Loved it! Aspen produced 1 successful book but she can't seem to provide another. The inspiration is just not there. Her first book was about what happened to her in real life. She decides Outer Banks may be just the place to lend her fresh inspiration.

Aspen finds a local cutie in Outer Banks that would be a perfect muse but he refuses to join in the fun. Aspen has to think outside the box if she wants him to join her.

Great pacing and you will devour this book in one sitting!

This was such an emotionally stimulating read in the romance/rom-com genre. I loved the premise, the characters, and the fact that I could live on the beach vicariously through Aspen and Brick for a few days. Aspen is a struggling writer who is afraid she had a one hit wonder after a devastating heart break. She tries to recreate the scenario of heartbreak that helped with her bestseller by making a deal with Brick to make her fall in love with him and then break her heart. The sweet relationship they form throughout the summer was great, but I LOVED the ending. The fact that after her big gesture of not publishing and then moving back to OBX he didn't instantly cave was SO REFRESHING! She hurt him and broke his trust, and I think it was so fair that he waited until she showed him he could trust him again. I loved and hated the fact that throughout the book Brick didn't stand up for himself or try to correct anyone about his relationship with Anastasia or the other women around town. I can absolutely see this happening in real life where sometimes women will just blindly trust other women's stories, and how fast and crazy a rumor mill can start. It goes to show that you really should take gossip with a grain of salt and trust your gut and what you have observed and come to know about a person and their character over what other people might tell you. This book had a powerful message about success. It really makes you stop and think about what your definition of success is, and if your perception of success and your goals will actually make you happy.

Thanks NetGalley for this eARC (even though I'm a year late and getting ready to read the sequel eARC- this is what happens when you have a toddler. You forget to read books on time 😅😭🫣)!

Very good writer. Sweet love story. The book had a good pace, grabbed me from the start, and stayed interesting. Great characters. Loved the details about The Outer Banks. 5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the author and publisher for a copy of this ARC
All opinions are my own.

Love the characters in this book and the story line. The viewpoint of a writer trying to write her next big book was different. It gave the reader a chance to understand the pressures writers have to keep up with themselves as well as other authors trying to make the best seller list. Aspen and Brick were an unexpected but likable couple. Aspen was willing to risk her heart for a best seller while Brick had a reputation that was undeserved while also dealing with the troubles he inherited from his grandfather’s business. Loved Aspen‘s relationship with her sister and look forward to the next book in the series.

A charming, playful romance about love, ambition, and the messy stories we tell ourselves. Probst delivers heart, humor, and just the right touch of drama in this feel-good read about chasing inspiration—and finding something real along the way.

Aspen is a best selling author, but she has lost her mojo. Her best selling book was after her biggest heartbreak. The next 2 books have fallen flat. She goes to visit her sister and meets Brick, a man fantasies are made from. She decides that she needs him to break her heart in order to cure her writers block. So she has to get him on board and then keep from falling for him! A very tall order indeed!

This is a cute little love story with some super spicy parts! Aspen and Brick are lovable and maddening! A fun read for summer!

I don't know why this is getting mixed reviews but I absolutely loved it! It was emotional, sentimental and the grumpy x sunshine trope? Sold! The characters were relatable and I loved Aspen's relationship with her sister. It's a spicy, emotional story with a HEA, and I highly recommend this book.

This was fine. It wasn't horrible. It wasn't amazing. But it was fine. I for the most part enjoyed the love interest, but the main character drove me a little crazy. It ended up being a fairly cute romance, but not something I'd really write home about.

Um. No
Let's decide to have a meaningless fling with a hottie tour guide to get over my writing hump. Gen Z. DNG.

This was a light beach read, set in coastal Outer Banks in summer. The main character, Aspen, was self-serving serving though and it made the romance subpar, knowing she essentially was seeking a man to break her heart, but in which the opposite occurs because she used him. For that reason, it was difficult to get into and while hoping it might be forgiven or she realized her error, it wasn't a happily ever after. Overall, there just wasn't enough happening to hear to feel invested, other than hoping things worked out Brick and the business.

Book of the Month is a warm, feel-good novel about community, second chances, and the joy of stories. It has the comforting vibe of a Hallmark movie but with more depth, making it a perfect pick-me-up read.

This book is about a writer who wants to write another best seller so she decides to go to the outer banks to get some inspiration and ends up faking dating the local hottie . It will make you laugh and cry it’s a good summer read

Aspen Lourde, once a literary darling, is desperate to write another hit. Her last bestseller was inspired by heartbreak, and now she’s creatively stuck. So she heads to the Outer Banks and strikes a deal with Brick Babel—a local heartthrob with a bad-boy reputation—to fake a summer fling that ends in heartbreak. The plan? Use the emotional fallout as writing fuel. But as their “contractual” romance unfolds, real feelings start to blur the lines.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blue Box Press for this ARC!

Book of the Month by Jennifer Probst had a cozy setting and a heartfelt message about grief, healing, and second chances, but it didn’t quite reach my cup of tea level. I appreciated the bookish backdrop and emotional themes, but the pacing felt uneven, and the romance didn’t fully sweep me in. Some moments stood out, but overall, it lacked the spark I was hoping for. A decent read, just not a standout for me. 3.5

Aspen Lourde is a NY Times best selling author for Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover. She wrote it after her heart was shattered by her professor in college that she was supposed to marry. She's written 2 books since then That just haven't hit as well and this next book has to be perfect Or she's just going to become a has been. As pen decides to spend the summer with her sister Sierra by the beach to relax and try to write.

Brick Babel has a reputation in town and its not a good one. He ruined his fiance and drove her out of town. According to a bunch of women, he broke their hearts. He now has a big warning label on him. Brick doesn't much care what people think. He's just trying to save his grandpa's tour company that he was gifted. If he doesn't come up with some money soon, he'll be forced to close. Enter Aspen.. She wants to hire Brick to date her so she can fall for him and he can break her heart. Then she can write the sequel to the book.that everyone is begging for from the pain she feels. In return shell pay whatever he needs to fix his business.

This book was incredible. The angst and chemistry between As pen and Brick was off the charts. I loved how the relationship was so real even though it was supposed to be fake. Sierra was such a great side chart and I can't wait for her story. I know that will be explosive. She's so feisty but she's such a great sister. It is on it how much they both have each others backs. The author also does a great job letting the reader into the nitty gritty world of a writers life. I loved reading about their fears at signings and their daily writing struggles. All in all I ate this book up and I can see myself reading this book again.

i love the premise of this one! a writer hires the famous heartbreaker of a small beach town to make her fall in love with him and break her heart so she can write her next best-selling book? amazing! all the conversations leading up to this and her proposing him the idea were so fun to read and as someone who's always wanting more dating scenes, it definitely delivered!

it was interesting to have a character discuss the publishing industry in all its little details, including her own struggles and insecurities stemming from it. on that note, i love how women's fiction adjacent this romance book is, not a surprise considering the author, but it's lovely to read either way!

however, this story didn't stuck out to me very much. it was very easily to put it down and not think about the characters. i surely had fun reading it, and i'm planning on reading the next installment of the series because i'm excited to see how that story is going to play out and i did love the town and all the secondary characters, but i know by next week i'll have forgotten the main characters names.

Thank you to Blue Box Press for the eARC of this one via NetGalley.

This was a cute book about a FMC who is an author struggling to write the next big book, who goes to visit her sister in Outer Banks, and decides she needs to fake date the town heartbreaker in order to inspire her next book.

This book leaned more women's fiction than romance to me. The romance was heavy, but it took too long to get to that point, and I found the set-up kind of dragging. After awhile, the "reasons" for everything not working out felt repetitive.

Book of the Month was a love letter to the life of an author, though. I found the interesting tidbits about the publishing world to be interesting.

This book gets a very solid 3 stars. It will absolutely be someone else's cup of it... it just wasn't entirely *my* cup.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC of this book! I loved the setting and the overall story-line! Both main characters were likeable and felt realistic to me. I liked that we got both of their view points. This was a quick easy read and would be the perfect beachread! Looking forward to more books by Jennifer Probst.

I finally got around to reading Book of the Month by Jennifer Probst—yes, I know it came out last fall, but as a true mood reader, I was saving this one for summertime. Something about the Outer Banks setting, the promise of a slow-burn romance, and the wild horses running along the coast just felt like it needed to be read under the sun—and I was right. 🌊☀️📖

This book had everything I love in a beachy romance: a down-on-her-luck author chasing her next big story, a broody local tour guide with a soft heart, and a fake dating plan that spirals out of control. Aspen and Brick’s dynamic was full of banter, slow-burn tension, and some surprisingly emotional moments that gave this rom-com a lot of heart.

But what really made me fall for this book? The setting. Jennifer Probst brought the Outer Banks to life in the most vivid way. I could practically smell the salt in the air and hear the wild horses running in the distance. It was the ultimate escape read, and now I’m more obsessed with the OBX than ever.

I also just found out this is a series (!!) and book 2 follows Aspen’s sister, which makes me so happy because I loved their sibling dynamic.

Book of the Month is more than just a love story. It’s a reminder that inspiration doesn’t always come from heartbreak—it often comes from healing. Add this to your Summer TBR if you want to experience this one 📖

Thank you Netgalley and Blue Box Press for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pick this up for steamy summer vacation read. The characters are pretty cliche but they are fleshed out well and the story is easy enough to drop and pick back up at any point without getting lost (perfect for the beach/pool/summer interruptions). There are several steamy scenes even before the couple actually gets steamy - lets just say there is a lot of fantasizing going on.
Thanks so much for the ARC!