4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars. Can’t Help Falling in Love by Sophie Sullivan is such a wonderful book! Lexi and Will have an adorable meet cute and fall into a fake dating/engagement scenario right away. Will loves having his family off his back about dating and settling down (although his mother is quite perturbed that his fiancée isn’t someone she chose for him). Lexi gets a date/relationship to show up those high school girls that she runs into and feels inadequate with her post high school life. The chemistry is off the charts between them. You can just feel them falling in love with their banter and dates. If you love sweet romcoms and uplifting stories, you will enjoy this book!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Sophie Sullivan for sharing an ARC. This review is completely voluntary and joyfully shared.

I love this author and was excited for this story, but for some reason struggle to really connect with this story. Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very cutesy, hallmark-esk, rom-com! I’ve read other books by this author and that seems to be her vibe. Nothing wrong with that just not so much my vibe anymore.

There is very little conflict in this book, and when there is, it’s resolved quickly!

Will and Lexi are funny and charming and their banter and sarcasm is top tier!

Marriage of convenience is always a fav trope of mine, so this book had me hooked from the start.

An interesting, fake fiance HEA where Lexi and Will engage in a fake relationship to reap the benefits of being together while simultaneously realizing they were meant to be. Lexi is a down on her luck waitress who takes care of her mom, while Will is from a rich family. A misunderstanding has them engaged and as they continue to see each other, they realize that they are falling for one another. A sweet, fake dating romance that has you rooting for their relationship.

I absolutely adore this author and with each book of hers I read I just fall more in love with her characters and her writing!

This story starts off with the most hilariously awkward meet cute! Lexi and Will have an instant connection but a brush with her past has Lexi creating a fake story that leads to the greatest romance either has ever experienced, if only it wasn’t fake.

Will comes from a world that Lexi can’t even begin to grasp especially when hers is barely being held together but the chemistry they have will not be denied and the more time they spend together the more the walls around Lexi’s heart start to crumble.

I absolutely love the storyline and how everything worked out in the end! A very cute, heartwarming and uplifting book!

Lexi is working two jobs while finishing her business degree. At her waitressing gig, she’s recognized by some friends from her past. Shocked by their presence and embarrassed by her lowered circumstances, she sits at a table occupied by the cute guy whose order she’d been getting spectacularly wrong. Shortly thereafter her old friends have made assumptions about the man being Lexi’s fiancé.
Going along with the ruse is none other than heir to a retail dynasty and one of Seattle’s most eligible bachelors, Will. A photo captured at an event that Will accompanied Lexi to later that evening is splashed about on several society pages and websites decreeing the pair engaged, and cruelly, referring to Lexi as a “nobody”.
Eager to curtail his mother’s matchmaking machinations, Will asks Lexi to keep up the fake engagement pretense while dating him in actuality. Lexi is reluctant to do so because the death of her father devastated her mother to the point she’s withdrawn and depressed, almost never leaving the house.
Will is just lovely and really tries to build up Lexi’s self esteem, and one can’t help but root for Lexi to catch a break after all her struggles to help her mother navigate the years since her father’s death while also scrambling to pay off his massive debt.
As they spend time together they find themselves falling deeply for each other. Will their societal differences crush their budding relationship before it becomes love? Or will they withstand the pressures and choose each other?
This was a lovely, funny, and touching book that could’ve been dreadfully cliched, instead the author delivered a great little love story/romcom that’s an enjoyable and satisfying read.
I was fortunate to receive an advance reader copy from the author and NetGalley and I’m pleased to leave my honest review.

Set in Seattle in the fall, this delightful closed door romance has the most adorable meet-cute! Will and Lexi go from meeting to fake engaged. As they date and handle family and career, real feelings follow. Great secondary characters!

I've read several others by Sophie Sullivan and look forward to more!

Closed Door / Fade to Black

4.5/5 stars

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in advance.

Such a cute fake dating closed door romance! The characters are super lovable and relatable. A wonderful fall romance!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Can’t Help Falling in Love is a sweet romance about a fake engagement turned real. Will meets Lexi when she’s his waitress. He helps her get out of a bind, which turns into a lot of miscommunication and a few white lies.
Sophie Sullivan held my attention from the first page to the last. I hope there’s a sequel (or trilogy) to this book, delving into other potential relationships between Maise and Ethan or Gwen and….

Well, I'm definitely planning a trip to Seattle for the Fall! I'm a sucker for the fake-dating trope. Lexi and Will nail it in this fun story that had me smiling throughout!

This was such a sweet book! I loved the characters, and their love story. The dialogue was realistic and enjoyable.

A small lie leads to a fake engagement when Will pretends to be Lexi's boyfriend so she can save face with her friends. As their fake relationship develops, it becomes more real than Lexi is comfortable with. Can she shake off her fears to find happiness?

Strong characters and a good supporting cast makes this a great rom-com. This book is full of feels!

5/5 stars! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. It was a great quick read. I finished reading it in one day. This is the third book I’ve read by Sophie Sullivan and I have thoroughly enjoyed them all. This book is released September 17, 2024. Thank you to Netgalley and Sophie Sullivan for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

This was such a wholesome, funny, hit ya in the feels romance story. I liked this book for so many reasons -it's Seattle setting, it's great lead characters, and fake-relationship-trope done right. The overall writing and emotions were all so lovely.

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is such a cute read! Set in the PNW in the fall. This charming story follows Lexi and Will, two unlikely lovers from opposite worlds. He is an heir to a major Seattle company and she is a waitress just trying to muddle her way through life. But when fake dating becomes the easiest way out of a sticky situation the two get more than they bargain for! An absolutely charming read if you like an opposites attract, he falls first, fake dating romance!

I found myself unable to stop reading even though the book took me into the late hours of the night. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for an exciting and fun romance story.

Lexi is a struggling adult student trying to finish her degree. As a side job, she is waitressing to pay for school. One day, when some of her high school friends come to eat at her restaurant, a stranger, Will, helps her by pretending that she is dining with him. Unbeknownst to Lexi, Will is an heir to a large company and a very eligible bachelor. After a series of events, Will and Lexi end up faking an engagement so they can get to know each other. Can Lexi understand her worth and overcome Will's upbringing? Can Will convince her that he loves her for her? This was a sweet book, but there was almost not enough tension. They literally met and were in love and had their happy ending. Although I enjoyed reading it, I came away a little bland.

Fake engagement but real dating. A fun read with a lot of great secondary characters.

Lexi is working two jobs and trying to finish her degree. Will is busy with his family’s business (and avoiding his mother’s matchmaking attempts). The two go on a date and are mistaken for being engaged. So they roll with it for several different reasons. They continue to actually date though, so the feelings are definitely real.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for Can’t Help Falling in Love to come out September 17, 2024.

Can't Help Falling in Love by S. Sullivan, published by St. Martin's Press is the perfect read to snuggle up on the couch under a warm blanket.
Lexi and Will's story is heartwarming, sweet, uplifting, just beautiful, 5 stars. And just what I needed at this time in my life.
Blurb:
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!
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.

3.5 rounded up. This was a cute and fun read. The meet-cute is seriously adorable, and Will and Lexi have a lot of chemistry.

Some of the details of the book feel like they could use some more sketching out though. Will’s family is supposed to be a huge deal, with mergers, Forbes recognition, public events, but they only own what the paper describes as two local stores and mostly PNW name recognition? Is that enough to warrant multiple media outlets asking for comment on his engagement? Also kind of unbelievable that the Seattle Times (a real newspaper) would write things so gossipy? And the reason described in the book description as to why Will wants to fake the engagement isn’t his reason in the book, which was confusing.

I liked the book and I think it will appeal to a lot of readers! I think just for me, as a former journalist, some tweaks to those storylines would have elevated the book to the next level.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!