This was such a delight! Ok ok so I couldn’t deal with the third person narration, but it was still fun. It took me a while to finish because of how busy life was but I always found myself wanting to get back into the story. Loved the twist of fate.

I loved the premise for this enemies to lovers slow burn romance!! When the best man gives the maid of honor's debut book a 1 star review their whole relationship gets off to a terrible start. As the best friends of their friends, Rob and Natalie find themselves constantly in and out of one another's lives as the years go by.

I really enjoyed that this story jumps forward through the years and we see how each of the main characters go through career and love ups and downs and the beautiful, but at times heartbreaking, journey Natalie and her bestie, Gabby go on as secrets and health scares tear them apart and bring them back together.

This was great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

CW: cancer, unexpected pregnancy, parent with dementia

Thank you @prhaudio for my advanced audio copy of @laurakhankin new release, ONE-STAR ROMANCE, out now.

I have read Happy and You Know It, as well as The Daydreamers, from Laura Hankin in the past and now I am sliding One-Star Romance onto my read shelf as well!

The storyline starts with Nat, an aspiring author who uses her BFF’s new boyfriend as fodder for her novel. (ps: not cool) and Rob is the Angus’s BFF, so of course they are enemies at first sight, especially as they have to navigate maid of honor and best man for their bestie’s wedding.

Nat really struggles with her friend being married, for a really long time (this was a sticking point for me).

Rob is a mature adult and goes through some of his own struggles while planning his wedding.

Meanwhile Nat meets up with a celeb who basically rockets her career as a screenwriter, while taking a tad bit of Rob’s advice from early on in the novel.

The ending with Rob and Natt seemed a little too tied with a bow, Nat hurt a lot of characters but she seemed to get a pass when she shows up for her bestie in a true time of need. I liked all of the characters, honestly, except for Nat.

There are a few content warnings: bullying (behind the back), cheating, and cancer. Reach out and I can clarify more deeply.

I didn’t realize that this was the same author who wrote The Daydreamers! I started this book and felt like it was so well written that I needed to know what else she had done. When I saw that I had read not one, but two of her previous reads I was surprised. I think I now need to consider myself an official Hankin fan!

Natalie is best friends with Gabby. Rob is best friends with Angus. Over the course of 8 years their lives continue to be forced together for big life events in Gabby and Angus’s lives. What makes this so difficult is that the second time that Natalie and Rob met, she discovered he gave her first published book a one star review on Goodreads. Now they have to continue to be civil as they move through their lives, ignoring the spark they felt the first time they met.

This book follows Natalie and Rob over the course of 8 years. The perspectives do alternate, but not necessarily every chapter. I did appreciate getting to see both sides of this story. I think without it, you would get frustrated with both of the characters. Instead, you get a very solid understanding of who they are and why they act the way they do.

Hankins balances romance, comedy, and serious storylines beautifully in the story. The cartoon cover I feel really lessens the heart of this book. The way that Natalie grows through this book is wonderful and so relatable. It truly is a coming of age story from your early twenties to early thirties. She has to deal with who she thought she was going to be and who she actually became as well as friendships and how they change as you get older and you friend’s life changes as well.

This is the slowest of slow burns with a hint of enemies to lovers. I appreciated that Hankins didn’t rely on miscommunication or other simple tropes to build the relationship or cause conflict. The reason that Rob gives Natalie’s book a one star review isn’t petty which makes him more likable as a character too.

This book is beautiful. Natalie is an author and talks a lot about wanting to write something that people can relate to and how much writing means to her. I think Hankin did exactly that with this book. I saw myself in Natalie, in Rob, in Gabby, and maybe even a little bit in Angus. I highly highly recommend this book. Don’t let the cartoon cover let you think that this is just another romance novel.

I liked this enemies to lovers romance, although the FMC seems almost too invested in her female best friend, to the point of volunteering to help her become a runaway bride. However, the gist of the story rings true, sometimes you meet someone, have an instant attraction, and they keep appearing in your life. Over a few years, Natalie grew and matured and finally the time was right for the two to get together.
I enjoyed watching the growth both characters experienced that made it possible for them to have a serious relationship.
4 stars.

From the Publisher:

Natalie and Rob couldn’t have less in common. Nat’s a messy artist, and Rob’s a rigid academic. The only thing they share is their devotion to their respective best friends—who just got engaged. Still, unexpected chemistry has Natalie cautiously optimistic about being maid of honor to Rob’s best man.

Until, minutes before the ceremony, Nat learns that Rob wrote a one-star review of her new novel, which has them both reeling: Nat from imposter syndrome, and Rob over the reason he needed to write it.

(Over the years,) Natalie and Rob grapple with their own choices—and (discover) how your harshest critic can become your perfectly imperfect match.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Did I just become a romance reader? I know I rarely pick up books that fall in this genre, but I adored Laura Hankin’s Daydreams and recently had the pleasure of getting to hear her talk about her newest book. She fully convinced me I needed it in my life and I’m so glad I picked this one up!

In my opinion, One-Star Romance is way more than just a love story. This is a story of friendship, found family, and self-discovery. Don’t worry, there’s all the fun stuff for romance readers, like the enemies to lovers, slow burn, and forced to share a bed tropes people love!

Our story unfolds through the eyes of Natalie and Rob, who I immediately wanted to be friends with in real life. Their interactions are messy, but the tension between them is blatantly obvious. Through a series of life events thanks to their best friends getting married, these two continue to cross paths. Speaking of those best friends, I adore Angus and Gabby! All four of these characters felt so realistic and I loved that Hankin spread the book out over years to allow readers to watch them each grow and develop.

And that’s all you get. Go in blind and fall in love with Hankin’s storytelling.

This story might start with a one-star review, but it’s most definitely a five-star read!

I strongly enjoyed this, but I do think it’s more about Natalie and Rob growing up themselves — and about friendship — than about their romance, per se. Much of the time, the romance was secondary and the HEA wasn’t necessarily even about them finally getting together. (Don’t worry, they do!) it was about them becoming themselves. So if you prefer your romance focused on character development and less on spice, this is the book for you.

So cute!! I loved the premise of this book and it was honestly the perfect summer read. Highly recommend! 30 pages in and I knew it was going to be good!

This was a much heavier read than it appeared! Natalie and Gabby are best friends. Natalie meets Rob when Gabby gets engaged to his best friend Angus. The two share some mutual sparks, but minutes before they walk down the aisle together as maid of honor and best man, Natalie learns that Rob has given her new book a one star review. Following the ensuing blowup, he says some hurtful things to her, and their relationship is seemingly forever soured. The book then spans several years of interactions and life changes among the friend group, bringing Natalie and Rob together again and again, and testing Natalie and Gabby's friendship. It is much more than a fluffy romance.

Things I liked: the conflict between Natalie and Gabby's platonic friendship and Gabby and Angus's romantic one. I think this is something that so many women experience and agonize over. Natalie not always being a likable character and making some hurtful decisions. I love a good realistic protagonist. The realistic difficulty of the portrayal of life in your twenties and thirties. The agony of their years of enmity.

In short, this is so much more than a romance. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would recommend it to romance readers and non readers alike.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Natalie, a struggling author, pens a loosely autobiographical book in which she heavily criticizes her best friend Gabby’s husband, Angus, and is devastated when she gets a 1* review. It causes her to doubt herself, until she realizes that it was posted by Angus’s best friend, Rob. She already knows, from their first meeting, that he’s an academic and literary snob, and when she learns that his 1* review is based on his anger over her skewering his best friend rather than the literary merit of the book, it leads to a multi-year love/hate relationship as they reconnect for major milestones in Gabby and Angus’s lives over an eight-year period.

Like Natalie, Rob, a linguistics professor, also cares too much about the opinions of others. In his case, he pursued academia in the hopes of getting the approval of his arrogant, carelessly cruel father. It isn’t until late in the story that he finally gains some perspective and realizes that he can use his education and experience in a field that he finds compelling and is passionate about rather than following in his father’s footsteps.

I was exhausted by the time I finished reading this second (third, fourth…) chance romance, partially because I found Natalie annoyingly immature but also because the pacing was too slow for me. Honestly, I’m tired of books with female protagonists who don’t reach their full potential and are discouraged or depressed by it, often wanting to blame others for their failures. Although I gave this 3*, I found it very forgettable and wouldn’t recommend it.

Laura Hankin wrote one of my favorites from last year (THE DAYDREAMS) so I was very excited to read this one. This was such an interesting and unique rom com, spanning years and places. Because of this, there is some serious character growth and Hankin does it so well. I loved seeing the characters’ lives throughout the years and navigate through their hard times. This is a perfect palate cleanser book if you are in need of one!

Definite five star romance! This book was a lot emotional than I expected and I absolutely loved that. I was expecting a cute rom com and I got a story with a lot of emotional growth and heart instead which was lovely. Natalie and Rob were great together and I also loved the banter they had as well as the dynamic they had with Gabby and the rest of the characters. Would highly recommend this to anyone who like romance stories with a lot of heart and dynamic characters.

Let me be clear, One Star Romance was anything but a 1 ⭐️ review from me. I absolutely loved it. But the premise is that a writer found out that her best friend’s fiancé’s friend gave her a 1 ⭐️ review and she hated him ever since. A true enemies to lovers romcom that spans a few years. This book was delightful. The bantering was top notch. The jokes were biting and clever, making them laugh out loud funny. The characters were so multi-dimensional as they faced real life problems with a realness and honesty that was so appreciated. Things were tackled in all their ugliness instead of glossed over. Oh, I cried a little. And I swooned to balance it out. Perfect romcom joy in a huggable book by @laurahankin .

've gotta give 1 star to the romance part of the story because it took ages and ages and ages for it to happen. Like I'm talking years. I'm boggled by the title actually. This is much more about friendships and one's life journey to figuring themselves out.

We have Natalie & Gabby who are bff's and Rob & Angus who are bff's. On Gabby and Angus's engagement night Natalie and Rob meet. And then they keep meeting again and again for milestones in Gabby and Angus's lives.

What a journey this is ~ we begin in May 2013 and end in May 2021. Each part has at least a year time jump, so it made it seem slow moving for me. I'd much rather read right along with the events as they play out and not be told what happened in the gap of time after the fact. Maybe that's just me.

…More like five star romance! I adored this book; I was expecting a light and fluffy romcom but this was more women’s fiction and full of emotion, which are the types of books I love! I also loved that the main character was a writer and books were frequently a topic of conversation between the MCs, that there was a strong focus on friendships, and that it took place over several years. The interactions with the MCs were written so well and I loved Natalie’s growth over the course of the story! Highly recommend!

This was my first book by Laura Hankin and I thought this was a solid romantic comedy. I liked the pacing of the time jumps she used to bring Natalie + Rob together and I liked the group dynamic of Natalie, Rob, Gabby, and Angus. There were some great laugh-out-loud moments. I felt the 75% mark plot twist of Gabby getting cancer was surprising and I didn't love that that was what ultimately brought Natalie + Rob together. The fact that he gave her book one star also never felt like it resolved itself.

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this story mostly! It took a while for Natalie to grow on me because of her actions and behavior, but can easily see how relatable she was.

The ending was one that i wasn't expecting, and it made me misty eyed. Love how the author wrapped it up nicely.

From the very beginning, Laura Hankin's whip-smart writing style grabbed my attention. I really liked the witty banter, mainly because it reveals so much about who the characters truly are. There were several interactions that made me laugh out loud. Hankin has an impressive gift for developing unique, interesting characters. The hero is extremely appealing.
Although the title and the cover imply that this is a rom-com, the themes of finding joy and fulfillment in one's work, as well as grieving the many ways friendships change over time play significant roles in this storyline. My only quibble with this novel is the heroine. She is a challenge to like, and at times, I found her to be rather self-absorbed.
In my opinion, this novel is less about romance and more about personal growth and self-discovery. Laura Hankin has crafted a tale that is both entertaining and meaningful. Readers will have lots to think about after they finish this one.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the complimentary copy. All opinions shared here are my own.

One-Star Romance
⭐️⭐️

“Happiness followed pain and pain followed happiness, and all you could do was hang on and feel every bit of it for as long as this world would let you.”

Okay, so I wouldn’t consider this a bad book, HOWEVER, you need to know what you’re getting yourself into.
I feel wildly mislead. With a title like “One-Star Romance”, I obviously was expecting an upbeat, sweet romantic story… but in my opinion this should not be categorized in the romance genre. The romance was so minimal.
Maybe if I would have known this beforehand, I would have enjoyed this more.
This is a contemporary fiction book, with a strong theme of FRIENDSHIP. Also, with life lessons of acceptance and rejection.
This book is set over a long timeline, the first section starts in 2013, and is told throughout the years in seven different parts.
It is told in the 3rd person, and while I thought Natalie’s chapters were easy to read, I felt that Rob’s were a bit boring. Regardless, the entire middle portion of this book felt slow to me. I hate to say this too, but the FMC drove me insane almost the entire time.
Now remember that these opinions are coming from someone who thought she was going to read a fun little rom-com. If you are a fan of contemporary fiction books, specifically women’s fiction, then there’s a chance you might will like this.
The writing was good, but I just felt so mislead by the title, cover, and summary for this book. It’s sad because I do enjoy contemporary fiction, but I like to be expecting that before I pick up the story.

Read If You Like:
🌟enemies to lovers sub plot
🌟timelines that span many years
🌟themes of friendships
🌟main character that is an author
🌟navigating your 20s

WOWOWOWOW I adored this! Her best yet!!! A heartwarming romance that was made even more satisfying because of what they had to do to get there - I loved the "over the years" trope, never quite having the timing right.... my new fave romance novel!