Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Chip Pons’s newest release brings us to an Amazing Race style romance with a fake dating situation just scratches that itch! We start the story with Asher getting dumped at the airport by his boyfriend while they’re about to leave to compete on the TV competition show, Epic Trek. Theo is also at the airport and is down and out because he’s being forced into mandatory vacation time by his airline. Quickly the chemistry and attraction grows between the two. This chance meeting between the two and the faking dating plot that ensues was so fun to read! This was my second book that I’ve read by Chip and he doesn’t disappoint. There were so many emotions weaved throughout the story. I knew I would like this because I’m a diehard reality competition show stan! I loved that aspect of the book because it really did help lead the story, but it also wasn’t too competition heavy. There was room in the plot for everything!

I had a lot of fun reading this and it definitely deserves a spot on your TBR!

Winging It With You by Chip Pons is a sparkling, five-star gay rom-com that completely exceeded my expectations! From the very first page, I was hooked by the whirlwind adventure and charming chemistry between Asher and Theo, who impulsively team up to compete in a reality show. What starts as a fake relationship for the cameras quickly turns into a heartwarming and tension-filled exploration of self-discovery, vulnerability, and love. Chip Pons does it again—this book has it all: laugh-out-loud moments, swoon-worthy romance, and a refreshing dose of authenticity. Asher and Theo's journey made me believe in second chances and the beauty of embracing who you truly are, baggage and all.

If you love romantic tension, swoon-worthy moments, and characters who grow and evolve, Winging It With You is a must-read!

Thank you for the opportunity to read Winging It With You e-arc. This was such a fun read, while also holding space for some heavy life things. There were some discrepancies that made it hard to follow the shows rules. Like, some contestants had access to a phone always, when Theo and Asher didn't. Then in chapter 26 Ellie left Jo's phone in his room so he can have a chance to look at socials and then Jo shows up outside of his room on her phone at the same time as Asher has her phone. One million is also a really big prize for this type of reality/social media show. Those details kinda threw me off a bit, but all in all Winging It With You was a really cute read.

One December evening a DM message popped up that had me squealing in utter joy, excitement and pride. I kept that secrete like an oath until Chip announced his news with the world and then I sat waiting in wings [literally] fan girling over Chip and these boys, while crying international tears until one day [because apparently I wasn’t too much], this book arrived in my hands.

I adored the premise of 𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄𝙩 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙔𝙤𝙪 so much. It’s such a unique backdrop for a romance story to unfold which allowed for some really unexpected events to happen

From the moment Asher & Theo meet there is an immediate spark however both of them are dealing with things in their lives that they need time to process. I loved how throughout the challenges of the show they learnt how to communicate and lean on each other which enabled their connection to grow in spades (cue the tension!!)

This book was a joy to read and full of laugh out loud moment that complimented the emotional ones brilliantly with the perfect amount of spice that felt authentic and meaningful (*cough cough ꜱʜᴏᴡᴇʀ cough cough*). It was a love letter to embracing the adventure, finding your person and realising what it is like to be someone else safe space.

💗 Fake Dating
📺 Reality TV Romance
🫂 Forced Proximity
♥️ Strangers to Friends to Lovers
🧪Biomedical Engineer/Pilot
🥵Only One Bed (Every Location)
✈️Adventure / Challenges
🔥Mozzarella Meet Cute
🥰 Wait...Is it real?

Chip Pons is just amazing at writing a love story and this one is no different.

This story takes place during a game...I love games...and the contestants are playing for quite the sum of money. And you know what else I love besides a game? FAKE DATING! Truly a superior trope. And the tension between Theo and Asher was just *chef's kiss*

This swoon-worthy romance will have you in your feels the whole time. Each character is thoroughly thought out and well written. Basically, this book had me feeling all the feelings, kicking my feet, and squealing.

Thank you, Penguin Group Putnam, and NetGalley for the ARC.

“Falling in love with the wrong person and then getting your heart broken? That’s just another part of life, right? It’s just one of those things we all gotta deal with at one point or another.”

Winging It With You is Chip Pons’ newest release that captures many personal elements of my favorite things in life; reality television, appetizers, traveling, and most important of all, queer joy. Chip Pons is elegantly crafting his Mount Rushmore of couples that bring us substance, depth, and relation. Theo and Asher’s story is sure to be a one-way ticket to many romance lovers’ bookshelves.

Speaking of Theo and Asher, this story follows both of these men in a dual POV format, showcasing the lovable traits of both of our main characters as their stories collide over an order of mozzarella sticks. Yes you read that right, mozzarella sticks (Chip literally that’s so me coded). Asher and his (now) ex-boyfriend were about to embark on a journey by being casted on worldwide travel reality competition show called The Epic Trek. With his ex-boyfriend dumping him just before their plane was to depart for filming, Asher gravitates towards TGI Fridays for a mimosa and mozzarella sticks.

Theo joins the story as he is about to take some time off to prioritize a healthy work-life balance, however, is struggling in this endeavor at first. After his last pilot job ends before the time off, Theo walks into the eatery and comes across a cute guy who happens to be eating the last of the mozzarella sticks the kitchen has to offer. An opportunity lands right into Theo’s lap (or should we say first class seat in this instance?) and Theo and Asher commit to fake dating for the cameras. Taylor Swift once sang, “It all seems so simple,” and both guys quickly find out that there is more than meets the eye, as the chemistry and attraction between them is nothing but fake.

This is the second title I have read by Chip, and will not be the last. This book succeeds in producing relatable narratives and a well-paced romance story that delivers from start to finish. As a reality tv lover, parts of the competition show plot points felt nostalgic to series I have enjoyed. There were many quotes in here that struck me. With a break-up so early in the story, Asher’s feelings and experience were portrayed professionally. I really felt his pain and loved the way that Chip weaved this arc throughout the story, as we got to see how this further influenced Asher’s interpersonal dynamics and how that affected him and Theo’s relationship.

I’m not really one that reads a whole ton of acknowledgements, but Chip’s acknowledgments actually had me crying tears of joy for him. Overall, I recommend this book if you love reality competition shows, a full-grown romance that’ll have you rooting for the characters, or if you need a first-class ticket to a great story.

Winging It With You by Chip Pons ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Winging It With You was one of my most anticipated books of the year so I’m so thankful to Chip for giving me the opportunity to read this early.

Asher is on his way to participate on a reality tv show with his boyfriend when his boyfriend decides—at the airport— that he can’t do this anymore and breaks up with him. Through a chance encounter over mozzarella sticks, Asher meets Theo and a pretend boyfriend for the show. As the weeks go on, the two men find that their pretend relationship is feeling a lot less fake.

I really enjoyed this book! I love the traveling part of this book and how we actively follow the couple throughout the world on their television journey. I loved the Tomatina scene especially, it was so fun and of course the elephants! The last 25% of the book had me completely hooked and I couldn’t go to bed until I finished their story. Looking forward to release day and can’t wait to see my preordered copy on my shelf!

Theo and Asher are here to steal your heart and make you blush. Chip will make you laugh, swoon, and book your next vacay right away.

This was my first book from chip and omgggg it was so fun!!! I loveeeed the reality show side to this (as a self proclaimed reality show enthusiast!!) their emotions (good and bad) were captured so well I love themmmm

Asher's boyfriend breaks up with him at the airport, just hours before boarding a flight to join a great race-esque game show. In his place, Asher recruits a pilot who's being forced to take some time off because of FAA regulations and flying too many hours in the month. They galavant across the world doing challenges with each other and slowly fall in love.

I was so excited to read this, but it fell so flat for me. I didn't really feel like they were falling for each other the whole time. They were just traveling around and resisting their sexual chemistry and I didn't feel like they did any romancing of each other. I wish that we got to see them communicate more and learn more about each other.

CHIP PONS DOES IT AGAIN! I am in love with Asher and Theo. Their story is so special and one I will read over and over again. The fake dating trope is one of my favorites and this didn't disappoint. The reality TV show aspect was well done and a fun twist to the story. Also, a mozzarella meet-cute? Say less.

I think my favorite aspect of the story was the character development in both Asher and Theo as the book went on. Both took huge steps in self-discovery and growth and it was so well written. I felt like their friend and was so so proud of both of them at the end of the book.

If you are a fan of fake dating, only one bed 😏, reality TV, spice, MM romance and romcoms, definitely add this book to your TBR. You will not be disappointed!

Forced proximity, fake dating, an Amazing Race style competition and mozzarella sticks? Say less because I'm 1000% in!!

I loved this so much. Asher and Theo have my whole heart, and I adored both the literal and figurative journeys they both went on. The lush places they traveled to for the reality show swept me away, but not as much as their tension and romance did. The emotional beats felt real, raw, and earned.

Thank you to NetGalley, Chip Pons and the publisher for the opportunity to read this one!!

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Asher finds himself stranded and in need of a partner for a reality TV competition show, and Theo steps in asking for Asher's airport bar mozzarella sticks in a moment of desperation. They make a friendly coin toss wager and suddenly Theo finds out he's about to jet across the globe performing challenges with the handsome stranger.

Over the course of several weeks, they grow close, sharing their most vulnerable hopes and fears, their painful pasts. Then, an unwelcome reunion that could only be scripted by a reality TV villain takes them by surprise, and puts their future together in jeopardy.


I loved this book. Loved it. And I say this as a person who didn't particularly care for Pons's debut novel. The pacing was great, the characters were relatable and Pons did a great job of showing their growth over through the book. Did I occasionally get distracted by an incorrect bit of geography or Taylor Swift reference? Sure, but it wasn't enough to pull me away from Theo and Asher's story and the swoony way it made me feel.

4.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC

Stars: 4 Spice: 2 I enjoyed the speed at which we got to know Asher and Theo. Though at first, we feel the bittersweet heartbreak and some uncomfortable choices the boys both have to make. Hurdling between family, work, and long lost dreams these two quickly warmed up to one another, but soon after that, found themselves on the trip of their lives. The natural, almost organic form of forced proximity is not only refreshing to the reader, but it also seems like the two need it just as well. Pons does a great job at convincing us they don't want to like each other, but they do. Or do they? Is it the camera? Or the handsome man?

This just wasn't for me, unfortunately! I do think it'll find an audience - specifically, I think people who loved The Charm Offensive will eat this up. It has a similar vibe, so if you loved the plot and characters in one, you'll probably find something to love in the other. Unfortunately, I'm not in that camp.

I really did want to love it - the premise is really fun! Gay fake dating on a reality competition show is just the kind of romcom hook I'm interested in. But I didn't vibe with the writing. A lot of the dialogue and narration felt stilted and unrealistic. I didn't buy the romance. It's dual POV, but the narration is so similar between the two that I wouldn't be able to tell which man was telling the story if you redacted their names. It's not <i>bad</i>, but it feels a bit undercooked. There's a level of polish that I just felt was missing here.

Like I said, I think this will find an audience that loves it, and that's great! I want people to support queer romance by queer authors! But it didn't work for me, unfortunately.

If you are a fan of forced proximity, fake dating, or the Amazing Race, this is the book for you. I had so much fun reading about Asher and Theo, and their adventures traveling the world on The Epic Trek. While there is definitely some past drama/trauma for both of the main characters, I would still categorize this as a feel-good read. I didn't feel like their past experiences brought the vibe down. I also really enjoyed the other contestants and the production team, and found that part believable, despite having no concept of what being on a game show like the Amazing Race would be like. I also appreciated that while this book does have the "will they not end up together?!" section close to the end, it wasn't as obvious as some of the other MM romance books I've read. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a light MM read.

I love a good fake dating trope, which is part of the reason I was excited to read this title. It starts with Asher being unceremoniously dumped at the airport by his longtime boyfriend as they are about to embark on a reality tv show adventure. Thanks to a mozzarella-stick meet-cute, he finds a new travel partner for the show. Theo is a pilot who is being forced to take a break from flying after exceeding his allotted hours, which conveniently lines up with the show’s filming schedule.

I enjoyed the book overall and was rooting for Asher and Theo throughout, but the writing style and some of the character development was a little bit of a miss for me. I would recommend this book to fans of rom-coms and reality tv and it would be a good read-alike for The Charm Offensive by Alice Cochran or The (Fake) Dating Game by Timothy Janovsky.

This was my first book by the author and it was an enjoyable road trip/adventure romance. The meet cute — or meet disaster — between Theo and Asher did a great job setting up their fake dating relationship for an Amazing Race type reality show. I thought the book lingered too long on the competition which left many threads of the character development kind of hastily tied up in a short epilogue.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A meet cute over mozzarella sticks? Say less.
One thing I loved so much about their story was it never felt like they were really fake dating. Sure, they were playing it up for the cameras but they truly took the opportunity to get to know each other. They didn’t fight it when they started to have feelings, they just went with what felt right. Both Asher and Theo were exactly what the other needed, in a relationship but also just in life. Their story is full of laughs and some really heartbreaking moments. I had the best time watching them fall in love.

Very cute!! I was lukewarm about the plot when I requested it but i’m so glad I did. It’s such a cute story, Asher and Theo pull off a great strangers to lovers arc. They GET each other which was satisfying in and of itself and I thoroughly enjoyed the characters. The adventure part of it was a nice little added plot device which was super fun to read.