"If You Love Something" by Jayce Ellis is a captivating exploration of love, identity, and self-discovery. Ellis skillfully crafts a narrative that delves into the complexities of relationships and celebrates the importance of embracing one's true self.

The characters in the story are richly developed, each with unique personalities and struggles. The author navigates the intricacies of love and desire with sensitivity, creating a narrative that feels authentic and relatable. The novel goes beyond conventional romance tropes, addressing acceptance and personal growth themes.

Ellis's writing style is engaging, and the story's pacing kept me invested from beginning to end. The book's exploration of love in various forms adds depth to the narrative, making it more than just a typical romance novel.

Overall, "If You Love Something" is a compelling and thought-provoking read that tugs at the heartstrings and leaves me reflecting on the power of love and the journey to self-acceptance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Carina Press for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

A new-to-me author with a sweet tale of love lost re-found.

DeShawn Franklin is a highly successful chef in the DC area. A black, gay chef with full sleeve tattoos and long dregs. His restaurant is a Michelin starred and he has a local cooking show. But when his grandma summons him and tells him that “The cancer has metastasized and I’m not doing no more treatment.” His seemingly rock solid world is rocked to the core. She also explains that she is leaving him her house but the money isn’t going to his Uncle Robert but to Malik, his ex husband that it turns isn’t an ex after all! To make matters worse she tasks him with reaching out after 7 years to let him know. Oh and for Robert to not get to turn her will around they need to start being husbands again! Talk about a bombshell. Oh add to that the fact that part of the reason they broke up was DeShawn’s rise to fame and his introverted husband was still in the closet to his family.

I loved Grandma. She loved both her boys so much and knew what was best for them even if they were too stubborn to acknowledge it themselves. And that woman was patient. She waited until she didn’t have time to wait for them to figure out on their own any longer. And she was willing to pull the Death card to make it happen. She knew those boys loved each other and that Malik had stepped aside for DeShawn to chase his dreams. And she knew they belonged only to the other, no matter how much of a horn dog the tabloids mad D look bad.

I got to have a bit of an insight into how a black family supports their own. And it might not be even by blood but by love and commitment. And we get a glimpse into the differences a bit of fame can provide to make or break a restaurant…no matter how long they have been around or how good the food is.

This was a sweet love lost and then regained story. It features two men that were willing to sacrifice for the other to get their goals and to protect their secrets. It also includes to sweet dogs that love their men. Plus a spunky grandma that knows best.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

Thanks to Netgalley for sending me a copy; all opinions are my own. This book follows DeShawn and Malik – who are still married despite thinking they were divorced for 7 years. To keep grandma’s no-good son from taking Malik’s money when she passes, they pretend to be a couple and of course, end up falling for each other again. I really enjoyed this second-chance romance. It’s a bit slow in the beginning but then it picked up more when the two finally gave into their emotions. I loved that they both worked in the restaurant business too. Full of diversity, as both men are Black and of course, gay.

This was a good book about love, loss, and finding your way back to where you're supposed to be. I will definitely be recommending this to everyone!

For some reason, my review never got posted...
Anyway, this was a very enjoyable and quick read. The characters were absolutely adorable, and the plot was great.
This is definitely a book I will recommend!

After a stressful week, I was especially grateful at the end of the day to have If You Love Something by Jayce Ellis to curl up with.

Ellis has been on my to read list for far too long, and I cannot wait to check out more from her. This book is a second chance romance with a twist on marriage in trouble. Executive chef DeShawn Franklin and Malik are shocked to learn that the divorce they filed for never went through. Malik, not wanting to have his heart broken again, would prefer to simply reprocess the paperwork. But when DeShawn's troublesome uncle contests Malik's place in DeShawn's grandmother's will, the two decide to stay married so they can fight the case together.

DeShawn and Malik divorced because they wanted the best for each other, and yet neither can deny the feelings that still exist between them. I love the way that Ellis is giving small glimpses of who they were, while still allowing the focus to wholly be on who they are now and the ways that their dreams, desires, and ideas of their future have changed.

I'm also loving the way food is incorporated through Malik's family restaurant and DeShawn's job as a chef, and how helping Malik's family gives them one more reason to partner up and work together. This is the low angst, warm and loving book that I needed this week and I recommend it to anyone looking for a tender second chance romance.

Very engaging second chance romance. I liked that both characters have a lot in common, yet different personalities that balance each other well. Lovely family dynamics as well. Definitely one I would recommend to those looking for an MM read!

4.5 Stars

DeShawn and Malik Franklin had a good and loving relationship, and even a happy and fulfilling marriage back in their early 20s—nearly two decades ago. DeShawn was an up-and-coming sous chef and Malik was an accountant. They were mostly embraced by DeShawn’s small family, especially DeShawn’s grandma who’d raised him, but Malik was deeply closeted. He’d severed contact from his family in order to keep them from finding out he was gay. However, DeShawn’s culinary career was growing, and Malik felt that new opportunities were too good to pass up. If DeShawn took these chances, however, it would reveal their relationship publicly and Malik’s family surely would find out. So Malik, despite loving DeShawn with his whole heart, asked for a divorce—breaking DeShawn’s heart in the process.

DeShawn tried to fight Malik, he tried to explain that he’d stick by his side and remain in place, but Malik would not have it. He was not going to let his own personal struggles ruin DeShawn’s career prospects. So, he insisted on the divorce, and they filed the paperwork…incorrectly, it seems. DeShawn’s grandmother, who was getting DeShawn’s mail while he worked kitchens in Europe, received notices about the problems with the filing, but she was caught in her own grief over the loss of her husband. Time expired on the ability to sort out the snafu, but Grandma didn’t get this information until recently. Now, seven years after his break from Malik, Deshawn has a fabulous restaurant in DC, not far from where he grew up. He’s also got a TV spotlight that he’s not super wild about. He’s lonely, and he’s only more broken up when he learns his grandma has cancer—and that she’s not going through any treatment for it. Then, she levels him another one-two punch. She’s cut his greedy uncle from her will, instead naming Malik as a beneficiary—and, by the way, their divorce was never certified. So, Malik’s still DeShawn’s legal husband, a fact that isn’t quite as disturbing to him as it should be. Because DeShawn never did want to divorce Malik, and he’s not found another man to love in all these years.

Malik, in his own grief over ending his marriage, finally reconciled with his family and came out. He is currently the accountant and financial manager of Franklin’s, the family-style soul food restaurant his parents opened. It had been a staple of its family neighborhood locale, but twenty years of urban sprawl have encompassed it as a relic of a by-gone era, buried in the midst of office complexes. While the food is amazing, it’s not a place built to cater to the harried, lunchtime crowd. Malik struggles to make his younger brother—the hands-off CEO of the restaurant—see that his reluctance to modernize is causing the restaurant to fail. Malik’s only more frustrated to learn he’s not only still married to DeShawn, whom he never stopped loving, but is also a beneficiary of DeShawn’s grandma’s will—and is now being sued by DeShawn’s uncle to get his hands on the money, when Grandma isn’t even dead yet.

As these two men try to keep the uncle from upsetting Grandma’s plans, they have to reveal the nearly unbelievable truth of their relationship to the world—because people care about Chef DeShawn, and his celebrity is both a part of his success, and still scary to Malik. And, wow, they still are totally attracted to one another, so working together to facilitate their respective situations is fraught. Grandma couldn’t be happier; she always hoped they would reconcile. And, Malik’s brother is more than happy to capitalize on his now-discovered ties to a celebrity chef to help save Franklin’s. As they platonically cohabitate in the effort to foil the lawsuit, even their dogs seem to conspire to join their lives again, permanently.

This book is a fun twist on the fake marriage trope—in that the MCs are surprised to find out they are in fact legally married—seven years after they believed their divorce was finalized. This is really such a fun and sweet story, about love that shines through, even in the hardest of times. I loved that both Malik and DeShawn are such good men. Malik is so self-sacrificing it was nearly painful. He’s been punishing himself since the rift, still thoroughly in love with DeShawn and terrified that DeShawn will never be able to forgive him, or love him back. DeShawn is an amazing man, whose love is endless and eternal, it seems. Their love for each other, and their dogs, is so true and wholesome, and I just gloried in the slow burn of their reconciliation. This romance was always looking up, even with Grandma being ill and the other family tensions. I adore the author’s use of language, providing deep and colorful insight into the southern, urban, Black experience. I’ve read several of her books, and am always eager to get another one in my hands. I highly recommend this happy reconnection romance.

Ooooof. This second chance Black m/m romance backs a punch. Don't let the cover fool you - it's sexy and angsty and all around delicious.

Thanks to Carina and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was such a sweet story! I really adored everything about DeShawn and Malik and how they supported each other. It killed me to learn about the things that tore them apart the first time, how much they had loved each other and how Malik gave DeShawn up so he could go after his dreams. I loved how DeShawn was there to help Malik this time. I love how they always had each other's backs and how they fell back in love, how they were stronger for everything they had been through and how they were in the right place to be together now. I loved these two, and this story just made my life!

Cute- Check
enjoyable - Check
m/m fake relationship- Check
Fun- Check

This is a quick, enjoyable fun read. I really liked it. I plan on checking out more from this author.

Cute and enjoyable m/m fake relationship story, It was light and quick reading and I really enjoyed the characters. I can't say it's a new favorite but I enjoyed it!

I absolutely loved this contemporary romance.

Such a great book with a solid storyline and great characters.

I eagerly look forward to reading more from this author.

A definite recommend

A book about second chances. My heart usually hurts to much when reading a story about two people that are no longer together for some reason, then finding themselves evaluating why their story didn't work and if maybe they could try again. While this happened to me again reading this book, I found myself being soft for them, cheering for them. It was really cute and a fast read.

Jayce Ellis was a new author for me – I have several of her books on my TBR list but this book was the first one I actually read (for now). I was slightly worried because there’s a BIG CW – grandma (very important character) has cancer, which is a main point of the plot in many ways, as it is the reason that the characters reconnect. I love a good second chance story and DeShawn and Malik have a very interesting story, one that I haven’t read before: their divorce didn’t actually go through! And a shitty relative is suing Malik because DeShawn’s grandma left the money to Malik for…reasons & they have to pretend they got back together. I loved their story so much and I’ve read the book several times now so I can’t recommend it enough, but beware of that CW!

Trigger Warnings: Cancer, refusal of treatment, discussion of will, divorce, death of a grandparent off-page, contesting a will, failing business, closeted, hospice, alcohol, eating one’s feelings, masturbation, sex, gambling addiction off-page, trial, death

From the book: If You Love Something contains references to cancer, refusal of treatment, and the off-page passing of loved ones, including a character in the book.

Representation: Lesbian, Gay, Black

If You Love Something is a beautiful story of two ex-husbands who have to come together to follow the wishes of their grandmother. DeShawn is a famous chef who runs one of the hottest restaurants in DC. His ex-husband, Malik, works for his family’s restaurant, which definitely doesn’t have a Michelin star like DeShawn’s does. When their grandmother lets them know about her will and her nephew’s plan to contest it, the two must act married to save everything.

I absolutely adored this book! I loved everything about it! I wish it was an audiobook! I read this book in one day, it was so good! The story is well written, with well developed characters. The secondary characters give the perfect balance of creating chaos for the two men, as well as allowing them to develop more deeply and shine in their own ways. The story was original and showed the true struggle that couples face when their careers go different ways. I love a HEA and second chance love is definitely one of my favorite tropes!

This was a fun, fast-paced steamy romance that I really enjoyed reading! Looking forward to checking out more of the author's works.

I don't know how Jayce Ellis does it but she just carves out the perfect Black men who are madly in love with other Black men. It makes my heart flutter to read anything she writes, and this one with fake marriage and wills was just as amazing. The steam level was perfect and I was rooting for those two stubborn dudes the entire time.