Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the eARC of Can’t Help Falling in Love by @authorsophiesullivan in exchange for an honest review!

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 Lexi’s life turned upside down at the age of twenty-two when her dad unexpectedly died. Between juggling two jobs and caring for her mom, she can barely keep it together. When she runs into two high school besties, she doesn’t want to admit that her life is far from her dreams. It’s the meet cute of all meet cutes when she sits down at her handsome customers table and introduces him as her significant other. What starts out innocent enough turns into front page news that she is actually engaged to the most eligible bachelor in Seattle! Can’t Help Falling in Love is a delightful little rom com about taking a chance on love.

Review is posted on Goodreads and will be on Instagram ahead of the publication date!

Story and the romance was very fast. It was kind of hard to believe how much the main two characters are into each other.

This is the second book I’ve gotten to read as an ARC by Sophie Sullivan and I am so grateful to NetGalley and the publishing company for accepting my request!

Can’t Help Falling In Love is going to be the perfect book to read in late September/early October because the vibes are just right for it! I love the relationship that ends up developing between Lexi and Will - it’s endearing and cute as heck. Fake dating usually isn’t my favorite trope, but this book might have changed my mind!

Like most 25 year olds Lexi feels behind in life. After her father passed away Lexi had to take care of her depressed mother. She didn’t finish her degree and now she is waitressing on the side to make ends meet. Unfortunately Lexi is not a very good waitress. During her shift she winds up serving a handsome stranger. And in a twist of events he ends up becoming her fake boyfriend when old high school friends come to the restaurant. Will saves her from having to admit she’s waitressing but now she’s got an invite to an engagement party and a fake boyfriend to deal with.

This is a cute closed door romance for anyone who’s experienced bumps in the road and has felt behind in life. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Can't Help Falling in Love" by Sophie Sullivan is an absolute gem in the realm of romantic comedies. From the very first page, I was swept away by the delightful story of Lexi Danby and Will Grand.

Lexi, a struggling waitress with a heart of gold, is the epitome of resilience. Despite facing numerous challenges in her life, she remains determined to make the best of every situation. When she crosses paths with the charming Will, sparks fly in the most unexpected way. Their chemistry leaps off the pages, drawing readers into their whirlwind of a fake engagement.

Will, the heir to a major Seattle company, may seem like the typical wealthy bachelor at first glance. However, beneath his polished exterior lies a man grappling with the pressures of family expectations and business obligations. Watching him navigate his feelings for Lexi while balancing his professional responsibilities is both endearing and captivating.

Sullivan's writing effortlessly blends humor, heart, and sizzle, creating a narrative that keeps you hooked until the very last page. I found myself laughing out loud at the witty banter between Lexi and Will, swooning over their tender moments, and rooting for their happily ever after.

What sets "Can't Help Falling in Love" apart is its authenticity. Lexi and Will's journey feels refreshingly real, filled with relatable struggles and genuine emotions. As they explore their burgeoning relationship amidst the chaos of their fake engagement, readers are treated to a delightful rollercoaster of emotions.

From cozy flannels and apple picking to glamorous soirées, Sullivan paints a vivid picture of Seattle's vibrant backdrop, adding an extra layer of charm to the story. The seasonal setting adds a festive flair, making it the perfect read for curling up with a pumpkin spice latte on a crisp autumn day.

Overall, "Can't Help Falling in Love" is a heartwarming and enchanting tale that left me utterly smitten. Sullivan has crafted a romantic comedy masterpiece that is sure to leave readers grinning from ear to ear. Five stars hardly do it justice—I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone in need of a feel-good escape!"

Sophie Sullivan is quickly becoming the queen of heartwarming and hilarious romance stories.

A struggling waitress and the heir to a major Seattle company stumble into a high-profile fake engagement while simultaneously trying to keep up with their own love lives in this flirty fall rom-com!

I absolutely loved these two main characters and their quick whit/fun banter. The plot line was fun and adorable but never once crossed the line into overly cheesy.

This one will be perfect for when the weather gets colder and the leaves start to turn

If you have to beg and beg a woman to go out on a date with you, then she probably doesn't actually want you. I really wanted to like this book, it's set in Seattle, so it feels like home! But I just couldn't get past how pushy Will was.

I could not stop thinking about this book. Lexi is so relatable yet I just wanted to shake some sense into her. This is a great story about accepting the unexpected and learning to love yourself even if it’s not the self you expected. The love story between Will and Lexi is every woman’s dream as well and written in such a way that I feel comfortable recommending this book to my students as well. Give it a read! You won’t be disappointed!

Can't Help Falling in Love is an adorable fake romance turned real romcom and it was such a fun read! Sophie Sullivan is a new-to-me author who really wowed me. I loved the characters and the storyline, and, of course, the happily-ever-after.

Lexi is a complex character who is struggling to pay for college and to save her family home. She works several jobs and while waitressing, she meets Will, an unbeknownst to her wealthy bachelor. In a classic meet-cute to hide the truth from her high school friends, these two quickly fall into a fake relationship which becomes a fake engagement when a misunderstanding occurs. Lexi and Will were so adorable together! I love how they slowly started to form a real relationship while faking being in love. Their chemistry was evident and they really complimented one another. I loved their witty banter, their loyalty to their families, and their joy and support for one another. And, Will truly melted my heart as he helped draw Lexi's mom out of her comfort zone. Lexi and Will really were the perfect match.

Sullivan delivered a sweet, believable love story between two characters that were seemingly opposite of one another. It was sweet, funny, romantic, and swoon-worthy. We should all be so lucky to have a Will Grand in our life. Don't miss this adorably fun love story. 4.5 stars

Sophie Sullivan has written a fun, full of hear romance. She blends the tropes of fake dating, meet-cute, and friends-to-lovers. The story revolves around the endearing duo of Lexi and Will, who come from vastly different backgrounds. It has a little bit of Cinderella charm. But Lexi is tough, determined and holds her own. A quick, cute story that keeps you smiling.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC!

Can't Help Falling in Love is a cute millionaire romance that is a perfect lighthearted read for a summery day. our Alexandria, former track star, now waitress-trying-to-stay-afloat after her father passed away, leaving a brokenhearted grieving mother and a boatload of depression.

Their meet-cute is at Alexandria's restaurant, when, trying to hide that she is an employee from old high school friends, she pretends to be dating our MMC Will Grand. Things spiral and this meet-cute has fast sparks and a very fast falling-in-love period.

This was a lovely quick read with fast-packing and lovable characters. Most of our side characters, including Alexandria's best friend, her old HS friends, and Will's sisters were all absolutely lovely people and went above and beyond. You get a healthy dose of the escapism that billionaire romances give too, as Alexandria borrows designer dresses and finds a new job in the field she loves, and just overall, has life progressing much more smoothly.

This is a dual POV book, and I will say, I found Will's POV to be lacking. He's presented as this nice dude who's so tired of his mom playing matchmaker -- and the way in which he talks about these women who "only care about social media" and "ask me to follow them" just has an undertone of misogny that made me uncomfortable, especially given all the other great female characters. AND, this is to the detriment of our romance. One of his lines about why he finds Alexandria so special is that she didn't have a social media presence (how many times was that mentioned??!) and didn't immediately ask him for his handles. It was giving rich boy meets his first poor pretty girl and is like wow she's so different!!!

That would've made the book unreadable on its own, but Alexandria's POV is honestly so down to earth and readable. For her side of the story alone, and the pure simple romance joy of this book and its billionaire dreaming, I'm giving it 3 stars! Lots of pining and yearning with no spice ranks it a 0-0.5 on the spice scale.

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, but it just couldn’t completely work for me in this book. I felt like the insta love Will had for Lexi was pretty forced. I did enjoy the side storyline with her mother trying to deal with the grief of losing her husband. And I could also relate to Lexi not having her life be where she wanted it at her age.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

loved this romance about a waitress and rich gentlemen from PNW who end up fake dating and then having a fake engagement. She doesn't want to tell the truth to her high school friends . She is late in life college student and he is helping in the company business. Loved the family and his sisters. Loved her mom and that she reads romance books and does mini scenes from it. Overall another great book by this author.

Cute Cute Cute! This is my second book by Sophie Sullivan and it won't be my last. If you are looking for a lighter easy read, she is a good author for that. I blew through this one in a day and I enjoyed it so much. The book follows a common romance trope: fake dating/engagement. This is actually not my favorite trope but in this case I felt like it was well. done. Lexi is mid twenties and working 2 jobs and going to college to make ends meet for her and her mom. Her dad passed away unexpectedly a few years prior and she has been picking up the pieces for both her an her mom ever since. While taking on a lot of the burden of her father's passing, both emotionally and financially, her self worth and purpose has taken a huge hit. When she is at her waitressing job, she sees a few former high school classmates and in her attempt to not be seen working at the restaurant, she sits down and pretends to be with a friendly make customer. Will is the heir to a huge successful business and he goes along with it. He pretends to be her fiance at a party and the tabloids pick up the story, forcing them into a fake engagement that is heavily covered by the press. In the process, they fall in love for real. I I loved reading about how Lexi finds herself and realizes how much she has has done for her family. While falling in love she realizes her own self worth and I just loved that. It is a lighthearted read over all but not too silly to be interesting. Very sweet and I would say that fans of authors such as Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, Erin Hahn and similar would enjoy it.


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

This was soooo good!! I read it in pretty much one day.
Read this if you enjoy….
-mother daughter relationships
-90s romcoms (several scenes or comments made me think of the classics-Sabrina (the 90s one), and While You Were Sleeping)
-main characters that are awesome but still not perfect

Content:
-closed door, with steamy kisses
-explicit language, not a ton but sprinkled in

3 stars!⭐️⭐️⭐️

In the authors acknowledgement section she states this book was hard for her to write. I felt the same way about reading it. Don’t get me wrong, the story was very nice, but I just couldn’t fall into it like I usually do. I kept putting the book down and telling myself the next time I picked it up I would be sucked in…that never happened.

I did really enjoy the plot. This is the fake dating/engagement trope, and I felt it worked with the chemistry between Lexi and Will. The storyline was easy to follow and was filled with lovable characters.

I did however feel like there was too much going on while not many things were explained in detail enough. We know Lexi is living at home to take care of her mother. She is taking business classes online, but we don’t see much of that. For a girl who is supposed to always be working and studying, we see very little of both. I almost wanted the author to take out the part about her mother’s issue leaving the house. It felt like too much to add to the mix (on top of all the other issues Lexi has to work through).

Will was the perfect book boyfriend. However, he is also supposed to be someone who is always working - to the point where he hasn’t had time to date anyone in years. But he is never at work. He attend a couple meetings that he abruptly leaves. He actually hangs out at his friend Ethan’s job more than his own work. I wanted to see more office time with him.

I did enjoy this book, I just wish I was as drawn into it as I have been with other books by this author.

*An ARC was received from the Publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I do believe this is my first Sophie Sullivan book and I need to remedy that immediately. I was blown away by the joy this story pulled from the deep dark recesses of my black heart. Her commitment to spinning the much beloved fake dating/engagement trope was admirable and quite effective.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Once again, Sophie Sullivan has crafted another delightful, heartfelt romance, blending the tropes of fake dating, meet-cute, and friends-to-lovers, all set against the backdrop of Seattle. The story revolves around the endearing duo of Lexi and Will, who come from vastly different backgrounds, lending the narrative a touch of Cinderella-esque charm. But fear not, for Lexi is no damsel in distress; she's a tough, determined heroine with a heart of gold, always putting others' needs before her own and doing her utmost to stand her ground and survive without seeking help.

Lexi Danby's journey begins when she reluctantly drops out of college, her promising future as a track star eclipsed by the sudden loss of her father and the mountain of debt and bankruptcies he leaves behind. As the sole breadwinner, Lexi juggles two jobs while also caring for her grieving mother, putting her dreams on hold to keep their heads above water.

One of Lexi's jobs is waitressing, a role she may not excel at, but she gives it her all nonetheless. Fate intervenes when she serves a charming stranger—Will—who maintains his smile even after she spills soda on his book and botches his order. Little does she know, Will reappears to rescue her from an awkward encounter with her high school friends dining at the restaurant. With Will's help, Lexi pretends he's her boyfriend, leading to an invitation to an engagement party—a night of mischievous fun that Lexi sorely needs.

However, a minor misunderstanding during the party spirals into town-wide gossip when a newspaper column misinterprets Will and Lexi's relationship as an engagement. Lexi discovers that her fake date is none other than a member of Seattle's elite, a sought-after bachelor whose mother incessantly tries to set him up with socialite candidates. Now, Lexi must navigate the charade of dating Will to save face for both of them, shielding him from his mother's matchmaking while preserving her own reputation among her friends. But what begins as a pretense soon blossoms into something real, as sparks fly and Will's family begins to endorse their relationship. Can they defy social barriers and find their happily ever after, despite their relationship starting as a lie? Dive into this charming tale to find out—it's guaranteed to leave a big smile on your face and warm your heart, much like Sullivan's previous works.

Many thanks 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.

This book was super adorable!

I love how this book was a bit different than typical fake engagement/fake dating stories, where they had a fake relationship publicly but also a real one privately. A lot of books with this trope have some push and pull before they get to that point, but I loved watching their relationship blossom throughout the entire book. It had a lot of themes around love, family, grief, and friendship that I really enjoyed. Definitely would recommend to a friend!

Lovely book! I really enjoyed this one. I liked both main characters and found them both very kind. The pace was slow, but I think there are a lot of readers that would find this book romantic.