This is a feel good pretend partner to lover romance. It is about a strong, smart, and talented woman who is getting out of a toxic relationship in the city, and settling into small town life.

The Calvary family is that dream family in the country. Three hot sons and a mother anyone would love to have become a mother in law. Together the family along with the help of the city gal work to save the family business and homes.

This is a can't put down, funny, and heart warming story that has something for everyone. I highly recommend it!

Welcome to Service, West Virginia, where doors and hearts are always open.

Well, most of them, anyway.

When Amarie Walker leaves her fiance' of six years - yes, six years - all she knows is that she needs a change. A change of jobs, a change of scenery, and most important, a change of heart. After talking herself into a job as an assistant for the sexy, local grouchy vet, Eli Calvary, Amarie finds herself taking on the challenge of helping the family with her unique set of skills, and making friends along the way.

To call Eli Calvary bitter is an understatement. Divorced and nearly broke, he now has to determine how to save the family property and clinic. His problem? He's not only stuck in his ways, but feels that he is the only one that can do it. When he meets Amarie, he is hard pressed to believe this fish out of water can help him achieve what he perceives as an insurmountable goal.

As he opens himself to her ideas, he also finds himself opening his heart. Until a situation appears to ruin their happy ever after.

I loved the character development in this story. Although the attraction was there from the beginning, the characters took the time to get to know each other and learn to trust again before making the decision to move forward. Not to mention how time and time again, regardless of her our self-doubts, we discover a strong intelligence and caring in Amerie.

I highly enjoyed this story. And I'm hoping we will hear more from the residents of Service!

This was a solid good book. I enjoyed the small town setting and the strong family connections we get to read about along the way. The story dealt with the realities of being deceived by someone you loved and how to move on and become better from it. I loved that our main couple was interracial and hope to see more of. Eli and Mari together were so sweet and good together. One thing that bothered me a bit was it seemed like I missed their relationship go from strangers to friends and then friends to lovers. Overall, I’d recommend this to someone that’s looking for a quick good read.

New to this author. Didn’t know much about the story. But when I see romance I’m game to give it a try. I will admit it took me a little while to get into this one. But I’m so glad I kept going. A fun slow burn romance.

After a heartbreaking breakup, Amarie must find her way. Having lived fully dependent on others, she is ready to spread her wings.
Eli is swamped with familial obligations and financial stress.

Amarie bombards her way into Eli's life via his veterinarian clinic. Somehow Amarie must become his savior.

I appreciate how the book is filled with actual conversations. You don't have to wonder.

I liked the story. I thought it was super cute with classic small town vibes.
Eclectic group of towners.

Grumpy/sunshine
Enemies to lovers

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I was primed to have a good time with this one. Fake dating? Check. Enemies to lovers? Check. Cute dog? Check.

Things moved a little fast, but if that’s the main drawback to a romcom I’m still pleased. Enjoyable read.

This was a cute, sweet enemies to lovers story. They did go from enemies to lovers rather quickly after Amarie ending a long term relationship but that can happen anywhere. Amarie is a ray of sunshine and Eli is your grumpy eye. I do enjoy a fake dating story along with the enemies to lover trope so this was a good all around story for me! Once you get into the story, it is a fast paced read. I was able to read it all in one day!

A cute little read that I very much enjoyed.
I finished in one afternoon and I hated to say goodbye to the characters.
They were delightful and funny. I enjoyed in getting to know them.

This is a fun enemies to lovers romance. It seemed to be trying too hard to be funny in the beginning, but that either tempered off or I got more accustomed to it. Wonderful variety of characters in the small town. Back stories of relationships for the couple added angst. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Description:
When Amarie Walker goes for something, she goes big—including starting over. Leaving her cheating ex and entire D.C. life in the rearview, she crash lands in a small town with no plan, no money, and no job. An opening at the animal clinic is the only gig for miles, no surprise considering the vet is a certified grump. If Eli Calvary ever cracked a smile, Amarie might faint on sight from shock. At least his adorable golden retriever appreciates her fabulousness…and shares her love of daily treats!

When Eli took over his late father’s practice, he quickly discovered the clinic was facing foreclosure. So there’s no time for social niceties, especially not flirting, even with someone as gorgeous, bubbly, and business-savvy as Amarie. Yet when Eli needs to invent an investor on the fly, it’s her name that comes to his lips. Now, for the sake of their furry clients, Eli and Amarie hustle to save the clinic, trying to ignore the nonstop sparks between them. Because while their partnership may be fake, their connection already feels way too real.

Publication Date: April 23, 2024

Without divulging too much, the description says it all: this is a cute, low heat, small town Black romance. It hits a lot of the traditional feels, so if you are wanting to experience that type of romance, but with Black characters, this is it.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This book gave me major Hallmark movie vibes! It took a while to get into the story because of the pacing and language but once the storyline picked up, I enjoyed it. Amarie proved to be a relatable, enjoyable, quirky character. Eli took longer to grown on me due to his irritability. After getting his backstory, his gloom and straightforwardness were warranted and understood. I'm typically not a fan of the grumpy/sunshine trope but Siera London knocked this one out of the park and I am now a fan!

I loved Amarie’s humor, Eli’s grumpiness, the family dynamics of the Cavalry family, and the familiarity of town of Service. The characters all felt real and relatable, and I was rooting for everyone’s HEA.

I struggled, as other reviewers did with the pacing - sometimes things moved very quickly and others were very slow, so much so that I often found myself having to go back and reread a page or two to make sure I had all my facts straight!

Overall, this was a super cute story about two people who had been badly burned in past relationships, finding the person they were willing to try again for, and I’m always going to love that. I truly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, modern romance - especially anyone with an interest in social media marketing!

Thank you yo NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC! I look forward to reading more from this author.

I have to admit that it took me a few chapters to really get into this book. I don’t know if it was the characters themselves, or maybe the vernacular, but I had to slow down from my usual reading pace to really get what was going on sometimes. I am SO glad I kept going!

The relationship between Eli and Amarie was so well-developed! Eli truly appreciated Amarie’s particular brand of peculiarity. They grew slowly, over time, to love one another, even before the words were said, and before they hopped into bed together! They both had been almost destroyed by past relationships, so it would make sense that they’d be hesitant to commit themselves to someone else, but they both decided the risk would be worth it.

I just love Amarie’s ability to express how she was feeling, including the times it was just an internal monologue. She had such a beautiful and REAL way of communicating. In fact, probably my favorite thing about this whole book is the way so many of the characters really spoke what they were feeling. Most notably Eli, Amarie, and Eli’s mom. They were all so good at building one another up with words AND actions!

I generally write reviews *as* I’m reading, so although I’ve already said what my favorite part of this book is, I may need to amend that statement! I LOVED the response of all the main characters when the “drama” showed up on their doorstep! It was SO satisfying to see both Amarie and Eli say exactly what you would have wanted them to say in that situation! (Trying to keep this spoiler-free!) However, the next day, things didn’t end up the way I wanted them to! Regardless, we *had* to have a happily ever after, and it was really great to see how the small town came together to keep Amarie a part of their community, helping Eli bring her home!

Unfortunately, this book was not for me! I wanted to love it but the fast paced story of going from enemies to lovers immediately after the female main character ends her six year long relationship is very unrealistic to me.

Thank you for the opportunity!

Siera hit it out the park with this fun and heart warming story of love. Amarie and Eli are a fun slow burn couple. I found myself smiling and grinning through most of their story. The entire Calvary family is enjoyable and I love the town of Service.

I read this over Christmas break and it was exactly the feel good meet cute book that I needed amongst the holiday chaos. I loved the main characters and his family. The way that she slowly gained her confidence and started to shine was something that I resonated with. The animals, prince and the town people were such a bonus. I left wanting more but also it was so well wrapped up. But a sequel about the brother's and mama's biscuit receipe, I wouldn't say no too.

Two people fresh out relationships who couldn't be more different than each other are drawn together in this small town romance. Cosmopolitan Amarie is a fish out of water in a small West Virginian town where she becomes partners with grumpy veterinarian, Eli.

I liked the premise of this story and appreciated representation of characters from different backgrounds. The execution was a little lacking. The author tried too hard to infuse modern slang. When she does, it often comes out forced. Also, her writing style lacked details that would have enhanced the story. This could be because of the third-person POV. I often wanted to know more about what the characters are thinking, especially towards the end when a bombshell was revealed. The information doesn't really detonate because we have no idea what the characters are thinking.

This is a safe, enjoyable read though for those just looking for a little escapism.

This was a really good story. I was hooked from the beginning of the story until the last word on the last page. The characters were wonderful and easy to fall in love with. I absolutely love the small town vibe of the story and I honestly want to read more stories with it as the setting. An awesome job!!!

DNF @ 30%.

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. It has fun characters and setting with a good premise of grumpy/sunshine and enemies to lovers. However the pacing was a little jarring and took me out of the story. I think this is more reflective of me than the writing as what I read was quick and easy.

I definitely think others should pick this up if you're looking for a grumpy/sunshine romance.

Predicted rating 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC ebook.

This book was giving Hallmark romance all the way through. It was light and enjoyable, not a book that you will throw against the wall from plot rage, lol. Amarie and Eli story could easily be turned in a Christmas/holiday miracle type of movie if they added the holiday in. Big city woman meets small town guy and grumpy/sunshine are a couple of the troupes written about. It was kinda predictable but nevertheless a very cute story.

Favorite quote: “Would you carry my books, too?” She laughed. “Everyday.”