The Ex Talk

Read for the Kindle Clearout Readathon 2021

sigh when I tell y'all trying to nail down my rating for this book was so difficult, it really was. I really loved the last third of this book and the writing, but there were also a lot of issues I had with it.

Firstly, my main positive for this book is that I loved how realistic it seemed in regards to the whole relationship and the breaking up. Almost every contemporary romance has a third act breakup or on and off throughout the whole book. This book did that amazing. It made sense to me why the characters couldn't be together, and their issues weren't just thrown in there to create tension that wasn't needed.

I also really loved the podcast element because we got to see more of Dominic and how he acts. I loved the banter that happened and podcasts are one of my favorite things. I really think it added so much to the book

The romance and tension was also amazing, but it did feel a bit more like lust than romance. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I just wish there was a little bit more build up and chemistry because a lot of the book felt sudden. I was here for the steam and the smut, so I didn't mind that it was sudden, but I think that neither character was flushed out a ton, so it made their relationship fall a bit flat.

I really enjoyed Dominic's character, or what little we did have. He definitely could have been improved upon because he wasn't super 3 dimensional, but I loved everything we saw about him. His little beanie babies collection was the cutest and I loved the fact at some point he was actually annoying because it's realistic. I get annoyed with people I have an interest in all the time, and it's like affectionate annoyance.

But can I just say I absolutely despised Shay. She is one of the most annoying romance characters I've ever read. This girl's personality was literally her being insecure. Like ma'am I understand we all have insecurities but honey that is not a personality trait. She was so dry and had the personality of paper. I also feel like her in the office, her around her friends, and her in bed were 3 different characters. While Dominic had a switch from being office Dominic to chilling Dominic that felt natural, Shay just didn't.

I feel l like Shay also created a lot of unnecessary conflict with Dominic and her friends. I totally get being irritated and frustrated, but also you need to be understanding. That's something I'm still working on but Shay I feel like should know that for being in her late 20s. She honestly acted like a 15-year-old with a house. She was so complainy, and she just brought down everything in the book for me.

The steamy scenes were good for me, but the audiobook narrator honestly needed to chill. She was getting a little too into the scenes and the sound effects were not a personal favorite for me, but I did appreciate how the steam was done besides that.

Overall, there were parts of this I really enjoyed. I really liked the grief plotline that was woven in the book as well. But I can't get over the fact that Shay was so annoying, and I just didn't connect with her at all which is why I took off over a star.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing, Rachel Lynn Solomon, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.