The synopsis of the book sounded interesting & was the reason I'd originally picked up this book. But when it came down to actually reading it, I couldn't get past the first chapter. It was a very "meh" way to start a book. The FMC is an author who previously had a hit release but her current release wasn't doing it with the readers that came to her signing. The author goes on to blame not hitting "#booktok" for the reason people aren't interested in her new book. Had it started with something a little more high stakes like a conversation with her editor or publicist, I may have been more inclined to push through. But unfortunately, this book just isn't for me.

Thank you to Jennifer Probst, Blue Box Press, and NetGalley for sending me an early copy!

Well, this was a DNF for me. I read about 50% and just couldn't stand it any longer. I thought I was going to get a fun, fake dating scenario but instead was met with a convoluted premise of a woman who essentially hired a man to break her heart. This girl needs therapy.

I was also so sick of hearing how the MMC was attracted to the FMC even though she wasn't his type and was not conventionally attractive or not as hot as her sister? Super unnecessary. The insta-lust was also extremely cringey to me, and seemed so forced.

Firstly, I'd like to thank the author and Blue box press for providing me with the e-Arc of this book via Netgalley for my honest review.

I was really intrigued by the synopsis of the book but unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations. The main character Aspen, attempted to find inspiration for her book through a summer romance. While the concept was interesting at first, the writing soon felt bland for me personally.

The biggest issue for me was the dialogue, it just felt kind of forced and I didn't really feel the connection with the characters. Apsen's relationship with Brick felt predictable, and it was the same figuring out complexities and obstacles to find love and personal growth. It's a good trope, but the execution fell flat. It was just way too cringey for me and I honestly did not like the MC's character and personality. She had the "not like other girls" personality and NOT in a good way, and honestly, that trope is just old now. I felt second hand embarrassment while I was reading her pov.

However, I must admit that the idea of the book does have a catch to it but I think for me personally, the execution was the problem. Although, if you like light-hearted and predictable romances as a quick read filled with contemporary themes and pop culture references, especially those who are familiar with booktok trends, this book is definitely for you so go ahead and give it a try, you might just find your new favorite.

I liked the idea of the book and overall it wasn't awful. However. About a quarter of the way in, it all became very predictable.
I think it makes for a good weekend read.

Ii loved the premise of this book and almost everything about it, but unfortunately the ending just wasn’t for me! (Though this felt like the perfect end of summer read!)

I felt like Aspen’s choice to pull her sequel at the end didn’t align with her character throughout (and while I appreciate that she ultimately re-writes and publishes it, it feels like an afterthought in the epilogue), and that Brick’s decision to not take her back was a plot device to add a smidge more angst (but also didn’t align with all of the character development that had happened).

I’m still really excited to learn more about Sierra and Kane!

Thank you Blue Box Press and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced eARC to review!

This was a great easy read! The premise was interesting and I really enjoyed the well developed side characters, they were fun and I literally LOL’ed at times. The small town vibes were perfectly written. I love reading stories about authors and their writing process! It possibly felt a little too insta-love, but that’s the expectation when reading a story like this, so it was no problem for me. Definitely had a bit of spice that I wasn’t expecting. Would happily recommend this to others who love this genre and want a quick easy read! Excited to read the next book with Sierra’s story…really feel like I need to know what’s up with Kane.

Our FMC lead Aspen is a writer and her first books is well loved by readers and everything after didn’t meet expectations. For professional success your personal life should be in the toilet. Brick wants to save his family’s company from bankruptcy. So a deal is made each gets something they want and need. Brink is a grumpy man and I loved him the story was cute and definitely picked up. I was happy to see the journey these two went on. They go on cute dates there are small things done for each other that are heart melting. Spicy is very tame and tasteful.

Aspen wrote a hugely successful book based on a heartbreak and she was the darling of the literary scene. Unfortunately, she is no longer that darling and is fresh out of heartbreak for inspiration. She needs to come up with something to prove she’s not a one-hit-wonder, enter Brick, the local heartthrob whose affairs are legendary and a potential muse for Aspen when he breaks her heart. The only problem is Brick doesn’t want to play Aspen’s game but he’s in a spot of bother and Aspen has a deal he can’t say no to.

Desperation, small town, fake relationship, forced proximity, a broody man who falls hard and you now have a list of some of my favourite things.

I enjoyed this one but it’s not without its problems. I like books where the romance isn’t overdramatic and there isn’t some ridiculous miscommunication which leads to the third act break up. This situation seemed believable but felt rushed. Lately, I am all for the romances where adults are in the relationship and discuss the things that are going on in the relationship (this might be an age thing), and this book edges into an area that I really don’t like, Aspen became a bit too much for me, but Brick works it all out and that was satisfying.

This one could be a bit too instalove/instalust for some, but that isn’t an issue for me. There were some really fun and cute scenes brought on by the dialogue between the pair, but then there were parts which were a bit cringeworthy. The spice is spicing, but there was still an element of cringe. The romancing is realistic: little things that happen between the pair are things I can see happening in real life.

Now for the criticisms I have – these are my things, if you don’t feel that way, great:
• I don’t like the 3rd person POV. I like feeling like I’m with the character, rather than being on the outside of the story;
• some of the language, situations and the ideas seem immature, but then again, maybe I’m ‘old’ now and I don’t get it: i.e. reference to a
‘booty’, dog humping a legging, referring to animals ‘pooping’ and ‘peeing’ – not sure why those were even mentioned;
• I didn’t enjoy the sexualisation of Brick: let’s spin the way he is propositioned (yep, that is the word I am deliberately using) around, i.e. the man
approaches the woman the way Aspen does and think of the outcry;
• Aspen’s desperation was not my favourite. I thought she was often manic/scattered and so harassing of Brick all the time. Also, her
stubbornness seems exaggerated, or she seemed exaggerated, I’m not sure;
• the plot moves slowly and might be a little shallow.

This one is difficult for me to comment on because I was sucked into parts and enjoyed it and then I would be thrown out of the story by other bits and was frustrated.

2⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Blue Box Press for an advanced copy of Book Of The Month.

Aspen’s first book was a bestseller. But unfortunately her other books fell flat. What no one knows is that her first book is about her life and about being left at the altar. She needs another bestseller so she decides to head to her hometown to visit her sister. While there she meets Brick who is gorgeous so she decides to make a play for him but he turns her down. She decides they can help each other-she can loan him mine for his business and he can break her heart to give her material for her next book. What can go wrong?

I was so excited for this book but it fell flat for me. The characters were so immature and not very likable.

- fake dating
- small town
- spice


This is my first time reading this author’s work. I didn’t have much expectation going into this book but I really loved the flow, character development, side characters, and general real human emotion and mess that people go through. Not including the “hate group” Brick has - that seemed a bit more book world and not very real world but it could happen I suppose.

Reading them fall in love and deal with their character growths at the end quickly and effectively was well written!

I’m very hooked to read her sister’s and his friend’s story next!!

I really loved the idea of this book, but I felt that the execution really lacking. I really struggled with the changing tenses from first person the third person, and I felt that as soon as character dialogue was building that they came to an abrupt stop, and it felt very confusing-like it was an unfinished thought. This made it really hard to connect with the characters and feel emotionally invested in the storyline-so much so that I had to give up at 68% . The main female protagonist was hard to like because it felt like she was stalking the male character and then abusing her power of money to gain his favor to get him essentially to sleep with her and it just didn’t feel like an organic way to build a relationship, even with the whole fake lover trope. Likewise, I was hoping even with the odd way they came together that they would build a rapport and he would feel natural for them to create a relationship, but the interactions just didn’t feel organic and I was like how do we get here- There was not enough that felt organic and right in the relationship for them to magically start having these feelings. I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to continue to explore new authors And for my copy of this book book.

4.5⭐
2🌶️
Aspen is in a slump. Her first book went viral, a mostly autobiographical story of her forbidden relationship and breakup with her college professor, but her next two books have been flops with her fans. Determined to write another bestseller, Aspen decides to spend the summer in OBX with her sister, Sierra. While she’s there she meets Brick, the owner of a failing wild horse tour company, and because of his “love em and leave em” reputation, decides to convince him to make her fall in love and break her heart.
I spent a few summers in Corolla Beach, so I liked the nostalgia factor. Also, the names reminded me of Simon and Garfunkle, and Ben Folds Five. That was a little bit distracting, but not bad.
This book is SO GOOD but I took off half a star because I couldn’t get past the unrealistic-ness of her bargain with Brick. It was always in the back of my mind distracting me lol. I’m not sure why it was so hard for me to suspend reality with this book but I couldn’t.
How can the hurt feelings be enough if she’s paying someone to do it? How can you get to that level of raw emotion she supposedly needs to write this newest novel if you ask someone to do it? The success of her first book was because it happened organically.
I also have mixed feelings about the BAB club at the end, but it wasn’t a huge issue.
Despite that, I still really enjoyed the book. I’m sure it will be a turn off for some people (as evidenced by the rating lol) but I still liked it.

I loved this book! The fake dating trope was done so well in this it reminds me a bit of How to lose a guy in 10 days! I will say the third act breakup was very sad, same with that movie, where one person was so focused on their goals that they lost sight of what was important. It made me physically sad for the characters. But that just means that the writing and story telling was so good!

A cute and spicy romance about Aspen, a writer who hasn't had a hit book since her last heartbreak a few years ago, and Brick, an infamous playboy who leaves behind a trail of broken hearts, and who everyone tells Aspen to stay away from.

The couple was great together, and I liked the fact that they both benefited from the fake relationship. There was great chemistry between both of the characters but it became pretty repetitive after a bit and I grew bored. Of course, there's also a third act break-up, like there is in most romance books, and this type of third act break-up, where one character is so set on focusing on their goals instead of being happy and ruins something that they actually want, is not my favorite.

I liked Sienna as a side character, and am curious about her and Kane, so I can see myself checking out the next book and their story. And of course, Dug, the best boy ever, deserves the most love.

Thank you to Blue Box Press, Jennifer Probst, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

EH... I thought this sounds super good, but it was not what I was in the mood to read. I came close to not finishing it but I don't really know what the issue for me was. Overall, it had a great premise but just fell a bit short. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

⭐⭐.✨ (will round up to 3 stars)

There were so many things about this book that I would normally be on board with, especially the fake dating trope. But for some reason I just couldn’t get into them with this book – not that it’s ever for the “right reasons”, but the reasoning behind their fake dating just fell flat for me. Felt more forced than usual, and I had more hopes for the relationship between Aspen and Brick. I did love the aspects of writing and publishing sprinkled throughout the book, especially being best friends with an indie author myself, it was interesting and fun to read about the process and writing.

Overall, the book was kind of meh for me, and felt like I had to force myself to finish it. I’m sure this book will find the right readers – it just wasn’t for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided to me through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Jennifer Probst and Blue Box Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

The premise of this one was very cute ! I've also spent a few summers in the Outer Banks, including in Corolla, so there was a lot that appealed to me.

Unfortunately, it fell very flat to me. There wasn't enough character development and the conflict felt a bit shallow. Just not for me.

Aspen leaves New York City to regroup and get her head back in her writing game. She’s hoping the change of scenery and some time with her sister Sierra will end her writer’s block and produce another bestseller. When she meets Brick, she becomes determined to use him to her writing advantage. What she doesn’t factor in is actual feelings. Probst takes us through the writing process through her main character, creating an almost meta like story that as the reader, you watch from the outside. It’s different and not like many other romances currently on the shelves.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

This one wasn’t my favorite. I had a hard time connecting to Aspen and Brick, and the writing style was a little awkward to me. I thought that the “Brick’s a heartbreaker” bit was overplayed and I found it very strange that there was a support group for it. I cannot imagine actual human women doing something like that. I did enjoy the bits about writing and publishing, but overall this just wasn’t the book for me.

Aspen Lourde wrote a huge bestseller, but hasn't been able to produce another one since. She's desperate at this point, fearing that her career is over if her next book is a flop. Aspen comes to the conclusion that the only way for her to write another hit is to have her heart broken - again. Cue Brick Babel, the local bad boy heartthrob. She tries to get him to fall for her, but when he rebuffs all of her advances, she makes him an offer he can't refuse - one summer romance that will end with her heartbroken and in return she will fund and save his failing family business.

What could possibly go wrong with this plan?

I enjoyed the banter between the two, and there was definitely some spicy scenes.

Overall I found this enjoyable and fun to read.