Counting Down with You by. Tashie Bhuiyan | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Counting Down with You

Author: Tashie Bhuiyan

Format: eBook (kindle unlimited)

Pages: 464

Publication Date: 5/4/21

Categories: Romance, Family, Contemporary, Young Adult, Coming of Age, Fake Dating

A reserved Bangladeshi teenager has twenty-eight days to make the biggest decision of her life after agreeing to fake date her school’s resident bad boy.
How do you make one month last a lifetime?

Karina Ahmed has a plan. Keep her head down, get through high school without a fuss, and follow her parents’ rules—even if it means sacrificing her dreams. When her parents go abroad to Bangladesh for four weeks, Karina expects some peace and quiet. Instead, one simple lie unravels everything.

Karina is my girlfriend.

Tutoring the school’s resident bad boy was already crossing a line. Pretending to date him? Out of the question. But Ace Clyde does everything right—he brings her coffee in the mornings, impresses her friends without trying, and even promises to buy her a dozen books (a week) if she goes along with his fake-dating facade. Though Karina agrees, she can’t help but start counting down the days until her parents come back.

T-minus twenty-eight days until everything returns to normal—but what if Karina no longer wants it to?

Content Warning: Anxiety, Family Pressures

All immigrant families want is a better life for their children and Karina knows this with all her heart. Her parents want her to be a doctor but she wants to major in English after high school and she is trying her best to make them happy. Karina gets a breather when her parents go to Bangladesh for a month.

First off, this story is relatable to a lot of immigrant or first generation American children. Parents uproot their whole lives in their motherland country to give their children a better life somewhere else. My parents were very strict as well, so I related to Karina a lot in that aspect. I love that she had her dadu for support and telling her she’s a good kid and loved – that’s so important because it’s so easy for teens to fear disappointing their parents and think they are loved less because they don’t stand up to their standards. Being a perfect child is so hard and such an unreasonable expectation. I loved that this story was about a Bangladeshi and Muslim girl and we got to see her family dynamics. Also Karina has major anxiety because of these family pressures and it was good to see how she suffers and deals with it. **I can’t comment much on the Muslim representation, I see a lot of reviews on Goodreads marking this book a low rating because of it. **

Karina had her dadu for support and her girlfriends. They are a tightly knit group of three girls just surviving high school and everything that comes with it.

She also has support from her new fake boyfriend and guy she’s tutoring for English, Ace. He’s popular, white and rich. Ace being white though wouldn’t fly with her parents but the heart wants what it wants. For a romance story I thought it was teen appropriate and so emo. Cheesy emo at times but this is definitely the kind of book I would have eaten up as a teenager! The whole fake-dating aspect was the main focus of this book, it was cute but nothing serious.

My favorite parts of this story was when Karina and her dadu were together. When Karina finally tells her parents that she doesn’t want to study medicine her dadu’s support made me want to cry because grandparents are just so amazing that way. I love how dadu stood up for Karina and made her parents listen to her.

Why you should read it:

teens can totally relate about dealing with family pressures
Bangladeshi and Muslim representation, anxiety rep
it’s a very teen romance, has fake dating but that’s not the focus of the story

Why you might not want to read it:

might appeal more to teenagers

My Thoughts:

The beginning of the book reads like a teen romance with the whole fake-dating trope thrown in but the real story for me was Karina dealing with the pressures from her family and trying to please them and yet want a little happiness for herself too. I love her dadu and the unconditional love and support she gets from her, it makes me wish I had someone backing me up that hard when I was Karina’s age. My grandparents were amazing but pretty much stayed out of my family dramas – they had enough drama I suppose with their own grown children! This story is relatable and perfect for teens who can relate trying to deal with family pressure.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Quotes from the Book:

“I’m expected to be this perfect daughter that I don’t know how to be.”
Counting Down with You by. Tashie Bhuiyan

“I am not Atlas, born to carry the weight of the world I am Icarus, wanting and wanting and wanting at the risk of exploding when I fly too close to the sun…”
Counting Down with You by. Tashie Bhuiyan

“Nothing I ever do is enough.”
Counting Down with You by. Tashie Bhuiyan

““The older I am, the more I realize it’s not worth it to prioritize things that make you miserable…”
Counting Down with You by. Tashie Bhuiyan

Heartbreakers and Fakers by. Cameron Lund | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Heartbreakers and Fakers

Author: Cameron Lund

Format: hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: 6/8/21

Publisher: Razorbill

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, High School, Fake-Dating, Enemies to Lovers, Coming of Age

From the author of The Best Laid Plans comes another fresh voiced, hilarious rom-com perfect for fans of Tweet Cute and The Rest of the Story.

Penny Harris just ruined her life.

As one of the most popular girls in school, she’s used to being invited to every party, is dating the Jordan Parker, and can’t wait to rule senior year with her best friend, Olivia. But when Penny wakes up on Jordan’s lawn the morning after his first-day-of-summer bash, she knows something went terribly wrong the night before.

She kissed Kai Tanaka.

Kai, her long-time nemesis. Kai, Olivia’s boyfriend. Penny can’t figure out what could have inspired her to do it–she loves Jordan and she would never hurt Olivia–but one thing’s for sure: freshly dumped, and out a best friend, the idyllic summer she pictured is over.

And despite the fact that Jordan seems to be seeking comfort (and a whole lot more) in Olivia, all Penny can think about is winning him back. Kai wants to save his relationship too, so they come up with a plan: convince their friends that they really do have feelings for each other. After all, no one can resist a good love story, and maybe seeing Penny and Kai together will make Jordan and Olivia change their minds.

But as summer heats up, so does Penny and Kai’s “relationship,” and Penny starts to question whether she’s truly faking it with Kai, if he’s really as terrible as she always thought he was, and if the life she’s fighting so hard to get back is the one she really wants.

Content Warning: Bullying

Penny is that girl who wasn’t always popular but once she became best friends with Olivia, the queen bee at school, she’s been her number two girl and she tries her best to keep her spot. This makes Penny a follower, and not the most likable character but she is relatable because she used to be the one who was bullied. It makes sense she doesn’t want to be bullied anymore but being friends with Olivia makes her a bully too.

As far as the romance, it’s an enemies to lovers, fake-dating situation where her enemy is the one who came up with the name she was bullied with! It’s natural that Penny hates Kai, but as they get thrown together, they finally get to know one another and in essence both of them was trying to survive being picked on in school. The story has a lot of high school drama but in a way I could understand Penny’s fears. Who likes to be bullied? No one.

Penny does grow by the end of this and I’m glad about that because it was hard to watch her try to find her way back to Olivia’s side when clearly Olivia is not a nice person and a worse friend at that. I like that Kai teaches her to let go a little and not be afraid to be herself. But it’s high school and people can change.

I do like how this author writes complicated and not automatically likable characters. They are flawed, make messy decisions, they are kids in high school who think everything matters in that very moment when as adults reading we know something bigger is coming their way. Bills. LOL…just kidding, but not kidding. 😅

Why you should read it:

fake dating, enemies to lovers
you like high school drama
realistic characters, even though not exactly likable, relatable high school situations

Why you might not want to read it:

you are not into the mean girls high school drama

My Thoughts:

Penny isn’t perfect, she is friends with a mean girl, and then she becomes one of the mean girls to survive. Penny and Kai’s enemies to lovers fake-dating situation helps them really get to know each other and pushes Penny to take a good look at who her friends are, and who she is without Olivia. Navigating high school is not easy and trying to figure out who you are in high school won’t happen overnight. Most people find ourselves after high school. This was full of messy high school drama, and as an adult I enjoyed it because it’s relatable. This one would appeal definitely appeal to teen readers.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Quotes from the book:

“If you make a bad choice, you have to try to fix it. You have to put in the work to make things better.”
Heartbreakers and Fakers by. Cameron Lund

“The truth is high school is such a small blip on my timeline. Life is too short to waste the whole thing worrying.”
Heartbreakers and Fakers by. cameron Lund

“Who cares if people are staring? The fact is, they probably aren’t even looking my way at all.”
Heartbreakers and Fakers by. Cameron Lund

The Love Hypothesis by. Ali Hazelwood | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Love Hypothesis

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: 9/14/21

Publisher: Berkley Books

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Fake-Dating, Science, Academia

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships–but her best friend does, and that’s what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor–and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford’s reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive’s career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding… six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Content Warning: sexual harassment, death of a parent, mental abuse

I have finally read the book that everyone has been raving about and I can see why it’s gotten the hype. The hype is about Adam lol because he’s this tall, handsome, nerdy, grumpy, protective guy who is secretly crazy about Olive.

The banter and dialogue between Olive and Adam is my favorite part of this book. It was so cute seeing these two scientist fake-dating, talk “science” and getting to know each other. The two of them are both lonely people who find the perfect companion in one another. Adam is this grumpy, tall, handsome, professor with an a-hole reputation and Olive is a sweetheart, Phd candidate with intimacy issues that stem from her past. They balanced each other out a lot, he gave her comfort and security, she gave him fun. This is a slow burn romance but when it burns, it burns! I was not expecting that out of Adam. 👀🔥

Olive’s best friends Ahn and Malcome are her found-family and they are all she really has. Olive has no family. Ahn is protective and Malcom is the life of the party. Adam has a good friend of his own that we only get to know halfway into the book but he was pretty funny also.

Now there were some issues I had with it but my expectations were high! The beginning was too slow of a burn for me I think. Ahn had to step in and force some kissing and touching to happen between Olive and Adam. Olive and Adam didn’t communicate their feelings very well so I was getting a bit frustrated with both of them. I think it got better after the bedroom scene because finally some of their walls come down.

Why you should read it:

a sweet, light-hearted, fake-dating trope
women in STEM and academia reps
cute banter between Olive and Adam

Why you might not want to read it:

slow beginning
not into professor/student dating (but he’s not her professor)
it’s got a lot of hype, so you might want to wait a little while before reading it

My Thoughts:

When I saw this book pop up on my online library as ready to be borrowed I jumped at the chance but then I wondered if I should wait until the hype died down. I think the hype got to me so I was expecting a lot of major feels but for the most part I was feeling this book as a 3.5 star read. But when they finally admitted how they felt for one another, my heart melted so I bumped it up to a 4. I felt like it kind of snuck up on me through their slow burn, awkward and cute bantering, their heat in the bedroom and of course Adam, who was carrying this flame for Olive for awhile. Overall, it is a cute fake-dating story set in the world of academia!

📚 ~ Yolanda

Quotes from the book:

“Because I’m starting to wonder if this is what being in love is. Being okay with ripping yourself to shreds, so the other person can stay whole.”
The Love Hypothesis – Ali hazelwood

“carry yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white man”
The Love Hypothesis – Ali Hazelwood

A Not So Meet Cute by. Meghan Quinn | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: A Not So Meet Cute

Author: Meghan Quinn

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 404

Publication Date: 11/02/21

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Fake Dating

How did you two meet?

The quintessential question asked to every couple. And the answer is usually some bubbly, lovey dovey tale of being struck in the bum by Cupid’s arrow.

My meet cute (well not so meet cute) is slightly different. I was trolling a wealthy neighborhood in Beverly Hills, searching for someone to take me as their bride, you know, to make my arch nemesis jealous who consequently just fired me.

He was stomping around the block like some sort of gorgeous ogre, mumbling about a business deal gone wrong and attempting to finagle his way out of it.

And that’s when we bumped into each other.

There were no sparks.

Not even a hint of blossoming love.

But next thing I knew, I was scarfing down free chips and guac, listening to this man lay out all of his problems which led to his big ask . . . he wanted me to be his Vivian Ward, you know, from Pretty Woman–minus the frisky behavior.

We’re talking about living in a mansion, intimate double dates, and pretending we were head over heels in love . . . and engaged. Can you imagine?

The absolute audacity.

But people do crazy things when they’re desperate. And I reeked of desperation. So, I struck up a deal.

My one big mistake, though . . . big . . . HUGE? I accidentally fell for the incomparable Huxley Cane.

The best thing I liked about this fake dating romance is the humor especially when it came to the fake pregnancy – the pregnancy classes were just too funny! I did laugh out loud. It kind of had a Pretty Woman (the movie) vibe except Lottie is not a prostitute, etc…but Lottie does reference the movie a lot.

Lottie is desperate – she got fired. She is 28 and still lives at home with mom and step/dad but they hint at every chance they get that she needs to basically move out. Her sister Kelsey is already living on her own and has a small business that is about to take off and Lottie has no prospects except maybe finding a rich husband? Maybe?

Huxley Cane is a rich businessman who deals in real estate and he wants a certain property but the owner won’t cut a deal with him. Hux isn’t relatable enough so what does he do? He lies to get an in with the guy but the lie involves having a pregnant fiancee on short notice. What a predicament. That’s where Lottie runs into him and a plan and contract is set. They will fake date until Hux wins the contract.

These two are opposites attract in a nutshell. Lottie talks and babbles a lot, she says what is on her mind. Her emotions can be all over the place, especially when it comes to Hux who has tunnel vision on this deal like a man obsessed. He doesn’t show any emotions, he likes to be in control and in charge. It worked for the most part and the physical attraction between them was definitely there. When they finally cross the fake dating line, the scenes are steamy.

Kelsey, Lottie’s sister is what keeps her grounded. Same as Hux who has brothers that nag him to loosen up. I liked that they had supportive family. Their siblings are their besties.

I think this book was a tad bit too long. I don’t know why but I thought I could finish this in one sitting, it was funny, Lottie and Hux had sparks, in and out of the bedroom, the story was moving a long…or so I thought. At the 80% mark I was like…this isn’t over yet? lol…by then Lottie and Hux were getting it on, yet it was taking forever for Hux to close the deal with Dave.

It’s an opposites attract relationship but Lottie at first seemed like this lost soul, kind of a doormat because her toxic friend fires her from her job and she doesn’t fight back. Then she turns into this sexual spitball, but only when she is around Huxley. Guess he made her work extra hard to open him up because let’s talk about Huxley. He’s rich and handsome and underneath his cold gaze he actually cares about his workers, his companies and mostly his brothers but seriously…I was irritated with him demanding Lottie be a certain way when it was his big lie in the first place. 🤦🏻‍♀️ He got on my nerves sometimes. They both did, haha.

Why you should read it:

there are some pretty funny moments
lots of steamy scenes between Lottie and Hux
opposites attract and fake-dating tropes

Why you might not want to read it:

at times the couple got on my nerves, mostly Huxley
this story could have ended at the 80% mark…so pacing is an issue

My thoughts:

This one was almost a hit and then it was a miss at some parts so I think my rating is a happy medium with how I felt after I read it. I wish Hux could’ve lightened up a bit sooner in the story because I wasn’t feeling it by the time he had to fix things and make everything better. I enjoyed the humorous parts of the story a lot and that’s what will make me remember the book.

📚 ~ Yolanda

BLOG TOUR} Meet Me in London by. Georgia Toffolo | ARC Review

Welcome to the blog tour for Meet Me in London by. Georgia Toffolo!

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Meet Me in London

Author: Georgia Toffolo

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 9/28/21

Publisher: HQN

Categories: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fake Engagement

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to HQN for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

What do you do when your fake engagement starts to feel too real…

Aspiring clothes designer Victoria Scott spends her days working in a bar in Chelsea and her evenings designing vintage clothes, dreaming of one day opening her own boutique. But these aspirations are under threat from the new department store opening at the end of her road. She needs a Christmas miracle, but one is not forthcoming.

Oliver Russell’s Christmas is not looking very festive right now. His family’s new London department store opening is behind schedule, and on top of that his interfering, if well-meaning, mother is pressing him to introduce his girlfriend to her over the holidays—a girlfriend who does not exist. He needs a diversion…something to keep his mother from meddling while he focuses on the business.

When Oliver meets Victoria, he offers a proposition: pretend to be his girlfriend at the opening of his store and he will provide an opportunity for Victoria to showcase her designs. But what starts as a business arrangement soon becomes something more tempting as the fake relationship starts to feel very real. But when secrets in Victoria’s past are exposed, will Oliver walk away, or will they both follow their hearts and find what neither knew they were looking for…?

I definitely get the holiday romance vibes in this story with the setting of London and the department store. I can picture Christmas in London being very romantic!

Victoria as a character has some sad history, she’s struggling to make her dreams come true as a fashion designer. On the other hand, Oliver is a wealthy business man who conveniently is helping his family open up a new department store – I think you can guess how this one plays out!

The romance is predictable because it’s a fake dating story so we already know what happens there but they had good chemistry in and outside of the bedroom. You definitely see the attraction grows since they have to pretend to be engaged.

Content Warnings: accident trauma

I didn’t connect to the characters and the story was quite predictable but it’s a quick, holiday romance read so I took it for what it was.

Why you should read it:

holiday romance story
fake dating trope
Christmas setting in London

Why you might not want to read it:

predictable

My Thoughts:

This one wasn’t for me even though I think it would make a really good holiday romance movie on Hallmark channel or Netflix. It’s got the setting and story right for a holiday romance, I just wish I could connect more to the characters.

📚 ~ Yolanda

About the Author:

Georgia Toffolo is a broadcaster and TV personality. She has been a firm favourite with the public right from the start of her TV debut, Made in Chelsea, all the way to winning over the hearts of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in 2018.

Georgia turned her eye to fashion and has curated two sell out collections with fashion retailer Shein. An ambassador for many British brands, both large and small, Georgia has also collaborated with Dyson, Baileys, Emma Bridgewater, Great British Racing, Foreo and Malibu amongst many more.

Most recently, Georgia has dived into the world of fiction by publishing her debut novel Meet Me in London with publishing house Mills and Boon. This is the first of an original series of four books following a group of lifelong friends and bringing personal anecdotes to life with humour and charm.

The Love Con by. Seressia glass | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Love Con

Author: Seressia Glass

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 12/14/21

Publisher: Berkley Books

Categories: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Cosplay, Friends to Lovers, Fake Dating

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

He’s cosplaying as her boyfriend but their feelings for each other are real in this romantic comedy from Seressia Glass.

Sometimes Kenya Davenport believes she was switched at the hospital–how else could a lover of anime, gaming, and cosplay come from STEM parents? Still, Kenya dreams of being able to turn her creative hobby into a career. She finally has a chance to make it big when she joins the reality show competition Cosplay or No Way.

There’s just one catch: the challenge for the final round is all about iconic pairs, and the judges want the contestants’ significant others to participate. Unfortunately, Kenya is as single as can be at the moment. Luckily her best friend, Cameron Lassiter, agrees to be her fake boyfriend for the show.
Roleplaying a couple in love will force them to explore what they’re hiding under the mask of friendship. Can Kenya and Cam fake it until she makes it, or will she be real about her feelings, knowing it could cost her the best friend she’s ever had?

This book caught my eye because of the very colorful cover and the synopsis about two cosplayers falling in love! I’ve never read a book about cosplayers before so this is a first for me and it was delightful!

I like Kenya a lot because she’s beautiful, fierce, unique, creative, plus size and confident! She has her insecurities, especially when her parents are grilling her about her future, but for the most part Kenya is mentally strong and she has to be because she is in a high stakes television competition and in the final round.

Her love interest is her best friend and fellow cosplayer, Cameron. She doesn’t know he’s been into her for a long while now, but he’s hoping the fake dating will help her imagine him as a something more and a potential real boyfriend. This boy is crazy about her and I love how he helps her make her dreams come true. Cam is there to defend her, help her, calm her down, protect her and he even lets her grow. He is a keeper!

If the best friend vibes is the sweetest, then let me tell you that the physical attraction between them is the hottest. Problems arise when Kenya’s parents get involved, Cam’s ex and the show trying to cause drama but they navigate it with an awesome communication session.

As for the cosplay stuff, I thought it was a cool competition and different! There is so much work that goes into cosplay so I’m glad it got a spotlight in this book.

Content Warnings: microaggressions

Kenya is black and plus sized and she deals with a lot of microaggressions from one of the judges on the show, a producer from the show and Cam’s ex. Kenya has to rise above it all or else they paint her as the angry black female on the competition. She is strong and I can see why Cam is deeply in love with her. Kenya really is a queen.

This is a quick read and the fake dating starts almost right away, there is no build up at all – so I had to get my bearings a little but we get lots of information later about Cam and Kenya’s relationship and get a good feel for their friendship.

Why you should read it:

diverse
cosplay
friends to lovers, fake dating romance
Kenya is fabulous

Why you might not want to read it:

needs more build up to their attraction, it’s instant

My Thoughts:

I like that this was something different for me, in that the two main characters are into cosplay. It was fun to see them in the process of building the costumes and seeing their friendship turn into physical attraction and love. I enjoyed Kenya’s character a lot! She is amazing and I can see why Cam is in love with her, and vice versa. This one is a light read and left me feeling happy for the couple at the end.

📚 ~ Yolanda