You know how every once in a while you find yourself barreling through a book at record speed and at the same time wishing it wouldn't end? Well, this is that book! Mhairi McFarlane created characters that were perfectly developed and their slow burn conspirators-turned-friends-turned-more gave me ALL the feels!

I loved Laurie. I loved her because she was a victim of heartbreak, but she wasn't pitiful. Laurie was actually one of the most relatable characters I have come across lately. After being dumped by her boyfriend of 18 years, she finds herself 36 years old and single. She goes through the whole gamut of emotions any one of us would feel in the same situation....questioning exactly how and when she had lost Dan's love and devotion and wondering if she was too past her prime to find someone else and have the family she has always wanted. Coming from emotionally stunted parents, she knows that she had stayed with Dan for so long because he represented stability, and finding herself without that stability for the first time in her adult life, she can do nothing else but think of getting it back.

Jamie Carter is the office ladies man. Devastatingly good looking, he has a reputation for being unlikable to men and acting like a player with women. He and Laurie have had little interaction with each other during the time they have worked together until one day they find themselves stranded together in a broken elevator and hatch a plan that will make Dan jealous and help Jamie look more serious to the bosses at their firm. They conceive a fake relationship that will help them both get what they want and then they plan to go their separate ways once the mission is accomplished.

I'm not going to give away any of the story because it is so enjoyable to read, but I really loved how the author took her time with these two. There is so much more to both of them than how they see themselves and each other. They genuinely take their time getting to know each other, getting to trust each other, and bringing out the best in each other. I just loved watching it unfold.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the editor for giving me the privilege of reading and reviewing an advanced copy of this book.

Enjoy!

This book was definitely different than my normal read and I did like it! At first it seemed a little drawn out. But by the time I was done I did enjoy reading it it definitely not my favorite but worth reading! There's not much suspense and it's a sweet read well written! The heat factor is nonexistent lol I do like more heat with my books but as I said it was an enjoyable read! Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!

I enjoyed this book but it was a bit drawn out for me. The humor is good but it is British so a little hard to follow for us Americans. The love story was sweet. Thanks to netgalley for the arc.

Laurie has just been dumped by her boyfriend of 18 years. And know his new girlfriend is pregnant. To make him feel emotionally devastated like she was, Laurie agrees to fake date the office prick, Jamie. Push comes to shove, and the fake-dating turns into something very real.

Pros:
- The actual falling-for-each other is really sweet.
- There is brief mention of Jamie going to therapy when he was in university. Yay for de-stigmatizing therapy, especially for men.

Cons:
- The plethora of pop references will make this book dated very quickly. (Also, as an American reading this very British story, a lot of them went over my head.)
- It's very leisurely paced, which is not my cup of tea in romance. The break-up and feeling sorry for herself lasts for about the first 40% of the book, and then they don't realize they have Feelings for each until the last 8% or so.
- I don't understand the heavy-drinking aspect of British culture. And it's features prominently as a plot-forwarding device too often-- it feels like an excuse rather than good storytelling.
- Jamie does a complete turn-around in his personality. This perpetuates the stereotype that men /will/ change for women if they want to enough. Can I roll my eyes any harder?
- The gossip of Laurie's workplace is horrendous. And yet she's okay with continuing to work there... why???
- The very last bit of the happily ever after is too much. Why do they need to get [spoiler]?! It's completely irrelevant to the plot, and they already had their happily-for-now, so there's no need for the happily-ever-after.

On the chaste-to-steamy scale, this is about a 2. If not for the horrid language and all the binge drinking, I'd say it's appropriate for a twelve year old who has an advanced vocabulary.

Diverse reads:
- Laurie is mixed race: her dad is English and her mom is from Martinique.

3.5 stars

** Thank you to HarperCollins UK, via NetGalley, for this ARC in exchange for an honest reivew **

This was not what I was expecting. It had a lot of tropes that I usually fall for including fake dating, sharing a bed, and a friends to lovers slow burn. However, it fell to just okay for me. Not to say it was bad I just wasn't obsessed. There was a bit too much niche humor and the romance was not central to me. There was a lot of focus on the emotional struggles of the main character which was good (I also liked all the nods to the microaggression and outright aggression towards females). However, I went into this wanting a swoon worthy romance and that came second to every thing else in the book.

All this to say that it was not bad, it just doesn't end with me raving about it. If you're looking for something a little more serious, emotional, with a lot of British wit, and a little bit of romance this is the book for you!

This is my first book from this author and after reading the blurb I was more than excited to read it. However, I was completely disappointed. The thing that killed this story the most for me was the flow of it. The flow of the story was too slow making everything seem to happen in slow motion and I was over it. The characters were okay but they were lacking something for me and I can't pinpoint exactly what it is or was. It's hard to enjoy the characters when you don't enjoy the story and I had to force myself to finish it. The whole story dragged. There are so few things that make or break a story for me and for this one it ABSOLUTELY was the pace of it. I had really hope to enjoy this story but it just didn't work for me.

This was a solid story for me, but I felt like the end was a bit rushed. The beginning was full of all the heartbreak and angst I was craving at the time. The end felt super chaotic. It's interesting because this book is told completely from the heroine's point of view, so you never know for sure what the hero is thinking. It puts you in the same place as the heroine, but that makes the ending a little odd. I don't know if the heroine would have the faith to jump into another full blown long term relationship considering how the last one ended. I also thought it was a little odd that she didn't really consider what would happen to her career. She seems so clear-eyed about the consequences of dating ANOTHER person at work, and then decides it doesn't matter. That rang a little false to me. But, all in all, a solid story.