Exes and O's

Tara is a nurse, bookstagrammer and lover of romance novels, but she's frustrated with the slim pickings on the romance front so she decides to revisit some of her exes to see if she can rekindle their relationships. In addition to her lackluster love life, she is forced to move into her soon-to-be brother-in-law's old apartment where she gets a new roommate - firefighter and introverted neat-freak Trevor Metcalfe.

The premise is kinda ridiculous, but the delivery was fun and the growing bond between Tara and Trevor, the sexual tension, and banter were *chef's kiss*. The story starts off quite slow, but if readers are patient, they'll enjoy witnessing the connection between Trevor and Tara grow into something meaningful, despite the bumps along the way. 

Tara is a good main character and Lea describes her as what I believe people think of when they imagine a 'bookstagrammer'. As a bookstagrammer myself, I don't agree with the stereotype but that aside, she's an enjoyable character with a few quirks. The one that was a little overdone was how she was unbelievably clingy in relationships. It got old fast, but I appreciated the underlying message of 'it's okay to be unapologetic for who you are'. 

Trevor is the epitome of RomCom dude (and I wish we got his POV). He's the handsome, tattooed, snarly firefighter who loves order and quiet, which doesn't bode well for his new roommate Tara, who lives in a swirl of clutter and book stacks. Trevor isn't afraid of fire but is afraid of relationships, yet he begrudgingly helps Tara on her quest to find her true love with one of her old boyfriends. 

My beefs 

• the final conflict felt forced and awkward
• the story used the miscommunication trope - blech!! 
• the banter was a bit hit or miss. It was strong initially, faded in the middle, but then came back again in the last half for some funny moments.

This is (unbeknownst to me) the second book in a series but can easily be read as a standalone. This is a predictable but enjoyable story that will appeal to book lovers and is a delightful blend of heartwarming, swoony and funny moments as Lea includes (albeit heavy-handedly) a gaggle of romance tropes as two opposites learn what they want out of life and love. 

The Gaggle of Tropes

roommates to friends to lovers

slow burn

opposites attract

forced proximity

miscommunication (blech but brief)

My Rating: 4.25 stars

Author: Amy Lea

Genre: RomCom

Series: #2 in The Influencer series

Type and Source: eBook from public library

Publisher: Berkley

First Published: January 10, 2023

Book Description from GoodReads: 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?