This was my first read by this Author and it will NOT be my last. This was the perfect mix of Gilmore Girls meets every small town romance that I just love, with a hefty dose of whimsy. I think this is easily one of my favorite reads so far this year.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy. While I liked the premise of the story, it was just a little too rambling for me.

This was a cute story and I always love this authors work. It is light yet tells such a deep story. This cover snd book are both adorable!!!

Short and sweet review time! Ashley Poston once again writes a novel that pulls at all of my emotions. I was either laughing or on the verge of tears reading this. You can tell the author wrote this for all of us book lovers and it shows throughout the entire book.

Who wouldn't want to end up at their favorite fictional world?? I would never want to leave!!

This is SO much more than a love story (as all of Poston's books are), I fell head over heels for Anders and for every single character.

I fell in love with the world Poston created and all the characters in this cute fictional town. The only thing that made me a little sad was that this didn't have as much romance as I would have liked to have seen.

It was honestly such a beautiful book and I wish it was a real place!

Ashley Poston. The way you write men…..I want one..not want…need one.

This book broke my heart and sewed it back together by the end. I really could not put this book down the minute I started.

The one thing I absolutely love about Poston’s books is that I always think I know the ending….but then she changes it up on me…breaks my heart and then put it back together by the end.

Also what I would do to stumble upon my favorite romance book town and meet all of my favorite characters….and maybe one hot bookstore owner😉

You know that feeling when you finish a book and don’t want it end….that was me last night in the early hours of the morning after finishing this masterpiece. I need more.

I’d also love a copy of this Eloraton series 🥰

I loved that Elsy got her book boyfriend!


Thank you Berkeley romance for the arc.

This book was so enchanting. A beautiful story about grief, hope, learning to invite love in again and being the main character in your own story! Ashley Poston has a way of making fictional characters come to life. They feel as real to me, as the characters in Daffodil daydreams felt Eileen! I loved every second of this amazing story!

I loved The Seven Year Slip so I was so excited to be able to read Poston’s newest book, A Novel Love Story! Thank you Berkley Publishing for the free book! #BerkleyPartner

It did not disappoint! Elsy is lost in her life, stuck in her life, after her bad breakup, and realizes that she didn’t live her life for her. But she found her home in a romance novel series, predictably cheesy but it felt like home. Her book club took a trip every year but no one could make it this time around so Elsy decided she would go alone. She gets caught in a rainstorm and pulls off into a small town. It takes her a while to realize but she ended up in the fictional town, Eloraton, from her favorite book series. I love that Poston’s novels take us to wonderful places and I think it’s such a great change from the romcoms we are used to. I enjoy her writing and I love her characters.

I did think that at some points it dragged on. In the middle, I was just kinda ready to get to the point already and in the end, I felt the same way. Each of the ending chapters could have been the last but I was annoyed to flip the page and find another chapter… maybe because I was already moody and ready to finish a book(?) but I do stand by it dragging a little at some points. Besides that point, it was still a great book with a fun storyline!

On the lighter and fluffier side, for sure--for fans of Gilmore girls and readers who dream of escaping into their favourite romance author's books. Very light-hearted; nothing heavy or complicated, loose ends get resolved easily and without much wit. I definitely felt a lack of earned chemistry, both with the love interest and her friends, and the dialogue didn't read as particularly real, for me. Definitely for a reader who wants a fluffy, cute romance for a summer weekend read where they can turn their brain off.

3.5 stars!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometimes I do have a tough time rating a book. I can see both sides of what the author was trying to do and in this instance, I’m not sure I liked it as much as I wanted to.

I absolutely fell in love with her The Dead Romantics book and I try not to compare books. But this one did not hit me in the same manner as her other work did.

Becoming completely engrossed in a book where you become a part of it was a tough concept for me. The first part of the book was trying to comprehend the main character's development while telling us a story that she already knew, but we didn’t know the story at all.

While she knew she was in a “book“, it took me a bit to move past that. The second half of the book was really what I was looking for in terms of developing a relationship with her love interest which led to an amazing ending. That really saved the book for me.

Poston is a creative and inspiring writer and for those of you that love a slight fantasy concept, this is a wonderful Romance story for you.

A Novel Love Story is intriguing and beautifully developed with interesting characters. It’s unlike any other story you’ve read before.

I was very excited to read a novel by Ashley Poston after reading her Valentine's Day novella, which I really enjoyed. I loved the premise of A Novel Love Story: woman's car breaks down in a strange and perfect little town that turns out to be the storybook universe town of her favorite romance series. Sounds great, but I didn't ever really feel a connection to her or the main love interest and felt a little dropped into the town myself (except I hadn't read the books and didn't care about the characters). And I didn't really care for the ending AT ALL. I felt like the MMC settled for the FMC. I was sadly disappointed

a novel love story is a book lover's dream, a love letter to the connection shared between story and reader. sidetracked on a road trip, elsy merriweather winds up in the fictional town of her favorite unfinished series, one filled with lovable characters, even the grumpy bookshop owner, and cozy days.

once elsy moves past the shock of where she's ended up, her integration into the community is pretty seamless — she is welcomed by those who live there and explores eloraton with a childlike wonder, discovering the locations and plot points of the series she has held close to her heart for many years. at its core, a novel love story is a hopeful story, centered around a character that has lost her way and finds new meaning in the most unlikely place.

while the inclusion of flashbacks messed with the pacing a bit at the start, the quirky plot was engaging, each chapter presenting a new question for the audience — why can't elsy remember anders from pages of the books? where does he sneak off to each night? will the people of eloraton stories remain unfinished?

there's no denying ashley poston delivers some of the most unique plots in the romance genre. following the success of her previous two books, a novel love story truly felt like the story she's dreamed of telling since the beginning, the premise being a lovely crossroad between author and reader. the beauty of happily ever afters and friendship, the comfort a favorite read can provide are at the forefront. the picturesque setting soothed elsy as she worked to make sense of anders, her prickly landlord and quite the mysterious figure. though there is great push and pull between the two, the connection they ultimately form is both heartwarming and bittersweet. their relationship faced unique obstacles that resulted in the sweetest love declarations you've maybe ever heard.

while this isn't my favorite title from ashley, there was real magic weaved through the pages, making for a unique reading experience. at some point, we have all been elsy, adoring a story that felt anything but fictional to our souls.

thanks to berkley and ashley poston for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

alas, my five star streak with Ashley Poston has come to an end. this one has a fun, fantasy-lite premise as always - what happens when our main character ends up Brigadooned in the world of her favorite romance series and falls for a guy there? - but failed to deliver on the deeper emotional aspect that I've come to expect from her books. the town and ensemble cast of characters are just the right amount of quirky and fun but I felt like the development of the world was done much better than the development of the relationship between Elsy and Anders, which made it hard to get invested in them as a couple.

This book is a little too kitschy cute sickly sweet at times but it's a very heartwarming story, a true love letter to books and book clubs.

A Novel Love Story is a love letter to readers and how books can help us cope and heal. It's about being attached to fictional characters when you feel lonely and finding comfort in words. It's also about personal growth and finding love. It's about feeling stuck in life and like everybody else is moving on without you. It's about being a hole and learning how to grow vines to climb out.

Ashley Poston is just so talented at writing whimsical romances with magical elements. This book was so emotional and I didn't want it to end. I cannot wait to have a physical copy in my hands. I absolutely loved the fictional town being located in the Hudson Valley as I have a huge place in my heart for New York and this made me so homesick. A Novel Love Story absolutely felt like being wrapped in a warm, soft blanket.

This book felt so magical. It is very cute, but has a lot of depth to it as well. I loved the self journey the FMC got to take, and how she was living to be the main character in this story, which she definitely deserves after what she has been through. The MMC was very thoughtful and charming, absolutely loved him. The love story in this book is beautiful as well. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Well I was not expecting this book to get to me as much as it did. This was my first Ashley Posten book and it was adorable and sad and so intriguing.

I loved the character of Elyse and all of her personal growth and how much she truly found herself. The romance was top notch and I actually swooned, which I never do. The ending did confused me at first but once I understood it I loved this book even more. There were a couple of slow spots for me which is why it wasn't a 5 star but I'm very excited to read some of her other books now.

Postons work is always so creative and fun to experience. Found it hard to get into because we’re jumping into a world the fmc already knows without much background knowledge but I understand why it was done like that. Will definitely be recommending in store!

UGH ashley poston has done it again. such a fun giggling and kicking my feet book that makes me cry at the same time. the perfect amount of contemporary romance with magical realism I literally stayed up until 4am finishing this in one sitting

Woof! This book was not for me. Loved Ashely Poston's "Seven Year Slip" but this book lacked the same "oomfp" of SYS. It also felt like her writing regressed? Many repeated words and surface level prose.

Long distance I could travel, language barriers I could learn, but fictional?


This was a love letter to readers. It wasn’t really a love story between two main characters, but more of a love story between the heroine and fictional characters, books, and reading romance.

It was about the heroine’s obsession with that series and those characters that took up a huge part of her life. Those characters she loved so much and was so attached to in an unexplainable way. Relatable much??

I loved hearing her talk about romances, books, grand gestures, book tropes, and book boyfriends. It was truly heartwarming and so relatable. Like talking to someone who truly understands you. The amount of relatable quotes I highlighted was too many!

At first I picked this book up because ever since I watched the show; W Two Worlds long time ago and I’ve been obsessed with that kind of story line. And the idea of the heroine getting to live in her favorite romance series?? What a magical feeling!

The story was so magical and bittersweet and I loved it so much. It made me feel so cozy and warm inside. Ashley Poston’s books really do have some kind of charm.

Huge Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing this copy.