I really enjoyed this debut romance. It's refreshing to see more authors writing romance stories about older single women. This has been my experience in life, and so I was able to resonate with Juliana on so many levels. I love when authors write about realistic themes and what I found unique about this book was that Juliana had already found and lost the love of her life. Usually in romance books, the main love interest is the protagonist's "love of their life"., and everyone else that came before is usually not the one for several reasons.
The angsty banter between these two was soo good and forced proximity tropes are one of my favourites. Between being forced to work together on a project and then the plot twist that their daughters were best friends, the tension between Juliana and Ben was undeniable.
One of my favourite scenes was the field trip and getting stuck in the mud. I devoured this book in just a couple of days, and it was such an easy and enjoyable read. Thank you

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC of Let’s Call a Truce.

This novel felt like a bit of a roller coaster for me. I was sucked in at the beginning of the story and I was devouring it quickly. It had strongly The Hating Game vibes early on with the work rivalry/ enemies who flirt relationship between Julianna and Ben. The chemistry was great and I wanted to read more!

Then I got to the part of the story where they started exploring their relationship and I was happy, until it became too much. I was like man, there doesn’t seem to be a sort of hurdle or third act break up coming here. The writing felt choppy and events seemed to pass by too quickly or unrealistically in this section. My attention waned and I started reading another book more feverishly.

I kept at it though and when Stephanie returned, I had mixed feelings: 1) WTF even happened there? Ben just rolled over and accepted her return. This was so at odds with the character throughout the rest of the novel I was literally shocked. However, the timeline slowed down again, events seemed slightly more realistic and the tension returned.

I finished the last 1/4 of the book in one sitting because the interest sparked again.

Overall, I really enjoyed that this was a second-chance romance novel. It felt realistic to my life situation, as I read a lot of “college” romance stories that I just can’t see myself in. I could, realistically, be Julianna, and that made me invest in the story more.

I also really loved the unwavering acceptance and support they offered their children. With the exception of Ben losing his damn mind when Stephanie came back, neither one was a toxic individual for the adults or children in the story.

Overall, the story is worth a read if you can see yourself reflected in this particular stage of life.

The banter, the spice, the emotions! This read was my first Amy Buchanan read, and I enjoyed it! I found myself hollering at the characters, laughing, and getting fully engrossed into the characters.

An immediate meet cute. An overheard insult that results in two years of anger and misunderstandings. A work project that forces the two to work on something together.

This book left me with very mixed thoughts. I really appreciated that the author didn’t shy away from the more difficult feelings like fear and anger. She never rushed through the hard stuff to get to the glossy finish that is present in so many romance novels. It felt like a true human experience. At times, I really disliked Juliana because she held on to these feelings with a vice grip, often to the detriment of those around her. But when I stepped back to realize it was part of her grieving process, it made more sense. Ben and Juliana are both afraid and have been deeply hurt by the past. I appreciated this book for letting the two main characters grow and figure it all out at their own pace, but it was slow at times.

Overall? 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Posted to Goodreads

Juliana, a single mother of two, reenters the workforce after a hiatus to care for her children. On her first day back, she has a charming "meet-cute" with the male lead, Ben, but overhears him speaking negatively about her shortly afterward. This sparks a two-year-long enmity, which takes a turn when they’re forced to collaborate on a work project. As they get to know each other better, they “call a truce” and become friends—though that quickly develops into something more.
While I was able to suspend disbelief and roll with certain aspects of the story—such as Juliana clearly harboring feelings for Ben the entire time and somehow knowing nothing about his personal life despite their shared best friend—I found the dialogue somewhat unnatural and wished for more character development. Juliana’s subplot about her career had potential, but it felt overshadowed by the romantic storyline, which seemed to dominate 95% of the book. As a result, I never really felt like I got to know her as a fully fleshed-out character.
Overall, it was a bit of a struggle to get through, but I’d be open to giving Amy Buchanan’s work another shot in the future.

Let me try to explain what this book feels like – Amy Buchanan went inside my head and saw everything I could possibly want in a workplace romance and then WROTE IT. She brought the tension and the HEAT. Ben is THE MMC of our dreams, I swear. And somehow, amidst this spicy romance, we're balancing grief/loss and single-parenthood – and I didn't feel like we were compromising on any of the storylines or relationships (familial or romantic). And that is a HARD balance to maintain. But she did, and it was so delicious and lovely. Juliana is a complete and utter badass. She loves fiercely and gives completely of herself, and I'm so glad we get to see her fall in love again because she is so deserving. Amy creates characters that are so grounded I feel like we could actually be friends! They're probs too cool for me, though. So excited for Amy – this novel was such a triumph, and I can't wait to read what's next from her.

I really enjoyed this book once I got into it. It wasn’t one that grabbed me right away and I had to step away and come back but once I stuck with it, it surprised me. I found the main character Juliana was truly enjoyable and her storyline was heartbreaking yet heartwarming. She stood with conviction in the words she meant and was still able to be vulnerable when she needed to be. Ben was entertaining and also extremely frustrating towards the end but then made up for it. Their relationship started on misunderstandings and stubbornness but gradually became more trusting and understanding. Their spice throughout was believable with the ebbs and flows of their love and made them read like a couple you’d want to see together. Overall, such a good story that takes a little to get started but once you do you won’t put it down!

I fell in love with this smart and sexy workplace romance. There’s definite chemistry between Juliana and Ben that helps fuel their longstanding rivalry, and the challenges the two of them face as they eventually explore their attraction are real and compelling. Juliana’s struggles as a widowed single mom trying to prove herself in the workplace make her a fascinating protagonist, and we soon learn there’s a lot more to Ben than she originally believes. The romance is fantastic in this story as well as the complications of being a single mom and trying to navigate the best choices for your children.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Let's Call A Truce.

Two spectacular tropes of workplace and enemies, and what a fun setting in Florida! Really enjoyed the exploration of mental health, and the time spent to introduce everyone in the extensive community supporting the main characters.

I struggled with this book. The FMC and MMC both had faults (like all of us do) that I had hard time pushing past. Most of this falls on Juliana for me. Sure, Ben said some awful things at the beginning of the book, but he more than made up for that mistake. I am speaking for almost all women when I say that we are all very good at holding grudges, but Juliana would get a gold medal for sure. I found her to be so incredibly disrespectful, and I know she had been through a lot, but so had Ben and for the first half of the book, she wasn't willing to put her issues aside to even just try and be friendly or even get to know him.

There were definitely moments in the book that were funny, and spicy, and very cute from a family standpoint. I enjoyed those moments...and then there was the third act break-up...after reading this I decided that I really don't like them, lol. That doesn't mean I won't continue to read books that have them, but this one hurt. Like a lot.

Overall, the book was just ok for me. The characters left little to be desired

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for sending me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

A young widow with two young kids is thrust back into her career after years of being a stay-at-home mom, and immediately makes a nemesis at the new job. For two years, they feud and fight their burgeoning attraction… and when they give in, there’s no going back.

I enjoyed many aspects of this book! It was emotional, spicy, and so cute with the kids involved in the story. I didn’t buy her grief 100% but it was very tenderly done. I did hate the reason for the third act breakup though!! The whole work enemies to lovers thing has been done before, and perhaps done better? But I still enjoyed it!

Juliana was a stay-at-home mom until tragedy forced her back into the workplace. There she meets Ben, and it’s loathe at first sight for the two of them. Juliana can’t stand single men who don’t understand the demands of family life. Ben can’t help but get a rise out of Juliana every chance he gets.
Undeniably, Juliana finds herself attracted to Ben but can’t stand his personality. Ben has moments of seeming attraction as well, but can’t keep from heckling.
It’s inevitable that the two will fall for each other, and that’s just what happens in this low stakes happily ever after tale about learning to love again after loss. For me, the writing was snappy and well-paced. I enjoyed the story that incorporated children so well I found myself rooting for the kids as much as I rooted for the adults. Juliana’s friend circle is also fully realized and the side characters play into the main plot beautifully.
This book is a contemporary romance set in Orlando and Boston. It is an enemies to lovers and has moments of forced proximity and also explores themes of death, loss of trust and rebuilding after. Characters drink but not to excess. Juliana has body issues that are mentioned briefly.
Overall, I found this book to be a quick read I devoured in chunks over a period of time. The characters all drew me in and the plot was interesting enough to keep me engaged. If you’re a fan of enemies to lovers and like a sweet story throughout, this might be just the one to check out.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy of Let’s Call a Truce (publishing January 14, 2025) in exchange for my honest review.

If you love enemies to lovers, you’ll want to read this! The workplace dynamic between the two is so good!
Single mom tropes just grab me in. Being a mom makes me connect to those characters so much! The girls were so sweet and wanted to make their mom happy.
Ben was OBSESSED with Juliana. He loved to get under her skin just so he could get another second of her time. He truly was down bad from the start.
Only downside was I feel like there was TOO much conflict. I felt like they could have figured their shit out.
But overall I really enjoyed it.

This was a captivating enemies-to-lovers / workplace romance. The opening is really strong and Juliana and Ben certainly have chemistry.

I appreciated that the characters were in their 30s. While an entertaining read, I feel like the story is marred by an unnecessary plot twist that makes it hard to empathize with one of the characters or to fully comprehend their decision (still, I was rooting for the leads to be together, though not as much as I was before the twist). I rarely appreciate the use of pet names (particularly “baby”) and there are plenty of “baby” references throughout the text. I’m looking forward to the author’s next work and enjoyed this debut! 3.5 stars.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Juliana and Ben's story was an entertaining enemies-to-lovers. It starts out with workplace banter, develops into more annoyance with each other, and the feud becomes stronger than ever. When they have to work on a project together, they call a truce, and maybe those feelings of hate aren't as strong as they thought. This does involve divorce and death of a spouse (both pre-story), but can Juliana and Ben both get through their pasts?

Calling all contemporary enemies to lover fans - add this to your TBR!

This is hot Hot HOT! What an incredible debut by Amy, a new auto-buy author to add to my list. Juliana and Ben's banter is out of this world. Like, screaming into my pillow level. These two were killing me, especially in the first half.

The third act made sense and, more importantly, made sense for the characters, but I can see why it's a bit polarizing. It wasn't really my cup of tea, especially since there was so much back and forth leading up to it, but a great read nonetheless.

Let's Call a Truce is a rivals-to-lovers workplace romance with all of the banter and spice you could possibly want. Juliana and Ben have the most incredible chemistry and their progression from rivals to lovers is unmatched. This is Amy Buchanan's debut and I can't wait to see what else she does! Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan audio for the advanced copy!

One of my favorite trope pairings is enemies to lovers combined with an office romance. This author created so much tension between Juliana and Ben. I was totally here for it! Those two went from bickering and challenging each other to some pretty scorching kisses. All that tension built up to some incredible chemistry and steam. My favorite scenes were when they danced together.

With Juliana being a single mom, we saw how the loss of her husband affected her and her daughters. In addition, there were a couple storyline twists that I did not see coming. All these elements continued to drive the book forward. Some created truly heartwarming moments. Others created some conflicts they needed to work through. Overall, I really enjoyed their journey towards a HEA.

A fun & steamy workplace romance!

This book was very enjoyable. I found the enemies to lovers trope very entertaining and well done. Plus I also liked that the MCs were older (in their 30s). I feel like if you like The Hating Game but wanted a more mature heroine, Let's Call a Truce will work for you. These two had great sexual tension and chemistry. However, I felt Ben wasn't as swoony worthy as I wanted him to be, especially towards the end of the book. This made the romance part of the book just okay for me.

Grief and healing are heavy topics that I think the author handled them with care. I also felt Juliana's healing journey was realistic.

If you enjoy workplace romances, I would give this a try.

Overall, I liked the story, but there were a few things got on my nerves too much to rate it higher.

It’s an enemies-to-lovers, but everything hinges on this one thing Ben said years ago, and I really thought he would have had a better reason for his criticism of Juliana. I didn’t like his justification, and I didn’t like the “plot twist” that was revealed at the same time. It felt very disconnected from the beginning of the book, and it was like it was added just for extra drama. The two main characters also share a best friend, and I know she said multiple time that she didn’t want to get between them, but I feel like she still could have provided a bit more info. How did she really leave her two best friends have a TWO-YEAR feud over a dumb comment is crazy to me. So much could have been avoided with a little communication.

The chemistry between Ben and Juliana was really good and I enjoyed them once they became a couple. They worked well together and we very patient with each other. The feud did bring good tension and banter between them, I would have just liked a better reason for it, or maybe even just a shorter timeline.

The third act breakup was actually painful to read. Hated that one with passion. I’m not a big fan of third act breakup in general, but they can be done well. This one? Bad bad. I can’t go in details into it because it’s full of spoilers, but wtf Ben? It was so dramatic, and for what? The book really took a tumble from that point on, and stars started dropping in my head. I had to take a weeklong break to finish it. I was seriously mad at it.

Read for:
Enemies-to-lovers
Workplace romance
Single parent
Forced proximity