I received this book for free (hey, thanks!) in exchange for an honest review. I promise that this does NOT affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. For real.
It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan Genres: Adult, Contemporary
Published by Penguin on May 27, 2025
Also by this author: Same Time Next Summer, Summer Romance, Dolly All the Time
Format: Audio/eARC (368 pages) • Source: Publisher, Spotify Audiobooks
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The Instant New York Times bestseller
“Poignant, funny, and bingeable, Annabel Monaghan writes five star reads.” —Abby Jimenez
From the USA Today bestselling author of Nora Goes Off Script, a novel about a former adolescent TV actress-turned-Hollywood producer whose “fake it till you make it” mantra sets her on a crash course with her past, forcing her to spend a week on Long Island with the last man she thinks might make her believe in love.
Love is a lie. Laughter is the only truth.
Jane Jackson spent her adolescence as "Poor Janey Jakes," the barbecue-sauce-in-her-braces punch line on America's fifth-favorite sitcom. Now she’s trying to be taken seriously as a Hollywood studio executive by embracing a new mantra: Fake it till you make it.
Except she might have faked it too far. Desperate to get her first project greenlit and riled up by pompous cinematographer and one-time crush Dan Finnegan, she claimed that she could get mega popstar Jack Quinlan to write a song for the movie. Jack may have been her first kiss—and greatest source of shame—but she hasn’t spoken to him in twenty years.
Now Jane must turn to the last man she’d ever want to owe: Dan Finnegan. Because Jack is playing a festival in Dan’s hometown, and Dan has an in. A week in close quarters with Dan as she faces down her past is Jane's idea of hell, but he just might surprise her. While covering up her lie, can they find something true?
I’ve become a huge fan of Annabel Monaghan based on her previous two releases, and I’ve been saving her adult debut for a rainy day. This book is technically my least favorite but honestly it was quite enjoyable regardless!
Annabel Monaghan’s books have a way of growing on me as I read. I consider her an auto-buy author but I never get addicted right away. It’s like a slow burn (with the plot, not the romance) where I’m halfway through and realize I’ve fallen in love with everything finally.
That moment happened a little later than usual which is why I wasn’t as invested in the characters as I could have been. I didn’t love the MC here but she’s as imperfect as all of Monaghan’s others, so nothing unexpected. Jane and Dan had a lot of logical reasons for why they behaved the way they did, and also why their romance worked; it felt very realistic. I just didn’t connect to them as strongly as expected or as I prefer in a romance. I love that they were visiting his childhood home away from Hollywood – more on that later – for his parents anniversary party. They started the trip as colleagues and ended it as something a little more.
The premise was enjoyable and quiet but also had some fun Hollywood stuff that I tend to enjoy. Jane was a former child star known for goofy antics and Dan is a not-super-successful cinematographer. He’s interested in the script she’s promoting but the group wants it to be more commercial. Jane blurts out that she knows this super successful singer and can get him to write a song for the movie…which definitely overstated her relationship with him. I actually didn’t reread the synopsis before starting and thought this was going to be a romance between Jane and the singer.
Overall, not my fave (it took me sooo long to read and I put it down multiple times) but still really good. The romance grew on me a lot despite Jane frustrating me a lot of the time.
Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Magical Realism
Published by Penguin Group on June 17, 2025
Also by this author: Geekerella, The Princess and the Fangirl, The Dead Romantics, The Seven Year Slip, A Novel Love Story
Format: Paperback (384 pages) • Source: Purchased
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AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! ∙ A hitmaking songwriter and a bitter musician share a startling and inexplicable connection that they’ll do anything to shake, in the next sparkling, magical book from the New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Year Slip and A Novel Love Story.
As featured in The New York Times ∙ People ∙ USA Today ∙ NPR ∙ ELLE ∙ Marie Claire ∙ E! News ∙ Katie Couric Media ∙ Woman's World ∙ theSkimm ∙ Brit + Co ∙ Yahoo! Life ∙ She Reads ∙ and more!Joni Lark has a secret. She’s one of the most coveted songwriters in LA, and yet she can’t write. There’s an emptiness inside her, and nothing seems to fill it.
When she returns to her hometown of Vienna Shores, North Carolina, she hopes that the sand, the surf, and the concerts at The Revelry, her family’s music venue, will spark inspiration. But when Joni gets there, nothing is how she left it. Her best friend is hiding something, her mother’s memories are fading fast, and The Revelry is closing.
How can Joni write when her world is leaving her behind?
Until she hears it. A melody in her head, lyric-less and half-formed, and an alluring and addictive voice to go with it—belonging, apparently, to a wry musician with an emptiness of his own.
Surely, he’s a figment of Joni’s overworked imagination.
Then a very real man shows up in Vienna Shores. He’s arrogant and guarded—nothing like the sweet, funny voice in Joni’s head—and he has a plan for breaking their inconvenient telepathic connection: finish the song haunting them both and hope they don’t risk their hearts—or their secrets—in the process.
Because that melody, the one drawing them together . . . what if it’s there for a reason?
I would’ve considered Ashley Poston an all-time favorite author but her last book REALLY did not work for me. I couldn’t believe she was the one who wrote it. Unfortunately I went into this one pretty skeptical and honestly I think that affected my early reading experience of the book, but I’m happy to report that changed by the end!
Life was a bit crazy this month thanks to moving and Love Island (lol) putting me into a slump. I never wanted to sit down and read this – it took me a while to settle in and care about the characters, but “it’s how you leave em” really applies here.
The story follows Joni, a songwriter who moved away from her beachy NC hometown to LA and has been pretty successful (especially lately). She’s hitting a bit of a writing drought so she’s happy to go home for the summer, as she always does, and spend time with her family. Her mom was recently diagnosed with dementia and her parents are closing down their once-famous music venue in Vienna Shores. All of a sudden she hears a melody and a voice in her head. Naturally, this man comes to town and it’s not who she expected…
Poston does magical realism really well – there’s no real explanation for why magical things happen to her characters but there’s always a REASON, if that makes sense. The romance was enjoyable but not anything that would really stick with me?
My biggest complaint is how often nicknames were used in dialogue… it drove me nuts to see “heart” and “bird” multiple times on a page. The parents and love interest referred to the MC by these nicknames literally constantly and it made me cringe at the frequency.
The ending made me cry and I realized how much I enjoyed the story and concept. It definitely crept up on me! The family and friend feels, along with music’s impact on people, were the most powerful parts of the story. Again, more than the romance, though I still enjoyed that aspect! The setting was amazing for a summer read as well.
All in all, glad Poston is back in the win column – three adult fiction wins and one dud is not bad at all! 😉
I’ve had both of these books on my radar so I’m happy to see that you enjoyed both of them. I’m definitely going to buy them now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!