A light read that will be good on a rainy day. It's a trope-y one that sees fake dating turn to a real relationship between two very different people. Aspen needs inspiration for her new book and Brick needs to keep his business afloat so their deal should benefit them both but then their hearts get in the way. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Blue Box Press and NetGalley for an early e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book! The plot was fun and interesting and I loved the setting in OBX. I thought the fmc was sweet and funny and I’m curious to read her sister’s story!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was such a fun book!!! I loved the characters Brick and Aspen stole my heart. I also love that Jennifer poked fun at romance tropes a little. The spice was delicious! I can’t wait to read the next book and return to the characters.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

Book of the Month by Jennifer Probst is a fun story about a woman named Aspen who wrote a best selling novel but can’t seem to follow up with another success. It was based off a failed relationship that torpedoed her life, and now she’s scared to open herself back up to hurt. In order to write another best seller while she’s on vacation and a tight deadline, she comes up with the idea that getting her heart broken will solve all of her problems. Meanwhile, Brick’s tour company that he inherited from his grandfather is failing, and he’s doing his best to save it. Enter Aspen with her proposal - a relationship over the summer that ends with him breaking her heart, and she’ll give him money to save his business. But what will they do when the lines start to blur?

I thought this was a fun story and couldn’t put it down. Aspen wasn’t always likable, but it fit her character. I really liked her sister too. However, the one thing that really bothered me is when she first flirted with Brick and didn’t listen to him when he said no. She kept pursuing him, showing up at his job and buying out a solo tour to keep flirting with him, and he can’t say no because his company needs the money. That was a very uncomfortable start to the story. If roles had been reversed, his character would have been torn apart. The rest of the story once consensual, was a fun romp. Because of this, I would give it 4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

She’s desperate for another bestseller… and she’ll go to any length to get it. Even if it means sacrificing her pride to chase the hottest bachelor in town and get him to break her heart…

Aspen hasn't written a hit since her first book(after a terrible heartbreak). Cue Brick Babel, the small town heartthrob she wants to break her heart. His tour company is struggling and he doesn't have time for Aspen's shenanigans until she offers him a deal he can't say no to. A whirlwind romance that should boost his tours and help her with her book.

Book of the Month isn’t just about finding love where you least expect it.
It’s about finding yourself in the pages of life’s unexpected chapters.

Aspen and Brick must figure out what they're willing to lose in order to finally win.

How far will an author go to put out a best selling book? Aspen used a back breakup as the basis for her first best seller. The next two books don't do well. So she is determined to write a best seller she needs another heart break. Enter Brick that needs money and willing to provide the romance and the breakup. An enjoyable story of romance, relationships and endless stress and what goes wrong.

“I love you. I’m not sure how it happened or what I’m going to do, but I don’t care. I love you, and I’m yours.”

🩷Grumpy/Sunshine
🩷Fake Dating
🩷Beach Town
🩷Spice

Aspen is an author who is having writings block and needs another best seller.
She goes to The Outer banks where her sister lives in hope for inspiration.
In comes Brick. Everyone is warning her away from him. That he breaks every girls heart. But that’s what she needs. She needs another heartbreak to write the next book. But they didn’t expect they might actually start to fall for each other…
This was a fun read and I loved the OBX setting with the sea turtles. And also enjoyed the side characters. There were some cringe moments and the switch from grumpy to falling for you was a bit quick. But still had a good time reading and I’m super stoked for Sierra and Kane’s book!

What a great escape read! It featured two of my favorite tropes: books about books and fake dating.

Aspen is a writer pressured by her agent for another bestseller. But her last hit was all thanks to Aspen’s own heartache. She heads to the Outer Banks to visit her sister, looking for inspiration or a much-needed heartbreak.

There, she meets Brick Babel. He’s gorgeous and has a reputation for breaking hearts. But he needs money for his tour company, and Aspen needs a heartache, so she offers him a deal.

Aspen is pretty forward with Brick because she needs this book written, but when things get hot between them, feelings and emotions get all tangled up with the words she needs to write on the page. Suddenly, she realizes this isn’t fiction anymore; this is their love story.

This was so much fun, with a beautiful setting and delightful secondary characters - and it was spicy, too!

Thank you @getredprbooks @1001darknights_blueboxpress and @authorjenniferprobst for a gifted ebook.

Such a cute page turner!
- Dating for convenience ✨
- Attractive male lead with a supposed past 🧑🏽‍🦱
- Desperate female lead who would do anything to write her next best selling novel 💃🏼

Thank you Net Galley for this advanced reader copy!!

This book had an interesting premise and the beginning was entertaining. Once Aspen and Brick agreed on a contract, it lost my attention. It took me almost 2 weeks to get through this book when I can usually finish a book in a day or two. Brick was an amazing hero, but Aspen was a bit frustrating. The book also felt drawn out, but maybe that's because it took me forever to finish. I did like the role reversal where the heroine had to grovel in the end. Overall, this book was an okay read.

Such a sweet read! I loved Aspen and Brick’s story, although I wished Aspen had stood up for herself and been a little more assertive. But, overall, this was a fun read, & I loved the Carolina shore setting. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy!

This was a cute romance, but the first half was a little slow, while the second half picked up. This was my first Probst book and I didn't know what to expect but I did end up liking this one more than I initially thought I would.

This book follows Aspen Lourde, a writer who is desperate to write another page turning novel that her audience will devour. Her first book was a huge hit and she has been chasing the fame and success of that first book. But she wrote that book after a messy and dramatic break up and put her feelings and her whole self into her first book. So she takes a trip to visit her sister in the Outer Banks to see if that will inspire her.

Then we meet Brick Babel, hot and sexy tour guide who has a bit of a bad rep in town with all the ladies. He's grumpy and moody and just the muse Aspen thinks she needs for her new book. He isn't the most approachable guy and her sister and her friends all warn her away from him but she thinks he can provide the drama and heartbreak she needs to make her next book a success.

With a little convincing, Brick agrees to a deal that Aspen proposed to him because he needs to save his Grandfather's business, so they both come to an agreement on their "relationship" and how they can both come out ahead. But one thing neither of them anticipated was to catch feelings for the other.

The build up on this story took a hot minute so I had a bit of a hard time getting into this one, but then I was flying through that last half of the book to see what was going to happen. I feel like the emotions were pretty realistic in this one in a cutesy way. This isn't too spicey either but it did have a little spice. I could really feel the desperation the author felt in this one and it made me wonder if she took this from personal experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blue Box Press for providing this eARC!

A writer spends the summer with her sister in the Outer Banks. Looking to write a sequel to her best seller she makes a deal with a guy to be her muse. Her life becomes the plot twist. Although I enjoyed the storyline, this book is written with explicit detail.

A definite quick beach read, a romance novel filled with lots of steamy sex. Set in OBX, Aspen a writer experiencing writer’s block heads to her sister’s. Hoping the change in scenery will give her the inspiration she needs. Not my normal type of book, but I enjoy the change.

Thank you #NetGalley, #BlueBoxPress, #JenniferProbst and #BookoftheMonth for the advance readers copy for my honest review.

Aspen is a writer who had a huge hit with her first books which she poured her own heartbreak into. Her next two books were not as big so she makes a deal with Brick to break her heart so she can write the heartbreak into her fourth novel and recapture the magic of her first book. There is fantastic on page chemistry between Aspen and Brick. Love the dialogue between the two - perfect give and take. Even though Brick had flaws he is perfect for Aspen. The name Brick and the walls he builds around his heart was a little too on the nose for me (as was the name Maleficent).

Thank you to Blue Box Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

One hit wonder, the story kicks off with a writer who wrote an amazingly connected story and the remainder of the books she wrote are good but does not have the same Je ne sais quoi. The story starts with Aspen Lourde; she's a writer, and she writes the book Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover and other books. She's a funny and outgoing person. She'd just released a new book, but readers don't like it much. She is determined to put the same mojo into the next book she was paid an advance for so she visits her sister "to write". Her sister, named Sierra, who is friendly and funny, like they were really sisters. They visit a bar with her sister upon her arrival, where she first saw Brick Babel, a local who runs a tour place and the heartbreaker of Corolla. Aspen devises a plan to help both her and Brick. Brick will date her, make her fall in love with him, and then break her heart to give her inspiration for the sequel to her best selling book and in exchange, Aspen will give him the funds to save his business. It’ll be a clean break at the end of the summer when she goes back to New York. However, the summer is hot, and the line between fact and fiction becomes easily blurred. This story was off to a great start. For me, this was one of those stories that you take to the beach and/or curl up on the couch in front of the fire on the weekend and read, read, read. I have to say, I found this book thoroughly enjoyable. The dialogue was delicious, the location sublime, and the action was at times fast, fun, steamy and angsty. I did find it a bit slow but overall a great read.
Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Blu Box Press for the opportunity.

Aspen is a successful romance writer who made a killing with her first book. Unfortunately the next two have been pretty flat and she is out of excuses and ideas. Aspen heads home to Outer Banks to stay with her sister and regroup. Once there she hits on idea of hooking up with Brick … so he can break her heart and she’ll have the inspiration to write again.

Brick is in town running his late grandfather’s tour business. He’s not a natural and the business is in trouble. Their meet cute is excruciating when Aspen tries to chat him up and he rejects her. Eventually Brick and Aspen hatch a plan so she can have her heartbreak and he can fix the business - and hopefully his reputation. It's essentially complicated fake dating, which they do and of course, they open up to each other, enough to fall in love, but not enough for Aspen to put their relationship first.

There’s a subtext around gossip and the damage of seemingly harmless chatter in a small community - through a support group formed by all the women that Brick has 'dumped' - so Aspen is navigating his reputation as well as writing her next not-a-romance..

It’s very meta about romance authors and there’s a lot of detail about the writing process and book sales and how publishers and agents get invested. So much to enjoy - a cast of quirky side characters, a charming town, a romantic setting, baby turtles, wild horses, hash brownies, all the necessary ingredients for a light-hearted romance. I just wish I’d liked it more - I didn’t connect with Aspen who held her views so tightly she’ couldn’t pivot even when the whole landscape changed. Brick was a bit of a sad sack. It’s a gorgeous setting and everyone is lovely, but not enough substance for me.

Thank you Jennifer Probst, Blue Box Press and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

This book would make a great beach/vacation read or book club book. It actually comes with book club questions at the end, which I thought was really cool.

This book has fake dating, big town writer x small town wild horses tour guide, nicknames, he's obsessed with her, and was just a fun low stakes read.

The dialogue didn't really draw me in at the beginning, but I felt like that got better as the book progressed. I think overall, even though I enjoyed the story, it just didn't hook me or really draw me in. But if you are looking for a Hallmark style light and fun book, you'll have a great time with this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

I’m a self proclaimed artist , and aspen spoke to my soul ! The artist in me sympathized so deeply with aspen and her creative block! I was also blown away by the lengths she went to recapture her artistic flow …. Lengths I could not go to myself , thank you aspen for adventurous spirit inspiring me to push through my own creative block !

Author Aspen Lourde was left at the altar by her professor, and she’s translated all the hurt and betrayal into a best selling novel. Since then, she’s written 2 other non related novels, and they have not resonated with her readers. Her editor urges her to write a follow up to her hit novel, even though Aspen resists. Needing a break, she goes to spend the summer with her sister at the Outer Banks, NC. There, she finds herself entranced with the supposedly bad boy of the town, Brick Babel. Knowing she has an advance and a looming deadline, she sets about writing a sequel to her heart breaking first novel. But she’s convinced herself the only way to do that is to fall in love with Brick, and then have him reject her. A cute story of an author trying to balance what she wants in life, what she needs in life, and the sacrifices she must make to have that happen. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book; all opinions are my own.