Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Hello friends! I just finished the audiobook of Love is an Open Book by Chandra Blumberg, narrated by Keylor Leigh and Will Damron, courtesy of NetGalley for review, and I have to tell you, this one is pure comfort for anyone who loves a clever, bookish friends-to-lovers romance. If you like your stories with a sprinkle of slow-burn tension and a dash of meta romance tropes, you’ll want to add this to the top of your TBR list, and you’re in luck, this book releases today!

The story begins during Mia and Gavin’s college days, where you immediately feel their spark and the sweet nerves of a budding friendship through the recovery of her first novel, she asked then boyfriend to read. We don’t spend a ton of time in the past, though. The real magic happens years later, when Mia Brady is now a bestselling author with a hit TV series adapted from her books, and Gavin Lane is her steadfast best friend. I actually loved this choice as it made their connection feel so layered and real, even as the bulk of their friendship backstory happens “off page.” Blumberg drops in just enough memories and inside jokes to show you how much they mean to each other, so the chemistry feels lived-in from the very start.

Mia is at a crossroads. She needs to write the final book in her blockbuster series and deliver the grand finale the fans (and the network) are desperate for. The pressure’s on: if she can’t make it happen, the show will continue without her, and someone else will decide how her long-running friends (in the show) finally get their happy ending. The trick? She’s completely stuck on how to make friends convincingly fall in love since, in her mind, friendship and romance are two separate lanes. Either you’re besties or you date, but never both.

Then there is Gavin. He’s been half in love with Mia since she showed up in his dorm that night, but he cares for her deeply enough to keep their friendship first. When Mia admits she can’t crack the “friends to lovers” storyline, Gavin offers to be a stand-in boyfriend and help her test out classic romance tropes in real life. I loved how this setup poked fun at the genre without ever feeling cynical. Mia’s endless list of rules, the way she schedules “practices” for everything from grand romantic gestures to forced proximity, and their sweet, sometimes stumbling attempts to blur those lines are all just so charming.

The best part? As they go through these experiments together, Mia’s walls start to dissolve. You really feel her struggle to see herself as worthy of a real love story, not just the creator of them for everyone else. Watching her slowly realize that maybe her happily ever after is standing right next to her is satisfying in all the best ways. Gavin is absolutely swoon-worthy here; he is patient, genuine, and prepared to risk their friendship in the hopes that they both get something even better in return.

If I have one wish, it’s just that we got a bit more of their friendship on page throughout the years as I would have loved to see a few more flashbacks woven in. But the present-day partnership and their inevitable shift to something more is so well done.

So friends, If you love contemporary romance, friends-to-lovers, and a story-within-a-story structure, you’ll want to give Love is an Open Book a listen (or read). The narration is excellent, with Keylor Leigh bringing Mia’s passion and anxiety to life, and Will Damron giving Gavin’s every word a steady kind of warmth. Four stars, and a big thank you to NetGalley for the advance listening copy. Until next time, happy reading!