Warning: some spoilers ahead!

I really enjoyed this book. It was funny and the plot was unique! The characters were relatable and made me want to know them. As an American, some of the slang was unfamiliar, but it made it that much more fun to read. My only tiff is that a lot of the meat of the story is in the second half and the first half goes a bit slow.

Speaking of slow, if you like a slow burn, you will LOVE this book. It is quite possibly one of the slowest burns I’ve come across in a single book. Usually there is a lot of tension between the characters before something happens, and while the relationship doesn’t come out of absolute thin air in this book, it felt a tad rushed when it finally happened.

All in all, I think this is a cheeky, fun read with relatable problems and characters. I would recommend this to a fan of romances!

3.5 stars! (There should be a half star rating system. It's important!)

Stuck Together was a fun read with some mystery, some laughs, and some spice!
I loved the FMC's parents. They were so cute and wholly supportive of her. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. The MMC had so many layers to discover! The FMC was resourceful and creative.
Even all the side characters were great.
I liked the MMC more than the FMC, for sure.
The mystery was interesting! I definitely had a few different theories on who the culprit was! Although nothing about this book suggested there was a mystery in the plot, it was a fun surprise.
I didn't love the self-sacrificing breakup. Never was a fan of those. Be selfish, people!
The epilogue was great! I love a detailed epilogue when the story is thoroughly wrapped up! We got an update on all the characters, and it was a sweet HEA.
Overall, a cute story. I definitely enjoyed reading it!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publishers for the ARC!

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for my #gifted ARC.

This book took me by surprise. It was an entertaining Enemies to lovers that was so angsty I wondered at one point how they would cross over into the "lovers" space.

Annie and Penn meet in a bar one night and are brought back together with a business opportunity. It's a new spin on forced proximity where they share space in a retail mall to each run their own retail stores in one space. The shared space doesn't go over smoothly and they're constantly battling to see how much they can annoy each other - which makes for a funny story.

I love a good scrappy FMC and Annie was just that. She was funny and resourceful and fighting not only to support herself, but to save her family home as well. The lengths she went to sell her goods and be successful were fantastic.

Penn was quiet and broody but full of depth when you peeled back his layers. I loved the time they spent with his family and seeing his background.

I don't want to spoil anything, but there is an unexpected "found family" in the story that I enjoyed!

I read this in Netgalley but used the "read aloud" feature and chose a British voice for the reading. The whole time I kept thinking I hope they're working on the audio for this story as it would make for an entertaining listen, especially with the right reader.

Romance content: a couple open door scenes and adult sensual products are discussed. Language

A lovely Christmas read about two people who end up sharing a shop and seemingly have absolutely nothing in common especially when one of them comes from an entirely different backgrounds. This is very enjoyable and even most of the more opinionated characters have their redeeming sides.

A fake Christmas romance! How cute! The mystery storyline? That felt a bit forced. I thought I would enjoy it more. I enjoyed it enough, it was fine. Not my favorite.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Level: 1/5

Firstly, thanks to NetGallery for this ARC with an exchange of my honestly review. I enjoyed this book and actually really enjoyed the wee banter and hatred Annie and Penn had towards each other. It's lovely to see exactly how opposite attract.

🎸🎄🎸🎄🎸

✔️ enemies to lovers
✔️ forced proximity
✔️ fake dating

🎸🎄🎸🎄🎸


Hmm I didn't give it fully 5 stars because of a couple things. I think the beginning of the book really dragged on a bit.. I didn't really necessarily believe this needed to be a 370 page book. Maybe 300 would've been fine. I felt like beginning half of the book was very repetitive. And one of the other reason why I didn't give it the full 5 stars because the "third-act break up" really really confused me? Why the hell would Annie think Penn would get their shop burglarised 😂 it's a bit of a reach. I think Annie can be a bit annoying at times like there are so many times Penn's just helping but she gets mad????? All because she thinks Penn thinks her as a small town poor girl???? Ughhh I can't talk about this. Oh yeah, it also felt out of nowhere that Penn and Annie got together as I got an impression they have nothing in common 🙊 done now xxxx

🎸🎄🎸🎄🎸

Annie has just gotten fired from her job and needs a new one fast. She sees an advertisement for a popup shop and gets the idea to sell the products her mom has stockpiled over the years from various mlm companies.
Penn wants a life that he can have separate from his family. He just wants to enjoy playing guitar and selling records.
They both end up sharing the shop, but things quickly go downhill. They come from complete opposite backgrounds and quickly turn into enemies. Will they ever get passed their differences?

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It is advertised as a romcom, so I was a little disappointed that it was more of a mystery romance. Once I realized I was reading an entirely different type of book, I was able to enjoy it more. There were bits of the story that I believe the author meant to be comical, but for me, they fell flat. I feel like this book could be divided into two different stories, one being a mystery and the other a romcom. I definitely was more intrigued by the mystery plotline, and with it being what the majority of the book was about, I did stay engaged. I would recommend this to readers that like whodunit's with a side of romance.

Thank you, Bookouture, for allowing me to read an advanced copy via NetGalley in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Having been fired from her waitressing gig for hurling a drink at a Rugby wanker’s lap, Annie is in need of a new job fast. The holidays are around the corner and her rent is due. When she comes across an add for a pop up space rental she sees it as the perfect opportunity to sell the eclectic mix of products her mom is hoarding in her old room from past multilevel marketing schemes.

Penn just wants to sell vintage records and meet a nice girl. But with Christmas sneaking up on him, he’s feeling the pressure from his uppity parents to bring a girl home. Not looking forward to being set up with someone his parents deem “suitable” he needs to find someone fast who will fill in to be his fake girlfriend.

The two meet when they go to look at the pop up retail space that becomes available to rent. In order to save money on the rent they agree to split the space. What could go wrong? Too bad they’re polar opposites.

Annie was a hoot! She was very witty, resourceful, and quirky. The story is told entirely from her POV, and I enjoyed being in her head. Her parents were lovely and a true support system. They don’t judge her for not having her life together, rather they encourage to keep trying new things. Sales aren’t what she hoped they would be, but when she finds a box of premium, hard to buy sex toys her luck changes.

Penn is a brooder. In fact, when Annie first moves in to her side of the shop he’s quite standoffish. At first he gives off major hipster vibes. You know the type. The kind of guy who will say a band is too mainstream to be any good. Because the story is told from Annie’s POV, it’s hard to get a read on him at the start of the book. He’s aloof and closes himself off from Annie and the rest of the store owners on the strip. Because of this it was harder to connect with him at first. I did warm up to him as we got to see more of his character.

When he asks for her help to be his fake girlfriend to stop his stuck up parents from continuing to set him up with women they deem appropriate, sparks begin to fly. They were cute together as they began to learn more about each other. There’s some miscommunication along the way that’s a bit contrived, but that’s handled quickly enough. Then we get that “I’m doing this for your own good” trope, which to be honest isn’t my favorite because it takes away the person’s autonomy in making their own decisions. I also think his snobby family makes an about face regarding their relationship a little too quickly, but all in all, I enjoyed the book. It didn’t reinvent the wheel, but it was still a fun read if you’re in the mood for something light.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

This book was great! I loved the writing style and I loved the characters and their chemistry. I loved the Christmas vibes. Great book!!

A couple is thrown together to share a pop-up store, selling very different things. They start with a lot of misunderstandings and assumptions but eventually begin to learn more about each other. I enjoyed this story for the most part, though the main character grated on me at times.

Are you in the mood for an enemies to lovers holiday romcom?? Check out Stuck Together! It was a great read!

Sinopsis en español:
El odio es real. La química también.

Annie se dirige sola a las vacaciones. Y como soltera confirmada, decide abrir una tienda vendiendo el tipo de golosinas que toda mujer querría encontrar bajo el árbol. Después de todo, a quién no le gusta recibir un "producto de estilo de vida sensual premium" para Navidad, ¿verdad?

Penn está en un aprieto. Necesita volver a casa para Navidad con una chica, o sus padres lo pondrán con alguien "adecuado". Después de todo, nada es demasiado bueno para el Honorable Peregrine Burton-Edwards. Pero eso no es lo que Penn quiere. Solo quiere vender discos antiguos en su tienda y conocer a una chica agradable y normal.

La primera vez que Annie y Penn se conocen, Annie siente un aleteo en su pecho: él es alto, moreno y guapo, con pómulos en los que podrías afilar una cuchilla. Así que cuando él se ofrece a compartir la tienda con ella para ahorrar en el alquiler, ella acepta con gusto.

Gran error... Annie y Penn son polos separados y se enfrentan a cada paso. Pero con las vacaciones que se avecinan, Penn pronto tendrá que pedir un gran favor, y Annie, sin planes de los que hablar, es la única chica que puede ayudar. A medida que las discusiones se calientan, también lo hacen las chispas que vuelan entre ellas. ¿Apartarán dejar de lado sus diferencias y se unirán? ¿Y podría ser para algo más que solo Navidad?





Reseña:

No fue para mí, no disfruté la historia y no me cayeron bien los protagonistas.

Annie fue un desastre, no sabía que quería y su romance con Penn fue forzado.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had all the elements to be a wonderful enemies to lovers/forced proximity story but unfortunately it fell a little flat. The writing itself and the character dialogue felt forced and there were only a couple spots that were slightly funny. The plot was great but I couldn't connect to anything.

Entertaining enemies to lovers/opposites attract/forced proximity / fake relationship story. Whew! It has a lot of tropes but they work together. I’m not sure I would call this a romcom per se. it has more of a whodunit vibe. Penn and Annie have shops set up in the same store. Both are dealing with family drama, driving their need for their stores. Vandalism of the shop breaks down some barriers and they start to cool their dislike. I enjoyed the opposites attract (think posh vs not-posh upbringings). This is cracked door open without a lot of details during spicy scenes and easy to skip of not your bag.

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

I love a good Christmas rom com! And this one delivered. I enjoyed the banter between the two main characters and the Christmas vibe was great! Thank you for an advance copy of this.

ARC- thank you NetGalley and Bookouture!

A sweet romance that goes of the rails a bit.

Pros:
We love an enemies to lovers and a stranded together in a cabin trope.
Obviously talented writer, great flow and easy to read
Moments of “wow I can’t put this down”
Flushed out, multidimensional characters
First 75% is it exactly what a Christmas Romcom needs!!

Cons:
About 50 pages too long
Turns from a romcom to a mystery? Whodunit? Whiplashy.
The FMC is slightly annoying trying to come up with reasons they shouldn’t be together and refusing to let anyone help her

Overall a quick, sweet story set at the holidays!

There was a lot going on in this book and it mostly works for me. I really love Penn (Perry) and Annie. They are great together. Their enemies/rivals to lovers thing works for me. I love the forced proximity and having to fake a relationship for Christmas. I love how they work together and the slow burn with them was great.

I did not care so much for the mystery aspect of this novel and felt like the villain(s) were ridiculous to a Scooby Doo level mustache twirling level. This portion of the book felt out of place and disjointed especially for being a holiday book.

However, the love story stands on its own and is great.
3.5/5

Thanks to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the ARC!

This book unfortunately just wasn't for me even though I really wanted it to be. I usually find UK rom coms to be the funniest, but this one just didn't hit the mark for me. There were a couple funny moments, don't get me wrong, but maybe the humor just wasn't my type or something?

I felt that either too much happened too quick or not enough was happening (mainly at the beginning). I didn't really feel connected to these chavrayeither which made it hard for me as well.

This one may be for some people, but sadly just not me.

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

I really wanted to like this one, but I just couldn't get into it. The writing felt forced and the story didn't feel like it flowed naturally.

A fun time, but nothing I haven't read before. The writing style wasn't my favorite, and I couldn't really connect with Annie, plus Christmas romances rarely deliver the vibe I'm looking for.