I thoroughly enjoyed this romantic comedy - it was perfect for a beach read. It had some twists that I didn’t expect and the characters were easy to love. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

It was really hard for me to get into this story. This is a new author for me, but unfortunately I was not engaged. It’s well written, but maybe not my cup of tea?
Hannah Abbott is stuck in a dead-end relationship and at a job she loves but that barely pays the bills. She’s barely toasted her thirtieth birthday when her old college friend Will knocks on her door with an unexpected proposal.
Will Thorne never forgot the marriage pact he made with Hannah. One ex-fiancée and an almost-career-ending mistake later, however, he finds himself outside Hannah’s door, on bended knee, to collect on their graduation-night pinky promise.
With both of their futures at stake, Hannah and Will take a leap of faith. Now, all they have to do is convince their friends and family that they’re madly in love.
I think that my main concern about this story were the lies between them. They felt sooo wrong! And it would have been nice to see the dynamics of their relationship in college, because for him to just ask her to marry him out of the blue, is strange and difficult to accept by the reader. There’s no bond. Not sex appeal, not chemistry.
I give it three stars because some of the characters are interesting (not Will or Madison, they are not so likeable) and the idea is really good. The last 30% of the book is a lot better than the rest of it. For me it just didn´t pay off.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was my first marriage pact trope book that I have read and I loved it! I thought it was going to be predictable, but the author gave the book a few little twists that made the book fun.

Hannah and Will made a pact in college that if neither were married by 30 they would marry each other. Hannah forgot about the pact so when Will showed up at her door with an engagement ring, she was shocked! Hannah and Will are both flawed characters but they are likeable and relatable. They have a sweet friendship and you're going to enjoy reading about them!

Thank you to Netgalley and Red Adept Publishing, LLC for the ARC.

A great new story where the author throws our love interests together in a unique way. I loved the action, both the terrible, and wonderful events that ensued, and the sexual tension through most of the book. There is a light amount of swearing, but zero smut. So if you are into epic betrayals, secrets, and best friends falling in love, than this needs to be your next read. I hope this review helps. Happy Reading, and Blessed Be.
Lily Ashtree

Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book.
Following the tried and true”if we’re not married by thirty ” trope, When We’re Thirty is a sweet rom com that tells the story of Will and Hannah. Hannah is in a dead end relationship with Brian, Will is nursing a broken heart because of his cheating fiancé. One day, Will shows up to Hannah’s after a 5 year absence from her life with a giant engagement ring and a question that will change their lives forever. Will she say yes?! Read this darling story to find out!

Hannah and Will made a pact to marry at 30 if neither of them was married by then.
Just after Hannah turns 30, Will turns up and proposes - but why now?
As the story unfolds you realise they were in love years ago but didn't tell the other. Will they have their chance now, or will the secrets Will is keeping break them apart?

A great read - I like how it is told from both their points of view.

Hoping that Will's brothers get their own books next!

This book was very cute, and I appreciated how the author did the "marriage pact" trope. Instead of a "My Best Friend's Wedding" vibe, with the female character yearning for the male character without his knowledge, it was an equal standing and refreshing perspective from both characters.

Will Thorne and Hannah Abbott made a deal when they graduated from college: if they are both unmarried by the time they both turn thirty, they'll marry each other. Fast forward eight years and WIll shows up on Hannah's doorstep after a five year absence with a huge diamond ring and a proposal. Hannah is rightfully skeptical, but due to her employer not having health insurance, she agrees. Now they have to come up with the rules for being fake married... as well as follow them.

--

First off, I love the cover. But unfortunately it implies that this book is a RomCom when it's really more of a family drama with romantic elements. I did not expect high tension family drama that includes but is not limited to: cheating, parental death, parental abuse, emotional abuse, financial abuse, manipulation, and slut-shaming. It's a lot. And it was a lot more than I was expecting.

The plot and motivations also didn't work for me. And here I need to give some minor spoiler alerts.

So, there is a marriage pact but it's mostly handwaved away. What this really is, is a marriage of convenience romance. On her side, she has a bum knee that may need surgery after a car accident (Partially torn ACL). As someone who has a partially torn ACL, I can tell you that they aren't going to let you self-diagnose and they are definitely going to hold off on surgery as long as possible. And since her injury was caused by a car accident, her car insurance should cover her... even the lowest levels should cover this. (I say this because I was in a really bad car accident and they covered all of my bills.) So Hannah's reasons for marrying WIll don't land for me. Will's reasons for the marriage were equally hard to swallow. In order to make partner in his family firm, he needs to look stable... but after his older brother cheated on him with his girlfriend, Madison, and they are now engaged he's having issues concentrating and has made a big mistake. So clearly the way to show that he's stable and with it is to have a Surprise!Marriage with your former college friend. Again, the reasoning didn't make sense.

I also found one of the main arcs problematic. Specifically the Madison plot. It reeked of slutshaming and unbelievable pettiness. It also felt like manufactured drama for the sake of drama.

I could have overlooked this if the romance had been on point and believable... but this book suffered from a lack of editing. And by that I don't just mean copy editing (although it could use that too), but content editing as well. So many scenes.-- important scenes -- petered out and left the reader hanging. A lot of growing together or intimacy scenes were handwaved away while others that had nothing to do with the romance were covered... I don't need to know every single vow that they made or what kind of coffee everyone drinks. There was too much focus on what felt like inconsequential things and not enough on the romance itself. Hannah and Will were okay characters, but I didn't buy the romance between them. They didn't do enough together on the page to make me believe the chemistry. The book didn't need a sex scene... (And it doesn't have one-- all sex is closed door) but it needed more moments of flirting, intimacy, and growing together.

Worse, this is billed as a Romantic comedy and I didn't laugh once while reading this. And it wasn't because the humor wasn't to my taste (I am not a fan of sitcoms/slapstick), it just wasn't present.

I did like some of this book. For instance I actually liked the realism of Brian's relationship with Hannah... I even liked how it ended. (although I felt really bad for the guy... he wasn't a bad guy just not a good fit for Hannah and Kudos to the author for showing that). But I was sitting there going... "Hey, maybe get your key back from him." Which didn't happen and had me facepalming. I liked the realism of NYC. NYC and the Hamptons were as much characters as the rest. I also liked Riley, Stephanie, and Daniel who were good support systems.

The thing was, I really wanted to like this book. There aren't enough marriage pact romances out there. And I actually like the marriage of convenience trope, but this book didn't land. At least not for me.

And for that I give this:

Two Stars

We’ve all heard of the marriage pact - the one you make in your early 20’s or teens promising to marry each other if you’re both not married by 30. Well that’s exactly what Hannah and Will promised eachother. Except now Will has shown up at her door just after her 30th birthday to initiate the pact. She needs him for his health insurance and he needs her for his reputation at work - but they both used to kind of love each other… so are they together just for the pact… or is it something more?! And will their families and exes and all the drama that exists with them make them end it either way?!

I really liked this story. It was adorable, the characters were loveable and it was a second chance romance, friends to lovers and a fake relationship trope all in one. There wasn’t a lot of heat but I didn’t miss it as the tension was there. I highly recommend this delightful rom-com.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of this book. All opinions remain my own as always.

When We're Thirty is a cute rom com. The fake marriage is one of my favorite tropes so I was excited to see where this one went.

Hannah & Will were best friends from college and on their graduation night they made a pact that if they were not married at 30, they'd get married. They haven't spoken in 5 years so Hannah was a bit surprised to find him outside her apartment on one knee, but with a few ground rules in place and each needing something from each other they decide to get married.

Hannah's BFF Kate was fun and I loved the witty dialogue between the friends and she's a NY Jets fan so we'd be BFFs too. There were some hidden secrets from each other and family drama which made for some great scenes. Overall this was a fun and cute book to read!

Summary in a few words: Two basically single 30-year-olds, a marriage pact, family drama, and a cheating ex.

This is a cute marriage pact story. Both characters were generally well developed and it was fun getting to see them go through a bunch of elopement drama. It was a closed-door romance, but I felt like when there was a steamy scene it came out of nowhere. The story needed more small romantic gestures to build up to the big scenes. I did enjoy the idea of the plot, it was sweet and occasionally tense with family drama. Overall it was good but I felt like it was missing a WOW factor, and I didn’t fully believe the characters were in love.

I would recommend this book to someone looking for a feel-good closed-door romance.

I had smiles galore and I forgot to stop and eat lunch because I was so absorbed in this book! It was a fast-paced witty storyline that will keep you turning each page. The characters are likeable and I just loved reading this book!
Will & Hannah make a wedding pact in college. If neither are married at the age of thirty then why not get married to each other. They both find themselves in situations at the age of thirty and they jump into marriage.
Now is when the real reality sets in because they have to endure the naysayers of family drama and friends! Watch out for those ex-people that got dumped in the past!

I definitely would recommend this book!

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

I really enjoyed this book!

This book is about Hannah, a woman who is struggling in life. She works at a job that doesn’t give her a lot of money,

Will is trying to prove something to his family and needs Hannah’s help.

It was funny and cute and I loved watching the characters fall in love.

Definitely a comfort read for me.

This is a solid, fast-paced story about two people finding themselves and each other. Although the focus is on the marriage pact and everything that comes with it, I wouldn't consider this book a classic romance. While the characters are lovelable and easy to identify with, they couldn't really convince me, that they are hopelessly in love with each other.
But I had fun reading it and would totally recommend it to my fellow book lovers.

(5/31/2021) 5 stars.

When We're Thirty is a story about two people who missed out on love once upon a time but eventually find their way back to each other.

Hannah and Will were young, tipsy, and in love in college but neither knew that the other had feelings for them. They both hid their feelings from one another and seemingly as a joke, they initiate a marriage pact to get married if neither are hitched by the age of 30. Hannah's 30th rolls around and Will winds up on her doorstep, giant rock and all.

Hannah is a music journalist suffering from an injury that she can't treat due to lack of insurance (curse you American health insurance industry!). Will is a lawyer on the brink of losing his job after one assignment gone wrong. Not only that, he works for his icy countenance, always serious father. Will's relationship with most of his family is strained, especially with his older brother Jon who committed an unspeakable act of betrayal. Will's heart is broken, his life is a mess, and no one understands; no one but Hannah.

Hannah and Will initiate the pact seemingly for their own selfish reasons but they eventually discover that it was their fate to be together. They go through ups and downs but always reconcile and grow from their mistakes. They discover and pursue what they truly want and deserve and endure and overcome so many obstacles: misunderstandings, miscommunication, unsupportive family, their own insecurities etc and the end is so satisfying and made me cry. It makes me wish /I/ made a marriage pact with my guy best friend.

As someone who had an “At Thirty Settlement” for a while, I was very much looking forward to this story and the potential of a “When We”re Thirty Marriage Pact” successful completion. This story is about Will and Hannah who made a When We’re Thirty marriage pact during their senior year of college. After a really messy heartbreak, Will shows up to Hannah’s apartment to initiate the pact. One thing turns into many things leaving Will and Hannah to decide their next steps.

I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn’t get into it for the life of me. The story felt very done yet half-baked. This definitely followed the path of most romance novels and Rom-Coms which is why it felt stale and already done to me. The plot, character development, and conflict all felt like an afterthought or a rough draft. I literally knew the entire story by chapter five and wasn’t that motivated to find out that i was correct. However, I definitely wanted to know more about Daniel development, and I would still read a second book about his love story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thought I knew what to expect with When We're Thirty--after all, its premise involves the classic trope of marrying your friend if you're not married by a certain age (in this case, thirty).

But Dembowksi makes that trope all her own. First--the characters! Hannah and Will, while both flawed, are completely relatable and authentic.

Their love is real and so is their respect for one another, which just made me fall in love with both of them! Second--the dialogue! When these characters interacted, I felt like I was right there with them in the room. And I wanted to be there. If you like romance stories with humor and heart, this is the book for you.

When We’re Thirty is such a cute and fluffy romance! I’m not usually a marriage of convenience fan in contemporary romances, but this one totally works. Hanna and Will made a pact before college graduation that if they’re both single when they’re 30 they would marry. Soon after Hanna’s 30th birthday Will shows up with a ring, despite the two not having spoken in several years, and she agrees to the marriage.

I liked that there was emphasis placed on the fact that the most important aspect of their marriage is their friendship. This is a very important aspect to any relationship that I find is often missing from marriage of convenience stories. I also liked that both Hanna and Will benefited from the marriage despite the two coming from two very different situations and having different needs.

Thank you to NetGalley and Red Adept Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Best college friends, Hannah and Will, make a pact after college graduation that if they are still single at 30, they will get married. There are a couple of Asian dramas that I love that have used this same trope. Though the trope can become cringy, this is not a friend-zoned story nor is it exactly a marriage of convenience story. It is more of a timing story with some crappy family members thrown in to complicate things. Actually, now that I think about it, except that this story took place mostly between New York and New Jersey (they even mention the Stone Pony in Asbury!), it is right out of kDrama-land…the ML’s father is super rich, cold, and manipulative. There is family inheritance drama. The FL is “not good enough” and the family patriarch tries to buy her off. There is a scheming ex…Honestly, I loved it and being from the area found it even more enjoyable since it realistically talked about NY and NJ, the realities of renting, and working a job you love but having to make decisions about things like healthcare (been there done that!).

When they graduate from college, Will asks his best friend Hannah to marry him if they are both single when they are 30. And then he shows up on Hannah's 30th birthday with a ring. It's ironic that they made a marriage pact based on the idea that they would marry when grown if they were both single. Both still had a lot of growing up to do.

Though Hannah hadn't realized it when they were in college, Will's family is very wealthy. Her perspective on his family and their wealth is hilarious and refreshing. That's just one example of the kind of insight that Casey Dembowsi brings to a story world that drew me in entirely.

Hannah and Will's relationship was special because they could always be themselves and be honest with each other. But of course, there still had to be conflict. This book made me feel so many emotions. I was frustrated and sad and incredibly happy. I fully believed in every part of the story and felt all the emotions that go with it, as I rooted for Hannah and Will to turn their marriage pact into a love story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this book. These opinions are my own.