Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Loved how unapologetically queer everything in this book was, and also how tender and sweet and adorable.

While I have enjoyed Kris Ripper's work in the past, this one just didn't hit the mark for me.

The pacing just didn't hold my attention.

When I think of romance, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect book to snuggle up with on any day.

This was not a first purchase for me, unfortunately, I don't think this one capitalized on the concept. The story was super fun!

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy of this book! I've tried getting into this one several times but unfortunately the writing style and I aren't clicking, so I have to DNF this one.

This is one of the first books I've read where a MAIN character identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns and hopefully, there will be many more books featuring non-binary protagonists in the future!

Love the characters, love the idea, but the plot was kind of meh... it's clear that Sidney and Declan are meant to be from the very beginning, so the whole idea of Sidney sending Declan on all of these dates just seemed like a space filler. I'm not a huge fan of the "love was right in front of you the whole time" trope.

Overall, a sweet read! I really loved Declan and Sidney’s characters and the chemistry between them.

⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Thank you for the review copy. I really loved the audiobook as it was a fun read. I am mentioning this book in a future podcast episode as an audiobook to pick up.

🏳️‍🌈 BOOK REVIEW 🏳️‍🌈

Synopsis: Declan has commitment issues. He’s been an office temp for literally years now, and his friends delight in telling people that he left his last boyfriend at the altar. And that’s all true. But he’s starting to think it’s time to start working on his issues. Maybe. When Declan meets Sidney—a popular nonbinary YouTuber with an advice show—an opportunity presents itself: as part of The Love Study, Declan will go on a series of dates arranged by Sidney and report back on how the date went in the next episode. The dates are…sort of blah. It’s not Sidney’s fault; the folks participating are (mostly) great people, but there’s no chemistry there. Maybe Declan’s just broken. Or maybe the problem is that the only person he’s feeling chemistry with is Sidney.

Review: This is the most diverse and inclusive contemporary romance book I’ve ever read!! Truly one of my all time favourite rom-coms. The writing is fast-paced with lots of elements of description, humour, and diversity. Ohhh and I’ve just seen that there are TWO more books in this series! Oh my gosh I am SO excited to read those! Highly recommend this book for those who love an LGBTQIAP+ rom-com with lots of diversity and inclusion. I’m not usually a fan of friends to lovers but this had certainly made me jump on board.

My sincerest thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#bookreview #romcom #bookaesthetic #bookstagram #friendstolovers #lgbt #lgbtq #queer #queerbooks #queerbookstagram #ownvoices #ownvoicesbooks #ownvoicesreviews #igreads #bookworm #fiction #adultfiction #contemporaryfiction #bingeread #fivestars #aussiebookstagrammer

This was such a fun new twist on the genre, I love the diversity in this story and how they use modern technology. Such a fun and sweet story. Would recommend,

I've struggled with the writing style the most, but I was really intrigued by the plot and the characters.

Good characters and writing style. Engaging plot and storyline. I enjoyed this. Thank you for providing me with an ARC.

This is my second Kris Ripper book, and I think it will be my last - I’m just not a fan of his books. I found myself listening to this on like 3X speed just to finish it.

Thanks to @NetGalley and Harlequin for my ARC!

This was a really adorable book with charming main characters! I love that the book tackles queer romances and relationships through a modern lens by focusing on a genderqueer YouTuber. Talk about queer relationships is really needed.

The romance was really cute too. I liked seeing their relationship develop on and off-camera. Their communication was really good which appealed to me. The chemistry between them was on-point!

I absolutely loved the found family trope in this book! All the characters were supportive and charming.

It was a very quick read for me. The characters are great, the story is funny and sweet, and I'm always in for a cute LGBTQ+ story. The reason for my 3 stars is that the characters often seemed a little younger than they were suposed to be for me. but otherwise it was a good read.

Unfortunately this book was a bit of a miss for me. Initially I was interested but the pacing of the book was quite slow. Around the 25% mark my interest wandered. As the book progressed, I didn’t feel that a significant amount of chemistry was crackling between the characters.

While not perfect I thoroughly enjoyed this little contemporary romance. Just finding a good contemporary romance with a genderqueer protagonist and the story doesn't revolve around them being genderqueer and there isn't any angst. Like I would forgive a book a lot that I didn't even need to forgive this one for to have this.

The writing is engaging. The characters are likable. The pacing is a little slow but I enjoyed the build. I loved that the characters communicated! Actual emotional intelligence in a story?! The inevitable break-up/get back together that seems to be required in romances these days was annoying but not drawn out. Just overall really love this book.

Declan is not great at romantic relationships. Haunted by the choice he made to leave his best friend and fiancé at the altar, Declan has chosen to forgo dating in favor of casual hookups. But now he's considering giving dating a chance but doesn't know how to start.

Enter Sidney, a new arrival in town and the host of a YouTube channel that offers advice to viewers. Sidney wants to start up a new program called The Love Study in which real life dating advice is shared. Declan, intrigued by the idea, decides to go for it: he'll go on dates that Sidney sets up and report back.

With dates varying from good to bad to exceptional, Declan relearns what he's always known -- dating is hard! But he also learns that he's attracted to Sidney, even though Sidney has said that they are not interested in dating. Will their real life chemistry and growing friendship be enough to convince Sidney to give Declan a try?

I really enjoyed this book! Declan is an anxious and self-deprecating character who truly wants to do the right thing even though he sometimes messes it all up. Sidney is patient and kind and really does offer the best advice. It was delightful to read their journey and all their banter! One of my favorite parts of the book is that Sidney is nonbinary. As someone who is also nonbinary, it's not often that I get to encounter nonbinary characters in general, let alone as love interests, and I thought the portrayal was really well done. I also enjoyed Declan's diverse and eclectic group of queer friends. Altogether this was a fun, low angst, quick read that left me feeling happy and satisfied.

The non binary rep in this book was done really well. Unfortunately though I didn't gel with the main character and found this book difficult to enjoy overall.