An enjoyable friends to lovers romance set against the backdrop of an "Amazing Race" style television show. When Asher is dumped at the airline counter moments before he and his boyfriend are set to take off for The Epic Trek, he heads to the airport bar to drown his sorrows. While there, he runs into Theo, a recently grounded pilot who has been ordered to "have fun" and offers up his time to Asher. There is very little that is unpredictable about the relationship that develops between Asher and Theo, but they each have their backstories that make them hesitant to take the leap from faux romance for the cameras to real romance for each other. Through in a pushy producer and a manipulative host, and things get a little bit messy along the way.

One weird thing I have to point out. It was a little freaky that the Fernandez family address is actually the address of our close friends. I always assumed authors fudged street addresses a little bit, but I guess not.

Overall, this was a fun read. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

If you enjoy romantic comedies, you will love *Winging It With You* by Chip Pons. This delightful book combines elements of fake dating with a reality competition vibe similar to Alison Cochrun's *Charm Offensive*.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and believe it would be the perfect read for spring break or a summer beach read. Even vacation-deprived readers (like Theo) will appreciate the globetrotting, whirlwind adventures featured during their travel contest.

Moreover, it’s a well-written, well-paced, engaging story filled with spice and romance, sincerity and humor, as well as love from both biological and chosen families. What more could you ask for?

I highly recommend this charming read. Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the advance copy.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

3⭐️

Theo and Asher are so cute! I love the setting of how they meet and them going onto a gameshow together. It prompted so much cute banter and chemistry building.

If you play Stardew Valley you know any man named Clint is a walking red flag. Like why was he not impressed by Asher's job and accomplishments? What??

I feel like the ending conflict could have been resolved in the moment, but I appreciated the following scenes and how we got to know more about Theo and his family. Theo is my favorite.

Overall I enjoyed this book a lot.

What an absolutely charming read! The way Asher & Theo have so much emotional depth. Chip Pons wrote characters that feel like the most genuinely kind and real people, who you’d want to be best friends with, and are rooting for right from the beginning. Watching them grow over the course of the different challenges and cities they visit for the show was a fun backdrop to tackle some serious issues too. Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam & NetGalley for this ARC.

So I have to admit, I’ve never been a big fan of reality tv, so I wasn’t sure this book would be for me, but it definitely was! Chip did such a beautiful job showing us the hearts of these characters, and showing us such a fun adventure! I loved Asher and Theo individually, and I adored them together. They were so sweet and swoony and vent in the adventure of a lifetime together. Such a fun way to start a love story!

What a gift. Chip's sophomore novel was everything I hoped it would be. I will officially be taking all of my reality TV shows in the form of a book, thankyouverymuch.

I loved Asher and Theo's story so much. Theo was a little on the crazy side to hop on a plane with a stranger, but you know what? It works. I can only imagine how much fun Chip had writing their adventures - and you can tell on page how much he cared about these two. I loved every page of this and I can't wait to share it with everyone I know.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC. <3 <3 <3

DNF at 17%

Okay, the story might be a nice one, but I’m writing stories myself right now, and I learned that one of the rules to make your writing show instead of telling is to limit the number of adverbs,

But boy, oh boy, Chip Pons is Mr. Adverb himself. I jumped from probably to finally to quickly to instantly to nervously to coolly to visibly to skeptically to gently to abruptly to typically to intensely to quietly to many, many, many more, and I found out that I was only looking for adverbs instead of reading the story. So yeah, I quit.

Please check out other reviews if you want to read this one!

4.25 ⭐️

As a fan of reality TV shows and The Amazing Race, the premise of this book pulled me right in. The fictional reality show in this book was a really fun setting for this love story. The writing in this book and the characters took me a little bit to get into, but when I was in, I was IN. Theo and Asher are adorable in this book and I found it very enjoyable watching their connection grow throughout this book and all of the scenarios they were thrown into. This book also manages to have some third act conflict that isn’t totally frustrating for the reader, which was a plus for me.

DNF @ 49%
This was such a fun premise! I really related to the specific hurdles both main characters were facing. Unfortunately as much as I enjoyed the characters, I didn't believe in the emotional development. The characters had strong motivations but I didn't believe that they really knew each other by the time the "I'm in love" realizations happened. This book may have not worked for me but I'm sure others will love the reality TV aspect because the stakes are high and the characters are sympathetic. I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye on this author because I bet I will enjoy his future books.

Fake dating. Reality TV (think Amazing Race). Only one bed. Such a fun book! Loved the main characters, Theo and Asher, and the secondary characters as well. Sweet and steamy.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for Winging it with You to come out June 10, 2025.

This is the best MM romance I’ve read since Red, White & Royal Blue, and it gives that book a run for the money. The writing flows beautifully, the characters are likable, and the voice is fresh. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learning about the two main characters, Theo and Asher. Unlike so many of the other MM romance stories I read, this one left me guessing at every turn what would happen next. The author created two distinctive characters, each with their own quirks and personalities. I actually rooted for both of them throughout the book. The author didn’t stop there, though. Even the secondary characters brought their own personalities to the story. By the end, I liked some of them as much as I did the two main characters.

The only thing I can say is there had better be a sequel because I hated for this one to end.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to view the ARC of this book.

☆☆☆☆
4 out of 5 Stars

This book was so much fun and would be a perfect summer read!

It had just the right amount of drama that you would expect from a story about a reality TV show.

I adored these characters together and was loving all the tension!

I am also now craving fried mozzarella sticks for some reason.

•Fake Dating
•Reality TV Contestants
•Forced Proximity
•One Bed
•Dual POV (First Person)
•Open Door Spice

Thank you NetGalley for giving me access to an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an excellent debut and an original novel idea. The characters complimented each other very well. The plot flowed smoothly and was not too predictable in spots.

~Asher & Theo~

~MM romance
~Fake dating
~Reality TV game show
~Forced proximity
~One bed

“This could be ~it.~ The moment everyone always talks about. It scares the hell out of me, but he’s mine for however long he wants to me. Am I scared to admit that? Hell yes. But Asher? He just might be worth the risk.”

This was honestly such a fun read. I’m a huge fan of reality TV, including the Amazing Race, so this was rightttt up my alley. I loved all of the location changes and challenges the two went through together, all while faking their relationship. I simply loved every second of this & felt like I was on the adventure with them ◡̈

Ahh where to start?! This book was such a delight, not only for me as a romance fan but also as a devoted watcher of reality tv competitions.

Things I loved:
-Asher and Theo felt very real, with real quirks and flaws and fears
-The challenges for The Epic Trek were hilarious and I could visualize them (and the resulting chaos) so easily
-It was so TENDER. It was funny and hot and all of that too, but gosh was it tender. I love emotional men.
-The surprise near the end was truly surprising and I don’t often find that these days
-Pons has some great lines that will undoubtedly become “popular highlights.” I won’t spoil them here!

If anything, the story was a bit wordier than it maybe needed to be but I loved it so much I didn’t mind it. If you want a sweet and spicy MM romance, Winging It With You should be top of your list!

This book is a such a great time! I love fake dating and adding reality TV set the stage for a really fun time. Asher and Theo's chemistry is fantastic as they navigate challenges and learn to trust each other. I just couldn't put it down—it’s a must-read for anyone craving a funny, feel-good rom-com!

I really enjoyed this book! I'm a huge fan of the fake dating trope, then add in an adventure that takes the MMC's around the world and I was hooked. I really liked how different Theo and Asher were but deep down they were still just two guys trying to figure out who they were. The supporting cast was fantastic as well, even the "bad guys" since every reality show needs them. Jo was such a solid character and I could tell she was really trying to balance being their boss in a way, but also just being there for everyone as a friend and someone to lean on.

I'm not normally a fan of the "miscommunication" trope but I think it worked really well here. Sure, if someone had just taken the time to think and not panic everything would be peachy, but this a romance book and there still needs to be that moment of doubt to make the HEA that much sweeter. It gave us the chance to meet Theo's family, and for him to really come to terms with why he's a runner.

I thought the pacing and plot were solid, and I found myself sucked into the book pretty quickly and finished it in a weekend.

This was such a great read! Fake dating and reality tv sets the background for this book. Theo and Asher’s story development over the course of the shows elimination and challenges was great

I really enjoyed it

first things first, thank you to NetGalley, the publisher G.P. Putnam's Sons, and most of all, the author, Chip Pons, for giving me the opportunity to read this arc.

loved the set up of the book, which felt nice to read now that i’m watching i’m a celebrity get me out of here. this book really set the mood.

the main characters are good, but nothing really stood out to me. however little dingy clint and dalton can kiss some ass, because if someone did what those two did to me, they would meet my fist when i punched them right in their faces.

it was going so well, and then i reached the 90% conflict, which should not have been a conflict if one of them would’ve done a little thinking and realized the situation was not their fault.

as a spaniard, there is something that makes me cringe every time i read spanish pet names in books, so this book was difficult.