"That's when Rafe Whitman smiled at me for the very first time. I swear my heart and clit swelled in unison."

Rafe and Star meet at Rafe's nieces' birthday party where Star is performing as Merida from Brave. To say the least, they did not hit it off. Cut to later that week when they run into each other again at Star's other job as a professional line sitter (wait until you hear what Star does to get his attention hahaha). Rafe is being hounded by his mom and sister-in-law to find a woman, and it seems Star will take any job even if it seems ridiculous. Rafe proposes a deal where they will pretend to be in a relationship for 6 months, and he will pay Star a generous amount of money that she can use to travel the world. Let the games begin!

Two people could not be more opposite than Star Shine Meadows and Rafe Whitman, yet when you put them together their relationship results in fireworks. I couldn't get enough of them together. One of my favorite things is when you can truly see the hero and heroine connecting on a deep level via big conversations. Where they feel so safe with the other that they open up about things they never talk about. That is what you get with Rafe and Star.

The true beauty of this story is the message it conveys. Be yourself, fight for your happiness, and don't change yourself to please others. You are special just the way you are, and the right people will love you the exact way you are. Although there is miscommunication (not my favorite) it doesn't last long, and it enforces the overall message I just mentioned. The moment they implode and communicate is pretty amazing too - well worth it :)

I love Samantha Young and it was such a joy to read "The Love Plot"!

Some of the featured tropes are:
grumpy-sunshine
fake dating
small-town settings
one bed (which GETS ME EVERY SINGLE TIME)

I loved this one from start to finish and am eager to read even more from Young.

This book is more about the female main lead figuring out who she is, and who she’s supposed to be than anything else. Rafe is just the poor, lovesick fool who tries his damnedest to love her through it. Not that he struggles. Because for him, loving Star is easy. Even when she drove me (and Rafe) crazy, I loved Star. Her inner thoughts, her quirks, her desire to drive Rafe absolutely insane. Rafe is 100% a storm cloud, and she was absolutely 100% as bright as the sun. She embarrassed him to get his attention, and I LOVED it! I needed to know everything about this grumpy man. I was not prepared for him to be so thoughtful, considerate, and gentle!! My heart wasn’t sure what to do about him making me swoon. Star didn’t believe in anything more than lust and cute crushes. But then Rafe storms in and rudely changes that. And it makes her rethink everything she’s ever known. The only thing I liked about either of their families was his sister. All my other thoughts about them are spoilers. Rafe didn’t have any issue saying exactly how he felt, never spared her feelings. Considering what he was feeling, I applauded him. I had a weird protective mother bear thing going on, while also simultaneously having a crush on him. The missing star? I spent too much of the book hoping there would be therapy involved.

The Love Plot is a grumpy sunshine romance. It was a cute enjoyable read. This was truly an opposites attract story with all the feels. I loved the banter between Rafe and Star. I really enjoyed this story and the characters and couldn't put this one down.

The Love Plot by Samantha Young

✶ contemporary
✶ fake dating
✶ grumpy x sunshine
✶ he falls first
✶ 3/5

Star Shine Meadows grew up with free-spirited parents and lives a life untethered to conventional norms. Her unique career includes being a professional line sitter and a part-time princess for hire. When Star encounters the handsome yet aloof veterinarian Rafe Whitman at his niece's party, sparks fly, but not in the best way. However, a subsequent unexpected meeting results in Rafe proposing a fake dating arrangement to Star, offering her money to play the part. She agrees, but as they spend more time together, Star must confront what she truly desires in life.

This story is a delightful take on the fake dating trope, with minimal angst and gentle conflict. The grumpy-sunshine dynamic between Star and Rafe is enjoyable, particularly because, even during disagreements, they maintain a level of respect for one another. Some of the standout moments are Star's journey to self-discovery, her reflections on her unconventional upbringing, and her witty exchanges with Rafe.

While the book's brevity meant that some plot points were resolved rather quickly, it remains an engaging read. Although not my favourite from Young, it was still a charming and entertaining novel.

My first book by Samantha Young and definitely not my last. I adored Star and Rafe's character developments. Such a cute and sweet romance!

A grumpy veterinarian, a free spirited woman and a fake relationship? Yes please! The chemistry between Rafe & Star was through the roof and made for such a fun summer read.

Rom-coms are my thing any time of the year and I especially love diving into them in between my “darker” reads. This one was such a fun read and as someone whose soft spot are animals, Rafe’d profession made him extra swoony!

Pick up this one if you like:
🐶 Opposites attract
🐶 Fake dating
🐶 Grumpy+sunshine

A huge thank you to #partner @berkley for my copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was cute, and enjoyable for the most part.
I liked the character's free spirit and little quirks but wasn't entirely enraptured by it.
It was a sweet little read, made me swoon a little and got all heart eyes.

It comes as no surprise that Samantha Young has written another fast-paced, super fun romance with lovably quirky characters! I adored A Cosmic Kind of Love and the unlikely matchup there, and The Love Plot was equally delightful! Star was such a precious character and I just wanted to hug her! I loved how well developed both Star and Rafe were, as well as their relationship. While they had a quick start with the fake dating situation, the relationship grew and changed over the course of the book, and see a much bigger picture than we get in a lot of wham bam romances these days, as they get to know each other, mature in their relationship and care for one another, and communicate with each other and the others around them. Even with dealing with some larger issues of abandonment and identity, this was a mostly light-hearted read with a healthy dose of found family, which always steals my heart! Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Firstly, thank you so much to Samantha Young for the early copy.

This was such a fun rom com! A grumpy/sunshine, fake dating romance that will have you not wanting to put the book down!

Star and Rafe don’t get off on right foot when they first meet at his niece’s birthday party, where Star is the kids entertainer though the instant attraction, she keeps her sunny attitude toward him even when he’s being an broody grump. But when they met again, after she embarrasses him in public (that scene was so funny), he decides to ask her if she’ll be his fake girlfriend to get his family off his back.

If you want a couple with great banter, then look no farther. Star and Rafe had laughing out loud throughout the whole book. I just loved that Star didn’t let his grumpy attitude get her down and she even brought out his not so grumpy side.

I loved how protective Rafe became of Star, even when they still didn’t know much about each other, he wouldn’t let anyone talk badly about her or put her down. Honestly Rafe was elite boyfriend material, standing up for her, supporting her choices even if he didn’t fully understand them, embracing her in anyway possible!

For once it was refreshing to read about a man wanting to be in a relationship and the woman being commitment phobic. And Rafe was so patient with her, knowing how she felt about relationships but still wasn’t afraid to show her he was serious and that they would be different than what she’s seen growing up.

They were the perfect match, made each other laugh and smile, they brought out the best in each other, they supported each other and lifted each other up when one struggling or having a bad day. And watching them fall for each other was so sweet.

Honestly there was/is so much to love about this book but I don’t want to spoil it but just know Samantha does not disappoint and if are you wanting a laugh out loud rom com that you won’t be able to put down, then this is your book!!

Fake relationships to real relationships are some of my favorites. This one definitely didn't disappoint. I will be reading more from Samantha Young.

This was a really fast paced, fun romance that had many tropes, big city setting. I cant say this was overly unique but it was one I read I'm an evening and thoroughly enjoyed. Pure entertainment and fun- pretty much what I’m looking for in this type of book.

Grumpy/sunshine
Opposites attract
He falls first
Fake dating

What’s not to love?

This book had so much quirkiness to it that I think the main lesson of “you should never be in a relationship you feel you need to change yourself to be happy in” gets lost at times. But also, Star and Rafe both were great characters that really enforced that point. Even as a grumpy sunshine, opposites attract relationship, Rafe is so understanding to Star’s extrinsicities and Star challengers his standard of thinking in great ways that are super healthy for a real life love story. The spice came out of no where at times and was rather extra spicy than I anticipated but that in no way is a bad thing.

The book lost me at a point because I felt like the second act break up got repeated in the third act a bit and the repetition just made me frustrated. Also, what the heck I wish we got the poly relationship in a book!

Final Rating: 3.75⭐️, 2.5🌶️

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC of The Love Plot, by Samantha Young. This is my honest and free review.

This one was really cute! I loved the grumpy sunshine aspect as well as the fake dating and opposites attract!

Star is a unique soul and I loved her. Rafe is a grumpy vet who was just wonderful! They had some great banter and chemistry! The way they meet the first few times was awesome 😆

I liked how the story flowed and everything that happened! It was an easy read and I quite enjoyed it!

This was a very enjoyable read for me. A definite Romcom. I like the, as I call it, snarky banter between the 2 main characters Star Shine Meadows and Rafe Whitman. This romance has several different tropes. It has grumpy meets sunshine, fake girlfriend and enemies to lovers. The initial meeting shows how grumpy Rafe is and how full of life and happy Star is. Rafe is a broody and hot hero who does not leave a good impression at first but you come to know why he is unhappy with things. Star is a happy, free spirited individual who has abandonment issues from her childhood.

There are quite few awkward scenes with the family as they are fake dating which I found to be a little humorous. At first his family is not onboard with their ”relationship” but most of them get to know her and become enamored with Star. It becomes very evident the attraction that they have to each other and how their personalities actually complement each other. Star sees what a family really is and wants to take a chance to grow some roots finally but has to confront her fears.
The Love Plot was a fun and enjoyable romance.

I enjoyed this one. The female MC was a total commitment-phone and sunshine personality, and the male MC was a total grump that turned sweet and lovey pretty quickly. I had a good time reading through the ups and downs for the couple and seeing how they dealt with their very different family dynamics. Nothing groundbreaking but enjoyable. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley publishing for allowing me a copy to read in return for an honest review. 3.5 stars rounded up.

A pretty cute story!
This book is pretty predictable for the contemporary romance genre nowadays. There's a meet-cute, a big city setting, relatable tropes, and a plot with a good message behind it.
One of the things I wasn't crazy about is how the characters all seem to blend into each other.
However, I did enjoy the swoony-lovey-dovey moments.
The characters are lovable and relatable in a fun way! And the banter between them is great.
Rafe and Star Shine are the definition of grumpy x sunshine trope! While I didn't like Rafe at first, by the end, I too had fallen for him!
Star Shine was pretty unbearable at first as well, but she quickly became a favorite by chapter ten. I think it was their differences that really threw me for a loop, and I didn't know if I liked either of them because of it. Throw in the side characters, mainly Rafe's family and Star Shine's family and friends, they quickly become the real stars with their sage advice and funny quips!
This story has a really slow start, it was very hard for me to read and get into. I'm still not 100000% on this review, because there were parts I liked, parts I loved and parts I absolutely hated (and cringed at). I couldn't tell if it was good because of the way the author wrote it, or bad because of the way certain scenes were depicted.
By the end, I did finally enjoy the way the two came together and worked out their MAJOR differences. And the steamy parts were pretty enjoyable too !
Big thanks to Berkeley Pub & NetGalley for this e-ARC! <3

“You’re infuriating!”
“You’re perfect.”
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Star Shine Meadows (yep, her real name!) grew up in an unconventional, hippie household. She is determined to live a carefree life, believes in no expectations, and is a commitment-phobe. While working her “professional costume character” job as Merida from Brave, she meets Rafe, the birthday girls uncle.
Rafferty “Rafe” Whitman is a veterinarian, grew up in a wealthy family, and is tired of his family trying to play matchmaker. After running into Star AGAIN, he makes her an offer she can’t refuse. Be his fake girlfriend, $10,000 a month.
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First off, huge thank you to @valentine_pr_ and @authorsamanthayoung for an advanced copy of this book! When I read the synopsis I knew it would be a perfect book to read and review.
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For the most part, I loved it. I loved the “opposite side of the tracks” fake-relationship trope. I loved how much Rafe clearly loved Star. My thoughts on ways to make it just a teeny bit better is I would’ve loved to have it be a dual pov. I would have LOVED reading Rafe’s thoughts. I also think Star’s hesitance could’ve been knocked down a notch. It got to the point where it was just too much for me personally. Overall, it was a great title and the smut was HOT!
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The Love Plot: 4 stars ⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Tropes: fake relationship, opposites attract, grumpy sunshine, only one bed

I loved this book! It was so cute and I really loved the grumpy and sunshine banter between the two characters. If I were to not like something about this book it would be that maybe the story could be trimmed down but only slightly. Some scenes just felt like they had too much extra plot and lost focus. With that being said it was so engaging, cute and romantic and it was 5 stars for me.

3.5 rounded up for Goodreads.

The Love Plot is a fun, lighthearted novel about a young woman who works as a "gig" worker (essentially she plays the role of whatever someone hires her for) and a professional line sitter. She and an upper-class veterinarian join a fake relationship to dupe his family so they won't keep trying to set him up with people - and the rest is history.

There were definitely some aspects of this book I really enjoyed. I like how it touched on the element of realizing that you're losing yourself in a relationship and how to handle that. Also the enemies to lovers/fake dating tropes are always ones I enjoy.

HOWEVER, I honestly didn't find the relationship/chemistry with the couple that believable. I can't exactly put my finger on WHY (and no, its not just because of how opposite they were). Maybe there wasn't enough build up with the two of them as friends for me to believe that they were in love?

I can definitely see him falling for her, but honestly I can't figure out why she loved him other than the fact that she thought he was hot?

Overall, an easy and fun summer romance - but not one that I will really ever reach for again.