This was cute, but not swoony. I could've done with less Mimi and more Vincent, or at least more equal page time between the two. Not sure if that would've helped their chemistry, though—their conversations are pretty boring. Thanks to the publisher for sending me a link.

Amerie is trying to start her own event planning business after an incident causes her to be fired from her previous company. Building from the ground up isn't easy especially with her mother's medical bills waiving over her head and the rent in her building increasing. When she meets Vincent at her favorite coffee shop and he pretends to be her boyfriend to show up her ex they end up keeping up the ruse for his family.

This is the first Berkley Book I've read in awhile that I enjoyed from start to finish. It was slow burn but it kept me invested the entire time. Early on I did wish it was dual pov but I grew to really enjoy Amerie's pov. As someone who was fascinated by Artemis 1 and used to follow Victor Glover (who was selected for the Artemis II mission to the moon) on Twitter I was excited to see a Black male astronaut as the love interest here. So I loved all the random space facts and Vincent taking Amerie the space center. Fake dating hasn't worked for me in a lot of recent books because it's felt forced but here it was believable enough to go a long with.

My only tiny nit pick was that we didn't get that 3rd act breakup but other than that this one is a keeper!

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I love me an astronaut romance and I think it can be hard to do one well! But dannnnng - fake dating meets forced proximity, all wrapped up with a family vacation twist. Event planners are some of my favorite romcom occupations because it means we get to go to all sorts of cool soirees. That New Year's Eve party sounded awesome! Vincent and Amerie are absolutely precious together, especially as they grow into their fake relationship. From the start, it never feels fake between them. The chemistry, the way they tease and test each other, it's perfect. This has just a teensy bit of steam, likely due to the slow burn, but I'm hoping that her future books get a little hotter!

I am absolutely trash for fake dating, and this definitely checked all my boxes. I loved how well fleshed out all of the characters were, not only Amerie and Vincent, but the side characters as well. The pacing was perfect, the conflict handled well. I loved how down bad Vincent was for his girl 🫠 amazing debut and I can’t wait to see what’s next from Easton!

This is such a cute book!!! I loved it!!! I wish it was duo POV and that there wasn’t a 3rd act break up (😑😒) but other than that… this was amazing! Their connection! The way he made her feel! How she was slowly falling but unsure of her own feelings! Ugh so beautifully done! I loved the way he showed up for her in her life and how he made her feel! Just… chefs kiss! I really enjoyed my reading experience!

Amerie's got problems - her relationship just ended, she's worried about her parents' health, she was let go from her job, and really needs to get her own event planning business off the ground. Then she spills coffee on Houston based astronaut Vincent followed by introducing this stranger as her new boyfriend to her old boyfriend. Vincent's sister walks in and he introduces Amerie as his girlfriend he's been talking about for months. Now they have to go to his family New Year's Eve party as a couple. Witty dialogue, smart people, and a slow building romance create a fun read.

The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton was exactly as adorable as I hoped it would be.

The romance novel follows Amerie Price as she is trying to find her feet after several setbacks: a breakup and losing her job after she poured her energy into caring for her ill mother. A run-in with her ex at the local coffee shop sets off a fake-dating scheme that is mutually beneficial to Amerie and NASA astronaut Vincent Rogers. In exchange for a place to stay, Amerie will attend Vincent’s family functions and convince his mother that she doesn’t have to worry about him despite his risky career choice as an astronaut. The fake relationship has an expiration date: three months until Vincent blasts off on a mission to the moon.

My Thoughts
The theme of caretaking as love is woven throughout the story. Amerie has a mother with sickle cell anemia and the love she has for her mom, that her dad has for her mom, is evident in their actions; Vincent’s mother also cares for her family through baking and food; and at a certain point in the novel (no spoilers here, dear readers), Vincent, an absolute cinnamon roll of a man, cares for Amerie. The love these characters have for each other rockets off the page, and is so comforting to read.

The chemistry between Amerie and Vincent is out of this world, and the evolution of their relationship is both believable and sweet. The heavier topics of grief and family illness help to ground the novel without detracting from the fact that this is a romance (happily ever after included).

If you’re a romance fan, definitely recommend picking this one up! Read this book for the Black joy, stay for the out-of-this-world space puns.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Romance for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings
death of a sibling (historical, off-page), grief, caring for an ill parent

I will be posting to Goodreads immediately, and sharing my review on Barnes and Noble and Instagram the week of publication. Thank you!

Rating: 3.5 stars

Amerie Price is reeling from her new normal. She’s single, jobless, and on the verge of losing her apartment. As Amerie picks up the pieces to her life and starts her own business, she bumps into her ex. So, there’s only one thing to do. Pretending to be dating the annoying, gorgeous man, she spilled coffee.

Vincent Rogers is a real-deal astronaut. He loves what he does, but his love life is nonexistent, and agreeing to fake data Amerie will help him keep his family off his back. In exchange, Amerie can live with him until she gets back on her feet. Neither Vincent nor Amerie are prepared for the pull they feel towards one another and have to decide what they want after this fake arrangement.

The stunning cover and the synopsis immediately sold me on this book. Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, and I was not disappointed! I found I could relate a lot to Amerie and her struggles. Trying to pick up the pieces of your life when things seem all going wrong is hard. However, I admired Amerie’s perseverance. While I appreciated getting to know Amerie more, I wish we had heard Vincent’s POV. I would have loved to understand more of his thoughts as things were happening. Vincent was such a loveable character all the way around! How he would nerd out about his career warmed my heart, and I enjoyed seeing a male MC who depicted an astronaut. Overall, this was a fantastic debut, and I would recommend it for lovers of the fake dating trope and books with strong family ties!

Thank you to Net Galley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC!

The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton is a wonderful contemporary romance that kept me hooked from beginning to end.

Amerie and Vincent make for an amazing duo…and their fake to real relationship plot that really brought it home. Chemistry…connection…relatable characters…awseome.

Did I mention that this book sets itself apart from the rest with the creative occupations of Astronaut and event planner? I mean, come on…how cool is that!?

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Berkley Publishing for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 4/9/24.

I loved this addictively entertaining book. Amerie and Vincent have so much chemistry, and I loved seeing their relationship progress from fake to real. The book also explores family dynamics in a really compelling way, and there were lots of great side characters. The astronaut/outer space elements are so fun, and I raced to the end to see how this slow burn played out. I can't wait to read more from Etta!

I enjoyed this book overall, but there were a few things that didn't quite sit right with me. While I didn't dislike Amerie, I felt that she was sometimes overly aggressive in her interactions with Vincent. It seemed like she didn't actually like him, despite being the one to initiate many of their interactions. This lack of chemistry between them made the romance feel forced and at times, not very authentic. Additionally, I found that the focus on family dynamics took away from the development of the romance.

Despite these flaws, I would recommend this book to those who enjoy slow burn romance and fake relationships. However, if you're looking for a more authentic and passionate romance, this might not be the book for you.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This book had a lot of potential and although I found myself liking it for the most part it just ended up being a popcorn read for me.

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Amerie. She has a lot on her plate when it comes to family and losing her job. Not only that, but a breakup that happened three months ago. She happens upon Vincent in a not-so-cute-meet since she is spilling coffee on him, but they made a connection and by chance they meet again.

I did like Vincent a bit more. He was more understanding that she was when it came to life circumstances. She was lucky it was him that she could fake date. He stepped up and it was history from there. I also enjoyed his job as an astronaut. It’s not a job you read a lot about in romance. Him talking about his job was perfect! You could feel his passion for it. Their romance his very much a slow-burn and I think it impacted me more than I had hoped, but not in a good way. It was too slow for me.

Overall, this was good but I just needed a bit more from the romance.

I got to say that I enjoyed this even more than I predicted. For a good while, I was truly debating with myself about whether I should continue reading it. I wasn’t vibing with it in the beginning, but somehow I fell in love with them: Amerie and Vincent.
Amerie and Vincent own my heart so much, even though they tried me at times. But we will discuss that later on. We are going to start talking about why Amerie was always meant to fall for Vincent. 
Amerie may be bad on her luck, but she is more than determined to keep going no matter the personal obstacles. It just may have her struggling a bit when she is stressed about finding new clients while seeing her ex-boyfriend with a new thing. Good thing she always knew how to improvise when she was stuck in a situation. That’s how she roped Vincent, aka coffee strangers, into becoming even more stuck in her sticky situation.
Vincent and Amerie are too cute for each other, even though they are currently faking dating each other. I just knew they were meant for each other. They may want to deny their feelings, but they become closer as they spend more time together. You can already feel their attraction for each other as they spend more and more time together.

Amazing debut! I loved everything about it and the fact that the FMC went to .my alma mater just makes it that much sweeter. The romance between Amerie and Vincent was super sweet and amazing not to mention believable. And I appreciate the development that all characters, even the background ones, made. This author is going places and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Until recently, Amerie Price was a successful event planner, had her apartment, and had a serious boyfriend. Now, Amerie finds herself jobless, boyfriendless, and about to be homeless. Nothing is going right for her, so when she runs into her ex and his new girlfriend, Amerie panics and pretends to be dating the handsome stranger she spilled coffee on. Astronaut Vincent Rogers is gearing up for a six-month mission to the moon, and the hardest part of his prep is not the rigorous training but convincing his mother there's nothing to worry about. Vincent decides the best way to get his mom off his back is to pretend to be in a supportive relationship. He offers Amerie a rent-free room in his house in exchange for her pretending to be his girlfriend for his mother's nerves. With her struggling new business and family medical bills piling up, Amerie can't refuse the offer. But the more time she and Vincent spend together, the more the lines between what's real and what's not blur.

I had this on my most anticipated releases list, and I'm happy to report I loved it! I'm so impressed by this debut. Easton's writing was breezy and fresh. Her dialogue felt natural, and I loved the playful dynamic of Vincent. He was always trying to get under Amerie's skin and rattle her, which was adorable. I also liked how cautious Amerie was. She wasn't one for thrill-seeking but became more open the longer she was around Vincent. They brought out the best in one another, and I loved seeing them grow closer. There was also a bit of a slow burn to their romance, which I wasn't expecting. I think the ending wrapped up a little too quickly, but overall, I thought this was great, and I can't wait to read more from Easton.

This was such a fun fake dating book. The main characters were relatable, the writing drew me in, and I was invested in the outcome and did not want to put the book down and once I finished it I wanted more of the story.

Amerie is not having a good day when she runs into a very tall, immoveable object and spills her coffee on him. Vincent is an astronaut and when she runs into an ex she uses Vincent as her new fake boyfriend. In return he asks her to attend a party as his fake girlfriend. Both see an advantage to continuing this fake relationship and so they make a deal. But as they spend time together the lines begin to blur. Are they merely pretending or are the feelings real?

I thought this book was so cute!! I loved Amerie and Vincent's relationship and how they get to know each other. This is definitely quite a slow burn but there's really good tension layered throughout and the building anticipation kept me engaged and excited for what was next to come. The slow burn was really well paced and I think made sense for the characters and the situation they were in.

Family relationships are a very important part of this book and I thought felt really realistic - Amerie is struggling with not wanting to disappoint her family and worrying about her mother's failing health, and Vincent is struggling with a mother who wants him to stay safe after the death of his older brother.

Read this for:
- Fake Dating/Engagement
- Astronaut and Event Planner
- Forced Proximity

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Kiss Countdown
Publishing April 9, 2024

🪐 Fake Dating
💫 Forced Proximity
🪐 Only One Bed (ish)

I absolutely adored The Kiss Countdown! I flew through it in a day, and struggled to put it down.
I really enjoyed the main characters and watching their romance blossom. The fake dating trope always hits me in the feels as they the characters have to figure out what their feelings truly are towards each other.
I loved the close knit families (with both characters) and the family trip. I enjoyed how we truly got to know the side characters along with the main characters.

This was a cute, fun, and fast paced romance read. Would 100% recommend this.

An angsty but fun fake dating romance between an event planner and an (actual) astronaut. Both have family trauma-related reasons for needing to be in a sham relationship, but just as the fake feelings start to feel real, one of them is due to leave for six months in space.

I didn't always buy the instalove between the lead couple, but the supporting characters filled out the story nicely. Overall an enjoyable read.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

How fun to read a romcom set in a city I called home for many years! I loved the space/NASA connection, and Amerie and Vincent's love story was delightful to follow. I'm always a fan of a fake dating trope, and this one didn't disappoint!

Also appreciate the sickle cell representation as it's impacted many of my family and loved ones, but I've only seen it in two other books so far.