Thank you to Netgalley and this publisher for my copy of this e-arc

This was a really cute and fun read!

First of all I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a festive enemies to lovers romance with a lot of forced proximity so if you enjoy any of these themes then this is the book for you.

The story does start off slow and I was checking the percentage completed which is usually a sign that it could be a DNF however I pushed through and was happy that I did as it does pick up and becomes enjoyable funny. There was also some mystery mixed into the story which I wasn't expecting but helped to add to the story.

I would say to get through the slow part as there is an enjoyable book further down the line.

A quality holiday story from the female main character Annie, who is a likeable and engaging narrator. Her relationship with her family was lovely and you could see how supportive they have been throughout her life. A clear contrast to the male main characters family.... The difference between the two was really interesting to see as it was clear from the author that they communicated accordingly.

I loved how so many characters were not what they seemed, even if middle predictable, but still interesting to finish. I'm used to reading dual POV stories and whilst it would have been interesting to read, I found I got just enough from Annie.

Lilly Joseph has definitely been added to my automatic read list!

A secret posh boy shares a pop-up shop with an eternally optimistic down to earth northern gal. A nice gentle festive read.

Cute but a little predictable and lacklustre in places.
A slow burn that builds momentum… some charming characters but i found the descriptions of the settings somewhat bland…

A little stereotypical too, with some opportunities missed to explore what the characters are thinking rather than a flat refusal to engage across social strata.

3 stars, enjoyable

Stuck Together by Lily Joseph is a delightful holiday rom-com filled with humor, heart, and plenty of sparks between its two lovable yet oppositional leads. Annie and Penn’s journey from reluctant business partners to something more had me hooked from the very first page.

Annie’s entrepreneurial spirit and Penn’s charming mix of grumpiness and vulnerability made for a great dynamic. Their banter was sharp and hilarious, and the slow-burn romance was perfectly paced, with just the right amount of holiday cheer woven in. The premise of sharing a shop—a cozy setup for their clashing personalities—added an extra layer of fun and tension to the story.

While the plot follows some predictable rom-com beats, the engaging writing, memorable characters, and heartwarming moments make it a standout holiday read. Annie and Penn’s chemistry leaps off the page, and their growth, both individually and as a couple, feels authentic and satisfying.

If you’re looking for a festive, feel-good romance with witty dialogue, laugh-out-loud moments, and just the right amount of holiday magic, Stuck Together is the perfect pick. Fans of Catherine Walsh and Emily Henry will adore this utterly charming story!

I wasn't able to pick this one up this past holiday season with unexpected chaos in my life, but I am excited to get to it next holiday season!

⭐️2.75/3

While I didn’t like this book per se, I think I genuinely enjoyed it? I just don’t think I enjoyed it in the way that I was meant to. For what it’s worth I couldn’t put the book down and I sped right through it. Unfortunately, I just ended up loving every other character besides the main two and every other plot point besides the romance.

For me Penn fell into the “literally just a guy… hit him with your car” category, I think the book would have really benefited from his POV. And Annie I don’t even know. She was all over the place and not in a fun way. I love an oblivious FMC, but she really just took everything several steps too far. Being in her head for 300+ pages was ROUGH.

I felt like I was reading like 3 different books at once, and there were so many characters, but somehow they all stood out enough to keep track of which isn’t always the case. I saw one review that said it felt more like a TV show with everything going on, and that’s the perfect way to describe it. But Annie & Penn were so insufferable I was rooting for all of the (female) antagonists from like 40% onwards. Bunny and Sophia (and even Melissa in that last scene) were truly iconic.

I just got second hand embarrassment from certain parts so bad that I almost DNF’d multiple times, but it was like a car wreck. I couldn’t look away. All that being said, there was still something charming about this book, and Lily Joseph's writing style. This book promised everything I normally love and delivered on none of it, but maybe it delivered what I needed? It was silly and quirky and didn’t take itself too seriously, and despite everything there was just something slightly addicting in this that I can’t quite put my finger on. I ended up having a good time.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Bookouture for the ARC!

It was a cute romance book with the perfect Christmas setting! It was a cute "enemies-to-lovers" and "opposites-attract". Really recommend this book!

What can I say I just really enjoyed and loved this story it was easy to read, did it in one sitting I may have to re read it as I felt like it just happened so fast. Lovely character development and easy to follow characters

This book had an interesting premise that had me so excited to read. However it felt like to much there was a romance, a mystery, and so many side characters with there own plot lines. I wouldn't have minded the side characters so much but I wasn't a fan of about half of them so it felt a little unnecessary.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are mine.

This is the wittiest book ever and perfect for fans of enemies to lovers.

The book follows Annie who is used to being single and thus her whole business revolves around making single women feel seen. While on the other hand is Penn who just needs to go home with a girl and not be that guy and fate is weird so when these two decide to share a shop and save on rent. Sparks fly or is it hatred..enjoyed it ..loved it and recommend it.
.

Pretty good but I felt like it dragged. I had to work to pay attention.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

For the first year ever, I’m very much in my Christmas romcom era - and I’m loving it!

Annie and Penn are both so likeable, and I loved seeing them flourish as the book went on. Their romance felt very real as well, nothing felt forced which I feel is sometimes the case with Christmas romances.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc. 🫶🏻

This was a really cute enemies to lovers/fake dating/forced proximity, Christmas Rom com!
I really liked the vibe and the different settings.
I also wasn't expecting some of the friendships to form!
I also really liked that this was a HEA, and everyone had a happy ending.
This was overall a feel-good Christmas book with a small bit of spice!
The only thing I didn't like was the FMC at times. I felt that she was a bit of a Debbie downer and didn't communicate or listen when she should have.
I really liked the MMC.
I would definitely recommend this!

DNF @ 70%
I REALLY tried to finish this, but it just wasn't for me. I was hopefully I was going to love this as it was such a good premise - forced proximity/enemies to lovers.
However, I really disliked the main character. She was extremely childish and took no one else's wants into account. I found there was 0 chemistry between the main character and love interest and felt it went from 0 to 100 with no build up. I did like what we seen of Penn & thought the story would have benefited from having his POV.

I think this book would have its audience, but unfortunately it wasn't me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for the arc in return for an honest review.

Dnf 50% i just don’t understand where is the chemistry, it just feels like a dialogue and that is it
I tried multiple times to continue this book but it doesn’t feel right
But i have to say the enemies part was quite good

I was so excited about a fake dating Christmas book, and while both of those things are part of the story, there wasn’t enough of either for me. Annie and Penn’s story is interesting, but their animosity was a little too dragged out for me before we got to the meat of the story. So I supposed pacing was my main issue, and the drama at the end was a bit too over the top for me. But I did enjoy this book, and I think other people will too.

3.5 ⭐️

This is an odd little book. I loved Lily Joseph’s The Near Miss very much and I did enjoy reading Stuck Together. However, I do think there was too much going on in this book — and what we were told on the cover is such a small part of what the actual story is. I don’t think my expectations based on the blurb were met with what I actually read.

As with The Near Miss I thoroughly loved the writing and the characters — but in this book we had too many storylines and developments. It almost felt like a watching a TV show where every episode had a different theme. So, there’s a lot going on.

Our MMC Penn is a bit of an insufferable tool for half of the book and FMC Annie is stubborn and comes across as self righteous more often than I’d like but Joseph’s charming writing makes up for a lot of the things that didn’t pull me in as much as The Near Miss did.

I can see readers putting the book aside for a while to pick it up again later because of the number of different developments. So it might not be a “gonna read this in one sitting” book. But the epilogue was great and it’s what brought the story to a nice end.

Yes, an odd little read but it was entertaining and mostly enjoyable — when Penn and Annie weren’t particularly insufferable or self righteous 😬 Will I read the next Lily Joseph? Try and stop me! Her writing is delightful!!

I love forced proximity and Enemies to lovers, so this book was made for me! I giggled through the whole book as I loved the humour and the characters. But the story as such was nothing extremely new.