REVIEW: Exes and O’s by Amy Lea

Exes and O’s by Amy Lea: Tara Chen loves love. As a hopeless romantic, bookworm and all round sweetheart Tara can’t help but want to find herself a fairytale ending but it would just seem that fate and love have other plans for her, after having her ex fiancé break up with her because of her stage five clinger tendencies Tara is now on a mission to track down all her ex’s in the hopes of finding a romance novel worthy second chance love story… but when things just don’t seem to plan out as Tara had hoped she enlists the help of her reluctant roommate and total hottie fireman Trevor.

As far as Trevor is concerned he is all about the no strings attached hook ups, while keeping his heart safely locked away but with all the time he is spending with Tara, Trevor can’t help but slowly bring down his walls… could a romance novel worthy love story be staring both of these two right in the face…

“I can barely breathe when I think about living my life without you.”

This book was just everything that I could have asked for in a cute romcom read. I loved every moment of Tara and Trevors story and getting to see them move from friends to lovers. This was easily one of the best friends to lovers novels that I have read in a long time. There was something very reminiscent about this book to that of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, but on a more grown up scale and I was so here for it!

As a book lover myself I could totally relate with Tara and her love for love, romance and all things bookish, I absolutely loved getting to see her blog bits and really getting to not only follow her as we read her story but also following through her vlogs. I loved the fact that Tara felt so real, there was something so relatable about her and the struggles that she faced, which made rooting her on all the more for filling. I really enjoyed getting to see her realise that her ‘extra clingy-ness’ is what makes her special and uniquely herself.

“He’s not just the hero of my dreams. He’s the hero beyond my wildest imagination. The best part? He’s nonfiction.”

I think it is pretty safe to say that firemen are hot in general but there was something extra appealing about Trevor, I just loved our hero and the fact that he was the grump to Tara’s sunshine only made me love him more. I really enjoyed getting to see him move from this no strings charmer to this one woman man. I will say for the most part we really didn’t know for sure how Trevor left about Tara but those few moments that he showed his jealousy and protectiveness were golden. In short I just loved our hero, be it his cute protective relationship with Tara or the soft sweet side he saved for his sick niece, he was a total gem.

One of the things I loved about this book was the chemistry between Tara and Trevor, these two went from one of the most awkward first meetings to one oddly cute budding friendship and ultimately into the cutest friends to lovers/ roommate love stories ever. The fact that they were complete opposites of each other only made their connection all the more enjoyable. There were so many swoony moments throughout this book that will undeniably melt your heart! Most of all I loved that Trevor kept mementos of the build up of their relationship, this was one of the cutest parts of this book, especially with his hate for clutter.

I just loved the secondary characters in this book. Grandma Flo was just hilarious! I loved that she was such a hip old lady, making her knitting trendy and really just doling out relationship advice. I just loved the way Crystal, Mel and Scott added to pushing Tara and Trevor along in their journey. The one character that really stole my heart was Angie, she was such a trooper! I got as invested in her story as I did with Trevor and Tara. I just loved how sassy and strong she was even while battling to stay alive. She was such an amazing addition to the book and only added in making me love Trevor.

Exes And O’s is a total must read! This book was a romance lovers dream to read, with all the very best tropes mixed in and some heart melting moments I can not recommend this book enough!!

Book Info:

Publication: January 10th 2023 | Berkley Books |

Romance-novel connoisseur Tara Chen has had her heart broken ten times by ten different men–all of whom dumped her because of her “stage-five clinger” tendencies. Nevertheless, Tara is determined to find The One. The only problem? Classic meet-cutes are dead thanks to modern dating apps. So Tara decides to revisit her exes in hopes of securing her very own trope-worthy second-chance romance.

Boston firefighter Trevor Metcalfe will be the first to rush into a burning building but the last to rush into a relationship. Love just isn’t his thing. When his new roommate Tara enlists him to help her reconnect with her exes, he reluctantly agrees. But Tara’s journey is leading him to discover his own new chapter.

The more time they spend together, the more Tara realizes Trevor seems to be the only one who appreciates her authentic, dramatic self. To claim their happily-ever-after, can Tara and Trevor read between the lines of their growing connection?