I think this one just wasn't for me. I couldn't find a lot of redeeming qualities in the main character to get on board with the scheming and lying she does. I don't think main characters need to necessarily be likable. I will say that I personally need to find something about the MC to either connect with or understand their reasoning for their actions, and this was a tough sell for me.
I realize it's fiction, but it's not fantasy and things felt far-fetched at times.

The first few chapters of Love at First Like, I didn't know if I was reading a Women's Fiction or a Psychological Thriller. The protagonist name-dropped every brand and made it very clear early on that she was obsessed with making a name for her business through her repping her brand. But after I got used to the idea of Eliza being Eliza and scheming to protect her business, her sister's career and family life, and her parents' investment, I came to "like" her. Surely, if I met her at the bar or cafe or red carpet at one of NYC's social events, I probably wouldn't become her friend, but she had reasons for taking the actions she did. Now, I hated the use of another person for financial and professional gain, but there are so many relationships out there—caveat, though, there's consent. Consent is the key and Eliza didn't allow Blake to consent to the business engagement. And I liked that Raj was there for her in the end, but I think she would have learned a whole lot more had she hit rock bottom, needing to start all over. So while there's a secondary romance storyline, I never quite believed Eliza deserved Raj. For all the advice her friend gave, Eliza seemed better suited to just playing the field.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

I LOVE Hannah. Let’s start with that. She’s the BEST, so honest and nice! Her IG? Amazing. Her daring advice? Amazing. So obviously her writing style is so relatable for me and it’s funny, but also tackles some serious stuff too. I love her. And this book.

The idea is really good but I couldn’t love all the lies that kept going and going.. I loved her other book , head over heals much better!

Starts off cute, if implausible, but soon becomes as big a mess as its MC Eliza. The careless way she treats her partner is hard to move past and secondhand embarrassment for her inability to be an adult removes most of the humor

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you for a copy of this book. I ended up not finishing this one. I had a hard time connecting with the main character and some of her choices. This just wasn’t the book for me right now.

Love at First Like entertained me from the beginning to the end, but I'm not sure how much I actually liked it.

Eliza Roth co-owns a jewelry shop in Brooklyn that's doing well but not well enough to survive a rent hike, so, when she accidentally posts a fake engagement post to her Instagram in response to an ex's engagement, she decides to pretend it's real. I'm pretty sure I've read or watched a few things with this set up, and I like it in theory, but it did not work for me in Love at First Like. The problem for me was the way Eliza leaned into it. She doesn't just fake it for the sake of not looking foolish: she accepts a free wedding, a free dress, a free honeymoon, and reaches out to get people to interview her about her upcoming wedding (just a couple months away), all without a boyfriend.

Realizing she will need to have a man at some point for this charade, she forces herself through a relationship with a guy she feels uncomfortable and vaguely bored around. She tells him she loves him, though she doesn't, and spurs his emotions along to get the proposal she needs. It's really distasteful, and, though I already didn't like Eliza, this definitely didn't help. I also thought Blake was altogether too forgiving about everything.

Actually, speaking of, EVERYONE was too forgiving and understanding about what Eliza was doing, which is a big part of why this admittedly unrealistic plot line didn't feel cute and silly in a rom-com way but thoroughly unbelievable. When Eliza tells bartender friend Raj what she's done, he thinks it's charming and encourages her in taking a risk. WHO WOULD EVER? Her parents accept it and, even more confusingly [so do Raj's when he fake marries her after a week of dating. It's baffling that no one seriously questions this or calls her out on her shit. I mean, her sister and her wife kind of do, but even then it's so mild, and they mostly use it to blackmail Eliza into giving them 10,000 dollars of the company's money so they can pay for IVF, which is also disgusting.

Seriously, the people in this book are not good people by any measure, except for Raj, who deserves way better. Then again, it's hard to know who Raj actually is, because he's unrealistically supportive, forgiving, and understanding.

Also, it's impossible to imagine everything working out in Eliza's favor. At some point this will come out, and she'll end up being reviled. The book stops before that happens, but it's so clearly coming. None of the lessons she's learned feel convincing either.

So yeah, two stars for keeping me entertained, because it was fascinating to see what levels she would stoop to next, but I definitely didn't enjoy this the way a romance is meant to be enjoyed. (hide spoiler)]

I really enjoyed Love at First Like, by Hannah Orenstein. I had been reading a few mystery/thrillers and appreciated this change of pace.

Centered around Brooklyn, Eliza, who co-owns a jewelry store with her sister Sophie, accidentally posts a photo of herself with an engagement ring on to social media.

I breezed through the chapters and enjoyed this fun story as Eliza struggles with what to do over her embarrassing mistake. It gave me the warm and fuzzy vibes I’d been looking forward to, and enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria for the free copy. All opinions are my own

This book was one that I had hope of a cute and light romance. Unfortunately the writing style and slow speed of the plot did not hold my interest.

Such a fun and timely book! It was a book where I wanted to just read the next chapter to see what would happen next....don’t start reading if it’s bedtime because you won’t want to put it down!

This book was good. I liked the premise but ultimately feel bad for he boyfriend. She’s not very kind too people around her and ultimately still has a happy ending. But I liked the writing and character building.

This one was just okay for me. I liked it enough to finish it but like others, found the MC’s choices frustrating and would have liked the last third of the book to happen sooner. Recommended for those looking for a light read.

Eliza and older sister Sophie co-own a little jewelry store in Brooklyn. One night after having one too many and seeing a post about her most recent ex, who just got engaged; Eliza takes out one of the large, beautiful engagement rings that her sister, Sophie created. Put it on just to take a picture to save but instead posts it to her social media account and set the wheels into motion. She can't bring herself to take it down since it's posted to her personal/business social media account, so what's a girl to do so she doesn't look like she's got egg on her face...Why, find a fake fiance of course! But things snowball out of control when she's able to get media attention on her "recent engagement" because people are now calling her about free wedding gowns, venues, etc. She just can't seem to say, "No" to.
Eliza thinks she's found the right guy and on paper he's perfect but there just aren't any sparks. How far will she go, will she get her guy down the aisle?
This was a fun book to read and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre of books.

This book came recommended to me by a friend, and it did not disappoint! A very cute romance book, highly recommend.

Oh yikes, this book had so many plot holes. The main character was pretty annoying and she lied so much! It was so frustrating. This just wasn't my cup of tea.

This book was a fun read! While I thought the relationships in the book were not 100% realistic, the book was still cute and something that I would recommend to customers! Sometimes the main character seemed to manipulate others into getting her way, but regardless, a solid read!

Orenstein has a way of really getting into her characters’ careers and lives. I loved the inside look at insta-famous jewelers & of course, the romance was as cute as ever!

I tried to read this and just could not get into it. Thank you for the opportunity. I still will remain open to reading the author's future works.