Lindsey Kelk just knows how to have fun. her books always feel like a quintessential rom-com and I love it. I wasn't totally obsessed with the romance itself, but I don't even really care because everything else was just so fun.

Love Story
by Lindsey Kelk
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love Story had me laughing, swooning, and tearing up. It’s a beautiful celebration of romance, reminding us to embrace our dreams and worth. I loved it and can’t recommend it enough! This was my first book by Lindsey Kelk, and I’m definitely a fan now!

Thank you to Lindsey Kelk and Harper 360 for the ARC of Love Story.

I really enjoyed Love Story! This was my first read from this author and it did not disappoint. The banter, the tension, the character growth, the plot - it all delivered for me!

I loved how complex many of the characters were in this story. Many likeable characters and a few unlikable characters. I like that it explored negative stigmas around the romance genre and provided a unique perspective of what are typically considered “good” or even “great” books. It was thoughtful around what makes romance such a popular genre for many. But, this was accomplished in a witty romance and not in a dull narrative.

I like that the book also tackled topics like trust, commitment struggles, and confidence in oneself and one’s art. It explored family dynamics and the struggles of making parents proud as children but also doing right by your children as parents and the mistakes and learnings along the way.

While this was my first Lindsey Kelk book, I know it will be far from my last!

A love letter to romance novels with the normal witty and funny writing. This was such a fun one and loved the TS references!

This was a cute one! Think Romeo and Juliette meets the Crazy, Stupid, Love party scene sprinkled with ALL the TS references and heavy on the bookish talk/storyline. This enemies to lovers book has the quirkiest characters and it’s a wild ride.

I'm so happy to have discovered the wit and talent that is Lindsey Kelk. This is my first read of hers, and I will definitely add her to my TBR list. This was a cute romcom that alludes and honors so many of our favorite romcoms, by mentioning current authors and books. It had me laughing and swooning. It's closed door, so I think it's appropriate for both YA readers and adults. I will definitely recommend this to my fellow romcom readers!

A quick read for me that I enjoyed. It's a romantic comedy where we see Sophie, an erotic romance author, fights with becoming a best selling author, under a pen name. This book had banter and has great humor, though family expectations were somewhat relatable.

Lindsey Kelk is an auto-read, auto-buy author for me! I fell in love with her writing when I read Love Me Do last year and was so excited to see she was back with Love Story.

This is a bookish, enemies-to-lovers romance... some of my favorites! Sophie and Joe are both hardened by life and didn't exactly start their relationship out on the wrong foot. This is a classic "I know exactly who you are" without actually getting to know someone and then discovering that they are so much different. I loved the banter between these two, the cast of characters that Kelk included to surround Sophie and Joe, and all the quirky, bookish details that popped up throughout. I loved the ending and the different approach she took with it being a romance novel.

While I didn't love it quite as much as I loved Love Me Do, I certainly couldn't put this one down and thought it was super cute!

thank you Harper for Love Story, I had a lot of fun reading this.
TL;DR: A fun, lighthearted romance set in the publishing world, packed with favorite tropes, witty humor, and a style that really worked for me.

Kelk is an author I love for both her humor and her romance, and her sharp, edgy asides always hit the mark. I found myself laughing out loud a few times! As a fan of books set in the publishing world, I especially enjoyed the fun nods to the bookstagram and BookTok communities, along with the quirky but relatable family dynamics. This was a perfect weekend read—exactly what I needed when I wanted a good laugh, a solid enemies-to-lovers story, and a book that didn’t take itself too seriously (in the best way possible).

My only minor quibble is that there are a lot of tangents—family drama, time with a best friend, a budding romance, a hidden secret identity. It all flowed into a style I enjoyed, but I can see how some readers might find the bookstagram/BookTok elements a bit much (I thought they were spot-on and hilarious, though!). Others might feel that the range of side characters and secondary plots could be overwhelming, but for me, it helped flesh out the family dynamics and tied into the main plot seamlessly.

In short, it’s a fun, engaging read that struck the right balance for me!

I thought this was pretty good but not really four star worthy for me. It took me awhile to Chet through because it didn’t hold my interest even though it’s not that long at all. I found the romance to be odd. I don’t mind a instalove troupe but only when the story is more of those characters and not really focusing so much on the extra plot. This had the instalove but then didn’t really spend a lot of time with it which made their romance not be exciting and believable.

While "Love Story" wasn’t a perfect read for me, I can easily see why it could be a five-star favorite for others. The sharp banter, heartwarming moments, and eventual emotional growth offer plenty to enjoy, even if the family dynamics and pacing weren’t to my taste. If you’re a fan of Lindsey Kelk’s humor and enjoy the ups and downs of enemies-to-lovers romances, this book might be what you’re looking for.

For me, it’s a two-star read, but for those who connect with the character arcs and can overlook a few frustrating family scenes and real-life references, it could easily be a five-star experience. Everyone’s love story is different—maybe this one will be your favorite.

For the full review: please check my blog Setp. 20th at 10 am Pacific Time.
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This was my first Lindsey Kelk book (unfortunate, I know) and I LOVED it. The humor, the British references, the pop culture references, it was all amazing.

The hidden identity aspect of things for the main character was so much fun, and her family being so disrespectful and insufferable (mostly the sister) made you realize exactly why Sophie wanted to keep her pseudonym a secret.
The banter was out of this world. Not only between the love interests, but everyone in this book had the perfect dry humor that makes me cackle and I adored it.
I especially loved that Love Story was essentially a love letter to the romance genre and a challenge to the stereotype society has set that romance is lesser than. As a romance lover, the feeling of needing to defend my reads is so relatable, since some people don’t consider romance a “real” genre and it was so empowering to read something that completely flipped that stereotype on its ass.

I read this as an ARC, but it was absolutely the kind of book I will be buying immediately as soon as I find it in the wild because I fell completely head over heels for it and it needs to live on my shelf.

Thank you to Harper360 for this gifted ARC via NetGalley.

I love an enemies to lovers romance and this was no exception! So good!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Cute. I liked the main love interest and mostly liked the protagonist. But I really had issues with some of the other characters, especially her sister (felt like there were other ways to have everyone find out than by Charlotte constantly going through her things, but maybe that's past trauma from younger siblings going through my things talking here) and at times, her parents too. Seemed a little rushed and more of the instalove trope that I'm not a huge fan of, but it was a quick read and I overall enjoyed it.

Lindsey Kelk’s Love Story is a delightful romp through an English birthday party weekend that will have you swooning and laughing out loud. Trying to hide her identity as the famous writer, Este Cox, from her family of publishing high horses, Sophie is thrown into a weekend that tests her in every way. Between her unwanted attraction to publishing hottie, Joe, an intruding self-centered ex-boyfriend and a very meddlesome and spoiled little sister, Sophie is not sure how long it will be before she breaks. Full of witty banter and hilarious hijinks reminiscent of a 90s romantic comedy, Kelk’s Love Story is a definite must read for all romance fans.

I LOVED this book! I have a soft spot for a book about books and writers and it was such a delight seeing Sophie and Joe find the path to their happily ever after. The story was a genuinely funny romcom, full of antics and silly side characters, balanced with enough swoons to have me giggling and kicking my little feet. I also loved that underneath all of that, there was a beautiful message about learning to trust yourself and your dreams and an almost academic defense of why romance novels are important as an art form. So good and such a delight!

3.5 stars

This book was a rough rating for me because there were parts I really liked but also parts that had my eyes rolling and gave me a bit of the ick.

Sophie is hiding under a pen name and, of course, the one person she has to trust to not out her is her newly named nemesis Joe. That’s a pretty compelling premise for a romance and I was sold right away. I also loved the underlying tone of taking romance back for readers. How it fought back against the stereotypes people push on romance readers. Some other parts that worked for me were the banter and the side characters (mainly William).

On the other hand, while I really liked Sophie and Joe together there were some scenes that felt forced, as if there was zero chemistry between them. I’m not a huge fan of insta love but I feel it can be made bearable when done right, sadly that wasn’t the case here. Also, I’m all for current day references but I feel like it got a bit excessive and unnecessary.

After loving The Christmas Wish I was very excited for Kelk’s latest. As much as I really wanted to love it, it sadly ended up being just average for me.

Read if you love:
❤️ Instalove
🇬🇧 UK setting and slang
🛏️ One bed
💖 Forced proximity
🤫 Secret identities

Thank you HarperCollins360 and Netgalley for my gifted copies in exchange for an honest review!

Reading 'Love Story' is like grabbing cocktails with your best friend! The writing felt effortless, and I thoroughly enjoyed the humor and well-placed pop-culture references spanning from TSwift to Pride & Prejudice, which felt so fresh and relevant!

In ‘Love Story’ our main gal, Sophie, is a contemporary romance author of a very steamy bestselling debut novel and is afraid to claim it as her own due to the polarizing nature of the genre. I appreciated how Lindsey Kelk addressed this complexity head-on and named some of my favorite romance authors while doing it!

What I loved:
✅ The story jumps RIGHT IN and you quickly meet both Sophie and Joe… BAM!
✅ Laugh Out Loud Humor –– especially from Sophie’s brother William (my fave character)
✅ Realistic character developments from both Sophie + Joe
✅ Plot Twists that I did NOT see coming – WHOA!
✅ Enemies to Lovers with spice, tension, and witty banter
✅ A cringy Ex who held her back… and gets what he deserves, #KARMA

Some quotes that made me SMILE!
- All I had to do was not kill my sister, pray that William was able to locate my bag with the manuscript before someone published the sequel on Reddit, avoid my ex, survive the rest of the family, keep my secret identity a secret, come up with a better ending for my book and never, ever let myself be alone with Joe bloody Walsh. How hard could it be? ‘Morning.’ …It could be impossible. 😳😆
- ‘Did you want something?’ I asked, eyes on the ground. It wasn’t safe to look at him, like the Ark of the Covenant or the sun or the sell-by date on a bag of Mini Eggs you find in November when you’re on your period. There were some things we were better off not knowing. 😜
- I’m not saying everyone’s husband needs to be able to explain how the Hadron Collider works but at least find a partner who knows Lord of the Rings is fiction and not something that happened a very long time ago.’ 🤣

THANK YOU Lindsey Kelk, NetGalley, and Harper360 for the Advance Reader e-Copy in exchange for my honest review!

If you’re looking for a highly entertaining, funny, ode to the romance genre, this book will not disappoint!

Sophie is a secret romance bestselling author who writes under a pseudonym because her family is full of literary snobs in the publishing industry. As she navigates her father’s birthday party complete with family drama, her ex boyfriend, and a new attractive coworker who knows exactly how to get on her nerves, she struggles to keep her secret under wraps.

I thought this was a super fun book, and I liked the references to other romance novels, pop culture, and current trends throughout. It felt very relevant and fresh, and it was extremely entertaining the whole way through. If I could rate the plot of the book separately from the romance aspect I would, because while the plot was fun and interesting, I felt like the romance was not well done. It was really secondary to the main storyline of Sophie’s novel and secret writing career. I didn’t feel a connection between Sophie and Joe at all, and didn’t really understand why they were interested in each other beyond physical attraction. Everything Joe said felt cheesy and fake, and I didn’t buy any of it. It was actually kind of ironic that the character in the book had a super popular romance novel that everyone was gushing over, when the romance in this novel was not good. I did feel like the book wasn’t trying to take itself too seriously, and the main character even said she “hates the instalove trope” (which is what this book was). While the characters seemed over dramatic and unrealistic, and many of the events were over the top, it still made for a very entertaining read. It was kind of like watching reality tv - you’re just in it for the drama and entertainment value, and not because you believe any of it is true to real life. Overall, I would recommend it because it’s fun. If you’re looking for something more swoony and heart wrenching, this is probably not for you.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.
Sophie is a breakout star in the romance world and she doesn’t want anyone to know. Daughter of a publishing powerhouse couple she’s embarrassed to admit she’s written the number one book of the genre for some reason. She has no self confidence that her family will be supportive of her books, so she lives in the shadows.

Joe is… Joe? He’s handsome, also in publishing, and I don’t think I ever really figured out why Sophie hates him so fiercely. At times I felt the enemies to lovers was pushed way too much. But I also felt that way when there was a break and their lust for one another stared to take over.

I do wish that his final confession had not been at her very first book signing. She finally deserved to shine and I felt that him confessing his love to her in front of her first crowd really took the light away from her. He could have shown up in line later on or something and not stolen her moment after she finally told the world who she was.

Overall a decent read and I look forward to seeing what else this author comes out with.