Cute little book, but I don’t know what it was, didn’t get invested in either the FMC (who became annoying as the story progressed) or the MMC (who was better but… in the end I didn’t really care what happened).

The writing was fun, and overall an enjoyable read.

The title on this book completely pulled me in, I had to read it! Unfortunately I think the title was the most interesting thing about it. 🙃😬

Our FMC, Chelsea, has a to do list with her BFF. Developed from therapy as a way for Chelsea to get out of her comfort zone/confront some past childhood trauma. The meet cute with Basil (MMC) and his friend turned into a tumultuous roller coaster of him pursuing her, breaking down walls, and her being stubborn and not being open to the possibility that he's it for her. The insta love was a little much and her denying of feelings, but let me tell ya. Basil was so intentional about trying to woo her. I mean. The food! What. Every recipe he shared with her I desperately wanted to try.

I was expecting a vacation romcom, witb a beautiful Greece setting, some conflict about distance but in reality, it was set I think in Virginia, and the four friends had been in proximity of running into each other for probably a good decade before meeting. The romance their friends ended up in was so much a part of the plot that it took away from the author showing us more to the actual main characters. The ending felt very rushed for the obstacles that the MCs needed to get over and the chemistry was unfortunately pretty lacking. This had a lot of promise but ultimately fell flat.


Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Cute idea at the very beginning of the book. The relationship between the friends seemed fun. However I just could not get into it. So much negativity surrounding Chelsea's character. The first spicy scene was just okay as well.

This may be someone else's cup of tea but just wasn't mine.

1.5 stars.

I hated "Holding Out for a Gyro" by Mary Ann Marlowe. It brings me no pleasure to review an indie book so poorly, but this book really, *really* rubbed me the wrong way, particularly where Chelsea, the female main character, is concerned. She is one of the most awful female main characters I have read recently. I *loathed* her so, so much. The only good thing this book had going for it was the friendship between Chelsea and Elizabeth. Apart from that, everything else in this book was a repetitive, unfortunate mess.

Chelsea makes her feelings about long-term relationships clear in the beginning as soon as she meets Basil, the main male character. Ok, good! She's laying out her boundaries! You go, girl! Basil has a penchant for falling in love quickly because he loves love and believes in finding his one true love. Great! You do you, king! They agree to have one night of fun together and then, they will call it quits. Yes! We love it when protagonists get what they want and don't apologize for sleeping around! Unfortunately, Chelsea IMMEDIATELY changes the rules and moves the goalpost for Bas, and Bas, like a desperate, lovesick puppy, comes crawling back and essentially begs her for more. This book is one gigantic miscommunication after another that never ended. Chelsea and Basil cannot communicate effectively to save their lives. They both *constantly* infringe upon each other's boundaries time and time again! He doesn't listen to her, she doesn't listen to him... no matter how good the D/P is, WALK AWAY. BOTH OF YOU, WALK AWAY!!!! Toxic, toxic, TOXIC AF!!! The longer the book goes on, the meaner, nastier, and more using Chelsea gets. She uses him for *wink* *wink,* she uses him for emotional support, she uses him for his food. At one point, she can't *bear* to live without Bas's cooking, so she says as much... but then remembers *him* as a *person* as an *afterthought.* Oh no, that pesky human attached to the hands who will make her her meal! ICK! The author uses the fact that Chelsea has had massive amounts of trauma in her life as the reason for why she acts the way she does. And it's not even like therapy can fix her because SHE HAS BEEN IN AND IS STILL CURRENTLY IN THERAPY AND IS STILL JUST AS HORRIBLE AND SELFISH AND CRUEL! She should fire her therapist! Chelsea *never* becomes the bigger person. She *never* seems regretful for her actions. She *never* changes. She just wants to stew in her childishness, her misery, and her trauma-sauce without actually doing the work and bettering herself. Still, they are both extremely problematic, but Bas deserves a medal for the way he put up with Chelsea's flimsy excuses, dramatic games, wishy-washy attitude, and flip-flopping feelings. My god, she was SO FREAKING ANNOYING!!!!!!!!!!!! Bas doesn't get a free pass. He has plenty of red flags of his own. He does things that would make most romantic partners be like, "yeah, this isn't working, bro, so don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya" and immediately slam the door in his face. Needless to say, I did not enjoy this book. I almost didn't finish it eight or nine times, and I probably should have just done that. Also, I think it is a disservice to Kate Clayborn and Lynn Painter to have their names attached to this book as a "for fans of." Please don't do that to them!

Thank you to NetGalley, Mary Ann Marlowe, Entangled Publishing, LLC, and Entangled: Amara for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I really wanted to LOVE this book. I loved the Bas and his family. I kept picturing a young John Stamos. I loved the bucket lists. I loved the friendship of Chelsea and Elizabeth. I think that's where my love stops. The book seemed to go on forever and jumped into light speed with a rushed ending. Chelsea's character was extremely irritating. I understand the trauma, however, it seems that she wanted wallow in it instead of getting past it. I would have liked to see some closure with her parents.

First of all the pun in the title was a great start! Secondly, I think the story overall was well done, there were just some things I would’ve preferred differently. I think the main female character had understandable baggage, but it was given to us in bits and so I didn’t understand her hesitation towards the main male character. I think the list was a brilliant way to play on a romcom trope, but it was overplayed towards the end. Also, I felt like overall I just didn’t like the female main character the same way I liked her friend, and I think that’s just because to me her development felt stunted even though shes supposed to be in her late 20s but I understand the trauma she was struggling through. I think the ending was the most satisfactory part of the whole book and was really glad we got a chapter post HEA.

Thank you to Entangled for providing a NetGalley of this for my honest feedback.

I loved the idea of this book way more than I ended up liking the characters, and it just sort of fell a bit flat for me.

Chelsea and Elizabeth are best friends, and they create a fun to-do list challenge each year to help bring each other (mostly Chelsea - as it's homework from her therapist) out of their norms and to experience fun where they are. Our story starts when they both have to complete a list item at a bar; with one being to have an honest conversation with a stranger, and the other to have a completely fabricated conversation with a stranger. From there begins the story of Chelsea and Basil.

I won't get into the story, so as to prevent spoilers in this review but, if you like these tropes, you may enjoy this book!
- He falls first
- Insta love
- Dual POV
- Consent
- Greek (swoon)

Chelsea is a woman who experienced some major familial trauma as a kid, so she is constantly having to work through issues that are triggering to her. I would've loved to see more of a character arc for her, instead of her seemingly very quick turn around.

First off, big thank you to Mary Ann Marlowe, Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for sending me a digital ARC copy of this book!

I needed a break from the tandem read of Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Mass.
My mind was going numb from the longer chapters of TOD and I needed something quick, fun, and easy to read so I checked my email and happened to see a message from Entangled letting me know there were a few ARC's that I could request. A few days later I had an email with a link to download Holding Out For A Gyro.

While I much prefer fantasy romance over regular/contemporary romance novels, I actually found myself thoroughly enjoying this book. I had similar issues with my dad as the main character Chelsea has with her father, just not ever to that extent. Initially, I had a hard time with the MMC's name... Basil Stavros? I was GIGGLING right out of the gate! But as time went on, the more Bas grew on me and it's safe to say that I feel like I have my own personal Bas at home! I will most definitely be trying those Chai cookies that he made. ;)
I do have to admit that I found Chelsea to be annoying sometimes and I even yelled at my phone!
There are a few times when the author wrote a word or two in greek and because of my settings I couldn't see it, so half of my yelling "What did he/she say?!?" was my own fault.. lol.
The list that she makes with her best friend Elizabeth, corresponding with each new chapter made it so, so easy to get through and the ending? Chef's kiss. My heart exploded! I was so incredibly happy to see our girl's growth in the end!

There are a few quotes that I feel compelled to share because they remind me of Nesta Archeron early in ACOSF:
"Sex and alcohol calmed the beast, at least temporarily."
"Give me mind-blowing sex, not a soul mate."

Other quotes that I liked/thought were funny:
"I couldn't outrun my demons within delivery distance of a Domino's."
"drinking her in with Mr. Darcy levels of longing"
"His hands worshipped me like I was a goddess- Athena or Aphrodite. And here he was, my Adonis. I dipped my fingers into his waistline and slid the fabric down to release the mythological beast."
"We'd always laughed at fools who'd fallen into my Venus Man Trap..."

I rated this book 4 stars because I thought it was a fun ride!
The spice was spicing (for the most part- I could have done with a bit more descriptive scenes).
The characters were all relatable for me in one way or another and I could really put myself in Chelsea's shoes.
Will I recommend this book to others? ABSOLUTELY!! I already have actually!! I can't wait to get a physical copy if one comes out!

This one was a tough read for me. The premise could have been great as a meet-cute set up, but fell almost instantly flat because the characters didn't really bring anything to the table. What started as (possibly) a coming of age/getting past trauma/he-falls-first story just became tedious.

In short:

The characters don't really develop and I found what was meant to be quirky allusions to tragic pasts to just be tiresome. That is a shame because books that tackle those issues are much needed.

I didn't really feel any chemistry between either of the represented couples, an issue exacerbated by the FMCs dedication to not maturing an ounce in how she approaches the idea of even being in a relationship. The lack of chemistry made most of the relationship progression also hard to get into.

The biggest one for me is that the resolution requires everyone to act "out of character" and by that I mean "do exactly what they claimed they would NEVER do." As a reader, I worked too hard for these two dingbats to just roll over to the exact patterns they were looking to avoid. Maybe I just need more than "true love makes it all fine" from my romances these days.

All this being said, I have written zero books so this being a miss for me doesn't mean it wont be a five-star read for another romance reader.

Let me start by saying I really enjoyed the challenge/bucket list format for the chapters. I thought that was a great tie in to the plot. I also loved the dual love story for both Elizabeth and Chelsea. However felt that the structure was clunky and the book what went longer than needed?

I have been provided with a review copy of Holding Out for a Gyro from NetGalley for an impartial review. I was just drawn into this story and I just couldn’t get enough of it. I was so disappointed to turn the last page and I immediately wanted more. I can’t wait to see what's next from this author.

This book was so addictive! I loved the Greek background and the romance was top tier. I enjoyed the writing immensely!

Thank you to Entangled Publishing for sending me a copy to review. I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately I did not. I really did not like the way that Basil almost seemed to try and force and manipulate Chelsea into a relationship (at the beginning), and Chelsea seemed really selfish and didn’t want to communicate or try anything. I understand the trauma of her backstory, but the selfishness of her behaviour was not enjoyable for me.

Another book with a super cute cover and premise that unfortunately fell flat for me. I was really into this book at first- I mean who doesn't love a bucket list and a ML who is in love with love? Sign me up! I love how Chelsea and Elizabeth supported each other as friends recovering from trauma and pushing each other to be a better version of themselves. However, once the guys were introduced it went kinda 'meh' from there. Chelsea was a kind of irritating character, and I am unsure whether the intent for a FMC with family trauma was meant to come off in a selfish and uncaring way. I know trauma responses are different for everyone, but Chelsea was almost a walking contradiction when it came to this and her therapy. I was also surprised when I found out these characters were supposed to be around 30 because it did not seem that way at all. As much as I enjoy characters who love love, Basil was a bit too insta-lovey for me, especially since he was calling Chelsea 'my heave' and 'my love' after a few times they had sex. Not to mention that the smut scenes were very weak as well.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Trauma, friendship, heartache, a list and a bet and a HEA all lend to the building blocks of this book. I loved the idea of a checklist for the characters to complete, as it set up each of the chapters well. I also loved that there seemed to be two love stories within this one rom com. One between the FMC and MMC and one between both of their beet friends. I did feel at times that Chelsea the FMC was a bit annoying and immature at times and had me feeling bad for Bas. The spice of the book was there but not prominent. I enjoyed the banter between characters and of course the HEA.

🌶️🌶️/5
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled publishing for the eARC!

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an early copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t get into it. Chelsea seemed extremely immature and selfish. I know she has trauma but she was just unbarebale. Bas was somewhat likable but he also just wouldn’t take no for an answer and kept pushing Chelsea and it just rubbed me the wrong way. They both expect too much and too little from one another and it just made me not really like the story.

I don’t know. Maybe this just isn’t the book for me.

2.5 rounded to 3.

Holding out for a gyro by Mary Ann Marlowe is about two best friends that push each other to live their life to the fullest by making a check list. They each meet love interests thanks to the list and the book walks us through both their stories. I liked the list of tasks in the beggining, it made the book more interesting.
I really liked Chelsea’s and Basil’s meeting and how they gravitated towards each other. Chelsea started to irritate me in the middle of the book when she kept rejecting him, but at the same time she didn’t want him to stop. It was fine in the beggining of the book, however it started to get old after a while. She kept saying that she didn’t lead him on, but she did and reading her reasons was annoying. Her whole character became annoying in the second part of the book, she kept expecting him to drop everything for her and chase her even though she wasn’t accepting their possible relationship. She kept acting really immature and treated Basil poorly.
Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book early! I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was amazing and flowed incredibly well it hit all the points, the plot was steady and not confusing, the characters had depth, and the timeline flowed well

Unfortunately this one is not working for me but I feel incredibly grateful to have had access to this. I like entangled publishing a lot but I’m not a fan of the dialogue in this book and it’s hard to follow.

1.5 stars ⭐

this took me so long to finish because I just couldn't click with any of it. the male main character, Basil, has the worst case of “pick me” syndrome i’ve ever seen. And the female main character, Chelsea, was almost just as bad. in retrospect, they are perfect for each other because they both are so one dimensional.

here are some things that most irked me:
- “He sometimes paid the price for his devastating good looks” cry me a river lmao
- the word epicenter was used for you know what
- this man has the worst case of insta love. what besides her body, was so amazing about her that you cared about her opinion so much? all he can talk about is how beautiful/hot/sexy she is yet gets pissy and hurt when anyone else does the same to thing??
- Chelsea expected Basil to read her mind 97% of the time like girl just communicate!!!
- The way Chelsea’s deep rooted family issues/trauma were magically solved (aka no longer existed?) by being in a relationship with Basil is so insane to me

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for an earc in exchange for my honest review!