I am always amazed when an authors debut book is so good! Etta Easton knocked it out of the park with this strangers-roommates-to lovers/fake dating romcom. The writing and pacing were well done and I loved all of the characters. I would have liked a little more banter/humor but I still really enjoyed it and will definitely be recommending!

It's tough for me to pass a book with MC an astronaut, and this being romcom, I was totally in. By the summary, I expected it to be cheesy and filled with over the top moments and it was spot on. It was a fun and light read with fake dating trope bringing in the crackling chemistry between Amerie and Vincent.

YES YES YES! This was SO DAMN GOOD!

Immediately this book starts off with Amerie's dry humor that follows throughout the story. What begins as a way to make her ex jealous, turns into a full fledged fake dating situation with an astronaut. The chemistry between these two is established immediately and only grows stronger as their fake dating gets more in depth and deeper. I absolutely love Amerie, she is resilient and hilarious. Her relationship with her best friend was also so fun to see throughout the story. And Vincent is just a hunk, I couldn't get enough of him and the way I imagined his voice and way he talked just got to me.

This is a fake dating trope done PERFECTLY. What a wonderful debut romance, I will absolutely be buying any and all of Etta Easton's books in the future.

Smart and steamy, lots of great banter and heartfelt connection between both the main characters and side characters. A really excellent debut and an author to watch.

First of all thank you to net galley, Berkeley romance, & Etta Easton for providing me with this ARC. This was such a solid debut novel. I love black romance novels & a black astronaut?! How dreamy. This book was sweet & funny but also dealt with some difficult topics. The only reason this book isn’t getting five stars from me is because I feel like the “love” came outta nowhere. Like yes, there was instant underlying attraction, but I don’t believe at any point we actually see Amerie & Vincent fall in love on page. And the spicy seasons could have been a little more developed.

Some minor things I think this book could benefit from are trigger warnings for the difficult topics & a playlist since music is such an influence here.

I can’t wait to see what else comes from this author in the future 🫶🏾

This was a good read, I am always here for a slow burn relation and who can pass up a fake relationship trope. I thoroughly enjoyed despite the fact that I felt there was a lack of chemistry between the characters and the romance almost seemed forced other than that it was good. Definitely will recommend.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this fake dating rom com. I can't believe this was a debut. There is so much chemistry between these strangers turned daters. The characters were so well developed, I absolutely loved both MCs. Their extended family and friends were great additions.

I will definitely be (im)patiently waiting for her next book.

Amerie just lost her boyfriend and her job, and now she's about to lose her apartment. When she meets up with a friend for coffee to discuss her new event planning business, she quite literally runs into Vincent and his coffee, spilling it on him. The next time she returns to the same coffee shop, her ex is there with another woman, so of course Amerie says she's also seeing someone. I'm Walls Vincent and Amerie grabs him and introduces him to her ex as her boyfriend. Vincent plays along, but asks Amerie for something in return.

This book was so cute and had me hooked from the first chapter! I loved how Amerie did not believe Vincent was an astronaut at first. This seems like such a small detail, but a fun one and totally makes sense that something like that would happen in Houston. As a mother, I can understand Vincent's mother's concern about him being an astronaut, but I also feel like she caused too much of a fuss over it, so you'll enjoy this if you enjoy family drama. Most of all, and I don't know why this is, I love it when I find a book with an astronaut in it! They aren't very common, but they are out there. I'm definitely looking forward to the next Etta Easton book!

A big thank you to Berkley Romance and the author for letting me review this advanced copy! All thoughts are my own.

THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU IF: You love a fun fake relationship with family drama and a dash of slow burn goodness.

** frantically google where does hot astronaut hang out *** this was a really fun debut, and astronaut and event planner was a new one for me, but I kinda loved all the random science facts, and the meteor shower scene was really cute.

Amerie life is out of control, she got fired from her job, her boyfriend broke up with her and she’s worried about her moms health. So when she bumps into sexy astronaut Vincent and then wrangles him into pretending to be her boyfriend since her ex just happens to be at her favorite coffee shop with his new girlfriend.. what could go wrong….

Vincent is a astronaut whose past involves a lot of trauma, and he relationship with his family isn’t the best.. so when Amerie agrees to continue being his fake girlfriend for three month, it’s one less thing he has to worry about, or so he thought.

I enjoyed the banter and most of the moments that we did get with these two. However, You know the saying action speaks louder than words? I wish I knew how to put that in book terms.. I loved Amerie and Vincent together but Im left wanting more..this story could’ve really benefited from Vincent pov.

I felt like I was swept away on a whirlwind adventure through the magical world of romance, laughter, and unexpected surprises. From the very first page, I found myself captivated by the endearing protagonist, Lily, and her quest to find love amidst the quirky traditions of her small town. As a lover of romances that portray authentic emotions of Black people, I was thrilled to discover a story that not only celebrated love in all its forms but also provided a heartfelt representation of characters who felt real and relatable.

I think that Etta Easton crafted a tale that balances sweetness with a healthy dose of unpredictability, keeping me eagerly flipping pages to see what twists and turns awaited Lily on her journey to that much-anticipated first kiss. And oh, the romance! Love it, love it, loved it!! Every stolen glance, every tender moment shared between Lily and her potentials, filled me with a sense of warmth and joy that resonated deeply. This book left me grinning like a love struck teenage girly and reminded me why I fell in love with romance in the first place.

Bless rom coms coming back. Is this overtly funny? In some moments, but it was mostly funny because it wasn’t trying to be. I loved Amerie’s confidence in herself even though her whole world was being turn upside down and in the moments it was shaken her best friend Gina was there to gas her up. The relationship she built with Vincent was something I came to love in the end, but it took a while to get there. The pacing would be fine if this became a movie but in a book we tend to expect more relationship building details. I rated this so highly because in the end it was well done and while at times the relationship development felt rushed, the foundation and vulnerability was ever present.

Thank you @prhaudio for the complimentary audiobook, and Netgalley & Berkeley for the digital review copy. All thoughts are my own.

This was such a delightful debut!! I loved their meet disaster - literally running into each other at a coffee shop and stumbling into a fake dating scheme. I felt the chemistry between Amerie and Vincent immediately. This story balances delicate topics such as grief and chronic illness (sickle cell anemia) alongside lighthearted jokes with Amerie’s inner monologue. The hardest part of reading fake dating romances is that they are inevitably lying to people they care about, which is the case in The Kiss Countdown. However, I also could see how both Amerie and Vincent felt they couldn’t be honest with their family members with the expectations they had placed on them and they did have good intentions at heart. Overall, really enjoyable romance read - the audio was also fantastic - Angel Pean was new to me as a narrator and she brought Amerie’s POV to life in this 10.5 hour audiobook.

4.25-4.5 rounded up

*IG review posted 4/9*

NEW ROMANCE RELEASE

Thank you #partners @berkleyromance for my #gifted copies and @prhaudio for my gifted audio copy. 💕 #berkleypartner #berkleyig #penguinrandomhousepartner

Happy pub day to The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton

📖 A struggling event planner and a sinfully hot astronaut must decide if their fake relationship is worth a shot at happily-ever-after, in this starry debut.

💭 The Kiss Countdown is scrumptious! It's sweet, smart, sexy, and satisfying! It's the kind of book you can't wait to return to, as Easton builds up unbelievable tension! Y'all, the pining is next level!🔥 I adore Amerie and Vincent, two well-crafted characters, each with their own troubles, giving them depth, complexity and believability. I also appreciate that Easton shines a light on Sickle Cell, (which disproportionately afflicts Black folks) and the ways this disease impacts families. Well-paced, with the perfect blend of heavy and light, The Kiss Countdown is a ✨winner✨ and I absolutely recommend it for romance readers.

🎧 I went hard on this one, rotating between print, ebook, and audio. 😅 The audiobook is divine! Narrator Angel Pean is exceptional, portraying both feminine and masculine voices. I recognized her voice from Jodie Slaughter's Bet on It, and hope to hear more from her in the future.

This is a feel good romance about how opposites truly attract. Amerie is the typical independent black woman who hides her feeling behind attitude and sarcasm. Never wanting to take risks she soon realizes that her life is drastically lacking. Recently breaking up with her boyfriend and her job, Amerie is a little insufferable at time until she met Vincent.

Vincent was too good to be true. An educated Astronaut training for trip to Mars with NASA. Vincent has hopes and dreams but those dreams come at his family's displeasure. Dealing with the constant nagging from his mother for him to settle down.

Amerie and Vincent embark upon a fake dating scheme so that she can save face when confronted with her ex and his less complicated girlfriend and Vincent appeasing his family with a fake girlfriend.

Amerie and Vincent had an uphill battle but the one who was making things hard was Amerie. It was obvious from their first meeting that Vincent was interested in Amerie and Amerie still reeling from her recent breakup was pretty much rude and abrupt with Vincent.

While on this journey Vincent was not only able to appease his family but he began to realize that he wanted to keep Amerie for longer than their agreed upon arrangement and Amerie is finally learning to loosen up and love a little.

Love comes when you least expect it but Vincent and Amerie have some decisions to make. Tell the truth or continue with their charade until playtime officially becomes reality.

This was an absolutely delightful romance debut. I was hooked from the first page, and if you love fake dating schemes filled with classic rom-com vibes, then this is one you need to check out.

From their first interaction, I knew I was going to love Amerie and Vincent. The pair could not be more different, but they work so well together. It was so entertaining seeing how the fake dating scheme came about, and I loved watching as their ruse kept growing and spiraling out of control. The forced proximity that came with their roommate agreement was such a fun element, and I enjoyed how it allowed the pair to get to know each other as Amerie came to realize the depth of her feelings for Vincent.

Speaking of Vincent, oh. my. goodness. I am absolutely OBSESSED with him. Even though this story is told solely from Amerie's perspective, his feelings for her are clear. As much as I love a dual POV romance, picking up on the hints hidden in the subtext of the main characters interactions with their love interest in a single POV love story can be just as fun, which is the case with this book. There are so many moments of Vincent's that had me absolutely swooning over him, but my favorite is undoubtedly the picnic (if you know, you know). Not to mention the fact that he's an astronaut. So... you know, just another reason to love him.

I loved watching Amerie come to take risks over the course of this story, especially after all she had been through. She perseveres through a lot of BS, and I was so happy to see her finally find success with her event planning agency. I also really enjoyed watching her interact with Vincent's family, especially when she stood up for him when no one else would. Another highlight was her friendship with Gina, who brought a wonderful element to the book.

Overall, this debut romance is an absolute must read. With a heroine you can't help but root for, a lovable cinnamon roll book boyfriend, and all the classic rom-com vibes, this is one you need to have on your tbr!

Both adorable and emotional, The Kiss Countdown is a fake fiancee romance that grabbed me right from the start.

Amerie seems to hate taking risks but she is forced to go out on a limb and try to get her own business started.

Vincent is focused on his next mission as an astronaut and does’t want the distraction that is his parents worry for him. He hires Amerie to pose as his girlfriend to get his family off his back as he prepares for space.

“I’m not sure what the future holds, but for once, I don’t care. For Vincent, I’m willing to risk it all.”

Everyone seems to be keeping secrets from everyone else and failure to communicate as usual really muddies up the waters. I completely fell in love with Amerie and Vincent and never stopped rooting for them to find their common ground!
-4 Stars!-

Synopsis in a sentence (or two):
Mimi has recently lost her job, her boyfriend, and her apartment, and she’s concerned about her mother’s health and her parents’ finances. The only luck she may have had was quite literally running into a stranger named Vincent at her favorite coffee shop. What follows is a mutual fake dating agreement, a new roommate, and an attraction they both are finding more challenging to deny every day.

Pacing/Storyline:
The Kiss Countdown closely aligns with a typical fake dating trope storyline. Where The Kiss Countdown stands out among others is in its characters. All of the characters within this story were lovable, but I found Mimi particularly endearing. Her story felt so authentic. I identified with her love for her mother and adored how she interacted with Vincent and her best friend, Gina. Very few stories outside of science fiction include astronaut characters, and I loved that aspect of the storyline.

Author:
I was surprised that The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton was a debut novel. It reads like a Lynn Painter or a Sariah Wilson novel. Needless to say, I’ll be adding her to future books to my TBR list.

For readers who love:
📚fake dating trope, strangers to roommates trope
📚Lynn Painter, Sariah Wilson, Jasmine Guillory, Helena Hunting
📚astronaut love interests
📚family centered romances

Rating: 4.0

Disclosure:
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for the Digital Review Copy of The Kiss Countdown. All opinions are my own.

I don’t know if it was marketing genius or pure luck that this book was released the same week as the solar eclipse. Either way, this book had me over the moon (see what I did there).

This was adorable! I love it when a romance makes me giddy and keeps me smiling, and this gave me all of that. It was a slow burn, but the angst and tension between these two had me cheering when they finally gave in!

Ameries character did work my nerves in sections of this book. But Vincent!!! He is slightly bossy, totally nerdy, and the reason I fell in love with this story. I loved how early the author introduced us to the love interest. She wasted no time bringing these two together and it set the tone for the rest of the book. The use of other romance tropes was done well here. Except for one element that I wasn't a huge fan of (won't mention it because it could be considered a spoiler), but in the end, the book came together and I was more than satisfied.

BIG congrats to Etta Easton on a fantastic debut novel! I will happily pick up whatever she releases next!

And special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for the advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This book was cute! I was really intrigued by the MMC being an astronaut and it was fun to read about! I did have a bit of a hard time getting into this though. I had a hard time believing in their relationship and the way it progressed quite quickly. There wasn’t a lot of tension or buildup to the romance part. I also would’ve loved if we had Vincent’s POV to see what he was thinking. I think others will really like this book, especially if they like fake dating!

This was so swoony and the characters were just perfect together. I was a big fan of the pacing of this story and how well the author portrayed the fake dating trope.