Let's Call a Truce: A Novel

by Amy Buchanan

Overview

LET’S CALL A TRUCE is a sexy contemporary romance about second chances at life and love, bursting with humor and a touch of angst from debut author, Amy Buchanan.

After Juliana Ryan's husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her with two grieving kids and a stunted career from years as a stay-at-home mom, she has no choice but to make it work all on her own. But her confidence crashes around her when she overhears her condescending but infuriatingly attractive new colleague, Ben Thomas, talking about how her kids and inexperience are a liability the company can’t afford. This sets off a feud between the two, as Juliana vows to prove him wrong.

Two years later, their feud rages on, but it may be charged with something they aren't willing to admit. When they are forced onto a career-making project together, Juliana has no choice but to call a truce. As their lives become more intertwined in and out of the office, Juliana finds it hard to ignore Ben’s perpetual smile and charming determination. What started as a truce grows into more, as boardroom-clearing arguments turn to desk-clearing kisses. Could the man she deemed her nemesis understand her life–her stress and responsibilities–better than anyone?

But just when Juliana decides to open her heart again, Ben’s past threatens their newfound bliss, and she has to figure out whether this second chance at love is worth it after all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250341563
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/14/2025
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Amy Buchanan’s affair with romance and books started at three, when she watched Beauty and the Beast and couldn’t decide if she was more obsessed with the prince or the library (The library. Definitely the library). After decades of devouring love stories written by others, she decided to share the ones pinging around in her brain. She writes fun and spicy contemporary romances with relatable heroines, swoonworthy heroes, and loving found families.

She lives in Central Florida with her three littles, two pups, and one husband. On top of writing, she uses her Masters in Higher Education Administration to run a scholarship foundation for first-generation college students. When not working, she trolls travel sites for luxury rentals outside of her travel budget and–poorly–trains for half-marathons.

Editorial Reviews

10/21/2024

In Buchanan’s hot but bumpy debut, coworkers try to balance a sizzling attraction with responsibilities at work and home. Nine months after her husband’s death, stay-at-home mom Juliana must reenter the job market to support her two school-age daughters. She needs something flexible enough to accommodate her responsibilities as a newly single parent, so she’s thrilled when her lovely and understanding former supervisor offers her a job in HR at an architecture firm. Not everyone is so sympathetic; she overhears handsome architect Ben make some exasperated comments about working mothers that boil her blood. Fast forward two years, and the pair are still workplace nemeses whose relationship is defined by sarcasm and sniping. When they’re assigned a joint project close to the CEO’s heart, however, working close together soon leads to a steamy affair. It’s a familiar office romance setup, but Juliana’s actions, first in her often immature feud with Ben and then in their secret relationship, come across as especially inappropriate given her role in human resources. Still, Ben is an appealing hero, the realistically drawn child characters add charm, and Juliana’s determination not to give up on love while maintaining her sense of self will strike a chord with readers of Susan Mallery and Kristan Higgins. For diehard enemies-to-lovers fans, this will do in a pinch. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Buchanan’s debut hits all of the right notes.. This twist on the enemies-to-lovers trope that also sensitively explores dating while grieving is perfect for fans of workplace romances." -Library Journal

"Amy Buchanan's Let's Call a Truce starts as a tension-filled conflict between workplace nemeses but ends as a touching story of love and family. The struggles Juliana faces as a widowed mother trying to make her way back in the workplace felt so real, and it's so satisfying to watch her realize that instead of her greatest enemy, Ben might just be her biggest supporter. As a Florida native myself, I also couldn't help but love the way Buchanan brought that setting to life! Let's Call a Truce felt like a real, lived-in romance between two people who deserve a new beginning, and who found it with each other." - Alicia Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of With Love, from Cold World

"Amy Buchanan's debut had me chuckling one minute and choked up with emotion the next. With a perfect balance of LOL moments, punchy banter laced with sexual tension, and heartwarming moments of found family, grief, and second chances in love, Let's Call a Truce is an outstanding debut by a fresh voice in contemporary romance." —Meredith Schorr, author of As Seen on TV

"Featuring one of the most swoon-worthy lines I've ever read from a hero, LET'S CALL A TRUCE delivers a heartwarming and engrossing story that beautifully explores love after loss." —Livy Hart, author of Planes, Trains, and All the Feels

"Touching and swoonworthy, Let's Call A Truce is a truly enjoyable debut that wrings laughter and tears from realistic life situations. A real treat!" —Jayne Denker, author of The Rom- Com Agenda

“Filled to the brim with courage and compassion, Let’s Call a Truce is by turns hilarious, heart-wrenching, and scorchingly hot. Amy Buchanan deftly navigates the demands of parenthood and the trepidation of love after loss in this superb debut. From sizzling banter and forbidden office trysts to aching scenes of two parents trying their best, this novel delivered a romance I’ll never forget.” —Alexandra Vasti, author of Ne'er Duke Well

"Amy Buchanan's debut novel is both meltingly sweet and scorchingly hot. Juliana is a complicated, relatable heroine, and I was rooting for her at every step of her heart-felt and hard-fought journey to happily ever after." —Diana Biller, author of Hotel of Secrets

"A fresh, single-parent spin on workplace enemies-to-lovers that will delight fans of The Hating Game." – Kate Canterbary, author of In a Jam

"Office rivals to lovers is my kryptonite and this book delivers in every way. I laughed, I swooned, I read the steamy scenes twice! Forever a fan of Amy Buchanan!" —Kate Robb, author of This Spells Love

"Amy's book left me feeling invigorated and hopeful. LET'S CALL A TRUCE is a richly-crafted love story, with characters who leapt off the page and directly into my heart. A joy to read!" —Tarah Dewitt, USA Today bestselling author

From the Publisher

11/01/2024

DEBUT Single mom Juliana has returned to work in human resources for the first time since her husband's sudden and untimely death. When she overhears her new colleague, attractive architect Ben, putting her down on her first day of work, it ignites a feud that still rages two years later, even though Juliana is starting to notice an attraction between her and Ben that neither of them is willing to admit. When they're forced to work together on a new project that could lead to a major promotion for her, their workplace arguments begin to turn into something more, especially once Juliana learns that Ben is a single parent as well and their lives begin to intersect outside of work. However, just when they finally admit their long-simmering feelings for each other, someone from Ben's past threatens to take away Juliana's newfound happiness. VERDICT Buchanan's debut hits all of the right notes, leading up to a sweet and satisfying ending for Ben and Juliana. This twist on the enemies-to-lovers trope that also sensitively explores dating while grieving is perfect for fans of workplace romances.—Whitney Kramer

Library Journal

2024-10-26
A young widow falls in lust—and love—with her work nemesis.

It’s been nine months since Juliana Ryan lost her husband, Jason, to a car accident, and she’s barely starting to regain her footing as a widowed mother of two. Seven years as a stay-at-home mom haven’t prepared her mentally or financially for life without Jason, but thankfully her old boss was happy to hire her again. On Juliana’s first day as a human resources representative for KMG, a Florida-based architecture and design firm, all she wants is to make it through unscathed. Unfortunately, no more than a few hours in, Juliana has already had a panic attack in the bathroom and run right into a man who looks like Henry Cavill, leaving a smudge of lipstick on his white shirt. This is Ben Thomas, a hiring manager, and he’s kind of a dick—as proven when Juliana later overhears him going on a tirade about her unprofessionalism as a working mother. Despite his good looks, Juliana hopes to have as little interaction with him as possible. But two years and two promotions for Juliana later, she and Ben aren’t just coworkers—they’re sworn enemies. It’s no secret that they hate one another, the office teeming with their verbal sparring. Still, Juliana can’t help being attracted to Ben, the feeling battling fiercely against her dislike, and it’s pretty clear Ben feels the same way. When a new promotion arises for both Juliana and Ben, one that requires them to work together, they must declare a truce—if their intense feelings will let them. Buchanan’s workplace enemies-to-lovers romance will appeal to fans ofThe Hating Game andThe Proposal, with just the right level of spice and sincerity. Juliana and Ben’s relationship isn’t complex, but it simmers with enough tension and desire to burn through their much-needed HR write-up.

A sexy debut about second chances and desk romances.

Kirkus Reviews