This was just not good. I didn't really feel the chemistry between the main characters at all. The book also had time jumps so I wasn't really sure how much time had passed.

I received an arc through netgalley.

There were things I loved about this and it was very cute, but mostly those came at the end when we got to the grand gesture and clearing the air.

First, though. I loved the idea of this book more than execution and I feel a bit bad about that. The execution tried too hard and it took awhile for it to stop coming across as cringe. Like, of course because she’s a gamer/programmer she has to have no idea about how to do makeup? I get being nerdy, I am nerdy, but it read like caricature instead of character.

Now, really getting into the characters… none of them are friends. They say they are and they talk, but they’re not friends. They don’t support each other until the end, but it doesn’t make sense for them to at that point because they genuinely seem to only get together to talk about sex and complain when anyone does anything to try to help them. Not that I’d want any of their help because it’s all terrible decisions and blame with no accountability from anyone. This book wouldn’t really pass the Bechdel test, either, for all it’s sex positivity and female power messaging. It’s not until the last quarter of the book we even see two female characters talk about something other than men.

I actually could have done with less of the sex positivity because there really wasn’t a need for all the messages that were included to have been included. They’re just there, and a lot of them didn’t do much for the story that wasn’t already done by the first few and the raunchy usernames.

The whole book really came together and got better in the last quarter, which is disappointing. I wanted to be able to root for Lark and Toby the whole time, but really it was a lot of peaked-in-college moping and unnecessary sexting that didn’t build anything and created a pretty stagnant plot. It really was written for the ending. And that ending is pretty much where all of these stars come in.

As the only female programmer at her firm, Lark is thrilled to land the lead role managing an account, but before she can shine, a technical snaffu happens, and she is left jobless and broke. When her friend suggest to turn to sexting to bring in money, she reluctantly gives it a try, hiding it from her best friend and longtime crush, Toby.
This is a woman in STEM, best friends to lovers romance. I don't think this one was for me. Thr premise was amazing, but it fell flat. I felt no tension between the 2 MCs, and Teagan (Lark's friend) was mostly there for comic relief, but I found her annoying. I felt like the story was less focussed on Lark's journey than it was on the actual romance. I did like the sex positivity and the representation of the dark side of what happens when creeps can hide behind a screen. I also liked the representation of what (I can only assume) it's like to be a woman in the STEM world.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free, and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

This book had a really slow start and then never picked up. It was slow-paced and a little boring pretty much the whole book. Even parts that should have been exciting or fun still dragged.

Also, and this might just be me, I wasn't getting handsome love interest vibes from Toby. He always kinda felt like the friend that was just hanging around. I wasn't really into him and eventually found that I didn't care whether or not they got together.

And, the best friend, Teagan, kinda sucked? At least in the beginning. If my friend did what Teagan did to Lark, I would have been so mad; not just brushed it off as a fun quirk. Also, she was always a bit pushy and overbearing. She was not my favorite side character.

Overall, this wasn't what I hoped it would be. It was slow and full of characters I ended up not really caring about.

What a cute book! I think anyone who likes a slow burn romance and a female lead character in STEM will love this book! As well if you're a fan of the friends to lovers trope this is for you! I really loved the premise of this book and the use of sexting making it very 2023 haha.

Definitely read if you're a fan of a slow burn romance!

Thanks Alcove Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

I enjoyed this book, it had a lot of humor and I liked that the main character was in STEM field as many authors do not explore that field as much as other careers.

I love a friends to lovers romance! And the fact that Lark is a woman in STEM makes my heart so happy, along with the LGBTQ rep and the sex positive messages. But just about everything fell flat for me.

Thank you to Alcove Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lark is a programmer. When she suddenly loses her job due to a mistake, a friend suggests sexting as a stop gap for employment. Can she do this? She decides to give it a try, but when she find a client that makes her think twice about keeping it all online, and a guy that she might want a relationship in the real world, what choices will she make and will she regret them?

While I did find this to be a bit predictable, I still found it to be quite enjoyable. It was full of humor, sex positivity, and was really fast paced. There is women in STEM representation, bi and abrosexual representation, and of course sexism in a male predominant workforce. Some of the characters relationships border on toxic, but overall I didn't hate any one character. It was steamy, a friends to lover romance, and was a light and refreshing read. I enjoyed Lark and Toby's relationship, minus all the secrets they kept from their supposed best friends, otherwise I enjoyed the will they, won't they aspect. I look forward to reading more by the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this romance missed the mark for me. Lark felt flat and one-dimensional. I'm not a fan of friends to lovers stories where one good conversation at the beginning of the book between any of the characters would have avoided the entire tension at the center of the book. The relationship largely felt forced and the sexting premise at the center of the book never felt flirty and fun like the flap copy seems to imply it will be.

Loved this so much
Such a cute romance that you know you will never have in real life lol

The main character were just amazing 😻

Lark goes from being the only woman programmer at her firm, to being jobless and broke, after she accidentally projects a scandalous picture from her phone onto the screen during a presentation. With no hope of work, she takes on the job of a text message-based sex work. What starts as a daunting job, soon becomes one that she begins to enjoy. Yet, she is uncertain how she will tell Toby, who is her good friend and longtime crush.
Not quite the romance that I had thought it would be, this was a ‘friends to lovers’ storyline. However, I just could not imagine Lark and Toby together as at times, their relationship seemed very forced. Some funny texts throughout the book, helped the story along.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Love love love love this book

Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

A friends to lovers slow burn where the female lead is in STEM? Give it to me. I really liked the concept. But sadly, I was here for romance and this book did not give me that. The romance was just dull and forced. I felt like everything that was happening between Toby and Lark was just for the heck of it. I did not feel the connection between them.

Sadly, this did not work for me. But I am still giving it a 3 stars because I liked the characters individually. Maybe in future I will give this another try. Because I won't lie and say that the concept wasn't interesting.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I unfortunately decided to DNF this one. I'll keep it short and sweet and say it just was not for me.

NetGalley is the only consumer site I will review this on as I did not finish the book.

Ebook received for free through NetGalley

Overall a good book with great characters. Perfect if you’re wanting any light romance, neediness, and sexy talk. A light read with vibes to shop around the corner.

Pretty underwhelming overall. Could've been a good premise but I wasn't hooked and just wanted it to be over

Thank you for the chance to review this book!

I am so sad! This book has the CUTEST cover, a fun title, an interesting blurb, and I was so excited to read it. Women in STEM, sex-positive attitude, inclusivity, hot romance, I mean let's go!
It just completely fell flat for me...!

The main character Lark is in a dead end job, unappreciated by her shitty colleagues, but at the same time does nothing to change her lot. She has no will and no spine about anything.
It does not help that the whole situation at work is very cliché with nasty bros (sexually) harassing everything and everyone.
It is kind of the same with her friends and best friend slash love interest, it all felt a bit too two dimensional and flat. Other best friend Teagan was fun at first, but would only appear on stage with suggestive suggestions and whipping out a sex toy.
Lark herself had me rolling my eyes after the fifth fun quirky nerdy girl comment. We get it.

The whole becoming a sex worker because there is no other way to make money but no do not fret I am doing this to be very empowered!! Erm?

I could not get into the book at all and was very uninterested in knowing what happened to everyone. Really too bad, as the first firth/quarter of the book seemed to start things off really well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing the ARC.

I wanted to like this book. It has the same vibes as The Nanny by Lana Ferguson, which is why I gravitated towards it. However, unlike The Nanny, this book felt a little lacking.in terms of character development. I wanted to like Lark, but she just felt very underdeveloped and kind of lackluster. I didn't want to engage with her arc at all. And Toby read like dry toast for me. It was just an overall very bland book that had the potential of being something more.

I'm sure some people will enjoy it for what it is, just not me unfortunately.

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove for an opportunity to read this book. I was drawn to the premise. This book was a fun, light, steamy read. I wouldn’t say I loved it but I definitely enjoyed it and thought it was a unique story that made me laugh at times. I will definitely read another book by this author.