes place over several years! It reminded me a bit of ROMANTIC COMEDY by Curtis Sittenfeld (for both obvious and more subtle reasons).

Ok the LAST thing I need you to know about this book is the audio is FAB. It’s read by the author (!!) and every time @laurahankin comes out with a book, I get tempted by just reading the e-ARC.. until I remember ooo if I wait for the audio I can listen to Laura actually say out loud the words she wrote and I’m sorry that’s just too cool to pass up.

This is a classic will they/won't they romance with a lot to say about adult friendships. I liked the pacing of this story and that it took place over the course of many years, marked by hallmarks of their mutual friends' lives. I had a hard time with the main female friendship because there were so many clear flaws that it felt...too realistic? These women chose to remain close by internalizing their issues with each other, many of which needed to be aired out. Yet, if they had aired their grievances, would they have been able to remain close? There were a lot of interesting nuances about how dynamics of friendships can change as people form romantic relationships or build families.
Although Natalie's view of their friendship sometimes veered into aggressively territorial, I did like this line that highlights the joy of living with your person.

"What if I never want to move in with anyone?" Natalie asked.
"Well"-he swallowed-"how did you feel about living with Gabby? About getting to see her every day?"
I felt like I could have done it forever," she whispered.
"Then you're not broken. You can feel that way about someone else."

I was not prepared for the depth of this book. It is not the cute romcom that books with covers like these usually are. That being said, I thought it was a good book and I really enjoyed it. The book takes place over almost ten years. It’s almost more of a contemporary fiction story than a romance but it does technically have a romance and a HEA, it’s just not the center of the book, there a lot more to it. I’d definitely recommend it but go into it knowing that it’s more plot wise than your average romance.

This book ya'll!!!!!!!!!! Even though this is different from Laura Hankins usual books she kills the romance dept as well!!!!!!!!!! I loved and hated these characters but was rooting for all of them at the same time. That is the best part of romance novels in my opinion.

A one day read!! Rare for me but it hooked me right from the start and I just flew through it. I’m pretty sure this is Laura Hankin’s first rom-com, and I hope she writes more like this!

The shifting relationship between the two main characters over nearly ten years is beautifully done, especially seeing Natalie grow from a typical twenty-something into so much more. I appreciated getting both POVs throughout the book, which painted a realistic picture of growing up.

I liked this one . I’m glad I picked it up. Haley Pham recommended it and I’m glad she did. Very easy and fast paced

Really relatable romcom for the late 20s & 30 something’s who feel like everyone around them is moving forward, but you’re stuck. Resonated with me as this is something my friends & I have actively been going through in our own lives.

A sweet love story that shows the love between friends as well as romantic love.

Highly recommend

One Star Romance? More like Five Stars Angst, am I rite??? But seriously, the angst and slow burn were too good. I think a lot of slow burn authors should take some notes from this book, because the tension was delicious and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since finishing it. I do get a little sad though when I think about how long Natalie and Robert went without being together and kind of just orbiting and wanting each other fiercely for 10 years. When things finally aligned, I was so relieved, I was shipping the heck out of them and loved how everything ended up. I also really enjoyed that this book wasn’t just heavily focused on romance, but on strong, female friendships and how soulmates don’t always have to be romantic. I really really liked One Star Romance!

Thank you to Berkley Romance, NetGalley, and the author for sending me an early copy!

Hankin has a knack for developing compelling characters, and One Star Romance is no exception. I would describe this book to be contemporary romance, and stylistically it reminded me of Emily Henry. Though I wasn’t expecting the latest Laura Hankin to be so far into romance territory, there were still plenty of things I enjoyed about One Star Romance.

The story spans across nearly a decade and is told in seven parts, beginning in 2013 and checking back in every one-to-two years through 2021. In 2013, Natalie and her best friend Gabby are headed out to celebrate Gabby’s birthday in New York, when the man Natalie doesn’t think is good enough for her best friend proposes. The same night that Angus and Gabby get engaged, Natalie meets his best friend, Rob.

This sets off the central tension of the story, and it isn’t what you think when you hear “enemies-to-lovers”. The central story (in my opinion) was actually around Natalie’s journey to find herself and her grief of losing the closeness she and Gabby shared when they were both single and trying to find their way in life. Natalie is judgmental of Angus, but eventually she realizes that Angus isn’t the problem, it’s that she still sees Gabby as her person, while Gabby’s person is now Angus.

This is a relatable experience for many people as they grow out of the young and single phase of friendships and it shifts to a different type of friendship. Natalie and Gabby are still close, but Natalie is no longer the person that Gabby confides every detail of her life to. They no longer live together and hang out every day. This is part of growing up, but it’s a part that has sadness to it, particularly when one person moves to the next phase of life before the other one.

Wrapped around this life change are a few other things that get caught up in everything. First, Natalie is an aspiring writer, but she hasn’t seen publishing success yet. Gabby and Natalie related over their creative pursuits, but Gabby eventually leaves artistic aspirations for a job in advertising. Natalie struggles with this new grown up and evolved version of Gabby. Rather than Hankin taking the obvious pathway of Gabby being disingenuous, this is truly a story about Natalie being on a different development timeline than Gabby through their twenties and how that can lead to feeling left behind.

Second and related to the first, Natalie ends up writing a book that gets published and she draws from what she knows. Which in this case, is a thinly veiled story about two best friends suffering through one of them getting engaged to a man who is wrong for her. Do you see the inspiration? This is what prompts the one star review from Rob, the best friend who I briefly mentioned earlier but who hasn’t come up again until now despite being the love interest. The reason for that is that by the end of the book, I felt this was more of a story about Natalie and her growth, rather than a enemies-to-lovers romance story.

Hankin does a great job showing Natalie growing up across the ten year span (it’s actually under ten years but I’m rounding up). Natalie has the immaturity of an early-twenty-something at the beginning. Feeling neglected, she takes out her feelings in a book and thinks no one will pick up on it. But it turns out Rob picked up on it, and as he points out—it seems Gabby may have as well. This all comes to fruition towards the end of the story, but I won’t spoil that. What I want to say is that Hankin writes a woman who grows and matures before our eyes in a way that felt authentic.

By the time things come together for Natalie and Rob, they’ve both changed in many ways, but also have become their true selves. This isn’t a story of two people who communicate too poorly to realize their feelings. This is a story about two people who aren’t matured to the point where they can be together. Yet. I’d argue that if they had gotten together years earlier, it wouldn’t have worked out because they were both caught up in their own growing up.

A sweet story with authentic characters who mature in their relationships and as individuals across the arc of the book. I thought this was well-written and compelling. This is a rom-com in many ways, but it also has a lot of character development and depth that can be lacking in some parts of that genre.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

I think this is a very special kind of book. I went in expecting something so much different than what I got but ended up enjoying it so much more than I would have if it went the predictable route.

Although this is not a perfect 5 star read, there is so much I loved about this book. For one I liked that even though this is not as much of a romance as I thought it would be, this is a truly romantic story. It's a book about falling in love with yourself and not just the partner you choose or the friends that you have.

Natalie and Rob's relationship is not central to the plot and it would stand strong without their storyline but I am glad I got to see these characters become more than acquaintances with long term grudges against each other.

Their relationship is also a slow burn that lasts years of hardly seeing each other, serious relationships, as well as dreams failed and achieved yet at the end of everything, they find each other. It felt like something that could be real while also maintaining the charm of fiction.

In regards to Natalie and Gabby's relationship, I wish there was more growth on Natalie's part. She has a serious dependency issue when it comes to Gabby and that should have been addressed more. I also think there should have been more of a discussion between Angus and Natalie about her book and how it made him feel after finding out the truth (I won't spoil anything). In these ways, I think Natalie needs more character development.

Despite these flaws, I was enraptured with this book. I wanted to know more every time I turned the page and I appreciate any book that can capture my attention to that degree. With that said, I highly recommend One-Star Romance.

4/5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I wouldn't necessarily classify this book as a romance, exactly, but it certainly is romantic, and quite the slow build (it takes almost a decade for these characters to get their HEA!). I had read some reviews before going into this book, so I felt prepared on that front, and was able to enjoy the book for what it was, instead of expecting a straight up romance plot. This book is definitely character driven, and these characters are messy and flawed and make questionable decisions, and honestly, I love them for it, because it makes them feel more real. Who hasn't made poor decisions in their life, especially in their late 20s/early 30s when all your friends are at different life stages from yourself and you're starting to feel inadequate? (That part may have hit a little close to home, obviously). My one big gripe with this book (possible small-ish spoiler ahead) was that it mentioned a possible queer identity for the main female character by having her go on a date with a woman once. (and seemingly enjoying it!)... and then that queer identity was never mentioned again - it just went right back to her dating and sleeping with men and women as possible romantic partners were never mentioned again.

omg! I kept thinking about what to rate this while I read the last 20% of this book but after finishing it I can definitely 100% say its a 5 star book for me! Im so happy I finally read this.
I loved everything about this, the mcs and that they weren’t perfect but so real and had their flaws and made mistakes. The side characters, I loved the depth of each and everyone and the connections and friendships that developed in the span of many years. Talking about the years this took place, the time jumps were great!! I was so giddy every time I reached a new part in this. They absolutely added depth to the story. And the writing, it was so good! I felt immersed in each little story the characters told in this book and I forgot the rest of it for the time being. I loved that! The way all the feels were described. The love and friendship, the hardships you go through no matter what kind of relationship you‘re in. I laughed and cried and highlighted many lines because this was so relatable. Definitely recommend!

Big thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc!