Witty, romantic, emotional, and beautiful.

If you have ever felt unloveable or not worthy of love, this book is for you❤️‍🩹

This was a story not just about a girl falling in love with a boy but a girl falling in love with herself.

Jane Jackson believes love is a lie and that she is incapable of being enough for anyone to stay. After growing up on a popular TV show where she was the punchline, Jane is desperate to make it as a creative executive and believes that she has the next big script. Desperate to get the green light, she makes a promise she can’t keep… and now she has to find her first kiss of 20 years ago, a famous pop-star. Her work enemy Dan Finnegan’s family lives in the town the pop star plays next, which only leaves one option… a week trip with Dan to Long Island.

I enjoyed every minute of this book! It was my first Annabel Monaghan book and definitely won’t be my last. I related to Jane deeply and loved her emotional and raw storyline. Forced proximity galore, a complicated relationship with her mom, and a deep connection to Dan’s family all made for this book to get better & better.

A charming read that will leave you with a smile on your face and a few possible tears! 5⭐️

this book was so refreshing! I really, really enjoyed it. so much about Jane and Dan’s story was captivating. their love is the quiet kind. the kind that really sucks you in. something I love about the Annabel Monaghan books I’ve read is that she makes you feel so connected to her characters and their personal well-beings alongside their love stories. Jane’s struggle to feel compelling hits so deep. Dan’s strained connection to his family and struggle with being “different” than them really does as well. such a beautifully written book!

this review is available now on goodreads and will be available on instagram likely within the next two weeks!

This will be the book of the summer! Annabel Monaghan once again creates memorable characters (Jane and Dan), a picture perfect setting (August on Long Island), supportive side characters (Dan's adorable and lovable family), and the perfect plot (get a script green lit to save our careers, while falling in love at the same time). I loved every minute, thanks for the opportunity to read!

4.5

Thank you to the author, Putnam Books, and Netgalley for the ARC.

Let me start by saying, I really liked Annabel Monaghan's other books, but this is, by far, my favorite. It's an actual love story - not instalove and grand gestures and other tropes. But an actual quiet love story.

Jane Jackson spent her teen years playing the awkward comic relief sidekick on a popular kid's comedy show. Now she's a Hollywood executive and in an effort to get a project greenlit, she tells her boss that popstar, Jack Quinlan will write a song for the soundtrack. She hasn't spoken to Jack in over 20 years and their last interaction was unfortunate. To make this happen she must ask for help from her nemesis, cinematographer Dan Finnegan, who killed her last movie. Together they travel to his hometown for a week to hunt down Jack Quinlan. And what follows, is a love story.

Jane and Dan are wonderfully quirky characters who have perfect banter. They're supported by a cast of characters, mostly Dan's family, that are equally quirky yet real. The writing shows the quiet moments of real relationships - friendships, siblings, parental, romantic. So sweet.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all 4 of Annabel Monaghan's contemporary romance titles. 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 (Pub 05.27) is a story about believing in love and being the architect of your own experience. Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for early access.

- Fresh and snappy dialogue that creates a brisk pace.
- The writing has an uplifting, evocative and light feel to it, but made me feel things. - The story and characters delve into heavier, real-life topics.
- It just sparkles.
- Leans more towards women's fiction with a closed door romance.
- -For fans of tropes enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance, forced proximity, and small town romance.
-Jane Jackson: former child actor trying to reinvent herself as a studio exec
- Dan Finnegan: Cinematographer who is authentic to his core.

I keep thinking about a conversation between Dan's parents. They talk about how romance happens at dinner when you're wearing your best outfit and the candlelight hides any imperfections. But love happens at breakfast when your real, authentic self shows up.

This was one of the best books I've read in a while. I loved the character growth, Jane's backstory, Dan's family. It was a very satisfying, funny, heartfelt read.

3.5 stars rounded up. ⭐️ I felt decently disconnected from this book until about 1/3 of the way through, and it may have been just a lot of people introduced quickly and not deeply. About halfway, I became a lot more invested and truly rooted for the MCs, however I felt it a bit unbelievable HOW quickly they fell for one another when they truly hated each other oh, two days earlier? I enjoyed the inspiration the author got from Jeanette McCurdy, but found some of Jane’s inner monologues a bit immature and disjointed.

If you’re looking for a light romance read that ties in some fame, I do recommend this. But I loved Summer Romance by this author much more. This may be my least favorite of her current four.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the digital ARC.

An classic enemies to lovers story with Grumpy vs. Grumpy touch to it. I really liked this book and the creativity of the story. It is a roller coaster of a book but overall a great read.

If there was a way to bottle up a hug and release it in book form, this would be it. I was pulled in by everything in this book, from the characters and overarching plot all the way to the writing style itself. I laughed, I cried, and I wanted about 100 more pages. This is a can’t miss for anyone who loves a relatable protagonist, a fleshed out family of hilarious siblings, and a good romance.

I fell in love with Annabel Monaghan's writing after reading Summer Romance so I knew I absolutely had to snag this one, and I'm so glad I did!

Child actor turned creative director, Jane Jackson, lives by the mantra fake it til you make it and has found her dream script, but in her desperation to secure this project, she might have faked it a tad too far this time. Now she has to convince her one-time crush and enemy, Dan Finnegan, to help her before it's too late.

I loved Jane and Dan's chemistry and banter. The Long Island setting was perfect, and I want to move in and be a part of Dan's family. The simple, heartwarming and comfortable writing will make this a perfect beach read.

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH.

This was the first Annabel Monaghan book I've read, and I'm scrambling to go back and read her others! This book made me laugh out loud, it made my kick my feet, it made me feel all the feelings. I fell in love with these characters (honestly with Dan's whole family) and this book just made me so happy. It's the ideal beach read and I walked away from it feeling the same joy that Just for the Summer left me with - and that's about the highest praise for a book I can think of!

This is a must-read for anyone, and it's a must-read-again for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

A former child actor turned creative assistant has found the movie script of her dreams. All she needs to do is convince the boy that scorned her as a teen to write a song for the soundtrack - oh, and to spend a week with her enemy’s perfect family and NOT fall in love. Easy, right?

This book is adorable and perfect for fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope. A cute, solid read for 2025!

Like Carley Fortune's blurb, if Annabel writes it, I'm reading it! I have loved every one of her books!

In this one, Jane was a child star that is now grown up working in the movie industry. Jane got a movie greenlit on the premise she could get a famous rockstar she worked with as a child, Jack Quinlan, to write a song for the movie. However, she may have overstated their relationship. Now Jane and her work nemesis Dan must head to Long Island to try and convince him to do it.

This IS a Love Story. When Jane dates, she wears the perfect outfit and makes herself who men expect her to be. We get to watch Jane lean into being herself and fall in love being exactly who she is. This was far more emotional than I expected it to be compared to Nora/Same Time Last Summer/Summer Romance. I was tearing up in bed finishing it up.

Thanks so much to the publisher and netgalley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Annabel Monaghan's writing is always so fun and easy to read, and this book was no different. This was an adorable romance and was a great binge read for this snow day.

A good workplace rivals to lovers story is always a blast, and this concept was absolutely hilarious. The story starts with our FMC, Jane, working her dream job as an executive at a film studio, advocating to produce a script she really believes in. That is, until she advocates for it a bit too hard and fibs that one of the world's biggest pop stars will write a song for the soundtrack. This sends her on quite a journey to try to cover her lie with the help of our MMC Dan.

Jane is so hilariously awkward through this entire story (I say that lovingly); I really enjoyed reading from her POV and found her to be extremely relatable. I also enjoyed the banter between Jane and Dan-- they are hilarious together and the tension is palpable.

That said, I never felt particularly attached to these characters or this story. It was a silly, fun read, but I don't believe this is one that will stick with me or stand out in my mind when I think of my favorite love stories. Because of that, I am landing on a 3.5 stars rounded up for this one. 💜

Thank you so much to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a great book! The meet cute of the characters and their relationship progression made me feel like it was happening in a movie. I could see it all playing out in my head. I love that Dan wasn’t your normal book boyfriend but he broke down Jane’s walls and made her feel lovable.

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC!

I really enjoyed reading another of Annabel Monaghan’s books and couldn’t get enough of the characters—they felt so real and genuinely likable. The main character, Jane, had the perfect mix of humor, heart, and nostalgia, and I found myself rooting for her the whole way through. This was a fun, feel-good read that I’d happily recommend to anyone looking for a fun, light read.

This book is coming out the end of May! I got an early copy to review and I loved it!! I love Annabel Monaghan, I LOVE the Finnegan family, and I love Jane and Dan ❤️

Thank you, NetGalley, for the e-ARC of Annabel Monaghan’s upcoming release! I was literally kicking my feet, giggling, and squealing the whole time I read the story of Jane and Dan. Honestly, my biggest issue is that their names are Jane and Dan, they felt more like a Lindsey and a Cooper to me? But alas.

As you can guess by the title…it’s a love story, and it follows former child star Jane and cinematographer Dan as they try to track down someone from Jane’s past to help them seal the deal on a potential movie. Annabel Monaghan is soooo good at giving you a sense of place and I loved the summer on Long Island world she built for us. This book was cute and sweet and will be a perfect beach read!

Thank you to Penguin Group & NetGalley for this ARC. This review is crossposted on Goodreads.

I did not have very high expectations going into this, as I found Nora Goes Off Script to be a bit disappointing. Unfortunately, It’s A Love Story is kind of a cheap copy: Quick to fall romance between two “forced proximity” characters (both who happen to be centered around the TV / Movie Business) who struggle with a miscommunication trope within the last 50 or so pages with in the book.

A lot of this just feels very lackluster in terms of character development, dialogue, and pacing. I was particularly annoyed how Dan & Jane began as an enemies and QUICKLY developed into “lovers” within the span of 8 short & uneventful days. There was no build up of tension between characters from the perspective of hating each other - this could have simply been delivered as a coworker romance and it would have had the same effect.

I don’t want to be harsh but I don’t find Monaghan’s writing compelling enough to be dragging along a dry plot. I wish I found more pleasure in this book because I think the underlying story had potential, it just was not executed with enough tenderness.

I loved this book. To start off the female main character, Jane’s quirkyness and anxiety takes center stage. I love how she over thinks everything and has to go into her closet to make difficult calls. She’s a formal child star now working in the film industry. Her title is creative director and I’m not really sure what she does, but that’s okay because she’s trying to get a movie made and that’s what is important. Her colleague, cinematographer Dan, is also trying to get this movie made.

They wind up on a whirlwind trip to his hometown on Long Island and it is fun to meet Dan’s big family of brothers. It is just fun to see them both get to know each other better and let their guard down.

It’s a fun rom-com read!

Thank you Annabel Monaghan, NetGalley, and Putnam books for an advanced digital copy of this book.