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.

Fantastic! I loved the peek into a life of an astronaut, and the main romance was very good! I very much enjoyed this one.

This is cute, but I felt frustrated with Amerie, the female MC, several times for her consistent lying to herself and everyone around her 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

It’s one of the better fake-dating reasons I’ve read though — they’re each trying to fool someone!

It’s more of a 3.5 for me; but bumping to 4 because I do enjoy reading romances with Black characters and want to see more of them!

This one started off strong for me but then it fell flat about a third of the way through. I started to dislike Amerie and didn't get what Vincent saw in her. It baffled me when she made an issue of him being gone all the time. She knew what she was getting into - he is an astronaut!

I found myself liking Vincent more than I liked Amerie. He was a hot nerd through and through. The second he started explaining to her about stars and planets, I was a goner.

This was a slow burn but maybe a bit too slow for me.

I had some mixed feelings about this book. I would say I liked it but there were some things I didn't like.

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥
⚠️: mention of death of a loved one

It was such a sweet love story. I love how both of these characters found their HEA. And the supporting cast of characters just added that extra little something to make it even more special.

Such a great romance! Thank you Berkley Publishing for sending me this e-arc. This book had me smiling and giggling from the very start. The chemistry between Amerie and Vincent was so well written!
Even though I’m not usually a fan on the third act breakup, I think it added a great element of vulnerability to the story and Amerie’s character development

I’ll definitely be ordering a physical copy once available in stores

OH MY GOD. This is undoubtedly going to be one of my favorite reads this year. This story was SO cute and had some of my favorite tropes. Only one bed, taking care of her when she’s injured. *swoons* I’m in love. The chemistry between the MMC and the FMC was INSANE. And the trajectory of their relationship was just so well-paced. And the tension?! Immaculate. Plus the fun and intricate side characters helped push this book over the edge. I loved it.

This was a fun read and I am so obsessed with the book cover. I love book covers that embody and showcase black love!! I love that Vincent had a unique career as an astronaut, I’ve never read a book with an astronaut let alone a Black one so that worked for me!

I liked Amerie but I loved Vincent more. I did feel empathy towards her and her difficulties with trying to redefine herself as she launched her own business. The only thing missing from this story for me though was I felt like there was a lack of passion between both Amerie + Vincent. I wanted to feel more swoony with them and felt like they kinda, maybe lacked some chemistry…

Other than that, it was cute and a perfect read for February! 💕

I Loved this one!!!
I used to want to be an astronaut when I was a kid.
Their chemistry is undeniable. I liked that they had some type of character development through out and it was not just about the romance but about relationships as a whole.