Though I didn’t like this book as much as I wanted to, I definitely will try out more books by this author. At first, I had high hopes; it hooked me in, but eventually everything got so repetitive. The main thing for me were the insecurities from Bee. I understand having insecurities, but it was over so many silly things. Also! the romance felt a bit too rushed; it didn’t have much tension, but not everyone loves what I love so.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC for my honest review.

Firstly, the cover is so beautiful! A fun, loving and spicy romance.

I really enjoyed the romance between Bee and Sebastian. The relationship was supportive and loving. I love how Sebastian keeps pushing Bee to progress with her book and tell people about it. She has her insecurities that he helps her overcome and he is her biggest supporter!

I can’t wait to read more of this authors books.

Tropes:
- brothers best friend
- Age gap
- ghostwriter FMC
- ex stripper and bi MMC
- forced proximity

Spice 3/5 🌶️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

☆ Brother best friend
☆ Age gap
☆ LGBTQIA+ rep
☆ He falls first

I could relate to both Bee and Sebastian a lot. Not wanting to do something because you’re worried it won’t be perfect is the story of my life. Also that feeling of changing and out growing people in your life is so real. I went through that and I feel like it’s not talked about enough. It’s good to let people go sometimes.

I love that Bee’s brother wants them together! Too many books have the brother get mad that his best friend would date his sister. If he isn’t good enough for your sister, maybe get better friends.

I hate that Sebastian’s mum wants him to talk to his dad. Some people don’t deserve your time or forgiveness.

Overall, I really loved this book. The characters have great chemistry and I can’t wait to read more of Dani’s books.

Oh man was this a cute book!! Honestly had me sold just based on the MMC having tattoos. The amount of times I kept smacking my desk/pillow while reading this is astronomical!! The butterflies were on steroids. Sebastian and Bee are so frickin cute together, and I love that they push each other in achieving their goals in life. This book was also WAY spicier than I thought it would be, and I loved every second of it. The smut was SO good!! I love how Dani McLean approached the topics of having an estranged parent and essentially breaking up with a friend. It was so comforting to read as these are things I have dealt with, so reading some of the advice given from one character to another really touched the heart. I'll definitely be checking out some of their other books when I get the chance!

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

Mortgage of Convenience
By: Dani Mclean
After five years away, shy ghostwriter Bee Montgomery returns home with her unpublished debut novel manuscript and a dream of getting published. However, her debilitating stage fright and fear of rejection threaten her chances.
Needing confidence and guidance, Bee turns to her brother’s bold, freewheeling friend Sebastian Wolfe. Sebastian secretly yearns for his own family and home but lacks the funds to secure a deposit. He sees Bee’s talent and potential and makes her an offer: he’ll coach her to overcome her anxiety in exchange for money to cover his deposit. Bee agrees.
As Sebastian gently pushes Bee out of her comfort zone, her confidence grows. Emotional intimacy soon blooms into a physical relationship as well. For the first time, Bee gains the courage to envision a bolder, brighter future pursuing her passion.
But Bee’s deadline looms. She must soon pitch her novel to her agent. As the date nears, Bee second-guesses her dream and new relationship. Will she retract from the limelight and fall back into her quieter past? Or will she finally embrace the talented author within? Though failure still scares her, Bee has a rare opportunity to publish her creative work and secure an emotionally rich future with Sebastian. She hoped for a guide but wound up finding so much more.

Tropes:
✨Brothers Best Friend
✨Age-Gap Romance
✨Forced Proximity
✨Friends to Lovers
✨Dual POV
✨Bi Representation
✨Confidence Lessons
✨Long-term pinning
✨He Falls First
✨Roommates

Spicy Chapters:
14, 19, 23, 29, 29
Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️.5/5

💭Thoughts:
I Loved the depth of these characters. They are each struggling with their own mental health. They are not only able to find love with each other, but also help each other heal. The tension between these two was amazing. With just a hint of forbidden romance (She’s my best friend's baby sister, He’s the unattainable hot older guy).
This was a great read, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a cozy, sweet romance with just a hint of spice!

I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review:

This book had all my favorite tropes! Since Dani announced this book, I have been FERAL FOR IT!!!

Bee works as a ghost writer and after a drunken night she pitches her book to her boss. She moves back home to work on her book and ends up in a mortgage of convenience with her brother’s best friend, Sebastian. Oh Sebastian! The tattooed ex- stripper and plant daddy of my dreams! After Bee and Sebastian end up buying a house together and living together, Sebastian helps her build up her confidence. There’s healing, support, and so much mutual pining! I highly recommend this book!


🖤brother’s best friend
🖤he falls first
🖤age gap
🖤bi rep
🖤tattooed plant daddy
🖤steamy and domestic
🖤no third act breakup

My rating: 5 ⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Comes out 2/27

Thank you NetGalley for my E-ARC copy!

This was a fun take on the marriage of convenience trope! I enjoyed Bee and Sebastian and really enjoyed Bees inner monologue. However, the pacing was a bit slow and the stakes didn’t feel high enough. I wished we had seen more of Morgan so those bits got a bit more impactful and same with Sebastian and his dad. It just lacked the oumph for me, but was still an enjoyable read!

I wanted to really like this book, but I couldn’t finish it.
The book jumps right into the story with no background information about the characters or why she moved back to town, and I just felt like I was missing something. It wasn't until 30% in that I was beginning to understand what was happening, and by that point the momentum was gone and the book was dragging a little bit. I didn’t really care about the main couple or her problems. I DNF at 51%.

This was such a great book. I really appreciated that the book was really focused on character growth of both the MMC and FMC and that the characters were really complex. The chemistry between the two of them was SO good. it was nice to read a romance that really focused on the friendship between the characters and showed all the small reasons they love each other on top of the really well written spice. The queer representation was so great as well and really heartwarming. I loved seeing a bi MMC where his queer identity is really a part of who he is, even when dating a girl, and the discussions of bisexuality were important and appreciated. My critiques are small. Some scenes felt a little repetitive or just out of place. Also, the entire book the FMC is slow to commitment and then it feels like suddenly she's ok with it. But other than that I really loved this book and I would absolutely recommend it to everyone.

I was initially drawn to this book with great anticipation. It seemed to encompass everything I enjoy in a story: the allure of forbidden romance between a brother's best friend and a shared living situation, promising intimate moments, and more. However, my enthusiasm quickly waned as I delved into the narrative, reaching only about 40% of the way before deciding to abandon it altogether.

The pacing left much to be desired, vacillating between rushed and sluggish, creating a disjointed reading experience. While the premise hinted at a long-standing connection between the two main characters, it failed to deliver any meaningful exploration of their history or shared experiences. Consequently, the sudden revelation of affection between Sebastian and Bee felt contrived and lacking in authenticity.

Moreover, Bee's internal conflict regarding her career aspirations felt trivial and inadequately developed, undermining the believability of her character arc. Her reluctance to embrace her own talents and the dynamic with Sebastian, who inexplicably aids her in overcoming these insecurities, struck me as forced and disconcerting.

Regrettably, I found myself unable to connect with the protagonists on any meaningful level, rendering their supposed passion for each other unconvincing and ultimately uninteresting. Sebastian's character, in particular, elicited discomfort rather than empathy, contributing to my decision to discontinue reading the book.

In conclusion, while I had hoped to be swept away by the allure of this story, it ultimately fell short of my expectations. For now, I have chosen to set it aside, without plans to revisit it in the foreseeable future.

This started off so strong and I really did look forward to picking it back up every time I’d read some more. There were some loose ends that dragged on a bit that I’ll expand upon that lead me to a solid 4 stars.

So first off I loved that these two MCs were so secretly into each other. It was just really fun and fluffy to read their mutual pining and this is best friend’s sister but it isn’t all that forbidden. I definitely recommend this solely for their super cute moments flirty and situations that added humor to the story.

Unfortunately, the FMC’s goal of getting over some insecurities just lasted way too long for me. It was hard to reconcile the character in my head at times and I’m not sure her characterization was always consistent. At first she’s miss independent moving away on her own 5 years ago but then we find out she never really left her place but then also was traveling all the time to interview her ghostwriting clients, just a bit confusing.

I loved the MMC!! Thank you for casual bi rep particularly in a man. He was also swoony but still had his own personal challenges to get through and I liked his individual journey. I just loved his place of work as well. I want more from those cast of characters. Yes this is spicy but I did expect a bit more. There’s a lot of summarized scenes which is kind of a bummer.

There’s also a storyline on platonic friendships that I also thought was well done. Overall, I’d recommend this book. Thank you to set the mood publishing for this ARC.

3.75 ⭐️ A Brother's Best Friend Age Gap Romance! *

This was so cute! I'm always looking for any type of LGBTQIA+ rep on books. This definitely had that, and then some!

This book follows Bee, a successful ghostwriter who's grown tired of telling everyone else stories, and on a leap of faith -and a bottle of wine- decides to email her publicist about her own novel she's trying to write. What she doesn't see in that moment is the spiral that she will fall through at the thought of her book actually becoming something more than just a hypothetical. When she leaves her life to go back to her hometown where her brother still lives, she's afraid to admit that she might have ruined her career by trying to reach for something unattainable. Also, the fact that she's had a massive crush on Sebastian, her brother's best friend, for over a decade should make things just awkward enough to get her rethinking every single one of her life choices. When she ends up at the bank with Sebastian, taking a meeting where they're discussing how difficult it would be for him to get a mortgage approved on his own for the home of his dreams, she jumps at the chance to help him. And also maybe the possibility of finding some stability in the chaos that's fallen into her life.

The premise of the book seemed a bit too much at first, but I genuinely liked the beginning of this book. I loved the bi-rep in this book, and I thought the conversation about Sebastian and his struggles to understand and come to terms with his sexuality -and what that means and doesn't mean to him- was so refreshing! It was wonderful to read. Seb is truly a great example of how traumatic life can get before you can truly feel liberated and free.

I also liked that one of the main themes in this book is how to navigate a friendship breakup. Those f**kers are so painful, but they also make you realize how much you've grown. There's also a lot of talk about alcohol, but not really about alcoholism which I thought was odd. I would've liked to see Bee take a more caring role, or maybe show some concern for the person who's been her best friend for a decade and now has an obvious drinking problem. Either way, Bee fits the youngest child syndrome trope to a T!

I can't give it five stars because the ending got really slow for me, and I can't say I loved the writing. Still, the story itself is beautiful!

🌶.5 / 5

Thank you so much Net Galley for the eARC!*
This review has already been uploaded to Goodreads :)

Thank you @netgalley and @danimcleanwrites for this ARC copy of 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 available on the 27th February 2024 ❣️

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰;
♾️/5 stars!!!
Wow I absolutely LOVE this book so much I could cry that it’s over, everything from beginning to end I adored, Bee for starters she is so relatable and I saw myself in her so much, seeing her become the best version herself made me so emotional for everything she overcame and the things she managed to achieve I’m so proud of her 🥹 and Sebastian oh my well wow he is now definitely added to my list of never ending book boyfriends!! He was so supportive of Bee and pushed her to believe in herself all the way through all while having a hard time figuring things out for himself is was so lovely to see them both grow as a couple and as individuals, and the spice wowwww top tier definitely 😅 all I need now is a book about Aiden asap!! I can 100 say this is now added to my favourite books, definitely recommend this to everyone!! ♡ ♡

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬;

“𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘴. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦."

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

“𝘗𝘢𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘌𝘢𝘵. 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴.”

“𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦."

“𝘐𝘧 𝘔𝘺 𝘛𝘉𝘙 𝘪𝘴 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺, 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱.”

•

Firstly thank you for the opportunity to read this book.
I really wanted to like this book, the concept sounded great. However for me the story fell short. I love spice but the story proceeded without any emotional depth from the characters and I found it more of a chore than a pleasure to read.

Mortgage of Convenience is one of those books where I had to take a few days to write this review so that it was more than just incoherent screeching.

MoC follows themes of self-discovery and self-acceptance with a beautiful love story intertwined. As this is a romance novel there's lots of pining and tension, but the main focus of the book is learning to love yourself before you love someone else. It's learning to trust other people, to accept that things might not always go how you hoped, but that doesn't mean you need to stop trying. Reading MoC was a healing journey for me and a lot of the lessons that Sebastian and Bee are trying to learn are things a lot of us need to learn too.

Seb and Bee are adorable and I loved them together both as friends and as a couple. I think they bring out the best in each other and balance each other beautifully. I love how chill Aiden was about them being together, the overreacting brother is a trope I hate and it was nice to see something healthier be represented.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was the sobriety journey that was founded in choice . I find this type of experience to be underrepresented in media and an inherent expectation that we need to be centering our social experiences around drinking. As a fellow sober person by choice, this book was a type of representation I've been needing, but haven't been able to find. Choosing this experience can be very isolating when you're surrounding yourself with the wrong people and watching Bee come to terms with this was incredibly emotional.

I truly have no notes for Dani on Mortgage of Convenience. This is their best work, in my opinion, and I am so thankful for the ARC. I truly loved this book and the journey it brought me on.

This book is delightful. Bee and Sebastian are couple goals. One of my favorite tropes is brother's best friend and I think this one is done really well. I will admit that Bee agreeing to helping Sebastian with the mortgage was completely unbelievable for me but I'm willing to suspend reality here because they are just too cute and perfect together. Also considering he is a tall, hunky, ex-stripper you know his bedroom moves are going to be on point.

There are several relationships going on in this book aside from Bee & Sebastian that needed to be delved into and the author does a great job with each one. Bee's brother, Sebastian's dad and Bee's friend Morgan for instance all have their own complicated story that we see come to fruition and I think each one resolves just as they should.

This book is a perfect mix of sweet and sexy with just enough soul searching to keep the plot interesting. This was my first time reading this author and I devoured this book. It's a perfect rom-com that will give you all the feels. 4.5 stars rounded up!

Thank you NetGalley, Set the Mood Publishing and Dani McLean for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me first say that I fell in love with both Bee and Sebastian immediately. Their characters were supportive of each other and kind and their story was beautifully written. I was rooting for them the entire time! Bee’s journey of self confidence felt honest and raw. I loved seeing her growth throughout the book. Sebastian was steadfast and true. You just could feel the love between them!

This book also has so many of my favorite tropes -- brother’s best friend, he falls first, you’re my home and lots of spice. I enjoyed reading it very much!

View my full review on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3FZmlQrqWH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: 🌶️

🏠 Brother best friend
🏠 Age Gap
🏠 Forced proximity

Okay so what drew me in first place as the cover!! I really liked the premise of this, and would recommend it to people who like cute and cozy romances with a slowly building relationship.

We follow Sebastian and Bee as they navigate their way through co-owning a house and the start of their relationship. I really liked how supportive Sebastian was of Bee, who could be very insecure at times.

I felt like personally it was easy to relate to parts of Bee and Sebastian’s story and what they were going through. Especially, the friendship breakups that can happen when people grow apart. Including, the positive talk about sobriety and how you don’t have to have an ‘office job’ to succeed. There was also bi and queer representation.

This book was very descriptive and monologue heavy and I was just hoping to feel a little more depth and stability between the main characters relationship.

Thank you to the publisher, Set the Mood Publishing for the ARC through NetGalley. My review is my honest opinion on this book ✨

'Mortgage of Convenience' is a cosy, slow-burn romance, with a new spin on the forced-proximity trope... what happens when two people (with huge crushes on each other) just happen to buy a house together? It's a little unrealistic, but I kinda loved the idea.

Unfortunately though, this book fell flat for me for two main reasons - I found Bee, the main female character, annoying and inconsistent, and I just didn't feel the chemistry between Bee and Seb. They're both obsessed with each other right from the beginning, and there's a lot of gushing about how amazing they think each other are... but when they finally get together, it's a bit meh. Bee is shy and insecure, but does spontaneous things (like buying a house!) with no warning, and that made her character hard to relate to. I wish I'd loved it more, but it just didn't work for me.

I did enjoy the focus on Bee figuring out who she was, especially as she stopped drinking and had to end toxic friendships and create a life more true to herself. Also their domestic bliss (nature docos, collecting houseplants, and colouring in their walls) was pretty cute!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Do you ever read a book and there’s just too much going on? I feel like Mortgage of Convenience just bit off more than it could chew. There were so many quirks and tropes thrown in that I just found myself bored and uninterested. Plus, there was so much random info thrown in about the house and I just didn’t need all of that to picture it.

Bee and Sebastian’s relationship was wholesome & the spicy scenes were decent. It just got so repetitive. Yes, she’s scared, but it just got frustrating hearing it over and over again.

I’m sure there are a lot of people that would enjoy this book, but it just wasn’t for me.

Read if you enjoy:
- Age Gap
- Brother’s Best Friend
- Forced Proximity

Thank you NetGalley and Set the Mood Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.