A sweet workplace romance with all the feels and tropes: grumpy sunshine, enemies to lovers, single parent.

Juliana meet Ben on her first day of a new job, and there is instant tension after she overhears a comment he makes about her before a meeting. Fast forward a couple of years and their paths continue to cross while the heat/tension builds.

***potentially huge trigger as the FMC is a widow and talk of her deceased spouse is HIGH throughout the book.***

I enjoyed the story, enjoyed the pace of it, and it was a well written debut. The narrator did fantastic and kept me engaged through the story. Would recommend!

3.5⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press for my ARC and Macmillan Audio for my ALC.

Love enemies to lovers trope. You could see the love they had for each other throughout the book. I liked the honesty about the complications in their lives mixed in with the sexy banter, it felt like sometimes too many hiccups but still enjoyed it.

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy for review. I LOVED this book. Admittedly enemies to lovers is one of my favorite plots so this one was just perfect. Everything I wanted. Will for sure be recommending to friends and family

This book was so precious!

Julianna is widowed, she lost her husband in a tragedy. She is going back to work after being a stay at home mom, she finds a coworker talking about her. The two end up having a two year long feud, unfortunately they’re forced to work on a project together. Can they work together without their feud getting in the way?

These two were cute together, I also really loved their daughters. They were so sweet!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

As a debut book, this was a great read in terms of the workplace romance, but a lot of times things were messy, and I just could not connect with the characters as I was about to hurt them for hurting my favourite character, but I absolutely love the messy parts of life shown in this book, so all in all it was decent read for me

This was a good enemies to lovers work place romance. Juliana is back to work after losing her husband two years ago. She is forced to work with her office nemesis, Ben and we see their journey as enemies to lovers.
I enjoyed seeing both of their journey as single parents and how their children was so important to them. Their banter and connection was great and those steamy scenes were hot!
Charlotte North did a great job as the narrator.

Thank you @smpromance @macmillan.audio for a copy of this debut novel.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book. What an spectacular debut novel by Amy Buchanan! I will admit that the cover had me thinking this book would be more lighthearted than it was but the depth in the story and the character growth throughout was just beautiful. This is the kind of romance that remind me of authors like Abby Jimenez. Buchanan crafted a book that I could not put down and it truly felt to me like Juliana and Ben were real people. I love a romance with a single parent as well and this one was well done. You can see that Juliana is doing her best to make it through life with two young girls and put on a brave face, but on the inside is just making it one day at a time. Her romance with Ben felt real and was peppered with some miscommunication but ultimately, you see two imperfect people learn that they are better together. 5 stars for me and I cannot wait to read more from this author! See below for a brief synopsis.

Juliana is reeling after the unexpected loss of her husband thrust her back into the work world after being a stay at home mom for many years. She is taking it day by day and trying to do her best at work and at home. When she has to leave early to tend to her kids, she hears unkind words spoken about he by Ben. This sets forth a rivalry at work for years between the two. As they are put together on a project on work, they set a truce and realize that they may like each other more than they realized. A beautiful and real love story that tackles the complicated subject of grief. Don't wait to read this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

n 'Let's Call a Truce,' we meet Juliana Ryan, who is on a journey to put her life back together after losing her husband. She decides to go back to work. Juliana doesn’t just have to figure out work, though; she’s also trying to be a good mom while dealing with her sadness, and maybe even finding love again. As she starts to move on, she finds new chances, makes new friends, and opens herself up to the idea of love.

Then there's Ben Thomas, her colleague who seems to be really annoying at first. He’s super friendly with everyone—except her! But as they work together more, things start to change and the way they feel about each other grows.

I truly enjoyed this book! It brought me out of a reading slump, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages. The jokes between the characters were so funny, and the chemistry was really strong. The way the family relationships were shown felt genuine and heartfelt. It beautifully illustrated what it’s like to find love again in your 30s, which was such a nice change. If you like spicy rom-coms, this one is for you.

4.25 Stars!

Out on January 14, 2025.

Such a dazzling and delightful debut!!

I loved how complex and layered this story was and
Amy handled topics of grief, mom guilt, solo parenting, and challenging parenting dynamics so beautifully and with immense tenderness. I loved watching Juliana and Ben’s relationship evolve and having shared experiences allowed them to provide the other with understanding and support where others might not understand.

I also really appreciated how Amy spoke to the pressures on moms and how so many of the tasks we complete and support we offer can often go unnoticed, but we still carry and have to navigate that emotional load.

While this book is tender, it is also so spicy and hot!! Amy knows how to bring the heat and I love how the spice deepened Juliana and Ben’s emotional intimacy as well.

I cannot wait to read what Amy writes next!

4.25⭐
1🌶️
Tropes: starting over, single mom, workplace romance, enemies to lovers
Single POV 1st person
When her husband dies unexpectedly Juliana Ryan needs to find a job to be able to support her and her two daughters. She ends up taking a position as a hiring manager and meeting Ben, the head of the engineering department. She is instantly attracted to him, but when she overhears him speaking badly of her for needing to postpone their meeting due to an emergency with her kids, it sets off a years long feud between them. When they are both pegged to work on a project together, they agree to a truce, and start to realize there might be more than hatred between them.
Definitely enjoyed this story. I love that the MCs are in their upper 30s, and I thought the author did a great job with how she handled the grief the FMC and her daughters experience- it was very well done and didn’t diminish Juliana’s marriage/relationship for the sake of her feelings for/relationship with Ben. I’m also not much of a crier but I definitely got teary in a few parts where Juliana was dealing with her young daughters. My only complaint is I wish it was dual POV because I’d love to know Ben’s thoughts through all of it.

[4.25 Stars 😍] Let’s Call A Truce was a heartfelt yet humorous read that is perfect for fans of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne! I enjoyed this workplace rom-com that had me crying one minute then giggling and kicking my feet the next.

The depiction of Juliana’s grief felt so raw and real, and on top of having children the same age as hers, it meant I was emotionally invested in her story. The side characters and friendships provided humor, growing pains, and moments of introspection and character development. There were times that I was frustrated with her, but that’s what I loved about her character as well! She was doing the best she could while maintaining her children, her job, her household, and her grief, and honestly, her journey to finding new love is one I will remember for a long time.

The chemistry between Juliana and Ben was so fun and dynamic and HOT that I stayed up way too late to know what was going to happen next! The “will they/won’t they” romantic development was entertaining and sweet, especially when the workplace enemies began to turn to workplace lovers. While Ben had his secrets and had a “rock and a hard place” decision to make in the third act, I loved how Juliana understood her worth and chose to walk away when the situation didn’t serve her. The heartache radiated from the pages, but I loved how Juliana and Ben rekindled their relationship and found a way to move forward.

Overall, I’m so glad that I picked up Let’s Call A Truce because it was a great debut novel by Amy Buchanan! I’m excited to see what she comes out with next.

+A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Let’s Call A Truce! All thoughts in this review are my own.
____________________________________
Details:
💘Contemporary romance
🎈Romantic comedy
👔Workplace romance
👀Single, first-person POV
⛈️Darker themes and elements
🥀Third act breakup
🙌🏻Would re-read

Characters and Tropes:
⚔️Enemies-to-lovers
>>>🥊Dislike-to-love
📍Forced proximity
💙He falls first
🦸‍♀️Single parent/guardian

Spice
⚡️Fast burn
🔥Explicit content (hot)
____________________________________
Emoji Ranking System:
🤩Excellent to Fantastic (4.75-5.00)
😍Very Good to Great (4.25-4.50)
😊Good to Really Good (3.50-4.00)
😒Just OK to Decent (2.75-3.25)
😑It's A No (1.00-2.50)
🚫DNF

Overall, I really enjoyed it - I liked the nemesis to lovers trope in this and glad it didn’t get dragged on too long!

The third act conflict was not my favorite but the could see that as something that could come up and it was interesting to read more about Paris before and after.

I also loved the kids personalities and that Juliana had her friend support group!

This book was a good way to show grief and also have romance be a part of it too. I loved it very much.

A new enemy to lovers in the office is coming with Let's Call A a Truce. After her husband suddenly dies, Juliana is returning to work after being a stay at home mom for the past seven years. But the day doesn't go as planned as she overhears a new colleague talking poorly of her. This starts a 2 year bicker fest with said colleague, Ben. The tension is next level and they finally admit to having feelings for each other but soon the balls are dropping when parts of Ben's life are thrown in the mix. The rollercoaster of emotions continues in a will they, won't they story with lots of real life drama along the way. Amy Buchanan writes a sarcasm filled novel with hilarious and loving side characters, laugh out loud moments, and hopes of a second chance at love for both Ben and Juliana. In rare form, I actually loved Ben more than Juliana. I enjoyed her character in the beginning but by the middle I was over her wishy washy-ness. A solid debut though and I'd happily read Amy's work again. Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the gifted copies in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 stars rounded up.

This is a great story that pits two single parents against each other. As coworkers they are in close proximity for many hours. Julianna is a widow and a mother of two. Ben is a single dad of one. The plot of the story is interesting and unfolds slowly. The characters are really wonderful and well developed.readers will love the story because the characters and their situations are relatable. It is an enjoyable story to read.

I normally love a good rivals to lovers, but I unfortunately didn't enjoy this trope here. I think Juliana & Ben's rivalry was a bit too much, especially on Juliana's end. Overall though, this was really good, I just didn't like Juliana lol

It's been a long time since a main character in a romance had me steaming... from anger.

I was all in up until the 70 percent mark of the book. Even though I found Juliana to be insufferable from the start. But it all fell apart for me when:

*** spoiler alert ***

The DEI portion of the story just wasn't needed. It felt forced and t started a downslide of questionable plot disasters.

I absolutely get why Juliana was so protective of her girls in the beginning. Yet, when Ben needed to do that SAME THING for his daughter Juliana couldn't understand. Then when he'd taken care of the Stephanie problem it STILL wasn't good enough for her. WHAT?

I didn't like the James character and it was obvious he was not a good guy, yet she used his flirtatious ways to make Ben jealous. And then she actually considered going work for him when it would uproot her girls ... what about protecting the girls like she did in the beginning??

Anyways, I thought the banter was fun (although she was far more harsh to him than he was to her), can you tell I'm not a fan of Juliana's?

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-copy of LET'S CALL A TRUCE to review.

I rate LET'S CALL A TRUCE three out of five stars.

FMC 33-Widow 9 months when the book starts

Chapter 3- two years later
FMC 35
MMC 37

Enemies to lovers
Coworkers
Found family
Single parents
He Falls first

Thos book is an enemies to lovers, which is not one of my favorite tropes, but mostly because many enemies to lovers are written with too much animosity or lack of feelings for too long. This book wasn't like that and I enjoyed the fact that there was chemistry between Julianna and Ben and that he chases her and falls first.

She's not immune to his charms and is tempted by him multiple times, but harboring resentment about a time he was talking about her behind her back at work 2 years ago. She typically avoids him at work. He was admittedly a dick about her leaving work early for a kid emergency and even worse when we find out he has his own kid. That's really what upsets Julianna even more.

I liked that the book started with a bit of a time jump so that we got some backstory and a current perspective.

I also liked that while this book had the ever-present 3rd act drama, it wasn't superficial and not resolved quickly and actually lasted almost 40% of the book. So maybe not so 3rd act 😂

My one main problem with this book is that other than looks, I dont know what they like about each other in the beginning when all the chasing and convincing is going on. There are a few tiny times he does something nice for her at work that she's skeptical about and begrudgingly thanks him. But I honestly do not understand why he spends so much time chasing her when she hates him, and why she spends so much time telling herself not to give in to him even though she wants to. It started to almost get annoying and leave me not invested, but then other drama started happening that kept my interest.

He could be obsessed with her because she's a hard worker, or a great mom, or any number of things other than he being super beautiful but I just wish we got to actually  "see" the moments. Unless its purely physical insta lust, which I am also not a fan of.

This is probably the first book I've actually really felt would have been better written in dual POV because Ben's perspective is one we really miss out on for a while. It's clear he is enjoying her sassy side of always giving snide comments and turning him away, but we don't really get why he feels such big emotions for her and wants her so bad. I think alternating POV would have been a good setup for this book.

I liked the found family in this book with Asia, Dani, and Gabriella and how much they are there for her and she is there for them. But Julianna did something really shitty to Asia, that she admits she did and doesn't apologize for. I didn’t like that at all and it was incongruous to Julianna's personality.

Overall I gave this book 4 stars overall. It was my first by this author and while I was dissapointed not to get more if Ben's POV and really read more about why they liked each other, it kept my attention and interest and I am a totalllllll sucker for cute kids and this book has 3!

When I tell you that Let’s Call a Truce dragged me out of my reading slump, I can also confidently tell you I went willingly. Amy Buchanan’s debut novel is *Chef’s Kiss*
The witty banter, the sarcasm, the spice, and heart wrenching but beautiful family moments had me reading this book at top speed.

Juliana is truly Wonder Woman embodied. The way she showed up for kids and put their wants and needs above her own potential happiness showed how much of a dedicated mother she was. But she was also a business badass. I love a strong female character who can do both.

Ben was the best office enemy that we all love to hate and fall in love with. He scared me there for a minute but a truce was exactly what he and Juliana needed 😉

The supporting characters in this book were all so unique that I hope we can see more of their stories in the future!

I can’t wait to see what is next for Amy Buchanan because I’m definitely a fan ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Amy Buchanan for the ARC and opportunity to read this amazing story.

Thank you to the publisher, author & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book! I voluntarily read this book, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Let’s Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan
Ben and Julianna are coworkers, they are attracted to each other but do not get along. This was a cute enemies to lovers. Both characters have tragic histories in love. Their story is very realistic, which I appreciated. I do feel like it could have been shorter, a lot of the work storylines were boring. The 3rd act breakup went on for longer than necessary. But the ending made up for it.