dnf @ chapter 10, 25%

unfortunately, i don't think annabel's books are for me, AND that is ok. i hope everyone who wants to read this will still enjoy the book. there is nothing incoherently wrong with the novel, it's more so very banal and isn't keeping my interest. i am glad i gave this one a chance, but i want to move forward with reads i know i will enjoy. <3

This was a sweet, kind of quiet romance. Much like Annabel Monaghan's other books, it's about real people working through real issues.

Jane and Dan are work rivals who go spend time with his family which she tries to track down a celebrity.

The parts between Jane and Jack made me want to crawl into a hole. It was great to see Jane stop being what everyone else wanted her to be.

It’s A Love Story
By: Annabel Monaghan

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤍rom com
🤍forced proximity
🤍enemies to lovers (-ish)

💋Dramatic Thoughts💋

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam, NetGalley and Annabel Monaghan for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book made me want to read more romcoms! Annabel Monaghan, you’ve done it again!!

Poor Janey Jakes - Jane was known for her childhood acting role (enter bbq sauce in braces 😬) on a sitcom called “Pop Rocks”. Honestly I felt so broken hearing how Jane was taming herself down to fine the perfect husband. She didn’t want to be funny - because funny put you as a wingman to the dreamy man rather than the love interest.

But not Dan - Dan didn’t want a boring woman who’d say and do all the right things. He wanted real, authentic and someone who would SEE him. I adored Dan’s big crazy family - but I adored the fact that Dan was always a little different, even more!

Dan and Jane were the sweetest couple who paired so well together as they matched each other’s quirks and differences so well!

Annabel dove deep into the characters development of these two + I absolutely loved it! There was just enough comedy and banter to pair perfectly with the romantic aspects of the book! There were so many cute moments in this book! This will be a fabulous summer time read so add it to your TBR!! 🩷

💬Favorite Quotes💬

“She picks terrible scripts,” Dan goes on. “Of course,” I say. “And I’m sure you all know Dan has a PhD in The Notebook.”

“Are you funny? I’m starting to think you are.”

“I like how I can look at you and see a whole world inside your eyes, smart things and funny things that I’ll get to hear if I’m lucky. I feel really lucky being here with you like this.”

I cannot explain my love for Annabel Monaghan's books! I love her writing and her prose and just everything about her books. There's a line people say about Emily Henry's books saying "How did she get the camera into my room" or "into my brain," and that is exactly the way I feel about Annabel Monaghan's books. Especially with this one and with Nora Goes Off Script, it feels like she has video recordings of my past relationships and voice recordings of my brain just waiting to put them into words. This is the perfect book. There I've said it.

Guys guys guys. I am obsessed with Annabel Monaghan and everything she writes! It’s a Love Story made me laugh out loud and cry the sweetest of tears. I had my hand over my heart at the quiet love in this book. Love between friends, mothers, family, and partners. I don’t know about you, but I remember looking for the big love and the big gestures in my younger years. It wasn’t until I found my husband that I realized how much more the quiet love runs deep. This book is filled honesty and self reflection. Finding yourself and experiencing growth- realizing how uncomfortable it is, but freeing at the same time. 10/10, no notes with this one. It’s a Love Story comes out May 27th! Make sure to get your hands on this one!

Childhood actress, Jane is now a creative executive for Clearwater Studios. She’s come a long way from the hilarious sidekick “Janey Jakes” days but is still working hard to find her place in the industry. She’s desperately working to get her first project green-lit when she over exaggerates her connection to a pop star she knew 20 years ago. Now in order to make this movie she’ll need to partner up with an unlikely ally cinematographer, Dan Finnegan. So they head to Long Island to Dan’s home town for a music festival on a mission to get the music artist to write a song for their movie.


This book felt like a warm hug!!!! I loved it so much that I couldn’t put it down. I felt like I was smiling through the whole story . The characters felt relatable/real but also very unique. Even if I couldn’t relate to Jane as a child actor I could relate to her insecurities. The entire Finnegan family was so fun and endearing. Truly just immensely enjoyed every minute of this novel.

Annabel Monaghan is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. The banter between Dan and Jane had me laughing out loud at times. This book is the perfect summer read! A big thank you to Putnam Books, NetGalley, and the author for the advanced copy of It’s a Love Story. I’ll definitely be recommending it to anyone looking for a great book.

I don’t remember exactly how I came across Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan, but I'm so glad it found me at the start of my return journey into the Romance genre. It was an instant match—I loved-loved-loved Monaghan’s quietly magical writing style that captures everyday life's struggles and small miracles.

Now, three books later, It’s a Love Story stands beautifully beside the author's adult fiction debut.

What I adore about Monaghan’s storytelling is that there's always something deeply relatable—a detail or an issue that resonates, even if you're worlds away from the FMC’s actual life. Two of her previous books featured single moms, and even though that's not my personal experience, I still saw reflections of myself within those pages.

The same magic happens in It’s a Love Story. While most of us might not relate to being childhood stars, many certainly remember how painfully formative teenage years can be and how they shape our future, especially our love lives.

I genuinely loved this book—the gentle, quiet moments, and the lively, colorful array of secondary characters. You might not remember everyone's name or exactly how they're related (Dan's family is delightfully large and chaotic!), yet Monaghan effortlessly conveys each character's essence with just a few carefully crafted sentences.

I also deeply appreciated how Dan felt so authentic, unapologetically himself, and someone who doesn't tolerate nonsense. He's refreshingly undramatic, self-assured, and clear about who he is and what he stands for.

And about that third-act breakup (no spoilers—we're in Romanceland, after all): it's refreshingly real, not overly dramatic or out-of-nowhere. And the grand gesture? Oh wow, it hit just right!

So yes, this is a wholehearted 5-star read for me—I inhaled it in less than 24 hours and loved every moment. I can’t wait to add a physical copy to my shelf when it’s officially released.

Big thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars! I haven’t read a bad book by this author! Im always reaching for her books when the weather starts to warm up. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review.

This book is an absolute breath of fresh air. The perfect summer beach read.

It was funny and charming and made you immediately fall in love with these characters. Maybeeee not Dan right away but he comes around quickly. (He ended up being my favorite) His entire family was top tier.

The nods to the notebook were so cute and funny.

Dan and Jane’s banter was laugh out loud funny at times. (My husband asked what I was cheesing at more than once 😂)

Although they seemed to fall fast (it was a quick read) it was very honest and did not seem forced at all.

🎬Enemies to lovers
🎬Coworkers
🎬Second chance
🎬Forced proximity
🎬Small town vibes

All in all, I ate this one up like a warm blueberry muffin!

Annabel ALWAYS gets me with these rom coms… love her and will never pass up a book of hers! This love story had me GIDDY and totally invested. I am a Dan Stan!!!

This is the perfect summer beach read. Jane a former child star now a creative executive and Dan a cinematographer that both work at Clearwater Studios need to try and secure major music star Jack Quinlan to write an original song for the movie they want to make.

This is the cutest book. I fell in love with Dan’s family. I also loved the sweet romance between Jane & Dan. Ms. Monaghan really knows how to write romance.

I also read Nora Goes Off Script this month and was shocked I enjoyed this book more.

I usually love Annabel Monaghan’s books but this one fell flat for me.
I didn’t really like the FMC until about 30% in. The book was cute and the ending wrapped everything up nicely. I just didn’t love this book like I thought I would.

4.5/5 stars

THANK YOU SO MUCH NETGALLEY FOR GIVING ME THIS ARC 🥹🥹

I’m so frickin glad I gave Annabel Monaghan a second chance because this story changed my entire view on love and life and everything under that roof of things. I’m utterly in love with all of the characters she created.

I neeeeed to share these quotes with you with no context whatsoever because they’re so lyrical it’s unreal. It’s like reading poetry within a fully developed story:

“…the windows fogged up like the air knew we needed our privacy.”

“They all felt like cardboard because I was cardboard with them.”

The second one you’ll really have to read the book to understand why that one hit so hard.

I can’t even fully express to you how obsessed I am with this book right now. I’m so excited for the release date so I can go grab this shelf and maybe even annotate it.

Thank you so much again NetGalley and everyone that approved me for this ARC!

PS: I read the acknowledgements and why did I pick up the “I’m Glad My Mom Died” inspo

Wow wow wow

This is a perfect summer read! If you like any of her other books, there’s no chance you wouldn’t feel the same way about this one. This copy was uncorrected, so while some parts felt choppy, I know they’ll be fixed before publication!

This book is a great blend of romance and fun but also pulls on your emotions as well, which is something I’ve been enjoying a LOT recently. Dan and Jane are such a great couple and I’m gonna be thinking about them for a long while.

I spent probably the last maybe 15% or so of this book in tears this is really like one of the most beautiful romances I have read I loved this so much.

This is a single POV romance focusing on Jane Jackson, a former child star who desperately wants to make it big in Hollywood as a producer at a major film studio. She thinks she has the perfect script: True Story, a deep, funny, and heartfelt romantic comedy. But the studio wants something more commercial, and Jane feels the pressure when she realizes her nemesis, Dan Finnegan, has been brought on as the cinematographer. Jane does something completely crazy to try to ensure the film gets made and her career really takes off: she says she knows Jack Quinlan, the latest and hottest pop star and she offers to get him to make the soundtrack for the film to help pack people into the theaters. One problem: she hasn't spoken to Jack since they met when she was 14 and she was still the comedic relief on her kids show. It turns out that Jack is going to play at a music festival on Long Island, where Dan is from and his brother is working the festival. It's also his parents' 40th wedding anniversary so he and Jane travel to Long Island for the week hoping to pin Jack down and land him for the film. Over the course of the week and with Jane's career on the line, she learns more about Dan and about herself, including whether she can be the main character in her life, whether she's worthy of love and of loving, and if love like it exists in the movies can exist in real life.

Genuinely, this is so beautifully written. It felt like getting tasered repeatedly in the heart with emotions. You would really think that Dan and Jane couldn't fit together but they so do and their journey is really beautiful. It feels like years pass in the days they spend together. You want to root for Jane so hard and she's so relatable. The anxiety and her self-sabotage are so real and my heart really ached for her. I couldn't blame her for how she felt and reacted to things considering her past as the dorky kid in the show and her father's death (and more I don't want to spoil). I felt so connected to these characters and there's such an emotional punch packed in this. I loved it!!

This was such a fun summer or beach read. It was so incredibly easy to connect to the characters, because they were both so relatable. I found myself smiling big smiles watching them interact with each other and unknowingly fall in love. I think Jane's character growth was outstanding. She learned more about herself throughout every chapter of this book. If you're looking for a fun, easy summer read; look no further; this is the one for you.

Another enjoyable read by Annabel Monaghan! Second-chance romance set in a cute Long Island beach town. The characters are likable and relatable in that they are imperfect, flawed, and human. Overall a sweet love story between two characters and a story of growth and self love first.

it’s a love story | annabel monaghan

4.75⭐️

"When you smile, it does something to me, I feel it in my chest, and I just want to figure out how to get you to do it again.”
_____

Another home run from Annabel! I always forget how much I adore her writing between each book she releases, but like, how?! Her books are real and honest and emotional and I ATE. THIS. UP. She is keeping her steady spot right there in the top of my auto buy author list!

It's a Love Story is a meet cute... turned workplace disaster... turned second chance romance. It's about breaking down walls and letting your true self shine and finding that love isn't about perfection, but the little moments. Her writing is simple and mature, yet packs a hefty punch.

There was a second there where I was pulling my hair in frustration at the conflict, but the moment passed and was forgotten as the story wrapped up in a big old pull-on-your-heartstrings finish.

This is going to be the best summer romance, you won’t be able to put it down!

THINGS TO LOVE:
+ filmmakers
+ workplace conflicts
+ forced proximity
+ a big Irish family
+ beachy setting
+ former child actress
+ string bracelets
+ the notebook
+ breakfast muffins
+ art & photography

"It feels good to want something for someone else, something that has nothing to do with you, just because you care about them. And I wonder if this is what love is. I rest my hand on my heart to feel if it’s changed. I think it has. I have."

"You’re beautiful when you’re having big emotions.”

_____

I swear, Annabel Monaghan can make me feel the heat of summer quicker than any warm breeze or margarita al fresco! For me, every one of her books has gotten better and better. Starting this one, I didn’t see a strong rating coming. I went into this blind so I wasn’t sure who the romantic interest or what tropes were here, Dan seemed fine initially. I’m not one to traditionally enjoy the “get to know this family” trope but I dare anyone to not fall in love with the Finnagan Clan! I’m waiting for Brian and Brooke to have their own book. You can literally feel the temperature rise between our FMC and MMC; by the time they actually kissed, I wanted it more than either of them wanted to make True Story successful.

Please read this and thank me later.