An entertaining enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance set in the world of public radio. Shay and Dominic are often in conflict until they are forced to co-host a program predicated on the lie that they once dated. As they get to know one another, they discover they may have more in common than they thought. A sometimes over-the-top breathy audio narration didn't ruin this well-written look at isolation, loneliness, and love.

3.5 stars ( )

3.75 stars

What didn't work for me was the whole pretend-ex's. It was difficult for me to believe that Dominic would forgo his journalistic standards (that he formed whilst in grad school lol) for a relationship podcast. Also, I question how Shay could have been so game for lying to her listeners almost immediately upon being offered the chance to host her own show. Or maybe Shay is such a veteran at public radio this kind of lie is common? The lie just felt so icky and cringey it was hard for me to trust the main characters. I would rather have had none of the faux-ex storyline and just have them host a show about relationships and then they organically fall for each other. ( )

Cute romance about podcasts/public radio.

It's filled with tropes: enemies to lovers / fake romance but those are two of my favorites and I listen to podcasts constantly so this was like 100% written for me. LOL

There's nothing too deep here but that's OK.

Edited to add: I see on Goodreads that I read the author's YA romance not too long ago and totally loved it so I guess this means I fully endorse her stuff! ( )

After a decade working behind the scenes for a public radio station, Shay is finally given a chance of hosting her own show -- on the condition that she and her and her co-host, Dominic, pretend to be exes.

I had read the blurb for this before I’d read Weather Girl and Business or Pleasure, and I’d decided it wasn’t what I wanted to read.
But it turns out to be very different story from the one I had initially imagined! (I’m not sure how to put what I’d rather vaguely imagined into words -- something more default-American-y? A love interest who’s white and a jock and older, not a 24 year old Korean-American overly prone to bringing up his journalism master’s degree in conversation?)

In themes and values and setting (Seattle), The Ex Talk has a lot in common with Solomon’s other novels. I like the strong sense of place and community her stories have. I also enjoyed the banter between Shay and Dominic, and Shay’s passion for telling stories. I found the deception more stressful than the usual sort of fake-dating set-up.

I’m glad I gave this a go. Also, it's single POV.

Dominic Yun: On this first episode, we’re talking about why we broke up. We'll take some calls a little later but we wanted to start with our story, because clearly it’s something even Shay and I can’t agree on. Here are some other reasons couples break up these days: jealousy, broken promises, insecurity, infidelity --
Shay Goldstein: Working too closely with your partner.
Dominic Yun: Or maybe interrupting them constantly.
Shay Goldstein: I thought this was friendly banter?
Dominic Yun: I feel like that would require you being friendly.
Shay Goldstein: I’m friendly! To my friends!

( )

A little repetitious for my tastes.

It took me some time to get into the story, but ultimately it was an agreeable romcom. ( )

This was such a cute, easy reading book. Both characters were very likable and it was partially an enemies to lovers trope but with a twist. I loved their cute banter with each other and I only hope their is a sequel. Shay was an absolute doll!

They worked at an NPR radio studio, both never really as a host. Well, in order to save the radio they began acting as co-hosts. It was supposed to be a fresh idea for NPR, and they wanted to prove that even though they might be exes they could still work together. However, they never actually dated and the listeners weren’t any the wiser. However, when you spend a lot of time with another person they began to have feelings for one another.

What happens when their audience figures out it was all a hoax and will they end up together? ( )

I picked this up because I thought an NPR-related rom-com would be fun. It was cute, but the professional, not to mention personal, breach of ethics that's a the foundation of the story really bugged me. ( )

This was my first book by Rachel Lynn Solomon and trust me, it WILL NOT be my last! I wasn't sure what to expect and as someone who doesn't really listen to NPR (or podcasts for that matter), I was genuinely concerned if that factor was going to impact my interest in the story. While those elements are essential for the story, they DO NOT take away from it at all. Rachel gives you just enough background to understand the nuisances of working in public radio. For that reason, The Ex Talk is simply delightful in every sense of the word. I still can't believe how quickly I read this book and how fast I fell in love with Shay and Dominic.

Shay Goldstein has dreamed of being in radio ever since she was a little girl. Her fondest memory: the “Dan and Shay New Show” she did with her dad at Goldstein’s Gadgets. Fast forwarding 10 years, Shay has made that dream a reality as the youngest senior producer for Pacific Public Radio. While she longs to be on the air versus behind the scenes, Shay has accepted that she doesn’t quite have the “voice” for radio. What she can’t accept - newbie and golden boy Dominic. Quickly becoming her office nemesis, she is sick of him throwing his weight around and acting like his four months trumps her ten years of experience simply because he has a Master’s in Journalism from Northwestern (that he mentions with every other breath he takes). As he is a reporter and she is a producer for Puget Sounds, outside of him disrespecting the booking schedule, she takes solace in the fact that she doesn’t have to deal with him. This tranquility is rudely interrupted when Kent, the station manager, decides to take a proposed talk show idea and make it a reality - with Shay and Dominic at the helm. Not only do two people who can’t stand each other now have to work closely together, they have to pretend they dated, broke up, and were able to remain friends! There is absolutely no way this can possibly go wrong.

I digested this entire book in a day, I just couldn’t put it down. There is so much humor I can’t remember not laughing! The banter, the slow build, the quirkiness of the characters, all of it just made the story perfect. As mentioned before, I am not an NPR or podcast type person but this book is strongly making me reconsider my stance!

Rachel did a wonderful job presenting and developing her characters. They weren't just names on a page, you felt like you knew them to the core.

Going deeper, I really enjoyed how Rachel tackled various topics while not taking away from the story. Fact or lie, Shay and Dominic did represent an interracial couple. Ruthie brings to light how that is perceived, especially towards Asians who date outside of their own race. Rachel also touches on the racism Asians face in America as well when Dominic enlightens Shay on some of the comments/feedback he had received from listeners. Lastly, Rachel also demonstrates misogynistic micro-aggression when the station manager only asks the women to take notes “because they are good at it” or only goes with an idea of it is backed by a male counterpart. These revelations bring an unexpected depth to the story and a reminder of every day issues we may take for granted.

As for the spice, I will admit Rachel snuck that one up on me. With the delivery of the slow burn romance and tiptoeing around the idea of intimacy, I didn’t know what to expect. To be honest, the humor and beautiful storyline were captivating enough but suddenly you hit a scene and you are just like “Wow, ok then!” She does an amazing job keeping the intimacy and passion within the scenes but what I love most of all is how the characters live in the moment, they talk, they share, they connect verbally and physically - heightening the entire experience.

A personal note: I always experience a wave of empathy when a character is experiencing grief for the lost of a parent. Shay makes a comment on page 301 about how losing someone doesn’t just happen once. I read and reread that paragraph because Rachel nailed it! The emotional lost that Shay was still experiencing 10 years after her father had passed was palatable. It never goes away and she said it earlier in the story, even if you wave off the “sorry for your loss” comment and tell the person giving it how much time has passed, to you, to the person who suffered the lost - it still feels like it happened yesterday.

Last but not least - the resolve! I absolutely loved everything about the last two chapters of this book. I was already falling in love with Rachel’s writing but that ending just solidified it. From beginning to end, The Ex Talk captured my mind, heart, and delivered a spectrum of emotions across my face. I can't wait to see what else Rachel has written and connect to the incredible characters she creates. ( )

This book had it all: Loathe to Love. There's only one bed! Fake Dating! Hidden Real Dating! The Misunderstanding! It'll make you yell and I promise you'll never look at a pair of forearms the same again. So steamy! ( )

Rachel Lynn Solomon’s sparkling romantic comedy debut is a love letter to public radio, and an interesting twist on the enemies-to-lovers faking romance trope as we follow the growing friendship between two co-workers who don't like each other but have to pretend to be exes for the sake of their career’s future.

Nearing thirty, Shay Goldstein has been working at PPR for ten years, beginning as the ‘wunderkind’ intern, and rising to the role of producer of the station’s flagship show, Puget Sounds. She loves public radio for its ability to tell stories that connect personally with listeners, and for the connection, it gives her with her father, a fellow public radio fan, who passed away when she was a senior in high school.

Unfortunately, everything seems to go sideways as soon as 24 years-old Dominic Yun appears. Hired fresh from a master’s in journalism, he’s determined to do ‘real’ news stories (translation: hard news instead of the so-called soft ones), even if that means kicking Shay out of her recording booth. But suddenly, when it becomes clear the station is about to undergo a downsizing, Shay and Dominic have to work together as (fake) exes co-hosting in a new radio show about modern relationships.

Written in the first person from Shay’s perspective, this story is a lot of fun, without failing to address important issues, like sexism, especially in a professional environment, and finding love after a major loss. I also felt like it is very grounded in the real world while being diverse and gently subversive. For example, Shay is five years older than Dominic and considerably more sexually experienced; and all the characters are from diverse backgrounds and have diverse sexualities.

I didn’t doubt Shay and Dominic's romance for one second. They have great chemistry and I wouldn’t mind reading more of their smartass banters, both friendly and less so. I also love how they are both portrayed as being very competent and hardworking people. Once they run the show, we get to see excerpts of the fictional transcripts and I found it wonderful. I only wish the author could have given us some of Dominic’s POV chapters—maybe he would be less of a jerk if we could have known what he was thinking and feeling in some moments.

I also loved how Shay is nearing thirty but still figuring out herself and learning how to manage adulthood. Being in my mid-20s myself, I know perfectly well how frustrating and frightening it is to not be exactly at the point in my life where I'm supposed to be or would like to be.

Another reason why I connected so much with the main character was that I have a bachelor's degree in Journalism and, although I never dreamed of doing radio, I always wanted to tell stories with human interest.

Summing up, I think the story is well-executed; the dialogues are impressively catchy, sometimes to laugh out loud worthy, and the characters are not only relatable but pretty fleshed out. Plus, the steamy scenes are very exciting. If I could change something, maybe I would have preferred the development in Shay and Dominic’s relationship to happen on air, instead of on a weekend trip; and the end could have been less rushed. Other than that, is a 4.5, so I round up. ( )

(3.5)

A charming read, but it falls into the same annoying tropes that plague the romance genre including the dreaded miscommunication trope. Tropes that will forever irritate me no matter how enjoyable the rest of the book is. ( )

Shay has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade but lately it's been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic, 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 (I definitely agree!), given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, and as soon as their first episode airs—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. Leaving readers with one of the best romantic comedies of 2021.

I can low-key relate to Shay and her personal struggles and as the story progressed, in the back of my mind, I begin to think—wait a minute… Why is this so good? It was hard not to love everything the author dished out with this release.

The romance between Shay and Dominic was steady and smooth. Their chemistry was impeccable and it was amazing to see how these two lonely adults come to grow, love, and learn together. This infamous duo were real and raw which is a miss in most romcoms, and what I liked most about their dynamic was how they dealt and addressed their real life issues: death, lost love, loneliness, depression, and more. Plus we can’t forget to mention their hilarious smartass banter. I fell more in love with Shay and Dominic with their quick wit and constant back and forth. It was comedic gold!

‘The Ex Talk’ was addicting and truly entertaining, I nearly finished it in one sitting. I’d only called it a night when the clock hit 3AM! It had all the elements I look for in a great romance and I know this is a novel I will—hell anyone can read time and time again.

( )

Didn't love this as an audiobook as much as I thought I would, although I'm an NPR fan, and the story is centered on a public radio station as it attempts to stay relevant in the era of podcasts and edgier topics than are normally allowed on NPR. ( )

I am really torn on how to rate this one because I was planning on giving it 5 stars until the end which I ended up hating.

Pros: Original idea, diverse characters, the main male lead not falling into the 'Alpha Male' trope, strong female friendship, and accurate depictions of adult life as a millennial woman dealing with a misogynic boss

Cons: Love interest Dominic was great until the absolute end. He does something that is very much not in character for him. I just can't reconcile it with his personality. Even with his reasoning I can not understand him going back to work for the radio. He flat out abandons her during the PodCon scene which was awful and I could have gotten past that but not the fact that he went back to work at the radio. Unforgiveable and honestly it did not jive with what we knew about his character all the way up to that point. ( )

This is an interesting and fun concept for a contemporary romance novel. Shay Goldstein is an NPR radio station manager who has always wanted to be on air. Dominic Yun is the hotshot journalist newly hired by the struggling station. The station needs to do something new and exciting to grab listeners, and Shay has a plan. She and Dominic will pretend to be a couple that has broken up and they will host a show about relationships together. What can go wrong, right? A must read for fans of The Hating Game. ( )

I don’t mind a good enemies to lovers story, and The Ex Talk has this in spades, as well as a fresh premise. It’s fun with some serious subplots on loss, finding new friends as an adult and sexism in the workplace. There’s great chemistry between the two main characters and snappy dialogue. It’s fun without being overly cute.

Shay lives for public radio, hanging on to her childhood with her now dead father. She’s been at Seattle’s public radio station for ten years behind the scenes and would love to present, but she definitely doesn’t have a radio voice (in her opinion). Dominic is the new golden boy, with a Masters in journalism. He’s all about cracking the big stories, but that clashes with Shay’s idea of what public radio should be. Needless to say, Dominic irritates her incessantly. But when the station needs to revamp its programming to stay afloat, Shay has the idea of two exes hosting a relationship advice show. It’s a little spicy for public radio, but it could work well. The problem is that her boss wants Shay and Dominic to host it, despite never being lovers, let alone exes. Shay and Dominic are forced together and find that they can actually get along and even possibly fall in love. But their initial lie may fall when the show becomes a hit and their fans start digging…can they deal with the fallout?

The story is told by Shay in the first person, so the reader gets to follow Shay’s deep hatred of Dominic change slowly to something very different. From the very start, there are signs that her dislike could waiver given more opportunities of forearms, decent food and less talk of Masters programmes. There are also insights into Shay’s own vulnerabilities, living somewhat in the past, exposed when her mum proposes to her new partner and her best friend expresses a desire to move across the country. Shay is not good with change, and perhaps that’s what clouds her feelings for Dominic. Dominic isn’t made out to be the perfect hero by any means – he has an inflated opinion of his Masters (although, don’t we all) and he’s hiding shyness and loneliness after his own breakup. As his own imperfections are revealed, it makes him much more likable.

Another great thing about The Ex Talk that there isn’t a quick resolution after Shay and Dominic’s show falls apart. There’s exploration of their relationship, the sexism that’s occurred at the station and the fall out of a public deception. It was messy and painful for the characters (especially in relation to some of their decisions) but it also showed personal growth. Plus, it wasn’t all resolved in a chapter, which was great.

Great characters with a relatable spark and a unique setting make The Ex Talk stand out in the romance genre.

Thank you to Penguin for the copy of this book. My review is honest.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

Enjoyable and feel good kind of story.

Literary value: 2 stars
Entertainment value: 4 stars ( )

I really enjoyed their arguments and conversations and banter. ( )

This was a really fun and adorable read, and had some hilarious lines, like...

"Excuse me while I walk right into downtown rush-hour traffic. 'Cool' is the Kevin Jonas of compliments. It's like saying your favourite color is beige."

I died laughing when I read that! Whoo boy!

Plus, I am a complete sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers trope, which can be difficult to pull off in a modern context, but I could really feel the tension between Shay and Dominic at the beginning and loved how their relationship developed with aid of forced proximity. I also liked that while there was a bit of miscommunication sprinkled in, in general, the characters actually said what they were feeling so the miscommunications did not last long. Refreshing!

As a side note, I now have a new mantra to live by, WWAMWMD (What would a mediocre white male do)! Too good! ( )

I love a good Seattle book. Rambling commenced—
Dominic was very believable, Shay was not. Dominic uncomfortably reminded me wayyy too much of someone, and I couldn’t “un-see” it for the duration of the book. That’s a me problem, but oh well. Too many steamy scenes for my taste as well. Also, is Ameena not an awful best friend character? So many conflicting thoughts about this book, but despite the aspects I didn’t like, I still enjoyed it. ( )

dnf

i don't think this novel started on the right place for me to enjoy it
also there is too much and not enough ( )

I enjoyed all the radio and podcasts parts of the story, I expected it to be a little funnier with especially the dialogue between the two hosts. I would have enjoyed it more if the reason that Dominic remained at the station was to document the misogamist behavior of Kent and then outing him for it during the pledge drive. ( )

Shay is in her late 20s, an aspiring radio host who's stuck in a rut as a behind-the-scenes producer; Dominic is her annoying (and annoyingly hot) younger co-worker. In a ratings bid, their boss makes Shay and Dominic the hosts of a show about dating, the central hook of which is that they're exes—but the problem is that they've never actually dated in the first place.

If you've ever read a romance or watched a romcom in your life, you can predict where everything's going to go, but Rachel Lynn Solomon deploys her tropes (there was only bed! enemies to lovers!) with skill, and the central relationship is cute. There are some flaws, true: I wanted to see more of Shay and Dominic's show; the motivations of the character responsible for the Obligatory Final Relationship Hitch don't make much sense; Solomon is not always as deft as she could be at providing exposition/character backstory. All that said, I still raced through The Ex Talk in a few hours while curled up under a blanket with a mug of tea and it was some delightful escapism. A fun read. ( )

Shay Goldstein has worked as a producer at her local public radio station for ten years when she comes up with the idea in which ex-lovers host a show together where they talk about what went wrong in their relationship. In addition the show will feature callers who will tell their stories and guests that talk about ways relationships can be saved. Newcomer Dominic Yun has been driving Shay insane, annoying her at every turn, but when the station manager tells them that they will be fired unless they host The Ex Talk show together and pretend to be exes, Shay decides this might be a good way for her to get behind the mic instead of behind the scenes. Dominic is into being a journalist and doesn't like lying to the public, but agrees to be one of the hosts in order to keep his job. Their show is a big hit, but it brings both Shay and Dominic much more than they bargained for.

The Ex Talk includes both a romance and a story about figuring out life after college. Shay is faced with the question of whether the profession she has chosen is really what she wants to spend the rest of her life doing. The romance is well done and is an important part of the story, but it isn't the most important part, leaving Dominic's character a little underdeveloped. Overall, The Ex Talk is a good women's fiction book with a nice romance that adds depth and reality to the story. 3 1/2 stars ( )