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.

This is the story of Star Shine Meadows (yes really!) and Rafe Whitman. Star is a free-spirited person who's life goal is to be happy. She works as a professional costume character and a line sitter. Rafe, a surly veterinarian, hires her to be his fake girlfriend, so his family will stop attempting to matchmake for him. She is caught off guard when she starts to have feelings for the surly man who is working his way into her heart and life.

Rafe and Star definitely have chemistry and Samantha Young does and excellent job writing this, including the banter between the two. They both don't want a relationship for their own reasons, and come with baggage from their past. I liked watching both characters become more comfortable with the other and becoming a better version of themselves. I loved the grumpy/sunshine trope in this and thought it was a great execution of it.

Star is definitely one of those "quirky girls", but it seemed to work for her. She was so secure with who she was and owned it. I loved how much she learned about herself throughout the book. Rafe didn't start off the book on the right foot with how he was toward Star, but he truly redeemed himself. I thought it was great that Rafe accepted how Star was and lifted her up. He didn't want her to change for anyone, but herself. The family and found family were well developed and the characters added to the book in so many ways.

This was a good book with great fake dating, grumpy/sunshine vibes and was a fun, quick read. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

4.25/5 ☆

💗 grumpy x sunshine
🐾 fake dating
💗 opposites attract
🐾 NYC setting

The Love Plot was such a fun and swoon-worthy rom-com that I couldn’t put down. This story follows Star Meadows, who’s a free spirit juggling two jobs. She’s happy to live her life free of stressful ambitions, and jobs or relationships that would tie her down. So when she meets her complete opposite, veterinarian Rafe Whitman, while dressed as a Disney princess, she can’t help but try to get under his skin. Rafe finds Star obnoxious, but as a woman willing to do “odd jobs” for money, he offers to hire her as his fake girlfriend to get his overbearing family off his back. But pretty soon they realize that opposite 𝘥𝘰 attract…

While this was mostly a lighthearted and entertaining read, I think what I loved most about it was the deeper message in the book. Star’s main goal in life is to be happy and happy looks different for everyone. She’s open-minded and accepting, and I loved her for it. She’s a heroine I strive to be more like. Before meeting Star, Rafe had such a narrow-minded opinion of how people should live their lives. Meeting Star forces him to realize that people find joy in different things, and a person’s status shouldn’t be defined by the job they have, where they live, or their level of education.

As they spend more time faking their relationship around Rafe’s family, Star and Rafe get to truly know one another. Under Rafe’s grumpy and rigid persona is a big old softy. He falls so in love with Star, and I loved witnessing his transformation throughout the book. And while Star first appears as this self-assured, cheerful woman, she’s hiding insecurities that stem from her chaotic childhood.
Their journey from strangers to fake bf/gf to real lovers was filled with laughter, character development, some serious moments that had me teary-eyed, and so much love. These two were so special 🤍

Thank you Berkley and Samantha Young for an ARC of The Love Plot, which is out August 29, in exchange for my honest review!

She's a quirky girl who's only real goal in life is to live her best happy life and to not get into a serious relationship, he's the hot grumpy vet she meets at a party who she can't help but want to get under (his skin and in bed)... and he's offered her 10 grand a month to pretend to be his gf so his family will get off his back. Star Shine Meadows is the quirky girl, she works as a party princess and a line waiter. At her latest job she spots the very hot Rafe Whitman, a veterinarian who is sick and tired of his family trying to set him up after his previous gf cheated on him. Despite how annoying he finds Star and how much she can't help but want to annoy him and sleep with him, he offers her a deal: pretend to be his girlfriend and he'll pay her 10 grand a month. What starts off as pretending soon becomes very real, but how can they make a relationship work when Star doesn't believe in serious relationships or compromising in a relationship and Rafe is all about monogamy and his entire family is constantly trying to change Star and trying to force her to be someone else. I'll start off by saying this book had potential, however Star was so annoying as a character, I get where she's coming from, she has had a hard childhood that has definitely jaded her views on relationships and monogamy, but she's so hell bent on being "quirky" and "not like other girls" and "not judgmental at all" but it does not come off all that cute. I grew to like Rafe, but he was also super condescending and his family is a mess. Seriously their families were messes and I am happy that both Rafe and Star manage to find a compromise to their lifestyle and their relationship but it was a bit of a rough start to the book. Overall if you like opposites attract and fake dating give this one a go!

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

The Love Plot by S. Young, published by Berkley Publishing Group Berkley, is a full length, stand-alone novel with cross-overs to previous books.
A delightful read, literally unputdownable. A cover to cover in one sitting read that gives all the feels.
Star Shine Meadows is a woman who goes with the flow. The line sitter and character actor for hire is a happy go lucky girl who grew up with hippie parents.
And the total opposite we find in the male main character. Rafec Whitman, Dr. Vet. and happily single has a family who came from money and wants him to settle, have a girlfriend at least.
Yup here you go along with the storyline. Why not hire a pretend girlfriend. Easy said and easy done. But then the mutual attraction starts making things difficult.
An opposites attract romance that had me in knots laughing out loud, that made wanted to hugh the characters, wanted me to be in the story.
An excellent read, 5 stars.

The Love Plot is a warm and funny romance in which a determinedly independent hippie girl meets a kind-hearted veterinarian. It’s a spirited read loaded with personality and humor, and it’s bound to make readers smile.

Star Shine Meadow is, if you couldn’t tell by her name, the child of hippies who eschews commitment in favor of freedom because of her parents’ terrible relationship. She also hasn’t committed to a single career, but rather works part-time jobs to maximize her sense of liberty. She’s paid to sit on lines for rich people who want the latest exclusive gig, and she also plays costumed characters like Disney princesses for children’s birthday parties. Star plans to travel the world someday, and works with that in mind. While performing at a birthday party dressed up as Merida from Brave, she’s instantly attracted to a handsome veterinarian, whose orderly, job-dictated life is the exact opposite of hers.

Dr. Rafe Whitman just wanted to make an appearance at his niece’s birthday party without any fuss, but instead he finds himself bantering with the woman hired to entertain the kids. He realizes, suddenly, that Star might be the perfect way out of his family’s nonstop nagging. He’ll pretend to settle down all right – with Star, who will in turn receive the benefits of travel and more cash than she’s making as a line sitter/party actor.

Star expects this to just be another gig in her gig-rich life. But neither she nor Rafe expect emotions to intervene and bring them the possibility of true love. But can Star ever allow herself to settle down?

The Love Plot is a sweet contemporary romance with a sense of humor and a sharp eye for modern foibles. It’s grumpy meeting sunshine and lower class meeting upper class, and there are a lot of comfort-read tropes going on here, but Young delivers them well and with sparkle.I enjoyed Star a lot, and though some might dislike her commitment-phobia, it does come from an organic place. Her enjoyment of her freedom and conflicted feelings about wanting a committed relationship and job track are relatable. Rafe is (overly) grumpy and organized due to his background, but he learns how to unbend with Star.

Star has to deal with a lot of nonsense attached to her parent’s marriage; her mother, Dawn, constantly runs off and and is completely unreliable if ever Star's dad, Arlo, or Star need her. Arlo, meanwhile, comes off as sweet, befuddled, and terminally hooked on Dawn even though she doesn’t give a rip about the life they’ve built. Star must come to terms with her Dawn-based baggage if she wants to move on with her life, and the book does not skimp on how much it hurts to confront a parent about their recklessness. If you don’t enjoy stories featuring parental conflict, this definitely won’t be the book for you, and even though Rafe’s relationship with his folks is much kinder than what Star goes through with Dawn, it’s still very hectoring.

I really liked that when Star tries to change herself to fit in with Rafe’s staid family, he’s appalled and wants the real, sunshiny Star back. That’s a nice touch.

The book in general is fun and spicy and a good story about growing up and finding your path. The Love Plot worked for me, and I think it’s going to work for a lot of folks who long to learn how to reclaim their destinies from parental expectations.