I loved this fun, swoony, fake romance/dating/engaged story. An astronaut man love interest, a down on her luck event planner who really has a talent for amazing work. Lots of family dynamics: sick parents, sibling who've passed, parents who love too much it's overbearing, fear and grief. I loved Amerie and Vincent: they were believable and so sweet. Vincent obviously is all in with Amerie from the jump and I love that so much - anytime it's "he falls first" I am in! And I loved the setting: Houston felt real, partially because Vincent is an astronaut. And don't even get me started in Amerie's friend who is a true RIDE OR DIE. I kind of want more within this world, it was really fun. It's lighthearted, not too steamy, and just a sweet rom com. Great debut!

This book has such a good premise: astronaut and event planner + fake dating + grumpy/sunshine vibes. Cute, right???

I really liked Amerie as our main character, but I think my issue comes with we don't know enough about Vincent or what he's thinking. I really felt the distance that Vincent put between him and Amerie due to his past, but I never felt that he grew from that. We don't get enough meaningful interaction or tension or banter between these two, so when the romance finally happens it didn't feel believable. It somehow almost feels very insta-love, even though it comes so late in the book?

I did love Amerie and Gina's dynamic and would love a story about her and Mack! And I also loved the dynamics in Vincent's family between him and his sisters!

I liked the writing in general, I just think that I was missing something to really hook me with this book (like banter! tension! anything!) and I think pacing was also a little off. Overall an enjoyable read though, just didn't give me all of what I wanted! A promising debut, and I'd definitely try another book by this author.

3.5 for me!

The Kiss countdown is a fun time! We have fake dating; we have close proximity; we have one bed; we have a large bubbly family! Add a hot Astronaut and a down on her luck event planner and we have liftoff! (Too much?).

It is so refreshing to see Black characters written by a black author and be immersed in their perspective. I loved seeing Amerie spend the week with Vincent's family and see them accept her. I also appreciated how the novel give representation to cycle cell anemia and how the pressure to take care of her parents affects Amerie. Plus, did I mention Vincent is an astronaut? As coll as that sounds, his mother has a real problem with him going up in space and risking his life for 6 months to a year at a time. It can also be a bit hard on a new relationship as we come to see. But for Amerie Vincent it worth it! This was a great rom com to escape for the day into a happily ever after world!.

C 8
A 8
W 8
P 9
I 8
L 7
E 8.5

Amerie has had the worst luck lately. Her mom has been sick, she lost her job, and her boyfriend broke up with her. Vincent is an astronaut who is so committed to his work that he doesn't have time for dating or women. A chance encounter at Amerie's favorite coffee shop with Vincent, where she also runs into her ex with his new girlfriend, leads to a commitment to fake dating so Vince can get his overbearing mom off his back and Amerie can get her groove back.

This story was such a sweet, quick read for me. I finished it in one day and truly enjoyed it. I love the way that you can see them falling for each other, but it doesn't seem rushed. The storyline and connection didn't seem forced, and the chemistry was absolutely there. I don't mind a little parental and familial meddling here and there, so this was good. The characters and their motives felt authentic to their actions. All in all, I loved this book.

I would love to hear more about the side characters in this story and think this novel is a beautiful start for a debut author.

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for giving me this e-ARC in exchange for an authentic review.

This debut romance is a charming read featuring one of my favorite tropes, fake dating.

When Amerie runs into her recent ex at her coffee shop with his new girl, she impulsively states that the man she spilled coffee on the week before is her new boyfriend, and Vincent willingly plays along. Their fake relationship heats up as he asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend to get his mother and sisters off his back and the pair spend a weeklong vacation with his family.

The pair are total opposites- Amerie is constantly seeking stability, while astronaut Vincent loves the call of adventure. I adore the way that space and stars were brought into the book with his job, and loved how Amerie was willing to take risks for Vincent. Her character growth was done well, even if it did bring the dreaded third act breakup with it. The chemistry and connection between the two is obvious from the start, with Amerie consistently referring to how attractive she finds this man.

The premise was cute, and I loved both of their families. The way Amerie and her parents try to protect each other from worry touched my heart, it felt so authentic for a close knit family. Her mother’s sickle cell anemia adds a layer of chronic illness representation to the story that many people will find familiarity with.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book begins with Amerie who recently lost her job and is just having a bout of bad luck and she ends up running into Vincent and she’s immediately over it. Then her ex comes in and Vincent comes in handy as she uses him to be her “fake boyfriend.” Of course, only moments later, Vincent’s sister shows up and the two agree to fake date.

For these two, fake dating is how their relationship begins but a friendship starts to blossom between Vincent and Amerie. While the two couldn’t seem more different, they end up having more in common than they originally thought. Plus their agreement even extends to becoming roommates as Amerie can’t afford to stay in her apartment due to a rent increase.

What I enjoyed most about The Kiss Countdown is that Amerie and Vincent didn’t immediately jump into things. The two were dealing with a lot personally and had a hard time, trying to figure out where a relationship would fit. It also made for some undeniable tension and I couldn’t help but eat that up.

The Kiss Countdown also dealt a lot with Amerie and Vincent’s family lives. Amerie’s mother has Sickle Cell Anemia and it’s something Amerie is struggling to come to terms with. Even so, it ends up being a huge part of her growth as a character. As for Vincent, he’s dealing with the grief of losing his brother and the guilt trip his family is laying on him as he embarks on his mission to the moon.

While I loved this book, the third-act conflict did feel a little bit annoying as I think they could have solved it together. Even so, I know sometimes that’s how it has to go for the two to be together. Either way, I ended up loving this book and cannot wait to read more from Etta Easton in the future.

Amerie is an event planner, struggling financially as she tries to build her own event planning business after being let go from the company she used to work for after missing a client's event due to her mother's medical emergency. To top if off, her romantic relationship recently ended, and the rent on her apartment is about to go up. NASA astronaut Vincent's mother is constantly hoping he'll settle down with someone in hopes that he will leave such a high-risk career. After accidentally spilling her coffee on Vincent at the local coffee shop one morning, Amerie runs into Vincent again soon after, having also just run into her ex with his new girlfriend. Spur of the moment, Amerie introduces Vincent as her boyfriend, to her ex, and to her surprise, Vincent goes along with it. Talking afterwards, Vincent makes a proposition to Amerie- she can live at his house rent-free while she works to build up her business and her finances, but she needs to accompany him on a trip to his family's cabin, pretending to be his girlfriend, in order to please his family. However, what started to be a fake relationship for both of them soon leads towards real feelings, as Amerie has to come to terms that a life with Vincent being gone for months at a time at a high-risk job is not necessarily the life that she had imagined for herself.

"The Kiss Countdown" was a fast, enjoyable read that I found hard to put down! It includes a wonderful cast of characters, including Amerie's best friend and parents, and Vincent's family. The pacing of the book was just right, in allowing us to watch Amerie start to fall for the initially grumpy-and-serious-seeming VIncent into someone that finds she can't stop thinking about. This is a fantastic debut novel for Etta Easton, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her in the future!

Thanks to NetGalley and the Berkley Besties program for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. "The Kiss Countdown" is scheduled to be released on 4/9/24.

Sometimes meeting the love of your life starts off by spilling coffee on an astronaut's shirt and asking him to be your fake boyfriend... leading to some very real chances of falling in love, that is, if he doesn't fly off to the moon. Amerie Price is a risk-averse event planner who is newly single and about to lose her apartment, she was recently fired and wants to get her new business going. What she doesn't expect is to bump into a cute astronaut and accidentally spill coffee on him... or to jump into her ex and ask said astronaut to pretend to be her boyfriend. Vincent Rogers is an astronaut and his one mission is to go on the moon. He has been lying to his mom telling his family that he has a girlfriend so they would get off his case yet when he meets Amerie and his sister catches them with Amerie's ex, she assumes that Amerie is his girlfriend and before he can explain she leaves to tell his mom. Now Amerie has to go with Vincent to his sister's new year's party... and Vincent offers Amerie a deal: if she pretends to be his girlfriend until he leaves to go to the moon so his family can be happy he'll let her live in his place rent free for as long as she likes. Amerie knows that she should say no, but saving all that rent money while building a start to her business is too good a chance to pass up... plus it doesn't hurt that there is some kind of chemistry brewing between these two. But between pretending for Vincent's family and actually getting to know each other... love is definitely on the horizon yet with Vincent bound for space can there really be a relationship between the two? Can Amerie take a risk for once and open herself up to love or is it as impossible as flying to the moon? This was a really cute romance read and I loved Vincent as a romantic lead for Amerie. He was really sweet and fun and liked teasing her. Amerie has a lot on her plate but she's so scared of getting hurt and he really breaks down her walls. It's a sweet read and a fun time!

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

A charming romance debut. The fake dating romance is super slow burn, with the first (not faked) kiss happening 3/4 in.

I liked a lot about this book: the all Black characters, the loving and thankfully un-neurotic families, the sugar sweet cinnamon roll astronaut MMC, the chronic illness rep (the FMC’s mother has sickle cell anemia).

Unfortunately, the first person FMC narrator (the beautifully named Amerie) regularly annoyed me. She spoke of her attraction to Vincent in purely physical terms for almost the entirety of the book — not something I expect from a romance and certainly not one with a slow burn. Vincent offers her a place to live rent-free in her time of need in exchange for posing as his girlfriend at a couple family functions, and in exchange she regularly complains about his terrible decorating taste, paints his guest room gray out of “pettiness,” and is bored when he takes her to the space museum so she can learn more about his work. Vincent is total book boyfriend material and an absolute treasure, but why such a sweetie would fall for someone so judgmental and uninterested in him beyond his looks is a mystery. This made it hard for me to believe the romance.

The Kiss Countdown was a great debut - and so much fun to read! Amerie and Vincent balance each other out well. Vincent has already faced the loss of a sibling but isn't willing to make safe choices in life. As an astronaut just a few months away from a 6-month mission, he is constantly dealing with his mother questioning his career choices, wishing he would settle down, get married, and find a safer job. Amerie, an event planner who is newly unemployed and trying to start her own business, is very independent and does her best to avoid great risks. But when they are thrown together and Amerie needs a stand-in boyfriend to avoid an awkward situation with an ex-boyfriend - they begin to see how they can help each other. An entertaining slow burn fake dating romance with plenty of family drama and entertaining side characters. Definitely excited to see what this debut author writes next! Thank you to Berkeley and NetGalley for the chance to read this novel.

This book was fantastic!! We need more romance books about astronauts! This was full of so much love and healing and fun! Amerie and Vincent’s not so meet cute which led to them fake dating and then living together??? It was all done so well, the pacing, the revelations, the way we got to see Vincent opening up from Amerie’s POV. This is Etta Easton’s debut novel and it definitely didn’t read like one! I cannot wait to see what’s next!

VINCENT ROGERS IS A PERFECT MAN! We love a man who CARES. Who LISTENS. Who GIVES UP HIS ROOM SO HIS (fake) GIRL CAN SLEEP COMFORTABLY. WHO FALLS FIRST AND OH SO QUIETLY BUT OH SO HARD. I love him. He was very clearly hurting and grieving the loss of his brother, and being around his family made it SO hard for him. But having Amerie just simply be with him gave him a chance to redirect and then share things with her and that helped him so much.

I also LOVED Amerie. Her and Vincent were so different but watching her come out of her shell, and in a way that didn’t change her, was done so well. I love her and Gina!! (I HOPE she’s getting her own book!!!) their friendship made me so happy! She was really starting over and it wasn’t easy, I did appreciate that she wasn’t just an overnight success?? She worked SO hard and it eventually paid off and that felt so honest.

Thank you so much to Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Weee stannnn cute black contemporary romance stories and this is what Etta Easton provides in The Kiss Countdown. If you enjoy reading reading romances highlighting intelligent, tenacious, passionate, and funny black FMC’s and MCS read this book !!! If you are a fan of the tropes of fake dating, a great slow burn, and forced proximity this is the book for you!
Thank you so much NetGalley for a digital arc in exchange for an honest review!!
Final Rating 4.50/5

Thank you Berkley Publishing for the free book! #BerkleyPartner

I enjoyed this one!! I love fake dating…. you all know this.

At the start, I was unsure of where the relationship was going to go because the FMC, Amerie, really did not like the MMC, Vincent. They have a run-in (literally) and she just has a general disdain for him for a few chapters. I was worried that it would take way too long for her to figure out she liked him but then it kinda happened very quickly. At times it just felt like things were wrapped up and rushed very quickly, writing/storyline-wise.

I think the start of the book takes a second to get into because there is so much build-up for Amerie, she just lost her job, and her bf, is about to lose her apartment and she’s worried about losing her mom. But then we moved into it and I was unable to put the book down.

I really do love Amerie and Vincent as their own people already and then put them together and it’s even better. Although I wish we knew more about Vincent’s thoughts about everything that happened in the book. This book touches on some heavy topics that they both deal with such as grief and sick parents. In my opinion, Easton did it well and not to the point where it feels like too much or too little. I have read books that touch on these topics but also dwell on them to the point where it feels like that’s what the book is about when it’s not.

I loved to see Amerie grow into herself and learn a lot of things about herself and the way she loves. Vincent and Amerie’s love is so pure and I loved that until Amerie freaked out and became what he didn’t want (his mother) but then it was all rectified very quickly at the end and she realizes the mistake she made and fixes it.

It was a great read!

What a fun debut! This fake dating, slow burn, forced proximity romance between an astronaut and an event planner was simply adorable. I loved the chemistry between the main characters as well as their family ties. Their romance was incredibly sweet and charming. Thanks berkley romance and Netgalley for my copy.

Oh, to fall in love with an astronaut in a coffee shop. Amerie, a down-on-her-luck event planner, strikes up a fake dating arrangement with NASA astronaut, Vincent, before he leaves in three months for his next mission to the moon. Naturally, what begins as "fake" becomes very real. As Vincent and Amerie fall in love over the course of extravagant parties, nights for stargazing, and peanut butter jelly sandwiches, I found myself falling in love beside them. The Kiss Countdown is the most polished romance debut I have read in a long time. Did I mention that he is an astronaut?

3.5 rounded up!

A cute, easy romcom. I loved the setting. Not usually a fake dating person, but I liked this one well enough! Would recommend if you're looking for something fast and charming.

I absolutely loved this book!!! It's so cute, it's laugh out loud funny, and overall just sooooo adorable.

I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys fake dating, slow burn, he falls first, and a nerdy cinnamon roll hero.

1. I love a fake dating book. LOVE. The proximity and the likelihood for just one bed are just the best.
2. The idea of an astronaut and the dangers involved in his life and the relationships, both family and personal, are so interesting to me.
3. This cover is so pretty.

I enjoyed The Kiss Countdown so much. I thought their situation and the way their romance grew was so fun and I fell right into their romance. Their own challenges were just the right balance to their romance. The tension created good steam between the characters. I enjoyed this so much.

I think the reason I don’t love fake relationship as a trope in contemporary romance is that the reasons feel like super low stakes to me. Here, the 2 MCs are pretending to be in a relationship bc Vincent, the astronaut hero, wants to get his mom off his back. She’s forever complaining about the dangers of his job and he thinks showing up to a family vacation with a girlfriend will go a long way in helping his mom relax about his profession. Or at least make her happy that he is in a serious relationship. Things take a turn when his mom gets upset about his job and in an effort to distract her, Amerie ups the stakes by pretending they’re getting engaged. Um okay then. I don’t love the lying to his family (and also kind of to hers). There’s also a storyline about Amerie’s mom being sick with sickle-cell anemia and the ongoing struggle with that. All in all, I don’t think fake relationship works for me in a contemporary setting - I liked the MCs but I wished the set up of the romance was different.

They earned their HEA. Vincent is an adorable cinnamon roll MMC, and Amerie is a devoted daughter and friend whose fears hold her back in a variety of ways. She moved around a lot growing up, and I really connected with her character in feeling "rootless" and seeking stability.

It took a while for me to become invested in the story. I think some of my struggle is the single POV, which is always tough for me to read. But I was really frustrated by Amerie's refusal to view Vincent's actions, their relationship, her parents' situation, etc., differently than how she initially perceived it. I understand that is part of her character growth, but it was tiring to see the same reasoning applied repeatedly. I knew the third-act breakup was coming, but it was really frustrating to see it play out as though she hadn't grown at all.

That said, once the relationship passed the "friend" line, and once Amerie started to be more introspective, I became more engrossed. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this book.