IT'S A LOVE STORY is an endearing romance about how love can transform us and at the same time become the authentic version of ourselves. When it comes to dating, Jane has her own rules... the outfits she wears for certain dates, how many minutes late she arrives, how she acts (not too interested and just a hint of boredom), and when she will allow a first kiss. But when it comes to Dan, her work nemesis, all her rules go out the window and she's her "messy" version of herself around him from the start. Spending a week with his family on Long Island in order to hunt down and ask her former teen co-star if he'll write a song for a movie Jane wants to make, she soon finds herself on the beach covered in sand with her curly hair untamed and falling in love with Dan - which was not apart of the plan. With her own issues of feeling lovable, Jane must overcome her own hurdles to make sure she doesn't let something so good fall out of her life.

I loved how light and joyous their connection becomes while also serious very quickly and seeing their relationship evolve and how their love transforms each other. I also admire how the author has a talent of fitting so much meaning and beauty in just a handful of words.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬

This is how you fall in love.

Except Jane Jackson, she knows true love doesn’t exist. Former teenaged sidekick on a Nickelodeon style kids’ show, Jane was never the compelling one.

Now a burgeoning movie exec, she’s found a script that speaks to her. A love story she wants to believe. Except the studio isn’t sure they want to move ahead. Stretching the truth, Jane suggests that she will be able to get the biggest recording artist, Jack Quinlan, to write them a song.

Her ticket to close this deal lies with broody, pompous Dan Finnegan, cinematographer and dream crusher, also attached to the project. Jack is playing a secret show in Long Island where Dan’s family lives, so she’ll go along with him, find a way to talk to this stupidly famous man she knew for two minutes when she was 16 and, poof, problem solved.

Jane arrives unsure of what to expect only to find a huge family full of identical brothers, adorable nieces and nephews, and loving parents married 40 years living near the beach on an old potato farm.

𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬

And this is how Janey and Dan will fall in love: seeing one another in unfiltered brilliance among the people who know Dan best. Jane will learn about this thing that’s eluded her - love that is true and real and unfaltering.

But will she allow herself to have it?

This book.

Monaghan has the most tender and human touch to writing families, and the Finnegans are no exception. This book has the heart of Parenthood and the nostalgia of iCarly.

Jane grew up knowing something about her father that she wasn’t meant to and it has dampened her colors for decades. As someone with a troubled sense of self worth from a difficult mother, I can tell you this rings true. Jane ends things before the other person can see she’s not worth it and I’ve never related more closely to a character. So, of course, I was thrilled with her happily ever after. 

And Dan and his family? You’ll want to join them in the yard for dinner and teasing and joy.

Perfection.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jane Jackson grew up as a household name on a kid’s tv show. She was the goofy sidekick who was always good for a laugh. Now the creative executive at a film studio, she’s determined to have the script she’s championing be green-lit and once and for all shed her child actor past. But when her nemesis, Dan Finnegan, an award winning cinematographer joins the meeting and criticizes her ideas for the film, she finds herself on shaky ground. In her determination to see this film made, she tells a little white lie: that she can get pop star, Jack Quinlan, to write a song for the film. He was her first kiss and greatest shame, and she hasn’t seen him in 20 years. But surely it can’t be too difficult to track him down.

Lucky for her Dan has an in at the venue where Jack will be performing on Long Island. The two travel out east to secure Jack’s cooperation with the film. There she meets Dan’s close-knit and gregarious family and starts to realize there’s more than meets the eye with Dan. Between romantic bike rides and beach dates, the two slowly start to live out their own love story. But will an obstacle to making her dream film come to life ruin what they’ve started to build together?

Jane is hilarious, and it’s refreshing to see comedy in a rom com. There’s a lot of witty banter and laugh out loud moments. Jane’s got a lot of baggage. Always the butt of a joke on the show she starred in, she’s never been seen for who she truly is. She’s always felt that being herself was never good enough, and she always feels the need to tone herself down. Except when it comes to Dan. He pushes her buttons, and their banter was a lot of fun.

Dan is the black sheep of his family. While his brothers have sensible jobs and families, he’s in LA living his dream of being a cinematographer and working on projects that speak to the soul. He’s opinionated, but never demeaning. I really liked him and Jane together and was rooting for them all the way. I loved how their love story unfolded. He’s not afraid to let his sensitive, vulnerable side shine through. I also enjoyed the family dynamics and how welcoming they were of Jane.

I do think there was a slight misstep with the third act conflict. It felt like it was a little out of character for Jane. I didn’t like how she took out her frustrations on Dan when he had been nothing but supportive and loving towards her. He did nothing wrong, and it just felt unnecessary. She’s not even willing to talk to him about what happened. She completely shuts him down, and I thought it was completely unfair and unjustified. I hate when authors add in third act conflicts for the sake of it and that don’t align with the characterizations that have been established. I did, however, appreciate the grand gesture.

That being said, I really enjoyed this book and breezed through it pretty quickly.

Janey Jakes spent her adolescence as a walking joke on a TV show. Everything she did got a laugh and the money she made supported her and her single mother. Now she’s Jane Jackson, would be movie producer who has found the script that will make her career. It’s True Story, a love story, and the only thing standing in her way is Dan Finnegan, the hunky cinematographer who stopped her last project. And she has to convince her boss Nathan who likes the story but says it needs a “tiger”. Unfortunately for Jane, she volunteers to ask mega popular singer Jack Quinlan to write a song for the movie. Also unfortunately, she implies she knows him which she does but that’s a long story that did not go well. So she’s off to Long Island with Dan Finnegan because his electrician brother might be able to arrange a meeting with Jack at a concert. A long shot. Oh and she’ll have to stay with the Finnegan family…

It’s a Love Story. Yes it is. It’s also a story about families and memories, self esteem, anxiety and honesty. Annabel Monaghan delivers a compulsively readable story that will make you laugh and cry, sometimes on the same page. Of course it’s a 5 star read. Annabel Monaghan could write a refrigerator manual and I would wait in line to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and Annabel Monaghan for this ARC.

*+:｡.｡“𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓷𝓼 𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝓯𝓪𝓼𝓽.”｡.｡:+*

𝑀𝑒ℎ , 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘥. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑔ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘴𝘰 𝘐'𝘮 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦'𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 "𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘" 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒 😂

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

𝐷𝑎𝑛 (𝑀𝐿): I feel indifferent about him TBH I didn't connect with his character at all

𝐽𝑎𝑛𝑒 (𝐹𝐿): she's a girl's girl. She has kinda low self-esteem, but she's acting confident. She went a 180 change from not believing in love to falling in love in one week.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕮𝖑𝖔𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝕯𝖔𝖔𝖗 𝕸𝖔𝖉𝖎𝖋𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕡 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣: 𝟚𝟞, 𝟛𝟞

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕿𝖗𝖔𝖕𝖊𝖘˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆
🌸 𝙴𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜
🌸 𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎
🌸 𝙾𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚁𝚘𝚘𝚖

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕱𝖆𝖛 𝕼𝖚𝖔𝖙𝖊𝖘˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

"I know about relaxing because I live in the world, but it is not a thing I seem capable of."


“Sometimes the simplest facts are the most painful ones. They’re the ones that cut to the essence of who we are.”


“Sometimes love is totally illogical.”


But Dan is a once-in-a-lifetime person and I am having once-in-a-lifetime feelings.


“And 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.”


⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕻𝖗𝖊-𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆


I'm in my lucky book era I think
I got approved for The eARC 🥹 Thank you so much Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam 🫶🏻

Ohhhh my gosh, love love love! I have read all of Annabel’s novels, and this is hands down the best one yet. The romance of it all, I have serious heart eyes.

Read if you love:
*** Instant chemistry
*** The great big family dynamic
*** The “life-changing” first kiss
*** The hunky MMC that says all the right things

The family dynamic in this novel was great. I tend to get lost when novels concentrate a lot on side stories of family that feels like it’s taking away from the romance. This was not that novel. The family completely complimented the storyline. I loved seeing Jane mixing with Dan’s family.

Perfect romance! Needed this read!

Run to grab a copy of this for yourself when it hits bookstores in May - can’t wait for my own copy to arrive!

Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam Books for the ARC of this novel; all opinions are my own.

I have so far loved everything Annabel Monaghan has written, and this is no different. The book takes a few chapters to find it's footing, but by the time our leads make their way to Long Island, it has kicked into gear. On the surface, the story is about a creative executive and a cinematographer trying to get a pop star to agree to write an original song for a film they are desperate to get made. But it's really about two people learning to love themselves, and each other, and especially about our female lead trying to discover who she really is when she's not trying to be someone else.

There's miscommunication (ish) which I don't always love, but the way it played out here felt authentic and organic and it broke my heart in the right way. The ending was sweet and not over the top, which is funny considering how it plays out but also worked so well for these characters.

I love spending my summer nights reading the new Annabel Monaghan release each year, and this is another great one!

4.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

first things first, thank you to NetGalley, the publisher G.P. Putnam's Sons, and most of all, the author, Annabel Monaghan, for giving me the opportunity to read this arc.

i first discovered annabel monaghan last year, when reading summer romance, or so i thought, because it turns out i'd previously tried reading nora goes off script, which i ended up soft dnf-ing. little did i know, this last one would become one of my all time favourite books.

so when i was browsing through netgalley and i saw this book was up for grabs, i told myself, well what's the worst thing that can happen. you get denied? so imagine my surprise yeaterday when it said i got it.

i want everyone to know i stayed the night awake just so i could read this book, because i was so excited i couldn't wait.

in true annabel fashion, this is a masterpiece.

i have to be honest here and inform everyone that the first 10 chapters are a bit slow, and it might make you want to stop reading it, but my advice, just push through, because once the main character arrive arrive to Long Island, everything is just a trip.

monaghan has a way of writing that has you relating to the main character in ten seconds flat, so it was no different when i got to meet jane. her situation, they way she approaches relationships in her life is something a lot of readers might relate to, and that makes the reading experience a raw one. needles to say, the characters, all of them, are incredible.

in true annabel monaghan fashion, this book has a slight third act breakup, which, as it has happened in her previous books, helps the fmc realise the way she's approching love is not a healthy one, and she has to do something if she wants to move forward, be happy and possibly keep the guy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Summary of the plot:
Jane Jackson needs to get her film project approved, but Dan Finnegan, a cinematographer, is pulled into the meeting to analyze her script and basically calls it boring. So she claims that she knows a famous singer, Jack Quinlan, and can get him to write a song for the film. Jane knows Jack from decades ago when she was a child film star and co-acted with Jack on a show. But it's been years since she has talked to Jack, so she knows the chances of him getting to write her a song is very slim. Dan proposes an idea: there's a festival near his hometown where Jack will be playing. Go to it, try to walk around and find Jack, confront him them. Jane, seeing no other better choice, goes with Dan to his hometown and meets his family, and romance starts to build.

Thoughts on the plot:
My number one thing about romance is when the characters build connections with each other, not just sex and kissing and making out. Jane and Dan did a lot of activities together, and I loved seeing Jane come out of her comfort zone when meeting his very chaotic, loud family. You as the reader spend a lot of time seeing how Jane and Dan fall in love with each other, and it's amazing because the romance makes sense. It's a much deeper connection than "hey I think you're cute, let's become a couple now".

My few minor issues with the book were:
1) not having enough context related to film and cinematography. Considering that this is their livelihoods, I thought we'd get a little more in that field. Super minor, so not a big deal.
2) I actually thought that Jack was going to be the love interest for a hot second. Or that there would be a love triangle of sorts. Maybe I was the only one confused, but that was something that caught me off guard a little bit.
3) I didn't like how Jane exploded on Jack during the third act break up scene (sorry, a bit of a spoiler). It seemed very unlike her character. And I couldn't quite understand why she acted the way she did. I sort of understood it, but it was a little lost on me.

Overall, I thought this was an awesome book! Would recommend it to people.