This book was ok but I thought it would have been even better if it was Dual POV! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

Thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

Denz and Braylon are so adorable in this second chance romance between two men who were college sweethearts. Denz is trying to land the CEO job for his family business when he runs in to Braylon and right away, its like very little has changed.

This was a fun and adorable book and I love how Denz and Braylon pick up the pieces of their lost relationship. They were so cute and it was great to watch them go from fake dating to real understanding.

This one was cute but it left much to be desired. I feel like a lot of contemporary romances these days are missing the yearning and the chemistry part of the romance so it feels like it’s cute but that’s all.

I loved that this was a second chance romance. This was fun and had likeable characters. Nothing stood out too much to me though.

Thank you to SMP Romance for the free book. These opinions are my own.

I adored both Denz and Braylon so much. This book is a second chance romance. The two of them were serious in college, but Braylon moved away to work in England. Now he's back, and the two enter a pact to fake date and help each other's careers.

I think this book showed the pressures of becoming an adult and moving into your own role separate from your parents so incredibly well. Denz and Braylon were both so authentic, and their struggles were so relatable. I also loved getting to know Denz's family, especially his adorable nephew.

I loved Denz and Braylon together and kept rooting for them throughout.

Most of all, I am so grateful for a book the celebrates safe queer spaces for youths. Braylon's job working with LGBTQ youth was inspirational.

I'm planning to read more from Julian Winters and am so glad I read this.

4.25 stars

This was a fun time and I can definitely see this being one of a lot of people’s favourite books. But, sadly this just wasn’t the book for me. The banter was good I just had a hard time caring about the characters.

*4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

"Denz stared back. It was that careful, curious gaze only queer people know. The one used in public when you’re deciding if the other person is trustworthy. If entering their space is safe."

“What’s horny, Uncle Denzie?”
"A triceratops.”

"I loved you all through college. Loved you when you left. Damn it, I loved you even after you broke my heart.”

It's all there. The tightrope every queer person walks in a public place. The fear. The uncertainty. The hope. Then there's the comedy. Dad jokes that make you groan and laugh. At last there's the romance. The swoony moments, the heartbreak, the passion, the chemistry, the sexy banter, the sacrifices and the love.

You get it all in the sweet and spicy I Think They Love You with the creatively funny, yet very smooth writing from author Julian Winters.

Denz fell in love with Braylon in college but father issues for both of them led to a break up. Now Denz is trying to convince his Dad that he can take over their firm. To prove his commitment he tells him he has a steady boyfriend. Through a series of mishaps Braylon is back in his life and, since Braylon needs Denz's connections for his non profit job, and Denz needs a boyfriend, they fake it.

What makes this second chance, fake dating RomCom special is the couple's sexuality is never an issue for their families. The disconnect is their own fears and self doubt.

I read and listened to the book. Voice actor Andre Santana's vulnerability throughout this love story grabbed my heart. It also made the love scenes more sensual.

If you enjoy witty banter, nosy Aunties, adorable nephews, sincere story telling and sensual love making I think you will love this queer RomCom.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair & honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have really enjoyed Julian Winters' YA novels and I really enjoyed this first foray into adult fiction. The characters were all relatable and their internal struggles felt very real. I love Winters' writing style, and always find it immensely readable. The only thing that personally put me off a bit was the wealth of the family and society that the story revolved around, and that is because I identify more with a less affluent class, and I simply can't relate to that level of wealth and power.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

This was a really cute romance! I loved Denz, his family, and Braylon! The family dynamics were fun, but also realistic, and I enjoyed the family business part of the story. I liked that several characters had moments of true vulnerability, showing that we are all human and have more in common than we are different. Overall, it was a great story with a satisfying ending and I will be checking out more of this author’s work!

I had so much fun reading this book!

The banter and romance was so cute! They pushed each other to be better. I also liked the family dynamics. Highly recommend!

I think this book may have been written just for me. It was EVERYTHING! Which is funny because if you ask anyone who knows me, I’m not a fan of second chance romance and I’m particular about the premise behind the fake dating trope. This book nailed it. It was believable. Just so incredibly believable and the story itself felt so realistic. I absolutely bought in to how Braylon and Denz found their way back into each other’s lives and the complicated feelings that would come with that. I loved how Braylon and Denz were, not just with one another, but interacting with the whole Carter family. Who I’m obsessed with and need more of ASAP. Not just because they are the epitome of excellence but because they felt like a real, hilarious, crazy family. The group chats were such a fun addition to the story that really helped it come alive off the page. This book also did another trope, the third act break up, really well. Yet another trope I normally hate but it made so much sense for the growth that needed to happen. All of that together with the countless rom com reference absolutely made me love this book. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me hide my kindle from my family at the spicy parts! I cannot wait for the next one!

I love a fake dating second chance moment!!

And this was so cute! It had me swooning and blushing and all of the things!

The characters were so Rocha d I love how their story progressed. I was rooting for them!

GOD i love this book. i knew how it would end (even if i didn’t know how) but i still spent the whole book on the edge of my seat. it was the perfect amount of romcom, realism, development, growth, and family healing.
usually, i forget names pretty quickly when reading (especially when i read a book quickly) but i could give you an entire play by play with names and details because of how well this was written.
julian winters, you have done it again

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.