User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
The hype made me try this one, but I'm sorry to say The Ex Talk was just not my cup of tea.
I'll give some credit where it's due: Solomon writes steamy sex scenes. None of that fade-to-black nonsense. This part of the book was done well, but it was a shame that I never warmed to the main couple - Shay and Dominic - like I was supposed to. I imagine if I'd been madly shipping them that it would have been all the more exciting.
Problem is, this supposedly funny romance was not that funny to me. There was something about the dialogue and jokes here that reminded me of tumblr memes. I know the parts where they're bickering on live radio were probably meant to seem a bit scripted, but their off-the-air chatter felt equally wooden. Jokes ripped from memes, constant pop culture references (Team Angel?
Come ooonnn), none of it did much to convince me this was a relationship to become invested in.
Shay herself felt like an internet personality with her "oh shucks, I'm so millennial" quips, gasping at the racism around her that she had "no idea" about, and always apologizing for her whiteness. Once? Maybe a decent ally. More than once? Someone wants a woke sticker.
Outside of this, a couple of things turned me off this relationship. One was the way they started bonding during an "I'm so lonely" pity-party. These are two educated middle-class professionals who are surrounded by caring friends and family. Forgive me if I don't whip out my kleenex just yet.
The other actually baffles me. I don't usually care about age differences, as long as the characters are consenting adults and not, like, boss and employee, so the five year age difference between Shay and Dominic should not have been an issue at all. And it wasn't at first. Then Shay kept going on and on about it until it did start to feel a bit weird.
Suddenly he looks very, very twenty-four.
“Were they even still popular when you were a kid?”
“I can’t believe I was out of college when you were still in high school. Way to make me feel ancient.”
He sits down next to me. “Did you have dial-up? And CDs? What was your CD collection like?”
Way to really drive home the cradle-snatching vibe. Would this have been made into such a big deal if their ages had been reversed? I wonder.
The best bit of this book, without a doubt, is Steve the dog:
On our drive home, Steve vomits in the car carrier. When we get inside, he vomits again on a rug I never really liked, pees on my coffee table, and poops on the living room carpet. If my house felt empty before, now it’s teeming with chaotic energy. I set up his bed in my room, and he humps it for a solid forty-five minutes before finally turning around in a circle four and a half times and curling himself into a tight ball. When I try to get near him, he growls, baring his underbite.
Steve, it turns out, is kind of a hot mess.
Methinks Solomon just might not be for me, unless, that is, Steve gets his own book 😂
Rating: really liked it
Wooooooooooowww! I’m screaming and crying so hard! For long a time I haven’t read it something so addictive, entertaining, smart, adorable! I didn’t want it finish. I wanted to read those smartass banters between MCs forever. I can read a book belong to their podcast episodes. Correction: I can read at least 20 books belongs to Shay and Don’s sexy, tempting, hot as hell, intelligent podcast series.
But unfortunately I stayed up all night and finished this book because I couldn’t put it down. My hands were glued to my e-reader, my mind stuck with those adorable characters and their extremely high chemistry presents you one of the epic enemies to lovers premise.
I kept giggling ( the sound I made was between Exorcist’s Reagan’s wicked voice when she is possessed by demon and morning voice of Fran Drescher before she has her cup of tea) I cannot help myself!
And now i feel so lost, frustrated. It feels like finishing the most adorable dessert at one bit and I want more but I already ate the last piece. So I’m doing something first and I reread some chapters over and over again. Trust me my friends, it’s truly worth it!
Quick summary of the plot lines before giving the entire stars of galaxy to this book ( trust me again, five stars are not enough. This was way too much better than most romance books I’ve read for a long time. It should be prescribed for all hopeless romantics and late night romcom cravers who hate Netflix’s lack of great romance movie lists just like me!)
Shay Goldstein, 29, producer of longtime radio show, working at same place: Seattle Public Radio Station for a decade, feeling lonelier after her mother’s sudden propose to her boyfriend and her best friend’s decision to consider the job opportunity at out of town.
She is also nervous ball because she cannot stand the radio’s new transfer Dominic Yum,24,is fresh off journalism master program.
His cocky smile, intimidating height and know-it-all, arrogant manners as if he can lecture her how to be real reporter for hours make her extremely pissed off.
When the studio looks for a brand new concept to attract more attention, at the brainstorming meeting, Shay pitches “ Ex- Talk” format: two exes will deliver relationship advice by criticizing own past relationship.
As you can imagine Dominic finds the idea illogical. They fight at the meeting which gives their superior the idea to force two of them host the show together because they already act like exes who cannot stand each other. If they don’t accept the opportunity, they may lose their jobs. The station has to let some of its employees go to function properly.
Shay sees this job as an opportunity for her dad’s memory by hosting her own show instead of being a producer and makes peace offer to her nemesis to give it a try for six months.
And as soon as they start their show, the numbers of listeners start to increase! Their fans grow who want them give another chance to their relationship.
What if you start to fall for your fake ex who become your friend, confidante, partner? Yes, Shay cannot help her attraction. The chemistry between them undeniable. But she always the one who declares her love at the relationships. What if her feelings are unrequited?
Overall: “Today Tonight Tomorrow” is my favorite realistic YA/ YA romance of 2020! And maybe it’s too early to announce but I think this book will be my favorite ( at least top three) 2021 adult romance novel.
The characters are so genuine, sweet and adorable. The relationship podcast concept was well worked with impressively catchy, laugh out loud, sexy, creative dialogues. So I’m not only giving entire galaxy stars but also Jupiter and bright side of the moon!
This is definitely one of the best motivational feel-good novel which should be reread many times to brighten your mood, warm your heart, feed your soul with positive energy. Congratulations dear Rachel Lynn Solomon, you did a hell of a job!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing book’s review copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
I fell in love with it!
Rating: really liked it
**4.5-stars rounded up**Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her local public radio station for nearly a decade. She started just after college and enjoys it so much, she can't imagine working anywhere else.
Dominic Yun is Shay's newest coworker. He's fresh out of a Masters Degree program in Journalism and boy, does he love to talk about it.
Dominic's the current hot-shot at the station that all the higher-ups seem to love, but frankly, his very presence drives Shay a little batty.
Sure, he's good-looking, tall and he smells nice, but why does he have to be so darn condescending?
Pitching ideas to try to boost the ratings of their slightly floundering station, Shay presents an idea for a relationship chat show.
Her concept is that exs would cohost a show, exploring what went wrong in their relationship, tying in other popular dating topics at the same time. To Shay's surprise, her boss okays the project with enthusiasm.
The only catch is that he expects Shay and Dominic to co-host. It's true they've never dated, but there is certainly enough animosity flowing between them to convince people that they have.
Neither of them feels good about deceiving their audience, but they don't have much of a choice. Ultimately, both Shay and Dominic begrudgingly accept the assignment.
They first need to make up an entire story behind their 3-month dating life, memorize it and stick to it. With that comes the opportunity to get to know each other better.
It's no secret that I am a fan of Rachel Lynn Solomon's work.
If I am not mistaken, this book is her debut in the Adult Romance space. I really enjoyed my time with these characters, although I will say they did both act extremely young.
At times, I could have easily been convinced they were in high school interning at a radio station; except then I would be reminded of the fact they both had completed college and had their own apartments. Then, of course, there's the steamy bits.
Those were well done. No further clarification required.
It's true, I enjoyed this so, so much. I loved Shay. I loved Dominic. I loved Shay's adopted dog. There's miscommunication, flirting, workplace debacles and soft, romantic moments. It's just a lot of fun.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.
This story gave me all the feels and I look forward to picking up Solomon's upcoming YA-release,
We Can't Keep Meeting Like This.
Rating: really liked it
4.5/5 starsI had so much fun with this book. I adored both of these characters so much. We have Shay, who is nearing thirty and feeling like she’s still trying to figure out how to be an adult and she’s been working at this radio station for ten years, and her Dad died when she was a senior in high school. And we have Dominic, who is a bit younger than her, he’s Korean, and he just graduated with a masters degree and is new at their radio station.
This book was so much FUN, it was so flirty and light hearted and cute and it had some steamy scenes too! I ADORED the idea of this show/podcast. The idea of two exes hosting a dating show.. like I’d listen to this if it were a real thing. I love that it had major hate to love vibes because these two don’t get along, and it had the fake dating trope (which is one of my favorites) but with a twist!! Because they have to pretend to be fake exes, which made it even more fun.
I love that this book takes place in Seattle, since I live in Washington it made it all the more enjoyable, it had all the PNW vibes. 🌲 I really felt so much for Shays relationship with her Dad and how he passed away when she was in high school.. their relationship was really touching. I also feel like Shay was just so relatable for me.. the way she always talks about how she feels like she’s trying to be an adult but doesn’t really feel like she’s succeeding and that her life feels like a mess and she thought she’d have it all figured out by now. I’m going through similar feelings and her character made me feel a lot less alone.
These two were just hella cute together, I appreciate that Shay was a bit older than Dominic, it’s so rare to see an older woman in romance books. Their banter was on point and this book just had me smiling and laughing the whole time.
Also I think this Taylor Swift lyric fits this book perfect:
YOUNGER THAN MY EXES BUT HE ACT LIKE SUCH A MAN
Rating: really liked it
on paper this book should have worked for me
- heroine older than hero
- steamy scenes
- cool podcast premise
- hero NOT a player
but the execution was just okay. i think i would have preferred this had the focus been more on the actual interactions during the show. i was surprised by the choice to have the characters go on a weekend trip mid way through the book. i wanted the development to happen on air and i wanted a liiiittle more tension before they jumped in bed.
and generally speaking, this felt similar in tone to Beach Read. hard to really define beyond being a little more melancholy than i prefer for a “rom com.” i think a LOT of people will ADORE this, and there were definitely sweet spots for me. but overall, nothing memorable.
Rating: really liked it
as a public radio fan, i give this book two thumbs up.
i totally adore the plot concept. im a sucker for ‘forced proximity’ romance stories, so i was all for the idea of shay and dom faking their relationship (and break up) all for the sake of work. their banter works well with the easy-going writing style and the setting is perfect.
i do wish there was more ‘on air’ time between shay and dom. a few brief episode transcripts are thrown in here and there but, for revolving around a radio show/podcast, there really isnt much to show for it, which is a shame. i also could have done without the loads of pop culture references.
but overall, this is a quirky, light-hearted read. perfect for anyone in the mood for a feel good kind of story.
↠ 4 stars
Rating: really liked it
Dominic Yun, my HEART. This book was so, so special. Another one that was right at the top of my most anticipated 2021 releases, and I am so happy to say that it (mostly) lived up to the hype. Even though I didn't super love that the premise of the book revolves around a podcast that is based entirely on a lie, I grew to love and understand Shay and Dominic so much and was rooting for them SO! HARD! every step of the way. I will say, my biggest issue (and what kept this book from being a full 5 stars), is that I feel like the end of the book just kind of... fell apart? I knew that things would have to get pretty messy for the ending to work in a realistic way, but I feel like it kind of danced around realistic messy into just... straight up mess-messy and it just wasn't exactly the ending that I was hoping for. With all that being said, I did still really enjoy this book and I cannot wait to read new books from Rachel Lynn Solomon for the rest of my life. SO CUTE. SO FUN.
TW: death of a loved one
Buddy read with Joce <3
Rating: really liked it
2.5 starsI came here for a cute romantic comedy that would brighten my mood, but what I got wasn’t cute, romantic, or even slightly funny.
Its just that everything felt so forced. The jokes felt forced and like they were taken from some memes from the internet. Their romance felt so forced and so unnatural. I also didn’t like the fact that they became together after having a pity party. I don’t know I just felt weird seeing them interact. Like okay you both sound so
awkward.I kinda liked Dominic, he was sweet and shy. Shay, on the other hand, was really testing my patience. She was really frustrating and I felt physical pain whenever I read her inner thoughts like please stop. Like you’re supposed to be a thirty years old adult, act like it! The ending was so messy which was kinda expected. What annoyed me is that it wasn’t really satisfying. I wanted the “bad guy” to pay. I mean if you got publicly humiliated because of a sexist selfish jerk, I would’ve loved to watch you get your revenge someway!
Rating: really liked it
Maybe, at this point, I shouldn't be legally permitted to read romance.
There is clearly some sort of obstacle course or large blockade between my eyes (reading) and my emotional center (where I should feel the effects of the reading, and usually don't). At this point, I probably like 1 in every 10 romances I read.
It's time to do my usual strategy, and blame myself.
I felt NOTHING during this book. The romance was not convincing to me. Also, as a 23 year old, I can barely imagine dating a 24 year old man, and if I were 29 I can only imagine I would feel more intensely. Those are such different life stages. The 24 year old man in question has only ever had one girlfriend!!! And now we're supposed to believe this is end game? I can't. I can't and I won't and I refuse.
These characters were, like, okay, and as a podcast lover I appreciated that aspect of it, but everything else felt like a bit of a snooze to me. ESPECIALLY the background characters. Who even were they??? I do not know.
Bottom line: Let's do the easy thing, say this is my fault, and ignore this review forever, yeah?
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pre-reviewgod, i'm dead inside.
review to come / 2.5 stars
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tbr reviewi heard "for fans of beach read" and i needed no other information
Rating: really liked it
4.5 🌟
Man, this worked so well for me. It’s great that authors can more or less get into your heads and create characters from your thoughts and make them horribly relatable. My heart was so full!
I loved Shay. I loved Dominic. I loved the side characters, the dialogue, the radio/podcast segments and how much it made me root for this story, in general.
And I’m also starting to realise how much I love a podcast element to stories. Storytelling in all kinds of different art forms I love.
I hope Rachel Lynn Solomon continues to write more contemporary, adult romances.
Rating: really liked it
I loved this book. The hate to love romance, the podcast & NPR elements, the face that it was set in the Pacific Northwest. It was adorable. I have read all 3 of Rachel Lynn Soloman's YA books before and loved them so I'm excited to see her foray into the adult romance genre.
Already I can tell this will make it on my favorite romance reads at the end of the year!
Rating: really liked it
So what happens when you're forced to work with your nemesis and then find out, he's not as bad as you thought he was?
The perfect recipe for a great work romance novel!
Shay Goldstein has spent the last decade as the producer of a radio show. She is content to work behind the scenes since she doesn't believe she has the voice to be on the radio. Her dad and Shay spent many days playing at having their own talk show and despite the years he has been gone, she still misses him dearly. When he died, working at the radio was the one thing that helped her get out of bed every day.
In regards to her personal life, she's currently unattached. Her mom is about to get married and her best friend is thinking of moving away. She's stressed with these changes. Then, she learns that the station might have to let people go. They need a new show to bring in listeners.
Shay pitches an idea at the next work meeting. How about exes working together and talking about relationship issues? Her boss loves the idea and when he sees her bickering with Dominic Yun, who has a master's in journalism, he decides to pair them as the hostesses of the new show.
It all begins with a lie, but soon Shay and Dominic realize they have chemistry and a shared attraction but can things work out for them?
The Ex-Talk by Rachel Lynn was a sweet story with the perfect balance of romance and drama. Engaging characters and a perfect blend of diversity and inclusion.
And I have to agree with Shay, forearms can be sexy.
Cliffhanger: No
4.5/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Berkley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Rating: really liked it
Shay Goldstein has dreamed of being on public radio her whole life. To follow in her late father’s footsteps. But despite years of dedication and sacrifice, finds herself on the other side of the booth producing rather than presenting. When younger male hotshot Dominic Yun is instead presented the opportunity to sit in front of the microphone, Shay is absolutely dumbstruck. She has been passed over once again.
But maybe Karma is intervening. When the station becomes mired in financial trouble, they desperately need a Hail Mary to bring back listeners and revitalize the failing radio station. Well, well, well…Shay seizes this unexpected gift and concocts a brilliant plan! Ok, maybe not so brilliant... but it’s sure to work, right...!?💁🏻♀️
A new talk show featuring two former lovers dispensing relationship advice. Now Shay finds herself in front of the microphone with none other than young Dominic. Did they date in the past you ask? Well no. Are they truly ex’s? Well once again the answer would have to be no. But as long as no one finds out and they rescue the station it’s just a harmless little white-lie. So… we’ll need everyone to 🤫
This was a cute rom-com that had a fabulous premise. The characters on their own were a bit lacking for me but the chemistry between Shay and Dominic more than made up for it.
A rom-com weekend buddy read with Susanne!
Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for an ARC to read and review.
Rating: really liked it
If you’re looking for a fun rom-com with laughs, likable characters, some depth, and some serious heat 🔥🔥 ...look no further!
Shay Goldstein has worked for Pacific Public Radio for the past decade, currently producing a show called
Puget Sounds. She absolutely loves her job, even if she doesn’t always care for her colleagues. Enter Dominic Yun, an eager beaver who just completed a journalism master’s program and is working at the station. Shay and Dominic do not get along at all.
When the station’s higher ups ask for new show concepts, Shay comes up with
The Ex Talk - a show where two exes will examine their former relationship and answer advice on air. Who do they decide on to host the show? Shay and Dominic. They hate each other and bicker constantly, so of course they can be pretend to be exes.
As the show becomes successful, Shay and Dominic realize they like spending time with each other, and there is strong chemistry. Will starting a relationship with each other and continuing to lie to the public ruin their show?
I have to say I really loved this book. I found it charming, with some moments hilarious...and other moments that go a bit deeper than most rom-coms. Talk about chemistry! Shay and Dominic have it in spades. They kept me glued and transfixed just like Maddie and David used to do on
Moonlighting. Luckily, the chemistry never fizzles out here, and the serious heat made me OMG gasp and need water on a couple occasions. It does go into “Rated R” territory, so reader beware. ⚠️
Shay and Dominic are fully fleshed out, and the side characters are all pretty amazing as well. I really cared for all of them. I also appreciate that the author created a highly diverse cast from all walks of life. It was pretty phenomenal. This was such a joy to read, and I highly recommend. It’s adorbs!
4.5 stars. Available now from Berkley.
Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com
Rating: really liked it
Loved it!
This was an absolute joy from cover to cover.
Shay Goldstein has been a producer for Pacific Public radio for 10 years. Dominic Yun is a new hire, with a master’s in journalism, he thinks he knows everything about public radio. Naturally, this rubs Shay the wrong way. During a staff meeting Shay throws out an idea for a new show - a show where ex's give relationship advice. Their boss loves the idea. He also thinks Shay and Dominic would be perfect together on the air, posing as exes. They have been bickering and sparing back and forth and everyone can feel their chemistry. What perfect duo for being co-hosts for "The Ex Talk."
So, what happens when they pose as ex's? Will they be able to pull it off? Will their show be a hit? Will they fool their fans? What happens when these so-called exes begin to fall for each other?
This was a fun, flirty, sexy and smart book. The two main characters have a witty repartee both on the air and off. They are funny, sharp, likeable and intelligent. This is not your average workplace romance, its brilliant, rewarding and fun! Just what I needed.
When I requested this book, I was intrigued by the synopsis. A workplace romance set in a public radio station, hmmm interesting.... I was sure I was going to enjoy it, but this exceeded my expectations.
Well written, well thought out, perfectly paced and thankfully, the ending was not rushed. I enjoy romance books but cannot stand the rushed fast endings. This once fell into place beautifully. It is not rushed; it is not ridiculous, and it put a big smile on my face. This is ROMCOM at it's best!
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
