Fake dating with a stranger quickly turned into a fake-engagement with a stranger.

Lexi was a struggling waitress who put her dreams on hold when her father died because she had to care for her mother who was riddled with debilitating depression after her father’s death. Someone leaked that Lexi and Will were engaged and the next thing they knew, the news was out and there was no turning back. The fake-ness of their engagement quickly turned to a real(ish) engagement because the two had exquisite chemistry. There were wedding dresses, engagement parties and real feelings involved.

Lexi felt like she could never tie herself down to any man otherwise she would eventually be broken and depressed like her mom. Will showed her that was far from the truth and that he would show her unconditional love while he still could.

Can’t Help Falling in Love by Sophie Sullivan
Contemporary romance. Fake relationship troupe. Closed door.
Lexi Darby is determined and working toward her goals. She’s working a full time day job, going to college one class at at time with her degree only a couple classes away, and she’s trying to figure out the waitressing job she’s had for a few weeks. She’s had more disasters than success as a waitress but she’s trying. Lexi lives with her mother as they both recover from the loss of Lexi’s father and his surprising amount of debt left behind.
Will Grand is a busy CFO of the family business. When drops of liquid end up on his book by accident at the restaurant, he’s charmed by Lexi rather than upset. She’s clearly still learning the waitressing gig. Even getting the wrong sandwich is a sign to accept change in his routine. But when she sits at his table and tells a couple of women that there’re sharing everything including his soft drink, he realizes she’s hiding that she’s a waitress. Getting an invitation to a party, he helps get her out of the situation and they agree to a date. Having them announced at the event as an engaged couple wasn’t a big deal since he didn’t know anyone. He and Lexi had a great time and he hopes to see her again. When an announcement shows up in the paper saying Seattle’s most eligible bachelor is off the market, Lexi and Will let it stand as they deal with family and work and growing feelings for each other.

We all have bad days, good days and everything in between. Your life may not be as you expected or wanted. Know that everyone has their own stumbles and uncertainty, even if you don’t know about it.
A swoon worthy romance. He’s sweet and supportive. She makes him happy. They make each other laugh.
I highlighted a lot of phrases and thoughts from one or the other that resonated with me. The strongest reason to read - they made each other laugh.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

A fake engagement trope that actually makes sense. Lexi Danby has struggled the last few years. She has gone from college track star to working two jobs digging her way out of family debt after the death of her father. There is light at the end of the tunnel as she is now just three classes away from her degree. She meets Will Grand in a fun meet cute when she sits at his table pretending to be his date instead of his waitress when she spots old high school friends.

Will is wealthy, handsome and works for the family business. And he is drawn to Lexi. When they are mistakenly identified as engaged he encourages her to go along with it as he actually wants to date her. I found his sisters especially endearing. Lexi and Will are cute and flirty with fun banter as they learn about each other. Lexi’s life is complicated as her mom has not adjusted well to the loss of her husband.

I enjoyed the characters, wordplay, and interactions. It is closed door and a quick glance at my reviews shows that is consistent for the author. (I wouldn’t mind a little more openness there.) I thought this was a fun fall contemporary romance. And it is my personal favorite from the author so far.

This book is about a struggling waitress and the heir to a major company who stumble into a fake engagment and keep up with their own love life. I enjoyed the storyline of this book. It was a great story that I was really interested in. The pacing was great and the conflicts were very good. I liked how it wasn’t just a romantic story but also about healing. This book was told from both Lexi and Will’s pov.

Lexi is going between two jobs and wants to keep an appearance but while doing so she has feelings for Will. I really enjoyed her story especially as she had to step and had a great development. Then there is Will. I felt that his character was more there for Lexi to grow and for her to tell her story. I still liked his character but he wasn’t the shine of the book with Lexi. There are many side characters in this book and I really like Lexi’s best friend and Will’s sisters. The romance is fake dating, forbidden love and instant love which was well done.

The ending was well done and overall this was a great book. I really enjoyed the story and would recommend checking it out. It’s just not a cute rom com but also deals with healing and growing especially with seeing the different class for both characters. This book is perfect for fans of The Paradise Problem and The Dating Plan.

*this book was sent to me by the publihser to give an honest review in return*

this was a really cute read! i really liked the fake engagement part of this book, however i didn't really connect to any of the characters and thought this was a bit slow. however it was still enjoyable and i would still recommend it for a cozy and fun romance.

I had the pleasure of getting an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and I'm so glad I did! I absolutely enjoyed this book! This was the first book I have read from this author and I'm definitely picking up more! I loved the relationship between Will and Lexi, but I really enjoyed seeing the mother/daughter relationship between Lexi and Gwen🩷

I can't recommend this book enough! It's a closed door romance so if you don't like a lot of spice in your books this is perfect! It's also a fake engagement trope, and he falls first!!
I absolutely loved it. One of the best romance books I've read in a bit!

I loved this book! I teared up a bit reading about everything Lexi went through and Will's ability to almost fix everything. I also am a fellow seattle girlie so it was so fun to read a romance set in my home town.

This was such an adorable fall romance! Lexi was on top of the world until her world was turned upside down by a series of devastating events. Three years later, Lexi is working hard to get her life back on track while also supporting her mother. While trying to avoid an embarrassing situation at work, Lexi pretends to be dating her customer Will. But to make matters worse, Will is actually the heir to a large company and a miscommunication leads to everyone believing they are engaged. While the engagement might not be real, the feelings are the furthest thing from fake.

This book was so sweet and heartfelt. I loved Lexi and Will together, and this book had me hooked from their adorable meet cute until the epilogue. This book had all of the fall vibes and I was living for every second of it. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a sweet, fall romance.

What to expect:
🍂 Romantic Comedy
🍂 Fake Engagement
🍂 Millionaire
🍂 Grief
🍂 Closed Door
🍂 Fall Vibes

Thank you to Sophie Sullivan, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute romcom with cozy fall vibes! It started with a sweet and funny meet cute that had me hooked right away! Lexi and Will sort of fall into a fake engagement situation and decide they might as well date for real. These characters are so lovable and sweet and come from completely different backgrounds but fit together so well!

This is the perfect fall book to cozy up with!

Hmmm this was okay, but just ultimately not for me. It was trying to be both super serious and funny and lighthearted, and I just don't think it struck the right balance. The writing was okay, and the characters weren't particularly memorable for me. Also, I would not describe this book as fall-themed LOL.

Highly recommend to anyone! This book started a little slow for me, but as the romance unfolded I absolutely loved it and couldn’t put it down! I loved how both characters were learning about themselves throughout the story and Lexi and Will had such great chemistry. Theresa perfect read for a cozy fall day! Thank you St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Sophie Sullivan for this ARC in exchange an honest review!

Nora is a struggling waitress who put her future on hold to help her grieving mother after her dad's passing. Will is an heir to a top company & they meet at the restaurant Lexi works at. A misunderstanding on their first date makes people believe they are engaged. The two go along with the fake engagement to help out with business & family. However, Lexi is wary about falling in love after seeing how much her mother was affected from losing her dad. I love fake dating so a fake engagement was just as fun. I really enjoyed the story & seeing Lexi branch out of her fear of commitment.

I was so looking forward to this book, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. While the writing was fine, I didn’t enjoy either of the characters and despite loving a fake relationship trope, the miscommunication and love at first sight vibes made what I read unenjoyable. I also was disappointed in the setting. I DNFd around 45% and still wasn’t feeling the autumnal vibes that made me add this to my TBR list for this fall. I know this is certainly some people’s ideal romance story and I hope this book finds them, but it wasn’t for me!

Sophie Sullivan has written an absolute knock out with Can’t Help Falling in Love.

Lexi, dealing with the loss of her father and her mother’s subsequent depression, is struggling to balance her jobs, her school, and keeping herself and her mom afloat. When a chance encounter at her waitressing job leads her to faking an engagement with a total stranger, Lexi feels incredibly in over her head. But Will Grand isn’t your average man - he’s one of Seattle’s most eligible bachelors and their engagement causes quite the stir. As the lies swirl and the invites flow, Lexi and Will start to actually date and fall in love while keeping their engagement a totally public affair. What could possibly go wrong?

This book hits on so many incredible topics while keeping a fairly light, upbeat story going. Lexi and her mom experience such a tragic loss of her dad, and the way they cope with the loss is one of the more realistic impressions I’ve read lately. Their relationship is also so beautiful and complicated, and reading it felt like I was peering into a window of a real life family.

Lexi in particular is a character I really love - her inner turmoil about not being quite where she wants to be in life, her comparisons to her friends, and the utter war she has within herself over just about every decision she makes really felt like I was looking in a mirror. I could relate to her so much with her imposter syndrome and worries for the future, and watching Will help build her up and guide her to her confidence was beautiful.

Will is the ultimate book boyfriend - he is utterly swoon worthy and has such a heart of gold. There were so many instances when he was interacting with Lexi that I would get teary eyed.

I throughly enjoyed this one and I can’t wait to see what Sophie comes up with next.

I finished this book in a day. You heard that right… about 24 hours. This book is the PERFECT fall read between the food described, the holiday festivities, the outfits, ALL OF IT. And I am so here for it.

We follow Will, a CFO in his family company, whose mom wants to control his love life, and Lexi, a woman of all trades just trying to figure it all out. When Lexi and Will pretend to be together to get Lexi out of an award situation it kinda sticks.

And then the media finds out…
As well as the families and friends…

Now they’re fake engaged because why go through the hassle of media when you both kinda like each other?

I loved the banter between these two characters and watching their relationship flourish. I feel that Lexi’s life is saw raw and relatable and watching her navigate everything is eye opening.
I wouldn’t technically consider this a billionaire romance since money isn’t a focal to the relationship but it does give the same vibes.

I will say the only downfall in my opinion is the climax wasn’t that big of a deal. I don’t know what else I would expect but even the resolve wasn’t that big of a deal either. I know there has to be something to give the book a little twist but I just wanted a little more than a freak out that lasted 4ish chapters.

I also would’ve loved more from the couples in the epilogue, like the wedding, or kids, or something. I loved the family aspect at the end but I always love seeing a little bit of their relationship a little down the way.

Bottom line is please go read this book! Especially right now because it’s the perfect time of the year. Grab ya warm drink and blanket, light a candle, put on Gilmore Girls, AND START THIS BOOK!

QUICK GLANCE-
My format- ebook (ARC)
Other Formats- 📖Physical (304 pages)/ 🎧Audio (10 hrs 12 min)
Spice: 🌶️/Closed door, fade to black
Language: mild/moderate🤐 (this was a strange one to rate because there might be 4 or five words in a chapter and then not another word for 100 pages or so)
CW: ⚠️loss of a spouse/parent (off page), depression/anxiety

MY THOUGHTS:
Can’t Help Falling in Love started strong for me. The meet-cute was precious, the connections were amazing, and the tension was definitely intense. Then the middle of the book just didn’t capture my attention. It picked back up at the end and I enjoyed how it all came together. This was a cute fall read that had lots of RomCom troupes.

💖Fast Love
💍Fake Engagement
💙He Falls First
💚Anxiety Rep
🍁Cozy Fall Vibes
🍎Apple Picking

✨ QOTD: Are you ready for fall, or are you still enjoying the end of summer? ✨

Many thanks to @stmartinspress and #netgalley for the ARC!

I've read books by Sophie Sullivan before and was intrigued by the description of this one. Unfortunately it wasn't my favorite. I stuck with it to see where things went, but the couple seems to fall in love too quickly. I struggled with how much Lexi had going on and was dealing with. Will was kind of one dimensional - adoring of Lexi and devoted to his family, but didn't see him doing a lot of work or having interests. I enjoyed Maisie and Ethan, the character's best friends. Otherwise, there were TONS of additional characters in here, from Lexi's past, her various jobs, and all of Will's family.
The book is also totally closed door - and for how much build up there was about the attraction between these two, that felt like a let down. There wasn't even a written or verbal confirmation that anything happened, just an easy assumption on the reader's part.

This was a cute romance that I was able to consume in just two days.
The story flowed nicely and the characters were quite relatable.
There may be some minor spoilers ahead as I navigate the story to get my thoughts out in a few paragraphs.

I enjoyed the dual point of view. Will is a delightful book boyfriend and his sisters (shout out to Kyra) were fun.
The story follows Lexi as she navigates life three years after the death of her father. She has been able to get her and her mother out of much of the aftermath. However, her mother is still rather grief stricken and the impact that this has on Lexi’s outlook on love is quite unfortunate. Quite simply, she is quite adamant that she not fall in love because it leads to debilitating grief. While she’s goes into this fake engagement, with real dating, she hopes to keep things no-strings attached.
Will is hoping to put an end to his mother’s attempts at matching and enters the arrangement with Lexi already quite intrigued by her. His point of view tempers some of the repetitive nature of Lexi’s POV with respect to her refusal to fall in love. He is patient, sweet and kind. He definitely falls first and it may feel a little insta-love, but the chemistry is there.
The reader gets a close look at the grief of a loved one through Lexi and her mother. Lexi became her mother’s caregiver and never let herself live her life. The relationship between the two of them mends throughout the story.
Lexi also struggles with the idea of where her life would have been if her father hadn’t passed away. This leads her to compare her life with some of her old friends from high school. This puts additional obstacles in her path that she must learn to overcome. “Keep moving forward. When it gets hard, dig deeper.”
There are some good reflections in the book and I enjoyed leaving little tabs throughout so that I may refer to them later on.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a lighter read dealing with grief. Also to those looking for a romantic autmnn read with a swing book boyfriend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital arc. Also, thanks to the publisher for a physical copy of the book. All of the opinions expressed are honest and my own.

A bit of a different twist on the fake dating tropes where the couple have just started dating but are in a fake engagement. It may sound a bit far fetched but author Sophie Sullivan makes it work and not only does she make it work, she has written it into a wonderful book that will leave you with a warm heart and a smile on your face!
Lexi and Will are from different world but take an instant liking to each other when she is his unreliable waitress at a local restaurant. Lexi is struggling to find happiness in her life because after her dad passed away her plans were put on hold to take care of her grieving mom. While Will is not at the place in his life that he would like to be either, especially with his mother trying to play matchmaker any chance she gets. But Will isn't interested in the type of women his mother is picking out but as he spends time with Lexi he thinks he may have finally found someone worth his time. Then, there is a miscommunication that announces Lexi as his fiancee when they hardly even know each other! Can they fake their engagement while dating or will Lexi's baggage and Will's unstable family life derail what might have been an amazing relationship?
I enjoyed this book so much! The characters of Lexi and Will had so much depth and I was immersed into their world hoping they could work things out between them. Overall, this lighthearted book was very well written and I found it very entertaining.
All of the opinions in this review are my own and I am very grateful to St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this fun and sweet book through Netgalley.

Can’t Help Falling in Love by Sophie Sullivan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot: A struggling waitress and the heir to a major Seattle company stumble into a high-profile fake engagement. 

Review: She had me with the meet-cute. I was laughing, smiling and cringing right out of the gate. I kept thinking I knew what to expect out of each of the characters, but was pleasantly surprised by each of them and where this story went. I won’t give any huge details away, but Will and Lexi actually start to date under the guise of the fake engagement and it was a sweet twist on the trope. I’ve read a couple novels recently where the chemistry was just completely absent between the MCs, so to read one where it’s right there from the first pages is nice and refreshing.

It’s just very sweet and swoony and heartfelt, and I loved it.

Read if you like:
💜 Accurate depictions of what it’s like to work in a restaurant
💜 Closed door romances that don’t feel like closed door romances. Does that make sense?
💜 Women who are nice to each other lol

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review. Can’t Help Falling In Love is out tomorrow!!