Dawn and Callan hit it off in a serious way when they were younger and had just met, but then Callan left. Today, many years later, Dawn is a lawyer and Callan is a new client. They meet again in her corporate offices, and hit it off again, but the past interferes. What will happen now and why they parted in the first place is the subject of this romance.

Predictable in the end, the romance was nevertheless entertaining. It just took a long time to get to the heart of the problem and to get to the solutions for a possibly happy ending.

“Callan Marlow, you are frustrating and aggravating and have caused me a lot of heartache over these past two years.” That quote pretty well sums this book up.

Dawn and Callan meet for a summer fling, he’s got a troubled past he doesn’t tell her about and then the break up make up repeat begins.

It wasn’t a terrible book. It has its moments but the back and forth for me was a bit much, like you’re a lawyer girl, know your worth.

Side note: If you like a little spice, it had it.

I enjoyed reading this one as it's something that is light to read and fun. It has the second chance trope with strong minded characters. The multiple perspectives help to get you invested into seeing the characters together.

Thank You NetGalley and The Wild Rose Press for this e-arc in exchange of my honest review.

Just A Fling by Katherine Grace is a wonderful second chance romance story.
The romance in the book was so heartwarming.
I adored both characters who are struggling with past trauma.
This story was so emotional, riveting and gripping.
And I thought Grace did an excellent job at the storytelling and bringing these characters to life.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and The Wild Rose Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Just a Fling 💋

I have spent my Sunday curled up in the same spot with my favourite mug of coffee and stormed through this cheeky second (or third) chance romance.

Blurb 💋

Law student Dawn Mathison's steamy summer romance with solar developer Callan Marlowe is just a fling...until it isn't. Swept off her feet-and into lots of different positions-by the sexy Brit, Dawn believes Callan is The One...right until he dumps her. But that was last summer. Now, she is living her dream and couldn't care less about Callan. Not one bit. Truly. Callan left Dawn broken-hearted, confused, and pissed-off. But, dammit, he doesn't do serious relationships. Not after his past. It doesn't matter anyway because he'll never see Dawn again. Which is for the best. Really. When a twist of fate brings Callan back into Dawn's life-and into her office-their sizzling attraction reignites. Maybe this time around, they won't get too serious. But fate has a sense of humor. Because Callan thinks Dawn is The One who can help him. And maybe turn their hot affair into something more?

💋
This book was very enaging and I loved the main characters and their friends! I liked how they were always routing for them and the gave very good advice. Where can I get my own Jane?

The writing was engaging and the chapters were perfect length to keep the reader engaged whilst giving them enough information to be up to date with the characters movements.

I was shocked by the MMC’s secret that is revealed half way through and I loved how the writer handled that very sensitively.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you like second chance romances with a little bit of 🌶️ and a very engaging plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wild Rose Press for the opportunity to read and review this book 💋

Dawn is in England for a law student exchange program where she has a meet cute. Calan is a tall, hunky Brit that has her swooning from the first moment. But he can’t commit, his past has secrets that have his mind screaming that what they have is “just a fling” but they can’t get each other out of their minds even when they part ways.

This turned out to be a cute second hand romance I highly enjoyed. I loved the way the relationship between Dawn and Calan worked and how well written their chemistry was written. One of my favorite parts would also have to be the relationship the characters have with their families and friends as I feel it added an extra layer of interest in the story.

Calan and Dawns scenes were really fun to read and there were dark topics discussed but I feel like they were dealt with really well. All In all I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fun fast paced read.

Dawn and Callan’s was such an emotional journey. When they were together, they just clicked with perfect chemistry and had sweet moments together, but Callan’s heartwrenching background and struggles held their relationship back from evolving. Both Dawn and Callan needed to learn some lessons. Dawn needed to figure out who she wanted to be and needed to stop being such an overachiever, while Callan had to learn to cope with his past, needed to forgive himself, to take care of himself and heal. It’s a beautiful story about second chances and I willingly recommend it to those who don’t shy away from a bit of heavier emotional themes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of the book.

Overall, this wasn't entirely memorable. Dawn and Callan have good chemistry, and I don't mind a second chance romance. I appreciated that he has a legitimately interesting job, and that she is a lawyer who hates hers. The working person dynamic for both characters is nice. Sometimes I feel drowned in the hallmark professions of rom com characters. We all can probably do with a little less small town doctors and Christmas tree farmers. With that being said, I was still not in love with the story. Parts of the plot seemed a little cliche (which, it's a rom com, so I know that is kind of a given, but if I'm mentioning it, it is a bit much). However, I did laugh out loud at times and I admire that Callan has a good friend (friends mean a lot in books to me; I don't love a lonely MC). I would also like to give a shout out to her boss' boss for being incredibly sassy. If you don't love a spunky old person, you are wrong.

Thank you NetGalley and Wild Rose publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Dawn is a law student, Callan is an entrepreneur, they meet fall in love break up, meet again, break up etc Callan is a broken man with personal issues who won't talk. Can Dawn help him heal? Will Callan let her?
I think I might have to stop reading books where the main focus is romance because its just not getting me excited anymore. You know its not great when you are more excited to finish the book than you are about reading it.
That's not to say the story or the writing was rubbish because it was not but it was a little boring at time, I never felt connected to the characters (except the letter at the end, I admit that got me). I'm fast starting to dislike the trope of the broken mmc with a past to difficult to face. Also if you have to give the man 3 chances you know it isn't right and I speak from personal experience. I do have to point out I loved the dialogue from the fight between Dawn and Callan when he confronts her about revealing personal details to her boss. That was quite realistic and one of the best I've seen in books indo admit.
All in all not bad but not great. I'm honestly mixed up on this one.

I found this to be average. Dawn is a law student who had a fling with Callan during her summer program in London. Except they were going to make it more than a fling and from Dawn’s perspective Callan chickened out. From Callan’s perspective, he has trauma he needs to get professional help for. Of course, they eventually cross paths again at Dawn’s fancy law firm job and because people like to meddle, Dawn and Callan are thrown back together. I think the fling portion was done well, it was the actual romantic couple portions that I found unbelievable. They were the couple that broke up and got back together five billion times. It was annoying to have the same thing happen multiple times. Additionally, Dawn has a best friend, Jane, who wants to marry the love of her life and pop out babies which Dawn accepts but wonders why Jane does not want more. I would have liked the back-and-forth to be done differently in terms of the relationship and for the commentary about Jane’s life choices to be a bit nicer.

Butterflies, sad tears, chemistry, happy tears, international adventures and the best found family in their corners. . .Dawn and Callan's romance is a bit of a roller coaster right from their meet cute, through the 3rd act before finally getting to the HEA. And y'all I was so invested and their story hit me in alllll the feels. The sweet moments, the emotional moments, the heart wrenching moments and the grand gesture moment 🥰🫠😭🫠😍, I was here for all of it, it was just SO good.


Thank you Netgalley and The Wild Rose Press for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Just a Fling is a second-chance romance between law student Dawn Mathison and British developer Callan Marlowe. Dawn meets Callan while an exchange student in England and they have a whirlwind summer romance. The reader is soon aware that Callan, while captivated by Dawn, has secrets, and is suffering from angst and guilt. Dawn thinks the relationship is going somewhere, but at the end of the summer, he lets her go.

They meet again a year later in New York City at the law firm where Dawn is interning while she awaits her boards. Callan is there for a meeting regarding his solar development business and when they are thrown together on a business trip to Spain, their relationship heats up once again.

This book had all the ingredients for a second-chance, on-again, off-again romance. The characters had great chemistry and it was spicy. There was also a lot of angst on both sides, but it got to be a little too much for me at times. The characters could also be tiresome; Callan couldn’t make up his mind, but he wouldn’t get help for his issues. Dawn was a pushover with Callan but did stand up for herself later. All in all, this was a decent debut novel for the author, and I enjoyed it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and The Wild Rose Press for the opportunity to read it in exchange for my honest opinion. I gave it three stars.

OK read that felt very new adult, in that it tried to go further and emotionally deeper (getting over trauma). For sure, you're rooting for our main characters but there's nothing new to this genre or writing, just mediocre enjoyment.

This was a cute book. It definitely had the feel that it was the authors's first book. It was very bland without much heat. Not a book i would recommend for people to read, but was still yet a cute first book.

This was such a good read. I read it in one sitting. What a rollercoaster of emotions this took me on.

GENERAL INFO

Year Pub: 4/5/23

Date read: 5/22/23

Format: Kindle

Source: e-ARC- I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Page Count: 278

Setting: NY

Genre: Rom-Com, Contemporary Romance

Tropes: 2nd chance romance, office romance, enemies to lovers

Standalone/Cliffhanger/Part of a Series: standalone

HEA/HFN ending: HEA

Epilogue Included: yes, 2 years later

Character(s)POV Spoken: H Callan and h Dawn-alternating chapters and timelines

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Synopsis/Plot Summary: Dawn Mathison is a law student working at one of the most prestigious firms-White & Halston LLP. She is driven to be the best, but things aren't going too well. Not to mention, in walks the man who broke her heart with no explanation-Callan Marlowe. A twist of fate have them working together. Will Dawn give him another chance or protect her heart and forget him?

M/F-M/M-M/M/F-etc: M/F

Representation: law students and lawyers

Flashbacks: yes, the story goes back and forth between the previous year in England where Dawn and Callan met to their current relationship.

Jealy/Possy/OTT H/h : Callan is jealous of Kurt-an associate lawyer at the firm who likes Dawn.

Amount of Sex In The Book: enough

Overall Smex Rating: 3

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

Hero: Callan Marlowe

Hero Description: 30, British solar developer w/ his own business Green Solar. He had a summer fling w/ Dawn. Comes to her law firm for investors meeting. He doesn't do relationships, marriage, or kids since "the incident" with his ex-wife.

Hero Likability Rating: 3

Heroine: Dawn Mathison

Heroine Description: 25, from Alabama, currently a law student working at a firm she hates. Callan broke up w/ her a year ago and has made no contact since.

Heroine Likability Rating: 4

Secondary characters:
Jane-Dawn's bff, still lives in AL w/ bf Todd
Mr. White-Dawn's boss
Gemma-chief legal office @Green Solar. Callan's friend
Bill White Sr.-Started the firm Dawn and Callan are working at
Will and Sarah-Callan's childhood friends getting married

AUTHOR OVERVIEW
Katherine Grace
New or read before & any favorites: new author

PERSONAL OVERVIEW

Overall Rating: 4*

Do You Recommend This Book: yes

Will You Re-read This Book: yes

Would You Read More Books by this Author: yes

I agree with what others have said in that you are told what happens more than actually going through the process. The premise was good but the execution was lackluster

What can I say that hasn't been said? A Second chance romance that you cannot put down! This one is totally worth your time. it is all that you would expect from this genre. Lots of heart and ups and down...but just lovely

She’s in England for her student exchange program in law when she has a meet cute.
He’s a super tall, hunky Brit that has her swooning from the start. But he can’t commit, his past has secrets that have his mind screaming “it’s just a fling” but he can’t get her out of his mind even when she returns to NYC.

A beautiful story about tragic loss and second chances. You will be mesmerized with this truly addictive steamy romance. It’s very hard to put this book down, a must read romance.
I love love loved it!

Just finished this one and had to write a review right away! (I still have some other reviews to write).

Loved, loved, loved this book! I might be a little biased because of the lawyer theme, but honestly that wasn’t even a major plot in the book. Well, kinda is, kinda not.

Dawn and Callan were perfect for each other from the moment they met! Obviously like any romance novel they have to go through some things…(who wants to read a romance novel with no drama?) but they come out the other side stronger together.

Dawn has always wanted to be the best at everything. She is a second year law student spending the summer in the UK studying law to gain some edge over her competition in law school (darn you Mae-Lin!) What she doesn’t expect is to run into (literally) the most amazingly handsome Brit Callum Marlowe.

Dawn’s summer turns into a whirlwind love affair with Callum, but he’s got his own secrets, which eventually tear them apart.

Fate is funny and keeps throwing them together.

Dawn was heartbroken after her summer ended and she left the UK to return to DC to work for White & Halston. Her only worries now are passing the bar and landing an associates position to start paying off her student loans….but….

She can’t stop thinking about a certain Brit….and then who should end up in the very office that Dawn is working at…..

Can they rekindle what was left of their romance? Can Callum open up and share his secrets?

Read and find out!!

Seriously, sitting at work and I can stop thinking about this book.