What to Expect:
🚀fake dating
🚀cinnamon roll hero
🚀opposites attract
🚀plant dad
🚀bestie goals
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🫶🏽What I enjoyed
This was a cute rom com with a fantastic Barbie/Ken reference, but my ultimate favorite part was the FMC’s relationship with her BFF. I absolutely loved the way they built each other up with their Queen Goals! Gia is the type of bestie we all need.
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🤷🏻‍♀️What didn’t work for me
There wasn’t anything specific necessarily, but it’s also the type of story that blends with other rom coms and I’ll probably forget details of in a few months.

A super cute romance for all my fellow girlies who had dreams of loving an astronaut - I'm not the only one, right?? Right??

Vincent and Amerie have a meet-cute (kind of? She spills his coffee all over him) at her favorite coffee shop and find themselves in a fake dating situation. Mimi is trying to get her life together and Vincent has his sights on the stars, but a family who want him to find his happily ever after ASAP. The two move in together to further their ruse, but begin to fall for one another as they support each other through life's ups and downs.

There were moments when I wanted to throttle Mimi, but I also found her to be incredibly relatable. I appreciated Easton's inclusion of having a character navigate Sickle Cell disease, alongside how it impacts family members.

What was most frustrating to me was the convoluted third-act conflict. Entirely avoidable and felt outside of what I would expect from both characters... WHY CANT ADULTS JUST TALK.

The Kiss Countdown

An adorable fake dating debut romance! An event planner and an astronaut walk into a coffee shop...

Seriously though - what starts with a precious coffee shop meet cute (times two) rockets into undeniable chemistry, pining and adorkable fake dating - with an astronaunt, how can you not?!

I loved this one and highly recommend!

I WANT MORE 😩 stop it this book was SO cute. It’s definitely more of a fluffy sweet contemporary romance, with little to no smut but dang Vincent was SO SWOONY😭Like i have never found an Astronaut so attractive in my LIFE. i also thought space being a theme in this book was SO COOL!! the universe is so cool, and if was nice to be reminded of that. In addition to that, the Black excellence🫶🏼 I loved the representation and the reminder that Black people fill all spaces! This was such a great debut, I found the characters to be, surprisingly, relatable when it came to their family and why they did what they did. 10/10 book for me! And again, I just wanted more of THEM😭

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this romance. It was a delicious slow burn, and I loved the astronaut angle. I do wish it had been dual POV since I like to know what both parties are thinking throughout the story, but that is a preference thing.

**Many thanks to Berkley and Etta Easton for an ARC of this book provided via NetGalley!**

Amerie Price is desperate to find a lucky star...but all she's been seeing lately are LOTS of clouds. After a breakup that left her crushed AND losing her job, she is scrambling to put together enough money to pay her rent. She feels terrified at the prospect of having to gamble on herself by jumping headfirst into her very own business venture as an event planner...but simultaneously hopes she has the goods to make it all happen. In this vulnerable state, she grabs a coffee at her favorite local Java Joint and bumps into NONE other than the ex she's been eager to forget..and he has his shiny NEW girlfriend in tow.

Looking for the upper hand, Amerie takes a chance encounter with a VERY sexy, Tall, Dark, and Handsome stranger (one that resulted in coffee being spilled all over her), grabs the handsome hottie, and presents him as her boyfriend. The man in question, she will later learn, is Vincent Rogers, and he's got the kind of job that sounds as unlikely as "CIA operative" or "bodyguard to the stars": Vincent is a certified, bonafide ASTRONAUT. Despite his glamorous job, Vincent's been dealing with struggles of his own...namely, a family that is DESPERATE to see him paired up with a nice girl with marriage on the horizon. Vincent decides to play along with Amerie's scheme...by hatching one of his own: Amerie's that one special girl, and he has her move into his pad to help her save some cash AND further the idea that these two are in a long-term, committed relationship.

But when family health struggles come up on Amerie's side, and Vincent's family grows increasingly worried that his next mission could be catastrophic...Vincent and Amerie begin to bond in a REAL way...and on a level that neither expected. With so much at stake, can Vincent fulfill ALL of his dreams? Will this next journey into space be his last? And will Amerie have the courage to ask him to stay with her...or is she in line for ANOTHER devastating heartbreak with the 'one who got (lightyears!) away'?

This is a debut novel, and since I had no point of reference coming into this story, I figured it would go one of two ways: VERY cheesy fake dating or adorable, charming fake dating with two MCs you just couldn't help but root for from beginning to end.

....And I am thrilled to say there was NO moon cheese here, folks!

Amerie (or Mimi, as Vincent affectionately calls her) was such a fun MC to read. She's a bit bruised, a bit naive, and at time neurotic, but she also has a big heart and has so much love to give. I loved that she was so passionate about her business and despite her missteps, was able to pick back up and work towards her goals. I'm also glad that I liked Mimi as much as I did because this is a single POV story, so if she had been less likable, getting through this one would have felt like more of a slog, and instead it was all systems go! Vincent was also a terrific lead, with a sensible head on his shoulders, enough compassion and affection to be a solid match for Mimi, but with enough hardheadedness at times to give the book some depth. I liked that as much as you FELT there should be a HEA ending, things were up in the air (or up in space, if you prefer!) until the end!

Fake dating is also one of those tropes that can either be very fun or feel VERY convoluted and odd...and in this case, despite the happenstance circumstances of their meet-cute...I bought it. This is the kind of romance that I really NEED to read once in a while: fluffy, fun, with SOME emotional depth, but moreseo just light and airy. I never felt overly stressed at any time reading this one in terms of will-they-won't-they become an actual couple, or about most of the plot in general...and sometimes it's a relief to just be able to kick back and GO with it. That being said, the plot itself is a little thin in places, and lacking some of the depth you find in other romances CAN be a drawback, so if you are in the mood for more of a romantic rollercoaster ride, you probably will want to keep walking around the amusement park (so to speak!)

And to find out by story's end whether these two can stand to have any space (or any OUTER SPACE) between them?

You'd 'blast' be 'off' to find out!

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

This was such a cute, slow burn, fake dating roommate romance between an Astronaut and an aspiring event planner that put a giant smile on my face!

When a meet cute in a coffee shop has recently single and jobless Amerie in need of a place to stay, she enlists the hot fellow customer to pretend to be her boyfriend when she runs into her ex. As it turns out, Vincent could use Amerie's help pretending to be his girlfriend in front of his family and so a mutually beneficial, and seemingly "platonic" arrangement is born.

With lots of family drama and great chemistry between the two leads, I was rooting for them to get their HEA from the very start. A solid debut that was great on audio narrated by Angel Pean. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! I'm excited to read what this new author comes up with next!!

Steam level: a couple of open door scenes

Can fake dating really lead to a real relationship? Our main characters are about to find out! She's broken up with her ex, lost her job and is barely making ends meet trying to get her event planning business off the ground. He's a hot astronaut that has a mother breathing down his neck about how much she hates his job and he needs to be in a relationship. What started out as fake dating that came with room and board for her is turning into so much more, but will it work out or will it flame out like a shooting star? Great characters, fun plot and witty banter for days. This is the fun read you are looking for to let go of the real world and sink into someone else's angst and laughter! I'm totally a series kind of girl and this book lends itself beautifully to a series set up so I am hoping we will see more of the characters in future books as the best friend needs her story told, at least one sister needs her story told and so many more of the characters could shine in a book. Hint, hint, darling author....we want more!

A solid debut with a fun and unique premise but some unfortunate holes in the plot that made it hard for me to fully enjoy myself.

The Kiss Countdown follows Amerie, a former successful event planner who is down on her luck after an unfortunate month of losing her job, breaking up with her longtime partner, and having her rent raised to where she can no longer afford her apartment. When she runs into her ex partner with his new girlfriend, she convinces them that she's dating Vincent, a near stranger who she ran into previously. Vincent and her strike up a deal: a fake partnership with the end date of when Vincent ships off to the moon for his latest NASA mission.

I wanted to really like this book but unfortunately, there were just too many shenanigans to the point where I felt like I couldn't fully immerse myself into the book. I struggled to find any chemistry between the two leads besides their physical attraction to each other. Vincent had some red flags (if you ask me) and I could not understand his family and their feelings on his job at NASA. I also felt like the pacing was a bit off and this book could have really benefitted from a dual POV. Towards the last 25% of the book, I felt myself skimming just to finish/see how it ended.

I think this was a somewhat decent debut, but there was definitely room for improvement. I do plan on checking out Etta's next project as I feel like she has a lot of potential to be a really great romance author!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley (as part of the #BerkleyBesties program) for this advanced copy, all thoughts are my own.

First thank you @prhaudio for this audio book and @berkleyromance for the free book!

The Kiss Countdown 🚀
(Swipe for summary)

Author: Etta Easton

Pub Date : April 9, 2024

Review: What a cute book! I absolutely adored this story. Usually im not a big fan of fake dating but i really enjoyed how it was written into this book. I loved the chemistry between Amerie and Vincent. I’m usually always want a dual POV for every book but i didn’t miss it in this one. I felt like i could tell how much he was pining after her. I loved that Amerie was kind of finding herself and footing after losing her job. It caused her to step out of her shell and try new things. I loved Vincent’s meddling family too: I thought all the characters were written well into this i can’t believe this was a debut novel. I definitely will be looking forward to more books being written by this author! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely adored this book! I had an inkling that I would because the science/astronomy geek in me has a thing for astronauts (don't judge me!) I felt like it took forever for me to get approved for this e-ARC and as soon as I did I dropped everything to read it. Easton didn't disappoint either. I knew I would love it once I read that first line "Homeboy has ten seconds to divert his eyes from my ass before I lose it! Ten... nine..." (Also opening with a countdown? Cute and clever AF!) I'm not the biggest fan of fluffy romances but I ate this one right on up! Amerie was too relatable. Vincent is definitely my newest book bae! The plot was thoroughly entertaining. Amerie definitely had me yelling at her a few times! While Vincent also had me screaming and giggling in delight. LOL! This definitely a slow burn but it was well worth the wait. This will go down as one of my most favorite romances EVER! I even had to secure the special edition of this book because I love it so much. What are you waiting for? You should definitely read this right NOW!

This book, while cliche, was very cute. I enjoyed the story quite a bit. It did feel like a book (or two) I've read before, but the fake dating trope tends to be like that.

This is a low angst, slowish burn contemporary romance where starting over and navigating family dynamics are core themes. I really appreciated reading a child parenting her parents but framed as parents who loved their child rather than being absentee parents. Now, there's room to say they are traveling around the world but when you're living on borrowed time I think it was reasonable. Overall, a very sweet storyline with the anchor of an HEA.

Overall, I really enjoyed this! While I knew this was a fake-dating story, there was one major element of their “deal” that really bothered me. But I kept going and I started to fall for Amerie and Vincent as they fell for each other.

What I liked:
-Amerie and Vincent's parents. The family scenes were lovely.
-Vincent makes science oh so sexy.
-Amerie's career as an event planner- and how passionate she was about it.
-Great music references.

What I didn't like:
-That part I already referred to but don't want to spoil. Luckily, I had a reading partner who helped me move on and focus more on the parts I appreciated.
- Some other communication choices that didn't align with what I believed about certain relationships.
 
Personal connections:
-Amerie is an only child, her parents are married, and her mom has had health issues that Amerie has observed since childhood. I related to this completely.
- Vincent has siblings and is the oldest. This matches my husband. Big family dinners and moments are delightful for me to experience as an only child, just as they were for Amerie.

Ratings
Quality of Writing 5/5
Pacing 5/5
Plot Development 3/5
Character Development 4/5
Overall Enjoyability 4.5/5

A lovely black romance book ! It’s a fake dating slow burn romance that I highly recommend. I really liked this ! It felt unique in its pacing . Sometimes romance books can feel a little formulaic but that was not the case here. I really felt like this book did something different in the pacing of this book and it worked well for the story. While it was a bit insta lovey in how they were attracted to each other, the fact that they didn’t actually act on it for quite sometime made it so much more satisfying. Everyone around them believed in there romance and so did I. It was so romantic and a solid romance . I can’t wait to read more from this author 4.5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for this Arc

The Kiss Countdown is a slow-burn, with a third act break-up. There wasn't enough romance especially with a built-in break-up. How about the male love interest was an astronaut, that was fun.

Thank you, Berkley

This book had a lot of potential and I'll admit, the cover got me because it's adorable. As a debut novel, I think it did okay. It was my first astronaut plotted book so I went in unsure how I would feel about it. But I really struggled connecting to these two MCs. I'm not sure where it fell flat for me, but the fake dating an astronaut seemed out of this world (see what I did there? lol). In all seriousness, I think I had a hard time relating to Amerie. It frustrated me that she wasn't very supportive of the fact he was gone all the time. Um, hello? He's an astronaut. Vincent was hard to read as well and I think you could really see where where he struggled to open up to Amerie based off his past struggles. I just couldn't feel the chemistry and it seemed force for this one.

Amerie has experienced quite a few, unexpected, set-backs lately. First she was fired from her job, then she was broken up with, then she discovers an unexpected hospital bill for her ailing mother. She has just enough to get by for a few months, if only she could get party planning business off the ground. Running into Vincent at the coffee shop was the last thing she was looking for. Using him spur of the moment while running into her ex, has unexpected outcomes for both of them.

Vincent wants Amerie to play his pretend girlfriend for his family, while giving Amerie a place to live, which helps Amerie save some more money. You see his mother is not so keep on his job, an Astronaut. She wants him to stay safely on the ground, and she thinks that a girlfriend/wife will help him see that. The opposite is true as Amerie whole heartedly supports his career choices. What neither anticipated was that while playing boyfriend and girlfriend, deep feelings start to develop. I mean the attraction was always there but now that they know each other on a deeper level, well maybe they can become the real deal.

I absolutely loved these two and would get frustrated when they couldn’t see what was right there all along. So what happens? You’ll have to one-click to find out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read this book.

I really loved the premise of this one. I didn’t realize I needed a rom-com about an astronaut before finding this book, but I was wrong, I totally needed that. I liked Vincent’s character quite a bit, but Mimi’s character frequently drove me a little crazy. I found her reactions to be over the top most of the time (the dust, really?), but I did love her interactions with her best friend and parents and the slow burn with Vincent (fake relationship may be my favorite trope, so I could be a bit biased there). I thought the drama that led to their separation was weak and could have been better. I mean I’m ok with the formula but it just didn’t feel real for me. But overall this was a sweet, fun, romantic story that was also about family. I really liked the relationships and building communication within those familial relationship with both Mimi and Vincent’s families. Honestly that was my favorite part of this book, the supporting characters. I’ll definitely be on the look out for future books by this author.

What a great debut novel. Amerie and Vincent made interesting characters and were easy to root for. I do think if we were able to get a point of view from hot astronaut, Vincent the book would have been fire. I think staying with only Amerie the entire novel made the pacing of the book lull at places. I missed the tension a dual pov can add to a rom com. I enjoyed the show burn to their romance though, in general the fake dating trope can feel forced but in The Kiss Countdown it felt authentic and natural. I'll be looking out for more books by Etta Easton.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy.