This one wasn’t for me. While I loved her other books, this one was a let down. The premise was great, but overall I was disappointed with the way it was executed.

I am always a fan of Ashley Poston’s books, but this just edged out The Dead Romantics as my new favorite of hers! This is, in every way, my perfect rom-com. It’s set in an adorable little town, the grumpy love interest owns a bookstore, and there’s just a touch of magic.

Elsy is on her way to a mountain cabin for a week of reading and wine, when she gets lost and finds herself stranded in an adorable little town. It isn’t long before she realizes she has somehow ended up in the fictional town of her favorite romance series… in the middle of the unfinished last book. She’s determined not to ruin everyone’s stories, but also finds herself falling for the person she’s convinced must be the main character of the last book.

This was such an incredibly good book. Most of her books are stand-alones, however if you’ve read her other books (particularly The Dead Romantics) there are some fun easter eggs in this one!

I liked the beginning of this book, but about half way it just became a romance for me. So, in the end, liked-but-didn't-love.

No one does magical realism/romance like Ashley Poston! This book you guys…it’s a book for us romance readers of all kinds. A book about the joy and power of love stories and the impact they have on us as readers. I highlighted so many lines…the writing is beyond beautiful and the love story(ies) will have your heart bursting. I’ll be honest I was a little worried at first as it started a touch slow for me, but then I was pulled in and I just loved it so much! I mean I’m not sure if I could pick a favorite story to drop into, but what a concept and so so well done!

Eileen Merriweather, who finds solace in fictional romances to avoid real-life heartbreak, becomes stranded in Eloraton, the town from her favorite book series, and realizes she must help finish the story and find her own happy ending despite the objections of a mysterious and alluring bookstore owner.

Read if you vibe with…
💖 Love Stories
📚 Books About Books
✨ Magical Realism
🌤️ Grumpy x Sunshine
🫶🏻 Book Boyfriends
🏡 Small Town
❤️‍🔥 Slow Burn
📕 Book Clubs

In A Novel Love Story, a woman ends up in the town from her favorite series. But the author passed away before the final book was written so she wonders if she is telling that final story. The setting was perfect - the same quaint shops, restaurants, quirky characters. All of it. This was such a cute premise and just a sweet and fun read. I loved seeing the town come to life before her eyes. And I loved all of the details and personalities. The romance was sweet and mushy. A perfect book for a booknerd.

4/5 stars

Thank you Berkley Publishing for the advanced reading copy!

SYNOPSIS -- Eileen Merriweather is so disappointed when her annual book club retreat is cancelled, that she decides to head up to the cabin retreat by herself. Things just keep getting worse when her car breaks down on the way, leaving her stranded in a picturesque but confusing town. Everything here is familiar to Eileen -- the burnt burgers, the rainy afternoons and, most notably, the people. When Elsy realizes that this town is straight out of her favorite book series, she isn't sure what to do. Especially because author, Rachel Flowers, passed away two years ago and everything seems to be EXACTLY where she left it. Everything, that is, besides Anders. Elsy can't place Anders in any of the books, and their immediate chemistry gives her mixed feelings. What's more important, her happily ever after or the one that Rachel Flowers had set up for Anders? And whose to say what these even look like?

This book was SO CUTE. A very, very solid four stars. The premise was so clever and the journey was really, really enjoyable. There were a few moments in the middle where things felt repetitive and slightly boring, which is what's keeping me from a five-star rating. However there were some fun surprise moments throughout the book that had me hooked, and great character development throughout. I listened to this book on audio and the narrator was fantastic; she sounded exactly like what I wanted Elsy to sound like, and added a ton of dimension to the story. Was this book perfect? No. But, it was simply a joy to read and I enjoyed every second.

💙💛REVIEW💚🩷

🌟🌟🌟🌟

A cute, quaint and magical love story – happily ever after guaranteed!

Thanks NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the ARC!

Synopsis –

Eileen prefers her fictional worlds to real life. At-least you won’t be left at the altar with your heart broken, dreams crushed and future shattered in a book. When she decides to travel solo to her annual book club retreat to get lost in reading, chat with her book lover friends and drown in wine, her car decides to break down and she finds herself in a town, that she knows only exists in the romance series of novels by her favorite author. This is unreal, but could it be her HEA?

Review -

I loved the premise Poston imagined here. I think we all can agree that when life gets tough, we would crave to escape reality, to get lost in some beautiful imaginary worlds from your books or movies. A dream come true! Eileen’s desire to get away manifests the town of Eloraton, which she knows like the back of her hand. Except she can’t place one of the characters she meets – Anders, the grumpy, but drop dead handsome bookstore owner.

With her stay in town becoming inevitable, Eileen explores Eloraton with Anders’ help and that’s when the magic happens. The world building is perfection, as the stories and characters Eileen obsesses over come to life, fascinating and astonishing her – as she grapples with wonder how everything is just as she imagined it would be.

The romance and chemistry between Eileen and Anders is saccharine sweet – what an adorable couple they were😍. Blending into the constantly same, slow and sleepy life of the town, mingling with all the townsfolk, Eileen unknowingly bring about changes, discovers her path forward as well as Anders’ and finally turns the pages of the book she finds herself literally in. Of course, she gets her well deserved HEA!

Poston has yet again delivered in her trademark style - an endearing, meet-cute romance combined with a touch of fairy dust and the charm of a fictional town, with an enchanting waterfalls and quaint little shops. A story that literally comes to life - a book lover's treat!

The concept of this book is phenomenal! Who wouldn’t want to spend a few days inside of their favorite novel, and meet all of their favorite characters? This was such a fun and cozy read.

Elsy’s experiences with seeing her favorite small town romance novel come to life was such a pleasantly unique story. I loved all of her inside knowledge of the town, local businesses, and all of the people made for such an interesting plot. To escape into the small town of Eloraton was such an enjoyable escape. And Elsy’s love of the town and people made me fall in love with the fictional town as well.

I’m just sad the Eloraton series isn’t a real because I desperately want to read it now!

This was my first Ashley Poston novel and I can’t wait to read her backlist and more of her upcoming novels.

Thank you Netgalley & Berkley Publishing for allowing me to read and review this lovely eARC.

Anything Ashley writes I will most definitely read! This book was so sweet and I loved the aspect of it all! I can’t wait to see what else she has in store! She is quickly becoming one of my fave authors!🩷

I wanted to love this one, but in the end, it just didn’t work for me. The premise was SO fun and unique and I was fully invested the first half of this book. But then the pace and story just really plateaued and it never recovered for me. This book felt like it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be women’s fiction or romance, and ultimately, didn’t execute either very well.

I felt like this was more of a HFN when I wanted it to be a HEA. I loved so many elements of this book. I think I just need to go into these books with less of a romance expectation to truly enjoy them. They feel more about the plot and the paranormal element

This book just came out, but I had the opportunity to get an early copy. I’m pretty new to Ashley Poston, and all I knew was she writes romances with a speculative element, which I am here for! And this book was exactly that. In it, the main character, Elsy, finds herself stranded in the quaint town from her favorite books. This was a light, easy breezy story with a really interesting premise that I haven’t seen before and a super cute romance!

I love the concept of this book so much -- the idea of finding yourself lost in the world of your favorite novels, the story unfinished but unfolding before you. This is the perfect read for people who love small town romances, but I'm learning that's not quite me. The thing I loved most about this book was Ashley Poston's writing -- there's something about it that is just so comforting, the way she writes her own brand of magical realism keeps me coming back for more. And this novel in particular felt like such a love letter to readers, to romance lovers, to fandom, to bookish communities we build, and more -- it really was special in its own way. If I could give half stars in reviews, it would be a 3.5 for me.

Just a tender, lovely, quiet novel about a woman who puts herself second without even realizing that it’s okay to ask for what you want. And in true Ashley Poston style the setting crosses that veil between what’s real and what isn’t. She does this so well!
A Novel Love Story is a testament to the power of stories, comfort reads, and the importance of good, true friends.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Read if you like:
🏘️ Fictional Small Town Settings
💔 Heartbroken MC’s
⛅️ Grumpy x Sunshine
🌧️ Getting Caught in the Rain
🚗 Ever wanted to live within your favorite book
📚 Books are your Therapy

Ashley Poston has done it again! I laughed, I swooned, I blushed, and I cried tears of heartbreak along with the characters.

Ashley’s writing absolutely transported me along with Elsy to the fictional small town of Eloraton, NY with all the characters from the beloved small town romance series by the recently departed Rachel Flowers.

The way that Elsy was trapped in her heartbreak and unable to move herself onto a forward trajectory after heartbreak was much like the small town of Eloraton and all it’s characters that were left in a lurch when their stories remained unfinished due to the author’s tragic passing.

I really loved the vibes of being stuck throughout the book and trying to find the thing to propel you forward from your place of stuck that all the characters were battling in one way or another.

I also absolutely adored the meet cute and forced proximity between Elsy and Anders and the way they both were running from their own demons in Eloraton.

The way the story was written was so beautiful and truly made me fall in love all over again with Ashley’s writing and the way she mixes all the emotions within her storytelling.

Thank you so much to Berkley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review of yet another 5 star read from Ashley!

thank you to berkley & netgalley for the arc!

i loved this story so much! ashley poston never fails to transport you into the world she’s writing.

elsy & anders’ story was heartfelt, sweet, magical & so fun to read. their dynamic was full of banter, chemistry, tension, & love. i loved getting to see their relationship develop in big & small ways throughout this story, all while getting to know these two characters!

elsy’s book loving nature is something i think we all can relate to. i loved the way ashley poston portrayed a readers love for the books they read, the characters & worlds they become attached to, and the love stories that burrow their way into our hearts.

this book was comforting, fun, sweet, and emotional. i almost cried towards the end, im not going to lie to you. the love story we see is so unique & very ashley poston-esque, which i will always love to read. the magical realism in this is so well done & i absolutely adored every minute of it!!!!

take me to eloraton please!!!

I really love Ashley's take on romance stories and this was no exception. Who hasn't dreamed of living in one of her favorite bookish worlds?!?! I adored this concept and thought it was so well executed. Ashley is an auto buy author for me and she never lets me down!

If you could escape to a fictional town and its characters, would you?

Elsy's life has its ups and downs, and this year, her book club has all bailed on their annual trip. However, she decides to go it alone, and when her Pinto (amazing, it was still running!) breaks down, she finds herself in her favorite book town. This is both good and bad because she has read these books so many times that she knows the ins and outs of all the characters. All but one, the grumpy bookstore owner. She can't place him and doesn't remember his character. There is a reason for that, but to explain would spoil part of the story.

While Elsy is running away from her life, finding her favorite town creates its own issues since she cannot contact anyone. Overall, spending a week in this town was good for Elsy because it helped her realize what she wanted from life and work through her past relationship failures. I think it also helped her to see her friendship with Pru in a new light. However, she tended to meddle in the character's lives because she knew more than they did about how things would turn out.

Then, there is the relationship between Elsy and Anders. They are attracted to one another despite several missteps, but something is holding each of them back. Could it be Anders' previous relationship? Or is it that he doesn't fit the mold like the other characters, but for a very good reason? However, once these two get past those moments, the relationship skyrockets. But what goes up must come down. 

Sometimes, I pick up a book, and it is the right book for the right moment. That is the case here. I was looking for a bit of escapism, and this book provided it in spades. I loved getting to know these characters and watching Elsy's interactions with them. I was also happy when Elsy discovered her true self. She needed this time alone to move forward with her own life.

I enjoyed this book, and now I wonder what book town I would want to get lost in, even if only for a little while. I'm going to have to think about that one.

We give this book 5 paws up.

2.5/5 rounded up because at the end of the day I adore Ashley Poston's writing

So devastated I didn't enjoy this! I loved The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip so I thought I'd love this one for sure (especially because I loved the "falling-into-your-favorite-book-series" portal fantasy concept - see: how much I loved Sarah Rees Brennan's Long Live Evil which also comes out this summer and I think does this concept better but it's also unfair to compare because they are different books in different genres doing different things).

Unfortunately I did not care about the characters at all...Eileen, Anders, and all of the side characters felt so one dimensional to me and so I was never invested in both the main and subplots. The romance happened way too quickly for my liking and the obstacles they faced leading to the "third act breakup" were underwhelming so the ultimate conclusion was just...meh. I don't think I'll remember this one all that much.

There were also a lot of repetitive descriptions that grew tiresome and quite a few jokes that didn't land (when normally Ashley Poston's humor works for me). That being said, while I don't think the writing in this book is as strong as her other work, Ashley Poston's writing overall is still great and it is ultimately what kept me from dnf-ing. While I didn't necessarily care about the romance, the romantic scenes were so well written that there were moments I was rooting for them. I also continue to love the magical elements she includes in her contemporary romances - even if the execution in this one wasn't my favorite. The slight mystery surrounding how the town from the books existed and how Anders was connected kept me intrigued throughout and I ultimately liked how it was explained.

I do think that my feelings on this book have a lot to do with the fact that I personally am not huge a contemporary small-town romance fan and this year in particular I've been getting picky with the romances I read. I think this will work better for a lot of other readers and Ashley Poston readers may still want to give this one a chance.

This was a fun surprise for me because I not only hadn’t read anything by Ashley Poston before, but I also didn’t really reread the blurb when I started. The concept is fun. A bookish theme can feel overdone sometimes, but in this case it felt fresh and dare I say, novel? A woman who loves a happily-ever-after (don’t we all) but who has found herself robbed of one. Her chance for her own HEA may finally arrive when she finds herself in the fictional town of her favorite books.

“There once was a town, and it didn’t exist.”

Once I got started, I was surprised to find this story is more emotional than I expected. The concept had a lot of levity, but as a character I found Eileen to have more depth than expected. The entire book gave me Gilmore Girls vibes in a sense (I’m not alone in dreaming of living in Stars Hollow), but also a dash of The Wizard of Oz.

Eileen Merriweather is unhappy. Her fiance broke off their engagement only a week before their wedding, she’s unhappy in her job, and she can’t help but compare everyone else in her life finding happiness while she is alone and lonely. She loves to escape into her favorite fictional town, Eloraton, where her favorite romance stories take place.

Eileen spends all year looking forward to her week-long retreat to a cabin in New York with her book club friends, where no one judges her for her smutty taste in books (the same can’t be said for the English department where she is a professor). But this year, everyone backed out. Eileen is already on her way when the last holdout—her best friend Pru—ditches the trip as well to head to Iceland with her boyfriend.

A wrong turn leads Eileen to a small town she’s never been to before, and a near accident with a handsome man leads her car to breakdown. She stops in a bar, finds herself staying in the loft of the handsome stranger, and in the morning it dawns on her. Eileen knows where she is. She’s in Eloraton. But the question is, how is it possible to find oneself in a fictional town?

The town of Eloraton charmed me! There’s something fun about a town in a book modeled after what a town in a book should be like. Does that make sense? The people live the same day over and over until Elsy (Eileen) causes a shock to their universe. Suddenly, things begin to move forward. It was as though the town was waiting for her to arrive so her story could propel them into motion.

Elsy is in the middle of a romance novel—one that the author never finished because she passed before it was complete. Perhaps Elsy is the one who can unfreeze them by living out the rest of the story. That gorgeous stranger is named Anders, and he is a grumpy bookstore owner (of course). Anders doesn’t appreciate the ripples caused in his town by Elsy’s arrival, but perhaps she is just the person he didn’t know he was waiting for.

A charming story, a delightfully fun premise. This is a book for those of us who dream of living out our own favorite books some day. Elsy is on her own journey to find herself, and ironically she may do just that in this fictional town. I hope it’s not too obvious to point out that Elsy was just as stuck in her own life as the town of Eloraton was reliving the same day on a loop.

This book is an absolute delight!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.