Widowed mum Juliana can't help but be attracted to Ben, her work colleague. Neither can disagree on the sparks that fly between the two when they argue at work. They are used to not getting along so when the two are tasked to work on a project together, they try to put their differences aside to get the job done.

This was a great debut from Amy Buchanan. I loved that both of the main characters had their own children and the way that the families came together was the sweetest. There was a lot of back and forth between the characters but all the situations seemed genuine and I enjoyed their journey in getting together. I'm excited for this author's next book, especially if it's as good as this one was!

On Juliana's first day back into the work force a handsome man catches her eye. She berates herself for being attracted to him after the loss of her husband. Arriving to the offices she overhears said man speaking negatively about her. Game on. There is only absolutely necessary communication over the next two years. Being sent on a work conference together is the last either wants. With it being in Ben's hometown of Boston he offers to show her the sights. This leads to some sexy times in the hotel room. Upon returning home they decide to keep their new relationship just between the two of them. With having real feelings for one another they decide it's time to tell friends and family. A ghost from Ben's past shows up and all plans are ruined. I admired Ben for trying to put his daughter first but this didn't need to be an all or nothing situation. Juliana's sit back and wait approach didn't help matters. This was a cute single parents, enemy to lovers second chance romance that was a quick and enjoyable story. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Three stars. Perfectly average, and kept me hooked. Some of the banter was cute, but so much of the first part is childish fighting. A huge part of this is the miscommunication trope that I loathe, mixed with my other least favorite trope in sayyy the third act?! The drama was out of character and pointless, but really I didn’t connect with either character enough to care.

This book was everything I want in a romance, from the hysterical meet-cute to work place enemies, witty banter, and sizzling, swoon-worthy chemistry. I fell in love with both main characters, and couldn't stop smiling at their constant bickering while they fought their feelings for each other. There was a conflict halfway through that made me really sad and angry, but the resolution was perfect, and made the emotions worth it. Any book that can evoke such strong feelings is a winner for me! I enjoyed that the book touched on Juliana's grief over losing her husband but didn't make it the focal point of the story, and Ben was so supportive when it came to her feelings. I think the author did a fantastic job with the sensitive topic of opening up to someone new after losing a spouse. I will be highly recommending this one to anyone who loves romance.

Thank you to #netgalley and @stmartinspress St. Martin's Griffin for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

I absolutely love an enemies to lovers situation and that combined with a competent heroine and emotionally intelligent male lead made Let’s Call A Truce SO FUN to read!

This one struck all the right notes for me between humor, angst, and spice. The characters were so likable and their chemistry was 10/10. Honestly the banter alone was worth the price of admission-there were a few times I honestly laughed out loud. I also loved the friendships Juliana shared with her girlfriends and the way this book celebrates found family.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the
E-ARC! Really enjoyed this! Cute banter & fun characters. Will definitely read more from this author.

Let's Call a Truce is the perfect blend of steam and substance! Amy Buchanan creates a love story that's both sexy and heartwarming, balancing open-door spice with genuine emotion. With rivals to lovers, slow burn, and he falls first tropes, this book hits all the right notes. The characters are refreshingly mature, balancing careers and raising kids, bringing a unique depth to their story.

AND, I absolutely loved the Florida setting—especially the Orlando and UF references! Having gone to UCF and with my husband as a UF alum, the settings made the story even more fun and memorable.

I flew through this in less than 48 hours and couldn't put it down; I couldn't believe it was a debut, and I will officially read anything written by Amy Buchanan! If you're looking for a romance with real heart and sizzling chemistry, Let's Call a Truce is a must-read!

I really enjoyed the banter in this book. It was a lot of fun and well written. The rival coworkers to eventual lovers dynamic was interesting and engaging. I loved how the single parent storylines were integral to the plot and not just a second thought. I feel like the single parent trope can sometimes be used as a bit of a gimmick, but it was front and center in this book. I appreciated that the MMC waited until she was sure that she wanted to pursue a relationship with him. I liked that they shared a best friend who did a great job not picking sides but being supportive of both of their journeys.

Things that didn't work for me: the third act break-up felt a little out of left field with the annoying woman who made a sudden and explosive appearance, but I can see where wrapping up her story influence was a good thing for the plot movement and relationship progression as a whole. I just didn't enjoy reading about it (think Umbridge. You hate her with a fiery passion but it's because she's well written to be evil and annoyingly frustrating). Another aspect that didn't work for me was using "I love you." as a weapon. I love you and therefore you must stay with me. I love you and therefore this other thing I'm doing that is actively hurting you shouldn't matter as much, and so on. It really rubs me the wrong way.

Content: wet dreams about coworkers, m*sterbation, strong language, father/spouse de*th, child abandonment, manipulation, nightmares, PTSD symptoms from de*th, explicit s*x (in office and outside of the office)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

After Juliana Ryan's husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her with two grieving kids and a stunted career from years as a stay-at-home mom, she has no choice but to make it work all on her own. But her confidence crashes around her when she overhears her condescending but infuriatingly attractive new colleague, Ben Thomas, talking about how her kids and inexperience are a liability the company can’t afford. This sets off a feud between the two, as Juliana vows to prove him wrong.

Two years later, their feud rages on, but it may be charged with something they aren't willing to admit. When they are forced onto a career-making project together, Juliana has no choice but to call a truce. As their lives become more intertwined in and out of the office, Juliana finds it hard to ignore Ben’s perpetual smile and charming determination. What started as a truce grows into more, as boardroom-clearing arguments turn to desk-clearing kisses. Could the man she deemed her nemesis understand her life–her stress and responsibilities–better than anyone?

Funny, yet angsty and dealing with real world problems, Let's Call a Truce is a hidden gem. The characters are likeable and relatable, the problems faced are realistic, and the delivery - from the banter to the tears back to heartwarming - was so well done. If you love workplace romances, this is for you!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

I like this book, I loved that the characters are releatable. They struggle with many things and growth through it and it was really well done. But the third act breakup in my opinion was so messy and I hated the male main character in that moment. I loved the single parent trope though and I loved how she wrote it.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the author for this opportunity for a free arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, honestly more than I expected to, which was still a decent amount. I loved the progression of the characters throughout the story and how they evolved both together and independently. I do think that some of the drama in the third act could have been done in another way that was more in line with Ben’s established character. There was a lot of buildup of Juliana being the “flaky one” in the pair and the decision that Ben makes is not only abrupt, but also out of character, so that was some thing that did throw me off a little bit towards the end.

Overall, however this book was a perfect balance of sweet romance, spicy scenes, personal development, honestly very well rounded side characters, the whole 9 yards. It also handled the topic of loss and grief very well from multiple perspectives, which is something that can definitely be difficult to do. I have already recommended it to some of my friends to read when it comes out.

This book was such a delightful surprise from a new-to-me author! Let's Call a Truce ticks several fun boxes:
- female main character in her 30s (also: widow, single mother)
- single father male main character
- enemies-to-lovers
- workplace romance
- Florida setting

I really enjoyed this story, and I mostly didn't even mind that it was only single POV. I loved the rich complexities of these characters and plot, and I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for gifting me with an ARC to review! All opinions are my own.

This was very cute and quite entertaining. Let’s Call a Truce was an easy read and very engaging. I especially loved the sexual tension between Ben and Juliana; you could practically feel it coming off the pages! This was a really great debut!

The book, the story is not what i would read normally but this one has something that makes it so good. I like the antagonizing of both characters. I like how the actual relationship develops , i really dislike the third act break up because i wanted to strangle the MMC Ben . But overall i enjoy and it was a fun read.

Thank you SMP Romance and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copies. All opinions are my own.

I’ve seen good reviews for Let’s Call a Truce, but went in relatively blind other than knowing it was a workplace romance.

I know we see a lot of stories with single dads (and this had one too) but please bring on more single moms! My heart broke for Juliana so many times as she tried to survive single parenting and work after the death of her husband. She and Ben have a sort of meet cute when she starts at KMG that immediately sours when she overhears him complaining about not accommodating her daughters. Although still not a great comment, it made sense when you heard his side later on.

I loved how smitten Ben was for Juliana and his mow determined he was to give her time for them to be together.

There was more angst then I expected as Ben’s ex reappears after Juliana is ready to make things official. I understood why he tried to do what he did, but it only hurt Juliana and his daughter, Paris. I loved Paris and Sophie’s friendship and how close they were.

I loved Ben’s grand gesture at the end and how they merged their two families together. I couldn’t put this down and can’t wait for more from this author!

💙 in their 30s
🩷 widow/single mom FMC
💙 single dad MMC
🩷 workplace romance
💙 enemies to lovers

Juliana and Ben met at work 2 years ago and have been competing to annoy the other ever since she overhears him speak about her leaving early for a family emergency. Ultimately their explosive attraction wins out.

I found Juliana to be way too stubborn to the point it became annoying. It was just a bit much. Besides that, I enjoyed the story!

Feeling very mixed about this book. Because on one hand, it was a really excellent workplace rivals/enemies-to-lovers between single parents and it was really good. Juliana and Ben had explosive chemistry from the jump. From their initial meet-disaster, through two years of tension and bickering, to that first kiss, I was giddy for the way their relationship would pan out.

Juliana is leaning how to single parent after the loss of her husband. There’s layer of grief here that I think were navigated quite well, in regards to both Juliana and her daughters. And despite grief and trauma, I really loved that when Juliana was an asshole, her friends told her that. There was no entertaining bad behaviour for the sake of friendship.

But the entire third act was so incredibly messy to me and I couldn’t quite understand why we were entertaining this. Ben’s ex-wife, who divorced him and signed away all her parental rights, comes back to make a weird power play and ruin everyone’s lives again? She absolutely destroyed everyone’s lives and there was not nearly enough resolution involved in the aftermath. I think that the situation was drawn out far too long and should have been resolved differently.

Let’s Call a Truce is a romance between messy people and while I was so invested in everyone’s lives, I can’t help but think that everyone in this story deserved better than what they got. I truly loved Juliana and Ben and their girls, but their HEA was simply not enough for me. Maybe if we had had Ben’s POV for a couple of the more pivotal moments, it would have felt more closed and final, but I have so many questions.

All my favorite tropes included in this debut book. Enemies to lovers, workplace, and single parents some of the tropes that made this steamy flirty book very addictive.

Juliana, a widow heading back to work after seven years of being a stay at home mom, doesn’t expect juggling single parenthood and a career to be easy, but she wasn’t anticipating outright antagonism from Ben, a department head who she overhears complaining about working parents soon after starting her new job. What follows is a two-year feud of snarky comments, tiny pranks, and needling at one another while working at an Orlando-based architectural firm. Attraction simmers under the surface of their animosity. When Asia, a colleague who values them both as friends, hosts a birthday party, they declare a truce for the night… there’s alcohol and dancing… and Ben invites Juliana to come home with him. She declines, but can’t stop thinking about it, and he says that he won’t ask again, and will wait for her to make the next move.

When Juliana and Ben are forced to work together on a new internship program with the boss Eduardo’s alma mater in Boston, they eventually start dating in secret, made more difficult when Juliana keeps bumping into Ben at her daughter's events (soccer games and school field trips). When Ben’s ex shows up and allows their daughter Paris to think her parents are getting back together, Juliana can’t accept the deceit, that Stephanie is living with Ben, or the uncertainty of the new relationship, and ends things in a third-act breakup.

Debut author Buchanan infuses the story with a lot of drama: giving in to their chemistry and then Juliana changing her mind, fighting and calling truces. Better editing might have dialed the drama down to a more appropriate notch (for example, there's a scene where Juliana goes from calm to screaming in the blink of an eye, and another with her opening a text with an f-bomb; her screaming and swearing make her seem unhinged). While I think the author beautifully and sensitively portrays what it’s like to cope with widowhood and the trauma of losing a spouse, and the tenuous nature of being new to dating after a long relationship (and the feeling of betrayal a spouse's death evokes, in particular), Juliana’s behavior towards Ben sometimes comes across as selfish and immature.

A therapist is mentioned at the very beginning, and never again—running is Juliana's therapy, but it would have been good—and realistic—for Juliana to have a professional in addition to her strong circle of friends to dispense advice and prop her up (the friends are all distinctive and wonderful, yay for sisterhoods!). I would have liked to see more of Clara and Sophie, Juliana’s kids, and more details about her workplace and the company (Juliana is in HR for an architectural abs interior design firm, and I’d love to know more!). Architect Ben is portrayed as mature, relationship-ready, and willing to give Juliana all the space she needs, and comes across as very tolerant, plus hot, plus a good dad.

The plot moves briskly, towed in part by the suspense of wondering what Ben needs to come clean to Juliana. A subplot around diversity, equity and inclusion is progressive and well-handled without being preachy. The settings of Boston and Orlando are described with affection and authenticity, but Billings professor James and Ben’s ex are not as fleshed out as other supporting characters. I was a bit shocked that there was no "disclose the relationship" requirement until the Epilogue, especially given the protagonist’s role as an HR staff member! And I was more than a little shocked over the location of their first (juicily detailed) sexual encounter.

Narrator Charlotte North does a fantastic job capturing Juliana’s voice (she sounds a little like Courtney Cox, musical with a little huskiness or vocal fry at times), and when North portrayed one of the kids, I actually thought it was another narrator. Juliana has a strong, clear narrative voice throughout the book, so this felt like a great match for the character. Bonus points for the pronunciation of timbre with its French pedigree. I listened to 32% of this and had to stop because it was bedtime, and was SO happy to see I was approved for the digital ebook as well, so I switched and kept reading—I had to find out what happened next.

I received a free advance readers copy of #LetsCallATruce via #NetGalley courtesy of #MacMillan.

Thank you Netgalley smp and MacMillan audio for the free ALC. My opinions are being left voluntarily. This started off a tad shaky for me but under 10% in it picked up and I gobbled up this perfect romance book. I loved the narration, the side characters, the mmcs every little hit. I will need a copy for my forever shelf.

4.5/5☆