About the Book:
Title: Exes and O’s
Author: Amy Lea
Page Length: 400
Publication Date: Jan. 10, 2023
Publisher: Berkley Books
Synopsis: A romance novel–obsessed social media influencer revisits her exes on her hunt for true love in this romantic comedy from the author of Set On You.
Romance-novel connoisseur Tara Chen has had her heart broken ten times by ten different men–all of whom dumped her because of her “stage-five clinger” tendencies. Nevertheless, Tara is determined to find The One. The only problem? Classic meet-cutes are dead thanks to modern dating apps. So Tara decides to revisit her exes in hopes of securing her very own trope-worthy second-chance romance.
Boston firefighter Trevor Metcalfe will be the first to rush into a burning building but the last to rush into a relationship. Love just isn’t his thing. When his new roommate Tara enlists him to help her reconnect with her exes, he reluctantly agrees. But Tara’s journey is leading him to discover his own new chapter.
The more time they spend together, the more Tara realizes Trevor seems to be the only one who appreciates her authentic, dramatic self. To claim their happily-ever-after, can Tara and Trevor read between the lines of their growing connection?
My Review:
A fun and sexy rom-com, Exes and O’s is a friends-to-lovers romance between roommates Tara and Trevor. I read Set on You last year and loved it, so I was excited to start Exes and O’s, which focuses on the younger sister of the protagonist in Set On You. I liked Tara even more than I thought I would, and her love story with Trevor is fabulous.
Tara is as big a fan of romance novels as I am. I love novels with characters who love reading, and this story includes so much talk about romance novels. I loved it!! Tara’s feelings about the books she loves remind me so much of myself, and she’s so easy to relate to. She’s also a bookstagrammer and is determined to live out her very own second-chance romance. Tara searches for her happily ever after by revisiting her past relationships, and she recruits her sexy but commitment-averse roommate Trevor to help. Hilarity, embarrassment, and some wonderfully tender moments ensue, and it’s pretty entertaining.
At first, I wasn’t a huge fan of Trevor, but the more I learned about him, the more I liked him, and by the halfway mark, I was in love. Much like Tara, there’s a lot of depth to his character, and their past relationships and experiences define a lot of their feelings and actions in the present. It’s interesting to see how this new friendship with Tara changes Trevor and makes him more open and vulnerable. Just sayin’ – Trevor makes the grumpy, commitment-phobe firefighter with a soft heart trope look good. And his feelings for Tara are off-the-charts swoon-worthy!
Tara and Trevor have the best romance, and their connection is fantastic. They start off as friends and really get to know each other before they move into relationship territory. I enjoyed the slow buildup and the way their relationship grows and changes. They come a long way from strangers to roommates to friends to more than friends. And their banter is fantastic. I love the dialogue throughout the book, and the awesome pop-culture references. The Office, Star Wars, how to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, CASPER – they’re all great, and they made me smile so much. Their conversations felt very natural and organic and kind of reminded me of myself and my hubs when we first became friends. Plus, Tara and Trevor’s story has an amazing epilogue, swoon-worthy declarations, and so much chemistry that my kindle had a hot flash.
I would definitely recommend Exes and O’s to lovers of rom-coms or contemporary romance. It’s entertaining and funny, and it has a swoon-tastic love story that is both sexy (and a bit steamy!) and sweet. And I loved the pop-culture references and comical conversations, many of which made me laugh out loud. Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
Rating:
Favorite Parts:
- The romance.
- The pop-culture references.
Recommendations:
Exes and O’s by Amy Lea is a wonderful read for people who enjoy:
- friends-to-lovers
- forced proximity
- opposites attract
- slow burn
- grumpy/sunshine
- fun pop culture references
Great review, Julie! I’m so happy you enjoyed this one 😀
Thanks, Becky! It was a fun one.
Great review! I want to read this one!!
Thanks, Leslie! I think you’ll like it!
I’m looking forward to this one, and I still need to read Set on You. Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks, Ali! I think you’ll like Set On You. It’s a good one!
Great review! I loved this one, too. I could have done without the OW stuff at the beginning, but it was easy to look past.
Thank you! I agree. 🙂
I think relatable romcoms are absolutely the best and this one definitely checks off a lot of my boxes too. Excellent review!
Thanks, so much, Tessa!