Sign me up for a Bane please! I loved Shacking Up and cannot wait for the next book in this series. I want more!! And can we talk about how adorable Bane is with his pets?! Swoon!!

Helena Hunting's contemporary romance comedy "Shacking Up" was a quick fun read about a couple who needed to work on their communication with each other on their way to their HEA.
Ruby was leaving the restroom at her best friend's engagement party when she is mistaken for another woman by a really hot guy who grabbed her, kissed her and then coughs in her face.
Her luck seems to have run out on her as she gets violently sick the next day during an audition that she really wanted, finds out her father cut the funds that paid for her apartment that she losses and then owes three months back rent on, and then there is no other jobs around that would pay enough to keep her from living in an alley in a cardboard box. Which she would rather do than go back home in defeat and work in her father's company having her stepmother as her boss, said stepmother is only a few years older than she is.
When all seems lost Ruby's best friend introduces her to a guy who is leaving on business for five weeks and needs someone to house sit and take care of his beloved pets. As Ruby's luck would have it the guy is the same person who kissed her and coughed on her at the party.
Bancroft really feels bad about his causing some of Ruby's misfortunes and offers her a place to stay to take care of his pets so she could get back on her feet.
Between shower mishaps, short shorts, pets that play under the blankets, nightly video chats, messages from old dates, mixed signals, you'll chuckle and enjoy a good read as the couple find out how perfect they are for each other.

This was my first time to read a book written by Helena Hunting. I really enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more books by her.

Ruby was a believable character. She was independent and strong which I are characteristics that I like to see in a heroine. No one ever wants to admit defeat and return home. She wanted to continue acting and reach her dreams. She didn't care that she was having to put appetizers in her purse or limit her food intake to achieve it. Too bad "Awesome Kisser" took her down with his cooties.

Bancroft was also a great character. He had missed out on a lot in his family while living his dream as a professional rugby player. He is ready to move into his position in the family business. The traveling isn't something that he wants to do. He accidentally kissed the wrong girl while sick and that is when the fun began for him.

I think she did a great job with witty banter between the characters and building their relationship. I wanted to see what was going to happen next.

I received this copy from Netgalley.

I fel

DNF at 28%. I thought I knew what I was getting in for, but it was worse than expected (too much talk about dicks and ferrets for me!)

ARC provided through NetGalley for review.

4-5 Stars- The first part of this book was 4 starts for me while I found the flow and content in the second half to be 5 star material-it was hard to put down. The story had an uncommon introduction between Ruby and Bane which you read about in the synopsis. This was refreshing and gave us a connection between the two main characters and it even looks like their lives won’t meet up again. I liked that that the author didn’t immediately hook these two up and we got some background for Ruby to start the main story.

Ruby was a strong female and a funny one too. There were definitely some laugh out loud moments in this one. Ms. Hunting has some great detail in describing how Ruby’s at the end of her rope. She has no job and is about to lose her apartment. I don’t want to tell too much but the author then manages another unique meetup between Ruby and Bane. This part of the story was a little far-fetched for me but worked for the sake of this book.

With that said, you’ll find the story is told in dual POV’s and just when I’m wondering what Bane’s thoughts might be, we get a chapter in his POV. I personally love dual POV’s and while most of the book is told from Ruby’s perspective, we do find out Bane’s thoughts too. His caring and compassion nature are shown in how he feels about his family who he’s started to work for plus there are his pets. I’m not going to share what his pets are because I wasn’t expecting them but I will say that they gave the story some humor with their antics. I also think a person’s personality is reflected in how they treat their pets.

The romance in this book moved at such a great pace in my opinion. As I said above, after the first meeting these two could’ve never met again. So their relationship develops over the course of the book and they make connections while also making some mistakes. With the dual POV’s, I was able to keep pace with both characters and what they were feeling. Bane and Ruby definitely had some hot tension going on and that kept me turning pages in the second half of the book quickly.

I’ll be looking for this book when it’s released and if recommend it for a romantic and FUN read.

I absolutely loved this standalone, dual POV rom com from Helena Hunting. The story follows down on her luck wannabe actress Ruby Scott as she struggles to make ends meet trying to make it on her own without her dad's millions. Whilst at her best friend's engagement party she is 'accidentally' kissed by ex professional rugby player and hotel magnate Bancroft Mills who is high on a cocktail of cold meds and whiskey. After Ruby catches Bane's flu bug things start rapidly going South as she messes up an important audition and then finds out she's being evicted from her apartment. With the help of her best friend she lands a pet sitting gig with her fiancée's cousin who, as it turns out is her mystery 'Awesome Kisser'. Feeling responsible for Ruby's predicament he is only too happy to have Ruby as his live in pet sitter whilst he is out of the country. Things start getting a little complicated when they become more and more intimate during their evening face time sessions. I adored both Ruby and Bane, I loved their banter and the sexual chemistry between the pair is off the charts. A light, extremely fun read that had me hooked from the first page. I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first time I have read this author and I am impressed. I had previously read a sample from her first series, the Pucked series and I positively hated it so I stayed away from it. I found the characters in that series annoying and way over the top and so I never read any of those books in the series.

This book was wonderful. So if you hated that series, know this book is 100% different. It does end with a happy for now ending but I was totally happy with the conclusion. It is a first in a series or a stand alone. I am not sure which.

The story starts at a bad engagement party for Ruby's BFF. She heads to the restroom where she is kissed and it is so good but the kisser is drunk and sick and mistakes her for his date and then coughs on her. As you can imagine Ruby gets sick. She is an actress with an audition, who can't talk and who ends up vomitting. Then she gets home to find she is being evicted.

Wost day ever? right! That is until the BFF suggests she pet sits for her fiancees cousin, Bane. And yes you guessed it, its the kisser who shows up. She does end up pet sitting and I loved their relationship. It is flirty and fun and they get to know each other over the phone and video chatting and I loved it.

This was a really wonderful story with two main leads I totally loved who were sweet, romantic, sexy, kind and who really fall for each other with a little jealousy on both sides. I highly recommend this story and Ifound it much more down to earth than the whole Pucked series.

I LOVED this book !!
“Shacking Up” by Helena Hunting. I was a little bit nervous when I requested a free copy for an honest review a week or so ago. But, boy oh boy, am I glad I put in the request; and, I was lucky enough to have my request granted. This was a “FUN” romance read. The leads have their fears, trials, and tribulations. Fears from past hurts, Trials & Tribulations enhanced by family and friends. But did I tell you that I read this book in just two days? I started yesterday and finished today, and I cannot wait to hear how much everyone else liked this story, too. I will be on the lookout for other books by this author. Oh, I probably should warn you, if you are a prude, you might not like this book as you just might find some of the language off-putting. Oh, well. It is still a fun romantic read, sweet and a little dirty.

I LOVED this book. I loved how they met, how they interacted, how Bane made sure he tried to let her be independent while helping her, I loved the animals, I loved (some of) the friends. It's just simply a funny, sexy, and heartwarming book that will keep you up all night reading!

Shacking Up by Helen Hunting is a rom-com with loads of flirty banter and very sexy and HOT love scenes. Up until ch 11 I felt the characters were in their own head too much. So much that I would lose track of the conversation between characters. Around ch. 11 is when Bane comes home from a business trip and the good stuff begins. I enjoyed the story overall and recommend that fans of Helena Hunting and rom-coms, and HOT love scenes to read this book. This was my first book from this author.

I have read a lot of Ms. Hunting's books and have yet to be disappointed and this book, like her others had me hooked from the start. I enjoyed the characters Bane and Ruby as they fumble through their feelings for each other through unusual circumstances. I enjoyed their banter and their personalities as well as the tension between them through their journey. I also liked watching Ruby grow and gain more confidence in herself. I felt that the plot moved along well and not to fast or too slow. I was hooked on this book from the start and would recommend it to others,
I voluntarily reviewed and ARC copy of this book via NetGalley.

I loved this one! Ruby was funny, her internal dialogue is hilarious. Bane is sensitive, a bit of a player but a good guy. Their romance is bumpy, and there were a few moments where I started to question Bane's intentions (Brittany!) but once the reader saw his POV, things were cleared up.

I would have liked an epilogue that went a little further into the future, but maybe this is the first in a new series and we will see this couple again. (ala Alex and Violet from the Pucked series)

Shacking Up is a romance novel that is step above what I'd usually find in a book with this type of cover art! The characters are well developed, the emotions are realistically expressed and it has the right balance of story and sizzle. Plus, a lot of humor! It was a nice escape novel to balance the more serious fiction I've been reading for the TLA Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List. I would recommend this to my customers who enjoy contemporary romantic fiction. Thanks!

I really love a strong independent female. This book delivers and there were plenty of laughable moments so that was a treat.

I love me a good romance story, but unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this one. The characters came off to me as being flat and the writing was choppy.

First of all, thank you. I was really happy to get this book, especially since I've read everything Helena hunting has ever written and I'm always looking forward to her next books.

I really enjoyed this book, I read it in one sitting.
The characters were very well written and extremely loveable (especially Francesca, I kinda want a ferret now). The beginning concept was pretty original and really fun. The entire book was filled with a lot of sexual tension, so much so that it gave me butterflies.
However, I got pretty annoyed because of how the main character, Ruby, treated other women. She kept calling one character "slut" or "skank" and nicknamed her stepmother "whoremother". I really could not stand that. Slutshaming is the worst.
Overall a good time though.

Helena Hunting's Shacking Up is a steamy, robust novel. Ruby Scott is an actress trying to make it in the Big Apple. Her father is wealthy and wants her to return to Rhode Island and work in the family pharmaceutical business that's claim to fame is a well known ED medication. Ruby is just about out of money when she goes to her BFF's engagement party and is kissed by a complete stranger. She names him "Awesome Kisser" who sneezes on her after he kisses her. Ruby has an audition scheduled for the next day but when she awakens she is SICK. Needless to say the audition does not go well. She does not get the job and her situation only goes down from there. Her BFF however, comes up with a plan. Can Ruby's career be salvaged? Awesome Kisser is a key figure in this plan and he turns up the heat and things become very HOT. Sexually explicit. (ARC)

This was the most adorable story. Bancroft and Ruby's relationship starts off with a kiss meant for someone else but ends with a heartwarming happily ever after. Throughout the book both of them realize that they need to be in the right place at the right time to get the outcome they deserve and that perseverance always wins. From pet sitter to soulmate, a wonderful transition. I highly recommend this book.

Cute, funny, fast read about the hot but brainless Ruby and the hot but clueless Bancroft. These two were a match made in hot heaven. The silliness of the way they met to the cutesy set up of Ruby acting as Bane's live-in pet sitter to their incendiary hookup was so fun to read - the banter and build up was fun.

The ridiculous Big Misunderstanding, however, only told me that both Ruby and Bane needed to learn to use their words. And that Ruby needed to grow up. It was an unnecessary pit stop to the HEA. But the rest of it was light, fluffy fun.

3.5 stars

This book had me shack... uhh.. cracking up the whole time!

All rom-com fans will rejoice when they read this new one from Helena! She has her own unique brand of crazy and even though this isn't quite as crazy as some of her other novels this one is the perfect blend of slow burning sexual tension with witty banter and hysterical mishaps.

I seriously could not put this book down! Okay, I did put it down a few times, because well life, but I was so entrenched in this story that I need to know what was happening with Ruby and Bancroft. And really... I wanted to know what was going on with Armstrong, Bancroft's cousin and Ruby's best friend's fiancee, there was something about him that was just... off.

The meet-cute in this book was pretty epic and it's not one I will be forgetting for a very long time. I couldn't wipe of the little grin I had while reading this, Ruby and Bane were just too cute for their own good.

Read this one and see if you can find your Happily Ever After!