🌕 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙺𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 🌕
𝖤𝗍𝗍𝖺 𝖤𝖺𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗇
#BerkleyPartner #Berkley

What better day to post this review than on Solar Eclipse Day! North American is experiencing a total solar eclipse later today and I’m excited to get on my eclipse glasses and head outside later this afternoon. This was a super cute debut romance with a spacey twist…I mean how often do we get an astronaut MMC? The stars and space language that was woven in to the text was a nice touch. I think both Amerie and Vincent are dealing with lot on their own and in finding each other, they also find the perfect partner to help them along the way!

Struggling event planner Amerie Price finds herself in a precarious situation when she pretends to be in a relationship with the irresistible astronaut Vincent Rogers. What starts as a fake romance for mutual benefit soon becomes a journey of self-discovery as Amerie navigates between safety and taking a chance on love. Will she choose the predictable path or dare to reach for the stars with Vincent?

Read if you enjoy:
🧲 Opposites Attract
🚻 Forced Proximity
🛏️ One Bed
❣️ Fake Dating
🔭 Space Themes
🤓 Nerdy Cinnamon Roll MMC
🎉 Event Planning
💗 Female Friendships
🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Family Dynamics

Thank you to @berkleyromance @netgalley and @ettaeaston for the advanced eARC of this book! Launch date is tomorrow April 9th!

The Kiss Countdown ☕️ 🚀
Etta Easton

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐ ⭐️ ⭐️
Steam: 🔥

📆 Release Date: 4/9/24
📚 Format: Ebook ARC
⏳ Length: 336 pages

💖 Tropes: Fake dating, forced proximity, opposites attract, slow burn
🌎 Reps: Black love, chronic illness

✨ Main Characters
FMC: Amerie (Mimi)
MMC: Vincent

👍 What I liked:
Space stuff
Side characters
Character growth
Cinnamon roll MMC
Strong independent FMC

👎 What I missed:
Pacing

💭 Final thoughts:
I really enjoyed this read! The book is fully the FMC’s POV, so a good portion of the story is internal, but Amerie is totally relatable and likable. Vincent was such a swoony MMC, and I only wish I had gotten more of him! The romance itself was a slowwww burn, but I liked that the evolution of Amerie and Vincent’s relationship was complemented by their own individual growth. Sign me up for future astronaut romances and Etta Easton books, cause I’m here for both!

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the digital arc!

Etta Easton’s debut totally took me by surprise - our MMC is a freaking astronaut, how could he not be perfect?! The Kiss Countdown has the fake dating and forced proximity tropes, both of which I felt worked well in this romance.

I very much look forward to reading more from Easton in the future.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I really liked this book! It had tropes I usually don’t go for, but this was very well done.

I loved the characters relationship and pacing of this book. I loved that there were Black characters at its center and I loved the family dynamics for both characters.

Those who love slow burns, fake dating, strangers who to turn friends who turn lovers? Some steam? An easy read? This is for you.

The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton is officially my whole personality and my book of the summer. I was excited to read this book and it exceeded all my expectations. The chemistry, the banter, the character growth. When I think of a fluffy romance this is exactly what I want. There is absolutely nothing I would change about this book. It was perfection. The only thing I wish is that it was longer so I could enjoy the characters a little bit more. I'm not even a person that enoys a "slow burn" trope, but it was done in a way that made me excited to keep reading but not to slow.


Usually I post a photo of the cover and write my review. But I loved this book so much that I am recording a video this week to explain how much I love this book. My usual reviews will not do this book justice and I need people to know how much I genuinely love this book.

The Kiss Countdown will definitely be one of my Top 10 books of the year, if not Top 3.

I ate this up!!! Fake dating would not be my chosen or favorite trope but this put such a funny spin on it I couldn’t help but be charmed. So Amerie is not at the level she wants to be in life for several reasons so when she runs into her ex at her favorite coffee shop with his new girlfriend, she ropes Vincent, the guy she had a meet disaster with, into being her fake boyfriend. But the ante is upped when said Vincent’s SISTER overhears and now what was supposed to be a 5 minute of convenient pretend she’s agreeing to keep up this ruse at a New Years Eve party.

This continues on and becomes more of a friends to lovers I’d say, probably why the fake dating part didn’t feel overly trope-y to me. There’s also so much I knew I was already going to love: roommates, forced proximity, only one bed, etc.

What is such a winner about this book is their CHEMISTRY. Single POV was perfect for this and I love when choices like that make so much sense to me. The whole time Amerie has to learn to trust and be vulnerable with others and when that HEA hits I’m just mush at that point. And the thing about Vincent is that he is not a perfect person. He has that hot NASA astronaut going for him but sometimes he says the wrong thing or is too abrasive and honestly those sides of him only endeared me more.

This is slow burn, open door, low spice (like 1-2) but def steamy with alllll kinds of chemistry between them.

The writing in this has humor written throughout, there is such a voice to this author and I can’t wait to read what she writes next.

Thank you to Berkley for the eARC!

Book Review: The Kiss Countdown 🧑🏾‍🚀💕✨

“I could have wished on all the stars, planets and moons and still never could I have imagined being led to someone like you”
4⭐️

In the Kiss Countdown, we follow Amerie and Vincent- an event planner and an astronaut who hatch a plan to fake date for reasons beneficial for the both of them and the plot takes off from here.

I loved both Amerie and Vincent so much! I loved reading about an event planner and a black astronaut. Both experiences are extremely unique and I have yet to have read them in book form so I loved that. I also thoroughly enjoyed the family dynamics and friendships that we get to see. It made me even more invested in the plot and where the story would take them both.

Both characters were extremely likable but, my only gripe that I had with the book is that I wanted more from Vincent. Specifically, I wanted to know what exactly he was feeling or thinking from his POV. We know that he has feelings because Amerie described them but, certain things just aren’t fully fleshed out in regards to him.

I would also like to mention that if you are a fan of slow burns this book will not be for you. I love a good slow burn and I think this was done just right. Otherwise, this was just as cute and adorable as I hoped it would be and I would recommend this to any romance reader!

Title: The Kiss Countdown
Author: Etta Easton
Publisher: Berkley
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"The Kiss Countdown" by Etta Easton

My Thoughts:

'The Kiss Countdown' was an excellent fake-to-real dating story that has quite a turn to its story. How Amerie [an event planner] and Vincent [an astronaut] met was cute as he followed Amerie's plan to be her boyfriend. There was more to this as these two came together...Amerie meets Vincent's family. However, Amerie needed clarification, mainly due to her mother's illness.

Will these two come together by the end of the story? You must pick up 'The Kiss Countdown' to see how this author unfolds this cute, fantastic story.


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

I have to be real with you……….. I didn’t find not a single thing wrong with this book. I loved this so much. I was listening to it any time I had a moment free. I let my son tear up my house because I was so into this book. It’s been a long time since I actively liked a book that was set in a place that I know very well.

Ok many of y’all know that my favorite trope in romance in Fake Dating. I love when they first decide that they’re going to lie and the way the person they’re lying with just decides eff it fine. And this one was even better because she decided she was lying to her ex. Those are my favorite because the exes are usually terrible people. And ol dude in this one definitely was. I also like fake dating because I like when they finally come to the realization that they actually do like each other. The denial is just ahh I can’t explain it, *chef’s kiss* For this one, the denial was so good. It’s always funny when everyone knows about it but them. And this one is no different. Idk how she didn’t see it, but whatevs lol

The next thing that made this book was the characters. Y’all I don’t know the last book I read where the FMC was this dramatic. And I say this solely because of the freaking way she acted during the grand gesture lol I was panicking for her. And ain’t no way she did that in a freaking evening dress. But I guess to be someone’s fake girlfriend and to trick his whole family and plan entire parties, you have to be dramatic in some ways. As for Vincent, he seemed so quiet. Definitely gave nerdy vibes. And I was here for it. And this man was very loud when he needed to be. (“Good eggs.” LORDT) And let’s be honest, this man did a story time……. I have seen what I needed to see. As a librarian, that legit made my heart stutter. I loved them so much.

The romance between the two of them was some of the cutest I’ve read in a long time. I loved seeing them fall for each other. And I want to especially say thank you to Easton for their very real chemistry. They immediately just fit together. I knew she was smitten from the nap she took on his sofa in the office. Just to be near him was enough. And this seems stupid, but I really liked the way he spoke to her. She mentions many times that science is not her strong suit and she doesn’t know much about the things that he was really interested in. But he was so patient and kind with her. He never made her feel less than for asking what something meant. He was smart, but he wasn’t overly smart, and if he was, he didn’t hold it over anyone’s head. I don’t know why I loved that so much, but I did.

I also loved the way she portrayed us Texans. FINALLY a book set in Texas where we don’t walk weird because we ride horses all day. FINALLY a book where we we don’t all have a super deep accent and talk with a slow drawl. SHE EVEN MENTIONED THE SALT WATER SMELL IN THE AIR. She has to actually be from Houston. Only people from here actually can tell the difference in the smell in the air. It’s unusual to talked about in a good way in today’s media lol Also, fun fact, she mentions a library that has him in to like do storytimes in Clear Lake and in my head I just kept picturing our library being the one that she was referring to. Does any of this have anything to do with the story? No, but it’s just another way I connected to this story.

This book, this book. There is no way this review did this book justice. I laughed, I got mad, everything with this book. The characters were amazing, the romance felt real, and just ugh it felt so real and I HOPEEEE y’all love this as much as me. Etta Easton deserves all that’s coming to her. And I’m not just saying that because I hope she goes to visit one of our libraries lol (No seriously, can we use a romance as a Gulf Coast Reads pick? Asking for a friend lmao)

This was a charming and sweet romance with great tropes, including fake dating and only one bed. It’s a pretty slow burn, with things not getting super spicy until close to the end of the book. I wish I knew a little bit more about Vincent’s life as an astronaut, but the book is from Amerie’s perspective, so it makes sense we didn’t see his job as much. I would recommend this to romance lovers!

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Kiss Countdown follows Amerie and Vincent, who start fake dating since it will be beneficial for both for different reasons. Through the course of Amerie living with Vincent and them getting to know each other better, they start to form a connection that’s more real than they were expecting. I liked both main characters and I felt for Amerie and her worry over her mother’s deteriorating health. Vincent is an absolute cinnamon roll and seeing him be so determined in his career as an astronaut while also grieving and coming to terms with the shift in his family dynamic made me empathize with him as well. I just thought this was a cute romance and it really didn’t even feel like a debut. I just wish it was dual pov cause this could’ve benefited from more of Vincent’s thoughts/feelings. But other than that I enjoyed this and was rooting for these two to get together.

A decent debut. I was hoping to learn more about being an astronaut and event planner, but the book mostly focuses on Amerie's insecurities. While I was reading it, I felt like it would make a sweet movie, but without the sense you're reading something that was written to BE a movie.

Read if you like:
🖤 Black Love
😘 Fake Dating
🚀 Astronauts
⏳ Time Limited Arrangements
🔥 Slow Burn

When Amerie spills coffee all over a stranger, she would never expect her life will change all because of that mishap… but when her ex walks in with his new girlfriend she quickly dives into pretending she is dating the man she just met, and if the stars couldn’t have aligned at a worse time, his sister who he has been lying to walks in and Vincent gets trapped into his sister thinking this is the girlfriend he has been mentioning for a while.

So when a moment of fake dating turns into a mutually beneficial arraignment to last for the next three months before Vincent is set to go off to space to calm his mom down, they get much more time together than they initially planned for.

This was a cute slow burn romance that I really enjoyed as I always love some fake dating!

Thanks so much to Berkley for my ARC and PRHA for my gifted ALC in exchange for my honest review!

This book was super cute and for a debut novel, I was incredibly impressed! I loved the idea of an astronaut and event planner fake dating for mutually beneficial purposes. I loved Amerie's character and found her to be super relatable and real. However, I just really struggled to connect with Amerie and Vincent as a couple. I think maybe had we gotten a Vincent POV that would have helped, but he just felt like a very one-dimensional character and I just wasn't invested in him as a love interest.

But beyond that, I think Etta Easton is an author to watch out for and I'm very interested to read her future works!

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I didn't know exactly what to expect but the fake dating had me willing to read. Amerie has really had the worst luck and poor timing. She is smart, competent and hard-working. It's seriously wrong that a company where she did outstanding work for years had such limited backup support for emergencies and stuck her with the blame. I get her having a douche boyfriend when she is more career focused plus with the threat of possibly losing her Mom, she is not the most trusting of relationships.

Vincent, the astronaut, is also very focused on his work. He doesn't want distractions of dating right before his 6 month moon mission but in trying to get his Mom off his back, he trades one diversion for another. He's a cinnamon roll nerd. Vincent is kind and the fake dating is a safe space for them both from the judgement of others.

Overall I liked both their parents and families. I wasn't as partial to Amerie's best friend Gina. Amerie's business startup was difficult as I would expect, but on her own I was worried she would end up with more troubles. She didn't seem to have as much marketing and business expertise as I would have hoped. Although she was very skilled at her role in a larger firm.

Of course, the pretending gets real as they happily spend time together. They are lovely together and have some heartbreak with coming clean. But it's what they both need and so right for them both. I appreciate their maturity and honesty as they navigate the reality of their relationship. I enjoyed The Kiss Countdown and the feels it brought.

The Kiss Countdown
by: Etta Easton
Berkley Publishing Group / Berkley
Pub Date: April 9, 2024

As a member of the Berkley Besties group, I had the privilege to read an advance copy of this charming, captivating spring release. Thank you, Berkley Besties!

Etta Easton's debut novel gave me lots to love, starting with the gorgeously romantic cover. Main characters Amerie and Vincent embrace against a city nightscape of the Houston setting under the moon, stars, and a rocket ship. This struggling event planner and handsome NASA astronaut meet at a coffee shop, and a fake dating relationship begins.

Told from Amerie's point of view, the plot is delightful with Etta's engaging writing style. I love the career and family components within the story. Congratulations to Easton on this wonderful debut, and I look forward to her next work.

I received a gifted advance listener's copy from Net Galley, Berkley Publishing Group / Berkley, and Berkley Besties Group. My review is my own.

Amerie and Vincent meet at the coffee shop near her house... and it doesn't go all that great. But the SECOND time they meet, she needs to come up with a boyfriend to prove to her ex that she's moved on, and Vincent just happens to be conveniently at hand. Turn out he's also in need of a fake girlfriend to get his mom off his back. Amerie and Vincent decide to mutually meet each other's fake relationship needs. It doesn't hurt that they each think the other one is really, really hot.

For me, a first person, single POV contemporary romance has a very high bar to clear. Unfortunately The Kiss Countdown didn't quite make it over the hurdle for me. That said, this is a fun book, and if you like fluffy contemporary romcoms, you'll probably want to pick this one up.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

I loved this story! It's was a true second chance romance and I love the circumstances that brought them back together.
I do with there was a little more chemistry before them as adults though. I feel like the fire burned the brightest during their flashbacks to high school.
Otherwise, I would be very interested to read more from this author!

Adorable book! I enjoyed this read. It gets better the further you get in the book. These two started with a 'fake' relationship that built from there. The obstacles were believable and added to the story. I was overall pleased with this read. Thanks to the NetGalley for providing this read.

Amerie Price is beyond down on her luck after losing her job, breaking up with her boyfriend and struggling to launch her own business. When she runs into her ex and his new girlfriend at a coffee shop, she pretends to be dating the handsome stranger she accidentally spilled a coffee on. Astronaut Vincent Rogers plays along and then asks Amerie for a favor of his own. He wants her to pretend to date him so his family will stop bothering him and allow him to focus on his upcoming mission.

This is such a charming and fun debut from Etta Easton! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and I loved the way it was done here. Having Amerie move into Vincent’s house was a perfect way to drum up some forced proximity feelings. The chemistry between Amerie and Vincent was palpable from the start and the tension builds up during the slow burn to a perfect payoff moment. I will definitely be reading whatever Etta comes up with next!

Recommended for romance readers who enjoy: 🚀 astronaut heroes 📆 fake dating 🏡 forced proximity 💍 overly involved families ↕️ opposites attract 🔥 slow burn

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Romance for the advanced copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.