I received this book on net galley and unfortunately it was a dnf for me. I just couldn't get into it at all. It really irritated me that the author made a man change all of her 'dear Alex' articles to sound more like something a man would write but then all the men who wrote in to the magazine sounded like women? Where's the logic

Happy Pub Day! A big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

"Dear Alex" is a charming story that feels like it could be a movie. It follows a couple who fall in love under false pretenses. Alex writes an advice column and begins a relationship with Ryan, simultaneously meeting him in person while also communicating under a different identity. I found myself engrossed in the story, reading the entire book in one sitting. There were moments when I wished the characters would realize the truth sooner, but isn't that often the case in real life?

I can't wait to hear what my friends think!

This was a super cute, light read with some very entertaining characters. Alex, the main character, is absolutely chaotic in the best way. I could totally relate to her juggling multiple things at once and living paycheck to paycheck, especially in a city like London where everything feels expensive! She’s one of those characters that you just can't help but root for, even when she's making questionable decisions (like the whole secret identity thing with Ryan 😬). But honestly, her flaws made her so much more relatable, and it was fun watching her try to navigate her way through all the mess she’d gotten herself into.

Now, Adam, he was an absolute gem! 💎 His sense of humour totally stole the show. He was the kind of friend everyone needs supportive, funny, and never afraid to call Alex out when she needed it. Seriously, I would love to hang out with him in real life, he was such a fun, vibrant character.

And then there’s Sir John Fenton… what a sweetheart! 🥰 I was totally not expecting to love his character as much as I did. He’s got a quiet charm, a bit of mystery, and I genuinely felt for him as he tried to navigate his own life. His storyline gave the book a bit of depth and balance, and I found myself really caring about his journey as much as I did Alex’s. He’s one of those characters you just want to give a hug.

The romance… Well, let’s just say it had its ups and downs. Alex and Ryan’s relationship was definitely messy, mostly because of Alex’s lies. I totally got why she did it, but it felt like it dragged on for longer than necessary. It was a bit frustrating at times, especially when Alex kept digging herself deeper into the mess, but there was still a lot of chemistry between them. I kept hoping they’d work things out, but I couldn’t help but feel like the tension was more frustrating than swoon worthy at times.

I enjoyed the book, it’s definitely a fun, easy read that gives you all the sweet, messy feels. It wasn’t perfect, but the characters made it all worthwhile. I’m giving it 3 stars because while it was enjoyable, it didn’t completely sweep me off my feet. Still, it’s a great option if you’re looking for something light and charming with a little bit of drama. 💕

This was not my favourite read, the beginning was great and it seemed like a really intriguing plot. Then we lose all the momentum and the story became slow and repetitive.
The FMC was also hard to handle, constantly making silly decisions and spiralling despite her constant knowledge that what she's doing is the wrong thing. At one point isn't this book I forgot that this story was a romance because it took such a long time to get to the actual romance.
The biggest redeeming qualities of this book were Adam and Sir John. These characters were a breath of fresh air amidst all the drama and silliness and I found myself dreading their departure from my pages. I also found the concept to be pretty original and I would definitely look for something similar, maybe with less of the odd and unnecessary lies.
I really wanted to like this book but it was not for me.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you for the ARC.

The premise of the book hooked me immediately, and the constant hilarity kept me going. There are so many great one-liners that are just so funny and creative.

I highlighted at least one line per page that made me laugh out loud.

“Dear Alex” doesn’t read like a debut, and with two authors especially! I couldn’t distinguish between the two voices at all.

The pacing was great, the story unfolded very smoothly and I found the dialogue very similar to that which I would have with my friends.

I loved Alex and Adam’s banter, and his wit (both acting as comic relief and also offering some surprisingly sage advice) Ryan’s sweet and genuine nature, Bea’s gentle-but-firm guidance, and Sir John’s sorta-crotchety-but-cute grandpa vibes - I genuinely loved every character. Even Chris, so Alex could just tell him to shove it!

Alex was relatable as hell, like yes, she made mistakes but owned them and it all worked out. Ryan’s was very realistic too - all very feasible reactions to things!

These characters felt very realistic and I would not be surprised to see them running around London.

It was a succinct and sweet ending, and it very much reminded me of one of my all time favourite movies (Pride and Prejudice, the 2005 version) and wrapped it all up in a very pretty bow.

It was the perfect amount of words.

I had a very hard time putting it down and will be recommending this book to absolutely everyone.

An original enough story line, but this book wasn't for me. The quality of the writing was fine, but there were too many points for me to get over to give it a high rating.

I know it makes for a plot, but it's hard to empathize with a character that knows better but constantly makes dumb choices or doesn't do what she knows she should. The characters lacked a little depth, for example, it's so focused on Alec's troubles but not who she actually is. Alex talks about how she was to be a film critic so bad but you never see her watch a film or talk about film. We also learn so little about Ryan, they're together for three months and before I read that I thought it had been a few weeks. You know basically nothing about him at the end of the book than you do the first chapter. He's shy, and nice. The ending and reconciliation was really anti climatic too.

Like all set in London books I read lately are the same. Woman with a dead end job or trying but failing to make it in her career, bit of a 'loser', wears funny PJs and drinks lots of wine while sad and alone at home and makes stupid choices on her computer because of this.

I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

Thank you to NetGalley and The Book Guild for this ARC!

I really wanted to like this book. I thought the concept was cute and the description made it seem like it was gonna be a fun wild time. However I was quite bored of the book. It felt very repetitive and Alex was talking me in circles a lot through out the book. And Adam annoyed me to death I could not stand him at all. This books just didn’t capture me the way I wanted it to and for me it gets 2.5 stars.

This book had a promising start. The first 50 pages pulled me in quickly, and I was excited to see where the story would go. Unfortunately, that momentum didn’t last for me. When Alex began entangling herself in a web of unnecessary lies, I started to feel disconnected. While I understand that miscommunication and deception can be major tropes, the way it was handled here felt more suited to a high school setting rather than adult characters.

That said, there were redeeming aspects that kept me reading. Sir John was a standout character, and I liked seeing how Alex had a positive influence on him. Adam also provided some much-needed comedic relief.

The writing style felt a bit repetitive at times, with certain adjectives being overused. I also wish we had seen more of the Dear Alex letters—they were fun and could have added more depth, especially if there had been more correspondence between Ryan and Alex.

It had its moments, but ultimately, it just wasn’t the right fit for me.

⭐️⭐️

Special thanks to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange of an honest review.

This book was hilarious and I could absolutely see this being a rom com movie. It’s the perfect example of how lying one time can easily spiral into many more lies to cover up the first lie.
Our MFC Alex is a writer living in London and having trouble making ends meet so she drunkenly applies for a job as an online advice column for men. With the help of her male cousin during the interview process, she lands the job and that’s where she meets our MMC Ryan. He’s written to this advice column asking for dating help. After she gives him some less than great advice she tries to correct it by meeting him in person. However, that would be super weird and creepy so she changes her name so he won’t make the connection to the advice column. Who would’ve thought that they’d hit it off? It certainly wasn’t the original plan.
She is not a naturally terrible person- she’s just a human caught up in her lies. She feels guilty multiple times and tries to correct things which makes it worse . She even tries to be really unattractive and a little rude to release this man from her grip but nothing works. Honesty not sure why the rating is so low. Has no one read a book where the main character makes some mistakes?

thank you to NetGalley & The Book Guild for the e-ARC of this book for my honest review <3

There are things that I thoroughly enjoyed about this book, and things that I didn't, so I feel 3 stars does it justice. I liked the concept of the FMC having their own advice column for men and having to pretend to be a man. Alex was a very relatable character, and there were things written in this book that had me actively laughing out loud. My favorite character by far was definitely Adam, you can tell he cared for Alex and was willing to help her out with anything, even if that means being put in front of a zoom interview call (very funny lol). I wish we were able to get more from some of the other characters, like I would have liked to see more interactions with Bea (considering that's her best friend) or even the romantic interest Ryan.
There was so much stuff going on in the book that I would have wanted to see more of Ryan and it feels like I don't know that much about him even though they both claim that they love each other. Things were just a bit rushed, and it really shocked me when they reveal that they've already been dating for three months (three!!?) and Alex is still flat-out lying to Ryan about who she actually is.
I was hoping for a lot more in the book, but don't get me wrong I still really liked it. I wanted Bea and Adam to interact since it was clear that Bea has a thing for him. I wanted to even get a small glimpse of the book that Alex is writing for Sir John. I even would have wanted to see Alex get an answer back from the magazine about a new opening for her to write about what she actually wants to write about, which is film. Regardless, I had a good time.

*Thank you to NetGalley, The Book Guild, And Miranda Seymour and J-P Jones for this Digital Arc Copy*

Okay so, I’ll start by saying I really, truly wanted to love this book. It had the premise of being a possible favourite of mine, however it unfortunately let me down.

At the start of the book, it was feeling repetitive. I felt as if I were reading the same thing over and over and the book didn’t seem to be going anywhere. It got to a point where Alex was going on about her ex so much that I said out loud “Omg…him again?!” I wanted to go into the book and physically shake her for idealising such a mediocre, toxic, lowkey abusive man. (I understand why this was done but I felt like I was reading about him in every chapter.)

In the middle, we meet Ryan and Sir John. Now, if you had told me that out of those two characters I would end up loving the grumpy old Tory, I would’ve laughed in your face. However, Sir John seemed to be the best part about the whole book; he was funny, straight to the point and had a great relationship with Alex. Now, when it comes to Ryan, he unfortunately felt very one dimensional to me. It’s as if he were an after thought. Every time we almost learned something else about him other than architecture, Alex would start talking about herself again. It felt like there was no connection between the two…(she called him her boyfriend at one point and I genuinely had to skip back in the book to see if I had missed something, but we just never got to see their relationship evolve.) And she was STILL going on about her ex even during moments when an ex should never be thought about (if you know, you know).

At the end of the book, I was so fed up with Alex’s lies. There was just no need for some of them. Like, Adam being on the Westend for example….Why? Just why? I also didn’t like how we never actually got to read anything that Alex had written about Sir John. The man seemed to have lived so many lives and we only got to hear about a small portion of it because Alex was too busy lying to anyone and everyone. At the end of the book, I actually really hoped that Ryan didn’t go back to Alex, because for the life of me I could not see how you could get past everything that she had done. But hey, maybe I’m just too cynical.

All in all, it was an okay, quick read but I don’t think it was for me.

Reading Dear Alex felt like stepping into an emotional time capsule, where each letter carried the raw weight of hope, heartbreak, and connection. I found myself reflecting on my own relationships and the unspoken words I’ve wished to share. The way Miranda Seymour and J-P Jones crafted these letters is both tender and real, drawing me into the lives of the characters as if they were close friends. It was a journey through vulnerability and the beauty of reaching out, even when it’s messy. This is one of those rare reads that sits with you, making you think about the power of a single letter to change everything.

3 Stars

I really thought I was going to love this romcom. The summary sounded interesting and it was going to be my first “dating with different identities” plot. Unfortunately this just fell a little flat for me. I struggled to bond with the characters as I was reading; there was character development, but not enough that I was really drawn in to rooting for them to get together. I tended to agree with the family and friends who constantly told Alex to just tell the truth. After a while her whining about the lie just became annoying. I really wish we had gotten more background and growth from Ryan, I think I could have really grown to love his character if we had more background on him.

Now I would have LOVED more of the story to show us the dynamic between Alex and Sir John. Their growing friendship was great to follow and I wish we had gotten more of it.

I liked the premise, and the character growth, but the characters just felt too two dimensional and boring for me to really invest.

Thank you to Netgalley and The Book Guild for the ARC in exchange for my honesty review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved the idea of this book when I read the summary but it kind of fell flat for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good romcom and dating under false identities. But….I agreed with everyone in Alex’s life. Just come clean already. And Ryan was fine, your typical nice guy MMC in a romcom. But I don’t know much of anything about him because we never dived deep into who he is. It was a quick read but I did find myself needing to actually think like ‘okay you need to sit down and read this now’ and not my usual excited to read and can’t put the book down. Despite that there was some good character development it just all felt flat and short for me. 3 stars ⭐️

My first read by this author but not going to be my last. Picked this on a whim because it sounded good. And I did enjoy it from start to end.

this one was really cute! she FMC is kind of a hot mess but in a cute way and I really liked her even though she made some obvious mistakes lol. The connection between her and Ryan was really sweet and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for her to finally come clean so they can just be together!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I did enjoy a break from the typical romance books I had been reading. This book offered a wide variety of relationships with the main character, all of which helped her develop throughout the story albeit minor and late in the book. I found the beginning a touch slow and hard to get hooked but once Alex began to connect with Sir John and help him on his journey I became a little more invested, The use of her articles was a unique way to give insight into her character and personality as well. As a Canadian it some times took me a moment to sort out some of the British slang and what it meant but it came together in the end. I would recommend this book to readers who like books that don’t solely revolve around a romantic relationships or have a soft spot for old curmudgeons like me.

I'm gonna start this by saying that three stars feels too little, but four feels too much so I guess this one actually lands on 3.5.

Now this book took me three days to finish, which is the main reason why it's getting a lower rating. I'm not sure if it's a reading slump, the predictable plot or me not being that interested in a single character but I did not get that "omg I wanna get back to reading" feeling and actually had to force myself to sit down and devote time to this.

I will say though, it was written very well! I really liked the phrasing, the banter, the way characters stayed separate and didn't melt into one general description. The plot didn't drag on too much and the dual storyline kept it more fresh. That is probably what kept me reading to be honest.

But like I mentioned before, the characters were just kind of.. meh. The FMC is in desperate need for money but ends up in an overpriced cafe on every walk? The old man is grumpy, the love interest is shy, the maid is kind, the roommate is a manwh*re.. All felt very stereotypical in a sense and I simply didn't care for any of them. That emotional separation made me not root for the storyline and made the overall experience a bit more meh than I would've wanted.

But seeing as I really did enjoy the writing style, I will still be on the lookout for more works from this/these authors. Sadly this particular one just didn't hit the spot.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Struggled with this book. It dragged on and on. Was pretty boring. Maybe because of that ghost writing bit,maybe something else was at fault. Liked the ending though.