I binged this book in one day because I just couldn't get enough of the characters. Though they all made very questionable decisions, I could not get enough. The different timelines were a little confusing at times but ultimately I loved every bit of it.

I really loved the idea of this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but ultimately not quite as much as I had been hoping to. I think this book is less of a contemporary romance and more of a contemporary fiction with romance subplots, especially given that the focus was more on the dissolution of the main character's marriage rather than her rekindling a relationship with her "one that got away" romantic partner.

I think that if there had either been that shifted focus towards the romance between Rachel and Jack or if I had gone into this with less of an expectation of a traditional contemp romance plot, this would easily be a 4 or 5 star book.

3.5 stars

This is a nicely paced narrative that serves as a good reminder that we should pay attention to those gut feelings and make sure we're really dialed in to the people we let get closest.

Rachel is an attorney, a wife and mother, and a former high school girlfriend of a now famous film star. It's important to start this novel by suspending disbelief and maintaining that approach throughout. Readers who can do this will enjoy watching Rachel grapple with an invasion of privacy, multiple betrayals, and surprises from many people who are or once were very close to her. Unlike many heroines who face similar obstacles, Rachel is proactive and no fool, but readers may still question some of her choices and relationships along the way.

This is an interesting character exploration, and while most readers won't be able to relate to elements of it, there are aspects of Rachel's experience that are all too common. I recommend the audiobook when and where accessible.

A captivating read!

Rachel Miller, a talented lawyer and devoted mother of two, was having a normal day in court when her world came crashing down. Suddenly, a shocking photo of her with her high school sweetheart, Jack, now a famous actor, was splashed across the headlines. As if that wasn't enough, love letters that Jack had written to her years ago were released, leaving Rachel reeling with confusion and disbelief. She hasn't spoken to Jack in years, so how did these private photos and letters end up in the hands of the press? Now Rachel is left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and wondering if her marriage can survive this scandal.

Perfect for fans of domestic drama, women's fiction, and romance. From the very first page to the last, it will keep you hooked and leave you wanting more. I highly recommend giving it a read!

***Thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Saunders, and Dreamscape Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

Once I began listening to the audiobook version of Love Me, I was hooked and finished it that day. Saunders presents a cast of characters that are real - each (with the exception of Becca) is shown with positive and negative traits and the plot is very believable. The dialogue is excellent and Saunders’ writing technique disappears as all good writers accomplish.

I’ll be honest, I was disappointed when the book ended without my hoped for outcome. I look forward to reading more from Saunders in the future.

I HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS but I really enjoyed this!! Despite the description I’m about to give this - I want to emphasize that this is NOT a romance. it has romantic elements and is maybe romance adjacent (like in the way TJR or Rebecca Sterle books are) but it is solidly women’s fiction and for that reason I am allowed to excuse the bad, unpopular, i-would-normally-hate-this-in-a-romance-book things. but this book felt like Funny You Should Ask meets Romantic Comedy meets Every Summer After???? but like if none of those were true romances (I know that makes no sense but just go with it).

rachel is a lawyer and mom living in the suburbs with her kids and struggling but fine enough marriage and her life is upended when scandalous photos of her and her high school boyfriend, now famous movie star Jack, are leaked online along with the love letters he wrote her. thrust into the spotlight & media frenzy she starts to question her marriage & life & career. betrayed by someone she trusted & reunited with the man she tried to forget, she can’t help but wonder how she ended up here & what would’ve happened if things were different?

it’s been a while since I got a good “famous man obsessed with normal woman” book plus the second chance and nostalgia of them being high school sweethearts just had me devouring this book in 24 hours. warning that there are things that are very unpopular in the book but since I wouldn’t classify it as a romance (there’s a bit of an ambiguous ending that makes you assume a HEA but doesn’t confirm it), I don’t mind it being dramatic and messy and the characters slightly irritating with questionable actions but in a way that feels purposeful. But I can understand how this book isn’t for everyone. I think as a romance reader I just really wanted it to be a ROMANCE when it wasn’t and so I wanted way less about her husband and more of rachel and jack and I was left a little unsatisfied at the end but overall, I had a lot of fun reading this & it was a fantastic debut!!!

Rachel Miller is a successful lawyer as well as a married mom of two young children. You’d never guess that in high school, she was the girlfriend of the now hugely famous movie star Jack Bellow. Her current life is stable (or to be honest, stale), but things seem to be humming along on autopilot. That is, until a tabloid posts some racy letters and pictures of Rachel and Jack from their teenage years, things that Rachel thought were private and safely hidden away. The public spectacle upends Rachel’s life and forces her to reexamine the choices she’s made.

This book sucked me in right away, the opening scene all too familiar for many a working mom: Rachel’s bustling morning of trying to get two small kids fed and ready while simultaneously getting herself into her staid corporate pantsuit and get them all out the door without any help from her clueless husband. The nonlinear timeline shows us Rachel’s life in the present while also taking us back to her teenage years and showing the trajectory of her relationship with her high school sweetheart. This book is partly women’s fiction, partly romance (including one short, somewhat spicy scene), and wholly relatable to anyone who ever wondered “what if?” Although I didn’t agree with some of the characters’ actions, overall I found this to be an enjoyable read with a fun touch of 90s nostalgia. This one should resonate with fans of Sophie Kinsella or readers who enjoyed Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood

I switched back and forth between reading and listening to this book, and this is one of those times where the audiobook definitely elevated the story. Emily Ellet did a masterful job of narrating, differentiating the various characters’ voices well and in particular, instilling Rachel’s character with lots of personality and emotion.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Union Square & Co., and Dreamscape Media for providing me an advance copy of this book.

I LOVED this book so much. It was my last read of 2023 and was perfect. Even though it was a slight twist on a familiar plot I loved the characters and how they evolved throughout the story. I also did not think the end of the book would turn out the way it did so that made it even better!

Thanks so much to @netgalley for the chance to review Love, Me by Jessica Saunders. I really loved the story of Rachel, a mom trying to balance kids, work, and a slightly less-than-helpful husband, Dan. Suddenly, an old, risqué picture of Rachel with Jack, a now-famous actor and love of her childhood, surfaces.

This was a wonderful nod to the “one who got away” and Saunders was able to weave differing timelines seamlessly.

The narration of this lovely story was perfection.

This book had me swooning throughout the story! I loved the Then/Now perspective and listening to the main character work through her feelings for her first love and her husband... It felt very realistic even with the celebrity element, and I was hooked! The narrator did a great job differentiating the voices of the different characters and reading at a steady pace. Highly recommending this one!

4 stars

This was a great debut! I couldn’t get enough and I wanted more!
The Narrator did a fantastic job and did not disappoint.
I might not of agreed with the actions of the characters, overall I loved the story and it was very addictive.
Loved the Jewish rep also.

Release date 16th of January 2024! I’ve preordered my physical order.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Jessica Saunders for my Arc audiobook.

The premise and general idea of the book were great, something different from mainstream novels, But the writing was what threw me off. I usually enjoy a dual timeline, but this book made it hard for me to wrap my head around the past and present. The characters weren't too bad, and had their reasons for everything they did, just that in my opinion, this is a plot driven story.

Third POV is not something I read often, but I've enjoyed a good number of books using it, so I can't pinpoint the reason why I disliked it here. I hated the distance between the characters and me, it felt dull and emotionless. I'd say this novel uses a lot of "Telling" instead of "Showing" with how the characters felt and reacted to external events. I felt completely detached and couldn't have rooted more for any of the characters.

This may sound irrelevant, but a phrase repeated so often that I wanted to pull my hair out was "She cried in earnest". Yup, I appreciate an emotional character who can be vulnerable with her people every now and then, but this was frustrating. It felt as if the MC is manipulating and acting a victim to gain the reader's sympathy, which I obviously didn't feel. What does "earnest" mean? In my head, Rachel is a teenager version of the spoilt, bratty kid from my childhood novels who just feels sorry for herself. And how immature could she possibly be? On one side, the author is trying to depict her as a successful lawyer, in charge of her life, and the next she has a billion problems that sprung out of nowhere and she can't handle any of them. To make things worse, she appears clueless about the legal aspect of the scandal despite her profession. I'm sorry but the depictions were very inconsistent.

The final straw for me was the narration. I did not like it, and I'm usually easy to please with audiobooks. Even the AI narrator on the Read Aloud feature would feel better. She handled the different voices and pitches all right, but the lack of emotion- The voice used for one of Rachel's best friends was this annoying, drawl, that sounded the same no matter the situation.

I've never disliked a production from Dreamscape Media, but this just wasn't it for me. I won't deny that the plot isn't interesting because it interested me and was frankly what kept me going. I found the ending satisfactory too, so that was there. I know some listeners really enjoyed this audiobook, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Love, Me follows Rachel, a lawyer and mother of two who finds her life imploded after love letters and racy pictures from her past love turn celebrity go viral online. With her marriage on autopilot and her husband's secrets spilled she finds the reemergence of a past love, Jack, quite confusing. Suddenly with her life in pieces she finds herself questioning what her life should even look like.

What I liked about this book is that despite being a story involving a celebrity as a romantic interest it felt pretty down to earth. It talked about actual struggles and problems that made the relationship not as clear cut. Not to mention it isn't as though her love for her husband was not real and genuine. I liked that there were parts of me wondering if her husband was redeemable because there love was genuine at the start of their relationship and he didn't cheat. It was just simply not the perfect match which is the case for most people/relationships. So I did not know how this story was going to end!

Thank youNetGalley for the opportunity to read this story.

🌟🌟🌟🌟✨ (4.5/5)

This was an excellent audiobook with a great choice for the narration.

This book had well defined characters and a great story. It’s about going through hard things and finding yourself, whilst making sure you’re surrounded by the right people…flaws & all.

Rebecca was such a strong FMC. I loved her personality and she was someone I could easily be friends with. I loved the flashbacks to her old boyfriend Jack, before he got famous. Their story just felt sweet but troubled at times but always authentic.

Rebecca’s husband Dan, I’m not sure I could forgive his betrayal along with all of his other character flaws. Not for relationship purposes anyway.

I liked how everything worked out and I 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀𝘿 that Rachel was strong and happy regardless of whether she had a man in her life.

I adored all of the characters, even had a tiny soft spot for that idiot husband, Dan.

It was just a good story overall. Satisfying.

This one was hard to rate. The beginning, 2 stars. It got better for a while. Then the ending. If I had a physical copy, I may have burned it in an act of catharsis.

This book is about Rachel, a married lawyer and mother of two. In the beginning, she is going through the motions of life. She has been complacent in everything. Her husband sucks, her job sucks. Everything sucks. (My feelings, not hers.) Then a few events allow her to see how much her life sucks. Yet she initially does nothing about it other than complain. This is what I cannot stand- I hate when characters (and people for that matter) complain about their crappy lives yet have the ability to change it. Once she started making changes, it got better. I was pleased with the story at the end of the last chapter. Then the last portion of the epilogue came and I was so annoyed with Rachel again.

Emily Ellet narrates the audiobook. I listened at 1.75 speed. While I believe this is the first book narrated by Emily Ellet that I've listened to, I have no strong feelings. Her narration was fine- I was annoyed with the book, so I was too distracted to really note anything. However, nothing annoyed me, so that is good.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Miller’s life is turned upside down when old racy photos and old love notes were leaked to the press of her and her high school boyfriend, Jack Bellow, who is now a famous actor. Rachel thought her life was good: in a solid marriage, a mother of 2 kids, and a lawyer, until she found out who leaked the documents. I loved the flashback chapters as they added a lot to the story. The writing style was very easy to read, the narrator of the audiobook did a fantastic job and really pulled me into each scene. I loved the deep look into Rachel’s life to ask the question, is she really happy? I think a lot of people can relate to the young love lost and what may have happened if life worked out differently. Some of Rachel’s decisions are not ones that I would make, but her life makes a better story than mine. This was a quick fun read that I would recommend.

I found the premise of this book to be super intriguing. Rachel Miller is living a normal suburban life when photos and letters from her teenage relationship with a now-famous actor get published in the tabloids. She has to figure out what this means for her marriage and herself. If you’re looking for a romance, this isn’t it. There’s a romantic subplot, but it’s definitely not the main focus.

I liked the premise, and for the most part enjoyed the book, but I wish it was done a little better. All of the main characters were not particularly likable. I’m not convinced Rachel’s husband actually liked her at all. Rachel stuck her head in the sand regarding the issues in her relationship and was generally a doormat when it came to conflict in her life. The famous actor ex seemed really immature and stuck deeply in the past. I really can’t imagine someone being that stuck on their ex from 20 years ago…especially since he ghosted her to end their relationship.

The pacing of the book was a little slow for me. It felt like nothing was really happening for the first half of the book while the author set up the characters and the backstory. And then the last 15% of the book was just jam packed with reveals.

Overall, I liked the narrator of the audiobook and it was a pretty quick and easy read. 3.5/5

Oh my goodness!! Love, Me by Jessica Saunders gave me alllllll the feels.

This is the first book I have read by Jessica, and I really enjoyed it.

The main character, Rachel, is very similar in age to me, and I could totally relate to so much in this novel - from the songs playing in 1998 to the feels of being a 40-something mom with kids.

Rachel fell in love with Jack in high school and loved him for several years. After he suddenly drops out of her life, Rachel moves on and enjoys a single college experience. During law school, Rachel meets her future husband. Life moves along until suddenly her life as she knew it is upended by the tabloids.

Ahhh. This was such a good book! It’s similar to some of my favorite authors, including Emily Giffin.

And I LOVED the narrator, Emily Ellet. What a great voice!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this advance listen in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Initially, I was very intrigued by the setup: the husband sold the wives pictures and letters? OMG!!!

However, I lost interest and started hating the MC a few chapters later when this turned into a story about 40yo adults who are married and are still pining after their HS sweetheart 20+ years later. These types of stories are not for me and I also have no tolerance for cheating.

For readers who enjoy that troupe, I think they will really like this story, especially since she doesn't run away with him but he makes the "grand gesture" at the end.

I also thought the MC was very inconsistent as a character. I couldn't understand how her ex does the exact same thing her husband did to her but she forgives him immediately and beds him after. I also thought their sex scene was too graphic/descriptive and didn't belong in the book which was otherwise very PG. I also didn't buy that she suddenly threw her career away at the end.

To end on a compliment, I appreciated the authors subtle message that we should ignore/not follow tabloids and media/press around celebrities but wish the author would have gone further with this and been less subtle/more direct.

Great narrator. PRobably the only reason I finished the book.

To be completely honest, this audiobook just wasn’t really my thing. It was really slow, but once it picked up I was invested