A Not So Meet Cute (Cane Brothers, #1) (2024)

AHHHH THIS BOOK HAD NO BUSINESS BEING THIS GOOD— wtf. I was expecting just a fun kindle read when I picked this up.. cut to hours later I finished the entire thing and loved every second of it. It was so cute, HILARIOUS, and just an overall amazing vibe?? the side characters were everything. Lottie & Hux had the best banter and connection. The spice was 🥵!!!!! it gave me very much pretty woman vibes but make it more romcom. ugh I could not get enough honestly.

Too much of this is played for laughs. At least for me. Or are we supposed to take this seriously? Gads, I hope not. Lottie is pretty much a cartoon, with a cartoon life. In the first two chapters, she's ruthlessly fired by a "friend" to avoid a promised pay raise. And the "friend" still wants her to volunteer on their reunion committee "because of your free time." And Lottie's solution to having a crushing student loan debt and no job is to walk around a rich neighborhood hoping to run into a rich guy who will solve her problems for her. Seriously, that's her actual plan. Did I mention that her student loan debt is for a business degree?

I hope this is playing for laughs. I found it frustrating because I kept trying to take it seriously. If you can avoid this trap I seem incapable of, you might find it enjoyable. For me, it's a one star dnf.

UM f*ckING PERFECTION.

Funny.

Hot.

SPICY.

I love this book so much????? If you’re looking for a great spicy romcom, RUN, don’t walk to read this.

You had me at fake dating, Meghan Quinn!!!!

Also they join the mile high club and it was great 😇 He’s a billionaire SOOOOOOO

If you see me walking around a rich neighborhood mind your business.

think of a bowl of m&m’s or snickers, but make it a book 😋

i don’t remember when was the last time i laughed out loud to a rom-com, which makes me so happy that this book made me laugh numerous times because divine rivals was side-eyeing me in my mind. however the banter was incredibly funny that it got me out of the hangover; but the reason i enjoyed the book this much was the star of this book, lottie.

“You’re so narcissistic.”
“Confident,” he replies.
“A co*ckhole.”
His brows raise. “What the hell is a co*ckhole?”
“co*cky asshole. Therefore, you’re a co*ckhole.”

so, if you are looking for a book that is easy to read with light writing and many funny scenes, this is exactly what you should pick up. it’s entertaining, fast paced and incredibly cute.

basically the plot is lottie, fmc, got fired from her job due to her toxic friend, who is her boss, and she started to search for a rich husband in a rich neighborhood to pay her school debt. in the mean time, huxley, mmc, lied about that he is engaged and his fiancee is pregnant to one his biggest clients in order to create a friendly connection between them. while lottie was searching for a husband, they bump into each other and decide that they should make a fake marriage deal.

i know it sounds so unrealistic and ridiculous, but if you read the book with no expectations of it being a huge masterpiece, you will enjoy every second of it, because both lottie and hux was incredibly entertaining characters.

“When I said hard, I meant something like “Who would you die on a sword for? Team Jacob or Team Edward?” Side note... glitter dick, all day, every day.”

lottie: funniest protagonist i have ever read. the second i read that she imagined that the imperial march was playing in hux's head because he looked so emotionless, i knew i was going to love her. aside for her funny personality, she was confident, realistic, honest and strong, which are all the traits i adore in a person. she was mature enough to admit that her fear of conflict made her pursue her friendship with angela; she was aware that she was a toxic friend, but her actions didn’t make lottie to question her capabilities, instead she was always conscious of how much of a strong and skilled woman she is. also she was so straightforward, she didn’t hesitate to question hux’s actions and she has always been honest about her feelings.

”Need a place to stay? I have a seven-bedroom home. Need a date for your reunion? I’m your man. Need me to make a phone call to this ex-boss of yours, let her know she made a huge mistake by letting you go? I’m there for you. Want a job? I can find you one.”

huxley: another mmc whose love language is acts of service… i am sold. in the first chapter he didn’t let his assistant go get him lunch because he was well capable of doing that and he loves to walk made me smiling in the first place, but when he lied about his fiancee was pregnant, he instantly felt disgust towards himself because he thought about all the women who tries to get pregnant but just can’t.. it was such a thoughtful mindset, i loved him in that second. relating to a male character is not something i experience a lot but the duality he went through, wanting to be the best but getting anxious when he gets compliments was something that i can feel so deeply. even though he was scared to open himself to lottie, he was never disrespectful or close to communication, he always stated that he wants lottie to tell him when she feels uncomfortable and made sure she is comfortable around him.

what i mean by acts of service was; him giving lottie his best car so she can travel between the houses of her family easily, sending the pictures of jeff’s (lottie’s step father) garden to garden committee so they can win the best garden prize, sending flowers to lottie’s mom to congratulate her, arranging his whole work schedule so kelsey (lottie’s sister) can present her business to him.. he cares about lottie, and lottie cares about those people, so he made his business to keep them all happy. he also sent meals and desserts for the families of the workers who has been wounded in one of his buildings; he is incredibly kind and thoughtful. he even remembered that one of lottie's wishes was to lay in rain, so the second it rained he took her to roof and laid down in rain with her. he even took her to her favorite artist’s concert, how can you not love him when all he does is showing he cares about her?

”What on Earth is this?”
“An engagement ring.” he says casually.
“Uh, this isn’t engagement ring, this is an ice rink for a family of five.”

the banter. it was so realistic, funny and smart that, it become my favorite thing about the book. i don’t want to give too much spoilers so i will keep it simple but the double dates they went with dave and ellie.. the pregnancy classes.. i can’t even count the times i giggled and kicked my feet.

the last thing i adored was sibling relationships. both lottie’s and huxley’s relationship with their siblings were presented so well; their need for each other, endless love, their communication, always backing each other up and trying to make others happy was such a cute detail in this book.

“She’s not what I was expecting. But she’s everything I f*cking want.”

replace ‘she’ with 'this book', and this is what i think about a not so meet cute. i would definitely recommend this if you feel like you are getting into a slump, or just want to laugh your ass off without expecting too much 💗

oct 18: okayy this book saved me from a major slump so even though it wasn’t a masterpiece, i want to write a good review for it heheh 🤭 so rtc!

oct 14: me desperately searching for a good read after divine rivals.. pls universe, let me enjoy this 😭

2.5 stars

This started our very well. I was hooked because I really wanted to read this trope and enjoy some light angst and funny bits.

BUT

It started to drag and then it just kept on dragging. (Apart from some funny scenes here and there the plot just wasn’t very interesting past the 20/30% mark)
The heroine was not likeable past the beginning of the book. She was inexplicably mean and childish in her behaviour towards the hero. While I’m not gonna say that he was some great paragon of virtue - he was just a normal guy who made a deal and paid out huge amounts of money for what was simply a few hours of her pretending to “love” him in front of someone else.

She was absolutely broke and basically homeless and not only he paid off her student debt, but he bought her clothes and shoes and jewellery that she wouldn’t have afforded in 10 years if she saved up every pay check. He also let her live with him and provided all meals for her. And on top of all that - he helped her sister’s (and her) new startup business flourish. And what did she do? Constantly insulted him and trying to back out of the deal because he was cold towards her. Excuse me? He was not mean, or insulting, or bad tempered or anything that would make him the bad guy. He just had a distant disposition towards her and that offended her broke-ass sensibilities. Bitch please?!

Her sister calls her out, and what does she do.. gets to thinking for a bit and I thought she was gonna realise her immature attitude but no .. eventually she still had to be right.

And her whole drama about how her friend betrayed her? No. She’s got no sympathy from me. She knew the woman for more than 10 years. She was not a victim - she willingly wanted to profit from her friendship with that woman even if she treated her bad and the odds were 50/50 that she was gonna get screwed.

The hero was just a normal, nice guy underneath his extreme drive and ambition in the business world.

💘💘A NOT SO MEET CUTE IS LIVE!!💘💘

From USA Today bestselling author of The Highland Fling comes a brand new romantic comedy about a desperate billionaire seeking out a fake fiancée. This modern day take on Pretty Woman is brilliantly clever and hilariously page-turning. Steamy and unapologetically witty.

I became desperate.
Student loans were knocking at my door, responsibility was flooding around my feet. I needed a job. Or a rich fake fiancé. And that’s just what happened . . .

Get ready to fall in love with Huxley and Lottie!

Available in #KindleUnlimited
Get your copy here:
UNIVERSAL LINK: mybook.to/anotsomeetcute
AUDIO: https://adbl.co/3nMnrOm

i dunno the whole touching on a pregnant woman’s pencil eraser nips as a gag wasn’t all that funny to me and the sex scenes were eh

2.5 stars

This was such a miss for me. I'm not sure if straight up rom-coms are just not for me, but wow did this book not do it for me. I really was enjoying the beginning and how both the hero and heroine needed someone to fake date and they literally ran into each other on the sidewalk. This led them to talking and making a deal to fake being together. This was so fun, but then the heroine quickly turned mean to him and would be so annoying and purposefully mean. For no reason other than he was infuriating? I don't love it when the hero/heroine are annoying for really no reason and that was definitely the heroine. So many situations were so over the top and the story just dragged on. As a contemporary romance, it needs to be faster paced if it's going to be 400 pages long. Even when they actually get together, I was bored. And then the third act break up included one of my least favorite tropes and I was just not having it. There was a conversation at the end the kind of made the over-the-top scenes make sense to me, but it still didn't make them enjoyable. I'm not sure Meghan Quinn is more me and it's going to be awhile before I pick up one of her rom coms.

A fake fiancé, Pretty Woman spin romcom that’s steamy and swoony

I don’t remember the last time I giggled this much while reading a fake fiancé romance. I had to cover my mouth in bed so as not to wake up my hubby from all the laughing.

Kelsey: Oh my God . . . you’re going to be murdered.
Lottie: No way. The dude is meeting me at Chipotle. He’s not going to murder me at a place where you have to pay extra for guac.

Lottie (26) gets fired by one of her supposedly close friends, Angela, and is escorted out of the building as soon as she is. She goes home to her mom’s house, who is expecting her to get a promotion the following week so she can finally get her own place (because her mom and younger boyfriend like walking around she house… naked 😅😂). She’s afraid to tell her what happened, because her family has constantly told her not to trust Angela. She pretends to go to work but really goes to her sister’s to make a plan. One of her plans is to meet a rich hubby, Pretty Woman style, and hopefully get all her prayers answered. Well, she does…

Huxley (35) is trying to sign a deal, a very profitable one, and he makes the mistake of lying by saying that he has a fiancé that’s also pregnant, just like the investor he’s trying to get to sign the deal (he has a pregnant fiancé). Now he’s on a time crunch to find a fake fiancé that’s pregnant. Lo and behold, Lottie smacks into his life- and she agrees to sign a contract as long as she gets something out of the deal as well (she’s poor and needs her student loans paid off plus an action plan for the business she’s starting with her sister). I enjoyed their outlining of their possible contract at Chipotle lol.

”I’m also going to need your ring size. My fiancée will be properly adorned with a ring.”
She swallows hard. “Fine, but I’m going to need to know your dick size before you leave.”
“Why do you need to know that?” I ask.
“Because,” she says with a smile, “I need to know if I have to act like a happy fiancée, or a truly satisfied fiancée.”

What ensues are hilarious situations, some awkward ones, that allow Huxley and Lottie to figure out their true feelings. From the Lamaze/sexual positions class, to the breast pump fittings, to the plastic one-eyed-evil baby class, I was DYING 😂😂😂😂😂!!! Behind closed doors, Huxley has trouble trusting people- which definitely brings out the sass in Lottie, but over time, he finds out he loves those qualities in Lottie; luckily, she’s able to find a lot of positive qualities in Huxley as well (behind his grumpy exterior).

I squeeze my legs shut and adjust my robe so as to not reveal anything. “What are you doing?”
“You want something to consume you? You want those thoughts out of your head? This is how you do it.” His hands go to my thighs, and realization finally kicks in. His eyes stay on mine as he says, “Say it right now that you don’t want this and I’ll go back to eating my salad. If not, I’m going to eat you.”

And the steam 🥵 dear lord! From the against the wall robe scene, to the sun roof rain scene, to the Fleetwood Mac jet scene, to the shower (sometimes with dild*s) and somnophilia scenes🔥, jeeeezus this book was steeeamy. Sure, smex happens at 74%, but I did NOT feel the slow burn 🔥. So much tension kept me… ahem… satisfied😅💦. I love how Lottie brings out his alpha side… gah… and his dirty mouth 🥵. How he manages to have a sane conversation while smexing Lottie was beyond me 😅.

I hope we get to see books for his brothers… especially the brother that has a connection to Lottie’s sister 😉. Their text message thread was hilarious lol. Gahhh! I loved it!!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing/owd/omd
-somnophilia (I know! I was surprised! lol)/edging/dirty talk/praise kink
-both are experienced/not a manwhor* though
-no condoms/she’s on the pill/no safety talk otherwise
-HEA/epilogue/months later? Doesn’t say

every time i think about this book i either smile or laugh

3 Stars

Overall Opinion: This had some fun moments! It was a pretty light drama, funny, and sexy read. I just didn’t like the h. I also thought that the H had to grovel way too much for his wrongdoing — which is a change! It might be that I liked the H at that point and didn’t like the h, but it just didn’t work for me. Overall, as long as you go in just expecting some laughs and low drama sexiness…this should work for you.

Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Lottie and Huxley’s story. Huxley has unintentionally lied to a potential client that he has a pregnant fiancé, so when he literally bumps into a down-on-her-luck and ranting about finding a rich husband Lottie, he knows that she is the answer to save his and his brothers’ company from potential reputation ruin. Lottie just got fired by her on-again-off-again best “friend” and is also desperately needing to move out of her mother’s house, so when Huxley propositions her she accepts the pretty woman style (without the nookie) deal. There are some laugh out loud moments, some hot sexy times, and some big secrets revealed…and they get a HFN ending.

Point Of View (POV): This alternated between Lottie and Huxley’s POV.

Overall Pace of Story: Good. I never skimmed and I thought it flowed well.

Instalove: No, they take a while to develop stronger feelings

H (Hero) rating: 3.5 stars. Huxley. I mostly liked him. I appreciated his grovel, but his hot and cold at the beginning got a little old.

h (heroine) rating: 2.5 stars. Lottie. I really struggled with her. I felt like she was too self-centered a lot of the time.

Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed

Push/Pull: Yes They both push away at times and I’d say the H is the main pursuer of the relationship

Heat level: Hot. They have some hot tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.

Descriptive sex: Yes

OW (Other Woman)/OM (Other Man) drama: No

Sex scene with OW or OM: No

Cheating: No

Separation: Yes They are separated shortly (day/s?), but there was no mention or suggestion of other partners during this time.

Possible Triggers: Not really

Closure: This ends in a good place but with what I would call a HFN ending they’re engaged

Safety: This one should be

Long and boring, and the heroine is annoying.

4 stars

“Sometimes it’s not the beginning that screams romance, but rather the journey.”

4.45⭐
Genre ~ romantic comedy
Series ~ Cane Brothers, #1
Publication date ~ May 31, 2022 (for the illustrated version I read)
Page Count ~ 436
Audio length ~ 11 hours 53 minutes
Narrators ~ Ava Erickson, Aaron Shedlock
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ fake relationship, billionaire, rich man/poor woman, steamage

Lottie & Huxley
Lottie is on the hunt for a rich husband. Huxley is on the hunt for a pregnant fiance. They collide on the sidewalk, head to Chipolte and formulate a fully contracted plan to help each other out.

This was really fun and definitely had some 'need a cold shower' moments. They went on some interesting outings with another pregnant couple that had me rolling. I had the illustration edition, which was interesting and fun.

Sister, Kelsey and brothers JP & Breaker were wonderful and I can't wait to read the rest of the series that follow them.

My one big gripe was the whole fake pregnancy thing as so many struggle, so I don't think that's something that should be faked.

Side note ~ I love when books mention towns that I am familiar with.

If you haven’t read any of Meghan’s books yet you’re missing out.

Connect with me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

HORRENDOUS, TERRIBLE, INFANTILE AND IRRESPONSIBLE HEROINE 🤡🤬🤮

Disclaimer: I usually don't hate heroines, it's too much of a strong feeling for me to experience towards a written character, but this time i wanted to slap the heroine, Lottie, across the face. Repeatedly. With a shovel. 👁️👄👁️

So the plot: Lottie, a 28year old down on her luck, gets fired by her "friend", needs to move out from her parents ASAP, has only 3 grand in her bank account and 30K of student loans. Living in LA, this is not enough to cover rent, so she gets drunk with her sister and has the "marvelous" idea to go to the rich neighborhood and find a rich husband to solve all of her problems. In an old, ratty T-Shirt with holes in it 👉👈🥹 First day is a bust, so instead of actually sending out a couple of résumés to potential bosses (did I mention she has a degree in business?🤡🤡🤡🫣), she decides to go AGAIN in search of a rich husband. Enter the hero, Huxley, a 35year old billionaire 🤣 who needed to close a 10 mil deal SOOOO BADLY that he lied to a potential partner about having a pregnant fiancee from Georgia. Huxley is terrified his deal will fall through plus bis reputation will be ruined, so instead of coming clean or telling one of his NUMEROUS ASSISTANTS (that a true billionaire will 100% have) to contact some acting agency (it's LA, come on!) and hire an actress to play the fiancée, he goes on a walk to "clear his head" 🕵️🤨 He then meets Lottie on the street, where she rambles about needing a rich husband, so he jumps on the opportunity and everything starts from there.

Now, this is one of those books, where in order to make it funny, the author made it OTT unbelievable. Plus, the hero, a supposed billionaire, has the personality of a dead fish and nothing unique about his thought process, way of thinking or acting, his business plan to make him a billionaire. It was so farfetched, so it felt completely unnecessary. The author should've made him at least a millionaire, so that his attempt to close a 10 mil deal would seam somewhat more logical. All in all, Huxley was not a bad hero, but he was also not good: bland, unmemorable, mediocre. I didn't like his hot and cold game he played around the middle of the book, and the reasoning behind it was weak.

But the real assholette of this book was the heroine. I barely finished the book, that's how infuriating she was to me! 🤬🤬🤬🤬 It wasn't even the situation she found herself in and the way she tried to resolve it (although combating homelessness and unemployment with just taking a stroll in a rich neighborhood is up there), but her reaction towards everything around her and her victim mentality.

- the hero was basically a stranger to her, who payed off 30K of her student loans, bought her an expensive designer wardrobe, gave her a roof over her head (a stylish McMansion), and even fed her gourmet meals on the daily. All she had to do on exchange, was to play his pregnant fiancee a couple of times and "suffer" through uncomfortable outings with the pregnant chick. Lottie CONSTANTLY complained about how the hero was CoLd towards her (while they were still strangers with a shared goal), so she irritated him to no end, tried to be funny, which resulted in her looking like a fool all of the time.

-Lottie and Huxely signed a contract with ALL of the terms, explanations and rules regarding their "partnership". You'd think that a person with a BUSINESS DEGREE would read the damn thing, but our hilariously dumb heroine thought it unnecessary. Her own SISTER is shocked by this behaviour, advised her to read it ASAP, and what do you know? THE HEROINE STILL DOESN'T READ THE F*CKING CONTRACT! 🤡🤬🥹🤧 so ANOTHER situation arises, the hero says that everything she needs to know is in the contract, and she is shocked about it and says she thought the contract was just...SEMANTICS. And didn't actually mean anything 😭😭😭 #helphowisshesodumb

- Lottie's sister, Kelsey, gave her a job, even though she couldn't afford to do it. They got a meeting with a potential client (Huxely's BILLION dollar firm), the sister is rushing there to get on time, to which Lottie says "Don't worry, we still have 2 minutes, just RELAAAX" 😫 the sister explains the significance of this meeting and asks Lottie to take it seriously. Minutes later, Lottie makes a complete fool of herself, embarrasses herself, her sister, sits on Huxely's lap and tries to kiss him, while looking scared and confused. The sister was calling after Lottie numerous times, but she ignored her and cost her this meeting. When they were done, Lottie was more concerned about her own personal drama than her sister's business, and ONLY AFTER the sister gave her a piece of her mind (very deserved and logical, might I add) did Lottie understand the gravity of the situation.

- the whole 3rd act breakup (that lasted a whole day🤣🫣) was laughable and should've NEVER happened. Lottie overreacted WAY TOO MUCH for the thing that Huxely's done (yes, he was rude and could've handled it better), but he believed her as soon as she gave him an answer, apologized IMMEDIATELY, and was running after her to stop her and BEGGED her not to go. Meanwhile Lottie was a dumpster of unnecessarily OTT feeling like "feeling too raw to talk" (sis, seriously? Too raw? Are you an egg waiting to be boiled?), "too out of it to face the situation" and crying all over different locations without stopping for what seems was the whole 24-hour breakup 😬🤡 and the hero constantly bringing up the fact that she "chose to sleep on her SISTER'S FLOOR instead of in my bed" to describe how he "screwed up" was laughable 🤣🤣🤣 a lot of times someone in my family had to sleep on the mattress on the floor, when the house was full of guests. Welcome to the land of the regular people NOT in the US 🤷🏼‍♀️😆

I HATED how the hero lamented all through the last chapter and the epilogue, how lucky he was that the heroine forgave him, how he will treasure her for the special flower she is and never take her for granted again. As if HE (a billionaire with a huge dick and knowledge how to use it, male model physique, neverending love and loyalty towards the heroine) lucked out in this relationship to be with the heroine (who likes to have holes in her T-shirts) 🕵️👁️👄👁️

I will be reading other works of this author, because I LOVED book 3 of this series (friends-to-lovers; sexy nerd; great banter). Hopefully this was an unlucky one timer with the author's work for me🙏

This book started off great. The early chapters were hilarious, flirty, and the banter between the MCs were so much fun, it had me genuinely laughing out loud multiple times.
But then it slowly changed towards the middle, those moments become 'over the top', what was supposed to be funny didn't work anymore. Also the characters got so annoying and dramatic. Overall just meh from me.

3.75/5 stars.

i read this in a few hours because i was stuck in an airport for 12+ hours (not including a 6 hour flight) and needed something to do.

i honestly had no idea what i was getting into except that i had downloaded it on my kindle at some point in time and i wanted something romantic and fun.

honestly, it delivered!

i actually enjoyed the characters! the characters were surprisingly multifaceted and (gasp!) i didn’t really get annoyed by them, which is rarer in contemporary romance than i would like.

it’s fast paced, great for helping in a slump.

though the arrangement was completely ridiculous and unrealistic, it kind of felt like an episode of frasier and as someone who was literally raised on seinfeld and cheers and frasier, the vibes were impeccable and i loved that.

the tropes! the enemies thing wasn’t my favorite thing but it felt more valid than most that i read and it made for great sexual tension. i knew nothing going into this and i am a sucker for the forced proximity and marriage/relationship of convenience tropes and this had BOTH!

now, what i didn’t like…

the whole controlling women thing. i completely understand it being a dom/sub thing and i enjoyed the smut, but the way huxley verbalized it was kind of an ick.

the name huxley. is this even a real name?? i like him but that name is basically like being blonde and having a mullet and a moustache. and somehow worse.

on a more serious note, THE FETISHIZATION OF SMALL AND FEISTY WOMEN. men finding women endearing because they find their very real and very valid anger “nonthreatening” is actually so disgusting. was this a big issue in this book? no, but there were several comments made in the beginning that warranted a discussion about it. you can have power imbalances without invalidating women’s emotions. it’s not hot, it’s misogyny.

the hea
you know, as someone who prefers happily ever afters, i’m continuously disappointed. i typically have zero trust in the characters and need the reassurance that things will in fact, be happy forever after, but a lot of the time, these heas feel rushed.
tis the case with this book.
lottie and huxley knew each other for A FEW WEEKS. and they got ENGAGED. hard pass. that sort of rush just makes me more concerned that they’re going to break up.
petition to start writing heas that don’t involve weddings or pregnancies ✋

side note: it’s really weird that he confused a 28 year old for a highschooler-

THIS BOOK WAS PERFECTION — it was the most perfect rom-com I think I have ever read. You had me at billionaire romance and fake dating.

It was not only a cute book but it was HILARIOUS. Also Huxley Cane, oh my….. he was EVERYTHING. I loved him and Lottie together so much.

This book was so sweet yet so spicy. Meghan Quinn, I don’t know what you put in this book but I am quite literally obsessed.

Why can’t meet cutes like this happen in real life ugh!!!!

“You’re my number one, you’re the person I trust, the person I know will always be by my side, cheering for me and telling me when I’m an a—. And I’ll do everything possible to make you happy.”

This was a really enjoyable and fun book to read on a lazy Sunday and I was especially happy to find it on Kindle Unlimited 😊

✅ I LIKED HUXLEY'S inner thoughts at the beginning of the book - his POV was definitely my favorite and I just liked how he approached his business deals with such a logical but cut throat mentality. I found his voice more humorous than the typical "alpha businessman" love interests you read about

🆗 LOTTIE WAS ENTERTAINING but her characterization was a bit confusing. She was a self-characterized "doormat", but I actually found her to be incredibly confrontational, especially when it came to Huxley. So it was harder to understand her.

✅ I WAS WORRIED this was going to be wayyy too cliche but it surprised me with some of the unique situations this couple was put into 😂 Ovearll, while there were some cliche parts, I thought the romance still stood out from other fake-dating books I've read

✅ I REALLY LIKED THE ROMANCE and will definitely be picking up more of Meghan Quinn's books in the future 💕 There was a decent amount of tension building up to them being together, some really heartwarming scenes, but then also a lot of steam too!

🆗 THE ENDING was just okay... at first, I thought there was going to be minimal drama with how things were going, but then that didn't end up being the case 😣 It all came together eventually, but it's just hard to find a romcom where I don't find the drama that causes the inevitable fallout too over to the top and obnoxious

Overall, I read this book in one sitting today so obviously I really liked it even though it wasn't perfect. I think it could have been a little bit shorter but I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a fake-dating romcom with lots of banter, lots of tension and steamy scenes, an alpha-hole businessman love interest, and a cute ending!

⭐️ one star -

Ok, I hated this book. Truly. It pains me to say this because I generally do enjoy Meghan Quinn’s NA genre stories, but her last few adult romances have been horrible. I thought I’d give her another chance with this one as the story seemed interesting - meet cute with a billionaire and a 28 yo fmc? Sounded great, especially since I prefer stories with adults vs the na genre romances

Well, don’t be fooled, this still reads like a na story, and truly it should have been one, because the characters do not read like adults, but rather they should have been written as early twenty somethings.

Things I didn’t like about this book:

1- Lottie. She’s a horrible person in the beginning of this book (see reason #2). She selfish, hostile, immature (she should be 23, not 28): and is a toxic individual. I avoid people like her irl, and I most certainly don’t want to read about someone like her as a fmc.

2- this story is way too choppy. It reads as if Quinn just threw in pre-written snippets throughout, but didn’t take the time to fully finesse them. Many of these snippet scenes read as if they came from the author’s scene pile, but she forgot to go back and apply the character arcs. (Yes, I know many people do this - and I’m not knocking the writing technique - just go back and make sure the scene gels with the arc.)

3- MQ should stick with NA. I didn’t buy that the mc’s were 35 and 28. There is no way a 35 yo billionaire would be acting like he does. The suspension of belief required here was just too much. These two are so immature, it’s painful.

4- way, way too many eff bombs. Like really - an unnecessary, distracting amount. Just because the characters are adults doesn’t mean they need to be written so narrowly. Who talks like this in real life? No one I know.

5- way, way too many oral sexy times. Really, I just wanted them to do the deed already. Scene after scene of oral sex got super annoying - all I could think was: you’re grown adults, you want each other, just get it on already - geez. And what 35 yo man is down for some dry humping? Is she serious with this? Are these mc’s supposed to be 16?

So there you have it. I haven’t written this much in a review in a while lol, but I really was disappointed - and mostly annoyed, but I did finish this hot mess.

Save your time and money and skip this one, and pick up a Quinn na romance instead - if you like that genre. She’s much better at those, truly. For myself, I think I’m done with trying a MQ adult genre, still too immature for this romance reader.

One disappointed star.

2/5

My first and last book from this author, especially when I heard next books are worst.

"Sometimes it’s not the beginning that screams romance, but rather the journey."

I can't do this anymore. I'm dnfing it at chapter 11.

I really thought i would like it but i'm mostly bored and annoyed. Nothing is working for me. I don't like a single character. Lottie is immature, annoying and so over the top, i don't find her funny at all. A lot of her actions are stupid or make no sense. Her sister Kelsey annoyed me too, always on Huxley's side and not her sister's, which is supposed to be funny but it's not. Huxley is the typical rude rich guy who thinks the world revolves around him, nothing new here. I'm 40% in and where is the chemistry? that fake fiancee goodness and sexual tension? nowhere to be seen...

Maybe this author and her humour are just not for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

1 ★

My first ever 1 star read🤭 this is a special review 😍

Edit:
this book can ^%€# I am so so so sorry I really don’t like talking about the hard work of people like this, but this was just something else. It was;
- weird,
- overly sexual
- not romantic
- not cute
- uncomfortable making
- just overall weird.

It was sooo unbelievably unrealistic like- NO ONE WOULD EVER SAY THAT OR SHOW THAT TO A STRANGER. IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE- the scenes weren’t funny or unique, it was just weird and the only thing going through my mind was “wtf are they doing”

These people just wanted one thing and we all know what that thing is. This is something I would read on wattpad and that would leave me traumatized and scarred and guess what: It did. I can’t remember a single Interesting/cute thing that happened in here, it was that bad.
This book would have been sooo good if
1) it wasn’t so weird (dim down on the sexualizing talk and activities

I felt uncomfortable the whole time I was reading this and it has been so long since I read it and still when I think about it, I feel uncomfortable and just confused like what did I read.

Before reading this book I didn’t know how it felt to read a 1 star book

Anyways no hate to the author, I wish you a lot of luck in your career.

old
This book wasn’t really my drill. I didn’t connect with the characters like I hoped I would. Also got annoyed a lot of times.

Smut: yes had to skip quite sum and most of the time I don’t feel uncomfortable skipping my scenes but the scenes I had to skip in this book and the way the characters were acting was just making me very uncomfortable

I went into it with low expectations thinking it would just be some cheesy type of enemies to lovers book. But let me tell you, THIS EXCEEDED my expectations!! Not only was the spice on point but also the character development of both Huxley and Lottie was amazing! Everything felt so real. I can easily see this being made into a movie one day! 6/5 recommend

Cheesy? Maybe a little bit. I personally didn't mind at all. In fact, the light-hearted and lively story was exactly what I needed, and it helped improve my mood when I was feeling down. It may not be a literary masterpiece, but it certainly provided the enjoyable escape I was looking for. However, I found the main female character's immature personality quite annoying, but their hilarious antics... GOD... made me laugh a lot, and the sex scenes were also hot! ;)

Fake Romance ✔️
Enemies to Lovers✔️
Grumpy/ sunshine✔️
Spicy 🔥🔥🔥✔️

Todos los clichés y tópicos que me gustan.
Los protagonistas me agradaron tenían una gran química y ni que se diga de la tensión sexual.
Los dos eran polos opuestos ella, desinhibida, espontánea y él frío siempre en control.
Estuvo bueno, mi único problema es que fue demasiado largo

written by a woman but not written by a woman

2.5 ⭐️ It was good until it wasn’t.

It started out so well and was actually really funny. But something switched at around 30-40% where the characters became unlikeable. It was cringy and it felt awkward. I ended up skimming the rest of book from 60% onwards just to finish it otherwise I probably wouldn’t have picked it back up.

Don't let that cute cover fool you - this is SMOKIN' HOT, with sexual tension dripping from every page. I was HOOKED from the start, and I devoured it at an alarming rate, even for one of Quinn's rom coms. And this IS a rom com, albeit a very tense and steamy one. I loved the playfulness and humor of the story, the interactions with our hero's brothers, the vibrancy of the connection, the push/pull, and sizzle of chemistry. This workaholic alpha doesn't know what hit him - our heroine is bold and proves herself to be strong and stubborn too. Their connection is absolute FIRE, and I loved the friction between them. It's a hot slow burn from strangers to enemies to lovers, and I was all too happy to hold on for the ride.

The story follows Huxley, a guy who is married to his job. There's never been anything more important in his life than work, especially since he's in business with his brothers. So when a deal seems to be slipping through his fingers, Huxley lets loose a few lies in an act of desperation. He claims to be engaged with a baby on the way, when that couldn't be further from the truth. Unsure how to handle the predicament he's gotten himself into, Huxley's guard is down when he meets an unusual woman. Lottie meets Huxley while wandering through a rich neighborhood (looking for a rich husband, as one does), and she's also feeling desperate. The two discover that they might be able to help each other out, and that's the foundation of their not so meet cute. But as the two spend time together, their clashes begin to escalate - and there seems to be a fine line between love and hate.

I always, ALWAYS look forward to new books by Quinn, and I went into this one blind. It's the start of what I sincerely hope is a brand new series, and I loved the vibe. It's got tons of humor and great family connections, as well as the sexual tension that Quinn has been ramping up with some of her newest releases. This book is seriously fan-worthy at times, with a torturous slow burn that borders on scorching. Huxley and Lottie have zero problems with their chemistry - it's their communication that could use a little help. I loved watching this workaholic discover that he's got a jealous, possessive side, and it rears its ugly head many times. Their path to love has bumps along the way, but I SO appreciated that the vibe remained (mostly) light throughout. It's certainly not as angst-ridden as some of Quinn's other romances, which means that cute cover is not inaccurate... this just isn't your momma's rom com, lol. I was lucky enough to receive an early copy and am voluntarily leaving a review of this steamy fake relationship romance.