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.

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.

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!

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

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

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

✨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.

very different but cute

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

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.

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

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.

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.

ashley poston teach me your ways

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.

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!

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

[3.25] I just wish there was more to the romance. The ending did make me like the book more.

ashley poston is my everything. this book was SO GOOD.