I loved the way the fake-dating trope was given a fresh twist in this sweet, fun and emotional romance. The chemistry between the main characters is there from the get go and the way it builds as they spend more time together gave me all the warm, fuzzy feelings. There are plenty of cosy autumn vibes and a lovely bunch of supporting characters too, who help the MC’s learn more about themselves alongside their deepening feelings for each other. I think the emotional journey Lexi goes on with her mother as they face the depth of her grief and the way it’s impacted them both is threaded alongside the romance really well, so it is heartfelt without becoming too heavy or maudlin. I will definitely check out more by this author in the future!

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for letting me read this ARC.

THIS MEET CUTE.... IM SPEECHLESS. The quick glances. The flirting. And it turns into fake dating right away?! Tell me more, Miss sophie. I'm begging on my hands and knees.

Will was the perfect book boyfriend. He's sweet. He's a family man. He gets along with your mom. He helps you find a job that's actually fulfilling and not soul sucking. He's supportive of your choices. He encourages positive self-talk. Literally, what more could you ask for in a man?

Lexi was... how do I say this? I don't think we would be friends. She's giving self-fulfilling prophecy and perchance some self-destructive tendencies. I get that you've had some rough patches in life, but isolation just ain't the answer, girly pop. Also, homeboy was basically in love with you on page 7 and you just want to use him for his body. Ick.

If you're looking for meet CUTE, fake engagement that turns into real dating, and a large helping of 'he falls first', this book is for you!

Cute book with some funny moments and good friendships. Some of the conflict didn't make sense to me. Overall, a decent book. *I received an ARC of this book and this is my voluntary and honest review.

This is the story of Lexi and Will. Lexi is a less than awesome waitress trying to make ends meet while supporting her grieving mother and finish her degree. When her high school friends come into the restaurant, she sits down with Will who plays along with her pretending they are dating...or engaged. Will has his own struggles and they lean into their fake relationship. When it turns to more, everything they are hiding comes to light in ways that break your heart and come back together perfectly.

I love how Sophie writes smart banter and her relationships are light and easy to love. She writes the depth in her stories with a loving hand that makes them easy to read but also give it a little weight. Her heart for love stories and romance shine in this new series.

Lexi does not want to be seen by old high school friends as a waitress so she asks Will, a stranger, to be her fake boyfriend. It does kick off the whole book.

To me, this was delightful. The fake relationship felt so nice. Even when they decided to actually date, it was just done so well. I loved that it touched on harder subjects too, grief and how we compare ourselves to others.

This book did make me cry in the best way and I cannot wait for more.

A very successful company’s heir and a waitress trying to stay on her feet meet and end up in a fake relationship. It ends up turning into a fake engagement but the feelings that blossom are not fake at all. Very cute and I loved it!

Will first lands his eyes on Lexi, as she was struggling to waitress - but when old friends of Lexi's showed up to her work, she say down pretending to be on a date with Will. They were invited to an engagement party together, and their fake date turned into a fake engagement. But the scariest part of it all, is the real feelings that start to emerge.


Lexi is a struggling, down on her luck waitress, and Will is the heir to a major company and Seattle's most eligible bachelor. Their lives couldn't be any more different.


This book was cute - touches on some topics like grief - but still held a light fluffy feel throughout.


Lexi may have been struggling and barely making ends meet, but she was still strong and resilient. She cared for others, but struggled with seeing herself in a positive light- making her real, and a character that others can relate to.
Will was sick of his mom trying to set him on dates and marry him off. And something about Lexi drew him in. They made each other laugh, and they liked spending time with each other. The engagement may have been fake, but the feelings they began to develop was real.


I really enjoyed these characters, and this book. It made me giddy and want to keep picking up this book to read it. It was an adorable read, with perfect fall-vibes. It was a little cheesy, but in a good way. And while it was mostly light & fluffy, it did have some real emotion behind it too, rounding it out. So if you love meet-cutes, and adorable light fall reads, I definitely recommend this book.
4⭐ out of 5⭐.
1🌶️ out of 5🌶️. There was chemistry & tension but no ful detailed scenes.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Sullivan, and the publishers for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

4.5 stars

I loved their relationship. It just felt so real even when they were fake engaged. Lexi’s character was so raw. The grief of losing her father and feeling like she hasn’t accomplished what she thought she would have by now. That was personally relatable to me. Life sometimes just moves you off course and there isn’t much we can do about it. I’m so glad that Will was a down-to-earth guy. He wasn’t an annoying billionaire. All of the side characters were also great. I look forward to reading more from Sophie Sullivan.

I highly recommend it!

This book was a delightful read, offering multiple perspectives that, while not aligned with the chapters, were easy to follow. It was a quick and engaging read, featuring lovable and charismatic characters. The multidimensional story touched on real-life challenges, adding depth to the narrative.

The dynamic of the fake engagement between Lexi and Will was particularly enjoyable, even though it wasn't exactly a fake dating trope. Lexi's unintentional involvement of Will in her web of lies, meant to hide her personal struggles, revealed that everyone has their own issues despite appearances. This added a layer of authenticity to the story.

Overall, this book was super cute and easy to read, with an enticing storyline and enjoyable characters. I would love to see a sequel focusing on the best friends, Maisie and Ethan—I'm really rooting for them to get together.

* I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review. *

If you want a cute, feel-good, rom-com that’s steamy without being explicit.. this is IT. Seriously, this whole book was like a warm hug. Even though it doesn’t shy away from the really hard parts of life and how life can be a struggle, it still feels light and feel-good. I loved Lexi & Will. This book has one of my favorite tropes and I loved seeing those two walk that path. Everyone (mostly) had great growth and you grow to love almost the entire group. Overall, I’d read this again. I loved it.

loved it more than I can handle. My little Fall heart was just smiling and swooning the entire time I read. This is what a book is supposed to do to you.

For fans of: Fake relationship, Opposites attract romance tropes

I'm a first time reader to Sophie Sullivan and am delighted to have discovered her. I took to the world she created and the love story of Lexi and Will immediately. That's rare for me with a new author. I found Lexi's back story and her meet cute with Will to be immensely satisfying and believable I'm not super familiar with Seattle so getting to travel there and be in that locale was fun. I liked that Will knew immediately that Lexi was not in need of "saving" and also that she was the real deal. It's everything you want in a romance.

The fact that Will was an incredibly wealthy heir and Lexi not so, didn't bother me. Also, as I generally gravitate toward books with forced proximity lovers' tropes or fake relationships, Lexi and Will's pretending to be a couple worked for me perfectly.

A wonderful Summer addition for your beach read.











Opinions are all my own. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book❤️ It was super cute and well written . I adore Will and Lexi and I hope to read more from this author soon❤️❤️
Besides some minor issues in the grammar and structure that can be easily fixed this book was 5 stars . I do hope they do something with the text messages, ether space then or make little bubbles because it was hard to follow .
I’m a little sad I have to wait so long to add this to my physical collection . Great job Sophie ❤️❤️

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and a huge thank you to Sophie Sullivan for the opportunity to read this ARC before publication ❤️

Lexi is a terrible waitress, and Will helps her with an awkward situation. One thing leads to another and they're fake engaged. However with family and friends meddling it may not be for fake for long.

I enjoy a good fake dating/fiance trope. this one hit all the buttons. I couldn't put this book down because I was waiting for the next step and the next. I would definitely recommend this book.

Sophie Sullivan presents a heartwarming Seattle romance, where Lexi and Will's fake relationship evolves into something real. Lexi, a resilient young woman balancing multiple jobs to support her family, finds herself entangled in a pretend engagement with the charming Will, a member of Seattle's elite. What starts as a charade soon becomes genuine, sparking gossip and family endorsements. Amidst societal pressures, can Lexi and Will defy expectations and discover their true happily ever after? Join them on this enchanting journey filled with mischievous twists and heartfelt moments, promising a smile on your face and warmth in your heart.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this swoon-worthy romance.

I’m so sad that I couldn’t finish this book because I was so excited for it and really wanted to love it. I love the cover which is why I gave it two stars. Can’t Help Falling In Love sounds like an autumn book, and I think maybe it is, but I only got 30% in before I gave up and there were not super “fallish” vibes at that point. It felt like summer to me for some reason. Anyway, my REAL problem with the book was the insta-love. It’s a fake engagement trope which I adore, but I couldn’t get into Lexi for some reason. She’s our main character, and I just didn’t like her. And Will, our male protagonist, falls in love with her after 30 seconds of their extremely awkward meeting. It just didn’t make sense to me. Maybe someday I’ll pick it up again, but I’ll probably stick with slow burns.

I received an advanced copy from netgalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.

This trope is one of my top favorite tropes! The fake dating to lovers is so fun, the dialogue was cute. It was a slow burn at the beginning but I really enjoyed it.

Lexi Danby is looking for some no-strings, fall fun. Once a college track star, she was forced to drop out when her father passed away. Now she’s trying to make ends meet while putting herself through school and caring for her grieving mother. When her comically bad waitressing lands her directly in the path of a handsome, charming stranger named Will, Lexi may just have found the distraction she’s been looking for. Their first date looks promising until a misunderstanding at a party thrusts Lexi and Will into a fake engagement they can’t talk themselves out of. And Will turns out to be a member of Seattle royalty.

Will Grand is heir to a major company, and Seattle’s most eligible bachelor. But he’s been placed in charge of an important merger with a company that values family above all else, and needs to show them that he’s settled down. While a fake engagement is advantageous from a business standpoint, it’s not so great for a budding relationship with a woman who’s wary of commitment. With a woman who Will is beginning to care about much more than he could have anticipated.

As Lexi gets a taste of Will’s glamorous world and the pair keeps up the pretense of their fake engagement for the press, they decide to see where a more casual relationship takes them out of the spotlight. And amid apple picking in comfy flannels, outdoor breweries in the crisp air, and fun Halloween preparations, Lexi starts to realize the scariest part of the season might just be taking a chance on love.

Fake dating tropes are my favorite, and these characters, from such different backgrounds, were so much fun to read! This dealt with some big issues, but I found it a light and easy read. Perfect for a summer read or to curl up in the fall with a warm beverage for a great afternoon of entertainment!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

Ratings:
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Romance: 🌹🌹🌹🌹 4/5

4s all around!

My Thoughts:
I really loved this one! A super sweet and easy romance involving a fake engagement between an heir to a massive company and a (very bad) waitress. While I did think this started a bit slow it really picked up about 25% in and I was hooked. I love Seattle, I love fake relationship tropes, I love a dual POV, and I love a fun light read. This is an easy yes from me!

3 stars. This book felt very average and cliche to me. Not necessarily just the tropes, but all of the plot lines and even specific things the characters said that came off as basic and repetitive. I typically don’t mind a predictable romcom, but this was simply not as interesting as I’d hoped. I was overall underwhelmed by this story. In the author’s note Sullivan says that this is meant to be a story about “learning to see new versions of yourself” and “facing the fear of change”, which I do see in this book. However, I was not able to connect with any of the characters or the story so for me this fell a little flat.
Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher, and Sophie Sullivan for the opportunity to read this ARC!