I picked this because of the title and the description - I am a book of the month member and am always curious of the backstory on the authors and how the club impacts an author. Aspen's desire to be successful in her career is relatable to many women - we are often told and believe something must be sacrificed to be successful in industry. Unfortunately Aspen believes that her personal love life is the thing to sacrifice. Brick helps her find her confidence and helps her figure out what she's really looking for when defining success. In return, Brick also gets a hand in rescuing his business (cash influx is key here) and learns how to lower the guards he has put up around his heart.
I struggled a little bit with the names of the various characters - it was a little distracting. But I loved the side characters of Sierra, Marco, and Dug. They really brought humor to the story and helped highlight the hidden sweet spots of Aspen and Brick. It felt like a fun summer read and a nice forced proximity romance - with lust and sex mixed in (a little earlier and more often than I had expected!). I'm not sure if this is the romance read for everyone, but it was enjoyable. Jennifer Probst wrote a story that made me want to keep going even when I wasn't fully connecting with the characters. I would consider picking up one of her books in the future.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

5⭐️
4🌶

Tropes:
📚Fake Dating
📚Summer fling
📚Beachy romance
📚He falls first
📚Small town

A broody, local man. A down-on-her-luck author. A contract to help fix both of their lives. This book was everything.

Aspen can't seem to write a book to follow up her debut novel. Brick can't seem to get his grandfather's failing business back off the ground. So Aspen decides to strike a deal with Brick. She'll pay for what he needs to revamp his business if he will break her heart so she can write another bestseller.

Brick DELIVERS. I loved him from the beginning. He just wanted to be left alone, but once he agrees to Aspen's plan, man does he commit. The MOUTH on that man. 🔥🔥🔥 Aspen didn't know what she was getting with him. Aspen does a lot of growing. I was proud of her for finding herself and gaining her peace. But a bit disappointed with the journey for her to get there. My man Brick should have asked for more grovel.

The side characters were awesome. Marco and his gang had me laughing. And everyone knows a dog like Dug- so ugly they are cute.

I absolutely adored this book and am looking forward to the next one, which had better be Sierra and Kane.

I loved the cover of this book and the title - I'm an admitted BOTM junky. I looked at previous titles from the author and for me, they would have kept me away as too romance-y, whereas this cover made me think it was bridging romance/rom-com/women's fiction.

In the end, the romance was a little more spicy than I normally read, but I was impressed with the sexy use of consent. Just read it. You'll see what I mean. I have teenagers and we've talked a lot about consent - and I feel like Probst managed to insert it into sex scenes and actually make it sexy and yet relevant.

The plot was intriguing, but I felt like I knew exactly where it was going. I was right, but I still enjoyed being along for the ride. The characters are lovable and easy to root for, and it's a fun read that has you feeling beach vibes and Duck Donuts cravings.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blue Box Press for the ARC of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

The story was fun and makes for a good, quick read! The main characters didn’t really resonate with me but the plot and story were good. I enjoyed this book, but it didn’t leave much of a lasting impression.

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.5/5)

Book of the month is a cute book about writer Aspen. After experiencing succes writing her debut novel, she is in a slump. Enter smalltown heartbreaker Brick Babel.
I liked the way the book was written. It read away easily. The plot was cute, though it had some clichés. I also prefer it if mutlitple POV are made known by stating the name/switching them per chapter (instead of just randomly after a couple of paragraphs).

I am also very curious about Sierra’s story after this.

In Book of the Month, Aspen leaves New York for a small beachside town to visit her sister and to find a heartbreak that she hopes will inspire her to write another bestseller. She hires Brick the local heartbreaker who seems to be perfect for the job. The chemistry is instant and the romance sweet, and I liked reading about Aspen's experience as a writer and in the publishing industry and her relationships outside of the romance. I found the second half of the book less enjoyable, maybe because it felt more trope-y, everything seemed to resolve itself a little too easily, and the dialogue sometimes made it hard to distinguish between characters. But at least they got their happy ending sigh 😔

Aspen (lol) is a writer with a "one hit wonder" type book a few years back based on her life.
Her more recent books did not perform as well, and apparently this is because they are not autobiographical. She goes to Corolla in the outer banks, connects with her sister, and learns about the hot guy heartbreaker, Brick Babel (lol) who inherited a "wild horse tour company"(?) from his Grandpa....are you ready for this.... Grandpa Ziggy. I can't with these names. Okay one more- a literal character named Maleficent who drives a pink hummer. I am deceased.

Beautiful cover- if I looked at the covers of the authors other books I would skip them because it looks full of S M U T. This is my first Jennifer Probst, she is a good writer who has a plethora of romance titles under her belt. But this cover is lovely and drew me in- what was inside was representative. Good banter and dialogue, the characters were a bit boring but seemed to have easy and relatable conversation. I also like a "fake courtship" arrangement and main characters who are writers.

Because Aspen is experiencing a slump she seems unhappy with the marketing, the publishing industry, social media marketing, goodreads reviews. I can't help but feel a bit attacked?
The cynicism about her own industry came through- does this author resent us readers?

The ending was very romantic, although there was a bit of unneeded drama with the MMC getting butt hurt for a dumb reason.

Thanks to netgalley and blue box press for the ARC. Book to be released Oct 22, 2024.

This book was really cute, fast-paced and the perfect summer read. What first drew me in was the cover of the book, and the premise of reading a book about a struggling author in a "small town" setting, and I was not disappointed.
I really liked the main characters, especially Aspen. Her struggles with her past relationship and how that messed her up was really relatable. Brick appeared a bit grumpy at first, but he was actually so thoughtful, caring and sweet, but he also had his baggage from his last relationship and a town full of people judging him about it.
I loved the setting in the Outer Banks and all the nature scenes (wild horses, turtle watching) were amazing to read about.
However, my favourite aspect of the book were all the different side characters and the friendships that formed between them and Aspen - it's her small found family.

I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series, about Sierra and Kane. I knew something was up between them from the start, and I wonder what it is.

Thank you for letting me read this book! :)

Lol this is such a cute book! I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Now I know how some authors get their Inspiration. Just kidding but maybe they do.
Through their own life's journey of course.
I finished this book in one sitting. Did I lose sleep over it? Yes I did. Laugh out loud and I really did in some places.
Aspen is quite the character. She's who made me laugh. And made me shake my head at times too.
I just really enjoyed this book. My first time reading this author.
I really enjoyed the setting of The Outer Banks. The way she described it, it felt like I was there. I didn't want to leave .
Wonderful secondary characters too. Aspen's sisters group is absolutely delightful and cool in getting to know.
I had to laugh at Aspen during one of her book signings because of a reaction to a certain desert lol
I laughed until I cried at that scene. Way to go Aspen!
I didn't want this book to end because it was so delicious and cute. You'll see what I mean when y'all read it.
A great beach read or anytime read.
5 stars for a wonderful family adventure. I highly recommend.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions are mine.

A really cute read. The chemistry between Brick and Aspen was off the charts. There story was hot and sweet. I also fell in love with the side characters. I want Marcos story! I can’t wait to read more from Kane and Sierra.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blue Box Press for the ARC

I thought the premise sounded interesting and fun, but unfortunately this didn't resonate with me. I felt like the fmc's incessant pursuing of the mmc was too much. Especially since he time and time again refused her. I did like the glimses of the publishing industry and how a author can struggle with writer's block. The story was engaging to some point, but I never truly connected with the characters nor the story.

I just had to DNF the book. I really did try but it was very clear (very fast) that this wasn't the book for me. The FMC felt flat, the dialogue was more often than not cringe and despite the premise sounding interesting, it just didn't feel like it was delivered. At least, not in the way I expected it to be.

I do have to point out a few things that bothered me about this book (beware of spoilers):
- the amount of times it's highlighted how uninterested the MMC is in the FMC only for the FMC to keep "seducing" him (read: harassing) and pushing and flirting with him because she needs to write a book made me fee uncomfortable. I don't know if the author intended this to be a funny little aspect of the story but it just made me fee weirded out with how pushy and disrespectful the FMC was being with someone that CLEARLY wasn't interested (despite his POV obviously telling us he was intrigued).
- the amount of descriptions about irrelevant things certainly didn't help. I'm all for context but I don't need 4 paragraphs of information about the publishing industry to understand why the FMC needs a bestseller.
- the fmc is not like other girls! she's bit ugly, has a dry humour (because she said a giraffe nearly ate her hair? okay?) and takes no sh!it from anything! Or so the MMC thinks from the 1 minute conversation he had with her where he promptly rejected her.
- "no one ever asked him that" says the MMC after the FMC asks him the most uninspired question ever ("Don't you ever get tired of doing the same thing every day?")
- why is her "big nose" such a big deal.
- two mentions of animals pooping + 1 peeing (reminder I DNFed so who knows what happens next) — totally natural events but why include them in this story? I clearly failed to understand the humour in these scenes
- "Maybe she was the rare female who sought out a man with an easy personality and a sense of humour rather than looks" ah yes, the poor female brain hasn't developed enough for that apparently
- his name is brick?
- this fmc is a 🚩
- he keeps rejecting her, she keeps insisting, he rejects her again where she then proceeds to swoon because "he's (just) trying to save her from his big, bad moves in bed."
- "was it the new tiktok I did that helped?" is an actual sentence in this book
- dog was humping his leg?
- dog started humping harder? Again, failed to understand the humour.

Once again, I quickly realised this wasn't the book for me but that doesn't mean other people won't like it. (As seen by the reviews).


Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

"Book of the Month" offers a charming glimpse into the world of book clubs and small-town drama, but it falls a bit short on originality. The characters are engaging, but the plot sometimes drags, making it a pleasant read without leaving a lasting impression.

This book had everything that I typically love but was difficult for me to finish. Aspen Lourde is a best selling novelist struggling with writers block who visits her sister and decides spicing up her life will help her write her next great novel. In walks Brick Babel, small town bad boy and owner of a near bankrupt OBX tour shop.

Even though I’m rating this low, I did enjoy the story. It’s just that bits and pieces were so repetitive and unnecessary and there was a lot of telling instead of showing. Namely with the h/H’s chemistry. I really enjoyed the side characters, Aspen’s character growth, and Brick’s vulnerability.

I loved this so much. I have been hooked as a Jennifer Probst reader since reading her Searching For series a number of years ago. Jennifer writes we a trademark giddy, swoony, angsty style that keeps me invested in the characters and their HEA. This story was no change from that style. I found myself kicking my feet in happy glee and weeping within a short span of story. I loved Brick and the drive he has to preserve family legacy. The world that Jennifer built was vivid and I enjoyed many of the side characters as much as I loved the main characters.

I cannot wait to reach Sierra and Kane's story.

Fake dating at it's best....

Aspen had one book go viral and now is struggling to do it again. Her last two books fell flat. She is convinced that her first book was successful because her heart had been broken so she was essentially writing a true story. She believes that if she can fall in love and have her heart broken again, she will be able to write the next book and have it be as successful as the first.
Brick lives in the Outer Banks and is known as the local heart breaker. He is the perfect person for Aspen to fall in love with since he is so familiar with breaking hearts. The only problem, he is not actually the heart breaker that the town proclaims him to be. He actually had his heart broken and ended up with a bad reputation.

I liked the main characters quite a lot. I especially liked Brick, who was ultimately open and communicative. I was a bit disappointed with Aspen's decisions towards the end of the book.

Aspen is a writer who is scared of being a one-hit-wonder. Under pressure to write another ‘book of the month’, she heads to Outer Banks to stay with her sister and decides to make a deal with the local womaniser, Brick: Aspen will pump money into his failing business if he breaks her heart.

The writing is solid and the characters familiar in that they fit the genre well. It paves the way for the sequel, which I would definitely like to read!

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc.

2.5 stars rounded to 3. I struggled with the beginning of the book, but it did get better. My issue was how strong and somewhat harassing Aspen was to Brick. If this was a male character, he would be labeled a creep and be really problematic, but since it’s a female, it’s ok? It just didn’t set a great tone. This is a relationship of convenience story with open door insta-lust. I enjoyed Brick’s character as the author got deeper into his backstory, but I never could connect to Aspen. I did enjoy the OBX setting as I am familiar with the area and it was described well. At best, this is a library rental.

Thank you Blue Box Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is a story about a writer who is desperate to write a best seller like her first book but needs some inspirational heart break. She ends up using the town playboy for inspiration and they work through their trauma and challenges to make then double think the whole relationship pact.

I could not put this book down! Definitely one of my favorites now. The story is up to date and a modern millennial love story that really does twist and turn, but then is steady. In modern romance writers you always wait for something perfect to be going and then BAM the writer has something dramatic happen that throws the couple for a loop. However, in this novel the writer actually lets the story stay good, and doesn’t insist on the couple going through extreme drama to get there.

The writer definitely did a lot of research for this book because it’s the most realistic and perfect relationship I have ever read and I loved every second of it. For example, they go on beach dates and he packs her snacks! It’s so cute yet realistic that you get attached to the couple as a reader. There are some parts where you might get embarrassed for the character, but clearly that was done on purpose. Which leads me to my next point.. the romance scenes WERE SO GOOD! The cute little tit-for-tats and hilarious dialogue between the characters when you least expect it just mad it that much better. The spice is maybe a 3.95/5 so they aren’t filthy, but they are still pretty good. The only con to them were the immature language that was used, example “heat”.

The ending has you a little torn, but once you read the last couple pages it really is a great story and ending!

Oh my! What a fun, sexy heart felt read by Jennifer Probst. I loved the unique take on having to live the moment to write the story. I really enjoyed the characters. (Dislike the name "Brick") But hey, whatever works. Enjoy this fast paced story from NYC to OBX.
Thank you NG for the ARC - it was very enjoyable.