The cover was cute and the premise sounded great. I love marriage of convenience/fake dating and this is similar. It started out cute and fun but then all of a sudden 6% in and we’re headfirst into the plot. No build up, didn’t really get to know the characters.

The forced proximity part was icky to me sleeping in her brothers house. The writing wasn’t great and I didn’t like either MC.

It could have been good if executed better. DNF at 30% unfortunately. Thanks net galley and the publisher for the arc.

3/5 ⭐️The cover for this book and really caught me and I was so excited to read it! It has so many of my favorite tropes (friends to lovers, brothers best friend, closed proximity, age gap), but unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me.

Bee is back home to retreat from a huge career move to lick her wounds, and doesn’t want to let anyone know what’s going on. She runs into her childhood crush - her brother’s best friend, Sebastian, who somehow she ends up buying a house with, something both of them need at the moment.

I liked Bee, but I found it really hard to relate to her. She’s a closeted clean freak and semi introverted/closed off - but after years of not seeing Seb, she randomly decided to buy a house with him? I felt like there were some inconsistencies within her character, esp with her relationship with Morgan and Aiden.
I liked the representation that Seb stood for, but felt like his character wasn’t as explored as much as it could have been - the stuff with the house, his dad, it was mentioned a few times, but felt like there could have been a bit more of a deep dive into it,

I also felt like the relationship between Bee and Seb was rushed - yes they’ve known each other for years and the communication was AMAZING but even the transition to their first spicy scene, I thought I missed a page or two because it felt so rushed/random to me.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“𝙄'𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙞𝙥 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩
𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨.”

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Get ready to dive into a whirlwind of laughter and love with "Mortgage of Convenience" by the talented Dani McLean. This delightful rom-com delivers all the feels with its hilarious antics and heartwarming romance.

Meet Bee Montgomery, the queen of sending drunken texts to her ex, and Sebastian Wolfe, the charming ex-stripper with a heart of gold. When Bee finds herself in a bind with a looming deadline and stage fright to boot, she turns to Sebastian, her brother's best friend, for help. Little do they know, their unconventional arrangement is about to take them on a journey filled with unexpected twists, steamy encounters, and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.

Dani McLean weaves a tale that is as witty as it is heartwarming. With sparkling dialogue and endearing characters, she invites readers into a world where anything is possible, especially when it comes to matters of the heart.

As Bee and Sebastian navigate the ups and downs of their newfound connection, they'll discover that sometimes love comes when you least expect it. With humor, charm, and a healthy dose of romance, "Mortgage of Convenience" is a must-read for anyone looking for a feel-good escape.

So grab your favorite snack, curl up with this charming novel, and prepare to be swept away by Dani McLean's enchanting storytelling. You won't be able to put it down!

First, I’d like to thank NetGalley , Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and Author Dani McLean for the opportunity for this ARC.

This story follows Bee and Sebastian, Bee is a ghost writer who wants to write her own stories and Sebastian is an ex-stripper who’s dream is to own a house and not be like his dad. Sebastian is Bee’s brother’s best friend, she’s had a crush on him for years and so has he. Bee agrees to help Sebastian if he helps her be more confident, which leads them to fall even more for each other. I would definitely recommend this book you will find the following tropes;
- Brothers Best Friend
- Age Gap
- Ghostwriter x Ex-Stripper
- He Falls First
- Bi MMC
- No 3rd Act Breakup
- You’re My Home
- Steamy & Domestic

Separate review will be posted on my Instagram @ readwith.isa_

The moment I thought my reading slump was over...then I read this book and it's back with a revenge.

This book started off well, but the more I read the worse it got. I'm not one to be harsh on authors but I think this book didn't live up to it's expectations at all.

Spoilers ahead:

-1 star : Most of us will know by now that any good romance books have this budding romance, the couple gets together and then something terrible is revealed...leading to a breakup. Whereas in this book, we have a conversation which lasts 1 page, nothing bad happens and the couple stay together. For a romance reader I felt like the ending was rushed and nothing really happened in the book.

-1 star : I hated the characters, the name Bee was just not for me, felt like I was reading a children's book and not an Adult romance novel. Although the sex scenes were quite spicy, they were also weird and made me skim over some aspects of them. I often enjoy sex scenes but

-1 star : I really wanted to dnf this book, however I had already read 60% of the book and assumed it could get better, I was in fact wrong and it did not improve.

Unfortunately I will not be recommending this to book to friends and family.

This one took me a little while to get into. I had to keep taking breaks. To be honest because of that, I was a little bored. All the tropes are my favorite so I was really excited! I really liked seb but was easily annoyed by Bee unfortuantely. I felt like I was skimming through a lot 😅 the spice however, very hot !!! Overall I’ll give it a 3/5! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This book is very spice forward from the first page! I thought the characters felt immediate and I thought it was a good romance read.

4.5/5
🖤🖤🖤🖤⚡️

𝒮𝓂𝒾𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝐼 𝒷𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝐼 𝓈𝑜 𝒷𝒶𝒹𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝒶𝓎. 𝒴𝑜𝓊’𝓇𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝒸𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒. 𝒮𝓉𝒶𝓎 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒. 𝒮𝓉𝒶𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇. 𝐵𝑒 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑒.

Ohhh this story! I loved this love story. It was so much more than just a love story too. I’ll get into that in a moment, but I need to gush over Bee and Sebastian first! Our story starts off with ghostwriter Bee coming back to her home town, crashing at her brother’s, then finds herself saying she wants to sign a mortgage with her brother’s best friend and her love term crush, Sebastian. The beginning started off a little quick, but after I read the whole story, I’m glad that part was fast because it gave me more pages of Bee and Sebastian. Their cute quirks are what made me fall for them each individually and then together as a couple.

There were also some elements in this I really enjoyed reading that I don’t see too much in other books. Like Morgan and Bee’s relationship changing and growing apart, her meeting Cassie as an adult because finding friends as an adult is hard, Sebastian’s relationship with his father, and Bee not wanting to drink alcohol just to socialize and feeling the strain of that social norm. Friend break ups happen when you grow apart or grow up and see some “friends” in a different light. I felt seen reading this. I applaud Dani McLean for taking that on in this book and sharing that real ugly truth of life.

A few short blurbs that will make you want to read this even more:

🪴 Gus reminds me of the love fern from how to lose a guy is 10 days.

🧼 domesticated steamy romance? Yes, please.

☕️ Bee’s love for tea. Because girl, same.

📚 when Seb puts together the book case for Bee

👻 also finding out the author is also a fellow Supernatural fan, really sold me to make sure I push her other books up my TBR!

Huge thank you to @ victory editing and @ net galley for selecting me to review this ARC!!

Thank you, NetGalley and Set the Mood Publishing, for this ARC! 

3/5 ⭐️ 

Release Date: February 27th

📖: Brother’s best friend, age gap (8 years), found family, representation, forced proximity, and dual POV

Bee has been a ghostwriter for 5 years, and after a drunken email to her publisher, she finds herself following her dreams of writing her novel. We follow her as she struggles with potential failure, toxic friendships, a longtime crush, and finding out who she truly is without hiding or pleasing others. 

This was a cute, lighthearted read. It was low angst and tension. I enjoyed the open communication between both main characters. I had trouble connecting with Bee and her decisions at times, and I would have liked a few more details about how she made a decision and the aftermath. Sebastian was such a sweetheart throughout and was extremely supportive of Bee while also managing his expectations for the future. If you’re looking for a low-stress read, this might be for you!

4.25 stars

This was a very sweet, fun book. The premise was a little far-fetched - I cannot imagine impulsively dropping all my life savings on a house with someone I only kind of know when I don't even have plans to stay. But once you move past that you're left with a cute story. I really liked the relationship between the characters and the way they supported each other.
This is a very low conflict book which unfortunately meant that it started to drag a little around halfway to 2/3 of the way through. I found that I was just widhing something would happen. You get a lot of sweet moments between the characters and some external conflicts that they have to resolve but for the most part its just vibes.

Read if you like:
-forced proximity
-slow burn
-brothers best friend


Thank you to NetGalley and Set the Mood Publishing for the ARC!!

DNF 30%

I tried, I really tried but Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me.
The premise of this book had potential, but honestly just very plain and boring. I felt no chemistry between the Bee & Sebastian.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a cute take on forced proximity. I had trouble connecting with Bee. Her motivations for signing the mortgage were never really clear, and at time it felt like she was still 20, which was frustrating.

There is so much about this that I liked A LOT.

🏡 Brother's best friend
🏡 Both mains have secret crushes on the other
🏡 Forced proximity (they do buy a home together -- even if that wasn't the original plan)
🏡 COMMUNICATION! They talk to one another and encourage the other ... well except for talking about what "they" are to one another... but still.
🏡 Representation - therapy, past trauma, past abuse, sexuality
🏡 He's a former stripper. She's a ghostwriter.
🏡 CHEMISTRY and SPICE (if the word c*ck offends you - likely isn't the right book for you)

Their openness with one another reminded me of the book "The Roommate" - because it was all about honesty and trust and being vulnerable with one another. So that was really lovely.

Honestly - this should have been a 4 star read - except... At times it felt like I was missing something? Almost like conversations were had off-page that I missed... and so I would have to re-read a paragraph and try and see if I missed something, or it just wasn't there. At times it was a little repetitive - I mean - Sebastian has fallen hard and is serious about the future he wants and Bree is PERFECT ... but I don't need to read that every other page (it felt that way for a bit of the book). Also - I found it took me longer to get invested in Bee's growth - simply because she couldn't express her feelings very clearly - but we got there in the end.

It's a 3.5 star read. So for me - that means it is solid, the writing is good - well developed, I liked the characters. It was just missing that little something extra. Do I want to read another Dani McLean book again? Yes. Was I cheering them on towards their HEA? Yep. Do I want to know if Aiden and Cassie end up together? Heck yeah.

Thank you Netgalley and Set the Mood Publishing for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Bee and Sebastian were too cute for words. This brother’s best friend, roommates-to-lovers story was sweet as honey. The mutual pining between these two was delicious. I truly felt the love that Dani poured into this story.

I love a good down on your luck trope, especially with alternating POV, so I knew this book was going to hit the spot. What I didn’t know is that it would pick up on so many different homey themes and master them all. The writing is so crafty, equal parts sweet and smart, and reads like a dream.

Bee is all of the best kinds of relatable. After five years away, she returns home with little more than a suitcase of secrets and a dream. What she really needs is someone confident to guide her and she certainly finds it in Sebastian.

Sebastian is a god-sent MMC who has put in the work and it shows. He’s covered in tattoos, he’s breaking generational curses, and he’s about to be your next book boyfriend.

This book is a healthy reminder that everyone has a past, and everyone is able to shape the future, if we can just show up for ourselves and each other in the present. Bee and Seb take incredible care of themselves and each other, and that was such an important foundation to this story.

I’m so grateful to NetGalley, Dani McLean, and Set the Mood publishing for allowing me to read and fall in love with this ARC before it hits shelves. I know it will take the book world by storm when it does.

While this book took me longer to read then most, I still enjoyed it a lot. The premise itself and the cover are exactly why I wanted to read this book. Things did get a bit repetitive while reading it but overall, it was a good book. The romance was cute, the couple was cute together and it gave me what I wanted in a cute little romcom. Though I will say, I will never just randomly sign a mortgage over to someone to help them out. I'm not that nice lol.

It was a dual POV which is great and I like that part a lot and no third act breakup which is great because sometimes that's not what I want in a book.

Overall, it was a decent book, though Bee is a little overdramatic at times. They were human and that's what made parts of it relatable.

2,5

I just could not get into it. The beginning didn’t feel like it, it felt like we were thrown into the middle of the story and we were supposed to know about the characters.
I like Sebastian (and not just because of the name lol) but I feel like his bi identity was underdeveloped.
Bea was just annoying. I’m sorry, I did not care for her at all.
The spice was hot though!

3.5/⭐⭐⭐💫

Release date: Feb. 27

"Holy shit, he looks like he wants to fight for my honor. I officially rescind every comment I've ever made against damsels. I get it now."

Brother's best friend isn't one of my favorite tropes, but McLean does it well and the characters are very quickly loveable. 

👍Dual POV, LGBTQ+ representation, 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

👎Apparently, "angel" as a pet name is not for me

Thanks to Netgalley & Set The Mood Publishing for the ARC!

I was very excited for this book and I will say that this was a 3.5/4 for me. As I started reading it, I found myself cheering for certain characters and being hooked in. I loved Cassie, I loved Sebastian, even the brother, and I liked Bee. However, while I was hooked at the beginning, I feel like the further I went in, there was a bit less of that excitement. I understand that Sebastian ended up confronting his family and Bee had to make some decisions about her friendships (which I liked the addition of this conflict), and maybe it was just me but they kind of fell short emotionally. I will say, I think this was one of the first time I read a friendship falling out like this in a book and I really liked to read that and I was able to fully get invested in this, but I wish I would have been able to see more of the aftermath especially because this was a childhood friend. It felt a bit brushed over and then no one ever heard of her.

That being said, I did enjoy the themes throughout the book and I thought it was a cute lighthearted sweet read. I truly think that maybe if I had read it all in one sitting, I might have enjoyed it more and not felt the drop in engagement as much, but like I said, this was still such a cute cozy read to pick up. I would recommend this book as a cute read especially with a sweetheart like Sebastian.

This book has some lovely moments and I loved MMC. But I have to admit that I thought the story was developed too quickly, I thought there could have been more moments of tension between the main characters.

Unfortunately, I didn't like the book as much as I expected after reading the description.