The Hookup Dilemma is an enteratining romcom. I enjoyed the banter between the main characters and learning about the history of the neighborhoods and its residents in Atlanta. The story tackles the difficult topic of gentrification but it wasn't done in a super heavy way. I'd give it 3.5 stars.

Rashida was just minding herself trying to think of different ways to help her grandmother and her community. Mr. Quinn had been eyeing the community for quite sometime and now since he was on bed rest his son needed to step in to solve his problems. Quickly Rashida comes to realize that her new hot fling Elliott is actually a Quinn. Rashida and Elliott try to think of different alternatives to help Mr. Quinn make money but still keep the community for her grandmother and her friends without them increasing their taxes. While they are planning the chemistry grows and it is now questionable as to whether Elliott is trying to help his father or his new girlfriend and whether or not Rashida is just using Elliott!

A cute and steamy story, with a healthy (and very interesting) dose of local politics. I enjoyed the connection between Rashida and Elliot (and their steamy scenes were fantastic), but I was left a little wanting for more of their emotional bond. The family dynamics were great, and there were some really fun side characters. The most engrossing part of the book, and what detracted from the MC's relationship, was the issues of gentrification and the history and importance of the area to the local residents. I loved that side, but it did leave the book unbalanced in my opinion.

Thank you to Entangled and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Hookup Dilemma is actually a very cute book. The whole plot is simple and yet sweet. I liked how its has own voices romance about two people who were entangled with their feelings and finding themselves on opposite sides of an ongoing fight.

Many thanks to both NetGalley UK and Entangled Publishing LLC for the ARC!

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory.

Writing was amazing. My only problem was the insta-lust connection which I’m not personally a fan of.

THE HOOKUP DILEMMA is an adult contemporary romance, following Rashida and Elliott. When they meet, they instantly have chemistry, and end up spending the night together. Then they run into a big obstacle in the way of getting closer – the two of them are on opposite sides of a conflict between Elliott’s father’s company and Rashida’s community. The company wants to gentrify the neighborhood where Rashida grew up, which she wants to fight at all cost. This creates a lot of tension in their relationship, but they can’t fully resist each other either.

I could feel the chemistry and connection between the two of them, but in the end, I felt like the romance wasn’t developed to its full potential. The main reason why, is that the plot around the rebuilding of the town, and all those plans of gentrification became the main focus of the story. That took away from the romance and slowed the pace of the book considerably. It also created some frustrating conflicts, and miscommunication. I hate when a character has some sort of secret or plans that hurt the other, which was the case in here.

Overall, the book didn’t fully work for me, but it was still quick to read, and I enjoyed some aspects of it. If you’re someone who likes a lot of outside plot in your romances, I think you’d enjoy this more than me.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I just couldn't. Had to DNF it at 27 percent. 😭😭😭 Maybe I just wasn't in the mood, but oh well.

This is one of those books where I really wish there were half stars, because this to me was a solid 3.5. I really liked the story more than I anticipated. I had no idea how they would work out the fact that Elliott was on the wrong side of potential gentrification and I spent the whole book hoping I’d still like him at the end (spoiler: I do). I think if anything this book went too easy on forgiving the supposed ignorance of gentrifiers - I don’t see how someone in Elliot’s field wouldn’t know more about the issue and tbh ignorance isn’t an excuse when your privilege is destroying lives. Romance plots NEVER make me think like this so I was impressed. But what was lacking for me in this romance was the character development. Rashida and Elliot had so much potential to be fantastic characters but as much as I liked the gentrification plot, that was pretty much the only real development the characters got other than a few minor mentions of past relationships and family drama. With more depth I think their love would have felt more profound. The steam was great and came into play super early! I would definitely recommend this one.

I really enjoyed this take on star-crossed lovers, who continue to feel drawn to each other though they find themselves on opposites side of an important issue. I thought it was an interesting way to include the issue of gentrification in to the plot of a romance. Rashida's grandmother was probably one of my favorite parts of the whole book.

When Rashida, a food critic, and Eliott, an architect, first meet there is chemistry from the start, but they soon cross paths in a very unexpected way. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to. I felt like the plot, writing and characters just didn't quite make the mark for me. I don't have much more to say about it because I disliked it so much that I didn't finish reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I gave this book 3.5 stars. It would have been 4 stars because I really loved the lovers to enemies to lovers premise of this story, but I felt at times the pacing was a little bit slow for me. Other than that I felt this was a spicy read and I would definitely recommend it for rom com lovers!

LOVED it! Loved the dynamic, the characters, the story, everything about it!! So thankful the publisher gave me the chance to review

DNF
I got about halfway through sometime in December and at this point I don't remember much about it. I just know I hated the romance.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this. I tried to read it but it just wasn’t for me so I could not finish it.

This was a cute and tension-filled romance which also covers the issue of gentrification. If you’re looking for a lighthearted love story, this one is probably not for you as the topics it covers are a bit more serious!

Rashida and Elliott both end up in the same bar and it is pretty much lust at first sight for them. Natrurally they end up sleeping together not knowing who the other is. Elliott Quinn has stepped into his father role as CEO of his company, whilst his father is ill. This places him on the opposite side of a conflict to Rashida. Rashida’s grandmother lives in a poorer urban community that is under threat due to planning permissions to build a shopping and commercial centre. This would lead to a rise in the cost for her grandmother to continue living in her home, and it would eventually force her out as she would have been displaced in favour of new wealthier residents.

‘Life is short. Don’t take too long to let him know how you feel.’

After their one night stand, Rashida and Elliott next cross paths at the community church, where Elliott is doing a talk about the building plans and how it will affect the community positively. This causes Rashida to see Elliott as a rival and she wants nothing to do with him. Once all the context for the story is set up, this follows Elliott pining after Rashida, trying to help his father’s business, his architect business, and get the girl. Rashida spends a lot of the book trying to squish any feelings she may have for Elliott, in favour of helping her grnadmother’s community.

Some parts of this book dragged slightly, but I found it quite eye opening to understand the impact of certain things upon well built communities. I enjoyed following the dynamics of Elliott and Rashida’s relationship and how this changed throughout the course of the novel. Whilst this was a good romance, The Hookup Dilemma discusses other important issues which often causes the romance plot to take a back seat.

I never received this book so I cannot review or comment. It sounded right up my street hence why I wanted to read. I wish I could've.

As much as this plot is very predictable, I love how the author delivered. I didn’t expect that the broody male would be soft and would give it all up just to please the girl he just met. I also love the dynamics between them. Plus I love how things ended and how Mr. Quinn turned out to be kind as well. Who knew that he would made such decision in favor of the community.

Opting out of reviewing, as the type of contents in this book are too adult for my taste, but it isn't a fault with the book overall.

This one started out steamy right from the beginning!

Feelings seemed to develop pretty quickly for Rashida and Elliott. Of course once they realized that they were on opposing sides of battle, things got messy.
Rashida was set on pushing her feelings aside and saving her Grammys neighborhood. While Elliott was stuck between wanting to help his business grow and win Rashidas heart.
The storyline was actually really touching. Adding in touches of steam and banter really kept the pages turning for me. While I think it was played out nicely, the resolution dragged on a bit for me. Rashida was definitely too stubborn for her own good. 🤣

Read if you like👇🏻
💕 Men who fall first
😈 Witty banter
👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Family Drama
👵 Passionate old ladies

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
🌶️🌶️/5