Releases 19 March
Pre-order: Amazon
Review
3 stars
This is a sweet, fun read. A sort-of-friends-to-lovers romance with fake relationship/forced proximity vibes, it’s fun and entertaining with likeable characters and a slow-burning love story.
Sloane is a doomsday prepping gamer who is in the running for her dream job as a designer at a hugely successful video game company. With promises to her potential new bosses to remain single and without outside entanglements, she is sent away to design a new game within a week as part of the final part of her interview.
And then Charlie comes along. After an unexpected meet-cute, Charlie and Sloane learn that they are neighbours, and they’re about to get a whole lot closer when Charlie invites Sloane along on a tropical island holiday that he had booked for him and his ex-girlfriend. He wants to make her jealous, and asks Sloane to pose as his girlfriend for the week. Sloane figures she can use the week to design and build her game, plus she gets a holiday, so she agrees, and the two near-strangers/almost-friends head off for a week in a romantic resort.
This book is full of fun, chemistry-filled moments as Charlie and Sloane spend time together, laugh, play, and get to know each other. There are some really fun and sweet moments, and you can see behind the scenes that feelings are developing, and there’s a fantastic slow burn as they wrestle with their growing feelings for each other.
But Charlie is fresh off a break-up, and Sloane is still burned from her last relationship. Then there’s the general turmoil of her life at present, her interfering, demanding mother, and the stress of building her game, getting her dream job, and the terms of employment that she agreed to.
There’s a lot to overcome, and there is some drama to wade through before these two can get their HEA. I found it a bit frustrating, and wanted to give them both a push, but the romance does come – sweet, sexy and heartfelt – along with some character growth for both of them, and the story ends really nicely.
I’d be inclined to say he changed me. But if I really look, I know that’s not true. He didn’t change me. He made me more deeply who I am and have been afraid to be.
This is a smart and fun read. A bit lighter on the romance than I usually prefer, but I enjoyed it.
3 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.