Check out my book review of Soloman’s 2021 release, The Ex Talk. I adored this enemies to lovers romance so find out why below!
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The Ex Talk
by Rachel Lynn Soloman
Category: Contemporary Romance
Tags: Enemies to Lovers, Opposites Attract, Office Romance, Diversity, Forced Proximity, Slow Burn
Published January 2021
Rating: ★★★★½
Boyfriend Rating: 💍💍💍
Amazon | Goodreads
An enemies to lovers, opposites attract love story – what’s not to love about Rachel Lynn Soloman’s first adult contemporary romance book?
Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade. She loves her job but lately it’s one big headache due to her newest colleague, Dominic Yum who can’t help but throw his Master’s degree in journalism in her face any chance he can get.
Even though he’s all about chasing the latest news story and she’s all about telling stories, the two get paired to co-host a new radio show, The Ex Talk.
The concept is that two exes will share relationship advice every week only…they’ve never dated and clearly aren’t exes.
First off, I loved the setting and set up of this story. I don’t think I’ve ever read a romance about public radio and I loved this angle.
The set up for their radio show was the perfect opportunity to bring these two opposites together and stoke the fire of a simmering attraction that was brewing despite their opposite takes on the best use of public radio air waves.
The brief look into their episodes was fun and a great addition though the best was their back and forth banter on air.
Of course, it’s no surprise that they develop real feelings for one another but their individual backstories really added a different dimension to how each approached a potential new love interest.
Great Diversity
Another key aspect of this book that I absolutely loved was the diversity.
There was quite a bit of diversity in ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation represented which was fantastic.
Even better was that this diversity wasn’t overstated or made to seem exploitive. It just flowed with the story and existed, but was something that really impressed me about this book as a leader in how more representative romance books can be!
Key Topics to Ponder
I also loved that interspersed throughout the engaging love story were several important themes that were addressed.
Misogyny in the workplace, grief after loss, finding love after loss and finding your life purpose were important topics touched on that added even more to this story.
Characters
I enjoyed both lead characters in this one.
I loved Shay’s passion for radio and felt for her in her struggle to find love that was reciprocated.
I also appreciated both her and Dominic’s loneliness but loved how he continually inserted himself in her path.
As far as book boyfriends go, Dominic is a good one. This isn’t a book with an alpha male but he was the perfect match for Shay.
I have a feeling this book is going to have wide appeal and rightly so. It’s no wonder it received a nomination as one of the best romance books of the year according to the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards. I highly recommend it.
*Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.
Related Book Reviews:
Related Book List:
- Best Enemies to Lovers Books
- Best Office Romance Books
- Best Slow Burn Romance Books
- Best Forced Proximity Romance Books
- Most Anticipated Romance Books of 2021
- Must Read New Romance Book Releases Coming January 2021
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