Book Review – The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Title: The Ex Talk

Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon

Publisher: Berkley

Publication date: January 26th, 2021

336 pages

5/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

Public radio co-hosts navigate mixed signals in Rachel Lynn Solomon’s sparkling romantic comedy debut.

Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can’t imagine working anywhere else. But lately it’s been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who’s fresh off a journalism master’s program and convinced he knows everything about public radio.

When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it’s this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it’s not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts.

As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers.

Review

“Sometimes I wonder if content is really just a synonym for complacent.”

Rachel Lynn Solomon, The Ex Talk

Holy banter! I am here for so many parts of this book; the enemies to lovers, workplace romance, the diversity, the Jewish/Asian representation, and the podcast spin! Truly, this book was a joy to read and the only thing that could have made it better was if it was dual POV {which is just my all time favorite and I want all my romances to be dual POV}.

I love so much that the whole storyline revolved around Dominic and Shay pretending to be exes, but instead falling in love. It’s a whole new take on enemies to lovers romance that I haven’t read before and it made for some seriously amazing banter and a great dynamic. The steam level was pretty moderate/high, so it that isn’t your jam just know there is more spice than average in this one.

I legit hated the boss, anytime he was on the screen I wanted to throw my kindle across the room because he was the absolute worst. I wanted more of a take down sequence for him from Shay, but alas it was not to be had. Might be my one big critique of the book is I feel like Shay needed to stand up to him more, instead of waiting for Dominic to do it. If you want power and equality, you need to demand it – not wait for the man to do it.

Excuse me while I go fantasize about my own Dominic. Read this book!

Happy reading, folks!