The Perfect Date is a great fit for readers who enjoy lighthearted contemporary romance with a focus on sports, fake dating, and strong, independent healthcare workers.

Kicking my feet its so cute

Thanks to NetGalley / Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I did not finish reading this title - I didn't enjoy the writing style and was not interested in picking it up once I started. Thank you!

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I adore fake dating romances and sport romances have a special place in my heart. However, I didn’t LOVE this one.

I went into this book with high hopes, especially because it promised fake dating. Unfortunately, I wasn't a huge fan of the book because it was mostly drama and almost no romance. I didn't find the relationship between the characters to be believable, even when they were fake dating. In my opinion, for fake dating to work, both parties have to get something out of the relationship, but I do not think Angel got anything out of the fake relationship. I also found the timeline of events to be unrealistic. It felt like everything happened over at most, two weeks, and that wasn't nearly enough time for all of that drama to unfold.

I just could not get into this one. From the very beginning I just didn’t enjoy the writing style. I wanted to like this one but it ended up being a DNF for me!

It all started with the need to change his image and Angel saved him with a single glance. Definitely a story line that will help him out.

I'm embarrassed by the fact that this review is two years overdue (and yes, that's absolutely my bad) but once I decided to pick this up yesterday, it didn't take long for me to realise why I never finished reading it in the first place. This went from zero to cringefest so fast that it left me feeling whiplash wondering how the hell everything spiralled downhill so quickly. I'm really struggling to find something I liked about this book but right now I'm wishing that I DNF'd it, and the only reason I didn't is that it's an ARC. I guess the cover is quite cute but aside from that, it's a lot of *yikes*.

The book started out okay—there were some weird inconsistencies with the writing but I thought that it would get better, plus, I did like the first glimpse we got of Angel and her son, Jose. Jose is a sweet and precocious child and you could tell Angel really wanted to give her son a better life. She's undoubtedly a hardworking single mum and I did appreciate that about her character. She also had a decent support system in the form of her best friend, Gabriela, who I did like whenever she appeared on the pages. In my opinion, Gabriela and Jose were the two best characters in the book, and perhaps it's because they had very little page time compared to the other very unlikeable hot messes in this.

To say that I struggled to like 99% of the characters would be a massive understatement, which made it very difficult to buy into the story but especially the romance. There was simply nothing there! From the moment our H/H meet at the clinic where Angel works through to the very end of the book, I could not find one reason why these two should be together because their "relationship" was a toxic dumpster fire that never should've happened. My bitter feelings were definitely influenced by the fact that I did not like them as individuals. Angel is a hardworking mum but she was disappointingly judgemental and selfish to the point it became irritating. It also didn't help that the writing was so repetitive and she had the same thoughts until the very end, so there was no development to her character. Duke is probably one of the worst heroes I've ever read in a book—if you want me to NOT root for a hero, make them like Duke. He was a condescending, egotistical, misogynistic asshole, and he was one of the main reasons I never finished in the first place. Some of the things that came out of his mouth were just... laughably shocking! I don't know how we readers were expected to root for or feel empathetic towards a character who was a major dillweed for a big chunk of the book. The other characters were awful caricatures of playboy athletes, their gold-digging hangers-on, and crass family members and agents who treat everyone like they're beneath them. There really were very few positive things for me to latch on to!

As I mentioned, the writing was repetitive but it was also very clunky and awkward. It didn't flow well and that wasn't helped by the fact that we would get alternating POVs within chapters. I enjoy books that have alternating views, especially in romances where we get to see what our H/H think and feel, but it's usually done in alternating chapters. I really didn't enjoy reading changing POVs within one chapter, especially because there was little to distinguish between the perspectives, not to mention the change was always done so abruptly. I realise this is an ARC and so that particular issue could've been fixed in the final copy (through proper formatting), but it was just a jarring experience that compounded the many struggles I already had reading this.

Overall, this was so incredibly disappointing. I was really fooled by the cuteness of this cover and the promise of a sweet fake-dating romance and got nothing of the sort! I really don't know how this is titled 'The Perfect Date'? Honestly, if you consider the Duke the perfect date, I'd be pretty concerned and ask if you were okay. Oof, I definitely wish I could get back the hours I spent reading this because it was not worth it!

DID NOT FINISH. I couldn’t get into this story and didn’t care for the author’s writing style or story telling. Could not relate or feel a connection to the characters.

I could not bring myself to finish this book. It was more like a drama and less of a romance. Normally this wouldn't bother me, but there was troublesome language in the writing that I couldn't get past. Basically, I echo all the other reviews of similar note.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I'm wondering if the authors of this book meant to write two unlikeable main characters. These two people were perfect for each other because they were both such women-hating, rude, and just awful people.

Thank you for providing an ARC for this book. DNF at 56%. It wasn't for me and I did not review publicly.

Based on the cover and description, I thought this book was going to be right up my alley! Unfortunately, this was a case of 'don't judge a book by its cover,' only in reverse because this did not live up to my expectations. It seemed to me like the book needed several more rounds of edits. I'm not sure if this is a case of the titled author didn't want the ghostwriter/cowriter to make changes, or if there was a disagreement as to how edits would be done with the editor. There were too many abrupt scene changes, story inconsistencies, and poorly researched baseball tidbits to bring any cohesiveness to the story, and sadly it could not hold my attention.

DNF

This book sounds so cute and I am so sad I could not get into it! It just was not holding my attention right now. I ended up DNFing it, but do hope to one day finish it, because so many others seemed to enjoy it.

The blurb is better than the book. This book is full of drama and I was thinking I was going to get a contemporary romance story. This is like a made for television reality drama. I was fooled into reading this book. The writing style is a little chopping and hard to follow at times and some things in the book don't line up. Sorry, but this book needs a little more work.

DNF at 42%. The writing was clunky, scenes ended abruptly and I did not feel any chemistry between the characters. I love the fake relationship trope but this one missed the mark.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. This book was a DNF for me, I did not review publicly. I really tried with this book but it was just not for me. The writing was like watching a reality TV show and while I appreciate the single, young mom perspective and her relationship with her son, as well as how she was trying to better their life, the baseball player Prince Charming and the other cast of sleazy men made me cringe so much. The sleazy doctor, the creepy friends of the player, the sleazy manager at the bar. It just did not work for me. It had a lot of potential but fell flat in the romance department and in the delivery of the story.

The cover makes you think you're getting one book but what you actually get is an absolute bore. I didn't like this book at all. I was expecting an adorable romance but unfortunately was disappointed to find that this book had no depth. 2 stars.

This was a decent story and I somewhat enjoyed both the hero and the heroine. Angel and Duke were well-written characters. However, nothing really stood out making it a great book.