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Barging In by Emily Banting — ★★★★½ 4.3 / 5
Goodreads reader rating (655 ratings).
The Evidence Scorecard
Here is how Barging In scores across the dimensions that matter most for a forced-proximity romance, based on its 4.31/5 Goodreads average and what reviewers consistently highlight.Overall — ★★★★½ 4.4/5
Evidence:- ✓ Goodreads 4.31 from 655 ratings holds up on the tougher-crowd platform.
- ✓ Consistent praise for its cozy setting, humor, and lovable supporting cast.
Romance — ★★★★ 4.3/5
Evidence:- ✓ Enemies-to-lovers built on a genuine, funny clash of goals and personalities.
- ✓ Opposites-attract chemistry between free-spirited Clem and reserved Victoria.
- ✓ The shared canal setting forces the two women into constant, unavoidable contact.
- ✓ A patient slow burn that rewards readers who like the tension to simmer.
Characters — ★★★★½ 4.4/5
Evidence:- ✓ Clem is warm, creative, and easy to root for as a fresh-start heroine.
- ✓ Victoria’s prickly heritage-manager exterior hides real vulnerability.
- ✓ A standout found-family cast (including Max and Jasper) reviewers adore.
- ✓ Both leads feel grounded in a specific, believable world.
Writing — ★★★★ 4.1/5
Evidence:- ✓ Charming, humor-laced prose that suits the cozy tone.
- ✓ Vivid, immersive rendering of the English canal-side setting.
- ✓ Award-winning author with an established, confident voice.
- ✓ Some readers found the chapter balance and pacing uneven.
Emotional Impact — ★★★★ 4.2/5
Evidence:- ✓ Comfort-read warmth centered on second chances and belonging.
- ✓ Found-family threads give the story real heart.
- ✓ Low-angst, feel-good emotional register.
- ✓ Readers wanting heavier drama may find it gentle.
Heat Level — ★★★★ 6/10
Evidence:- ✓ Moderate on-page steam that serves the slow-burn payoff.
- ✓ Chemistry established well before the intimate scenes.
- ✓ Warmth and tension over explicit intensity.
- ✓ Readers seeking high heat may want more.
Ending — ★★★★ 4.3/5
Evidence:- ✓ Satisfying, feel-good HEA that resolves the central feud.
- ✓ The canal community subplot ties off warmly.
- ✓ Standalone with a complete, contained arc.
- ✓ A few wanted a touch more resolution for side threads.
Re-read Value — ★★★★ 4.2/5
Evidence:- ✓ A cozy comfort re-read for enemies-to-lovers fans.
- ✓ The setting and cast reward revisiting.
- ✓ Standalone format makes it easy to pick up again.
- ✓ Less re-read pull for readers who prize plot surprises.
Quick Facts
| Title | Barging In |
| Author | Emily Banting |
| Format | Standalone |
| Published | September 24, 2025 |
| Length | 380 pages (Kindle Edition) |
| Goodreads Rating | 4.31 / 5 (655 ratings) |
| Heat Level | 6 / 10 (Moderate) |
| Main Tropes | Enemies to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Opposites Attract, Slow Burn |
You’ll Love This If…
- ✓ You adore a cozy, strong-sense-of-place small-town romance.
- ✓ Enemies-to-lovers with a funny, genuine clash is your catnip.
- ✓ You love a lovable found-family supporting cast.
- ✓ You want a low-angst, feel-good slow burn.
- ✓ A fresh, unusual setting (an English canal!) appeals to you.
Avoid If…
- You need high heat; this one is moderate on-page.
- You dislike slower pacing or scene-setting exposition.
- You want heavy drama and high stakes over cozy warmth.
- Evenly balanced chapter structure is a dealbreaker for you.
- You prefer plot-twist-driven stories over vibe-driven ones.
Book Synopsis
Clem Wentworth — cake baker and marketing whiz — moors her beloved orange narrowboat, Florence, along a picturesque English waterway to keep an eye on her late great-aunt’s house during renovations. With a canal-side trading spot secured, she launches her new business, Coffee & Cakes, and looks forward to a fresh start far from the corporate rat race. Victoria Hargreaves is decidedly less thrilled. The bright orange boat disrupts the pristine view from her home, and its owner has set up shop right outside Otterford Wharf, the struggling heritage centre she manages. To Victoria, the boat — and its owner’s mouthwatering cakes — threatens both her view and her livelihood. A disastrous first meeting leads to a very public, very soggy altercation, and neither woman expects what the shared stretch of canal will slowly stir between them.My Review
Barging In is exactly the kind of cozy, character-first sapphic romance that makes forced proximity feel effortless. Emily Banting has a gift for setting, and the English canal — with its narrowboats, heritage wharf, and small-town rhythms — is so vividly drawn it practically becomes a third main character. That specificity is what lifts the book above a generic enemies-to-lovers premise.
The central pairing works because the two women are genuinely mismatched. Clem is warm, impulsive, and creative; Victoria is guarded, precise, and quietly overwhelmed by a heritage centre she can’t keep afloat. Their clash over the orange boat is funny, but it also has real stakes for both of them, which keeps the antagonism from feeling manufactured. The thaw between them is patient and satisfying.
The supporting cast is a highlight reviewers keep coming back to — the found family that grows up around Clem and Victoria gives the story warmth and texture, and the baking-and-cake thread is pure comfort reading. This is a book that wants you to feel cozy, and it succeeds.
It is not flawless. The early chapters lean heavily on explaining the canal and wharf logistics, and the pacing can sag under that exposition; a few readers felt certain chapters ran long. But those are quibbles against a charming, big-hearted romance that delivers exactly the low-angst, feel-good experience it promises.
What Readers Are Saying
To give you a balanced picture, here is what actual reviewers on Amazon and Goodreads are saying — the enthusiastic praise and the genuine criticisms both.What readers love
- ✓ The canal-side English setting is called fresh and immersive, unlike anything reviewers had read before.
- ✓ The found-family cast — especially Max and Jasper — is a repeated favorite.
- ✓ The baking-and-cakes thread earns a lot of comfort-read affection.
- ✓ Readers love the funny, genuine enemies-to-lovers clash between Clem and Victoria.
- ✓ Fans of the author’s earlier series say it delivers her signature warmth and humor.
The criticisms and negative opinions
- Several reviewers felt the chapters were unevenly balanced — some bloated, with too much crammed into the early sections.
- A common complaint was front-loaded info-dumping about the boat and the wharf that slowed the opening.
- Some readers said the narrative ran on longer than necessary and the pacing sagged in places.
- A few had “mixed feelings,” enjoying the setting and side characters more than the central plot momentum.
- Readers wanting higher heat or higher stakes found it gentler and lower-drama than expected.
Romance Profile
| Pairing | Cake baker / Heritage manager (F/F) |
| Central Trope | Enemies to Lovers + Forced Proximity |
| Burn Speed | Slow burn |
| Conflict | Clashing livelihoods on a shared canal |
| Heat | Moderate (6/10) |
| Ending | HEA |
Emotional Profile
- ✓ Cozy, feel-good comfort warmth
- ✓ Fresh-start and second-chance-at-life themes
- ✓ Found-family belonging
- ✓ Gentle, low-angst tension
- ✓ Satisfying, reassuring payoff
Content Warnings
- Grief / bereavement (a late relative’s house)
- Financial stress (a struggling heritage centre)
- Mild on-page intimacy
- Interpersonal conflict and public confrontation
Book DNA
| If it were a mood | A sunny towpath, fresh cake, and gently rocking narrowboats |
| Read it for | The cozy setting and enemies-to-lovers warmth |
| Pace | Gentle slow burn |
| Best paired with | A pot of tea and a slice of something sweet |
Similar Books You Might Enjoy
- Cabin Fever by Tessa Vidal — two women stuck together until the walls come down.
- Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner — slow-burn opposites with cozy tension.
- The Roommate Arrangement by Jae — forced proximity with a prickly, guarded lead.
- Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings — small-town, fresh-start warmth and found family.
- Anything by Emily Banting — her South Downs and Nunswick Abbey series deliver more cozy British sapphic romance.
For more like this, browse our full guide to lesbian forced proximity romance, and if you love a slow-burn reunion just as much, don’t miss our Sapphic Second Chance Romance Books roundup.
About the Author
Emily Banting is a best-selling and award-winning author of sapphic romance, best known for The South Downs Romance Series and The Nunswick Abbey Series. Her books are prized for their warm humor, richly rendered British settings, and lovable found-family casts, and Barging In brings that same cozy, character-driven charm to a standalone canal-side love story. Read more Emily Banting reviews →Frequently Asked Questions
Is Barging In a standalone?
Yes. It is a self-contained standalone sapphic romance with its own complete arc and HEA, separate from the author’s South Downs and Nunswick Abbey series.How steamy is it?
Moderate — roughly 6/10. There is on-page intimacy, but the focus is on warmth, humor, and slow-burn tension rather than high heat.Does it have a happy ending?
Yes. It ends with a satisfying, feel-good HEA that resolves the feud between Clem and Victoria.Who are the main characters?
Clem Wentworth, a cake baker who moors her orange narrowboat by the canal, and Victoria Hargreaves, the reserved manager of a struggling heritage centre.What is the main trope?
Enemies-to-lovers combined with forced proximity and opposites-attract, set along an English canal.Is it high-drama or low-angst?
It leans cozy and low-angst. The tension comes from the clash of livelihoods and personalities rather than heavy melodrama.Is the setting a big part of the book?
Very much so. The English canal, narrowboats, and heritage wharf are richly drawn and are one of the most-praised elements.Do I need to read the author’s other series first?
No. Barging In stands entirely on its own; no prior reading is required.Final Verdict
Barging In is a warm, cozy, character-driven forced-proximity romance that turns an English canal into one of the most charming settings in recent sapphic fiction. Its strengths are its sense of place, its lovable found-family cast, and a funny, genuine enemies-to-lovers clash between a free-spirited baker and a guarded heritage manager. It stumbles slightly on pacing — the early exposition runs heavy and a few chapters overstay their welcome — but those are gentle flaws in a big-hearted, feel-good read. For fans of low-angst, setting-rich romance, it more than earns its place. A cozy, satisfying win at 4.4 / 5.Where to Buy
Buy Barging In on Amazonenemies-to-lovers sapphic romance in our roundup. If sharing close quarters is your kind of slow burn, see more sapphic roommates-to-lovers romance in our roundup.
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