Scan barcode
lindsayerin's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, and Grief
Minor: Racism and Cancer
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.0
Thank you to Michael Joseph Penguin Publishing for sending this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is based on Shay Goldstein. She has worked at her Seattle radio station for nearly a decade. But lately she’s been clashing with her new colleague, Dominic Yun – who’s fresh off a journalism course and convinced he knows everything about radio. When the station needs a new concept, Shay proposes “The Ex-Talk”, where two exes give relationship advice live on air. Each armed with their own disastrous relationship stories, Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts – even if it does come with a little tension. Their spiky dynamic is an instant hit, and soon “The Ex-Talk” is climbing the charts. But when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other, is this the start of something amazing . . . or the end of their careers? This book is a contemporary romance.
I thought this book was super cute. I loved Shay and Dom’s slow burn sort of relationship. I liked the dynamic of the radio hosts fighting for the best spot. I loved the tropes in this novel, and they are all really good tropes, but I just wanted it to be more in depth. I enjoyed both characters being confused about whether they liked each other or if the feeling was normal. This was an easy read. I think there could have been more of the enemies’ side of it, like there could have been an incident or more of a story about why they didn’t get along, but it was just Shay wanting to be the young hot shot instead of Dominic was just a bit bland. I wanted more depth. I think the fake dating could have been done better as well. Like maybe before the whole show came in, they had to go on public dates. I would have loved the tension to be more of a slow burn with all the fake dating and the enemies. I would have loved to see more of Ruthie and think she should have happy ending as well.
I could read more of Dominic and Shay’s story and would love to see a series where they go on about different people from this series finding their own love stories, like Ruthie and Dominic’s siblings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
Minor: Cancer
peachani's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing, Medical content, Alcohol, and Cancer
anewton's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? No
4.0
A clique, but funny, light hearted feel-good read. A very enjoyable novel, that has an easy feel to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Minor: Cancer and Alcohol
lujisa's review against another edition
lighthearted
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer
bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer
hellowildflower's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Sexism
Minor: Cancer
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
This was my first Rachel Lynn Solomon book and while it did give me the break I was looking for from some of the heavier books I’ve read recently, it didn’t entirely steal my attention as much as I thought it would.
The Ex Talk has everything you expect from a novel of this genre—it pretty much follows the romcom formula to a T. In my head I was checking off this list below as each thing happened, waiting for the next, knowing it would be coming.
* Enemies-to-lovers
* Fake dating
* Forced proximity/stuck together
* Workplace romance
* One bed
* Ridiculously petite MC and ridiculously tall male lead
* Age gap
* Several pivotal work crises
* The eureka moment of clarity and self-discovery
* The romantic grand gesture
In this way, relatedly, I was never super invested in the main couple. Everything felt a little too on the ball. There was some great banter and some great spice, but overall I never really got that empathetic-butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling while reading about them. Still, they were cute.
Miscommunication does run a little rampant at times, which sort-of stunts the flow of the story near the middle-end. Of course, this is common in an enemies-to-lovers fake dating novel, and I understand the reason for the easily avoidable conflicts that arose, though it did annoy me. JUST ADMIT YOU LIKE EACH OTHER. HOW CAN YOU BE THAT OBLIVIOUS??!
Anyway. This is not to single The Ex Talk out. Many romcoms do this. I think maybe I’ve just gotten to the point where I’ve read too many books with similar plots to this one, so it’s not as exciting anymore. And maybe also I will forever compare every one of them to Beach Read and/or The Love Hypothesis. Oops.
The Ex Talk has everything you expect from a novel of this genre—it pretty much follows the romcom formula to a T. In my head I was checking off this list below as each thing happened, waiting for the next, knowing it would be coming.
* Enemies-to-lovers
* Fake dating
* Forced proximity/stuck together
* Workplace romance
* One bed
* Ridiculously petite MC and ridiculously tall male lead
* Age gap
* Several pivotal work crises
* The eureka moment of clarity and self-discovery
* The romantic grand gesture
In this way, relatedly, I was never super invested in the main couple. Everything felt a little too on the ball. There was some great banter and some great spice, but overall I never really got that empathetic-butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling while reading about them. Still, they were cute.
Miscommunication does run a little rampant at times, which sort-of stunts the flow of the story near the middle-end. Of course, this is common in an enemies-to-lovers fake dating novel, and I understand the reason for the easily avoidable conflicts that arose, though it did annoy me. JUST ADMIT YOU LIKE EACH OTHER. HOW CAN YOU BE THAT OBLIVIOUS??!
Anyway. This is not to single The Ex Talk out. Many romcoms do this. I think maybe I’ve just gotten to the point where I’ve read too many books with similar plots to this one, so it’s not as exciting anymore. And maybe also I will forever compare every one of them to Beach Read and/or The Love Hypothesis. Oops.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Grief, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Sexism
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Cancer
Minor: Vomit
namenotimportant's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer
chuckielittle's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent