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.

I really liked this! It’s a workplace romance between a single mom (and if you knows you know I LOVE single parent romance books) and her coworker. The entire story follows the plot line of the fmc thinking they're enemies and the mmc absolutely being head over heels. I absolutely adored the scenes of them sneaking around and hiding from the kids. At times it was frustrating because of the miscommunication trope and how badly you just want them to TALK but it felt very parallel to real life which added an extra dose of authenticity!

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

3.5 stars rounded down
First half, easily 5 stars. The banter was great and I liked both Juliana and Ben. Middle part, 3 stars. I grew to dislike Juliana while liking Ben more and more. I didn't like the way she basically teased him and I'm not sure how/why he kept his patience with her. Third act and the "surprise" you could see coming a mile away, 2 stars. It seemed very unrealistic of Ben to act the way he did (no spoilers) and I kind of get why Juliana made the choice that she did, but why couldn't she give him the same "time and space" to figure out what he was going to do, as he did for her....for a couple of years! I also felt the office sex was cringe worthy. However, the daughters and friends were fantastic side characters and really brought a lot to the story. Not sure I would recommend this one though.

This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me. It follows Juliana, a single mom reentering the workforce after losing her husband. She clashes with her grumpy co-worker, Ben, but their dynamic shifts when they’re forced to work together. The first third had fantastic banter and tension that kept me hooked. However, the middle dragged on, with Juliana’s pettiness becoming frustrating. By the last third, the conflict felt rushed, and the resolution didn’t fit the characters we got to know. I’m landing on 2.75 stars for this one.

Thanks to NetGalley, SMP Early Readers program, and St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC. This book publishes in January 2025.

I enjoyed Let’s Call a Truce! At first, I was expecting it to be a plug and play office romance, but it was so much more than that! Juliana and Ben had so much depth to their character and so much trauma in their pasts. There were so many twists to their story, but it didn’t feel like the twists were there just to add length and conflict; each new twist revealed more of the inner turmoil the characters were grappling with. Ben turned out to be a bit more of a cinnamon roll than I was expecting. I would’ve liked to see him be a bit more aggressive in fighting for what he wanted. Overall, this book was very well-done.

I received a copy of Let’s Call a Truce from NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book has 3 different ratings because my enjoyment was literally all over the place. This is a workplace enemies to lovers, single parent and second chance at love trope book. It follows Juliana, a 30something year old (I think) with 2 young daughters whose husband passed away in a car accident 9 months earlier and now she is forced to reenter the workforce after being a stay at home mom for 7 years. There she meets Ben, a seemingly grumpy co-worker who thinks it isn’t her problem she has kids or a life outside of work to attend to and might not be cut out for the role. Jump to a few years later, they have to work together on an intern project and have to put aside their feud and work together for their own professional goals. This book deals with grief, loss of a spouse, overcoming imposter syndrome in the workplace and many parenting scenarios with a 7/8 and 9/10 year old.

5 ⭐️ The first 1/3 of this book is ahhhmazing, the banter is amazing, they hate each other so much and the tension is just cake. I started this read on hyper drive.
3.5 ⭐️ Middle 1/3 still good, biggest gripe was how petty Juliana was with Ben. Get over it girl, so annoying. Also the spice was a little cringe at times.
2 ⭐️ Final 1/3. I don’t even want to talk about it. The conflict was SO BAD, the resolution was horrible and way too fast and I overall felt like I was reading an entirely different book. None of the characters acted the way they were set up from the beginning, personality transplants? Also, the side characters actually felt like they were just there to move the plot points versus making them actual people. Would have been great to get to know Asia, still wondering why her and Ben never hooked up if she thinks he’s so amazing and good looking. Oh well, I still think you should read this book, I enjoyed the roller coaster of emotions both good and bad.

So if my math is mathing overall 3.5 stars. Rounded down because I am still so mad at the path this book took in the end.

Huge thank you to Netgalley, SMP Early Readers program and St. Martin’s Press for this digital advance readers copy in exchange for my honest review. This book publishes January 2025.