A huge thank you to Blue Box Press and Jennifer Probst for giving me the opportunity to read Book of the Month in advance!

This book kicks off with such a fun concept—a bestselling author struggling to write her next hit, which sets the stage for an incredible journey of self-discovery, love, and growth. I loved how it captured not just the challenges of a creative career but also themes like women’s empowerment, strong female friendships, and the charm of small-town life.

The romance, sisterhood, and friendships really drew me in. The characters were well-developed, and the contrast between big-city life and a close-knit small town was beautifully done. The shift in atmosphere felt authentic and added depth to the story.

The male lead was a pleasant surprise. Starting off as a bit of a mystery, he slowly revealed layers of his personality, making him all the more endearing. The banter between the two leads was adorable and added a nice dynamic to their growing connection.

That said, the pacing was slower than I’d expected, and I found myself struggling to stay hooked after the halfway point. Both main characters started spiraling into their own issues, which dragged the story a bit. But even with the slower pace, the romantic and spicy moments were written beautifully. The chemistry between the leads was palpable, making those scenes really enjoyable.

The ending, though, was the real highlight for me! Watching the characters fully embrace who they are was incredibly satisfying. My only wish? I would’ve loved to see Brick, the male lead, fight harder for Aspen in the final moments. But overall, Book of the Month was entertaining and kept me invested in their journey. Now, I’m eagerly waiting for the story of Brick’s friend, Kane, and Aspen’s sister, Sierra!

Both Brick and Aspen have had bad relationships in their past that colored how they view romance. When their temporary relationship becomes complicated with real feelings, will they take a risk or let their pasts rule their future?

More than anything the core of this story is miscommunication and misunderstanding. Some of this is more metaphysical misunderstanding about how romance should be or how one perceives themselves, but there's also just a lot of miscommunication in general. Both between the main characters, and amongst the town itself. I'm not generally a fan of a character who has a reputation that is false, but they refuse to stand up for themselves about it... But I'll admit this time it was done a bit better and was more believable.

Despite the amount of miscommunication that happened in this book, it was still a fun read that had a great supporting cast and fun characters.

Aspen Lourde is desperate to write another bestseller, but without any new romantic drama, she’s struggling. To spark inspiration, she heads to the Outer Banks for the summer with a plan to get her heart broken by local heartthrob Brick Babel, known for his wild reputation. However, Brick isn’t interested in playing along, until Aspen offers a deal: fake a whirlwind summer romance to help her write, and in return, she’ll help him save his failing tour company. Though it starts as a fake relationship, real feelings develop, complicating the plan.

Set against the beautiful backdrop of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, this romance novel delivers steamy chemistry, especially with Brick’s take-charge attitude. The vivid setting and engaging secondary characters add depth, making the story even more enjoyable. If you love fake dating, bad-boy romances, and small-town settings, this book is a must-read. The evolving romance between Aspen’s sister and Brick’s best friend also sets up an exciting potential sequel. Overall, it’s an entertaining and spicy read!

I really enjoyed this read! This book hooked me from the first page and I loved seeing Aspen's growth as a character and a writer from beginning to end. This book was funny, spicy, and sweet. Brick had me swooning and rooting for him and I loved the "redemption arc" for his reputation. The setting was also beautiful and made me want to visit the Outer Banks, grab a bite from Duck Donuts and go on a Ziggy tour to see the wild horses. The author did a great job hinting at the next book and I am so excited to see what's next!

This one was a 3.5 stars for me but I rounded up since Goodreads does not allow half star ratings.

I love a good book about books or bookish things. This one fit that very nicely. The story was cute, an author goes to visit her sister to get away in the hopes of inspiring her to write a sequel to the only book that she has written that was successful. With all the pressure mounting from her agent, publishers and fans she comes up with a plan to have her heart broken again because she thinks that is the only way to pull out the raw emotions from her first book. She makes a deal with a local hottie that has a reputation of being a heartbreaker. I am sure you can guess what happens.

The reason this one didn't rate higher for me was that the characters had so much potential but they fell a little flat for me. Plus to be honest I found the main female character to be a bit annoying and desperate. It was almost as if the author leaned in a little to heavily on the stereotypical "will they or won't they" without really bringing anything new to the story. As if there was a checklist for all romance books that the author followed but unfortunately, there was no real substance. I am quite disappointed that I didn't love this book because I was so excited when I read the synopsis.

There was a smidge of spice and the characters did have great potential. In fact the entire had book had really great potential but there was really no great delivery. I didn't find myself connected to this story or the characters in any way and the only reason I even picked it up was because I love books about books. I will say, I loved the main male character and he was really the only reason this book rated higher than a 3.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for a free copy of the eBook in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was such a good and interesting idea! But I honestly felt like it had a bit too much spice for my liking! Overall it was a good book though!

What an interesting theme for a love story.  Aspen Lourde wrote a book about her heartbreak and became an insta success.  Despite writing a couple of excellent books subsequently, success eludes her. Could it be that she needs another heartbreak in her personal life to write her next bestseller? Who better to break her heart than the local bad boy who's broken all the local women's hearts in the little town where she's spending her summer. 
Brick is desperate to make a success of the tour business that his grandfather left him. He's running out of money and constantly losing out to the local competition who has it in for him.  When Aspen offers him the money to put his business on the map in return for breaking her heart, it seems strange but desperate times call for desperate measures and a deal is struck. 
True life rarely moves along a planned path.  The fake romance is turning real and yep, Aspen is going to fall and fall hard but no matter the words won't flow. In the meantime, she's filling pages with her doodles, witty comic book stories that calm her. Is she pursuing the wrong genre to success. 
Aspen will definitely have to learn the hard way by breaking up with Brick and writing her new heartbreak story.  Originally, I thought the author protested too much and the story started slow, but then it gathered steam, and it was all that you would want from this much-loved author. In the meantime, is there something going on between Brick's friend from New York and Aspen's sister? Can't wait to read that story.

Thank you, NetGalley for this free book in exchange for my honest review. I gave it 3.5 stars.
I enjoyed the premise of this book. A writer needs to find a way to write her next best seller, but she feels the only way to do this is to experience heartbreak again. Enter Brick-town heartbreaker & every woman’s dream, Aspen decides to strike a deal with him to find her muse.

Set in the Outerbanks, this book had a small-town feel, with unique side characters that really rounded out the story. I enjoyed the way the story progressed, and the ending was lovely.

This book has a lot of spice (a little too much for my taste), but it didn’t take away from the storyline. If you liked Lucy Score’s Knockemount Series, you will enjoy this one! The sequel comes out in 2025!

Book of the Month by Jennifer Probst is a quick beach read if you don't mind obsessive women objectifying good looking men who aren't interested at first. Aspen was told no by Brick (really, a well built man named Brick?) in many different ways but she continues to harass him. Aren't we past that yet in our society? Or is it okay for a woman to harass a man relentlessly? No means no! The story fell flat for me because of Aspen's obnoxious behavior and cringey personality. Maybe it's time for her to give up writing if she thinks the only way to do it is to mine her relationships for stories. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for and ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Jennifer Probst book and I can tell you that it will not be my last! Not only does Jennifer bring the aspect of wanting to be a successful author into this story, but also bookstagram! Being able to see how writing successful stories can affect the mind of a writer/author was heartbreaking! To all wonderful authors: write what makes you happy and we will always support you 💗💗

Now the real tea, the fake dating trope is not always my favorite but by god, JENNIFER YOU KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK WITH THIS ONE! Not only is the romance between the characters so realistic and adorable, the struggles that each character goes through makes this book a masterpiece!

Thank you @netgalley and @authorjenniferprobst for the chance to read this ARC and support your upcoming release! 🫶🏻🫶🏻

This was fine, if you can get over the male main character's name being Brick. Very hard to take seriously for me personally. I have never read Probst before and I will say I think her writing style here is the strong point while the actual story she is trying to tell is what felt a little underwhelming to me and just struggled to keep me intrigued. I would love to know what people think her best book is because I think she is clearly very talented.

This one was not for me. I enjoyed the premise and the setting but could not connect with the characters or their romance.

This book was a cute popcorn read. I am not a huge fan of insta lust and that normally takes me out of the story. But overall it was a sweet quick read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Wow was this book so much fun!

Aspen + Brick’s character development was one of my favorites in quite some time. I was drawn into their story and wanted to keep knowing how it was going to end. I loved the incorporation of Aspen’s book writing journey and being an author seeking that next “best seller.” It talked about the struggles of being an author and creative story development. It made me appreciate my authors SO much more! Plus a romance plot? Sign me up.

Ok but can we please make sure to talk about Brick and him READING all of her books to know her better? 😭 all while still being a grump and not showing his tender side? It was perfection. The setting of Outer Banks was amazing and I loved the small town feel. Aspen and Brick’s story does not disappoint and I would recommend to anyone!

Expect:
-strangers to lovers
-grumpy vs sunshine
-sister relationship
-outer banks
-wildlife preservation
-slow burn

Thank you NetGalley, the author and Blue Box Press for this ARC copy in exchange for my honest review! ✨

I loved reading Aspen and Bricks story. You kind of want to yell at Aspen to be more assertive and think outside the box. But overall, a very sweet read. It’s a fast read with sweet characters. Can’t wait to read Sierra’s story!!

Thank you to Blue Box Press and NetGalley for the advanced E-ARC of this title.

Aspen is a NYT best selling author who is grasping at straws trying to duplicate the success of her first book. The problem is her first book was a product of her own personal heartbreak and showcased her at her most vulnerable. She enlists the help of resident heartbreaker, Brick and propositions him to break her heart in the hopes that this will inspire her next novel.

Aspen is dead set on Brick and no one else. Instead of diving into the dating pool, looking for a heartfelt and "real" connection, she is unwavering in her pursuit of Brick. Their fake dating relationship becomes problematic when it becomes transactional for money.

I really enjoyed Brick's character. He wants to save his family business and while the transaction was a bit icky to me, his heart is in the right place. His relationship with Aspen went from 0-100. It was confusing if he even liked her to him wanting to see her naked. Typical man.

This chemistry of Aspen and Brick felt weak. Perhaps it was intentional, but it was hard to invest in their relationship when it was so forced. I wished Aspen had more character development and had more shown more vulnerability versus her defaulting to an easy solution to her problem.

The ending was the best part of the book. It was heartwarming and one of the only swoon worthy moments of the book.

Thank you to Blue Box Press and Brilliance Audio for the review copies.

Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me. I went in expecting a fun romcom, but it fell short. One issue I had was the sexualization of the male main character. In a time when we're moving away from objectifying women, it feels off to accept or normalize the same treatment of men. While it's natural to appreciate and talk about attractive people, the way Brick was portrayed felt dehumanizing, especially considering the female main character’s own past experiences with mistreatment.

The writing also felt underdeveloped. The pacing was slow—too slow for my taste—and not much seemed to happen. The characters didn’t feel relatable or well-rounded, and the overall tone skewed younger than I expected. While I don’t mind younger characters in romance, I needed more depth and engaging development to stay invested.

As for the audiobook, while the voice acting was fine, I struggled with the male voice actor's style. His narration was loud and rushed, to the point where I had to lower the volume in my car when his chapters played. I also found that listening made the repetitive and less polished aspects of the writing more noticeable. While I usually enjoy dual narrators in romance, the mismatch in style and pace limited my enjoyment of this audiobook.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review, however, I'll have to DNF this one.

First and foremost, I struggled with the pacing of this book. The plot was established quickly in terms of why the romance developed, why the FMC was in the situation she was in, but very few actual events happened in the first third of the novel. This book would likely be more enjoyable for folks who enjoy a more small-town, slow vibe to a book. While I love a small-town novel, I need a much faster pace. It did not compel me to keep reading. I may have continued if the characters felt more devloped, but they fell flat. The over used "not like other girls" trope was worn out in 2015 and here we are...it's still tired out. It felt like a cheap, quick way to flesh out an FMC who had a lot of potential that, at least in the first third, wasn't realized. There were also moments of insensitivity that the editors should consider cutting entirely, like making jokes about authors all being schizophrenic.

The cover of this book drew me in but unfortunately I ended up DNFing it about 45% in. It felt repetitive and flat and the FMC was just very .. weird to me for lack of better words.


Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive an ARC of this book

This one took me FOREVER to get through and it really should’ve been a quick read. The cover and the synopsis drew me in, but the plot and writing fell flat for me. Thinking back, I hated the beginning when the author describes the lead male love interest, Brick, is not interested at all in the female main character, Aspen, and even writes that her looks are average. She makes a deal with him though and his first thought is sex? Not a fan. I also don’t like how innocent they had to make Aspen and how the majority of the book she only cares about fame. They try and make her seem like a savior of the town, when really she doesn’t suggest anything out of a basic realm of ideas. I thought some scenes could have been cut, the resolution could’ve been a little longer, and that the sex scenes had some cringy writing (swollen tissue?! Seriously?).

Personally I think that the story of Kane and Sierra is going to be better than this one, we’ll see when it comes out.

Thank you NetGalley, Blue Box Press, and the author for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date: October 22, 2024