The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Soloman Book Review

“What is proper etiquette the day after you hook up with the fake ex-boyfriend you’re doing a radio show with? I would honestly love a podcast about that.”

(pg. 218)

About

Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

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Synopsis

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.

Review

Spoilers Contained Below

To the Exes,

I love podcasts 💙. I got into listening to podcasts in 2018 when I started college and I was a lonely girl who had no friends, so I resorted to listening to people over the speaker of my phone 🤪. In all seriousness, I truly did begin listening to podcasts when I started college because I was in fact lonely. I didn’t have many friends because it was difficult for someone like me—quiet, introverted, not the outgoing type—to make friends. I would spend all my time doing homework in silence or replaying Disney songs for comfort. That was until I saw something on YouTube about a podcast, and I listened. I LOVED it. I felt like I was listening to the two best friends I didn’t have. The two people I listened to were Alisha Marie and Remi Cruz from Pretty Basic, and they just had this natural air to them. They made me feel like I was in on their jokes, they made me laugh, and think. But most notably, they made this friendless college girl feel less alone. I began to listen to more podcasts, and with each show I listened to, it felt like I had my very own secret group of friends.

If you have ever felt alone in the quiet of your mind or your room, I highly recommend listening to podcasts. They truly helped me survive my first year of college and every year after 💙. If you need some podcast recommendations, I will link my podcast blog post below! I should update the post with more podcasts. But if you have any podcasts you love, let me know on this post or that post 😊. Just wanted to mention though, I listen to more girly-vibes, advice, and writing podcasts. So no murder mysteries or NPR related things 🙃. But that’s just my preference. If you look on Apple Podcast or Spotify, they have amazing shows! I recommend looking at similar recommended podcasts that Apple Podcasts recommends.

Anyway, I’m not here to gush about podcasts, well I am, but I’m here to talk about a book about a podcast. Or well, I The Ex-Talk was originally a podcast, but it was a NPR radio show. Honestly, The Ex-Talk should have just begun as a podcast because it would have been more popular and less restricted there. And honestly, Shay and Dominic could have used a streaming service like Anchor to publish their podcast. So there’s that. Besides my advice of what they should have done with the show, I quite liked the idea of The Ex-Talk. I would listen to it based on my podcast preferences. Also, I think other people would have liked The Ex-Talk because many people would benefit or would enjoy hearing relationship stories or advice. I listen to Unsolicited Advice where people write in and the hosts Ashely and Taryne give their unsolicited advice. Most of the time, listeners write in about relationship complications or advice. Whenever I listen to those episodes, it’s interesting because even though I am not currently in a relationship, I can still listen and learn from what other people are going through. I can also apply Ashely and Taryne’s advice to friendship, family, or work relationships. So, I guess I really loved the direction Shay and Dom’s podcast went in the end—how they opened it to various relationships. I also appreciated how diverse, inclusive, and raw Shay wanted to go with The Ex-Talk. She really didn’t shy away from what people wanted to hear and I loved that.

I loved how Shay was hard-working. She used her hard work as a distraction a lot of the time, but when she was passionate about something, she gave it all her effort. I also loved how she crafted her entire career solely on her hard work, dedication, and determination.

Here’s the thing, Shay had to work twice—no, quadruple as hard as any man for where she was. Because when Taylor Swift said “I’m so sick of running as fast I can/ Wondering if I’d get there quicker/ If I was a man.” She really meant it. Because if you are not a cisgendered man, you are already disadvantaged in the workplace because in a typical society, no one respects anyone if you are not a cisgendered male. You have to work harder to somehow prove yourself to others. I have a professor who has a doctorate. She is super intelligent, super kind, and such an admirable worker. But she talked to our class recently about how she sometimes feels like even as a well-educated woman, she feels like she still has to work hard to gain respect as a minority Asian cis-gendered female. That made my heart really hurt—to think that she was a powerful woman in my eyes, and to the world she wasn’t “good enough” because of her gender. And it’s sad how women and other people constantly have to prove themselves like they need to. They don’t need to. Absolutely not.

So I understood why Shay was mad at Dominic—why she hated his freaking guts. He got everything easier because he was a cisgender male. He got the master’s degree, he got the promotions, he got included in meetings right away, he was respected more than she ever was, and all this nonsense that Shay had to fight TEN years for. I couldn’t believe that after devoting TEN FREAKING years at this stupid radio station, that Kent, her poophead of a boss didn’t care two hoots about her or firing her!!! But when it came to Dominic who was younger, had balls, and worked less at this station, he kept him on. I’m sorry, Kent, why don’t you suck all your workers while you’re on your sexist high horse! 😠

I wanted to RAGE for Shay. She deserved so much better.

And don’t even get me started on how she was demeaned. She was tasked to do all the feminine things like “take notes” because women are organized and detailed. Or how Kent didn’t even care about Shay’s ideas until it came out of Dominic’s mouth just because he had balls. I could NOT when Shay said she wanted to do the love after grief episode to Kent, and he shut her down. And then when Dominic was like, “I think it’s a god idea,” Kent was like “Oh, yea. Let’s do it.” Shay literally just said that idea and you shot her down! It was wrong. It was disgusting. What a pig. I mean, Kent only liked the idea because it came out of a big “superior male mouth.” SUCK MY TOES.

He was also highly manipulative and controlling. He spun everything around to guilt and threatened Dom and Shay to do the podcast, which first of all has sooooooo many issues. I mean, it’s unethical to manipulate your workers to lie. Or I think it is. And second, I think it was unethical and a far reach that Kent put Dom and Shay in a house on some random island just to spend time together. I don’t think a boss could do that nor should have the power/control to do that. Bosses shouldn’t control every aspect of your life. But somehow this one did? I didn’t get how Kent sending them together was in any way shape or form legal. Where was HR? 🧐

I didn’t even like how Kent made Shay feel. He treated her like a mouse in disposable garbage. There was something said about how Shay felt more intimidated at a meeting because she was a woman and had to be more cautious/careful about what she did or said. There was also something mentioned about how Shay felt more nervous around a male boss because of the natural hesitancy that comes from being a woman with a man who has power. Especially a man who knows that he has power and can get away with things. That is honest to gosh the sleaziest and saddest thing to think about. I still don’t understand how people don’t believe a woman when she says she felt sexually harassed. If someone said they felt sexually harassed, you believe them because no one wants to feel sexually harassed, so why would someone make that up? And second, who is anyone to tell someone who they feel? You can’t tell someone you don’t feel sexually harassed because that is not your feelings. Also, I don’t like it when people spin the whole thing on the girl by saying she was too emotional or sensitive. I DON’T THINK SO. Women and those in the LGBTQIA+ community have to deal with issues everyday that some people have the privilege and the luxury of not having to think about. One being discomfort from certain men. I don’t want to get off topic 🙈. Where was I? The book!

Kent was also a shizzy boss who I wanted to shove a microphone up his butt so he understood what a pain in the a** he was 🙃. And so he knew what a shizzy person he was too.

It was obvious he was a sexist pig. He didn’t respect any of his female workers. He only prized or spoke kindly to his female workers when he wanted to butter them up. He talked down to his female workers. He manipulated his female workers and his staff. It disheartened me how Shay and some of the other workers just wrote Kent off as that was who he was. So they sort of let it go, but they all knew in the back of their minds that something was wrong/off-putting about the way he treated everyone. It sucks because I know probably many people have a boss or workers like Kent who they excuse as not being sexist or mean, but they really are. But we don’t say anything because most times, a woman’s word is never taken as seriously as it should be. I identify as a cisgender woman, by the way. I know what it’s like to make excuses for men because it can be scary to speak up or say something when our opinions or voice isn’t as valued as others. It freaking sucks because I don’t want to feel that way, but a lot of the time, I do 😕. However, I think we need to remember that if we feel wrong or uncomfortable about a situation or a person, we should say something because if you feel that way, others might feel that way too. There is strength and assurity in numbers.

But Kent really had the freaking AUDACITY to ruin Shay and Dan’s career for his own selfish reasons 😡. I knew their lie was going to come out one day because it had to be the big confrontation/stakes of the story. I just wasn’t sure if Shay and Dan were going to slip up and say something or someone was going to catch them in their lie. There were a few listeners who were onto them. I would be onto them too, especially if I Insta-stalked both of them, or Facebook stalked in their case. People can find anything on the internet these days 😆 with just the right amount of social media stalking. Sad, but true. I was sure someone would recognize them in Texas when they went out together all Lovey-dovey. But they wore sunglasses and hats so no one would notice them. When thinking about it, wouldn’t someone recognize them when they went to Orcas Island? I mean, someone could have. Shay and Dan were going to make a big reveal at PodCon, but it wasn’t about their lie. It was about getting back together—or in their case, getting together the first time.

I understood why Shay and Dominic hated each other’s guts. Dominic got everything handed to him easily because he was a male, so Shay resented him for it. I knew after Shay pitched her Ex-Talk idea that Kent was going to have her and Dominic be co-hosts, but then at the time, I was like, they didn’t even date so they couldn’t be exes. But Kent wanted them to fake being exes. I liked the moments they had in getting to know each other. I liked that they stayed at the office late at night planning how they met and all these made-up details. It was kind of surreal and odd because it felt like they did meet or fall in love like how they described, but I knew they didn’t. I mean, it’s weird to fake date someone you never dated and break up with them. I guess they were authors in that way? 😆 You know, planning complex romances where a couple gets together, there’s some sort of conflict, then they date, and yada yada yada. They could be authors. They could be like Emily Wibberly and Austin Sigmund Broka 😂. I’m joking.

But I started to get confused right alongside Shay. I mean, that had to be awkward for her to fake date and breakup with a guy she didn’t even like, and then started to like. Shay has a complex love life—she gets attached to people too quickly. With most of her exes, Shay has always been the one to say she loved them first and after that, the person would usually freeze up and bounce out because they weren’t ready to say I love you back. Honestly, if that guy didn’t love Shay back, that guy wasn’t for her; there was someone still out there for Shay. I say this because I understand Shay. We want to find love and sometimes when we find someone, we think they are the love of our life because we found some”one”—one being a person who might actually love us. Shay gets attached quickly because she feels things deeply, which I completely understand and do not judge her for. I am the same way. It’s a quality that has its pros and cons—the pros being we love deeply and we have big hearts, but the cons can be it hurts ten thousand more times worse when someone breaks our heart or we don’t have that love reciprocated. But for Shay, I also think her wanting love had to do with how everyone “her age” had someone and she wanted someone just as badly, which again is natural and I don’t judge! I would feel the exact same way. And it’s so hard because society can make us feel like we need to accomplish certain things by a certain time—-like this universal timeline. Usually the timeline is something like go to high school, graduate, go to college, be in a relationship, get married have kids, work the rest of your life, yada yada yada 😆. But that’s not everyone’s path and not everyone follows this timeline or checklist to the t, and it’s unfair to think someone is off or weird because their life doesn’t follow this timeline. It feels like you fail if you don’t follow it, and I think in the back of Shay’s mind she felt like an adult failure (which I’ll talk more about later). So she wanted love. Who could blame her?

“‘I’ve spent most of my 20s chasing this idea of domestic bliss I grew up with. And I’m not even sure what that means anymore . .. just that I want that constancy and comfort so badly sometimes that it scares me.'”

(pg. 194)

Also, everyone around her was in a relationship—her best friend and her mom. I felt kind of sad when Shay was at the dinner with everyone and she felt like the fifth wheel 😢. Been there, done that. It sucks. I’ve been a seventh wheel too, it sucks even more. You just feel left out and you question what’s wrong with you that no one loves you and you start to feel even more alone. It’s a downward spiral. I felt for Shay. Her mom getting married when Shay wasn’t even in a relationship also made my heart hurt a bit. I mean, go Shay’s mom!! Find that love! I was happy for the mom, truly, but I could understand how disheartening and uncomfortable it must have felt for Shay to think that her mom found love twice and she couldn’t even get a guy to say he loved her. That SUCKS. I liked how her mom made Shay feel included in her wedding and let Shay speak her mind about how she felt. I really liked her mom 💙.

The more time she spent with Dominic, the more she liked him. Well, she lusted over him at first. Honestly, what is it with her and this lean?????? 🤪 I swear every scene, she was like, I LOVE his LEAN. OOOOKAY. I get it, he’s tall 😂. Yea, and I could tell she really wanted some action with Dominic because of all her fantasies. I mean, I get, but I wanted them to get to know each other rather than it be a sexual attraction, you know. But they had steamy scenes, not as steamy as Sarah J. Maas (sorry, I just came from ACOSF, if you know, you know)😂. Still good scenes, just not graphic 🙈, which is more in my comfort zone of reading. I digress. I’m awkward. Anyway, I liked their relationship. I liked their cute little texts to each other and the time Dominic got young, dumb, and drunk and how he kissed her in front of his house. Honestly, it was dumb on his part that he let Shay walk to her car by herself in THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. That’s not a good move, bro! Walk ladies to their car and make sure they’re safe and okay!!! 👏🏼

I also knew they would get closer on this forced Orcas Island trip. I liked how they burned pasta, hiked a mountain, and went antiquing. I don’t remember if this was the scene, but I loved the detail when Dominic and her were going to do it, he took her glasses off and placed them on the nightstand. We love a gentleman 👏🏼 🥺. He said, I will not break your glasses. Cute. The moment I enjoyed most of their trip was when they finally opened up to each other about their past. Dominic didn’t have many friends when he abruptly moved back to Seattle after his very recent breakup with his ex, Mia. Someone bring her on the pod 😆. Dominic’s story with Mia made my heart heavy because he had a long time relationship with her until the accident and Mia didn’t love him anymore. That’s okay if she didn’t love him anymore because her life changed and it changed the dynamics of their relationship and she doesn’t owe it to him to stay in a relationship that she doesn’t want to be in. But Dominic’s story made me think about how opposite his past love has been compared to Shay. He thought he was going to marry Mia—that that was his path. And it very well could have been, but it’s interesting the things that happen to bring him to Shay. Not that I wanted Mia in an accident because absolutely gosh darn NO. It’s just sometimes we don’t understand things until we do, and that can be a heavy statement to say. But Dominic found Shay and it put him on this path with someone who did love him in the moment.

I also loved how they made each other feel less alone. Shay felt alone in her new adult life. Dominic felt alone after moving there and having no friends. They both were lonely.

“So maybe we can be alone together.”

(pg. 184)

I loved when Dominic said this 🥺💜.

The thing was he didn’t know how to show it very well 🤪. I don’t know if it was because the book was in Shay’s perspective but she seemed HIGHLY confused about if he liked her or not. Sis, I was confused too. I mean, one time he’s being all lovey dovey, and then the next he acts kind of not—like a just friends vibe. I was like HUH? There’s a saying that if they like you, you’ll know. And if they don’t you’ll be confused. I was confused a lot. But I knew he liked her, but he really needed to spell it out better because how was she supposed to know that he liked her if he didn’t tell her he thought of her as more than just a casual hookup?????? I’m SORRY? 😂

IDiot.

My other favorite moment was when she met his family and he showed her his Beanie Babies. Gosh, that was interesting. Nothing against Beanie Babies, but wow. They were cute together. But again, it felt like a slap to the face to bring her to meet the family as a co-host-friend-person when Shay liked him as more than a casual figure in her life. She wanted to be his girlfriend, meeting the family for the first time. I understood why she broke their causal thing off because she wanted more of him when he didn’t give off the vibe that he wanted the same thing. So, it was easier to just break whatever they had off right then. I didn’t like how she used the complicated excuse though, but she should have told him she wanted to be more than friends, but I get it. It would have been skyward if he didn’t feel the same.

They were both miserable and awkward after they called off their causal thing. However, they eventually talked it out at a park, which was cute. I liked how nervous Dominic was to talk to her and then he was basically I always wanted more than causal with you.

“‘Shay, I showed you my [freaking] Beanie Babies.'”

(pg. 280)

DOMINIC 🤪. Showing someone your Beanie Babies does not show love per say!!!!!

He should have just told her in that room that he liked her more than a casual thing!!! That would have saved everyone all this heartbreak they had. DUMMIES 😆. Joking. But gosh. They were better together.

With the podcast, they also grew closer. I liked the written transcripts and their easy banter. I also liked how they started a Master’s jar for each time Dominic mentioned he had a master’s degree. Love that for him.

I also loved the love after grief episode 💜. The mom and Phil were sweet for each other and I loved their vulnerability. They represent hope after loss and light after darkness. I also loved when Phil said this:

“‘We were sitting right next to each other,’ Phils ays, ‘and we had no idea the other person was grieving the same way. For so many years.'”

(pg. 263)

This quote reminded me of Shay and Dominic’s own sense of grief and loneliness for loves they lost (in a different sense). They were sitting next to each other all this time, harboring their own pain, when the person they would love was right next to them all along.

Suffice to say, Kent outed their lie—the lie he crafted and threatened their jobs with—just so no other company would get Shay and Dan. Originally, PPR wanted to take The Ex-Talk of the radio station because it seems more podcast like, but Kent didn’t want Shay and Dan to be picked up by other producers or labels, so he Tweeted that Shay and Dan’s relationship was a sham, so no company would dare hit them up now. And through my mind I was like, WHAT A PRICK. The second thought that crossed my mind was why the freak would Kent go through all the trouble to ruin Dominic and Shay’s career when he was ultimately going to let Shay go in the first place? HE WAS AN IDIOT. Dummy. He could have just let Shay and Dominic finish The Ex-Talk at PodCon, then tell them that the show was being cancelled and he was letting Shay go. Then Shay would have left and still have a reputable reputation to salvage her career. BUT NOOOOOOOO.

He said let me RUIN HER!!!! I detested.

“I devoted my twenties to public radio, and it feels wrong for it to have turned on me like this.”

(pg. 300)

So, now Shay had to figure out what the freak to do with her life. Radio had been her whole life. She grew up with her dad loving radio where Shay and him would do their own radio show at Goldstein Gadgets. Shay said her dad had the best radio voice, and that he was someone who would have wanted her to talk about stories that mattered, and not what she used to produce with Puget Sounds. I mean, Puget Sounds sounded okay, but it also sounded kind of boring like it didn’t have a niche or a set direction in where it wanted to go. I think that’s why the Puget Sounds audience dwindled and was fleeting—because the show didn’t have direction or consistency with its episodes so listeners bounced out. When I listen to a podcast, I have a general sense of what the show is about—Puget Sounds didn’t have that. Then again, Puget Sounds was a radio show, and I don’t listen to radio shows very often. But there’s probably a different dynamic, but still with any show, I think having a direction/focus helps with having a stable audience who comes back. That’s not to say I didn’t respect that Shay produced Puget Sounds. She kicked major butt for that. However, I did feel like Shay felt kind of unsatisfied in her career after producing Puget Sounds for so many years. I think going behind the mic was exactly what she needed to try something new in her career. I loved that for her 💙.

I loved the moment when Shay listened to the old recordings of her and her dad. I teared up with how crystal clear I could imagine their voices being. There’s something about hearing the voice of someone you lost 😢. When listening to her dad talk, Shay was reminded about all the good times and why she got into radio. Throughout the book, Shay questioned her career. I liked that. When a person is in their 20s or 30s or any age really, it is okay to question one’s career. I have come to realize that you don’t have to have the same career for the rest of your life. It’s a terrifying and uncomfortable thought because society has painted this picture that after a person graduates, they work that career for the rest of their life. But the thing no one tells you is that you grow up, you change. Your interests change, your passions, your life. It’s natural that you may not want to have the same career or job you had when you were in your early 20s, your 30s, 40s, and so on. You change. I think we need to normalize as a society that it’s okay to change careers. We can have new passions we want to try. Or hey, maybe you don’t have a new passion right away, but your current career isn’t satisfying anymore. It’s okay to take a step back, try other things where you might find a new passion for. It’s okay.

I felt like Shay needed to know it was okay to not know what she wanted to do in her career. I liked how at the end, she just took it one day at a time and she was trying things. I loved that for her 💙. I also liked that conversation she had with Paloma, who she used to produce on Puget Sounds. Paloma took up a job at a jazz radio station after being let go from PPR. That was a job change for her. It was scary, but she had time to do something different, which she surprisingly enjoyed.

“‘Public radio doesn’t have to be your identity,’ she says. . . . ‘You’re at the beginning of your career, and people have short attention spans. If you want to go back to radio, you can. This doesn’t have to take it away from you . . .But if you’re not sure, and if you have the ability to do so . . . there’s no harm in taking time to figure out your next step.'”

(pg. 313)

I liked when Paloma said this to Shay because Shay’s whole life revolved around radio, but radio didn’t need to be who she was if that wasn’t Shay anymore.

And your job doesn’t need to be who you are if that’s not who you are anymore. It’s okay.

It’s also okay if your job is still who you are. Everyone’s different 😊.

Another aspect of the book I highly enjoyed was conversations about what it meant to be an adult. I grew up thinking adults were perfect—-they had it all figured out, they never made mistakes, they knew exactly what to do, they were always happy. I held adults on a pedestal. That was until I realized and learned that adults are just older kids who have no clue what they are doing half the time, but they look put together anyway 🙃.

Shay was no less.

“Every time I imagined adulthood, it looked different from this reality. All the important people in my life have their person. I have an empty house and my supposed dream job that doesn’t always love me back.”

(pg. 24)

Shay was just trying to figure everything out; being an adult didn’t come with a manual. I also highly relate to Shay though because I had an idolized idea of what being an adult would look like, so it made my heart sad to think of how different things were for Shay—how things tend to be different than how we imagine it.

Shay had this new house that she bought by herself, which was such a huge accomplishment as a single woman. However, I understood how lonely she felt. Like me, Shay played podcasts or things that made noise to make her feel less alone. I liked when she got Steve—her dog. She had no clue how to take care of Steve, but she tried and she never gave up on Steve because she wanted their relationship to work. I liked how she chose the dog that most gave back to the adoption center because it symbolized to me how she wasn’t going to give up on the dog like she wasn’t going to give up on herself. She found a routine with Steve, and she poured herself into caring for him. I liked the whole battle for her bed and how she let Steve win while she slept in her guest room. I always joke—not really—that I will get a dog one day. But gosh, I don’t think I would know how to take care of a dog either. So I give Shay props for figuring it out. I liked how even though Steve and Shay had this weird relationship at first, they learned to love each other and value one another’s company. I liked how when Shay felt down, Steve knew to turn on his dog cuddling charm to be with her. I also liked the moment Dominic made a makeshift protective blanket thing with a shirt because Steve didn’t like the sound of lightning. Does that actually work for some dogs? I need to research. But having a dog is a great way to have companionship and I loved that she had him. I also stan anyone loves Chris Evans, sorry, Captain America 🤪.

“‘I guess I just thought I’d have everything figured out by now. I’m almost thirty, and I don’t know if I feel any closer than when I was twenty-one or even twenty-five. There’s so much pressure to have all of this [shiz] figured out, and I don’t have a clue what I’m doing.'”

(pg. 242-3)

But I guess that’s what being an adult is. It’s humbling, or more like reassuring, to know that even adults who we feel have it together, are just as confused and lost and that they are figuring it out. You learn as you go like anything in life. I think it’s similar to how no one can tell a kid how to be a kid because that’s something everyone should define for themselves, so same thing with being an adult, no one should tell another adult how to be because it’s different for everyone. So I loved the raw honesty of Shay’s character and what she felt.

I also loved how at the end she felt proud of herself for doing her best–she had a home that finally felt like more of a home. She also had a dog who she loved and cared about. Dominic was moving in, so her house felt even more lived in. We gotta love his love of antiques! And the Beanie Baby 😆.

But let’s go back to when things went downhill for them. At the Texas PodCon, their audience wasn’t paying attention to them because they were all viewing the news that Shay and Dominic were fake exes until someone called them out on it at the Con. Here’s the thing, I don’t blame Shay for being mad at Dominic for stepping up by her side when she needed him most at the moment. But . . . she really could have cut the guy some slack? I mean, she knew Dominic had major stage fright, so DUH he was going to be petrified to say something when there was an altercation/accusation made at them. I don’t blame Dominic because he was probably feeling overwhelmed, and that’s not to say Shay wasn’t either. But she shouldn’t have blamed him or written him entirely off because he lived with stage fright. He said he was sorry. If I was Shay I would have been ticked off and furious, but I would have understood it after a while. I think it was more so the fact he stayed to work for Kent that made her mad. Or she was probably mad at Kent and the entire situation and she placed all her Balme on Dominic. I don’t know. But I think she should have been a bit more forgiving to Dominic.

But I liked the grand gesture ending when Dominic told the whole world he collected Beanie Babies and how he made a grade A mistake with a woman he loved. I loved the whole rush of Shay going to PPR and all her old co-workers letting her into the building. I could see the scene so vividly and romantically in my head. Ahh, my heart gushed when Dominic got all nervous to see her again, but also how relieved he was to see her. Oh, and when he heard her voice through the line? I melted. Really cute 🥺. My favorite part was when they both took off their headphones and said I love you to each other for the first time, and then everyone in the studio was banging on the window because they wanted to hear 😂. Honestly, same. If I was a listener, I would have been aggressively shaking my phone to hear them reconcile.

BUT I CACKLED when Shay swore on public radio and then Dominic consciously swore too. And then Dominic was like, “I freaking, quit by the way.” YEA, HE DOES 👏🏼!!!!! They said, I GIVE ZERO FREAKS ABOUT YOU KENT!!! Let’s go! Dominic said he stayed to work with Kent so he could have this last chance to do something to make it up to her. He also was trying to grapple with his morals as a journalist and how he lied to everyone, which compromised his morals. I understood. He surely did make everything up to her. I loved when everyone cheered for them kissing. Gosh, can someone say kissing booth? Joking. But they were cute. I liked how they were going to build a life together and that they had a new podcast—an actual podcast—to do together. I would listen to their new podcast. Radio, who? 😆 They never needed radio!!!

There’s one more thing I wanted to mention: Shay and Ameena’s friendship. I think Ameena was a loyal friend for giving up the job opportunity four years after Shay’s dad passed away. Ameena still wanted to be there for Shay because Shay was in a heavy place—that’s a loyal thing to do. But I don’t think it was Shay’s fault that Ameena gave up that job opportunity because it was Ameena’s choice, and I could understand how difficult that choice was. I respect her for choosing her friend, but I also loved that she chose herself now and had that new job in Virginia. I think Ameena was angry at herself for staying back all these years, in turn she blamed Shay because she was the one who held Ameena back without Shay even knowing. But again, it wasn’t her fault. I don’t think Ameena was wrong to be angry because it was a complex situation, but she should have told Shay sooner about what happened in the past. If Ameena told Shay sooner, I think it would have hurt less because TJ also knew and Shay probably felt betrayed that her best friend told her boyfriend something and she was left out yet again. It felt like Shay was always second to Ameena now, which is what sometimes happens in relationships when people grow up. I agreed that Ameena was a tad harsh on Seattle when she got her new job. Also, Shay probably felt irked that evening because it felt like everyone was moving on without her while she was stuck with no love life or direction. It goes back to that sense of loneliness and feeling like a failure to this timeline idea. I would have liked more resolution with their friendship. We only got that conversation at the wedding, but I would have liked a more sincere chat rather than a WWAMWMD (what would a mediocre white male do) bracelet make-up scene. I wasn’t a fan of this whole WWAMWMD because who the FREAK cares what a mediocre white male would do? I’m sorry. What would a boss a** strong woman do? That’s what I want engraved on a bracelet 👏🏼.

I also really liked TJ. He was so cool. He helped out Shay with her relationship and he was very conversational with Shay too. Many boyfriends of the best friend in books tend not to say much, so I appreciated he had an active role in Shay’s story.

Overall, I enjoyed The Ex-Talk. I thought the book had a different kind of trope that most books, which was nice to read. I also liked the Jewish traditions that were included like the Passover Seder. I enjoy learning about other traditions and holidays because it’s always wonderful to expand my knowledge to understand different religions or cultures. I would have liked more friendship resolution as said previously. I also would have enjoyed something more, I’m not sure, but a little something something. Maybe a bit more with the romance. . . I can’t put my finger on it. But it felt like there was something that could be added. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading Shay and Dominic’s romance and journey. 😊

Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? If you started a podcast, what would it be about and what would you call it. I think I would start a book talk sort of podcast that reflects the blog post/reviews I write. I would call it something like the A Literary Love or Let’s Get Lit 🤪. I’m joking, but how funny would that be. my intro could be, welcome to back to let’s get lit, are you ready . . . to get . . . lit *insert bad dance move here.* But it would have something with Literary or Bibliophile in it. Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕.

I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.

And as always, with love,

Rating

3.78 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: Shay is someone we can all see part of ourselves in. I really liked her honesty and vulnerability when it came to being an adult and not really knowing what she was doing. We also have to appreciate how tall Dom is.

Plot: I loved the idea of a podcasty ex-type romance book 💙

Writing: I like how Rachel Lynn Soloman takes you into the uncomfortably honest places of human emotions and feelings and makes you feel seen.

Romance: Shay and Dominic formed a cute relationship, but there’s something about their romance that I just wanted more from. I also loved the touch of Beanie Babies.