“The Next Chapter” has been described as a queer homage to “Notting Hill”, which is a fitting description.

The book starts out with Jude (butch bookseller) crying over a book (Curled Around Your Finger by Eileen Styles) when a customer comes into the bookstore (The Next Chapter) and asks if she is okay. This leads to an enjoyable meet-cute, as the customer (Kay) is also a big fan of the author of the book Jude is crying over. Kay asks for recommendations for similar books, and Jude is (figuratively) off and running, gladly showing Kay the biggest queer book selection in any NY bookstore and offering suggestions.

Kay thinks she might be queer but doesn't know how to be queer. She is a former child actress who is used to having her image scripted for her, and she is trying to become a successful actress as an adult. Her agent plans to use her revelation that she is queer as a way to rebrand her -- hinting at it on social media and at publicity events before finally confirming it. The plan is to link Kay with an openly lesbian celebrity, but after meeting Jude, Kay wants her relationship to be with her. Of course, Kay does not tell Jude that their relationship is part of a marketing strategy (and over time she realizes she doesn't want it to be). Misunderstandings, insecurities, and lies will come between them before each woman decides to go what and who they really want.

If you are a "book crier" like Jude, then you will probably cry at some points when reading this book; especially at Kat's big gesture to win back Jude after betraying her.

I like that Jude is both a book crier in the sense of someone who cries over books but also a book crier in the sense of someone who promotes books. I also liked that her coworkers at The Next Chapter included two transgender characters and a character who identifies as demisexual.

I thought it was great that the author included an excerpt from the fictional book that brought Jude and Kay together, with margin notes from Jude to Kay about the book's content.

thank you so much for the approval- i cannot wait to dive in, this is one of my most anticipated reads of the year! i will be sure to leave a review on GR/retailers to come! 💞

It is a gorgeous, witty love story wrapped in an ode to queer identity and the magic of bookstores. A total must-read.

I could really this turning into a rom com with deep feelings. This was my first wlw novel and I will be checking out the author's other work.

I just finished this sapphic romance that explores personal reinvention, complicated pasts, and the power of forgiveness. I was especially drawn to the setting—who doesn’t love a character working in a bookstore?—but what truly stood out to me were the side characters. Jude’s friends, Rhys, Talia, and L.J., completely stole my heart. Their friendship felt so authentic and full of love, and I would have happily read an entire book just about them!

The novel tackles some heavy topics, including grief, eating disorders, PTSD, and strained family relationships, all while weaving in a queer awakening and second-chance romance. While parts of the story were a bit messy, I appreciated how both characters had room to grow and evolve. Life isn’t always neat, and this book leans into that reality in a meaningful way. Though this wasn’t a new favorite for me, I really enjoyed the themes of resilience, community, and self-discovery.

Queer Notting Hill??? I'm sold! This delivered perfectly on its promise, a wonderful romance between actor and bookseller—the setting was a character in itself, the emotional arcs were rich and satisfying, and the banter delightful. Loved it!

Okay…I really wanted to like this book but oh man was Kat’s character so unlikeable! I usually avoid stories where celebrities are love interests because I find them to be one note and this unfortunately met that expectation. Kat was always putting herself and her needs over Jude’s and walking all over her feelings to get what she wanted. Jude was a sweet little cinnamon roll who deserved better than Kat. I love the found family of Jude’s friend group and I thought Jude was a really well rounded character I was rooting for but I found myself rooting for her to stand up for herself and get away from Kat! Which isn’t exactly what you want in a romance. Thank you @netgalley and Dial Press for my advanced copy.

I did not enjoy this book. The story was not for me, it felt very flat and I did not feel the chemistry between the main characters.

This was a fun read! First off, I love the representation for the LGBTQ+ community in this book, but it also represented other sensitive topics such as eating disorders and anxiety. I thought the character development was really well done and the story was flawlessly executed. But true to romcom book nature, it was a bit predictable but a very pleasant and easy read.

Thank you for Random House Publishing for granting me access to the ARC of Camille Kellogg’s “The Next Chapter”.

This was my first queer romance, and I will definitely be reading more. Both main characters were female, written by a female author, and I feel like this lent a lot of honesty to their personality and character development.

The main characters, Kat and Jude, are very different but their romance made sense and there was a good amount of burn prior to them becoming an item. I liked both of their individual journey’s, as well as theirs together as a couple. You could really make the connection between each character’s growth and how it was being encouraged by the other character.

“The Next Chapter” did have some spicy scenes, and I found them to be sexy, well-written, and integral to the story.

After finishing this book, I plan to pick up Kellogg’s other title “Just As You Are.”

3.5 but I'm denied half stars!

I loved Kellogg's first book, and this held on to the lovely writing and characters who have flaws ( and are called out on them) brilliantly. The first quarter of this book felt very heavy handed. You're spoon-fed a lot before I feel like the footing of the story gets going. Some of it reads as a PSA that Queer People Exist & Anxious People in a way that makes the story feel immature? In particular the first chapter. It was jarring.

That vanishes as the story picks up pace but it made getting into the work a bit harder than I wanted and felt very off compared to the rest of the story.

Very excited to add this one to my shelf and see what Camille Kellogg writes next!

This is such a sweet book with sharp writing, well-developed characters, and the kind of crisp, clear detailing that makes you feel like you’re right there in the story experiencing the scenes for yourself. A quick read with a solid plot that is nicely buttoned up by the end. Really enjoyed this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

I loved Kellogg’s debut novel, so of course I had to come back for more. Notting Hill used to be one of my favorite romcom movies, so when I found out this book was going to be a sapphic retelling of Notting Hill, I couldn’t be more exciting. I was not disappointed. This book had all the drama, silliness, romance, ridiculousness, and fun that I would expect from this premise. I loved all of the queer representation and the (somewhat) queer bookstore.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest rating and review.

If you're looking for a fun, heartfelt read with romance, humor, and personal growth, this book is perfect. It's packed with charm, wit, and just the right amount of emotional depth!

I thought the concept for this book was really good! It missed the mark by a little bit for me though. To start, I thought Kat was an irredeemable character. For someone with trust issues, she sure did a lot of lying. I liked how the author did now shy away from including panic attack and eating disorder rep in the book and thought it was done very respectfully. I loved Jude’s character and only wanted the best for her. I loved the resolution we got for her character, but wished we talked more about her anxieties and her panic attacks and how she progressed as that is a big part of who she is.

Thank you to NetGalley, The Dial Press, and the author for an ARC :)

Notting Hill is one of my favorite movies so reading a reimagining of it in book form was so lovely. I did get a bit frustrated with the characters at times and parts of it felt a little rushed, but I did really enjoy this. Camille Kellogg’s debut was also great so I would read anything she writes.

I love the cover of this book! I’m a sucker for pretty book covers! Jude works in a bookstore and Katrina is famous. When they meet, they decide their meet cute maybe a great opportunity. Who would love for their meet cute to be in a bookstore?! So cute! They soon realize that they both have feelings for each other. The book does touch on some serious topics. I wasn’t able to connect with the characters but I still thought the story was interesting.

Publication Date: June 10th 2025
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley, Camille and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for the e-ARC!

#NetGalley #TheNextChapter

My review will be posted https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/157725419

I enjoy this book a lot. The book is about a famous former child actress meeting a queer bookseller in a bookstore. Their romance turns into a publicity moment.

really really wanted to like this book. I love the bookseller premise and the whole idea in general. But I could not like Kat-I respect the myriad of traumatic things from her child stardom but she really was just unforgivable to me. And Jude was an extreme doormat for her. I was just overall disappointed.

I will say the sex scenes are pretty hot which is a plus and I took book recommendations from Jude which was nice.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Unfortunately I didn’t love this one as much as I wanted. Kat was *incredibly* hard to root for (since she massively sucked) and Jude did a little too much therapy speak for my taste

It had a lot of potential but I don’t think it really nailed it