Let's Call a Truce is my first book by Amy Buchanan and I LOVED it! Juliana and Ben are co-workers and feud back and forth for two years, until they FINALLY call a truce and become friends, and later become a family. I really enjoyed the witty banter between the characters as their relationship progresses, which had me laughing several times. The story seemed realistic on how two families, with a past and baggage, come together, with some bumps in the road, and make things work.
If you enjoy enemies to lovers, steamy office romance, and second chances at love, then I highly recommend this book!
Thank you Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and Amy Buchanan for my advanced copy of this book!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book!

Workplace romance? Check.
Great Banter? Check.
Romance? Check.

I did not love the miscommunication throughout the book but it did not deter me away!

In Let's Call a Truce, the premise of Juliana navigating single parenthood while wrestling with a challenging colleague had so much potential. I hoped for a story that could deftly handle the blend of romance and the complexities of grief and resilience. However, it fell short for me, mainly because of the characters and the pacing.

Juliana's journey through grief and her unwavering determination to rebuild her life are deeply relatable. However, her character development felt hindered by the prolonged rivalry with Ben. The two-year feud, instead of adding tension, made their dynamic feel repetitive and at times, even petty. The sudden shift to a truce made it challenging to believe in their transition from enemies to lovers. Ben's 'charming determination' also fell short for me, often coming across as more arrogant than appealing. His comments about Juliana's children and her experience were difficult to overlook, even as the romance unfolded.

While the story aimed to balance personal growth and romance, it struggled to maintain a consistent pace. There were moments that hinted at depth, particularly Juliana's struggles as a working mom, that I wish had been explored more fully. Instead, much of the story focused on their verbal sparring, leaving little room for authentic connection and missing the opportunity to delve deeper into the characters' inner worlds.

Overall, Let's Call a Truce had moments of promise, but it failed to deliver the emotional depth and chemistry I was hoping for. The story, while engaging, missed the mark in fully capturing the complexities of the characters' relationships and their personal growth.

This story pulled at my heart strings!! Juliana is a widowed single mother who is getting back into working after being a stay-at-home mom. Her new colleague, Ben, is caught talking about her and having to reschedule a meeting due to her kids. Juliana is determined to prove him wrong and the feud lasts for two years. They are forced to work on a project together and have to call a truce and start to realize that the other is not that bad.

This was such a heartwarming story between two people who deserve love and to be happy. At times, the feud felt silly, but it did create good tension between the two main characters. Their daughters were adorable and I knew exactly where this story was headed once two of their daughters became best friends. Ben's ex wife coming back into the picture was a good distraction and it made Juliana realize her worth and that she wasn't going to be second choice.

Let's Call A Truce is a sweet, steamy and delightful workplace, enemies to lovers, double single parent romance. Already there Amy had me in her grasp. I liked that it was a great mix of fun and emotional moments. The author did a good job with the harder themes. I loved the pacing, there was never a dull moment. It was truly a fun read and a great debut.

I enjoyed the characters even though sometimes I wanted to shake some sense into Juliana. Both had their flaws and went through some traumatic events which made them grow together. The kiddos were absolutely adorable. The book started off strong with great banter, amazing sexual tension, a great storyline and some fantastic characters. However, I had a little issue with the third part where it did become a little too dramatic for me. I felt it was a little unnecessary and for me I would have preferred a deeper dive into their relationship together as a real couple. I wanted more Juliana & Ben in love and not fighting.

A great debut that had me absolutely hooked. Very fun and super fast read that is hard to put down. I truly can't wait to see what Buchanan comes up with next.

✨️Thank you to @smpromance & @amybuchanan for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My pice rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Publication date: January 14, 2025
Genre: Contemporary romance
POV: Single 1st

Tropes to look for:
✅ Single parents
✅ Workplace romance
✅ Enemies to lovers
✅ Love after loss
✅ Found family
✅ Love in 30s
✅ Close proximity

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for an advance copy of this!
Also thank you for the author Amy Buchanan ARC team!

The banter in this book is so good! If you liked The Miles Highs series by TL Swan or the Hating Game by Sally Thorne than you will love this book too. I read it on my Kindle in about 2-3 days. I couldn't put it down!

A solid debut! I enjoyed the exploration of a Juliana, a widow with young children, recently returning to work. I liked how emotional it got, how we walked with Juliana through her grief and her journey to find love again. It was also a lot steamier than I expected!

I really enjoyed my first book by Amy Buchanan. I was put off by Ben at first but his actions later made sense. It was steamier than expected and while I was annoyed by the third act break up, it was resolved quickly. Excellent audiobook narration as well as I switched back and forth.

The female main character in this novel initially sort of annoyed me. I found her behavior irritating, but I'm glad I stuck with the story; I ended up really enjoying it. Juliana grew on me as a character as the story progressed, and her relationship with Ben moves believably from work nemesis to friends (through their young daughters) to lovers. The side characters, Juliana's daughters Carla and Sophie and Ben's daughter Paris, rang true, and Juliana's friends Asia, Gabriela, Dani, and later Quinn, are good foils for Juliana's somewhat neurotic character. As the novel approaches the end, it's Ben I want to shake as he buys into his ex-wife's manipulations, but the situation resolves fairly quickly as he comes to his senses. Side characters bring light touches of humor to the story, and the pace of the novel is great once the story really gets going. All in all, this is a sweet and entertaining love story.

I am a sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers romance. Let's Call a Truce is that plus a workplace romance, and a second chance romance. There are also some fun micro-tropes throughout that I enjoyed.

Juliana, a recent widow, rejoins the workforce to provide for her two young girls. On her first day of work, she has a classic "meet cute" with her handsome co-worker Ben. But before their interaction can lead to more, Juliana overhears Ben making a rude and hurtful comment, casting doubt about her ability to do her job after years away from the workforce. Juliana is furious and vows to get revenge on Ben. Two years later, Juliana and Ben are constantly at each other's throats, trying to best one another. Juliana loathes Ben and is determined to make his life miserable. Juliana is excited when learns she's up for a promotion at their company. But her excitement quickly turns to fear when her boss reveals the only way she can prove herself is to work with Ben on a special project for the company. Juliana has to figure out a way to work with Ben if she wants to score the promotion. As the two work closely together, their attraction for one another grows. Can Juliana stay focused on getting her promotion? Or will she give in to her attraction to Ben?

While this is a fun banter-filled romance, it's also packed with a lot of emotion. Juliana struggles with being a good mom and handling her grief and loneliness. As much as she wants to hate Ben, she discovers that her perception of him has been wrong all along and they have more in common than she realizes. But is Juliana ready to open up her heart again?

Although it is a sweet romance, there were a few times when the outside drama seemed to overshadow things. But overall, I still enjoyed the story and can't wait to read what Amy writes next!

Also, this one is SUPER steamy :).

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advance copy of this book.

Let's Call a Truce pulls readers into a steamy office romance with lots of great tropes: enemies to lovers, slow burn, second chances, forced proximity. The characters' chemistry was great, jumping off the page as they are forced to work together despite their rocky past. I was rooting for them, and found the characters generally likable. I did feel the ending's drama was a bit over the top, yet the fun, witty banter and heartfelt romance still made this an enjoyable read.

I expected this book to be a fluffy rom com, and while we do get that, the story is emotional and sad and real as well. The book starts off with an enemies to lovers type trope but as time goes on the two MC's decide to call a truce for a night and give in to their true feelings. This is the moment the story starts to change and becomes a bit more serious (while still being upbeat and fun).

I really liked Ben's character in this book and even though I didn't agree with his decision that caused the rift between him and Juliana, I can understand his reasoning. I really felt for Juliana in this book because I can't imagine being in her shoes. I can see why Juliana struggled being a single mom of two after her husband died and then realizing after two years she is starting to have feelings for someone else. I loved the snarky banter between these two and their chemistry was great.

There were parts of this book that I wasn't in love with so I'd say 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book! The descriptions were exquisite and the storyline was just so good. I felt like this author did a great job with including grief in a delicate, but real and raw way. The side characters had so much personality. I loved the tension between the two main characters. You could feel the connection and pull from the very beginning! Such an incredible debut!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this book in only a few hours!
The banter and tension was what made me read it so quick. I also love a good enemies to lovers book!
The way both Juliana and Ben were with their children made me melt. They were both so good to their kiddos.
I did roll my eyes a bit at the melodramatic last few chapters, but I was able to overlook it because overall this book was enjoyable.

4.25 stars!!

this is a really cute romcom debut with great enemies to lovers banter !!! it's been a while since i've read a workplace romance and this book reminded me why i love it... that sense of forbidden romance, seeing each other all the time, the TENSION !!! woooo..... 🔥🔥🔥

i love ben thomas so much! he truly cares for juliana and her kids so well and he supports her through her struggles and her grief. i would have killed to read his pov (dual pov girlie through & through) !!! the friendships between juliana and all the gals who surround her are so sweet and precious and i love love love it. this book is so easy to get into !

while i did really enjoy this book, the last 15% made me want to scream 😩 and i would have loved to see more of juliana's growth through her grief but i think that's just because i'm a sucker for emotional romances and bawling through books soooooo

thank you so much St. Martins Press & NetGalley for the eARC! this is my honest review.

Juliana & Ben’s story had what I absolutely love in a great romance which is terrific banter and chemistry.
I really enjoyed this book and going on their journey.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this more than I even imagined, since this was more emotional than I tend to like to read. I binge read it. There were a lot of heartwarming and sad moments that pulled on my heart strings. This was a good read. (SPOILERS) However, I did not like how Ben decided to get back with his ex for his child knowing she wasn’t reliable. He said a little afterward that him and her never did anything, but it still was dragged out for a while after that, so I was questioning since it wasn’t said again if they ever had intimate moments together, which honestly made me angry. I don’t like the other woman trope. Him dragging it out that long with her left a bad taste in my mouth, honestly. This would have been a four star if it didn’t end take that turn. I’m glad everything was resolved in the end, though.

The dynamic between two characters in the workplace captivated me. Both carried emotional baggage that shaped their communication. Their conversations felt thoughtful and revealing, gradually fostering a deeper understanding of each other.

Some discussions flowed smoothly, while others highlighted the tension stemming from their past experiences. This blend of connection and conflict kept the experience engaging.

What really resonated was the authenticity of their exchanges. Each conversation held significance, reflecting their growth as they navigated challenges together. The balance between their struggles and their desire to understand one another created a compelling experience that lingered long after.

this enemies to lovers romance was very enjoyable. I struggled with the heroine for quite a while. I felt like she was being difficult for the sake of it, but as their relationship developed and you got to see more of her interaction with their kids, it was much easier to understand her defensiveness. It was easy to read and sink into and a great selection for running errands on audio but also easy to bounce into in moments when I needed it on kindle.

This book unfortunately didn’t work for me. The beginning was fun but it became repetitive as the heroine kept pushing the hero away and didn’t practise what she preached.