*Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to PRH Audio for the gifted ALC*

Are you ready for an epic trek? Because I had absolutely no idea what this book was about when I started, and mannnnnnnn. A MM fake dating reality competition show romance between a workaholic pilot and a STEM manager who just got dumped in the airport? Sign me up.

What I didn't expect was how tender the love story would be. Set against the reality competition Epic Trek, I knew it would be a high octane race to the finish. But very quickly, Theo and Asher realize that winning Epic Trek and convincing America of their fake relationship is going to be a bit more than they expected. Luckily for them (and us readers), they quickly spice up their team dynamic... and hotel bedrooms! And in between challenges and "mozzarella sticks", we learn so much about Theo and Asher's personal lives and the events that shaped them. I'd recommend this to fans of The Amazing Race, fake dating, and anyone who needs a little more queer joy in their life.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🌶️🌶️🌶️

I really enjoyed reading this one. The characters were both so interesting/dynamic. A lot of times in romance novels, characters are so set in stone as the grumpy one or a golden retriever or any other characteristic. However, in this book both characters showed an actual range of emotions. The reality TV show, fake dating storyline was super entertaining. My one complaint about the book is that it is a bit insta-love for my taste.

Read this book if you like:
*The Amazing Race
*fake dating
*hot guy in glasses
*elephants
*snakes
*food fights

Thank you to Putnam/PRH Audio for the advanced copies. All thoughts are my own!

I thought this was such a fun premise and all the different adventures around the globe were so cute. Sometimes insta love can be a tough sell but I thought it made sense given what close proximity they were to each other. Asher and Theo had such a fun dynamic, especially when working together during the show's different challenges.

There was also some fantastic commentary on LGBTQIA+ issues like being outed and how negative memories can affect how you enter into new relationships. My heart broke for both of these two as they worked their unresolved traumas, but I loved how these two came together in the end.

I listened to this on audio and the narrators (Lee Osorio and Michael Crouch) did fantastic jobs. They both really embodied Theo's golden retriever and Asher's house cat energies really well. Both of them brought these characters to life and I would definitely check out other projects these narrators are on.

4.5/5🌟
3/5 🌶️ (2-3 long detailed scenes)
Would reread? Yes
Would recommend? Absolutely!
Vibes: ✈️ 💼 🎫 🏃 🐍 🍧💞🛩️

Just me, Theo, & Asher on some adventures!

Loved all the DEEP conversations that the couple have with each other but also with the other characters. Rarely do I read a romance book where they are ALL strangers who develop friendships and relationships right on the page - refreshing!

Themes & tropes:
-LGBTQ+ rep
-fake dating
-strangers turned found family
-heart to hearts
-Amazing Race style reality TV show
-forced proximity
-family building and repairing
-open, honest, HEALTHY communication 🥵

🌹
As someone who grew up watching Amazing Race and always wanted to participate , I LOOOOVED the plot and the premise. The details to the destinations were cool and felt well-researched when culturally relevant.

Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons, Netgalley, and the author Chip Pons for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. I also had the pleasure of chatting with the author about his book, and it was so great to hear from him about his inspiration, feeling, and writing process.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted eARC. My opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Dumped on the way to compete in a reality tv challenge, Asher randomly asks Theo to stand in as his partner, can they fake it to win the whole thing?

Read this for:
- fake dating
- reality tv
- behind the scenes
- dual perspectives
- amazing side characters
- fighting attraction

My thoughts: this is super cute! I loved Theo and Asher’s characters and how Chip gave them flaws that felt real and in tune with reality. The side characters (especially the mother daughter team) were amazing and I loved their interactions with Theo and Asher. The romance that develops between the two of them is adorable.

Love to recommend!

✨ Review ✨ Winging it With You by Chip Pons

Thanks to G.P. Putnam and Sons, PRHAudio, and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

When you’re on your way to an epic reality show adventure traversing the globe...and your boyfriend dumps you at the airport on the way there...then you find a hot pilot, woo him with mozzarella sticks, and set off on the adventure with him.

In this steamy and adventurous romance, Theo and Asher fake date for TV, but quickly find some IRL chemistry too. I thought this was such a fun jaunt across the world, but with challenges that brought these two closer together, and in dialogue about their experiences, their fears and hesitations, and their desires. I was fully invested in both of them across this entire book!

From elephants to mozzarella sticks, to snakes and boat mishaps, this book was just a lot of fun!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: m/m romance
Setting: all around the world!
Pub Date: June 10, 2025

Read this if you like:
⭕️ reality tv
⭕️ fake dating
⭕️ grand globetrotting adventures

“𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲, 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧.”

It’s not hard to fall for Winging It With You, a story that celebrates queer joy and love.

Asher Bennett expects to be on a plane with his boyfriend, heading to compete on reality show The Epic Trek; he doesn’t expect to be broken up with at the airport and scrambles for a solution. Enter Theo Fernandez, a pilot who is required to find a work-life balance, and agrees to ‘wing it’ with Asher, but will they be able to fool the cameras into believing they are in love? Chip Pons creates two characters whom you can’t help but quickly fall in love with. Asher and Theo are swoon-worthy, each with baggage, but find in each other a comfort they almost didn’t know they were needing. I love the concept of fake dating on a reality television show; it offers an opportunity for great side characters, distinct settings, and unique challenges to bring Theo and Asher together (speaking of challenges, I SQUIRMED alongside Asher at the one with the snakes). I love the bond that the boys have with fellow contestants Jenn and Ellie, alongside producers Jo and Arthur. In fact, I wish that there was even more scenes with them to develop those characters further. I also loved all the food references, and knowing Pons they make a lot of sense; in his writing and his own life, food is strongly linked to experiences, memories, and connection with those we love. Asher and Theo’s chemistry builds very quickly, leading to some SPICY scenes - Pons definitely knows his way with words to create the heat! I don’t usually like when characters spend so much time connecting only for a third act argument to happen, but I didn’t mind it as much here, as it led to Theo reconnecting with his family, with Pons not ending the story with a quick makeup (there were still a few chapters to go).

Winging It With You is a joyous romance of finding the belief of being worthy of love, and knowing that home can be a person as much as a place. I love seeing the growth in Pons’ writing and anxiously await what comes next for him. Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC and the physical gifted copy!

This was sooo fun! I was pleasantly surprised to find out this was a reality tv show romance between two strangers who ended up competing on an amazing-race type show together. Reality competition shows are my favorite thing to watch on tv, and I’m finding that I really like fictional versions in books too. Sure this was a little cheesy and unbelievable at times, but overall I had a lot of fun and would easily recommend it to anyone who likes tv shows, internet celebrities, queer romance, and steamy scenes!

I adore Chip and his stories forever and ever. This was one for the books, just like I knew it’d be. Theo and Asher forever

Whatever Chip writes I know it is going to be beautiful and deep! I absolutely adore his creative genius and the characters he brings to life!

This book follows Asher and Theo, two strangers who due to the serendipity end up as a fake couple competing on a reality show.

I loved everything about the story: both main characters - golden retriever Theo and rather shy Asher, their development as individuals and as a couple; the plot and all the adventures caused by reality TV line, travel destinations and challenges; and of course the beauty of writing style! Absolutely stunning!

Thanks to Putnam for sending me an advanced copy of Winging It With You by Chip Pons.

This book, styled like The Amazing Race, is about two men who just meet at the airport and decide to pose as a couple to compete in The Epic Trek, a reality TV show. As they travel around the world and fake date for the camera, they might develop more than just on-screen chemistry.

I enjoyed the fake dating and Amazing Race elements of this book. The mozzarella stick meet-cute was fun and probably my favorite part. I wasn't a fan of the third-act breakup, but it was a quick read, and if you like adventures, you'll enjoy this book.

Such a sweet and fun MM romance. I have always been a fan of the amazing race and I loved the take on that vibe to set the stage for this book…I mean if you don’t count the TGIFriday and some mozzarella sticks! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and this was such a fun and unique take. I like their opposite personalities and how they both were really just what the other needed. Asher is such a cute nerdy type, while Theo is more of the golden retriever. The side characters were fun and helped round out the story, even the super competitive ones.

This book has great banter and humor and I love that went got a dual POV as well. Everything about this book will leave you with a smile on your face!

TROPES
💖Fake Dating
✈️Travel Competition
🧲Opposites Attract
📎Work/Life Balance
🏳️‍🌈LGBTQIA+
🧳Forced Proximity
🛏️ Only One Bed(s)

3.5 stars. This is a sweet, fun romance with two men meeting at an airport TGIF, fighting over mozzarella sticks and agreeing to participate in a traveling reality show. The reality show was kinda lame, but the romance between the two characters was sweet and I enjoyed their interactions. This was a great summer read.

This book was absolutely phenomenal! I loved every minute of it and how their story played out! The concept was beautifully executed and the romance was sweet and the spice was so well balanced with this being a complete strangers to lovers story!

A MM romance meets The Amazing Race, I swear that’s all that was going through my mind when I Picked up this book and I was here for this Adventure.

This book did not Disappoint in any way, I had such a great time reading it and the romance was just the Right about. I’m so Grateful I was able to read tis Arc and can’t wait to pick up a Physical Copy to add to my collection

Oh my goodness, Winging It With You was such a ROMP! I've been a huge fan of Chip Pons for a long time, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read his trad pub debut. It's swoony, spicy, and sweet. It's a must read for anyone who loves reality shows, golden retriever MMCs, and queer joy. I definitely recommend checking it out!

Winging It With You follows the two MMCs as they compete in an Amazing Race-style travel competition. The story is action packed and fun, at times hilarious, and often pretty freaking swoony. OMG y'all, I absolutely LOVED Theo. He's kind, considerate, and all in for Asher, and I was so here for it. The banter between Asher and Theo is a ton of fun, definitely one of the best parts for me. They are hilarious together, and I loved all of the shenanigans they get up to with the cry and the other contestants. And the SPICE! Whew, Chip really took things up a notch in this one, omg.

I don't watch reality TV, but if I did I'd definitely be there watching Team Thrasher! I loved all the humor, the different settings, and omg the ending. And y'all, I made it through the entire book without crying, and then sobbed over the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS? Don't skip those, they are so sweet and perfect. Super excited for Chip, and I can't see what he comes up with next.

Putnam eARC
This was such a fun strangers to friends to lovers romance. It was full of adventure and high stakes that created such great tension. Theo and Asher were both easy to root for, and I loved the trajectory of their budding romance. I think a reality television show, think the Amazing Race, was a unique way to throw characters together and force them to trust and communicate. There was such good growth here, lovable side characters, and fun scenarios. I can't wait to see what this author does next!

4.25 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Winging It With You" by Chip Pons! Asher and Theo.... ugh, I loved and adored them so, so much. What a wonderful couple! I am usually wary of insta-love/insta-lust, but their story worked for me from the get-go. I was all in on their strangers-to-lovers tale as they both enter a reality show competition together as a "couple" (fake dating!!), only to *really* fall for each other on the way! I loved their very first interaction involving mozzarella sticks and how it continued to come up throughout the rest of the story. Their chemistry and banter really helped propel their love story. Pons' writing is fun, flirty, and adventurous, and it can even be serious at times. I loved the travel aspect of this book, and Pons creates a beautiful portrait of every country and city where Theo and Asher travel. I also enjoyed the spice elements of this story... it was really well-written and surprisingly emotional at times. Though it might be a teeny tiny bit long, I still really loved this one!

Thank you to NetGalley, Chip Pons, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I love Theo and Asher! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, and add in the higher stakes of being on a reality show where everyone is watching, I was hooked. I loved the travel aspect of this book. The book was funny and sexy and sweet and tender all at the same time. Would definitely recommend!

A huge thank you to @putnambooks for the gifted copy!

"𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘬𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯."


I truly adored this book and these two glorious men. I loved everything about this book (except Clint... IYKYK... and Bianca and Jackson 😅)

As someone who relates HIGHLY to Asher, I loved seeing him come into his own outside of his comfort zone. And incredibly proud of everyone's growths!

✈️ Fake Dating
🧑🏽‍🤝‍🧑🏼 Travel Competition
✈️ Opposites Attract
🧑🏽‍🤝‍🧑🏼 Work/Life Balance
✈️ LGBTQIAP+
🧑🏽‍🤝‍🧑🏼 Forced Proximity
✈️ Only One Bed (lots of them 😂)
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