I found myself HOOKED on this story, the characters, and the journey that they have taken. I had fun with the way that Easton and Drake meet, the dating app, the texting, the super spice, and just getting to know each other. When time has passed, I could still feel how Easton's heart still craved his Love. I love a story that gives you characters that you like from the start, a story that pulls you in, and a connection that you can feel between the characters. This is the first in a new series, I enjoyed the little visit with past characters we've enjoyed, and I am ready to dig more into this small group of friends!

I’m so torn about this one. I wanted to like it so much because there is definitely hype around the books written by this author but I just couldn’t get into it.

The problem for me was mainly the fact that the FMC annoyed me. She was so bland. I just didn’t see her having any substance. We’re always looking for new book boyfriends but I also look for FMCs that I can connect with and it just didn’t happen here. Everything was very superficial.

And could someone explain to me the MMCs obsession with making her scream? 🤣 It felt like the typical finance bro that thought he was God’s gift to women. Honestly I couldn’t enjoy the spice with how much he talked about making her scream. Honestly I wasn’t that impressed with this one.

I was very apprehensive going into this book. I love Marni Mann and was thrown for a loop when the beginning quarter of the book just wasn’t what I expecting. The biggest surprise, it’s broken up into parts and Part One is not dual POV. It’s told through a series of phone interactions between Easton and his mystery girl, where we never get to fully meet our female main character. She remains nameless until we get to Part Two.

But once Part Two hits the story really picks up pace! It switches to Dual POV and we get swept up into a workplace romance. The chemistry was immediate. The tension is thick. And the steam is well worth the wait. It was everything I normally love about a Marni Mann book. It took a detour to get there, but it made the journey all the more fun.

The men in this book are drool worthy, and I can’t wait to see where their stories lead. I was immediately drawn the the single daddy and his adorable daughter, and happily await his book.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be part of this ARC team! It was a pleasure to read this. It pulled me out of my bookish comfort zone.

This book was everything I wanted from Marni. A 100% match turns into a whirlwind romance. I loved the characters and the story as a whole. Easton is a man who does not want a relationship, but finds the woman of his dreams. When she leaves him without a goodbye, he swears off romance. It isn't until Drake comes on as the app's international developer that he realizes he may be able to love again. I loved how well the characters worked together and were able to run a business while also being friends. The work environment seemed really chill and not overbearing. Drake was my favorite, especially how she expressed herself. I read this super fast and want more.

MrBoston + SaarasLove

4.5⭐️
3.5🌶

✨forced proximity
✨workplace romance
✨billionaire
✨stem

Marni is the queen of billionaire romance. Danggggg. This book was so hot.

Drake is such a strong and smart FMC. The chemistry between her and Easton is 😮‍💨 their first meeting was absolutely a favorite for me 🥹

truly soulmates. And I love a queen that can leave and comeback 5 years later. SLAYYYYYY.

3 ⭐️
3.5 🌶️

I really wanted to love this. It had all the workings to be a great time, but it fell short of the mark. The story concept was what hooked me into reading it. The spice was good. But the characters just fell flat. They were totally unrelatable. I usually love her books, but this was just an okay read. But hey, in the immortal words of Meatloaf: Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.

Mr. Hook-up is the first book in Marni's new Hooked series, and if you enjoy one dirty talking, sexy as sin hottie, then you definitely need to read this book!!

"They say to get right back up once you’ve been knocked down. But do I stay kneeled on the ground, looking up the skirt of every woman walking by. Or do I get on my feet only to fall . . . Again."

This read had it all, office romance..... check, forced proximity..... check, second chance romance..... check, forbidden..... check, billionaire....... check and sexy times that were nothing but explosive!! Easton and Drake aka Love were perfection, from their first meet to every one after that, I just couldn't get enough.

“You know, one of the best parts about tonight is that it doesn’t have to end. Instead of going home, feeling alone, I get to wake up in the morning and kiss you again.”

The friendships between Drake, Greyson, and Holden had me smiling and laughing with the witty banter between them all. As for Saara and Drake, they may have been bestfriends, but that bond ran deep, and I loved that! If you get the chance to grab this one, I highly recommend reading. Looking forward to the next book!

3.75 STARS
This is a spicy romance with a fun premise, Easton and his friends invent a hook up app, it matches people at a percentage rate of compatibility and the expectations for a relationship can be off the table.
Easton gets a 100% match, it’s almost inconceivable to all of them. He and Love, his match end up messaging each other for awhile. They form a bond instead of meeting to hook up. At the hook up apps company masquerade party the two hook up semi anonymously. They don’t know real names, jobs or faces. They have an intense, sexy one time encounter. Easton finds himself wanting more, unfortunately Love disappears, phone shut off and everything. He gets ghosted. She is the faceless woman that no one can live up to.
Years later she’s working at his office, this isn’t a spoiler it’s not a mystery or secret to the reader. The characters discover it soon enough as well.
What ensues is workplace naughty behavior. There’s a lot of sex and a bit of an emotional side to the story.
I found myself not loving the spicy scenes as much as I normally do with this author. I think Easton’s character’s “naughty” talk was actually sweet which didn’t work for me in this story and sometimes it was too repetitive for my liking. I didn’t connect with this pair, I usually love the authors er0tic romances. I did love the premise of the hook up app a lot and I did like their messaging conversations. The way they’re brought back together is also a plus.
Bottom line, it’s a matter of personal taste. Everyone likes different characters and different types of sex scenes. I wasn’t head over heels, but I liked a lot about the story. I’ll definitely read the author again, I enjoy almost all of her work.

Easton Jones and his two best friends, recent graduates of Harvard, have created an app known as ‘Hooked’ which an app is designed for the ideal one-night stand. When Easton creates his Hooked profile, he gets a 100 percent perfect match with ‘Love’ Whilst they meet only once, their chemistry is intense, and Easton believes he has found the one. Until Love disappears. Five years later, Hooked is now the number one dating app in the country. Easton still thinks about Love but when he means the company’s new recruit, Drake Madden, he has a feeling that he has met her before. It becomes apparent that Drake and Easton have to address their feelings if they are going to continue working together.
This was a fast paced and intense romance. Easton and Drake’s relationship goes from 0 to 100 fairly quickly. Their chemistry is palpable and never lets up. Whilst the main focus of the story is about their romance, there is drama within the company, that gave an added dimension to it. At times, I would have like to have explored the relationships beyond Easton and Drake, and more to how they related to their friends. Otherwise, an entertaining read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mr. Hook-up is the first book in this brand-new, standalone series of another new-to-me author. After reading the blurb, I was instantly hooked, pun intended. The thrill and appeal of anonymity/ secret identity that dating apps bring is a sure-fire way to get me reading this.

The story is about Easton, a senior grad student, who created a dating app with the help of his friends, Holden and Grayson. When he signed up to test the app, he didn’t expect to find a 100% match, a rarity in the dating app world. Curiosity piqued, he messaged SaarasLove to meet up. What follows is beyond what Easton signed up to.

I really enjoyed this book. The fast pace, contemporary setting, relatability of the story and its characters were the huge factor in making this one a great read for me. There was an instant connection during the time when they were just chatting, but I was glad that they were given the chance to fully explore it in person when they meet again.

There was drama, passion, intrigue that I absolutely love in a book and this one got it in heaps. Can’t wait to read Grayson’s and Holden’s story!

Omgosh, loved this book!! Mr. Hook-Up is such an amazing and fun read that truly left me wanting more. The plot was fantastic and how cool it is that the past meets up with it’s future, albeit they don’t realize it. And talk about s-e-x-y… PLUS this book is smoking hot from the get-go.

Harvard senior grad students, Easton Jones along with his BFF’s Holden and Greyson had just created a new dating app, Hooked. Hooked is basically an app that allows folks to find a match for no strings dating compatibility. Just an anonymous hook-up, no names, no pictures just one and done! When the guys all sign up on the app, it’s Easton who gets a 100% match with SarrasLove, Love!!

Needless to say, it doesn’t take Easton, BostonLifer anytime to message his match. They hit it off from the start and it’s no time before they actually plan to meet up at a masquerade party. Yet everything gets serious at the party with them ending up hooking up in the stairwell. Of course this only made Easton want Love even more. Although the two of them had business and travel plans interfering with getting together again, they continued to message. Easton was so smitten with her it was all he could think about. That is until life got too complicated for Love and the realization that Easton was a Boston guy, she ends up ghosting him cutting all ways of reaching her. Leaving Easton heartbroken.

Five and a half years later Hooked has evolved into the top dating app. Easton and the guys are ready to take the company international. In order to do that they need to hire a director that has the experience to do that. This is where Drake Madison comes in. She has the kind of experience they need and is hired. Drake is smart, serious about her work and fits in perfectly at the company. The thing is that Easton is immediately attracted to her.

The more that he is around her, the more there is a feeling of familiarity with her, but he can’t quite put his finger on it. It once again doesn’t take long before there is more than just a casual interest in each other. The same explosive energy between them is still there too and even more spicy. The whole Boss/Employee thing doesn’t seem to matter to Easton either, he just wants them to be together. gah!

Just when you think that everything is going smoothly for Easton and Drake, there is an unexpected bump in the road! But will this bump be more than they can handle?

"You're lucky I didn't scream."
"Baby...maybe that's what I wanted."

I think Mr. Hook-up may be Marni's SPICIEST book yet. 🥵 I felt the urge to fan myself *multiple* times. A couple of things I have to say... the heroine's name is Drake, which I just LOVE. I have a thing for boy names for girls. Also, Easton is basically THE PERFECT man. Who doesn't want someone who pays attention to detail where their woman is concerned, and is a gentleman on the streets and a freak in the sheets? 🫠 I also want, I'm sorry, NEED Holden's story. As soon as I found out he was a single dad, I said GIMMIE.

I loved this one! I loved the prospect of the dating app and that Easton himself was on there. I also loved that most of the book was from Easton’s POV. I love getting the man’s perspective in romance. It was sweet and steamy and just everything I could ask for!

Easton and Drake were super cute together. I loved their chemistry. I loved that there was no third act break up, although there was some drama that had me worried. Overall I really enjoyed this one and I can’t wait to see where Holden and Grayson’s stories take us!

When I say I swooned for Easton, I SWOONED for Easton, he melted my heart.

Easton matches 100% with a potential date ‘Love’, on the dating app he and his friends designed. Intrigued by this, he agrees to meet her at a masquerade party. When they meet, things get hot and steamy pretty quickly and this man knows what to do with his tongue 🥵. They part ways and just never find the time to reconnect due to conflicting schedules and communication between them drifts away.

Five years later, ‘Love’ also known as Blake takes on a new job at Easton’s new firm and although they don’t know who each other is, the chemistry and attraction they had all those years ago is still there, only leading to some pretty steamy encounters.

I just loved everything about this read. Easton and Blake were perfect together. They were funny, cute and so hot together. They had the best chemistry, I was giddy throughout their journey and had heart eyes every time Easton was on the page! This man will take some beating.

I was so wrapped up in their story, that I did not want it to end, although if Easton is anything to go by, I can’t wait for the other friend's stories, they are sure to be just as hot.

Tropes: Billionaire Romance, Office/Workplace Romance, One Night Stand, Second Chance Romance, Forbidden Romance, Forced Proximity

Thank you to the author, Valentine PR, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

This book is broken up into two parts. The first part is strictly in Easton's POV. Easton aka Mr. Boston is one of the three founders of Hooked, an app for hooking up. He matches 100% with Saaralove aka Drake, and it is not common to match with someone at 100%. Mr. Boston and Saaralove meet in person and hook up, but they have no clue what each other looks like because they are wearing masks. They text back and forth for a while, and try to make plans to see each other, but they never get a chance to meet up because Saaralove travels a lot for work, and she never has time. We fast forward to five and a half years later, they are in each other's lives again, but neither of them knows who the other is.

Easton (Mr.Boston) was perfect from the beginning to the end of this book! He is the definition of a perfect man! He is so sweet, caring, and hardworking! I enjoyed Drake (Saaralove) but some moments she made me want to throw the book against the wall because she didn't realize what she had in front of her -- but as the story progressed, I understood the reasoning why she had to do what she had to do. This book was a lot of fun to read, and it was refreshing! There is no 3rd act breakup, and I loved the chemistry between both characters! I loved that they mostly had communication with each other, especially the incident that happens towards the end of the book. I look forward to reading the next book in this series! (Hopefully, it will be of the other founders of the Hooked app!)

There is nothing better than watching a confirmed playboy bachelor completely lose his mind over a strong confident woman not only once, but twice.

Told in dual perspectives, the first installment of the Hooked series is located in Boston where three close friends in grad school are developing their new Hooked app for no-strings hookups. With a very rare and surprising 100% match, one of those friends discovers his life will change forever.

Easton Jones never expected his Hooked app brainchild to give him a perfect match. After all, he was well known for his one-night stands and had no time for relationships. Keeping his relationship with his match a mystery was part of the fun until that one night in the stairwell at the masquerade made Easton crave her more. However, meeting again was not meant to be as she ghosts him. No real names are exchanged, their physical identities are hidden, and Easton can’t find her, so he moves on and tries to forget the woman who changed him. Then five years later the woman who got away is back. She’s smart, gorgeous, brilliant and she’s his employee.

Drake Madden was an emotional wreck five years ago and had to make a tough choice to leave Boston and the man who rocked her world. Now she’s back, he’s her boss, and she needs to keep everything professional. Too bad Easton didn’t get the memo.

Easton is a sexy beast and I love that he trusts Drake and has her back during the worst of times. It’s nice to read about a couple without angst and doubts and Easton is true blue when it comes to loving his woman no matter what. Drake is amazing at what she has accomplished in her 28 years and it’s wonderful how she wins her co-workers over with her kindness and respect for others. Drake and Easton’s connection is beautiful and healthy and the sex scenes are very hot! It was evident from the very beginning that they were meant to be together.

The story is a classic tale of how love can change even the most confirmed bachelor. It is a story that has been told time and time again, but Ms. Mann manages to put a fresh spin on it. The characters are well-developed, and the storyline is engaging and captivating.

Thank you to Ms. Mann for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

Mr. Hook-Up is spicy, it’s hot and definitely unputdownable!!
Life is full of surprises and fate likes to keep you on your toes and honestly I feel like that is the theme of this book since fate keeps throwing Easton Jones, the CEO and one of the founders of Hooked and the brilliant techie guru Drake Madden together. These two had an interesting start to their relationship that bonded them together but life got in the way and when they reconnect is when it gets really interesting and the chemistry between these two light the pages of the book in fire!

Three friends in college create an app solely to make the act of hooking up easier and also to make money. Not surprisingly, it takes off and has immediate success. When one of the founders, Easton, has a 100% successful match, which is unheard of, he finds himself very quickly developing feelings for this mystery girl. And then, one day, she ghosts him. 5 years later, she's back in his life as his employee, and they both fall right back into place as if time never stopped.

I love the premise of the book. It's giving Salacious Players Club vibes with the creation of this wild idea. However, I feel a little torn on various plot points and characters.

In general, there are a lot of storylines happening, so I think either something needed to be edited out or the book should have been longer. Especially the third act twist... for me, it felt like it came out of nowhere.

What I love about boss/employee romance is all the delicious tension, "no we shouldn't" feelings. I didn't get enough of that. Drake was too easily convinced to get back together with Easton. I would have loved for her to play hard to get a little longer.

I do love women in STEM, so I enjoyed Drake's intelligent character when it came to work, but she was a bit of a mess with her personal life.

I definitely love that there was no third act breakup. That's always a win in my book!

Overall, this was a solid read. It had mystery, steam, banter, and romance. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves a workplace romance and second chance romance!

Thank you, Valentine PR and Marni Mann, for the advanced reader copy!

3.5/5 rating

Tags: second chance, workplace, secret identity, billionaire, forced proximity

Spice: 2/5

First person, Dual POV, Dual timeline

Oh Marni, You always know how to write a good book. All romance readers if you are looking for a good contemporary second chance romance, Mr. Hookup is the new read you need to pick up. You know the story, a guy creates a app, Boy finds girl, they fall in love but then she just disappears all of a sudden.. Then of course you know somehow they will come back together and wah-lah, you get these two Easton and Drake! <3
It is your typical second chance, boss/employee relationship story but you know you all love to read these every once in awhile!
Thank you for the arc!

Marni slid into my DMs when I started this book to tell me that it wasn’t Dalton level spice & I’m just gonna call her out & say…lies. The spice was SPICING, lady. And it started in chapter two!

It’s super challenging to write a full review for this without giving anything away…it’s a little twisty! So I’ll keep it short & sweet. I loved the online dating aspect (that’s how I met my husband). The couple’s chemistry was off the charts. They had an instant connection but it wasn’t really insta-love…you’ll see.

The guys’ friendship was so real & fun and I am very intrigued by the rest of their stories!