I was excited to read this because the plot grabbed my interest. However, I'm sad to report that it didn't gave what I thought it would give. I'm not a fan of huge age gaps trope so I was kinda reluctant to continue but I decided to give it a chance. Sadly, I just was not able to enjoy this one. I did not feel any tension or chemistry and I feel like their connection was too quick and forced. It's a read that some age gap trope lovers might love but it's unfortunately not the book for me.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this ARC!

3.5 Stars to 4 stars
This was an entertaining romance with some unconvincing elements. I liked the FMC from the start but it took me quite a while to warm up to the MMC. While Jack turned out to be a good guy underneath his arrogance I had trouble believing the attraction between Freya and him. There were more unlikely elements like the way Davis changed his behaviour but I didn't mind too much. While not a must-read for me I thought the book was entertaining and enjoyable.

I Like My Men Grumpy—Not Rude AF.

Okay, let’s talk about Long Story Short. A glitzy New York literary conference, a grumpy bestselling author, and an ambitious assistant trying to save his reputation? Sounds like my kind of romance. Except… it wasn’t.

Look, I love a good grumpy-sunshine dynamic, but Jake? He wasn’t just grumpy—he was borderline insufferable. The man had zero charm, just a bad attitude and a habit of talking down to Freya like she was some hysterical child. (Newsflash, dude: Telling a woman to "calm down" is a one-way ticket to getting your shoes puked on.) And Freya? Sweet, but frustratingly naive. Their ten-year age gap could’ve added depth, but instead, it just made Jake seem immature and Freya underdeveloped.

The setting had so much potential—bookish people in New York! Drama! Romance!—but it all felt surface-level. The chemistry between Jake and Freya relied on tired miscommunication tropes, and their romance? Forced. The side characters’ happy endings were the only thing that kept me going—those little moments felt real and warm.

And can we talk about the dialogue? Some lines were so cringe, I had to reread them just to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.

If you want a quick, easy read with minimal spice, this might work for you. But if you’re looking for depth, emotional tension, or a MMC who isn’t a walking HR violation? Hard pass.

(Also, that cover? Adorable. Too bad the story didn’t live up to it.)

#LongStoryShort #NetGalley

Firstly, thank you so much for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book!

This way my first book by Victoria Walters and I found it a really lovely read. Although in some places I found the plot to be a little predictable, I did find myself drawn into the characters and rooting for them throughout the book! I feel like this book is a perfect read for summer weekends at the beach or girly holidays in the sun!

3.5⭐️

This was such a cute rom com! With a funny meet-cute, forced proximity, and great character growth. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

I did find the sex scenes felt a bit out of place. I think I would have liked it better as closed door. It just didn’t fit with the characters in my opinion.

The plot and cover of the book both looked really good so I decided to give it a chance. But everything felt so predictable and the miscommunication between Freya & Jake was just annoying. There was definitely tension between them but I just couldn't connect with either of the main characters. Freya was unprofessional and immature and Jake was unnecessarily rude. The writing also did not appeal to me tbh. So while the thought about this book was good, it's execution was poor and the book in itself was not my cup of tea, ngl.

I received an ARC from Nethalley in exchange of an honest review

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This was an entertaining romance with some unconvincing elements. I liked the FMC from the start but it took me quite a while to warm up to the MMC. While Jack turned out to be a good guy underneath his arrogance I had trouble believing the attraction between Freya and him. There were more unlikely elements like the way Davis changed his behaviour but I didn't mind too much. While not a must-read for me I thought the book was entertaining and enjoyable.

Personally, I didn’t love this.
The writing felt very YA and the plot wasn’t strong.
It was hard to believe the main characters were 20+ and 30+ with their dialogue.
The setting in New York was very appealing though and was fun to be able to explore a part of New York through the book.
Although this wasn’t for me, I could see other romance readers enjoying this.

Long Story Short is a modern romcom where Freya is a literary assistant with aspirations of becoming an agent. She is tasked with attending a conference in New York with a romance author, Jake. Her goal is to impress her boss and save Jake’s career after he was caught speaking poorly of the romance genre and his fans. She needs the conference to go well and Jake’s reputation to be saved so she can become an agent. Why would romance author make disparaging comments about the genre he writes that alienates his fans? Is that how he really feels or is there something he’s hiding? For a glimpse into the world of writing and publicity, read Long Story Short by Victoria Walters to find out how important the decisions are to be surrounded by the right people.

Thanks so much for the early read on this! Although I was not able to finish it. It was a super cute storyline but I had a little trouble connecting to it. Pretty cover. Tha is always Netgalley for the ARC!

“Long Story Short” by Victoria Walter’s had a lot of really good qualities. I liked the personal growth of the FMC, Freya, who is a literary agent’s assistant forced to go to New York to salvage the career of a romance author. Jake is trying to pick up the pieces of his career and publish his newest book after a scandalous article was released that revealed him saying he hated romance. In the airport to New York he really sees Freya for the first time when she accidentally falls at his feet. Freya finds her voice as an agent all while Jake falls in love with love again. 

I found the plot to be fun, the day trips around New York added an interesting element to the plot and Freya’s journey to stay true to herself while learning to trust in what she thinks was also very good. I found the development of the relationship between Jake and Freya to be mostly antagonistic which made their chemistry not as steamy as it could be. Regardless of this fact I did find myself rooting for them and I was invested in finding out how they got there happily ever after. I did find the banter between the MC’s and the writing style to be a bit choppy at times and a bit cringy. The conflict was drawn out it felt like but the grand gesture at the end was very cute and original. To sum up I found the book had some areas that I did struggle with but it was enjoyable overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

If you’re looking for a short and light romance, this book <i>might</i> be for you. The FMC, Freya, is an assistant literary agent who has been tasked to follow Jake, a reputable romance author, to New York in order to save his reputation following a controversial article.

Tropes that stood out to me:
- Age Gap (MMC is 10 years older)
- Workplace Romance (they go on a work trip to New York!)
- Forced Proximity

There’s a bit of spice in this book, and if I had to rate it, it’ll be:
🌶️ out of 🌶️🌶️🌶️
This rating (which is totally subjective because it is based on my opinion that constantly changes as I read more books) means that there are multiple open door scenes (about 2-3 in this book if I’m not mistaken) of explicit content. This book is a 1 in a scale from 1-3 because these scenes are not so graphic (to me at least).

Personally (I’m about to be real honest here)…
.
.
.
I did not like this book and if it wasn’t for the fact that it was an ARC, I would have DNFed it a long time ago. This book triggered me a lot and it’s because of a combination of things.

I thought the plot was weak and I didn’t like how certain things were represented AKA, the romance community in this book. Perhaps it’s just me, but I thought they were so toxic and this extends to the FMC as well. I did not like how pushy she was— telling the MMC to “tell the truth”. It’s happened multiple times where he said it was personal but it irked me so much that the romance community in this book (and by extension the FMC) could not take that as an answer in response to the controversial article. So annoying. It felt like everyone was entitled to know what that personal matter was and to me, it depicted the MMC as less than human (if you get where I’m getting at).

Speaking of the FMC— I also did not like her. She frustrated me to no end. The MMC is honestly not bad, but sometimes his dialogue is so forced and unnatural, so cheesy and corny.

But let’s talk about the relationship between these two leads… which I also was not a fan of. My biggest trigger in this category was the fact that the FMC “thought” she knew the MMC (they are literally strangers) because she read his books and was a big fan of him before his controversy.

AND THEN the FMC would be like, “so, who is the real Jake?” like ma’am, just because you read his books does not mean you know him on a personal level. And it’s because of this entire fantasy that the FMC created that really makes the whole relationship dynamic with the MMC so weird to me.

The writing was another thing that bothered me— lots of <i>telling</i> and not <i>showing</i>. Besides the characters and the plot, this book would have impressed me more if there was more description to a character’s actions and the locations. Instead, every location and character that existed served a role and it made everything flat. There were also a few sentences/ phrases that could have been reworded to make it easier on the eyes.

This review is already long but TL;DR, I didn’t like this book. I understand that people have different tastes though, so maybe this book just wasn’t for me. But if you’ve come this far reading my review and are still curious about the book, perhaps give it a try. You might end up liking it.

Long Story Short was such a cute read! While the explosive chemistry between Freya and Jake starts as dislike, it doesn’t take too long before it morphs into something else. It makes perfect sense to me for two people with writing brains to eventually see all that they do have in common & the power that those shared interests hold.

One of the things I loved in this story was watching Jake soften. He’s cold on the exterior at the beginning but it was so sweet seeing him warm up towards Freya as the story went on. That softer side really makes him a fantastic romantic character.

Victoria Walters has delivered another brilliant cutesy romance story! It was so easy to cheer for Freya and watching Freya find her voice was wonderful to see. This book is so very British in the most charming of ways!

Thank you to Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review this book! I received a free advance copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Long Story Short is a fun, trope-filled romp through the world of publishing, full of witty banter, steamy moments, and a grumpy-sunshine pairing that fans of contemporary romance will eat right up. If you're a sucker for slow burns, forced proximity, and a redemption arc wrapped in a New York setting, this book delivers on all fronts—even if a few beats feel a little too familiar.

Freya, an ambitious assistant literary agent hoping to climb the professional ladder, is sent to a romance conference to wrangle Jake Richards—once a beloved romance author, now infamous for saying the quiet part out loud about his own genre. From the beginning, the tension between them is clear, and Walters leans into the enemies-to-lovers dynamic with clever dialogue and some solid emotional beats.

The chemistry between Freya and Jake is strong, especially once their guards begin to crack. Jake’s grumpy, cynical nature plays well against Freya’s determined optimism, and the slow burn gives their relationship room to build. The age gap is noticeable (and acknowledged), but handled with mutual respect and clear consent throughout, which is refreshing. Still, their dynamic occasionally leans into the familiar “older, brooding man / younger, earnest woman” trope in ways that feel a touch overdone.

The conference setting adds a fun and unique backdrop, and the behind-the-scenes glimpses into the publishing world are a nice touch—especially for bookish readers. That said, while the plot moves quickly and the story is undeniably entertaining, some moments felt a bit surface-level. The emotional stakes, particularly in the third act, could have been sharper, and a key miscommunication felt like a convenient (and avoidable) conflict rather than something truly earned.

If you’re looking for something emotionally intense or unpredictable, this might not be it—but if you're in the mood for a comfort read that checks all the romance trope boxes with humor and heart, this one is well worth picking up.

It may not reinvent the genre, but Long Story Short knows exactly what it is: a feel-good romance with just enough spice, drama, and heart to keep you turning pages.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this at 31%.

I thought I was gonna enjoy this story but this was not the book for me. I tried to keep going but couldn't get into the story at all and I was starting to hate the MMC…


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a cute read!

Relived my NYC magic with this book, the calming of Central Park to the chaos of Times Square, it was magic.

Age gap, touch of spice, love hate relationships, the journey of romance book publication and a 1st class trip to NYC, what's not to like?

I was rooting for Freya to stick up for herself with Hayley and Jake was just ...... swoon. Learnt what a meet-cute is and the world of publishing sounds brutal if you don't have the right team behind you.

A story of honesty v dishonesty, love and happiness and a lesson to be your own champion first, then there's no stopping what can be achieved.

Another fab read from Victoria Walters!

“Long Story Short” is a romance book by Victoria Walters. I have really mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I think my exceptions were higher than they should’ve been. The main female character is so young - not in age, but in her thinking and actions. The older male character at times seems more mature and then comes across being just as young as the female character- although he’s supposed to be ten years older than her. The repeated “ten years older” got old (pun intended) after a while. I’m glad that the main female character got a backbone and remained true to herself, but that’s not enough to carry a book for me. Overall, this book wasn’t my favorite (miscommunication tropes never are) but I can see others enjoying this book for its predictability and quick read.

Loved this!

After my last read by Victoria Walters (The París Chapter) I was very excited to ARC read this one. It turned out to be the easy, fun read I was expecting.
Loved the whole grumpy vs sunshine with a 10 year age-gap and being rivals, to falling for eachother. Didn't love the third act break-up though, but that's just not my type of trope.

The main characters have such a beautiful character development throughout the story. The way Freya found her voice and stands up for herself and Jake being more open... Loved every bit of it.

It's very true what they say; it's not about the happy ending, it's about the journey to get there.

Thanks so much to Netgalley, Boldwood Books and Victoria Walters for giving me the opportunity to read this in advance and give my honest opinion about it.

Thank you to Bold Book Club for the chance to read this ARC.

This book follows this literary world with our FMC being an aspiring literary agent and our MMC as a romance author.
I ADORED this book. I read it in one day! It was the perfect palate cleanser after reading Say You'll Remember Me.
I liked that the first part of the book was set in New York and had a little Serendipity tie in (I love that movie!)
I feel that this book might have benefited from a dual POV. It did get a bit dry sometimes always being the FMC's POV.

Overall, I'm a sucker for a cute ROMCOM and this was just that!

This was a struggle for me to get through. I feel like I have read this exact story about 50 times now. I kept thinking it would veer off and become better, but it didn't :(