This was a very cute and different romcom. At first I loved the way Aspen and Brick were written falling in love. It got a little cheesy towards the end but overall I liked it. I will probably read Kane and Sierras story!

I’m not quite sure I completely believe that fake rumors could go on so long in such a small town, so the whole thing where Brick’s reputation is that he’s such a bad boy heart breaker was weird to me buuutttt I digress.

I thought these characters had chemistry, which was good. Sometimes in shorter books, the chemistry feels forced, but Aspen and Brick seemed to have good chemistry from the start. I just felt like there seemed to not be that much happening in this book. The stakes didn’t feel high enough. And i kept forgetting the plot lol.

It was okay. I got through it but it did drag some.

Loved this romance and really loved all the characters. It was an easy read that wrapped everything into a nice neat bow the way a good romance should. My only complaint is that some of the NC references were incorrect. Marijuana is still illegal in North Carolina and Duck Donuts is found all over the world just not in Duck.

4.5 🌟

I was obsessed with the premise of this -- Lourde, an author who's struggling to live up to her first book and fears that her career is all but over if she can't write a sequel she desperately does not want to write, devises a plan to get out of the city and stay with her sister in the Outer Banks so she can get some inspiration - namely in the form of the town "bad boy" Brick, who everyone promises will chew her up and spit her out, providing the perfect amount of heartbreak to get her her next bestseller. The business that Brick has inherited from his grandfather is going under, and so they come to an arrangement. Lourde will give him the money he needs to save the business, and all he has to do is sweep her off her feet before bringing her world crashing down around her.

I can see this being turned into a movie and despite us being told numerous times that Brick has dark hair I have already fancast Glen Powell. The tornado taming reference in chapter 21 only solidified it for me.

There are some things that didn't work for me - the spice was very meh and I would have preferred fade-to-black rather than basically having to read "his fingers lightly brushed me and then I screamed" over and over. It almost felt like a chore to read when I enjoyed reading their banter while out on a tour or staying up all night to watch the sea turtle eggs. The third-act breakup, which is of course, a given in a book like this was a bit tedious, you kind of want to grab Aspen by the shoulders and give her a little shake. Like if you don't want to break up just don't break up ! Change the rules ! You're the one who made them ! Gah !

But aside from those few nit-picks I did overall enjoy and now I miss my sister. Texting her to tell her we need to move to an unfamiliar coastal town ASAP and let hijinks ensue x

This books plot was very unique and I was hooked from the beginning. The chemistry between Aspen and Brick took a little time to build, but once it did…it was intense. I enjoyed it quite a bit!

This book!!!! I absolutely fell in love with Aspen and Brick. Their story was too cute! The grumpy x sunshine dynamic was so well done and the way they grew over time was just chefs kiss. It’s been a while since I’ve read a romance book that I’ve genuinely enjoyed from beginning to end.

3.5. Stars. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this book. Really the plot was intriguing, a “one hit wonder” best selling author trying to find her inspiration and write another hit. And it was delightfully spicy- didn’t expect that but I loved it. I also loved some of the more outlandish, romance novel level moments. It felt like it was trying to straddle the line between romance and women’s fiction and that fell a little flat for me. I also struggled with the 3rd person POV which kept me a little bit on the outside of the story. It took me longer than I hoped to get through the book because it wasn’t one of those “can’t put it down” kind of stories. Overall, I think it was good, not great. But I did come to enjoy the characters and side characters and will continue to read the next book in this story also.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

Cute story but the FMC became a bit unbearable by the end. The MMC saved the story but ultimately the FMC kinda ruined it.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! Aspen, having having one extremely successful novel, wrote two other so-so books and has writer's block. She decides to live with her sister for the summer in OBX. Enter Brick -- the so called heartbreaker of the town. The two strike up a deal to get them both what they want (or what they think they want).

This was a very pleasant read. I liked the character development (though Aspen did bother me from time to time) and characters learning from their past. While the plot was little bit predictable, it worked well.

Interested to read Sierra's story next!

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This was a fun & quick easy read. Another perdictible rom com but I was invested in the characters & their outcomes. I'm looking forward to the next book coming out that explores the relationship between Sierra & Kane. I love it when there is a second book that delves into more of the characters. I'm curious to see how that develops.

I gave the book a 3.5 review based on the predictability and the crass words. I do enjoy the steamy scenes & have no problem reading those. However, I felt some of the word choices in those scenes were too crude.

2.5/5 stars

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early read in exchange for an honest review!*

I really enjoyed the characters in this book but I didn’t enjoy the last 100 pages or so, especially as it was so obvious that Brick and Aspen were going to end up together, so I found the conflict unnecessary. Also, the fact that Aspen refused to publish the sequel was fair as she didn’t want to hurt Brick’s feelings even more, but she then proceeded to publish it once they got back together which, again, I knew was coming and it just felt predictable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blue Box Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book of the Month follows Aspen Lourde, a bestselling author who can't quite reach the accalim of her debut novel. Her sophomore and junior novels are not selling well, and readers are not connecting with the material. Her first book was a raw, cathartic release after a terrible relationship and break-up, and she decides that she needs to go through that same experience again to replicate the magic of her first book.

Enter Brick-- the player of the Outer Banks, where Aspen is staying with her sister for the summer. Naturally, he is the perfect candidate to break her heart. She proposes that he dates her and breaks her heart by the end of the summer, and in return she will bankroll the rennovation of his grandfather's flailing touring company.

As the summer progresses, Aspen realizes Brick might not be who she thought he was--but can she write a bestseller without breaking her own heart?

I really loved this one! I would definitely recommend. 4/5

Overall, it was a decent read, a small-town romantic comedy. The story is about a writer who is desperate to write a best-seller like her first book but needs some inspirational heartbreak. She ends up using the town playboy for inspiration, and he was a much more interesting character compared to Aspen.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for the eARC.

Thank you Blue Box Press and NetGalley for the ARC of Book of the Month in exchange for an honest and independent review.

Aspen is a best selling New York author and doing everything she can to not be a one hit wonder. After the sensational success of her first novel, her second two books have been a flop, and she’s grasping at strings to make this next one a success. In hopes of breaking her writers block (and ultimately her heart), Aspen decides to spend her summer in the Outer Banks, where her older sister lives, looking for inspiration.

Aspen fears that what made her first book so successful was that it was written on the heels of absolute heartbreak. She poured her soul into that book and not only did it bring her back to life, but it made her an overnight success story. After one drunken night with her sister, Aspen decides that’s exactly what she needs again to make sure this book is a success. She needs to fall in love and then have her heart broken into a million pieces in order to write the next book of the month best seller.

Enter OBX’s moody, mystery town heartthrob: Brick (because of course that’s his name). Owner of a local tour company, Brick is a thing of legend around OBX for breaking hearts and not looking back. After much consideration, Aspen hones in on Brick for her summer heartbreak. Aspen gives Brick the money to renovate his struggling business and in turn, Brick makes her fall in love with him with the agreement to break her heart (how does no one see that this will not end well?). Over the course of the summer, Aspen and Brick take the plunge and unbeknownst to them, fall in love. Will Aspen be able to handle the heartbreak in order to write her next best novel. Or more importantly, is it even worth it??

In complete honesty, I thought the premise of the book was just stupid, putting it bluntly. The entire idea was a terrible idea and anyone with eyeballs and a brain could see how this was going to end. HOWEVER, I absolutely loved the connection that Brick and Aspen create over the summer. Their ability to be open and raw and build off each other’s encouragement and ideas only made them stronger. This book also sets up Aspen’s sister, Sierra, for her own book with Brick’s roommate and potential love interest, Kane (again, of course that’s his name).

In looking back over the book as a whole, despite the premise, I actually really, really enjoyed it. The writing was solid and the sex scenes were spicy. They had a real connection that was never forced and I loved watching Aspen come out of her shell. Her character is such a sweet soul and we’d all be so lucky to have a friend like Aspen (and a partner like Brick *cough*). I will absolutely pick up the next installment of this what I expect to be series!

Thank you to NetGalley, author and publisher for the ARC of this book.

I was looking for a super easy holiday read and that’s exactly what I got.

I really liked the characters in this book - both the MMC and FMC were likeable and there were some great secondary characters, like Marco, who really added to the story.

I do think the initial attraction could’ve been drawn out a bit more as it felt a little unrealistic with how fast it happened. I was also a little unsure about all the references to the literary world and author-isms at first, but grew used to this as the book went on.

Overall though, I did enjoy the story and do want to read Sierra and Kane’s story too.

Jennifer Probst is a new to me author and I wasn’t even halfway through the book before I was already queueing up her backlog of books. I LOVED this book and it will not be my last Jennifer Probst book that is for sure!

Aspen is a well-selled author who got popular after writing one book. Now her work is not-that-popular and she will do anything to jump back on the popularity wagon. Like everything, including her heart getting hurt all-over again. Is she that desperate to be willingly putting her own feelings at the stake?

Brick is a hot piece of a body and known heartthrob in a small village. His reputation is big, but not on the positive side. Everywhere he goes, there is one broken heart left. Is he the perfect match for Aspen, who just happens to need her heart to be broken?
It sounds like good plan. Like a good transaction, even.
But can you fake your feelings and try to not get involved? Is there something more to just a stories about an ass'hole who wants nothing from all the woman from his (and out of) town?
Is a bestselling book worth more than your own feelings?



<i> 'Just remember this, baby. I didn't break your heart. You broke mine'.</i>

I really enjoyed this one. I liked that it showed us the worse part of being a popular author - once you're on top, the pressure to stay right there and produce hit after hit is big. I always wanted to know that about authors - how do they feel after making a top-of-the-top book and then not being able to rise to their own expectations? Bookworld is hard. Like Aspen said, you never know if your work will be a top or flop, in a wordl with so many works being published daily, sometimes it only take a lucky shot to get on top of the lists. It was nice to see the real struggle of being a writer.

I really liked all the side characters and i would LOVE to see more of them (especially after reading the small peak into the second book), so i hope i will be able to snatch myself an ARC of another one. Now i want to move into a small town with house on the beach so i can also save some turtles and wild horses. Great.




<b>Thank you Jennifer and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book before its release!</b>

<i>PS: all of my opinions are my own</i>

I have a bit of a hate love thing going on for this book. I want to start by saying i did completely enjoy reading this book and reading it was definitely a lot of fun. I also enjoyed the writing style as well as the general plot! I think Aspen was quite relatable, and Brick likable.

However, i had a few "icks". The first one beind how the writer constant felt the need to describe Bricks masculinity. Another thing i had a small issue with was the insta-love happening, just because it didn't really make sense in this setting and just made me feel disconnected from the characters. So i think the story could have benefited a lot from a buildup instead of the insta-love.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange of an honest review.

This was fun read and I did enjoy it however I struggled a bit getting attached to any of the characters and some of the conflicts felt very forced - third act breakups ugh. I did still finish it and had a good time plus I think others might like this more! Will be adding to our library.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC!

I had mixed feelings about this one. Aspen’s drive to replicate her success after Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover felt a bit too self-centered, and her sister Sierra only seemed to enable her. It was hard to relate to Aspen’s all-consuming ambition, especially with how it affected those around her.

On the other hand, Brick was such a solid character. I felt for him, especially with this line:
“Just remember this, baby. I didn’t break your heart… You broke mine.” 💔

In the end, things work out, but I struggled to get behind Aspen’s journey. Fans of Probst might still enjoy it!