3 Stars A Five Letter Word for Love has a really cute premise which initially drew me in. Emily and her coworker John strike up an unlikely romance after bonding over a shared love of completing the New York Times daily Wordle game. This is a light and easy read. I wasn’t a huge fan of either main character and they seemed to be lacking some depth. But overall it was a fine read.

I keep going back and forth on my thoughts on this book. I found it to be a bit dull and lacked depth. The MMC had basically no personality and the FMC was all over the place. I had to keep reminding myself she was almost thirty because she came off as much younger. I honestly wouldn’t put this in the romance genre since there wasn’t much romance, imo.

I did have to force myself to finish just so I could get it done.

Thank you to Avon book for the ARC of this book! This was a fun quick and light read. It was sweet and I enjoyed both main characters and how they connected with each other. I will be looking forward to reading more from this author in the future. See below for a brief synopsis:

Emily has taken a job as a receptionist at an auto shop as an "in between" before she finds her dream job. She connects with John,ba mechanic at the shop, over Wordle and they forge a sweet relationship. Through the book she discovers the things in life that really matter to her.

This was an original story with quirky characters. I think the Wordle angle was so fun and a refreshing departure from a lot of books.

This was an enemies to lovers, coworkers, small town story, and a story of personal growth. Emily is a bit awkward and immature at first, but grows up some. John isn't as bad as he first seems.

There were some pacing issues here and there, but it was a cute story overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC for review. These are my honest opinions.

This is an entertaining, well-written book. It was sweet, fun, heartwarming and held my interest. The side characters were great. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

I love a good book set in Canada! Also, I am a big fan of wordle, so this was extra fun!

Honestly, this was a good read. The enemies to lovers was light, and the characters seemed good together. I liked how the MMC was very comfortable in his own skin and place in life, and while the FMC was comfortable in her skin, she was very blatantly not happy with her current job status (which, I feel like is a fair feeling to have sometimes). Her floundering to find her niche was stressful, but I think it was a realistic pursuit and a realistic path that she took, so I am not sure that I can fault her.
Did the ending seem a bit too perfect? FOR SURE, but I wish other books had more happy endings like this. Basically, parts of this were a stretch, but I like the organic, peaceful relationship the characters have and the way that different career pursuits were navigated.
I think I would recommend this to others for a fun, easy read!
Also, while I was judging the FMC’s wordle technique, I very much so have taken some tips from this story 😂

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced electronic copy of this book! I truly appreciate it!

A cute and quirky love story with unique characters and a beautiful journey of self-discovery. I liked seeing our main character develop different relationships with so many people.

4.5⭐️ this book has a very niche audience and that audience is me. I’m a wordle fanatic, and I absolutely loved this story (despite the last page infuriating me).

I loved how Emily and John were so different, but were able to bond over wordle and get to know each other deeper than the facade they both put up.

This is a grumpy sunshine, small town romance, and also a story of personal growth. I really related to Emily chasing her “dream job” and finding her way while moving so far from home so I think this story really resonated with me for that reason.

Ultimately, I loved seeing her find her passion, community, and purpose throughout the novel. I also loved her relationships with Jim, Mrs. Finnamore, Trey, Rose, and Kiara.

If you love playing wordle, I think you’ll really appreciate this story!

A Five-Letter Word for Love by Amy James is a captivating, heartwarming and humorous romance story that was completely and utterly adorable.
A fun and lighthearted story with the best characters.
I truly enjoyed reading this one.

A Five Letter Word For Love by Amy James

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Pub Date: Today!!!

A Five Letter Word For Love is centered around Emily and John who both work in an auto shop and form a friendship when he notices her playing World. The friendship then turns into more as Emily starts to bring John out of his shell.

I absolutely adored this concept and was super excited when I received the ARC! While I have rated it 3.5 stars (round up to 5 on GoodReads), I did enjoy this book. I enjoyed how Emily and John communicated through their Wordle guesses. I loved all of the side characters (except Shelley…IYKYK). Emily and John are a clear grumpy x sunshine. Emily is so sunshine-y that I probably wouldn’t like her if I knew her in real life. But I enjoyed these characters because their story felt normal. They weren’t extraordinary, they were just people who have jobs and are figuring things out as they go.

My reason for rating this a 3.5 ⭐️ instead of a solid 4 ⭐️ is because the pacing was a little off in the beginning and around the 75% mark. Slight adjustments would have made a huge difference. It was still a quick an easy read that I read in 2 days and made me laugh.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an e-copy of A Five Letter Word For Love!

Publication date: December 3rd, 2024

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I adored this book!

A Five-Letter Word for Love by Amy James is a charming and intelligent tale of friendship, self-discovery, and the complexities of young love. The protagonists work together in an auto shop and are particularly engaging. Both of the main characters play Wordle on their breaks at work but don't get along until they find out they both play Wordle and need help with it.

Emily harbors a dream and is unraveling her life's aspirations and she is creative, while John, with his passion for cars, also navigates his future. The side characters are equally endearing, and I loved every moment spent with this book!



Thank You Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the realness of feeling like there are so many different paths in life, and sometimes you choose one, and it's not quite right, but it all works out in the end. James was a funny MC, with his dryness and lack of emotion. He is the perfect opposite of Emily, who is whimsical and wears her emotions on her sleeve. Their story feels very realistic in the first half with them getting close and building their relationship over time.
Sometimes I think that the pace was a bit back and forth with being slow at the beginning and then speed up and slowed down at random times throughout. I loved the side characters and their meddling in the story because it is just the best when you don't just love the main character but also fall in love with the entire cast of character.
The book didn't feel modern and maybe thats because I associate Wordle with 2020 and the pandemic and its just too soon to have that sort of setting but if I kinda just ignored that and focused on the setting of small town of Prince Edward Island it was quite good.

I was really excited to read this book , the cover and title are really cute . The book had me hooked in the beginning but towards the middle I started to get bored and felt really repetitive with the wordle concept. I also felt like the female main character was so brattt towards everything and almost selfish in a way .. it made me feel bad for the male character.

This book had such a cute unique concept! I've never heard of authors incorporating these kinds of games into books so i was so excited; unfortunately it was a let down because the writing was really hard to get through and read. It felt like it was written by a wattpad author. Overall this book was a huge disappointment from the high expectations I had set for it.

4.5⭐
.5🌶️
Tropes: grumpy sunshine, coming of age/finding your place, city girl/country boy
Single POV 1st person

This was such a cute book! It was so sweet and heartwarming, and definitely had me laughing right out of the gate. Using Wordle was such a great framework for Emily and John’s relationship too. I will say it was hard for me to completely connect with the FMC- I do remember that lost feeling and trying to figure out her place/find her way as a young adult, but it was so long ago for me. I ended up sort of viewing the FMC as if she were my daughter and not my peer. I also really enjoyed the writing style- almost as if the FMC is talking directly to you.

My only complaint is that I agree with John about being happy, but I feel like he’s not being fair to Emily toward the end. I can’t say more without giving away spoilers but I think Emily was doing what he said was the right thing, and then telling her she wasn’t

Thank you NetGalley Avon and Harper Collins Publishers and the author Amy James for this ARC.
Emily, our FMC, feels like her life is lacking of purpose and excitement. John, is her grumpy co worker and the only thing they have in common is that they love to play Wordle. I like when the main characters have eccentric hobbies, but I felt tihs wasn´t enough.
I liked it in general. I liked the setting in the small tonw of Prince Edward Island (I always appreciate the small town romance trope), I like the work place romance and opposites attrac tropes but I felt that there wasn´t enough chemistry between Emily and John. He was always there to help her, but somenthing was missing and at the end, this story feels more like a self-discovery journey than a romantic story.
I like the eccentric side characters, but at some point the "Barrel museum" plot was a little bit flat for me.
This was a nice read, but I was looking for a better relationship development and depht in the romance story.

Well this was such an entirely impressive concept of a book - the entire book actually centered around the game, Wordle. I love playing Wordle, and continue to play it each day! John and Emily are such adorable characters; and the chemistry was off the charts from the very first meeting which I absolutely adored. Their interactions, the wholesome conversations surrounding wordle each day just truly were beyond perfect in this story. The ending was overall underwhelming and it all just could have been written a bit differently. in order to make it far better. Thanks to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Quick Summary: A romance between opposites

My Review: A Five-Letter Word for Love by Amy James is a 2024 gen-fic romance.

About the Book: "A heartwarming and humorous romance in which an unlikely couple fall in love over Wordle."

A young woman who aspires to be more, to have more, to do more meets a seemingly ho hum, car mechanic/enthusiast at the auto shop they work for in their small town. Their once stale interactions become a bit more when they connect over Wordle. Life interruptions, personal choices, impactful relationships, advancements forward, doses of reality, and more are a part of their story.

My Final Say: I was attracted to this story because of the Wordle angle. The underlying themes were notable. Obviously, much growth had to happen with the leads. In the end, what needed to be realized was.

Other: This read very much like a NA.

Rating: 3/5
Recommend: +/-
Audience: A
Status/Level: 👍
Special Notation: This novel might do better as an audiobook. The reviewed format was somewhat challenging, regarding pacing. Also, the continuous chat streams were slightly offputting at times.

Appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher (Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon), and to NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to review this work. The words I have shared are my own and have been submitted voluntarily.

3.5 Stars.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!

And super apologies for being late to review, but HEY I did it before pub day (tomorrow lol). I went back and forth on what to rate this read, and ultimately settled on 3.5 Stars.

Things I liked:
- Josh. I LOVE a strong, silent bob-the-builder type BF and he hit the mark. He was so steady and dependable, and he was constantly showing his love through actions.
- The setting-- I loved the small Canadian town vibes and the house.
- The old people. Enough said here, they were a great addition.

Things I didn't like:
- Emily. It is rough to read a book where you don't like the FMC. While she did grow on me as I read, I just couldn't get over how self-important she was while also being the least ambitious and flimsy person ever. The first 25% of the book was hard for me to get through because I could not stand her. TBF other readers may not have this issue, but for me it was a big one.
- They NEVER SAY I LOVE YOU! What kind of romance doesn't say I love you out loud to each other??? GAHH

I thought I was going into a small town romance but there was no romance. It severely lacked between Emily and John. Unfortunately this read was very dull, repetitive and Emily’s inner monologue could be a bit too much at times. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC