This book is exactly what a romcom should be!!! It’s the perfect blend of “You’ve Got Mail” and “The Hating Game” which are two of the most iconic romcoms ever if you ask me. The fake dating, only one bed, and rival coworkers tropes were executed perfectly and the flirty text messages, banter, and open door romance only made things even better!!! I cannot say enough good things about this book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the arc!!! <3

4.5 stars.

I enjoyed this book so much more than I expected to! I wasn’t a huge fan of The Hating Game so anytime I see something marketed as being similar I’m hesitant but this book was so much fun! I do really love books with You’ve Got Mail trope and I was giggling and kicking my feet every time Emmy and Gabe were flirting over text but arguing in person. I felt like the author really nailed the workplace rivalry vibes and especially the vibes of being a woman working in a male dominated field.
Gabe was such a secret sweetie and I loved how caring he was towards Emmy both before and during their relationship. He would definitely do anything for her, even if he couldn’t admit to himself why.
I also really liked Emmys character. She was hard working and confident but she still allowed herself to be soft and vulnerable. I loved seeing her succeed and not let anyone bring her down.
The third act breakup irked me a little bit. Emmy was so caught up in what she thought was happening that she didn’t give Gabe the benefit of the doubt or even the chance to explain himself but at the same time I could see where she was coming from.
If you’re looking for your next rivals to lovers, workplace romance definitely give this one a try!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!

You’ve Got Mail meets THE HATING GAME with a tropical destination wedding and the love of baseball all mixed in together. I loved it.

Emmy is one of the few women working behind the scenes at a Major League Baseball team.

She and fellow data analyst/her personal nemesis Gabe are up for the same promotion. For years she has watched this gorgeous former pitcher win the time and attention of all the other guys in their boys club of a company, but she’s determined to get this promotion no matter what.

She hasn’t let romance or family pressure get in her way of her dream career, so won’t let him, either.

This is a fun, tingly, engaging love story about letting your guard down, sharing the weight of past grief, and fighting for what you deserve. Recommend!

Read if you like:
Contemporary romance
Sports romance (MLB)
Destination wedding
Workplace enemies to lovers
Open-door spice

It was as if when the author, Holly Michelle (aka Holly James) was writing LAST NIGHT WAS FUN (release date June 10, 2025), she wrote it with me in mind as the sole (okay, general target) audience. There are just so many things I enjoyed about this novel.

First there is the cover, and how it has text bubbles, plus the title - a book with an epistolary element if there ever was one and unknown identity? SIGN ME UP. Then it turns out that Emmy and Gabe are data analysts for a baseball team? A math-y occupation is one of those super niche things I love, plus sports adjacent. Again for me. It happens to be a made up team in San Diego? Even better, because while I'm a Bay Area girl through and through, of the five California MLB stadiums, Petco Park has been my favorite to watch a game.

Bonus for me? Even though the two of them spend a lot of time in the presence of others, this is very much a forced proximity romance. The author seemed to find ways for Emmy and Gabe to be in a group setting, but also isolate them - the two share a cubicle wall, a few run-ins in the breakroom, some caretaking after a post-work event, more caretaking, an only one bed situation.

All around bonus? A huge portion of the novel takes place in San Diego, and though it's been years (okay decades) since I've lived there, it really seemed like it was an additional secondary character. Speaking of secondary characters, I love Emmy's sister, and her best friend.

I absolutely devoured this book in 24 hours - thank you to Avon and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Emmy doesn’t date. She has her dream job as a data analyst for a local baseball team but her last boyfriend gave her an ultimatum to choose between him and her job (she chose her job). She’s now also up for a work promotion against her mortal enemy coworker, Gabe. Now more than ever, Emmy needs to focus. So one weekend when she’s at home (and not out dating), she receives a text from an unknown number “Last night was fun :)”. Clearly the wrong number but intrigued nonetheless, Emmy continues the conversation. In a delightful take on You’ve Got Mail, Emmy connects with this stranger and may even fall for him, only to find out she’s been texting her work enemy, Gabe.

This book made me absolutely GIDDY. That feeling of texting someone new? Holding your breath and smiling at your phone? Your heart skipping a beat at seeing a new text from them?? I literally COULD NOT stop smiling while reading this. This is You’ve Got Mail but with baseball data nerds in sunny San Diego. Emmy was an absolute force in this book and I think many will relate to her working in a male dominated field. And Gabe?? HE LITERALLY WROTE HER AN EQUATION 😭

This was my first Holly Michelle/Holly James book and it will not be my last! This is a perfect book for lovers of baseball, data, the movie classic, You’ve Got Mail, and also anyone who knows that the struggle of modern dating is real.

⚾️ Enemies to lovers
⚾️ Workplace romance
⚾️ Baseball lovers/data analytics nerds
⚾️ One bed
⚾️ Modern dating mishaps
🌶️🌶️ Spicy Chapters: 15, 16, 18

I have always loved a good "wrong number" story. This was well written, with great banter and felt like I was reading one of my favorite authors. This was up there for me with Abby Jimenez, Christina Lauren, Lucy Score, and Lynn Painter.

Enemies to lovers is always a great trope and I kick my feet a little when its actually a "I never really hated you". The EtoL trope always bring on the best angst and you can feel this jumping off the page. I loved this book from page one. This is my perfect kind of romance book and I am very excited to read more from this author.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for the amazing opportunity to read this book early!

Thank you Netgalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for the ARC.

I feel like this book is slow to pick up at first. Not much happens in the first third and it starts to get a little frustrating that they’re not realizing who the other is when they’re having the same basic conversations.

That being said, once the realization happens I find the book rather enjoyable. It really starts to pick up speed and I felt the character relationships and conversations were believable.

I also liked the relationships Emmy had with the other people around her. Her coworkers were still well rounded even though they weren’t around for much, and her sister was a great addition as well. I wish Beth had more to do with the plot, but I liked her as well.

Such a fun read! The characters were enjoyable, the tension was fantastic, and I loved the way the main character’s profession of sports analyst put a unique spin on a sports romance. Great representation of women in male-dominated fields, and a very gentle handling of difficult topics like grief and family dynamics.

If you like one bed, enemies to lovers, workplace romance, and top tier banter with spiceeee…. This is your book! This was a fun read! I liked the wrong number mystery aspect, and I was a giddy lil girl when Emmy finally decided to tell Axe Murderer she wanted to meet (I mean I obviously knew who it was) but that didn’t keep me from being excited. A reference to Bring It On: In It To Win It?!? I’m sold.

This book was SO CUTE. Beginning to end, I loved it. Emmy & Gabe were both sweet and adorable. What a nice, comforting read.

Thank you to Avon Books for the ARC of this one! I have enjoyed quite a few books by this author and this one was no different! The concept behind this romance was a fun one and I felt like it definitely had late 90s/early 2000s rom com vibes! The main character, Emmy, finds herself in a texting relationship with a stranger when he texts her thinking that she was the woman he met the night before. It turns out that he was given a wrong number, but they strike up a fun conversation that continues for many days and leaves both of them smiling. When they finally decide to meet up, they realize they actually know each other from work and they are both shocked. Emmy works with Gabe as a sports data analyst at a professional baseball team and their relationship has always been contentious. Even still, their connection via text was undeniable. He agrees to travel to Mexico for her sister's wedding and the bond they create in person is so sweet. This one had me smiling and cheering. The perfect fun rom com!

For fans of enemies to lovers, only one bed, baseball, and a hero who is SO GONE for the heroine that it makes you kick your feet and giggle, may I present Last Night Was Fun by Holly Michelle? Emmy is a baseball stats whiz who is up for promotion against her rival Gabe. He's awful, she hates him, but he's hot, but she definitely hates him. Meanwhile, she gets a text from a wrong number and strikes up conversation with a (presumably) handsome stranger. I bet you can see where this is going.

Anyway, I loved this book. I read it in one sitting. Emmy and Gabe are so sweet and precious, the pacing was excellent, the set up was lovely and all in all, I would absolutely recommend this to a friend. Pick up Last Night Was Fun by Holly Michelle, you won't regret it.

Thank you to Avon for the advanced reader copy! 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘍𝘶𝘯 follows baseball data analyst Emmy Jameson as she's up for a promotion against her handsome work rival, Gabe Olson. She's balancing her career and maid of honor duties for her sister's upcoming destination wedding when she receives a mysterious text message from a stranger. The text turns into conversation which easily leads to a deep connection, and Emmy invites him to the family wedding. The only problem? The mysterious texter is Gabe Olson.

I devoured the first half of this book! It felt written for me - women in STEM representation, baseball, and a fresh take on 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘭. Emmy and Gabe had great chemistry and tension, and I adored their interactions when they were absolutely oblivious to the other's identity. Once the plot advanced to the wedding in Mexico, I started to lose interest and ultimately felt that it dragged from that point to the third act breakup. I wasn't a huge fan of the forced conflict, however I did like Holly's approach with the FMC grand gesture to resolve the conflict instead of the more commonly seen MMC grand gestures.

I also connected with the exploration of grief, which added a deeper plot line and interesting dimension to the lighthearted romance genre. The story also includes references to a career-ending injury and can be categorized as a sports romance. This book is full of banter and joy, but also includes the reality of finding someone in your twenties, balancing a career and love life, working as a woman in an office full of men, and grieving the loss of a family member amidst life milestones. It's a new comfort read of mine!

𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘍𝘶𝘯 is the perfect summer read and hits shelves this June!

This was cute and I loooooooved the You’ve Got Mail/The Hating Game aspects. The end conflict bugged me a little, but it ended great and the grand gesture was cute. This is a me thing but I think I would have loved it even more as DUAL POV 1st person, but again that’s a me thing.

***i'm a harpercollins employee*** this book was so fun though! gabe is my latest book boyfriend obsession.

This was really cute! I loved the anonymous text flirting, the nerdy co-workers who love to hate each other but secretly like the other, the sweetness of Gabe, Emmy's confidence in a world mostly made of men, and of course, the spice, the supportive and fun co-workers, and Emmy's family. The third act breakup did make me dislike Emmy a bit. But she definitely pulled a grand gesture off that earned my respect. It's rare that a FMC is the one who has to make a grand gesture, so I appreciated the change-up (baseball pun intended). So if that's all I disliked, then I call this book a winner.

I haven't read any books by this author, but I'll definitely read another.

"Last Night Was Fun" gives the vibes of an early 2000s romcom and I am loving it. It follows Emmy Jameson, baseball data statistics analyst, fighting to prove herself in a "boys world", especially against her archnemesis Gabe Olson, and prove to her family that her career is more important than a ;relationship. However, the latter seems to crumble when she receives a text from an unknown number with a simple "last night was fun :)" and she finds herself wanting to talk to mystery guy more than she has wanted to talk to anyone before. You'll have to read it to find out what happens from there, but it had me hooked and I did not want to put it down! I typically am not a fan of third person stories because I like to read the emotions that the characters are feeling, but Holly Michelle conveyed her character's emotions very well.

*Last Night Was Fun* delivers a delightful romance sparked by a mistaken text—only for the two people involved to unknowingly be workplace rivals. Emmy Jameson, a data analyst for a pro-league baseball team, is vying for a major promotion, but the competition is stiff—especially since her biggest rival is golden boy Gabe Olsen. As she navigates the high-stakes battle at work, she’s also falling for her anonymous texting partner, only to discover it’s Gabe on the other end.

This book strikes the perfect balance of romance, humor, and steam. I had such a great time reading *Last Night Was Fun* by Holly Michelle! If you’re a fan of *You’ve Got Mail*, *The Hating Game*, baseball, or fun, flirty yet heartfelt romances, this is one to read.

A huge thank you toNetGalley Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

This book was such a delightful read! From the very first page, I found myself completely immersed in the story. The writing was so approachable and warm, making it easy to connect with the characters and the plot. I loved how the book felt both inviting and engaging, without ever being too complex or hard to follow. It was just the right mix of comfort and intrigue, and I truly enjoyed every moment of it. It’s a wonderful read that I’d happily recommend to anyone looking for a heartwarming escape!

1. I didn't know this is the same author as Name Your Price. I thoroughly enjoyed that one last year and thought it was super fun to see glimpses of that in this book.

2. The romance world is so incredibly hockey filled right now that baseball was an amazing gift. I love that neither are current athletes and that they have their own personal attachments to the sport, but there was much more than just baseball between them.

3. As a woman in farming, I LOVED the women in a male dominated industry story. I loved her perspective and struggles and the open communication that came from it.

4. This was just fun. I liked the story. I liked their connection. I liked the tension between the romance and their jobs and the family. It was just a good time and I am so glad for it.