I tried but this book was not for me and I DNF’d. FMC basically pays MMC to be in a physical relationship with her. He clearly says no multiple times but she continues to harass him until she gets her way. No matter how you spin it, kind of an icky plot, writing is not great either. Lots of people seem to love her books but this author is just not for me!

Before I begin, I want to thank AuthorBuzz/NetGalley for providing me with this arc of Book of the Month. <3 Although I abhor writing negative reviews of books that authors put their heart and soul into, I am going to be completely honest about my thoughts on this book.

Admittedly, I sympathized with Aspen’s struggle to reconcile the fact that “she’d lost her value of writing a good story and the quiet satisfaction and pride of reaching the end” as well as appreciated the insight into the publishing business. Although this may be true, Book of the Month is one of those books that feeds into my cynicism about love. The premise of this book is ludicrous. I am convinced that I must’ve been half asleep when reading the book description.

Regarding Aspen’s character, the only consistent quality of her personality is her stubbornness, also her shyness seems unnaturally exaggerated. Personally, the only relatable thing about her is that she finds folding the corners of book pages to be criminal…Brick’s personality is no better than Aspen’s. He is as appealing as painting my house with a q-tip. Less than that even. And he is possessive to the point where I expected him to growl at anyone who looked Aspen’s way. Don’t get me started on how he is CONSTANTLY sexualized. Every time his “sexual masculine energy” was mentioned I wanted to crawl into a hole. :/ Unfortunately, the romance b/w Brick and Aspen is excessively sexual. Every conversation/encounter they had ended with a sexual thought or action.

At this point, I truly think I need to stop reading contemporary romance books because they only disappoint me :(…Anyway, I sadly wouldn’t recommend reading Book of the Month, which contains swearing and spice, for the aforementioned reasons.

this book was super cute! i was hesitant about the premise going into it, only because sometimes i hate books where the characters go into a relationship of sorts thinking its casual or friends with benefits, but this was even worse since it was going into a relationship with the plan to break up but not necessarily fake dating, like they were actually trying! all that to say - i was unsure going in

however, i found i really enjoyed myself throughout this. the banter was great and i found myself really getting through it quickly. it definitely pleasantly surprised me!

i do at times wish the fmc was described a little more desirably lol. not that ever fmc needs to be pretty, but i do prefer when the mmc has initial attraction towards them!

4/5

A sweet and spicy romance set in the Outer Banks. Imagine my surprise when I found it was set in my favorite OBX town, Corolla! If you've ever been the story will bring back all the feels, and have you planning your next trip.

Best-selling author Aspen is having trouble replicating the success of her first book. She escapes to her sister's beach house to hopefully write her next big hit. She decides her writers block is because she wrote her first book following major heartbreak, and the only way to move forward is to get her heart trampled again. Enter Brick, the recent transplant with a bad reputation, who is desperately trying to keep his legacy business alive. Aspen offers a cash infusion to help his business, if only he will break her heart by the end of Summer. What could possibly go wrong?

It's a steamy read filled with thoughtful ups and downs. There were some inconsistencies in the story, but overall I enjoyed the story, hence the four stars. Recommend for a quick beach read.

The "fake" dating trope was handled differently in this one, and sadly not in a way that I loved. It was okay, But, not my favorite. I'm actually more intrigued by the idea of hearing Sierra and Kane's story. I was not as invested in Aspen's story as I would have hoped. I have a feeling the next one in this story will be more compelling for me. I did want to spend some quality time with the wild horses and baby turtles though, GUSH!!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I am a big fan of Jennifer Probst and love her work and once again she does not disappoint. Beautifully written with loveable characters and perfect palate cleanser for in between my fantasy reads!

This book was pretty well written, but I just couldn't buy into the premise. It wasn't at all believable- especially the support group. It was all just a little too far-fetched to me. I will likely read something else by this author as this was my first book that I've read that she wrote, so I'd like to give her another chance.

First and for most thank you to Net Galley. For allowing me to enjoy the love of reading arc's. Anyone looking for a fun end of the summer rom com. This book hit the right spot like drinking a nice, fresh, ice cold glass of lemonade. The storyline & character's were an absolute delight. I love how the author tied in Dug to the storyline. Dug is my favorite character in the book. Lovable, adorable & goofy. Thank you Jennifer Probst! I hope to read more of your books in the future!

“Love isn’t something you just walk away from because you weren’t expecting it.”

Thank you Blue Box Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I’m a huge fan of books about books and this one was so sweet!

Aspen is an author chasing the success of her first book and determined to not be a one hit wonder. Desperate to recreate the feelings she had when she wrote her bestseller, she comes up with a plan to fall in love with the local heartbreaker. What starts as fake dating soon spins out of control and the line between reality and true love blurs completely.

I have read quite a few of Jennifer Probst earlier books and they always hit just right! This one is no exception -- a perfect blend of spice and sweetness! The setting is also so lovely! If you are looking for a perfect summer into fall romance then this is the one for you!!

Dnf @ 50% I think this was more of a me issue because I wasn’t in a great headspace when I started this. I thought it was fun but I wasn’t attached to it, I do think it’s an easy read and the magical realism side is cool but just wasn’t for me !

This book was so different and fun from the start. I loved both characters and how they grew with each other through the book. It felt more real life situations than some romcoms and I enjoyed that very much. I can’t wait for the follow up with the next characters, the author sets that up really well!

Book of the Month STOLE my heart. It was the most realistic dialogue and characters that I sped through this book eating up every morsel it had to give me. I highly recommend Book of the Month to anyone who loves more realistic characters and yet still loves a good romcom. The spice level was pretty high with this one so I would recommend it only for adults. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my free advanced reader's copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Book of the Month follows Aspen and Brick on their adventure in the Outer Banks as Brick tries to save his Grandfather's business and Aspen tries to write her next best seller after her last two books have not hit their marks. While I would say this is book isn't bad, it just wasn't my favorite. I loved the banter, humor, side characters and really liked the setting in OBX. However, I agree with other reviewers that the events in the third act were lack luster and rushed.

I think if you need a quick light read on the beach this one fits the bill. I am interested to read the next book about Kane and Sierra coming out next year!

A few things that were strange...

*There are a lot of obscure Disney references. Bookstore owners name is Ursula and the competition for the Tour company is Maleficent.. Also a weird reference to being dizzy as if on the Guardians ride at Disney World.

*Somehow Brick describes Aspen as completely plain and not his type then all of a sudden is enthralled with her.. it was just a little bit too far fetched for me.

*Fake PTSD?

Thank you to @netgalley and @blueboxpress for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a cute, albeit predictable, steamy read following Aspen, an Author who cannot shake the one hit wonder status due to her first novel’s success despite writing two more books since then. She is desperate to rediscover the heartbreak and turmoil which she believes fueled the success of her first book. She escapes to the Outer Banks to visit her sister and focus on writing. When she meets Brock Babel the local heartbreaker with quite the reputation she approaches him looking for some fun, followed by hurt and writing inspiration. Of course she finds so much more in the town and neighbors and in Brick. This was a bit cheesy at times but I really enjoyed it. I loved the side characters especially Marco and Kane. I am looking forward to reading Aspen’s sister’s book!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars
The whole idea was interesting but not well executed in my opinion. It started well but then it became slow so i was kinda bored. This is not a bad book in any way i can people liking it, it's just that to me personally something was missing.

Throughout this fake dating romance, Aspen notes that the novels that followed her breakout debut lacked emotional depth. They were more skilled, better written, but heartless. That’s how this book feels - devoid of authentic emotion. From a technical standpoint, it meets the genre conventions, the appropriate timing for the first kiss, for sex-on-page to happen, for the big misunderstanding/break-up/separation, and the HEA. But, there is some truly terrible dialog, whole paragraphs that made me cringe, and don’t even get me started on the completely ridiculous character names.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blue Box Press for the ARC. This is the first Jennifer Probst book I have read and I enjoyed it. A fun Romcom. I will definitely look into reading more by this author.

Book of the Month was a fun read. I fell in love with Brick and even though Aspen drove me kind of crazy, I wanted her to have her happy ever after. The dialogue was really strong and created a great picture.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced eARC. I liked this book. Being born and raised in North Carolina, I felt inclined to read this book set in the Outer Banks. I found both Aspen and Brick to be very likable characters, as well as the secondary: Sierra, Marco, and Kane.

The plot was simple and uncomplicated, with some funny moments in between. I’d recommend this book for a quick and light read with a happy ending and sequel that readers will enjoy. I’m looking forward to reading Sierra’s and Kane’s story.

I really enjoyed Aspen and Brick. Their chemistry was so much fun to experience. I also enjoyed them as people, learning more about an author’s world navigating agents and writing and then life as a tour guide and marketing a business. The fake romance trope was fun to watch unravel and I enjoyed seeing the characters grow into their best selves. The ending seemed a little more ok sweet and young compared to the depth of the rest of the book, but I had a great time reading and would recommend for a beach or summer read.

Thank you to @netgalley and @blueboxpress for this ARC! Add it to your lists - coming October 22!

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