The Ex Talk

After never reading a romance book set around a radio station, I have now read 2 back-to-back and I don’t know what it was about this one that just left me feeling a lite off, It’s an enjoyable easy romance read that is enjoyable but just didn’t hit the spot for me personally.

Two rival journalists in the field of public radio are strong-armed by their supervisor into faking a relationship on-air in a human-interest afternoon radio show called "The Ex Talk." & This Book looks at the rise and then subsequent reveal of the secrets the show is based on and the romance between the 2 hosts.

Firstly, I want to say that its clear just how much research went into creating this one and it would appear Rachel Solomon is very familiar with the ins and outs of public radio and all that takes place behind the scenes to make newscasts and shows successful. This really helps to make the characters feels well created and makes them feel real.

Shay lives for her career and has worked at the Seattle public radio station her entire adult life since interning after college. Equally driven is the young upstart political reporter, Dominic, who values his sense of ethics and integrity as much as his belief in his investigative skills.

Overall I found the premise a little weird and I was just not a fan of the show being based on lies about them being exes as this felt a little unrealist for any radio station. The ending also felt a little rushed; like most romances and that in order to wrap everything up is was all over and issues resolved in just a couple of pages.

The female lead looks realistic. A fun and light read and interesting because of it's about radio broadcasting and how the female lead on start believing on the beauty of her voice with the help of the mle lead (cute). A great read. I would recommend this one.

I decided to finish it for the sake of finishing it. It was honestly predictable and reading this book felt like reading fan fictions in middle school… sorry… The male lead was kinda cheesy after the stuff happened…

3.5⭐️

I was not a big fan of the book. It was a book I had trouble reading because of how uninterested I am (I even thought of not finishing it). I guess it was an okay book, at best. There was no tension at all, and they went from 0-100. It felt so slow at first, then suddenly it went so fast. It felt really flat. Maybe, I just wasn't really interested with the characters nor the plot.

solid book, entertaining, loved the main characters, happy ending, easy read!

3.5 stars following the bandwagon of feel-good books i needed to read, this book was enough to continue eliciting serotonin to my body. even when i got annoyed in the countless times dominic brings up his masters degree like it's his personality trait, the author acknowledges it with the master's jar. i rarely love the enemies-to-lovers trope because of how come books are mis-marketed, like how this book is more like annoying-coworkers-to-lovers. even when i couldn't completely gravitate this romance enough, it ended up being a book that got the Koosh ball rolling with their chemistry and likable personalities.

actual rating: 4.5 dare i say, this might be my fav from rachel lynn solomon! dom and shay are coworkers-to-enemies-to-fake exes-to-lovers excellence. lots of fun banter and steamy scenes. i had a great time reading this :')

4.5 stars. LOVED this one! ❤️ Review coming soon. ****** LOVE IS ON THE AIR 🌿❤️ Rachel Lynn Solomon's adult romance debut is a *chef's kiss* enemies to lovers workplace romance. Shay Goldstein, a 30 year old producer who's worked at Pacific Public Radio for a decade finds herself suggesting a wacky show idea to save the struggling station - two exes giving out relationship advice live, on air. Dominic Yun is the fresh face at the station, a 24 year old fresh off a masters journalism program with some preconceived notions about journalism and public radio. When their boss suggests that Shay and Dominic host it together as (fake) exes since they already dislike each other, they're both initially hesitant. There are so many things I loved about this book. The diversity and representation (across multiple spectrums) - to begin with, Shay is Jewish (#OwnVoices rep) and Dominic is Korean American. Shay's loneliness + feeling lost in her adulthood as she navigated friendships, love, grief and more, was so convincingly written that I often wanted to reach through my phone and hug her. Her rescue dog was the cutest thing ever. I loved how sex positive this book was. Dominic Yun has my heart 🥺❤️, his forearms 👀, his collection of Beanie Babies, his adorable parents, asdfghjkl. The chemistry between Shay and Dominic was undeniable. One second, I was grinning at the banter, and the next, I was making sure my earphones were properly connected to my phone 👀🔥 Some of the best steamy scenes I've ever read🔥🔥🔥🔥 The 2 Rachel Lynn Solomon books I've read so far, have been fiercely feminist and I love that ❤️ I think the only minuscule thing that bothered me was how many times Shay brought up the age gap between her and Dominic. It didn't ruin my reading experience but it made me wonder if it would've been this pronounced had the genders been reversed. All in all, a wonderful read that brought me immense joy and warmed my heart ❤️✨ The narrator, Emily Ellet, was excellent! 👏🏼❤️

Very cute and enjoyable romance. While the setup is somewhat predictable - two people meet and immediately dislike each other, only they end up drawn to each other, the story is also about overcoming grief, facing change, being alone in a new place, misogyny in the workplace, honesty, and overcoming obstacles for something that is worth it.

RTC

3.5. Solidly adorable. First half was a little slow, second half was real cute. Didn’t blow my mind but it was a quick and mostly satisfying for a rom com.

Amazing book with amazing characters. They went on a great journey together and I loved their story. This was one of the few books I’ve felt the characters emotions right along with them. Would definitely recommend!

It is a painfully mediocre book. By recommending this book to anyone, I will be doing the romance genre an injustice. While this may seem harsh, this is my honest opinion of the book. My major problem with the book is the main character, Shay, about whom we only get her POV. She is simply unbearable. In addition to being whiny and frustrating, she is insecure about her career progression and age. The biggest weakness of this book is Shay. She is certainly a relatable character to some, but she is also quite irritating most of the time. Shay has a dislike for Dominic in the beginning. However, her hatred for him just seemed groundless and unjustified. As the story progressed, it lingers throughout the story making it unpleasant to read. The smut scenes were just okay. I went in believing it was going to be more than just okay. By the end of the book, I did not care if they got together, after that shitshow of a conflict. I mean the guy has stage fright and his anxiety was on a all time high. What is he supposed to do? Give him a break. There is only one person Shay should be pissed off at, and that is Kent.

this was cute too lol

i was really into the premise of this book but the on-air segments only became shorter and shorter meanwhile irrelevant things like “going on a business trip with my love interest” were included to drive the relationship. wasn’t into that as i came for the public radio component of the plot (which barely happened). shay’s character didn’t stick with me either and the first person perspective made it worse as i had to read through repeating details of dominic’s height and her self pities. dominic’s character... there’s nothing to say because i didn’t even realize he had a character 😧 steve the dog was the star of the book.

this book was so cute! she named her dog steve rogers 😭😭

3.75 to be exact - loved the concept, characters, the flirting lol Got predictable but I still enjoyed it

Amazing book, great story

I'm giving this one 5 stars because 1) it got me out of a slight reading slump and 2) THE BANTER, THE CHEMISTRY, THE STEAM. Dear god, what was that?! Although I had some issues with Shay's storyline, this was the rom-com I needed to get my spirits up. Another note: it's always fun to read the author's bio and learn that the main character is basically them, living vicariously through fiction. Don't get me wrong, I do that all the time. It's just always funny to learn that some people manage to get paid for that.

The ending was a bit too sappy for me tbh

amazing, such an easy read and had all of my favourite tropes ( enemies to lovers, fake dating, close quarters, slow burn ) really pulled at my heart strings at the end, such a cute little romance

** spoiler alert ** I wanted to read this book because I was searching for some contemp romance and comedy books and this came up. I'm honestly so so glad that I came upon this book as it is just the thing I was searching for. Shay is a producer at Pacific Public Radio and Dominic completed his Journalism Master's degree and is now working at the station. It's a typical enemies to lovers and hints of comedy and it's a great read for anybody who's looking for a lighter read. The characters were perfectly written, some you are bound to dislike and some you'd really want in your life. Even though this book is a rom-com, there are some heavy topics addressed which is what makes this book seem so real. Though I liked it, it wasn't a 5 star read, but it's definitely good. you'd get what I mean when you read it ! If you are in need of a little laugh and you enjoy reading contemporary romance, then The Ex Talk is the book for you!! 🗣️🗣️🎤🎤