“I’ve learned so much during this trip that it’s going to take me a while to unpack it all. I’ve learned that while we don’t live for others, we must always consider their feelings. Life, while often construed as a singular journey, is so much more than that. It’s an adventure that, if lived right, includes compromise and concessions. Bending doesn’t break us; it gives us more resilience and strength to handle whatever else might come.” Lorelei and Luke’s love story is so much more. Sweet, witty, embarrassed and profound moments that keep you hooked until the end.

I can’t help but feel that the title is, sadly, very apt—and that they got together simply because he took pity on her.

Lorelei has been in love with Luke since she was five. As a kid, she never hid it, even going to embarrassing lengths—like making a PowerPoint to convince him to wait for her (wtf😳).

Then she grew up and moved on. Mostly.

Since Luke was never interested, her feelings made him uncomfortable, and even years later, he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about staying under the same roof. (Somehow, this was the only possible/best option—because romcom logic.)

It was a cute, squeaky-clean book, which was nice. I also loved that the brother, albeit clumsily, played matchmaker. I’m sick of brothers freaking out when their sisters get together with their friends, so this was a refreshing change.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t make me feel much. I didn’t quite get Lorelei’s obsession with Luke—he was nice, but really nothing special. There was barely any chemistry between them, and the romance came out of nowhere.

It was a pleasant story, but I’m not tempted to read the rest of the series at the moment.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

📚 BookTok Review: Pity Play by Whitney Dineen 🎭💘

If you love brother’s best friend and forced proximity tropes, Pity Play is your next cozy rom-com read! When Evie’s longtime crush, Luke, needs a place to stay, sparks (and plenty of awkward moments) start flying in their small-town world.

✨ What to Expect:
🏡 Small-town charm & witty banter
💘 Slow-burn romance with all the feels
😂 Laugh-out-loud moments & lovable characters

A heartwarming, Gilmore Girls-esque romance full of charm, chemistry, and second chances! 💖📖

#PityPlay #WhitneyDineen #SmallTownRomance #BrothersBestFriend #BookTokRecs

Gilmore Girls Yet Not Gilmore Girls. He's Luke and he works in a diner. She's Lorelai and she wants to run a bed and breakfast. Stars Hollow? NOPE! Equally fictional and equally charming Elk Lake. But yes, the Gilmore Girls comparisons, at least at a very high level, are simply too blatant to be completely ignored.

This noted, Dineen *does* do her own thing and *does* manage to tell a tale completely different than anything I remember from Gilmore Girls. (Don't hate me, but despite Lauren Graham being hot, it just wasn't a series I could ever really get into. Sorry, ladies!)

Here, the angst is arguably done better than the romance, and indeed it often seems at times that this ostensibly romance book keeps its central couple apart far more than they're together, with the togetherness coming in very tentative and awkward steps at first before "suddenly out of no where" kind of exploding... after a damn near fatal implosion first, of course.

But truly the most relatable part of this for me personally was in fact Luke's story, and even his dad's story. While I know at least *some* of my dad's story (more than Luke does throughout a large part of the tale here), like Luke, there are absolutely things I don't know - and will never know - about my dad's childhood and my grandfather (who in my case died just five weeks after my birth). Like Luke, as an adult I've had to try to come to understand my dad through the bits and pieces of his history I've learned, and how that has shaped him into the man he chose to become... and thus how it shaped how he raised me and shaped me into the man I chose to become. While I never lost years of our lives due to a misunderstanding, that's not to say there haven't been misunderstandings along the way (including one particularly infamous one when I was a teenager that was perhaps the closest we ever got to this level of blowup). So... yeah, Luke's story absolutely hit a touch harder here.

Overall while this seemed to be probably the most angsty book in the series, there really was quite a bit of fun and self discovery along the way as well, and it really was both a solid entrant in the series and a solid setup for a seeming near-direct sequel.

Very much recommended.

Pity Play is the 6th book in Whitney Dineen’s Pity series. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the previous books, they can all easily be read as standalones, though they are so cute you’ll likely want to read them. And while Pity Present (which was book 5) is still my favorite of the series, I throughly enjoyed Luke and Lorelai’s tale. Lorelai has been in love with her brother’s best friend for as long as she can remember, but she’d love given up hope of anything ever happening. (Okay so maybe she still keeps up on him via social media). After all he moved away and is now a successful chef. But when Luke’s father ends up in the hospital he comes back home and needs a place to stay, Lorelai’s brother convinces her to let him stay with her at their parent’s house. So right off the bat we have the fun tropes of close proximity and brother’s best friend. Oh, and both Lorelai and Luke have both gone through breakups so both are currently single. But there is no possibility of things happen between them, right? After all Luke is only in town for a sort time to help his family and makes things right between himself and his dad. Of course love has a way of disregarding everyone’s plans and intentions and before we know it things begin to happen between them. While I already said Pity Present is my favorite of this series, Pity Play is still a lot of fun story and well worth the time. I’d like to thank the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Pity Play.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1FP5AY7ZQUKMN/ref=pe_123899240_1043597390_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

I picked up Pity Play without having read anything from Whitney Dineen before, nor any of the previous books in this series, but the gorgeous cover immediately pulled me in. And while I genuinely enjoyed the book because it was a quick, easy read with a fun small town setting, I have some mixed feelings about it.

The biggest thing that stood out to me? This book is essentially Luke and Lorelai from Gilmore Girls fanfiction. And I don’t mean that lightly, because the names, the character dynamics, and even the diner/B&B dreams are all straight from Stars Hollow. The book even acknowledges it, which made it feel less like a fun homage and more like a direct copy paste. If you’re a Gilmore Girls fan, this might be fun, but if not, it could feel a bit too familiar.

As for the romance, it had some frustrating elements. Luke spends half the book looking at Lorelai as his best friend’s annoying little sister, even going so far as to say she’s not all that attractive at first. Then, almost out of nowhere, he suddenly starts seeing her as a romantic partner. I love a good slow burn, but this felt more like an emotional switch was flipped rather than a natural progression.

That said, I did enjoy the supporting characters (who clearly have history from previous books), the dual POV, and the cozy small town vibes. It wasn’t a standout read for me, and is not one of my favorites, but it was a fun, rom com for an easy weekend read.

Would I recommend it? If you love Gilmore Girls and don’t mind a very on the nose retelling, then yes! Otherwise, you might find the similarities a little too distracting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Whitney Dineen for the eARC of this book.

Lorelai was in a rut and not really moving with her life.
Luke is estranged from his family but returns to Wisconsin when his father needs help.
For being a rather hapless Neanderthal Lorelai’s brother Noah is the key instigator.
I liked how both characters figure out their stuff but also wanted to retain the small town coziness.
Life just can’t be all work but you also have to live it and not must be bumble along daily.
I’m eager to read Noah’s story next because he needs put to rights!

Pity Play Arc Review 📚😉

Synopsis:
Lorelei, a 28-year-old woman, had recently moved back into her parents' home while they were away on an extended vacation in Florida. She was taking some time to re-evaluate her life. Meanwhile, Luke, the best friend of her brother Noah, had returned to their hometown of Elk Lake after his father was injured. Luke had come back to help run the family restaurant and to mend his strained relationship with his father.
Although Luke didn’t want to stay with his own parents, Noah offered him a place to stay at their parents’ house while he was in town, and Luke accepted. This arrangement, however, was a little complicated for Lorelei—she had harbored a crush on Luke during their childhood.

My Thoughts 💭 :
Pity Play is just like a peak hallmark movie. Two love interest back in their hometown. One with a successful business, one trying to figure out what to do with their life. I really liked it! The only thing that was missing for me is spice or at least a little sexual tension. But, that’s just the type of book i usually gravitate toward. But if you’re looking for a short witty romance book that’s G rated this is perfect for you! The male main character, Luke grew on me throughout the book. At the beginning he was not exactly a fan of Lorelei, but after a bit of a slow burn his personality completely changed! Overall, I would give this book 3.5 stars ⭐️

Small Town ✅
Brothers Best Friend ✅
Forced Proximity ✅

This was a super cute and such a fast read. I love the 'Brothers Best Friend' trope so much. Lorelai has been in love with her brother's best friend since she was a young child. She is at a point in her life where she feels stuck just unmotivated to change it. Luke heads back to his small hometown to help his father out after an accident. Needing to repair that relationship, he stays with Lorelei at her parent's home. I really love that it wasn't one of those stories that they meet again after so many years and fall in love without getting to know each other. My favorite part was his surprise at the end. A man that can cook, loves his family, and cares enough to do something like that. I would of loved to see more relationship building. But other than that, no complaints.

Pity Play is the sixth book in the Pity series. I've only read one of the previous books and found I could still enjoy this one just fine as a standalone.

This was a cute read... and one that fans of Gilmore Girls are certainly going to appreciate--- I mean the main characters names ARE Luke and Lorelai after all... and yes, he does feed her throughout the story too! Lorelei is Luke's best friend's little sister (a favorite trope of mine) and he has never seen her as anything but... even when he finds himself staying with her after years apart, he still very much sees her as that annoying little sister figure... but the more time they spend together, the more he starts to see her in a very different light. These two had a really fun and unique dynamic, definitely a bit of a slower burn. These two both had some family and personal issues that they had to overcome throughout the story as well, and I enjoyed seeing their growth throughout. While I did enjoy this story and thought it was cute, I would definitely say that there are other books by this author that I preferred. I'm not sure why, but I did find I didn't quite connect with it as much as I'd hoped.

Pity Play is a closed-door romance with kisses only.


*ARC received via Netgalley for consideration.

Thank you to Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the ARC!

I've read other Whitney Dineen books and this was not my favorite. It was basically Luke and Lorelei from Gilmore Girls fanfiction- it's actually referenced in the book and they even have the same names. Luke is a chef who works in the kitchen in his dad's diner, a popular small town hang out spot, and Lorelei dreams of owning a B&B. Sound familiar?

Luke looks at Lorelei as his friend's annoying little sister who had a crush on him for the entire first half of the book. He even says she's not super attractive the first time he sees her as an adult. He knows the crush never went away (she makes it very obvious) and then halfway through something switches and he all of a sudden can see her as a romantic partner.

That being said, I did like a lot of the supporting characters (many have made appearances in prior books in the series), I liked that the book had a dual POV, and it was a very quick and easy read. But this isn't one I'll be revisiting.