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

While You Were Sleeping meets The Wedding Date with a fun Puerto Rican holiday twist in NYT and USA Today bestselling author Ginny Baird’s latest romance, in which a diner waitress agrees to be her patron’s fake date…only for him to land in a coma and her to be stuck playing his sweetheart with his family all week long.

Lonely-hearted waitress Katie Smith has nowhere to go for Christmas, and a huge crush on her gorgeous diner patron Juan Martinez. So when Juan asks Katie to pose as his girlfriend for holiday festivities at his family’s winery, Katie leaps at the chance…that is, until an accident lands Juan in a coma right after giving his folks the “news.” Katie knows she should tell the Martinezes the truth, but when they immediately embrace her, Katie is reluctant to let her fantasy of a family holiday go. And then there’s Juan’s brother, Mateo, whose smile tugs at her heartstrings just right―and who tells her perfect Juan might not be everything he seems. Second son Mateo Martinez loves his brother, but Juan’s plan to “rebrand and expand” Los Cielos Cellars has cost their family too much and put its entire tradition in jeopardy. Katie seems to understand, but she’s still committed to Juan…even when Mateo starts to wish her gentle heart and beautiful smile were committed to him instead. With the winery at stake, secrets on all sides, and Juan due to wake up any day, can Katie and Mateo follow their hearts to a Christmas miracle, or will this mix-up ruin their chances?

Content Warning:

I grew up watching rom-coms like While You Were Sleeping and this book definitely follows the script!

Katie is a waitress who has a crush on her customer, Juan and he asks her to be his fake girlfriend for Christmas. But before they can even carry their plan out, there is a freak accident and Juan is in a coma. Juan’s family believes Katie is his girlfriend and she goes along with it. What she didn’t expect being around Juan’s family was having her fall for his brother Matteo instead.

I got lots of While You Were Sleeping similarities in this book and knew how the story would end but I still thought it was cute. It’s a light hearted read and set leading up to Christmas.

I did like the family themes and the cast of characters in Matteo’s family. As for the romance, though it was cute and I knew how it would end – I kind of wanted more from Katie and Matteo. I just thought they were a little bland. There’s no steam between them, just some kisses but it makes for a wholesome holiday romance.

Tropes: chaste romance, falling for the brother of the guy in the coma, fake girlfriend

My Final Thoughts:

You will definitely like this if you are a fan of the movie While You Were Sleeping. This one was a sweet, light-hearted holiday romance heavy on family themes.

Book Links:

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Right Girl, Wrong Side by. Ginny Baird | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫