The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon Pages: 336
Published by Berkley on January 26, 2021
Genres: adult, contemporary, Romance, Romantic Comedy
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.
The Ex Talk is a standalone adult romantic comedy by Rachel Lynn Solomon. This book ended up being a really cute read. It got off to a bit of a rough start for me, but by the time I was about 30% into the story I fell into an easy rhythm while reading and ended up really enjoying the book. The Ex Talk is a funny romance with lots of banter, bickering and a cute happily ever after. If you are a fan of rom coms with lots of back and forth banter, this might be a great story for you to check out.
In The Ex Talk, we meet our main characters Shay and Dominic. Shay and Dominic both work at the same public radio station. I loved that this book features a public radio show. Shay has worked at the station for 10 years and she is a producer super star. Dominic is the young new hotshot reporter (with a masters degree 😉 ) . They butt heads almost instantly. But when they are brainstorming new show ideas to help bring new listeners to the station, Shay comes up with the idea of a relationship show hosted by exes. I loved watching Shay and Dominic bicker and banter back and forth, and apparently so did their boss because he proposes that they fake their dating history so they can be the hosts of the Ex radio show.
I mentioned earlier that I was off to a bit of rough start with this book, but once the Ex Talk got on the air, I was fully invested. Prior to the show I found myself not connecting with the characters. I couldn’t bring myself to care about Shay and I didn’t really know Dominic yet, but once I saw they get into it on the show I was laughing out loud. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters throughout the course of the book. The Ex Talk is a book that grew on me as I was reading. I ended up really enjoying Dominic and Shay’s story. This book was funny and honestly it was just a lot of fun overall.
Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer
I was curious about this one. Fantastic review!