Member Reviews

Another debut read this week, though I felt like I could see the places where this could've used a little more trimming, particularly in the last third of the plot — which is what makes this book skew closer to a women's fiction/romance hybrid for me overall, rather than being a straight-up romance read. This was mostly about Emily's road to self-discovery and pursuing her true dreams, with her road to a relationship with someone essentially one component of her overall story — again, not necessarily a bad thing, but for people who may be expecting adherence to certain genre conventions, just know that the plot focuses more on the main character overall, from being in her POV to following her journey over that of her romance.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this edition from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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This is an ARC review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thought this was a really sweet, feel-good book! I loved the overall story and how everything fell into place.

I took off a couple of stars due to the main characters. I actually enjoyed reading about the side characters a bit more and felt they really contributed to the story. The FMC was a bit annoying and whiny/immature and the MMC didn’t have much depth to him. I would have loved to see more intricacy of their relationship.

Overall, it’s a cute book that I enjoyed reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amy James for the ARC!

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I thought i was going to love it but being honest im not a huge fan of the way wordle was incorporated into the story the writing style also made the book so a bit slow for me. Overall i liked the romance but i wouldn’t re-read the book seeming that i didn’t have a great time reading it.

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Did I request to read this book because Wordle is involved?!? 100% yes 😂 Now in my defense Wordle has become almost an inside joke for me and my coworkers. We play it everyday and then post about it in our team’s group message thread. So when I read the synopsis of “A Five-Letter Word for Love” and it involved our two main characters bonding and falling in love over Wordle I knew I had to read it. So Big thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishing for granting my request and providing me an ARC.

I had no idea going into this book that this was Amy James debut novel. For this being her debut I thought it was a super sweet coming of age story with a splash of romance. Overall, I did enjoy the book even though it was far from perfect. I also feel like I should give a massive disclaimer to the Spice side of BookTok. This story does contain romance, however there is no spice and if that’s what you’re search for in this novel you won’t find it. To me this was more of coming of age story of a young woman learning to love and trust her judgment in whatever path she chooses to follow in life.

Overall, I’m rating “A Five-Letter Word for Love” 3 stars and even though it’s not my favorite book of the year I still enjoyed my time reading it and would recommend it for anyone looking for a quick read. I will also be checking out more of Amy James books to come!

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I had high hopes for this one, but ultimately, it fell flat for me.

Initially, I loved the Wordle aspect and found it charming. However, about midway through, it seemed like an afterthought/forced.

John (MMC) is a man of few words, which is ok. However, I expected his walls to come down a bit throughout the story, and we just never got more from him.

Emily (FMC) I found myself going back and forth between enjoying her and being annoyed by her.

I enjoyed Emily's clients and the time she spent with them. I also enjoyed the creativity of when she was at the museum.

Overall, the story and romance were definitely lackluster. There were still cute and sweet parts, as well as a few moments that made me laugh. I enjoyed the setting and the idea of Emily and John. I just wanted more.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyage for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Five-Letter Word for Love by Amy James is a delightful small-town romance with a unique twist: Wordle. Emily, a 27-year-old receptionist from Prince Edward Island, is navigating a quarter-life crisis, yearning for a creative career and big-city life, but stuck in a monotonous job and a dull town. Her daily ritual of playing Wordle becomes the unlikely bridge between her and John, a seemingly irritating coworker who, as it turns out, might be her perfect match. Their journey towards a shared 365-day streak in the game mirrors their evolving relationship, bringing unexpected romance into Emily’s life.

The book stands out for its inventive use of Wordle as a plot device, infusing a touch of modern charm into the classic romance formula. The progression of Emily and John's relationship, while endearing at times, does feel somewhat rushed and lacks depth. Some readers may find the repetitive focus on Wordle puzzles tedious, but for fans of the game, it adds a fun and relatable element. The portrayal of small-town life and the personal growth of the characters resonate well, though certain aspects, like the characterization of John, could benefit from more development.

Overall, A Five-Letter Word for Love is a cozy, light-hearted read with a refreshing twist. It's perfect for those who appreciate a blend of romance and modern quirks, even if the romance itself feels a bit undercooked. If you’re looking for a sweet escape that ties together the charm of small-town life and the excitement of a Wordle streak, this book might just be the right pick for you.

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thank you netgalley & avon and harper voyager for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!!

this was a cute, short small town romance. i thought that the wordle aspect was a unique thing to add to the story, however it got repetitive at some point. one of the main issues i had in terms of storytelling is the author did a lot of telling and not showing when it came to the romance in particular. they kind of just got together. while the two main characters did have some cute moments, overall i feel like their relationship lacked depth as well as john’s character. he was just kind of there.

i didn’t love this, but i didn’t hate it.

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When I first found this book on NetGalley, I thought it sounded like an interesting love story. Now reading it, it most definitely was like no other love story I’ve read. A love story built around a game? Who’s done that before? It was quite a cute, fun, heartwarming read. I fell in love with the characters and felt Emily’s emotions through the pages. I would definitely recommend this book, it’s a quick, well written romance!

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So backstory my whole entire family loves "wordle" so this was a must read for me. In fact I will be buying this for the adults in my family for the holidays because its perfect. I love everything about this novel and it just was so cute. I feel like if I had a 300 day streak Idk what I would do with myself but I would take myself out. I loved that John helps her out and continues to do so and well you know what happens.

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This is so cute and it's a different type of love story! Love the cover and the dynamics. Also, the character develop is great so you will easily get attached to them

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Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this earc

This book was really sweet. I read it pretty quickly and sometimes that’s exactly what we need. Small town romance. And that’s the part I enjoyed the most. The fact that after everything, the characters stay (or come back) to the small town for good.

Characters did feel a bit younger than their age is supposed to be. And the main character is incredibly naive and I don’t think she gave her “move to NYC” a chance. Like girl, you get into a great school and get an amazing internship but leave after three weeks? I feel like the story would have been better if she just a got “big job” two towns over and came back home from there.

Overall, this won’t change your life but I could distract you for a few hours

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2.5 rounding up.

As a Wordle enthusiast, I was so excited to receive an ARC for this book. I had high hopes for this cute premise, but had a really hard time seeing past the glaring errors in the Wordle puzzles. Emily was one of the more insufferable characters I’ve read recently and unfortunately, John was no prize either. Their romance was lackluster and not in the way it intended to be.

An editor should look into the Wordle days for train, ghost, and dirty. Also, NYT does not allow you to use swears.

Many thanks to Net Galley, Amy James, and Avon for this ARC.

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Cute book, was definitely intrigued by and enjoyed the storyline. However there were many parts that felt like I was reading either a book meant for teenagers, or the journal of a very young person. There was a lot of explanation/qualification and spelling out of things that didn't really need it (e.g. we don't need you to explain that you don't actually intend to murder anyone). Even the wordle solving was a bit too spelt out - like I am an avid solved of the game and even I didn't need the detail (and sometimes very inane) step by step breakdown of how the protagonist solved the puzzle. The love story was cute though, I enjoyed the grump/sunshine trope. All in all, I don't regret spending the time reading it and wouldn't be averse to checking out future books by the author but do feel it could've been a more polished and shorter book.

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thank you NET GALLEY for the ARC

I was drawn to the prompt due to my love of Wordle. I think this book was good, but not great. Some of the moments were cute.

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I received an eARC of A Five Letter Word for Love, set to release on December 3, 2024! In this captivating story, Emily’s desire to escape her small town in PEI transforms into a journey of self-discovery as unexpected relationships begin to shape her life. Her daily Wordle guesses, always starting with words that reflect her emotions, seamlessly tie into her growing understanding of happiness and love. This charming and heartfelt tale reminds us that sometimes, the answers we seek are closer than we realize.

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After reading a heavy fantasy, I wanted to read a cute and fluffy book and this fits the bill.

Both characters work in an autoshop as the receptionist and a mechanic, and they both play Wordle. That seems to be their icebreaker and it slowly evolved them doing the game together and forming a friendship and dating.

It's very fun, very cute and cheesy at times. It's kinda a woman's fiction and a romance at the same time, so I love that surprise.

Emily's having a career-crisis, stuck in a job she doesn't love and doesn't like her degree. I love that she's making her dreams into a reality and did things for her own good. I kinda treated it like a romance subplot because I didn't really care for the MMC lol.

I really love Emily as a character and I can relate to her a lot.

Overall, fun and cutesy read that's a good palate cleanser.

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A Five Letter Word for Love centers on Emily, a 27 year old girl going through a bit of a quarter life crisis. She’s struggling with connecting with her friends who are in different phases of life, letting her parents down who want to see her succeed, determining what she really wants to do with her life, and being lonely in a small town made up of mainly retirement age community members. But, she’s committed to doing the Wordle everyday and she soon finds out that the Wordle may be the spark to cracking the conversation code with her quiet coworker.

As an avid Wordle lover I jumped at the chance of an arc of this book after seeing the amazing cover, cute title, and lighthearted premise. However, unfortunately, after 21% I’m calling it a DNF. The book is written in first person, which isn’t always a bad thing, but in this book puts you inside Emily’s head constantly and she’s quite scatterbrained. She’s also dealing with loneliness and trying to figure out her passions and while these are touched on they’re at the surface level. This book had the power to have an emotional element to an HEA with real growth for Emily but the treatment of these topics is too light a touch to make an impact. Unfortunately, the romance also wasn’t there for me. The way Emily thinks about John is again rather surface level, sometimes bordering on unkind, and I don’t feel any set up for a genuine connection between the two.

To top it all off while the Wordle piece was a big draw for me to the book it ended up being a big turnoff. The way Emily approached the wordle and then judged John for his approach was borderline infuriating to me. I feel like Wordle is in the popular conscious enough to just explain the premise of the game once in the beginning and then go about the book, however, it felt like everyday that Emily played the author re-explained the rules (yellow, right letter wrong spot) and it got extremely repetitive.

I have no doubt that this book is for someone, unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the Arc.

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This book was so cute!!! I can’t recommend it enough! The main characters were so cute together and the banter was perfect!

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This wasn’t my cup of tea. Emily came across as a snob and it was hard for me to overlook that. And once I was put out with her, it was hard to enjoy the book.

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My favorite part of a book is that AH HA moment when the book title is mentioned in the plot and everything comes together. In the book, A Five Letter Word for Love that AH HA moment never happens. The book starts out slow and honestly does not get better until the very end. I’m the beginning, we are introduced to our main character Emily, she is the epitome of a ditsy snob who has no concept of reality or the real world. I get that the book revolves around her obsession with Wordle but that is not ALL the book is about. We are first introduced to her Wordle obsession and the fact that she thinks her coworker is stupid. Spoiler she thinks this man is stupid and later falls in love with him what a romantic story NOT. You’re telling me this man works with her for a year and all of a sudden becomes interested because he sees her playing Wordle in the break room? Not likely. Emily is that one person that peaked in high school and is stuck there thinking she is all that and a bag of chips when in reality she is not. She is a 27 year old with no direction thinking she has to do something amazing with her life yet she is still trying to drag her “friends” from college into her life by still texting them in a group chat that she eventually realizes that none of them want to be in. Girl you graduated college like 5 years ago. LEAVE THEM BE. Back to John the hot coworker, Emily admits in her internal dialogue to immediately being attracted to John when she first started there a YEAR ago and stalking him on Facebook. John straight up tells her multiple times during the book that she is weird and it is overlooked as something endearing and that she is eccentric. With the way both Emily and John are portrayed, her obsessing over everything and John’s disinterest in mostly everything besides cars it made me believe the author was trying to suggest that one of them has autism but I wasn’t sure which. Emily admits that she does not really have any friends and no wonder because she has a bad attitude and a not great personality. There are a bunch of parts in the book that just don’t make sense. Emily stated she didn’t want wealthy and status she just wanted happiness and purpose after she already stated she wanted to make $100,000 a year. Then in Chapter 14, it starts with Emily at her neighbors house at 11:45AM trying to get her to take her medicine and when she won’t Emily goes to the museum for her shift. While at the museum, John texts Emily to ask her if she wants a coffee and the text is time stamped 11:24AM, did we just go back in time? When asking people what makes a great relationship they mention certain things and then BAM John does them. Emily is definitely not the brightest crayon in the box when at the event she wants to put a paper chain decoration on a dang grill and another character has to tell her it is not a good idea because it is flammable. There are multiple instances where it seems like Emily is attracted to girls and makes comments about dating and being with them and this seemed very pointless to the plot as nothing ever happens between Emily and another woman. “Heart fizzy” is another thing the author came up with that was annoying. Part of this book talks about a character hiring her daughter at the museum as a nepo hire. This makes me feel like Amy James knew someone at the publishing company because I really want to know who read the manuscript for this book and was like “yeah! Let’s print this book!” I am sorry this book is just so terrible and I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to publish this.

Please note I received an ARC of this book and noticed multiple issues with the formatting and some of the dialogue that I am hoping have been corrected before publication. I had to force myself to get through this book. This is my honest review, unfortunately it may be harsh but my review is my honest opinion.

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