Wow, I loved this book. Amy Buchanan has really knocked it out of the park with her debut novel. I read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. This is a workplace rivals-to-lovers single dad/single mom romance with some really funny parts where I laughed out loud. I loved Juliana and Ben, their families and friends. I felt like I was in a bit of a reading slump and this book got me out of it. Thank you to Amy Buchanan, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this book early!

DNF. I can’t give much feedback because I DNF quickly, but within the first chapter I just could tell I wasn’t jiving with the writing voice. I’m picky with romance and I didn’t love how much telling vs showing there was.

This book deserves all the stars, and it's very rude of Goodreads to not have an option for more than 5 stars.

I cannot express how much I love this book. The characters are absolutely amazing. Both the fmc and mmc have amazing development and a phenomenal relationship together. They lean on each other and are just so perfect together. This is a dislike to love romance, and the reason was simply perfect in that it made sense why they hated each other while still being something they can overcome. Additionally, this is a single parent romance, and the kids are actually present in the book! Sometimes with single parents the kids are pushed to the side, so I was very happy to see them active throughout the entire book.

The romance is simply indescribable, but I will do my best. Juliana and Ben are perfect together. They balance each other out so well, and their banter doesn't stop just because they're in a relationship. Additionally, I have not read a better grand gesture than in this book. The epilogue was also amazing, which just makes me so happy. I don't normally cry when reading, but I did tear up at a couple different points—a big deal for me.

I'm stopping the review here because I don't trust myself to not spoil the entire plot accidentally. In my defense, I just love this book so much. Amy Buchanan, you will have a place of honor on my bookshelves when I finally get my hands on a copy of this book.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

There are so many workplace enemies to lovers romances, but this debut novel by Amy Buchanan stood out to me because of the different layers that the characters brought to the story. Juliana has spent the past few years at home raising her daughters; however, now that her husband has unexpectedly passed, she is returning to work and feeling a bit overwhelmed about it. Knowing that she will have a difficult time balancing work and home and a single parent, she is concerned about how the office will perceive her, and her fears come to fruition on day one when an emergency comes up and she needs to leave work early. Everyone is understanding except for one person - Ben, who makes a snarky comment about whether or not Juliana is up for the job if she can't handle this balance at the outset.

This interaction between Juliana and Ben shapes their professional relationship for the next two years as the two constantly snipe at one another. As they start to hang out more socially, the tension between the two turns from frustration to passion leaving Juliana to wonder if she is ready to take a step in to a relationship, especially with a man who didn't seem to respect her responsibilities as as mother. Just when their professional and personal worlds seem to be meshing, a blast from the past appears and wrecks havoc on the stability that Juliana craves.

This felt like a really authentic look at how single parents might approach relationships after loss or divorce. Sometimes the hurdles that characters face in a book feel unnatural, but that didn't seem the case to me in this one. Looking forward to seeing what else Buchanan brings in future books! Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

This is a fun romance that's full of steam and sexy banter and love and parenting and is so sweet! I'll admit that I didn't quite understand the animosity between the love interests in the beginning, and it didn't really seem realistic for those two to hate each other for two years without having a conversation or Juliana learning that Ben was a single dad, but it did make for great tension and chemistry. Once I got into the swing of the story, I ripped through the rest of the pages.

Let's Call It a Truce by Amy Buchanan is an emotionally rich and compelling story, with deep, nuanced characters that pull you in from the start. The book explores the lives of Ben and Juliana, who both face their own personal struggles. Juliana is a widow and a single mother, trying to find balance as she returns to work while navigating the complexities of grief. Ben, on the other hand, grapples with his own past mistakes and personal challenges. The emotional depth in their experiences is one of the book's strongest points, making the characters feel real and relatable.

However, my one critique is the pacing of their relationship. It felt like it took a bit too long for them to work through their issues and truly connect. Additionally, while Ben is held accountable for a past mistake, Juliana’s actions aren’t always scrutinized as much, and at times, I felt her lack of consideration for others was overlooked.

That being said, the ending was very satisfying. Everything comes together beautifully, and the resolution feels earned. Despite the slower pacing in their relationship, the journey is ultimately worth it.

Overall, I highly recommend Let's Call It a Truce for readers who enjoy emotional, character-driven stories. I give it a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook arc. Workplace enemies to lovers after the death of her husband she tries her best to do her best to provide for both her daughters and while struggling to make everything work and to be on time. After having a heated night with her workplace bully she discovers that his wife walked out on him and their daughter. They slowly fall for each other.


🔹enemies to lovers
🔹single mom
🔹workplace romance
🔹he falls first

There aren't nearly enough books about widowed moms figuring out their romantic lives! I happily welcome Let's Call a Truce into Romancelandia. Juliana is a single mom with some years' distance from her husband's death, but the effect of it is still a dark cloud over her. I loved how realistic her experiences felt. Grief is a very long road and it's not easy. When you have two kids, romance is going to look different. There are no one-step solutions and you have so much more to consider than just your own heart. She's beautifully written, and I understood her reluctance to jump into any relationship. Ben is a fun love interest, with his own problems to resolve, which I enjoyed. Sometimes the romantic interest is ready-made perfect, and he's not. He has his own complicated family history and there are hiccups he encounters as well. I still adored him and immediately recognized the flirting. Enemies to lovers is not the easiest trope, but this romance has a lot of fun with it.


Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

This enemies-to-lovers workplace romance is emotional, sweet, spicy, and is guaranteed to give you all the feels. 💕 I thought the way the book handled grief, past love, parenthood—and a scorching new romance 🥵—was absolutely beautiful, and had me laughing and tearing up throughout. Juliana is a dedicated, fierce, relatable, and funny heroine— it was such a delight to live inside her head while reading this book.

What a fun romp of a book. It was charming, angsty and HORNY! Just a few of my favorite things. I especially really appreciated Juliana’s character growth. And how it was a different sense of country family, especially for Paris. Really enjoyed this!!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

2.75 stars

A tried and true trope with a less than exciting MMC.

Office romances are always enjoyable for me, especially when you throw in some animosity, but I was never really able to get behind the MMC, Ben. Their relationship starts off on the wrong foot because of something that Ben says that Juliana, the FMC, overhears. Imo, it was a pretty horrible thing to say, and we don't really get any explanation or closure on that until way later in the book, so I was already luke warm on him. Unlike a lot of FMC's lately, I don't have the ability to see past a potentially really negative quality in a guy just because he's attractive.

There are some great scenes with them and Ben does have some positive qualities. But then comes the third act break up and I DID NOT ENJOY IT. I get that the situation was complicated, but I don't think Ben handled it appropriately AT ALL. And subsequently, there was not enough groveling.

I liked Juliana's character. She was going through a hard time after her husband's death but she is still doing a great job with her daughters and also works hard at her job. I just think she deserved way more from Ben. He knew what her situation was and kept telling her he would be patient, but then he would get pissed at her for being scared.

So yeah, I wasn't super excited with this one 😣

Recently widowed, single mom Juliana is struggling to balance all the things while grieving. On her first day back at work she overhears her handsome coworker, Ben, expressing his doubt in her. When she calls him out on it the result is a 2 year long office feud until Juliana suddenly isn’t sure she hates Ben afterall.

🩷Read for:
-hilarious banter
-relatable mom guilt scenarios
-an amazing friend group for Juliana
-single dad trope
-enemies to more trope
-the cutest kids

CW: spousal death, panic attacks, parental abandonment, spice (but skippable if it’s not your thing)

When widow Juliana returns to the workforce she immediately butts heads with grumpy co-worker Ben. Two years later, their feud is still going strong until they decide to call a truce.

This was a cute romcom. It has a great enemies to lovers plot. The tension between Juliana and Ben was amazing and everything you expect from workplace enemies to lovers. They are constantly being forced together at work and in life which only adds to that tension. Their relationship develops so well and you are really rooting for them the entire time. I loved the kids in this as well. They add depth to the story. And who doesn't love a single parent love story? There is also some good spice in this!
There was one storyline that did bother me at about 3/4 of the way through the story which knocked down my rating just a bit. I wanted to understand where Ben was coming from, but I found it really hard.


All in all, a good enemies to lovers romance with a dash of spice.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

Let’s Call A Truce had everything I love in a romance! I’m usually not one for workplace romances but this one was perfect. I felt like this story has two sides or two different tones, the banter and build up of tension and once we hit the midway point, into found family single parent.

After a two year workplace feud between HR recruiter Juliane and architect Ben that sparked from a harsh comment he made about her kids on her first day of work, single parent Juliana is definitely not thrilled of the upcoming project they were assigned to work together on but decide to call a temporary truce.

The office place pranks were clever and hilarious. The tension was off the charts. The questions and conflicts of what you would do or give up for your kids and the tough decisions you’d have to make felt authentic. I didn’t want to put this book down but also wanted ti savor it. This was a well rounded romance that I absolutely loved!

What you can expect:
- Workplace Romance
- Enemies to Lovers
- Boston and Floria settings
- HR Recruiter life
- Adorable children
- Tension tension tension

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this book!

Anytime I'm reading a romance about combining families - I automatically get excited. It's for some reason a trope that feels so personal and pertinent because it happens so often anymore and isn't talked about enough!!

The added bonus of this read was really that I loved the angst towards the end. I was salivating for it really.. wine, Peanut M&M's ferociously being eaten and all. It took no time at all for me to 10000% tell who the villain was going to be, and like I was being read in on shady gossip!!

LET'S CALL A TRUCE is a sparkling debut -- and one that has be anxious waiting to read what Amy Buchanan writes next! I love a good workplace romance (especially when it features the enemies to lovers trope) but often find that the characters' history doesn't earn their animosity. That is 100% not the case here -- Juliana and Ben's antagonism jumps right off the page to sock you in the face from page one and doesn't let up. I especially appreciated that their back and forth push-pull isn't magically waved away when they become romantically involved, but instead evolves into a new facet of their relationship. Juliana's relationship with her daughters was a stand out for me here and I especially loved the exploration of grief and strong themes of friendship and community.

Absolutely loved this one! Juliana and Ben’s banter was so fun, especially when they “hated” each other at the beginning. I felt like the motherhood rep was fantastic and the grief element tugged my heartstrings in all the best ways. Can’t wait to see what’s next from Amy!

It was cute! It definitely felt like it dragged on A LOT but it wasn’t bad, just not my favorite.

I think overall it wasn’t bad. The characters melded together pretty well but there were times where I did have to give myself a break to actually finish it because it seemed a little redundant.

3.5 stars rounded up
Thank you, St Martin's Press, for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a very promising debut! I love workplace romances and enemies to lovers books. If you enjoyed The Hating Game, then I think you would like this one as well. Some of the transitions in the book were a bit clumsy and left me a bit confused at times. The friendships were amazing. I loved Asia. I can't wait to see what else Amy Buchanan writes.

A fun workplace romance fans of The Hating Game will enjoy.

Watching Juliana come back to the workforce and be a Boss Babe was amazing. I sympathized with her a lot, with her having to learn how to balance being a newly single parent (widowed) and finding her stride at work—wanting to prove herself.

And we have Ben… Ben was very sweet and well-intentioned, save for his one comment that set off a 2-year-long feud between him and Juliana. I enjoyed the (slower) unfolding of his character, learning the whys behind his words and actions. Maybe a little bit of the White Knight syndrome? But I forgave him eventually. Lol.

Overall, this was a good time. The enemies to lovers vibes the banter provides was entertaining, and all the kids definitely add a heartwarming aspect to it all.

Thank you for the ARC, SMP!