Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, and One more chapter publishing for the advanced copy of this title.
This book is like a form of going on a blind date, except you don't actually see the person, and only communicate with little gifts and notes. I think that it was a really sweet way for the author to build the relationship between Ashleigh and George. I love the idea of falling in love with someone based on their personality and quirks, versus their appearance.
Ashleigh is a new housecleaner for George. They don't meet until a good ways into the book so it is a very slow burn. They leave each other little notes and this becomes the magnetizing force that pulls them together.

Ashleigh is a loner who has two good friends and really avoids most social interactions. She is emotionally stunted, preferring to not really have any aspirations or wanting a relationship. She seeks dating assistance from her two best friends when she needs a date to a family wedding to keep her mom off of her back.
Ashleigh starts to date a bit and George is in a long term relationship, but they continue to be drawn to each other. They find they can be honest with one another and this becomes the foundation for their relationship.

I think the book had a slow pace throughout, but a rushed ending. Something about the entire flow seemed disjointed. I wish the two main characters stories flowed a bit more effortlessly.

.

This book was a wonderful read and had everything that i expected from a rom com.

I really loved all the characters, they were very real, down-to-earth and relatable and i thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them all and becoming involved in their lives.

It was a great book about friendships and lovers and relationships and i found this book very easy to read as each chapter pushed me along to the next one until i had devoured it all.

A wonderful, funny, heartwarming rom com and a perfect Summer read…..

The Life Changing Magic of Falling in Love

This was super cute! I really enjoyed this book and the unique take on a pen pal /online chat back and forth. Ashleigh and George are very different people who end up having a bit more in common than they suspect. There’s some mental health rep and an understanding and friendship forms when Ashleigh actually gives two hoots about George as opposed to bloody Anya!
Carlos and Oz gave me quite a few good laughs and some of the things said by the George out loud and thought during his inner monologue really got me.
‘It’s not more lavender oil, is it?’
-and-
‘I shouldn’t have licked her ice cream.’
Zach was so annoying and flakey but I guess that’s how you need it to be. Hildy is *chef’s kiss* and I would happily to sit around chatting to her all day.
Super cute, made me smile and I loved the crossword clues all throughout.

📚✨ This book was a delight! Cute and engaging from the start. 🌟

Ashleigh, a cleaner since losing her best friend, meets George, a newcomer to New York battling panic attacks. Their charming connection unfolds through adorable notes and crossword clues, making it the cutest part! 💕

Though hindered by love triangles and unclear goals, their eventual meeting sparks heartwarming scenes and deep connections. 💌💑

Despite some disorganization, the characters are relatable, tackling grief and life's uncertainties. Plus, props for portraying a cleaner as the lead! 🧹💼

Overall, a fun read with relatable characters and heartfelt moments. 📖😊

I like slow burn, but not in the way this book did slow burn. If slow burn means not actually meeting and speaking face to face until about 45-50% of the way through the book and only leaving each other love notes in the form of cross word puzzles, I don't want it. I can't root for a couple who go half the book without actually meeting AND who have significant others for a good portion of the book. I get when characters have a breakup at the beginning, but George had a girlfriend of 3 years for quite a while, why was he leaving little love note crossword puzzles for his cleaner he'd never once met in person? Not only that but Ashleigh was awful and repetitive, too much of a pick-me girl who used phrases like "That should've been said in my inside my head voice" what is she, 5? I really wanted to like this book, especially with the anxiety rep, but unfortunately there wasn't really much to like about it.

Ashleigh has found her happy place, away from the 'career' her family thought she wanted, in a city away from everyone who knows her. Cleaning has been her saviour, though many would doubt that it was a sensible career move from her home in editorial.
The satisfaction she gets from cleaning the messes of others and learning about people she rarely meets helps her forget the real tragedy behind her leaving her first job.
Then she finds a new client who doesn't seem to need her, with a spotless, almost sterile apartment in a beautiful location. However, she finds a crossword incomplete, sparking a chain of events that will inevitably bring about a meeting of the two.
George, from the sterile apartment, lived his whole life in the UK to move to New York for a job, and his girlfriend, Anya, who happens to be his boss's daughter. He's lonely but happy in many ways, though he knows no one other than his colleagues and a couple of neighbours. This suits him, as it stops him from having to think about the medical condition he had, which caused his family to stifle his childhood and continue to worry about him even though he's quite okay.
Until the panic attack.
I love anything about words; essentially, words bring these two crashing into each other's lives. Ashleigh has been through the trauma of loss and in a cycle of blame which she has never admitted to anyone. George has spent his life trying to show everyone he is capable of living a normal life, just like anyone else, but there are still wobbles, which despite his best efforts, manifest in ways that affect his whole life.
I love the additional cast of characters: Ozzie and Carlos and their coffee shop, Oscars, as well as Hildy, the elderly neighbour of George and a client of Ashleigh's who, in their own way, become fast friends and a real network for both Ashleigh and George.\A lovely summer romance read, with a lotta heart.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC.

I think this is a solid debut. I do not like the face to face until almost the halfway point but I understand why the author wrote that way. As always I love the side characters so much. The way the author navigated grief was very heartwarming. This a realistic job & perfect setting for a romance novel! Thank you so much to the author, the publisher, & NetGalley!

2.5 ⭐️

“I am absolutely, five words, 7,2,4,4,3 falling-in-love-with-you, too.”

This is one I really wanted to love, I just didn’t.
It was hard for me to get into the story, It was slow paced & I think the writing style had a lot to do with it, it just wasn’t for me.

What I did enjoy:

It was quirky and unique how they became friends from them both loving Crosswords.
This was an anxiety rep so that was extremely relatable 🫶 I absolutely adored the side characters Oz & Carlos and the ending was cute.

Read if you like:

Slow burn 🔥
Clean romance
Duel POV
Crosswords 🧩
NYC setting

Release date: May 24th

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC exchange for my honest review 🩷

Three and a half stars, not quite four.

I don't know how to explain the things that bothered me with this book without sounding incredibly insensitive about one certain aspect, so I'll just say that it did not sit well with me.

For the first 50% of the book I liked Ashleigh but then my focus switched over to George. Somehow I found myself falling for this George, the one that defends Ashleigh to her parents, the one that sees right through her and her insecurities and knows just the way to handle them (and her). He had me swooning a bit.

What I really liked besides George, were our side characters, from the neighbour lady to Oscar and his partner. The airport parts made me laugh out loud (although I admit that that voice message made my roll my eyes a bit, that was too cheesy even for me), as did the whole situation with George and the noodle guy, just imagining what he did, not the situation itself.

Honestly think it was a fine read - I read it while doing much traveling and it passed the time and kept me occupied.

I received and ARC from Netgalley and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to both NetGalley and the author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
I really enjoyed the concept here of our main characters meeting initially and building a relationship via crossword puzzles. So cute and fun! Slow burn was also good. And excellent mental health representation. I do feel the plot was a bit rushed at the end though.

✨Book Review: The Life-Changing Magic of Falling in Love by Eve Devon✨

When starting this book I was intrigued as I haven’t read many romances like this. This book follows Ashleigh and Gregory. Ashleigh is the cleaner for Gregory’s apartment and they begin communicating through crosswords until they meet in a disastrous way! This book is very slow-burn but I feel it was dragged out too much and then rushed the romance aspect at the end. I loved the representation of anxiety and showing the reality of how panic attacks feel. I loved Gregory whereas I felt Ashleigh was quite overbearing and didn’t feel there was much character development for her! But if you enjoy slow-burn romance, friends to lovers, kinda forced proximity then definitely give this book a go when it releases on the 24th of May!

I adored this book. Everything from the romance, the crosswords (of which I'm so bad, I couldn't guess them) to the cleaning!! I loved her job and then I loved how we went backwards, unravelling layer by layer of what seemed like just a cute book.

Also, a round of applause please to the author for the excellent protrayal of mental health. Honestly wow. For both male and female characters as well! It was so realistic and as someone who suffers from panic attacks, the level to detail was appreciated.

Really loved this and would highly recommend.

The Life-Changing Magic of Falling in Love is a sweet, slow burn romance. The MCs, Ashleigh and George have great chemistry, and their communication method of messages in crossword puzzles was SO fun! I absolutely love doing crosswords, so this part of the story really drew me in. The cast also has some really deep, and lovable side characters, like Hildy, who would meddle quietly.

The author did a wonderful job of showing the truth of anxiety and panic. Touching on mental health is a great addition to the book, and takes it to deeper levels than the "average" romance. Ashleigh and George are able to share experiences of things like mental health, and their appreciation for each other's journeys and the empathy it gives each of them makes you fall in love with them even more!

I highly enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone who loves sweet, romances!

Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and Eve Devon for the early access copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Falling in Love.

The Life-Changing Magic of Falling in Love is a witty, well-written, fun, dual point-of-view romance. The story follows Ashleigh and George.

Ashleigh is a caring, personable, loveable character who works for a home cleaning service where she is meticulous and goes above-and-beyond. Ashleigh is relatable, and as the story progresses you learn is going through a substantial grief journey.

George, is a kind, determined, hardworking character, that while the story progresses has lost himself in his work.

When Ashleigh begins cleaning George's home, the two begin to communicate in a unique way.

This is a slow burn, closed-door romance, that allows the time to learn the characters separately before going directly into the whirlwind of the romance. It felt like I was making friends while reading this story. It has witty banter, fun interactions while also broaching difficult subjects like grief and anxiety.

I will miss the world that Eve Devon created.

This romance story follows Ashleigh and George who are both dealing with life 'traumas' and find a common ground in their love for crosswords. It's a slow burn in terms of them meeting and 'falling in love' but it's clear from before they even meet that Ashleigh is rather obsessed with George.

My biggest issue with the book was that Ashleigh and George don't interact until at least 50% in, which left us with less time for development thus a development that felt slightly rushed.
I also wish the epilogue was set more in the future than just 3 months, there was so much focus around Ashleigh only dating to find dates to a wedding, the epilogue should have been set a year later at said wedding to really bring the book full circle.

Those 'issues' don't take away from the story, its unique and doesn't have the exact same themes as every romance out there lately, and a quick read perfect for those that enjoy a faster paced 'slow burn.'

Thank you netgalley and HarperCollins UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I actually enjoyed this story more than I thought I would at the start. The beginning was rather slow with lots of characters and situations being introduced. I nearly gave up after a third but glad I carried on as it certainly picks up and turns into a lovely entertaining romcom. Set in New York and told from two stressed out voices, cleaner Ashleigh and advertiser George whose characters really developed as their lives change, along with some quirky side ones. Mrs Lundy, call me Hilde, was an absolute delight. Fun and funny.

3.5 stars rounded up. Ashleigh and George are both trying to find their way in New York and struggling for different reasons - not that either of them really wants to admit it. When circumstances bring them into each other's orbit, it's the catalyst for change.
There's a lot to like here, particularly the strong individual voices of George and Ashleigh, and some memorable supporting characters (I especially liked Oz and "call me Hildy"). The second half of the book was much stronger than the first, mainly due to pacing issues: it seemed to take far too long for the main characters to be on the page together and when they were, a vital chunk of George's story was suddenly told, rather than shown, after it actually occurred. But once they were together I liked how they supported each other through grief and anxiety, and used that support to work out important truths about themselves.

A very quirky romcom! Ashleigh and George meet in the most unlikely of ways and form a friendship that proves to withstand the test of life!

They both go through so much and they are there helping each other out in anyway they can. Both have a lot to learn and a lot to figure out but love becomes their guide!

Ashleigh for me is so relatable because she is unapologetically her. She makes choices that shock those around her but she makes them for her own being and I loved the heck out of that. I love how she took charge when needed.

So many great characters within the pages of this book and one that should be picked up and enjoyed.

The story is cleverly woven with themes of self-discovery and second chances, making the protagonist’s journey relatable and deeply moving. What I loved most about this book was its ability to blend humor with heartfelt moments, creating a perfect balance that kept me engaged throughout. The authors writing is fluid and expressive, capable of capturing the subtle complexities of relationships and the magic that comes when you least expect it. Her characters are well-developed and genuinely likable, which made me invest emotionally in their happiness and root for their love story.

In search of comfort and a sense of control Ashleigh tries to cope with her grief by finding a job as a cleaner. When she walks into George’s flat to clean it and finds it spotless, she can’t help but feel intrigued by its owner. George, on the other hand, knows nothing about the woman who cleans his place other than their shared love of crossword puzzles. And so their friendship begins, with notes and crossword clues left for each other.

The premise of the book sounded intriguing and reminiscent of ‘The Flatshare’ by Beth O’Leary. I have to admit, it’s far from that. The characters don’t meet until halfway through the book, but I actually enjoyed that part. Yes, it was a bit repetitive but it was also engaging to get glimpses of their interactions and experience a sense of eagerness for them to finally meet. And when they do, that is where the whole thing actually starts to fall apart, as their interactions felt faux-deep, with unnatural dialogue and little to none chemistry. And when you take out the chemistry and your romance goggles off, the whole premise then loses its appeal and actually becomes borderline problematic and a tad stalkerish.

Many thanks to NetGalley UK and the publishers for this ARC.