The Ex Talk // Review

Author: The Ex Talk
Published On: January 26, 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: NA, Contemporary
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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.

I came for the cover and the cover alone.

HAH just kidding, I came because I recently read and adored RLS’s most recent YA contemporary, Today Tonight Tomorrow. It was cute, and sweet, and a genuine heart-warmer, which of course, will reel me in any day.

But, we’re here for The Ex Talk.

I was really excited for this one, both as someone who loves new adult contemporary AND as a communication’s profesh (aren’t I just so damn hip). While I did fly through it in 24 hours and while I also did give it a solid 3.5 star rating, I was a tiny bit disappointed by the end. Let me tell ya why.

• I liked that our two main characters were open with their vulnerabilities. Both characters struggle from feeling lonely, and they also each have their own respective career-struggles going on. Instead of pushing these feelings to the side – or even worse, lying about them – Dominic and Shay are able to be open with each other and express their insecurities, which I found refreshing for a genre that often adopts the “repress, don’t stress” mantra.

• Shay’s relationship with her parents (specifically her mom) was really sweet! There is a TW in this book for losing a parent, heads up. After losing her father her senior year in high school, Shay and her mom form a close bond, and we get to see that in this story as Shay’s mom moves on with a coworker. It’s really sweet how supportive Shay is of her mom’s relationship!

• Some of the themes regarding “adulthood” and what it means to be self-sufficient were relatable. Shay’s almost thirty, but she struggles to feel like she has her life together. I think we can all feel that on some level – you reach a new stage of life and think you’re supposed to have it all figured out, then suddenly you’re shocked by the fact that you do not, indeed, have it all figured out.

• Dominic was the cutest! I’ll admit, I’m partial to RLS’s previous hero, Neil McNair, but Dominic’s a solid second. Again, he’s not afraid to be vulnerable, and his love of both journalism and Shay made for a sweet and fun read.

• *Seemingly* effortless representation! A lot of diverse characters and stories in this, which we absolutely love to see. Keep em’ comin, authors!

• The public radio aspect of it felt a little…cheesy. Which, like, okay, is sorta the point. But after hearing Shay go on and on about how much she loves public radio got old pretty quickly. I’d bet my entire collection of SJTR that the phrase “public radio” was mentioned at least every other page. Also, who has a passion for public radio? (If you do, no hate. I’m just uncultured, I guess!). Like I get having a podcast or two that you love, but this girl could probably recite word-for-word every episode of her favorite podcasts (and she has, like, 30), which seems like overkill.

• I didn’t like the ending. Which is probably the saddest thing that could happen with these kinds of books, sigh. I won’t spoil anything, but let’s just say that the book truly runs the radio theme into the ground, and I found it so, SO cheesy. I was cringing all the way through the last 30 pages, skipping paragraphs because I just couldn’t do it. It wasn’t an objectively bad ending, but it wasn’t for me.

• This is so dumb, I know, but I had to note it anyway because it made me laugh. There’s a scene where Dominic and Shay share a couple (and by a couple I mean two! each!) beers after a long workday, and get drunk. You’re telling me this 6’3, 200+ pound man is slurring his words after two beers?! Spaced a few hours apart?! Ma’am, please.

• It just wasn’t as funny as I’d hoped. I like those NA romance books where my female protagonist jumps off the page and slaps me in the face with the book and goes “here I am!” either through humor, or quirkiness, or some sort of other fun and/or unique trait. Shay felt very…flat sometimes. There was not a lot of humor, and if there was, it wasn’t the “laugh-out-loud-I -love-this-b*tch” type.

When push comes to shove, I can’t deny that I read this one in 24 hours, and that I overcame my end-of-workday exhaustion to finish it. It was cute, and I think a lot of people will really enjoy it! I definitely did, but it’s not going on my all-time romcom lists, like The Hating Game, The Unhoneymooners and You Deserve Each Other.

My rating:

Have you read The Ex Talk? What did you think of it?