Denz’s family is aware of Denz being commitment phobic. The last relationship he had was in, left him “high and dry.” When his father, the chief executive of their family’s successful event-planning company, announces his retirement, Denz adds his name to the group of people interested in taking over. He wants to try to convince his family he’s serious about winning the position, but his dating history isn’t a good recommendation for his ability to make a commitment. He decides to make up a fake boyfriend on the spot. Finding someone to play the part. Denz’s first choice bails on him. With no one else to turn to. Denz reaches out to the last person he wants to fake date. He is a man with whom he was once in a very real relationship. Braylon Adams is the man who moved away from Atlanta and left Denz picking up the pieces of his own heart. Now he’s back in town, and he and Denz just ran into each other in a coffee shop. For Braylon, pretending to pair up with Denz again isn’t completely selfless, but he figures that since they both have ulterior motives, it should be easy to keep this fake-dating situation all business. As the two men play-act at public displays of affection and send each other increasingly flirty texts, Denz begins to forget how easy it was for Braylon to break his heart the first time. It could happen again if he’s not careful.

YA writer Winters’ adult debut is a romantic story. It is a sweet and spicy second chance love story. It was a lot of fun to read. The novel is also about family, friendship and fear.

3.5 rounded up…

Felt like an overdone storyline, with an ex stepping in as a fake date or for a fake relationship to help win a promotion… I recall reading a book last year by another male black LGBTQ author with a mighty similar plot, where two black male exes accidentally wind up faking it at a family dinner when they bump into each other at a restaurant.

It wasn’t a book that kept me glued to the pages, and I was really hoping for more, based on the glowing reception it had at the initial release. Not my fave, but I’m sure there are many who will love it (I’m normally a big fan of this type of book, it’s just this one felt like something was missing in the interest or excitement factor). I didn’t feel like Denz and Braylon’s chemistry was entirely believable, faking it or not, second time around or in the flashbacks.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press (St. Martin’s Griffin), and this is my honest feedback.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a male/male second chance romance. I found that the the story was great, I loved stories of the past and seeing the original love story. The missing piece was really the break up for me and why it was so easy for them to come back together. Overall an enjoyable romance!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book soo much. I’m finally getting around to get to my review since the world is crazy. But oh my goodness I can’t wait to have the physical copy of this book. The cover is gorgeous, the characters had excellent development and the pacing was steady and I was never bored.

DNF at around 25% while I’ve enjoyed works by Waters in the last this one moved far too slowly to pull me in

Perfect combo of sweet and sexy. Fake Dating is one of my all time favorite tropes and I really liked how it was done here. Too many times one person stands for benefit way more from the arrangement and this felt pretty equal to me. I also really loved the Carter family. They all expected so much from each other but also loved each other fiercely.

Rounding up from three and a half stars. On the surface, I loved this. The main characters are charming and endearing. The secondary characters are interesting and varied. The connection in the main relationship is solid. I enjoyed the big complicated family and even liked some of the secondary family drama storylines. I loved that this was a world where there appears to be zero homophobia.

Digging a little deeper, this book required a truly extraordinary suspension of disbelief. Part of my profession involves event planning and I just could not buy a lot of the stuff around the job, the family's celebrity status and the whole CEO search premise. I could also have done without the ample pop culture references, name dropping and wealth flaunting. The whole thing was a little bit formulaic and there were a couple of weird continuity things and the overuse of some devices.

But, when leaned into the romcom-inness, I was able to just enjoy. And ultimately it was very successful in giving me warm and fuzzy feelings, which made it a lot easier to overlook the things that didn't work for me. I certainly liked this enough to check out the author's other work, including the potential Jordan and Jamie sequel bait.

I enjoyed this LGBTQ+ second chance romance.

There was one thing that didn’t quite work for me: Braylon supposedly had a British accent after living in London for 3 years… which did not ring as believable to me.

We get to see great character growth and watch both of the MMCs mature both individually and as a couple.

But this had some excellent spicy seasons and I think anyone looking for a quick, entertaining read will love this.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for the eARC and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.

Did Not Finish.

Mini-Review:
Denz was adorable but too much of a hot mess for me. The man wants to be CEO of his father’s company but relies on post-it notes to stay organized? THE HORROR. Plus this is only told through Denz’s POV, so I felt like Braylon had no personality. No chemistry between them either. Cute but not enough to keep my interest.

Quick Synopsis: Denz and Braylon fell in love in college and Denz thought it would be forever. But then Braylon took off to London and Denz went back to Atlanta to work for his family’s business as an event planner. Fast forward a few years and now Denz is competing for CEO because his dad is stepping down, but his family doesn’t take him seriously. Enter his big mouth volunteering that he has a serious boyfriend. And, conveniently, he just bumped into Braylon at a coffee shop just the other day because surprise! Bray is back in ATL too.

I really enjoyed this book, the way that I enjoy all books of characters in their twenties finding their path forward and realizing who they are and what they want. Was this sometimes more childish than I would have preferred? Yes, absolutely. But at the same time, the depth of characterization between Bray and Denz was really well done and I think that I’m definitely ready for Winters’ next adult romance if this is what we got with his first!

I was a bit hesitant since I have had a few issues with the authors YA books. But then I read the one before this one (the one about the royals) and then I LOVED it. So I gave this one a try. And Lordt, this was everything I needed. I’m not even sure why I liked it so much either lol But I couldn’t put it down.

Ok so this was fun! The characters were really the best thing about this. And I’m assuming that’s what made me love it so much since I am a character driven reader. All of them really played a part in this book. From the dad to the kids at the place where one of them worked. I’m serious when I say they all brought something and I was so impressed by that. But they weren’t all good. In fact one of them was really an asshole. But they even added some color to the book as well.

The main character Denz sounded and acted a lot like me. He threw out funnies to make people laugh and he always had a good idea for the jobs they had to do. And before you ask, yes, I related to him a lot which is why I wanted him to succeed so much .

The plot was basic, but the way the writing style just flowed so easily. I felt swept away in the different parties and ideas they had in mind. Which is where we see the new person, Braylon. Him and Denz had a history, but we don’t know the full scope of it until the end of the book. Which was good so that we liked him the whole book and didn’t have a reason to hold a grudge against him after that. When they start fake dating, they realize that they needed each other. In more ways than one lol

The romance was cute! Maybe I’m biased because it doesn’t matter what it’s about for me if there’s fake dating in it lol Normally I think I would have been a little ugh about them since they fell really fast, but they were also given a second chance. I kept saying out loud, “don’t blow this second chance!” And what did they do? Exactly that lol

This was a lot of fun! A Black millionaire’s son with second chance romance with fake dating all wrapped up in a queer romance was all I needed. I couldn’t stop reading this one. I know this is something that seems pretty specific to me, but I really think it’s good enough for everyone who likes even one of those things to like it!

Loved loved loved. I have been eagerly anticipating Julian Winters’ adult debut, and it did not let me down. Cannot recommend enough

I love a good fake dating moment. And THIS does not disappoint! It's surprisingly steamy, and a real romcom. Truly, there were moments I actually 'loled' reading this!! In this authors transition from YA to adult romance, I was a little unsure how that would go....and the answer is great! Highly recommend this one!

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, and I honestly have no complaints. This was great. It made me smile, laugh, and want to fight them both like they’re my brothers making unnecessary decisions. I was rooting for them both and I think Brae was my favorite throughout even tho Denz had some great character development. I love to see stories of families who are accepting and proudly love on their queer folk 🫶🏾 we deserve that! Loved this!!

a perfect valentine’s day read, this was very cute. i’m not usually a fan of second chance romances but i loved the flashbacks to denz and bray in college and fake dating will always be a hit with me.

I had access to both the written and audio versions of this book and chose the audio. I think that was a mistake as I could not get past the fact that a southern black man went to London for just three years and came back with a full-on British accent. That was off-putting throughout the entire book. I also had a hard time believing a 24-year-old could compete to be CEO at a multimillion dollar company. But the romance and spice level were both perfect. Overall, a decent foray from YA into adult contemporary romance.

I think they love you is a fun queer romance, and my only complaint was the title led me to think it was about a non-binary person, and it wasn't. The title is made clear only late in the book, and they is just referring to people plural, but I spent too much time waiting for someone to come out as non-binary which never happened.

That being said, This is the kind of romance I love! Denz is from a wealthy Black family in Atlanta, and is working for the family's event planning business. He runs into Braylon/Bray, the love of his life and his college boyfriend, and for family and business reasons, they enter into a fake relationship. Of course, feelings develop. As the book goes on, we learn more of Denz and Braylon's history and why they broke up.

I would also read a spin off on any of Denz's family members, just saying!

I couldn’t put this book down! I love fake relationship stories, and this one has the benefit of being a second chance romance on top of that. How lovely that the protagonist loves rom coms as well!

I was rooting for Denz and Braylon the minute they ran into each other again. Their fake (or not-so-fake) relationship is charming and sweet and has real depth, in addition to being hot and fun. Second chance romances have to thread a needle for me—I need to believe they had a valid reason to have broken up in the first place, without the issue being so fundamental that it’s impossible to overcome. I’m so glad this book does just that. I understand where each character was coming from during the initial breakup, and I was so happy to see them fall back in love.

Denz’s complicated relationship with his family kept me on my toes, balancing everyone’s differing expectations is enough to stress anyone out, and the journey he takes to understand his identity in the family, the business, and his own life is one worth following. I loved the conversation with Kenneth at the end—a good life lesson in work/life balance, and so heartwarming to hear from an exacting father with high expectations.

I really enjoyed reading this, and especially as my introduction to Julian Winters. I’m looking forward to picking up more of his books!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!
Pub date: 28 Jan 2025

Fake dating, second chances, and family complexity? YES PLEASE. I Think They Love You is in my top faves of fake dating. Not only were they exes before, Denz's relationship forces him to examine what he truly wants. He's so sure he's on the path he should be on. But what happens if he's wrong? What happens if we just aren't letting ourselves see what our life could be because we're so convinced we're on the road to should be? With flashbacks to their past, I Think They Love You is delightful. It's raw and vulnerable, swoony and spicy.

I have to be honest about this one, it just wasn’t for me. It felt too reminiscent of so many other rom coms, which isn’t inherently bad, but this one has all the things I usually hate, which is a kind of annoying main character that snaps and lashes out at other characters so often that it starts making me mad. The amount of pop culture references was also a little annoying. Overall, the book did what it was supposed to do and it wasn’t awful. I enjoyed it in parts, and if I ignore what annoyed me, it was a solid debut. I just wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it.