Book Review for It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

 

It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

Published:  May 27, 2025 by G.P. Putnam's Sons

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Taken from Goodreads:  From the USA Today bestselling author of Nora Goes Off Script, a novel about a former adolescent TV punchline who has left her awkwardness in the rearview mirror thanks to a fake-it-till-you-make-it mantra that has her on the cusp of success, until she tells a lie that sets her on a crash-course with her past, spending a week in Long Island with the last man she thinks might make her believe in love.

Rules for a love story: There are none. It’s all a lie.

Jane Jackson knows that true love is a lie. Laughter is the only truth—you can’t fake a belly laugh. Jane should know, she spent her adolescence as "Poor Janey Jakes," the barbecue-sauce-in-her-braces punchline on America's fifth-favorite sitcom. Now she’s a Creative Executive at Clearwater Studios and she’s living by a new mantra: Fake it till you make it.

Except, she might have faked it too far. Desperate to get her first project greenlit and riled up by pompous cinematographer and one-time crush Dan Finnegan, she opened her mouth and a big fat fib fell out. She claimed that Jack Quinlan, hottest popstar of the moment, has promised to write an original song for the soundtrack. Jack may have been her first kiss—and greatest source of shame—but she hasn’t spoken to him in twenty years.

Now, Jane must turn to the last man she’d ever want to owe: Dan Finnegan. Because Jack is playing a festival in Dan’s hometown on Long Island, and Dan has an in. A week in close quarters with Dan while facing down her past is Jane's idea of hell, but Dan just might surprise her. While covering up her lie, can they find something true?

My Thoughts: Annabel Monaghan has become a must-read author.   I see her all over social media and book sites being raved about.  It’s a Love Story is the second book of hers that I have read and she is now on my must-read list.    She knows how to write a romance with twists and turns, ups and downs that pull the reader in and keeps them reading until the very last word. 

Jane Jackson has a history that she thinks can help with her future.   She makes plans to find her past and ask a big favor.  Dan, the man who has caused her nothing but trouble, is the one who can help her.   I love how this all came together.   Will her past help her?  Will her future be found?   Can she get over her past to find her future?  

This is the perfect easy read.  The characters are fun with a uniqueness that makes the story fun and entertaining.   The storyline is easy to follow and has some twists and turns that I never saw coming.  I devoured this book on a short road trip.  It is the perfect summer read. 

Thank you G.P. Putnam's Sons for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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Meet the Author(taken from her website):  Annabel is the USA Today bestselling and Library Reads Hall of Fame author of Summer Romance, Same Time Next Summer and Nora Goes Off Script, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Her forthcoming novel, It’s A Love Story, will be published on May 27, 2025.

She is also the author of two novels for young adults, A Girl Named Digit and Double Digit, as well as Does This Volvo Make My Butt Look Big?, a collection of essays based on her column that appeared on the Huffington Post, The Week and The Rye Record. She has a BA in English from Duke University and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania. She hosts an author series called Friends with Words and spent several years on the novel writing faculty at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. She lives in Connecticut with her family. Her novels have been translated into 20 languages.