Lynn Painter's latest romcom offers a fun yet familiar take on the fake-dating trope, pairing a down-on-her-luck grad student with a wealthy, career-focused bachelor. Abi, juggling school and two jobs, finds herself in a morally questionable but understandable predicament when an infestation forces her out of her apartment. Desperation leads her to stay in the luxurious penthouse she cleans, only to be discovered by Declan’s visiting parents, who mistake her for his nonexistent girlfriend. What follows is an arrangement of convenience: Abi plays the part of Declan’s girlfriend in exchange for a temporary home and some financial relief. As their partnership unfolds, it’s clear that sparks are flying, but their differences—and the deception they’ve built their relationship on—threaten to derail their growing connection.

While the premise is undeniably charming, the execution leaves a bit to be desired. The story kicks off at breakneck speed, diving into the fake-dating setup by chapter three, which sacrifices some much-needed character development. Abi and Declan have their moments, and the romantic tension is well-done in places, but both characters feel flat at times, with their personalities revealed in fragments as the story progresses. Abi’s questionable initial choices and Declan’s aloofness, coupled with the constant reminders of his wealth, make it difficult to fully root for them as individuals, even though their relationship has its sweet and steamy moments.

The book shines brightest in its lighter, comedic moments and in its portrayal of Declan’s eventual grand gestures, which bring to mind the sweeping romance of classic romcoms. However, compared to Painter’s previous works, this one lacks the sharp banter and dynamic character chemistry that made her earlier stories so memorable. The rushed pacing and occasional predictability prevent it from fully delivering on its promising setup.

Overall, this is a solid three-star read with plenty of entertainment for fans of the fake-dating trope and lighthearted romances. It’s a fun escape but doesn’t quite reach the depth or emotional resonance of Painter’s past books. While enjoyable in parts, it feels more like a casual weekend read than a standout addition to her repertoire.

A very huge thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing one of my favorite romance authors' latest book's ARC with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I didnt expect to get as emotional as I did reading this. Lynn Painter is so talented she could write about a garbage can and I'd fall in love with it

I devoured Maid for Each Other by Lynn Painter like a bag of sour cream and onion chips.

An ethical millionaire, fake dating romcom in Lynn Painter's undeniably adorably delightful voice, I was rooting for Abi's happy ever after ever since she woke up alone in gazillion thread count sheets - before she ever met the penthouse owner.

I have been a fan of Lynn Painter for a while. I was excited to see what Maid for Each Other was about, and it did not disappoint! I like the dual points of view. The humor and banter between both leads was great. The premise, reminding me of Pretty Woman, was light and fun and even a bit dreamy. This is a true rom com novel from start to finish.

A fun rom-com from Lynn Painter. You can always trust her books to provide a good time. I found myself smiling throughout, especially to the creative or silly things that Abi says.

Tropes- fake dating, billionaire romance. Cinderella vibes.

Grad school student and part time maid Abi is in a pickle.
Needing a place to stay for a week while her apartment is fumigated, she figures - why not stay in the billionaires apartment whiles he's out of town. He would never know.
Only to get caught, not by rich guy Declan, but his parents - Who seem to already know who she is by name. Come to find out Declan has made up a fake girlfriend to appease his parents and get a leg up at work. But with a big event coming up, and Abi now becoming very real - Declan comes up with a proposition that helps them both - be his fake girlfriend for a weekend and he will pay off her student loans and let her stay at his apartment for the week. But as these things tend to, lines blur, friendship starts to blur into romance. But can a relationship truly bloom if it's built on a lie?

I’ve read most of Lynn Painters books and I’ve enjoyed them but none of them have become my top favorites. Well folks I’m happy to report that, Maid For Each Other, has finally done it! Maid For Each Other is my all time favorite Lynn Painter book. It is a charming and delightfully funny romcom that’s not to be missed!

I have been in such a reading slump lately and I decided to pick up Maid For Each Other on a whim. I ended up being unable to put it down all while smiling and giggling my entire time reading it.

Maid For Each Other follows Abi & Declan as they decide to fake-date after Declan’s parents run into Abi in his apartment after she was hired to clean it. Declan needs a girlfriend to get his family and millionaire job off his back. And Abi needs to pay off some student loans. With the two in agreement on their fake relationship they think it will be a quick easy weekend. But turns out they are both more alike than they thought and feelings ignite between them.

Overall this book is lightheaded, laugh out loud read. The banter and chemistry between Declan & Abi are off the charts. I cannot recommend this book enough. I can’t wait to purchase my trophy copy when it releases this July!

Lastly Big Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this completely outrageous and a bit nonsensical? Absolutely.

Did I eat it up like a bag of chips? Absolutely.

In books like these, you need to suspend disbelief. You need to enter the romantic mindset. Logic is secondary. Fun, flirty chemistry reigns supreme.

Abi thinking she could camp out at a wealthy client’s apartment was wacky nonsense.

Declan asking an unknown home intruder to be his fake girlfriend and meet his family was highly illogical.

But damn if I didn’t have a laugh-out-loud hoot of a time.

Their banter and natural chemistry stole the show. The runway train of their lie kept getting bigger and bigger throughout but of course, it all worked out in the end because of true love 💖

This book is pure romantic cinematic nonsense. And I’d sit through it all again 😆

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for this review copy. All opinions are my own.

Mistaken identity, fake dating, misunderstood rich MMC, FMC maid who doesn't like the rich..... Shenanigans ensue. I wasn't blown away by the story and was unable to fully invest in the characters love story. Sometimes the writing felt very juvenile and not up to par with some other authors in this genre. It was my first by this author and it might be a while before i read another one of her books.

i feel ✨conflicted✨ on one hand, i enjoyed abi and declan’s development, as the fake dating a billionaire is an interesting setup but once it was getting too far in, i could see the money being the conflict a mile away. it felt kinda icky (as was the point) but they were so solid!!! like, they didn’t need to worry about it not being real because they were so clearly head over heels for each other.

Another adorable book by Lynn Painter! This was worth the read, however, the pace that the book starts with was quite breakneck. By chapter 3 we are already setting up the fake dating, which I did not expect.

A classic romance plot, a down-on-her-luck maid realizes that the swanky apartment she is cleaning has no current resident as he is away for the week. With her apartment having an infestation it makes sense to stay there on the DL and no one will ever know. Except when Abi wakes up the next morning, it turns out that swanky millionaire's parents are in town and think that she is Abby - his girlfriend. However, Abby is fake, a made up girl that Declan made up to get his parents and business partners off his back.

After making a deal for Abi to become Abby, Declan and Abi end up in a classic fake dating situation, that soon leads to friendship and then more. Before it blows up of course.

Because the beginning was so fast I felt like I didn't really get much of an idea of who these characters were on their own. A lot of pieces of their lives had to be revealed as they got to know each other, which as a reader left me feeling like they were a bit flat. That being said, Lynn Painter knows how to make you fall for a couple at the end of the day, and Declan does some very good book boyfriend level grand gestures. This book is also very Pride and Prejudice coded

Cute romcom with some small forays into deeper subject matter (health care for elderly relatives, class consciousness). I wasn't overly drawn in to the story, but people who love the "fake dating" trope and steamy love scenes will like this one a lot.

I liked the premise of the book where Abi has to fake date Declan after she unexpectedly meets his parents. Abi cleans Declan’s house when he’s out of town as a side job, and she sleeps in his place one night when her apartment is being fumigated. The chapters switch between Declan and Abi’s POV. There was basically no difference in voice between their two POVs, so I had to keep going back to the start of the chapter to figure out who was narrating. The writing was so simple and basic that it was distracting. Fans of fake relationship tropes with a billionaire should skip this book.

This charming rom-com is so on point! Think a more modern day Pretty Woman mixed with the Proposal, How to Lose a Guy in 10 days and every favorite rom com movie mixed together in an another spunky fun creation by Lynn Painter.

Maid For Each Other is such a delightful, funny, and utterly charming rom-com! I was laughing out loud the entire time, and it was one of those books I just couldn’t put down.

Sure, fake-relationship, millionaire stories might not exactly mirror real life, but let’s be honest—who doesn’t love them? This one had me hooked from the start, and I could easily see it becoming a go-to comfort read.

It’s a great companion to novels like Honestly, I’m Totally Faking It, Can’t Help Falling in Love, and The Paradise Problem (all of which I totally devoured).

If you’re in the mood for a light, laugh-out-loud read with just a dash of spice, mark your calendar for July—this book is a must-read! Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

As someone who has read basically every book Lynn Painter has written I was so excited going into this. However as I was waiting for the characters to bond and the classic Lynn banter to begin I was disappointed when I was met with flat characters and cringe dialogue. The first half of this book was decent. As the plot was being developed I could see the makings of a good story. However, the more time I spent with Declan and Abi the less I wanted to be there.

We meet Abi while she is committing a crime and she never really seems to feel bad about it. Sure it was harmless enough but Declan never seemed to be on alert enough for me to feel like he was a realistic character.

We were also reminded how wealthy Declan was at every opportunity. This made it difficult to connect with him because he never really seemed to understand how lucky he was to be wealthy and he seemed to view stuff as beneath him. This really turned me off of him as a reader.

All in all this was a fine enough book but one that I had to struggle through to finish. I still look forward to the next book she writes but unfortunately this one was not for me.

Lynn Painter rarely misses and Maid for Each Other is no exception. Abi and Declan are witty, entertaining, and have so many real emotions. I laughed and cried and absolutely devoured this book.

"Our breaths were mingling, his hot green eyes my entire universe, and my brain was at war with my body. Because dear Lord, I'd never wanted anything as much as I wanted to give in to this. To follow these sparks and set the world on fire"
--
Read. It.

I had almost given up on Lynn Painter until I read this book. It turned into my favorite by her by far. I'm not sure if she took the criticism to heart from Mr. Wrong Number and Happily Never After, but Maid for Each Other had none of the red flags of those.

Abi is a strong, hard-working, opinionated poor girl who thinks rich people are immoral for hoarding money. Declan is a super rich guy who has been lying to everyone he knows about having a girlfriend for months. Coincidentally, his fake girlfriend's name is Abby.

Abi cleans his apartment and spends a night there when she can't stay at her own apartment. Immediately, she gets caught by his parents and it's so smooth because she says her name is Abi and they're like "oh great! He's told us so much about you." This leads to a PERFECT and I mean PERFECT gateway to fake-dating. They both start getting along so well, and this naturally leads to love.

I have never seen Lynn Painter write so many pages of "getting to know you" before the sex ever happens. I was so grateful for it. I actually got to see why they like each other so much, and started rooting for them very quickly. I think a benefit of the dual-POV in this book is that you really get to see each character's relationship with money through their own thoughts. If we only saw Abi's thoughts, Declan would seem pretty shallow imo. P.S. the money thing is a huge deal in this book and leads to the climax etc.

About 200 pages in, I was getting a little scared that there wasn't going to be a real breakup because everything was going really well. I think the pacing of the novel was a little...interesting. The characters are building their relationship for over half the book, but that only accounts for about a week of time. I really really wish their dates had happened over the course of at least a month. A little hard to believe that they were saying "I love you" when they were.

All in all, super fun. Both characters are pretty likeable and they get up to some good shenanigans. Some editing issues, but hopefully that will be fixed before release.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC

The humor in this book is spot on, but it’s the genuine moments of tenderness and vulnerability that make it stand out. There’s a beautiful exploration of self-worth, how people’s assumptions can create barriers, and how sometimes the best relationships are built on the most unexpected foundations. If you’re a fan of fake dating tropes with a mix of humor, heart, and undeniable chemistry, Maid for each other is a must-read. It’s fun, fast-paced, and will leave you with a smile on your face.

Really fun meet cute! I thought I would hate Declan but came to love him by the end. The jewelry store scene was the best!