What do you get when a commitment-phobe agrees to a fake marriage with her best friend? A spicy, heartfelt ride with just the right amount of chaos.

Miz is all vibes, no strings. Kal is her charming BFF with a deportation problem. So naturally, fake marriage is the totally reasonable solution. (What could possibly go wrong?) Set between Toronto and Addis Ababa, this story gives us friendship on the edge, slow-burn feelings, and enough emotional baggage to charge for checked luggage.

Expect laughs, heart-squeezes, and a few “oh no they didn’t” moments. It’s about love—the messy, real kind—and figuring out who you are when your heart finally calls your bluff.

I really wanted to like this book. It's got a cute cover, there's marriage of convenience, friends to lovers, Ethiopian immigrants (to Canada)! Unfortunately, I really disliked this book.

Miz and Kal are longtime friends, both originally from Ethiopia, though Miz grew up in Canada and is a citizen. Kal moved to Toronto for school and to become an actor, and that's where he is reunited with Miz. Unfortunately, Kal's work visa is almost up, and his job isn't willing to renew. Miz and Kal have been friends for over twenty years, but have never thought about each other like that, but Miz desperately wants Kal to stay, so they agree to get married.

Despite never having romantic/sexual feelings for each other before, as soon as they agree to get married, Kal is down bad. It's like a light switch flipped and he is in love. In his mind, this is a real marriage. Miz is not all in on real marriage, but she is ready to very abruptly hop into bed with Kal (seriously, there's almost zero build-up). These characters both feel very immature, despite being in their mid 30s. Kal goes from being a moony teenage boy to a sulky teenage boy. Miz has a lot of wacky antics throughout, theoretically to prevent her from various embarrassments, but which end up being way more embarrassing every time than if she'd been straightforward. There is a whole subplot about a ring that Miz took and needs to give back, and it is SO annoying.

Altogether, I did not vibe with the writing style. Everything felt very scattered, abrupt, and not fully formed. I didn't really like or connect with any of the characters.

I was really excited about multicultural aspects of this book, but the writing style didn’t appeal to me. I prefer books that are less introspective with a stronger external plot. I’m sure others will enjoy the book.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

When her life long best friend's citizenship status is in jeopardy, Miz puts her no strings attached lifestyle to the side to become his spousal sponsor. A friends to lovers, fake dating, marriage of convenience love story that discusses topical issues and navigating life as a twenty something.

Such a fun, flirty read with incredible depth. The exploration of immigration law was interesting and well fleshed out, I appreciate that it wasn't just a cutesy plot point thrown in for fun but a real complication and stressor. I also feel it's important to note that this is set in Canada, not the US.

I loved our two main characters, Miz and Kal! Their banter was everything- super witty and authentic. Kal's Ethiopian heritage being such a big part of the story was so beautiful, I really enjoyed learning about his culture.

There was a minor part of the plot that I felt was dragged out and became super cringe after awhile, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment of this book.

Overall, a super fun read with great depth and authentic, charming characters!

A huge thank you to Rebecca Fisseha, Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for this ARC <3333

𐙚 Friends to Lovers
𐙚 Marriage of Convenience
𐙚 Dual POVs

A bit of humor, a bit of real (enjoyed the mix). Enjoyed the cultural rep. You get to see both perspectives as Miz and Kal navigate friendship, family, and life. Overall enjoyed this read.

Thanks for the egalley!

I love this book and it's going to be a cute spring read for all bookclubs. This friends to lovers read, is set in Canada but Miz and Kal are from Ethiopia. We're introduced to them and learn about their friendship, families and life as adults. When Kal's citizenship is threatened, Miz has to find a way to help him. I enjoyed the character development, the splash of culture throughout the book. Thanks Rebecca Fisseha, netgalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC.

Taylor song: Snow on the Beach

“And to hide, that would be so dishonest”

Wow! I was very impressed with this book. Such a fantastic friends-to-lovers arc with a marriage of convenience too. A win-win of tropes for me!

Both MCs were very witty, and the banter between them was top notch. I felt like I really got to know both characters and found them very lovable and relatable. I loved the Ethiopian cultural details the author weaved in throughout the story and the study on immigration and spousal sponsorship. The only part I really wasn’t a huge fan of was the subplot with the engagement ring - it was a little cringey in my opinion.

Overall though, this book was a big win for me, and I look forward to rereading it as well as reading more from Rebecca Fisseha in the future!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for the ARC!

Dnf’d.
I couldn’t connect with the FMC she was very immature and I the friends to lovers transition happened out of nowhere.
I loved the cultural aspects though

3.5 stars

This is a cute, quick friends to lovers romance based in Toronto steeped with Ethiopian culture and traditions.

Miz and Kal met as teens in Ethiopia, years later, Miz sponsors Kal for a visa after they both land in Toronto and pursue their different careers. Miz, who is self-proclaimed "not the marrying type" has to deal with her past family trauma, internal beliefs and her feelings about Kal before she risks loosing her best friend and "husband".

Pros:
- Loved the cultural aspects of this book and the minority representation
- I enjoyed the MMC and his character progression

Cons:
- at times the FMC felt very immature to be 36. The intimate scenes were fade to black, which was fine- but i wanted some of those moments to make the fmc feel like she was acyually mid 30s instead of written as rarly 20s but youre telling me shes mid 30s. I personally didn't feel that her reasoning to be "not the marrying type" made much sense
- the engagement ring side plot was very drawn out and resolution felt out of place
- at times the pacing was a little off, the characters had a huge jump in feelings that didn't necessarily stem from something specific. They just.... happened lol

Overall a very cute book and a fairly cute read.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the aspects of Ethiopian culture and community that was written in this book, however I feel the characters and premise of friends to lovers fell flat for me.

The characters have so many pent up emotions yet barely express this to each other and the reader only picks up on this through their inner monologue.

Kal had a lot more depth in comparison to Miz. His sensitivity is so lovely to read but Miz’s immaturity was hard to connect with!

However, I would recommend if you are looking for an easy friends to lovers and marriage of convenience book!

I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this.

Great read! First read from this author. This book makes me want to read more from this author. Kept my attention and interest until the end.

I just found that I didn’t connect with the characters or the storyline. It was a tough read to get through. I did like the importance placed on the culture of the main characters though!

I enjoyed reading Only Because It's You. As for feedback, the book was well written and the characters had very distinctive voices. It was refreshing to learn about the Ethiopian culture. My only critique is that I had no idea what the characters looked like throughout the majority of the book, if not or the cover which I didn't have access to while reading it. But over all I enjoyed the book.

I rate the book a 4/5 stars for snappy dialogue, engaging cultural experience (Canada and Ethiopia) and strong writing.

This was a very wholesome and humorous, friends to lovers romance! It was light on spice but isn't really closed door, just light on the details! I really enjoyed the way Miz and Kal's relationship grew and changed throughout the book. I think it also addresses the complexity of immigration and the process that many people have to go through in a very intentional way.

This was a quick and cute friends-to-lovers read. The story was sweet, and the settings in Canada & Ethiopia made it more interesting. With immigration being such a hot and present issue, the main plot felt very real for current times. I liked most of the characters, but didn't really enjoy the engagement ring sub-plot - it felt too detailed and a bit drawn out, with the finale of that landing a bit flat. Aside from that, I enjoyed the character development of Miz and Kal, and the entrance & stories of both of their families. Overall, a cute and easy read, and quite enjoyable.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t really know what to think about this book. It was a sweet cute read but I don’t think this was my type of book.

At some points of the book I felt like they were quite dragged out. It made me not want to pick up the book for a while.

The plot of the book was good and if you like a friends to lovers read then I’m sure you will enjoy this books. It was just not my type of book

*Thank you NetGalley and penguin random house for providing me this arc in return for an honest review*

A fun romance based in Canada, where the main characters decide to get married so that one of them can continue to live in Canada as his work license is expiring. The characters were well developed and I liked that there were lots of references to their native culture of Ethiopia. I wish there had been more explanation of some of the events so that I could have learned more about a culture with which I’m not as familiar, but overall I enjoyed reading this one!

This is a STUNNER!! Not the first spousal-sponsor romance I’ve read, but this felt like a fresh take. And CERTAINLY not the first friends to lovers romance I’ve read, and yet I was kicking my feet and giggling the whole time.

Miz and Kal have been friends for ages. *Just* friends. After all, they’re opposites when it comes to love. Miz takes a no-strings-attached approach to relationships and is anti-marriage on principle, given how her parents’ marriage turned out. Kal, on the other hand, is a true romantic and has only ever dated one woman.

When Kal’s acting job decides not to renew his work visa, he and Miz desperately search for alternative options. When it seems all might be lost, they land on a crazy plan: get married!

Miz is a freaking disaster and seems to only make bad choices, but I gobbled it RIGHT UP. And I loooved the way Kal wore his heart on his sleeve and was so excited to jump into a new phase of their relationship. I’m giggling!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada, and Rebecca Fisseha for this Digital Arc Copy*

I’ll start off by saying that the start of this book was great. It was giving me early 2000’s rom-com vibes, friends-to-lovers, it’s set in Canada, what is there not to like?

I loved Aimé and Omar (Omar had me laughing out loud at his antics. Plus, I loved the fact that he was Kal and Miz’s biggest supporter.) I also loved the families and how close everyone was, it made you want to know them in real life.

I adored Kal, and loved how open he was about his feelings towards Miz. Miz…I loved her most of the time but in the middle of the book she had me wanting to shake her. Plus, the way that she acted in front of immigration officers? Girl…

The book began to feel quite rushed towards the end, (96% and they still hadn’t spoken??? I was stressed.) I highly disliked how much miscommunication there was, and couldn’t help but think to myself “If they just went to therapy and had a conversation, a lot of these issues would’ve been resolved by now.”

All in all, it was a cute, quick read, perfect for Spring/Summer time. 3/5⭐️ 1/5🔥