Ashley Poston

A professor of literature finds herself caught up in a work of fiction…literally, from the New York Times bestselling author of THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP and THE DEAD ROMANTICS. Eileen Merriweather knows a thing or two about romance. As a professor of literature, she teaches prestigious courses on history’s greatest romantics, but one week out of the year she abandons her dusty textbooks and makes a pilgrimage to the Hudson Valley with her best friend Pru to meet their Super Smutty Book Club in person, and celebrate the romance series that brought them together—Quixotic Falls. It’s a week of wine and happily-ever-afters. Or it’s supposed to be. Pru bails at the last minute, and Elsy winds up lost in Hudson Valley—alone. In a thunderstorm. When she takes shelter in a bookstore, she immediately gets on the bad side of its grumpy (and infuriatingly sexy) owner, and finds herself in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a book… Because it is. Eloraton can’t be real, and yet… she’s here. The town is everything she imagined from her favorite series, where the candy store’s honey taffy is always sweet, and the local bar’s burgers are always a little burnt, and rain always comes in the afternoon. It’s perfect. A place built on meet-cutes and storybook endings. Except, there’s something off in Eloraton. Because nothing changes, nothing moves, trapped in the last place the late author of Quixotic Falls left them. Which must be why Elsy is here: to find an ending to this last story, the one the author never finished. The only problem? The bookstore owner never wants the story to end, and he might be the one person who can help her imagine this final happily-ever-after. And maybe find one for herself.

A Novel Love Story

Because for Prudence, things always worked out. She was the main character, and I was happy just being along for the ride. It was safe that way. Easy. Her heart never led her wrong.

Sometimes, a book change your life. It's hard to explain that to someone who doesn’t read, or who has never felt their heart bend so strongly toward a story that it might just snap in two. 

I didn't need love. I didn't need to fall into it. I didn't need to find it at all. Because love stories were enough. They were safe. They woul never fail me.

Lauren R

Yeah, waiting for the interview today. I hated the ending "Why?" She scowled. "Ghosts should stay dead. It was a total cop-out.

and walk from Union Square all the way down to Washington Sauare Park, and if I was lucky, there would be a really good food truck there selling fajitas." 

Good written book. Loved how the Main character thought about books. The struggels felt real and were resolved super good. Felt like the third act breakup was not nessecary.

Celina Irena Kuhn

A professor of literature finds herself caught up in a work of fiction…literally, from the New York Times bestselling author of THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP and THE DEAD ROMANTICS.

Eileen Merriweather loves to get lost in a good happily-ever-after. The fictional kind, anyway. Because at least imaginary men don’t leave you at the altar. She feels safe in a book. At home. Which might be why she’s so set on going her annual book club retreat this year—she needs good friends, cheap wine, and grand romantic gestures—no matter what.

But when her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a novel…

Because it is.

This place can’t be real, and yet… she’s here, in Eloraton, the town of her favorite romance series, where the candy store’s honey taffy is always sweet, the local bar’s burgers are always a little burnt, and rain always comes in the afternoon. It feels like home. It’s perfect—and perfectly frozen, trapped in the late author’s last unfinished story.

Elsy is sure that’s why she must be here: to help bring the town to its storybook ending.

Except there is a character in Eloraton that she can’t place—a grumpy bookstore owner with mint-green eyes, an irritatingly sexy mouth and impeccable taste in novels. And he does not want her finishing this book.

Which is a problem because Elsy is beginning to think the town’s happily-ever-after might just be intertwined with her own.

It was a cute book. I enjoyed it, it felt so cosy while reading it and the audiobook was so good.

So it was a cute and cosy book, but there wasn't much happening either. However, I enjoyed it. It felt unique with a whimsical touch. The romance was heartwarming and cute and I loved the main characters 💖. So yeah I'll give it 3.75 💫. Definitely want to read more by Ashley Poston, her writing style is so simple and easy to read through. 

Salma shafik hassan

It was a cute book. I enjoyed it, it felt so cosy while reading it and the audiobook was so good.

So it was a cute and cosy book, but there wasn't much happening either. However, I enjoyed it. It felt unique with a whimsical touch. The romance was heartwarming and cute and I loved the main characters 💖. So yeah I'll give it 3.75 💫. Definitely want to read more by Ashley Poston, her writing style is so simple and easy to read through. 

A professor of literature finds herself caught up in a work of fiction…literally, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Year Slip and The Dead Romantics. Eileen Merriweather knows a thing or two about romance. As a professor of literature, she teaches prestigious courses on history’s greatest romantics, but one week out of the year she abandons her dusty textbooks and makes a pilgrimage to the Hudson Valley with her best friend Pru to meet their Super Smutty Book Club in person, and celebrate the romance series that brought them together—Quixotic Falls. It’s a week of wine and happily-ever-afters. Or it’s supposed to be. Pru bails at the last minute, and Elsy winds up lost in Hudson Valley—alone. In a thunderstorm. When she takes shelter in a bookstore, she immediately gets on the bad side of its grumpy (and infuriatingly sexy) owner, and finds herself in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a book… Because it is. Eloraton can’t be real, and yet… she’s here. The town is everything she imagined from her favorite series, where the candy store’s honey taffy is always sweet, and the local bar’s burgers are always a little burnt, and rain always comes in the afternoon. It’s perfect. A place built on meet-cutes and storybook endings. Except, there’s something off in Eloraton. Because nothing changes, nothing moves, trapped in the last place the late author of Quixotic Falls left them. Which must be why Elsy is here: to find an ending to this last story, the one the author never finished. The only problem? The bookstore owner never wants the story to end, and he might be the one person who can help her imagine this final happily-ever-after. And maybe find one for herself.

Oh this book pissed me off so much. The IDEA was super cute but the execution wasn't very good lmao. I didn't hate it but I def didn't love it.

Paige Leitner

I really liked the emphasis on how difficult moving on from a certain part of your life can be. But also how rewarding it is when you find your peace with it.

Cindy Santiago

I love the premise of this book, but unfortunately I just don’t think it’s written in a clear way. There are a lot of plot holes in the world building and left me with a lot of questions. I absolutely loved the idea of being sucked into your favorite book and just being able to live the pages though. The characters were so fun and all their quirks that transferred from page to person. 

I must admit that I always enjoy Poston’s writing, and this book was no different, yes it took me a while to completely fall in love with this book but once I fell in love It was such a magical adventure and who would not love to end up living out a few days in your favourite book! This was a love letter to readers. It wasn’t really a love story between two main characters, but more of a love story between the heroine and fictional characters, books, and reading romance

Eileen who has had her heartbroken, who runs to books for comfort and to escape her reality. She turns to books to read stories that help her out of her trauma and sadness. She finds love in her books because fictional boyfriends don't disappoint, and love exists between the pages. When she doesn't run to her books, she has her best friend Pru to lean on. Elsy looks forward to one time of the year, where her annual book club meets up to drink wine and talk about their favourite books. However, this year Pru and everyone else can't make it, so Elsy decides to go to the cabin by herself to get away and escape the reality of her life. On her way, she gets lost and ends up in the town of her favourite romance series.

Once in Eloration, Eileen really encounters all her favourite characters from her favourite book series, but She goes on a journey mirror that of many of us in our twenties – feeling stuck, frozen in time, and searching for direction. Poston deftly weaves themes of self-discovery and growth into the narrative, making it a poignant read for anyone navigating young adulthood. This is such a spellbinding read that really brings the story off the page!

Ian Brakspear

I must admit that I always enjoy Poston’s writing, and this book was no different, yes it took me a while to completely fall in love with this book but once I fell in love It was such a magical adventure and who would not love to end up living out a few days in your favourite book! This was a love letter to readers. It wasn’t really a love story between two main characters, but more of a love story between the heroine and fictional characters, books, and reading romance

 

Eileen who has had her heartbroken, who runs to books for comfort and to escape her reality. She turns to books to read stories that help her out of her trauma and sadness. She finds love in her books because fictional boyfriends don't disappoint, and love exists between the pages. When she doesn't run to her books, she has her best friend Pru to lean on. Elsy looks forward to one time of the year, where her annual book club meets up to drink wine and talk about their favourite books. However, this year Pru and everyone else can't make it, so Elsy decides to go to the cabin by herself to get away and escape the reality of her life. On her way, she gets lost and ends up in the town of her favourite romance series.

 

Once in Eloration, Eileen really encounters all her favourite characters from her favourite book series, but She goes on a journey mirror that of many of us in our twenties – feeling stuck, frozen in time, and searching for direction. Poston deftly weaves themes of self-discovery and growth into the narrative, making it a poignant read for anyone navigating young adulthood. This is such a spellbinding read that really brings the story off the page!

This both broke my heart and mended it in a way i will never be able to understand. I love this book so much and all of your writing is so magnificent. And this has irrevocably changed me like all of your books do. I will never be able to enjoy a book the way i enjoyed this. You have marvelous words and a way of writing. I am totally obsessed.  

Stella 💫

This book is a book I would recommend to every book lover.  It made me smile, laugh, cry, and overall, remember how much I enjoy reading.

 quote the book, “ Sometimes, a book can change your life. It’s hard to explain that to someone who doesn’t read, or who has never felt their heart bend so strongly toward a story it might just snap in two.”

Sam Sibilia

This book is a book I would recommend to every book lover.  It made me smile, laugh, cry, and overall, remember how much I enjoy reading.

To quote the book, “ Sometimes, a book can change your life. It’s hard to explain that to someone who doesn’t read, or who has never felt their heart bend so strongly toward a story it might just snap in two.”

loved the storyline and theme of loving yourself outside of a relationship/another person. absolutely made me shed tears

Ralie Sutton

a love story with no chemistry and me wanting to kick the main character

Liv Harman 

a love story with no chemistry and me wanting to kick the main character

cute messages tho 

first half was blah, second half was much better, but still felt lacking in a lot of areas. even though it had a lot of room to explore characters, i still felt very surface level with most of them and i think the narrative suffered a bit from it.

 Oh ny god this was delightfully meta and romantic

Annabella

A fun read with a really fun premise! The dialogue leaves a lot to be desired and the storyline can be pretty predictable. Still great for a light read

Parmin

✨SOMETIMES, A BOOK can change your life  It's hard to explain that to someone who doesn't read, or who has never felt their heart bend so strongly toward a story that it might just snap in two. Some books are a comfort, some a re-prieve, others a vacation, a lesson, a heartbreak. I'd met countless stories by the time I read a book that changed my life.

✨Year after year after year, books that ferried me through heartbreak and hope and those terrible nights after Liam left. They were words that tucked me into bed at night when I was alone, they were words that played the soundtrack of my heartbreak, the what ifs, the second-guesses, the nights I sat alone and wondered, Why not me? Those books were like arms I fell into, armor that protected me from the world when life got too hard.

"It was a love that I knew wouldn't fail me. It was safe. It was a comfort when I was heartbroken and yearning to feel something good, because I couldn't imagine it on my own." I leaned forward a little, blinking back tears. "I think that's why I love these books so much. Because even when I felt broken, Rachel Flowers was always there to show me that there were still happy endings to be found... even if they weren’t mine 

✨Love was a bunch of small things that added up to bigger things.

It was never feeling too much, or not enough, even though often you were both, because Love loved you anyway. Not in spite of it, but because of it.

✨Love was patient and meticulous and it never ceased to surprise me. It wasn't something that I needed, something that I deserved, that I was worthy of—love was what I wanted. Anders was who I wanted. For now. For a day. For a week—for years. A story written in the language of kisses, and read to me in sweet, soft sighs. And though I didn't know the ending, I didn't need to. Because this?

Mariaaa

✨SOMETIMES, A BOOK can change your life  It's hard to explain that to someone who doesn't read, or who has never felt their heart bend so strongly toward a story that it might just snap in two. Some books are a comfort, some a re-prieve, others a vacation, a lesson, a heartbreak. I'd met countless stories by the time I read a book that changed my life.

✨Year after year after year, books that ferried me through heartbreak and hope and those terrible nights after Liam left. They were words that tucked me into bed at night when I was alone, they were words that played the soundtrack of my heartbreak, the what ifs, the second-guesses, the nights I sat alone and wondered, Why not me? Those books were like arms I fell into, armor that protected me from the world when life got too hard.

"It was a love that I knew wouldn't fail me. It was safe. It was a comfort when I was heartbroken and yearning to feel something good, because I couldn't imagine it on my own." I leaned forward a little, blinking back tears. "I think that's why I love these books so much. Because even when I felt broken, Rachel Flowers was always there to show me that there were still happy endings to be found... even if they weren’t mine 

✨Love was a bunch of small things that added up to bigger things.

Love was feeling valued. And accepted.

Just the way you were.

It was never feeling too much, or not enough, even though often you were both, because Love loved you anyway. Not in spite of it, but because of it.

✨Love was patient and meticulous and it never ceased to surprise me. It wasn't something that I needed, something that I deserved, that I was worthy of—love was what I wanted. Anders was who I wanted. For now. For a day. For a week—for years. A story written in the language of kisses, and read to me in sweet, soft sighs. And though I didn't know the ending, I didn't need to. Because this?

This was enough.

Megan Helberg Keiser

i’ve never read a book with a plot like this and i loved it!

kels

she is not my kind of girl. she is actually insufferable. the way there was zero chemistry between these two is actually hilarious. also way too many side characters, like at least 3 of them needed to edited out and it would’ve been fine. also the FMC was like .. in love with her best friend in the first half of the book? and mentions her in literally every sentence? god this was bad, but it was like laughable bad. like i enjoyed how bad it was. 

big ab

it was a very cozy, small town vibe. i normally don’t like small towns bc it’s too many characters buttt i like that they aren’t real people hehehe, i like they all got their happy endings, i like the town vibes and book store love, i like the how much she thought about her bestie, just a simple fall book 

debbie <3

this was the right book to start getting into the fall mood. it was so light and cozy, just reading about someone who understands my love for books. i don’t really understand all the hate this book is getting bc it’s a cool concept, it’s just not her best book i’ve read. 

julie reads

Being completely honest, I was quite disappointed with this. The premise of the book is so wonderful and I couldn't wait to get stuck into the story, but it sort of fell flat for me. There's nothing in particular I didn't like and the book is by no means a bad book, I just really struggled to connect to the characters and the storyline.

I found the main character a little annoying, which is so surprising because I loved the way she loved books. She personifies what it is to be a reader so well at times so I guess I'm just hoping that's not how we all come across to other people aha!

The romance was cute but, again, just fell flat for me. I found myself not particularly invested in whether or not they ended up together. I was more interested in the main character's relationship with her friends in the real world.

All in all, this was a decent read, it just didn't do the extraordinary things I thought it would do.

Emilia Vulliamy

Being completely honest, I was quite disappointed with this. The premise of the book is so wonderful and I couldn't wait to get stuck into the story, but it sort of fell flat for me. There's nothing in particular I didn't like and the book is by no means a bad book, I just really struggled to connect to the characters and the storyline.

I found the main character a little annoying, which is so surprising because I loved the way she loved books. She personifies what it is to be a reader so well at times so I guess I'm just hoping that's not how we all come across to other people aha!

The romance was cute but, again, just fell flat for me. I found myself not particularly invested in whether or not they ended up together. I was more interested in the main character's relationship with her friends in the real world.

All in all, this was a decent read, it just didn't do the extraordinary things I thought it would do.

Janet Akisanmi

I’m unsure about this one. I think Eileen is probably my least favorite Ashley Poston FMC.  I also think the relationship was a bit underdeveloped and I didn’t really feel the chemistry between the two. I do think this book got better towards the end. Overall, I am a bit underwhelmed by A Novel Love Story. 

Mel 

I always think Ashley Poston’s magical romances are a little too sweet and then they thoroughly win me over every time. I loved Eileen and Anders. I figured out who he was far before she did. And I appreciated the care with the ending. Brava!

Amelia Hruby

Such a cute idea but the story itself didn’t hit as hard as it could have. 

A Novel Love Story

Reviews

Highlights