This book is fairly short (around 200 pages), but I thought the author did a great job of eliminating any unnecessary components to the story. I also thought the author wrote a relatable story that is set in our current day. It’s a book that is solidly set right now and in a few years it will be a little time capsule.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

I enjoyed this book, but it felt a little...middle of the road for me. Nothing particularly pulled me in for the book, despite wanting it to. I thought the premise was cute enough though!

This is a delightful and thought-provoking romance between colleagues at a Minnesotan magazine company. I really enjoyed the progression of their relationship, but my absolute favorite part has to be the titular phrase. The fmc always asks her friends for their pit and peach of the day, aka a low and a high from the day. I love the sentiment behind it, and it's a great reminder to end each day focused on the positives.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Many thanks to Braseberry Press and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Anna Pollock’s Pit and a Peach offers a refreshing take on the romance genre by narrating the story from the perspective of the male protagonist. Conrad Sutherland, who works in magazine pagination, finds his life turned upside down when his influencer girlfriend of six years, Lacie, abruptly ends their relationship. The novel follows Conrad as he navigates the murky waters of heartbreak and embarks on a journey of self-discovery, forming an unexpected connection with Maeve, a cheerful and bubbly new associate editor at his workplace.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly its unique choice of narrative viewpoint. Experiencing a romance story from Conrad's perspective was a refreshing change. I found him to be a likeable character, and I grew especially fond of his dry sarcasm and grumpy demeanour, which provided an interesting contrast to Maeve’s positivity and liveliness. .

However, I felt that some of the supporting characters lacked memorability, with the exception of Conrad’s sister, George. I would have liked to see a deeper exploration of the connection between his childhood trauma—stemming from his emotionally immature parents—and his struggles with relationships in adulthood.

I also found the pacing of the story to be uneven. While the first half was engaging, the latter half felt rushed and somewhat overlooked, which detracted from the overall experience.

That said, the concept of choosing a ‘pit’ and a ‘peach’ from one’s day was a lovely takeaway and something I’ll be adopting in my own life.

I love a romance novel read in a male POV. Not common, but fun! The characters are very relatable. 1 kind of felt like this was a normal person's romance story.

Pit and a Peach had me hooked from the very beginning. The writing was engaging, and the story was easy to get through with a plot that flowed smoothly and was simple to follow. Anna Pollock crafted an interesting narrative that kept me invested throughout.

My main critique is the main character, who was difficult to like. He comes off as somewhat misogynistic, especially in the early parts of the book, which made it harder to fully connect with him. However, this flaw didn’t overshadow the overall enjoyment of the story.

Despite that, I really loved the book and would definitely recommend it to others looking for a compelling and well-paced read.

Thank you to NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pit and a Peach is a sweet, character-driven story told entirely from a grumpy guy's POV—a perspective I loved.

Conrad’s post-breakup loneliness feels real, but the story takes off when a bubbly new associate editor at his magazine starts to brighten his days. Their growing friendship is charming and full of heart, making Conrad’s journey of self-discovery so rewarding—a delightful mix of humor, growth, and just the right amount of sweetness.

Thank you to Anna Pollock, Braseberry Press, and NetGalley for giving me access to this eARC in exchange for honest review

🍑🍑🍑.5/5 (rounded to 4)

This book follows Conrad as he attempts to quietly deal with the fallout following the end of his long-term relationship, however that doesn't last long when Maeve comes along.

I loved the complexity of Maeve's character and her relationships, she is a flawed but wonderful character who is passionate, kind and seems to simply be trying her best. There were so many strong diverse side characters that made the world of this book feel real, like I could actually pop over to North Star Magazine HQ the next time I was in the area. I liked the pacing and the writing style, though I do think this book might have benefitted from a dual POV split between Conrad and Maeve so we could understand Maeve and her motivations throughout the book. I found the plot was getting to be a little frustrating and repetitive at certain points, and though the reason for this was explained/resolved at the end it felt a little unnecessary to reintroduce the same conflict in a different hat so many times.

Then there is the matter of Conrad, I love the journey Conrad goes on throughout this book as he finds his way back to himself and opens himself up to new opportunities and relationships of all different natures including rebuilding his relationship with his sister. But I will say a lot of Conrad's growth happens because of Maeve rather than any self-led discovery and I didn't love that Conrad quite quickly seems to pivot to Maeve after his 6 year relationship, it feels like he effectively uses her like a plaster and gets kind of whingy/catty when she's her own person at times.

What an adorable love story that i hadnt expected from the cover. I dont know what i was expecting but definitely not 2 cute imperfect characters falling imperfectly in love. I love these characters, their stories, their side characters ngl, i love their chemistry, and their story. I was hoping it would turn out this way.
While i hadnt heard of Anna Pollock before, i definitely wish i had, since the book is well written, easy to read, and fun overall.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

As soon as I started reading Pit and a Peach, I massively regretted how long it took me to pick this one up.

One of the most refreshing heartwarming friends to lovers novels I’ve read in a long time and I’m so sad to have finished it!

Not sure how this one was still available to me, despite being published already, but I'm not complaining! This one was cute in a normal person kind of way. I found it pretty relatable and easy to read. While not the most exciting, I loved little bits like the "pit and the peach of the day." I thought the POV in the MMC's perspective was super interesting and kept me wanting more. Plus, we love grumpy x sunshine trope.

Thanks to NetGalley and Braseberry Press for the eARC!

Ohhhh I enjoyed this so very much! The yearning, the ease with which characters showed their emotions, the beautiful writing!! Spectacular

2.5 stars.

Peach : This was such a "normal person" kind of love story that we can all relate to.
Pit : Conrad was a whiny man.

Peach : It was sweet.
Pit : The story and the characters were kind of... forgettable.

Peach : The “peach and pit of the day” part was really cute. I’d love to try it with my loved ones.
Pit : There were definitely some cringe moments.

Note: Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book and finished it in one sitting. It is rare to have a romance novel from a male perspective, and it was so good. The first person narrative with real imperfect characters felt very organic. The “pit and peach” is one of those life changing concepts that I plan to implement in order to practice gratitude.

I enjoyed this book a ton. The author was able to craft a story that was full of emotion, romance and feel good vibes at time. I also found the story to be different as it was written mainly from the MMC POV. The book spun a great tale of found family, love and learning from you past. The events in this story also were more realistic for a romcom and I enjoyed seeing how MMCs can be just as conflicted over events and actions in a book.

This one was cute. I feel like I've read a lot of grumpy/sunshine books recently, so I wasn't as excited by it as I may have been otherwise. I loved the setting and the idea of a pit and a peach made me happy and actually start thinking about that as I end my work day.

This was a cutesy will they won't they love story set in the world of magazine publishing, but told from the man's point of view, which was an interesting twist on this type of story. I enjoyed the story- definitely a great holiday read!

very sweet romance novel that warmed my heart. the love story was beautiful and had all the aspects of a dreamy rom com but some areas fell flat for me

This was such a sweet story to read. The evolution and character development of Conrad Sutherland was awesome and wholesome. I enjoyed this feel good book!

I was enticed by the title and the rarity of utilising a male protagonist, which is still quite uncommon in the romance genre. And then I was very, very disappointed. This novel was definitely my pit.

For me, the male narrative voice sounded unnatural. Conrad was written like any female protagonist would have been - a bit messy, a bit quirky and only at certain moments the author decided to remind the readers about her protagonist's masculinity by bursts of aggression, for example when he confronts his ex over the phone.

The other characters in the novel, including Maeve, fall flat, too. It's hard to understand her motivations, and towards the end, none of her actions make narrative sense.

The pacing of "Pit and a Peach" is quite uneven, too. From slow buildup to very rushed end, which screams bad editorial work. Sadly, this novel was a time wasted for me.