I can’t get over how cute this book was 😭. As a fellow wordle-r that one year mark is huge! I loved getting to see the progression of Emily’s thoughts and dreams. It shows that not everyone has it all figured out right away. It’s ok to not know! Emily’s internal struggles are so relatable and realistic that it was so easy to fall in love with her character. I have every intention of reading anything else this author writes!

This was such a heartwarming read and I really enjoyed the story. I love grumpy x sunshine as well as small-town romances so this was so good for me! Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the advanced copy!

Rating: 🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇/5

🌷 Coworkers/Friends-to-Lovers
🌼 Small town romance
🌻 Grumpy x sunshine
🪻 Home is where the heart is

I was utterly charmed by this unexpectedly heartwarming story. I fell in love with the people and the town. I felt completely at home and wrapped in a warm hug.

This story follows helplessly idealistic and optimistic Emily who is struggling post-college. I think this is very realistic and will resonate with many people. When you’re in your late 20s, there is this idea that you need to know exactly who you are, what you want, and where you’re going. That is just not the case. You are also discovering new things and learning how to life. It was so refreshing, albeit frustrating, to read as Emily navigates through this self-discovery journey.

Her only constant in her life is her daily Wordle game. I was immediately drawn in by the Wordle premise. I have played daily for the last 341 days but I am only on a 4-day streak, and I want zero judgement. I almost felt inspired by her unique way of inputting words that resonate with her.

Emily’s daily Wordle game also leads her to friendship, and then love. Anything, even something like a daily word game from the New York Times, could become a great way to connect with someone. John is a man of very few words. Is he the most eloquent or communicative? Not necessarily. But he is a man that shows up. Actions will always speak louder than words. Also, swooning at the mention of his dimples and muscles.

I absolutely adored Emily’s relationships she developed along the way, such as Trey, Rose, Kiara, John’s parents, Doris, Mrs. Finnamore and ESPECIALLY Jim. “Emily is a great comfort to me. I highly recommend her services.” I am not okay, iykyk. Emily discovers a passion for helping the elderly with their daily tasks so they can stay in their homes, while allowing space for them to share their heartfelt stories. I was very fond of these moments we were allowed to experience with her.

I thoroughly enjoyed traversing these roads with Emily while she defines what happiness looks like to her. Realizing that making a decision, a commitment, does not mean settling. All roads lead back to: home is where the heart is. Our lives do not always need to be grand and adventurous but filling every corner with love.

I think this story is filled to the brim with love. Romantic, familial, friendship, self-love. It is an endearing story that truly captured my heart.

Thank you immensely to Netgalley and Amy James for this arc! As always, this is my honest and voluntary opinion.

My Selling Pitch:
A watered down Emily Henry. Perfectly acceptable, Hallmarkian smooth brain reading material.

Pre-reading:
I love playing Wordle, and I love a pink cover. I’m expecting smooth brain reading material here.

(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
Simply be-exist?
Spider? Busy beaver? How many letters?
Leukocytes?
Steps?

Why are you angry that you don’t know rather than seeing it as an opportunity to learn? (Smidge inconsistent characterization because later in the book she’s like learning random shit at museums is my fave!)

Desertion?

You’re talking to bookish people. We are not rolling our eyes.

I’m basically 27 and I don’t have a career or children and that won’t be changing anytime soon.

Y P H. Is it Happy?

Jesus this college thing is relatable haha.

Spin your wheels, girl. We’ll get there.

Ha. It was happy.

How do you not know what language you think in?

This book is charming.

It’s the way I’m trying to guess the words too.

Is she gonna become like a nursing home assistant because that would suck.

This book is like eerily relevant to me.

Rom com mentions serial killers sin

I think this book is SO CHARMING.

But it can’t be scarf? If there’s no C.

Different smell

I literally don’t know why this book is getting such low ratings. It’s perfectly Hallmark.

Barrel of monkey toy?

Or he’ll spank you lol.

I know this is a summerish book, but it’s scratching my cozy romance itch so good.

This book is so goddamn cute. The audiobook is really good. She’s doing the most with what she was given.

Rom com mentions TSwift sin

They balance each other so well.

Also, girlypop is so relatable. I’m really liking this book

Take a shot every time this book mentions Anne of Green Gables.

Girlypop, what about the debt?

This book has made me crave pizza so bad.

Girl, you can’t just show up!

How did homeboy have money for a shop and a house?

Aw, that was cute.

Post-reading:
The negative reviews for this one baffle me. It sells itself as a small town cozy romance and it is exactly that. It’s not life changing. It’s not all that deep. It’s generic as hell. But like isn’t that what you’re signing up for when you pick up a cozy?

The characters are a little flat and the story arc follows the classic Hallmark plot of city girl learns the charms of small town life. But it’s sweet and charming. It’s an easy read. It’s a good palette cleanser from more serious books. It’s like a watered down Emily Henry.

The main character is naive but in a relatable way for twenty-somethings who are also just spinning their wheels while they try to figure out what they want out of life. I think the book did a solid job of giving characters lives outside of their relationships and emphasizing that romance can’t be your only reason for living.

It all wraps up a little too neatly to be believable, but that’s kind of the point of the genre. Do you want a happily ever after or do you want to talk debt and property taxes?

There’s some really sloppy errors with the Wordle clues. Scarf shouldn’t be a possible answer, and from other reviews, it seems like a lot of other people noticed that too. The book’s whole schtick is a Wordle romance so how that got missed in the edits is beyond me.

Pick it up for a solid three-star, just don’t expect anything amazing from it.

Who should read this:
Hallmark movie fans
Cozy small town romance fans

Ideal reading time:
It’s not a holiday romance, but I feel like cozy romances fit holiday time reading in general

Do I want to reread this:
Nah, I’ll remember it.

Would I buy this:
I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy it, but I’ll definitely keep the copy I was sent.

Similar books:
* The No-Show by Beth O’Leary-holiday romance (Valentines)
* The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall-small town cozy romance, magical realism, family drama
* Hopeless by Elsie Silver-small town cozy romance
* Book Lovers by Emily Henry-contemporary bookish romance, family drama
* Funny Story by Emily Henry-small town cozy romance, family drama
* Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez-contemporary romance, family drama
* The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary-cozy holiday romance
* How to Kiss Your Grumpy Boss by Jenny Proctor-small town cozy romance
* Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review by Tehlor Kay Mejia-small town cozy romance, family drama
* Anatomy of a Meet Cute by Addie Woolridge-contemporary romance
* Welcome to Beach Town by Susan Wiggs-small town romance, family drama
* Our Place on the Island by Erika Montgomery-small town cozy romance, family drama
* Hello Stranger by Katherine Center-contemporary romance
* Too Wrong to be Right by Melonie Johnson-slowburn holiday romance, family drama
* The Second You’re Single by Cara Tanamachi-cozy romance
* Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score-
* Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee-small town cozy romance
* When in Rome by Sarah Adams-small town cozy romance

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Five-Letter Word for Love by Amy James [Avon and Harper Voyager #egalley #gifted]

An interesting love story with Wordle as the connection between our unlikely lovers. This was fun and cute - and explored the idea of what it means to want something bigger, without overlooking the great things already in your life.

This is a super cute romance book. I really enjoyed the Wordle connection and guessing along when our characters had some green gray and yellow squares. Super unique and relevant to today’s modern romance world. I did find the slow burn a little too slow for my liking but wonderfully written and absolutely enjoyed the banter. It was slightly grumpy to warm dynamic but mostly just to good hearted people coming together. I also enjoy the elements of Emily finding her passion in her working life. Very relatable would recommend for friends and gift

Never have I felt so old reading a romance novel before. This book was a personal struggle.


Thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.


I typically read romances written with female leads between 20-35, just my personal preference. And this was within that range. HThe main character, Emily, is 27. That’s pretty close to my age and we’ve even had a similar sounding path post-college, but I could not relate to her perspective on really anything.


She read as quite snobby and dense with regards to other people. She is a very organized person, planning and executing a lot of intricate tasks. But her inability to relate to other viewpoints and her own perspective towards older folks was so awkward and painful. She read as if she was 18, honestly.
The male lead, John, was a solid romance lead, but had no sparks. He was just a nice guy that was fine dealing with someone I would never even want to hang out with for more than a chat. There was no fiery passion in this and it read quite flat to me. Everything was too formulaic and preachy without strong emotion to carry the love element.

It was a little letdown for me, the Wordle App /storyline was mentioned a bit more than I was expecting. The romance plot felt like it took the backseat. John and Emily are opposites, the Wordle app works as an ice breaker to getting to know each other. But also their romance was a little lackluster.

While working her receptionist shifts at an auto shop, Emily dreams of something more. However, she doesn’t know exactly what that is yet. During her shifts, she plays Wordle to keep up her 300+ day streak, but one day she gets stuck and has to ask her coworker John for help.

I loved the concept of this book and was excited to read it, but it unfortunately fell flat for me. There was way too much time spent talking about Wordle and their daily guesses took away from scenes that could have helped develop their relationship.

The biggest issue I had with this book is that their love story doesn’t really develop on the page. I had a hard time believing that she was even interested in John, considering her reoccurring commentary on him “settling” in his mechanics career. It felt like she thought she was better than him because her aspirations were in a big city with a university degree. In return, he seems incredibly disinterested in her, responding to most of her texts with “lol” and her grand gesture with “cool.”

However, I loved Emily’s connection with the PEI residents and her passion for the museum volunteer job. The development of the secondary characters, the elderly residents who Emily helps out, was one of the best parts of this book. I thought her relationships with them were really well developed!

Thanks to Avon, Harper Voyager, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Emily is a bit lost in her adult journey and her daily Wordle is the only constant in her life. She’s working the front desk at a car repair shop on Prince Edward Island that is not her dream job. But there is the perk of the hot repairman John who also does Wordle. As Emily decides the direction she wants to take her life the people of PEI slowly make her realize happiness isn’t necessarily found in a big city.

This reflective and heartwarming romance encapsulates adult struggles in the most endearing way. I loved it!

The title of this book had so so much promise.

I didn't relate to the characters and the plot didn't grasp my attention. I'm sorry - I DNF it after a few chapters. I'm not posting this on goodreads because I don't want to decrease any stars for the author's sake. I know it might be more of other's cups of tea than mine.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

Let's get this out of the way up front. This book was rated entirely on *vibes*. Is it perfect? No (and it has more faults than most of my five star reads). But should you read it? Absolutely, yes.

Emily is having a quarter life crisis. She's finished college in a degree she regrets, and is working in a small town on Prince Edward Island because the rent is cheap and she found a job in an auto shop that pays her just enough to make some progress on those pesky student loans. But she's not passionate about anything. She wants to find passion. She wants to find her dream job.

The thing is, she's entirely insufferable. Her attitude is perpetually under-satisfied, always looking for the greener grass, no matter what is in front of her. She sees her college friend group thriving on their individual paths, but she's floundering and has no direction, and she doesn't even like those friends that much anymore.

BUT -- starting from a place of discontentedness leaves lots of room for growth, and the more room for growth, the more powerful an impact for the ending. Even though some of the threads of this story got kind of muddled from the 50-75% point (ish), the resolution made up for every other complaint I was holding onto as I read. The opening was also awesome, you just have to have a little faith that things will pay off by the time all is said and done.

It may also help that John is essentially my husband. Car guy, mechanic, racer, (yes those are all different), not a big talker, hunky, sweet when it counts, confident, steadfast, funny. I loved their relationship, but it's a little hard to see his side of it with how misaligned they appear to be.

The most sand-chewing part for me is that she's creating this life she actually really really loves in PEI, with or without John, but she's still just got it lodged in her head that she needs something better, that there's always something better. It may be the plight of Gen Z, at least a little bit. The idealistic social media generation. Y'all. Take a big breath and say it with me *gratitude*.

Like I said, in the end this book was absolutely worth it, with valuable themes I think many will embrace or relate to. I was sure this was going to be three stars, but then it just blew me away in the end. I cried several well-earned tears. Sleeper hit! Surprise gem! Diamond in the rough! Five stars from me!

I thought this was a cute concept, and I liked how the character used (horrible strategy, but still) words from her life to start her guesses each day, but unfortunately I found the characters unrelatable and unlikable.

I don’t think these two are making it long term, when her grand gesture was met with a “Cool.”

Thanks for the arc!

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book...I mean, a cozy Canadian town, auto shop receptionist, a grumpy mechanic, and....Wordle? Turns out, those were the perfect components for a sweet read. I couldn't get enough of John, but I was throughly enthralled with Emily's journey to figure out who and what she wanted to be. Author Amy James did a really wonderful job of weaving the importance of self-realization into this story, as well as challenging one's own preconceived notions. There were many parallels with Pride and Prejudice, in my opinion.

This is a delightful read for anyone who loves lighthearted, humorous, and heartwarming stories about finding love, self-discovery, and happiness in the unlikeliest of places, making it a perfect fit for fans of small-town romance, workplace romances, and anyone looking for a feel-good, uplifting tale.

DNF at 25%. I tried to read this book but I could not get into it. It felt a tad too cheesy.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an ARC of this book for an honest review.

A Five Letter Word For Love written by Amy James unfortunately was NOT for me. This book is based on the New York Times game Wordle, which I absolutely love doing every morning, so of course I had to pick up this book based on the concept and that adorable cover thinking I would love this book, but it wasn't for me at all. Once again I fell victim to the pretty cover, don't get me wrong the concept was intriguing and made the story interesting, but this book fell short for me for many reasons. If you haven't done Wordle yet, I totally recommend giving it a try because honestly it's just fun to me. I think it's super cool that an author wrote a book with the Wordle concept instead of like Tiktok or any other modern pop culture references, but I'm sad this one didn't work out for me since I kind of did have high hopes. I gave A Five Letter Word For Love two stars for a few different reasons, Wordle was mentioned wayyyyy too many times for me, the characters absolutely had no character growth, they were a bit too whiny at times, the romance felt rushed, and the ending ended a bit abruptly with no answers. I know other people really liked this book and that's completely okay, but it just didn't work out for me, but I'm still going to recommend this book because I know other people might like it, so do yourself a favor and go grab a copy of this book immediately.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND AVON AND HARPER VOYAGER FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!!!

"Love isn't a substitute for happiness".

"You will never be happy if you think too much".

Wordle
Six tries to guess a five letter word. When you make a guess, the letters will turn gray, yellow, or green.
Gray means that the letter isn't in the word at all.
Yellow means the letter is in the word, but you have it in the wrong place.
Green means that the letter is in the word and you have it in the right place.

Emily Evans is a twenty seven year old woman who doesn't have a lot going well in her life right now. Emily doesn't have a career set in stone nor does she know what she wants to do with her life. Emily has a low paying job as a receptionist at an auto shop. Emily has a bachelor's degree in science, but doesn't know what to do with that degree just yet. Emily also has $26,000 in student loan debt from her bachelor's degree in science and chemistry. Although Emily doesn't have any particular interest in cars, she works a nine to five Monday through Friday as a receptionist at Martin Auto where she answers the phone, checks people in for their car appointments, processes their payments, tidy up the break room, and empty the garbage cans. Then we have John Smith, well there's not much to say about John. All he constantly talks about is cars, he's pretty rude to Emily and his customers. John made me want to rip my hair out, his communication skills were so icky, like dude try being nice and people won't be so irritated with you all of the time. What Emily doesn't know is that John does Wordle as well. During their lunch break, Emily and John start doing Wordle together.

Emily and John, where do I even start with these two? Their stupidity and lack of communication skills made me laugh because how can two grown adults be so ignorant? They were both whiny at times, instead of acting like they were in their late twenties, they both felt so childish to me. Emily has a three hundred plus day streak with Wordle, but one day with only one guess left and no clue what the word is, Emily turns to John for help where she learns that John also does Wordle everyday. Emily wants to make John her Wordle Work Buddy whether he likes it or not, DAMN, Y'ALL, JUST COMMUNICATE!!!!!!! Fast forward, John and Emily now have a Wordle friendship, plain and simple, but if you ask me it's more like a Wordle alliance. Should we even talk about their romance? Well, I guess I should since their romantic life revolves around Wordle. Their romance just gives me the ick to be honest. Emily and John have sex on their second date in John's truck. The sex part doesn't really bother me, but the fact that they work together and don't even talk to each other, and then their second date they are already doing the dirty in a damn truck after their second date after acting like complete strangers to one another.

As a Wordle player myself, I really love the premise of this novel. Unfortunately, I wasn't really feeling this romance. John had no personality and was pretty dull. She had more chemistry with the 96-year-old man she was caregiving for. What I really enjoyed though, was our main character Emily's relationships with literally everyone else in the town, and I even got a little emotional near the end.

3.5 * rounded up to 4.

"...𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯."


I would say that I overall really liked this book! It was a bit slow at the start for me, but I definitely got into it as the book went along!

The FMC is slightly unlikeable (snobby) at the beginning, but that's done on purpose as part of her character arc. LOL I mean, don't get me wrong, I absolutely GET needing to follow a dream and see what's out there (I have my own debt to show for it) - but I'm definitely glad she came to her senses 😅

❤️ Prince Edward Island, Canada
🛢 Opposites Attract
❤️ Wordle
🛢 Chasing Your Dream Job
❤️ Found Family
🛢 Small Town Romance

A big thank you to @avonbooks, @harpervoyagerus and @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this review!
.
.
.
.
#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #afiveletterwordforlove #amyjames #book90of2024 #whatsnikkireading #wordle #oppositesattract #foundfamily #smalltownromance #avonbooks #harpervoyager #netgalley