I’m sorry, was this written for me??? All I needed to know was queer homage to Notting Hill and I was sold.
Niche, but I love a romance with a former child star. I don’t know what it is, but they usually do it for me. Katrina is now probably my favorite former child star, I absolutely loved her and found her relatable and so funny.
Jude is DREAMY. A masc bookseller is everything I’ve ever wanted. I love how Jude navigates their mental health and I love how the author wrote about mental health.
I loved Come As You Are by the same author and to no surprised, I adored this one as well.

Cleverly conceived, believably lovable characters, and delightfully queer. I haven’t enjoyed a queer romance this much in awhile. A truly fun read with both an interesting plot and lots of character development. Very much recommend!

This was my first sapphic romance novel, believe it or not and I truly enjoyed it! I’m always a sucker for a predictable romance; it just hits the spot.

Kat and Jude made such a cutie little couple; the star meets the shy, anxious book seller. Kat, our movie star, explores her own sexuality while also trying to navigate a shift in career from child star to a more sophisticated actress. Jude, our book seller, navigates grief of her mother and the difficulties that unexpected change brings. The two together made for a beautifully written novel.

The romance and love in this book is perfect and I’m so glad I got an advance copy! Camille Kellogg is one of my new favourites and I’ve already pre-ordered a hard copy to go along with my copy of Just As You Are!

How could you not anticipate a sapphic retelling of Notting Hill being INCREDIBLE? I certainly didn’t and I wasn’t wrong!

Kat is reinventing her stalled career and embracing parts of her she has buried deep down. Jude is trying to keep her mother’s memory alive in a bookstore her mother opened. When the two cross paths it seems that Jude is exactly what Kat needs. The only problem is that Jude has no idea she’s just a pawn…

Obviously Jude being a pawn isn’t what happens when Kat spends more and more time with her. Kat is falling hard and fast for Jude but Kat’s asshole manager keeps inserting herself; convincing Kat to use Jude to get her stalled career going again. Throughout the book I found myself screaming at Kat to shut her manager down, to stop meddling in her personal life and not make it a part of her professional one.

Overall this book was everything I hoped it to be. Even though you can see the ticking time bomb, I never actually knew when it was going to blow up. 10/10 recommend…also. Can Camille also write Curled Around Your Finger? 🫣

This book is so perfect. I’m really picky about romance. It has to have a good balance of humor and emotion. This book hit it out of the park. I was cheesin, kicking my feet, giggling, and gasping all the way through.

The characters were perfect. I found myself relating in some way to both Kat and Jude. The side characters were phenomenal as well. I love that Camille has been able to capture the diversity of LGBTQ culture. No two characters are alike and I love it. They are all fully fleshed out and multi dimensional.

The themes of the book were also beautifully written. I loved seeing both of the main characters learn to take the next step in life even though they were scared. To gain confidence in themselves to keep going and make tough decisions. The story also includes themes of learning to trust even when you’ve been hurt and how to forgive people that hurt you and the healing that can bring but also, it’s okay to let go of people who are holding you back from your happiness.

I could go on and on about this book. I think it’s safe to say that Camille Kellogg is definitely on my auto-read author list. Thank you for writing these important stories.

The Next Chapter is a cute sapphic romance that takes place in New York City. The diversity and inclusiveness of the characters is fantastic, as is the story of someone coming out a bit later in life. Representation in books is so very important. That said, I do feel that the author spent more try trying to include everything from the different sexualities, to eating disorders, to disabilities such as EDS in this one story that the plot and storyline suffered a bit. The inclusiveness felt almost forced in places instead of natural and genuine. I would have liked more development in Kat and Jude’s relationship, to show how and why they fell in love with each other. I also am dying to know how things ended with the bookstore that the book is named after. Did she ever buy it back? Did it turn into a crappy conservative bookstore? Do her friends still work there? Overall it was enjoyable though and I would recommend it to
friends looking for a light easy read.

A more diverse version of Notting Hill seemed like it would be right up my alley, and as much as I wanted to love it ... I just couldn't vibe with it. This book reads quickly, perhaps too quickly in that I felt the pacing was all just super fast. Like, it felt like the story moved fast and was on an accelerated pace that didn't seem that realistic. All in all, it was fine and the writing was well-written, but I just wasn't particularly drawn to this one.

Took me a bit to commit to the narrative style. The main characters felt quite immature to me at first in ways that didn't feel realistic to their backgrounds. The writing is simple which made it an overall quick read and I see how there is definitely an audience for this type of queer story! The balance of outside pressure and casual queerness for each character was well constructed and the side characters were fleshed out and interesting. Ultimately, this story isn't my cup of tea, but it could be someone else's favorite book!

I started this book and it was immediately clear to me that this wouldn't be a book for me just because it's not the kind of romance that I enjoy. I don't think that makes it a bad book and so it feels unfair to give it a bad review on Goodreads for just not being to my taste so I think it's best for me to only give that feedback here.

NetGalley Review — my rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

“The Next Chapter” by Camille Kellogg is a WLW novel between Jude, bookstore employee, and Kat, child actress turned adult hopeful.

What started out with so much potential quickly fizzled when I realized I only liked one of the characters. I found myself rooting for one and not the other (if you read it, you’ll know but I don’t wanna spoil it) — but I didn’t hate the plot.

Give it a shot! This novel releases on June 10, 2025! Just in time for pride month!

Big thanks to Random House Publishing for the offer to read this ARC!

#camillekellogg #thenextchapter #randomhousepublishing #netgalley

I loved both of the main characters and the journeys they went through! Their motivations were always very clear and realistic, which made them very easy to get attached to. I also really liked the found family with Jude’s friend group, they were one of my favorite aspects of this book. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun and heartfelt romance!

Big shoutout to Random House Publishing for hooking me up with an ARC of Camille Kellogg's "The Next Chapter"! 🎉

This was my first dive into a queer romance, and let me tell you, I’m totally here for it! Both of the main characters are women, and since they're crafted by a female author, that authenticity just jumps off the page.

Kat and Jude are like night and day, but their chemistry is undeniable, and there’s definitely some good slow burn before they officially get together. I really enjoyed their individual stories and how they grew both separately and as a couple.

You can totally see how their character development is intertwined, with each of them pushing the other to be better. So much love for that! 🌈❤️

I absolutely loved this book, it's such a fun interpretation of Notting Hill as well as showcasing the full scope of the queer experience. Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing company for the Advanced Readers Copy!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc. I really liked reading about Jude and Kats story and their growth, but I did not like Kat and how she treated Jude in parts of this book so I struggled to get past that.

Thank you to NetGalley, Camille Kellogg, and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

I adore this book. I was a little hesitant because I don’t always love a story where one of the MCs is famous. But there was something about the summary of this book that I knew I was going to enjoy. I was right. Their romance was beautiful. It highlights the messy parts of ourselves and how life can be loved. The discussions of grief and food disorders were handled with care. If you think these discussions could be triggering for you then I would not recommend this one. But if you are okay with them then please pick this book up. It will be worth it.

This was short, sweet, and cute. I like her first book more than this one but I still enjoyed the next chapter. I really appreciate how there was butch lesbian and unlabeled queer person rep in this novel, as well as trans man, nonbinary, and femme lesbian rep as side characters. They were all done exceptionally well. The smut was hot and I liked the switch4switch dynamic. The plot could have been more interesting to me but this is subjective. Personally I don’t care much about fame in books and get triggered by cancellations and career crumbling as plot points in novels. But other readers might find these topics interesting. I was surprised how the author was able to turn things around because for a second I didn’t believe they would.

The two main characters were missing some emotional connection to make me feel like Kat's actions could be forgivable.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc. I really liked this book. I thought it was a cute rom com and Katrina was a funny, but also kind of annoying character. She has a bunch of followers on instagram, but she questions her sexuality.

Camille Kellogg does it again! I just adored this book from cover to cover. It's beautifully written, with deeply loveable (and deeply human) characters I kept rooting for despite, despite, despite. Jude (Jude!) & Kat's growth felt real, and their romance was thoughtful, sincere, and (of course) hot. What really makes this story special, though, is all the nuances and layers of this world. The bookstore setting was so much fun. Jude's friends are a delight. Jude's grief and anxiety are painfully and gorgeously explored, as is Kat's relationships to fame, orthorexia, and soul-crushing loneliness. For all its humor (that freaking play, my god), this book is full of heart. The ending made me cry! I only wish Jude had punched Stephen in the face, but ya know. Can't have it all ;)

Kellogg's sophomore novel is even more delightful than their first. Playing with fake dating tropes and the fun celebrity/'regular person' dynamics in the 90's film "Notting Hill," this novel is a nod to those who love romcoms, especially Richard Curtis films while giving it a beautiful sapphic twist. What makes this story truly special is the "late bloomer" storyline. Kellogg gives readers, especially those still "figuring things out" a refreshing and honest portrayal of the experience many "late bloomer" queers face, and the way the love interest handles their nerves and inexperienced ie beautiful. This book is a must-read for all sapphic romcom lovers, but especially those who take a little more time to come out.