I loved this book. It is a best friend to something more story. I really dont want to say much more than that. I am sorry net Galley that this review is getting posted really late. I will look forward to more stories by this author.

Book four in The Wedding Date series a well written story that held my interest until the end. I enjoyed reading Gwen Danes and Brody's a friend to lovers story. That poor guy did not see what was right in front of his face, but one kiss is all it took for him. I received a copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This is a great Friends-to-lovers / Fake Relationship story. Mira Lyn Kelly has a knack for writing characters who gradually fall in love in a believable way. She is able to keep the story going while showing the reader how the characters fall in love rather than just telling us that it is happening. This was a fun series to read and a good end story for it.

This book was a fun addition to the world Kelly has already set up with this group of friends. It was a fast-paced, sweet read with a few twists and a heartwarming ending!

Gwen is hung up on a guy who has friend zoned her for years. Brody was attracted to her from the first time he met her. He could tell that she was hung up on Ted despite the fact that Brody did not think he was good enough for her and that she should not waste her time. Ted parades women in front of Gwen and living in the same building she knows they spend the night with him. Since Brody is standing up in the same wedding as Gwen he comes up with the idea to be a fake couple to make Ted jealous. He assures her that seeing her with another man will make Ted realize what he is missing. The one thing he does not consider is that Gwen and Ted grew up together. What happens when holding her hand and sneaking a kiss turns from being an act to feeling like something real? He knows he is not the man Gwen wants. Can he change her mind and be the one for her before the wedding is over? Fun read. I really enjoyed it.

It's been a while since I've swooned over a hero like I did Brody. He was just everything you would want in a fake boyfriend and so when he volunteers to help Gwen get the attention of her best friend whom she has been gaga for a number of years with hardly an emotion back... Brody decides to help her out. The only thing is he plays the doting boyfriend just a little too well.

Brody and Gwen were refreshing. I loved their banter together. The ease of their friendship and consequently their relationship.

I think every girl can relate to Gwen and her need to be noticed by that one guy that she thinks will be perfect for her and ends up being oh so wrong.

A great read and my first in the series. I can't wait to read more!

The story is written in the third person as a narrative. The characters are described in an indirect characterization method. The conflict is a balance of internal and external. The characters have to battle themselves, other characters and thoughts and beliefs of their friends and family. The theme overall was curious in nature as it has you wondering if it is one of two things. One of being true to who you are or two being true to what you desperately want.

Brody O’Donnel is an all around great guy, to his friends, workers but can have a closed off mood to love. He is a dynamic character that does have some flat views but does goes through a dynamic change of those views when he places himself in the middle of interesting love triangle all designed by him. Gwen Danes is a fun, loving and caring but can get stuck up on things, she is a very dynamic character who sometimes needs to open her eyes to the world around her. She also goes through a dynamic change of seeing what true friends really do for one another. The exposition brings forth the characters and their plans. The rising action places the plan into action while leading the characters down a dangerous emotional path. The climax allows for true life to get in between a budding relationship and the eye opening of another. The falling action allows characters to think and wonder what they are truly doing with their lives. The resolution allows characters to come together and make a life that they each want and have strived for.

The story was well paced, though a bit rushed at the end. It had amazing build up in the first half but after the main plot twist it went downhill and made you wonder what was going on with the pace. Yes, I would recommend this story, to anyone who enjoys friends helping friends, friends opening their friends eyes, and fake relationships that have meaning and purpose. Not for those who dislike lies, trickery, and wanting to get under another’s skin to prove something.

This was a good read! The writing flowed well, and I really loved Brody and Gwen together! Brody was a great guy, and I thought he was a really good hero. Gwen was good with Brody, but I really wish she would have stood up for herself and her relationship with Brody a lot sooner. She let Ted manipulate her, and it was annoying. Ted was a straight up jerk, and he only cared about what he wanted. You don't parade yourself around with other women, claiming to love a different one. Brody should have had a conversation with Gwen and all of their mess could have been cleared up sooner. Even though it took a while, I was very happy to see these 2 get their HEA!
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.

The first word that comes to my mind when I think about this book is "cute". The characters are cute and the story is cute. I felt like pacing was a little off in a few spots but overall it was a "cute" and fun read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What an interesting story! I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I liked the twist we got when it came to Ted's feelings for Gwen. I gotta say that I loved the chemistry between Brody and Gwen and couldn't wait to see how this story would turn out!

You have to wonder sometimes when the premise involves friends who suddenly find themselves super attracted to each other... this book delivers wonderfully on the premise. I absolutely loved watching Brody and Gwen trip over themselves and figure out what they really wanted from their relationship. A fun read.

**I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley, but all opinions provided are my own.

I’m a huge fan of Mira Lyn Kelly’s books. I love how sweet and yet substantive they are. They’re pretty much everything that I’m looking for in a great contemporary romance: complicated lead characters who are usually blindsided by love, thoughtfully developed secondary relationships (with a core group of friends who feel really special), and hot, explosive chemistry.

Decoy Date is a heartmelting addition to Kelly's Wedding Date series, focusing on Brody O’Donnel. Brody is the sweet, handsome, large guy we all dream of. He’s good with people. He’s caring. And he has long, curly hair.

Gwen Danes is the woman that he’s been watching in a non-creepy way for months—as she’s been watching the man she’s crushed on forever, her childhood best friend Ted. Brody offers to be her pretend love interest so that Ted’s attention will be snagged (because that’s how petty Ted is), and then she’ll realize that she doesn’t actually want Ted after all.

Of course, it’s not so easy as that, and what follows is a love story between two really warm, interesting, beautiful people who deserve a beautiful HEA.

I love Brody and Gwen and I was rooting for them from the beginning. You can tell from their first interactions that they’re good people and good friends to each other, and that they belong to each other if they would just open their eyes and see it.

But what kept this from being a five-star read for me was their story felt too heavy on the miscommunication trope front. I don’t want to say too much more for spoiler reasons, but, while I was completely invested in Brody & Gwen and their happiness, I also got a little frustrated with their story along the way.

Still, the last chapter and the epilogue gave me such a rush, and I was so happy for all parties involved. Except for Ted. I really don't like Ted.

Overall, this was another great addition to Kelly’s catalog and reminded me again why she’s one of my favorites.

Brody has had enough of his friend Gwen mooning over some guy who can't see the forest for the trees. In other words, can't see how amazing Gwen is. So he comes up with a plan to get Gwen the guy. Of course we all know how these plans go - horribly! And that's exactly what happens when Gwen and Brody start their fake relationship. They catch feelings and of course then the other guy realizes how amazing Gwen really is, and mucks up Gwen and Brody's newfound relationship. Roll eyes. Not at the story because it's pretty adorable, but at human nature, and roll eyes at Ted, the other guy. Because, although Brody and Gwen insisted that Ted is really a great guy, even at the end, I never saw him that way and I hated that Gwen wasted all her time on such an idiot. An idiot who wasn't worthy of her, ever. Not in the past, and not in the present. He was icky if you ask me. Thank God Brody got his head out of his rear and went and got his woman back!

I've only read one other book in this series, Just This Once, and I'm pleased to find that I liked Decoy Date much better. It's sweet and sexy, and Brody and Gwen are absolutely adorable! I don't know if there's more to come in this series, but I hope so, because this one is pretty great.

Mira Lyn Kelly has done it again. Decoy Date is absolutely one of my favourites reads. The characters are just dynamite together and the explosions they cause are nothing short of spectacular. Loved it. Totally recommend

I really had trouble getting into the book initially and getting caught up in the emotions of the characters. The storyline was good, but it just didn’t stand out in my mind amongst other books in the genre. The blurb was great, but overall the book just fell flat for me.

***I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Mira Lyn Kelly.***

The Decoy Date, by Mira Lyn Kelly, was a great read, though admittedly I’m a sucker for fake-date and friends-to-lovers stories. Brody and Gwen are best friends, and as her best friend, Brody is sick and tired of watching Gwen wait around to be used by the same guy over and over again. He decides to call Ted’s bluff, suggesting to Gwen they pretend to be together to make Ted jealous. Before long, the lines between friendship and more are blurred, and neither can tell what is real and what is pretend.

I absolutely adored Brody. He’s one of my favourite book boyfriends ever. He was incredibly observant and amazingly good at expressing himself, not to mention sweet and sexy. I loved his focus and intensity. Gwen was his whole world and he made sure she knew it. He and Gwen had fantastic chemistry. I loved Gwen too. She had such a big heart. It was easy to relate to her feelings for Ted, even if I detested the guy for the entire story.

The writing was great. There was lots of emotion, even anger. I loved the slow ramp up between Brody and Gwen. It not only sizzled, it left me incredibly tied up in knots and wanting. It was perfect. I hated Brody’s choice, even though it made sense.

This book made me want to read more of this author and I absolutely recommend it to anyone who likes friends-to-lovers stories or enjoys a story with lots of emotion.

I've been eagerly awaiting Brody's story so I was excited to see this one was coming! This one centers around a fake relationship that the hero proposes to help the heroine catch the eye of another man. As a result, there is also a love triangle trope also going on in this one. Brody (the hero) is a fantastic character and his relationship with Gwen (the heroine) is one of such respect, kindness, and warmth. I love their banter and how clearly they like each other before and after the relationship grows into something more. I think the triangle was actually handled well - I was worried it would be a huge 'jealous men go after each other' thing but it was handled more deftly than many other romances that I've read. All in all, I think this was a really good read. I enjoyed the story and the characters. This series has been a really good one. I definitely recommend it!

Cute

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Friends to lovers
Part of a series: The Wedding Date
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

Whenever I start a Mira Lyn Kelly contemporary romance, I always think how silly her premise and then end up loving it … despite the implausible, low-angst, near-non plot, the characters out of run-of-the-mill rom-com, and the Friends-like atmosphere of the secondary characters (I’m probably one of the few who found that show puerile and boring). Decoy Date checked all the above boxes.

Bar-owner Brody O’Donnel (okay, I have been waiting for his romantic comeuppance) is annoyed with his friend Gwen Danes. She carries a torch for childhood boy-next-door friend, Ted Normandy. Brody wants her to move on, to go for other guys instead of mooning over Ted and because Brody, with his easy-going charm, beautiful green eyes, and bruiser-bod always gets what he wants, he convinces Gwen to fake a relationship with him. He hopes that Ted will be jealous and come after Gwen, Gwen will realize that her “crush” is an adolescent vestige and move on to a better guy. Gwen, in turn, hopes that Ted will finally notice her and they’ll live happily ever after. So, the fake relationship is ON not far into the first few chapters.

‘Tisn’t long before Brody and Gwen give in to what has always been an incipient attraction. Kelly, however, isn’t an insta-lust rom-writer, to her credit, and Gwen and Brody’s interactions are affectionate, funny, emotionally intimate, and caring. It’s evident these two are compatible: physically, sure, but also in terms of temperament and values. It’s important to establish these two parameters for contemporary romance to work, especially because the tearing-asunder of the couple tends to the contrived. I mean, really, what CAN keep two people apart, if you’re not resorting to the Big Mis, or the withholding of how the hero or heroine “truly” feels, the I’m-in-love-with-him/her-but-she’s/he’s-not-in-it-for-the-long-haul? These contemporary rom conventions get pretty tired after a while. On the other hand, I’m really glad that Kelly didn’t use the “bad parent” backstory and source of emotional blockage. As a matter of fact, I loved the portrait of Gwen’s happy-marriage parents and Brody’s cold, but not negligent mom NOT making him emotionally inaccessible, except for one childish bad narrative note (an important one though).

Thankfully, while Kelly’s protagonists do tend to these weaknesses, she’s a good enough writer to do some interesting stuff with them. The fulcrum of interest, in this case, is The Other Guy, Ted, and the hero and heroine’s perceptions and expectations. Kelly does not resort to he-man-thumping jealous rages on either man’s part: she deals with feelings in a clear, honest, and believeable way. And everyone, pretty much, behaves well. Ted has a dark moment, but it’s understandable. Brody has a dark moment and I think it’s the weakest link in the romance narrative, but something had to give to do the tearing-asunder so the couple can be built back up. Nevertheless, what always holds Kelly in good stead is her ability to create likable characters who make mistakes, own them, and talk honestly with each other, better late than ever often enough, but still, they do.

Kelly’s problem, on the other hand, because she’s rightly all too aware of the contemporary romance’s pitfalls (see Big Mis, etc. above) tends to the meandering narrative. She draws cool and often funny scenes of courtship, of falling in love, but they’re also scenes where I, as the reader, thought this is nice, but where’s it going? Gwen and Brody’s emotional investment was evident, but the stakes looked too low for too long. But I’ll always return to Kelly for the adorably squeezable characters, the chuckles, and the exuberant belief in an HEA that involves both a wedding and a baby. I like’em. With Miss Austen, we’d say that Decoy Date offers “real comfort,” Emma.

Mira Lyn Kelly’s Decoy Date is published by Sourcebooks Casablanca. It was released on December 4th and would be a good way to while away a few hours. You can find it at your preferred vendor. I received an e-ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca, via Netgalley.

Being the last book in this series it was still fresh and fun. Mira Lyn Kelly wrote a great series you should read them all. This one had some twist and turns your going to enjoy the ride.