4.5 rounded up! Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook copy!

What a great debut novel! I enjoyed the characters and loved that we followed them throughout multiple years. Found it a little off that they hadn’t seen each other for 10 somewhat years pre-chapter 1, and then the book is now coincidence after coincidence of “wow here you are!”

Highly recommend!

4.5 Stars
I thought this was really good, especially for a debut from the author. The story was cute, the dialogue was snappy and the romance really got my heart going and I couldn't help but pull for the characters. I loved both Molly and Seth. They were just good people who really needed to be together.

I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Christine Lakin and Tim Paige. They both did an awesome job of expressing the different emotions and the different characters. I really enjoyed it!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the copy of this audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

This book was so bad, like a porno and a horrible love story I couldn’t finish it the characters were so shallow and there was no room for growth sorry but pick something else

Tropes:
Second chance
High school sweethearts reconnected at their 15 year reunion
“Never the right time”
Lawyer MMC/screenwriter FMC
Long distance
Romcom

Perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld, and The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center.
A few things to note, this one is a bit spicy and some of the book is set during 2020 and 2021 with descriptions of pandemic life.
I appreciate that this title had a reverse grumpy sunshine trope with Molly being the grumpy one who doesn’t believe in soul mates. Molly is clever, snarky, bold and isn’t letting dating guide her life plans. Seth, Molly’s high school ex, is a golden retriever type man with a big heart and a humorous geeky side. Molly is a romcom screen writer and Seth is a divorce attorney. The two have fantastic banter as well as some deep conversations about mental health.
The two see each other for the first time after breaking up in high school at a high school reunion. At the reunion they make a 5 year bet of which couples will end up staying together. One of the couples in the bet, none other than Molly & Seth.

Thank you Flatiron Books and Macmillan Audio for my #gifted copies of Just Some Stupid Love Story!

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐧 𝐃𝐨𝐲𝐥𝐞
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐦 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐞
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

4.5★

This was a fun one! I mean a a rom-com screenwriter who doesn’t believe in love and a divorce attorned who does…it’s perfect, right? Then add the extra layer that of second chance romance and you’ve got the perfect novel! Katelyn Doyle did a great job with this one! I loved both Molly and Seth and found their characters to be so unique and well-developed. I loved how the author incorporated the reverse grumpy x sunshine trope into this one too! I love books that are able to balance humor and heart, and this book did just that. I found myself laughing out loud so often! This was such a sweet and fun book and one I would definitely recommend you add to your summer reading list!

🎧I alternated between the physical book and the audiobook, narrated by Christine Lakin Tim Paige. I thought Lakin and Paige both did an excellent job bringing Molly and Seth to life and I loved my time listening to the audiobook. Both narrators worked so well together and I highly recommend the audiobook format if that option is available to you!

💜High School Sweethearts
🧡Second Chance Romance
💜Dual POV
🧡Slow Burn
💜Dual Timelines
🧡High School Reunion
💜Grumpy x Sunshine
🧡Rom-Com Screenwriter + Divorce Attorney
💜Open-Door

Posted on Goodreads on May 24, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around May 25, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on June 4, 2024
**-will post on designated date

Thank you so much for the ALC of Just Some Stupid Love Story.

The narrators were doing great, but this book was just not for me. I DNF.

The FMC is the grumpy and the MMC is the sunshine, but both take it to the extreme. Don't get me wrong I do love a good grumpy FMC and a golden retriever MMC, but it just wasn't hitting right for me. It felt almost forced with no chemistry. This is strictly my opinion and I know that a lot of people did enjoy this book, and its ok to not like the something others do.

The storyline was cute, but this one seemed to fall a little flat for me. I think it was because of the long timeline that it seemed to drag a bit in some parts. I did enjoy the witty banter between Seth and Molly.

Thank you to NetGalley and FlatIron Books for providing an advance audio copy in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

4 stars

Although Just Some Stupid Love Story was predictable in almost every way, I still really enjoyed this book! High school sweethearts meet again at their high school reunion and realize they haven’t gotten over each other. Throughout the book these two just cannot get it together enough to works things out and have a romantic relationship. But the best part of the book is they way they finally are able to make things work! There are funny, serious & steamy parts in this story, which makes all make for a great read!

The narrators did a great job as well, the dual point of views were awesome!

***Thank you Netgalley and MacMilan audio for an ARCcopy in return for an honest review***

Just Some Stupid Love Story - 2.75⭐ and 1.5🌶️- SPOILERS AHEAD

I need to preface this by saying I'm beginning to worry that my threshold for sex has gotten incredibly high. 😂 I'm seeing reviewers on Goodreads and StoryGraph calling this book "spicy" and I would not categorize it that way in the slightest. Was there sex discussed? Yes. But I think only twice did we ever see the sex through to completion, and one of those times was phone sex. Definitely far out of the range of what I'd actually describe as "spicy."

That said, this story was...fine. I would call this reverse grumpy-sunshine or golden retriever romance with an overlay of second-chance (they were high school sweethearts). A first, I liked the banter and I felt the romance. I liked the wager at their reunion. I thought there were a lot of cute directions this could have gone. But over time you begin to notice that the MCs were pretty much the only barrier to love for themselves; so after quite a long book, it wears on you that they could simply...step out of their own way.

I also felt like the FMC was really clear about her needs and anxieties with the MMC, but he just didn't care? He had marriage tunnel vision and forced the FMC to agree that "soul mates" exist. His story goes like this: He tries to force the FMC into a relationship and she rejects him, then he rejects her when she says she's ready, then he proposes to a woman he was dating for 6 months, then they mutually break up during quarantine and he victimizes himself, he takes all this time to "heal," only to return to the FMC THE EXACT SAME MAN. I thought they could've had a mutual relationship but he was giving majorly toxic vibes by the end. He is always a victim. He is supposed to be a "hopeless romantic," but actually seems hell-bent on controlling the narrative of romance around him. Very strange.

On the other hand, she has incredible levels of fear of romance and love. She mentions seeing a therapist, but I think that needed to be much larger for this character. By the end, I didn't see her having changed much either (she definitely evolved more than him). Overall, it makes me feel like either he'll continue to push on her traumas or they'll get divorced. Not really like they're soul mates, which I believe was the intention. I think the book started so high that tend fell more flat for me, unfortunately.

This was most defiantly NOT just some stupid love story, it was sweet, funny, spicy, and very entertaining! I loved this audiobook while I was doing laundry, I laughed out loud a few times and my husband said “It must be a good one”. I was engulfed by this sweet story.

3⭐
Genre ~ contemporary romance
Setting ~ Florida & Illinois & California
Publication date ~ June 4, 2024
Est Page Count ~ 318 (42 chapters)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 31 minutes
Narrators ~ Christine Lakin, Tim Paige
POV ~ dual 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ debut, 9 parts, HS sweethearts, reverse grumpy/sunshine, slow burn, second chance, some steamage, side character infidelity

Molly & Seth
Molly is a rom com screenwriter that doesn't believe in love and marriage due to her father's example. Seth wants nothing more than to find 'the one' and live happily ever after. He thought he found that with Molly when they were in high school, but she left him and broke his heart. Now they're at their 15 year reunion and the attraction is still there. Can they easily find their way back to each other?

Oh Seth I felt so bad for him. He wears his heart on his sleeve and just wants someone to love him forever. He keeps getting his heart broken and his emotions clearly came through on the page, or in my ears rather.

Eh with Molly. I never really warmed up to her on the romance front, but she was a great friend to her bff's.

Overall, this is fine as a debut. There were enough funny bits to keep me entertained, but I just felt like so much time was wasted.

Side note ~ there are a lot of emails and text messages, which I wouldn't have minded if I was reading it, but to hear all the info following 'to..., from..., date..., time..., subject...' over and over and over again annoyed me.

Narration notes:
They both did fine. Tim still needs to work on his lady voice.

Ex-high school sweethearts Seth and Molly are seated together at their high school reunion and it couldn’t be more obvious how different they have become over the past fifteen years. Seth is a divorce lawyer on the hunt to find his one true love. Molly writes screenplays for romantic comedies and thinks soulmates don’t exist. Still, there’s a spark between them. After too many drinks and a night in bed, Seth and Molly decide to put their contrasting stances to a test - they wager which of five couples from their high school class (including the two of them) will be in a relationship in five years’ time. Seth thinks they’re fated to be together. Molly thinks he is out of his mind. They have until the next reunion to find out who is right.

This novel is set over a five-year timespan - refreshing to see in the genre that seems to rush from meet-cute to marriage in a matter of months. You get time to become acquainted with Molly and Seth, both individually and as a couple. The book is told from each character’s point of view, alternating chapters as you go.

Molly is sarcastic, prickly, and over it all. She has a distinct “cool girl” vibe. She lives in LA and spends her days networking and working on her next screenplay - using her sardonic voice to subvert romance tropes and add depth to her stories. But she’s flighty when it comes to romance, breaking things off before they have a chance to get too deep. To provide some insight on why she acts like this, you read about Molly growing up amidst a messy divorce and seeking approval from her self-centered father. You can see how she came to be cynical about love. I really liked how she starts to manage her anxiety over the course of the story. From recognizing and managing triggers, working with a therapist, using self-soothing techniques, reaching out to her support network… All of these things helped make Molly feel more real.

Seth was not as successful a protagonist for me as Molly was. In early chapters, Seth grated on my nerves with his overuse of parentheses, offering footnotes about everything from his opinion on a custom cocktail (“totally delish”) to his rationale for why he meditates every morning (“discipline is the essence of self-care”). His constant conflation of puppy love as “perfect” and “the real thing” was similarly irritating. I grant that it’s a challenge to have a male “sunshine” in the grumpy-sunshine trope. Maybe it felt disingenuous because I don’t often see men socialized as optimistic/hopeless romantic types as often as women are. Confident, self-assured? Certainly. But bubbly, life-of-the-party Elle Woods types? Not so much. While you do see Seth tone things down somewhere around the mid-point of the novel, it’s an uphill climb to build back enough goodwill to root for him. And where you get ample background about how Molly came to develop her outlook on love, you get fewer details about why Seth feels compelled to speed through every relationship he’s in and how he starts to course-correct. It’s harder to empathize with him.

That’s the tough thing about books with dual first-person perspectives, I find. The benefit of being inside a character’s mind is that you get to see the contrast between the person they portray themselves to be with the person they are at their core. You get to see the sunshine have doubts. You get to see the grump have hope. When you are privy to the internal workings of both sides of the romantic pairing, you lose a bit of the mystery. I think there’s a good chance I would have liked the book better if it was told solely from Molly’s point of view.

I feel fortunate to have received an advanced digital copy of both the e-book and the audiobook, and I think the story is equally as strong in either form. The two main characters are voiced by two actors: Christine Lakin and Tim Paige. Lakin did a great job portraying cool, sarcastic Molly. Paige was working with what he had from Seth’s chapters. I’ve heard him perform audiobooks before - my early dislike of Seth has nothing to do with Tim Paige’s acting ability. The audio flowed well and the pacing was nicely done. It probably is harder than listeners realize to coordinate multiple narrators to portray the same characters or speak in the same meter. There were no issues here.

By and large, I was not as solidly behind Seth as a character as I was for Molly, but I appreciated that the book took its time over a five-year span to build up to their reunion, and I truly enjoyed the mental health/family relationship aspects of Molly’s character. I think Katelyn Doyle has great potential as an author, and fans of Christina Lauren and Katherine Center will find a lot to like in her writing.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Katelyn Doyle, Macmillan Audio, and Flatiron Books for the e-ARCs in exchange for an honest review.**

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I listened to the audiobook, and unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me. I found myself skipping a lot of it due to the excessive spice, language, and dirty talk. Listening to some parts had me feeling quite 😳. Normally, I don’t mind skipping over those parts if I love the actual story, but I didn’t connect with either of the main characters, and the chemistry just wasn’t there for me.

Author Katelyn Doyle has written a fun summer read. Is there such a thing as soulmates? This romcom enemies to lovers has it all. This sweet, spicy, romantic audiobook explores the tender love of youth, heartbreak, how love changes as we grow up, and the idea of fate.

I loved the journey of these two star-crossed lovers and found myself eager to listen to their love story every moment I could. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher Flatiron Books for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook and give my honest opinion. It was 4.5 stars for me, and I cannot wait to read more from this author!

First thing’s first: thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!
Just Some Stupid Love Story was about Seth, an a starry eyed and optimistic divorce lawyer, and Molly, a pessimistic and cold screenwriter of rom coms she doesn’t believe in. These two high school sweethearts meet back up again at their 15 year high school reunion and make bets about whether or not five of their classmates relationships will make it to their 20 year reunion. Seth bets Molly that they will be one of the couples who are together by then.
This book! I loved this book! It had absolutely everything I love in a really good rom com. The banter was Emily Henry/Lynn Painter level wonderful. The side characters were well thought out and well incorporated. The conflict was believable. The yearning and the pining was SO GOOD. I laughed, I cried a little, I felt for these characters. I am so excited to see what Katelyn Doyle writes next. This debut was TOP TIER.
5⭐️

"Just Some Stupid Love Story" by Katelyn Doyle is a delightful rom-com that seamlessly weaves humor, heart, and a touch of spice into an irresistible narrative. From the very first chapter, I found myself completely hooked, eagerly turning pages to discover what antics Molly Marks and Seth Rubinstein would get up to next.

Doyle introduces us to Molly, a Hollywood rom-com writer who cynically views romance as nothing more than a sham. Her one experience with love, a high school romance with Seth, ended in heartbreak when she ghosted him fifteen years ago. On the other hand, Seth, a successful divorce attorney, still believes in the grandeur of true love, despite his string of failed relationships. When fate reunites them at their high school reunion, sparks fly once again, leading to a drunken bet that sets the stage for a hilariously entertaining journey.

The banter between Molly and Seth is sharp and witty, infused with undeniable chemistry that leaps off the page. Their dynamic is both entertaining and endearing, as they navigate their complicated history and the bet that could change everything. Doyle's writing is fresh and engaging, effortlessly blending laugh-out-loud humor with moments of genuine emotion.

One of the highlights of the novel is Doyle's adept use of the rom-com trope, from the obligatory drunken hookup to the inevitable misunderstandings and miscommunications. However, she injects enough originality and depth into the story to keep it feeling fresh and compelling.

The supporting cast of characters adds depth and dimension to the story, from Molly's quirky friends to Seth's well-meaning but meddling family. Each character feels distinct and fully realized, contributing to the overall charm of the narrative.

I particularly appreciated Doyle's skillful balance of humor and heart. While the book is undeniably funny, with laugh-out-loud moments aplenty, it also explores deeper themes of love, forgiveness, and self-discovery. The journey of Molly and Seth as they confront their pasts and grapple with their feelings for each other is both entertaining and emotionally resonant.

Overall, "Just Some Stupid Love Story" is a standout debut from Katelyn Doyle. It's a book that will leave you grinning from ear to ear one moment and reaching for the tissues the next. With its wickedly funny dialogue, irresistible romance, and well-crafted plot, this is a rom-com that deserves a spot on everyone's summer reading list. I eagerly await Doyle's next offering and have no hesitation in awarding this book a well-deserved 5 out of 5 stars.

I gave author Katelyn Doyle a standing ovation at the end of this phenomenally executed debut. JUST SOME STUPID LOVE STORY is a hoot! It's laugh-out-loud funny with enough steam to require turning up the A/C. (One scene in particular stands out in a big way. Oh, my!)

I am a sucker for second chance romances, particularly when the characters are high school sweethearts, so it makes sense that I would love a story that involves third, fourth, and even fifth chances at finding love. I thoroughly enjoyed the juxtaposition of the Grumpy x Sunshine trope with the MMC being Mr. Sunshine and the FMC cast in the role of the perpetually dour non-believer in love. Their professions - his as a divorce attorney and hers as a rom-com screenwriter belie their convictions. Molly and Seth seem perfectly mismatched with him searching for his happy ever after and her actively avoiding relationships at all costs.

After breaking his heart in high school, Molly and Seth are reunited at their high school reunion. Many drinks and an ill advised one night stand later, they each try to prove the other's thoughts on the existence of soulmates wrong by placing a bet on the outcome of five relationships - with the fifth relationship being their own. Through the years there are connections missed and made, deep conversations, and some of intense flirting along with tears and heartbreak. Somehow Ms. Doyle manages to write all of this with a gentleness and humor.

This is an outstanding debut that will please fans of Emily Henry, Christina Lauren, and Abby Jimenez - high praise indeed! Narration of the audiobook is exceptional. I'm not sure how the narrators pulled off not laughing hysterically at some of the dialogue - It's just THAT funny! I believe Katelyn Doyle has a hit on her hands. You won't want to wait to get your hands on a copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Molly is a self-described class b*tch who doesn’t believe in love. While Seth is sunshiny and a hopeless romantic. I love that Molly is the grumpier one and owns it. Their relationship went on quite a journey. They had a brutal high school breakup. And reunite at the 15-year high school reunion, but things don’t immediately turn into sunshine. Things still took some time. It was at a very realistic pace. It did cover a time through COVID, which wasn’t to my liking but can be moved past. There were some funny times and growths. It’s a great rom-com that has a more realistic feeling, like it could actually happen.

I was a little hesitant about this book when I first started listening but ended up having a lot of fun. Just Some Stupid Love Story follows Molly and Seth after reuniting at their 15-year high school reunion. After a drunken one-night stand, Molly and Seth end up making bets on the outcomes of five couples before their next reunion and they are one of the couples. This starts a five-year journey where at the end, one will win the bet.

I enjoyed listening to Molly and Seth's journey throughout the five years and I loved that we got to listen to the different POVS for each character. This is definitely an opposite attracts story and I loved it. Seth's character is a little bit over the top at times, but his character seemed genuine as he tries to figure out that there is more to life than work. My favorite character in this book was Molly. Her character chapters were hilarious, but she is also working on opening herself up to love after witnessing her parents' divorce when she was dating Seth in High School.

Overall, this is a fun Romcom that I would highly suggest buying in the audiobook format. Both narrators do a great job for their respective characters, and I didn't want to stop listening.

Just Some Stupid Love Story comes out June 4th.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to review Just Some Stupid Love Story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.