I found this book hard to follow- but the characters very likeable. I appreciated a strong female character who was motivated, body positive and independent. I also loved that there was disability represented. The setting was fun (I’ve never read a romance set in the gym), and forced proximity is a fave trope of mine. Something about the way it all came together wasn’t a home run for me.

Thank you so much to @entangled_publishing for giving me the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review! And I am so happy I did!

This book was just a cup of sunshine that I needed in my life. This book make me smile, laugh, and just warm and fuzzy inside.

Rayah Summers is a strong and resilient female character who owns a small but exclusive gym in the mountains of Bigbone, Arizona. She is passionate, caring, and just one of the best femal characters I’ve read. She handles her own and she owns it! She’s tiny and fierce that even the guys in her gym have nothing but respect for her!

Jake Newman is a rising star gunning for a superhero role of his dreams in Hollywood. He is a dedicated and loving lead and despite being jaded from the limelight, he remains humble and true to himself. As a character, Jake has a lot of conviction, protective, and such a golden retriever!!! He is a fun loving character and also very intuitive. I love how honest he is, especially about how he feels. He has had his own struggles in life but he doesn’t let those stop him reach his goals.

Honestly, I highly recommend reading this book! I just really love how heartwarming it is. This characters and the plot has so much depth. I loved every single character and I fell in love with the small town of Bigbone.

I wouldn’t mind reading a series about the Explosion crew… especially Samuel?

#workitout #evasiedler #entangledpublishing #bookstagram #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookcommunity #readersofinstagram #readingcommunity #jaysnerdyreads

I loved Amy Lea’s Set On You & was excited to see another romance novel with a gym setting. I was rooting for this book (as I am with all works of creativity), so it’s disappointing to say that I am angry after reading it.

I was all in first half of this book! I love reading about women with agency & found family is my jam.

But eventually Jake/Chris’ flirting felt juvenile and made me uncomfortable.

And much worse, the trauma that Rayah faced before the novel (but was referenced on page in detail) was not handled well at all.

To begin, the content warning is not part of the book - you have to go to a website (also I think the way this trauma is “labeled” is incorrect & downplays what actually occurred). I know the conversation about trigger warnings is being debated right now & that not all will agree this should have been stated upfront…but I think the way this particular trauma was handled suggests a lack of misunderstanding and, as a result, insensitivity to the trauma. Maybe the author (or someone she knows) has experienced something similar & the way the main FMC healed (literally overnight) is based on real world experience - but it’s hard for me to buy that.

Additionally - Rayah’s trauma feels plucked from real world events that I’m not sure the author represented well. Does she have permission to share this story? Of course, many people have gone through this trauma, but these specific athletes? It doesn’t seem right that she’s using their story as a plot driver in Work It Out.

I do think this topic could have been handled much more delicately and with more depth of understanding… and that could have been a really beautiful thing. But, it wasn’t and I’m angry on behalf of those whose story I feel she appropriated.

Thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel.

I wanted to love this book so much and the beginning made it promising. However, I ended up DNF'ing around 50-60%. It would not hold my attention and it was just not working for me. The way some events are written made it difficult for me to follow along. The romance was fast but I felt like the rest of the story was a bit slow and it took a while before we got somewhere. This was not for me but I certainly can see how this could be perfect for others.

A fun fitness themed romance novel. I loved the two main characters, Jake and Rayah, and how they met while Jake is in a time crunch to bulk up. Close proximity leads to becoming friends, to sparks flying!

I will say this books plot line stayed busy along with the copious amount of side characters. From the MMCs health issues (that I also have!), to some crazy blackmailing and learning things about Rayah’s past, it made it easy to love the characters for me and added a good bit of depth.

The small town festival had to be one of my favorite aspects in this novel. Overall I do struggle with third person pov, and it takes a certain sort of writer to truly pull me in. In my opinion there was just so much going on in this book where I had to stop and remember what was even going on at times.

I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this one and loved the balance of light hearted goodness to emotional turmoil that was going on!

This was a fun fitness adjacent romance. Rayah, a former gymnast turned health club/fitness retreat owner meets Jake, an actor who has 90 days to muscle up and hopefully take the lead in a new action movie. Sparks fly between the two, with some forced proximity and a very intentional friendshio from both of them before they eventually get together.

There were a lot of things I liked about this one. The FMC and MMC were both likeable, the found family was top notch (almost like snow white and her dwarfs. Her people have her back like no other). Her health club is in the tiny town that the MMC is from and his granny and her band of gals are hilarious. Overall the side characters were amazing but there were SOMANY of them. All the gilmore girls small town vibes but there were just too many. Also there were two very heavy plot lines. His health issues, I loved that it was something we don't see a lot about but it felt like that plotline wasn't handled as well as it could have been. Then there was her past. It felt like it was handled realistically for the most part, her triggers throughout the book. But then we come to the third act conflict, made worse by both of their phones being dead and not being able to communicate. There was a LOT going on already, but then we have them each being blackmailed on separate issues, a recurrence of an issue from her gymnastic days, which mirrored a very public case from years ago and the two of them inadvertently getting thrown back into the public eye which they had both been fairly good at avoiding.

I think the hurdles could have been addressed a bit more tenderly but with so many other plot aspects, the story felt rushed and it was trying to do too much. With some positively epic references that real harry potter fans will love and one of the best found families (I really want to see a book for Blaine to fall in love) I did overall enjoy this story and am curious to see what comes next from this author!

Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Thank you to Entangled for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

Jake is a B-list celebrity hoping for a chance to play the next Marvel superhero. So he returns to his hometown to train in secret with his best friend at a new gym there. Rayan owns the gym and ultimately takes over his training.

Both Jake and Rayan have a lot going on, and there are numerous additional storylines as well. I appreciated how well the many characters were fleshed out and felt I got to know each. I also was glad to see disability representation with Jake's POTS and the way it addressed ableism. But I was surprised that the book still used ableist language.

My favorite aspects were the found family of Rayan's gym and the absurd small town festival. I also liked seeing the slow growth of their relationship over time. But I wasn't fully sold that they came to trust and love each other.

CW: sexual assault, domestic violence

3.5 stars rounded up

I read this as a NetGalley arc and this review is my own:

So I was instantly drawn to this story because of the gym/workout theme behind it and I wanted to love it so much but it ended up being just “ok” to me.

Our FMC, Rayah, is the owner and trainer of a beautiful gym in Bigbone, small town where her employees are her found family. I really enjoyed each of the characters, the bantering was great and the health/workout aspects were spot on (I’ve been in the fitness industry for 7 years now).

Our MMC, Jake, is an actor who wants to score a role as a super hero but needs to build the body to get it. However he has POTS (a secret he doesn’t want out in fear he won’t get any action roles) and only trusts his friend Pierce to help him achieve his goals without ratting him out. Jake shows up to Explosion ready to work but his POTS and other challenges prove this won’t be easy for him.

This story is lighthearted and funny but also deeply emotional as well. I LOVE that there is POTS representation which you don’t see in many books at all.

Both the MCs have their own past struggles that directly impact their current relationships and behavior. It definitely has an “insta-lust/love” vibe…I had hoped for more tension before they were all over each other. I also don’t really like third person POV and some of the writing felt a little clunky but all in all I enjoyed it.

Some of my favorite moments definitely belonged to the townspeople and the supporting characters but felt like maybe there was too much going on in this story because I felt lost a few times.

I think this author has great potential and look forward to seeing what else she writes.

This book had zero introduction. Sometimes, that's a good thing, if the book kicks off with a really exciting or interesting scene. This book started off as a total bore. I had to try so hard to actually absorb the words I was reading. There were small parts that were funny or sweet enough to hold my attention but for the most part, I was reading just for the sake of finishing it.

ARC Review:
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Work It Out by Eva Siedler

A small town romance between a personal trainer and a movie star, with his eye on a new super hero role.

This was a cute book but just okay for me. I enjoyed the representation of chronic illness and that it touched on hard topics like abuse, SA, addiction, and grief. I loved the Jake’s goofiness and that it balanced Rayah’s seriousness. It definitely lightened the mood on dramatic and spicy scenes. That was something refreshing as I haven’t read many books where the characters joke during those scenes and fit their personalities. The romance was instalove, but also took such a backseat to all the many problems every side character in town had. I’m sure this is to set up future books for those characters, but for me they weren’t important to the story at hand. I loved how they made their own little found family, but the side characters also became confusing to me as nothing made them distinct and they kind of blurred together. Overall a cute quick romance.
Thanks to Entangled and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book was super cute. I will say that there is a lot going on and there are a lot of characters to keep track of. However, there are so many lovable supporting characters and I would love to see some of their stories too. The found family aspect melted my heart. I need a Hogrid in my life. So freaking cute. The small town setting was perfect and it sounds like such a great place to live. It adds some eccentric side plots but they were so fun to read. The hunt was hilarious.

As for the romance, I loved the badass strong woman supporting the man. I could've done without the obsession with how tiny Rayah was though. Also, Cupcake was a super cute nickname until it got used in every other sentence. The sass and banter made me laugh though. Jake’s flirting was a bit cheesy but it still made me smile. He was pretty adorable.

I am a huge fan of the POTs representation. I loved seeing Jake’s character grow and watching him learn to accept his invisible disability. As someone with POTs who plays sport, it was so nice to see a team help him find different ways to adapt. The whole disability aspect was so well done. There was also some panic attack representation which was written well.

My only criticism was that although it is spaced over a couple of months the time jumps still made it feel a bit insta love which isn’t my bag. They also fall hard fast but they were cute so I can let it slide. The 3rd act conflict does have some miscommunication which also isn’t my favourite but it was done well enough that I wasn’t mad at it. It feels like a lot happens in the last 1/4 of the book and the ending felt a bit rushed. It was still a fun read and I was rooting for them throughout.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley and this is my honest review

It was an okay read, even when it has the longest chapters I ever read, and that is probably the main thing why I didn’t fall for the story. The premise was interesting, but when there are chapters this long, I can get lost in the story, too many things happening all at once.
Overall, it’s a nice read with cute and interesting health-related elements.
I received an ARC from Entangled Publishing through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. And I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It started off funny and cute and I was really enjoying it. But then all of a sudden it got kind of “cheesy”, which is a turn off to me. My other issue was it also started to feel rushed? I don’t normally say this but I feel like this book could’ve benefited from being longer. Or maybe just less thrown at the reader at once? The idea was there and I enjoyed the plot but it all just got to be too much and I struggled to finish by the end.

2 stars

I really wanted to like this one, but I had a lot of issues with the pacing, and their relationship basically started with them lying to each (or better the hero to the heroine) about something serious.
Also, the pacing was a bit too fast for me, and although I don't mind instalove, I do need to feel sizzling chemistry between our MCs to like it, and here I didn't.
The setting was great, i really liked our heroine, and some of the side characters were fun, but overall, this didn't work for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 37%. I am not entirely digging this book, and I don't feel up to finishing it at the moment. I had to put it down for a few days and come back to it three times, and each time I did, it felt like I was forcing myself to read something I just didn't love. Something has my mind blocked about this one. It feels simultaneously too fast *and* too slow-paced, too detail-oriented, and yet I feel like I've learned nothing about the characters beyond the surface level. I appreciate that this book eyes fitness in a non-toxic manner. I like how the main female character, Rayah, is a strong (and headstrong!), capable person who is sensitive but not overly so. She's not clingy or galling. I appreciate the POTS representation where the main male character, Jake, is concerned. Not enough people know about POTS and how severe it is, so I applaud author Eva Siedler for bringing this serious illness to the forefront. r I also appreciate the found-family aspect that Rayah has cultivated at her gym. Unfortunately, all of the other characters feel jumbled and mixed up in my brain. A lot is going on here, and I am struggling to keep it all straight. Too many subplots and side characters can be too much too quickly, and that's what I've found going on with this book. I have a hunch people will like this book, though, so it might just be me!

Thank you to NetGalley, Eva Siedler, Entangled Publishing LLC, and Entangled: Amara for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author. Must read

Let me just say I love this book. To have the roles of (strong man vs frail woman) typical fitness style novels She’s the stronger one helping him and I really enjoyed that as a female powerlifter I am usually seen as weaker so that was nice. This story was very sweet how their meet cute was and how it ended it was memorable I give it 4.5 stars

I requested this ARC on seeing it recommended from someone on Bookstagram. Unfortunately, it's not working out for me.
The trainer/celebrity concept was new. However, there were so many characters introduced at once, that it became difficult to distinguish between all of them. They were either MC or non-MC in my head.
Furthermore, there were a couple of references towards how a character would react, eg <i>"When Blaine hears about this, he’ll kill me." </i>, but the thing is, I don't understand why Blaine would react like this? I don't know if I missed things, but it felt like being outside of a group, and I wasn't given enough information to understand how anyone would react in some way.
I don't think this book is for me. I tried, but couldn't adhere.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Work It Out is a swoony slow burn romance set in the mountains of Arizona between a strong, independent FMC and a protective actor MMC. Eva Siedler takes throws an upper cut to gender stereotypes writing about fierce, resilient, strong women and swoony, sexy men who aren't afraid of being vulnerable and showing their emotions.


Dual POV, Spicy, Celebrity Romance, Roommates, Forced Proximity, Found Family, Small Town

Rating: 4.5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This book took me by surprise, I was expecting such a raw, emotional romcom with some amazing characters and great plot as well. I enjoyed getting to know each character but really loved it when both the characters were there to help each other through their hard times and getting to see what a strong relationship looks like for both of them.

I think the author did a great job with making these characters seem like they were playing out what was happening to them right there. I felt as though I was watching a movie, instead of reading this book. The romance doesn’t take a backseat to the emotional sides of this book but really is highlighted in a wonderful way. I really felt all the emotions that Rayah was going through and wanted to several times in the book just reach in and hug the heck out of her, but at the same time I felt as though I was bonded to her. Jake I could understand why he didn’t want anyone to know about his POTS and the shame that he felt, but to be able to see his character growth in the book was the best. I loved that he finally stopped being ashamed about it and started to stand up for people who have POTS and to be a huge actor that was coming out and talking about it made me tear me.

The side characters in this book were just as amazing as the main ones, I loved how they were just as important to the success of the main characters but were still themselves as well. Also, can we talk about how dang cute that pig was. I want to adopt Hogrid, he is so stinkin’ cute.

This book has a lot of magic in it, and not just because it’s a romcom. You will see love, trust, the importance of communicating in relationships, learning to let the past go and to see more of the future. If you want a cute romcom that focuses on important topics, you must pick up this book.

I want to thank NetGalley and Entangled for the opportunity to review this book.