This was great. Not what I thought the plot would be, and I loved going back to the little town of a previous Monaghan book, and I enjoyed the way that the bok played with what comprises a likeable character. 4.5 stars rounded up.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley.

Wowowwowoow. Too dang good. I have loved all of Annabel Monaghan books for their honesty, genuine warmth, and her knack for writing real humans. I loved the complexity of this book, and felt the chemistry was incredibly natural. Not only did I fall in love with Dan, but I fell in love with his entire family too. This book makes me want to go to the Northeast and find a coastal town. I also loved the homage to Jeannette McCurdy’s memoir!

we got another hit on our hands. i’ve loved and enjoyed reading each of annabel’s last 3 books and obviously, i really enjoyed this one too. i loved the aspect of jane’s character being a child actor and growing out of that, now having this job still in the field but as a producer. dan’s character was nice and refreshing for me to see in some way. their romance was cute, almost a second chance type deal. overall, this will be a another great summer romance read.

thank you to NetGalley and publishers for giving me this arc!

Overall, I would give this 4 stars. I enjoyed this book, but I was a little bit disappointed since I LOVED Summer Romance. In the acknowledgements, Annabel mentioned that Jennette McCurdy's memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died, inspired this book. If you haven't already, please go read it, it's amazing. Jane and Dan's characters were pretty easy to relate to, every human comes with baggage, and I think their issues were unique (abandonment, individuality, true self vs public self) but still relatable to most people. I love a great supporting character and strong female friendships so needless to say, Clem was awesome. I also enjoyed the mother-daughter relationship between Jane and her mom. Dan's family seems amazing and hilarious, and I would love to spend a week in their chaos. Jane and Dan's story was cute BUT falling in love within a week?!? Come on.

Format: eARC

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

As the blurb says - Anything Annabel Monaghan writes, I’m reading it. Every book I read by Monaghan is better than the last. I really really love these characters. Jane is real and raw - all of her inner thoughts, insecurities, and doubts I could feel in my chest. Talk about an emotional gut punch. Seeing Jane grow with Dan and his family, and slowly let more and more of herself show through (both good and bad) was equally heartwarming and heartbreaking. It’s such a true and relatable balance of knowing you have something good going for you but being incredibly scared what’s going to happen if it all disappears. Jane is constantly toying on this line of acknowledging how good something is/could be and questioning if she deserves it. I also really loved Dan - him and Jane are so different and yet similar in all of the big ways. Dan is so sure of himself and his heart/his instincts you can’t help but respect him. The way Dan loves Jane is so sweet it’ll make your stomachs ache. I cried multiple times. The Finnegans, Clem, and Jane’s mom are side characters who end up feeling like really big characters in how we see how their love for Jane and Dan changes them and makes them who they are. I love this book! I love the plot! I love the setting! I hate Jack! I love Jane! I love it all - except that I want True Story to be real

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam books for an arc in exchange for a honest review!

I fell headfirst into this book. I’ve never read anything by Monaghan before and, after this, I find myself wanting to go get her entire back catalog.

Jane’s character arc from neurotic, semi-annoying FMC to a genuine flawed person just trying to put her best foot forward to find love… Its perfection. Dan is her perfect counterpart, uninterested in being anyone other than himself and wanting the same for her.

Enemies to lovers, but not quite. Friends to lovers, but not quite. A great twist on the Hollywood glamour and small town charm. This book doesn’t fit into any generic tropes in the best way.

Thank you to the publisher for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I LOVED her other books, I liked this one. I’m not sure there’s much more to say than that. If this was the first book I’d picked up by her I might have liked it more but I just loved all her other books so much the bar was really high.

This story follows Jane Jackson, a former child actress turned aspiring Hollywood executive, who lies about securing pop star Jack Quinlan—her long-lost first kiss—for a film project. To cover her tracks, she recruits cinematographer Dan Finnegan, a former crush, leading to a week of revelations and romance on Long Island. This romance explores love, ambition, and second chances.

This book had me giggling and kicking my feet—it was everything I want in a romance. Jane’s humor was perfect, such a feel-good read!

annabel monaghan has become an auto-read for me and I always love getting approved for her arcs, bit this one missed the mark for me. I had a hard time getting into the plot and found the main female character kind of annoying. the romance happens wayyyy to fast also - literally over the course of one week they go from enemies to lovers and that’s just too quick for me.

romance lovers will still like this and it’s a light read, just wasn’t a favorite of hers.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

‧₊˚✧ arc review ✧˚₊‧

𝓲𝓽’𝓼 𝓪 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂 𝓫𝔂 𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓪𝓫𝓮𝓵 𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓰𝓱𝓪𝓷

୨⎯ it sure was a love story. i am so happy and grateful for @netgalley & @PutnamBooks allowing me to be able to read this in advanced!! i loved this book so much. this book feels like slowly falling for someone. it embodied the feeling of liking someone, and how the little things add up to that moment of “this is the one”. it feels like that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you start liking someone. it was done perfectly. i loved the quietness of Dan and how honest he was - he was exactly himself. his character allowed for our girl Jane to open up, be vulnerable and accept the fact that she too deserves love and to be loved. the softness of their love story was everything. i found my self giggling and kicking my feet waiting for the next small interaction, for the next glance between the two.
a quote i loved :

“ I love that you follow your heart around looking for beautiful things. I love that you’re quiet because when you do say something, it’s perfect. I love that you want to make things that matter. I love that you know how much you matter.”

so please 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐖!! 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐘 𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 ⎯୧

I’ve loved all of the books I’ve read by this author and this one is no exception. I was a huge fan of the direction in which she took the story and I’m a big proponent of using this trope in romance books.

Former child TV star Jane Jackson has a promising meet-cute with Dan Finnegan. On the day of their first date Dan turns into annoying cinematographer who crushes all of Jane’s hopes of her green-lit script True Love. On a last minute trip to Long Island to save the project, Jane must confront her past in order to move forward with her true self and open her heart to True Love.

It’s a Love Story is funny, heartfelt and Everything. I love anything Annabel Monaghan writes. I was a big fan the second I discovered Nora Goes Off Script. Currently pining for the next one!!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to get an ARC for Annabel Monaghan's next book! This is another excellent romance; I'd definitely recommend anyone who is looking for a good summer "beach read" add it to their TBR list for when it comes out on May 27th. I ended up reading the entire book in one day.

Jane is a creative executive for a production company who has optioned the rights to the script "True Story" and is trying to get it green lighted. In order to save the project from being killed she lies, saying she is childhood friends with musician Jack Quinlan and that he's agreed to write an original song for the move to help give it the star power it needs to be a box office success.

Dan, who her boss wants as the cinematographer for the movie, had Jane's last project killed and she's less than thrilled at the prospect of working on "True Story" with him. Dan hears that Jack Quinlan will be performing at a music festival in his hometown, so he and Jane travel to his hometown with the goal of convincing Jack to write a hit song for the movie and save the project. They stay with his parents and extended family and Jane begins to fall for not only Dan, but his family too. I loved the picture that Monaghan paints of Dan's family, I felt like I was right there with Jane getting to know them all. Jane and Dan have the sweetest romance and Jane learns a lot of important life lessons along the way.

After you get almost half way through the book, it starts to feel more like a romance. I was really confused during the beginning. I wasn’t sure who the love interest was, or if they were for or against the movie being made. And then ,eventually, we were introduced to a TON of characters in one go. That made me not wanna continue reading. Luckily, the book doesn’t seem to focus too much on them, and the romance becomes a heavier part of the story afterwards. This was a decent story, I just didn’t fully enjoy it. There were a few cute scenes that I loved that definitely made up for it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Couldn’t put this one down!! I love all of Annabel Monaghan’s books but this is now my new favorite. I love Dan and Jan and can’t wait to reread this book again. 10/10

Good book! A little short, but enjoyable- finished it all in one afternoon!

Warm characters with good background and character development. I was expecting a more climactic ending though- the end of the book was quick with not much development! 4/5 stars, would recommend.

This was one of my most anticipated reads, and I find myself very disappointed. Overall the story was fine, but Jane was insufferable. And I really didn’t think she improved over the course of the story. If anything she doubles down on her immaturity. I could not relate to someone who was so mean to her supposed new love. Also for someone who wants a partner not a true love, this seemed like insta-love to me. Enemies to lovers in under a week, just no. I do see an audience for this, it just wasn’t me. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc to read and review. 2 1/2 stars

Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Let me preface this by saying, I love Annabel Monaghan. I have read every one of her books and I swear they just keep getting better. It's a Love Story is absolutely her best book yet! She knows how to write complicated characters with complicated stories that are easy to relate to and understand. Jane and Dan are no different. I love the entirety of their story from their original meet cute to their forced proximity. I love Clem and Dan's whole family. I love Jane's character arc. And I LOVED the ending. I wish I could read this story again for the first time. I laughed and I cried and I got mad and I live for books like this one that make me feel all the things. Just read this book! I know you'll love it!

3.5 ⭐ rounded up to a 4 for goodreads. Annabel Monaghan's writing is some of my favorite and I love her characters. While I didn't connect as much with this book, there were parts of it I really loved.

Our female main character was a child star and the butt of the joke as a kid. As an adult, she's working in film and trying to get a movie she loves made. Her only problem is she needs someone big to sell it. She blurts out that she knows Jack, a famous singer, and can totally get him to write a song for the movie to make it more "Hollywood." The only problem is, the last time she saw Jack, she was 14, and she hasn't talked to him since.

Our male main character is blunt and the arch nemesis of our fmc. There are a lot of tropes in this book and some of them are my faves, no spoilers.

Anyway, it didn't work for me as well as I hoped and it seemed a little quick for a lot of the book. I will still recommend Monaghan's's books and you should totally read this if you are looking for a love story!

Thank you to netgalley for an ARC to enjoy.

Annabel Monaghan’s It’s a Love Story showcases her undeniable talent for crafting strong prose, but it ultimately falls short in delivering a compelling romance. While Dan’s interactions with his complicated family are written with depth and sensitivity, his character lacks a growth arc, entering the story already self-assured and confident in his choices. Meanwhile, the main characters, Jane and Dan, feel underdeveloped, leaving their whirlwind romance unconvincing. The transformative script that played a pivotal role in Jane’s growth and their connection remains frustratingly vague, robbing the story of emotional resonance. Though Monaghan’s previous novels felt more immersive and authentic, this one struggles to justify its central love story. Despite this, fans of her earlier work, like Summer Romance, may still appreciate her writing style and will likely be curious about her next offering.