This book was cute, but felt a little too long. Overall, I enjoyed the premise, but I also thought the idea of dating to break up was just kind of an awful way to treat someone/go into the idea. Why did she not think she could fall in love/feel emotions to write something? Why did it have to be a love to heartbreak?

Also some minor inconsistencies about NC- we can't have happy hour drink specials. Drink specials have to last all day. Just a minor note from one part in the book, but bothered me as an NC native.

A book about writing books? Sign me up. This book was swoony, a little spicy, and was all wrapped up in the perfect happy ending. I loved the journey that Aspen found herself taking as she went to the Outer Banks, making new friends and discovering why she was working so hard to achieve a best seller status. This one is heartwarming and hilarious worth picking up for sure!

I received this e-book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for the copy!

Ever since Aspen Lourde's first book was so successful, even scored Book of the Month, the rest of her books have fallen flat. She's starting to think that maybe she can only write well when her emotions are high, since she wrote the first one after a huge heartbreak. Brick Babel is the small town guy whose reputation around town is known as a heart-breaker, who is trying to save the family business. When Aspen decides to visit her sister and hears about Brick, she starts to think he is exactly what she needs to write another best selling book. Aspen propositions Brick, a fake relationship in exchange for helping to save the family business....and somehow Brick agrees. Will the deal end up being worth it or will they both regret the decision they've made?

I absolutely loved this cute book! I couldn't get enough and was dying to read it each day. Jennifer Probst did a wonderful job of painting the scene and characters and giving each character voice. She not only had me excited about Aspen and Brick's story, but also created just enough about the surrounding characters that made me care about them as well. So much so that I will definitely be picking up the second book when it comes out because I have to know what happens with Aspen's sister, Sierra! If you enjoy the fake dating trope, I think you'd enjoy this!

I enjoyed this one. Love the grumpy guy isn’t really grumpy but just trying to protect himself and his grandfathers business.

Desperately needing to write her next great novel, Aspen's reading are clamoring for the gut-spilling, emotionally draining experience from her first book. Yet that book was based in reality where she lost her heart and was betrayed by her college professor lover. So Aspen decides that she needs to fall in love again and then get her heart broken to write her next art bestseller. But she needs to do so in a fake relationship and finds Brick, the owner of a failing tour company in the Outer Banks, who reluctantly agrees to this plot as Aspen proposes to pay him to save his company. Predictable as this is, it is delightful to see them truly fall in love, but then there is added content so unnecessary to sell this story that I found it off-putting. Why? Ending is predictable, What started out as promising, ended like helium let out of a balloon. It was okay. Many thanks to #netgalley and #blueboxpress for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Cue the Hallmark romance! Book of the Month is a unique take on the strangers to lovers trope with a twist.

Aspen Lourde needs to write another best seller to prove she’s got what it takes to become a full fledged author. The only problem is she doesn’t think she can do it without another devastating break-up.

While visiting her sister in a small town for the summer, she learns of the unattainable player, Brick. Cute and swoon worthy, this contractual relationship turns into something more than just another best seller.

The characters are lovable from Aspen and Brick to Kane, Sierra and Marco. I loved them all and I can’t wait to read Sierra and Kane’s story.

Thank you to Blue Box Press, NetGalley and the author, Jennifer Probst, for the opportunity to read an early digital copy.

Aspen needs to write a sequel to her bestseller and feels that without the proper heartache and conflict she will fail to make it happen. Brick is trying to revive his grandfather’s failing tour business and the money Aspen gives him to break her heart at the end of her summer visit will help out the business tremendously. Feelings develop and change over time and important decisions must be made. This is an emotional journey of dealing with the past and figuring out the future. A number of sex scenes to keep you fulfilled there as well. There is a good bit of humor within the pages as the main characters cleverly banter and the supporting characters are very entertaining.

I liked the book very much. It is a romantic, entertaining story that has everything to make me enjoy it.

The main characters are very well constructed and I loved their chemistry. Brick, I'm in love. I loved his relationship with the main character. I found it believable and it made me feel so much.

The ending was a bit predictable, but I enjoyed it. Reading this author never disappoints.

thanks for trusting me!

Aspen is desperately needing to write another bestseller book, before her publisher drops her. But when she wrote her first bestseller, she was going through a terrible heartbreak. Moving in with her sister for the summer for a change of scenery could be the answer. Then she meets the town heartthrob that is known for breaking hearts. Can she talk him into an agreement where he breaks her heart so she can write her bestseller? Or will they actually find a true relationship?

This was a fun book with an interesting plot and great characters. A great book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Book of the Month is a book about writing books with a bunch of other common tropes thrown in. Finding true love, overcoming gossip, sister bonding, overcoming a bad relationship, deciding to taking make a difficult life choice, moving to another town, big city versus small town, people realizing their business dreams, moving on from the loss of parents - were all attempted in this book. I wish the author would have picked one theme and carried all the way through. The book has good points and bad, but the ideas and characters would lead me to read another book by this author. I understand a sequel to the book is planned and I would enjoy visiting the townspeople again. This book has a lot of sex in it for those that have a trigger response.

Brick Babel is an unusual name for a man - I would like to know how the author picked this name. While the characters are likeable the plot line is confusing and the message of the book is unclear.

The two main characters are Aspen and Brick with a supporting cast of Aspen's sister Sierra, Brick's handsome friend Kane and business owners Marco, rival businesswoman Maleficient, and turtle protector Judy. The relationships between the characters in this town are enjoyable and inspiring. There is a touching scene between Aspen and Brick staying up all night to guard the turtle eggs before they are hatched that is well written and memorable. It's also hilarious that Aspen gets accidentally high by eating one of Marcos' brownies. The support and bond Aspen and Sierra had for each other is really touching and could have been a whole book in itself. A lot of the back story details of all the characters were left out of this book.

I was very turned off by the Aspen needing a man to write her book and looking for her identity in a man. This is a terrible message. Women and men need to be whole to give to each other. It is not fair to the man to be everything she needs and terrible for a woman to seek her identify in others. This viewpoint is weird. And Aspen's belief in this led her to not seeing her own gifts of generosity, friendship, leadership and creative thinking that she used to help her sister and others, The author does attempt to address Aspen not being healed from her emotionally abusive ex boyfriend late in the book through her journaling.

But the writing is very biased and suggests throughout that it is pursuit of her career that has ruined her life. But, if she didn't have her career success, which was her dream, then she wouldn't have been in the position to help Brick financially realize his dream and be a partner to him versus all the other women who merely used him. If she didn't pursue her career, she would have spent her life wallowing over her lost love.

The author continuously bad-mouthed Aspen choosing a career and living in New York. The fault lied in Aspen not being healed not in a career or New York itself. If Aspen would have tried to develop relationships in New York, she could have been as happy as she was in the Outer Banks. Is the message of this book finding true love or hatred towards New York and careers because Brick also bad-mouths New York and his friend had trouble in New York. Thank goodness they had the Outer Banks to save them? That is a big turn off to me. I think in reality, your flaws follow you even if you move. The characters were not really written as being small town people at heart. The message or theme of the book seemed to be finding true love both on Brick's end and Aspen's end, but it seemed that there was another message of small town beats big town, but neither message was clearly followed.

I was disappointed in this the first book I read by this author, but I would consider giving this author another try because of the book's characters.

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This was a very enjoyable story by Jennifer Probst. I love books about authors and books. The story really described how some authors struggle to write but at the same time are looking for the gratification that comes from a well liked published book. I really liked the characters and the setting. The story was quite steamy and yet had some comedic parts to it as well. I enjoyed this story from start to finish and at the end of the book she had an excerpt from the sequel. I will be reading the sequel for sure. I thoroughly enjoy books by Jennifer Probst and this book did not disappoint.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book.
I enjoyed it and will tell friends about it.

4.5 stars rounded up.
This book was fun, spicy.. (the mouth on that man.. 🥵) and heartfelt. I loved the deeper themes of heartbreak and healing mixed with the lighthearted romcom moments. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series!
I was given this book as an ARC.

Great rom com! I loved the writing and the spicy chemistry between the main characters, Aspen and Brick. I liked that this wasn’t the typical romantic comedy where boys meets girl, does something stupid and loses girl, then has to scramble to win girl back. The ending is know with the arrangement Brick and Aspen agree to from the start, but the ending is so satisfying and perfect for these characters.

This book had a promising premise: Aspen is a one-hit wonder author who had tremendous success with her debut novel. Everything she has written since has been a bust, and she is feeling pressure from her agent to produce. Aspen moves in with her sister temporarily to a beach town in North Carolina in order to get inspired. It's there that she meets Brick, and offers him a deal: date her and break her heart for the summer to provide inspiration for her next book, and she pays him so that he can renovate his failing tourism business. Here's the main problem: Brick is outright rude to her, and Aspen is both pushy and insecure. The character development is wanting. And then immediately once they shake on this deal, he takes her on a date, and they lust after each other. The "chemistry" comes out of nowhere, so it's hard to believe. If you are looking for a very simple beach Romance, you might enjoy this although I did not.

Thank you NetGalley for the free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a great story! Full review on goodreads to come! I laughed and cried, such a great relatable story!

Book of the Month didn't work for me but I appreciate that I might not be the target audience. I tried a few times to get into the story but I found the characters bugged me and it didn't hold my attention.

I did DNF at about 30% so perhaps it picks up after that.

Thanks to Blue Box Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I just finished “Book of the Month” by Jennifer Probst, and I was completely wrapped up in it! The story grabbed my attention from the very first page, and I found myself racing through the chapters, eager to see what would happen next. Probst has a knack for creating relatable characters and a plot that feels both fresh and engaging.

The blend of romance and personal growth kept me hooked, and I loved how the themes of passion for reading and the power of stories were woven throughout. It’s the kind of book that makes you reflect on your own life while also providing a delightful escape. I finished it so fast because I just couldn’t put it down! If you’re looking for a captivating read that will keep you entertained and leave you feeling inspired, I highly recommend this one!

This is a story about a writer who is desperate to write a best seller like her first book but needs some inspirational heart break. She ends up using the town playboy for inspiration and they work through their trauma and challenges to make then double think the whole relationship pact.

I could not put this book down! Definitely one of my favorites now. The story is up to date and a modern millennial love story that really does twist and turn, but then is steady. In modern romance writers you always wait for something perfect to be going and then BAM the writer has something dramatic happen that throws the couple for a loop. However, in this novel the writer actually lets the story stay good, and doesn’t insist on the couple going through extreme drama to get there.

The writer definitely did a lot of research for this book because it’s the most realistic and perfect relationship I have ever read and I loved every second of it. For example, they go on beach dates and he packs her snacks! It’s so cute yet realistic that you get attached to the couple as a reader. There are some parts where you might get embarrassed for the character, but clearly that was done on purpose. Which leads me to my next point.. the romance scenes WERE SO GOOD! The cute little tit-for-tats and hilarious dialogue between the characters when you least expect it just mad it that much better. The spice is maybe a 3.95/5 so they aren’t filthy, but they are still pretty good. The only con to them was the immature language that was used, example “heat”.

Loved this one. As far as bookish romances go, this one checks all the boxes — a scenic setting, a smart girl that feels like she could your friend, a hot guy with a sensitive side, nursing a bruised heart, rounded out by a colorful ensemble of local characters.