This is a quick read, relatively short but good fun. I found the main character hard to lime and felt she brought a lot of her problems on herself but it was generally humorous and light. The standard ingredients of a romance are all here - misunderstandings galore! - and it will appeal to many as an opportunity for escape.

Mr. Nice Guy is a short easy read filled with lots of romance topes. The most prominent of which is brother’s best friend / best friend’s sister. Of course there are other topes included like fake relationship and only one bed. The book itself is well written and the pacing is correct for a shorter book.

I honestly struggled with both Chelsea and Tom. I have zero empathy for Chelsea. It seemed like all she did was make bad situations for herself and then play the victim card. Like if giving your not-quite-a-boyfriend money is going to drain your savings, maybe don’t give him money. I can’t get behind heroines without a brain.

As for Tom, I think I’ve watched Promising Young Woman too recently and am exhausted by men in general, because I am firmly of the belief that any man who declares himself “a nice guy” should be avoided at all costs because they are never as nice as they claim to be. Remember kids, “nice is different than good.”

Overall this book was fine. Where it was short the things I didn’t like didn’t weigh the story down too much, but I’m not going to jump onto the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Apr 28, 2016Samantha rated it really liked it · review of another edition
4.5 lists aren't always needed stars. I have to be honest, I didn't remember Cate very much from the other books in this series which means she didn't stand out to me. I'm glad she did get her own book because she made me laugh, shake my head and snort. The read was enjoyable as I anticipated because Belinda Williams is quite the writer. I happened to like the secondary characters as much as the primary but that's to be expected since many of the secondary characters are from the previous books.

Dave was so unexpectedly cute and charming! I don't know how else to say it. He was shy and kind of like a teenage boy at times because he beat around the bush so much instead of directly saying he was interested and I find it so charming. I don't know, he wormed his way under my skin like he did Cate and I was all about Dave. Chant with me now: Dave, DAve, DAVe, DAVE!

Cate grew as a character throughout the pages of the book which I really liked. The story gives you background on her and dives deeply into all that is Cate so that it makes sense why she is the way she is and why lists are so important to her. She's kind of the person that does what she thinks is best for others even if it isn't necessarily the best for her. She also is a bit of an idealist which made me laugh.

Chelsea’s always chosen the wrong guys rather than the nice guys. Her roommate, Tom, decides to show her how she should be treated through a series of dates over the course of a week. However, they both begin forgetting that this was only pretend.

So this book has a trope that I love: the fake-dating-turn-real trope. However, Belinda Williams doesn’t follow the cliches. Usually with the fake-dating trope, it’s usually to make an ex jealous so it was a refreshing new angle on the trope.

Williams has written an easy, comfort read that you can read in one sitting (which I did) and it was filled with romance, tension and angst!! There was also plenty of humour as well, which I enjoyed, especially the fact that Chelsea appeared to choke with every meal.

Both characters have things to deal with before they can venture into a relationship. Tom has always wanted to fix and save people, but he doesn’t want to do that with Chelsea, as despite what she thinks, she doesn’t need saving. But Tom has let this mentality ruin all his serious relationships. Whereas Chelsea views herself as never being good enough, in the shadows of her sister. But together, they’re able to overcome all their fears and realise the most important thing of all: communication.

Despite dealing with their own worries and concerns, such as Tom not really recovering from his mother dying when he was young, there is still an easy-going feel to the book and you just don't want to put the book down at all. Overall, this is the perfect book to read during the summer as you'll fly through it.

One thing I would have liked to see would have been more character development, mainly with Tom, as although he did start communicating at the end, it would have been nice to see how he was in the relationship after they talked. However, this could just be me wishing the book was even longer!

I will be posting my review on my instagram account for books on the 12/6/2021 (link below).
It will also go onto my Goodreads account today as well, under the shelf 'net-galley.'

A quick read, friends to lovers romance. It moves at a decent pace, but doesn't feel rushed, and is great for a quick read whilst commuting (if you skip the steamy scenes). It'd be great if the author wrote a spin off of Nadia and Luke's stories