Textbook Romance by Kristen Bailey
Release Date: 7/29/24
Format: audio
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kristen Bailey writes such cute romcoms and this book was no different! I fell in love with this author after reading Five Gold Rings this past winter and was so excited to see she had a new book coming out!

Textbook Romance tells the story of a woman whose children find out their father is cheating on her and have to break the news to her while she is at a wedding. Another wedding goer gets her home safely and that fall, she realizes that kind man is now also a teacher at her school! While this book is primarily light and fun, I really appreciated how Bailey handled the heavier topics of being cheated on and finding yourself questioning what you really want in your 40s.

This romcom has fun banter, cute dates, awesome teenage children, and a she’s older age gap romance that shows a lot of vulnerability on both ends.

While the narrator does a fine job, I would recommend skipping the audio for this book. There is no differentiation between the FMC and MMC’s POVs from chapter to chapter and it did leave me slightly confused pretty frequently. Highly recommend checking this story out though!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy on exchange for my honest opinion!

Rom-Coms are the best, especially on audio, and this one was no different. I laughed and cried. The characters were amazing and reach told their thoughts.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Dreamscape Select for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️

"Textbook Romance" is an absolutely adorable love story that warmed my heart! I devoured it in just one sitting—it was that captivating. Set in the charming backdrop of England, this beautiful, slow-burn, age-gap romance follows Jack and Zoe on their journey to finding each other. Zoe, learning to trust again after her husband's betrayal, and Jack, with his unwavering support, create a love story that's as touching as it is genuine. Their cute banter, moments of heartbreak, and raw vulnerability made their love story all the more special. It had everything you could want in a romance novel and more.

A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Select, and Kristen Bailey for the ARC of this delightful book!

This book was such an easy read.

Zoe and Jack’s relationship was so exciting and very spicy! 😳 I love how the characters built up their relationship

I dont want to give too much away to those who have yet to read it but I’d definitely recommend if you like romantic comedy stories!

Story wise I loved this book, is enjoyable , fun in a lot of part and extremely heartfelt . The story is very well develop and the two main characters were relatable and enjoyable. This is a book that i would definitely need a physical copy . Bow the audio left me a lot to desired for, for once the voice from the fmc and mmc you cannot differentiate and that was deiving me up the wall, that would be my only complain. Overall enjoyed a lot.

this was such a joy of a story!!! I loved Jack and Zoe's relationship from start to finish-- it is full of so much patience, trust, excitement, and love. Zoe is such a sweet character, being a good mom to her two teenage kids and learning to stand up to her ex-husband, all while learning she deserves all the love and fun a new friendship and relationship with Jack has to offer. and Jack is THE SWEETEST I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!! he's so incredibly kind, patient, supportive, fun, and loving not just with Zoe but also her friends and kids.

the narration was perfect, imo. the narrators made this story come to life for me, allowed me to immerse myself so fully in this story.

I loved their whole story so much, this was such a joy of a read, thank you so much for the ALC!

The book opens at a wedding where two strangers, Zoe and Jack, meet and enjoy a nice, platonic night together. Zoe’s night is interrupted when her daughter calls her and shares a photo of Zoe’s husband with another woman. Jack takes care of Zoe in her sorrow and then the book cuts to 4 months later.

Jack is at a point where he needs a change in his life and decides to return to education as a teacher. Of course, his job is at the same school as Zoe. The attraction is obvious, but Zoe is the one who needs convincing as she is still recovering from heartbreak and navigating single mom status.

The story skips ahead a few months at a time as they work to discover themselves and each other together.

The narration wasn’t my favorite. I had a hard time distinguish the male from female voice and felt there wasn’t enough difference to keep it straight. Either should have had two narrators or changed male voice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Release date: 7/29/24

This was a fun read. As a mom, I found a lot of the story very relatable, and was cheering Jack and Zoe on from the beginning! And oh my gosh, the kids! I adored all of the kids in this book! ESPECIALLY Zoe’s kids! Her daughter is such a little spitfire, and her son has a heart of gold! While the book may have been a bit predictable, I found it to be a great fluffy read.

I also like the change of pace when it comes to spice. A lot of books REALLY make it a point to throw spice in at every opportunity, and I think the author did a great job using it in a way that complements the actual plot of the book.

Listening to this book on audio was a bit awkward at first. The narrator was great, but I did find it a little difficult to tell when Jack’s chapters were happening due to the lack of vocal fluctuations. Perhaps this book would do better with a dual narrator type situation.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I’d give it 4 stars because I felt the character development was great and it was a good fluffy romance.

🧚🏻A big thank you goes out to NetGalley, Dreamscape Select, and author Abigail Hardiman for providing me with a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

A cute, heart-warming rom com. It was funny and emotional all at once. These characters were so easy to fall in love with and so relatable. If you’re looking for an easy, entertaining romance, this is it!

Thanks NetGalley and Storm Publishing for a copy of this audiobook!

It sort of felt like she was being flirty with him prior to the divorce-causing situation, which was... strange. The oh-so-fun insta-infatuation that I don't think I'll ever be a fan of.

Audiobook: British narrator, unfortunately she does not change her voice at all for different characters, ages or genders. With a lot of dialogue, this makes the story much harder to follow.

This was a sweet story about a newly divorced woman and a younger man. Little predictable but if you want a light read this is perfect.

Narrator was fantastic!

I received a copy from netgalley and the publisher.

For anyone who liked the love story in The Idea of You but wanted a little less steam and a little more regular people this book is for you!

This book follows Zoe on what is either the best or worst day of her life. She is at a wedding for one of her coworkers and she meets this young man named Jack. After having a great chat and sharing jokes she gets a strange call that changes her whole world. When she is starting t get back to her new normal Zoe goes back to work, where she is a math teacher, and she none other than Jack.

This story was fantastic! I loved the characters and the pace of the story. There was never a moment I felt needed to be sped up or one that felt like a filler scene. It was sweet and steamy and you found yourself really rooting for the couple. They are opposites and yet so similar and the insecurities and navigation of this new relationship.

Beautiful and well written.

I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a sweet romance that will make you really want to root for the main characters. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this story!

Thank you Dreamscape & Netgalley for the advance reading copy. This was such an honest and relatable second chance romance about a single mom with two teenage children chasing her happily ever after and discovering herself again. This is a close door romance but the relationship between Zoe and Jack is just so sweet. I would definitely add this to your TBR list this summer

Another great book by Kristen Bailey! I loved following Zoe and Jack’s story, especially how they championed for each other throughout. Bailey filled this sweet story of moving forward, new beginnings, and learning to love yourself with relatable characters and relationships. I wanted to hang out in the teachers’ lounge with Zoe and her teacher friends, chatting and eating cake that Ed made. I would love to see another story of this group in some way. Thank you to NetGalley, Kristen Bailey, Dreamscape Select, and Storm Publishing for the chance to listen to an advanced copy of this audiobook and review it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship of Zoe and Jack. I enjoyed how Jack constantly saw the best in Zoe and did things to make her see them too. Navigating relationships after divorce can be tricky and I loved how this book explored the nuances. Thank you Net Galley and Dreamscape Select and Storm Publishing for the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review

This was a cute and heartwarming story with so much potential, but it left me wanting so much more from the ending. I think that Textbook Romance would make an incredible movie adaptation and is exactly the kind of book that I wanted to read after a stressful week. Zoe and Jack stole my heart right from the very beginning. The way that Jack was instantly drawn to Zoe and the immediate chemistry that they had gave me such hope for the story. The unconventional age gap in their romance was very refreshing, and I really appreciated the way that Jack always tried to ensure that Zoe understood that his feelings for her had nothing to do with her age and everything to do with the person she was. The insecurities that she had about herself were things that he found beauty in as he fell in love with her heart. I also loved the way that he encouraged and supported her and the way that she flourished as a result. The part where she ran into her husbands mistress was especially satisfying and I was so happy that despite their lack of labels, he made it clear to everyone that she was a prize. The growth and maturity expressed throughout were so wonderful to read and it was a privilege to watch them fall in love. With every aspect of the plot coming together, I had such high hopes for the conclusion and could feel satisfaction humming through my veins at the thought of how wonderful it was going to be, but unfortunately it just didn't get there for me. For one, I really wanted to see Zoe overcome her dread of age and own the fact that she was in a healthy relationship for the first time in quite some time, and with a younger man to boot. For two, while I am grateful that Jack got the opportunity to go on a life changing research journey, I really wanted him to stand up and do something for himself that wasn't a direct result of something terrible happening. I would have loved to see them work out their issues prior to him deciding to go and making the decision together to try the long-distance thing for a while as they continued to grow their relationship. I would have even been okay with them deciding to continue to learn about each other as she figured out how to navigate the life of a divorced single mom, then reuniting after his research trip was done. The way that everything unfolded made me almost feel like Jack was still running and their relationship was in limbo, despite Zoe giving her blessing for him to go. It would have been nice if the "six months later" part had been him surprising her at home with a ring in the ring box that he had gifted her the earrings in, rather than her visiting him on site on holiday, with plans to leave again at the end. The petty part of me also really wanted to get Bryans reaction when he realized that his wife had moved on and was in such a better place. The way that he continued to use his house key and insert himself into the family dynamic after cheating on Zoe made me so angry and it would have been really nice for him to be humbled a little. From a critical standpoint, I can even understand why the author chose to write the ending as she did, however the hopeless romantic in me felt that Jack and Zoe deserved so much more than a fade to black end. I sincerely hope that they found their rhythm and are rocking the coparenting thing as a happy family in a happy home together.

This one definitely teetered around the 5 star range. I fell in love with these characters. Dual POV was executed seamlessly. I loved getting a closer look at the main characters and their thoughts. I enjoyed the spacing of the timeline at the end and of course, love that there was an epilogue. Rounding down to four stars because somehow I still was craving more. I couldn’t get enough of Jack and Zoe.

A fun romance novel, I had a good time with it but nothing outstanding really. The narrator felt odd to me since they never tried to "act" the dialogues, just read them, and it's quite off-putting to me. I also appreciated that Zoe was the older one in the relationship, it's still pretty rare when it comes to age gaps and quite refreshing. A good time but not incredible or anything. 3 stars

📚 Textbook Romance by Kristen Bailey
🎧 Format: Audiobook
🎙️ Narrated by: Abigail Hardiman
📕 Genre: Romance, Women’s Fiction
📖 Read: July 2024
✨ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

”I love kissing you,” she finally says.
“You love it, do you?”
“Don't put words in my mouth...”
“Well, what else can I put in your mouth?”
“Now that was too much,” she says, cackling.

‧₊˚✧ TROPES ✧˚₊‧
ꕥ Reverse Age Gap
ꕥ Single Parent
ꕥ Friends to Lovers
ꕥ Slow Burn

This book was both hilarious, yet so incredibly heartwarming. The many innuendos and chicken emojis made me laugh out loud.
 
I loved Zoe as a character. Even after the devastation of her husband’s infidelity, she still surrounded herself with positivity and good friends. I also secretly loved her kids. Lotty’s diehard loyalty to her mom and Dylan’s kind words to her at the end had me tearing up.
 
Jack was such an amazing guy. I loved how devoted he was to making Zoe happy. The respect these characters had for each other was refreshing.

My only criticism would be that this book was written in dual POV but only narrated by one person. While Abigail Hardiman did a lovely job narrating, I did get a bit confused at times, not remembering whose POV I was listening to.
 
Overall, I really enjoyed how this book explored love beyond social norms. It was written so beautifully, and I would definitely recommend picking it up.

Check out my Bookstagram for aesthetics:
https://www.instagram.com/booked.and.listening/

Thank you NetGalley, Storm Publishing, Dreamscape Select and Kristen Bailey for this audiobook. This is my voluntary, honest review.

This was a lovely May/December romance = young man/older woman romance. It was funny, sexy, and great banter between with characters. Although she didn't quite have enough distinction between character voices and I got a little confused at times I actually loved the narrator. I think fans of Abbi Waxman, Abbi Jiminez, and Emily Henry would really like this.