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Review
3.5 stars
A brand new book from Kristen Callihan, this is a childhood friends-to-lovers, unrequited yearning, fake-engagement sports romance with heaps of chemistry and an emotional slow-burning romance. It’s the first of what I hope will be a series, and I really enjoyed this story.
Penelope and August grew up together. Their mothers were best friends, and Penelope became part of the extended tribe with August and his four siblings. She was actually closest with his younger brother and two younger sisters, but Pen and August crushed on each other from afar, and when they run into each other as adults, they find themselves in a position to help each other out. August is an NFL player with a partyboy reputation who needs to settle down, and Pen has just inherited her grandparent’s beloved home and needs help paying the property tax to keep it. When August offers to help her out financially if she pretends to be his fiancé, she agrees, and it’s all on.
From the very beginning, this ‘relationship’ is more real than it is fake. Pen and August have great chemistry, and you can see how much they care for each other, it just takes a while for them to be brave enough to act on it. In the meantime, we get lots of sweet moments, friendly banter and public displays of affection while we wait for them to open their eyes and see what’s right in front of them.
When the romance comes, it’s sexy and intense with lots of emotion, and these two are SO freaking cute together! There’s an easiness between them that is reflective of their long history, and they slip into ‘real’ so effortlessly, like it was always meant to be. They do have challenges to overcome, but it’s all external to the relationship, and I loved seeing them work through it and find their way forward together.
As much as I loved this story, I had some issues with the pacing and this book was way longer than it needed to be. I appreciate a good slow burn, but this one dragged. There was a lot of detail that wasn’t necessary, and I did find myself zoning out a bit. But overall, it’s an enjoyable story, and I loved seeing August and Pen get their happy ending.
August’s siblings are a fantastic bunch! They’re funny with a fantastic family dynamic, and there are some very obvious set-ups for this to turn into a series, and I am very excited to read more.
3.5 stars.
I listened to this as an audiobook narrated by the fabulous Teddy Hamilton and Maxine Mitchell, and they do a great job. Their narration keeps the story moving quickly, which I appreciated.