I’m always excited to read Annabel Monaghan's books, so I was thrilled to get early access to her upcoming release, It's a Love Story, set to come out in May 2025.

Jane Jackson needs approval for her film project, but cinematographer Dan Finnegan calls her script boring. In a desperate attempt to save it, Jane claims she can get famous singer Jack Quinlan to write a song for the film—though she hasn't spoken to him in years. Jane and Jack once co-starred in a show when she was a child film star. Dan suggests they attend a festival in his hometown where Jack is performing, hoping Jane can find him there. With little else to go on, Jane agrees. As she gets to know Dan and his family, sparks fly, and romance begins to bloom.

I highly recommend It's a Love Story!
Publication date May 27 2025
#ItsaLoveStory #NetGalley

I totally adore Annabel Monaghan’s writing. I love how human the characters are and the richness of the worlds she creates for them. This novel was lovely, even though parts of the general plot were rather obvious. That didn’t bother or distract me at all, and I flew through this book in one day.

It was the little moments — over breakfasts in the morning, not dinners at night — that made me fall in love with this story.

I would recommend reading the acknowledgements at the end. It was fun to learn that a book that was top of mind for me throughout this one was the inspiration for the main character.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

3.5 stars rounded up!

Ever since reading Nora Goes Off Script Annabel Monaghan has been an instant read for me! I absolutely loved that book and I can always count on her stories being enjoyable to read. It's a Love Story was not my favorite book by her, but still worth the read.

Jane is a film executive who will go to any length to get the greenlight on a new film she wants to produce, including trying to get a pop star (Jack Quinlan) to write a song that would be used to make this movie a hit. This leads to a trip with her co-worker/nemesis, Dan, to hunt down Jack and ask him if he'll write the song for her. Of course Jack will be staying in a small town with nowhere else to stay other than Dan's family home with his entire extended family, and you can imagine where this goes from there!

I had a hard time connecting with the main characters - Jane was portrayed as this hilarious character so I think I would have expected a little more banter between the two characters or funny one-liners from Jane. Also based on the descriptions of Dan it had me picturing him as having a man-bun that looked as if it had never been washed and I can't think of anything less attractive in a man. 😆 The plot also just didn't really work for me because it felt like there had to be a better way to get Jack's attention than to stay at her co-worker's parents' house and run around town trying to find him. Outside of that I did really enjoy Dan's family dynamic and there were definitely a few parts of this that gave me butterflies (as expected from Annabel's books). I honestly may have just gone into this with too high of expectations, so definitely don't write this one off! Save it for a fun summer beach read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyed this book as I do all of her books! Main characters and quirky and lovable. Adding the family element made the book even more enjoyable. This would be a perfect rom-com movie.

Wow! What a beautiful story. This book was a solid 5 star read. I am a fan of all of Annabel Monoghan’s books, this is by far my favorite. The tropes in this book were so well done. It is one of those books you finish and then stare at the wall and smile for a while! I will 100% be purchasing the physical copy of this book and doing a reread when it comes out.
Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#ItsaLoveStory #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Annabel really knows how to hook you from the first page! I have read all her books now I love them all!

I loved the plot of this book and the characters. Jane was just beautifully authentic! She’s a former semi famous child star who’s still trying to figure out her place in the world. She meets Dan someone who is the complete opposite of her and their story just blossoms.

10/10 recommend!

I loved the writing in this book. This is my first Annabel Monaghan book, and i can't wait to read her others. She has depth to her characters, which makes you like them, and the romance doesn't feel forced.

I loved this book! I couldn’t put it down. The characters were great, the story was fun and meaningful. This book got me out of a slump and I looked forward to reading it. Thanks so much for the advance copy.

I love this author’s love stories! Once again she brought us such lovable characters and a couple you can’t help but root for. The author also did such justice to exploring the complexities of the life of child actors. Loved it!

I will read anything that is written by Annabel Monaghan and I was so excited to score this one. It surely did not dissapoint!

Something that I love about her books is the character development. I find it so easy to relate to her characters and fall in love with them and their story.

I loved the dynamic around Dan's family, and the development of their relationship while surrounded by a potentially overwhelming family drew me in to the story even more.

I definitely would recommend this book, especially if you liked her others. Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review ☀️

I got an ARC of It’s a Love Story and I am blown away! This book really encompassed Jane’s journey to love, not only romantically but loving herself and allowing her feelings to be felt. This was a great read!

What a funny and enjoyable book! It's a Love Story kept me laughing and smiling the whole time and I didn't want to put this book down.
I liked experiencing this side of the movie making business and how tough it is. I loved that both Jane & Dan loved the new script she found.
Oh Jane... I could understand and felt why she was the way she was... and Dan... I wasn't sure at first but ended up really liking him and respected the fact that he needed to have some space from his family and do his own thing.
I just loved Dan's family when Jane & Dan have to spend the week in Long Island trying to track down Jack and also celebrate his parents wedding anniversary. His Mom just knew I think.
I highly recommend this book and glad Annabel Monaghan has another hit!

Some parts I loved; some parts not so much. I wish it had been from the guy's POV; I feel as if it would have been more compelling. Or maybe alternating POVs. But overall, I liked it. Her books are always a solid, 3 star - liked it - for me.

Annabel Monaghan knocked It's a Love Story out of the park. I loved everything about this book, and it was my first read by this author!

The characters were lovable and funny, and the story flowed beautifully! I was fully invested in these characters from the beginning, and I was not ready for their story to end! I also enjoyed that there was very minimal spice- not to say that I don't love a spicy scene or twelve, because I definitely do, but it was refreshing to read something that had all the romance but that I could also let my 13-year-old daughter read without worrying she was learning something I wasn't ready for her to learn! :-)

This was fun, light-hearted read and I look forward to reading more of Monaghan's work!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read this e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

“It’s a Love Story” is a beautifully written tale that captures the essence of love in its many forms. The author weaves a heartfelt narrative filled with relatable characters, tender moments, and emotional depth. The romance is genuine, with just the right balance of joy and heartbreak. I found myself rooting for the characters from the first page to the last. This novel is a perfect read for anyone who believes in the power of love to heal, transform, and inspire. Highly recommended!

Wow.

I had to sit with this for a few days because it was just such a delightful read that I lost myself in for a bit. You know it's a good story when you get a book hangover and struggle to start the next one.

This story is about Jane Jackson who spent her youth as the butt of all the jokes on a children's sitcom. She never let herself get out of the mindset that she's not worthy after the entire world seeming to make her be the sad trombone for years on end. She's now grown up and still working in 'the industry' but is behind the camera now and is hoping to find the next great movie.

Jane's nemesis co-worker Dan - who she almost had a date with before he ruined her dreams - and her are paired up on the movie that Jane is convinced is going to be a hit, there's a sticky bit though and her and Dan have to fly to the East Coast to hopefully get the final piece that will make their movie a success and win the studio over to green light the project.

You get SO much GOOD here - the romance, the writing, the wittiness - but my favorite part was the humans. From Jane's best friend to Dan's Dad (who just MELTED my heart!) everyone was just so lovely (well, that's supposed to be) and the writing, as always with Annabel Monaghan, is just so dang good.

Don't sleep on this one. It's one everyone will be talking about when it's released in May!

Thank you to NetGalley and GP Putnam's Sons for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! Jane is so quirky and self conscious and worried about what other people think and that is so relatable. We are afraid that if we show our true selfs, warts and all, that we won’t be accepted or loved. Then you have Dan who strives to really be himself even when that means being broke or moving away from his family. Dan is exactly what Jane needs and he helps her relax and come out of her shell and he loves her exactly the way she is. I loved the crazy big family and enjoyed seeing Jane and Dan interact with “the mob” as Dan likes to call his family. I found myself rooting for Jane and loved to see her get more confident in herself. I really love the way Monaghan writes her characters and she has become an author I will instantly read!

I will pretty much read anything Annabel Monaghan writes, and I am happy to report that she has still not let me down.

It's a Love Story introduces us to former child star Jane Jackson, who is now grown up and struggling to succeed in film development. Of course, she has a work nemesis (he's frustrating and also very handsome!), and of course, romance reasons find a way to get the two of them together on a work trip. What could happen?

To be honest, the initial setup is a bit convoluted, so it took me a little bit to get into the story. I think some choices in how the main relationship was developed could have been restructured to get me invested earlier (for example, I don't know why we find out about how they first met later in the story via a retelling), but by the end I was won over. Another win for fans of Monaghan and contemporary romance in general.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

Something that I love about Monaghan's books is that she creates such satisfying character development throughout them for both of her MCs in different ways that feel real. I think that's partially due to her FMCs not being barely 20, which is refreshing and sort of unique to the romance genre. That development adds another layer to the books that make them more realistic and never an insta-love situation that'll piss me off.

I had a harder time connecting to this story at the beginning than I have her other books, but she definitely brought it around once the MCs went to Long Island. I really felt like the dynamic around Dan's family was one that I've seen, and the development of their relationship while surrounded by a potentially overwhelming family caught me.

I definitely would recommend this book, especially if you liked her others. Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review ☀️

I am not surprised at all that I absolutely loved this book. Annabel Monaghan is always an auto buy. Her characters are relatable, I screamed when I was approved by NetGalley to get a sneak peek at this new title. As always, Annabel's voice rings clear and true in a style so specific to her I would know if was hers without the cover. (If it's not obvious already, it's a style I love!)
This story of a child star turned Hollywood producer has to work with "the worst" cinematographer is not your typical enemies to lovers situation. There's a large, loving family, SO many emotions, "monkey hormones" and a few The Notebook references! This is not your fluffy HEA, this is two flawed people who don't give up on each other through the twists and turns of the story (in Hollywood - which although a super inaccessible location and lifestyle to me, felt really normal).
After I read it, I told my husband he was like my house keys... but he just didn't get it.
Preorder this one immediately!