Sigh*


I thought this was gonna be good since I can see the potential, but sadly, no. There's a lot of things I wanna say, but I guess I will just make this brief.

Things that I didn't like:

1. The execution. It was bad. The writing was passable to me as an overall, but the execution is just bad.

2. It was so slow. It felt like nothing had happened and just remained stagnant.

3. I don't know what to say about the romance, but the smut was a lot.

I'll add another star for the cover since I kinda like it

~thank you author and the publisher for letting me review this book in advance~

DNF @ 54%

Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me. The premise of this book had potential, but I don't feel like it was executed in the way I was looking for. I'm honestly still confused as to why the FMC randomly decided to jump in and buy a house with the MMC. Although I share a lot of the FMC struggles, for some reason she got on my nerves. Our MMC was a sweetie that I liked, but not enough to see the book through. It felt like a very smutty book with a plot just thrown in, which wasn't what I was looking for. This book seemed to drag for me and I'm sad because I loved this unique take and a good brothers best friend.

ARC Review: Mortgage of Convenience by Dani McLean

I waited somewhat patiently for Bee and Sebastian's story while Dani did an amazing job teasing it and it was worth the wait!

Seb is Bee's older brother's best friend she's always had a crush on but whom she doesn't realize has also started seeing her differently the last few years. She moves home after years away and they make a deal, ending up buying a house together so he can afford the mortgage. He just has to help her find her confidence as a writer and a person. The mutual pining is STRONG. Swipe through for an example where each of them just can't handle the forced proximity.

I related to the imposter syndrome Bee is going through at the point of having a first draft she knows isn't right and needing to take the next step with it. Seb is outwardly kind, confident in who he is, and a super supportive person, but he also has his own struggles because of his past and family history. I loved these two, individually and together.

This wasn't (and stay with me here) a book I immediately wanted to scream about how great it is to everyone, but only because it left me with such a lovely, homey feeling that I wanted to keep to myself for a while so I could sit with it quietly. That said, I did love it, will most likely read it again (like everything else let Dani has written), and fully believe anyone who loves sweet and spicy romances should read it! Dani calls it steamy and domestic and they're absolutely right.

marriage of convience by author review
aesthetic: ⌨️🍸✏️🏠📖⭐️🐝
📖: brothers best friend, forces proximity, he falls first

Cute fun little romance! He’s an ex *dancer*, she’s a shy ghostwriter. He needs a loan for his dream house, she needs someone to teach her how to be confident. Match made in heaven?

First of all I looooooved the writing style of Dani because it honestly makes the book as good as it is. The way she can play with words to make you feel something is crazy!

Secondly I adored the found family in this book, genuinely the cutest friends & family! Also the brother shipping is EVERYTHING!

It was really cute to see how the main characters supported each other so much and we’re literally each other’s lifelines 🫶🏼

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

While this was a quick read it honestly was not my favorite. I am a huge fan of the forced proximity trope. However something about this book seemed a bit off. There were parts where I felt that the story was too face paced for me. I love a good slow burn but it felt that this boom just jumped into the romance. But once it started I was a fan so for that id rate it a 3/5

This one is for readers who like their romances to be fast paced! Personally, I'm more into slow burn and because a lot happened, I had some issues with keeping engaged as the story developed. I also missed a bit of the tension between the characters, it could have been stronger in my opinion. While the FMC irritated me at times, I absolutely adored the MMC. Not my new favorite romance, but I definitely enjoyed big parts of it.

this was such a cute read, the slow burn was fantastic and i loved the idea of the story - i just couldnt connect with the characters so i think it was more of a me issue! i did enjoy a lot of things in this book though! i loved seeing her deal with the lose of a friendship, its so hard to go through and seeing this on page for once was so healing! bee and seb were so sweet and i loved their relationship

This was a cute fun read.

Sebastian was the true star of this book. He was so patient and kind... I wanted to smack Bee over the head. She did come accross as immature at times, but I was able to get over it.

Book Blurb -

Ever sent a drunk text to your ex and regretted it in the morning? Well, imagine pitching the debut novel you’ve been hiding to your agent, then waking up with a hangover and a deadline. Oh, and you have a debilitating fear of rejection.

Welcome to Bee Montgomery’s life.


The shy ghostwriter has always shied away from the limelight but may never get this opportunity again. So after five years away, Bee returns home with little more than a suitcase of secrets and a dream. What she really needs is someone confident to guide her.

Enter Sebastian Wolfe, her brother’s best friend. The older man spent his twenties avoiding commitment and his whole life trying to be the man his father never was, but the sexy ex-stripper secretly dreams of a white picket fence and a home of his own. He isn’t expecting to come up short on the deposit, or for the woman he shouldn’t want to offer the rest in exchange for his help to get over her stage fright. But if Bee can’t see how incredible she is, he’s more than happy to show her.

It’s not long before they’re stripping away more than her inhibitions, but as Bee’s deadline looms, she needs to decide if she’s going to keep playing house or return to her real life.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this arc. This novel follows Bee and Sebastian. If you like brother's best friend, forced proximity, no third act break-up, and a some spice this may be the book for you!

I wanted to like this book very badly, but I did find some faults with it. The beginning was very hard for me to read. I had to push past the parts I thought were a bit cringe in order to finish the book. Towards the middle of the novel the story did pick up and it kept me engaged. There was some strong character development throughout the story. Overall, I thought this book was just okay. In the end, I was rooting for the characters and thought the novel was entertaining enough to finish the book. However, I think this novel has a lot a room for growth.

this was such an adorable roomate forced proximity romance! bee was so cute and relatable. I kinda wish things felt more slowburn but that's a personal issue. I enjoyed this!

ARC Review: Pub Date February 27 2024

Mortgage of Convenience
By Dani McLean

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️

“𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆?”“𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖? 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.”

This book reminded me of a combination of Jillian Meadows, Tarah Dewitt, and Chloe Liese books. And those are all auto-read authors for me so I think it might be safe to say that Dani McLean will be an auto-read as well.

One of my favorite things is when the conflict in a romance is outside of the main relationship. Something that allows the romantic partner to be the support person rather than the source of the conflict. Much like the spice can lend good perspective into the relationship, I think how a person supports you on your worst days can also be a great window into the relationship. This book has all of that.

The way Sebastian supports Bee throughout this book is beautiful and heartwarming and gives you no choice but to love him. And the personal journey that Bee is going on both internally and with other relationships is so deeply relatable. I love both of them. And don't worry, the spice is also 🥵🥵🥵

There aren't a ton of additional characters but the ones there are are well written and I formed strong opinions about them. I loved Bee's brother Aiden (and would love a book about him!) and I really enjoyed the fast friendship that formed between Bee and Cassie. And I would like Morgan to eat glass. 😤

Also, this is potentially the prettiest cover I've ever seen and you should read this book for that reason alone. Because sometimes it works out to judge a book by it's cover.

𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑩𝒆𝒆’𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒓 , 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏.

Read February 13-14, 2024

#mortgageofconvenience #danimclean #bookstagram #booklover #bookreview #arcreview #fivestarreads #bookrecommendations #spicyromance @danimcleanwrites

“Each breath comes with a different feeling. On the inhale, I belong here. On the exhale, I’m not sure where I belong.”

Sometimes a book finds you when you don’t know you need it. I picked Mortgage of Convenience mostly because the MFC is a writer. What I found, however, was so much more than that!
This story is about finding a home, in a place, your person(s), but first yourself. I loved that journey. Deeply. So deeply that it’s hard for me to find words. I rarely read a bi representation that resonated so intensely in me, and I wish I could have read such books when I was younger. But in this book, I also found an incredible transformation, where Bee discovers herself, the way to accept to be seen and shine. I adored her character, she’s so fragile, like a hiding mouse at first, but she learns how to speak for herself –without crushing anyone. Her story was so inspiring (I wish younger-me could have read that too). And Sebastian… oh, Sebastian… I loved how he’s such a pillar to Bee, never judging, always encouraging –but not pushing– despite his own struggles. This book has zero toxic masculinity (like the author said, Sebastian is all green lights –even his eyes), no drama, and so much great domesticity. Yet, the story of Bee and Sebastian –how they learn to live together in that house they bought together on a “whimsy”, how it feels so natural–was a great page turner. This book will become for me, I’m sure, a place I’ll want to revisit, to read again just to recharge and keep my chin up.



(Also posted on goodreads, storygraph and a couple of FB groups)

This book gives, brothers best friend, dual POV, Forced proximity and smut.

Bee Montgomery and Sebastian Wolfe had an initial attraction which is a big positive for anyone who doesnt love slow burn. It was very faced paced, i really enjoyed Bees character development, with friends and putting herself first. Her cleaning obsession also got a gold star from me (which is similar to my own) I think stuff like this really humanises characters which i always enjoy. Sebastian was a big softie and I love my MMCs soft. He is also Bi which great, hot and there is no third act breakup.

A great filler book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me this arc of Mortgage of Convenience.

Unfortunately, this was DNF for me. I felt myself dragging along to read it, I’m not sure if it’s just I’m not in the mood for how this book is flowing or what, but also it just didn’t keep me interested like I had thought it would when requesting this title. That’s not to say the writing is terrible or the story didn’t flow, it just wasn’t my cup of tea at the moment and the pacing kind of caught me off guard. Along with the MC, Bee and just how she reacts to situations + her big secret which was a little underwhelming, I figured it would be something bigger and more dramatic.

I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who likes romance, forced proximity, age gap and many other tropes that I know many people love. It’s a book I may have to come back to in the future and give another try.

Rating 3/5 ⭐️

NETGALLEY ARC:

The premise of forced proximity by a mortgage could’ve been super cute but the way it happened felt super bland and rushed. It took me a lot longer to get through the book because I felt like I couldn’t connect with any of the characters

What a sweet book!
I love books with plays on words, so this title was great for me. The cover is also adorable. I love the pink sm. The fact the Sebastian was a bisexual man made this book for me. It's so uncommon to see that rep in MF contemporary romances and those bi babies need love too! Bee and
Sebastian had great chemistry and had a good give and take in their relationship. They both had times where they needed the other person and were able to be there for them.

I’m a little disappointed, i had such high hopes for this book.

this book is about bee & sebastian who have been broken up five years before while bree left to pursue her dreams of becoming a writer. Then one day she comes back and things happen so they buy a house together.

i was so excited for this book because it was forced proximity and second chance so i was just waiting to eat up all the angst and pinning… but there wasn’t any of that. I kinda wanted them to break up, then maybe we’d get a little angst.

i’m a lover of all things smut, i love a good smutty book and i also love a good closes door book. The smut in this tho made me so uncomfortable and i just didn’t care for any of it, i would either skim the scene or just skip it all together.

it took so much of my willpower to get through this book and not dnf it

* Initial reactions: This was my first time reading work by this author, and I really enjoyed it. The characters were funny, sweet, and relatable in a way that I wasn’t expecting. I also really loved the intentionality of LGBTQ + representation across the characters— it was refreshing. While I found the characters enjoyable overall, the MFC was a tad bit aloof in a way that almost made me want to stop reading. However, the growth in her character due to the MMC helped to push the plot along and keep it interesting. The book was all about the internal struggles and character development of the two main characters rather than a focus mainly on a plot which I found lovely. It made me empathize with the characters to be able to relate my experiences to what they were dealing with throughout the story. Because of the focus on their growth, it started out a little slow paced, but once the story peaked, things got hot and heavy and stayed that way until the end. The shift of pace was almost too abrupt actually.
* What I liked: I particularly enjoyed the in-depth walk through the MMC’s perspective and how his character was just as developed as the MFC.
* What I didn’t like: There was a lot of vagueness with descriptions which made the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the presented characters very obvious.
* What I loved: I can’t highlight enough how beautiful it was to read a story with so much queer representation. Especially the inclusion of a bi MMC and blatant mention of a non-binary character who’s also married.
* What I hated: I didn’t hate anything about this book.
* This is definitely an adults only book because there are some really hot, not youth appropriate scenes. For those who like a little spice with their romance, I would definitely recommend. If there’s a sequel, I’ll for sure be picking it up to read!

This was my first officially ARC so I’m super bummed I felt this way about this book. With that being said, thanks for NetGalley, the publisher and author for allowing us to review.

This book was a lot and not in a good way. It also read so slow! As someone who can devour a book I found myself trying to finish it for days. It wasn’t a long book at all and I struggled.

Some of the things said (like slang things) weren’t quite right and often times if felt like parts of the story were jumbled or just cut off only to have the next chapter be about something else. I found myself getting lost or confused who’s part of the story we were in. It was duel POV but often I’d have to backtrack because it felt like the person had changed.il I hated being so confused. I also kept waiting for the crazy mix up part but it never came so that stressed me out.

But as a whole I didn’t hate Bee and Sebastian. Bee is a ghost writer who accidentally (or persuaded by a “friend”) sent her own book to her editor and is now FREAKING out (she already deals with some mental illness and woof). Hence why she moved home and just so happened to buy a home with Sebastian. Was Bee a little dramatic…I’ll let you decide. Sebastian is Bee’s brothers best friend who she’s casually been in love with since they were kids (mainly her since he’s 8 years older). Sebastian messed around in his twenty’s just not settling down only to be in his late 30’s really regretting that. They buy a house together which is Sebastian’s dream and just kind of find a groove. I almost think I kind of like Sebastian more? But I love Sebastian calling her Angel 👌🏽 love a cute nickname.

As a whole, it was a bit cringy. I wanted to like this so much more than I did. It had potential but it feels like it needs a rewrite…kind of like Bee’s book in the story. Ironically

I don't think it has taken me over a week to read a book since it was a required reading for college, but this was a slog. I really wanted to like it, and there were some positives, but ultimately this book fell into many traps that I see in romance today.

Let's go through some of these, shall we?

1) Brother's best friend without any exploration of the friendship OR the family dynamic. Bee talks on and on about how Aiden acted like a pseudo-parent, but we never actually see any of it. Sebastian talks for ages about how Aiden is like his person, but beyond a few running scenes, we don't see any interaction. How did Aiden and Sebastian even meet? Did I just miss that?
2) "Deep" topics without depth. I liked the arc of Bee learning how to break up with a childhood friend, but Morgan clearly has something deeper going on that was just...never discussed. It is certainly not Bee's job to save Morgan, but the disdain Bee showed Morgan left a bad taste in my mouth. The discussion of sobriety was much stronger with Sebastian and his dad.
3) Insecure but practically perfect FMC. I understand feeling insecure, but Bee's narration was talking in circles. How many times can we possibly read about how little confidence she has? I definitely started tuning out Bee's chapters, especially when she would all of the sudden have this random skill that she was "amazing at" (see: pole dancing, skydiving, etc.) . I probably would have rated this book higher if it was just from Sebastian's point of view.
4) High amounts of insta-lust. Like the insecurity thing, there was just too much talking in circles about how attracted they were to each other. 80% of it could have been cut and the book would have felt fine. At least the spice was fresh enough, but the attraction grew stale quickly.
5) Epilogue where people turn out famous. For a book about domesticity and comfort, it physically pained me to see yet another book where the main character became the Best Writer In The World. Yikes on bikes.

The best thing here was the spice. Read for the spice, not the characters or the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I would call this a 2.5, but Dani is indie, so I'm bumping it up to 3.