4.5/5 A great romance story. Think sapphic Batchelor. The audiobook was wonderfully narrated. Made me feel like I was watching the show.

If you're in the mood for sapphic The Bachelor fan fiction, Here for the Wrong Reasons might just be the book for you. The story follows Lauren and Krystin who appear as two contestants on the show Hopelessly Devoted. From the beginning, we see that Lauren is on the show for the wrong reasons. As a closeted lesbian, she comes on the show with the goal of making it far along enough in the show to help her gain traction in her career as a social media influencer. And she's willing to do that in whatever means necessary, even if that includes faking insecurities or injury to enthrall herself in the eyes of Josh who is the shows male lead. On the flipside, we see that rodeo queen Krystin comes on Hopelessly Devoted for the right reasons after having little luck dating in her small Montana town. Between her shyness and lack of worldly experience, she finds herself on the outs with the other contestants at times. But as contestants get eliminated, Krystin and Lauren find themselves being drawn closer and closer to another and realize they may actually find love on the show after all.

This book was a lot of fun, albeit it a little predictable at times. I wish we heard a little bit more of Krystin's romantic history prior to the first kiss with Lauren since it seemed sort of out of thin air, but we do get her backstory in the book though. I liked seeing how the walls Lauren has built up around herself started to come down the more time they spent together and the soft spot she carried for Krystin since night one of the show. The story pretty low conflict and minimal (if any) homophobia directed towards the main characters. There were ~5 on page explicit sex scenes between the pair, so if you've ever wondered "what happens in the Bachelor mansion when the cameras aren't on" and are in the mood for something spicy, I highly recommend checking this book out.

I thought Lindsey Dorcus and Mara Wilson did a really good job with the audiobook as the story was duel POV alternating between chapters. Thank you Dreamscape Media and Alcove Press for an advance listener copy of this audiobook. If you like: The Bachelor, sapphic romance, secret/forbidden relationship, or entertainment industry romances I highly suggest checking out Here for the Wrong Reasons when it comes out May 21st!

I have no idea how to rate this book. There was so much cringe and the critique of dating shows is so aggressive and on the nose and while it could have come off as too much I actually really enjoyed it?!?

It was so sarcastic it was actually funny and reflects a lot of thoughts I’ve had while watching reality tv. Is it toxic? Yes. Is almost every character overdramatized and reprehensible in some way? Yes. But… I loved it? Guilty pleasure just like an actual dating show.

This was a fun Sapphic romance debut perfect for fans of the Bachelor that sees a closeted lesbian influencer and a sexually confused barrel racing star falling for each other when they find themselves rivals competing for the love of a man on a reality dating show. Steamy, heartfelt and very relatable, this was great on audio and perfect for fans of Sophie Gonalez's Never getting back together. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you Netgalley and dreamscape for the alc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. I loved the cover and that the coauthors are a real life couple however so much information about the other contestants I wasn't sure who to keep track of, who was a unimportant side character etc. I do like slow hutlrn but found this one too slow and long book at nearly 12 hour audiobook.

3.5/5☆