Note: I received an ARC from the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lauren and Krystin are on a Bachelor-esque show. One of them knows exactly what she wants and has a plan, and the other has no idea what her life is turning into. They start as competitors but gradually get to know each other better.

I read a book with a similar concept last year, so I was excited to see a fresh take on this plotline. I think it is difficult to be uber original on such a plot, but there were several instances that surprised me in this book in a good way. Ultimately, my favorite parts of the book were the actual “reality TV” snippets at the end of each chapter, containing confessionals from each contestant. I thought this was a great way to get to know key characters in such a large cast, and it made it way easier to follow along. I also appreciate that there was no external homophobia written in the book. This was truly a sapphic book made to bring enjoyment, not turmoil.

Ultimately, I think this book suffered from two things that affected my enjoyment while reading. A small part was due to a lot of formatting mistakes, but I imagine these will be fixed before official release. The main issue I had was that I struggled to tell what demographic this was targeted to beyond “generally queer women”. The writing, especially earlier in the book, often feels as though lifted directly from an episode of The Bachelor. At first I took it that this was aimed younger audiences due to this, but there are also themes that felt more geared towards older/new adult audiences.

Ultimately, I think fans of reality TV will enjoy this regardless of sexuality and I rated it a 3.75/5 stars.

It turns out, this fictional-reality-show genre...is something that I like, especially dating shows. And I'll tell you a secret, I don't even like them IRL!! The last dating show I enjoyed was... I am serious... A SHOT AT LOVE! (Google it, you might.... thank me?) But, I guess that tells ME something...if the dating show is queer....I WILL LIKE IT. Oh wait...except, I have watched 'The Ultimatum'...and no, that's not really for me. I was probably yelling at the tv the entire time, through the whole thing.

Anyways, back to this... Here For the Wrong Reasons had just the right hook.... to drag me in. I knew it wasn't going to be some sort of heart wrenching, soul crushing lesbian period drama piece that will leave an impression on my soul. BUT!! I also knew, this looks like it can be a solid entertaining read for the sake of a good time. And it did not disappoint. And true to the title, the MCs were there for the wrong reasons, one knew about it going in and the other one had kind of figured it out half way through. Who doesn't like a bit of character development/growth?

The writing is quick pace, the tone is 'fun' and the way the 'main guy' is behaving and saying things through the whole thing that makes you ask 'is this guy for real?' Which, to be honest, was irritating, but we're not here for him (we're also here for the wrong reasons), so really to me, that isn't really a problem. And, maybe there's a bit of satire here and I'm too dense to understand.

If you're looking for a quick, entertaining read, I'd say 'give this book a chance'. It's funny, I've definitely LOL a few times which had my partner look at me funny. (She loves super depressing everybody dies a million times and everything is dark and gloom and perhaps based on a true story, so laughing out loud while reading is not something that would EVER happen).
I think hetero-normative dating shows are boring and really do hope that this kind of stuff happens ALL THE TIME (a girl can dream...for other girls to have fun).
Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for my digital copy of this ARC in exchange for my (probably too) honest opinion.

dnf @ 11%


This sounded SUPER up my alley, but regrettably the writing style didn't work for me. It felt more like reading a reality show, rather than reading a romance novel set within a reality show. Not for me, but it could work for other folks!! (If people are looking for a book with a similar concept but that works much better imo, try The Charm Offensive.)

This was so much fun, which is exactly what I wanted from this book. There were some pop culture references I found weird (why was there a 21-year old saying she identifies a lot with Sam from A Cinderella Story?). But I can look past all that because this really delivered all I wanted: the fun sapphic reality tv show romance I've been craving.

I really liked the premise of this book and found the characters endearing for a while, but I found Lauren especially to be a confusing and frustrating character. There seemed to be lots of plot holes in terms of the reality tv component, and I didn’t like that Krystin and Lauren’s romance came at Josh’s expense.

I’ll preface this by saying I don’t love reality tv but I do love lesbian romance, so I decided to give this book a try. I was not a huge fan of the plot and was hopeful it would grow on me more than it did. This book didn’t quite do it for me, I had a hard time staying interested and reading to the end.

I liked this one a lot! I thought it was fun, and the characters kept me interested and reading quickly through chapters. Would absolutely recommend for others to read!

Dating reality shows are my guilty pleasure.

Seriously, I can't get enough. And part of me believes that, although shallow, at heart, love can be found anywhere. Even a campy TV show.

I loved the characters in this story. They remind me of favorites from shows I've watched in the past. And horse girl Krystin reminds me of little girls growing up in rodeo here in Oklahoma!

More than anything, it's the true heart that shines through in each of the characters. No matter their original motives, they find themselves - and because of that (and despite themselves) - they find love.

"She says she has no regrets. Can you say the same?"

Definitely recommend this one!

This is a great read for those who love The Bachelor. I found it hard to keep up with everything but other than that I enjoyed reading about all the drama

This book wasn’t on my tbr but when I was scrolling NetGalley I saw the blurb and was super excited by the idea of this book and its plot.

However, I put it off for months and there was clearly a reason.

This book sounds great if you’re a fan of reality TV as it follows our main characters on a show which mimics The Bachelor. One main character, Lauren, knows she’s a lesbian and is purely going on the show to further her own career and for her own agenda. And our other main character, Krystin, thinks she’s straight and is on the show because she wants a husband, the family and the whole nine yards. But she’s never had a worthwhile relationship. Ever. So you can see where this is going.

The first issue I had with the book is with its style. The first chapter tries to come off as relatable and funny by adding “extra” thoughts in brackets but it comes off as cringe-worthy and after the first two times it becomes repetitive and annoying.

The next issue I had was when Lauren’s POV was introduced in the second chapter. I don’t know what the authors were hoping when writing her but she comes off as (and pardon my french) such a bitch. She seems like such a rude and callous person and this only gets worse as the book goes on when see just how egotistical and self-serving she actually is.

But this isn’t the only issue with characterisation in the book. All the characters are flat and 2D and the author clearly attempts to insert information about them to make them seem more real and dimensional but it comes across as forced and fake. So this makes both of our main character so wholly unlikeable that the book is very difficult to read.

The relationship between the two girls also seems forced and comes out of nowhere. They don’t really have any development before they’re having sex and then all of a sudden they love each other.

If i’m being honest the character that comes across best in this book is Josh and he has like 30 throwaway lines and is kind of a dick himself. So where does that leave us.

Obviously not all is lost as I have given this book three stars. You can tell that this tries to be a fun, quirky, romcom and there are some moments where this comes across. But overall, the two main characters are so unlikeable it really makes it difficult to get through this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an ARC.

**DNF (Did not finish)**

I wanted so much to like this book. I'm not a big fan of love/relationship reality shows but since I loved The Selection series, I thought I'd like this one as well.

The book played out like an episode of The Bachelor or Love Island with too many characters to keep up with and weird drama and events like single dates and group dates. The two main characters were also lukewarm with too much emphasis on the reality show and not enough on the storyline and the characters' journey.

I don't want to be too harsh because I just don't think I'm the right audience for this book. I think if you're already a fan of reality shows, this might be the right read for you.

I also feel like labeling it as an LGBTQ+ book was a stretch. Yes, the two contestants end up together as a lesbian couple, but getting there dragged on and besides a few hints of affection, there wasn't enough chemistry between the two to keep me interested.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy for my honest review.

Kiersten is a girl from Montana, who entered a match making show because she wants a husband. She ends up chosen by Josh who ends up proposing to her on the show. She is chosen out of all the girls who entered. The plot revolves around who Kiersten is and what she wants, which involves another girl, Lauren. I found the book interesting after I got into it. The characters are well written and the story good, I recommend this book for romance readers.

A nice, quick romance--albeit, not one really for me. I'm not a huge fan of the reality tv show setting, but the premise sounded promising. Unfortunately, I do feel like there wasn't a good enough balance between the character moments (specifically between Lauren and Krystin), and the overall dressing of Hopelessly Devoted. I wanted more time with them apart from the show, but I will say what we got was quite nice.

Overall, a 'not-for-me' read, but others (especially fans of the Bachelor franchise) will enjoy it.

Krystin and Lauren are two contestants on Hopelessly Devoted, a Bachelor-like reality dating show. Krystin is there to find love, but Lauren is hoping to gain enough followers to boost her status as an influencer. Not to mention that Lauren isn't even remotely into Josh, the male lead. In fact, Krystin is more her type. The tension between Krystin and Lauren is immediate, but is it all manufactured by the show, or is it real?

I devoured this book. The first couple chapters were a little rocky, but then it found a rhythm and the story took off. I loved the blend of action and confessionals; they were a nice bookend to the eliminations. If you like the Bachelor, you will love this book. It had all the elements of the show with Josh plus all the behind-the-scenes action as Krystin and Lauren grew closer.

Thank you to netgalley and Alcove Press for allowing me to read this book. I really loved the vibes going to this book. The characters were well developed and I quite enjoyed the story.

I loved this! If you love the Bachelor, UnREAL, or just some reality tv show drama this really scratches that itch. I particularly loved Lauren’s character arc and it was refreshing having two MCs that aren’t just….perfect.

My one criticism is the ending. I think this is a consequence of the setting, but it felt so rushed. Everything happened so quickly it didn’t seem like there was enough time to address all of the issues that had come up and tie everything together nicely. I think drawing the ending out a bit more would’ve helped the story a lot.

Overall, a super cute and fun romcom that I will definitely be recommending!

This is far from the first book I've read set during the filming of a reality show but this was one of the best ones (I will say not the actual best as there are a few others I prefer).

I enjoyed this story and the characters and found it not too cringey that they stayed on the TV show when they really shouldn't have.

I couldn't tell at all that it was written by two people, not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, just thought it worth mentioning.

This was an easy read, definitely leaned heavily on The Bachelor TV show as a theme. I liked the feeling of being behind the scenes and enjoyed the characters once they were narrowed down a bit partway thru the book. Overall, a solid novel that's a great beach read.

This rom com was a lot of fun! Set on a reality TV show in the vein of The Bachelor, the book follows two of the women vying for the heart of the same man and falling in love with each other instead. Influencer Lauren C is on the show for all the wrong reasons—she only plans to stick around long enough to grow her followers. Rodeo Queen Krystin is looking for the perfect husband to give her what she thinks happiness looks like. When things heat up between them, Lauren sticks around for Krystin, who starts questioning whether a husband is what she really wants.
I loved both characters, but I really liked how well Lauren knew herself and felt comfortable with herself, but still struggled to see what Krystin saw in her. And Krystin was so genuine but had no idea about her sexuality. Lauren’s gentleness and patience with her was perfect. The chemistry between them was great and the steamy scenes delivered. On top of the romance, the entire cast and crew of the show provided plenty of humor that fans of reality TV will love.

I liked this! This was cute and I’m sure fans of reality shows will have a good time. However, the beginning gave me whiplash with all these characters and some typos in the book that were kinda annoying:/