I have read several books by Jessica Lemmon and this one is my favorite! I was literally sucked in by the first page.

This story is about Catarina and Barrett. To say they are polar opposites is putting it mildly. Catarina was raised with money and is a writer for a newspaper. Barrett was very poor grooong but is an ex-NFL player. Catarina never makes a scene and a rule follower. Barrett is all about being brash and breaking all rules.

This book worked for me because Catarina and Barrett were such opposites. They are forced to date due to a story for the paper Catarina works for that hires Barrett to do the story with her. They clash of course at first. The more they spend time together and get to know each other Catarina loosens up and isn’t as rigid with everything. Barrett shows Catarina the true him, that is a man who wants to be married and have kids.

I loved this book. It had dual POV , swoon worthy moment and sexiness, of course. Nothing get me like a guy who comes off at first to be arrogant that doesn’t stand a chance against his soul mate. Read this book you will not regret it!

I received a free copy for an honest review.

Barrett Fox had a terrific football career until he blew out his shoulder. Then he had a promising career in broadcasting until his live mic picked up his rant at the female ref over a bad call. Now he hopes to redeem himself and open up new career opportunities by co-writing a newspaper column. To rev up their readership, Catarina's boss had decided Catarina needs to go beyond her regular relationship column. The new assignment for the perfectionist journalist is to date a bad boy and write about it, alongside said bad boy. If that wasn’t challenging enough, in light of her relationship with Northrop Phillips III, the arrogant, cocky, lackadaisical Barrett Fox is the last person Catarina wants to spend time with, fake dating or otherwise.

Jessica Lemmon has been a favorite author of mine for a while so I was glad to read an early copy of this book. She has a way of bringing characters alive, making them complex and complicated, just a bit vulnerable and wounded, yet endearing and loveable. I’ve come to rely on her novels being lighthearted but with a serious side, a little steamy with a lot of sizzling chemistry, and full of humor but also poignant emotion. This book certainly had all those elements and I loved every part of it, devouring it quickly and a bit melancholy to realize it had ended. If you like your romantic comedies with a cocky hero who's a bit wounded but has a huge heart, and with a storyline that will give both your sense of humor and your emotions a workout, you’ll love Barrett and Catarina's story!

*I reviewed this book freely and voluntarily, having made no commitment to provide a review and receiving no compensation of any kind from any source for this review.

I love Jessica Lemmon's style of writing, so when the opportunity arose to review another of her books, I jumped at it. I was unaware that this book is the fourth installment in a series. I never felt as though I'd missed anything that came before though, so it is certainly a standalone.

The book is just great fun. I laughed out loud, and I completely understood the conflicts that arose. Possibly I relate to Catarina's personality. Not sure., but I definitely got a kick out of her. And Barrett is also terrific. I will look for the next installment in the series to enjoy for sure!

I kept waiting and waiting for the final conflict to happen, and it does so VERY late in the story. It made sense to me though, as well as the way it worked out. Their boss is one of those people you kind of love to hate, but her actions were very much in keeping with what you would expect from someone in her position. Heartless and selfish, but also conniving.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC given in exchange for my honest review.

So far, my experience with Jessica Lemmon's Real Love series has been that each book is better than the next. That experience continued with Rumor Has It. It's my new favorite book in the series. Rumor Has It was exactly what I was hoping for. It was upbeat and fun. There was a great enemies to lover vibe from the very beginning and some very entertaining banter. I adored that Rumor Has It had the How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days romantic comedy vibe.

The characters in this book were so much fun. Catarina was the type of woman I like to read about. She knew what she wanted in life. She was career driven, but had a romantic side to her. I loved that she didn't put up with Barrett's crap, but also that she could see beyond it.

Barrett was kind of a mess. He was all swagger and cocky confidence, but there were some surprising self-confidence issues hiding behind it. I didn't adore his attitude, but I did like some of the things it created. His nickname for Catarina made me laugh -- most because of how it fit within the story and their experiences. I also liked how he treated her beyond their initial meeting. He was a surprisingly cool guy, with one exception.

That exception? Well, it's the only thing I didn't like about Rumor Has It. Barrett's verbal indiscretion was offensive in so many ways. Honestly, it didn't surprise me that Jessica Lemmon went there. What surprised me was that she did and then didn't really make Barrett learn from his mistake. I didn't feel like he was truly sorry. He apologized which would make it seem like he was, but some of his later comments contradicted that. I don't know. It bugged me. Oh, and I also wanted something better for Mattie. I didn't get a resolution for that, but maybe that's just because Mattie was only used to show Barrett's softer side.

Other than that, I loved this book. Catarina and Barrett's relationship was amusing and so enjoyable to read. I loved how they interacted with each other. I loved how they reacted to each other. Everything about it was so entertaining -- especially the scene with More Than Words. Rumor Has It would be a great book to take to the beach or wherever you're relaxing this summer.

I wanted to like this book. I wanted to love it, even. By the time I was getting nearer towards the end and closing in on the big "climax" of the story of how Barrett messed things up with Catarina so badly, this book was going to be a 4-star read for me, and I'm disappointed that my enjoyment fell the closer I got to the ending.

Hate-to-Love romances, even if they're one-sided, are fun to read when done right. I enjoyed the bantering between the main characters, Catarina and Barrett, so much, I actually laughed out loud while reading. I also really enjoyed the fact that Barrett struggles with dyslexia, and you learn that that may be why he acts the way that he does.

Cat is a journalist with a semi-popular romance column that she takes pride in. Barrett is the "bad boy of the NFL" who lost his cool when he was a field reporter, saying just the most unsavory things to a female referee over a perceived bad call she made, that ruined his career. They both get stuck on an assignment together on what it's like to date Barrett Fox, with each one writing their own column of their fake dates.

The fake dates were fun. I loved seeing Catarina start to warm up to Barrett, and for Barrett to slowly start to reveal a side that the public doesn't really get to see (because they probably don't care) and you start to see that all the rumors revolving around him are just that: rumors.

My enjoyment of this story started waning when Barrett's dyslexia was revealed in Cat's column, in one paragraph that she didn't write, and the culprit had shown no remorse whatsoever, and I feel like she had gotten off too easy. Similarly, Cat has a thought saying, "I'm not one to give up," after the culprit who outed Barrett to the world as a dyslexic tried covering her ass by having lawyers present and apologizing to Catarina for "overstepping" and tampering with Cat's article. Resigning because your boss does something that you can't condone is not "giving up," and the fact that Cat stayed after everything really made me lose respect fo her, tbh.

The reuniting scene was cute, with the I-love-yous, but the ending was cheap. It was abrupt. The sex scenes got a bit repetitive after about the second time; you can only read about Tab A being inserted into Slot B so many times before it starts to become tired. Their sex life, as passionate as they were, lacked a spark, it lacked some heat. The first two were good, but after that... it was just the same old, same old.

So, I wanted to love it, and for awhile I did, but things started falling apart when Cat's boss sold out Barrett and his dyslexia just to keep her newspaper relevant, and she doesn't even pay any kind of a price for that.

Thank you, Netgalley, for giving me this eARC to read and review with my honest opinions.

I never read a book by Ms Lemmon before so I thought I would give it a try. It was well-paced and alternated between Barrett and Catarina's voice. Barrett is definitely a naughty bad boy while Cat is more uptight. What I didn't like was the story was written in first person and that usually turns me off with the love scenes, JMO.

Catarina is a very serious, tightly wound reporter who grew up as a Country Cub kid. A Type A personality Barrett is an ex-jock bad boy who did not grow up in a well-off family and seems to continually test how far he can go with his bad boy persona. The two could not be more different. So when they are paired to write a column on dating each other, it is bound to be interesting.

Barrett immediately starts out trying to get reactions from Catarina, starting with calling her Kitty Kat and bragging about kissing her until her toes curl. He seems to relish getting on her nerves and pushing the limits of how much bad behavior she will accept. But the longer they are together, the more Catarina sees the man below the surface; she starts to relax and enjoy life more.

I started not liking Barrett, but he slowly grew on me. I understood Catarina from the beginning, and she really needed someone to show her how to relax and enjoy life. Loved the banter, the antics, and the chemistry between these two.

I was given an ARC of this book courtesy of the author via NetGalley

Barrette is just So Good at Being So Bad! You want to hate on him, but you just can't.
Their verbal play is just as hot as their bedroom play. The dialogue these two have is funny, witty, snarky that keeps you entertained throughout, no matter if they're working or playing and you'll never quite know what may happen next, as Catarina finds her own bad self and peels away to Barretts inner goodness, along with a secret or two.
A very easy read that will make you do all the worthy romance sighs with happy feels at the end. 💚💙
I received an ARC thru Netgalley and am happily giving my honest review

First time reading a Jessica Lemmon book and at this moment I am on currently marking the rest of her books on my TBR list! I loved this story of opposites attract, I loved both Catarina and Barrett...if anything I am just upset it wasn't as long as I wanted!
When Catarina (a good girl) and Barrett (a bad boy) are thrown together to write a column about dating you know that sparks are going to fly..but what you don't expect is that some of those sparks are everlasting ones...ones that really mean something.
Lemmon does a great job of creating witty banter between the two characters and just enough heart, as well, that I found myself sighing in parts.

Rumor Has It is the 4th book in this series but can be read as a standalone novel, but let me suggest that you read all of these books because they are that good! And Cat & Barrett's "fake dating" storyline doesn't disappoint. I loved these characters--Cat is so very likeable and Barrett will make you swoon. As with all of her books, there's snappy dialogue, funny moments, sweet & sexy times, cool secondary characters that you'll recognize from the previous books and a really enjoyable storyline. Excellent contemporary enemies to lovers romance! Can't wait for America's Sweetheart! I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.

An enemies to lovers romance. Cat is an all rules and deadlines journalist, Barrett is a fast and loose ex NFL star. They have been assigned to work together in an attempt to gain the right type of publicity, the right type of chemistry. Of course Barrett is the bad boy who needs our heroine to help change his horrible horrible ways.

I'm all in. I know what genre I'm about to review, and look forward the good ole tug of war between the two. Except... Barrett being bad was not very believable, or authentic. It is almost as if the author threw in couple of random jerk moves by Barrett to make him live up to the expectation. After all he is the bad boy of the NFL. Cat was justifiable furious at him all the time, yet it just all felt so clichéd and forced. The tug of war was to easy of a win. I need a little more forced hitting the dirt with your face type of tug of war. 2.5 stars The cover was pretty amazing.

*I won this book off of Netgalley*

I could not put this book down and I read this all in one day! It was that good! The writing was fantastic, the chemistry was off the charts, and the plot line was interesting.

I have not read this author before but I’ll definitely be looking for other books she’s written.

I smiled, laughed, and was sad while reading this book. When an author can make you feel all of that, they did a great job!

Pick this up when it hit shelves May 15th!

I truly love this authors writing! This is the second book i received on netgalley from Jessica Lemmon. He books are fun ans sweet and spicy all at the same time. Im a little bit in love with Barret Fox :0

I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed reading a book so much, and I read a lot. The dialogue was sharp and witty, and authentic to the characters’ personalities. The pace was good without a lot of useless internal dialogue -what there was moved the story forward. The plot could have gone south in so many ways - become a cheesy NFL bad boy falls for smart high class chick, fake dating melodrama. But even though we know how it will inevitably end, this is a romance novel after all, the ride getting there is delightful. Neither of the characters is a romantic novel stereotype, and mercifully there are no “demons” to overcome, no “walls” or any of that other tiresome stuff. Just two fairly authentic characters with real world issues fanning a spark despite their differences. For me it was a breath of fresh air.

Rumor Has It, by Jessica Lemmon is a contemporary romance, and the fourth book in the Real Love series.

Barrett Fox is a former pro-football player and former broadcaster journalist, who was fired after a live on-air verbal incident. He's determined to work his way back into the hearts of his fans and the media through a dating publicity stunt.

Catarina Everhart is a talented writer and journalist and determined to excel at her job, until her overbearing boss assigns her the job of dating Barrett Fox. Both Catarina and Barrett have their own reservations revolving around their fake dates, yet the attraction is intensely serious for them. Suddenly, their publicity dating might lead to a real relationship.

Rumor Has It is an entertaining story, which is geared towards those who enjoy reading modern romances.


Note: I received this book from NetGalley, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Catarina and Barrett could not be more different if they tried. She was raised by parents who golf and belong to the country club, he crawled his way out of the wrong side of town and played in the NFL until a should injury caused him to retire. Catarina's editor has decided that she is going to pair these two up to "date" and write his and her articles about their experiences.

Catarina goes into this work project with some attitude and was not overly friendly or nice for most of their first encounters. She was snarky at best and it was off-putting to me at points. Her personality grated and was unfounded, except that she was very judgmental.

Barrett is struggling to overcome an on-air meltdown that caused him to be sidelined from his gig as an on-field reporter for ESPN. He is now trying to generate good publicity and sees this as a good opportunity. He takes Catarina's attitude in stride and I gave him credit for that. No one will ever describe him as being conforming to social standards, but he got a bad rap from people who never knew the real him. He is bad at relationships with women. He finds Catarina a challenge and he tries his best to get her to like him.

Their story was interesting. They had a push/pull that was believable. Catarina was in her head a lot in this book and it took away from her enjoying life. She was pretty rigid and needed someone like Barrett to soften her hard edges. Barrett needed Catarina to show him that he was worthy and not always a screw up. Overall a good read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

Entering in a fake relationship with the former bad boy NFL player. Catarina was definitely not excited where her job took her. She is nothing like Barrett, totally opposite in every way. How can they possibly get along when he says the most outrageous things? Absolutely hilarious as they both try to navigate the relationship waters.

Before I say what I am going to say, I like the series…a lot. Even the first book, where the female main character drove me nuts, I liked. This one….not so much. Both of the main characters were unlikable. The romance seemed forced and flat. Their interactions with each other were either hot and heavy or cold and icy….no inbetween. I did like the storyline. I love a storyline with a good girl falling for a bad boy.

Rumor Has It is a sporty take on the old and often used storyline where a good girl falls in love with a bad boy. Except the good girl is a journalist who is roped into pretend dating the bad boy. Only the pretend dating soon turns real. But the good girl doesn’t believe that the bad boy can change. Or can he?

I couldn’t stand Catarina. I thought that she was the most stuck up, self-absorbed character that I have ever read. I didn’t blame her for her reaction to working with Barrett but she took it to the extreme. She couldn’t even pick up on the hint that her ex-boyfriend wasn’t interested in her. I couldn’t even tell that she was having feelings for Barrett until almost the end of the book. Even then, I doubted it.

I didn’t like Barrett either. But not as much as Catarina. Barrett made some crappy decisions that influenced everything he did in the book. Like yelling at the female ref and then trying to say “Well, if it was a guy it would be OK.” No, no it wouldn’t be. My dislike did temper when I realized that he was sorry for what he did. It also lessened when his childhood was discussed.

I did not like Barrett or Catarina together. I felt that their interactions were forced. They did not come across as genuine to me. For characters to run hot/cold as much as they did was a turn off for me. As was Catarina’s blatant disdain for Barrett. Which in turn caused Barrett to treat her badly. It was like a freaking merry-go-round and I couldn’t get off.

The romance part of Rumor Has It came across as forced and fake. In turn, the sex was the same way. Forced with no emotions. Don’t get me wrong, I thought that the sex scenes were hot. But because of how I felt about Barrett and Catarina, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Like I mentioned above, I liked the storyline. I wish that I had a connection with either of the main characters.

The end of Rumor Has It was your typical romance ending. All hearts and rainbows.

While I didn’t like this book, I am looking forward to reading book 5. Like I said above, I enjoyed reading the series.

What I liked about Rumor Has It:

A) Good storyline

B) Hot sex scenes

C) Ummm…that’s it??

What I disliked about Rumor Has It:

A) Unlikable main characters

B) Forced and flat romance/relationship

C) No connection to characters

I would give Rumor Has It an Adult rating. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book. There is explicit sex, language, and mild violence

There are no trigger warnings for Rumor Has It.

I would not recommend Rumor Has It to family and friends. I would recommend the other books in the series, but not this one. I would not read this book again but I would read other books in the series.

I would like to thank Loveswept, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Rumor Has It.

All opinions stated in this review of Rumor Has It are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Rumor Has It is sweet, fun, and a little bit naughty. It got just enough push and pull to keep you entertained. The Bad Boy former NFL player and the journalist with the stick up her butt...yeah, it's fun.

Fake dates for the win. These two needed to get out of their own heads to find what they were missing.

Catarina is given a journalist assignment to pretend to date bad boy former football player Barrett and write about her experience. The two have great chemistry. They start off hating each other, but by the end their feelings have changed.

Funny read.