Adorable, loveable, funny and smart. A wonderful meet cute about two people who just deserve eachother! This made my heart happy!

[Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this eARC re-release in exchange for an honest review.]
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I was SO excited to get this ARC. I love Sophie Sullivan's books and this one might be my favorite yet.

Lexi Danby is a former track star. These days, she's just trying to stay ahead of finances after the unexpected loss of her father. She's only recently been able to return to school to finish her degree but the extra expense requires her to get a second job at a restaurant. As it turns out, Lexi is not a great waitress. On an already trying day, some friends from high school show up at her restaurant while she's working.

Will ends up saving Lexi, even though she spilled soda on his book, and pretends to be Lexi's boyfriend. They get invited to one of Lexi's friend's engagement party that night where a misunderstanding has the other guests believing that Lexi and Will are engaged. This spirals into Seattle gossip because Will is actually Will Grand, an heir to a major Seattle company and one of the city's most eligible bachelors.

Sullivan has taken the fake dating trope and sort of spun it on its head. Fake dating, except people think you're engaged and you maintain the charade so you can date.

Both Lexi and Will are so likeable. They have such great banter, both with each other and secondary characters, and the reader gets to know the characters together and separately. You can't help but root for them. There's not a lot of angst which keeps things light, even though there are difficult topics like handling grief.

Honestly, it's the perfect Fall book. I'll definitely be re-reading it under a cozy blanket with a cup of hot cider.

Sophie Sullivan does it again with another fake dating trope romance taking place in the lovely backdrop of Seattle. I was definitely drawn to the book for the location, but appreciated the realistic situation that Lexi found herself in as life doesn’t always go as planned.

Lexi was a college track star who quit school after her father passed to take care of her grieving mother and deal with the bankruptcy and debt her father left behind. While Lexi was working one of her two jobs, she happens to meet Will and he helps her out of ackward encounter with her high school friends. They get mistaken as a couple and attend a party together where the misunderstanding advances into engagement. The two have to keep up appearances for Will’s family and they slowly begin to fall for one another. With very different backgrounds, how can they ever workout as a couple?

I thoroughly appreciated the author’s way of exploring how sometimes things just don’t work out in life. The grief that we feel when losing others and how that loss changes you forever. This was unexpected to see in a romance book but a very enjoyable part.

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for an advanced digital copy of this book. Check out the release on 9.17.24, as it is perfect fall, cozy read.

I love a good fake engagement story! This book was super cozy and the fall vibes were immaculate. I loved the characters as well. And the cover! So beautiful. This is a great little romance to enjoy during the fall season.

I likes this story. It was a familiar trope, that was well written with likable characters. I would recommend this to friends mostly because I like the author and her style of writing.

Thank you to NetGally and St. Martin press for proving an advanced digital copy of Can’t Help Falling in Love by Sophie Sullivan in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute short cute read, featuring fake dating, fake engagement, life after loss etc. The author did a great job developing really lovable characters but the book was very slow paced. I felt the author had a lot of impactful words but they just didn’t feel genuine coming from the characters.

This book was adorable! Such a great romance read. Will and Lexie and so sweet and I love the he falls first trope. The development of the characters and how they grow together is so incredible.

Perfect story of a fake engagement but ultimately falling in love. Cozy fall read! Definitely pick this up when it comes out this fall!

This was a cute romance with very likable characters, especially Will. I really enjoyed the set up to the story, starting with a meet cute and Will agreeing on the spot to being Lexi's fake fiance. This is an overall feel good book, with cozy fall vibes.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between the characters and the support shown as Lexi navigates a challenging time in her life. I enjoyed the Halloween/fall vibe and the setting in Seattle.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

4.5 ⭐️

Such a cute opposites attract, fake engagement, he falls first read. Following Will and Lexi’s relationship was so fun. They were two completely opposite people that just so happened to be in the right place at the right time and I guess you could say the rest was history. Definitely recommend if you love a good unexpected meet cute romance.


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc!

Forever thankful to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / St. Martin’s Griffin for providing me with a digital review copy of this sweet, swoon-worthy romance in exchange for my honest opinions.

The book centers on Lexi, a hardworking and struggling young woman who is trying to get by, take care of her grieving mother, and to get her business degree. The book itself felt light but has characters going through complex situations. The settings sounded cozy and picturesque. The dates and events they go on were romantic. When Lexi sees her old friends while waitressing at a restaurant, she decides to tell them the guy she was serving is really her fiancé and he luckily goes along with it. The stuff with her mom was wild and overly dramatic.

If you need a feel good romcom to read this autumn, then this is the book for you. The characters are enjoyable. The angst is low, which I loved, and the overall plot was just very cute.

This was such a fun read! I believe every girl deserves a Will! This was such a romantic, funny, and relatable story to read!

4/5
When I first started this book, I was fully expecting it to get 3 stars. It wasn't until a few more chapters in that I got the full story for both of the characters. I really enjoyed this story and the progressing relationship between the two main characters.

This was just okay for me. I'm a fan of the fake relationship/engagement trope but this didn't completely work for me. The entire romance felt forced and because of that I couldn't completely get on board with these two. Will was great. Lexi was super insecure and her inner dialogue just got a little annoying to me. The stuff with her mom was wild and overly dramatic. Things definitely got better by the end of the book. There were like no details. There was a lot going on but you don't see a lot of that on the page.

I will say I really liked the message of the book. Lexi was insecure about her life turning out the way it has but most people feel the same way and there's just a lot you don't see online. I think this was my favorite thing about the book. I also really enjoyed the secondary characters- Will's sisters, his best friend and Lexi's best friend. They were real bright spots in the story.

It didn't completely work for me, but I'm definitely in the minority.

*this is an ARC received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The book started off slow for me then picked up and then abruptly ended. In a span of 6 weeks Lexi meets Will while waitressing at her job, lies and ends up fake engaged but real dating him. While all the characters were adorable and easy to fall in love with the story felt lacking in details. I am a fan of the “he falls first” trope and the book was enjoyable I just felt like I was wanting more.

What a sweet story! I really enjoyed this book - it was a quick read by the beach and it was a perfect getaway. Sophie and Will were relatable characters that you rooted for throughout the story. I loved how Will really wanted Lexi to think and speak better about herself; a good lesson for everyone. The story had a good hook at the beginning and kept me engaged throughout. Easy and enjoyable, sweet (no steam) story.

Lexi Danby was a college track star until her dad died and left her with debt. Her mother Gwen is grieving and finds it nearly impossible to leave the house. Lexi worries about her, is trying to finish a college degree, works at a dress shop, and is a waitress. Whie waitressing, she sees successful friends from high school. She does not want them to see her as a waitress and sits down with Will, a handsome young man she is serving. He realizes her dilemma, introduces them as a couple, and gets her out of the place. Will is heir to a big company with family values. As they begin dating to keep up their fake relationship, love blossoms. This is a great book about the importance of family and who you are as a person. I loved the way Will’s sisters embraced Lexi. As Lexi and Gwen share feelings about Lexi’s dad’s death they begin to understand each other.

this was such a cute book! a really easy read that had really love able characters. i love the way that grief was portrayed throughout and how real it is even years after the loss. the love between the two main characters was sweet, intentional, and just a joy to watch them fall together

I read like 80% of this book while standing in line today for Record Store Day, and it was the perfect way to pass the time! It was a cute read with depth and character. It was a very fast-paced romance, but I am a sucker for fake dating/fake engagement tropes and will support it nonetheless.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

A huge thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book felt like a real life romance. With the way the author actually wrote about fears and the characters in such a realistic and relatable perspective. I feel like the author actually took the time to make this romance feel like one that could actually happen, versus other romance novels that’s super adorable but definitely just feels like an unobtainable fairy tale.

I like how throughout the book the author wrote in both Will and Lexi’s point-of-views. The author wrote in a 3rd person style writing in past tense.

The book was not only an adorable romance with a beautiful storyline, but it also had quite a bit of humor in it, I found myself laughing a few times while reading it. The author incorporated not only a love between Will and Lexi, but the love and complications that can come with families, friends, and society.

Overall, I rate this book a 4.5/5. I felt connected with the characters and the story of this book. It’s a cute, funny, quirky read that I would very highly recommend to anyone and everyone!

Sophie books are always so much fun to read, they are enjoyable and easy going, definitely one of my favorite authors for rom coms, this book didn’t disappoint, it was fun and extremely well done .