This was a charming, mostly lighthearted romance with a believable take on a Bachelor-esque blind date meeting, playing with tropes and cliches in a realistic way. I'm not ashamed to admit I wanted to read this because there's a dog in it, and thankfully I was not disappointed by the amount of cute puppy moments in this story! I wasn't convinced however by the conflict that seemed manufactured to break them apart during their getaway - the intensity of the reactions on both sides seemed over the top and intended to create drama, rather than a natural emotional reaction. I also had a hard time believing they had such instantaneous chemistry, but was pleased when much of the book was actually spent with Ryan and Jason getting to know each other. Dating Ryan Alback was a pleasant, relaxing read, if not particularly memorable, and I would be interested in seeing what this author does next.

A teacher and an actor. A disastrous date. Kisses for days! Sexy times! The perfect combination for a few hours of cheesiness and giggling. Exactly what I needed.

From the cover I knew I was going to like this book. It looked so funny and refreshing it was impossible for it to be bad. I trust a good cover and when on it there is a picture of the characters it’s easier to imagine them during the story.

One thing: one of the characters is Mexican and he is described as having dark skin and curly hair. The guy has a specific description and I wonder why they didn’t choose a dark skinned latino guy for the cover. As a quite pale latina myself, I know we come in every color and shape but Jason wasn’t written like that. I don’t know the dynamics or the costs for models and cover designs but I don’t think it was going to be hard to find someone that matched the description. In my head I adapted his appearance and it was way better.

Let’s meet the boys. Men, they are grown up men but they are so cute and fluffy that I can’t help treating them as big babies. I don’t care if it’s a little bit creepy. They’re close to my age so it’s not that bad, right? Let’s go with that.

Ryan Alback is an actor and he is gay. He became famous thanks to a tv show he did when he was younger. Now he is an adult and is trying new roles. He lives in New York with his dog and is playing a teacher in a new tv show. He is single, he doesn’t trust easily and he cares a lot, let me repeat it A LOT, about his privacy.

Jason Santos is a teacher and he is gay. He had his heart shattered after a very long relationship and now he lives only for his work and a start up still without funding that will help children deal with separation from a relative due to immigration problems. He is single and he thinks he forgot how to flirt and get a boyfriend.

Events set by a talk show and a very good friend of Jason bring the two of them together for a weekend in Vermont. What’s more romantic than that? Obviously they are going to like each other. If only things were that easy. I could only hope they were. Things happen, tears show, mud is involved and of course the dreaded misunderstandings. I hate it when someone don’t listen to the other side of a story and just assumes the worst. Why? There is a reason but, still, why?

This book is sweet and it has little drama. It has cuddles, kisses, sexy times and two very adorable human beings living very different lives. They both have pasts they are struggling with and they will have to let go and move on if they want to find happiness with themselves and with each other. The happy ending won’t happen without little set backs, that’s for sure, but we get to see them having a pretty good time together, and that’s nice! Recommended for sure!

I must admit that I found the premise of this book fairly unique.

I can't tell you how many times have I've finished a book and thought, "Hmm, that was probably the 5th time that I've read some variation of that same story, just retold by a different author."

Well, I can't really remember any of my previous reads that were too close to this same premise, at least not with quite the same twists, which was refreshing.

Ryan is an actor in a hit TV show, and a bit of a recluse. He loves being on screen, but hates being in the public spotlight.

So you can probably imagine how Ryan feels when a TV talk show host conspires to help Ryan's love life and his agent agrees to a blind date setup -- without Ryan's consent.

Jason is a teacher with hopes of starting up a non-profit to help separated immigrant families, and also a bit of a recluse. He loves working with his students, but hates being the center of attention.

However, when Jason's well-intentioned, extremely persistent best friend agrees to keep her nose out of his romantic life for the rest of the school year, if he will allow her to enter him in a talk show's celebrity dating contest, he whole-heartedly agrees. I mean, out of several hundred entries, he's not going to win, right?

In the words of one Tangerine Twatwaffle, "Wrong." ;- )

This was such a cute story, with both men dreading the Vermont weekend getaway 'date' set up by the talk show, but quickly realizing that, in spite of their unconventional meeting, they do have a genuine connection. One that could continue long past their obligatory weekend.

But fate (and paparazzi) conspire against them, so the weekend ends on an extremely sour note, with both men thinking that's it. Except that it's not. Not by a long shot.

I loved how this story played out on page. With the advice of his best friend, Ryan realized that he should have given Jason the benefit of the doubt and trusted him. And, after explaining why he's so distrustful, Jason realized that Ryan really did deserve a second chance.

This story had several ups and downs, but more highs than lows, so it was a very feel-good read, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

As far as sexy times, there were a few, but I wouldn't really categorize this one as an overly steamy read with long, drawn-out, dirty details on-page. This story was definitely more adorable than hot.

If I had any complaints, I'd have to say that the pacing was a little slow during the middle and the presence of the 'scared of his own shadow' dog wasn't entirely necessary, but neither of those niggles turned out to be a deal breaker for me.

This one did end with the MC's planning a life together; however, the concrete details as to how the logistics of how they'd have an entirely 'shared' life, full time, in the same city, wasn't entirely addressed, which left me wanting a few more details there.

Overall, I'd rate this one at around 4.25 *once-bitten-twice-shy* stars and highly recommend it.

There's a lot to be said for cute, and this book is that. I read through it quickly and enjoyed it for the most part.

It's low on the angst and high on the fluff. The steam is perfunctory at best, but I didn't miss it, probably because I thought the MCs lacked chemistry and oomph.

Ryan is an actor who values his privacy above all else. A long-ago boyfriend burned him, and he has serious trust issues.

Jason is a middle school teacher who's sick of his friend meddling in his love life. He agrees to enter a contest for a date with Ryan Alback if she'll just stop hounding him. He doesn't think there's a chance in hell he'll win. He's wrong.

All the interactions between Jason and Ryan felt slightly awkward. Jason is still sort of pining for his ex-boyfriend, who left him after seven years together. And Ryan cannot relax enough to enjoy his time with Jason; it's like he's waiting for the other shoe to drop.

When a tabloid runs a story about Jason and Ryan's date, quoting Jason, Ryan assumes the worst, and he's a massive douche about it.

I was never bored with the story, but I wasn't super engaged in the relationship either. Some of the plot points felt contrived or unnecessary.

Jason's ex showing up? Contrived. The mystery of the tabloid leaks? Kind of ridiculous, to be honest. The dramatic incident at Jason's school? Yeah, that totally did not fit the mood of the story.

I wouldn't call the ending a HEA. It was never clear to me how the MCs were going to make the relationship work. Were they even living together? *shrugs* The details were hazy.

Also, Ryan has a dog, Alby, a Golden Retriever mutt. I j'adore dogs, but Alby didn't feel real to me. His personality didn't come alive. It made me think of Lane Hayes' The Wrong Man and Mack, Jake's loyal senior dog, who was a MC in his own right. I read that book two years ago, and I still remember Mack. Alby felt like a prop. Too bad.

In summary: low steam, some Awww moment, no major editing issues, sweet but forgettable.

Dating Ryan Alback,  J.E. Birk

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  Romance, LGBTQIA

A new-to-me author so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It sounded fun, and was, but I found it a little too sweet, cutesy.
A good read, just not a great one for me. That’s fine though, others love sweet’n’light, cute’n’fluffy.

I liked both characters, there wasn’t anything to dislike. The setting, how they met, was a little stretching credulity to think either would do that when they both value their privacy, but the reasons given helped.
I could see why they’d connect, but though I felt a good friendship between them I didn’t feel the love, sexual tension, must-be-together feeling I need in romances.

When it went wrong, well I could see why Ryan reacted that way, but he was a bit OTT knowing only too well how the media screw things up, print anything regardless of the truth just to make money. I didn’t feel his past excused his antagonistic reaction. He’d been let down badly by a lover – it happens, and it was wrong to still be reactive, rather than proactive and his agent and friends were advising. Then to behave so callously to Jason. #justnoton

Then Jason, he’d also got a difficult past, but I felt he was far too forgiving when Ryan eventually came calling. It just didn't feel right, I felt he should have held back more, make Ryan realise just how badly his actions hurt.

Family and friends on both sides added to the “cute” feel, they were all supportive, loving, protective, and that part felt detached from real life where sadly so much prejudice goes on, so many people are vicious gossips, always put to knock people down.

It was a sweet story, cute characters, a HEA but too sweet, too nice for me to rate higher than a three, I needed more connection between them and more angst.
Its exactly what some readers want though, look at any book and you’ll see some love it and others hate it for exactly the same reasons. this isn’t one for me to keep but may be just what you’re looking for.

Stars: Three, a happy read, but too nice for me to keep, just a one off read.

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers