{"id":5655,"date":"2026-02-23T06:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T06:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5655"},"modified":"2026-02-23T06:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T06:05:00","slug":"the-name-game-by-beth-oleary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5655","title":{"rendered":"The Name Game by Beth O\u2019Leary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The Name Game<\/strong> on April 9, 2026 <br \/><strong>Genres:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/booknookbuzz.com\/reviews\/genres\/fiction-romance-contemporary\/\">Fiction \/ Romance \/ Contemporary<\/a> <br \/><strong>Format:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/booknookbuzz.com\/reviews\/formats\/arc\/\">ARC<\/a> <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ojst5T\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Buy on Amazon<\/a> <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/review\/show\/8208147184\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Goodreads<\/a> <\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Beth O\u2019Leary delivers such a clever and heart-filled premise in <em>The Name Game<\/em> \u2014 because what could possibly go wrong when <strong>two<\/strong> Charlie Joneses arrive on a tiny island of 500 residents\u2026 to manage the same farm shop?<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Charlie Jones (she\/her) lands on the Isle of Ormer ready for a clean slate and a peaceful new chapter running the island\u2019s beloved farm shop. Meanwhile, Charlie Jones (he\/him) has arrived for the exact same reason \u2014 same job, same fresh start, same island. To avoid confusion, she becomes \u201cCharlie\u201d and he becomes \u201cJones,\u201d but of course, that doesn\u2019t make things any less complicated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">I absolutely loved the island setting. An island where you only need a bike to get around (or a tractor, depending on the resident)? Sign me up. The small-town simplicity and close-knit community vibes were so cozy and immersive. And from the start, we know the mysterious owner who hired them is hiding something \u2014 which made it especially fun trying to piece together what\u2019s really going on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The story is told through diary entries and emails, and I will always show up for a good epistolary novel. This format added intimacy and charm, letting us really see inside both Charlies\u2019 heads as they work through their past heartbreaks and personal baggage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">I\u2019ve loved Beth O\u2019Leary\u2019s previous books, and this one feels slightly different in tone. It has more emotional depth and leans heavily into themes of healing, second chances, and flawed characters trying to do better. There\u2019s no spice here \u2014 so if that\u2019s what you\u2019re looking for, you\u2019ll need to be satisfied with sweet moments and a little innuendo \u2014 but honestly, that worked perfectly for my mood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">And then came the TWIST.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">I genuinely didn\u2019t see it coming. The story gets briefly tangled and complicated, and you definitely need to pay attention \u2014 but O\u2019Leary skillfully pulls every thread back into place. That twist alone bumped this from a 3-star read to a solid 4 stars for me.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">If you love character-driven stories with heart, emotional growth, and a charming small-community backdrop, this one is for you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this smart and heart-filled eARC.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ubb-final-rating\"><\/div>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/booknookbuzz.com\/the-name-game-by-beth-oleary\/\">The Name Game by Beth O\u2019Leary<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/booknookbuzz.com\/\">Book Nook Buzz<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Name Game on April 9, 2026 Genres: Fiction \/ Romance \/ Contemporary Format: ARC Buy on Amazon Goodreads Beth O\u2019Leary delivers such a clever and heart-filled premise in The Name Game \u2014 because what could possibly go wrong when two Charlie Joneses arrive on a tiny island of 500 residents\u2026 to manage the same [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5655"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}