Nothing could go wrong while fake dating and hiding your identity, right? Wrong.

A fast-paced story and witty sarcasm are two of my favorite things. Next, throw in animals and furever homes and it’s easy to understand why I’m a huge fan! Being a bit of a control freak myself with anal retentive lists, I definitely identified with Wren. I adored Kamala and Wren’s wonderful and supportive friendship. Asher is a great guy and enjoyed his role in the story. It’s not all romcom here, the author does a fantastic job of touching on abandonment and the effects of social media. Great YA read.

Borrow My Heart has officially joined the ranks in my list of top YA summer rom-com books! I loved everything about it – the characters, the chemistry, the overall summer vibes, and all the fun shenanigans you would expect a summer YA to include.

Borrow My Heart is about teen “control freak” Wren, who overhears a random guy named Asher, being humiliated by his friend about getting cat-fished at a café. To save Asher from further embarrassment, Wren pretends to be his online crush and goes on the date. Despite having many dating rules in place, Wren continues dating Asher under the fake persona, breaking her own rules and falling for him in the process.

What I love the most about YA summer romances is reading about the fun summer things the main characters get to experience, so I was excited when Borrow My Heart included just that. This book was jam-packed with YA summer-filled adventures which includes working summer jobs at the pet rescue shelter, going on lake trips, and of course, finding a summer romance.

The characters were so easily lovable and relatable. Asher has massive “golden-retriever” energy while Wren has the “black cat” vibe and I absolutely loved them together. The chemistry between them was amazing and despite the unfortunate catfishing aspect, their meet-cute has to be one of my favourites because it’s unique and plays a big role in their relationship throughout the book. This was also just a great take on the “fake-dating” trope.

I decided to give it a 4 out of 5 because I felt like there were some things in the end that I needed some answers to, like what happened to Wren’s mom at the end? Who was the catfish?

Overall, I truly adored this book. So, if you’re a fan of other YA romance books by Kasie West or looking for the perfect YA summer romance vibes, I definitely recommend reading Borrow My Heart!

Recommended for readers looking for:
✅ YA summer contemporary romance
✅ Rom-com with dogs!
✅ Golden retriever and black cat duo pairings
✅ Forced proximity with a new take on the fake-dating trope
✅ Kasie West and Morgan Watson YA vibes

Cass x

💻 Check out more book reviews on my What Cass Reads blog and my Instagram!

Borrow My Heart by Kasie West is such a feel-good book I have read in a while. Because of the pet theme in this book, I loved it even more.

Wren's love for pets made me feel connected to her. She worked in a Shelter where she got attached to Bean, a sweet Pitbull. Finding a forever home for Bean has been the subplot, which I love more than the main plot.

Wren saved Asher, the male protagonist, from his friend embarrassing himself because he said he would humiliate Asher if the girl he (Asher) met online didn't show up to the Coffee Shop. So, Wren jumped in to save the day. First of all, I wouldn't say I like this scene because it's so unrealistic. You don’t save a stranger because his friend was teasing him. It's their business, not yours, Wren.

This was literally the very first scene, so I thought I might not love this book very much. But I was wrong. Interactions between Wren and Asher were so sweet. Wren's sarcastic responses throughout the book were my favourite.

The characters were so good in this book. Kamala, Wren's friend, was an excellent support for Wren, unlike Wren's mother, who left her when she was little. I adore how Wren handled her relationship with her mother.

This book has a super flow and is fast-paced from the beginning, and I didn't expect a twist. I was only eagerly waiting for what would happen if Asher knew that Wren was lying all along. But nothing happened as I expected. There was a total change in the plot, which was a perfect twist. Also, the book cover is so beautiful and I am in love with it.

This book is a cute, feel-good young adult story with a great subplot involving animals.

When guarded teenager, Wren, overhears a boy is about to be catfished, she steps in and pretends to be the girl he is supposed to meet to save him from embarrassment. Before she can tell him the truth, she gets in a little too deep and her closed heart begins to slowly open up to him… This was my third Kasie West book, and I love her writing style. All of her books are witty, relatable, and easy to read. This book was no exception. I read it very fast and found it easy to invest in the characters. Wren was a beautifully flawed human and I loved her. Her journey from being guarded and terrified of letting people in to opening up was beautiful and I couldn’t help but root for her. I loved seeing her family’s dynamic and how their mother’s leaving affected them all differently. It was apparent in all three of them how the events of their past created who they were today and that character development was superb. Asher was a delightfully sweet character, and almost a little too perfect. He was great for Wren though, so I’ll let it slide. My favorite character, by far, was Bean the rescue dog. He was definitely the star of the show. The plot was fun and sweet, focused mostly on Wren’s growth with some doggy shenanigans thrown in there. Borrow My Heart is a good solid summer read if you’re looking for a well-written light-hearted YA rom-com.

3.5 stars
Another good Y.A. novel from author Kasie West.
I got bogged down at the beginning with the amount of different characters to keep straight. And, I’ll be honest, all the social media terms made my head spin (yeah, I’m old, I know!)
Once the plot picked up with efforts to try to get Bean the Shelter Dog into a forever home , I became more interested. I’ve worked in shelters myself, and it was always difficult to understand why some sweet animals just never got chosen. There was always joy for those who did, though, mixed with some sadness at the goodbyes.
I think young adult readers would get into this one easily and happily. For me, I wished for “more animals, less romance.” Still, a sweet story!

I thought this was a fun read. I really liked the main character alot and realted to her a ton. I thought that this was a fun take on fake dating and i also loved the puppy content. I like that this book had a unqiue third act conflcit and also really liked all the side characters and hope to see them in future books! It was a quick read and one that i enjoyed by this book and loved the unque premise!

I was really excited to read the latest release from one of my fave YA authors - Kasie West ! I think I've been reading her books for about 10 years at this point and I'm not kidding when I say that I've read everything on her backlist! They're such feel-good books with relatable characters that I always end up falling in love with!

So, in Borrow My Heart we have Wren who is used to being called a control freak but she prefers living by her set of rules. Her carefree mom left their family when she was young and though her sister, Zoey might not mind it, Wren is still resentful about it and doesn't expect much from their mom who flits in and out of their lives. Their dad works hard to take care of both of them, but it doesn't leave much time for anything else. So Wren likes having control over the things that she can, even if that makes people think that she's a bit mean 😂

And when she's hanging out with her friend at a cafe, she comes across a good natured guy - Asher who is being roasted by his friend as they wait for his online date to show up - and he's most likely being catfished. Wren impulsively decides to help him out by pretending to be his date, and one lie snowballs into a few more after Asher and his friend Dale show up at the animal shelter where she works! And they start spending more time together when they're tasked with finding a forever home for one of the dogs at the shelter named Bean - who seems to hate everyone except Wren and Asher.

Though Wren has a prickly exterior she has a soft heart underneath all of that and I loved her for it! I wanted to give her a big hug just like Asher did and I loved how she slowly opened up after interacting with him. It's hard not to fall for a cinnamon roll like him🥰 I was thinking that this was gonna be a fake dating-ish story with some misunderstandings but it turned out to be very different and I was definitely surprised by some of the twists in the second half!

I also liked how this one talked about social media and how it has taken over everyone's lives - especially the teens. In a way, I'm still like Wren - I still don't feel comfortable enough posting everything about myself on social media. In a way I'm kinda glad that when I was growing up only Facebook was popular and there wasn't IG or Tiktok😂 Also, though I liked the relationship between Wren and her best friend Kamala, I felt like we could have gotten more pagetime with Wren's family members especially her dad. I was a little disappointed by her sister's and dad's reactions in the last few chapters(even though Zoey apologized later) and I'd definitely have loved this one even more if that had been explored further!

Overall this was a super cute read with some amazing main characters! If you're in the mood for an adorable YA book to boost your serotonin then look no further!❣️✨

And if this review wasn't enough to convince you, here are my Top 5 Reasons to read Borrow My Heart

✨ Lots of adorable animals especially a grumpy pit bull with an attitude!🐕😆
✨ A realistic FMC and a cinnamon roll hero who brings out her optimistic side!
✨ The FMC saves the day by rescuing the love interest and we get some fake dating too(or is it fake?)!☺️
✨ Perfectly imperfect characters that evolve throughout the story and learn from their mistakes!
✨ Amazing, supportive friends who have your back(even when you're lying!)

P.S. I saw that we will be getting another book after this?!? I hope it's Kamala's story!

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this title.
This was such a cute romance and the main characters were very likeable. At some points it was cringy but I loved it all the same.

Kasie West is one of my go to authors for YA romance, and once again she delivers!

In Borrow My Heart we meet Wren, a control freak that lives her life by following her own set of rules and guidelines. Wren wants to fall in love and be happy, but unfortunately for her, she has some high standards and no guy has checked off every box on her list. It seems everyone has it easy when it comes to love except for her.

Well... her and this guy at a coffee shop, who is waiting to finally meet someone he's been talking to online for a while. Unable to avoid overhearing his conversation with his friend, Wren comes to the awful conclusion that this guy is being catfished. And from the sounds of it, his friend will be less than supporting. So Wren does something so very unlike herself and pretends to be said girl, trying to save face for the guy.

It works like a charm, and when Asher turns out to be such a nice guy, Wren knows she did the right thing. The only problem? More chance run ins with Asher, who now believes Wren is someone else. Someone he knows and likes. And the more Wren pretends to like him back the more she realizes that she really does.

In true Kasie West fashion, Borrow My Heart is filled with fun banter, witty sarcasm, super sweet moments and a swoony hero. My favorite part was probably the character growth we see with Wren and how she faces conflict in her family head on.

I can't wait for West's next release!

It's been a long time since I was Wren's age but Kasie wrote in such a beautiful way that I was instantly transported to my teen years (no need to do the math, it was a while ago). Feelings can be so big and overwhelming and it was easy to find myself understanding why Wren had her rules and kept herself away from others. Kasie tackled some heavy topics in a careful way, while you felt the heaviness of the events - you were also comforted by the resolution.

Such a lovely story, absolutely add to your TBR.

Wren and Asher were two characters I loved basically from the get-go. Asher’s sweet personality and the way he gets just about everyone to like him almost instantly had me liking him easily. Wren was relatable with having her walls up and I liked seeing how she went from “nope I have x amount of rules. Can’t break them” to “whoops, another rule broken for Asher.” Which, I mean, is understandable because Asher is very adorable.

Most of the secondary characters I liked. Kamala – Wren’s friend – I really liked. She was funny and a good friend to Wren – cared, comforted her. Dale was just annoying all around – he didn’t raise himself in my eyes at all. If other readers liked him – that’s their choice. I suppose there was an instance here and there where he was sort of okay, but that happened when I had already made up my mind about him. That meant I wasn’t interested in changing how I thought about him.

I quickly sussed out Wren’s mom’s personality when she first appeared on the page. I would groan every time she was in a scene because I knew whatever she said would hurt Wren. And she kept proving me right! I also got annoyed with Wren’s sister because I felt like Wren should’ve been the older sister and Zoey the younger? Like Wren’s personality is very much older sister – how she thinks, how she views their mom; while Zoey’s is a younger sister’s view (that’s just my thoughts on the matter, of course). I liked Zoey slightly more at the end of the book and I wonder if the sequel will follow her or Kamala.

I love the fake dating trope – don’t mind reading it over and over again and this was a cute one! I appreciated what was done here with social media – expectations, downfalls, and the various issues it can bring. I felt like it did a good deal of that without being too preachy – which could happen very quickly when an older author is writing teen fiction.

The reason (or one of them) why I like the fake dating trope is because I like seeing how the characters develop. Sometimes they’re friends who agree to fake date but strangers fake dating (for whatever reasons) is also pretty popular. I’m good with either (strangers or friends) but I do enjoy strangers a tad bit better? You have them both trying to fit into each other’s friendship groups and trying to establish that you are, in fact, dating this person while also getting to know them.

It’s even funnier in this instance because Wren has to now act like she actually knows Asher and things about him (because she’s filling in for Gemma) – even though they’re are the strangers fake dating trope. It gave me a lot of second-hand embarrassment – which is another reason why I love the faking dating trope. There’s something about awkward squawking at a book when a character is being awkward.

The plot was (mostly) sweet and the pacing easy. Very glad there’s no animal harm/death in here – so so glad. West did a good job in making the animal characters their own characters – and they were sweet and I loved them. It’s such a a quick read that you won’t see the time flying by.

I didn’t feel like the third act breakup was unwarranted – definitely something I knew was coming and I liked how it was handled. Wren should also go to therapy. I hope she gets that because she really needs it. I also liked how they made up – it didn’t feel too unbelievable for me (I mean they’re also teens so they wouldn’t have all the emotional maturity feeling like most adult romances do).

Borrow my Heart is a lovely story. It was the perfect heart-warming read and it’s a real page turner. I stayed up late yesterday because I just couldn’t put the book down, and of course felt like a zombie today but it was totally worth it.
Kasie West is a master of light but at the same time deep stories. Stories that are fun and perfect for the summer but that also make you think. It has not been that long since I read one of her books but I totally missed that feeling. Borrow my Heart made me giggle but it also made me tear up. Wren is such a complex and interesting character and I loved her chemistry with Asher.
I liked the ending and how everything evolved, I got to say that the twist took me by surprise, I thought it would be something different, but I enjoyed so much, anyway.
If you want a fast, charming read, Borrow my Heart is definitely for you!

Every single Kasie West book I’ve read, I’ve loved and Borrow My Heart was no different.

When Wren is in her local coffee shop chatting to her friend over the counter, she overhears two boys waiting for someone’s online crush. One of the boys is making fun of the fact that the other is most likely being catfished, so Wren acts on impulse and pretends to be the person he’s waiting for. Asher is adorable, charming and for the time being Wren is convinced she has him fooled, apart from the fact he thinks she has a totally different name.

When Asher and his friend show up at the shelter she works at, the cat is out of the bag about her name, but Asher still seems oblivious that Wren is not the person he was talking to online. As these two spend more time together, working on creating videos to get one of Wren’s favourite dogs adopted, they start to get closer and inevitably feelings start to blossom.

I loved these characters and the little exploration the author made into the negative effects of social media. Kasie West never fails to entertain me with her writing and I will continue to read all of her books!

This may possibly be the first Kasie West book that fell flat for me and I’ve read most of her books. I’m not quite sure what the disconnect was for me, but I just did not find myself at all invested in the story or the characters. Ultimately I did finish this one, but I considered DNFing far too many times.

Kasie West is one of my auto-buy favorite YA Contemporary writers. I was so excited to have the opportunity to read this one and it was just as adorable as all her others. She just writes the perfect vibe of YA romance for me.

I really enjoyed Wren’s character. She is a girl who has lists. Ever since her mom left her and her sister with their dad she’s sought the safety and structure that lists provide for her in life. Her sister is a bit of a free spirit and so Wren feels the need to have some stability in her life and to also make sure her dad is taken care of too. I really admired that about her. I also loved her love for Beans! The pitty she bonded with at the animal shelter where she worked. Things really started taking a turn when she decides to “save” a boy from pure embarrassment after overhearing his friend teasing him about the mystery girl he’s supposed to meet. What she doesn’t realize is that those lists are about to go out the window!

Asher was adorable! I felt so bad for the him when he thought he was meeting the “real” Gemma when he was actually being catfished in person by Wren. I enjoyed how much he pushed Wren out of her comfort zone and taught her that it’s ok to have lists but it’s also ok to just go with the flow. The romance between them was sweet and supportive which I liked a lot about their relationship. He also fell in love with Beans and helped Wren search for the perfect family for him.

As the story unfolded, and Asher and Wren got closer, I was so worried what he was going to think when he found out that Wren is not Gemma. I thought Kasie did a great job of blending romance, friendship, and family dynamics together. I recommend this one and will continue to pick up Kasie West’s books! She never disappoints!

Wren is usually sticking to the rules. Especially when boys are around her. However, when Asher and one of his friends are coming into her neighbourhood coffee shop, everything changes. Wren decides to help Asher, who has been catfished and poses as his online crush. Something she definitely shouldn’t have done because it goes against her rules. Will Asher discover the truth, or will everything turn out for the best at the end?

This was such a cute and fast-paced read. Poor Wren, how did she end up in a fake dating situation? And also poor Asher, who hasn’t the tiniest clue. I’ve read this book in one sitting and absolutely adored my time reading it.

I liked the dynamic between Wren and Asher and was on the edge of my seat because I couldn’t decide if I wanted Wren to be honest with the poor guy or if I wanted them to stay in their little bubble. The fact that the author managed to represent the negative effects social media can have on us, was something I was glad to see.

Be prepared for a twist to happen during your read because there is definitely going to be some drama and it might get very emotional. Spoiler Alert: You will fall in love with Bean!

Overall, this was a light-hearted Young Adult Contemporary novel which I’m sure will be a great summer novel for YA readers.

Kasie West books are kind of a go-to when I need a sweet, fluffy romance. Usually, the characters’ families are involved in the story– especially their siblings. The romance tends to be sweet (as opposed to spicy), and the stories lots of times grapple with fear, vulnerability, and navigating changing relationships. I love all of that and BORROW MY HEART hit all the notes of those things that I was looking for.

I enjoyed the relationship between Wren and Kamala. Everyone needs that no-nonsense friend in their lives who tells them the things they need to hear, even if sometimes they’re not ready to hear them. Someone who sees who you are and decides that person, warts and all, is a person whose friendship they cherish. So I loved that about those two girls and their friendship.

I also thought the scenes where Wren works at the animal shelter were sweet. While I’m not a dog person, I thought it was really cool that she loved the dog, Bean, so much and worked so hard to try to find the right home for him. I liked that he wasn’t just a misunderstood sweetheart, either, but that he was pretty spunky.

The dynamic between Wren and Asher was sweet, too. I liked the way that he didn’t pressure her to do things she wasn’t comfortable with, and anytime she communicated her discomfort, he was quick to make space for her feelings and support her in what she needed. But he also made space to let her process things and come to him when she was ready rather than pressing her to admit things she wasn’t ready to talk about yet.

All in all, I think fans of Kasie West’s other books will love the fun, fluffy romance of BORROW MY HEART. It’s a great summer read to take to the beach or read poolside.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

I’ve been looking forward to this June release! It’s been a while since I’ve read a Kasie West book but she immediately pulled me into the story with her engaging writing style. Borrow My Heart starts out light but with meaningful moments. Wren’s character was my style of sarcasm and I got her right away. Despite her prickly nature, she reached out to help a guy by pretending to be his online crush and so, starts a relationship that turns out to be full of surprises… and might even turn out to be more?

My favorite character was the beloved, grouchy, grumpy, darling Bean! He was awesome and he totally gets bonus points for being choosy with people. I loved him. He was the best part of this book. I loved how Wren took care of him and adored him. Now for the love interest, Asher appeared to be the perfect boyfriend and he was good to Bean as well.

The plotline was steady and well-paced, with laughable moments and of course, Kasie West’s signature style—moments that tug at the heartstrings. I did not see that huge plot twist coming until it hit me like a punch and all I can say, is well-played, Miss West.

I adored this book! It starts with a deceit so you know it all has to come to light at some point. But the development of Asher and Wren is just so sweet! Add in the scene stealer Bean, and you just can’t go wrong. I should say, I watch so many instagram reels of dogs. Dogs being funny, being mean. All of it. It brings light into my life. So to have a hilarious dog that is mega grumpy made it all better.

I loved that it wrapped up in a satisfying way. It was honest and real. Kasie West is a master at YA romance!

Wren has a lot of rules for dating, but really...they're rules for life. She doesn't like not being prepared for situations and if that makes her a control freak, then so be it. But Wren also has a huge heart. She loves animals, especially rescues, and she doesn't like to see people being made fun of so when she overhears a guy being mocked by his friend about being catfished, she pretends to be his online crush.

Asher turns out to be a genuinely nice guy, and a great hugger. It's worth pretending to be the girl he was DMing if she's saved him from embarrassment. And now...she's fake dating him. When Wren's rules start getting broken over this guy, she has a hard time keeping her rules for other things...like her absent mom.

This story really didn't get going for my until the last third of the book where we really get into Wren's head and why her rules matter to her so much. Up until then it was just a cute story with not much else going for it. But by the end, I came to really appreciate Wren and her heart.