Love Under Contract

Hot shot lawyer Rebecca is dreading her Thanksgiving family dinner where everyone will ask her about love life. After one night stand, she decides to ask the stranger to pretend to be her bf. She set an iron-clad contract... But she ends up falling for him....

It's a terrific book. It's funny and so many LOL scenes. The romance is terrific. Such chemistry! It's fa fun read and I finished reading it in one day.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Couldn’t put this down! It didn’t go the direction I was expecting when the MCs end up fake dating x2, which was a bit unexpected! It didn’t feel like the usual fake dating trope because of that. I also enjoyed the reversal of the stereotypical grumpy x sunshine trope, with Rebecca being on the grumpy side and Hudson so infectiously happy. I also secretly prefer a single point of view narrative rather than the back and forth make/female narrative that seems to be the style du jour of romance novels now. I like the suspense of not knowing EXACTLY what the male love interest is thinking. I think this could be one of my faves of the year - definitely one of the best arcs I’ve read.

Loved this book which was quirky with lovely characters. More sex scenes than I prefer but they fitted in well to the underpinning story which was a good old fashioned romance.

This book could have been written for me - fake dating + family holiday and/or wedding describes a tonne of my favourite books and films, so I had high hopes going in to this, which Cassie delivered on! I absolutely loved the heroine and saw a lot of myself in her general mindset, and I really enjoyed the fact that she didn't compromise herself professionally for a man - she mentions that her exes hadn't been able to handle her being so involved with her job so instead of dulling herself down, she just waits until a man who can be proud of her comes along.

This book was such a lovely, cozy read that I couldn't put down - I can't wait to read more from this author.

I absolutely adored this fake dating holiday romance. Set in London, NYC, and a village in England, the locations are full of Thanksgiving and Christmas spirit. Rebecca is a likable, if flawed, character and Hudson is charming. Everyone can see they're perfect for each other; except them. Definitely a new holiday favorite!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

What a GREAT holiday romance.

We had a strong female lead.

We had saucy, sexy scenes.

We had banter.

We had chemistry.

It was sweet.

Pick this up!

Rating: 4.5

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I'm a huge faking dating trope fan! Under Contract starts off with a workaholic lawyer who has just found out the her sister is engaged to her ex. Now it’s time to head home for Thanksgiving and she doesn’t want to return home without a date and hear all of the “why are you still single?” comments from her family. So instead of going alone, she draws up a contract and invites her recent one night stand!

What I loved:
- Extremely likable characters! I loved happy go lucky Hudson!
- The fake dating trope, grumpy/sunshine (except it’s not the MMC this time, it’s a grumpy FMC), and forced proximity/one bed
- The holiday themes and setting (both in NYC and in a small England village)
- Under Contract is the perfect rom com with some funny moments and some amazing banter. There’s also a lot of steam, so if that’s not your thing, be warned!

Read if you like: 


- The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa
- The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas




All in all, we really enjoyed Under Contract! If you love a holiday rom com with some fake dating, we highly recommend this one!!

📖: Under Contract by Cassie Connor
Release Date: November 1st, 2022

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Cassie Connor, and One More Chapter for the opportunity to read this arc!

I loved this book so much. It completely exceeded my expectations. It was such a quick and fun read and I loved the grumpy/sunshine aspect of it. I couldn't put it down!

You've got the best tropes: Grumpy/Sunshine, One bed, and Fake dating. You've got the holiday season. A cute romance, and an easy read for someone who wants a little escapism.

This is was funny, and I'll definitely read again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

OMG, loved Under Contract. Well-written storyline with multi-layered characters. Exciting story full of ups and downs. A highly recommended read.

Under Contract by Cassie Connor was a fun debut novel.

Rebecca Madison is a big time lawyer who is not looking forward to her family's questions during their Thanksgiving break. Asking questions about her personal life and the biggest question being "why is she still single"?.
Rebecca loves what's she does and she is damn good at it. But you look at her love life and that is something she is not so good at.
One wild night after a one night stand with a hot stranger she met in a bar, she does what she always does and strikes a deal with him. To be her man.... Only for the holidays.
With the details and terms drawn up for their fake relationship, Rebecca has a few rules... No sex... Ever again. No kissing and definitely no emotional string's!
A few thousand miles away from home and waking up next to this man who has her feeling things she has never felt before writing her rules were easier said than done.
When you can’t find the perfect date for the holidays you hire him!

I can't believe that this was Connor's debut title.
I loved everything here! The characters are funny, charming and so much fun to be around.
The writing is atmospheric. I loved how I was instantly hooked.
Fake dating is one my absolute favorite tropes but then ya throw in holiday romance and I'm completely sold. Which honestly this is on my favorite lists right now. Because I couldn't stop reading.
The plot was natural, the chemistry is so good and the story was so entertaining!
Our characters had me swooning, rooting, loving, grinnig and smiling from ear to ear!
Freaking loved it and I look forward to reading many more books like it from this phenomenal, talented author!

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

One More Chapter,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

What can I say, I loved this book. It has all my favorite tropes. Fake dating - check! Grumpy/ sunshine (reversed) check! One bed- check!

It was such a fun read. I love how the fake dating was reciprocated and wasn’t just one sided. I felt like the characters were very real and fun. I can definitely identify with the FMC but it was nice to see her let loose in the end.

I absolutely loved this book! I couldn’t put it down and read it in one day. As soon as I read the description I knew I had to read this book, it is one of my favorite genres of books. I highly recommend this book, it was one of my favorite reads of the year.

I found this very entertaining, funny and uplifting. After a one night stand with Hudson, Rebecca looks to hire him as a fake date under contract, to escort her to her sister's engagement party in America.
I liked the serious side exploring the moral dilemma for women who put their carers first and don't have the time nor interest to date.
A good romantic read, with descriptive scenes, endearing characters and very engaging.

If you’re a romcom fan, this book is for you! It starts hot right from the get go. I also loved the reference to romcom movies throughout.

It’s about career focused Rebecca who meets Hudson unexpectedly. They have an instant connection, but she reads him as a love ‘em and leave ‘em type and isn’t interested in investing in anything anyway. But then she realizes she needs to go to New York for her sisters engagement party (to her ex!) and can’t face going alone. So she writes up a contract (her law specialty) and offers it to Hudson in exchange for helping him with a work issue. He agrees. I love the chemistry of the characters throughout and they couldn’t be more different: him friendly, charming, likeable, her rigid and controlled. I can on and on but don’t want to give too much away ;)

On a side note, I would love to read Hudson’s version of this story :)

I absolutely LOVED this book! It was cute, funny, & a bit spicy! This was the first ARC I've ever had the pleasure of reading and it really didn't disappoint! The flirty banter between the two main characters kept this one a page turner for me & I couldn't put it down! I was anticipating what was going to happen next throughout the entire book! Thank you Netgalley for approving me for this book! I loved it!

What a fast and fun read!!

If you like movies like The Wedding Date and The Proposal this is going to be a hit for you!
If you like grumpy/sunshine, strong business minded FMC, you're going to love this book!
I fell in love with Hudson, more guys should be like Hudson! I also just love his whole family!

Thank you to NetGalley, Cassie Connor, and One More Chapter for the opportunity to read this arc!

Thank you Cassie Connor, Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchanged for a honest review. Love Under Contract comes out November 1, 2022.

On the night Rebecca finds out that her sister is engaged to Rebecca's ex, she decides to have a one night stand with the crazy attractive man who was sitting by her at the bar (what she thought was going to be a one night stand). Even though she said it was only going to be a one night stand, Rebecca decides to see if Hudson will fake date her during her family's Thanksgiving in exchange for the money to continue his woodworking business. After an amazing Thanksgiving holiday Rebecca is sad but determined to never see Hudson again until he pulls a Uno reverse and has her come to his family's Christmas celebration as his fake date. Keeping their emotions in check was fine during the first fake scenario but will they be able to keep them in check during the second.

I thought this book was funny, sweet and steamy. The characters had great chemistry and you really root for them to figure their stuff out to get together. I love reverse grumpy sunshine and that was a strong theme with Rebecca being grumpy but sweet and Hudson being super sunshiny. I do have to say I wish it would have been dual POV , I think it would have enriched the reading experience to know what was going through his brain. I also was hoping for Rebecca and her sister to hash out their strained relationship a little bit more then they did. Over all though I really enjoyed this book and think it is a worth while read!

This book is so cute!! It's a fun fake dating holiday romance. Rebecca and Hudson had such good chemistry and I loved them! I do wish we got to see a little more of them after they were actually together.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Greatly enjoyed this book. Wasn’t expecting so much sex from what seemed to be a rom com, but the amount of action was high and yet still enjoyable. It didn’t take over the story and the characters genuinely seemed to fall for each other. Absolutely loved the Christmas with the Strongs bit. Wouldn’t mind reading about the other Strong siblings in their own books to be honest.

An unexpected gem! Love Under Contract is a swoony fake-dating opposites-attract romance with a smart, funny narrator and a page-turning plot.

The premise is a bit wacky - British lawyer Rebecca needs a date to her family's NYC Thanksgiving, which is also a celebration of her sister's engagement to her (Rebecca's) ex-boyfriend, so she hires down-on-his-luck furniture craftsman Hudson after they spend a steamy night together. But the relationship that builds between Rebecca and Hudson feels real. And the other characters feel real, too. Although Rebecca's mother and sister at first seem like stereotypes of status-conscious and emotionally barren old money, their personalities emerge in layers, and Rebecca's relationship with her family, especially her sister, is very compelling. As their fake-dating ruse starts to get away from them, Rebecca and Hudson spend Christmas with Hudson's family in the country. These characters serve as a pleasant counterpoint, but aspects of the story's third act felt rushed. This is unfortunate because I enjoyed this book so much I would have happily read another hundred pages!

A funny and affecting romance with a little bit of holiday cheer and a lot of heat. 5 stars!
[I received a complimentary ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. Opinions are my own.]

If Cassie keeps writing like this, she will be a NY Times Bestseller in no time! Cassie’s debut novel Love Under Contract has everything you want in a romantic comedy: quirky lovable characters, grumpy vs. sunshine storyline with a fake relationship twist, smoking hot scenes, fantastic banter, and a happily ever after that leaves you wanting more.

Reading the summary on the back of the book, you believe you have a fairly good idea how the story is going to unfold. To my surprise, this book isn't what you expect it to be. For starters, the premise is satisfied about halfway through, leaving the reader flabbergasted on what else could possibly happen. As you continue to read, you find yourself drawn further into the book, deeper into the characters, and so invested that you reach the end before you realize you haven't let out a full exhale in quite some time (well...maybe when you were yelling "WHY?! What is wrong with you" to a particular character at certain moments).

What I liked about this book: I absolutely LOVED Rebecca. While some readers may see her character and think “no one can be that determined, that focused, that cold”, I know her way of thinking, her way of logically arguing a scenario, overanalyzing, her drive, and stubbornness. She is intent on making her mark and standing strong in a male dominated world. Her "take no prisoners" attitude strikes a cord with any woman in today’s society that is called frigid, cold, heartless, or worse when she is focused her achievements, goals, and prospects. What I loved about her character is that while she was constantly determined to argue against the world, her own internal logic played devil’s advocate, catching her in moments of weakness, allowing the opinions of others to seep in, coercing her inner voice, cracking the facade and giving her new perspectives.

I absolutely ADORED Hudson! Cassie literally took every single quality of Rebecca and did a 180. His ability to get under her skin and repel the attitude/approach that has worked so successfully for her was endearing. He really was the perfect match for Rebecca. I mean honestly, what do you do when you are with someone who takes themselves so seriously, do the exact opposite! He knew how to push her buttons, how to bring her out of her shell, how to make her feel as if she was in charge, in control, winning even when he was better at the game than she was. Their back and forth banter kept me in stitches.

What I didn’t like about this book: The one thing that bugged me was who was Hudson with at the exhibition? I understand that moment was introduced as the final piece to break Rebecca but then it never came up again. Did Hudson move on? Was he seeing someone else? Was that his former business partner? Was she just a friend? For some, it may not been relevant but for me, especially with her kissing him, I wanted to know as much as Rebecca - seeing that he later shows up at her door (did he just leave the woman at the show?!) Again, I get the need for this scene as it was a much needed tipping point for Rebecca to finally get over herself but to just blatantly ignore it when they see each other again left a bit of frustration, distracting from their reunion.

This book was truly a surprise and such a pleasant read. I didn’t think I would love it as much as I did. I will warn that it starts out fast so don’t think you are just going to casually slip into a relaxing read with a slow build. It grabs you, holds on tight, and takes you for one heck of a ride, leaving you with a satisfying smile plastered on your face and desire to read whatever Cassie writes next.