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andrea_author's review
4.0
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.
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.
sparky_penny's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
khylabevibin's review
3.0
I’ve previously enjoyed Carrie and Hope by Joy Argento so when I saw this book I said “why not!”. Was a bit disappointed.
This book follows Ali, a New York best selling author, who starts the book off trying to find out why all of her relationships burn out so quickly. She sends out questionnaires to all of her exs to find this out, with the temptation of her best friend she sends one out to her high school sweetheart, Madison Parker. Their relationship ended on bad terms to say the least.
See? Cute plot. The characters are lovable and the conversations were written so smoothly and naturally. It’s cool to see such normal conversations between two love interest that isn’t about sex, past relationships, sexuality, or anything dramatic or past flirting.
However, I’m giving it three stars for several reasons.
The execution was nothing special. We all know the second chance romance format by now. One returns to the home town, the other is still holding a grudge over how they left things, turns out the end of their relationship was all a big misunderstanding. Blah blah, I usually like second chance books that go like this but in this case it was repetitive. The author didn’t really bring anything new or interesting to the story. The book kicks off 20 years after Madison and Ali were together. At this point the two are Middle aged and fully moved on with their lives. I felt as though their rekindling was very unrealistic. They fell back in place way too quickly. Twenty years is too long a time for this to have been that smoothly.
So yes, 3.0 stars! The writing was really smooth and I imagine with a more exciting refreshing plot I would’ve loved this story.
Nevertheless I’ll leave this for you to decide if you wanna try it out.
I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for a honest review.
(Sorry if this review has any spelling errors or flaws within it)
This book follows Ali, a New York best selling author, who starts the book off trying to find out why all of her relationships burn out so quickly. She sends out questionnaires to all of her exs to find this out, with the temptation of her best friend she sends one out to her high school sweetheart, Madison Parker. Their relationship ended on bad terms to say the least.
See? Cute plot. The characters are lovable and the conversations were written so smoothly and naturally. It’s cool to see such normal conversations between two love interest that isn’t about sex, past relationships, sexuality, or anything dramatic or past flirting.
However, I’m giving it three stars for several reasons.
The execution was nothing special. We all know the second chance romance format by now. One returns to the home town, the other is still holding a grudge over how they left things, turns out the end of their relationship was all a big misunderstanding. Blah blah, I usually like second chance books that go like this but in this case it was repetitive. The author didn’t really bring anything new or interesting to the story. The book kicks off 20 years after Madison and Ali were together. At this point the two are Middle aged and fully moved on with their lives. I felt as though their rekindling was very unrealistic. They fell back in place way too quickly. Twenty years is too long a time for this to have been that smoothly.
So yes, 3.0 stars! The writing was really smooth and I imagine with a more exciting refreshing plot I would’ve loved this story.
Nevertheless I’ll leave this for you to decide if you wanna try it out.
I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for a honest review.
(Sorry if this review has any spelling errors or flaws within it)
realkatebarlow's review
3.0
A solid three stars. I thought the writing was great but the story is nothing new. It heavily relied on the miscommunication trope and it's becoming tiresome to read. The characters were enjoyable but nothing in this book was a surprise. It was a nice, quick read, if you need something mindless and easy.
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC of the book in exchange for this review!
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC of the book in exchange for this review!
kburns2004's review
3.0
This second chance romance felt like it was paced well and I did enjoy the plot, but if you have read enough wlw romance you know this book.
arrezinads's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
00leah00's review against another edition
3.0
“Exes and O’s” by Joy Argento is a second-chance, small town romance.
Ali Daniels has recently been dumped by her girlfriend and one night decides to send out a questionnaire to all of her exes to see where’s she’s going wrong. The only ex not to respond is Madison Parker, her high school girlfriend and the first to break her heart. On a whim she decides to go back to their hometown and find out why Madison never responded.
This isn’t a bad book and I liked it well enough. Ali and Madison are both likable characters and I was rooting for them to get together. It’s a short, easy read that doesn’t have a lot of angst. I think I was expecting more angst and was let down by how easy everything was.
Reading the blurb, I really thought this would be my jam as second-chance is my favorite trope. Unfortunately, it just didn’t come together for me here, which made for a pretty average read. While they do spend some time reflecting on their previous relationship, once they’re reintroduced into each other’s lives they basically pick right back up. There wasn’t a whole lot of time spent on them getting to know one another as adults. It’s been 20 years since they’ve seen one another and I just had a hard time believing they could just pick back up like no time had passed. Their biggest issue is miscommunication and it’s an issue all the way through the book.
I recommend this for readers wanting a quick, easy romance.
I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ali Daniels has recently been dumped by her girlfriend and one night decides to send out a questionnaire to all of her exes to see where’s she’s going wrong. The only ex not to respond is Madison Parker, her high school girlfriend and the first to break her heart. On a whim she decides to go back to their hometown and find out why Madison never responded.
This isn’t a bad book and I liked it well enough. Ali and Madison are both likable characters and I was rooting for them to get together. It’s a short, easy read that doesn’t have a lot of angst. I think I was expecting more angst and was let down by how easy everything was.
Reading the blurb, I really thought this would be my jam as second-chance is my favorite trope. Unfortunately, it just didn’t come together for me here, which made for a pretty average read. While they do spend some time reflecting on their previous relationship, once they’re reintroduced into each other’s lives they basically pick right back up. There wasn’t a whole lot of time spent on them getting to know one another as adults. It’s been 20 years since they’ve seen one another and I just had a hard time believing they could just pick back up like no time had passed. Their biggest issue is miscommunication and it’s an issue all the way through the book.
I recommend this for readers wanting a quick, easy romance.
I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
kjanie's review
3.0
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.
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.
em_s_corner's review
3.0
I was send an eARC of this book so thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for that. 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!
khieeae's review
3.0
I’ve previously enjoyed Carrie and Hope by Joy Argento so when I saw this book I said “why not!”. Was a bit disappointed.
This book follows Ali, a New York best selling author, who starts the book off trying to find out why all of her relationships burn out so quickly. She sends out questionnaires to all of her exs to find this out, with the temptation of her best friend she sends one out to her high school sweetheart, Madison Parker. Their relationship ended on bad terms to say the least.
See? Cute plot. The characters are lovable and the conversations were written so smoothly and naturally. It’s cool to see such normal conversations between two love interest that isn’t about sex, past relationships, sexuality, or anything dramatic or past flirting.
However, I’m giving it three stars for several reasons.
The execution was nothing special. We all know the second chance romance format by now. One returns to the home town, the other is still holding a grudge over how they left things, turns out the end of their relationship was all a big misunderstanding. Blah blah, I usually like second chance books that go like this but in this case it was repetitive. The author didn’t really bring anything new or interesting to the story. The book kicks off 20 years after Madison and Ali were together. At this point the two are Middle aged and fully moved on with their lives. I felt as though their rekindling was very unrealistic. They fell back in place way too quickly. Twenty years is too long a time for this to have been that smoothly.
So yes, 3.0 stars! The writing was really smooth and I imagine with a more exciting refreshing plot I would’ve loved this story.
Nevertheless I’ll leave this for you to decide if you wanna try it out.
I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for a honest review.
(Sorry if this review has any spelling errors or flaws within it)
This book follows Ali, a New York best selling author, who starts the book off trying to find out why all of her relationships burn out so quickly. She sends out questionnaires to all of her exs to find this out, with the temptation of her best friend she sends one out to her high school sweetheart, Madison Parker. Their relationship ended on bad terms to say the least.
See? Cute plot. The characters are lovable and the conversations were written so smoothly and naturally. It’s cool to see such normal conversations between two love interest that isn’t about sex, past relationships, sexuality, or anything dramatic or past flirting.
However, I’m giving it three stars for several reasons.
The execution was nothing special. We all know the second chance romance format by now. One returns to the home town, the other is still holding a grudge over how they left things, turns out the end of their relationship was all a big misunderstanding. Blah blah, I usually like second chance books that go like this but in this case it was repetitive. The author didn’t really bring anything new or interesting to the story. The book kicks off 20 years after Madison and Ali were together. At this point the two are Middle aged and fully moved on with their lives. I felt as though their rekindling was very unrealistic. They fell back in place way too quickly. Twenty years is too long a time for this to have been that smoothly.
So yes, 3.0 stars! The writing was really smooth and I imagine with a more exciting refreshing plot I would’ve loved this story.
Nevertheless I’ll leave this for you to decide if you wanna try it out.
I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for a honest review.
(Sorry if this review has any spelling errors or flaws within it)