If you can get past the two overused premises that make up the plot of this book, it was cute and enjoyable. Josie tells her parents that she is dating her best friend’s brother, Linc, in order to get them off her back nagging her about her life and decisions. Now she has to get Linc to pretend to go along for a while and then they can pretend break up. Yeah, that is some mature behavior and isn’t going to ever come back to bite?

Linc has vowed never to get serious about a woman ever again because one woman said nasty things to him when they broke up. The guy is supposed to be in his 30s, for gosh sake! He couldn’t see what a witch his former girlfriend was? He comes from a sweet and supportive family, and he’s a good guy, a real hero of his community but one spoiled woman’s parting shot makes him swear off relationships forever?

Add in an unbelievably cute grandmother who will go to any lengths to make sure that their pretend match becomes a real one and we have several romance cliches working together in one book.

So I thought the set-up was just plain dumb and unbelievable. What made the book better was that Linc and Josie were very cute together. I liked how they teased each other and their senses of humor.

I was given a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I’m a huge fan of the fake relationship trope and I loved that synopsis.

I liked Josie and Lincoln. She’s sweet and he’s gruff and they really are well suited. I loved the large family and the potential of future books. Jean — the meddling grandmother — was the best part of the entire thing.

Plot wise, it was decent. There were some really cute moments and it was amusing that the break ups never quite happened. My main complaint is that I never really got the chemistry between them. Josie’s inner monologue was more like hero worship and Lincoln’s was stoic and lacked warmth. The transition from fake relationship to real was extremely short and didn’t feel fleshed out.

Overall, it was a quick read with characters I really enjoyed. I’m definitely interested in future books in this series.

**Huge thanks to Entangled Publishing for providing the arc free of charge**

A solid 3.5 stars, this is a nice addition to the Fire and Sparks series.

Josie has told a little white lie she never thought would matter, and it doesn't until her parents decide to come back to town. Now she has to find a way to tell Lincoln, her best friend's brother, that she said they had been dating, broken up, and were working on their relationship.

Lincoln needs Josie's help and agrees to her plan to pretend date, but best laid plans don't always work out the way you want them to. I really enjoy the love between family and friends. You can tell how much they all care for each other.

As Josie and Lincoln navigate a fake relationship, they start to examine real feelings. I nearly gave this book 4 stars, but the story was just a little too similar to the first book for me. I am really looking forward to the next book in the series, though!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Entangled for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is number 2 in a series but reads well as a stand alone. I rated this book a 3.5. I found it to be a bit predictable, but it was cute. I liked the characters Lincoln and Josie. What was the deal with her parents?? Geez. A very fast read.

LOVED this book!!! Josie told a tiny white lie to get her mother off her back about her dating life, but because of the Murphy's Law governing her life, the lie takes on a life of its own when her parents come back to town and start talking about her relationship with Lincoln....the one that is the fake lie she told. Somehow she ropes Lincoln into helping her, and the lie takes on a life of its own. But what happens when Josie isn't sure what's a lie and what's the truth?

This is a delightful novel that is the very best of the friends to lovers romance genre. Fans of the genre will love this one and want to put it at the top of their TBR list. The author is on my must read authors' list, and, if you're a romance fan, should probably be on your must read authors' list as well.