Earning It by E.F. Dodd is the prefect summer read. If you need a feel good, laugh out loud novel you will enjoy this one. The story is well written and the character plot is well developed. I had never heard of the author but now I am a fan I will be on the lookout for other books by this author. The story is all about Rae Murphy and her love for not being in love. She has swear it off until she meets Van. Van makes her life take a very interesting turn without giving to much away. This story is a page turner.

4 Stars!! I liked this book but just couldn’t get into the story or the main characters, Rae/Regan & Van/Donovan. He did her wrong and I don’t know that I would be a big enough person as to forgive and forget. Good beach read. Hot ‘sexy times’ with a good plot and plenty of witty banter. Would’ve liked more of a prologue about how Rae met Kez and V, her two besties. That being said, the story felt a bit drawn out at times. Still a fun, hot, and entertaining read though.
*I received this at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*

** I received this e-ARC from NetGalley & Sugar Beaver Books in exchange for an honest review**

4.5 stars rounded up

I enjoyed this one!! It's a perfect summer book - definitely recommend to read at the beach or by the pool!

I love second chance romances, especially ones that are done right, and this one was. Not only was the romance (and spice) really well done, but the inclusion of their friends through the development was comical. It was so fun to see the relationship between the MC, Rae, and her friends, as well as Van and his friends! I love a good group dynamic.

It was a slow in the beginning, making it a little hard to get into, which is why I deducted .5. Other than that, I think this book was a great read!

Absolutely devoured this book! I do love a good second chance romance. Strong, fierce and loyal Rae who's heart is on lockdown and only has time for quick flings and solving other people's problems runs into a blast from her past that flips her world around. Loved seeing her work through her issues while slowly opening up to the idea of love.

The title of this book was an understatement for what happened throughout it’s pages. Whew, our main characters love interest had to do a lot of soul searching and groveling from their first meet up until the very ending, within reason. If you are someone that enjoys a little feather ruffling and using any method you can to find love; you will thoroughly enjoy this novel.

We had a great cast who are full of jokes and they know how to have a good time! 4/5 stars!

3.85/5 ⭐️

Regan, or Rae, has sworn off love forever. When the ex, Van, wasn’t who she thought he was, she fled and hasn’t looked back. In fact she’s forced herself to keep her eyes on short flings and quick nights with no chance of attachments. She’s made a name for herself in her job, successfully tucked the bad times into a tiny little box, and is going to celebrate with her best friends at her best friend’s wedding. That little tiny box explodes into a million little pieces when Van shows up at the wedding and on the day celebrating love, she finally has to confront what she’s been afraid to look back on all this time, love and a whole lot of broken trust.

The opening was strong and I immediately got a sense of Regan’s wit and humor. She’s not afraid to tell it how it is and always has a comeback ready and waiting for whatever life throws at her. She loves her friends, but might just gag at any romantic love. The reasoning behind that… Van. Van is funny and matches any energy Rae gives, even when that energy is to back off or go away. His POV was fun to see the pining and wanting to do whatever he could to get her back.

I went into this book expecting a mostly wedding based book with maybe some reconnecting in their everyday lives afterwards. This book, however, delivered a split wedding and vacation romance with Van and Rae being forced onto a group honeymoon vacation for the second half of the book. Not expecting this going in, it felt rushed almost and like there were two distinct plot points shoved together to optimize the forced proximity. Eventually it made sense that they were going on a vacation together, but I wish the wedding was for a shorter portion of the book, sort of like an introduction, so that it didn’t feel so separate from one another.

I loved Rae’s character and her feelings throughout were well-explored with seeing the man who broke her heart once upon a time after so many years. In understand feelings are complex and I’ve had back-and-forth ones too, but her’s felt too fluctuating. One minute she would forgive him for a reason and the next she would hate him for that reason without acknowledging the earlier forgiveness.

This was a fun romance read with interesting characters and I loved the undercurrent of friendship throughout, Rae’s trio especially.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles. I really not the opportunity!

I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

On the day of her best friends wedding, Rae suddenly finds out her ex, Van, whom she hasn’t seen in years, is the best man. Not to mention this is the same ex she ran out on after finding out he had been lying to her about his true identity for the better part of a year. As per the title of the book, Van has to “Earn it” to get back into Rae’s good graces. Van is willing to do whatever it takes to win her back.

I liked the writing of this book. Very cute Rom-Com. The characters were fully developed for me. I loved the friend groups for both the girls and the guys. The friends always seemed to offer up good advice and were a support system for one another. Especially Jackson.

The groveling did go on and on for me. I felt bad for Van when Rae wouldn’t let him explain. I would have rather Rae heard Van out, instead of just sleeping with him over and over. One would think sleeping with someone would only cause more problems and confusion.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Regan "Rae" Murphy has zero interest in romance and even less in love. One heartbreak in her life was quite enough, and she has no desire to get wrapped up in the sticky tendrils of love again. She thought she'd left all those messy feelings and entanglements in her past when she moved to Charlotte from Charleston, especially the devastatingly handsome portion of that past, who was wearing nothing but a towel when she walked out on him. His betrayal was the reason she left and is the reason she keeps her heart safely tucked away. But when her best friend, Kez, asks Rae to be her maid of honor, Rae reluctantly puts aside her own feelings about forever.
 Love is in the air on Kez's wedding day, and it smacks Rae right in the face when her ex, Van, appears and he looks just as good in a tux as he did in a towel. For Kez's sake, Rae agrees to bury the hatchet somewhere other than between Van's shoulder blades. He makes it his mission to get Rae to hear him out something she refused to do before she left him. The pull to listen is strong as the hope she'd buried deep within her starts to rattle its way free. Maybe everything between them hadn't been one giant, intricate lie. But to get the chance to show Rae what they had was real, Van's going to have to earn it. 
I really enjoyed this book totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Sugar Beaver Books
I just reviewed Earning It by E.F. Dodd. #EarningIt #NetGalley

I started this book with little expectations. It had been a few days since I read the synopsis, and I promptly forgot what it was about. However, from the moment I picked the book up, I couldn't put it down. It starts off at a wedding where the FMC is the maid of honor and as soon as she meets all the wedding party, her world is turned upside down. I've been planning my own wedding so maybe that's one reason I found it so good. I loved the writing style and the pace in which the novel went. The author did a fabulous job incorporating just enough flashbacks that you knew what happened without having the audience questioning whether they missed something. I sped through this book and really enjoyed the characters. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a good, quick read without too much thinking involved.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Sugar Beaver Books for giving me the amazing opportunity to review this book!

Thank you to the Netgalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
There wasn't really anything wrong with this story. It was cute and steamy and had a lovely cover. I had a hard time connecting with the characters, but I thought the story was interesting and fun. I liked the reason they broke up and found it interesting, but the reconnection felt a little dragged out. The book almost felt like it was too long. That being said though, it was an interesting read!

I thought this book would be good, but it was absolutely fantastic. A one-sit read.

5⭐️ for this rom-com. It gave me all the feels, but also had me laughing out loud.

Rae has shut herself off from love, but on the day of her best friend’s wedding, the reason suddenly shows up again and wants her back. Van is not afraid to do whatever it takes.

I adored the characters in this book. Rae is strong and witty and the banter between friends is hilarious! The three friends were so close-knit, supportive and fiercely protective over each other, they reminded me of my own friends. I felt so much for Van in this situation. E. F. Dodd not only created an amazing romantic relationship between the MCs, but put so much development into the best friend relationships as well that you couldn’t help but feel that you were a part of the group.

Read this if you love
- second chance romance
- Forced proximity
- Grovelling
- Best friend stories
- Contemporary romance
- Christina Lauren books

Pub date: August 23, 2022.

A giant thank you to @netgalley and Sugar Beaver Books for this ARC and to @efdodd for writing such a wonderful story to get lost in!

Earning it is a romantic comedy that includes a second chance romance and some banter with a little spice. There are some current pop culture references that made it more relatable and funny! It was definitely an easy summer/beach read.

Thank you to netgalley for sending me an E-arc.

While the chemistry between the main characters is clear, this book I felt focused too much on the physical chemistry and not much on the emotional connection shared between the characters. For some readers, this may be just the kind of book they enjoy, but for me it didn't quite do it.

Such a sweet, cute book! The book has it all! The fun sweetness to it! I enjoyed the lovely story! Five stars!

This book was so fun! I loved this "second chance at romance"
Rae and Van dated five years ago and she ran out on him when she discovered that he had been using her connections to her boss to nab him for drug smuggling. Five years later they meet again when their best friends get married and hilarity ensues.
The great-
Van was such a lovable hero and I was really pulling for him to win Rae back.
The friend group. I loved all of the friends and their relationships with one another.
The spice level was perfect and the bathroom scene was seriously hot.
The not great-
Rae was almost annoyingly stubborn about not hearing Van's side of things. In all other aspects I loved her as a heroine, but her stubbornness bordered on annoying

Book: Earning it
Author: E.F. Dodd
Rating 4,5 stars

Grovel, grovel, grovel. If you love a hero that grovels, you'll love this one.

Positive thoughts:
I enjoy a book that makes me laugh, and this one got me laughing many many times. Michael Jackson, Celine Dion and Britney Spears, now that one made me laugh so much I was crying! Now you’ll just have to read the book to know what I’m talking about!!
I loved how the hero grovelled, he did literally everything for the heroine. E.F. Dodd makes you fall in love with him in an instant by what he does to get time with the heroine and her forgiveness. She doesn’t forgive him in an instant, which was realistic, but you feel the pain and suffering from both sides.
I loved the ending as well, the epilogue was brilliant.

Negative thoughts:
The heroine was a naughty girl, but I guess that was part of who she is. Did she have to flirt with every one? I also think she gave up to easily on the first night on the island, but that’s just my opinion.

Tropes:
- second change romance
- enemies to lovers
- grovelling
- bickering

Romance 5/5
Spice: 4/5
Humour: 4/5
Foul language: 2/5

3.5 Stars (rounded up)

The tropes: Second chance romance, forced proximity, sort of miscommunication (more like lack of communication).

The bad: there were points were things felt sort of repetitive and very tell not show; this is probably a me problem but I was having trouble keeping straight whose perspective we were following as it would switch mid chapter.

The good: interesting plot, if you like steamy scenes there are plenty thrown in throughout the book, the flashbacks worked well (these were good instances of show not tell that I felt were placed right when I needed it). I felt fully invested in the couple and wanted to figure out how they would work through their issues. This was definitely entertaining and I read it in about 2 sittings.

This book was super awesome! I loved it! It was inspirational, witty, charming, and just an all around amazing book!

I enjoyed this novel so much more than I thought I would, never having heard of the author! Rae is the maid of honor in her best friend's wedding, and never expecting to run into him again, it just so happens that Donovan or "Van", the man she walked (no, ran) out on 5 years ago is the best man. Being forced to face the last 5 years of heartbreak, questions, and lots of tension, the two of them are shocked to say the least. As the novel goes on, I really felt for Van in the situation, as you learn he never had the chance to explain anything before she disappeared from his life. The steamy parts of this book were to die for, Rae was a spitfire so naturally her banter between her and her friends was phenomenal, and even though the end was pretty cliché, I still loved it!