it's birding girl summer, baby! why join a dating app when you could join your local birdwatching community and wait for a woodworking hottie to swoop in (pun intended)?

this is a niche romance that might not be for everyone—talking about birds is certainly not sexy to all—but I think that's what makes it fun and unique. honestly, the birding parts were my favorite because they balanced out those cliche elements of romance novels. i don't know a lot about birding beyond the basics, but it also seemed like the birding scenes were pretty realistic, written by a birder for birders. how sweet!

it's also refreshing to read a romance about mature adults in their 40s but doesn't make a point to call them old and decrepit or even really focus on their age at all ... even if I wanted to slap Celeste for sometimes being as stubborn and dense as her 20-something romantic lead counterparts can be. I hope to be having as much fun with life as she is when I'm her age.

thanks to netgalley for the e-arc!

This book is cute but slow-paced. I was interested in the birding part, but the characters and story didn’t reel me in during the first quarter of the book. DNF. I’m sure others will enjoy it.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I went into this blind and enjoyed the surprise of finding my favorite romance trope inside of fake relationship, but with a new twist. The characters felt like real people to me, with quirks, faults, and lovable traits unique to each. The banter and chemistry is well done and the friendship also made me smile often while reading.

This novel also features the struggle of being a divorced, single working mom trying to raise a teenage daughter. The love between Morgan and Celeste shone through and felt authentic. I also enjoyed the diversity represented in this novel.

I enjoy listening to the birds surrounding me right in my own backyard so the birding aspect added lots of fun for me.

This book has such an adorable cover. But overall I didn't really love the characters or the love story. My review will only stay on netgalley.

I loved this! I was really surprised at how much I loved the learning about birds aspect. I expected it to be rather secondary to the romance / comedy for me but I really, thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it was presented in a way that was so approachable and fun. It definitely inspired me to pay more attention to the birds in my yard / area. What a cool idea and the deployment of it was flawless. Very cool, loved it all, need to find a birding buddy asap!

This was a very fun, quirky read! I enjoyed this book for a light-hearted change of pace and finished it over the weekend! I love that the plot was interesting, a very unique twist to the fake dating trope.

Birding With Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb
Releasing 06/04/24
5 stars 🌟
Thank you, Netgalley and Simon and Schuster, for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Divorced mom Celeste has been running through hobbies and meeting tons of new people since her divorce, so when she is asked to be a pretend girlfriend for a man who she has never met, she jumps in head first! Why not?! But she misunderstood what was asked of her. She wasn't asked to be a romantic partner for a friend's friend but rather a birding partner for a contest. She plays John's girlfriend in front of his ex, though, so they decide to do both, birding and pretend dating. No way this gets complicated!

Omg I loved this book! It is a love story between two people in their forties, which we never see in romance books, who act like adults! I feel like good communication is not seen very much in the romance genre, and I'm here for it! Celeste is a ray of sunshine, and I just loved her! John is a stoic outdoorsman who is down bad for Celeste right off the bat. This was such an amazing, niche romance book that I will be suggesting to everyone!!!

REVIEW
cw: gaslighting
When newly divorced Celeste is asked to 'partner' a new acquaintance's friend, wires are crossed. She thinks she's offered to be a fake date, but quiet cinnamon roll John actually needs a partner for Tucson's annual bird-watching contest. But Celeste is in her year of saying 'Yes', and both she and John could benefit from showing the people around them that they've moved on from their previous relationships. Celeste begins to fall in love not only with birding but also with the kind, sweet man who's teaching her about birds, and that there are men in the world who don't want to change her.

Well, this was a delight! I'm a bird lover, but not a birder, so I enjoyed learning more about Arizona's native birds. The initial meeting was hilarious, and I loved the way the misunderstanding was set up. John was such a cinnamon roll, and I loved him immediately, especially his calmness. I really felt for him when we began to understand how his self-worth had been diminished in his previous relationship, but I loved his journey. I identified with Celeste and several of her motivational post-it notes, particularly 'Say yes' and 'Be brave'. I hated how much her husband had tried to dull her sparkle, especially whenever he'd told her she was too much. I've been told the same at times, so I empathised. I thought her self-doubts were well-written. That said, while I understood why Celeste was enthusiastically suggesting plans to both John and her daughter Morgan, I especially felt sorry for Morgan. Even though I knew Celeste's concerns came from a good place. I got the feeling early on that she didn't notice what her daughter wasn't saying about college.
The story excelled when it focused on the mutual pining between Celeste and John. I loved the slow burn, and their chemistry was palpable from the start, The scene where they take selfies with a dove was SUBLIME and I swooned at all of the little looks between them. The intimacy was perfect and felt earned. John was definitely observant and thorough *winks* Chapter's 25 and 26 were incendiary.
There were some fun supporting characters. I loved Chris, John's best friend, and ADORED the deeper conversations between the two men. Chris was so supportive and caring, and I would LOVE a book with him as the main character *hints* (with his gastropods as supporting characters, of course). I liked Linda immediately and would have loved to see more of her. Celeste's best friend Maria's struggles with post-partum life were well-written and relatable, but the best scenes between them were when she called Celeste out on all of her 'rules'. We all need friends who will tell us the truth, and Maria and Chris were those friends.
Everything came together perfectly in the final third. I hate conflict for conflict's sake, so I appreciated that it wasn't drawn out, and made sense in the story. Meanwhile, the final chapter and the grand gesture were so stinking cute.
A swoony and uplifting romance.

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️.5
Heat Rating: 🔥🔥

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own*

Favourite Quotes:

“There are two kinds of people in this world. The kind who show up after you have a baby and pretend that holding and cooing at it is somehow helpful, and the kind who put themselves to use. I’m the latter.”

“Stay in my lane,” she muttered, pushing her sneaker into the dry grass. “Like I even see the lane markings, please. I go where I want.”

“Seems an awful waste.” Chris’s voice held none of his normal teasing or bravado. “To throw away something like this because of an agreement you made weeks ago.”

"...I’m still me. And that’s what scares me. I’m the one who let myself get lost, who let myself get smaller. I’m the one who was so eager to make everything okay that I never asked for more of what I needed. And I can’t trust myself not to go there again. I’m just now growing into my own space. Figuring out my own shape, you know?”

Sometimes you just had to Say yes, even if it was only to yourself.

"Is it impossible to be both an individual and someone in a relationship? Because I didn’t get the memo that I gave up my personhood to be with my partner.”

Listen to yourself.

The dialogue in this book was believable and the main characters were likable and normal -- both things that are uncommon in romance novels. I didn't realize this was spicy, but I think it was tastefully done. I liked the fact that the story naturally had a timeline thanks to the Bird Binge, which added a natural flow.

What an adorable and super cute story!!! Birding for Beginner really brought the “com” in romcom with quite a few laugh out loud moments and others that had me giggling frequently.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆?

This is a book that captured my attention from the synopsis and the unique take on birding as a meet cute. I mean, forget going to the hardware store to try and a guy! Now it’s all about birding to find that perfect hunky match.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲?

This slow burn is humorous and light.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:

Fake Dating
Quirky situations
Tender Moments
Humorous Mishaps
Drama
Self Discovery
Witty Banter
Fun supporting cast

𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸?

Overall, this is a fun romp of a book and one you’re going to want to pick up for a light poolside reading this summer.

3.5 stars

Thank you Gallery Books and NetGalley for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was definitely one of the "I wanted to read this based on the cover" books.

The author is 10000000% into birds and birding, you can definitely tell based on some scenes, like the bj with 'tell me what bird sounds you think of while you get a bj".

Characters were definitely more YA ish but this is 10000000000% an adult book. I thought the fake dating trope would make me love this, but overall it was alright.

It is a light-hearted read, secrets, fake dating, then emotions, and then life built into this plot.

Be prepared for it to start off slower, most action takes place 60% way through.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books Publishing for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I sorta loved everything about this story. Extraverted woman on a journey of post divorce self discovery meets a quiet, woodworking, bird loving man with baggage of his own. Watching them slowly tumble into love was a pleasure. I cry when I find someone like John in a book because I want my own John. If it's not too much to ask....
John pays attention (my kink) to Celeste like, well like a birder catching sight of a rare bird. Celeste looks at John like he deserves everything he wants and it's just fine with her if she is in that category. I loved spending time with them. This is a wonderful debut! Truly great work.
And every time Celeste said, "More." I felt it in my bones.

Celeste: the overexcited, overcompetitive, overloving single teacher? C’est moi?! Rather relatable lol. I love the bird count at the beginning of each chapter. Very cute! The tropes of this book: Opposites attract and fake dating, are some of my favorites & always get me! Ok, so I love the spice level of this book! It is well done for the most part. There were a few scenes where the author added too much bird stuff into the sex scenes though. I love the friends in this story. Strong leads as well. Overall, cute n sexy n birdy!

Thank you so much to Gallery Books for an advance copy of this book!

This book will be published on June 4th, 2024.

"And your hobby-hopping is entertaining as hell. I just worry you're chasing something because you're afraid to stand still."
"Standing still is overrated."

A romance book about birding? It doesn't sound very hot but trust me IT IS!

You do not need to be a birder to enjoy this book. I know almost next to nothing about birds but just that there are a lot out there. And there was a lot about birds woven throughout the book but not enough where I felt it got annoying or too much. It actually made me want to listen more to the birds and my surroundings. The author did a lot of research for this and you could tell.

One thing I loved about this book is that both of our main characters are not spring chickens. They are both in their 40s trying to navigate casual hook up to what it's like dating in their 40s. The friendships for each of the MCs were great! I am not sure what the author has in store for her next book but I would love to see a book with Chris as the MMC.

"But what if it is a me thing, just a little? What if I'm not built to be the kind of person someone wants?"

I felt like I could relate to the quote above. It's been a long time since I was dating but I am sure those were feelings during that time but I find this really relatable when just meeting new people. Am I going to embarrass myself? Am I going to be too much? Who is going to want to be friends with me because I can be "too much"? It is always nice to find elements in the books that are about one thing but you interpret them into something else.

I will say the first 40% of this book was a little slow for me but once the flirting and the romance kicked in. The rest of the read was rather smooth. And it did get pretty spicy! More spicy than what I thought it was going to get. The romance between Celeste and John was a slow build but their quiet chemistry was very apparent early on. They really were ying & yang to one another. At one point Celeste thought that was why they wouldn't work, they were just too different but that's what made it work. She brought out his more outspoken side and he allowed her to be her.

I thought this was a great debut & I will keep my eye out for the author's next book!

I highly recommend if you love the outdoors, older MCs who fake date, love of birds & rediscovering yourself later in life!

4.5

4.5⭐️

Soft, sweet, and oh so swoony! Birding with Benefits is soft, achingly tender and honest story about allowing yourself to being brave and opening your heart to possibility, while slowing down to enjoy experiences and moments of discovery that spark joy and love and bring magic to our every day lives. The birding was so fun and made me think I might need to take up a new hobby!

This story dives into working through emotional hurt and baggage from previous relationships. How do you work the hurt inflicted by previous partners you once trusted and who claimed to love certain personality traits, but later on called them character flaws. John was seen as “not enough” whereas Celeste was told repeatedly that she was “too much,” and I loved how their friends and family came alongside of them to offer support and love as they unloaded this baggage. And the third act breakup was done so well and necessary for John and Celeste to gain clarity and find themselves.

I ADORED Chris and Maria! They are the best friends you could wish for AND Maria gave the most incredible advice to Celeste: “try to be your own friend.” Give yourself the same advice, love AND grace you would with someone you hold dear. I feel like we could all use that reminder sometimes!

Dubb delivered a slow burn was truly delectable and the intimacy shared between John and Celeste was so beautiful it took my breath away. Also, I don’t know if this is a microtrope, but I go feral when the quieter, more contemplative and reserved MC comes undone in the bedroom and can’t help but utter obscenities. It was simply *chef’s kiss* perfect!

Thank you Gallery books for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a little slow for me at parts, but overall I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed John and Celeste and how their nursing/fake dating relationship. I liked that they were a little bit older than the normal romance. I’ve been enjoying the romances out this year where women have been finding themselves post divorce/relationship that wasn’t fulfilling them. I liked how Celeste was determined to try new things and find things that made her happy.

I know almost nothing about birds but I enjoyed Celeste and John’s birding adventures. I looked how the storyline was wrapped up and how mature they were about their relationship.

An adorable meet cute, and we’re off on the Bird Binge adventure! This was a fun read. Lots of laughs and emotion. Just the sort of joyful romance I needed leading into the summer. Made me want to grab some binoculars and hit the trails!

3.75

This is one of at least a couple of new romcoms featuring an “older”, divorced heroin and her potential love interest. I say older because the rest of the modern romances seem to make thirty sound like it’s on the cusp of menopause or is impending senility. Their early-forties ages surely puts them at deaths door. It’s a steamy enough novel that will quickly dispel any misconceptions of frailty.

This isn’t a groundbreaking book, but for a first novel, it’s a unique take on the meet-cute, fake-romance trope that also celebrates those who are a bit “too much” or finding themselves, and those who are frugal with their words and love to get lost in whatever projects they love. I love that this books celebrates that it’s never too late to follow a dream or find happiness, whether it’s Celeste leaving a toxic marriage and trying new things, or John breaking away from paths that he was stuck on to make a living doing the two things he loved. It also shows that embracing help from those with different skill sets makes it easier. Bonus points if they are the ruggedly handsome, strong, introspective type!

I think the birding watching theme is often associated with older adults, which probably doesn’t help toning down the idea that these characters aren’t approaching retirement. All in all, it’s a cute story and I’m interested to see what she comes up with next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

I watched the movie, "The Big Year" and loved it. I have zero experience with birding, nor do I have any interest, BUT this book and movie tell me why so many people do.

Celeste is a total newbie to birding and accidentally enters a contest (and a fake relationship) with John. He's so sweet and gentle in how he deals with Celeste. She's outspoken and hilarious while he's soft-spoken and endearing. They really are the cutest opposites-attract couple I've read in a while.

The contest might've been what brought them together, but the blossoming friendship was lovely to read. That it turned into more was really just a bonus.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a super cute read! It was my first time reading this author and I enjoyed her attention to detail as this was my first bird lovers romance. I would definitely read this author again!