RJ is a hardworking, high-achieving divorce lawyer who unsurprisingly doesn’t believe in HEA. What’s surprising is she moonlights as a wedding officiant.

Lear is licking his wounds after a painful breakup and the loss of his dream job. He’s helping out his cousin with her wedding planning business.

RJ and Lear have a meet disaster that sets sparks flying. But they’re not just angry vibes - there’s serious lust that leads to an enemies with benefits arrangement that’s got all the spice.

You get:
A strong, successful Black FMC
An emotionally wounded MMC
Dual POV
Supportive family and friends
Insta dislike/meet disaster
Insta heat
Forced proximity
Sex everywhere but in bed
Angry sex
Hurt/comfort
Gorgeous forearms
Queer secondary characters

I enjoyed the complexity of the story - it’s not just the romance between RJ and Lear. RJ talks about how hard it is to be a lawyer as a Black woman - to appear strong but not overbearing, assertive without being a bitch. I love that she has a tough but fair mentor.

I also enjoyed that Lear is the one who catches the feels first, even though he was emotionally closed off about the breakup, I loved that he eventually tells RJ about it.

This is a fast-paced, spicy hot, enemies-to-lovers romance with serious emotional depth balanced by plenty of humor. Love the diversity of the cast and the calling out of toxic behavior. RJ is incredibly relatable as a high-achieving woman in a male-dominated profession. I was rooting for her and Lear from the beginning.

Another light hearted, sweet, tempting enemies to lovers comes from one of my favorite romance authors Denise Williams.

An aspiring, hard working divorce attorney marrying people in her spare time after she conducted a Hollywood couple’s ceremony at the park, writing amazing speech in air and their marriage video goes viral, becoming big hit. Ladies and gentlemen here’s TJ: tough, hiding behind her walls, doubtful about true love after her family’s failed marriage.

When she’s running late to the ceremony she will minister, she literally bumps into a hot guy, as her belongings get strewn in everywhere, the guy has no intention to apologize. He even dares to advise her smile more!

Yes: TJ and ex-football event manager, new wedding planer Lear just met like that. And this is not the worst part: they have to work at several ceremonies together, by burying their hatchets , restraining their impulses to control everything.

Lear, changes his occupation, still suffering from ex girlfriend’s betrayal, trying to build a new life in NC and TJ barely keeps her guard when their palpable chemistry prevents her to do her job.

Their push-pull and hot-cold relationship is undeniable. Could they give a second chance for their happiness?

Overall: the chemistry between characters is pure perfection. I love both TJ and Lear but their stubbornness and self sabotage inclinations made me frustrated a little bit. But it is still great, lighthearted, enjoyable read that I highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Do You Take This Man was a breath of fresh air in the rom-com genre. We see explicit consent, toxic masculinity shifting and evolving into a healthy mindset, diverse families and characters and lots of evolving from all the main characters. I loved reading this book and I really hope authors within the romance genre will take some notes on diversity and inclusivity.

RJ is a divorce attorney who went viral as a wedding officiant, making her a hugely in-demand officiant for the high powered and elite. Lear joins the team at his cousin's event planning business. It's hate-at-first-sight until a series of events bring them in close proximity over and over again, at which point it becomes hate sex around every corner.

I really disliked Lear at the beginning - absolutely messaged the author with "good job!", because that was clearly the goal. We weren't meant to sympathize with Lear until RJ started to soften toward him. The coincidence-heavy random meetings and connections were really enjoyable - small town proximity even in a big city!

This is a solid, enjoyable romance. I liked the modern day take on non-gendered jobs. RJ is a lawyer and Lear is a wedding planner. And I liked the enemies to frenemy lovers to friend AND lovers. Some of the conflict seemed repetitive. But it didn't take away too much from enjoying the story.

I've really enjoyed Denise Williams' books so far. I got a little frustrated with the heroine and her distance, but overall, this was another good book. Looking forward to the next one in this friendship universe.

There are certain characters that you found yourself building a home about in your heart, and these are the ones. Because wow this was very beautiful and enjoyable. The chemistry, the banter, the angst and that character development was absolutely incredible!!

RJ is a divorce lawyer with an unexpected side hustle: she officiates weddings! She has a run in with an unpleasant man and then discovers that he is the cousin of a wedding planner she works with a lot and now she'll have to work closely with him. Lear used to work as an event planner for an NFL team but after major heartbreak moves to work with his cousin doing weddings even though he is no longer looking for love. In this enemies to lovers romance, RJ and Lear are first drawn together because of their physical attraction.

As per usual in a Denise Williams story, the banter was top notch and the development of the romance is well paced. I really enjoyed it!

The review of this book will live in a story highlight called ARCReviews on my Instagram. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

Denise Williams has yet to let me down! "Do You Take This Man" is a stunning enemies-to-lovers romance with a slow burn that is paced just right.

When RJ and Lear meet, sparks fly, but not the good kind... they both can't stand each other and are thrilled by the knowledge that they'll never have to see the other again. Or so they thought. It turns out that divorce attorney-turned-officiant RJ and former football event manager-turned wedding planner Lear are working the same wedding season and must learn to work together time and again.

I loved this story from start to finish! I love plausible (non-instalove) romances, and this book checked all my boxes.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

RJ doesn't really believe in love - after her father walked out on her mother, her last boyfriend called her cold, and working with divorcing couples every day, who can blame her? So when she starts an enemies-with-benefits fling with Lear, she's sure she can keep him at an arm's length.

After a super complicated breakup with his last girlfriend (fiancée?), Lear is tired of being a Nice Guy. He sets out to have a no-strings-attached relationship with the infuriating RJ.

Of course they catch feelings for each other - but can they overcome their various issues? Of course they can. But the ride is definitely worth the read.

Denise Williams is one of my favorite authors, and this one is another winner. RJ is fantastic, even if she is hot and cold, and Lear is delightful even if he initially comes off as an asshole. My only gripe, and it's possible I missed it because I devoured this book in one sitting, is what is Lear's real name?? He says it's a nickname, but I'm not sure it's ever revealed. Again, it's very possible I missed it lol.

10/10, read this book.

Denise Williams' latest novel has two vulnerable protagonists that are dealing with their own personal demons alone. It was enjoyable to see them open up to each other.

I think this is a solid Followup to William’s existing titles, I appreciate the covid based epilogue to keep it timely. This isn’t quite a continuation of her knock it out of the park titles, but it’s super enjoyable.

RJ and Lear are like oil and water, or at least they seem that way at first. In reality, they go together like fondant on a wedding cake, and this story is just as smooth! I loved everything about this story (and loved a couple of cameos from other characters)! An awesome book!

Classic Denise Williams: sexy, sweet, all the while covering emotional subjects tastefully. I will read everything she reads. I loved this one a lot. It was very steamy but still covered the emotional issues with grace. Can't wait for others to read this!

A delightful book full of adventure, action, and thrills. Fun to read, engrossing world building, and very descriptive imagery made it feel like it was cinematic. It's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. Would recommend.

This was a really fun read! Despite their rocky beginning, Lear and RJ had a sweet (and spicy) chemistry from the start. Watching them get to know each other and discover more about themselves, all with weddings as the backdrop, was a delight!

Does Denise Williams write anything but stellar romance? The answer is absolutely not. Williams hit this one out of the park with the fierceness, banter, enemies to lovers tension this book brought.

This book is for all those folks out there who have been told they’re hard to love. Throughout this story Denise reminds us how lovable we are. RJ is a force to be reckoned with, but she cares so much and loves so hard that only special people get to see that. Lear loves and lets it show. He wears his heart on his sleeve but no longer wants to carry himself that way. When RJ and Lear meet they don’t realize how perfect they are for each other because they’re too busy hating each other with such passion that well my friends, they end up in a closet somewhere and the Steam is on point.

The banter between Lear and RJ will have you laughing and trying to keep your heart in your chest. The way they breakdown each other’s walls and let the other in was beautiful to read. The sexual tension is off the charts as they try to not show how much they affect each other.

A stellar romance! I cannot wait to read more stories by Denise Williams!

4.5

denise! williams! can! write! a! romance! a perfect balance of plot and spice; her characters are always fleshed out. the only thing i didn’t like about this one was how long rj and lear fought their relationship.

#netgalley