Review already shared to my Bookstagram account (linked below)! @ashsbookshelf109

Mortgage of convenience is a cute romance between a ghost writer and an ex-stripper looking to settle down and start his life with a partner. Bee, the ghost writer, has just moved home after drunkenly pitching her debut novel to her editor and promptly freaking out about releasing her words into the world under her own name for the first time; Sebastian, the ex-stripper, learns that he’s not eligible for the home loan he’s been saving up for. In need of a place to stay, Bee co-signs on the loan with Sebastian, and the two became roomies.

One thing I particularly loved about this story was the fantastic queer rep! The MMC is bisexual, and there is dialogue about how this has affected his relationships with women in the past which is think is incredibly important.

There are a few main things that bumped my review down by two stars:
- There were a decent number of moments where the author was doing more telling than showing. For example, following chapter breaks, chapters would often resume with one of the main characters telling the reader what had transpired over the last day or so. While I don’t inherently think chapter breaks are a bad thing, the quantity of them in this book left me wanting more/read a bit as if the author was unsure how to bridge the gap between scenes. I think less breaks within each chapter would have allowed space for the relationship between the two MCs to be more fully developed.
- Bee and Sebastian have supposedly been dancing around one another for years, as Sebastian is Bee’s brother’s best friend. Yet, readers get very little insight into what has happened between them prior to the start of the novel.
- Bee’s relationship with her family was very underdeveloped, especially with her brother. The readers learn that there is an age gap between Bee and her brother, that they aren’t very close, that he wishes they were closer, a few brief mentions about her parents, and that’s about it. For someone who moved across the country to get away from the expectations of others, readers are, for the most part, left to fill in the blanks about these expectations themselves.

⭐️3/5
🌶️3/5

Thank you, Dani and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. I'll be honest: the cover drew me in... I know- sue me!

Solid story; I feel like the cadence was a bit off. As someone who loves my brother's best friend, that was fun however- something was missing here. I can't quite put my finger on it.

two people who are not so secretly infatuated with each other working out their insecurities one tiny issue and drawing on the wall at a time

Forced proximity, brother's best friend, friends to lovers, personal growth, and the epitome of a man written by a woman.

When Bee returns to her hometown to finish her book, whos existence she isn't confident enough to even share with her loved ones, doesn't know what to do. Trying to live more in the moment and trusting her gut she buys a house with her brother's best friend, Sebastian. Bee and Sebastian go on a journey of healing, him with his daddy issues, her with her self esteem.

Sebastian is one of the best MMC I've read and the way they interact as roommates and lovers feels so authentic. The spice is good and plentiful.

Parts of the story dragged a bit, with too much internal monologuing that would be reinforced with a later scene that would show rather than tell the character development. Other than some plot redundancies I really enjoyed the book.

Marriage of Convenience is a cute romance between two friends who go in on a house together. I loved the premise of this book, but there was just something that I can't quite put my finger on that is holding me back from giving it 5 stars. I didn't quite connect as much with the characters as I was hoping to. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"This is the first book I've read by this author, and it's a captivating friends-to-lovers story. It delves into themes such as alcoholism, with plenty of heartfelt moments of pining between the characters. Both protagonists are clearly drawn to each other but struggle with their fears."

Meh.

This book was not it for me. It was hard for me to follow along because the writing style is a little chaotic. When it wasn’t chaotic, it was boring and basic. I felt like I was just rushing to get to the end just I could say I was finished with it.

I was so excited to read this too because the premise of this book it right up my alley! Only slightly disappointed that it wasn’t what I anticipated.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Thank you NetGalley and Set the Mood Publishing for the eARC!

I really, really enjoyed this one. A story about a ghostwriter who returns home and reconnects with her longtime crush, who happens to be her brother's best friend. This book was full of emotion, depth, and spice. I LOVED the bi rep we get from the main male character. I was also really connected to Bee's journey to discern what was no longer working for her, whether that be relationships in her life, alcohol, Etc. Her journey to set boundaries really resonated with me. I absolutely loved this story.

My only issue with the book is that sometimes I felt like chunks of context were missing, and I would get a little lost in different scenes, dialogue, Etc. I'm not sure if this is just a "not completely edited" issue or something only I experienced, but I felt like there were moments that needed more context/build up to make sense for me personally.

Overall, I really enjoyed it! Give me a cover where someone has tattoos and tell me their Zodiac sign, and I will very likely enjoy the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a exclusive ARC to read before publishing!

1.75 stars

i hated this book honestly. when i got like 40% in, i wanted to dnf it so MUCH. you should never fall for cute covers because this book was just horrible. first of all the second chance was horrible. the mmc was just odd, he said the weirdest things. “Bee can play me like a fucking fiddle.” oh. and teh fmc was just a piece of bullshit. she gave off im not like other girls energy. “I like the idea of someone using their mouth on me while im asleep. being woken up like that.” the fuck?? i skimed through this book so much. it was honestly disappointing and i will never read any other books by this author.

I loved this book!

I was really touched by the tenderness between Bee and Sebastian, even if they themselves had a hard time recognizing or admitting it at times. Sebastian really boosted Bee up and helped with her insecurities without being too forceful or pushy. And Bee let Sebastian be who he was and supported him when he needed it. This story of two people crushing on each other hard but also opening themselves up to a beaurtiful, supportive friendship just melted my heart.

Thank you so much for the ARC!

I wanted to like this book. I really did. But I found myself just wanting to hurry up and get it over with. I have a hard time DNF’ing books because I always hope it will get better.

Unfortunately that wasn’t the case with this one. It just wasn’t for me. However, the great thing about books is one person can dislike it while others love it.

This book has forced proximity, brothers best friend which are great tropes. The characters were pretty flat. The storyline was so far fetched. Oh here, let me give you $20k to share a down payment on a house with you and just move in even though we’ve barely talked our whole lives.

A lot of unnecessary filler and nothing really memorable.

Thank you NetGalley and set the mood publishing for the opportunity to read this eArc and give my honest opinion.

This title releases 2/27/24

I thought this was a really interesting approach to the whole "fake dating" trope, as there isn't truly any actual dating going on for a good portion of the book.

I liked Bee & Sebastian as a couple - you could most certainly feel their chemistry! 🥵 My only complaint is that I wish Bee would have been a little more consistent with her blossoming self-esteem, at least where her brother was concerned.

I could relate in a lot of ways to Bee and it was nice to see my neurosis represented on the page lol.

This was more of a slower burn until about half way in, and then the spice was spicing! <fans myself>. There was a very open door approach to those scenes, and I'm here for it!

I definitely think you should do yourself a favor and check out this book, especially if you've ever been an underdog in life.

the description was promising, but this fell flat for me.

Certain aspects I really loved like the queer representation and conversations about mental health, but after it was brought up it never came up again. I wish these topics had been incorporated more throughout the book to make it more cohesive and less of a ticked box.

My main issue was that I didn’t understand the conflict?? Pitching her book drunk was admittedly not the best idea ever but it was approved and the entire book was finished before she even moved home… and then she buys a house.. for what ?? Idk

I think of this was written as a litfic it could’ve ATE! Especially since I’m not a fan of insta love or fully grown men acting childish.

Thank you to set the mood publishing for this arc!

1.75 stars 𐙚
I won’t lie, I am a little disappointed

plot:
this book is a second chance romance, and forced proximity.

bee and sebastian have been broken up for five years when she left to pursue her dreams of becoming a writer and one day she comes back home, sees that sebastian can’t pay for his house so what does she do?!!? live with him. crazy. stupid. foolish decision.

obviously I knew this before picking it up but I was like hey why not? I do love forced proximity but apparently not this time. for a second chance I expect angst, pining, “we shouldn’t be doing this but it feels so right” type of feels.. but no. none of that happened in fact it DIDNT feel right I lowkey wanted them to break up 😀

what to expect:
➵ second chance romance (with no angst)
➵ forced proximity (if they stayed apart more I think I would’ve been happier)
➵ lots and lots of uncomfortable smut

the romance:
honestly just very plain and boring. idk it might just be me that’s the problem but i felt no chemistry between the two mcs at all

there was no connection, their conversations were like trying to be deep and failing. they literally talked about hot sauce so much like what. as if it’s a goofy and quirky topic. I hate being negative in reviews and I feel really bad but ugh it just cannot be helped this is so so not for me

smut:
it was really nothing special and nothing to remember there’s just too much of it and it’s very repetitive. it’s just him being like “ugh you’re so hot” and her like “omg I need you right now plzplz”

ngl it made me uncomfortable at times like I don’t usually really care too much about the writing or what they’re saying but this one.. this was weird. for example:

“I’ve always liked the idea of being woken up by a lover who was already taking what he wanted from me”

I’m not judging but… yeah im definitely judging. it’s just such a strange random creepy kink to have and then he goes and does it and im just sat there like uhhh..

also sebastian was like such a softie</b> with not a dominant bone in his body but bee always tried to portray him as this big demanding assertive man and he’s just not.

“he’s a damn wolf, in name and action, establishing his territory, making it his own.”

his name is sebastian wolfe that’s the point but like no… he was not a wolf. not even close. not that it’s a bad thing it’s just not who he is so stop portraying him like that.

in conclusion:
the point is this is not my thing!! and I appreciate that but I’d still like to express my personal thoughts and experience <33 I hope if you do decide to read this that you adore it and love it more than I did!!

thank you netgalley for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this and can I say that I loved this book! This book is not only an arrangement that leads to romance but it also has an amazing plot of self discovery and amazing LGBTQ+ rep and I thought that it was great. I really loved the character of Bee and how much she developed through the book and Sebastian melted my heart bc he was so cute.☺️ Definitely a new book bf of mine.
This review is also on my Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199350426

I really wanted to like this more, but it was just okay for me. I felt like the plot could have been developed much more, and the characters definitely could have been fleshed out more; they felt v ery one dimensional to me with no depth. I do think that the premise was really cool and I loved that there was representation in this book when it comes to Sebastian's sexuality (he is bisexual). The cover of this book is just so cute and I LOVE it! A lot of this felt rushed to me though, and I just wish it had more of a build up and didn't immediately jump into the main plot and the spicy scenes. It was really cute overall, with low angst and no third act breakup, which I like.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dani McLean and Set The Mood Publishing for the eARC of this book!

Mortgage of Convenience by Dani McLean is a good fit for those seeking a heartwarming and uplifting story about self-discovery, growth, and the power of human connection.
The book opens with Bee coming back home after making a
"mistake".
. She ends up agreeing to buying a house with her brother's best friend Sebastian. The pair both of things that they need to work through and their connection — it sizzles from the pages.
This book also deals with older adults that come to terms about what friendship is and that it is okay to grow apart from unfulfilling relationships.
Thank-you to the author and Net Galley for an ARC of this book.

A sweet, heartfelt read. This romance isn't necessarily a rom-com, but the unique trope lends to both characters growth both individually and together. I loved that there is no 3rd act break-up. This book tackles a lot, but stays lighthearted throughout. What I found particularly unique is the conscious loss of friendship, letting go of toxicity and growth of the FMC.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to Set the Mood Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited about this book when I first heard about it. I just finished, and I have a bit of mixed feelings. Overall, I think it was an okay book. I enjoyed Sebastian as the MMC a lot, and I love that he is supportive of Bee and open about his sexuality as bisexual. I like how he helped remind Bee of her accomplishments and pushed her to be strong and accountable in her choices. Bee is working on her confidence for most of the book, and it just felt like there was something missing.

I think there needed to be a more well-rounded plot points. It felt like we’d meet Bee’s new friends and they weren’t fully developed as characters, we’d meet Sebastian’s mom and it didn’t feel like an actual meeting. This continued to happen throughout the book, and it was difficult to continue due to wanting to know more about a subject. I also wish there was more build up between Bee and Sebastian. Almost immediately, they’re homeowners together, so there really isn’t any tension or work up to them liking each other.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.75-4 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tropes: Brothers best friend, close
proximity, slight age gap and found family

I had a hard time rating this one and I ended up adding an extra star because of how fluffy this book was and how much I loved it ( it was an easy read and I read it in one sitting)
I adored Bee and Sebastian’s story ( surely we’re gonna get an Aiden book in the future) and really enjoyed the found family aspects as well as the character development, which felt right and not rushed.

A good, cosy and easy read and perfect for if you want a spicy fluffy book to devour.