Truly, Madly, Deeply is wonderful modern romcom featuring Truly, a romance novelist, and Colin, a divorce (family law) attorney. I wasn’t sure what to expect out of this love story because I saw it advertised as lgbtq+. In fact it is F/M and both mention in their past that they’ve been in same-sex relationships but it is only barely touched upon. It is 5/5 spicy, make sure your headphones are plugged in good, type of dirty talk 🤣


Thank you to NetGalley, Alexandria Bellefleur, and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Cute story, albeit immature at times. I enjoyed the characters, but the main female character in particular annoyed me. Pacing and character development were ok.

Catching your fiancé cheating is one thing, hearing that your parent’s whose ideal romantic relationship you’ve modeled love after are splitting up another, co-hosting a podcast amid all of this as the optimistic romance novelist with a realist divorce lawyer with captivating eyes and gorgeous demeanor, the catalyst for bad blood. Truly Livingston is living this life, navigating what it means to love again, while having to write fictional worlds, secret gardens in her mind, that readers will fall head over heels with all while figuring out how to navigate her new working relationship with someone who doesn’t see love the way she does. When Colin surprises her after their less-than-ideal first podcast together, will the charming, certifiable book boyfriend lawyer be able to win her over or is it just too good to be true? 
 
This is my first novel from @a.m.bellefleur and I am won over, ordered her back catalog as soon as I finished this book. What she’s done here is craft such a lovely romance novel, filled with witty banter, high spice, and lovable characters that I couldn’t help but be charmed. Truly, like myself, is forever the hopeless romantic, someone who sees love as forever but when that view is shaken, she lets her view of love falter. It’s so hard, being the romantic, to be shaken by love, I felt so deeply for Truly there, understanding that when things go awry in love, all feels lost. Enter Colin, who shows her that despite his realistic view of love, that is not always the case. With his sarcastic quips, and enticing looks, he’s become a certifiable book boyfriend, and I couldn’t help swooning alongside Truly. These characters and this story just made me kick my feet and giggle the whole way through. 
 
Truly, Madly, Deeply is, at its core, a story about love, what we do to keep it, what we do when we lose it, and ultimately how we find it again when all feels lost. An enticing love story that will captivate you from the first page. Bellefleur has hooked me with this one and I can’t wait to read more of her work.

Scarf Rating: 🧣🧣🧣🧣🧣🧣🧣(7/5)

Taylor Swift songs I associate with this book: Down Bad, False God, Lover, Sparks Fly, Dress, Electric Touch, Slut!, Daylight, Afterglow, Style, You’re On Your Own Kid, Labyrinth, Guilty as Sin?, Sweeter Than Fiction

This made a great book club book! We read Fiancée Farce by the same author last year and we enjoyed it enough that we decided to pick this one up. This book was laugh out loud funny with rivalry type banter. Do you want banter? This book has your banter. It's a fun, quick read that was hard to put down.

this was a nice one. I loved the queer representation but I felt like we lost parts of the plot when they got together. The first half was very enjoyable but the second half felt like it was missing something. Overall an enjoyable read that I would recommend.

I have loved every one of Alexandria Bellefleur's books, so of course I loved Truly, Madly, Deeply, too. It was such a quick, easy summer romance read, and if it wasn't super realistic, who cares? Was Colin a little weird and stalkerish at the beginning? Eh, sure. Was Truly a little immature and annoying? Maybe. Was the whole plot with her parents and their separation a little weird? *shrugs* But did I vibe with the characters the entire time and love the bi-representation and appreciate the accurate representation of Seattle and Western Washington? Yes, yes, and yes. I read it in less than a day, and I didn't let the little oddities bother me. I just embraced it, quirks and all, and I was the happier for it. Even the super horny parts didn't bother my little ace/demi heart.

This book made me smile and (bonus points) laugh out loud, so it's a win in my book. 5 stars for vibes alone.

Alexandria Bellefleur just keeps proving why she's one of my favorite romance authors. This is probably my least favorite of her books, and I still liked it way more than a majority of the romance novels I've read this year. I was expecting the podcast to be a much bigger part of the plot, but the story shifted to focus more on Truly and Colin's dynamic outside of the show. That probably would've bothered me more if they weren't so cute together. I loved their banter.

this was absolutely incredible!! The spicy was through the roof and had me hooked. I loved it so much and need to read more from this author!

This was my favorite Alexandria Bellefleur novel yet! What a "truly" wonderful experience. I am obsessed with men who are 100% down bad for their women and there is no one more down bad than Colin McCory. The way this man fawns over Truly should be studied for future books, actually for all future humanity.

Alexandria blended a sweet story with some sexy moments. Layered in between all of that was a touching story about relationships and what it takes to maintain them. This book just warmed my heart so much I was teary eyed through the ending.

Loved the bisexual representation-- and the story overall! A steamy, romantic, meaningful read that had me in my feels for many days after I finished the last page!

a bookish queer romantic comedy is always welcome, and I loved this additional entry to the series......................

A wonderful, sexy and fun story! I devoured it in a few days and loved every minute! So great. I loved how the relationship was so carefully written and beautifully done.

COLIN MCCRORY, the man that you are!

This book was un-put-down-able. The queer representation was incredible, and I found myself highlighting entire passages and pages.

5⭐️ Read!!!:

I really enjoyed this book! The banter, the queer representation, the emotional and relational development; it was a hit for me! If you enjoy romantic comedies with some added spice, layered relationships, and learning to love and find love again then I think you will *Truly* 😉 enjoy this novel!

Things I loved:
•Comedic and sarcastic banter
•Touched upon deeper relational and communication issues
•LGBTQIAP+/Queer representation
•An AMAZING MMC (Colin is *chef’s kiss*!!!)

Things I could have done without:
•A very emotionally immature FMC (Truly was insufferable at times, but it is very clear why this was the case based upon how the story plays out and the way her experiences are explained)
•Colin’s family (aside from Caitlin) 🤢 (but, again, their ignorance and how it impacts the MMC is a part of the plot and Colin’s character profile/development)

Overall, I was so happy to get the chance to read this book and I truly enjoyed every minute of it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon, and Alexandria Bellefleur for providing this book (eARC) via NetGalley for review consideration. All opinions provided are my own.

~Alissa R.

Absolutely loved this one! Colin was such a great love interest like he absolutely loved her the entire time! I love how there was just a touch of enemies to lovers but mostly there was chemistry all along.

@laurenmorrill recommended Truly Madly Deeply by @a.m.bellefleur to me and I was lucky to get an arc from @netgalley and WOW did this book not disappoint!

Truly Madly Deeply follows Truly, a romance writer, as she has a crisis of faith—she’s unsure of love and romance after her parents separate and her fiance cheats. She then comes head to head with divorce lawyer Colin whose more practical view of love sends sparks flying and maybe gives her a little hope to not give up on love just yet.

Truly Madly Deeply has
💖 top notch banter
💖 a MMC who is OBSESSED with the FMC
💖 the perfect amount of horny yearning spice
💖 a slightly mean FMC but he likes it

But what I really loved about this book was the incredible discussion of bisexuality, especially in hetero relationships. It tackles the biases and stigma against bisexuality in a way that feels deeply personal.

Make sure you grab a copy of Madly Truly Deeply July 13 at our pop-up @the_boocherie and in collab with @sapphicsofknoxville!

Additional comments not posted to social media:
This book was so good! Everyone in my book club who received arcs is raving about it! As a bi-woman in a hetero relationship this book made me feel seen in a deeply emotional way. Beyond that, the banter of this book was top-notch! I love when an FMC is a little mean to the MMC and he still loves her. This book is the perfect amount of horny, sexy, and sweet. I fell for all the characters immediately. My only complaint is the parent trap of it all--the FMC seemed a little old for these antics. But it did bring the characters together in interesting ways. And I still loved it!

This book was totally adorable!
Was the FMC super mature? Not even a little bit. However, the story itself was great. It had me laughing out loud several times, and the spice hit just right.
As someone who absolutely hates miscommunication tropes, I was relieved to find that everything resolved perfectly and was not dragged out.
Over all this book was a solid 4 ⭐

I enjoyed this book, but wish the focus was more on the main characters' relationship - the parents' relationship took a little too much of the spotlight for what I expect when picking up a romance book.

This book contains multitudes, including, but not limited to:

1. Twee theater kid parents who named rooms in their house after musical theater composers (including the Gershwin Garage). When you are in those rooms, you must speak by using song titles by those composers. UGH.
2. Everyone pokes their tongue into the insides of their own cheeks. I guess this is how people think. If this had been one person's quirk, fine. But at least 3 different characters do it at different points in the text, and it's just weird enough to make me go WTF?
3. The characters are real horny for each other and have a ton of sex. I expected this, and had, in fact, heard that it was a high point of the book for me. But I honestly needed a CW for something that happened at the end of the book (I will put as a spoiler below bc it really shocked me).

I could go on, but I won't, because I really didn't like it and I think the above is sufficient.

SPOILER: She kissed him so hard that his lip started bleeding. OK, whatever, NBD. But then it turned into pain play and blood sucking? I just needed to know this before going in bc EW.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur is an absolute delight to read. Truly is a romance writer stuck in a rut after a breakup with a terrible fiance and some upsetting family news, and Colin is a super hot lawyer who irritates her the first time she meets him as a guest on his sister's podcast. First of all, Colin McCrory, just in general. Second of all, I love Truly so much, and her parents give me big Easy A parent vibes, which is AMAZING. Third, they are both deeply and unapologetically bisexual, and I love to see it. The writing is stellar, the story is fun, and I just love it. I'll be returning to read anything and everything else Alexandria Bellefleur writes.

Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins, and Alexandria Bellefleur for this eARC. This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.