Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an ARC of Let’s Call a Truce. I loved this idea of blended families, overcoming grief, and a work rival, but some plot points didn’t work as well for me. The hot and cold nature of their relationship and Juliana’s feelings, the somewhat crappy move from Ben later on, and Juliana’s inability to see his side for so long made for a frustrating second half. I adored the moments they were sneakily dating, though~totally adorable.

[Thanks to St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.]

On Juliana's first day at her new job, an emergency with one of her daughters forces her to leave early. The next day, she overhears Ben Thomas, her new co-worker, badmouthing her to another colleague. So much for their meet-cute the day before! 

Fast forward two years and Juliana is still holding a grudge (and incorrectly under the impression that the hate is mutual). But when they're thrown together at work for a project that could lead to a promotion for Juliana, they're forced to spend more time together. Despite their undeniable chemistry and their daughters being best friends, she's determined to keep things strictly professional... no matter how difficult that becomes.

Thoughts: 
Buchanan does a beautiful job portraying grief. Juliana's journey of loss, guilt, and moving on felt real and emotional. After the unexpected loss of her husband, while they're both still young, Juliana really struggles with the guilt of being attracted to Ben. Years later, when hosting a bridal shower for a friend, she looks back fondly at the memories from her own celebration and acknowledges that while still sad, they also feel comforting now.

Ben's ex-wife coming back just to stir up trouble felt unnecessary. I loved Ben's patience and support but his inability to say no to his ex really soured things for me. The situation could've been handled much better, seeing as these are older characters.

First let me say that star ratings are not adequate for explaining all the complexities that go into an author writing a story. That being said, I had all different thoughts on Let’s Call a Truce, and will attempt to explain why.

Amy Buchanan can write. She has a knack for storytelling and I felt like Ben and Juliana were real people with real lives. This story is as much about living with grief as it is a love story and how it is possible to find romantic love after having it once before. Friends and family also play a big role in this story. Juliana is a widowed mom to two young girls and it really does take a village to help her navigate life post spouse. She has a great support group of friends, one who is best friends with her workplace nemesis, Ben Thomas. As they say, keep your friends close but your enemies closer. The initial spark between Ben and Juliana is doused quickly when Ben makes the CRITICAL mistake of judging Juliana’s work ethic as less than satisfactory BECAUSE she has kids. Note to all men—don’t do this! And here’s where the story jumps forward two years.

This one incident is used as the fuel to Juliana’s hate fire for Ben. Okay, I’m a mom, I get it, but instead of getting to know Ben, she just lets it keep festering. There are so many opportunities for Juliana to actually talk to Ben about this, but time and time again she chooses the stubborn, “he’s a terrible person” mantra which after several chances came off as immature to me. And that’s okay. Characters can be immature as long as they grow, but Juliana’s unwillingness to see Ben in any light other than work nemesis for SO LONG, almost made me DNF. I groaned aloud when once again, Juliana found fault with Ben because I just wanted her to give him a chance.

But do you know what made me come back? Ben. He is the best MMC and honestly, probably too good for Juliana. He really really wants her and pursues her, loves her kids (the miscommunication is finally fixed and there is a good grovel), and thinks she’s amazing at her job. To me, Ben never really misstepped; he was even very forgivable in the third act break up. In a way, he was the opposite of Juliana; he knows what he wants and he goes for it and his “rivalry” was more his way of dealing with Juliana’s childishness in a placating way.

This book does have a pretty great ending, Juliana does grow and realize that she wasted a TON of time fighting with Ben, and I ultimately enjoyed the second half of the book. But if you’re inclined to dislike heroines who struggle with forgiveness, Let’s Call a Truce might put you a bit off. I will say that I would definitely read more from Buchanan. She knows what women want in a hero and can write a workplace romance sex scene, I just think rivals to lovers may have not been my favorite trope from her. I received an early copy. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟.5
Steam: 🪭🪭

A single parent workplace romcom, this romance had several tropes and elements I enjoyed. However, the FMC's attitude and behavior towards our hero is what hindered this romance for me. DNF @30%.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Juliana has been a SAHM for years but after her husband dies she is forced to go back to work. Her former company hires her back and on the first day she has a panic attack, has to leave work for a school emergency and she overhears the hot guy making a remark about her leaving to take care of her kids. So this is the set up for an enemies to lovers story but for me it was more a lust story than a love story. Definitely open door.

Juliana has had to deal with a lot following the death of her husband but a lot of the time she just sounded childish and immature. Her daughters, Clara and Sophie, seemed more together than Juliana. She held a grudge against Ben for two years because of the remark she overheard and then kept a log of all the arguments they had and who won. I had no idea what her job was so I didn't feel invested in her career and struggles with that. Then on a business trip to Boston she has a meeting with Quinn and they become BFF's. That seemed forced and didn't really add to the story.

Near the end Ben's ex shows back up and by that point I just didn't care about either of them.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

I really enjoyed this workplace enemies-to-lovers romance! Juliana is a widowed single mom trying to rebuild her life, and her fiery dynamic with Ben, her charming but infuriating coworker, is full of tension and witty banter. Their chemistry is undeniable, and I loved watching their relationship evolve from adversaries to something much deeper.
Juliana’s journey back into the workforce and her determination to provide for her daughters is inspiring. Ben is swoon-worthy, patient, and supportive, especially with her kids, which made their growing connection so heartfelt. The story also shines with strong supporting characters and Juliana’s emotional growth.
While I enjoyed the romance, the third-act breakup felt a bit forced, and Juliana’s indecisiveness sometimes got frustrating. Still, the book is a fun, heartfelt read with plenty of laughs, touching moments, and a satisfying ending. If you love enemies-to-lovers with depth and charm, this is a great pick!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this wonderful workplace romantic comedy! Please note this review does contain mild spoilers for the third act. I've tried to note this so you can skip if desired!

Let's cover the basics of what you can expect first!
~Rivals to lovers workplace romance with a bit of a forced proximity vibe
~He falls first
~A+ snarky banter, especially early on
~Single divorced dad of 1 and single widowed mom of 2
~3 chili peppers for spiciness
~Grief and learning to love again
~Spoilers for the third act: OW Drama with a bit of a love triangle vibe, and separation with a fulfilling grovel

Let's go through a brief synopsis: Former stay-at-home mom Juliana is re-entering the workforce nearly a year after her husband's untimely and unexpected passing. On her first day, she overhears a coworker, Ben, saying unflattering things about her. This kickstarts a feud that lasts the better part of 2 years, before Ben and Juliana are asked to co-lead a work initiative together. With this, Ben calls a truce so the two of them can function as a team, giving Juliana just the emotional clearing she needs to get to know Ben on a more personal level. Sparks begin to fly, and the two of them have to navigate the ups and downs of managing their children, their workplace, and figuring out if and how they can make a relationship work given their own individual histories and skeletons.

OK, on to the review! I really loved Ben and Juliana. They were both well developed, complex characters with understandable motivations through their mistakes. Their communication style bounced between snarky bordering on rude, to fun and flirty teasing, to deep, honest and vulnerable. The side cast of characters was also amazing, with involved and loving blood and found families. I love how Juliana built her tribe consisting of her parents and strong friendships to support her and her girls following Jason's death. I admit I fell head over heels in love with Ben early on, and found myself more than once internally screaming at Juliana to give the poor guy a chance! In general, I really enjoyed the writing style, dialogue, spicy content, character and plot development. I will definitely keep Amy Buchanan on my "authors to read" list!

I thought this story also had lovely moments surrounding the experience of grief, both fresh and how it can evolve with time, as well as the experiences of single fathers. There were a few moments of hardship depicted by both Juliana and Ben that made my heart hurt and want society to just do better! I don't read a lot of single parent romances, despite having children myself, but I adored all 3 girls in Let's Call a Truce, and strongly related to Juliana and Ben's desires to be as present, involved, and supportive as possible. As a working mom, Juliana's stress over being an active parent while keeping all of her work, personal, and social balls in the air was relatable, realistic, and validating. I appreciated seeing on page the efforts both Juliana and Ben made to connect with each other's kids and get to know them while also forging their romantic relationship.

Ok, so why four stars for me? I admit I struggled through the third act and raged at some of the choices Ben in particular made. I do feel the ultimate resolution was fulfilling and satisfying, but it definitely made my heart ache in an unexpected way before we could get there!

**The following paragraph contains mild third act spoilers for those who want to avoid this!** The quasi-love triangle introduced at about the 75% mark just stomped my heart and frustrated me. I had come to view Ben as someone with stronger communication and emotionally maturity than what he showed, and so this mistake really threw me for a loop. However, I will say the grovel and resolution were very satisfying, and although I still disagree with how Ben handled himself, his motivations were thoughtfully written, and his apology and grand gesture were sweet, sentimental, and revealed just how much he understands and supports Juliana. I also appreciated that Juliana held her own and didn't come running back as soon as he asked. She made her positions clear, and acted to protect herself while he figured his stuff out. She found a path to forgiveness that I thought made sense and fit what I wanted for her, what I thought she ultimately deserved.

I highly recommend Let's Call a Truce for those who want a well written, moderately spicy, fast paced story of two colleagues overcoming their first impressions, their insecurities and fears, their preconceived notions, the artificial barriers they created out of anxiety and self-preservation, and ultimately taking a chance on friendship and love.

Favorite Quote:
"I won't ask you not to be scared, but I will ask you to choose me anyway. Be scared with me."

OK, here's one more favorite because I couldn't choose!
"My head was above the water. I could breathe. But I had been so focused on not drowning, I forgot I could swim."

“I was going to die in a goddamn public bathroom.”

Quite the hook in Amy Buchanan’s debut book Let’s Call a Truce 🤣

My first romance of the year gave a strong start. Featuring the enemies to lovers, forced proximity and office romance tropes, the story between Juliana and Ben is both funny and heartwarming. I loved the supporting cast, especially Juliana’s close friends. At times I found myself frustrated with both main characters, but overall solidly enjoyed the novel.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

“You deserve to be taken care of sometimes. To get to enjoy what you love without having to take care of everyone.”

I love a workplace enemies to lovers romance, and this was great. The tension and banter was really well done, though I did find a few plot points a little frustrating.

Juliana is an excellent protagonist. As a recently widowed single mom, she heads back into the workforce where she immediately butts heads with Ben. Two years on, they’re still bickering but there’s clearly this underlying tension between them. When they’re forced to work on a project for upcoming promotions, Juliana is forced to put her reservations aside and get to know Ben. The tension they had since they met finally becomes too much for them both.

I really liked the relationship between Juliana and Ben, but also the relationships Juliana develops with other supporting characters to restart her life. She settles into these new friendships in a way that clearly brings her a new joy. Her daughters are so sweet and I loved how they were incorporated into the story. Juliana’s overall arc is so good as she learns to be happy after her husband’s death. It's empowering to see her return to work and be great at her job, earning promotions to provide for her daughters. She's an inspiring character who I think will resonate with a lot of people.

Ben is pretty swoony, and despite Juliana’s best efforts to hate him, he manages to grow on her. He is very patient with her as she struggles with moving, but also rightly feels frustrated when she keeps flip-flopping. He loves her daughters and he sees their future, which is really beautiful. His support is lovely to read, as he continues to prove how much he cares for Juliana and her daughters.

I struggled a bit with the third act breakup, which I didn’t particularly enjoy. It felt a little abrupt and out of place for the overall story. It didn't feel like a natural conflict and felt too forced.I also got pretty frustrated with Juliana. She can be slightly childish with Ben, and she struggles with her feelings for so much of the book that she constantly goes back and forth with her feelings. It’s easy to understand, but as a reader it got a bit annoying for me. Overall though, I did really enjoy this book and it’s a great workplace romance.

I love a good enemies to lovers troupe and this book for sure filled the need. Juliana is working her HR job while trying to raise her two daughters after the sudden death of her husband when her first day on the job doesn’t start out how she expected. She instantly becomes enemies with Ben who insults her and her priorities in her new job. Years go by and the two of them continue their feud even as their mutual best friend Asia stays out of their squabbles. When Juliana and Ben unexpectedly find themself thrown together for a project and things in their social life shows them both they have more in common then they thought sparks really start flying. This book was really heartwarming and deals a lot with the ongoing grief of losing your person and how it can affects how you go into other relationships.

This was such a standout enemies to lovers office romance debut that sees two single parents forced to work together on a joint project where they quickly learn that while they got off to a terrible first start, they actually have more in common than either realized. I loved the messy family drama, the panic attack/anxiety rep, the chemistry between the leads (things get spicy y'all!) and highly recommend it for fans of books like Pick-up by Nora Dahlia. I definitely look forward to reading more by Amy Buchanan. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I'm always game for an enemies-to-lovers romance. It usually provides lots of good banter during both the enemies and the lovers parts. In this case, I enjoyed the writing and the premise of the story - Juliana, a widow with two young children still grieving the loss of her husband three years ago finds Ben, an architecture executive at her place of work, attractive even though they started off on the wrong foot. But she's confused about whether she is ready for a relationship which results in lots of mixed signals toward Ben.

Both Juliana's and Ben's stories are slowly revealed. They realize they have a common best friend as well as children who attend the same school. Some of the twists in the storyline seem contrived to help keep the story moving.

The one issue that I had was that I could not relate to Juliana.
{Spoiler Alert}
To me, she came across as very unprofessional at the workplace and immature in life - the way she spoke to Ben, the situations she got herself into, her constantly changing feelings toward Ben, and how she involved their children even though she decided she didn't want them to know about their relationship. She would love the sparring back and forth while they were together, but as soon as she was walking away from him, she immediately realized she really didn't like him. This went on for so long that I find it unrealistic that Ben would not have given up pursuing her much sooner than he did.
{Spoiler Alert done}

I am sure many romance readers will enjoy this book, especially those that love a spicy open-door enemies-to-lovers trope. I look forward to reading what this author writes next.

A few authors I love have recommended this book, so I was very excited to read it. I honestly didn't know what to expect at first. The story opens with a recently widowed Juliana Ryan who is returning to the workforce after 7 years of being a stay-at-home mom. She has two daughters and needs to return to work since she is unexpectedly the sole provider for her family. It's a pretty sad and heavy start!

On her first day, she meets Ben Thomas. He's very attractive, but Juliana overhears him talking negatively about her to another colleague, which firmly gives Ben enemy status.

From there, we jump forward two years. Juliana is up for a huge promotion and is recruited to lead an important project from the Owner/CEO of the company. Unfortunately, she and Ben have to work closely on this project, so they decide to call a truce on their feud.

I really enjoyed this story! Forced proximity, top tier banter, an MMC who is clearly down bad (unbeknownst to our FMC), office steam, a fun girlfriend group, and so much more. I thought Amy's take on the enemies-to-lovers office romance was really fresh. Ben is ready and willing from the jump and he is vocal about that to Juliana. I feel like we don't see that as much, and I love it when a man is clear about his intentions. Juliana knows they could be something special, but it takes her awhile to come around. Of course, they do eventually get together, but then they have to deal with some pretty high stakes conflict. This leads to a pretty lengthy breakup before their HEA.

The breakup was really frustrating as a reader, but I think that's the sign of a great storyteller. I felt Ben was being a grade A doofus, but I understood the decision he made (even if I didn't agree with it). Fortunately, he comes to his senses and grovels his way back into Juliana's good graces.

This was an excellent debut by Amy Buchanan, and I am excited to read her future stories!

Juliana and Ben are workplace rivals whose lives continue to intersect outside work. Amy Buchanan masterfully builds their relationship slowly from enemies to lovers. I love that Juliana is a mom who always puts her kids first, and her decisions throughout the novel include them. Sometimes, the children and family seem to take a backseat in romance novels, but they are at the forefront of this one. It makes the characters more relatable and real, making it easy to fall for them and want them to be happy. I loved Amy Buchanan's writing style and can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

This was a middle-of-the-road romance for me! I love a good workplace, forced proximity, enemies to lovers romcom and this delivered. I liked the characters, my only wish is that the tension between the MMC and FMC would've lasted a bit longer. Seems like they were only "enemies" for about 10% of the book and then it was kinda insta-lovey which isn't my favorite.

I probably would've rated this higher if it weren't for the third act breakup -- i didn't care for that whole thing at all.

read if you love:
-forced proximity, workplace romance
-enemies to lovers
-single mom
-grief undertone
-spicy

3 stars! thank you so much for allowing me to be an early reader. ill share my review on pub day!

A book is the authors baby, their heart and they're giving it to us to be gentle with and I always try to remember that when I'm reviewing a book. That being said, I am in the minority when I say this (with over 4 star reviews on both GoodReads and NetGalley), Let's Call a Truce was a flop for me. Juliana was beyond frustrating to me and I could not connect with her character. Empathizing that grief isn't linear, that it would take time to be ready for a relationship with what she's been through and having small children, but the back and forth and wishy-washiness she gives been was annoying as was the "I can't go out to lunch, I don't have the money but I'll wear brand new running shoes on a field trip I know will destroy them". The potential for a slow burn, build up of tension, forbidden work romance was all there; while it didn't come through for me (I DNF at 44%), it clearly did for others. If you pick up Let's Call a Truce, I hope it is more of a hit for you than it was for me.
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Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book absolutely tore my heart in half!!!! In a good way!! The plot and characters were so believable, and even the kids were well-developed. I loved the friendship dynamics and the way this book didn’t shy away from the complications of grief and trying to blend families.

Genre: Romance
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Work Place Romance, Single Parent
TW: death of a loved one, relationships after loss

Wow. I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. I enjoyed an Enemies to Lovers romance in a way that I wouldn't normally and it's all thanks to Buchanan's writing, character development and her ability to weave in heavy topics in a way that was sensitive and appropriate. I'll go ahead and say it now, the only thing I didn't like about this book is the cover art - c'mon, Ben and Juliana deserve so much better!

How was the story line?
I was hooked by the story line immediately - starting with a flash back to how the relationship began and then immediately thrown into the present day, I appreciated that things got off to a quick start and I was instantly invested in the dynamic between Ben and Juliana and couldn't wait to read more. Buchanan includes some very heavy topics as her set up for the character arc of each of the characters but she did it in a way that felt real, not campy, and I thought it was done beautifully.

What was the spice level?
Whew, this is spicy! A Work Place Romance is always a friend of mine but add in some NSFW scenes that are happening at work?! I'm a fan. There were a few chapters with explicit scenes while a lot of the other chapters including heavy sexual tension, lots of banter, and tons of build up making the spicy scenes even better once they were on page.

Who would I recommend this to?
This is, hands down, a book for all rom-com lovers but especially for fans of The Hating Game or any of Kennedy Ryan's romances. There were so many parallels between Kennedy Ryan's Skyland Series (Before I Let Go, This Could Be Us) that I loved including later in life romance, balancing romance and desire with parenthood and careers, and the way that the emotions of the characters jumps off the page - if you like Kennedy Ryan, you'll guaranteed love this.

Juliana is forced to team up with her work nemesis Ben and learns there is more to him than she thought. They both have family situations that make their developing feelings complicated. When Juliana gives into her attraction to her attraction to Ben, his past comes back to threaten their happiness. This is a great story about love and loss and single parenting. I rate this a 4.25⭐️

I am sad to report that I've DNF'd this title at 48%. I really *wanted* to love it!

I found Juliana to just be too frustrating, and Ben isn't much better. I understand that Juliana has a lot of mixed feelings about herself, her future, and her grief, which leads her to be entirely conflicted over what type of relationship she wants or feels she should have with Ben. Giving in her to attraction once and running away from those feelings he stirred is one thing. When it happened again, I questioned whether I could consider her character as a supposedly mature, adult woman. When the same thing happened for the third time and we weren't even halfway through the book, I was done.

By 48%, I also realized that I still have no idea why Ben is somebody I should be rooting for. We get it that he's H-O-T-T-O-G-O. And... he's a good friend to Juliana's bestie? And... he's a single dad? That's all we've got? Because he doesn't seem to have any self-respect and is content to let Juliana jerk his chain?

Ultimately my decision was made when there were no interesting plot developments, and Juliana and Ben's relationship, had still gone nowhere. It was just a series of one step forward, one step back. There weren't any emotional stakes for me as a reader.

I also think that Juliana and Ben were rude to each other for years for no acceptable reason when considering they are two professionals in the work place -- and she's in HR. The underlying premise of this novel is too unrealistic in this year of our lord 2025. Speaking of which, it's time for my annual required employee sexual harassment training.