Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Love Lettering

I almost DNF’ed multiple times throughout the book. As much as I love nerding out about the most random things, lettering only reminded me about the typography course I was required to take during my English degree. If someone is interested in typography, they are going to find this book a treat, but I just couldn’t wait to get through those parts.
Other than this, I enjoyed the story. Kate Clayborn’s characters are always just the right amount of vulnerable and damaged to make for an interesting read.

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wilybooklover's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

4.5

This was so lovely. The writing especially; so rich and tied into fonts and letters and signs in a way that makes sense with the heroine’s occupation. I loved Meg, I loved Reid, I loved Meg and Reid together. Their story is tender and quietly romantic. I enjoyed reading Meg’s journey of learning proper conflict resolution and valuing her own worth after a lifetime of passiveness and conflict avoidance. It was fun seeing her overcoming creative block via playing games with Reid and showing him the city she loves. She’s a quirky, whimsical heroine, but in a realistic way, not a manic pixie dream girl type of way. Reid may be one of my favourite heroes ever. He’s awkward and nerdy and stoic, yet also respectful and protective and willing to own up to his mistakes. He’s direct, but not intentionally rude. Oh, and this may sound weird but I LOVED that he has psoriasis. It’s so rare that romance characters have any kind of skin condition. I have eczema and don’t think I’ve ever even seen the word in a romance novel, so it was really nice to see that representation.

I really liked how the third act conflict was something external to the couple. Meg had some doubts initially, but she was willing to listen to Reid’s explanations without any dramatics or misreading of the situation. So much more enjoyable to read than a big breakup and barely any time left to resolve it.

I do kind of wish the friend drama had been left out. I mean, first of all, with friends like Sibby who needs enemies? I think I would’ve preferred to see Meg navigate ending the friendship instead of maintaining a relationship with someone who was such a terrible friend for such a long time. Meg deserved better. But as much as I enjoy reading about friendships, I just find reading about friend issues boring. Every time I’d be enjoying the romantic development and then we’d get another chapter of friend drama and it would stall my interest in the story. I think there were already enough side-plots between two separate work plots for Meg and the twist at the end. I wanted a little bit less focus on bad friends and more on Meg and Reid’s relationship because I really loved their dynamic.

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meganpbennett's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have very mixed feelings about Love Lettering. I really dislike Meg's character, and completely disagree with her decision to encode "MISTAKE" on Reid's wedding invitation. Who does that?! It's morally and ethically wrong, and I would never trust her to create anything for me. I know that the pattern is used within the story as a what alerts Reid to the

fraud his boss's company is doing

, but it completely put me off Meg as a character. I also found her to be whiny. I don't like stream of consciousness as a writing style, and that also detracted from the story. I'm not sure if it was the digital edition or not, but the type-faces within the story didn't work well with the digital edition. The idea was there, and it was oh so brilliant an idea, but the execution of the idea could have been better.

All of that being said, the story really got itself together and became a much better story about 70% of the way through, when Meg meets with the planner company and then learns about the above mentioned spoiler. I greatly enjoyed that plot twist, and thought that it was very well done and worked quite well with the story. While didn't love the story, I found that this greatly improved the storyline.

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samharlow85's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Meg is a famous hand letterer in New York City. Reid, a wall street analyst, is a former client who broke off his wedding, and noticed that she had hidden a secret message in the wedding programs. Reid and Meg form a friendship over their love of letters, numbers, and games while they walk around New York City looking at lettering signs. This was a very sweet romance, with a somewhat surprise ending. I liked the sweet slow build of their trust in one another. I also enjoyed the love of New York City through their walks, and thought Meg was likable and relatable with her wanting to avoid confrontations at all cost.

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zogg's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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btg's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Adorable and lighthearted, Clayborn's "Love Lettering" includes all the qualities of a good romance novel - a flawed but successful and lovable female lead, a male lead with an extremely attractive personality, and strong character focus. Clayborn's ultimate theme of the importance of communication is both inspiring and modern.

One thing I just want to emphasize is how solidly written the relationship and characters are, in a way that blatantly defies unhealthy stereotypes often written in romance novels. The male lead is not the typical male lead. Reid is quieter and socially awkward. While I'm not sure Clayborn meant to write him in such a way, he reads as though he is mildly on the spectrum, particularly in earlier chapters (and I love that, by the way). With Meg, Clayborn writes a character that feels painfully and beautifully real. It's very clear how her past shaped her into the person she starts the novel as, and her character development is both realistic and satisfying. Readers, especially from the Midwest, will immediately begin to identify who the "Meg" is in their lives. I know I did. As for the side characters, everyone feels like they have journies and agency that are separate from Meg, the protagonist. I feel like I have a snapshot of Meg's world.

The hook of the book seems like something that will never work, but Clayborn makes it work. The rocky portions are there and never ignored; it's the hard-won communication between the two main characters that makes you want to root for them. They have chemistry, and they are so healthy. Even the sex scene (warning: there are two sex scenes, and one of them is fairly graphic) is written with a strong emphasis on consent, communication, and honesty -- rare in romance novels.

Clayborn has managed to take "Love Lettering" and make it into a modern, healthy, beautiful, and realistic love story that hits all the notes. You won't regret picking this one up if you're a fan of the genre -- and maybe even if you're just looking to try something new.

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