The Ex Talk

Loved it! This workplace romance delivered so much tropey catnip. There’s• Workplace romance at a public radio station. In fact, it’s KNKX, my local station! Turns out the author worked there. The author’s knowledge of the radio & podcast world came though without excessive detail to bore the reader.• Pacific Northwest setting• Enemies to lovers. Shay’s a hard-working producer who’s given up on getting her turn at the mic. Dominic’s a freshly baked graduate—M.A. from Northwestern, which he mentions at the drop of a hat—and the sexist station boss hands him the position Shay deserves.• Fake dating, except the hero & heroine must convince their radio and podcast listeners that they used to date and have since broken up, so they must quickly invent a history. Doing so gets the romance ball rolling.• Psychotic dog• Steamy slow burn with some delicious payoff• Older woman, younger man—though with her at 29 and him at 24, it’s not a huge age gap. Shay worries that someone as young and gorgeous as Dominic couldn’t possibly be seriously interest in her, which leads to the• “Just casual” conceit. We know that’s not what either wants, of course.• A lovely side plot about finding new love after grief. Shay’s father died in her senior year of high school, and their love of radio motivates her to this day. Mom has since fallen in love with a wonderful man, but Shay’s grief continues to shackle her. I particularly loved the podcast episode where Shay’s mom & her fiancé, also a widower, discuss finding love after loss.Some reviewers bemoan the characters’ use of memes and pop cultural references. It didn’t strike me as excessive, and it reflects what I see among friends and family in that age range. I found it cute and realistic.All in all, a touching, funny, sexy, entertaining read. Highly recommend.

So, let me start off by saying that I had a very strange reading experience with this book. The blurb had me so excited that I preordered the Kindle edition and started reading on release day. But... I found the heroine to be extremely off-putting, and I set the book aside pretty quickly. Not necessarily as a DNF, but I certainly wasn't loving it the way I expected to. A few weeks later, the audio version became available at the library - and I literally jumped at the chance to get reading again. The initial enthusiasm I had for the book returned full force, and I got listening. But... wow, the narrator's voice did not help me like the heroine any better. I abandoned the audiobook a short time later and went back to the Kindle edition, because, yes, I was still feeling this book. And things went much, much smoother from there.I guess what I'm saying is that this gets off to a rocky start. Neither character is particularly likable at the beginning, though I at least felt like Dominic was giving off some adorably swoony hero vibes. Shay is the kind of heroine who will take awhile to grow on you, and she will likely continue to give you reasons to dislike her along the way. Once you've reached a certain point in the story, you'll understand that her personality is one of the things that makes this book feel so unique and gives it some extra depth, but it takes awhile to get there. The best parts of the book happen once you settle in - the great banter, the sweet yet sexy tone, the chemistry - it all comes later. So, for me, the first third is sort of unbearably annoying, but the other two-thirds are really great. It's absolutely a fresh, interesting debut with a ton of potential, and I would not hesitate to read more from the author. The storyline is original and the characters' perspectives are distinct. That alone makes this a worthwhile read - if you can get past the beginning.

I'm always late to the reading of popular more-expensive contemporary romances. (As a cheapskate, I usually buy the free-to-$3.99 ones.) So this one had been on my radar for a while and I was happy to get it on a bargain day. Well, after reading it, I will say it's cute but not worth its usual asking price.The plot and setting are fun. Romance between two NPR employees at a local station in Seattle. She's been working there for ten years, behind the scenes because her voice is not radio quality. He's a new hotshot, recent university graduate (with a graduate degree that he never fails to mention) and is coming up in the ranks at the station in lightning fashion. Naturally, she resents this and resents his degrees and his youth (5 years younger than she is).The local station is losing money. They need a way to get more listeners and more sponsors, so the idea of creating a new program called "The Ex Talk" seems just the thing. Our heroine and our hero will pretend to be exes who will give relationship advice on each episode of the program, in a light and entertaining fashion.Well, of course you know how this will end. It is, after all, a romance. And I enjoyed the author's writing style and the development of the relationship. But, but...I couldn't get over the fact that this was public radio we were talking about. I've been listening to NPR all my adult life while driving to and from work and, apart from "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" and "Ask Me Another," I've never been lightheartedly entertained.NPR is where I go to be educated or made more aware of issues. To have this fictional radio station featuring that Ex Talk type of program and even engaging in deceit to do it did not sit well with me. If it had been on a regular commercial radio station, this would have sat better with me.In addition, the heroine and hero were not top-of-the-line in romance reading. I found them to be too self-absorbed and self-centered. But I was entertained, so there's that.

This was a really cute book. Shay and Dominic had great chemistry and some fun banter. It touched on grief, loneliness and self doubt bur still managed to remain sweet and light hearted at other times. Quite predictedable but still enjoyable.

I didnt really mean to read this tonight and shirk everything else I was planning to do but *britney spears voice* OOPS I DID IT AGAIN.I haven't read any of Solomon's books before, but I was really interested in this one's premise, especially as someone with a background in radio myself (both on the production and hosting sides! Just like Shay. Although, I certainly didn't have a Dominic Yun. Tragic.).Speaking of Dominic Yum-- I mean, Yun-- the sexual tension between them was insane especially in the first part of this book. I was truly dead. And their banter was amazing--some of the stuff they said on their show made me Chuckle.All in all, I loved this one. So enjoyable, so unique, and such a page turner.

I love Dominic and I love Shay and I wars incredibly excited about this book, which sometimes is a problem, because the book itself can be underwhelming. While that wasn’t the case there’s some aspects of this I didn’t love completely, but Rachel’s voice is incredible and she’s an auto buy author for me!

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I'm a fan of the fake-dating trope, but this is the first time I've seen a reverse fake-dating story! This book has such delicious tropes, including forced proximity, and features an older heroine (Shay is 29) and younger man (Dominic is 24). The relationship builds really beautifully - they start off disliking each other and finding each other really annoying, but as they're forced to work together and spend time together they find a grudging respect that builds to camaraderie and reluctant attraction. Even though Shay can't see it, it's clear to the reader how much both parties are fighting their feelings. The slow-burn build-up is absolutely delicious, and when they finally do come together it's hot as hell. I appreciated the explicit inclusion of enthusiastic consent throughout, as well as discussion of contraception.Beyond the main relationships, there's a whole lot more that makes this book worthwhile. Shay is Jewish and Dominic has Korean heritage, and I enjoyed seeing their cultures and families on the page. Shay's father died during her teenage years, and that grief is something that she carries with her. How we deal with grief over time, and love after loss, are so beautifully handled. As much as I was glad for a mask while listening to the steamy scenes on the train, I was glad for it during chapters that more directly addressed that grief, which brought me to tears. It's something that had wider impact throughout the story, as we also see how Shay's mother dealt with it. There are themes of how family changes over time, with Shay's mum's new relationship (she proposes to her boyfriend!! Bonus points for having a woman propose!). The book also addresses how friendships grow and change over time, the loneliness and confusion of becoming an adult and finding your footing, and questioning and discovering your own personal and professional interests. It shows how pervasive and subversive sexism in the workplace can be, and the importance of women supporting women.I borrowed the audiobook from the library and ended up buying the ebook. The audio performance is so moving! The performer does an incredible job, especially in highly emotional scenes where she really captured the depth of all the feelings coming to the fore. I definitely recommend listening to the audiobook if you have that option.This was such a touching, evocative read, with an ending that hit all the right notes while leaving some things satisfyingly open to growth for the characters. Relationship Goals, indeed!CW: long-term grief, workplace sexism