This one was so good! The story will just warm your heart! I liked the audio and enjoyed the banter between the characters. I would recommend this one!

Love in Tandem is a wonderful story by a new to me author, Becca Kinzer. Truly, words will not convey how delightful this story is. I cannot recall a time, ever, when I have laughed out loud so hard, or so many times, as I did in this story. It is a tongue in cheek, witty rom-com. Charlotte is loyal, through and through, to her hometown and her family. She works hard to keep the music program running for the kids at school and is willing to do just about anything to keep it from being shut down. She is not a fan, in any way, shape, or form, of the outdoors until she finds out it is the only way to save her beloved music program. Not that she is looking forward to the 500-mile tandem bike challenge, but her love for the music program outweighs her dislike for the outdoors. Lucky for her, Zach loves the outdoors and has committed his life to working in the outdoors, particularly anywhere but home. Together they set out, having no idea the twists and turns they would face in pursuit of this challenge. There are some serious undertones that are balanced perfectly by the sweet romance and never-ending comedy. I am so excited for more stories by this author. A new favorite. I had the additional privilege of hearing the story come to life via audiobook narrated by C.J. Bloom.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

It doesn’t get better than this for a fake dating trope: Charlotte’s ex fiancé, Ben, left her at the altar 2 years ago. Now Ben’s marrying his brother Zach’s ex-girlfriend. When Charlotte and Zach are mistaken for a couple, hilarity ensues, throwing them into a series of humorous situations and an epic adventure: a 500 mile tandem bike trip to win money for Charlotte’s music program.

This is Becca Kinzer’s second book, and I loved it even more than her first. Kinzer writes the most endearing & quirky characters that are laugh-out-loud entertaining. While Charlotte and Zach are the main focus of this book, the side characters Kinzer includes are an amusing supporting cast. If Gilmore Girls was still airing, she could write the quirky townspeople just as perfectly as Amy Sherman-Palladino.

When I first started the book, I assumed that the majority of it would be about the tandem bike ride, but I’m actually glad it was only the second half. The first half was hilarious and totally set up the characters and circumstances perfectly. Some of my favorite parts were in the first half, but that ending though was SO good!

Here are some things I loved in this book:
- The witty banter 🔥
- The entire Melba situation had me cracking up
- Charlotte & Zach’s hilarious first encounter
- Pretty much every mishap along the bike route
- The thunder storm
- The “tandem” storyline with Sophie
- I swooned at the last line of Chapter 56 💕

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did a great job! Highly recommend!

Intimacy: Sweet kisses only
Language: none

Thank you to Tyndale, Becca Kinzer & Netgalley for the audiobook arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

When I read the summary for this book, I immediately wanted to read it. There were so many times that I found myself laughing out loud with the crazy predicaments Charlotte and Zach found themselves in on their journey.
The whole premise of this book was funny. Charlotte is not an outdoors person, but she is willing to be one in order to save her school’s music program, with the help of Zach, her exact opposite in every way. Not to mention, he is her ex-fiance’s brother. While they are on the bike ride, Sophie and Josh are trying to find the prize money, which is hidden somewhere. I loved that there were two sides to the story, and it was written so well, and flowed so easily, that I could actually envision it playing on a screen. I listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator, CJ Bloom, was phenomenal. The book is told from three perspectives in third person. It alternates between Charlotte, Zach, and Sophie.
I loved the chemistry between Zach and Charlotte. Even in the very beginning, you can feel the tension between them, even though they tried to fight it because of their differences. If you like a clean, funny romance with opposites who agree to fake date, this is a book for you!

A fun, fast and refreshing listen! I loved the characters and the premise of this book! Kind of enemies to lovers troupe! Done so well and I loved the narrator!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I was a bit worried after requesting this book that it would be too much God and Jesus because it was listed as a Christian read. But it mostly was talking about a faith in God. Charlotte finally landed her dream job teaching music in a school. When the school decides to close the program because of lack of funding, Charlotte takes it upon herself to find the money. Zach is in town to attend his brother’s wedding (Charlotte is his brothers ex-fiancé). When they hear about a 500 mile tandem bike race to win $250,000, they sign up for it. The close proximity (I mean stuck on a tandem bike for 500 miles…) and the mishaps along the way made for some great situations and banter. The characters were adorable and I loved the themes of family and indoor vs outdoor people. There were many swoon worthy moments in this clean romance. I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator did a great job.

I absolutely loved Love In Tandem.
I fell in love with Zack & Charlotte.
This is such a cute story and I found myself laughing many times while listening this story.

Narrator did a great job.
Highly recommended!

Thank you Tyndale & NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook of Love in Tandem by Becca Kinzer.

A story of a 500-mile tandem bike trip with someone you haven't spoken to in years. Charlotte is determined to raise money for a music program for the school. A recluse in their small town made up a crazy chance to win $250,000. The catch is that you have to be a couple, you must bike 500 miles on a tandem bike and finish the adventure is a certain amount of time.

I felt like this book would skip a lot. An event would happen then they would reference back to it instead of having you actually be there. The beginning was confusing with the whole bridesmaid thing.

I did enjoy the banter and sweet ways Zach took care of her and respected her boundaries. This book does talk about cancer.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this audio arc!

This was such a cute wholesome fun read. I enjoyed it! Just a cute pallet cleaner. Quick and easy read. I loved the story.

OH, what a ride this book was! (pun intended 😉) I absolutely loved everything about it. It was incredibly fun, lighthearted, and witty, I burst out laughing on multiple occasions.
I did not realize it was a Christian romance, and as someone who does not practice that faith, it did not bother me at all. I felt it was done tastefully and not trying to shove the religion down my throat. The few mentioned of Faith, really could resonate with just about anyone in terms of what it is they believe in.

The dialogue between the sisters was hysterical, and it reminded me a bit of Gilmore Girls with how fast they were talking and producing quick banter. I do have to say though that as much as I loved the internal dialogue from everyone, I often felt like it would get in the way of the conversations happening. Meaning there would be a conversation and Charlotte would go off about something in her head, and it was often too long to the point where I would be internally yelling “just get on with the conversation” – not a deal breaker for me but just something I picked up on.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Tandem Challenge, I thought this was incredibly unique and as someone who has never thought of doing anything like that, I enjoyed listening about it. Charlotte and Zack's Chemistry was off the CHARTS to me from the start and all I have to say is opposites ATTRACT. Even though they wanted two totally different lives, you FELT the need for them to be together.

One thing I didn’t enjoy (and I honestly could kick myself for saying this, but I can’t help it) is as much as I loved Sophia and found her hysterical, I really did not care for her Character subplot. I found my mind drifting off during those chapters and felt it was just added to fill in space? Fell a bit flat for me and just wanted to focus on Charlotte and Zack….because YUM.

While many (& many) moments of this book gave me some anxiety, majority of it completely swept me off my feet. Them being: The rain kiss (omg), The “I Love You” confession (absolute swoon and unexpected but such a realistic way when you feel so strongly for someone), Her being the job interview he was attending (shook)… just to name the big ones 😊 I completely melted for these moments and wanted them to never end. Also, I audibly GASPED when you find out her mother is pregnant. What a wonderful plot twist!!! Hahaha

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and incredibly grateful to have been given the opportunity to read it with NetGalley. I will be recommending it to anyone interested in an easy, funny, light read!

*I listed to the Audio version of this book*

This was a hard book for me to get into. I loved the premise, loved the narration, but the story itself just fell flat for me. I don't mind christian books at all, as I am a practicing christian, but there were elements of the story that didn't feel right for me.

I think other people might enjoy his book, it just wasnt for me.

I loved this premise as I too have taken an epic bike ride similar to the one described in this book with my husband and found a lot of that journey very relatable. There was just a lot going on though outside of that story and some of it got ridiculous but not in a funny romcom way. I did like Zach and Charlotte together and that part of the story was sweet. The third point of view (I think it is a spoiler to share where and who that comes in) just made things more complicated. I see what the author was trying to do but it didn’t land quite right with me. I also thought a little more backstory on Charlotte’s brother (or maybe just leave him out of the story…) could have helped but I just had a lot of questions.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the audiobook. The thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Content Notes: Kisses

⭐⭐⭐💫 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This was really so cute and a quick, fun, lighthearted read! I didn't realize when I requested this book that it was the same author that wrote Dear Henry, Love Edith, which I enjoyed, but did fall slightly flat for me, similar to this one.

Overall, I'm not quite sure how to articulate how it fell flat, but it just started to lag when Charlotte and Zach were on their bike trip when just EVERYTHING started going wrong and they couldn't catch a break. It just felt so unrealistic and dragged out a long time imho.

One thing I did really enjoy was the dual romance plots between Charlotte and Zach and Sophia and Clark Kent lookalike. I didn't *love* Sophia's subplot, but thought it was fun.

Overall, this is a great lighthearted, Christian fiction romance where you can just turn your brain off and enjoy the ride (pun intended).

No language, no explicit romantic content (there is a steamier make out scene, and one character sees another in a tiny towel but that was more humorous than steamy lol)

All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you so much to Tyndale House publishers and NetGalley for an audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review!

I devoured this book! Going into it I didn’t realize it was a Christian romance, which is my fault it does clearly state that in the description, so when I picked up on that I was worried about how that would affect my enjoyment. I struggle with religion and faith for almost the same reason as our mmc, so I actually enjoyed his parts of the story a lot more. Now, if you’re someone who isn’t overly religious, or someone who doesn’t enjoy that, it isn’t too much! I loved how sweet this story was. I literally laughed out loud in parts

Omg loved this book! What a funny and cute read! This book has me laughing frequently and thinking about the characters long after I finished reading. 10/10 recommend

This was one of the funniest books that I've read in a while. Charlotte and Zach have a habit of getting themselves into some pretty zany situations, like participating in a 500 mile cross country race together on a tandem bike. These situations lead to adorable banter and ultimately bring them closer together.

I did not realize that this book was a Christian romance until the end. While religion plays a part in the story, it is not being pushed on the reader. God and faith does not become an actual plot point until toward the third act of the book, and even then the references are subtle. However, the mention of God might be a turn off to some other readers who find this book out in the wild (bookstore, etc), as the cover looks like a traditional romcom.

CJ Bloom was an amazing narrator. She really brought all of the characters to life.

A special thanks to NetGalley for allowing me the honor of reading Love in Tandem.

⭐⭐⭐⭐"Love In Tandem" by Becca Kinzer is a delightful, clean, and sweet romance that will warm your heart. Kinzer's skillful storytelling and charming characters make for an enjoyable read that is perfect for cozying up with on a lazy afternoon. The romance between the protagonists unfolds with a tender innocence that is both endearing and refreshing. What sets this book apart is its commitment to keeping the romance clean and free from unnecessary drama. While it may not have the intense passion of some romances, "Love In Tandem" more than makes up for it with its heartwarming storyline and genuine emotional connection between the characters. If you're in the mood for a feel-good romance that will leave you with a smile on your face, "Love In Tandem" is the perfect choice.

This was a cute, quick read that I enjoyed more than I anticipated. The banter between the two main characters was great and added humor to the story. I was almost turned off by the fact this was advertised as a “Christian Romance” and
I am not particularly religious/comfortable with religious elements, however the description (and honestly the cover lol) convinced me to give it a go. The “faith aspect” of the book is not overpowering and if anything leaves it up to the reader to interpret what “faith” is referring to as there are very few references to God and Christianity (which I was happy with, I like how the element of faith could be interpreted in different ways).

Overall, I would describe this as a “clean” contemporary romance with witty banter similar to Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez reads (which I love) just without the spice.

*ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

This book came onto my radar via NetGalley, which is how I received my ARC for review. Candidly, I was first drawn to this book because of the super cute cover. The premise of forced proximity on a tandem bike adventure sounded fun for the two main characters who join forces when their respective exes tie the knot. Unfortunately, this book fell a bit short for me. The biking challenge sets up the fake dating trope, and collective competition for a monetary prize (turned treasure hunt) provides fodder for bonding. Yet, I was surprised the tandem bike trip didn’t even start until over 40% of the way into the book. I think it may have benefited from some quirky side characters. I didn’t love the FMC as she seemed a bit whiny or wimpy at times, though this could be a reflection of the audio narration. I did love the kiss in the rain! Overall, the book is a standard, tame romcom with a Christian FMC that readers in search of a closed door, chaste connection will enjoy.

Calling something “Christian” lit can be pretty misleading and reductive. For people of faith, their beliefs are central to their lives and not some topical overlay to a story. I think Kinzer does a good job of reflecting that reality. The characters struggle with real problems (even if in a rather outrageous scenario!) and consider their obstacles from a Biblical perspective. Their encounters with faith are woven into every component of their daily lives because that’s reality. This could easily have fit alongside popular contemporary rom coms, but I’m afraid that it’ll be marginalized and only marketed to Christians. At the same time, it is nice to know that this is a book that I can easily recommend to my students who are both believers and romance readers. It has gotten so hard to point them to books that aren’t NSFW (or the classroom), so having this text on hand will allow me to share a delightful story with some avid and enthusiastic readers! I am looking forward to reading more from Kinzer!