The Love Con was such a cute love story! I am always a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope and even more so when it involves couples with different racial, religious, or other backgrounds because I don't think we see those enough! I also loved the fact that the story revolved around cosplay and a cosplay competition. I don't think I have ever read a contemporary romance book that involves that subject, and it very much reminded me of the reality show "Face Off" that used to be on television. I loved it! Kenya and Cameron are best friends and have been since they were in high school. But what Kenya doesn't know is that Cam has been in love with her almost from the beginning. When Kenya has to choose a partner for the finale of the cosplay competition, of course she chose Cam. On national tv. Surprising him, herself, and everyone they know. I read this book in one day! I loved the characters and the story. I felt connected to all of it. And I loved the dynamic between Kenya and Cam.

This is a romance that's incredibly needed. A plus size Black and nerdy heroine getting the story she deserves.

This book is quirky and absolutely cute, the type of book you read when you need a quick little pick me up!

It also deals with some pretty heavy and important topics (microagressions) but in a great way that never felt like it took away from the romance.

This was a cute friends-to-lovers romance and cosplay culture in this book. My favorite aspect of the story was seeing the costume making process. This goes into technical details of how costumes are crafted. I loved seeing the costumes coming together from brainstorming to construction.

I also loved the body positivity in the story. Kenya is fierce, confident, and super talented. On the flip side, she has to deal with a ton of microaggression and fatphobic statements. The book covers these themes in detail so I would suggest being in the right headspace when reading the book.

The romance was cute. I loved how much Cameron pined for Kenya. Cameron held a flame for her for years. You could feel how much he loved her and appreciated her. It took Kenya a bit too long to accept Cameron's love. She was super confident, but as soon as her and Cameron's affections turned romantic, she got insecure and would downplay herself. I understand that this is pretty realistic. As the saying goes, love makes a fool out of us. But I just felt like Kenya's blind refusal to see how much Cam adores her dragged on too long.

I really disliked Kenya's unsupportive parents. She received moments of support, but her parents consistently belittle her passion and talent. They are constantly hounding her to go into STEM. Her relationship with her parents was way too easily resolved, which didn't make sense with the amount of pushback she got for years.

Overall, the main love interests were adorable and the romance was cute. Plus, who doesn't love cosplay! I'm not crafty in that way so I loved reading all the technicalities and work that goes into making a costume.

DNF at 60%. This read more like new adult fiction and felt repetitive to me, but maybe it was NA? This is more to do with my expectations than the book, but I got a bit bored, expecting a rom com and then there was no humor.

Cute, fun romance set in the cosplay world, with friends-to-lovers and "fake dating/fake relationship" tropes very well done and entertaining. I really liked the portrayal of Kenya and her successes, as well as her struggles with her family relationships. I would definitely read something else from this author.

There was a lot that I enjoyed going into this book, but after a while, it started to fall flat to me. The characters didn't feel young and current. Their flirtatious talk was continuous and laid on so thick that I got sick of it and it didn't seem sexy anymore. I had reasons to be very frustrated with both of the main character's behaviors - Cam because of his urge to always protect and rescue Kenya, and Kenya because of how she would let her parents keep her from everything that would make her happy in her life, and how much she feels like she needs to hold it all in and never express how she feels for fear of being seen as the angry Black woman. The one sex scene didn't have a lot to offer either. There were too many negatives that unfortunately got in the way of my full enjoyment of the book, although there were definitely some elements that I liked - namely the diversity, representation, and the fun of the cosplay.

Kenya has made it to the finals of the reality competition show Cosplay or No Way. Just one last round and she’ll have proved to everyone, especially her parents and that one judge who seems to have it out for her, that someone like her, black and fat, can make it. When asked if she has a significant other to be her partner for the final round, Kenya names Cameron, her best friend.
Cam is willing to play Kenya’s boyfriend in front of the cameras but is hoping to convince Kenya that they are meant to be something more.
This rom-com is a mashup of the fake-dating, friends-to-lover, fandom, cosplay, and reality TV shenanigans, and is made all the better by being told from the POV of both characters. Kenya is confident, driven, and just amazing as she works through all the craziness (some good and a lot bad) that being on the show means for her. Cam is wonderful as well and always has Kenya’s back. The two of them shine when they’re together and their banter is fun, frequently flirty, and full of heart.

"Blerd" aka "Black Nerd" is my new favorite term. I thoroughly enjoyed this interracial romance. I'm not so familiar with the world of cosplay, so this book gave me an inside peek into the fandom! On top of that, I really appreciated the plus-size heroine and artist hero. I'm always looking for characters with bigger bodies (like me) and seeing an artistic, vulnerable man never fails to get my motor revving.

Listen to my interview with the author, Seressia Glass on boobiesandnoobies.com or on your favorite podcast app: https://boobiesandnoobies.com/episodes/f/145-steamy-spotlight-interview-with-seressia-glass?blogcategory=Steamy+Spotlight

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Omg! 😍 This has to be my fav chicklit so far this year! I LOVE Kenya and Cam’s relationship. Love the mix of geeky and romance. Didn’t like that there were so much hate coming at Kenya; I wanted to see some justice coming at that awful judge!

I was a little worried about reading this book since I'm not into cosplays. It peaked my interested when Kenya decided to do Iron Man and Thanos. I am a huge Marvel fan, especially Iron Man. So with that I figured I'd be okay. I wish I read this sooner, because MY GOODNESS. It was such a sweet book. I had to take breaks to breathe during some of it, I was getting so mad! I also cried in a few parts.

I really like Kenya. As a plus sized girl its nice to read books where the MC is and totally loves her curves. Kenya was who she was 100% and I loved that about her. Even when she had to hold back her emotions she was one strong woman. And Cam....what can I say about Cam. I loved him! I love the protective best friend types. They melt my heart. He was protective without being overly protective. You couldn't help but love him.

Thank you to Berkley Besties and NetGalley for letting me read this amazing book.

I will update links when I post to bookstagram.

The Love Con by Seressia Glass

He's cosplaying as her boyfriend, but their feelings for each other are real in this romantic comedy from Seressia Glass.


I did not think I would enjoy The Love Con since I don't know much about cosplay and have zero interest in it. But I ended up really enjoying the story, and I was routing for Kenya and Cameron to not only win the competition but also to win each other's hearts! I thought it was really well written and touched on some important subjects as well, such as race and discrimination. I look forward to reading more from Seressia in the future! 

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my review.

The Love Con is a cute rom com with a friends-to-lover trope (I'm usually more of a fan for enemy-to-lovers!). Kenya is a finalist in a cosplay competition and the final round requires her to enlist the help of her best friend (maybe more-than-friend best friend), Cam.

What I enjoyed: the characters were adorable and I loved how much Kenya and Cam supported / appreciated each other; Kenya's body positivity and confidence; highlighting the topic of microaggressions

What I didn't love as much: the cheesy dialogue, the use of "babe" (am I the only one who hates that), how tough Kenya's family was on her, the implausible way Kenya and Cam started sharing a bed (even though they had 2 bedrooms).

Thank you Berkley for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I hate when I don't love a book. Especially one that's getting such great feedback as this one. It just didn't work for me. Seemed too sweet maybe? I don't know, it's probably me. Please give this book a shot through, so many readers can't stop raving about it

Yayyy!!! I love the boy positivity, the black girl magic, cosplay, the interracial romance, & I LOVE WHEN BLACK PEOPLE FALL I LOVE AND THERES NO RACIAL CONFLICT!!! Yesss!!!!!!! I will say this story was repetitive and the communication between characters was done well enough for me. I also wish the love scenes were a bit steamer.

I started reading without expecting too much. While some parts were a bit too saccharine for my taste, overall I ended up being charmed. Kenya Davenport is a wonderfully-wrought character and passionate about her craft. Since I know nothing about cosplaying, I appreciated the descriptions of costume design and participation in events. Kenya's relationship with her other best friend, Janelle, was a welcome reprieve from the seeming perfection of Cam. While I understand that the love story IS the backbone of the narrative, I wish that Kenya's love interest was a lot more flawed.

Am I supposed to like Kenya’s parents, because I really do not. Kenya and Cameron sound like they have soo much fun. Cons sound exhausting, but they love it. Kenya is in the final round of the new show “Cosplay or No Way”. She and Cameron team up to create the final pair costume. And they pretend to be a couple for the cameras. Kenya feels like at least one of the judges has it out for her and as the cameras film them longer and longer, she wonders if they are trying to find problems with her and Cam’s relationship. Except there is a problem. Well, two. Kenya is really in love with Cameron. And Cameron is really in love with Kenya. But they just haven’t mentioned it to each other. It was really easy for them to pretend to be in love. Kenya’s biggest obstacle is the deal that she made with her unsupportive parents. They want her to give up her passion for cosplay and use her engineering degree. She has to win or give it all up. The stress keeps building until something has to burst. I really enjoyed this book. I didn’t think I was that invested in the characters until the second face-off with her parents.

The Love Con is a friends-to-lovers romance with a brief stint of fake dating—two of my favorite tropes! The cosplay storyline was a fun backdrop for the romance and very accessible for readers who aren’t involved in cosplaying in real life. Despite being overall lighthearted, it also deals with heavier topics like body positivity and fat-phobia, as well as issues of race. While some of the conflict and communication felt forced, I enjoyed the book overall and give it 3.5 stars.

The Love Con is the perfect romance for fangirls and cosplayers of all kinds. A sweet and heartfelt romance to fill you up with those perfect warm fuzzy feelings.

3/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

This was a quick, fun, and easy to read book. It has a friends to lovers/ fake dating tropes. While it was a fun time, I found that it fell just a little bit flat. I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending because it felt like it was abrupt. I romance was okay. not my favorite but still cute. I did enjoy that there was a plus-size main character, as we never can have enough of those. Overall it was a middle-of-the-road book. I would say if you're looking for something cute and easy to read book with a fandom aspect to it, then give it a whirl.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book through NetGalley and my library chose it as part of our Bookmarked book club program in December 2021. I don’t typically read romance novels as I often find them to not have enough substance. While this was still a romance novel, it did also have some deeper subject matter. Kenya was charming and it was fun to see the behind the scenes parts of a reality show but I have to admit I get incredibly frustrated when characters are obviously in love and just can’t share their feelings with each other! I fully realize that this is part of the plot, but I wish the drama could have been more focused elsewhere.