Not one for me sorry! For some reason I just didn't connect with this one, I wasn't that invested in the characters and as a result it was one I had to push through. This is on me, not the author! I'd definitely pick up another book by Lindsey Kelk as I've enjoyed others in the past.
2 stars.

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED everything about this book.

I totally relate to Sophie as I am a writer of saucy reads or 'bonkbusters' as I like to call them. I have that feeling of can't let my mum read them and my nan certainly wasn't allowed.

I love how this genre of writing is celebrated in this book - the world needs more Este Cox and more of these books that celebrate women.

CJ totally did my head in and deserves everything he got
Charlotte was giving me a Verucca Salt vibes at the beginning but warmed to her by the end
Loved William and his sarcastic comments.

Hugh's 60th birthday weekend party read like an event not to be missed as Sophie tried to keep her best selling saucy romance under wraps and also tries to ignore her lust for creative book designer, Joe who looks like he's just stepped out of the pages of her book.

Full of shenanigan's from bouncy castles to horny aunties - this is a fantastic read.

I was really rooting for Sophie and hoping that she got the approval of her family over her book. I'm also hoping that we get more Este Cox as the world needs her escapism right now.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book this is my honest opinion.

Love Story really does live up to its title. A fun mix of humour, tension and romance. It was easy to follow Sophie’s adventure as she tries to live under the cover of being a primary school teacher when she is in fact a best selling author. The writing is easy to read and builds up the detail of the relationships between different characters. Sophie’s family is full of unique characters that add joy to the story. I would recommend this book.

Really enjoyable romance. Loveable characters, and perfect for a beach read. A little predictable in parts but other than that what's not to love?!

Adored this Lindsey Kelk book, a really great take on publishing, romance and the typical love stories. It was really playful at times with some brilliant laugh out loud sections, and a real lovely group of characters finding their way.

A very enjoyable, meta take on publishing and the romance genre. This was my first of Lindsey Kelk's books, but it definitely won't be my last. It was warm and very funny (actual laugh-out-loud moments), and the Taylor family dynamics were really well fleshed out. The banter (and dialogue generally) was first rate, too, and I loved the references to the publishing and literary world throughout. I also enjoyed that it was a distinctly British story, setting it apart from the pack.

Somewhat frustratingly for a story about love and romance, my main issue with the book was the central romance - it all felt a bit vague and muddy, and although Joe was an appealing love interest he remained a bit elusive. I guess you could argue, though, that this might be a feature rather than a bug - Sophie bemoans a dislike of the 'instalove' trope, and addresses her concerns that Joe is frustratingly unknowable, at least based on her initial impressions. And perhaps the real love story is that between Sophie and her 'Este Cox' alter ego - the book is *about* romance and love stories, but the central pair's romance is in some respects secondary to the theme of self-love, with Sophie's journey being principally one of learning to overcome her insecurities, own her success and come out as Este to her family and friends, and the world at large. In a similar vein, while the book within the book, Este Cox's 'Butterflies', is referred to as a super-steamy read, Love Story itself is a somewhat tamer beast. I don't have any complaints there, though, and would absolutely recommend the book to fans of romantic comedy. It's a love letter to the genre and to the readers, and to publishing as a whole, and a guaranteed good time.

I am a huge Lindsey Kelk fan so I never hesitate in picking up her new release and I always go in blind not knowing what is awaiting me in the cover of her books other than an expected book of witty humour and a troubled romance. Her new release is Love Story is the perfect Summer read that had me chuckling away in the sunshine as I flew through this story in no time.

I loved the fact the storyline was wrapped around everything bookish, from book publishing characters, an author desperate to conceal her identity and a new bookshop launch so I was being absorbed into a world that intrigues me.

Our FMC is the lovely Sophie who was easy to warm to from early in the book and I could understand her reasons for wanting to keep her identity secret even if I knew the inevitable was going to happen at some point. Her love interest is the gorgeous Joe and he brings a splash of spice to the storyline and together they provide a few spicy scenes, sexual tension and some witty situations too my favourite being when Joe found himself in an unfortunate scenario with Sophie’s steamy auntie!

I absolutely loathed her brattish sister Charlotte and I was surprised to find myself coming around to her character a little at the end. I have to day I was a little jealous of her bookshop too! It looks at the incredible pressure people put on themselves when it comes to parents approval no matter what age we are we still hide things we know they may not approve of even into adulthood!

This books oozes Lindsey Kelks modern wit and romance, it is fast paced and engaging definitely one you will fly through this Summer.

This book is the funniest thing I've read in ages. Lindsey Kelk always writes the most funny scenes but the one at the birthday party has me in absolute stitches and my husband thought I was going nuts. Sophie is the perfect British heroine who is a secret romance writer and is going home for her father's 60th birthday when all the action begins. She meets Joe who works for her publisher too and the have combustible chemistry. It takes a lot of things to happen but they do eventually get their HEA. You need to read this but make sure you have tissues for the years of laughter.

When I saw I was approved for ARC for Lindsey Kelk latest novel I fully squealed. She has been a favourite author of mine for a while now!

Love Story was a lush read. I don't know how she does it, but Lindsey just keeps levelling up. I was instantly taken in by Sophie, and then we meet Joe and I would have swooned if possible. New book boyfriend alert. The chemistry between the two sizzles off the page and the fact most of book take places over only a few day amazes me because you feel like you know the characters. Also they speak our bookish language which was heaven. This is a book for book lovers.

I found myself actually trying to slow down reading so it didn't finish too soon!! I wanted more.

I especially loved how Sophie and her little sister Charlotte tackled the misogyny surrounding the literature world and the disdain romance books get despite being bestsellers, despite being what readers want and despite the fact they literally keep the publishing world going. Lindsey and her fellow authors have spoken on this at events, and I fully understand their incredulity at how "female stories" are treated. However as little sister Charlotte shows in this book the path has been paved for woman to come along and help change perceptions of what is an acceptable read and the importance of well written female characters that women can relate to.

I feel this Review is not doing justice to how much I loved the book and all the characters but I want to avoid spoilers!! Highly recommend.

Final note screw CJ. Loser.

This was the first book that I’ve read by Lindsey and I really enjoyed it. It grasped my attention from start to finish as the plot was super unique. I also LOVED that the book delved into the discourse surrounded romance novels and how people see them so differently - that was super interesting for me to read.

I’m also the sort of reader that loves spicy scenes, however I do like to go into a book knowing the level of spice I’m going to be reading. I read some non-spoiler reviews ahead of requesting an advanced copy and instantly knew that it would be for me! The spice was perfection and intense, and the chemistry between Sophie and Joe was immaculate.

The banter throughout the book was top-notch and really love how both Sophie and Joe collectively roasted her ex - that’s what we like to see in a book!

I absolutely loved Sophie, and could completely understand her as a character. I thought that she was a brilliant FMC and I really enjoyed to read about her story. The only thing I’d say is that I felt the ending was a little messy and that’s the only reason I didn’t rate this 5 stars. I like the ending to feel like a full circle moment and I didn’t really get that with this.

Nonetheless, I loved the story and will definitely be reading more of Lindsey’s books!

Lindsey Kelk brings her trademark humour, a touch of satire and Taylor Swift references to 'Love Story', a love story about our love for love stories and how its a derided genre..

Daughter of two literati and publishing titans, school teacher Sophie is secretly the author of a best-selling romance novel. The only two people who know are her agent brother William and her godfather publisher Malcolm. That is, until Joe, Creative Director at her publisher crashes her celebratory lunch with Malcolm and promptly guesses who Sophie is. Throw in Sophie's lost laptop container her long-awaited second book and a weekend birthday party in the country with the who's who of publishing and suddenly Sophie finds herself caught in the madness while trying to hide her secret and her simmering attraction to Joe.

I really enjoyed this book and I liked the budding romance with Joe, who finds himself baffled that he's found himself falling in love on first sight. I hated the way Sophie and her parents let spoilt 18-year-old younger sister Charlotte get away with everything from stealing Sophie's handbag and generally just going through her stuff. I found her absolutely insufferable and thought she needed to be taken down a peg or two. That said she was so well written. For me, though, the highlight was Sophie's relationship with her brother William.

I think its Lindsey Kelk's wittiest and spiciest. Kelk makes some very sharp observations about the publishing world (cackled at the name of Sophie's publisher who bared a very close resemblance to Kelk's) and literary snobs.

However, at times, I think this book is too heavy-handed in making its point about the romance genre and how its derided because women love it. I think this is partly because I've lately read a lot of romance books about romance books/authors that the meta-ness of it all is becoming old. At one part of the book, Kelk spends half a paragraph listing real-life romance authors and tropes are called out as they happen. And while sister Charlotte's dialogue, while spot on characterisation of a Gen Zer, also belabours the point about woman and romance.

For a book that will be read by this same audience, surely this is a captured audience?

Thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the ARC.

Lindsey is an automatic buy, without even reading the blurb, author for me and Love Story had the most fabulous storyline. Everyone is going bonkers for steamy romance at the moment and Lindsey has taken that idea and turned it into a funny, heartwarming story. I loved the characters - Charlotte was one of my faves; a brutally honest 18yo. This is a perfect read for the summer! I hope it goes viral on TikTok!

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. This was an enjoyable and easy read. The characters were well-written, albeit a bit two dimensional in some instances. Although the excerpts of 'Butterflies' didn't strike me as the feminist masterpiece it was portrayed as, the plot of Love Story was very engaging.

Everything you need in a rom=com, especially with a dash of spice!

Fun and fruity, characters that will make you laugh and scream in frustration. It sounds like the most chaotic and fun birthday weekend ever but I adored it all.
Lots of Swiftie references, obviously, and so much book chat - perfect.

I can't help but love everything by Lindsey Kelk, always a fun story with characters that are down to earth and relatable in many ways.
However, I would not be able to keep being a top selling author a secret no matter what!

Highly recommended, a light hearted read for summer.

"Love Story" is a romcom written by Lindsey Kelk. A fast, effervescent and funny novel that made me giggle so much. A sweet, light and engaging book that was able to give me a few hours of total joy. I admit I have never read anything by the author before, but I was completely absorbed by her captivating and lively prose. Sophie and Joe, the two main characters, won me over! I found them well drawn, in-depth, and hilarious! Seriously, their interactions made me roll with laughs and their chemistry made me sweat badly!

All in all, "Love Story" is a light, sparkling and fun romance that I enjoyed a lot and recommend to lovers of the genre!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Lindsey Kelk's books and this did not disappoint. It was different to her usual books but enjoyable.

I remember reading a few books from the “I Heart” series some 10 years ago and loving it, but for one reason or another, the rest of Lindsey Kelk’s work flew under my radar. And I had no idea what I’d been missing! This was genuinely one of the funniest and most uplifting books I’ve read this year.

Sophie is a teacher by day and a romance writer by night, desperately trying to keep her bestselling author identity hidden. When she meets tall, dark and twattish Joe, who learns of her secret, she not only has to fight her growing attraction towards him but also come to terms with prejudices against the very genre she writes about. Books about books can be hit-and-miss as they oftentimes romanticize the reading or writing experience to the extent of pandering. “Love story” on the other hand, is very self-aware and self-deprecating, approaching the question of whether romance novels count as real literature with Kelk’s trademark wit, but also posing the answer from various different perspectives: the writer, the reader and literary snobs. You will finish this book defending the genre more, not because Kelk told you so, but because she voiced all the criticisms the novels get while simultaneously writing such palpable romance with off-the-charts chemistry between the leads that you’ll have no choice but to defend it.

Many thanks to the author, Harper Collins UK and NetGalley UK for this ARC.

I really don’t know what to think of this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed the humour and the relationship between Sophie and Joe but on the other hand it took me a good 60% to get into it and I found main character Sophie to be really moany and Joe constantly trying to ‘have a chat’ with her.

A lot of it seemed a bit over the top and hard to believe and whilst some parts were funny, in other parts it was just boring and I felt all the book was referring to was Butterflies. I know that’s the main storyline but it was just overindulged.

Overall, some parts I enjoyed but most of it was a little boring and repetitive.

Firstly, the chemistry between the main characters was absolutely delicious. So much tension. I really enjoyed this book (if it wasn’t immediately obvious!). Great characters, great chemistry and great pacing. It made me snort out loud at times and was great fun.

My two main criticisms are, I hate a break up due to miscommunication in the third act and unfortunately this book fell into that trap. Secondly, the sexual assault of the main character was unnecessary to the plot, and treated as a joke which was an uncomfortable and pointless addition.

Overall a good one to pick up, particularly if you’re a fan of enemies to lovers! Four stars from me 🌟 thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Read if you like: enemies to lovers, romcom, forced proximity, hidden identity, OM drama

The emotions that this book evoked in me 😩 Oh my god. Sophie’s bad luck was endless, I really felt for her 😭 Those first few chapters had me FUMING. Sophie was being run over by everyone - her sister, her parents, Joe. I was so angry and I just wanted to shake Sophie and be like SPEAK UP ??? WTF ARE YOU DOING GIRL SAY SOMETHING YOU ARE BEING A DOORMAT!! 😤🤬
I hated Charlotte. She was a horrible person and sister. She didn’t mature and get better by the end of the book either.

Despite my anger, I stayed. The writing and pace of the story hooked me. I have so many bookmarked quotes that I just loved ❤️
I loved her relationship with her brother. The sibling banter was so funny and the dialogue in this novel was fantastic. The fight scene was HILARIOUS. And the sexual tension ohh boy 🥵🔥 I wish we got open door scenes and an EPILOGUE 😭 I need so much more!! It ended so abruptly


What I didn’t like:
The MMC was sexually harassed and the FMC just thought it was funny and ignored it like HUHHH I was concerned and felt uncomfortable reading it. If it was happening to the FMC it would be a much bigger issue but because it was the MMC it could be a joke??
Things for other readers to be wary of: MASSIVE miscommunication trope and third act breakup.

Despite these things, it was very fun romcom with a unique storyline. I would recommend this book! (as long as you’re aware of those last few points I made)