After a terrible breakup, and being ditched by her friends, Eileen finds herself in the small town of her favorite fictional romance series. She loves everyone there, except the grumpy bookstore owner, who was not a character in any of the published books. She believes she has landed in the last book, the one left unfinished when the author died suddenly and is determined to give all her favorite characters their happy ending.

I absolutely loved the concept of the book, and we quickly get into the fictional world of the story with Eileen beginning to intertwine herself into her favorite characters' lives quite quickly which I appreciated.

However because I as a reader did not have a special bond with these characters the way Eileen did this part sort of dragged on for me, I was much more interested in her focusing on the mystery of who the new character of the bookstore owner is and how these characters would all get their happy endings. She also never seemed too concerned with leaving or if she'd be able to make it back if she left. The stakes felt incredibly low for me and she came across as very unbothered by it all, despite having her dream come true. I never connected to the story the way I wanted, despite being in love with the concept and loving Eileen immediately.

Slight spoilers ahead ---

The character I loved most was Eileen, and whenever she was going through heartbreak it had me in tears. I wasn't so convinced by the ending, although I loved the message I felt was being conveyed. I wish we had taken less time with all the fictional characters and focused on her.

There was so much I loved about this, it had me sobbing, twice! There were also quite a few things I didn’t like, or rather didn’t feel connected to, that pulled me out of the story and felt unfinished.

It’s left me pretty torn - but overall I think most romance readers will like this to some degree. This was certainly the most unique and surprising romance I’ve read all year. And I loved parts of it But I also I had a lot of issues with it.

Aww, I thought this was super cute.
I couldn't even imagine how geeked out I would be to find myself in one of my favorite fictional towns. I thought Elsie handled this revelation pretty well, and how could you not help but get involved in all the lives you've been reading about forever?

At first, I really loved the idea of Elsea and Anderson together. Their first meeting was pretty spectacular, and he owns a bookstore, so he definitely has a really big point already in his favor. Then, after they had some words, which I think Elsie needed to hear, I wasn't sure how they were going to get to any kind of romantic feelings. But of course, being the kind of book you know is going to have a happily ever after I knew we were going to get there somehow.

I loved all the people that were living in Eloraton, and how Elsie helped them move forward out of the rut they had been stuck in.
I loved the setting, and I really loved how everything turned out in the end.

3.5 stars! This book was okay but I wanted to love it more. I felt like the build up of the romance was so long but then the actual conclusion of everything was too short. I also just wanted to be more invested in this love story than I was. This was definitely a fun story, but after all I’ve heard about this author I was just hoping for more. I think the author gets a lot right with this book, but I couldn’t get over how rushed the end felt after how great her story building was earlier on in the book.

I have never written a more complicated review for me emotionally. I hated but enjoyed this book at the same time. This book shouldn't be marketed as a romance...while it does contain romantic elements, it's not what this story is about. I wish I would've know that before going in. So let this be your warning.

3.5: I adore Ashley Poston. This book was cute and I enjoyed most of it but it didn’t live up to the others for me.

I absolutely loved this unique romance about a women who ends up living in the fictional setting of her favorite romance series!

Huge thank you @prhaudio @berkleypub and @netgalley for an advanced audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review and I loved this audiobook!

I was listening to this one and totally got lost in the story! The highlight of Eileen’s year is her book retreat and nothing was going to stand in her way, but when her car breaks down she finds herself in a town that seems straight out of a novel, but not just any novel; her favorite! This gave me all the Schmigadoon vibes and I was there for

My new favorite Ashley Poston novel! A Novel Love Story is the perfect blend of magical coziness. This one has such an atmospheric feel to it. I adored all the bookish content. The perfect magical realism book! AP is the absolute best!

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
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Eileen is the ultimate book lover. While on her way to a yearly book club weekend that only she is able to attend this weekend, her car breaks down. She is forced to stay the night in the small town, only to discover in the morning that it is the town from her favorite book series.
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What I liked:
-I liked this town and all the people there.
-Eileen getting to befriend all her favorite character was sweet. It helped her branch out and be more comfortable being herself.
-All the banter between our grumpy/sunshine twosome was great.
-The life lessons that Eileen learned after she left the town. Including the heart to heart she has with her bestie.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was an enjoyable and sweet book.

Oh my gosh this story was super fun and adorable, and I was here for it all! It gave me all the Pleasantville vibes, it was adorable!

Ashley Poston will always be a 5 star read for me!
I love her writing, and I love how subtle the magical realism is in her books.
Was this my favorite of her 3 adult novels? No
Did I still love the writing? Yes

With being a fan of The Dead Romantics, I was wanting to dive back into Ashley Poston’s worlds. It took me a little to get into this one, but it picked up eventually. And I simply couldn’t put it down. It was such fun read. If this were in movie form, I’d easily add it to my must see romcom movies. The vibes and all worked for me, I can’t wait for the next one.

Thank you to the publisher for sending this gem of a novel over. I ate this novel up and wanted more. It was such a sweet and cute book, perfect for fans of Gilmore Girls or small town hallmark type movies. The characters were all a tad quirky, the town was adorable, and the writing grabbed me. I really enjoyed the twist towards the end that I personally didn't see coming. Magical realism at its finest. Although there were a few parts I felt were just a bit repetitive and slowed down my interest, it was still a good book that I really enjoyed. And the romance was so good!!

Not only does Ashley Poston write characters with depth in a well structured romance, her settings and world building continues to blow me away. I low how she teters into scifi elements to highlight a romance that can extend beyond time and place. They always pull on my heart so much. Excited to see what's next!

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Format: Audio/E-book

4.5🌟 - I really liked it!

Thank you so much @prhaudio for the #gifted audio and physical copy from @berkleyromance!

This book was so COZY! This reminded me of a Gilmore Girls-esque town with a bit of Once Upon a Time vibes. Ashley Posten’s stories are truly brimming with magic 🪄! She always brings a creative story and characters with complexity and depth! I always love her writing, and she is an auto-buy author for me 🛍️.

Of all her books, I would say this is the lightest of the three and has a different vibe overall from her other novels but it worked for me! This is a bookish book for bookish people 📚🫶. Not only did I love the town, but adored the cast of other characters in the town which added so much to the story!

Whimsical, enchanting, and charming rom-com!

Ashley Poston is a new favorite! I can’t wait to continue to enjoy a new Poston book every year! Fiction becomes reality and such a unique way to bring all the things we love to read “to life”

This was such a unique story and i loved the characters. The writing was flawless! Ashley Poston’s writing never fails to amaze me.

Ashley Poston has the perfect way of making magical realism the most vital piece in her stories. It helps build a story that is incredible and helps us feel enamored with all of the characters and the storyline. I loved being able to see how the characters were interconnected but I do wish there had been more overall tension. I feel like that would have made the story go above and beyond for a lot of people.

There are plenty of worlds that I'd like to hop into sometimes, but I've never managed it. This tale managed to blend the real (me) and unreal (the novel) and really unreal (the novel land within a novel) into something charming and a bit brain defying, much like many of Poston's other novels.

Absolutely loved this one. The magical realism was done super well and I really appreciated the way the characters were all interconnected.