Book Review: "25 Days in Athens" by Jack Strange

Will and Ollie broke up more than three years ago, after Will rejected Ollie’s second marriage proposal. But even though they clearly wanted different things, Will still pines for Ollie and believes they are soulmates, despite the fact that Ollie has moved on.

Ollie’s announcement on social media that he and his boyfriend Alec have gotten engaged throws Will into a spiral. And then Will gets invited to their wedding in Athens. Why would Ollie invite him?

Even though he’s not sure it’s the right idea, Will decides to attend the wedding. But he plans to arrive in Athens earlier than others, so perhaps he can tell Ollie how he feels and maybe they can be reunited. No one thinks this is a good idea.

When he arrives in Athens, Will runs into Sam, his childhood best friend, who moved away years ago. They were once totally inseparable, and Will is pleasantly surprised to see that Sam grew up to be absolutely gorgeous. Reconnecting feels amazing, and there’s definitely some serious chemistry between them. But Will is in Greece to get Ollie back.

Sam agrees to be Will’s plus-one at the wedding, and they pretend to be a couple. But the closer the two of them get, the more Will considers telling Ollie how he still feels. Will he throw away a chance at happiness for a glimpse of what might have been?

The book was a mashup of some of my favorite romance tropes: friends to lovers, fake dating, and second chance. I loved the pairing of Will and Sam, and thought that the supporting characters were a lot of fun. And don’t get me started on the setting of the book!

Book Review: "Wasp's Nest" by Kat Stoddard

Tess is getting ready for her second marriage. She’s marrying Warren, an old friend of her family’s. He’s running for the state senate and he’s a dependable, serious, steady man who loves her.

Warren is quite different from Peter, Tess’ first husband. They met while Peter was a talented art student and Tess had just graduated from college. She had family money, he worked as a cater waiter to make ends meet. But Tess was intrigued by his talent and soon after, they fell into a tempestuous relationship which led to an impulsive marriage.

The marriage ended when Peter got out of rehab for alcoholism. Both have tried to put their past behind them. But Peter is shocked to receive an invitation to Tess’ wedding, and an opportunity to bring a plus one.

There’s really no reason Peter should go to the wedding, but if Tess has seemingly moved on, shouldn’t he show that he has too? He decides to bring Mitch, a handsome young man and aspiring writer, and they’ll pretend they’ve been dating for a while. Mitch is excited to find inspiration in the wedding and the reunion of exes. He’s also hoping that Peter will be interested in him romantically.

No one is counting on all of the drama that will ensue. Peter’s appearance dredges up a lot of past hurts and recriminations, and forces both him and Tess to re-examine their relationship and their feelings for each other. Mitch starts to fall for both Peter and Tess. And as other secrets emerge, no one is quite sure what the actual wedding will bring.

I thought this was a really well-told story and an exploration of a fascinating set of relationships. Tess wasn’t particularly likable but as she starts to spiral out of control, she becomes (slightly) more sympathetic. I’m a big fan of family dynamics and dysfunction, and this book gave me lots of both!!

Book Review: "Operation Boyfriend" by Zarah Detand

First things first: if someone wants to pretend they’re dating me because they need a date to some fancy occasion, count me in. It’s probably the only way I’ll get a fancy vacation!

Dean is a cardiothoracic surgeon. He’s known to be a little intense, and he’s definitely a workaholic. His sister is getting married at a fancy resort in Cambodia, and both she and their mother are pressuring him to bring a date. He folds under the pressure and tells his mother he’ll bring the guy he recently started dating.

The challenge is, Dean is not dating anyone. He barely has any time to breathe, let alone date, and his emotional walls are a difficult barrier to breach. But now he’s expected to bring his alleged boyfriend. Which means he has to find one.

Taylan is a surgery resident who has been intimidated by Dean in the past. He’s also in desperate need of a vacation but doesn’t have any money. So when he’s approached about the possibility of being Dean’s fake boyfriend in exchange for an all-expenses-paid luxury vacation, he doesn’t need to think twice.

As they get to know each other better in preparation for all of the prying that will come during the wedding festivities, they realize that each has emotional baggage to deal with. Dean is afraid of being hurt, so he never lets anyone close enough, while Tay is dealing with impostor syndrome. But as the beautiful sunsets and romantic setting sink in, both have to be reminded this is temporary. And it isn’t real. Right?

I can never get enough fake dating. Zarah Detand has become a go-to author for me, and once again she delivers a sexy, sweet, and emotional book. Her characters are always so memorable and endearing.

Book Review: "Leave and Come Back" by Lavanya Lakshmi

If you love Bollywood musicals or at least Bollywood dancing, you’ll understand why I say that this book would be so fantastic to see onscreen. The imagery that Lavanya Lakshmi used, to describe the outfits, the food, the dancing, were so vivid but I know they’d be incredible to actually see.

Simran loves her life in Toronto. She works for a university but teaches an afterschool dance class. She lives with Liv, her college roommate. She has also just started dating Liv’s brother Leo after the two of them have been flirting for years. But as happy as she is, there’s a hole in her heart. She’s been estranged from her aunt, uncle, and cousins—who adopted her when her parents died—for seven years.

Her younger cousin is about to get married, and Simran is torn about whether to return to New Jersey. Her older cousin and (former) best friend Kavitha convinces her to come—for the full two weeks of wedding festivities. When Leo accidentally crashes the engagement party—and makes an enemy of Veena parima, Simran’s judgmental aunt and the family matriarch, disaster is about to strike.

But the cousins come up with a scheme, modeled after their favorite Bollywood movie, DDLJ. They’re going to pretend Leo is a stranger to Simran and give him the time to ingratiate himself with the family, the community, and Veena. Sounds easy, right?

I thought this was such a fun debut novel. Sure, it’s predictable, and miscommunication isn’t my favorite thing, but there are a lot of themes here that brought emotion and insight to the plot. It was a great example of how a community comes together to honor its own, and how everyone is in everyone’s business.

Book Review: "Dolly All the Time" by Annabel Monaghan

Annabel Monaghan is an absolute auto-buy author for me. Her characters are always so well-drawn, and her books have such an emotional richness to them. I’ve loved every one of her books, but Dolly All The Time may be my new favorite.

When a small fire occurs one night in her childhood home, Dolly and her teenage son Gus leave their lives in Boston and head back to her hometown of Whitfield, Rhode Island. Ever since her mother left their family when Dolly was 12, she’s been the one who has taken care of everything—for her father and her two younger siblings.

Dolly loves being back in Whitfield and quickly assumes the caretaking role once again. One day after working at the family’s fish house, she comes across Stewart Whitfield, the handsome heir to the Whitfield fortune. (Their hometown is named for his family.) Stewart’s car has a flat tire and he has no idea how to fix it. Dolly shows him how, and the press takes an impromptu picture of them, as Stewart’s engagement has just ended in a scandal.

Stewart is desperate to close the deal on his becoming the company’s new. The one drawback is that his parents think he’s too much of a workaholic to succeed. So Stewart asks Dolly to be his fake girlfriend, a challenge she accepts. Suddenly she is attending benefits and client dinners, and bringing out a whole different side of Stewart.

I’ve read tons of romances and rom-coms that have fake dating at their core. Even though the approach is familiar, the way the relationship between Dolly and Stewart unfolds is just lovely.

I absolutely loved this book. Not only were the main characters totally appealing, but the supporting characters rocked also. There was banter, steam, self-discovery, happiness, sadness, and humor. It was exactly what I needed!

Book Review: "The Shippers" by Katherine Center

There are certain authors whose books leave me in a good mood. Katherine Center is definitely one of those. Even if her books have heavier components, at their core, they’re love stories that lift my heart. Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy!

JoJo is just not good at love. She has feelings for men, but once she lands them, she either gets bored or is so afraid she’ll get hurt, so she ends things. The most recent example of this was deciding not to marry her fiancée, Pearce—while they were standing at the altar.

Now, six weeks later, her older sister Ashley is getting married on a cruise ship. And while all she wants to do is wallow in her miserable love life, her sister wants her to be happy. They come to the conclusion that JoJo has never gotten over her crush on Finn, who gave JoJo her first kiss. The only way to break this cycle is for her to kiss Finn again—and he’s coming to Ashley’s wedding.

And so Project Conquest is born. Much to her surprise, JoJo’s best friend Cooper arrives for the wedding, even though he had RSVP’d no. JoJo and Cooper were inseparable from childhood, until Cooper left without a warning four years ago and moved to London. It was the biggest heartbreak of her life.

JoJo gets Cooper to help her land Finn, but while he thinks Finn isn’t worthy of her, he’s the perfect wingman. Until Cooper decides he can’t help JoJo with this anymore. And it’s up to JoJo to realize why.

This had some great banter, lots of family and wedding dysfunction, and a great deal of heart. I loathe miscommunication as a trope and there definitely was some of that here which frustrated me, but this was still a fun read.

The book will publish 5/19.

Book Review: "Alice Rue Evades the Truth" by Emily Zipps

I bought this at Thunder Road Books last week. I mean, when a book is described as a sapphic homage to While You Were Sleeping, it needs to be picked up immediately.

Alice works nights as a lobby receptionist for an office building. One night, Nolan, the handsome man on whom she has had a crush, collapses in front of her. She frantically calls 911 and gives Nolan CPR, which she doesn’t think she’s doing right anyway.

The good news is that Alice saved his life. The bad news is that Nolan’s family is mistakenly told that she’s his girlfriend. (Somehow the EMT told the hospital and…) Nolan is in a coma, but his family wants to know everything about Alice—how long they’ve been dating, etc. Seeing how happy his family is keeps Alice from telling the truth.

There’s one other complication: Alice feels immediately drawn to Van, Nolan’s gorgeous butch sister. But giving into her feelings for Van would be essentially cheating on a comatose man. And what happens when the truth comes out? It all seems like too much of a risk.

“What exactly is the protocol for when your fake-boyfriend’s hot sister and her dog walk you to your door after you leave his hospital room?”

If you’ve seen While You Were Sleeping, you pretty much know the path the story will take. There are some serious emotions afoot here, as well as dealing with unresolved trauma and fear. But the banter, the steam, the crazy family, and Frank the dog make the book so worthwhile.

Book Review: "Fake Dating the Prince" by Ashlyn Kane

Simply put, I loved this book so much. It was playful, romantic, sweet, and sexy, and it made me so happy. This is the second book by Ashlyn Kane that I’ve read this week, and she’s already becoming a favorite of mine.

Brayden is a Canadian flight attendant who has a great rapport with his passengers in first class. He and one frequent passenger even have developed a bit of a flirtation over time. And on one flight, this passenger asks Brayden to be his date to a fancy charity ball.

What Brayden doesn’t know is that this passenger is His Highness Prince Antoine-Philippe (“Flip”), heir to the throne of the small European nation of Lyngria. Being gay and half-Indian, Flip faces a lot of scrutiny, so he asks Brayden to pretend to be his boyfriend, just for the ball.

With Brayden at his side, Flip is truly able to enjoy himself. He’s a hit with Flip’s family and knows how to be the perfect date. And while the plan was for them to end the charade after the ball, when the country’s paparazzi latches onto their relationship, Flip asks Brayden to stay in the palace with him.

The more time they spend together, the more they both wish their relationship was real. As their connection strengthens both physically and emotionally, can they have a happy ever after, or will they need to go their separate ways?

While the book invites some comparisons to Red White and Royal Blue, this is different in many ways. All of the characters are so appealing and entertaining, and I found myself rooting for Flip and Brayden’s happy ending.

Book Review: "The Love Haters" by Katherine Center

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book! I always love the arrival of a new Katherine Center book each year!

Katie enjoys her work as a video producer, helping companies raise their profile with promotional videos. On the side, she has a YouTube channel for which she films interviews with ordinary people who do heroic things.

When word gets a large number of employees will be fired to cut costs, Katie is a bit panicked. But then her coworker, Cole, taps her to film a recruiting video for the Coast Guard, by profiling Hutch, a rescue swimmer down in Key West. (He also happens to be Cole’s estranged brother.) Hutch had gotten some notoriety after a rescue, but he turned down any opportunities to cash in on his 15 minutes of fame.

Rather than stay and get fired, Katie agrees to the assignment. Of course, she can’t swim, but is that a big deal? She is quickly embraced by Hutch’s aunt Rue and her gaggle of friends, and is dazzled by Hutch in every way. But while Cole keeps pressuring her to get Hutch to film one of her hero videos, she understands why he is reluctant for publicity.

But then Cole arrives in Key West—with his and Katie’s boss in tow. Apparently Cole isn’t good with the truth, and to save his job—and hurt Hutch—he lies about his relationship with Katie. Lots of drama ensues.

I really love Center’s books, but sadly, this wasn’t a favorite of mine. I enjoyed the focus on self-esteem and body positivity, and loved Hutch (and George Bailey, his Great Dane), but miscommunication is one of my least favorite tropes.

The book publishes 5/20.

Book Review: "Summer in the City" by Alex Aster

“There are moments in life, I think, that make you grateful you didn’t just stay in your room.”

Elle is a successful screenwriter, but no one knows it, because she writes under an alias. She’s just gotten the chance for her big break, to write a big-budget rom-com set in NYC, so she moves to the city for inspiration.

She has the summer to write the script, but she has writer’s block. Bad. To make matters worse, she discovers that her neighbor in the apartment next door is Parker, the tech billionaire she met two years ago. They hooked up at a nightclub and he offended her, so Elle has hated him ever since.

Parker doesn’t seem to remember Elle, but their constant interactions fuel her anger, which in turn spikes her creativity. What happens when you realize your nemesis is actually your twisted muse, helping you do some of your best work?

When Parker needs a girlfriend to attend events while his company is in the midst of a crucial negotiation, he asks Elle. In exchange, he offers to accompany her to the different locations featured in her script. It’s just for the summer—and no feelings will be involved. (Sure…)

I’m a complete sap and this book hit all the right notes for me. It’s full of great banter, hot steam, and real emotion. Elle’s stubbornness was irritating at times but I still rooted for the two of them.

Book Review: "A Love Like the Sun" by Riss M. Neilsen

I can’t seem to get enough romances with fake dating and friends to lovers tropes. And this book had both, so how could I resist?

Laniah and Issac have been friends since childhood. They’re kind of like family but at the same time, there’s an indisputable pull between them that tempted them once when they were teenagers.

Now, as adults, Issac is a famous influencer and brand spokesperson who has gained notoriety for both his art and his videos about relationships. Laniah is still in their hometown of Providence, running a natural hair products store with her mother. As much as Issac is a presence online, Laniah couldn’t be more private.

When Issac returns to the East Coast for the first time in a long while, he is surprised to learn that Laniah’s business is failing. He offers to bail her and her mother out financially, but she categorically refuses to take his money. So he mentions on his social media that they’re dating, and that’s all it takes.

The minute Issac mentions Laniah, business explodes. She reluctantly agrees to a fake relationship for the summer, so she can get her feet back under her financially and perhaps find an eager investor. But when the lines between friendship and love get blurred, how can you separate real from fake?

This book has been on my stack for a while but I’m so glad I read it. It’s beautifully written, emotionally evocative, and it has such well-drawn characters I couldn’t stop rooting for. This kind of relationship always melts my heart.

Book Review: "I Think They Love You" by Julian Winters

Julian Winters is one of my auto-buy authors, so when I saw he had a new book coming out I was definitely excited. And as much as I’ve loved all of his YA books, learning this would be his first adult novel was even more exciting!

As the son of the CEO of 24 Carter Gold, Atlanta’s most prominent event planning company, Denz has always been expected to make a good impression. He’s tremendously conscious that someone is always watching him, which as an adult has translated into social media success for the company.

When his workaholic father announces his retirement and a search for the company’s new CEO, Denz decides to become a candidate. His family questions his seriousness and his commitment to things, so he tells them he has a boyfriend to prove them wrong.

Of course, now he has to find a boyfriend, or at least someone who’ll pretend to be one. The person to fill the role is the last person Denz is expecting: Braylon, his college boyfriend, who took a job in London after graduation and broke his heart. (Braylon needs Denz’s connections, so it’s not a one-sided fake relationship.)

As Denz jumps through hoops to try and prove his worthiness to be CEO, he and Braylon go all in on fake dating. Of course, there’s always some truth in every pretend relationship, but can either of them admit their true feelings before it’s too late?

I loved how much heart this book had. It’s not only a story about second chances; it’s also about family, friendship, ambition, fear, and trying to figure out what you want out of life. This is a sexy, romantic, emotional story, and proof that Julian Winters succeeds no matter what genre he’s in.

Book Review: "Dungeons and Drama" by Kristy Boyce

This was such a fun, sweet read! I’m always a sucker for fake dating rom-coms, but when you throw in a high school musical and some gaming, how can I resist?⁣

⁣ Maybe Riley should’ve thought twice about taking her mother’s car and driving her and her best friend a few hours away to see a production of Waitress. She didn’t get a ticket or get into an accident—she just didn’t have her license yet.⁣

⁣ Now she’s grounded for a while, and her parents can’t trust her to stay home alone at all. So as punishment, she has to work at Sword and Board Games, her dad’s game store. She’s not into gaming, and she believes the store was one of the reasons her parents got divorced. Needless to say, this will be torture.⁣

⁣ Her coworker (and classmate) Nathan takes an instant dislike to Riley, and she’s no fan of his either. But when her ex and his new girlfriend show up at the store, she has to pretend she doesn’t care, so she says she has a new boyfriend: Nathan. While at first, Nathan refuses to pretend they’re dating, Riley convinces him that their “relationship” will make the gamer girl he’s crushing on jealous.⁣

⁣ At the same time, Riley’s high school announces they’re canceling the annual musical for budgetary reasons. But Riley sees the musical as an opportunity to develop her skills as student director. How can she convince the school board not to cancel?⁣

⁣ I really flew through this book. The characters were so appealing and enjoyable and the fake dating trope is a favorite of mine. You can bet I’ll be picking up the next book in the series!⁣

Book Review: "The Great Dating Fake Off" by Livy Hart

Nora is willing to do almost anything for her best friend and boss, Benji, even take care of his bearded dragon. And when she witnesses Benji being hassled by his mother and sister about not having a date to his sister’s wedding, she steps in and tells them that they’re dating. Now she’s his date for nearly a week of wedding festivities at a posh resort in the Adirondacks.

Much to Nora’s surprise, when they arrive at the resort she spots Sebastian, the handsome guy she was flirting with just before pretending to be dating Benji. It turns out Sebastian is also a fake date, for his best friend, who happens to be the groom’s twin sister. So both Nora and Sebastian have to keep their own feelings in check to keep up the façade for their friends.

But this isn’t just any wedding. The two families have been feuding for decades; the bride and groom dated secretly for a year before telling their families about their engagement. Tempers are flaring, nerves are fraying, and despite the blatantly obvious chemistry between Sebastian and Nora, they have to behave themselves. Because if they get caught…it could mean disaster.

The more time they spend together, both during pre-wedding activities and stolen time away from the others, the harder it becomes to deny what they’re feeling. But Sebastian is going to be moving for his job in a few weeks, and Nora grew up being dragged places by her mom, so she wants to stay put.

“I want to be claimed. To be someone’s person. I crave the safety that comes when two people fully belong to each other. Not that I’ve experienced it.”

I’ve said many times how much I love fake dating as a trope, so this was right up my alley. It’s a steamy story with emotion, family dysfunction, banter, and crazy wedding chaos. That’s a recipe for a fun read, in my book.

Book Review: "Nothing Left to Lose" by N.R. Walker

I don’t know what it is about fake dating as a romance trope, but I can’t get enough. (I once fake-dated someone in seventh grade for like two days, but that’s another story.)

Brody and Miller have been best friends for 11 years, since the first year of high school. A lot of the time they’re inseparable, and they know almost everything about one another. In fact, Brody is the first person Miller ever came out to. But there’s just one little thing:

“We’d been inseparable for eleven years, and I’d been desperately in love with him for every hopeless minute of those eleven years.”

Miller has been able to tamp down his feelings for Brody, even as he watches him bed a parade of women. But lately, it’s becoming harder and harder to want someone as badly as he wants Brody, and he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life pining for someone who doesn’t feel the same way about him.

When they win a photo contest, the prize is an all-expense say in Las Vegas. But there’s one catch: it was a contest for newlyweds. That’s right, Miller’s straight best friend entered them in a photo contest and they have to pretend to be married for the weekend. While that should thrill Miller, it actually makes him sad, because he wants the real thing. And that can’t happen, right? Right?

N.R. Walker is an author I discovered this year and I have loved her books. For me, the combination of emotion, steam, and humor is always a hit, and I so enjoy having characters to root for.

Book Review: "Hired by the Enemy" by Jax Calder

Three of my favorite tropes—fake dating, second chance, and enemies to lovers—came together in this fun and steamy novella. How could I pass this up?

Liam is a personal trainer who dreams of opening a gym for people recovering from injury or illness. In order to make the money he needs, he has started working for an elite agency that provides dating and personal services for wealthy people.

When he gets a last-minute job to fly to Hawaii and pretend to be a CEO’s boyfriend for a week, he jumps at the chance. But when he arrives at the airport he gets an unpleasant shock: the CEO is Matthew, his childhood nemesis.

Matthew is proud to be the CEO of his own tech company. But when he is goaded into turning their corporate retreat into a trip for his employees’ significant others as well, he is thrown for a loop. Hiring someone to pretend to be his boyfriend is bad enough; discovering that Liam will be his fake boyfriend is even worse.

“In all my panicking and thinking through the worst-case scenarios for hiring a fake date, I never imagined a catastrophe on this scale.”

During middle school and high school, Liam and Matthew spent most of their time insulting and pranking each other, and generally making each other (and their families) miserable. Can they put their past behind them for one week? When their animosity turns to passion, is there a chance that can turn to love?

Jax Calder is an author I’ve recently discovered and I’m loving her books. The chemistry between Liam and Matthew was great, as was their banter, and I was glad that there was actual reason behind their hatred of one another. This was so great!

Book Review: "The Fake Wedding Project" by Pippa Grant

This was utterly adorable.

The Andersons and the Silvers have been feuding for generations and their small town of Tinsel (where it’s Christmas all year long) is tremendously affected by the animosity. And no one knows why they’re fighting in the first place.

Dane Silver hates coming home to visit his family; so does Amanda Anderson. But when Amanda finds out that her grandmother is retiring and expecting her to take over The Gingerbread House, the family business, she panics. She tells her family that she and Dane are engaged, in the hope that her family will disown her.

When Dane learns of Amanda’s lie, he’s more than happy to help perpetuate it, especially if it can lead to the end of the feud. He’s really the perfect fake fiancé—but of course, the more time they spend together, the more real their feelings for each other become.

“Being family doesn’t give anyone a free pass to dismiss your goals or to treat you like you’re not capable of deciding how to live your own life, or like they own you. Being family means respecting each other and the choices you each make.”

I can never get enough fake dating romances, and even though I thought the whole feud thing was silly, these characters were so appealing. And Tinsel seems like a special place to be!!

Book Review: "Book of the Month" by Jennifer Probst

This was a fun summer read as the season ends, meteorologically, at least. My thanks to Jennifer Probst, Get Red PR Books, and Blue Box Press for the complimentary advance copy.

Aspen’s first novel was an overnight success. But after writing two more books, all readers can still talk about is her first. Is she washed up already? Destined to be a one-book wonder?

What made her first book so good and so meaningful was that it was based on her own heartbreak and anguish and rage. But since she has barely dated since the breakup that inspired her to write, her subsequent books haven’t connected emotionally with her readers. She needs to write another hit. Fast.

Hoping a change of scenery will help, she travels to the Outer Banks to stay with her sister for the summer. Aspen believes that if she can find a man to romance her and then break her heart, she’ll tap into her literary mojo once again. And she finds the perfect man: Brick Babel, a handsome local with a reputation for hot sex and then emotional destruction. (There’s even a support group for women dealing with the aftereffects of dating him.)

Despite the fact that everyone—including her sister—warns her about Brick, she’s determined. It doesn’t help that he rejects her every advance. But when she offers him money to save the tour business he inherited, in exchange for some love and heartbreak, he reluctantly agrees. Yet when the sparks start flying for real, it becomes more difficult to distinguish truth from fiction.

I love fake dating romances, so this hit the spot. I didn’t always love Aspen’s character, but Brick and the supporting characters were so good, even Dug the dog. Crazily enough, I’ve yet to read any other of Jennifer Probst’s books, so I’m ready for more.

The book publishes 10/22.

Book Review: "Stars in Your Eyes" by Kacen Callender

I’ve had this book on my stack for quite a while. But if I had known had incredibly good it was, I would’ve read it sooner!

Mattie is on his way to becoming Hollywood’s golden boy. He’s handsome, sweet, and Southern, but he’s not quite comfortable with the scrutiny of fame yet. But he’s just been cast in a gay romantic comedy that could launch him into the big time.

His costar, Logan, has been acting since he was young, but he’s better known for his trips to rehab and his bad behavior. Just before the movie starts shooting, he says that he doesn’t think Mattie has any talent. That’s not awkward…

When Logan gets caught up in another scandal, the producers aren’t happy that his behavior is killing interest in the movie. So they suggest that Mattie and Logan pretend to date and fall in love. While Logan is dubious, Mattie admires Logan, and is willing to try and convince the public of his feelings.

Little by little, the chemistry between them intensifies, and it becomes more difficult to distinguish fiction from reality. But Logan has an inability to let anyone get too close to him, and he sabotages any chance at happiness. Mattie wants to help Logan, but Logan has to help himself first.

This is an emotional and beautiful story, but there are a number of trigger warnings listed at the front of the book. There’s definitely a lot of trauma and hurt that Logan, and to some extent, Mattie, have to deal with. I’m such a fan of Kacen Callender and they hit it out of the park with this one.

Book Review: "Bi-Partisan" by Dallas Smith

This was all kinds of sweet and romantic! It’s also the start of a new series called District Love, and I’m always excited when books take place here in Washington, DC.

Jamie is a first-term congressman from North Carolina. He really feels like he’s making a difference, even though he hates the constant pressure to go after supporters so he can raise money for re-election. He’s not even assured a second term, with his district being redrawn.

Lately, Jamie has been coming to the realization that he is bisexual, even though he’s never been with a guy. But with an election on the horizon—and the possibility his opponent might be ultra-conservative, it’s probably not a good time to come out. However, he agrees to go to a trendy queer bar with his friends.

Adrian is a handsome veterinarian and cat dad. His social anxiety keeps him from dating, and makes crowds a bit challenging, but he’s not above going out dancing with friends. And when his eyes meet Jamie’s across the crowded bar, the two of them are quickly drawn to each other, to the delight of their friends, all of whom think both men could use some romance.

Of course, a photo of Jamie and Adrian leaving the bar is quickly leaked online. Rather than turn this into a crisis, they agree to pretend they’re in a relationship, so that no one thinks Jamie’s sleeping around. We romance readers know what happens with fake dating, but would a real relationship with a politician be the right prescription for Adrian, who’d rather spend time alone or with animals?

Thanks so much to Pride Book Tours for a copy of the book and for inviting me on the tour. I loved the combination of emotions, humor, and a dash of steam in this book, and really appreciated the discussions about social anxiety and chronic illness, which doesn’t usually happen in a rom-com. I’m all in for the next book!!