Ok, I’m going to start this review by being 100% honest and say that I did not expect this book to be a 5-star read. I expected to like it, because it sounded adorable and has the tropes that I love, but I figured it would come in at a solid 4. But seriously, I loved this book so, so much and it is all because of Teddy and Romeo.

We get everything from Teddy’s point of view, so we don’t get to look deep into Romeo’s head, but that’s really ok because they are both just so freaking cute! And together, once they are finally together, they are amazing! I had a big smile on my face almost the entire time that I was reading.

I will say that once this couple admits to and acts on their attraction, they go from friends to fully committed in 3.7 seconds. And that’s pretty fast, even for an insta-love admirer like me. But, it worked for me because they just fit so well together and both wanted the best for the other.

Now, for the rest of the cast. I did not like Joyce at all. I thought she was manipulative and mean and even with the way things worked out at the end, she was still pretty much a b-word for me. Lauren, on the other hand, had my respect. She valued her employees enough to put them first, even with a potential devastating loss to the company. That is the mark of a great boss in my opinion.

And I cannot finish this review without mentioning Romeo’s family. They are everything a close-knit, loving family should be. And the way they welcomed Teddy into their fold with open arms made me melt a little inside.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but after reading this one, I need to go check out her backlist!

Cute, tender, and sweet!

Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love is an enemies-to-more romance featuring the creative, fun-loving Teddy, and the quiet, conservative Romeo as they discover that opposites really do attract.

The writing is clear and precise. The characters are kind, considerate, and supportive. And the plot is an engaging tale full of work commitments, responsibilities, stress, pressure, sexual tension, steamy chemistry and love.

Overall, Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love is a quick, easy, charming tale by Fielding that was a little slow in parts but was nevertheless an entertaining read.

This is a very sweet, occasionally funny, and a little bit wacky romance that would be the perfect choice for a weekend snuggled up under a blanket by the fire. Teddy and Romeo are cute together and will make your heart warm as you read about their romance.

Such a sweet story!

I haven't read a lot of books by Kim Fielding but I've loved the ones I have and Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love didn't break that streak. This was a sweet story with a bit of an enemies-to-lovers vibe and a definite forced proximity trope.

Teddy and Romeo aren't exactly enemies; they work for the same company but they don't seem to get along too well. Teddy is a designer and Romeo writes software; they are working on a project together and Teddy feels like Romeo is doing everything he can to ruin Teddy's design concept for the "smart vase" their company is looking to produce.

Forced to work closely together in order to secure much needed funding for the project they end up in a hotel room with only one bed. This, along with the puzzling tasks that the project's potential investor puts them through, has Teddy seeing a side of Romeo that he didn't before.

The story is full of good feels. I laughed in spots and also shed a few tears. The heat level is low, with not too much on page sexy time, but I love books with all different levels of steam. Once acknowledged, their relationship progresses fairly quickly but it didn't feel like insta-love to me at all.

This book was particularly fun for me to read because I've spent some time in Chicago, where Teddy and Romeo live, and I also vacationed in Seattle a couple of years ago. I enjoyed revisiting both of these cities while I read. The description of Chicago winters matched what I experienced when I was there when temps were as low as negative 16 F. I found the descriptions of Seattle's downtown area, and the hills that Teddy walked, very accurate. I was totally naïve before visiting Seattle and was completely caught by surprise by the magnitude of the hills that my husband and I managed to navigate even though we were badly out of shape. 😊

Epilogues are often my favorite part of a book and I loved the one for Teddy and Romeo.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

The ARC for this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m really sad to say that I didn’t like this book.
I love romantic novels and when these ones have the typical cliches of “enemies to lovers” and “only one bed”, you have me in and I know I will really love it.
But unfortunately in this book I didn't like it.
First of all, this isn't an enemies to lovers or enemies to friends to lovers, this is an insta love between two co-workers that just misunderstood the way they act and I know, sometimes at first sight we misjudge someone but with the time we realize our mistakes and at the end we find a good friend. But here! This was too fast! One day “they hate each other” (that isn’t the case because they just had one “fight”) and the next day they have some kind of attraction, they love each other and want to be together forever... excuse me, what!? That doesn’t make sense to me.
And the plot with the eccentric investor and the ridiculous “quiz” they have to pass, to prove that they can work together and do a good job even though the investor doesn’t see a problem with the product, the company or the idea, was horrible for me and made me cringe!!
I think that from the 100% of this book I liked just the 2% of the idea or the dialogue between the main characters, because the cheesy lines between them were too much for me. Seriously, I really wanted to love this book.

Teddy Spenser spends his days selling design ideas to higher-ups, living or dying on each new pitch. Stodgy engineer types like Romeo Blue, his nemesis—if you can call someone who barely talks to you a nemesis—are a necessary evil. A cute necessary evil.

Working together is bad enough, but when their boss puts them both on a new high-stakes project, “working together” suddenly means:

¥ sitting uncomfortably close on the same plane

¥ staying in the same hotel room—with only one bed

¥ spending every waking minute together.

Turns out Mr. Starched Shirt has some hidden depths, and it’s getting harder to ignore the spark Teddy feels with every brush of their hands, with every knowing glance. He might not have been looking for this connection with Romeo, but will he ever be ready to let him go?

I really didn't like Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love, but I settled on two stars because I was feeling a bit generous. Kim Fielding is usually a very reliable author for me, but this one just missed the mark.

I found the book an odd combination of very slow and very fast. I found Teddy to be a tiresome character, so the story felt like it dragged on and on from being inside his head. However, on the flip side, the romance also moved way too quickly once it got going. It was a weird mix for me. I struggled to get through the story at all.

I also was expecting an enemies-to-lovers, but the drama felt manufactured in Teddy's head. He made all of these assumptions about Romeo, so the enemies thing was pretty one-sided.

To top it off, I didn't enjoy the set-up to the story. First of all, SMART VASE?? Come on, Kim Fielding, you could do better. Of all of the useless things to invent... I also usually like forced-proximity romances but it was just too far-fetched here, and, to be honest, pretty unprofessional.

I didn't jive with the story at all, and I'm mostly giving 2-stars from nostalgia for this author. A miss for me.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

've read what feels like dozens of "enemies to lovers" combined with "only one bed" books this year, and unfortunately this one doesn't add anything new to the well-worn tropes. In fact, the "enemies to lovers" description is a bit misleading, since the titular Teddy decides by about 25% that Romeo Blue is not an uptight, humorless IT geek whose sole purpose in life is to make Teddy's job of design and marketing as difficult as possible. In fact, he's quite charming and personable. And hot.

So in reality, the majority of the book is spent watching Teddy and Blue undergo a bizarre series of tests demanded by a potential client whose business could make or break their company, while they are quickly falling in love. For someone who declares at the start of the book that Valentine's Day is stupid and he is giving up on relationships because of one bad boyfriend, Teddy is very quickly besotted with Romeo. There's no third act breakup or any real drama actually, other than the potential of one or both of the MCs ending up unemployed (which of course doesn't happen).

Not a bad read if you are looking for a gentle, angst-less romance. Fielding writes with gentle humor and wit, and both MCs are likeable characters. They're just not terribly distinctive or memorable.

ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Nice read, but somewhat lacking

I can't say I loved this, but I enjoyed reading it. I prefer reading slow burn stories, the romances that brew slowly and need time for deep feelings to develop are the ones that work best with me (I mean, I don't mind them getting hot and messy fast, but I need time for them to truly be in love, you know?). Sometimes, however, I enjoy reading more instalovish ones, but those tend to feel easily off for me. Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love is a weird mix between them both. In the beginning you get the feeling it will be an enemies to lovers… but soon you realize it's not exactly that.

Yes, Teddy and Romeo can't stand each other at first, but it's more because of mutual misunderstandings and wrong assumpions than because something happened between them. I must confess the introduction feels… off. It's like we are missing some pieces of the puzzle, it was kind of confusing at first because I didn't know what Reddyflora was about, or what the project both Teddy and Romeo where working on was about and, also, we don't get any preview on why the both of them don't click. It's obvious they have communicatinon difficulties between them, but also that Teddy doesn't hate him as much as he wishes… and that's what made me feel really early on that this wasn't going to be an enemies to lovers. And I was right.

The premise is a bit forced. The both of them must travel to Seattle to introduce the project to a potential rich investor. Said investor is filthy rich… a really eccentric. The author relies on this eccentricity to justify a series of pretty surrelistic events… but even so everything that happens feels totally unrealistic. And I still don't understand what she wants to accomplish with the tasks Teddy and Romeo must fulfill.

Even so, I enjoyed Teddy and Romeo's relationship mainly because Romeo was so pure and sweet I just couldn't help but like them together. I wish their story would have been different, because it could have been epic. Teddy being disenchanted by love and Romeo being such a unsure of himself, they just click together: Teddy makes Romeo value himself, makes him brave enough to act and wear however he feels like without thinking about what others will think; Romeo, on his hand, makes Teddy realize not everyone is like his ex, that love matters and that it can happen suddenly, without you seeing it coming.

This felt a little bit like an instalove because, even though they have been coworkers for however long has it been (we don't know), they just start truly seeing each other during their trip to Seattle. And then, after realizing how wrong they both were with the other, they fall in love hard and fast. It didn't felt off, exactly, and that's a good and surprising thing that no every instalove accomplishes… But it's still and instalove, and that makes (for me) the feelings less… deep? Like you, as a reader, don't get enough time to drink in their love between the "we start getting hot for each other" and "we are madly in love and can't stop kissing".

If you are looking for a sweet and light story and aren't looking for an actual enemies to lovers, you could try reading it to see if you like it or not. It's a pity Roman didn't get to tell part of the story, because he was vital in making me like this and I think getting into his mind would have helped. But well, with all, it was nice to read.

Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love is an entertaining lighthearted romantic comedy, and considering the stressful year 2020 has been, it's just what the doctor ordered. I needed something light, and Teddy and Romeo were just the couple. Sure, the story verges on ridiculous at times, and there is no way most of the situations these two find themselves in would ever happen, but it kept me smiling through most of the book, and once I warmed up to Teddy, I wanted to see these two together. I'll admit, I didn't care for Teddy in the beginning, but I did warm up to him as the story moved along. This one may not be my usual kind of read, but I ended up enjoying it much more than I expected in the beginning. I'd say if you're in the mood for something light and easy, Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love is a good way to go.

** spoiler alert ** 2.5 stars

Kim Fielding is one of my solid go-to authors. Unfortunately, this upcoming Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love didn't work for me and I have to agree with several early reviews.

First of all, the set-up was RIDICULOUS. Look, I can take the "one bed" trope, really. Or people in forced proximity. But the whole "eccentric investor who didn't feel the vibe and forced two men to work together" was just too weird. WHY?? Why not use a more reasonable set up, like a company bonding session or something. You can "force" two employees to STAY in one room. I've done that at ALL of my company's outings. See. Easy peasy.

Second, for two people who, at first, didn't really know each other well, it only took merely DAYS for Teddy and Romeo to, "yes, I like you, let's have sex, call each other babe, meet my parents, move in together, and GET MARRIED. WTF?!?"

I am never huge on "enemies-to-lovers" trope; and in the beginning, I never really think Teddy and Romeo as enemies anyway? They are just two co-workers who don't really interact a lot, and maybe have different working style, ethics, interests, etc. Hey, I have co-workers like that. So it's nice that they learn about each others during their trip to Seattle.

But yeah, the whole "tests" from the investor ruin the thing for me, as well as the instant-love. The epilogue was cute (and reason for my extra 0.5 star) but it couldn't save the book for me. Sorry, Miss Fielding, this one is a HUGE MISS for me

Thank you to Harlequin - Carina Press and NetGalley for providing me with an excerpt in exchange for a honest review.

God where do I start.

The book itself, it's not like I have a bunch of criticism for it but the criticism I do have is what makes or breaks a book, especially a romance one. The main character, Teddy hates his coworker Romeo because he assumes he's pretentious, assumes he's an asshole and assumes he's a jerk. Assumes that because he has his own office, he thinks higher of himself than his coworkers. Assumes that he has no personality because he doesn't communicate with him or his coworkers that much. I think we're getting the pattern here: Teddy assumes a lot about a person and he turns out to be wrong about all of it.
Teddy just reads off to be a judgmental prick right from the beginning and it just gets worse as the book goes on. He goes from saying how he can't stand Romeo and the next minute says how attractive Romeo is. Now, there are characters where you can admit that yes, they're a little bit of a jerk but I love them anyways. I think this is what the author tried to attempt but it fails so much so where you don't even root for the relationship because you can't stand one half of it.

The other criticism I had was the romance itself. Aside from not being interested because of how Teddy is written and his character, the romance itself is just so awfully fast. I've read my fair few of romance novels so I know the romance is usually at a fast pace but I felt like this was at lightning speed. At the end of the book before the epilogue, they'd been dating three maybe four weeks. By around week two/week three one essentially asks the other to move in and they share love declarations. And considering how a 1/3 of this book is spent with Teddy assuming Romeo is a jerk so even his simple attraction for him was too much, the fact this romance escalates this fast was just too much for me personally.

Despite this review being a bit wordy, there really isn't a long list of criticisms I had but like I said, these two things are a make or break in a romance novel.

Teddy Spenser is so me- let me start there. Very Type A, I can do it better just get out of my way Virgo energy.

Watching him go down fighting as he fell in love was also very me- in the very city that it also happened to me, Chicago. This story was vivid to me as a result; I could picture the settings and Teddy and his Romeo as though it were playing out on a Gold Coast sidewalk in front of me.

I needed this sweet story!

This book has two of my favorite bookish tropes - enemies-to-lovers and a sweet m/m romance - so I have to admit that it kind of had me already before starting to read it... Perhaps the enemies-part went by a little too fast, almost turning into instalove, and the main character was perhaps not always the most lovable one, but all in all it was a really cute and fun feelgood romance!

The story follows Teddy, who is working as a designer, and who has been burned by previous relationships. He’s therefore decided to only focus on his job and do his best to avoid love from now on. The problem with that plan, though, is the annoying, pretentious and ridiculously cute software engineering at his job, Romeo Blue. Especially as they get teamed up for a special project and ending up not only having to work together, but to share a hotel room...

It took a while for me to like Teddy, who came off as rather selfish and whiny in the beginning. Romeo on the other hand was totally adorable from the very first minute. And when the enemies-to-lovers part changed, so did Teddy, and I really rooted for him in the second half of the book.

My main problem was that the change from enemies to lovers went a bit too fast. It’s very rare that a story with this trope can feel like instalove, but unfortunately it did here. They were enemies for such a short time that it to be honest was more of a “misunderstanding-to-love” trope… It also felt like the characters changed too fast, and especially in Teddy’s case, it was almost as if he became a completely different person. And yes, love can change you, but not quite that much… Teddy was so much more lovable in the second part though, so maybe the real problem is how he was described at first.

But I really liked the writing style with the banter between Teddy and Romeo, the sweet romance, Romeo’s family, and Teddy’s fashion interest. I especially liked the message about not thinking about other people’s opinion, but to wear the clothes that make you feel comfortable and confident, to choose outfits that make you feel fabulous.

So overall, it was a charming, fast-paced and cute romance. It’s not a book that will stay on your mind for long, but it gives you good entertainment for the moment.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin/Carina Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

2.5 stars

Kim Fielding can write, she has an incredible way of stringing together a lot of things that probably shouldn't work but does. Her writing is fun to read and I did enjoy this work by her.

Where "Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love" falls flat is simply that the characters read young, YA young, and that this book made heavy use stereotypes for it's the Black love interest and the main character while not giving them much substance otherwise. The stereotyping may not be obvious but I genuinely wished the author hadn't leaned into them for either of the characters.

There was very little enemies-to-lovers action, and while that usually doesn't bother me, I didn't enjoy the insta-love in this story because I kind of feel I was promised a slow-burn that didn't deliver. I did enjoy the very surface level look of working at a start-up though. I also would have liked to know more about Teddy's previous boyfriend and that relationship.

The story itself was interesting but I never felt attached to Teddy or Romeo nor to any portion of their love story further than the antics of the story.

This book expected to come out on the 29 December 2020.

Thank you to NetGalley and HARLEQUIN-Carina Press for allowing me a free e-arc of this title. All opinions are my own.

DNF

this is meant to be enemies to lovers, but teddy just hates Romeo for no reason. Like literally, no reason. It didn't make any sense. Insta love is one of my book pet peeves, so once that happened I dnfed. Also the writing style is just not for me.
And as someone in college for design, teddy is super inaccurate and an awful designer. Like how does a professional designer just forget functionality and get mad when his design doesn't function?? Like that's on him not his coworker just trying to make the product work., but so much of his hate for Romeo was just cause??? He was trying to fix the product???

Teddy can't get along with his colleague Romeo, but he has to or the big project of the company they work for won't go forward. When their boss informs them that the project needs funding and they'll have to pair up and defend it to the crazy rich woman who's considering doing it, they have no idea of the tests she'll put them through and how that will change their lives.

This was a fun romantic comedy and I was surprised at how mild the sex scenes were. I'm not into reading them when they're too explicit, so this was right down my alley. I also liked how Teddy and Romeo are geniuses at what they do and they complement one another, but when they're working together it's a disaster.

But innovation stops there. I think the book was mostly predictable and though it brought likable characters they never went beyond. It will please those looking for one more romance, it's a light read and, as I mentioned, it's fun too. But that's it. I also think the title is a little bit of a tease. It's true Teddy wasn't looking for love; having ended a pretty bad relationship, he just wants focus on his career. However, that was hardly the point of the story (which was okay when you think the downside of it would have been unneeded sappiness of his conundrum: "I love him so much but I can't!" I'm relieved we didn't have to read any of this, but I can't help but feel misled).

It's nice and cute but could have been more fun and memorable. Just your average romance.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

This one corny in the best way. It played on so many of the romance tropes that it stopped being corny and went into parody. The characters are fun and it's such a light-hearted read.

Thank you to Carina Adores and NetGalley for the eARC of this book!

Teddy Spenser isn't looking for love is a romance that's both cute and funny, without being overly angsty. Teddy Spenser has given up on love after his last breakup, choosing instead to concentrate on his career in designing and marketing. When he's paired with the hot but annoying software guy on a new high stakes project, he's sure it's doomed to crash and burn. Much to his horror, the two are sent on a business trip to try and sweet talk a potential backer for their project, and they both get more from the trip than they bargained for.

I loved both Teddy and his love interest, Romeo. They were great together, even in the beginning when they didn't get along. It was a great natural transition from rivals to tentative friends to lovers. Slowly getting to know each other beyond what was seen across a desk at work and learning how compatible they were. Romeo is pansexual, which was also nice to see in print.

The book goes rather quickly and the plot is fun and engaging. My only real complaint would be that while this isn't insta love since they've known each other a while, things do seem to move incredibly quickly for them. I had to really try and wrap my mind around it in the end. But I loved that this romance didn't fall into the normal three act trap of a big misunderstanding and breakup that could've been easily avoided. It a lot of really sweet feel good moments that made for a good serotonin boost.

Absolutely adorable! I was so in the mood to read something sweet and light and funny and romantic, and Kim Fielding's Teddy Spenser was just what I needed.

A truly fun romantic comedy, with wonderful characters - I think I smiled the whole way through.