Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - The Ex Talk

A completely enjoyable, cleverly conceived romance, with plenty of steam and clever banter. Loved the insider’s glimpse into the world of public radio. Particularly liked the sections with the show transcripts - would’ve happily had more of those! The characters felt like real people. The pages turned themselves. I hope the author writes more romances!

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amhuls's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? No

4.5

Smutty but also plenty of plot. Super unique setting and I love some of the inclusivity the author chose to add to the story. Overall a captivating read! You won’t want to put it down

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mandib's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

Title: The Ex Talk
Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3
Pub Date: January 26 2021

T H R E E • W O R D S

Predictable • Entertaining • Quick

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Shay has been the producer of the same radio show at Seattle Public Radio for over a decade. With her mother set to marry a new man, and her best friend set to move half way across the country for a new job, Shay starts questioning her life decisions. When the station is looking for a brand new concept to help attract listeners, Shay is about to get the opportunity she's been waiting for... hosting her own show. Little does she know she'll be hosting with the new hire Dominic whose know-it-all attitude grates on her. The concept for the show: exes giving relationship advice.

💭 T H O U G H T S

The Ex Talk was a monthly selection for bookclub I decided to pick up because I'd seen so much love for it. I'll start off my saying this one has a well rounded and diverse cast of characters with good development (except for Kent... I have nothing good to say about him). I was invested in the story and characters through the first third, but my interested waned and it began to feel drawn out through the second third, and then completely rushed in the last third leaving me feeling unsatisfied. The story seemed so predictable, and here I am a couple of weeks later and I honestly don't recall a whole lot. My favourite character was definitely Steve the dog, and I also enjoyed the backstory of Shay's relationship with her father, what lead her to radio, and the grief component. What particularly frustrated me was the fiasco at PodCon. It could have been handled in a completely different (and better in my opinion) manner for the book to work.

Maybe I read one too many enemies-to-lovers stories in a row, but this one fell a little flat for me. This could definitely be a case of it's-me-and-not-the-book (hello high expectations), but don't let that deter you from picking this one up. Lastly, I could easily see this being made into a movie at some point, and the story may be better for the big screen to be honest.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• enemies to lovers/fake relationship trope fans
• readers looking for an easy beach read
• if you enjoy public radio/podcasts

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"The thing about losing someone is that it doesn't happen just once. It happens every time you do something great you wish they could see, every time you're stuck and you need advice. Every time you fail. It erodes your sense of normal, and what grows back is decidedly not normal, and yet you still have to figure out how to trudge forward."

"I used to think that without my dad, I'd never be whole again. But maybe that's what we all are - halfway broken people searching for things that will smooth our jagged edges."

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ameliec's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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valeriabee's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I'll start by saying that I honestly did not expect this book to be spicy. I think I expected just plain pg 13 romantic. But OOF, this one is rated R. I do not regret picking it up and I appreciate the spice 😏 It's honestly been a minute since I've let myself enjoy writing that includes sex, and does it well. I especially love that all my favorite sex tropes were included (and again, well executed).
For whatever reason, I feel compelled to express my appreciation for that. Not necessarily for the sex scenes themselves, the book would be good without them too, but for how theyre written. Not too cliche, not trying so hard to get hard. Its just to the point, honest, enjoyable.
I also love that its not just sexy, but every spicy scene is bookended by emotional vulnerability and intimacy. And it doesnt feel forced or cushiony, it just is how they function.
The story structure is very cliche. But what is romance if not cliche? I wouldnt be reading it if I didnt want cliche. I like the cliche, I want the cliche. Not to mention Im a sucker for a good enemies to lovers story. You have me hook-line-sinker with that premise.
I love this for us bestie.
I want to mention that the interraciality of the relationship is mentioned once, the dynamics that are attached get brief mention and arent touched again. And I dont think that it would have added to the book either, but its worth mentioning because its so easy as readers to pretend like its not an issue, not relevant, not an imbalance. To my knowledge, the author isnt Asian, so it wouldnt be easy or comfortable (for anyone) if she were to try to unpack that on her own in the text. Rather, I mention this dynamic and imbalance for the readers to keep in mind. I do, however, think Rachel Lynn Solomon did a good job of navigating that. She didnt let us forget Dominic is Korean or Shay is Jewish, that these are important parts to the characters. I just think as readers we need to remember that because their ethnic/racial identities are important to the characters, it then has to be important to the relationship. But I dont think RLS should have to do that work for us - the readers - either.

Anyway, very cliche. Kind of abrupt/rushed ending? I definitely wanted more time with the characters, but maybe thats me being selfish.
Nonetheless, I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this book and I couldnt put it down/didnt want to put it down.

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beccaand's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

juliana_reads's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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