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If you’re a fan of rom-coms, The Ex Talk is definitely for you. This book was so much fun and I had a blast while reading it. There were definitely a few parts that were a little over the top and required some suspension of disbelief, but I honestly didn’t mind at all as this book left me with a smile on my face at the end.

I know this book is billed as enemies to lovers, but I don’t think Shay and Dominic were really enemies. To be honest, he was a bit of a jerk in the beginning and definitely seemed like he thought he was better than others because he has a journalism degree from Northwestern and I could see why that rubbed Shay the wrong way having been working in public radio her whole career. I don’t think she hated him in the beginning, but she was annoyed with him. She took a while to warm up to him, as I also did while reading this book, to see that was a front Dominic put on as a means of protection. 

I do love the fake relationship in this even though it’s more a fake ex-relationship, which put a new twist on the trope. I loved watching Dominic and Shay open up to each other and having the fake relationship turn into something real. 

I feel like another thing I really liked about this book was how much of a connection I was able to feel with Shay. I think because we’re the same age and in similar stages in our careers, I was really able to empathize with her – particularly when she was feeling a sense of loneliness. There was also an argument she had with her best friend that I totally empathize with as I’ve been in a similar situation before. I think that connection I felt with Shay really brought an extra level to this book for me since I felt I could get in her head and understand her emotions.

Solomon’s writing had me laughing out loud at some parts – I loved her style and the tone she established for Shay’s voice. Literally, I think I died with laughter at this line and definitely shared it with a few friends:

“Excuse me while I walk right into downtown rush-hour traffic. Cool is the Kevin Jonas of compliments. It’s like saying your favorite color is beige.”

The pacing also felt spot on and I loved that this book was steamy. I was worried it the sex scenes would be of the “fade to black” variety but they were not. The sparks were there between Dominic and Shay and the heat in those scenes were jumping off the page.

As I mentioned at the start, there was a bit of suspension of disbelief with this novel, particularly when it comes to their radio show/podcast The Ex Talk. Forgive me, but I don’t believe a podcast like that would get as big and popular as quickly as it did. The premise of the podcast, two exes giving relationship advice, didn’t really seem that novel? I don’t know, but I really just didn’t buy that it would be that popular after ONE episode and that they’d be invited to a major podcast conference when they’ve existed for about a month. However, I did enjoy the fact that the whole premise of the podcast came crashing down on them during the podcast conference – it was so anxiety inducing but also the perfect timing for the jig to be up. 

Overall, The Ex Talk was a great rom-com that didn’t take itself too seriously. If you’re looking for a fun twist on the fake dating trope, this one is definitely for you!