A slow pseudo-romance about a columnist, her cat, and her sister. I wasn't fully entertained with this one and was very close to DNF'ing. Lucy is so insecure and way too co-dependent on her sister. I have enjoyed Sophie Ranald's books, but this one was disappointing.

Lucy works at Fab!, a women's magazine and she receives bad news: Fab! is merging with Max!, a magazine for men. The combined magazine is also changing to an online-only format. Her job as a tech writer will be taken over by a man from the other magazine. Lucy has two options—be fired or find a new topic to write about. Her sister comes up with the idea of a dating advice column for men, secretly written by a woman.
Overall, I enjoyed the premise. The advice column added a nice twist to the story. I also enjoyed reading about the relationship between Lucy and her sister. It allowed for a deeper connection with the characters and a better understanding of Lucy.
I didn't like that Lucy's romantic relationship was such a slow burn, and when they finally got together, it felt rushed and too deep too quick.
I love romances, but this one was not great for me.

I'm sorry to offer a negative review, especially considering the effort the author undoubtedly put into their work. However, I must express my disappointment with the book. The main character, Lucy, is incredibly irritating, and I found myself more interested in her sister's life than Lucy's own journey. The book's handling of sensitive topics feels superficial, and the introduction of AI only exacerbates this issue. Moreover, the lack of cohesion in the narrative and the predictability of the plot made it difficult for me to engage with the story, resulting in an unpleasant reading experience. Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this fun book, and its perfect title, has heart warming and heart catching moments. Not absolutely perfect, but then again what relationship is. Don’t really need to ask a ‘Love Hack’, not needed. Just be honest with ourselves and each other. So, if you pick this up as a laugh out loud romcom then I think you will be disappointed. Though there are funny moments not least the AI bot giving agony uncle relationship advice to humans. However I felt the questions posed by the newspaper readers and the answers given are what gives soul to the book. Relationships are messy. And that leads to problems. But because we want them (for whatever reason) we often fool ourselves. Why can’t we be honest? Why can’t we see what others so easily see? Hush, let people make their own mistakes, but be ready as a friend to help pick up the pieces, and sometimes also share the joy. The human condition at worst and best! That’s what this booked gave me, ultimately leaving a smile on my face. Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Unfortunately, this book was a miss for me. I did not like the writing at all.

I wouldn’t label it as a romance, and the FMC was unbearable.

I hate to leave a bad review on a book, but I did not enjoy this at all.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my advanced copy.

I have mixed feelings about this book if I'm being honest. Y'all can read the description but basically Lucy is “Ask Adam” who dishes out relationship tips to men when they email into her. Ross is her coworker and happens to sit across from her.

So here were the pros:
I liked how real Lucy was with some of these men. Telling them off like they needed to be instead of acting like a right wanker if a man was giving this advice. I mean that was the whole point for her playing this role instead of a man, so it worked. I like that she connected an email to her sister's husband and that she instantly went into "I need to help my sister" mode. Their relationship from the beginning hit in the feels. I always wanted a sister, and this made me appreciate the girls in my life even more. When their relationship gets strained because of the wedding, I felt what Lucy felt. I was hurt and honestly thought the husband was abusive (thankfully he isn't). If you're not catching what I'm putting down here comes the con.

This doesn't feel like a romance AT ALL. I felt no chemistry between Lucy and Ross. I felt more for the sisters than anything. Lucy preaches to men to not be dicks BUT ROSS KINDA WAS ONE TO BRYONY. Yes, he eventually ends it, BUT he leads her on, knowing he has feelings for someone else, and it just sucked because I've been Bryony before. And Lucy is kinda delusional. She has these ridiculous expectations about her dream man (wanting to FIX HIM? REALLY?!) and falls for Ross in an instant because he knew Seinfeld. It just felt....under developed. I felt that the author writes nicely, but the story- especially the romance - needed serious development. They just felt immature, no one could express their feelings and Lucy gets hurt when Ross, a single man, hooks up with someone at a club. She felt BETRAYED but had barely spoken to the man. Please please Lucy, stop this.

Like I said, it's confusing because I wanted to like it but I also jsut can't label this romance which is what I came for. 3 Stars but even that is pushing it. Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing me with an e-arc!

2.5 stars rounded up. I don't really have much to say about this book. It was a light, quick read. Pleasant enough, I guess, if you're in the mood for that.

I never really connected with any of the characters or the story though. I ended up skimming most of it because it just didn't click for me. It's hard for me to read a book when I don't really care about the characters.

That said, there were a few funny parts and the AI element had potential. I feel like this would be a good travel book. It's the right amount of light and fizzy for that.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

This book was a fun summer read. However I was looking for more romance - there wasn't much and it was a superslow burn which made my interest wain as I read it. But overall an OK book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! Nice balanced characters with issues that they can work on and a fun and funny relationship between the main couple and also various add on friends, relatives, etc. I liked the premise of the online publishing world and the "Agony Aunt" column. The story felt very realistic and modern and that made the ending very satisfying and believable for me.

What a slow slow burn! If you love picking up a slow burn romance, this is the book for you. The slow burn makes it worth it at the end when we finally get what we’ve been waiting for.

This book is what it is on the tin, a good, easy -to-read romance book and I really enjoyed!

Thank you Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

I quite liked this book! it was cute, it was quite lighthearted and it really gave me summer reading vibes. The characters were cute, I didn't necessarily feel attached to any of the characters however.

Overall it was cute!! definitely a book you can read in the summer for the cute vibes.

Overall I enjoyed this book and find it an easy read with a quirky and an unusual storyline. It could have done with some extra romanceI thought. But it was ok for an easy read.

The fmc is so immature I just couldn’t do it. I was also expecting romance and didn’t get it. I tried so hard to continue this book but each page felt like a chore.

I enjoyed this book, but I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily a romance, the main focus was more around the main character with bits of romance here and there. I quite enjoyed reading it, and found it quite quirky and an unusual storyline I haven’t heard of before. I’ve loved Ranald’s previous work and although I didn’t dislike this story, it isn’t my favourite book of hers I’ve read.

I will say that I think this could have been appreciated more if the marketing for it were different. I feel as if the book leans more contemporary with a touch of romance; it is not a romance first and foremost. That being said, I also just didn't get along well with the prose or the characters. I found the characters to be quite unlikable unfortunately and just didn't have a good time.

Okay! Where do I start?
This book was good but not my favorite.
Pros: I liked the writing style and the plot. I think the Main Characters were likable and the settings were easy to imagine in my head.
Cons: I feel like the romance we rushed toward the end. If I had to compare the writing to a different author I would say it is like Emily Henry in the sense that it focused on the main character as an individual for majority of the book. When the romance was sprinkled throughout the book, it wasn’t the main focus until later in the book.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and found it to be cute and easy to read! Would definitely recommend.

This was an easy read and I enjoyed the premise of the book! It didn’t really have any hard hitting themes so would be a perfect holiday read or when you just want to escape to something easy!
I found myself rooting for Amelie more than Lucy though. I liked Ross and the relationship with Astro. That seemed like the truest relationship in the book! Overall a nice book to read! Thanks for letting me review NetGalley.

The Love Hack is a cute and quirky book and my first read from Sophie Ranald. I thought the book was less of a romance and more of a story of a woman and her life as she navigates family, a massive shift at work and her office crush. It is a slow burn at times but a cute story with her new column at work and the drama surrounding this.

Thank you Net Galley, Sophie Ranald and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to preview this book and the opinions shared are my own.

Thank you Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was so unexpectedly sweet with so much depth! I really enjoyed the love story that developed slowly over the story. I am now a Sophie Ranald fan and can't wait to read more of her work!

Thank you again for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review,

The Love Hack was a very enjoyable and fast read for me, with Ranald’s writing style being so easy to read. This was a wonderful story to read on an otherwise rubbish Monday afternoon!

The Love Hack follows Lucy, who after losing her job in tech at a magazine finds herself becoming an ‘agony aunt’ for the men’s branch instead. I found Lucy to be a very realistic and sweet FMC and her slow burn, workplace romance with Ross was adorable.

Although this book was heavier on the plot and light on the romance element, I couldn’t put it down.

The two main characters Lucy and Ross were lovely, but I think it was Amelie, Lucy’s sister who really captured my heart and I’d love to read a sequel about her finding her way as a single mother and finding love again!