A great rom-com read about a workplace romance, I devoured this in hours. What would you do if you developed feelings for your boss after rumours started that you are dating on the quiet? A sparky and smart LGBTQ+ romance, both female leads are clever and accomplished, as well as being entirely lovable. I havent rooted this hard for a fictional couple in a long time, and it was a gleefully satisfying read with the miscommunications between Jo and Emma. Totally recommend to any rom com lovers looking for their next great read.
Thanks to Little Brown and Net Galley for the free advance e-book copy of this title.

I really enjoyed this! A contemporary workplace romance and it was gorgeous and gay and funny.
I liked the will-they-won’t-they aspect of it and thought the power dynamic between them was great! I did feel a little frustrated when they couldn’t see the obvious at times but we all know how insecure we can be when it comes to love!
Also there are dogs and cake involved which is the best!! I loved the sisters relationship and it made me think of my sisters who I love!
I’d recommend this to anyone who wants a cute romance that deals with serous and important issues such as sexual assault, racism and sexism.

After I requested this book, I started hearing bad things about it and sadly when I started reading it that was true. I found Emma annoying at the start, the way she freaked out about a dress she needed for a work event. I think the picture part was clumsily done especially when Jo's media persona is being an ice queen. This book is third-person but we have chapters that follow one character more than the other, which I think was a mistake. At least where and when we followed each character, there's no set pattern.

It does get better as it goes on. Emma gets less annoying and then annoying in the third act again due to an unnecessary trope.

I don't like power imbalance romances, but I'm a sucker for media about behind the scene talent and Queer things so I thought I would give it a chance and hope the imbalance isn't too much. There is a lot of justification to why their relationship is okay and involves the usual tropes around that. This book does involve a sapphic romance between a 27-year-old Bi Jewish Women, Emma and 41-year-old Chinese Lesbian, Jo. They the only out to the reader queer characters. They are both full adults when they met but it is established that Emma did admire Jo's work before she started working for her. This a slow burn romance mainly because both characters spend most of the book denying their feelings. So while I wonder their stance on Pop Culture references, I could get over it for the sack of Sapphic romance.

This book has a ton of tropes, they are obvious as soon as introduced. Honestly, if this wasn't a Queer romance I would probably have stopped reading (arc or not). One did feel very unnecessary and add nothing but did make me like Emma less and we were so near the end by that point. It's generally a trope I hate so doesn't help matters. All books have tropes in them. This one just needs to fine-tune it's trope game.

The characters are alright. If you want sibling/sibling-like relationships where they pick on the protagonists until they admit their feelings then this is the book for you. They all very nice but that's about it. No one is that deep, you know this a romance book first so every character is they to serve that purpose in one way or not. A two-line introduction told me exactly what this character was gonna do and then he did it. My favourite character was a side-character and we don't learn much about the protagonists. Like what is Emma favourite film genre? Neither of them seem that passionate about film or each other. A lot of telling, not a lot of tension. It's odd that I would have been fine with them just being Gal Pals by the end. Sisters in arms against Hollywood's prejudices.

The book takes place over a year, so they are some plot points. The ending felt a bit rushed (though I was also reading it fast as possible because I wanted to finish it before I had to do something at a specific time). I guess the conclusion was fine, just lacking in satisfaction for me while I was reading it.

Overall, I give this book 3/5 stars for Matching Bracelet. This turn out not to be a book for me, the TV production element wasn't that engaging. It's what I consider a light read, with enough realism to care about the ending. I'm not sure who to recommend it to since most people don't seem to be clicking with it. A lot of is 3 stars. This a debut so improvement is possible and likely. I read it in a day so maybe it's perfect for a quick read.

I have been so excited for this book ever since it was first announced but whilst it made for a solid debut novel it didn't quite live up to my high expectations.

Something To Talk About follows Jo, a Hollywood powerhouse, and her personal assistant Emma. At the beginning of this novel Jo takes Emma with her to an awards show so that she can run interference and stop Jo from having to spend time with people she has no interest in talking to, but when a photograph of them on the red carpet goes viral rumours begin to swirl.

One thing to know about this book is that it is a sloooooow burn, as in real slow, so if that's not your thing you will not like this one. I actually love a slow burn so I was quite happy to discover this although there were definitely points where I felt like screaming at my kindle 'just kiss already!!

My favourite aspect of this book was the writing. I know this is the authors debut but it didn't read like it at all, they really are a fantastic writer and it's clear to see that here.

This novel does tackle some important subjects; there are references to the racism Jo faces being Chinese-American in Hollywood and it also did a wonderful job in talking about sexual harassment within this industry. I loved that the author decided to bring up such important topics and they were dealt with in a very sensitive way.

The problem I had with this one was that I never felt connected to either of our main characters. I wanted a bit more depth to the characters, especially Emma. Emma felt very surface level to me throughout the whole novel and I still don't feel like I really know much about her as a person outside of her work.

This also felt a little long to me. It's less than 350 pages so is not a long novel but this took me longer to read than it usually would to read a romance novel. I believe this may be because it felt like a lot of the reasons between Jo and Emma not being together were rehashed a few too many times for me but something stopped me from immersing myself fully and racing through in one or two sittings like I usually do a contemporary romance.

Overall, this book wasn't able to live up to the high expectations that i'd set for it but it was a solid debut novel and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for this authors future releases.

It started out fun enough, but the pacing was so slow and the characters had little to no sexual OR romantic chemistry and this just... let me down in a big way. Overall I had fun with the story, but it wasn't my favourite read.

DNF @ 50%
oh god. OH GOD. i have never been so disappointed in a book in all of 2020. this one is just... i stopped halfway through it and there’s no tension, little to no chemistry, and 32435 fights. the two main characters are hardly developing, and each one is too stuck up on interpreting the other’s actions in their own very misleading way to just sit down and have a fucking conversation, because OH MY GOD THEY NEED THAT.

in fact, this was probably the most frustrating book i have ever read, and the only reason for this is that 99% of the time, fights are a result of lack of communication. AND I HATE IT. the book could’ve honestly been 50 pages long if the two main characters communicated.

anyway, i am disappointed. a lot.

I’m not sure if I’m missing something, but this wasn’t quite what I expected.
Hollywood powerhouse Jo has been in the industry for years. She’s used to doing things her way, but she relies on those around her supporting her. Top of the list is her assistant, Emma, who seems to second-guess her every need and keep her focused.
When Jo asks Emma to attend a red-carpet event with her it’s meant to be an attempt to stop the gossip about Jo’s latest project. However, after a paparazzi snap there are rumours that their relationship might be closer than was thought.
What follows is the very drawn out interactions between these two who evidently fancy each other but don’t want to confront their feelings. Along the way we have more rumours, interfering friends and family, an obnoxious director propositioning Emma and his subsequent shaming in the media and lots and lots of chances for them to move their relationship on that come to nothing.
It all seemed very inevitable from the beginning, which meant it felt unnecessarily drawn out before anything happened. The interaction between the two started to become a little repetitive - it felt like more delaying until they finally decided to take a chance.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this before publication. It was entertaining in places, just not paced in a way that kept it engaging.

Thank you NetGalley for the the ARC of this book! All views are my own.

I’d already bookmarked this to buy way before I spotted it on NetGalley, and was pretty excited to be accepted to review it.

It’s honestly been a tonic - it’s light and refreshing and an absolute joy to read - pretty much read it in 2 days - and while I don’t think it’ll stay with me, like a holiday read or a holiday romance, it was good while it lasted.

Am I a little out of sorts that a seemingly white author is writing half a book from the perspective of an Asian film star? Yes. But did I buy into her character and love her just as much as I loved Emma? Yes.

Did I scream with frustration at the miscommunication and little traps they fall into - of course, it’s the whole point of this being a novel not a short story!

Loved it - and like I say, a perfect summer tonic!

Listen. I freaking adored this book.
Here's what you can expect: A fierce chinese-american lesbian protagonist, a caring and fiery bi protagonist, lots and lots and lots and lots of pining.

Isn't that what we all need in our lives? Fierce women who are so very clueless and chaotic when it comes to having a relationship? Let me tell you, I knew that this book was going to be a five star read for me at about chapter 3. Hands down. And I was not disappointed.

The book is written from the viewpoint of both protagonists (so you get double the pining, double the chaos and double the disaster) and each of them has such a distinct and lovely voice that it's hard not to absolutely fall in love with Jo and Emma. When rumors about them start up after they have been photographed laughing at each other at an awards ceremony red carpet, they slowly start falling for each other while simultaneously trying to keep up a professional work relationship and avoid gossip from the press and their co-workers.

It is an absolute delight to read and I actively paused after a couple of chapters so that I could drag reading this out - that is how much I loved it.

I heartily recommend this to anyone who loves a good romance and strong characters (so basically, everyone).

Happy reading!

when i found this on goodreads it became one of my most anticipated books of the year and, thanks to netgalley sending me an early copy, i got to read it a bit sooner than expected and it didn’t let me down!!

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jo is a child actor turned very successful showrunner whose been chosen to write the next agent silver (which seems to be a james bond equivalent) and emma is her assistant, again, very good at her job, very intune to what her boss needs. when the media is doubting jo‘s ability to write this big movie, she takes emma as her date to the SAG awards to act as a buffer. as a woman who never dates, this is leapt upon by the world and everyone assumes they’re dating

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i thought this was going to be a fake/pretend relationship book which i was very here for — instead they don’t publicly deny the rumours but they don’t do anything to fuel them, not that anyone believes them

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it’s an interesting look into the world of producing and writing in hollywood as well as a behind the scenes look at gossip and rumours. the story is told from both women’s perspectives. jo is chinese-american and she talks about her experience and the fact that her childhood success came from an outdated show where she had to laugh at racist jokes directed towards her onscreen. the book talks about doing things for you and using the power you have to help yourself and others. there’s some miscommunication and some painful bits that are of course needed in a romance book but the writing was great and i was constantly engaged

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i had so much fun with this book and i really liked it! would recommend to anyone who likes books set in hollywood, books about well-written romances. one of my faves of the year

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thank you to little, brown!

Something to Talk About is a f/f romance between Jo and her assistant Emma, who after attending an award show together, are rumoured to be dating. This then leads to Jo and Emma realising that they may have feelings for each other. They then have to work out whether their feelings are mutual between them and whether their relationship can be anymore than the boss/assistant relationship they already have.

This book was very slow at the beginning and it took me 50/60 percent of the book to actually get into the storyline and to start liking the characters. I really wanted to like the romance, but honestly, I could not get invested in the relationship between Jo and Emma as I felt there was not much chemistry between them. The relationship was definitely a slow-burn romance and it took almost the whole book for the characters to get together, but I did enjoy the ten percent at the end of the book where we saw Jo and Emma in an actual relationship with each other.

There is good representation in this book as Jo is a lesbian Chinese-American woman and Emma is a bisexual Jewish woman. I also felt the part of the book which tackled sexual harassment was done well and we saw Jo using her privilege as a celebrity to help Emma and other women in the Hollywood industry by setting up a place where they could go to feel safe and talk about what happened to them and get help on what they should do.

I was really excited for this book and it was not what I expected it to be. However it was a good book which had a lot of great representation and had an okay romance but overall, I did have a fun time reading it.

this book was so sweet. I love the representation in this, Jo is Chinese-American and Emma is Jewish. I also loved that this was an age gap romance, as that is a trope I haven't read much of. This was a slowburn work romance, albeit almost too slow, to the point where unfortunately this novel began to drag a little between about 60-75%, although it picked up again when they went to Calgary. I thought the behind the scenes of the film industry was incredibly interesting, and thought the handling of sexual harassment was also very well done. I did have an issue with the two of them not talking or communicating with each other, and i think the slowburn probably wouldn't have lasted as long had they simply communicated.
Overall, I thought this was a pretty strong debut novel, and a fun wlw slowburn romance, and i'm excited to see what else Meryl Wilsner will do in the future.

3.5/5

I love slow burn romances, especially gay ones, but there was a few bits that just weren't necessary in this plot, which made the book feel a lot slower than it could have been. and it didn't completely feel like when we got to the end of the book, that it was finished, it was rounded off in a nice way, but we barely got to see any of the romance part of their story. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this book a lot, it was very sweet, but it just lacked that something in romance story. It was like, girl gets girl, the end. It could have been so much more, e.g. girl gets girl, they explore their relationship a bit, the end.

The characters were a bit bland, they don't have much going for them , other than their jobs, and i didn't feel attached to either of them. There wasn't much chemistry between the characters either, like, between Emma and Avery, you could see the sibling love. Between Jo and Ev, you could see the best friend love. Between Jo and Emma, though, there wasn't much there.

The writing style flows easily but it is not a fast read, in fact, it's a very slow read. It's clear the author was going for a slow-burn romance, but it felt almost too slow to me.

There was a part in the book where sexual harassment was tackled. It was dealt wonderfully, but I felt, after the mention of the project Jo would be working on, there was no mention of it after that. None whatsoever, it just was a thing and then wasn't. I would have liked to see that explored a bit more, as months had seemingly gone by with no mention of it.

Overall verdict: It was good if you like really slow burn romances, but I was a bit disappointed in this book if I'm honest.
3 stars.

Requested this because it was a F/F romance, however wasn't sure that actress/assistant was for me but oh yes it was. Loved the gradual build-up of feelings and story in this book and the minor characters were just as good as the main ones.

I really enjoyed the slow burn romance in this book. I was rooting for Jo and Emma throughout the entire story. The way they discussed the boss / employee dynamic was well though out as well; it was always something that both characters were aware of and tried to navigate around. I do wish that the will they / won't they aspect of the book didn't go on as long as it did. I would have liked to have seen them more in a relationship and some of the arguments the characters had throughout became a bit repetitive. However, this is a really nice book that even made me chuckle a few times and I would recommend it.

Great premise, great cover... but the story is too slow and, more importantly, not just is there zero chemistry between our two leads, but it's barely possible to keep them apart. Both of them are functions of their role: Jo is the boss, Chinese ancestry, wealthy, but emotionally uptight; Emma is her assistant, Jewish, struggling up the career ladder, friendly and warm. They're both a series of characteristics but without personality.

While this is cute it's also replaying all the dynamics of hetero-romance: the status and power differential (that opening scene where Jo buys Emma a dress that costs more than two months rent!), there's the scene where Emma makes a dumb decision to arrange a press interview even though Jo expressly tells her not to, and all Jo does is think she's adorable? There's the bit at the end when uptight Jo thinks she's just not worthy of warm Emma... I don't know, just switching the genders doesn't seem to change the power dynamics in this romance which follows a clichéd template.

So not one to overthink - but it's disappointing that when I thought we were going to get something fresh, what we end up with is an old, old story.

Absolutely adored this novel by Wilsner. Such a great storyline and loved the backdrop of the movie industry.

I loved the chemistry between Emma and Jo which helps to move the story along and you really do root for them throughout.

Deals with topics such as sexual harassment and sexism in a great way too.

It’s been a while since I enjoyed a contemporary romance so much! From eye-catching cover to great execution, ‘Something to Talk About’ has been an absolutely wonderful way to start my Pride month book list. The cover is absolutely gorgeous, and the story inside this lovely package doesn’t disappoint.

Following well-known showrunner, Jo, and her assistant, Emma, ‘Something to Talk About’ is a feel-good read that doesn’t shy from heavier topics. I loved the portrayal of Emma and Jo’s work relationship, and growing friendship, followed by more feelings. After the rumours following Emma and Jo’s red carpet appearance during major awards, things get more complicated for both as the public assumes they are dating. And yet the actual romance is very slow-burn, which I absolutely loved. Often contemporary romances luck the building-up between the characters, but it was not the case here!

Emma’s asthma, and both of female leads’ relations with their families is well-shown, with many hilarious moments, and snarky dialogues especially between Emma and her sister or between Jo and her best friend. It makes the whole story so much more believable. Despite continuous joyous and funny storyline, ‘Something to Talk About’ handled some heavy issues in a great way. Starting from Jo not being ‘out’, to racism, and sexual harassment, some fragments have been absolutely heartbreaking, but ‘Something to Talk About’ has shown the strength in both of the leads while dealing with those topics, and it made their story so much more important as the result.

I have been pleasantly surprised by the interchanging third-person narration in Meryl Wilsner’s book, giving the readers insights into both Emma and Jo’s lives and perspectives. A huge percentage of contemporary romances is written in the first-person, and while there is nothing wrong about, well-executed third-person point of view in ‘Something to Talk About’ has been definitely a bonus for me.

Some fragments felt a little too long or not entirely needed, but overall, Meryl Wilsner’s ‘Something to Talk About’ has been an absolute joy to read, so it’s not a surprise I have finished it in one evening! I will definitely be talking more about this book, and recommending it to anyone looking for a great contemporary romance.

That gorgeous cover reeled me in to reading the blurb and from there, I knew I wanted to read SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT. What I love about this book was that it sat in true contemporary romance territory, very low on steam, slow burn and with great main characters.

Jo, ‘the boss’ was quietly closeted, as someone in Hollywood, followed by reporters and photographed, she maintained a close privacy. Her assistant Emma, was a younger woman, super efficient and professional and with a small crush on her boss. This story took the office setting and made it interesting.

This book has a fair bit of miscommunication in it, misunderstandings that were just occasionally frustrating. Jo was 100% in charge and Emma was a bit sheepish at times, I wanted to see more of Emma asserting herself but she rarely did. There were interesting themes throughout this story, including #metoo issues. I also loved how asthma was represented in this story, I appreciated seeing that episode so much; I feel it’s so rarely conveyed in fiction.

The slow burn aspect of Emma and Jo’s connection had you hanging on a long time to see their relationship connect the dots. As a fan of slow burn, this was okay with me. However, I would have loved to have seen some epilogue and HEA in there.

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT was refreshing and a perfect read to start #pridemonth. I would love to read more contemporary romance like this and I hope this is a sign of things to come. Rounded up to 4 stars.

Something to Talk About is about the best form of escapism there is now, It's a fun read, with a lovely plot, strong and very likeable characters who make it easy to root for. A brilliant summer read.