Hallie Piper is turning over a new leaf. After belly-crawling out of a hotel room (hello, rock bottom), she decides it’s time to become a full-on adult. She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe, but when she logs onto the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she snuck out of.
After agreeing they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie realize they’re each other’s perfect wing-person in their searches for The One. They text each other about their dates, often scheduling them at the same restaurant so that if things don’t go well, the two of them can get tacos afterward.
Spoiler: they get a lot of tacos together.
Discouraged by the lack of prospects, Jack and Hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off. As they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they both struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.
Release Date: Mar 14, 2023
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $10.99
“He didn’t know how it’d happened, but she’d completely taken over his brain. Every morning when he went for a run,she was what he was thinking about. And he spent way too much time every day trying to figure out what the hell to do about it. Because the bottom line was that even though he had feelings for her beyond friendship, it might not be worth it to do anything about it if that meant risking everything else they had.”
Hallie Piper’s life went down the drain when her ex-boyfriend dumped her, and after a one-night stand, she decides it is time to get her life together. She quits her part-time jobs, moves into her own apartment, and joins a dating app to find Mr. Perfect.
Jack Marshall can’t believe he finds Hallie Piper on a dating app after their one-night stand, but they strike up a friendship and make a bet. Whoever finds love first on the dating app gets something from the other. When neither finds a date in time for Hallie’s sister’s wedding, she and Jack pretend to be a couple, but things don’t feel pretend between them for long.
I loved the first book, and I loved this one too. There was great banter between Jack and Hallie, and we got to watch them go from strangers to best friends to lovers. The progression of their relationship felt like the most natural thing in the world. I was able to watch them develop feeling for each other and felt their wariness at acting on them because of their fear of losing each other when things didn’t work out. As Jack and Hallie figure out, love is worth the risk when that person is perfect for you. This series has been extremely entertaining and endearing. I can’t wait for it to continue and to dig into Lynn Painter’s backlist.
If you’re a fan of Meghan Quinn or Ilsa Madden-Mills, then give this series a try. I don’t think you would regret picking it up.
~ Michelle
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