Some people may be annoyed by it, but I’m all for a Swiftie-coded romcom. When I saw the blurb for Love Story on Netgalley, I was immediately intrigued and ready to dive into what I anticipated to be a spellbinding emotional romance. In also love books that are about authors and/or about books in general, so I jumped at Love Story hoping for a new favorite.

Unfortunately, this book was a disappointment.

Don’t get me wrong, Love Story has all the “right stuff” to make a thoroughly interesting book: a secret identity, a (relatively) diverse supporting cast, set in London & the English countryside… Regardless, it was poorly executed. I thought the limit of Taylor Swift references did not exist, but oh, boy… was I wrong. By the time I hit 20% I was exhausted by the name-dropping and culture-mining the story obviously relied on to make it relatable and entertaining. Sometimes it felt like Sophie Taylor (FMC) was attempting to shatter the fourth wall and jump off the page screaming “See!? I’m part of your world, too!”

As far as the romance goes, I was amazed at how little connection I felt between Sophie and Joe for most of the time reading. They just didn’t seem to have much in the way of chemistry, beyond physical attraction to each other. This was largely due to Sophie’s inability to see beyond her own nose, though, I fear. From the get-go, she really had no true reason to dislike Joe and spent half the book pretending he was some awful, sleazy, bad news guy. He never did anything to warrant her behavior, and even admitted he was wrong about the assumptions he held about her book prior to reading it. When she finally let go of her animosity towards Joe, I expected more connection than I received.

Sophie’s older brother, William, was — by far — my favorite character in this story. I felt that he was the only member of her family who truly saw, supported, and stood up for Sophie when she needed it. He was a breath of fresh air compared to the other truly insufferable members of her family.

Pros:
Well crafted banter
Accurate portrayals of how a book can influence a person & culture
Many very humorous moments

Cons: 

Leans into the Swiftie-coded arc too hard
Constant name-dropping of real authors, social media, etc.
Frustrating FMC who really just needs to grow a spine

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the ARC!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Harper 360 for allowing me access to this e-book! (What a gorgeous cover!!!!)
It's a delightful enemies-to-lovers romance filled with witty banter, sizzling chemistry, and just the right amount of tension!
Sophie Taylor, a small-town schoolteacher with a big secret, and Joe Walsh, a confident creative director, clash from the start (honestly wasn't a big fan of Joe at the beginning)
The twist of Sophie being the elusive romance author, Este Cox, adds an intriguing layer to the story, and their forced proximity in a charming countryside cottage leads to some truly memorable moments!
I loved the humor and how easy it was to read! I definitely want to read the other books by this author now!!

Everybody in this book’s universe wants a love like Jenna & Eric, but excuuuse me for wanting a love like Sophie & Joe’s. (But not like how Sophie Turner’s & Joe Jonas’ end up, obviously.) A beautiful story with a series of unfortunate events, an awful & pretentious ex, and the seemingly scheming world of literary families, resulting in the remembrance of romance stories and (finally!) a realistic relationship. Get you a man who would go to lengths to help you with your secret identity and apologize in front of a room of romance lovers <3

Thank you Net Galley, Harper360 and Lindsey Kelk for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun read! The story follows Sophie Taylor, who has written an international bestselling romance novel under the pen name Este Cox. Only her agent and publisher know her true identity, which she's chosen to keep secret for a couple reasons. First, she's a kindergarten teacher and knows the school and parents won't approve of her spicy debut novel. Second, her mom is a book critic and her dad is a big name in publishing. Neither of them appreciate romance novels.

Sophie meets a handsome man, Joe Walsh, who is a creative director for her publisher. He's handsome, polished and arrogant; three things Sophie doesn't need in her life. But the more time they spend together, the more she realizes maybe there's more to him than the handsome face that's worthy of a romance novel cover.

This book was especially enjoyable because it talks about the stigma associated with reading romance novels and names many influential authors who are working to break that stigma. (Many of whom I've read and love.) The subtext of this book was that it's ok to read and love romance novels, which is good because I really do!

Lindsey Kelk's writing style is quick moving, entertaining and funny. I had several LOL moments while reading this book.

I took off 1 star because I'm not a huge fan of the insta-love trope (to be fair, she does call it that out in the book). I just feel like there could have been a little more depth to the relationship between Sophie and Joe. Second, there's no epilogue! There's a grand romantic gesture and that's it! The story ends!

Hopefully this is the first in a series (I'd like to see Sophie's best friend Sarah find love) so we can see some finality in the relationship between Sophie and Joe.

Thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for allowing me to read the eARC of this book so that I can provide my honest opinion!

This book was so cute and adorable! I wanted to experience more of her writing the book that took the world by storm! Anyone who loves the thought of writing their own book will really enjoy reading this. Seeing a debut author put something out there for the first time and becoming an instant celebrity is a dream come true. Her having to hide herself behind a pen name due to her career and literary critic parents was a bummer but in the end it ended up all nice and cute and fluffy.

One character I wanted to do without at first was Charlotte. That little stinker was nosy and if my sibling had ever gone through my things like that I’d have a conniption fit! But in the end, she was a character of empowerment and very supportive of her older sister.

I felt the story between Sophie and Joe could have dove a little deeper but all in all I would recommend this book. Cute and cozy!

Love Story
by Lindsey Kelk
2.5⭐️

This was such a promising book and there's a few elements that I absolutely loved but unfortunately the bad slightly outweighs the good. There was an insane amount of pop culture and bookish references. I am all for cute little easter eggs and pop culture mentions but literally anything and everything that could ever be mentioned, was mentioned. The first 30% of the book was so addicting!! I was ready to be so invested in Sophie and Joe but then it all fell apart for me because the romance wasn't giving enough and she never found her voice against her family. She kept allowing herself to be pushed in different directions. The Este Cox reveal was dragged out for 60% of the book. There were too many almost caught and fake reveal scenes. I don't have sisters but I did not like Charlotte's character at all, she was the worst to the point of making the book frustrating and unlikeable.

The few redeeming moments here belong to William. I am dying to know more about him and every scene he was in was actually great. Sophie and Joe had their sweet moments too but I wish the rest of the book hadn't overshadowed them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360 for this gifted arc!

This was such a great contemporary romance. It's a book that is literally a love story for this genre of book, shouting out all of the female authors who have made these stories we love so much possible. This book is so funny and heartfelt. The banter is top-notch and the characters are both relatable and wonderfully written. Sophie and Joe were experts at pushing each other's buttons and their romance felt genuine and well earned. Lindsey Kelk is a pro at mixing humor, and romance to get the perfect balance. will legit be recommending this book to anyone and everyone. It was such a feel good story and I didn't want it to end.

I haven’t been this giddy over a book in ages! Absolutely kicking my feet and giggling. The queen of witty banter, hysterical one-liners, and oh so much more. This was fantastic.

I liked that this book has fast paced writing and short chapters. The concept of this book was very interesting and fun but overall the book fell flat.
I’m not a fan of insta love so I couldn’t connect to the characters.
The mentions of social media, actual authors, scenes from actual books, and book tropes really took me out of the story.
Overall, I just didn’t connect to the story or characters.

LOVE STORY is a sweet and highly entertaining love story. I enjoyed the humor and writing. Sophie Taylor, a teacher (and also a highly successful anonymous romance writer) crosses path with Joe Walsh, a very short path much to Sophie's liking, thinking she will never have to set eyes on Joe again. Days later, Sophie finds herself having to share a cottage with said Joe Walsh, who also finds out Sophie's secret of being the famous author Este Cox. Now Sophie can do nothing but trust and hope Joe will keep her secret. Chaos and hilarity (and dare Sophie say, feelings?!) ensue.

Thank you to Harper 360 and NetGalley for the arc in exchange or my honest review.

This was so much fun to read!
It felt like a good classic romcom
I did skip some steamy bits, but I didn’t feel like I missed anything significant to the story by skipping them.

Having trouble sleeping (falling asleep at an earlier hour than 4 am, hot flashes waking me mostly) thanks to perimenopause has been giving me headaches during the day, to the point where this particular day’s headache made me vomit and feel generally like garbage.

This was the day that I began Lindsey Kelk’s newest novel Love Story.

So I started this one because I knew if anything would make me feel better on this day, it was this new book (it did help).

*instalove
*enemies to lovers
*a capital ‘B’ for banter
*forced proximity
*third act issues/breakup

What I didn’t love -
*secondary characters - many of them were such jerks that I was aggravated because Sophie didn’t put some boundaries in place
*the ever consistent TikTok / social media mentions
*instalove (sort of)
*the ending - this really needed an epilogue as it just felt so abrupt after the buildup of the story

Ms Kelk is an autoread author for me but this one wasn’t my favorite. Absolutely looking forward to reading more in the future.



Thank you to Harper360 and NetGalley for the DRC

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper360 for a digital ARC of Love Story.

This one was tough to get through, and tough to review. The writing was well done (undecided if there were too many PopCulture references), the premise was good, and I was interested enough to keep going, but there were so many problems and eye roll moments.

I've never read an instalove book, and I hope never to again. It was too rushed for me, and even so, I didn't feel it between them. There was tension, at times, but no real "love".

I was confused many times when the FMC was angry, because I didn't think what was going on in the book was that bad?

The sister was so annoying I could not stand any scenes with her. She just stole her $4,000 purse and the FMC was okay with it? As were the parents? I know the author was going for spoiled teenager, but she took it a bit too far.

The arguments with other characters, the slamming the mug down and it breaking, her holding it so tight she cut her hand and didn't know it, the brother pulling over on the side of the road because the little sister gasped. So many things. I think it would have been better with another round of edits to have more realistic responses and chemistry between the characters.

My number one pet peeve in any book: overuse of pop culture references.
My number two pet peeve in any book: overuse of modern technology and/or social media.

And sadly, this book had both! If you aren’t bothered by the above, you will likely enjoy this book. But for me, it takes me out of the story in a really negative way. For me, a romance novel it’s a way to escape into a new world, so when a book is plagued with social media and online culture that we are inundated with on the daily... I just hate it.

All that being said, if I take away those two negatives, the love story portion of this is cute. I liked both the main characters,

Overall, the romance itself didn’t save it from what I didn’t like. This could totally just be a me thing though, so I’m hesitant to go lower than a 2.5 because I actually think the writing style is cute and so were the characters. So 2.5 stars it is

****Publishing September 17, 2024****

Sophia Taylor wrote a book that was a sensational hit under the pen name Este Cox. Her publisher is chomping at the bit to get the sequel published, but Sophia is not in any rush! Also, he wants her to do interviews, but Sophia is not ready to reveal her true identity due to her job and her parents would not approve of the steamy romance she wrote. Sophia finds herself in many predicaments, including losing her bag with her laptop and the printout of the unfurnished sequel. Will her secret identity be revealed? Sophia’s sister is determined to reveal who Este Cox is through her new bookstore. Will she figure it out? Can Sophia keep her secret identity a secret?

A fast-paced book that is entertaining, funny, and will have you shaking your head at times. The premise of the book is clever! I loved how Sophia had to grapple with people from her past, while trying to figure out how to handle the current pressures and issues she faced. A great book to take on vacation as it will keep you turning the pages!

Thanks to Harper360, I was provided an ARC of Love Story by Lindsey Kelk in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Sophie and Joe were everything. The family dynamics were crazy. It was such a fun and entertaining book to read and I didn’t want to put it down. It made me laugh while also making me feel punchy at times. It was great!

A huge thank you to Harper360 and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read! 4 / 5 stars.
This is such a love letter to romance novels and the publishing industry. I think in some ways this has been overdone (we know, we know, romance isn't just ding-dongs and fabios anymore) but I really enjoyed the perspective of Sophie, a daughter to major elites in the publishing industry who has written the best selling romance book of the year under a pen name. I loved seeing the family dynamic of pride and self worth play out over a very short period of time, and I particularly liked the yo-yo of her mom as she grappled with who the author was and then her feelings about the book. This felt SO real to me. Also her brother is just straight up adorable.
I've said before and I'll stick with it: I think British banter is by FAR the best,so there were points that were truly laugh out loud funny to me. Instalove is not one of my favorite tropes but I thought this was done pretty well. Its slightly open door and very chemistry heavy. I didn't love the third act break up...I knew with how quickly Joe and Sophie got together it was going to have to be a little messy, but it just didn't feel the most believable. I also really really missed an epilogue. I got to the end and thought wait...thats it?
But a wonderful read, particularly if you love romance books!

Unfortunately I'm not sure if I'm the correct audience for this particular style of contemporary romance. Lindsey Kelk's writing style is great, I love her voice, but unfortunately this story fell flat for me. The tropes used while also poking fun at the exact same tropes made the book feel self aware enough to know better, and the constant mention of tiktok, booktok, and real-life musicians worked against the argument made throughout the book that romance genre is valuable because it acts as escapism (because it just felt too realistic even though the story's actual events were not). The fact that I did make it through the story is a testament to Lindsey Kelk's quality of writing, because I would get distracted abruptly by a tiktok reference or a line about Taylor Swift, and then pulled back in by the events occurring. Overall though, the main conflict carried on a bit too long and overshadowed the romantic conflict, causing the resolution to feel rushed.

On the positive side I did enjoy the general concept - the idea that parents that work in literary fiction or traditional book reviewing industries may not approve of romance novels was a great way to discuss the ongoing discourse we see constantly online and in book spaces about their merit. I loved the inclusion of a romance-only bookstore being a "risky" but overwhelmingly successful venture, too, as we've seen them do well in real life. Charlotte was my favorite in the family, but I wish her main flaw wasn't something so agitating and almost unrealistic for someone mature enough to put together a proposal for her parents and open a business.

Overall I'm rating this a 2.75 / 5 but rounding up to 3 for Netgalley. Thank you to Harper 360 and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Okay my bookish Swifties - if you’re anything like me and Love Story was your jam back in 2009 let me introduce you to your next read!
Filled with some of our favorite artist’s Easter eggs, Love Story is all about Sophie Taylor - a grade school teacher in the UK who happens to write one of the best selling romance novels of the year….except no one knows because she wrote it under the name Este (!! Ahh I see what you did there Lindsey) Cox. That is until publishing dreamboat Joe Walsh finds out Sophie’s secret. I won’t spoil anything for you but omg I loved this book - and not just because of the Taylor Swift references. Romance novels sometimes get a bad rap - with people often implying they’re smut with no substance, not actually literature, the list goes on. Sophie is fighting all of this throughout Love Story and Lindsey does an amazing job at addressing the importance of these books, how many of these stories helped readers realize that they deserve more in their relationship, physically or otherwise and I adore how Lindsey addresses this through Sophie dealing with her secret. Not to mention Joe is definitely your golden retriever type guy hidden under a “players” skin. While Joe and Sophie’s enemies to lovers story is a part of it, the heart of this book is about owning what you love and if that includes romance novels - be HELLA proud of it. Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC! I can’t wait to add this one to my trophy shelf when it comes out!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Meh... DNF. I only made it about halfway through and then tried to skim to the end but, honestly, didn't care enough about any of the characters to find out what happened at the end of the story. It wasn't clear why the two main characters were so attracted to each other and their banter just didn't do it for me. I think part of the problem is, although I'm not looking for realistic characters in a fun rom-com, they have to be believable. The entire cast of characters felt a bit too cartoon-like for me.

Like Heather X (see her great review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6447934097), the only character I liked was Sophie's brother, William. I did enjoy the banter between them. Oh yeah, and it was cool to have a cameo appearance of the Adonis-like butcher from "A Christmas Wish", a Lindsey Kelk story that I really enjoyed.

Anyway, I recommend reading "A Christmas Wish" and "On a Night Like This" as those are my two favorites by this author.