This book had a lot of tropes I love: enemies to lovers, coworkers, single parents, and a curvy FMC.

I loved the back and forth these two had, and it definitely didn’t die down once they were together. They had such great chemistry and I loved following their dialogue from the very start.

I loved that they both had daughters, two in Juliana’s case, who were already friends. It just seemed to lead to an easier transition and one less problem they would need to deal with down the road. HOWEVER, I was incredibly happy with how Juliana decided to tell her daughters and how she made time for her and her oldest daughter, Clara, to talk through it since Clara still remembered a lot of times with her dad before his passing.

I thought the book handled grief very well. Juliana’s husband had died in a car accident, which left her as a single parent to their daughters; Ben’s ex-wife had abandoned him and his daughter, and he was left to pick up the pieces and reestablish a trust with his daughter who had a loss of parent as well as a feeling of not being good enough for said parent to stick around. They both have had hard hits to their family units, but they were wonderful parents and definitely kept their children in mind while they made difficult decisions (whether I agreed with some of them or not).

I especially loved how the topic of death of spouse was touched on. Juliana remarked that a lot of people would learn of his death, send her a pity glance, and then move on to another topic quickly to avoid discomfort. She pointed out that really this is a personal discomfort to the person rather than her, as her husband whether dead or alive, would always be with her in some fashion, so it wasn’t awkward for her. I further loved how Ben always wanted to respect her memories with her husband and was never afraid to talk about him. He was neither jealous nor anxious to bring up the other love of her life, and that shows how great of a man he was.

What brought down the rating for me was there was a lot of filler in the book and a couple too many back and forth (we shouldn’t do this/ok, let’s do this) moments. There were many times a scene was added that didn’t provide much value, nor was it overly descriptive, to the point where I wondered if it was added just to get to a page count goal. In this way, it became daunting at times, but was still overall an enjoyable book.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Amy Buchanan for the opportunity to read this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

3.5 stars

I admire the author's bravery in starting a romance novel with the protagonist mourning her late husband. But based on the cover design and promo copy this is meant to be a lighthearted romance, and beginning with the protagonist at her very worst turned me off from the whole thing.

I usually enjoy enemies-to-lovers plots, but Juliana's delight in doing her job poorly just to annoy a colleague who doubts her (objectively lacking) qualifications and experience does not seem like a great basis for a relationship. Plus, while I want to sympathize with her single-parent struggles, mostly she comes off as poorly organized, self-centered, and thoughtless. I did appreciate the writing on a scene level, but this story was just not for me.

DNF at 10%.

2.5 stars

I think this book isn't bad and it is quite well written. Even though I personally didn't love it, I did still feel things from it which I think was a feat. The plot just didn't fit right in my head for quite a few reasons. 1-She works in HR but is clearly ok with a hostile work environment between her and the MMC. 2-She works in HR and is a single parents but never once worried about losing her job for the things they were doing. Not for the bad blood, not for banging IN THE WORKPLACE, not for secretly dating a colleague (even if it isn't against the rules, it is definitely frowned upon for an HR person to do). And the 3rd act breakup felt like such a copout and the way they got back together was rushed and cheap in my opinion. He needed to GROVEL for that screw up. For weeks he should have been groveling! Girl, have more respect for yourself after what he did and you get back together like 12 hours after you said no?

Regarding the audiobook, the narrator is great, don't get me wrong, but I found her male voice to be flat and monotone and a bit creepy at times. I enjoyed the MMC much more in writing than in the audio solely because of the voice.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC and ALC!

This was a fun enemies to lovers workplace romance with deeper themes involved. It follows Juliana who starts a job and meets Ben who says something less than flattering. This starts off a little war filled with tension and quips. I loved the way this dealt with dealing with grief and finding a new love. They both are single parents and this book showed the struggles with dealing with those situations. I thought both characters evolved well. It probably would have been a five if not for the last third. I won’t give spoilers but I’m not a fan of that 3rd act situation but did love the epilogue.

This was a really fun and sexy enemies to lovers romance! The MC is well rounded and you really felt like you were sitting in her emotions with her. I needed something that kind of bridged the gap between heavy emotional read and fluffy romance and this perfectly fit the bill!

This was an easy five star for me! And it’s the author’s debut! This story had me hooked from the very beginning, when we meet Juliana, a widowed mom to two girls. She starts a new job and almost immediately finds herself at odds with her hot coworker, Ben. Two years go by, and their rivalry carries on. But there is clearly an attraction between them that brings with it a lot of fun tension.
I really enjoyed the pace, the writing, the friendships between the characters, the drama, angst, humor, and especially the chemistry between Juliana and Ben. I’m looking forward to the next one by Amy!

Read/Listen if you like ⇣
•Workplace romance
•Single parent
•Enemies to lovers
•Forced proximity
•Single POV
•Spice

Thank you so much St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC

Let’s Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan
Contemporary romance. Diverse. Enemies to lovers.
Widow Juliana Ryan needs to support her two girls and pay bills so after nine months, starts to look for a job. She hasn’t worked since having the girls so her experience isn’t current but she’s lucky enough to be hired in the Human Resources department by her prior boss.
Ben Thomas gets off on the wrong foot with Juliana when she hears him complaining about her lack of recent experience and her children’s needs. Their feud rages on still two years later when they are put together on a project. Their bickering has changed over the years to include a little flirting. As they work on the project they find their home lives also mixing. Turns out their children are similar in ages and they go to the same school. They declare a truce which turns into more. Juliana is ready to love again. Is Ben?

🎧 I alternated between an ebook and audiobook. The narration is performed by Charlotte North who does an excellent job between the two main characters. The emotions including anger, remorse, angst, and lust come through clearly. I did speed up the playback to 1.5 which more closely matches a standard Midwest conversation.
I liked the audiobook more than the ebook in this case because it kept me listening. If I only had the ebook, after the second breakup, I probably would have either skipped ahead to the end of the book, or simply stopped reading at that point.
I liked Ben for his priorities and his not willing to give up.
Too much angst for me with the arguments, banter a touch too mean for me, and a second on again off again yo-yo.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Macmillan Audio

For fans of "The Hating Game" comes this workplace romance full of spice, longing, single parents doing their best, and the chance to move up in the company. These office rivals sure know how to bring the heat to the workplace! Real rating of 3.5 stars.

The tension is definitely there in this workplace enemies-to-lovers book. Both MC's are single parents in their 30s doing their best while also pining after each other as they go head-to-head each day with digs and pranks after not getting off on the right foot on Juliana's first day of her new job. They both share the same BFF in a coworker who pushes them to resolve their differences and get along as she doesn't want to be in the middle of their feud.

I really enjoyed all of the characters, but the side characters stood out more to me. Ben and Juliana did deliver the heat and tension like I expected, but the constant back and forth between getting together then Juliana walking away repeatedly lost me. While I understand her fears after losing her husband and falling back in love, it just kept going back and forth between "yes, let's give this a shot" to "no, leave me alone". I admired how they put their respective kids above everything, but it just didn't work well with the constant drama between them. Ben was a good love interest and I would've loved at least a few chapters from his POV.

I enjoyed a lot of aspects of this story, but the infamous third act breakup (or even breakups since it was so hot and cold) lost me. With Juliana's situation, I could see why she was so hesitant, but their communication could've been better and Ben's situation with his ex wife was very frustrating as well. Overall a decent read, but I would've rated it higher if the last third of the book wasn't as chaotic and frustrating as it was.

A lovely enemies-to-lovers office romance with touches of grief and the importance of family and good friends makes for a great story as we learn to love Juliana and Ben. The yearning, the frustration, the giddiness - this book has it all!

Juliana Ryan finds herself widowed and suddenly trying to make it by whole supporting her two daughters. She takes a job in HR and is doing her best to keep her head above water. Her first day is going well until she runs into Ben, literally, and they appear to be enemies at first site. Two years later the feud is still going strong, but there is a thin line between love and hate. As Juliana and Ben star working more closely together the lines begin to blur. Will they stay enemies or become so much more?

I love a good work place enemies to lovers romance and this book fit the bill. I was hooked from the beginning and didn’t want to put this book down. The enemies to lovers trope was very well done in this book and I could feel the tension all the way through. I loved Ben and how he fell first. He was the perfect lead in this book. I wish Juliana would have been a little less stubborn at times, but this was an enjoyable read nonetheless. The beginning and end were really strong in this book and the middle was a little drawn out at times, but still enjoyable. If you are a fan of workplace romance, enemies to lovers trope or second chance at love romances this is worth the read!

This was really cute!

The best parts of the book was definitely the side characters - while emphasizing with both main characters, their lack of communication was so frustrating that I found myself struggling to care if they ended up together or not.

That being said, I did love the side characters - I was definitely hoping for the best for their families!

I also really loved the emotional/later in life aspect of this book. The characters are in their 30s, and both have been married before, and have kids. The FMC especially resonated with me - I loved that she was someone with a great career, and a great mom, and able to advocate for herself.

This book was first person, but only one POV (the FMC).

Overall I enjoyed this story, and I’ll be on the lookout for future books by this author!

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

3.75⭐️

I actually really enjoyed this book. This is my first real dip into single parent tropes and having kids throughout the entire book. I actually really enjoyed it. I feel like Amy did such a good job making the characters likable. I was able to connect and feel so many emotions in this story because of the backgrounds of the characters. Which made me able to root for them. There is workplace romance as well as some work rivals to lovers.

Flaw: The main flaw I had was how fast the MMC had opinions and was made to dislike our FMC but then changed them and wanted the FMC. It did feel like a flip just switched. I do feel that could have gone a bit differently to make it better.

The banter was great. I was giggling and kicking my feet at the back and forth and pranks in the beginning. It was cute.

All in all really enjoyed this and would recommend to others.

A story about a widow of two girls and her office nemesis was a wild ride of supposing twists and sweet moments.

Though I on multiple occasions wanted to hit both of the main characters in the back of the head, sometimes struggle makes the HEA even better.

The girls were one of the best parts of the book, the same as the friends.

I was provided an ALC and ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. I thought the narrator did a great job narrating both leads. Typically you see books like this in dual POV format with two narrators, but Charlotte North does a good job voicing both characters

This follows Juliana, a single mom who is returning to work after the sudden death of her beloved husband. She decided to stay home and raise their two daughters after having a successful career in human resources. Fortunately her mentor hired after a hiatus, knowing that she could work her way back up the ranks. Parenting with two working parents is hard enough, but Juliana and her daughters are still grieving, and Juliana struggles with the transition from stay at home mom to working mom. The guilt of not being able to to juggle everything and be as on top of things as you want for both work and your kids is very real, and I thought the author did a good job capturing that. She also captured the disdain you get from colleagues when you need to leave early or take time off for your family, even if you are stellar at your job and complete all of your tasks. One of those colleagues Juliana faces off with is Ben. They don't know each other well, but they immediately get off to a bad start on her first day, and despite an attraction between them they are determined to snark at each other. When a project comes across their desks forcing them to work together, they call a truce. Their truce expands when their daughters become best friends at school, and they are forced to let some of their frosty feelings thaw as they get to know each other better.

It took me quite a while to warm up to Juliana. Her disdain for Ben was a bit over the top, to the point she was pushing away some of her best friends. Fortunately, she eventually figures things out and lets her guard down a bit. I appreciated that she had a good support network and her friends made for some great side characters. Ben was a bit grumpy at first but he redeems himself with his patience and kindness as we get to know him.

I personally did not enjoy the third act break up. Ben was working so hard to get Juliana to trust him and let him into her life and heart, then that happens. I won't spoil it, and I guess I can see why once their mutual bestie Asia explains it, but I feel like it could have been handled differently. I also guess I should have expected something like that to happen based on how many times Juliana mentions not wanting to let someone in and be hurt again.

Overall, this was a cute enemies to lovers romance. I enjoyed that both main characters were single parents and how much both of them loved all of the kids.

I didn't mean to get behind in my reviews but sometimes, life happens. I *did* read this timely (back in July) and I loved it! I love the newer idea of our favorite rom-coms having some meat behind them, and the idea of a woman going back to work after spending years with her kids only to show up the man who thinks she doesn't belong (or she thinks that is what he thinks about her) is sexy and sassy. I loved the tension, and while miscommunication always gets a bad rap, sometimes it's just a fact of life. That early miscommunication brought along all the tension - maybe they wouldn't have been interested if they first didn't have that drive to fight.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Juliana Ryan, mother of two, joins the workforce after her husband was killed in a car accident nine months prior. She joins KMG as a talent acquisition specialist in the human resources department, a company she worked for before having her daughters. On her first day, she quite literally runs into Ben Thomas, a hiring manager in another department. An emergency at her daughter's school forces Juliana to cancel the remainder of her meetings, including the one with Ben. When Juliana goes to meet Ben for their rescheduled meeting, she overhears his harsh commentary about , and is understandably hurt.

Over the next two years as Juliana climbs the ranks, she and Ben have a tense work relationship. Their physical attraction is undeniable, but Juliana cannot forget the criticism from Ben two years prior. When Juliana is facing another promotion, she must work together with Ben on a large project to prove herself. Fighting temptation and attraction, the pair must be professional and try to maintain the distance they've established. It's not long before lines are blurred and feelings are caught.

This book is well written and I easily devoured it within a day. I loved the characters and their vulnerability, and found myself crying and laughing throughout. The epilogue wraps the story up perfectly, leaving readers satisfied. 4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc of this hook! 3.5 stars for me! The beginning wasn't my fav, I really liked the middle, then I felt unsure again, and then liked the ending! Haha a bit of a up and down but overall a good story. A single parent romance with cutie lil daughters who were so likable!

4.5 Stars—

Such a good single mom trope. She’s headed back into the workplace after the death of her husband, so the last thing she needs is a rival.

The banter, the chemistry, INSANE.

Loved this book. Loved the characters, the relationships, the dialog, the fast and sexy dialog the barbs, quips and everything else. Main characters sharing a BFF who won’t take sides as things get down and dirty and hot and heavy. Lots of sizzle, lots of steam and some very racy scenes added that over the top this is gonna be something else vibe to it. The situations were believable and nothing felt contrived.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Publishing and NetGalley for a copy.

What a read! Still processing the personal feelings this brought up for me, but I devoured this! The back and forth banter was so good and I loved how the book started and then jumped forward two years to give time for healing after the loss of a spouse. Their relationship journey was fun to follow. The involvement of their children was very well done as well. The spicy scenes were oh my goodness....so hot

FULL REVIEW
This book was just beyond good, and it’s a debut, and I have no many things I want to say about it! This book perfectly balances swoon-worthy enemies-to-lovers banter with deeply emotional moments. Juliana’s resilience as a single mom rebuilding her life and guiding her two daughter through the grief of losing their father was inspiring. My personal single mom journey is more in line with what Ben goes through as a single parent, and it brought up a lot of feelings for me personally as I read. The way Juliana stands up for and protects his daughter just like she would her own had me wanting to yell, sing it sister! Seeing both Juliana and Ben navigate their shared struggles, while finding healing and love together made their journey feel real and unforgettable. Amy Buchanan was able to perfectly blend humor, heart, heat (that office scene 🫠) and healing into this beautiful story and it’s her DEBUT! I will be getting a trophy copy and I will be anxiously waiting for whatever she writes next!

Charlotte North narrates this beautifully. It is single first person POV, with some great inner dialogue and I was totally pulled in by her performance!