I don't think there is another troupe I love as much as the 'grumpy/sunshine' troupe, and add in fake dating and I was sold on reading The Love Plot. This story was so much fun, but it also had it's emotional moments and frustrating moments. Overall, I enjoyed it so much. And that's mainly because of how much I loved both Star and Rafe.

When Star and Rafe first meet, it's clear that they are complete opposites. And we all know that opposites attract... Rafe is a veterinarian who comes from a wealthy family. He decided to go his own way and not follow the family business. Star is a professional line sitter and also a character actor for parties etc. In fact, she's playing a Disney princess at Rafe's niece's birthday party the first time they meet. Star may not know what she wants to do for a future career, but the most important thing to her is that she's happy and she genuinely is. Being just herself.
"...My ambition is to live a life that makes me truly happy. And I reckon that's probably the most ambitious anyone can be in this world."
Rafe needs his meddling family off his back and decides fake dating Star would be the key to do that. He never dreams he would fall for someone so different for him, but that's exactly what he does. Even though there were some things on Star's part that made her hesitant to commit and truly give in to Rafe, he was patient with her. I loved that Rafe loved her for her and never tried to dull her sparkle.

The Love Plot is a fantastic romantic comedy and one I highly recommend. I love Samantha Young's writing and this was such a win for me!

Oddly I feel sort of conflicted about this book but I enjoyed it which is why even though this is a more a 3.5 I'm giving it a 4.

I LOVED like 70% of the book but the last 30% sort of fell off for me. Rafe and Star were adorable and actually had me cackling during so many of their interactions. Star is just iconic; I love her optimistic attitude, loving nature, and ability to put Rafe (and most people) in their place when needed. I also loved Rafe's transformation/growth, especially in how he treated Star. And yet for some reason, the latter half just didn't give what the first 2/3 gave.

I love a fake dating trope, especially with grumpy sunshine, and add a rich MMC paired with strong FMC and you've sold me. I think Star's past, lifestyle, and overall outlook on life was genuinely so interesting and different from other books with these tropes; I loved it and her. Her friends were awesome, I love seeing polyamory representation! And Rafe, while grumpy and a bit of an ass, definitely had good morals at least despite the socialites in his circle, He could admit when he was wrong, felt remorse, and clearly had a big enough heart to love and work with animals (we love a Vet).

Both Star and Rafe grow and change (for the better) as characters throughout this book which really made it feel like we went through something with these two and the large supporting cast around them. Rafe becomes more affection, loving, romantic, and Star finally heals from her past, embraces commitment, and even tries to look for a life passion.

Overall, even though the first half held up way better than the second causing it to feel a little lackluster, I did have a really good time reading!

Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, fake relationship, romcom

I love Samantha Young's books and her newest romcom is no exception! Grumpy meets sunshine and a fake romance is a perfect combination and I could not have asked for more!

Star is so much fun and Rafe is just the opposite in every way possible. I really enjoyed watching him change because of Star.

The saying opposites attract is the perfect saying to describe Star and Rafes relationship. I enjoyed their relationship from start to finish!

The Love Plot utilizes my favorite trope (fake relationship) between an uptight NYC society veterinarian and a free-spirited child of hippies names Star Shine.

What works is the hero falling blindly in love with someone completely "wrong" for him. What didn't work for me is Star being so deeply insecure. It's just a personal pet peeve of mine when reading fiction.

This book was so fun! I love Samantha Young's books - this was everything I wanted and more. I could not put it down!

i really enjoyed this book! this book was so cute and entertaining to read! this book was a combination of my favorite tropes with grumpy x sunshine, fake dating, and opposites attract! i really loved both of characters and i also felt like the side characters were all very interesting which added a lot to the story! my only complaint with this book is that it seemed to drag towards the end but the actual ending and conflict felt rushed.

overall, i really liked this book and i highly recommend!

I love SAMANTHA YOUNG. This book was so cute. I loved Star and Rafe. I loved how its very much an opposite attracts romance. I loved how Rafe didn't want to change her and loved who she was and loved her because she was different from him and his family.

I just wasn’t feeling this one as much as others written by Young. I think I’m over the super free spirit/manic pixie dream girl. While I do enjoy characters that are non-conventional, Star Shine was just a bit too much for me and I had a hard time enjoying the book.

With many a cute moment in this grumpy sunshine romance playing out across the busy streets of New York City... you'll get to see how the other half lives in two very different ways. 👌😂

Star Shine Meadows is the bubbly and sweet love child of two non-monogamous hippies who don't believe in permanency. Rafe Whitman... is exactly the opposite of that in every way. Raised in a traditional family in the wealthy suburbs of New York... Star Shines' way of life is completely baffling. When Rafe decides he needs Star Shine to become his fake girlfriend for a while to get his family off his back about settling down.. what ensues are a series of wildly *awkward* situations with family and friends while they try to get their worlds to align. And as all fake daters do.. they try not to fall in love because two people from opposite ends of life never work out right?

THOUGHTS:
- I think this book is interesting for many different reasons, but there are two main things I took away that were deeper than just the surface romance:
#1. Can you really date someone **that** different from you? Do those relationships ever really work? I think we'd all like to belive that those Pretty Woman moments happen.. but we're not Julia Roberts.. and most men.. they're just absolutely not Richard Gere.
#2. How much should you really change yourself for the person you're dating ? Some change is good and natural. But when is it too far??

As I unexpectedly pondered those two things... I think I grew to like this book much more than I did in the first half! I love the heroine's growth and how she let's go of toxic relationships!

NOTES:
- Polyamorous relationships are portrayed throughout (not between the main characters)
- Fake dating
- Miscommunication trope
- 🌶️🌶️/5 - As I'm personally not a fan of polyamory, I think I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for that to be what this was about. I expected at some point for the main couple's relationship to start exploring that avenue and even though they don't -- I think it took away from me enjoying the main romance.

THE LOVE PLOT is a charming, witty romantic comedy about a seriously hot, grouchy guy who meets a bright, sweet lady who grates on his nerves, who surprisingly gets his engines running. Star Shine Meadows is a free spirit who loves doing things that make her happy. When she meets a surly sir while working at a little girl's princess party, she is surprised by her extreme attraction to the little girl's uncle.

Rafe Whitman oozes masculine hotness and asks Star to be his fake date. He wants to get his clingy, matchmaking family to stop interfering in his life. He dangles money to Star in return for her help. Only their attraction to one another heats up to steamy levels. Who knew a crabby veterinarian and a free-spirited lady without career goals would mesh?

THE LOVE PLOT is delightful, hilarious and lively. Star and Rafe meet at a party and they banter and bicker. Rafe hires Star to pose as his fake girlfriend to get his annoying family to back down on the marriage front. Star agrees to his proposal and sparks fly between them! Star is so much fun! She is a happy-go-lucky person with personality galore. Rafe is a grump but there is a reason. He is so supportive of Star that I adored their story! They both have problems and I wondered how it all would work out. Ms. Young does an excellent job handling an opposites attract story with aplomb! This is a ferociously, funny, sexy read!

I loved this book!!! The chemistry was great, I loved the character development and the conflict was very real and believable. Definitely recommended

I really enjoyed this! This is the second Samantha Young book that I have read and now I want to go read more over her backlist! I liked both of the characters and their growth. Not a ton of spice but when it’s there it’s good!

That books was a delight!

Star is a free spirited woman who works odd jobs to make ends meet, like dressing as princess for parties or waiting in line for other people.

Rafe is her exact opposite, a serious veterinarian with focus on his career and plans for the future. The only thing he could do without is his family trying to fix him up with every available woman they know.

Seeing Star as someone who could help him out, he proposes a fake dating scenario to help get out of his family radar.

She is his sunshine to his grumpy, the fun to his serious and the chaos to his organized life. In other words they compete each other perfectly!

This is one of the best opposites attract books I have read. The way the couple works is beautiful to witness, to this it really helps that they share an amazing amount of chemistry.

I loved the way they were with each other, the change from fake dating to real dating was effortless and sweet, with just enough heat to make a summer day even hotter.

I loved both main characters, Rafe and his closed off personality that was hiding a sweetheart within and Star with her smile that was hiding pain and trauma. They both worked to become the better version of themselves not because they needed to change but because they grew through the book.

The supportive characters gave many different colors to the story, some were brighter other darker but all necessary to help the story progress.


* I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion.

This one fell a little flat for me, I wasn’t sold on the romance. But, a fan of Samantha Young! If you’re into spicy romance check out her previous books like Fight or Flight and On Dublin Street series

Samantha Young is an auto-buy author for me. She consistently writes sexy, sweet love stories with endearing characters. Her writing captivates me immediately and I just fall in love with her stories. This latest was no exception. Perfect for fans of fake dating and opposites attract, The Love Plot was a joy to read!

Thank you Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for my copy.

This book was so cute!!! I love me a grumpy sexy MMC. I also loved Star. Her one goal in life was happiness and I think that’s so beautiful & inspiring (and if being happy paid the bills, I’d jump at the chance to be more like her!) While this was a romance, there was a broader plot too of Star finding herself and who she is in a relationship and her finding comfort with who she is. I read this in a day and couldn’t put it down.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hello Fellow Readers,

I absolutely loved this book and pretty much devoured it in a couple of days. If I didn't have real-life commitments like a child I need to care for I would have read this in one sitting. This book has two of my favorite tropes fake dating and grumpy/sunshine and of course, the grumpy male romantic interest ends up turning into a gooey cinnamon roll.

I love Star, like 100% would maim for her. She's so strong and real but also has this vulnerability that shines through that you can help but want to wrap her up when something bad happens. I do love the growth that we see Star go through, how she ends up dealing with the trauma of her childhood, and how she handles her parents. Rafe, is also in my top 5 list of book boyfriends, oh man if I wasn't married and he wasn't a fictional character I would drool over him from far away because I would be too intimidated to approach him. I also love how young makes Rafe evolves. He goes from judgemental a-hole to a sexy accepting boyfriend. I don't blame Star at all for falling for him. Also, the spicy scenes were *chef's kiss* and I do kind of wish there were more of them but I won't complain about the ones that we did get.

Besides the two tropes mentioned above, there is also a little bit of forced proximity, enemies to lovers, and a rich guy/poor girl. I got to admit I don't like the latter at all but it worked in "The Love Plot'. There was some miscommunication which was frustrating but forgivable considering how much I love the book. I also wish that we had more of Jude, Kendall, and Roger as I loved their friendship with Star.

Overall, A great romance that may make my top 5 list for this year.

Grumpy Sunshine
Fake Relationship
Opposites Attract

The story itself was a fun, lighthearted romcom. I loved the opposites that existed here for Star and Rafe and how the two balanced each other out. The book was a really fast read, and would be perfect for a summer day or vacation.

I love a book with some banter and tension - which Rafe and Star’s story definitely delivers. I also love a book that showcases different family experiences and found family and its importance. I enjoyed the journey we saw Star go on too in finding herself.

Altogether a good read with a satisfying and sweet end. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read an early copy. All thoughts and opinions shared are my own.

Sweet and steamy. Just how I like my romance books. I enjoyed the grumpy sunshine plot of this book. A few parts felt a little repetitive and had me wishing the characters would just adult and communicate. However, the author did a brilliant job handling Star's childhood and how that would affect her views and wariness of relationships. Highly recommend for all the romance lovers!

I swear, every Samantha Young novel just keeps better and better to me. No joke. The Love Plot brings together so many good tropes including fake dating, will=they-won't-they, opposites attract and grumpy sunshine. What more could you want? True to Young's style, The Love Plot is chock full of compelling language that draws me in and makes this read unputdownable. It's fun and quirky, and I just loved everything about the character progression/journey and story so much.