I loved this book. The main character’s journey to love herself really resonated with me. This might be my favorite Annabel Monaghan book yet!

It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶

Jane is a former child star who played the awkward sidekick and never thought she was worthy of being the leading lady. She's found the perfect project that will make her career take off if it goes well. Dan is the focused cinematographer who had her last project scrapped right before their first date that never happened.

They're thrown together when the only way to make the project get the greenlight is to spend a week at Dan's parents' house chasing down Jane's first kiss. I promise, it works.

I was expecting a banter-filled rom com, a beach read. This was sooooo much better. Dan and Jane's rivels to lovers has the best of ups and downs and leaves you rooting for them. Dan's family is adorable and relatable, as is Jane's anxiety and personal growth. Honestly, there is nothing about this book I would change. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of Annabel Monaghan's books.

My first read of the year was this beauty! The characters really shined so brightly. First there is Jane, former child actor who now works for a production company and wants nothing more than to have the script she found be made into a movie. Then we have Dan, he is an passionate cinematographer who Jane has a rocky relationship with, but now she must team up with him to save her dream project.
Their partnership takes them on a visit to Dan’s hometown and this is where the magic of this story truly begins. Jane grew up an only child of a single mom, so being immersed in Dan’s family is eye opening for her. As Jane chases the dream of making her movie, she learns a lot along the way about family and love and being true to herself.
This story is filled with so much love and laughter and warmed my heart.
Thank you to Putnam books for the opportunity to read an early copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Annabel Monaghan is an auto-buy author for me. Her books are always full of raw emotions and relatable heroines. While I don’t relate to Jane’s personal experiences as much as some of Monaghan’s other heroines, I could understand Jane’s feelings and it was nice to watch her grow. I also ADORED her sense of humor. She delivered a few laughs-out-loud lines, which makes me love Monaghan even more!

Dan was a comforting, steady constant. Loved him.

The stars of this book were the Finnegans. Dan’s family was so full of love and light and I desperately want to meet them in real life.

This book was like a big, emotional hug and I highly recommend it. This book releases on May 27, 2025.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will also be posting a review on my IG: Instagram.com/kraftykatreads

This book follows Jane Jackson as she works to get a script greenlit for production but ends up finding her own love story along the way. I have loved all of Annabel Monaghan’s books and It’s A Love Story was no different. This was a fun and easy read that will be a perfect summer book. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC!

This was such a refreshingly beautiful read. Jane is complex, anxious, and eager to build a life in a paint by numbers fashion while ignoring uncomfortable truths in pursuit of others' comfort. She's relatable and dynamic and her voice is so compelling. Dan's worldview and personality is a delightful contrast. The conflict and tension between them is believable, despite the outlandish scheme they hatch up try to create their film. The cast of characters, pacing, and banter were all so well fleshed out. This further cements Annabel Monaghan as an auto-buy author for me.

It's a Love Story is a story of love, self-doubt, and personal growth, told through the eyes of an awkward, anxious young woman who's been convinced for too long that love isn’t meant for her. When Jane meets Dan their first impressions are far from ideal—he thinks she’s crazy, and she thinks he's the worst—things take a hilarious turn when they end up visiting Dan’s family together on a mission to track down her douchey ex-fling things get unexpectedly complicated.

The family dynamics are hilarious and had me wishing I could go spend a weekend on Long Island with them. Monaghan nails the witty banter while also bringing up relatable self worth struggles making this an easy and overall enjoyable read just like her other books

A big thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the advanced copy!

It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan was a great book! I was so happy to be chosen to review it. I loved it!

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC. I’ve read every book by Annabel Monaghan and I really enjoyed this one. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre.

NetGalley ARC - 4.5 stars
I was so excited to get the ARC for the new Annabel Monaghan, but I also knew I had to wait for a good time to start because it would be a one sitting book and I was right! It is more women's lit than romance, in terms of book genre. I really enjoyed it, the characters were real and flawed and likeable. I loved the child actress background for something different. The romance plot was a bit quick for a book that criticized instalove plots, but it was believable to the reader.
Overall so happy to get this ARC and loved it.

Jane is a former child star, and as an adult is looking to break into the entertainment industry as an executive and be seen in a different light. In that process, she tells a small lie which is that current pop star Jack is writing a song for her new movie. Her supposed work rival, Dan, becomes an important person for her as he as an "in" to Jack - who is playing a festival in Dan's hometown. Readers then get to be delighted in reading the banter between Jane and Dan, and they do blend well together because he ultimately knocks down her walls and gets past her perfection facade, helping to bring her back to just Jane. The romance is also slower, and unwraps very nicely - a really well-paced book here, as well as through and through. This will be a GREAT summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge Annabel Monaghan fan! This one was unexpected because it has the trademark witty banter but the aspect of Jane learning that she does not have to be perfect but instead to be authentic and real made this book have more depth than I expected! Jane and Dan are like a cozy hug. You want to be friends with them! The way these two talk gave me "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" Hudson and McConaughey vibes! This is a great one.

Annabel Monaghan never goes wrong. I’ve enjoyed all of Annabel Monaghan‘s romances and this one was no different.

I think Annabel Monaghan is just really good at writing solid romances. The only other book I’ve read by her is summer romance, and I really enjoyed that one. I did really like parts of this book, but I think it fell flat in the character department. Jane was just so immature and bad with communication that it was frustrating having to be in her pov. I did really like the cute moments she had with Dan, but them falling in love in a week was just a bit fast for me. Also the entire time I was hoping jack would finally get what he deserved.

✨It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan was just *the" absolute perfection that I knew it was going to be. I swear I could pick out Annabel's voice from of a stack of loose pages. Her way of writing is so unique, and I am so obsessed! Is Annabel like "wait, crap, do I have a stalker now?" The answer is yes. 🙋🏼‍♀️

I honestly felt like this was the most authentically Annabel book that I've read of hers so far, in the best way possible. Like this was her totally delving into her own style of confidently writing. I think Nora Goes Off Script just is and will forever be my favorite of hers, but I truly loved this story. 🫶🏻

Here we have Jane Jackson, a former child TV star who played an awkward adolescent character in a sitcom, who is now an adult working as a Creative Executive at Clearwater Studios in LA. She's fallen in love with a script and when she's met with resistance by the cinematographer and overall grump, Dan Finnegan, she *accidentally* promises that Jack Quinlan, the uber famous and dreamy popstar, who was on said sitcom with Jane as a child, will sing a song for the movie and it will be instantly successful. Turns out Jack, who she hasn't talked to in 20 years and caused her some serious shame as a child, is performing in Dan's hometown on Long Island and Dan invites her to spend the week with his family and convince Jack to write the song. Does Janey Jakes convince Jack to sing the song, does Jane find something else along the way, does Jane convince herself that love is real? 💖🎬🍿

Annabel's books have a way of treating heavy topics with the gentlest hand and bringing light and humor to them. When I tell you that my Kindle ARC is covered in highlights of even the simplest lines that Annabel makes gorgeous and funny, I'm not kidding. 😮‍💨

✨"Any mention of NASCAR and I'm out."
✨“I thought by now I'd know Spielberg and how to use my oven."
✨"There's nothing that makes a person act more insane than trying to prove how sane they actually are."
✨"Dan gets under my skin. And honestly, the whole purpose of skin is to keep things out."
✨"I smile the smile of a person who is being flushed down the world's largest toilet but wants people to think she's enjoying the ride."
✨“...which was great because I'd just had a really big lunch and didn't feel like acting datable."
✨"This is the thing you save up for. You live your whole life so that you can be surrounded by too many people in too small of a room and tell the story of how it all happened."
✨"Love happens over breakfast."
✨"It's like moving a mountain to change the way you think about yourself, yet it can happen in an instant if you're ready."

I cannot, cannot, CANNOT recommend this book enough. It's a Love Story comes out May 27, 2025 and is already making waves - get your pre-orders in and on your library holds lists SOON!! 👏🏻

Thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons, and Annabel Monaghan for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 💖

quite literally the most perfect summer read, it’s release date is perfect. Annabel Monaghan is one of the best romance authors and every book i read gets better and better! If i could give this book 6 stars i would. I was feeling all the emotions with this one so make sure you got a tissue box near you.

This enemy’s to lovers story was just as cute as her other books! The slow burn, one bed story of a women finding herself out of the limelight. She finds herself and learns what true love is!

Jane Jackson is a former child actor (“Janey Jakes”) trying to break into the world that portrayed her as awkward and funny as a studio executive. Jane has found THE perfect script. The issue? Her boss doesn’t think it will make money. So what does Jane do? She overstates her relationship with one of the most popular pop artists at the moment, Jack Quinlan. They have a past and Jane thinks she can talk him into singing a song for the movie she wants to make. How will Jane reconnect with Jack? Enter the cinematographer, and previous crush, that ruined their last project, Dan Finnegan. Dan is heading home for a week and Jack happens to be there as well for a concert.

Jane travels to Dan’s home (one room, anyone?) and spends the week with his large, loud, loving family. While there, she sees a different side of Dan and starts to question the lies she has told herself since before the Janey Jakes days. Turns out, Jane likes who she is under her perfect, curated facade. Can Jane put aside the lies once and for all and grab onto the life she has always wanted?

I read this book in one day and loved it. However, I loved Summer Romance more. This book is warm and charming and the witty banter kept me smiling. It was so relatable reading how we often try to shape ourselves into who we think others want us to be, instead of just being authentic to ourselves. The ending felt a bit rushed, but I enjoyed this one SO MUCH.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This lovely book will be out May 27, 2025!

It's a Love Story.....Just say YES!

Annabel Monaghan brought her A game again. This book lived up to her previous books and it lived up to her past books.

I couldn't put this one down and it was a sweet romance with great dialogue and fun characters. Life lessons wrapped with a side of swooning.

Thank you Putnam Books & NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book made me want to watch the movie The Notebook so bad, lol. This is one of my new favorite books, EVER! I have not felt so connected to a book since I read Happy Place by Emily Henry for the first time 💖. This story was incredibly funny, compelling (see what I did there 😉), and challenging.

This book tells you about Jane Jackson, who is trying to get the script of True Story made with the help of her coworker, Dan Finnegan. He offers to let her stay with his family so she can go around Long Island to speak to Jack Quinlan, who was the first boy she loved. She lied to her boss by saying she knew him and he could help write a hit song for the movie. He's a big-time star who treated her terribly when she was a teenager.

While trying to find a way to make their love story movie, Jane and Dan happen to make their own come to life. This enemies to lovers, slow burn, and adorable romance has Jane literally going insane. Jane is also dealing with trauma from her dad, which causes even more drama!

I was glued to this book around 30% until the end. Literally could not stop reading this book. I will literally scream from mountains how good of a book this is. Annabel, you wrote a masterpiece girly. Proud of you 👏

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC 💖