Thank you so much Berkley for the ARC!

4 stars 💗

This book was kind of a dynamic I’ve never read before, and I had a fun time while reading it. Lear and RJ are basically frenemies with benefits, and watching them navigate that relationship was really fun for me. I loved the scene of her taking care of him while he was sick, that’s one of my favorite troops ever so I enjoyed that thoroughly. I also loved that at the end she acknowledged that she was wrong, I feel like that was a really good thing to happen because he was quite open with her and he constantly got shut down so it was good to kind of see her own up to it. Sing them fall in love with each other on their own accord was really cute, especially when you think about how they first originally met versus how they ended. I don’t know I had a blast while while reading, and it was centering a black woman being loved out loud. That is my all-time favorite trope so I was hooked from there!

I always know when I pick up a Denise Williams novel (or novella!) that the work will leave me smiling, and Do You Take This Man is no exception. While Williams excels at giving us easily likeable characters, it was such fun seeing her present us with a hero and heroine who, shall we say, take a bit more work? Unapologetically abrasive and prone-to-assume-the worst RJ meets her match in Lear, a man on a mission to stop being a “nice guy.” Though the two clash at first (and at several other points along the way) walls gradually come down and stories unfold that reveal the reasons behind their fears of vulnerability, until they realize they’re crazy about each other. What’s even better? The characteristics others have been so quick to criticize may end up being the things they love best about each other. With a tight focus on its two leads and a series of delightful, heart-melting, and occasionally disastrous weddings as a backdrop, pick this one up for a joyous celebration of finding that special someone who embraces the whole prickly package, and for a sly overturning of the idea that someone has to be likeable in order to be lovable.

💍 Enemies to Lovers
💍 Forced Proximity
💍 Strong, successful female lead
💍 Slow Build Romance
💍 Dual POV
💍 Banter

I have enjoyed each of Denise Williams recent Contemporary Romance releases and this book was no exception. In her prior full length novel releases, How To Fail At Flirting and The Fastest Way To Fall, I felt like they fell more into the rom-dram vibe. With this newest release, I felt like the book kept up a slightly lighter vibe (more in line with her novellas) and felt like it had more of a romcom vibe.

I enjoyed that this one felt a bit more lighthearted, and really loved the whole meet cute / instant dislike / enemies to lovers premise. RJ and Lear were both interesting characters and it was great getting a dual POV to get to ‘see’ both sides of their stories, feelings, and experiences. I was happy to see the relationship between the two progressing slowly over the course of the story.

I actually really enjoyed RJ in particular as a character. I like to see strong, driven female characters portrayed in a positive light. I liked that sure she has a softer side, but she could choose when, where, and who to share that with.

Overall, it was a fast and fun read for me. I really look forward to what Denise Williams writes next. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley Pub for the opportunity to read an early copy! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and freely offered.

Will be posted on smexybooks.com near release date


Denise Williams is an auto-buy author for me, and I was eager to get my hands on her latest release. The premise promised everything I love in a book: bad-ass woman divorce lawyer who happens to moonlight part-time as a wedding officiant meets cinnamon roll party planner hero who has secret pain. They instantly dislike each other, but have pants feelings, and are stuck at weddings together over the course of the next few months.

The book was engaging - and I really loved the meet-cute and the dual POV. The book needed the dual POV, because both characters were so bad at communicating their wants and needs. Like, for a lawyer and a wedding planner, both of whom presumably spend a good chunk of their professional lives communicating well - they were epically bad at doing so in their relationship.

And this is where the book lost me a bit. RJ, our ice queen heroine, is honestly mean. She is a little too hot-and-cold for me, and her motives for being mean were light. I loved that she was a strong Black woman - and I adored that Williams showed her as always working (because duh, she is a career-oriented boss lady) - but I didn’t love how indifferently she acted with Lear for most of the book.

Lear isn’t great at communicating either, and he starts the book out as a bit of a jerk (telling RJ to smile more… really??). But because we get his point of view, we understand a bit more about why he is that way, and frankly, the guy has been through hell. He kept putting himself out there to RJ, and she shut it down pretty quickly, wanting to remain friends-with-benefits.

Quite frankly, I wanted to smack both of their heads together and send both of them to therapy.

Williams recognizes their communication issues, as Britta, one of RJ’s best friends (and heroine of The Fastest Way to Fall), gives her some tough love:

“I say this with love,” she said.
“No one says that before anything nice, either.”
“They don’t.”
I set my tissue aside, having forced my tears back into submission.
“Maybe you need to bite the bullet and use your words. You’re good at words, and your current tactic is to avoid communicating.”

Yes, Britta. Preach, girl.

And maybe that’s why this most recent release felt a little flat to me. Denise Williams is an incredibly talented author with complex characters and some heartbreak in each of her books. She writes these incredible career women that I want to be friends with. But in this book, because the obstacles preventing the main characters are all internal, I ended up frustrated by their behaviors - it felt like having the same discussion with a good friend about her toxic behavior, over and over again, and not having the behavior change until the 11th hour. We are happy she finally got there - but good lord, it was a tiring journey.

Overall, I enjoyed this book - the divorce lawyer-turned-wedding-officiant was cute, and I liked the diverse cast of secondary characters. I also grew to really love the hero, who kept showing up and being the “nice guy” he was at his core. But the way the characters kept miscommunicating and mistreating each other made the read less enjoyable than some of her previous works.

Either way, I’ll keep Williams on my permanent auto-buy list.

Grade: B-

Big thanks to Berkeley for the advanced copy of this book. This review is being given honestly and all thoughts and opinions are my own.


Overall 3.5/5 rounded up to 4 stars

I’m a big fan of Denise Williams and have been eager to get my hand on it. I thought the premise sounded amazing and I’m happy that the book lived up to my expectations. I really liked Lear and RN and thought they were perfect for each other, mutual baggage and all.

I think the reason this wasn’t 4 stars or more was that the relationship buildup wasn’t totally there for me and I was not a big fan of the hot and cold aspect of their relationship.

I enjoyed Denise Williams adding details and soft moments to their arrangement but felt a lot of it was more telling me about it than showing me. I feel the relationship build up would have benefited from actually displaying these moments rather than mentioning them after the fact. An aspect of the relationship buildup that was missing for me was definitely the emotions. I think the characters had a really hard time opening up and being vulnerable to each other which led to a lot of hurt feelings and is something I’m not a fan of. Regardless, I did feel very connected to both characters in their individual internal dialogue on the emotional front because I could relate to some of their issues.

Of course I still really liked this book and thought the enemies/annoyance banter was very much on point. and encourage people to preorder this and/or read How To Fail At Flirting, which is a connected book (same ‘world’ with intertwining characters).

I read Denise Williams' "How to Fail at Flirting" and "The Fastest Way to Fall" earlier this summer and she immediately became one of my new favorite authors. She writes the BEST banter, and her books manage to deal with some serious issues while still being cozy, fun reads.

In "Do You Take This Man," Williams gives us a "difficult" heroine -- divorce attorney RJ, who doesn't believe in love, but has a highly ironic avocation as a wedding officiant. She finds herself having to work frequently with a new-in-town wedding planner named Lear, who has recently moved to North Carolina from California, having lost his dream job working for a sports team. (We find out why later on.) At first, RJ can't stand Lear (at their first meeting, he told her she should smile -- NO NO NO, Lear!!), but he's a good-looking single man, and eventually they strike up a friends with benefits arrangement. The novel's main question is, can RJ overcome her conviction that love is not for her, and allow Lear into her heart?

We get alternating chapters giving us both protagonists' points of view, which proved helpful in learning more about both of their back stories. They've both gone through traumatic experiences and have very good reasons for being hesitant to trust other people.

At times, both RJ and Lear behave pretty poorly toward each other, which can be uncomfortable to read about. But their HEA is well-earned. I didn't love "Do You Take This Man" quite as much as her first two novels but Williams has a way with a steamy love scene, and I thought the character development was solid. Lear's uncle appears in a few scenes and was a real delight.

Thanks to Berkley for the advance review copy via NetGalley!

⭐️⭐️⭐️½

I thought this was an entertaining book with a hot AF enemies-to-lovers story. RJ and Lear had very palpable hate for one another and I was excited to see how their relationship would pan out. I liked that they approached sex with the same passion and fervor with which they disliked each other. This book has some of the best hate sex scenes that I've read and they got me really hot and bothered!

As usual, Denise William's writing is excellent in this book. She writes smart and sassy stories with great dialogue and banter.

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥½
⚠️: mention of death of parents & infidelity (not between the main characters)

Oh my heart!!!! Denise Williams writes such fun + witty banter and such smart modern rom coms. This book completely charmed and captivated me. Her characters feel incredibly authentic and it’s so easy to relate to their feelings, their insecurities, and their desires. Her writing has so much heart and humor and the chemistry practically sizzles off the page. I didn’t want this love story to end but I was so happy with the conclusion. Perfect for fans of enemies to lovers, grump/sunshine, weddings, strong female friendships, steamy sex (who even needs a bed?!) and swoonworthy grand gestures! Thank you so much to Berkley romance + Netgalley for my copy.

Do You Take This Man is romance novel that has an enemies-to-lovers trope and explores wedding planning, vulnerability, friendship, and moving on. This book featured Britta’s best friend, RJ, and her love interest, Lear. The author addresses some heavy subjects: infidelity of a partner (in one of the main characters pasts) and death/abandonment of a parent (both in the past). I really loved the storyline of a wedding planner and wedding officiant going from enemies-to-lovers and working on weddings together while their relationship blossoms. The author did a great job diving into RJ and Lear’s pasts and the alternate perspectives. There were a few times where I was frustrated with each main character, but I understood why they were acting the way they were as the author slowly revealed their pasts. I loved that Britta and Wes made some appearances which was fun! I’d recommend picking up Do You Take This Man if you liked The Fastest Way To Fall and How To Fail At Flirting!

I really enjoyed this story of RJ, a divorce attorney who, ironically, has fallen into a side hustle officiating weddings. As a Black woman, she has had to work extra hard to be taken seriously at work, so when she has a (literal) run-in with Lear, a dude bro who tells her to smile on the way to officiate a wedding ceremony, she's quick to dismiss him. Unfortunately, Lear is the wedding planner's cousin, a former event planner for a professional sports team who was fired and has now come back to his hometown. When Penny (the wedding planner RJ usually works with), has to leave suddenly with her wife because the child they're adopting (or it might be a surrogacy arrangement? I don't actually remember) is born premature, Lear takes over, and he and RJ butt heads despite their growing attraction. This wasn't anything revolutionary in terms of contemporary romances, and I do wish there had been just a smidge more character development for both RJ and Lear, it was a quick, overall fun read with some depth.

Denise Williams nails it again. RJ and Lear are absolutely charming, the romance felt real, and their problems are realistic and well written. I am already antsy for the next one!

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of this book! It was one of my most anticipated 2022 releases, and it did not disappoint!

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pub Date: September 6, 2022

Denise Williams is an auto-buy author for me, and Do You Take This Man only solidified those feelings! This book is so fierce!

I love that Denise Williams brings the perfect mix of romance, sexiness, and humor to her stories. RJ and Lear have chemistry from the very beginning, and I really liked that this book did utilize instant love...in all actuality, it's the exact opposite! This is an enemies to lovers story about a powerful, independent woman and soft-hearted, ultimately kind man who are both in need of some mending...although neither wants to admit it.

I thought Lear was really well-written in this story. He's a sensitive guy who wears his heart on sleeve subtly, and I just loved him. I thought he was funny and endearing, and oh so very human. I'll be honest...RJ was harder to like for me. Sometimes her attitude was really off putting, and I didn't understand her motivations for self-sabotaging herself. As the story got deeper, though, her motivations became more and more clear, and I actually loved how Denise Williams unveiled RJ slowly throughout the pages. RJ became more and more relatable to me the longer I read, and I love when a character grows on you like that.

I also really enjoyed that Denise Williams took on the stereotypes that Black women often face in the workplace (like RJ being asked to speak for diversity week), AND giving RJ a strong female mentor who backed her when above mentioned happened. I thought the mentor relationship between RJ and Gretchen was really well done, and it provided the perfect balance of friendship and mentoring, especially when Gretchen had to step in and "discipline" RJ.

This book was everything I hoped it would be. I can't wait to read more from Denise Williams!

This is the Denise Williams I love. Such a good book from start to finish. I thought her start as a wedding officiant was a little forced but despite that the rest of the story felt so authentic and real that i could not put the book down. I will definitely buy this one when it comes out. I also love how she's weaves previous characters in so we can still see how everyone else is fairing out.

After reading How To Fail At Flirting and The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams I quickly became enamored with her romances. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again if I could choose anyone to write my love story it would be Denise. As soon as I learned about Do You Take This Man I knew I had to have it and I’m very grateful to have had my dream become a reality. In Do You Take This Man we follow RJ (one of Britta’s best friends) a divorce lawyer with an interesting side gig. We also follow Lear making big changes after experiencing a rough patch in his life. These two meet and instantly dislike each other and hence a fun, full of banter, competitive, enemies with benefits relationship blooms.

Now the enemies with benefits and enemies to lovers trope is a tricky one for me. I’m sensitive soul so this means often times my feelings get hurt along with both of the MCs. But, this just shows the talent Denise Williams continues to show each time she writes a new love story. She creates characters that you cannot help but become totally invested in. I was rooting for Rj and Lear. I was yelling at RJ when she was being stubborn! I wanted to hug Lear and tell him he deserved the absolute best in life. I was totally invested in this story and these characters. I have read everything that Denise Williams has written so far and I cannot wait for her next project. I think that any reader that has enjoyed her previous books/novellas will not be disappointed with Do You Take This Man. It has that Denise Williams signature magic.

This was a very fun enemies with benefits romance from Denise Williams! So far, I feel like I've only seen sweet and slow romance arcs from Denise Williams' characters, but I love how heated Lear and RJ's chemistry and romance as a whole felt. The enemies with benefits to lovers progression was done really well, and felt very natural. I only wish that the middle portion of the novel, in which Lear and RJ attend and work together on numerous weddings one after the other didn't feel as repetitive, but I think that all fans of Denise Williams will love the two in Do You Take This Man!

this book had a slow start, but it picked up. I think both of the characters have flaws but they also have their good qualities that really draws me in. Although, i wish the beginning was a little easier to follow. I think there were some plot holes. I would have liked to know more about the wedding she performed that got her to where she is. I also am waiting for Williams to write a Black couple.

I couldn't get into this one. Lear came off as too annoying the first 1/3 of the book that I didn't have any interest in his character. I understand that it was miscommunication/enemies to lovers but I felt too much annoyance and apathy in the beginning to care enough to root for them.

Juicy and fun read.

Its about a divorce lawyer, RJ, whose side gig is performing wedding ceremonies. She literally runs into Lear on the way to a rehearsal dinner and has her mind made up that he gets around. When Lear's cousin, who runs the wedding event business, is away dealing with family matters, Lear find himself managing the weddings himself and working more and more with RJ. The two of them have quite the chemistry and give into it, as a no strings attached relationship. But as they get to know each other more, they both realize there's more to one another.

Can't wait to read more books by Denise Williams!

#indigoemployee

Denise Williams is 3 for 3 in my book. While Lear and RJ's story isn't my favorite of the romances she's written, I still felt compelled to finish. That said, the biggest missing link between the two main characters was communication. At times, the lack thereof, left me as a reader feeling stalled. Ultimately, I came out of it feeling completely indifferent towards them and their story.

I loved the chemistry and connection between these two characters. The premise was unique and I thought the pacing was really good. I didn’t feel like I got to know either character very well but that does seem true to them. All in all, I really enjoyed it, as I’m sure I will with anything Denise writes!