This looked like my kind of read and the "Blurb" sounded great, however, expectation and reality were very different, the character Lucy was all over the place, she had so many thoughts without actually saying anything, it was a bit weird with her cat and the fact she got a job helping with a "Agony Uncle" column but knew noting about romance, I didn't' finish this book, sorry.

The Love Hack
4.3/5✨
1/5🌶️

I love books which include office love stories, so this book got my attention with this trope 🤭. Thank you Sophie Ranald and NetGalley for this e-copy!

Lucy is currently working at Fab magazine, but her job will soon be uncertain. So, she needs to figure out how to get another job before she remains without a steady pay. Amelie, is Lucy's sister and, one day, she has a brilliant idea for Lucy - to write advice for men who have different life struggles. So, she ends up working to the men side of the magazine, called 'Max'.

In her new job position, Lucy has to work in an office with only men and that fact is scarring her, especially after how her last sort of relationship ended up and hurt her very much. Now she believes that she doesn't understand man at all, therefore she feels unprepared to give them life advices. She will have to face on her own a problem which is connected to her real life, brought by her "Adam" column (this is how they named it) and has to choose the right thing to do.

I liked that things were kept in a pretty genuine side. I think that many of us can relate to the subjects which were touched in this book and how hard it's to make the right decision in such situations. On the other side, I liked the relationship which formed between Lucy and her co-workers, but especially with Ross. They had a slow burn and the spice level was very decent.

Overall, it was a nice book, which I enjoyed reading and made me think a bit about how I'm facing some things in my life. It convinced me that, sometimes, we have to chew the information before we give an answer 🤭.

Tropes:
✨#WorkplaceRomance;
✨#EnemiesToLovers;
✨#CloseProximity;
✨#OneSidePov;

Lucy is facing a lot of change. She's forced to switch gears at work, moving from tech editor for a women's magazine to an advice columnist for a men's online magazine; her sister is getting married and moving stateside; she's battling an office crush after being burned by a previous coworker in a relationship that was never what it seemed. But she's doing her best to work through her personal hiccups while also posing as a man offering advice to other men writing to her advice column.

I really enjoyed this book. I found Lucy really relatable, her insecurities and concerns are something I think a lot of people can relate to. A close family member/friend getting married and moving to another stage in life; a pivot in career circumstances; tossed in with some romantic tension and genuine concerns regarding workplace romances. This was such an enjoyable, funny, warm romantic comedy with a dash of family drama that kept me turning pages late into the night.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book!
It was a real slow burn! I knew beforehand who the two love-interests would be, so I was very confused that they didn’t get together until like 85% into the book. They were just colleagues and sometimes friends? I loved the side story about her sister and her friends in it.
There were also a few life lessons in this book, those were beautifully written!

Would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review. Tropes include: workplace romance and friends to lovers. This was a good book! The plot instantly drew me in, as I have never read a book where the FMC pretends to be a man (Adam) and gives love advice to men. I loved reading each guy's questions they had for the advice column, and the book kept me engaged throughout. I loved the sister bond they showed and how realistic the book was. The chemistry could have been better though in my opinion.

Not my favorite but, but definitely not the worst either. Did I read it in a day, yes! Cute rom-com concept, but kind of lacked in some areas for me and I feel like things could have been smoothed out. Overall, it was like taking a great book, and cutting parts out in the movie version...far fetched ideas with little substance behind them. Like how did she lose her job and find one immediately? Does someone really just fly to NYC to find a girl? I wanted to like this so much more than I did. Felt rushed.

First things first: I see myself so much in Lucy that I could easily and quickly connect to her. Minus the coworker stuff, that is the stuff of my dreams, but sadly work with no one I would be interested in. This book was heartwarming and fun to read, especially after getting off the latest Emily Henry book. It is the perfect stay-in-with-your-Kindle-and-wine read or something to enjoy by the pool. (I did both). This romcom made me grin and gave off all the happy and relatable romance vibes. It's all you could ask for from a rom-com

Omg this book was not worth it. I am not a person who DNF’s normally, so I did struggle through but I wish I had DNF’ed.
This was like the slowest burn, and for what?! There was no real connection between Lucy and Ross, it was just not there. The plot was all over the place and just messy

When Lucy is about to lose her job as cuts are being made, she comes up with the idea to write a column as an agony uncle "Ask Adam' giving out advice to men. The downside to this is that Lucy is quite inexperienced with the male species and has to ask her sister for advice. I like the idea behind this story and although it's a bit of a slow burn to start with and maybe a little 'saucy' in parts for some people's taste, it's worth a read. Thanks netgalley and publishers for an advanced copy.

Wow, this was very, very, VERY, slow. The only good thing in this book is the cat, Astro.

Halfway through the book, not a single problem. The love interest doesn't even appear in half the chapters. I was more invested in the sister's story than in our main character.

Lucy is a delulu, and boring. Why are you in love with a coworker you have known for a week, and then jealous when he gets with another woman after you've expressed 0 Interest in him?

Negative stars to this one.

This is a very non spice romcom. Predictable but without the 3rd act misunderstanding (a bug bear of mine!), likeable characters and it's definitely a good palate cleanser.

I honestly had to DNF this and that makes me sad. The plot was all over the place and I just really didn’t like the FMC. The writing and the banter was good I just couldn’t get passed the characters.

Thank you Storm Publishing and NetGallery for this ARC. This book looked so good and I was really looking forward to reading it. Even though I did not hate it, it just didn't live up to my expectations. I felt that Lucy and Ross lacked the chemistry that you see in other romance books.

It was an easy read but hard to keep my interest because it just did not have that spark for me.

** spoiler alert ** i am delusional but not as delusional as lucy. i was very excited to read this because of the cover (i know i know don’t judge a book by its cover!) and the premise but i just couldn’t get into it. another review said this as well but my last straw was lucy using AI to write her columns… come on 😭

nonetheless thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review :D

This is my first Sophie Ranald book and I don't think it will be the last. A sweet easy romantic read which I enjoyed (and read quickly).

Lucy has found herself in a new job surrounded by men - providing advice to men (via her 'Ask Adam' column) - of whom she knows nothing about. Lucy gave up on men following a failed relationship years earlier. But as she spends more time with her coworker she begins to see men (and one in particular) as 'real people'.

Lucy's sister is getting married to a man which Lucy isn't a fan of. Following the wedding and honeymoon her sister becomes distant and Lucy begins to sense something is wrong.

Will Lucy find herself a man again and solve her sister's love life while succeeding in her role as Adam? A book full of fun, romance, friendship and a little twist of modern-day tech.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of The Love Hack in exchange for a review.

The plot of the book had enough to seduce any reader seaking for a light romance. Unfortunately, it does not deliver. The romance is profoundly lacking in this story, so much so that you actually question how and why the two protagonists are getting together.

When Lucy loses her job to Ross, she comes up with the idea of a column to provide men with love and life advice. Problem is, she has no clue about it herself and actually needs the help of both her sister and AI to deliver.

The book mostly goes around two main topics: Lucy's issues writing her column and figuring men out and Lucy's sister, who recently got married and whose love life does not seem half as happy as it should be.

Thank you to NetGalley and StormPublishing for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

ARC‼️
It was a fun concept and the story itself was entertaining but it constantly felt like it was written in x2 speed.

The moment a scene would begin it was over within moments, the characters dialogue was instant answers for problems and never any filler or leaving any potential mystery to what may happen next.

For example it was like ‘oh no she really needs to find a job!’ *Next page* ‘she’s found a job and now we’ve already been here for a few weeks’ ??? Slow down please or just skip the scene if you are just going to race through them.

Don’t bother even mentioning Ross. The whole fly to NYC the day after being dumbed just to now start a new relationship, again just constantly sprinting through the story line. He was as bland a blank piece of paper & even Luce said he was overall just an average boring person.

I could overlook the warp speed of the story but I could not get past the flash backs. They were so random and you never knew when they would cut back to reality it was incredibly confusing. I was constantly flipping back pages thinking I’d skipped something.

Overall if it was slowed down and you got to enjoy learning about the characters and their backgrounds it’d be more enjoyable.

Rating: 2.5 stars

Where should I start??

The cover of this book is cute, which is what initially drew me in when looking for ARCs. The blurb had me expecting a forbidden, steamy office romance with some laughs thrown in.

However, it didn’t live up to expectations. The plot is all over the place. It spends too much time in the past, with Lucy (FMC) dwelling on her past relationship. It’s taken a lot away from the present-day story and could have been summarised quickly and effectively in a few pages.

So, Lucy and Ross's (MMC) slow burn was only a simmer. There were some small sparks in the book between them, but there was no tension or buildup that I crave in a romance.

The side characters and subplot added some much-needed depth, but even with them, the whole story still felt disjointed.

Listen, I liked it enough to finish it; there were parts I truly enjoyed. However, I was left wanting more and feeling unfulfilled.

I want to thank Storm Publishing and Netgallery for sending me this ARC. All opinions are honest and my own, of course!

This quiet book has a “slice of life” feel rather than a strong, directed plot. Lucy has no business giving dating advice, since it’s a subject she’s clueless about. The book is more women’s fiction than romance, since the love story is not the central plot.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I loved the cover of this book so much that I requested it. But I kind of wish I hadn't?

The FMC, Lucy, frustrated me for the majority of the book. Her cynicism was overwhelming and way too dramatic. It was nothing but her complaining and being so entirely delusional that it made me want to DNF. But I stuck it out.

I'm shocked this is a romance because the romance felt almost nonexistent. And when it did show up towards the end, it was rushed.

I'm sorry to say that I just didn't really care for this book.