Thank you Netgalley and harper360 for allowing me to review with my honest opinion.

Wow. I truly could not put this Arc down. The enimies to lovers with solid banter and jokes. I could not get enough. Sophie's family was hilarious.. this is one I'll need for my physical shelves. A romance readers romance read. Lol

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper360 for the e-ARC.

I was unable to put it down. I adored the jokes, comedy relief, and pop cultural references. I cannot convey how much I enjoyed this book. Reading this book was a ton of fun. I love novels that allow us to escape. I like Lindsey Kelk's writing so much! I was thrilled to get the opportunity to read this book ahead of time because the author creates incredibly realistic and entertaining characters. I liked how she made so many references to other romance authors, romantic tropes, and the genre in general, while also highlighting how it is seen negatively by some in the literary community.

4 stars!

Lindsey Kelk's "Love Story" starts out slow, but eventually blossoms into an engaging, intriguing book, complete with a crucial discourse about writing romance, being a romance reader, meeting expectations, staying true to yourself, and of course, falling in love with your enemy. This enemies-to-lovers story hit all the right notes for me. I liked Sophie and Joe, the main characters. Their quick banter and penchant for disagreeing make this a fun, well-paced romp. The bickering side characters also helped keep the narrative moving. By far, the best part of this book is all about the criticism the romance genre had faced as being "less than" other genres, that it sets unrealistic expectations for readers and is somehow less prestigious for writers. Critics and reading snobs alike relish in $hitting on things people love, and, well, people love romance. I've never understood the need for people to "yuck" someone else's "yum." Honestly, that's loser behavior rooted in misogyny. Let people like what they like and keep your trap shut!!! My one complaint is that Sophie and Joe's third-act break-up and subsequent reconciliation felt very much like a hastily thrown-together afterthought. Overall, though, this is a relatively quick, easily digestible read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lindsey Kelk, and Harper 360 for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Sophie has secretly written a best-selling romance novel, but has not told her pretentious family about it. And the smug and charming Joe is somehow involved in the process and knows her secret. They’re all at her family home for her dad’s big birthday bash and Sophie and Joe keep getting thrown together at various circumstances. They’ve got loads of bickering and bantering and flirting, which is really fun to read. Plus, I loved all the references to the romance genre and its media criticism. Sophie’s family was chaotic and hilarious and just what you would expect in a rom-com situation with a big event that everyone’s gathered at. If you’re a regular romance-reader, I highly recommend this book.

This was a great enemies-to-lovers book, it had good pacing and fun characters. The storyline was really interesting and I liked that it addressed the stigma that I always feel still surrounds romance books. Once I started I couldn't put it down, I highly recommend this book!

Super cute and light RomCom. It hits all the best tropes: enemies to lovers, small town, cottage life. Thank you NetGalley for the free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Sophie is a schoolteacher who has a hidden life as a Romance author. Joe Walsh is a creative director and of course, extremely attractive. I do love a book when the MMC falls first, and maybe my only whine is about how quickly he falls for seemingly very little reason. The best parts of this book are about writing and Romances. If you are interested in these fields, then you can learn a lot from reading this, If you aren’t interested in the genre, you might be overwhelmed by how much of this book is about it. Overall, I found it an enjoyable read.

A light hearted, hate to love, small town romance. Sophie is a school teacher who is hiding her “side gig” of being a successful romance writer by using a pen name. No one can know if she wants to save and continue her day job. And she really does want to stay under the radar all while the internet is desperate to find out who she is. Then there is Joe. He is a creative director who has the personality of rough sandpaper. He’s the guy who thinks he is the smartest guy in whatever room he is in and uses his incredibly hot looks to get away with being well, kind of a pompous jerk. Through circumstances, they are thrown together. Can her secrets remain buried and can they be civil to each other when they both really can’t stand each other? The blurb drew me in, plus I adore this author, but just didn’t really find any real chemistry between the main characters. Glad I read it, just not my favorite by this author who is on my “must read any and everything” she publishes list.

I just finished reading Love Story by Lindsey Kelk, and I really enjoyed it! The book follows Sophie Taylor, a small-town schoolteacher who secretly writes romance novels under the pen name Este Cox. When she loses her laptop with her latest manuscript, she has to team up with Joe Walsh, a hotshot marketing director who is way too sure of himself.

The chemistry between Sophie and Joe is fantastic, and their banter kept me laughing throughout. The story is lighthearted and fun, with just the right amount of romance and humor. I loved how the book explored Sophie’s double life and the challenges she faced in keeping her secret.

Overall, Love Story is a delightful read that’s perfect for anyone who loves a good rom-com. It’s funny, engaging, and leaves you with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

A really adorable read! Secret identity writer meets enemies to lovers! Our main female lead is a teacher who comes from a long line of literature family members. She doesn't want them to know that she secretly a steamy romance author and very famous! Our main male character finds this out and tries to get to know her!! He is definitely a true gentleman a bit cocky but I love it! Lol this book was definitely like a fluffy light dessert with a few sweetened flakes! I gobbled it all up! 🍾

Bravo! 💗

Cute but not my favorite by Lindsey Kelk. I loved Love Me Do and I was hoping for more of those vibes but the characters in this one didn’t work for me. I get that Sophie had to hide that she wrote the book because of the possible backlash from her family but this caused so much anxiety for me that it was difficult to really get into the story. There was plenty of humor, though, which helped to create a fun setting but ultimately, this, for me, was just an OK read.

I believe this is my first Lindsey Kelk book I’ve read and she did not disappoint. I want to thank NetGalley for my advanced copy.

When two meet and automatically hate each other, it’s fun to watch them out the pieces of the puzzle together and realize they really can’t live without each other. Kelk does a great job of showing this off and doing it in a way that is enduring on both sides.

There were a few iffy spots in the middle that could have been left out, the scene with Joe and Sophie’s aunt and the entire fight scene. I felt like I was reading about one of those comedy movies with a play fight scene.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and I can’t wait to get my hands on other Lindsey Kelk novels!

Love story is a super cute rom-com, which was so much fun to read! The only thing i didn't like was the amount of pop culture references (at some point it was just too much)

Love Story by Lindsey Kelk follows Sophie Taylor, a small town schoolteacher with quite the big secret: she has written a super spicy, mega-bestselling romance novel under the pseudonym Este Cox. She thinks she's got everything under wraps until Joe Walsh, Sophie's uncle's publishing colleague who she can't stand, figures it out. Suddenly, Joe shows up to Sophie's dad's 60th birthday bash and it's up to Sophie to make sure Joe doesn't give away her secret identity... and that she doesn't give away that she's fighting feelings for Joe.

This was my first novel by Lindsey Kelk and I enjoyed it! A fun, lighthearted read that had just one too many romance tropes for my personal liking. But Kelk makes up for it with a cast of very charming and super funny characters. And then there's Joe Walsh. He is the book boyfriend to end all book boyfriends. I need a sequel just so I can swoon more about Joe.

There was also overarching commentary around the romance genre - why we read it, should we read it, can you compare it to the more "serious" genres. It was interesting to read and to have the characters discuss its merits and its downfalls, but it felt a little defensive at times. As if the author was trying to prove its worth through the dialogue.

Overall, it was a cute rom-com that I wanted to love more than I did. Thank you to Harper 360 for the advanced digital copy via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is such a cute quick romance. It's perfect to read in between heavier books.

I loved being taking on this journey. Sophie had major growth in this book. I enjoyed that she's a teacher. It was nice seeing her finally confess that she is Este Cox to her family.

Joe Walsh: ladies man, handsome and he knows it. When we are first introduced to him my impression of him wasn't the best. I thought he was so full of himself, which is a big turn off in real life for me. However as the story unfolds I ended up loving him. He is loving, protective and handsome.

Sophie, a small-town teacher, writes a bestselling romance under a pseudonym because her parents are literary critics and won’t approve of such a “fluffy” genre. Joe is her marketing director who also doesn’t approve of romance novels, but accidentally finds out her identity on a trip to her parents’ house for her dad’s birthday. This whole book is hilarious, and I loved Joe and Sophie! And when I tell you there is a PLOT TWIST?!?! This was such a fun read, and super quick to fly through.

There were a couple things I didn’t love: for one, the third act breakup and literal last-minute reconciliation. If you’re going to do a breakup, at least give us some time for the characters to actually work out their issues before getting back together. Another thing was how many references there were to actual romance books and authors. Like I understand this book is about romance books, but do we really need multiple name drops per chapter of popular authors and books? It really pulled me out of the story every time.

But in conclusion, this was cute and funny, and if you’re not bothered by a third act breakup, you’ll love this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read before pub day! ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. LOVE STORY is out now!

💭My thoughts: The cover is what drew me into this book. I have been loving books with author main characters. This one had great pace and great dialogue. I just couldn’t love the characters, especially the fmc Sophie. Sometimes the banter had me smiling, but then the author would mention tiktok and instagram and then name drop authors and titles of other books and it just felt like it was trying a bit too hard. I really liked Sophie’s sister, it would be a dream to open up my own bookstore! I really liked how confident she was and sticking up for herself when it came to her mom. I wish Sophie learned from her from the beginning. Personally this book wasn’t for me but I will always recommend trying something to know for yourself!

This book is really hard for me to review, because there were some things I really liked - like the humor - but some things I really disliked - like the stereotypical personalities of the main characters. They seemed more like charicatures than fleshed out heroine/hero material.

I do like the fact that this sheld some light on the concept of book snobbery, as Sophie (a secret spicy romance author) is from a family of literary snobs who believe that romance is (essentially) for peasants.

I don't really love instalove, and so I didn't really buy the relationship between the main characters. It happened FAST, and there wasn't any perceivable chemistry/commonality between them. It makes it hard to believe.

I am, though, absolutely in love with this gorgeous cover.

**Features:**

- Enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity romance with a little bit of insta-love thrown in
- Book about book and writing
- Examines different attitudes towards the romance genre and its role in the literary world
- Pop culture references both new and old

**Summary**

When the book Butterflies takes the world by storm, everyone is dying to discover who author Este Cox really is. However, Sophie Taylor knows that revealing herself would not only end her teaching career, but it might also put her at odds with her parents who are opinionated and powerful within the literary world. Sophie knows she can handle the pressure of keeping her identity a secret, but when the manuscript of her next book along with her laptop go missing, it threatens the delicate balance Sophie has worked so hard to maintain. While her brother William tries to help track down the missing items, Sophie has to put on a smile and pretend everything is normal during her dad’s big birthday celebration. Unfortunately, everything about this ‘celebration’ seems to be a plan to make Sophie as miserable as possible. The worst part will be having to share a cottage with the handsome but aggravating Joe Walsh; the last person she was with before everything went wrong.

**Thoughts**

This book has a lot of charm and manages to be both a solid romance and an interesting story examining the various attitudes towards romance books and their authors. Kelk cleverly incorporates characters from different areas of the publishing/literary world and creates a discourse between them that allows Kelk’s message to develop without feeling like you’re being hit over the head with it. Though the characters felt a little like caricatures, they worked for this story and I could appreciate even the ones I didn’t necessarily ‘like’ as people. The drama and quirkiness of the characters gives this book a great sense of humor that helps the pages fly by. Though I am not sure how I feel about the chemistry between Sophie and Joe, there are plenty of lust-filled moments between them that will satisfy most readers who are in it for the romance. However, I would say that this is predominantly ‘closed door’ with maybe a few peeks through the keyhole, so it doesn’t rank high on the ‘spicy’ scale.

Though I loved this book as a whole, the opening scenes with Joe threw me for a bit of a loop. Not only does it not really make sense, it also feels awkwardly stilted and unnatural. I think enemies-to-lovers is a hard trope to pull off without making one person seem irredeemably unlikeable and the other extremely petty or over reactive. Though things improve as the story progresses, this book is no exception in the earlier parts. Because the story itself takes place over only 3 days, there is little opportunity to see this relationship develop to something deeper than lust or grow to redeem some of their earlier behavior. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I think the ending feels almost rushed because we never get to see that development.

I’m a sucker for rom coms that are a love letter to the genre. Sophie is secretly the author of everyone’s fave smutty romance book, but only known as such to her brother/agent and her godfather/publisher. Until Joe Walsh with his perfect blue eyes and strapping thighs enters the picture. My favorite quotes come then as Sophie finds herself the defender of romance books, while trying to not let on that she is a romance author herself.

“How come when a woman writes about sexual frustration she’s the butt of a joke, but when a man writes about his sexual frustration, he gets an Oscar?”

“If there were a few more men who tried a bit harder, perhaps there would be a few less books like this.”

Kelk is also so good at banter that reads like an actual conversation. I found myself multiple times laughing out loud and rereading the funny bits. Four and half stars only because I wanted a bit more yearning, but this is a v personal preference, not something that detracts from the book at all.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins for a free e-book in exchange for this review!

4.5 stars rounded up.

I was surprised by the depth that this book had, while still being a light romcom. Romance is often not taken seriously as a genre and looked down upon, for reasons often steeped, in my opinion, in misogyny. This book explores these viewpoints on the romance genre as a whole, as well as exploring various romance tropes. It is incredibly well thought out. The only reason I give 4.5 and not 5 stars is the ending felt rushed - an epilogue would be perfect.

Sophie Turner is hiding a big secret. She is Este Cox, the extremely popular romance author. Coming from a family of literature professors and critics, this is a secret she holds very closely. Somehow she finds herself at her Dad’s birthday party sharing a room with Joe Walsh, her avowed enemy and one of the very few people who know her secret.