Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.
I love fake dating tropes, I really do, and so this was an easy decision to read when the opportunity arose. I also love characters that have history in their lives when it is a romance book geared towards adults as opposed to YA/NA – meaning that the characters are in their 30s+, and go into these situations with the perspective more appropriate for their age. This book had some major pros and some major cons in my mind, so with all things being equal it was a solid middle of the road book for me. There is another book in this universe, all standalones, that is coming out soon and I will be reading that one too, and maybe it will be a bit better for me, since my major issue with this book was with the female lead.
Pros: Gavin was amazing. He showed character growth and was a male lead you wanted to root for. Molly’s friend group was super supportive, each with their own traits but working together they were a great support system for Molly. All the kids in this book were cute and utilized well for the plot moving forward. The fake dating scenario was cute, as was the general feel of the book.
Cons: Molly just in general. I really had a very hard time liking her, I found her to be incredibly bull headed and that she just refused to change. I am sure that there are real people like her, but to me it seemed unrealistic to the point it kept pulling me out of the book the amount of stubbornness she was expressing. If Molly was maybe a little more – something – I probably would like this book a lot more.
Overall, it wasn’t bad, but it was definitely not my favorite Entangled romance I have read recently. I am excited to read the next one in the universe though since it is about one of Molly’s friends and I do like her friends a lot.