OBSESSED. I could not put this down! I procrastinated chores, waited until the last minute to leave my apartment when I needed to and stayed up too late last night because I couldn’t stop reading about Will and Lexi!

I adore Will. He was such a great person and the way he told Lexi what a great person she is and that she needs to accept compliments, was so wonderful.

Lexi feels like she is failing at life because she hasn’t hit the milestones she expected to hit and that she thinks everyone else is hitting; getting engaged, married, having kids, having a career, having a house, etc. Old friends of hers from high school come into the restaurant where she works as a waitress and things get awkward because Lexi doesn’t want them to know that she hasn’t “made it” in life. Enter Will.

Read for:
Meet cute
Dual POV
Fake engagement
He falls first
closed door
A game of truth or treat (IYKYK)
Fall vibes
supportive MMC

Parts of this book felt like there was too much detail but other parts felt like there wasn't enough? Overall it was a fun and quick read with lovable characters, but something about it didn't fully gel with my tastes.

Title: Can't Help Falling in Love
Author: Sophie Sullivan
Length: 304
Format: ebook arc
Pub Date: Sep 17 2024
Genre: Romance
Rating Out of 5: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Spice Level: closed door
Summary:
Lexi Danby, a former college track star juggling school, work, and caring for her mother, is looking for some carefree fall fun. After a chance encounter with charming Will Grand, their first date leads to an unexpected fake engagement. Will, heir to a major company, needs to appear settled for a business deal, and Lexi agrees to keep up the pretense. As they navigate his glamorous world and cozy autumn adventures, Lexi starts to wonder if the scariest part of fall might be taking a chance on real love.

Thoughts:
Sophie has done it again with another super cute romance for us! I always love a good fake dating trope, and this one didn't disappoint. Will and Lexie are so adorable, and I fell in love with them just as easily as they fell in love with each other. Fair warning: there is an aggravating third-act break up, BUT I do think it was essential to the B storyline of her mom's growth. Super easy read- highly recommend!

Special thanks to the @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the arc in exchange for my honest review!

Can't Help Falling in Love is a sweet romance following two characters who get themselves in a fake engagement scenario. I enjoyed some of the comedic lines, but I struggled with pacing/plot. I think this was too cupcake sweet for me, and I'm wondering if I need some sort of therapy for saying that. Overall an enjoyable read and perfect for fans of low conflict, sweet romances.

I received an ARC from St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book of Sophie Sullivan. I made the mistake of starting this books right before I need to go to bed and made the mistake of staying up to late in order to finish it. It was a wonderful book and a great start to the fall season. I can’t wait to read more books by this author

I love a good awkward meet cute and this one delivered! Will and Lexi meet in a restaurant with her being a waitress (and an awful one to boot) and Will stopping in to grab lunch. Lexi is clearly flustered and Will finds it a little amusing and they have a cute little flirt session. When old friends from her high school come in, Lexi panics because she doesn't want them to see her as not being successful and only being a waitress so she tells a little white lie and says she is having lunch with her boyfriend Will. They are then invited to her friend's engagement party and Will decides they should go together.

This leads to a misunderstanding which leads to a fake engagement and of course we know that leads to fake feelings turning real but will they be able to maintain their new friendship or will these feelings turn into more for them both?

Will– what more can I say? I love a man who is confident and knows what he wants. He stood up for her against his monster. I mean his mother who was rude and pretentious. He was all in from the beginning with Lexi and while she is a little more reserved, she was attracted to him and wanted to continue to explore this attraction. He helped to bring her out of her rut and show her that she deserves happiness. He saw her as a strong independent woman even when she doesn’t see it in herself and that is what I loved about Will.

Lexi was going through it, she's a little lost, but she also is self-aware enough to know that she also deserves her own happiness but it's hard for her to admit.

Her BFF and also the high school friends that she reunites with are solid characters and well written. Her BFF is such a good meddler who pushes her but doesn't shove too hard. The perfect amount of tough love.

Also I enjoyed the plot of the “decent gene” skipping a generation (Will’s dad sucks but his grandpa is so cute!) That is always a good troupe plot detail that I love to see in a book.

This was a solid and fun romance that is perfect for the fall.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book through a digital ARC from NetGalley
Author: Sophie Sullivan
Genre: Romance
Troupe: Fake relationship

Unfortunately, this didn't work for me.

CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE is a fake engagement story between a down-on-her-luck waitress and an heir to a major Seattle company. Lexi is also caregiving for her grieving mother and only wants flings -- a commitment issue we don't really get sufficient backstory on/reasoning for. Will, the city's most eligible bachelor (okay, sure) is trying to keep his family's company from going in the wrong direction, and falls for Lexi without hardly knowing her at all. It has forced attempts at stereotypical fall vibes and forgettable side characters. It didn't work and I wasn't invested in either the shallowly developed main characters or the forced romance.

It felt unbelievable and bland, like it was written how a romance is *supposed* to sound -- it wasn't at all natural or engaging. The writing style really took me out of the story often, and I had to slog through to the end.

Not my favorite story, but I hope it finds its audience! Will try another of Sophie's in the future. Great cover, though!

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the e-ARC and physical ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

It was OK. That's all I can say.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lexi and Will meet at a restaurant she’s working at and it spirals into a fake dating trope. She’s struggling to make bills and he is from money. Will is so cute with his passion immediately toward Lexi!

2.5

Sadly not for me! There wasn't anything that was necessarily bad about it, but there were a lot of things that other people enjoy that I just didn't enjoy here. The plot was so romance heavy to the point that the motivations fell flat for me and wasn't enough to keep my interest in the story. The third act conflict also felt a little too rushed.

I'm also not the biggest fan of fake dating stories, so someone who's really into fake dating might enjoy this more than me, but I will say that the "why" behind the fake dating in this story made more sense than most fake dating stories I've read recently, so that's a huge positive.

Great book! This was pretty well written, and very immersive. I felt myself being drawn to the main characters because their chemistry was off the charts. I absolutely loved reading through journey and it's the perfect book for fall. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

To enjoy reading a third person POV the story has to keep me hooked. well, I. WAS. HOOKED.
I defiantly couldn't help falling in love with Will Grand. Literal swoon. He was such a sweetheart.
Lexi is also a very loveable character and in the words on Taylor Swift "She was a flight risk, with a fear of falling." She's a little bit of a mess, but that's to be expected with the hand life delt her. Independent, almost to a fault, and will stretch herself thin to help anyone she cares about. Watching the growth and healing, that Will helped bring to Lexi and her mom, pulled hard on my heart strings.
I don't always love a fake dating trope, but this was more like a misunderstanding that led to a fake engagement while they were actually dating. I loved how into each other they were from the very beginning, their connection becoming so incredibly intense.
This was overall, an adorable read. This was my first Sophie Sullivan book and I had an amazing time.
Thank you NetGalley for this arc.

Can't Help Falling in Love was simply delightful and original. Sullivan manages to write the perfect fake dating story where the characters and honest with each other about how attracted they are to each other from the get go! None of the "but I know it is just an act" "He can't possibly be feeling what I am feeling" etc. you usually find with this trope. The main character's honesty with each other is so refreshing and it made for a super hot slow burn I am still not over (even with a closed door). Lexi and Will are simply adorable. And did I mention that Will is also quite rich and a member of one of the most well known families in Seattle? The beginning and initial meet cute is so well written I was hooked within the first few pages.

Of course there are still some issues to overcome when after their first date all of Seattle believes they are engaged due to a social media post, and both Lexi and Will have family issues to sort out, but their relationship carries this story even if Will's parents and Lexi's mom are both a underdeveloped as characters. Lexi is dealing with the death of her father while also dealing with how it has left her mother broken and depressed. I appreciated including this struggle in the story, but I felt her mother's recovery was too simplified. Will's parents and just rich assholes and the come across fairly flat, but I guess someone had to be the bad guys in the story.

Add to the romance, Seattle in the fall, apple picking, fall beer flights and Will's supportive sisters who are ready to accept Lexi (only child) as one of their own, this book will have you grinning and kicking your feet all the way through.

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and Netgalley for access to an e ARC of this book. All opinions shared are my own.

I absolutely adored this sweet read! It wrecked me in the best possible way! I will definitely need to add this one to my bookshelf when it comes out! A must-read!

"Can’t Help Falling in Love with You" is a novel about Lexie, a former track star who, after dropping out of school following her father's death, now struggles as a waitress. When she meets Will, she’s too embarrassed to reveal her situation to her old friends. They decide to attend a party together, pretending to be a couple, which leads to their photo being featured in the newspaper. It turns out Will is an heir to a major Seattle company, and now they must continue the charade of being engaged.

This book is a classic Cinderella-type story. Will's mother keeps trying to set him up with girls from their social circle, but she’s unhappy when she learns about Lexi. Will, however, doesn’t care about his parents' opinions. Lexi feels they are too different and won't meet his parents' expectations for a wife, but they may not be as different as she thinks. Will they overcome social class barriers and end up together?

While the premise was cute, and I liked the PNW setting, this book felt too much like high school age characters. Specially because she seemed so obsessed with high school. i just couldn't get into the book and ended up DNFing at 40%.

This story was absolutely adorable and I loved it. Lexi and Will’s relationship from beginning to end was beautiful. The touch on serious worries of many people (death and change) was SO real and the way the characters worked through everything was amazing. I love how Lexi was able to get back in touch with her old friends and I honestly think her long time BFF, Maisie, was my favorite character - even with the small role she had. I’d definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for something fast paced and sweet.

Can't Help Falling in Love" is a cozy, friends to lovers with one of the most adorable meet cutes. The characters are lovable and I liked fake engagement vibes. Love Sophie Sullivan's Books

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Can't Help Falling in Love by Sophie Sullivan is a heartfelt, friends to lovers romance, taking place in Seattle, with a fake dating/fake engagement trope, that begins with the most hysterical awkward meet cute. Meeting at the restaurant where Lexi was waitressing, Will was supportive; helping her by pretending to be her boyfriend when her former close friends show up at the restaurant. Attending a party together for one of those friends, things begin to spiral out of control starting with a misunderstanding that results in them being engaged; that is publicized in the press. Lexi and Will share a connection that sparks, despite their different situations and backgrounds. With all this against them, they decide to date while remaining publicly engaged. Their romance might have started with a fake engagement, but the more time these two spend together, the more real their relationship feels; so they decide to try and make one. They were perfect for each other, complementing one another, and their chemistry was electric.

Ms. Sullivan wrote a wonderful and beautiful story filled with themes of grief, healing, love, and second chances. Lexi's journey from heartbreak to hope is depicted with depth and genuineness, making her grow, and the romance that blooms feel believable and deserving. It was wonderful that Will’s sisters were amazing, provided a strong support system for him, loved him, and wanted the best for him.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
#NetGalley #HarlequinTrade

This book is so cute and fun and swoony and perfect for a light palette cleanser between heavier books. I couldn’t get enough of the characters. It’s written in dual POV, which I love. I felt like the FMC was very relatable and the MMC is just perfect for my imagination. I was just happier after finishing this book.