Oh my heart! I loved Lexi and Will’s story.

Fake dating engagement is a favorite trope and this was very well done. Lexi and her mom’s grief journey added a layer of complexity, helped by Will’s empathy and care for both women.

In addition to the swoony and sweet romance, there were several excellent side characters - Will’s sisters, grandparents and best friend, and Lexi’s best friend and rediscovered childhood friends. Really hoping there will be interconnected books to come!

This book reminded me of the stories that got me hooked on books, with a simple but enjoyable plot with a female protagonist with whom many of us can identify and a dreamy male protagonist, I recommend to those looking for a quick and sweet romance read.

3.5 rounded up

Lexi is not where she thought she'd be in life, struggling and waitressing. When her perfect friends from high school walk into her work, she panics and tells them shes seeing the random guy at a table. The random guy, Will, goes along with it, and they get invited to a party. At the party, they are introduced as fiancés and the press gets wind of it, for Will is the Batchelor of a big family business. The news is published the next day. Instead of retracting the fake news, Will and Lexi decide to date in disguise. The engagement might be fake, but Wills' feelings are fast and real. Can these feelings Lexi feel real, or is she too afraid to fall.

Very cute and cozy fall romance. I can't help but fall in love with Will, too. He was just so kind and genuine. It was very romantic and I enjoyed it. There were some parts of the book that skipped full events and went to the next day, or even a few days later, which I didn't like.

Kissing only, closed door
Meet Cute
Fake dating
He falls first

Thank you to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this and honestly review it.

DNF. Ugh, I wanted to like this one (that cover😍)! Unfortunately, I couldn't get into this book. I think the instalove ruined this book for me. I wanted more of a build-up between Lexi and Will. I also thought it was strange that Lexi and Will didn't correct everyone when they assumed they were engaged. Overall, I just couldn't get past the slow pace and instalove. Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Unfortunately this is a DNF at 30%. I'm unable to relate or find myself wanting to continue to read about the characters. I will try and pick it up another time perhaps.

This is my first time reading one of Sophie Sullivan's books and I really enjoyed it. It was a nice twist on the fake dating trope. I find a lot of times when that normally happens in a book the FMC is shown as too quirky for others to get her and that's why she's single. This story didn't play into that direction and instead created a very likeable and relatable character in Lexi.

This is very much a closed door romance but with moments that made me laugh out loud as well as cry. I'm curious to check out Sophie's other works to see if I enjoy them as much as I did this one.

Before I begin, I would like to thank Sophie Sullivan for allowing me to read a Net Galley ARC of her upcoming book, Can’t Help Falling in Love, which will be available on September 17th, 2024.

Lexi Danby is struggling with jobs (including figuring out how to be a good waitress), finishing school, paying bills, and taking care of her mother who mourns the loss of Lexi’s father at home. During one of her shifts at a diner, she meets a handsome and charismatic stranger named Will, but after their first date, rumor spreads that they are engaged. It doesn’t help that Will is a Grand, a part of one of Seattle’s richest families that owns and works at a successful company. Lexi and Will agree to fake their engagement, but soon Will’s feelings for her are real. Can Will learn to openly defy his family’s expectations? Will Lexi decide falling in love is worth the risk of heartbreak?

This book was fantastic. You have Lexi, who is an ambitious, intelligent, stressed, wonderful young woman that cares about her loved ones. You have Will, who is charming, funny, and determined to stay true to his grandfather’s legacy. I loved the banter between Will and Lexi, not to mention the interactions between the main characters, Will’s siblings, and Maisie. I did appreciate the topics that were woven throughout the book, whether falling in love was worth the potential of loss, expanding financial profit over maintaining moral values, people’s views of themselves versus theirs of other people’s etc. None of the characters were perfect, but none of them were evil either. I loved watching the characters’ development throughout the story. Overall, if you like humor, great sibling and friend dynamics, wonderful discussions about vulnerability, healthy communication, sweet romance with a bit of spice, then I would highly recommend this book. Here’s the link for more information: Can't Help Falling in Love: A Novel - Kindle edition by Sullivan, Sophie. Contemporary Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for the arc of this book.

Imagine dreamland billionaires by Lauren Asher and Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez had a baby…but make it a very lucrative small family business and the characters lack depth to some degree. I don’t know what it was about this book for me but I just couldn’t connect to the MMC. A lot of effort was put into the impact of Lexi’s dad’s death on her and her mom, but that same effort wasn’t put into Will’s story. We get glimpses of his parents being complete buttholes but not a lot of insight into how Will’s upbringing impacted his life or shaped him into the man he is. Idk. It was missing something and everything wrapped up too neatly at the end for me. Will’s parents were jerks and magically his mother goes from the devil wears Prada to a completely understanding/doting angel of a mother in the span of 5 seconds. Lexi’s mom is suddenly done grieving her late husband and ready to start flirting with someone else after living as a hermit for the last few years and rotting away from her grief. This was not a bad read but overall I just wanted Will to feel like a real person and not some storybook Prince Charming with no real depth.

3.75⭐️

this was such a fun & adorable read!! it was a perfect light read for me to dive into before bed. i loved the relationship between lexi and will.

if you love fake dating/engagement then you will definitely love reading this story. will also gives of he fell first and harder vibes

big thanks to netgalley for sending me the arc!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

This was such a quick and easy read! I really enjoyed it. I wish there was more but this book was good! A great summer read!! I really liked the characters and they had great chemistry!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free advanced copy of this ebook to review. All opinions are my own.

Can't Help Falling in Love is such a perfect pick me up of a book. I flew through this one so quickly because Lexi and Will's story was so fun to read.

A chance meeting, fake engagement and all the family drama...what more could you ask for?

Loved it.

(enclosed link will go live on publishing day)

This was a cute, quick read that hit the spots of a sweet romance and gave me the warm fuzzy feelings inside. I think this will be a great fall read or a good romance read for anyone who wants a fantasy palette cleanser! I loved the PNW setting in the fall and I felt like the setting gave the storythe charm that I think will have readers finding a soft spot for the two characters.

Will and Lexi’s story was cute, but I got a little hung ip on why they went with the fake engagement instead of correcting anyone when the rumor started, it felt a little forced. I did like the depth of the family dynamics and Will’s family business being a baby stores.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the character growth that the FMC goes through throughout the book and found the author's writing style to be very refreshing! I had a hard time putting this book down and once I got caught up in it (about two chapters in) I had to read until I finished!

3.5 ⭐️ I’m always here for the fake dating trope and overall I enjoyed the story. I think Sophie Sullivan wrote in some good real life challenges and emotions. However, it was just missing that spark for me. Since this trope is done pretty often I feel like authors need to figure out a way to make it unique/special and I just didn’t find that here. Overall it was a good book though, so I think people will enjoy it, it just wasn’t my favorite.

"Can't Help Falling in Love" by Sophie Sullivan is a delightful romance that pulled me in with its charming characters and heartfelt story. The book follows Will, the CFO of his family's company, and Lexi, a waitress working hard to find herself after losing her dad. Their paths cross in an unexpected way, leading to a fake engagement that quickly feels all too real. What I loved most about this story was the genuine connection that develops between Will and Lexi; their chemistry is undeniable and truly heartwarming. Sullivan does a fantastic job of weaving humor and emotion into the narrative, making the characters' journey feel both relatable and touching. Watching Will and Lexi support each other and grow together was such a joy. This book is a perfect reminder of how love can come from the most unexpected places and how it helps us heal and find our true selves.

This book is really a cozy, feel-good read that will have you swooning. The romance is so sweet and the writing is great. Thank you St. Martin’s Press for sending me a copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Sophie Sullivan and publishing team for allowing me an ARC of this book. I love the fake dating trope, but have seen it go poorly in so many books… this book however did not disappoint me! The character development was amazing, the fake dating trope was played out excellent and the characters are so cute! Such a feel good book, I ate this up so quickly!

I reviewed on Goodreads- will publish review to Amazon once it is released!

**3.5 STARS**

Lexi is in her mid-20’s and is struggling a bit through school, jobs and keeping everything together after her dad passed away. I really felt for Lexi because you can see she is trying hard and she’s patient with her mom who is in a period of grieving to the point she doesn’t want to get out of bed sometimes. When Will comes into her life accidentally and they agree to fake date, I felt like everything seemed to work out well for them like their chemistry, their attraction and there wasn’t really any conflict between them besides Lexi being fearful of falling in love and losing that love.

This was a cute, quick fluffy read and perfect for the holidays! I love how the story happens around fall but I thought even if this was a Christmas holiday romance, it would have worked because by the end I was left with happy feelings as they celebrated Thanksgiving. I really liked the insightful things about life, love and loss that we get from the story. Lexi doesn’t have it all together and she thinks everyone around her does until she finds out everyone is struggling with something. I think that was really relatable.

I do think because there isn’t much conflict between them it felt like too light a read at times in the beginning, but I think we get some depth when Lexi gets fearful as things get more serious between her and Will. Also this happens in a span of six weeks – the fake dating to falling in love, so not exactly insta-love, but kind of.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I thought this was a fun, sweet, quick, fluffy romance! This story is heart warming with family and friendship themes and I think perfect for the fall holiday season.

Can’t Help Falling in Love
Sophie Sullivan
Pub: 9/17
4☆


If you’re in the mood for a fun, low angst, no drama rom-com, here you go.

This was so cute and cozy. Lexi and Will’s story was full of humor, heartwarming friends-to-lovers romance, and the perfect PNW setting to play up all of those fall vibes. I love rom-coms that don’t shy away from showing the messier, relatable, real life aspects.

What I enjoyed;
🍂 The Meet Cute
🍂 Opposites Attract
🍂 Found Family
🍂 He Falls First
🍂 Open Communication

I’m guilty of judging a book by its cover and how could you not with this gorgeous cover. I cannot wait to see it in real life. This will be the perfect romance read to add to your fall TBR.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.