Huge case of "not for me", but also it was not good.
The things that were ok:
- I really enjoyed the first few chapters, and the premise was interesting enough
- I also liked the whole meta aspect (a book about a author and all that)
The things that could have been better:
- the writing was ok, but it had a huge case of tell, not show, primarily regarding the relationship. We are told that these two characters have chemistry between them, that they lust for each other, that they have all of this emotions, but I didn't feel a thing the whole time.
- the man is supposedly the "hottest in town", but for the life of me I couldn't tell you a thing about his appearance.
- I'm just going to say the the smut was bad and leave it at that (to be fair, the smut in these books is always bad, so it's not a huge deal)
- the whole story was really predictable, which is kind of the point in a romance, I guess, but I didn't love it
- the dialogues were clunky and cringy at times
- a lot of pop reference (could be good or bad, depending on the reader). I din't like them.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

Fake dating, outer banks, open door, grumpy romance.

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.

This book was not my favorite. I was hoping for a "How to lose a guy in 10 days" vibe, but it just fell a little flat for me. I did not care for Aspen. I thought her character fell a little flat. She was also very contradictory; she would talk about being shy but then pursue Brick in a manner that was so aggressive that if it were a man doing it to a women, we would call it harassment. She constantly talked about her looks and how her sister was much prettier but then had the confidence to repeatedly hit on the "hottest guy in town", even after he continued to turn her down. I also thought her ability to save everyone in town was a little strange. It was like she had this golden touch and could fix all the problems in the town.

I liked Brick a little more but could not understand why he would let the town treat him the way they did. There were also some inconsistencies. He was broke and on the verge of losing his grandfather's business and home but then told Aspen that he had money saved for the winter when there was no business. Why not use that money to fix the business and get things on track? Again, it was strange how Aspen came in with money and expertise and just fixed everything overnight. Brick seemed like a pretty good guy and great catch, but I struggled with why her wanted to catch her. She did not bring much to the table for him besides the money, which he insisted on paying back.

I was more interested in the side characters. I am so curious about Sierra and Kane. This was my first Jennifer Probst book so I will most likely give the next one a try.

Thank you NetGalley and Blue Box Press for this title. This is my very honest review.

4.5⭐
A fun summer book that made me forget about the real world. The plot of this book is so fun, it made for a great story. Aspen's relationship with her sister was written in a beautiful way, you can feel their love and care for each other. The setting has a great sense of community. Everyone knows everyone and they have each other's backs. I really liked the side characters, they are the heart of this book.
Aspen's struggle with writting her next book and lacking her inspiration was quite relatable. Her problems felt real. Her fight with her past success overshadowing her current work made for a great character arc. I loved seeing her as an author, her passion and her love for writting.
Brick was soooo smooth. He just knew what to say and when to say it. Underneath his cold exterior he has a heart of gold. I loved to see his love for the nature and his heritage. He cares so deeply about the things he loves.
Together they fit so well. Their relationship worked on every level. It made me feel that they really made for each other and they were soulmates.

Did you ever wonder what an author goes through when they have writer's block? Did you ever wonder how to get away from the rumors that float around a small town just because of a jilted ex? Well Jennifer Probst answers those questions and so much more with this story filled with laughter and love. Aspen and Brick both have baggage to overcome and their story includes times where you will laugh out loud and others that will have you sighing with happiness. This is one HEA that will be read time and time again.

BOOK OF THE MONTH is a fun and light love story with a refreshing premise. Author Aspen Lourde is going through a writing slump and she feels that in order to write another successful book (like her other one that was autobiographical on her fiancé leaving her at the altar), she needs to fall in love and have her heartbroken for inspiration. Leave it to the handsome yet standoffish tour guide Brick to agree to make Aspen fall in love with who's reputation is known for breaking hearts, and in return will be given the funds to save his business. Is Aspen willing to look past Brick's history that women claim he has? Who will end up with their heartbroken? A sweet couple Aspen and Brick are, with pure innocent hearts!

Thank you to Blue Box Press and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Book of the month. When aspen can’t duplicate the feeling that her first book gave. She must find the experience of drama To rev up her next book

What a delightful read! This book managed to be both entertaining and emotionally engaging. I flew through it in one sitting—yes, I lost a bit of sleep over it, but it was so worth it. The side characters were a joy, each one adding their own charm to the story. I found myself especially curious about Brick’s reaction to the book’s surprising twist. The setting was vividly described, making it feel like I was right there with the characters. A fantastic read for a day at the beach or a cozy night in. Highly recommended!

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book. There’s something weird and meta about reading a rom-com about someone writing a rom-com. There were more cliches in this book than I’d care for, but overall it’s well-written and entertaining!

3.5/5

This book fell a little flat for me.

I think my main problem was the characters. I found them to be so flat and I couldn't really get all that invested in them (no matter how much I wanted to or how much I tried). Maybe it's because of the place in the story that the reader gets dropped, but I felt like I had just walked in on a random conversation with a group of friends and I was just a random eavesdropper (but not in a fun way, just an awkward way).

The relationship between the two main characters felt really insta-love/insta-lust for me and I always really struggle with that in books. I tend to find characters that go insta to be flat and this holds true with that pattern for me.

I do usually love books about book-people (our main character, Aspen, is an author) but I feel like that part of the book wasn't as engaging for relatable for me.

I can definitely see an appeal for this book and I know a lot of people would really enjoy it, but it just wasn't the right one for me. I still had a good time and zoomed through it, but it just didn't have that special something. That oomph.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My review is up on Goodreads and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly wrap-up.

Book of the Month follows the fake relationship and grumpy sunshine tropes. It takes place in a small beach town where main character Aspen is a best selling author in crisis. The hype behind her successful debut book (based on her previous failed relationship) is slowly dying off. Her follow up book is barely selling. She decides that getting her heart broken again might inspire another successful novel.

So we meet Brick, grumpy broody small town boy who has taken over his grandfather’s tour business and is struggling to make ends meet. He agrees to fake date Aspen and then off we go!

There is some great spice and witty dialogue. I loved watching the fake relationship evolve into something real. Overall a lovely, fantastic summer read! Thank you to netgalley for the e-arc.

This book was such a fun read but still had a lot of emotion to it. The side characters were all so entertaining. I wish we got to see Brick's reaction to her changing the ending of her book.

This is what I call a „summer and beach read“:
Nice writing, characters you can connect with, a story that you can easily follow and even though predictable, the read is fun and entertaining.
Very well done!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy - I‘m sure the book will be siccessfull.

3.5⭐️ (rounded up)

This was a slow starter for me — I only got truly engaged with the story around 30%. The writing is kind of basic; I’ve read more well written romances lately, but it still got the job done and it was actually really interesting to read about publishing from an author perspective!

There were a few scenes that made me question whether the author had ever actually been around someone who smoked weed. And it was difficult to believe an adult woman who lived in New York would come off so childish and naive at times.

The saving grace was Brick and his dog Dug. I also loved Sierra and Kane and I’m honestly so excited for their book? Anyway, this is a good option for a summer beach read!

To cope with writers block while drafting the sequel to her first heartbreaking romance, she flees to OBX to visit her sister. She devises a plan to enlists Brick, infamous loving ‘em and leaving ‘em, to make her fall in love and break her heart as fodder for the book but it quickly becomes real.

Book of the Month is a literary romance in an ideal summer setting. It explores heartbreak in a way that is unique to the genre. There is depth to the characters but can be a little slow at times.

I read this in one rainy afternoon. It was a cute love story and I enjoyed it. It would be a perfect beach or vacation read.

This book was so many things! It started off as the perfect rom-com (thanks to Aspen’s hilariously terrible attempts at flirting) and then took me on an emotional rollercoaster. Seriously, it's got a bit of everything.

Aspen is in a crisis—her last two books didn’t sell, and after a record-breaking debut, she has no idea how to recreate that success. The obvious solution? To write another heart-wrenching book, she needs to experience heartbreak again, just like the first time. Enter brooding Brick (yes, the name’s questionable, and both Aspen and I know it). With his reputation as a professional heartbreaker, he seems like the perfect choice. But, the line between pretending to have a broken heart and actually having one is pretty thin…

Let me just say one word: Brick. He’s the ultimate book boyfriend—charming, thoughtful, and to my delight, the perfect "hate-everyone-but-you" type. I fell in love with him right alongside Aspen, and I’m really hoping we’ll see more of them in Sierra and Kanr’s next book!

Thank you, NetGalley and Blue Box Press, for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5 ⭐️

"Book of the Month" by Jennifer Probst is a delightful, light-hearted romance that’s perfect for a beach read. The novel focuses on Aspen Lourde, an author struggling to pour her emotions onto the page and produce another bestseller after her debut novel which was inspired by her own heartbreak. In a desperate attempt to give her fans the sequel they’re clamoring for, Aspen decides to spend the summer at her sister’s quaint house in the Outer Banks.

There, she hears about Brick Babel (honestly, the name is too weird, I pictured him more as a Hunter), a notorious heartbreaker with a reputation for leaving a trail of devastated women in his wake. Aspen concocts a wild plan: she’ll pay Brick to break her heart, convinced it’s the only way she can tap into the raw emotions needed to write her next great novel.

As the summer progresses, what starts as a calculated arrangement between Aspen and Brick begins to transform into something deeper, with witty banter and unexpected feelings blossoming between them. The side characters add another layer of charm, creating a rich dynamic that enriches the story and beautifully captures the close-knit community vibe of small towns. I’m especially eager to see how Sierra’s story unfolds in the next book!

However, the writing was a bit cringy from time to time and the overuse of “masculine” and “feminine” got on my nerves. Also, I wasn’t a fan of the manh steamy scenes, which leaned more toward a “hot girl summer” vibe. I would have preferred a stronger focus on the emotional journey of the characters, which is where the novel truly shines.

Overall, "Book of the Month" is a fun, engaging read that offers a sweet escape into a world of romance and creativity. While it may not be groundbreaking, it’s definitely an enjoyable experience!

This book swept me off my feet. Aspen’s struggle to find her next big story hit a little too close to home, her desperation, her fear of fading into irrelevance. I could feel her longing for inspiration, and when she meets Brick, I was right there with her, hopeful and a bit skeptical. Their chemistry is electric from the start, but what really got me was how much heart Probst infused into this “fake” romance. Watching Aspen and Brick’s walls slowly crumble had me torn between rooting for love and dreading the inevitable heartbreak. The layers of humor, vulnerability, and unexpected depth made this more than just a breezy romance. It’s a story that digs deep into what it means to find yourself when you least expect it. By the end, I was left with a full heart and a smile, but also a quiet ache, knowing how real those choices can feel.

I woke up and immediately started thinking about this book after I started and knew I had to finish is as soon as possible to see how Brick and Aspen’s story would play out. Aspen was such a relatable and spunky character and I loved how she was open and honest and vulnerable about how she felt about Brick. Brick was boyfriend material from the very beginning and I’m glad we got to see his redemption and the arc of him falling in love. Can’t wait to get the physical copy!

I really liked this book! The characters felt real, and the location of the Outer Banks felt super dreamy and gave all the summer vibes. The story is well paced and a quick and entertaining read with just a touch of spice.

Aspen is an author who is coming off a two book slump after her first book went viral. Hoping to write another best seller worth of the book of the month, she escapes to the Outer Banks to try and create the same scenario that led to her first big hit. She encounters a local tour guide, Brick, who has a bad boy reputation for breaking women's hearts. Brick was left a failing business by his late grandfather and a reputation in a small town he never asked for. Aspen has the perfect solution that will benefit them both, and all it requires is a fake relationship and guaranteed heartbreak. But what happens when one of them can't play by the rules?