This was the cutest romcom! I loved Star and Rafe, such a cute couple. Grumpy and sunshine will forever be my favorite trope and this did not disappoint

The opposites attract was my favorite too, I loved how different they were and how nicely they complimented each other. Their love and affection had me swooning 🥰

I really enjoyed their backstory as well which always add depth into the story, overall this was a really refreshing, fun read!

Absolutely loved this one! Easy handbell for our romance customers! Super cute cover and great story!

Wow ! Make some space on your shelf and in your hearts because a new swoony hero is in town!!
Samantha Young gave us the most perfect romantic comedy to date and I loved it to bits. Though it had all the cliched tropes but it was so different, unique and amazing.
Star is a professional character actor, line sitter, the most happy person, lives life to fullest and daughter to hippie parents. Basically she is the ultimate sunshine but she is also commitment phobic.
Rafe is a swoony broody grumpy vet and in dire need of rescue from his mom and sister in law because they are on the obsession of setting him up which results in round the clock line of girls.
What do you think will happen when these totally opposites meet ? One is broody one is sunshine. One believes in long term relationships, another is a master of casual relationship. One has a perfect family and stable job, another lives life day to day.
It was one of the most perfect romance I have ever read and I can't wait to re read it again and for all of you to swoon over Rafe ❤️

Take one grumpy veterinarian and one sunshiny gig worker alongside an undeniable spark and you never know what might happen when a fictional relationship is brought to the mix! I really enjoyed Samantha Young’s previous book, Much Ado About You which featured a bookstore (they get me every time with a bookstore!) so I was excited to read her newest romcom.

The meet cute in this one was fun and I loved the follow up interaction prior to their agreement. The two main characters were such complete opposites that I was a bit wide eyed when they put their deal in writing, but that’s part of the fun, isn’t it? Reading this romcom on vacation definitely fit the grumpy/sunshine, fake dating boxes I was looking to check!

Samantha Young writes with impressive command of her characters, their voices, and humanity; accentuated by her beautiful, nuanced prose, turning an unlikely love story into a glorious blending canvas of faith, love, and personal identity. I can’t seem to recommend this book enough.

My first Samantha Young read.

I enjoyed this read, the grumpy/sunshine fake dating trope is starting to grow on me. I enjoyed both characters and how total opposites grew to love each other. Star was definitely like a breath of fresh air for Rafe. I liked how Star viewed life....its all about being happy! I loved the awkwardness at the start of their fake dating. I enjoyed the banter between Star and Rafe throughout the book.

Im always down to read about family drama, Rafe's mother and sister in law meddling in his love life...which he is tired of, and Star, well not so much meddling but her parents just being absent.

I liked reading the many different topics Samantha Young addressed in the book...communication problems, different types of relationships, neglect and about being yourself.

Overall it was a great read for me.
Thank You Netgalley for the arc!

This started off a bit rough for me. The hero is very unlikable when we first meet him at his niece's birthday party. However, I'm glad I hung in there because I really enjoyed this one. 3.5 stars

I absolutely loved The Love Plot! I could not put this book down. Star is her own person, but she definitely is impacted by her upbringing. Then when she meets Rafe, she can’t seem to stop needling him. Rafe is a veterinarian and tired of his family’s meddling. When he runs into Star again at one of her odd jobs, he has an idea. Rafe offers Star a job being his fake girlfriend. The arrangement seems to work for both of them, but what happens the more time they start to spend together. The attraction becomes harder to ignore and lines start to blur. Then add these two seem to push each other and their boundaries that opens old wounds. I loved these characters and the witty banter, then add in the steamy connection these two can’t seem to ignore. The Love Plot is addicting and will have you falling for Rafe and Star!

The Love Plot is another rom-com hit from Samantha Young. Combining some of my favourite tropes, this grumpy-sunshine, fake relationship romance has plenty of feels and swoon worthy moments, and I loved Rafe and Star together. They are complete opposites, but a perfect match! Once i started The Love Plot, I couldn't put it down.

Coming from parents who didn’t believe in marriage or monogamous relationships it was hard for Star to enter into a relationship with someone.
Rafe was that commitment guy. Before meeting him, Star wanted nothing to do with commitment. For one, she didn’t know how. She was now scared she would hurt Rafe if they make their fake relationship a reality. She stated to feel things for him but in the back of her mind was the thought she wasn’t the type for commitment especially to one person.
But changing yourself to please others is so wrong. To fit into Rafe’s family she thought she had to change. To be someone they thought was a perfect fit into their lifestyle and Rafe’s life. To have a job they thought was best for her. To wear a certain style of clothes and not what she was comfortable wearing. She never realized that this is not what made Rafe happy. He missed the girl he first met. He fell in love with that girl, even though he didn’t tell her in fear that she would run. He also wanted her to figure out on her own who she was and what made her happy. Little did he know she wasn’t happy. She only wanted to make others happy. She didn’t want to lose what she was building with Rafe.
She grew up on her own. Her parents only cared about themselves. They would go months without talking to her, and even longer without seeing her. She learned to hide her feelings and the loss of being loved. When she met Rafe’s family she saw what family was. She wanted that for herself with Rafe but was too afraid to tell him.
She tried to change but that resulted in her not liking herself. Becoming someone she was not proud to be. But in the end Rafe proved to her she was perfect as she was and did not have to change for anyone. He loved her for her. It didn’t matter his family didn’t approve, as long as they were happy together that was all that mattered.

Star Shine Meadows is performing as a character actor at a child’s birthday, one of the many jobs she juggles to make ends meet. A very handsome man stares at her from across the room, but it is not a friendly glance. Rafe Whitman is a sexy albeit grouchy veterinarian that happens to be the uncle of the birthday girl and he is obviously having a really bad day. A week later their paths cross again and Rafe comes up with a brilliant plan. He offers the free spirited Star to put aside her money making gigs and he will pay her an enormous fee to be his fake girlfriend. Apparently his wealthy family is trying to get him to settle down, that marriage is the answer to all his problems - and are driving him crazy. If they think he has a girlfriend maybe they will back off. Too good to pass up and in need of extra cash Star accepts insisting a no strings attached scenario as Star was raised by hippie parents who do not believe in monogamy or getting married. As she always sees the glass half full, Rafe is constantly surprised what fun Star is to be around, how the light she shines can brighten his day. Beautiful and smart, Rafe has her escort him to various events sure it will drive his family crazy. Neither of the two lovebirds expected the fireworks that exploded after their first kiss. Easy breezy and a little steamy. Definitely recommend this adorable romcom.

This was an enjoyable grumpy meets sunshine, fake dating, and opposites attract romance. I loved the banter between Star and Rafe.

This book was cute but I think the couple went from fake dating to real dating kind of quickly which made the chemistry not feel as real. There were an abundance of sweet and spicy moments that are signature Samantha Young

Samantha young has done it again!!!!!!! I can say for sure, this is one of the best romantic comedies I have read in awhile. Dr. Rafe Whitman and Star Shine Meadows are about the cutest couple that lived and my oh my, their chemistry is just AMAZING!
The storyline was a masterpiece that made me shake with laughter, shake from crying emotionally spent tears, and shaking in so much anger that that just happened.......Again, a MASTERPIECE!
I will always recommend Samantha Young because of her way with words and her stupendous ability to make me want to read her works, but this romantic comedy was definitely worth the few hours it took me to read it.

If you need something to make you read it:
" My fantasy doesn't even begin to live up to the reality of you."
"This is yours, only yours, and this is mine, only mine."

Seriously, go get this RIGHT NOW! It's worth EVERYTHING, go......NOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!

Delightful! Such a fun, happy story.

It is probably not surprising to find out that Star Shine Meadows was raised the child of hippies. They taught her that working a 9 to 5 leads to a life of unhappiness and that monogamy in relationships is unrealistic. Star spends her time getting paid to line-sit for others or she makes money playing characters for kids parties. Star isn’t materialistic and these gigs allow her to make enough money to pay her bills and her rent for her studio apartment. If she is interested in spending time with a man, she does so until she is no longer interested. Simple as that. Her life is simple and she is very, very happy, and she doesn’t let someone like Rafe Whitman talk down to her just because he can’t understand her glass-half-full attitude.

Rafe doesn’t understand how Star can breeze through life without the desire to have a successful career, or heck, even a real job, but he also knows that he has had enough of his mother and his sister-in-law’s constant attempts to set him up with women. They feel his life lacks something because he isn’t in a relationship right now. They give out his number to every eligible bachelorette and even sends them into his veterinary clinic. He is very happy growing his clinic and spending quiet time alone. He might not understand Star but he is willing to pay her to pretend to be his new girlfriend, one who is completely wrong for him and who his family will simply dislike. Once they “breakup,” he can pretend to be devastated, while they will be overjoyed, and Rafe can get a much needed break from matchmaking.

Only problem with that plan is the more time Rafe spends with Star, the more he enjoys her half-glass full attitude. If only he can convince her to give him a chance and accept a real relationship.

THOUGHTS:
This is supposed to be a grumpy meets sunny story, but I didn’t feel that Rafe was really a grumpy characters. When he meets Star, he was in a bad mood and he apologizes several times, although we never find out exactly what put him in such a foul mood.

There are good secondary characters but we mostly focus on Rafe and Star. Star is just so fun and delightful. She is always happy. She is a rainbow and puppy kind of character. Like I said, Rafe is supposed to be Mr. Grumpy, but with the exception of their initial meetings, I never really found Rafe to be too grumpy. Even after their first, slightly disastrous dinner with his family, he apologizes that he hadn’t thought to ask Star anything about herself before their first “date” and acknowledges that that was very arrogant of him.

His family was lovely and very welcoming of Star even when things she would tell them about her life or her upbringing left them speechless. It such a fun story and it made me laugh.

I simply enjoyed the time I spent with Star and Rafe and watching their HEA unfold.

Many thanks to Samantha Young for writing this swoon-worthy and entertaining romance, with favorite tropes including hot doctor (loves animals!), grumpy-meets-free spirit, opposites-attract, and fake dating! Both of the characters are so lovable. Always a fan of Ms. Young and all her books!

I really enjoyed Star & Rafe and going on their journey. I loved their banter and chemistry. Star & Rafe were imperfectly perfect for each other.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

I’m new to reading Samantha Young’s books, but I absolutely loved her writing, and can’t wait to discover more books by the author.

THE LOVE PLOT was so cute, and the fake dating and grumpy x sunshine tropes have become favorites for me, and paired with such great characters, this was such a fun read! I thought Star was the best, and I’m such a sucker for quirky characters like her.

I loved listening to the audiobook while reading, and thought the narration was so good.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-fake dating
-found family
-opposites attract
-grumpy x sunshine
-amazing chemistry!

*many thanks to PRH and PRH Audio for the gifted copy for review

At this point, I'll just read anything by Samantha without even looking into it. This was no exception. I loved the grumpy/sunshine, fake dating tropes. Not to mention he's a vet, but a super hot one. I loved Star and how she works through her terrible childhood for herself. Her friends though... I almost disliked Jude and Kendal as much as I disliked Hugo and Pippa. This was so good and I'd recommend it to anyone!

Extra grumpy meets extra sunshine when Star first meets gorgeous asshole Rafe, and let's just say neither is exactly impressed with the other. Their next meeting isn't exactly positive either, except he decides he's going to ask her to be his fake girlfriend. What?! He needs his meddling family, mostly also jerks, off his back, and Star is apparently the perfect person for the job. How can enemies turn fake to real when they are so opposite that they can't possibly work?

Star was raised by hippie parents in a poly relationship who were so selfish and neglectful that Star essentially raised herself. This has lead to her disdaining commitment, which has in turn lead to her not really knowing what she wants to do with her life aside from being happy. Rafe, on the other hand, is pretty much her opposite - serious, stern and grumpy. So of course their banter is snarky, funny and full of tension. Time will tell if they can make a real relationship work.

Fake dating, enemies to lovers and grumpy/sunshine?!? Three of my favorite tropes all in one fun, witty, adorable rom-com. Rafe was truly horrible in the beginning, but as the pages flipped and his real personality came out, I was able to give him a pass. Star, oh Star, that girl had so much damage done to her by her parents, that I wanted to hug her. I love that Rafe really stuck up for her to his family, gave her some of the support she had lacked in her childhood. All told, this is a story I'd love to read again because it's that entertaining.