Reviews

Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee

taylersimon22's review against another edition

3.0

You can’t help but to fall in love with a romance set in a bookstore! Booked on a Feeling is a Hallmark, feel-good movie without the holiday and with people of color at the center. A super cute reminder to pursue what you love, whether that is a person or a passion.

I didn’t know that this was part of a series, but it’s part of a series in that you see cameos of characters from other books mentioned. If I had read the previous books, they would be a nice shoutout, but even though I didn’t read the previous books, I didn’t think that took away from my experience.

And of course we have to talk about the level of spice for this one! Don’t let the cutesy cover fool you, the intimate scenes in this one are super hot. Caution if you are listening to this audiobook in public because you will blush.

Despite the level of spice, I love me a wholesome best friends to lovers trope. It just feels so good not to have to cringe at toxic relationship dynamics being glorified. Lizzie and Jack were so good to each other, so good for each other. Friends to lovers felt like a natural transition for them.

I recently saw a TikTok about the difference between authors of color writing books for people who share the same culture as them and books for white readers. The main difference is how different aspects of culture are explained. Are they over-explained in a way that feels alienating to the reader with the shared culture, or do they normalize culture? Booked on a Feeling felt very Korean American in that Korean culture didn’t overly saturate the story in a way that felt fetishizing, but the culture also wasn’t completely erased, whitewashing the characters.

Overall, I would recommend this cute read for the beach or as a palate cleanser between heavier reading material. Or even if you just enjoy cute romances!

emkotch's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

4.0

itsdeneb's review against another edition

lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

1.0

marieintheraw's review against another edition

3.0

Childhood friends to lovers is always a fun combo especially when one of the characters is a clear overachiever. That being said the real shining glory of this is the setting, not the characters.

I received an ecopy of this through Netgalley; however, all opinions are my own.

k_shimer's review

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Toxic friendship, Bullying, Cursing, Sexism, and Emotional abuse

Overall okay, but their

lack of communication issues (especially when they were supposed to be so close after knowing each other for 20+years) and the way they lashed out at each other so deeply/personally when something small came up, comes off as the makings of a toxic relationship. There was also more than one point where they both drank and drove home, which is not great to be representing in any form.

emeliarose's review against another edition

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.25

h_with_a_feather's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

morgannpauleyy's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-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

4.75

enticingtitles's review against another edition

4.0

Okay, this one was seriously cute. I love a good friends to lovers trope and I like the way it was handled with Lizzy and Jack.

I'd have loved Lizzy to stay at her high powered job because there are not enough stories where women rock their usually male dominated careers.

Jack was a fantastic lead and now I want to go back to read the other novels in this series.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

elliedevans's review against another edition

3.0

Predictable in every way, shape, and form. Not a bad book, but very predictable