Jessica Lemmon does a wonderful job writing a delicious story with great lines and unforgettable characters. I enjoyed every minute of this witty, flirty story filled with bantering and sarcastic remarks. This is the fourth book in the Real Love series and it is a standalone.

Catarina loves her job as a reporter for the online newspaper, The Columbus Community Chat. However, she is not happy with her current assignment. Her boss wants her to go on six dates with Barrett Fox and than write about the experience. Catarina is beautiful, rigid and guarded and from the moment she meets Barrett, she hates his egotistical attitude and she doesn’t trust him. But as time goes on, Catarina starts to enjoy their time together. Catarina discovers Barrett has many layers and many good qualities.

Barrett was a popular Ohio State football player who made it into the NFL, only to suffer a career ending injury. Barrett is trying to get back his sideline reporting job, so he agrees to write stories about dating a reporter. Barrett is gorgeous and used to getting any woman he wants. It surprises him when Catarina doesn’t immediately fall under his spell. He admires Catarina’s spunk and enjoys making inappropriate remarks just to rile her.

I enjoyed reading about Catarina and Barrett. They bicker, banter and drive each other crazy as they fall in love. Even though they are total opposites, they somehow click. I love everything about Barrett. He is a smooth talker and sweet and vulnerable behind his arrogant attitude. This is a fun, sweet and sexy story.

Rumor Has It is about a journalist who primarily writes about relationships and has been setup by her boss to engage in a fake relationship with former NFL player, Barrett Fox. He was fired from his past job due to making misogynistic comments about a female referee. This column is supposed to help with Barrett's image that has taken a considerable hit. Catarina treats him with disdain from the start and who could blame her? Barrett was unlikeable and tolerable. As the story goes on, they warm up to one another and it's clear that feelings are involved.

I thought the writing was good and I liked Catarina a lot. She was stuck in a relationship with North, who seemed like the perfect man on paper. She comes from a wealthy family but still manages to have a career of her own in which she excels. Barrett was hard to like. I sympathized with his rough upbringing but it was no excuse for him to treat women the way he did. He groped a lady at a restaurant and made a misogynistic comment to a female referee. Those character traits didn't sit well with him. I did eventually warm up to him. They were a great pair and the chemistry was good too. All in all, the book was solid that could've used a few changes to the male character.

Barrett Fox needs to redeem himself, if he ever wants a job in broadcasting. After he lost his job playing for the Miami Dolphins with a career ending shoulder injury, he went back to his stomping grounds at Ohio State University as a broadcaster. Then his temper got the best of him, or the worst, when he said horrible things to a female referee on live TV, after what he felt was a bad call. Now he’s getting a second chance, writing a relationship column for the Columbus Chronicle, with a beautiful journalist, Catarina Everhart. He’s supposed to date this journalist and they in turn write their own columns about their date. The only problem is, Catarina can’t stand him.
After Catarina is given her new assignment, she tries everything to get out of it, however, Mia her boss, will not allow it. Barrett is most infuriating man she’s ever met. It seems he’s doing everything in his power to get her riled up. However things start to change her point of view. He is really a kind, caring individual. Also, he can kiss your thoughts away to where you forget everything.
What starts out as a job ends up like a fairy tale. You will laugh and swoon in this fabulous story.

I have conflicting emotions towards this novel. On the positive side, it was well written. The author is a skilled writer with a smooth easy style and I flew through the pages without even realizing I had read so much.

That being said, I didn’t particularly like the couple. Not only did they lack chemistry, I felt any interest they did have in each other was purely physical because she was “just so beautiful” and he was “so hot.” The hero was obnoxious and annoyed the heroine just to annoy her. What is this fifth grade? But of course, she falls for him because he’s so attractive.

What really ruined it for me was the climax. Since the only conflict was the lead couple itself, of course, there had to be some sort of climatic conflict. That being said, I couldn’t wrap around my head around what caused them to argue and split. Legitimately, it was such a weak and sorry excuse for a “betrayal of a dark dirty secret” that I seriously laughed out loud until I realized the author was series.


Overall, Rumor Has It is a quick read that can be enjoyed in one sitting. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it.

There was something just dull in the story for me. I never clicked with the characters nor did I really get into the story. Overall just not for me .

I'm a big fan of Jessica Lemmon's Real Love series, so I was excited to be approved for an ARC of its latest installment, Rumor Has It. I remember Barrett Fox from Man Candy, the third book in the series, where he was Dax's brash best friend. I didn't love Man Candy as much as the other books in the series, but I remember wanting to know more about Barrett.

At first glance, Barrett is a huge jerk. He's the former "bad boy of the NFL," best known for berating a female referee to the point that he lost his job as a commentator. Now, in the hopes of bolstering his public image, he's agreed to a publicity stunt that involves fake dating a prissy reporter, a woman who is his complete opposite in every way.

Catarina Everhart is poised, prim, and proper. She's very rigid, always doing things by the book, never really taking the time to enjoy anything just because. Catarina and Barrett clash. After her boring experience with her (also prim and proper) ex-boyfriend, fake dating Barrett is a culture shock. It's even more of a shock when Barrett drops the bad boy act and reveals that he's a total teddy bear.

Overall, I really enjoyed the fourth book in the Real Love series. There were some things that put me off a little bit (Barrett's initial behavior, his insistence that Catarina is "not like other girls," the big conflict at the end) but for me, this was a solid four-star read. Davis Price still goes down in history as my favorite love interest in this series, but Barrett Fox and Catarina Everhart made a great pair.

Rumor Has It by Jessica Lemmon is a great story. It has all the elements of a well developed story, and the main characters interact well together from playful to serious. I have read many books by Jessica Lemmon and this book does not disappoint. I highly recommend it! I was given an advanced copy of this story by NetGalley for my honest review.

I have read several books by Jessica Lemmon and this one is my favorite! I was literally sucked in by the first page.

This story is about Catarina and Barrett. To say they are polar opposites is putting it mildly. Catarina was raised with money and is a writer for a newspaper. Barrett was very poor grooong but is an ex-NFL player. Catarina never makes a scene and a rule follower. Barrett is all about being brash and breaking all rules.

This book worked for me because Catarina and Barrett were such opposites. They are forced to date due to a story for the paper Catarina works for that hires Barrett to do the story with her. They clash of course at first. The more they spend time together and get to know each other Catarina loosens up and isn’t as rigid with everything. Barrett shows Catarina the true him, that is a man who wants to be married and have kids.

I loved this book. It had dual POV , swoon worthy moment and sexiness, of course. Nothing get me like a guy who comes off at first to be arrogant that doesn’t stand a chance against his soul mate. Read this book you will not regret it!

I received a free copy for an honest review.

Barrett Fox had a terrific football career until he blew out his shoulder. Then he had a promising career in broadcasting until his live mic picked up his rant at the female ref over a bad call. Now he hopes to redeem himself and open up new career opportunities by co-writing a newspaper column. To rev up their readership, Catarina's boss had decided Catarina needs to go beyond her regular relationship column. The new assignment for the perfectionist journalist is to date a bad boy and write about it, alongside said bad boy. If that wasn’t challenging enough, in light of her relationship with Northrop Phillips III, the arrogant, cocky, lackadaisical Barrett Fox is the last person Catarina wants to spend time with, fake dating or otherwise.

Jessica Lemmon has been a favorite author of mine for a while so I was glad to read an early copy of this book. She has a way of bringing characters alive, making them complex and complicated, just a bit vulnerable and wounded, yet endearing and loveable. I’ve come to rely on her novels being lighthearted but with a serious side, a little steamy with a lot of sizzling chemistry, and full of humor but also poignant emotion. This book certainly had all those elements and I loved every part of it, devouring it quickly and a bit melancholy to realize it had ended. If you like your romantic comedies with a cocky hero who's a bit wounded but has a huge heart, and with a storyline that will give both your sense of humor and your emotions a workout, you’ll love Barrett and Catarina's story!

*I reviewed this book freely and voluntarily, having made no commitment to provide a review and receiving no compensation of any kind from any source for this review.

I love Jessica Lemmon's style of writing, so when the opportunity arose to review another of her books, I jumped at it. I was unaware that this book is the fourth installment in a series. I never felt as though I'd missed anything that came before though, so it is certainly a standalone.

The book is just great fun. I laughed out loud, and I completely understood the conflicts that arose. Possibly I relate to Catarina's personality. Not sure., but I definitely got a kick out of her. And Barrett is also terrific. I will look for the next installment in the series to enjoy for sure!

I kept waiting and waiting for the final conflict to happen, and it does so VERY late in the story. It made sense to me though, as well as the way it worked out. Their boss is one of those people you kind of love to hate, but her actions were very much in keeping with what you would expect from someone in her position. Heartless and selfish, but also conniving.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC given in exchange for my honest review.

So far, my experience with Jessica Lemmon's Real Love series has been that each book is better than the next. That experience continued with Rumor Has It. It's my new favorite book in the series. Rumor Has It was exactly what I was hoping for. It was upbeat and fun. There was a great enemies to lover vibe from the very beginning and some very entertaining banter. I adored that Rumor Has It had the How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days romantic comedy vibe.

The characters in this book were so much fun. Catarina was the type of woman I like to read about. She knew what she wanted in life. She was career driven, but had a romantic side to her. I loved that she didn't put up with Barrett's crap, but also that she could see beyond it.

Barrett was kind of a mess. He was all swagger and cocky confidence, but there were some surprising self-confidence issues hiding behind it. I didn't adore his attitude, but I did like some of the things it created. His nickname for Catarina made me laugh -- most because of how it fit within the story and their experiences. I also liked how he treated her beyond their initial meeting. He was a surprisingly cool guy, with one exception.

That exception? Well, it's the only thing I didn't like about Rumor Has It. Barrett's verbal indiscretion was offensive in so many ways. Honestly, it didn't surprise me that Jessica Lemmon went there. What surprised me was that she did and then didn't really make Barrett learn from his mistake. I didn't feel like he was truly sorry. He apologized which would make it seem like he was, but some of his later comments contradicted that. I don't know. It bugged me. Oh, and I also wanted something better for Mattie. I didn't get a resolution for that, but maybe that's just because Mattie was only used to show Barrett's softer side.

Other than that, I loved this book. Catarina and Barrett's relationship was amusing and so enjoyable to read. I loved how they interacted with each other. I loved how they reacted to each other. Everything about it was so entertaining -- especially the scene with More Than Words. Rumor Has It would be a great book to take to the beach or wherever you're relaxing this summer.

I wanted to like this book. I wanted to love it, even. By the time I was getting nearer towards the end and closing in on the big "climax" of the story of how Barrett messed things up with Catarina so badly, this book was going to be a 4-star read for me, and I'm disappointed that my enjoyment fell the closer I got to the ending.

Hate-to-Love romances, even if they're one-sided, are fun to read when done right. I enjoyed the bantering between the main characters, Catarina and Barrett, so much, I actually laughed out loud while reading. I also really enjoyed the fact that Barrett struggles with dyslexia, and you learn that that may be why he acts the way that he does.

Cat is a journalist with a semi-popular romance column that she takes pride in. Barrett is the "bad boy of the NFL" who lost his cool when he was a field reporter, saying just the most unsavory things to a female referee over a perceived bad call she made, that ruined his career. They both get stuck on an assignment together on what it's like to date Barrett Fox, with each one writing their own column of their fake dates.

The fake dates were fun. I loved seeing Catarina start to warm up to Barrett, and for Barrett to slowly start to reveal a side that the public doesn't really get to see (because they probably don't care) and you start to see that all the rumors revolving around him are just that: rumors.

My enjoyment of this story started waning when Barrett's dyslexia was revealed in Cat's column, in one paragraph that she didn't write, and the culprit had shown no remorse whatsoever, and I feel like she had gotten off too easy. Similarly, Cat has a thought saying, "I'm not one to give up," after the culprit who outed Barrett to the world as a dyslexic tried covering her ass by having lawyers present and apologizing to Catarina for "overstepping" and tampering with Cat's article. Resigning because your boss does something that you can't condone is not "giving up," and the fact that Cat stayed after everything really made me lose respect fo her, tbh.

The reuniting scene was cute, with the I-love-yous, but the ending was cheap. It was abrupt. The sex scenes got a bit repetitive after about the second time; you can only read about Tab A being inserted into Slot B so many times before it starts to become tired. Their sex life, as passionate as they were, lacked a spark, it lacked some heat. The first two were good, but after that... it was just the same old, same old.

So, I wanted to love it, and for awhile I did, but things started falling apart when Cat's boss sold out Barrett and his dyslexia just to keep her newspaper relevant, and she doesn't even pay any kind of a price for that.

Thank you, Netgalley, for giving me this eARC to read and review with my honest opinions.

I never read a book by Ms Lemmon before so I thought I would give it a try. It was well-paced and alternated between Barrett and Catarina's voice. Barrett is definitely a naughty bad boy while Cat is more uptight. What I didn't like was the story was written in first person and that usually turns me off with the love scenes, JMO.

Catarina is a very serious, tightly wound reporter who grew up as a Country Cub kid. A Type A personality Barrett is an ex-jock bad boy who did not grow up in a well-off family and seems to continually test how far he can go with his bad boy persona. The two could not be more different. So when they are paired to write a column on dating each other, it is bound to be interesting.

Barrett immediately starts out trying to get reactions from Catarina, starting with calling her Kitty Kat and bragging about kissing her until her toes curl. He seems to relish getting on her nerves and pushing the limits of how much bad behavior she will accept. But the longer they are together, the more Catarina sees the man below the surface; she starts to relax and enjoy life more.

I started not liking Barrett, but he slowly grew on me. I understood Catarina from the beginning, and she really needed someone to show her how to relax and enjoy life. Loved the banter, the antics, and the chemistry between these two.

I was given an ARC of this book courtesy of the author via NetGalley

Barrette is just So Good at Being So Bad! You want to hate on him, but you just can't.
Their verbal play is just as hot as their bedroom play. The dialogue these two have is funny, witty, snarky that keeps you entertained throughout, no matter if they're working or playing and you'll never quite know what may happen next, as Catarina finds her own bad self and peels away to Barretts inner goodness, along with a secret or two.
A very easy read that will make you do all the worthy romance sighs with happy feels at the end. 💚💙
I received an ARC thru Netgalley and am happily giving my honest review

First time reading a Jessica Lemmon book and at this moment I am on currently marking the rest of her books on my TBR list! I loved this story of opposites attract, I loved both Catarina and Barrett...if anything I am just upset it wasn't as long as I wanted!
When Catarina (a good girl) and Barrett (a bad boy) are thrown together to write a column about dating you know that sparks are going to fly..but what you don't expect is that some of those sparks are everlasting ones...ones that really mean something.
Lemmon does a great job of creating witty banter between the two characters and just enough heart, as well, that I found myself sighing in parts.

Rumor Has It is the 4th book in this series but can be read as a standalone novel, but let me suggest that you read all of these books because they are that good! And Cat & Barrett's "fake dating" storyline doesn't disappoint. I loved these characters--Cat is so very likeable and Barrett will make you swoon. As with all of her books, there's snappy dialogue, funny moments, sweet & sexy times, cool secondary characters that you'll recognize from the previous books and a really enjoyable storyline. Excellent contemporary enemies to lovers romance! Can't wait for America's Sweetheart! I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.

An enemies to lovers romance. Cat is an all rules and deadlines journalist, Barrett is a fast and loose ex NFL star. They have been assigned to work together in an attempt to gain the right type of publicity, the right type of chemistry. Of course Barrett is the bad boy who needs our heroine to help change his horrible horrible ways.

I'm all in. I know what genre I'm about to review, and look forward the good ole tug of war between the two. Except... Barrett being bad was not very believable, or authentic. It is almost as if the author threw in couple of random jerk moves by Barrett to make him live up to the expectation. After all he is the bad boy of the NFL. Cat was justifiable furious at him all the time, yet it just all felt so clichéd and forced. The tug of war was to easy of a win. I need a little more forced hitting the dirt with your face type of tug of war. 2.5 stars The cover was pretty amazing.

*I won this book off of Netgalley*

I could not put this book down and I read this all in one day! It was that good! The writing was fantastic, the chemistry was off the charts, and the plot line was interesting.

I have not read this author before but I’ll definitely be looking for other books she’s written.

I smiled, laughed, and was sad while reading this book. When an author can make you feel all of that, they did a great job!

Pick this up when it hit shelves May 15th!

I truly love this authors writing! This is the second book i received on netgalley from Jessica Lemmon. He books are fun ans sweet and spicy all at the same time. Im a little bit in love with Barret Fox :0