Member Reviews
Instead of romantic weeklong getaway for their fifth wedding anniversary, Eliza and Graham pretend they’ve never met in hopes of reconnecting.
Typically, I’m not a fan of the married couples reconnecting trope, but I wanted to give this a chance AND it was just a no for me. I didn’t really like Eliza - and I could have done without Graham. I just needed them to act like adults and have a conversation.
Do I Know You was a fun, quick read. I'm not typically a fan of marriage in trouble romances, but I enjoyed this one and thought it was well done. And of course I am a huge fan of Emily and Austin. I love their writing style!
Eliza and Graham are anticipating an anything-but-sexy, weeklong getaway to celebrate their five-year anniversary. Nestled on the Northern California coastline, the resort prides itself on being a destination for those in love and those looking to find it. For Eliza and Graham, it might as well be a vacation with a roommate.
When a well-meaning guest mistakes Eliza and Graham for being single and introduces them at the hotel bar, they don’t correct him. Suddenly, they’re pretending to be perfect strangers and it’s unexpectedly…fun? Eliza and Graham find themselves flirting like it’s their first date, and waiting with butterflies in their stomach for the other to text back.
Everyone at the retreat can sense the electric chemistry between Eliza and Graham’s alter egos. But when their scintillating game of roleplaying ends, will they still feel the heat?
This is a different type of romance. It's about a married couple trying to rekindle their love for each other.
Eliza and Graham are about to celebrate their 5th anniversary. Graham's mother has gifted them a week at a resort in northern California. However, if their ride over there is any indication, their marriage is doomed.
Graham is an attorney and Eliza is a voice-over actor. They are successful in their professional life but not in their personal. It seems that the couple doesn't know how to talk to each other any longer.
Due to a new acquaintance, an unexpected circumstance arises. David mistakes them as single and introduces Graham to Eliza. The couple takes this chance and begins the role-play of being strangers. For the next few days, they treat their relationship as new, including staying in separate rooms and only seeing each other by chance.
This definitely was not Two For the Road but the writing was witty. I did get invested in Eliza and Graham. I was rooting for them to be able to find each other again.
I enjoyed both narrators, Dan Bittner and Brittany Pressley. They grab the characters and made them their own.
Cliffhanger: No
3.5/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Berkley Publishing Group via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely love the Wibberley/Siegemund-Broka writing duo. They write with such heart and emotion and their stories are just so beautifully crafted. Each sentence is written with care and the words just flow together creating an atmospheric read. This book was beautiful. I am a now just a huge fan of this writing duo and can't wait to see what they write next!
This was a very sweet romance novel.
The two main characters, Eliza and Graham, have been married for five years and are stuck in a rut. When given the opportunity to pretend to be strangers during their anniversary trip, they take it in hopes of rekindling their romantic connection.
I thought this book tackled a lot of tough topics in regards to marriage very gracefully. As someone who has been married for five years there were parts of this book I really took to heart and related to. Its hard to find a book where the romance is centered around a married couple working on their marriage so I do really appreciate the authors for writing this.
With that being said, I do think this book seemed a little surface level. I wish I would have understood the the characters on a deeper level. Because of the dual POV I did feel like I got to know the characters.. but I don't think I necessarily understood them.
Overall, I thought this was very cute. I read The Roughest Draft by these authors last year and absolutely LOVED it. I would recommend this book but I would recommend The Roughest Draft first.
Okay. I don’t usually like books about people who are already married. I like the meet cutes and all the firsts. But omg. I loved this book. As someone who has been in a relationship for over 10 years, I understood the rut the characters were going through, the insecurities, the moments of loss. I also understood the love, the fighting for each other, and the hope. I could tell this was written by a couple, and I truly enjoyed it.
Emily Wibberley and real-life husband, Austin Siegemund-Broka write about a stale marriage in Do I Know You. Their previous novel, The Roughest Draft, also employed the dual POV of both romantic partners. In this one, Eliza and Graham are going to a resort for their 5th wedding anniversary. Readers don't know why they seem to be so stilted and awkward with one another. When they get there, they decide to stay in separate rooms, and through a mix-up with another guest, decide to pretend they are meeting for the first time.
While I like the premise of two people trying to fix their marriage through a kooky role-playing week, we don't know enough about the marriage to understand nor care about why they are going to these lengths. There is oh-so-much lamenting from each person's perspective, making it full of unqualified angst. There needed to be much more action and much less internal thoughts. Inside the characters' heads, they seem to love and adore each other, so it becomes even more confusing as to why these drastic relationship games are being played.
Overall, there are better books about marriage (especially those with over-30 characters). As a romance, I think it falls flat, and as a literary marriage book, it also does not satisfy nor reveal anything new. I would not recommend this one.
I was a little bit worried about this one as I didn't enjoy the prior works by these authors but I'm glad I set aside my past experience because this story was quite well done. I really liked the relearning of each other our characters went through throughout this book. I look forward to seeing what they do next!
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!
"Do I Know You?" by Emily Wibberly is a delightful and playful contemporary romance that will have you rooting for the main characters from the very first page. Eliza and Graham have been together for five years and are on a vacation to celebrate their anniversary. However, they've lost the spark and feel like they're just roommates. That is until they decide to play along when a fellow guest mistakes them for single and introduces them to each other. Suddenly, they're pretending to be strangers, and it's exciting and fun.
The chemistry between Eliza and Graham is electric, and the way they rediscover each other is heartwarming. Wibberly's writing is engaging, witty, and full of clever banter that will have you smiling throughout. The story is set in a beautiful Northern California coastline resort that adds to the charm and romantic ambiance.
Overall, "Do I Know You?" is a perfect romantic comedy that will make you laugh, swoon, and root for Eliza and Graham's relationship. It's a must-read for anyone who loves a good love story with a playful twist.
This was a really fun romance with a unique premise—reading the role-playing scenes was fun and really worked for the characters and their current dynamic!
It started off well, and cute, but with such a small cast and such a narrow narrative question, it started to feel claustrophobic pretty quickly. I liked it, but I didn't love it.
This was a charming and well-written contemporary mystery starring a married couple who reignite the spark between them.
This is a great read and a trope that I don't see used very often. I haven't read many books that focus on reconnecting with a spouse! I think anyone who loved The Bromance Bookclub should give this book a chance. ⭐⭐⭐
This book has an incredibly unique plot so I was really excited to dive into it. This book follows a struggling married couple who, after a misunderstanding, decide to act as strangers during their anniversary vacation.
While slow at parts, overall I loved going on this journey with Eliza and Graham as they fell back into their marriage. Marriage in crisis stories can be difficult to read for me at times because they make me sad but this book did a good job of balancing the serious with the sweet.
While this one started out a bit slow for me, the second Graham and Eliza got into their little game I was hooked. Just like they were rooting for their relationship, I was too... clinging on to every hope that they could come out of this trip better versions of themselves.
Can't wait to continue to read more novels from this duo!
Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, & Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.
I thought the premise of this book sounded really interesting (marriage in trouble romance, where a stranger on a wellness retreat accidentally introduces a married couple to one another as strangers and they just ... go with it), and I was happy that the authors really delivered on that premise.
It's super angsty, similar to their previous novel (The Roughest Draft) but where it was a bit annoying in that one, I actually liked it here. It's also a trope you see a lot less in romance (in my opinion) - the idea of a married couple in crisis and trying to find their way back to the beginning, back to what they loved about one another from the start. Sort of like second chance, but a bit of extra oomph (?) if that makes sense.
Unfortunately (for me), I read this one months ago and didn't review it promptly, which means a lot of the more eloquent things I could say about it have left me. But fortunately (for all of us) it was a memorable book / story and I can genuinely say that I enjoyed it a lot, and loved watching it all come together at the end.
This book was bittersweet to read because I wish it was what would have happened in my marriage. As someone going through separation/divorce it was also hard to read what a different outcome marriage could have when you have two people willing to fight and work for it.
This book was great. I think it really captured how complex relationships are and how hard they can be. I loved the way the authors also incorporate for her relationships in the characters lives they’re having to work through. I loved the way the two main characters reconnected through this anniversary trip.
I thought this was a beautiful book and a great story! The authors of this book always do such a great job with storytelling and this wasn’t any different.
A perfect poolside read!
I loved the premise of the book. I found it thought-provoking. The idea that we get into these guys with the people that we know best- to the point that maybe we don't really know them as well as we thought because we assume a lot about their thoughts and beliefs instead of asking.
Anywho, Eliza and Graham have been gifted an amazing 5 year anniversary trip. And they're both kind of dreading it because they've drifted apart and all conversation feels like painful small talk. But, when they get to the resort, they get introduced to each other and pretend to be strangers. And decide to keep pretending. So, in essence they're getting to know each other all over again. This is told in a dual perspective which I loved. I switched between audio and digital. The narrators did a great job capturing the story and the characters. The side characters, especially David, and the setting added to the story. I'd love to visit.
Finally, it makes me think about my own 20 year marriage and how important it is to keep dating and talking and listening.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy. All opinions are my own.
Honestly this book was kind of annoying. If the adults would just act like adults and have an adult conversation they wouldn’t have to play pretend. Super disappointed in this one
If you were to go looking for the perfect second-chance at love read, this is the one. Overall a 3.5 star read, that was digestible in one sitting.
Our mains are struggling in their marriage, and honestly frozen as to how to fix it or even how to start a conversation. They go on an anniversary trip, with the idea that this is what will save them, unbeknownst to each other. What starts out as a case of mistaken identity, becomes a game or lifeline of how they find each other again.
The pacing was what threw me off a bit, scenes that I wanted to explore more were rushed, and then minor subplots sometimes were focused on for too long. And then of course, once the third act event hit, the resolution followed so quickly. Quick enough to leave the reader a bit nervous that the HEA will stick.
However, for a book dealing with second-chance love, I appreciated that we didn't get overloaded with the sap and the more difficult raw-ness of sharing your inner self with someone else. Sometimes readers just want a light hearted read with their favorite trope. Wibberley and Siegemund-Broka definitely delivered here.