this was cute! i’m not into dating shows (except the queer ultimatum duh) so it was a little hard for me to get into. this is also the only time other than the written in the stars series that i’ve read a book with a cis male character LOL so it was a bit too much male dialogue for me. the characters definitely could have been a little more fleshed out, i didn’t develop a strong connection with them, but i overall thought it was an interesting plot and well executed

3.5 Stars rounded down to 3.

If you enjoy sapphic romances and shows like The Bachelor, this is the book for you!!!

The authors' writing style is done very well, and I do look forward to more novels by them.

The romance between the two women in the book felt somewhat rushed. I didn't feel there was enough buildup or tension between the two to justify their acknowledged attraction for each other. The concept of the story (two women on a dating show for different reasons fall for each other instead of the male contestant) was very appealing to me, however I felt it didn't really hit it home for me.

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

This sounds so good. But I just can’t get the download to work. But I’m super excited to be able to buy it in physical form

I think to call this an LGBTQ+ book is a bit of a stretch. Yes, in the end we get a lesbian couple, but this book is basically just about a series similar to The Bachelor. A very straight storyline.
That’s ok, but I think this book is misrepresenting its storyline in the blurb and the tags.

The main characters are childish, superficial, irritating, and irresponsible - highly annoying. The way the story is told is just utterly boring. If I wanted to read a scripted reality tv script, I would. I don’t, and when I ever feel the urge it wouldn’t be this flat piece of text.

I just didn’t like this, didn’t like the characters, didn’t like the way the story was told. I stuck in there because I kept hoping the couple would find each other and the tv show nonsense would stop. It didn’t, it got worse.
Not for me, please read other reviews.

This was a light and fun read that did not disappoint the drama/reality show-lover in me! A lot of what Krystin goes through with her understanding of her own sexuality, and how her relationship with Lauren develops over time was so fulfilling to read. I had to put it down for a bit in the middle because some of the scenes with Josh just got... truly unbearable. And honestly, kudos to the authors for making me feel even slightly bad for that guy (he's the most inoffensive man I've read in fiction). That, combined with one of Lauren's bad decisions nearing the end of the novel (iykyk, not cool) I just needed to step away from this book. But all in all, it was a quick read and I love how they complement each other's personalities and the ending sequence with the podcast transcript was just the cherry on top of a cute cake.

My review is closer to 3.5/3/75 stars.
This is a fun, quick read that brought me a lot of joy. It was consistently entertaining and a good, light summer read.

The main downside for me was the pacing - it felt like there wasn't much build up to their relationship and I would have preferred a slower, less abrupt ending. However, I did really enjoy this book overall and would recommend it.

A fun, cute read. If you’re a fan of reality tv shows like I am, this book is for you. Follow along as Krystin tries to make it to the final ceremony to win the love of her life, but it just might not be who she was expecting it be!

This was a complete disaster and I´m going to explain why I ended up DNF it after reading only 1/3 of the book.

First of all, I want to mention here that I loved "His Charm Offensive" (book that its compared with this one by reviewers) so I got nothing against plots about reality shows (much less if they´re queer). But. This novel failed in so many ways that when it got to the action (meaning when I got to the point where the main characters liked or at least were atracted by each other, I was already bored and didn´t want to keep reading).

So, here is the thing:

- I felt this book had too little character inner dialogue. To the point that, once in the contest, I had trouble trying to distinguish why the main characters acted as they did.
Like, okay, we get that Krysten is here to get her love story... but to what ends? Does she truly like Josh or is she just pretending? And when she acts like she does in order to get the man, is that lying as well? She doesn´t have a problem with it? With Lauren is much the same. Since we never get what they´re actually thinking, I was reading all these contest scenes assuming they were always lying or pretending.

- Too many contest scenes with Josh. And yes, I get he is the male target in this contest, but really. One of the main reasons I got so bored with this book was because Lauren and Krysten BARELY even spoke to each other in the first 80 or 100 pages (until we see that Lauren feels atracted by Krysten, which honestly makes no sense because everyone is underveloped as character).

- Then again, I came here for a queer romance. Yet, what I got was a very heteronormative reality show, with cringey jokes, a few conversations and kisses with Josh (oh, that one left me like, wtf, the timing was so off and actions so random), women competing with each other for a guy and 0 character insight.

- I felt not even a single character had a mind on their own. They were all so... lacking in personality. Like, in the novel I mentioned before, you could tell the difference between how people´s personality were and how they portrayed it before the cameras, because it was different. Here, in this book, it is not like that at all. Everyone is annoing in the show and outside the show.

I don´t know if the romance is good on this one (I hope so), because I dropped it before that could take flight. I didn´t sympathize with the main characters so I didn´t care enough to keep trying.

Krystin and Lauren compete with each other for the eligible bachelor Josh on the reality show Hopelessly Devoted. They end up falling for each other.

I like how differnt Krystin and Lauren are but they fit each other well. I like the reality show setting since I love reality shows books! The book is so funny and has so many LOL scenes. Really enjoy it a lot.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I read this book in one sitting and couldn’t put it down. I loved everything about it, but most of all the chemistry between the two women and how their relationship developed and grew. It was a heartwarming, funny, and touching story of love, friendship, and being true to yourself. Highly recommend!

I'm not usually a reader of romance novels but a LGBTQIA+ one will always draw my interest and inthoroughly enjoyed reading it.