That was a pretty fun, low stakes romance. I enjoyed all the characters and I liked seeing the main ones fall for each other but I don't think it will really stay with me. I finished it less than a week ago and details are already leaving my brain. It was still a good time and I I had a lot of fun reading it. Can't wait for more books by Alexandria Bellefleur.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the ARC. If you’re looking for a light romance with plenty of spicy scenes and low angst, you might enjoy this one. There were a few things I really liked about this book but also a few things I really did not.
Truly read as young and immature at times, overly idealistic about her parents and unrealistic about relationships in general. If she was a friends in real life, I would tell her to keep her nose out of her parents relationship and stop being fatalistic about what their separation says about love in general.
I did really appreciate the bisexual rep and addressing of bi erasure when it comes to bisexuals in a straight appearing relationship.
The plot was a little flat, I didn’t buy the enemies to lovers thing at the beginning and the parent trap situation with Truly’s parents I could have done without. Things wrapped up too conveniently at the end and throughout the book there were so many coincidental run into each other moments that it stopped feeling coincidental and was a little strange.
I enjoyed some of the banter, Colin and Truly’s chemistry was fine, but nothing really stood out as super memorable for me.
As an aside, blatantly Joe Keery on the cover. And that worked, did a double take at the cover and it had me intrigued enough to request and ARC, but it probably should have been made less obvious. And also no bookstore scene like you might expect from the cover.
Overall, perfectly fine writing but just not really my jam.

If you are in the market for a swoony, funny, and banter filled tension this is the book for you. Truly madly deeply was such a bingeable book and I couldn’t get enough of Colin + Truly. The meet cute in this book was so perfect to the characters + the bickering (really flirting) was probably my fav thing about them! The text message exchanges were so fun & had me feeling so giddy reading them. 🤭 Colin is the definition of a man down bad + let me tell you HE WORSHIPS THIS WOMAN!!

I loved the friendship development between Colin + Truly so much. Lulu + Truly’s parents were such fun side characters!! & the spice was SPICING!!!!

Quite possibly my favorite romance from Bellefleur yet! One of the things I appreciated most about this book was how those who identify as bisexual are treated so differently when they are male versus female and this was something I learned a lot about through this book. There was strong representation of various family issues and how they impact those raised in households differently. Truly and Colin had some great banter and are one of my recent favorite fictional couples!

This was such a fun read! There was a lot of complexity in all the characters, even the secondary.
I would have liked a bit more depth on the MCs and their careers because those felt important but brushed over.
I appreciated the queer rep and the emotional intelligence though - super refreshing to see in a Contemporary Romance!

Everything you expect from an Alexandria Bellefleur book- heavy on the steam AND interesting characters with great queer representation. I loved Truly's outlook on love, and her ridiculous parents were excellent side characters.

*screams into the void*

This is THE BEST. This book made me laugh SO HARD. Also the second hand embarrassment is real!!! I about died when Truly sent that screen shot. Brilliant. The banter was top tier. This spice was freaking a-maz-ing. I want to read it again, immediately. I need this book in liquid form and pumped into my blood stream. asap.

This is a personal preference, but I really hate it when books open with a scene where the protagonist catches their ex cheating. It’s boring and has been done to death. Also, all the talk about sex early in the book was just distasteful to me. If I’d known that “dating advice” meant “discussions about oral sex,” I wouldn’t have requested this ARC. DNF.

This book was laugh out loud funny, tender and sweet, sexy and swoony and everything in between. Colin is not afraid to tell Truly exactly what he wants to do to her and with her and I love that for them. I wouldn't really say it's a traditional "enemies to lovers" because they aren't really enemies but it starts off with her disliking him. It quickly moves from dislike to flirty banter and the rest is history as they say.

I am Truly, Madly, Deeply in love with this one. I think readers that like books by authors such as Christina Lauren and Emily Henry will enjoy this one. I will definitely be adding Alexandria to my must read authors.

This was so cute! I really enjoyed their chemistry and banter. This was definitely enemies to lovers. Loved the romance author and the divorce attorney, they had differing viewpoints and it caused lots of banter and fun text threads.
There were also family relationships that were messing with their mental health. Dang not a fan of Muffy and I've never met a Muffy but this seems on brand. Trulys parents were cute with their theater royalty status and only talking in show tune lyrics at certain places.

Tricky to review this one. I really did not enjoy the first half. At all. The characters acted like they were in highschool but they were late 20s early 30s? The dialogue was cringey and it felt like it was trying too hard to be quirky cute (I've seen comparisons to Steve from stranger things but I don't see it). I didn't love the parent trap plot at all. Girl you're a grown ass woman. Let your parents be.

Around 65% it picked up big time. It felt like an entirely book (also cue the spice which literally exploded out of nowhere). The conflict finally conflicted. There was more development of the characters. A little more depth to the story.

Spice was pretty hot for the most part. Towards the end some of the dirty talk made me go 😬😬😬.

Overall - it wasn't my favorite by this author. I think some plot editing would have made it a smoother read for me. But I can see how a lot of people will adore the characters.

This is an adorable novel that fits the cover so well. Belle flier has a way with words, and I love how all of their books have queer characters. This was a breath of fresh air.

Read if you like:
🏳️‍🌈 Queer Characters
🤣 LoL Banter
🥵 Tension
🌶️ Female Pleasure Focused Spice
💋 He Falls First
😠 Enemies to Lovers

If you want to read something that felt like the banter and tension we got from RLS with The Ex Talk- but make it Queer- you need to read this book!

I loved the banter, it was oh so good! And I truly loved the texting back and forth- something about written communication and flirting gets me every time!

And the fact that she was afraid of love that won’t last and needing the safety and security of feeling like a relationship won’t fail and that our MMC was a patient king that fell first and kept coming back and supporting her through her irrational freak out when she learned her parents whom she has put their relationship on a pedestal were separated, of course that’s gonna make you lose your marbles a bit when what you thought was dependable and forever, was crumbling in front of you.

Also, as a millennial, yes please to the parent trapping and TSwift references 🤣

Also, who doesn’t love a cute scene of bonding with the person’s family you are falling for and yelling bullshit (a nod to how to lose a guy in 10 days????) while playing a card game?

All in all, this book has the enemies to lovers, banter, spice, and everything nice to make it my most recent 5⭐️ read! & I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to Avon Books for my ARC & finished copy in exchange for my honest review! Also, how freaking cute is the cover art?

Everything Alexandria Bellefleur touches is gold. I fell in love with her writing with written in the stars and I have ate up everythingggg since. Loved the bisexual rep so much. I will be swooning over these two forever! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

You are here: Home / A Review / Review: Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur
Review: Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur

May 1, 2024 by Melanie 1 Comment


Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur
Contemporary Romance
April 30, 2024 by Avon

Review by Melanie

It is no secret that when a romance novel touts itself as a romantic comedy these days, I immediately give it massive side eye. Having been burned way too many times by rom coms that were neither romantic nor comedic, that particular pairing of words automatically makes me back away. However, Alexandria Bellefleur’s Truly, Madly, Deeply is one banger of a rom com, both delightfully romantic and ridiculously comedic. The book made me laugh intentionally multiple times and that is a very rare feat.

Romance author Truly Livingston who writes under the name Truly St. James (what a fabulously perfect name for a romance author, btw!) is having a very bad day. She caught her fiancė cheating, has a massive case of writer’s block, and as a guest on a very popular podcast, she gets into a heated argument with family attorney Colin McCrory about relationships and what it really means when one person wants to take a break. As that particular topic hits a little too close to home for Truly, she is unable to hold it together and thus, a disastrous meet cute is born.

Truly is reeling from her own personal breakup and also the subsequent revelation that her parents, happily married for over 3 decades, have decided to separate. As a romance writer, her whole belief system is guided by the principle that love is the most important thing there is so when these two massive upheavals happen in her life, she is no longer sure she can trust in love.

Colin, on the other hand, is a family lawyer who, through his line of work, knows firsthand how ugly it can get when a marriage ends. He is a realist, having seen all the ways that relationships can fail. While Truly is dealing with her own relationship woes, Colin has a pretty toxic family situation of his own with parents who don’t appreciate him or know how to love their son unconditionally. However, what I really like about his characterization is that in many books, the character with a tough family life or in a line of work that showcases the ugly sides of relationships, also swears off relationships and love. Here, it’s almost the opposite in that romance writer Truly is having trouble believing in love while Colin has a more realistic but also optimistic view of things.

To say sparks fly when these two meet would be an understatement. After their first meeting goes off the rails, Colin persuades Truly to give him and the podcast another chance and thus begins a charming friendship full of flirty banter and innuendoes and IG stalking gone wrong. I adored their texts, the way they tease each other and bicker back and forth. And let me just say, Colin McCrory is one of the most delightful dirty talkers I’ve ever encountered in a romance novel. He is pretty upfront that he is all in when it comes to Truly. But Truly, reeling from a recent breakup, is understandably a little gun shy. However, Colin isn’t one to give up, telling Truly not only what he wants but that he’s willing to wait until she figures out what she wants.

There really isn’t a third act breakup in this story, just a short scene where Truly feels overwhelmed and doesn’t think she can really do a relationship but comes to her senses pretty quickly. And while I loved Truly, it’s fair to say that Colin is the real star of this show, absolutely devoted to caring for Truly’s every need (EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.). He simply wants to worship at the altar of Truly. Colin is one of my favorite romance hero archetypes, the soft and gooey hero so completely besotted with his love interest with a real caretaking and nurturing bent. ‘

It’s a delightful queer romance (both Truly and Colin are bisexual and there’s a great conversation the two of them have about bi-erasure and biphobia), filthy and funny and tender and sweet. It’s truly the perfect little rom com (sorry, I couldn’t help myself) and I highly recommend it.

Content Notes: toxic family vibes, on page separation

This is a solid 4 stars and if i hadn’t been in a reading slump I bet it could’ve been a 5 stars, this is how good it was!
I’m utterly obsessed with Colin and Truly and their banter. I loved how fast it was for me to read it even in a middle of a reading slump. It was cute and funny and the smut was divine! I already bought the physical copy you can be sure to see a lot of pictures of it in the near future !

TRULY, I could not have adored this more.

This book confirms all the reasons why Alexandria Bellefleur is an auto-buy author for me. Her books sparkle with sharp banter, beautiful prose, relatable but unique characters and delicious, will have you biting your lip, sexual tension.

Written in Truly’s POV, the reader relies on witty dialogue and meaningful interactions between the pair to further the romance and gain insight into Colin’s feelings. Prepare to swoon because Colin is great with his mouth. Like, really great 😉 and totally gone for Truly.

It sounds silly, but if I don’t know the character’s coffee order after the book, I feel like I don’t know them well enough. I want to know all the small details without being told all the details. I want to know their eccentricities, likes, dislikes, etc. and be inside their head. I always finish Alexandria’s books feeling like I know the characters inside and out.

Truly, Madly, Deeply is her spiciest book yet. Truly hates how attracted she is to Colin and Colin is just willing to take anything she will give him. She calls him a menace (a favorite micro-trope of mine) and he likes her better rude. The spice was scorching. 🥵

I devoured this book. I can’t remember the last time I flew through a book as quickly as this one, finding every spare minute to squeeze in another chapter.

Overall rating: 5🌟

Read if you like:
📖Character driven books
🥵TENSION
🏳️‍🌈Bi rep
❤️‍🩹Caretaking
💬Text exchanges
😍He falls first

Thank you so much to @avonbooks for an early copy of a new favorite; all thoughts are my own.

Is it too early to say this is my favorite book of the year? Can I give it six stars?

What a fantastic romance book. The pacing. The character development. No third act breakup, but enough tension and "what if?" to keep you on the edge. The BANTER!! Alexandria Bellefleur's banter SHINED. Seriously some of the best banter I have ever read between characters. I was giddy. Giggling. Having TOO much fun, if possible.

Initially I'd worried that the plot with Truly's parents would be to quirky or distracting - or not relevant necessarily? But everything tied together just so so perfectly.

I almost opted to not finish Truly, Madly, Deeply but finally decided that I liked the banter enough to push through. I like Alexandria Bellefleur’s books. She writes some really excellent disaster gays and disaster bisexuals. What almost made me quit though was Truly’s plan to Parent Trap her newly separated parents. I have never in my life met a divorced couple that shouldn’t have gotten a divorce and a whole bunch of them that hung on to their marriages much longer than was healthy for anyone. I’m too young to have an emotional attachment to the Hayley Mills version of The Parent Trap, and too old for the Lindsey Lohan version. While I thought much too much time was spent on that subplot, I still loved Colin and Truly, and how horny they were for each other.

Truly Saint James writes queer historical romances. Colin McCory is a family law attorney who handles divorces and can spot a red flag a mile away. The book begins with Truly finding her fiance in a sexual situation with another woman and then defending himself by saying they are on a break. Truly goes from that incident to be a romance expert on a podcast called Unhinged and meets Colin McCory, who is on to provide the “realist” perspective. Truly and Colin clash, and Truly ends up walking out of the taping.

I swung between 2 stars and 4 stars on this one. Bellefleur’s characters have great sparkle and banter. I would have liked a lot more of Caitlin and Lulu and a lot less of trying to get the parents back together. I am generally of the opinion that we should believe people when they tell us they aren’t ready to date or interested in a relationship. And having her 6-year relationship end the way it did, it seems reasonable to me that Truly wouldn’t want to date immediately afterwards. It speaks to the skill of Bellefleur’s writing that Colin doesn’t cross the line from charmingly persistent to pushy. But even so, I would have liked a longer timeline in the romance. It ends up landing as a solid three because the bedroom (and not so bedroom) scenes were fantastic.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Avon and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

This book is an irresistible blend of humor, heat, and heart. Following Truly Livingston and Colin McCory, two contrasting souls entangled in a podcast project, the narrative explores the messiness of love through a queer lens. Their initial friction quickly transforms into a captivating connection, weaving a tale that's as thought-provoking as it is steamy. Bellefleur captures the complexities of navigating love amidst personal turmoil, making the characters' journey deeply relatable. The witty banter and genuine moments of vulnerability between Truly and Colin added layers to their romance in contemporary queer fiction. It is a delightful, heartfelt read that's entertaining and emotionally resonant.