This book was just sort of... meh. It's okay, but it's not amazing. It had the unfortunate place of being the next read after three 5 star books in a row, so the bar was already set pretty high. It's just... fine. Leans a little to heavily on the miscommunication trope.

Nice enough sweet second chance romance that could easily be made into a romcom. I enjoyed myself with Ali and Madison reconnecting after 20 years and learning their break up was based on one big miscommunication. It didn't feel right that all the blame was immediately put into Ali's shoes, but ah well. I loved their banter and them as a couple but the change from hostile to extremely comfortable again was rather fast. Yet, I can nag and nittypick about this book, cause no, it wasn't perfect but it was a pleasurable read and I would recommend it to the romance readers out there, especially if you like the second chance trope.

*** Thank you Netgalley and Bold Stroke Books for giving me this book to read and review***

Three stars.
Starting with criticism, I'm afraid. I didn't like Charley, because he came off as excessively pushy. I didn't like Ali, because all of her character seemed to be about her relationship fails, and she doesn't seem to have much spine. I didn't like the premise in execution, although I thought it was intriguing when I chose to read this. I also didn't like Madison for the resentment that she has clearly hung onto, despite her fervent denial. But what did I actually like? Somehow despite not caring for either protagonist, I was rooting for them. I thought they belonged together, and had an easy rhythm with each other. Their banter is fantastic, if a bit goofy at times. Once they have ironed out all the communication issues, it is very easy to see a HEA for them. It wasn't all about instant attraction.
For the most part, all of my first impressions lessened in negativity over the span of the book. Everything seemed to fall into place once Ali and Madison were occupying the same space naturally. Unfortunately, I thought their history wasn't addressed in the way it should have been, with Ali shouldering all the blame, and Madison not even recalling that there had been room for the most upsetting kind of miscommunication.
Hopefully I've justified my star rating. I honestly do think there is an audience that would really appreciate it more than I did: this book is good for those who don't mind characters with not insignificant character flaws.

This book has so much potential to be epic but fall just a bit short. I would have loved to see more character development and serous depth with the back story. The entire premise of the book is two heartbroken women finding each other again, and they did, in the most direct way, it felt rushed even forced somehow.

3/5 stars

This was a sweet, second chance romance following the reconciliation of two high school lovers decades later. Ali is a New York Times best selling author, but her love life is much less successful with a slew of unsuccessful relationships. Her best friend convinced her to send a questionnaire to all of her exes in order to find out what went wrong in these relationships. This includes sending a letter to her high-school love, that she never quite got over. I thought the plot of this book sounded super cute and fun, if not a bit unbelievable. I didn’t so much mind the ‘long lost love’ storyline, because it really reminded me of a story that a loveable 90s rom-com would have. The book also had this lighthearted and serendipitous feel of watching a rom-com, which made it an enjoyable and addictive book to read.

While I think the book was enjoyable overall, I think that there were a couple of let downs in the plot. For one, I don’t think the reasoning behind most major decisions in this book made enough sense. This includes quite a lot of miscommunication and the spur of the moment desire by Ali to constantly try to contact a woman, even after she has explicitly expressed her dislike of her. I also think the romance moved way too fast. They went from not knowing each other for two decades to being at the same ease they were in each other’s company as they were in highschool. While I think this was cute towards the end, I would have loved the ‘getting to know you again’ period to have lasted longer.

Even though this isn’t my favourite romance of the year, I do think it is fun and especially reminiscent of a heartwarming rom-com flick. The characters were loveable, the story was entertaining and there were plenty of cute moments to revel in.

So when I read the description for the book, I was pretty excited for it because to me it sounded exactly like a lesbian High Fidelity, which is lowkey one of my favorite (straight) romcom movies. (Also the show deserved a second season...) I enjoy second chance romances so I was looking forward to this. And perhaps I got my expectations a little too high.

Exes and O's follows Ali Daniels and Madison Parker. Ali is going through a breakup and drunkenly decides to contact all of her ex girlfriends to figure out what had gone wrong with her relationships, eventually leading her to her biggest ex Madison Parker, the girl who destroyed her heart in high school. Madison doesn't want anything to do with Ali and is content running her families donut shop in their hometown and ignores Ali's request, until Ali shows up and wants to talk to Madison leaving a lot of unresolved feelings in the process.

And this book is fine. I liked it overall, its very cute and I could believe in the feelings and connection Ali and Madison had together. I liked how the characters were introspective as well and wanting to grow from their pasts.

Unfortunately this book is all about miscommunication being the root of all problems. And I could dismiss miscommunication being the result of the initial breakup because it happened when they were teenagers and teenagers make rash decisions. But when the book circled back around to the ending conflict it felt like "ok did we learn nothing about talking to each other"

As I said, I like second chance stories and I liked this overall but it didn't wow me either or I think will really stick with me either. 3/5

I didn't think I was going to enjoy this one, but I devoured it in a day. Loved that the redemption didn't happen overnight and that the relationship felt natural.

This was very cute and quick to read, a nice way to start the year in my opinion. It was fun to see “older” women (they’re in their 30s) in that kind of book. I would recommend it if you’re looking for something easy and pretty fast paced!

𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝘀.

This one is interesting in the sense that our main character, Ali, has a history of failed relationships, which is a common trait among lesfic characters, but instead of swearing off love entirely, she proactively tries to do something about it. I actually like that idea very much even though the method used is a bit clinical. Ali sends out a questionnaire to all her exes to find out what the problem is and narrows down the root cause to her high school sweetheart, Madison. Ali discovers that she still harbours unresolved feelings for Madison and hasn't been able to connect with anyone else at the same level. This prompts her to return to her hometown to have a chat with Madison and both realise that what stands between them is a big misunderstanding.

Ali wants to give them another shot and Madison doesn't, but they seem to get back into each other's lives fairly quickly. The familiarity and ease felt strange to me as they haven't seen each other in 20 years and are practically strangers. And then there's also some miscommunication between them quite late into the story that I felt needn't have happened, so that kinda spoilt the story a little for me too.

Overall, this was still a nice read for me even if I didn't like everything about it.

I wanted something new, I like second chances but I need to believe the reason to connect with the story, to make me root for them. I found the story to be somehow boring at times. I loved the fact that Madison said No many times because honestly i feel like this is the normal reaction at least at first. the author did great job in the writing but I was not crazy about the execution.

If Hallmark decides to make a lesbian HEA this is where they'd be pulling their material from. It's a sugar sweet, wake up with makeup on in the morning, second chance, happily ever after packaged movie. The cherry on top? The small town hometown:) If you are looking for a cozy lesbian romance this is it. The dialogue is a bit too sweet for me- I can't imagine anyone saying the things these leadings ladies say to one another, but maybe I'm just a curmudgeony clam that doesn't readily admit to feelings. All in all, a few steamy scenes and quick read for a WLW fix.

Ali has had another relationship break up and can’t understand why nothing ever lasts for her. She decides to send a survey to all her exes to see if she can figure out the mystery. When they all answer except for her first love, Madison Parker, she ends up going back to her old home town to see if she can talk to Madison in person. She finds Madison at the local donut shop, now called O’s and that is when the fun begins.
I enjoyed this story, I found Ali and Madison to be a cute couple and was really rooting for them. At first Madison is not too happy to see Ali but ends up needing her help. I always love a forced proximity trope and thought this was well done. They don’t immediately go back to where they left off after their almost 20 year break but they clearly had chemistry that hadn’t gone away. I also love second chance first love stories and this one fits that bill as well. Overall great story, I would recommend picking this one up!

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an ok second chance romance, but it’s not the best I’ve read.

This features MC Ali, who has just been broken up with by her latest ex and is encouraged by her BFF Charley to send a questionnaire to all of her exes to see if she can find out what went wrong. The other MC is Madison, Ali’s high school sweetheart, who Ali thinks broke her heart.

Madison is none to pleased to get Ali’s questionnaire, because she believes Ali broke HER heart, so when Ali doesn’t hear back from Madison and shows up in the small town they both grew up in, Madison is even less thrilled. The two talk and realise their breakup came from a miscommunication, but Madison is still ticked off, and this requires a contrived circumstance to then keep them in proximity long enough to sort things out. Unfortunately, we are not done with the miscommunication, and have to slog through them sorting themselves out again.

There’s a few supporting characters, mostly Ali’s BFF Charley (the highlight of the book) and Madison’s sister Jenny, with some other scenes featuring Madison’s other family or coworkers. Both MCs are likeable, and I mostly believed they’d always pined for each other, but honestly just didn’t warm to their reunion enough to care about them getting back together. Fans of the second chance trope will likely enjoy this, it’s an ok read. 3 stars.

Ali goes out drinking with her best friend after yet another girlfriend dumps her. In her inebriated state, she thinks it would be a fantastic idea to send all her ex-girlfriends a questionnaire about what went wrong. Once the messages go out, though, she realizes the only ex she cares about is Madison, her high school girlfriend. So she travels from Syracuse to her small home town to meet with Madison face-to-face.

Madison wants nothing to do with Ali after the way she ghosted her for twenty years. Ali skipped town without a word, leaving Madison broken hearted. But when Madison unexpectedly needs Ali's help, can they find a way to reconcile?

If you're looking for a low-angst, second-chance sapphic romance, this book might fit the bill. It's well executed, providing a smooth and easy read. The characters are believable and sympathetic, and the emotion is well balanced. It was nice to see Madison and Ali get their happily-ever-after at last.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I've read one other book by the author (Carrie and Hope) and happily read her latest. This is a second chance romance. I thought the beginning was clever when Ali Daniels, having drunk too much, sends out questionnaires to her previous romantic relationships to see why they didn't work out. The one she doesn't hear back from is her high school sweetheart and first love. So she decides to go and see her.

Maddie Parker continues to live in the small town where she grew up. She owns and runs the donut shop that once belonged to her dad. Her first love Ali disappeared after high school graduation and twenty years later walks through her donut shop doors.

The angst has already happened and they've two decades apart because of a miscommunication. It is a little hard to believe that Maddie has never heard of Ali as she is a NY Times best selling author. If she isn't a big reader someone in their town would know of her success and spread the news. But that's a side note. After the initial shock and dealing with their anger it's time to try and rekindle. This is about as easy, feel good (other than missing so much time together) romance. The characters are nice and everything falls together easily and quickly. Three stars to me is a good story. To get higher I need more humor or conflict or something that brings my emotions into play. I would recommend to others who want a basic romance with a HEA. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ali Daniel’s last relationship just went up in fumes. Again. Cajoled by her best friend to find out the cause for her repeated failings in relationships, the pair came up with a questionnaire for her exes. Within the lot, as much as she conveniently attempted to leave her out, Madison Parker, the one who broke Ali’s heart in high school stood out like a sore thumb. When all but Madison responded, Ali had to return to her roots; the place where she grew up, fell in love, broke her heart and left 20 years ago.

Armed with a determination to confront Madison, Ali not only found uncomfortable truths but face a Madison who refuses to give her the time of day.

The angst part of this second chance romance book was covered by Ali and Madison’s reticence to forgive and how to move on. Enduring love is a big draw for me in this book. Their love story was sweet but I had mixed feelings about whether dialogues between the pair should reflect women in their late 30s or a showcase of them reliving what they missed out on in the 20 years.

I just reviewed Exes and O’s by Joy Argento. Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.

3.5 Stars

Ali Daniel’s best friend convinces her to send out a questionnaire to her exes hoping to better understand why all of her relationships have crashed and burned. When she doesn’t hear back from her high school sweetheart, the first woman to break her heart, she decides to head to their old hometown hoping Madison Parker will own up to her behaviour twenty years in the past.

This second chance romance doubles down on the miscommunication trope and while this is my least favourite reason for couples to split, it did add a little angst to an otherwise gentle and rather sweet read. This is a new to me author and I enjoyed her easy writing style. She adds a good dose of self analysis to her characters and smooths their rough edges with humor and honest conversation.

A copy of this book was given to me for review by the publisher via NetGalley.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Ali is a successful writer everything is going well in her working life but she hasn’t been successful in her romantic life. When her friend Charley suggest she writes a survey to all her exes to find out what she did wrong and to not repeat it it leads to the woman she never got over. Madison is still piss on how Ali left her and they butt heads about the break up but they windup getting to know who they are now.

This was a second chance romance. It was cute a little more angst and tension could’ve made more but overall I enjoy it.

EXES AND O'S brings us Ali who after several failed relationships her best friend has convinced her to contact her exes and ask them "what went wrong?" They come up with a questionnaire with the hopes that Ali will get some response to find out why she can't maintain a relationship.
She does in fact get several responses back except from her high school crush who she never got over so she decides to take a trip and ask Madison what she wants to know.
Shock is all Madison feels when Ali walks back into her life after 20 years.
But the answers Ali was looking for will surprise her. Now where do they go?
This is a quick and delightfully fun read.
Thank you to #NetGalley and #Boldstrokesbooks for this advanced copy

This is a second chance, small town romance that follows Ali Daniels, a best selling author on her quest to find out why all her relationships failed. Her drunken resolution to write to all her exes leads her to her first love, her highschool gilrfriend Madison Parker. 20 years later they but heads on the break up reason but end up spending time together when Madison needs help.
It’s a sweet romance that’s low on angst and with a halthy dose of humour that makes for a nice read on a cold winter day.