An Instant Indie BestsellerPublic 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 … 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.
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A glimmering, sharp, and delightfully feminist rom com.The Ex Talk just crashed its way onto my forever-rec pile.
Forget fake dating… fake exes is where it’s at! The Ex Talk has all the public radio nerdiness that you didn’t know was missing from your life. An absolute delight of a read!
A smart, soulful slow-burn romance that made me swoon. The characters are so charming and relatable that I couldn’t help but want to listen to their podcast for real!
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.
This book was so darn cute. Dominic Yun (really should be Yum) was a real sweetheart and Shay showed a great backbone later on in the book.
Rachel Lynn Solomon brought us a fun, sexy workplace romance with wonderful characters and a swoon-worthy happily ever after. Dominic and Shay are just sweet, angsty perfection. I wished this public radio station existed and I could listen to the Ex Talk. Love it!
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—heck anyone can read time and time again.
The Ex Talk is an absolute delight! Just a few of the many things to love about this book:
– Enemies to lovers (the best romance trope, IMO)
– Millennial angst
– Confident yet soft/sweet hero
– Forearm ‘mirin
– Strong and complicated family relationships
– Sex scenes that will make you blush if reading while family’s in the room (not that I would know anything about this)
– Fun tidbits for NPR listeners
Trust me: you need it.
I have not read a romance this good in such a long time. The Ex Talk is an enemies-to-lovers set in the world of public radio and while the story is funny and sweet and sexy, what really made this book stand out is Rachel Lynn Solomon’s clear voice and wonderful prose. Come for the steamy love scenes, stay for the Ira Glass mentions!
Is it possible for one of my favorite romcom reads of 2020 to be a 2021 release?
No, seriously–I’m obsessed with this book. Shay and Dominic are coworkers at a public radio station, and Shay is put off by Dominic’s hotshot, newcomer attitude (“I have a MASTERS in Journalism!”) and the possibility that she’s not the new kid on the block anymore. With the station struggling, their boss forces them to pretend to be exes for the station’s new show–The Ex Talk. While the animosity may be real, the former relationship isn’t. But what happens when they start to catch the feels? Well, you’ll have to read and find out…!
Right off the bat, I want to stress how AWESOME this concept is. It’s truly original and nothing quite like I’ve seen. It’s a little bit enemies-to-lovers, a little bit fake dating–except it’s not, because they’re fake exes who maybe in the end need to cover up the fact that maybe they are dating? How CREATIVE! I love it. The detail put into the conversations around radio and Podcasts had to have required intense research or a background in the field, which added so many interesting tidbits to the story. And Shay and Dominic–I mean, could we GET any better leads? Their chemistry and banter and heat–wow! Dominic is pure #BookBoyfriend goals and drunk Dominic is not ideal but certainly entertaining. I binged this book so hard and fell in love with it within the first few chapters–and the ending didn’t disappoint.
One thing I’d like to note is throughout much of the book Shay is extremely self-conscious about the way her voice sounds on the air (too high-pitched and feminine). I could relate so much to this. I still remember my college mock trial coach telling me I needed to lower my voice, and when giving it a try and asking if that was better him just telling me, “It’s a long-term challenge.” As a woman, it is all too often our voices are described as “shrill” or “grating,” when there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it. Shay has the best mantra of all to deal with this: WWAMWMD? What Would a Mediocre White Man Do? Sometimes we need to remember that…
As someone between the ages of Dominic and Shay, I also found them extremely relatable. Shay’s struggled to “adult” and feeling alone in the house she strived so hard to be are extremely real. My point in all of this is to say that this is a wonderful cutesy fun sexy romcom, but there’s also a lot of great, interesting, real-world details that I loved and could relate to. I have nothing bad to say about this book.
5 stars – 10/10
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for my free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her public radio station for years and although she’s always wanted to be a host of her own show, she’s good at her job.
Dominic Yun is a recent graduate and colleague at the station and Shay really really doesn’t like him. Not only is he younger than her, but he’s constantly telling everyone how he went to grad school (yawn) and is going to be a great reporter. He’s already guest starred on her own show (!) and the boss seems to really like him.
When a turn of events has Dominic and Shay hosting their own show – The Ex Talk – about exes and them playing the exes (even though they’ve never actually dated) they start to spend more time with other. Both of them soon realize that maybe they didn’t hate each other as much as they thought they did.
I really enjoyed the concept behind The Ex Talk. I loved how bits of the show were incorporated into the book and a lot of those scenes had me laughing out loud. The slow burn between Dominic and Shay had me feeling all the butterflies. Dominic is such a sweet and likable cinnamon roll hero. I loved how Shay and Dominic seemed to understand one another’s idiosyncrasies. Both of them were going through some big changes in life and I really felt their vulnerabilities.
I learned a lot about public radio while reading The Ex Talk, which was actually quite fascinating! I don’t think I ever thought to think there’s producers running a talk show or that there are a lot of behind the scene individuals making a radio show run so smoothly.
Another aspect of this book I really liked was the diversity in this romance! I love to see that happening more and more in romances.
If you’re looking for an enemies-to-lovers, fake (ex) relationship romance then grab The Ex Talk when it releases January 26, 2021!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.
4.5 stars. This is a charming Jewish #ownvoices contemporary romance book that includes grief, finding yourself and finding love. I loved the main character Shay, I was rooting for her all along. The inclusion of her grief journey – her story was my story of losing my father and my mom re-marrying and the way she felt about all of it. I found myself highlighting so many paragraphs and lines from the book when she talked about it. She was a character I really connected with, and now have a new appreciation for public radio. Her Jewish identity was really good to see, it wasn’t a huge part of the story but it was certainly there (as were other characters heritages) and was really well done.
Dominic could have had more faults but he was delightful. I wanted them together so much! The plot and premise were actually fairly realistic, and the miscommunication that is inevitable in a contemporary romance made sense. This is a book I will be recommending to everyone I know, whether they read contemporary romance normally or not. I will also be reading everything else Rachel Lynn Solomon has written. *I am a Jewish own voices reviewer, and received an advanced copy from Berkley Publishers. All opinions are my own*
#Shayminic for life!
Go read this now! It’s fun and different and so current. The pop-culture references were on point. I was immediately drawn in and wanted to devour Shay and Dominic’s story. There were times that I laughed out loud. There were “awwww” moments. There were steamy moments. It was well-rounded and brilliantly executed.
I have to be honest: I liked this more than I expected to. I’ve been hearing so much about it and I didn’t think it would live up to the hype but it absolutely did and then some. This was my first introduction to Rachel Lynn Solomon and she is now on my list to watch for.
The whole cast of characters is amazing. They weren’t just distinct and unique; they were essential to the story. I don’t think this would have functioned nearly as well if it weren’t for each of the supporting characters. They all helped Shay and Dominic. It was lovely to see those interactions.
I’d recommend this book to everyone!
The Ex Talk is completely charming, hugely romantic, and utterly absorbing.
This book gave me genuine butterflies. I fell in love with Shay and Dominic falling in love.
An impossibly funny and extraordinarily swoon-worthy romance brimming with banter-filled sexual tension! Rachel Lynn Solomon has written a rom-com perfect for anyone who’s ever felt not quite good enough.
The Ex Talk is an expertly crafted contemporary romance as well as a passionate love letter to public radio. With a crisp and affectionate attention to detail, Rachel Lynn Solomon breaths life across her pages that’s so relatable you could sink right in.
This book has everything I look for in a romance and a fresh take on fake dating. I loved the hero, Dominic Yun. He had serious stern brunch daddy vibes. I bought a physical copy of this book because I definitely want to reread it someday.
I was lucky enough to read Rachel Lynn Solomon’s upcoming novel Weather Girl and I immediately knew that had to read The Ex Talk and it was absolutely adorable.
Shay and Dominic were the cutest protagonists and although their journey included dealing with some heavier issues, like grief, anxiety and sexism at the workplace – none of it took away from the romance within their story.
The Ex Talk was a light enemies-to-lovers read with the perfect amount of angst and the sweetest happy ending.
Rachel Lynn Solomon has definitely been added to my 1-click authors list.
Are you a romance reader who likes the “fake dating” trope? The Ex Talk takes it to the next level with “fake exes”! A fun love letter to public radio, the tale of two lonely people who find each other, and a happily ever after with a fair amount of steam along the way, this one’s a great read for any contemporary romance lover. Great for fans of Emily Henry and Kate Clayborn.