Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hiking through the Alaskan wilderness in new boots when your spirit animal is more squirrel than moose is going to be a bit of a challenge for Bernice, who just wants to escape the adventurous reputation of her namesake. But when her name makes her the tentmate of a grumpy LA screenwriter (also did I mention he was hot?) she feels inspired. Matthew thinks that Bernice is going to ruin his whole week but finds himself drawn to her attractive combination of plucky courage and vulnerability.
(and also, she is hot).

This book was loads of fun. I read it in one sitting and giggled my way through. The chemistry between Matthew and Bernie was sparking right from the start. And I really enjoyed the concept that they both start in quite a negative space but pull the positivity and optimism out of each other.

Matthew is a screenwriter, and sometimes this book reads like it should be a movie - especially with the descriptions the Alaskan wilderness. A highly entertaining novel by a talented writer.

I haven’t read The marriage code or any of the author’s books before, so this is my first one and didn’t know what to expect from this story .

Let’s start by saying how much I love the cover. I have a love hate relationship with cartoonish covers, but this one really fits the story in all the best ways .

The writing is great, and the story moves at a fast pace throughout the chapters. I think Bernie is a dominant character that deserved all the love and appreciation in this book, and she grew up on me along the way. There are so many beautiful moments in here but also some very heartbreaking ones that made me stop and catch my breath and look up for a tissue.

It’s an emotional and beautiful story.

Loved this book! I'm a sucker for great dialogue and this had it in spades. I love the quirky and quick conversations between Bernie and Matthew. Finding someone who can keep up with your sense of humor and expand upon it is a gem! It was outdoorsy without being overwhelming and character centered. I can't wait to recommend it to my Samantha Young and Christina Lauren fans!

I really liked this story and I enjoyed Brooke's writing. Bernie and Matthew were both great characters. I really liked both of them separately and together.

Bernie’s mother signs her up for a hiking adventure through Alaska in an effort to break her out of her routine life. Bernie is named after her thrill-seek great-aunt but that seems to be the only thing they have in common. As soon as she arrives in Alaska she is thrown together with Matthew, a screenwriter dealing with his own life stresses. It is aggravation from the introduction.

This is an enemies-to-lovers story with a sweet premise. As each character learns to deal with their pasts and present issues, they find solace in one another. I really loved both of the characters and their initial bickering felt genuine. It was easy to root for each of their success as well as the success of their growing relationship. This is a lovely, gentle romance set in a beautiful landscape. P.S. I also loved Brooke Burrough’s book The Marriage Code and highly recommend that story too.

Thanks to Brooke Burroughs, Montlake, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Bernie and Matthew end up backpacking together in Alaska of all places, Bernie ready to break out of her very tedious predictable life, and Matthew struggling with writer's block. They of course irritate one another to no ends, but it IS a romance, so you know they find a way to fall in love by the end. ;-) I loved the way the author described her characters and am looking forward to her next book!

I liked this book much better than this author’s debut. I don’t know if it was the setting, the characters, or improved writing, but I formed a deeper connection with the characters. I am a sucker for anything hiking and camping related, so that sure didn’t hurt. The relationship forms quickly in this book, but still seemed believable thanks to the close proximity and I became invested in the relationship. The third act actually had purpose and resolved in a way that didn’t have me rolling my eyes (mostly), which is a big bonus when it comes to me reading romance novels!

Overall, I really enjoyed this and recommend!

I can't quite remember what drew me to this book, which is essentially a romantic comedy - not a genre I have ever consciously tried. Bernie, her name short for Bernice, is in a steady go-nowhere job in a steady go-nowhere town, when she is bullied to go on a hike in Alaska. This, she does, only to be teamed up with an intensely annoying scriptwriter, Matthew.

Bernie does not get on with Alaska, and gets on with Matthew even less. As the hike progresses, it becomes apparent how unfit and unprepared Bernie is for it. At the same time, Matthew is suffering from a form of writer's block. He hopes to use the hike as material for his next script, and Bernie's haplessness makes for useful material. 

From there, the story picks up and there is a mixture of funny, tender and fraught moments.

What I liked about the book was some of the writing. Here's one:

"It was like [Bernie's] kitchen and her life had been taken over by a fairy godmother on a juice cleanse who shoved glasses of forest-green liquid in her face every morning, when Bernie just wanted a coffee with her mocha-flavored creamer and didn't care about its unpronounceable ingredients."

And this was tender:

"He took his time, but his lingering made every movement feel bottomless. Like they could spend the next two days in this room and still not have explored every inch of their bodies. Every touch and breath and movement of his body felt like there was so much more to discover."

What I didn't like was the predictability of the story. But that's probably an advantage to most readers of the genre.

This book was just what I needed to read! It’s a light and heartwarming story about finding yourself. The wilderness aspect was great. I also thought the namesake idea worked well without being too strange or overpowering the entire book. I loved that the main character had to find herself when always being compared to someone else. I think that’s something a lot of people can relate to.

Thank you to Booksparks, Montlake Romance, and NetGalley for my gifted copies of this one!

This dual POV, enemy-to-lovers romance, was just what I needed. I didn’t know what to expect for this one (partly because I didn’t read the synopsis😂) and I was surprisingly shocked at how much I couldn’t put this one down. The banter between our MCs, Bernie and Matthew made me laugh out loud throughout the book. Bernie’s journey to find herself, and her sense of adventure along the way, was heartwarming and fun to follow, especially with her sense of humour.

(spoiler ahead) I understand that it was part of an inside joke, but one part that did not sit right with me, was when Matthew sends an unsolicited a$$ pic to Bernie, and we do not stan unsolicited pics.🥴

I could definitely see this one turning into a movie adaptation, and my oh my did this book also really made me want to go hiking🚶🏻‍♀️🍂

4.5 stars / 5.

I read The Name Curse at the perfect time, just before we left for a short trip to a National Park to go hiking for a few days. While we weren’t in the part of the country where this story takes place, it was the perfect romantic comedy and adventurous story to get me into the mindset of our trip.

We’re introduced to Bernie at the beginning of the story, a woman who’s life has come to a halt. When her mother signs her up for a hike through Denali in Alaska, she agrees to go. When she arrives at the hotel to begin the trip, an assumption with her name puts her sharing a tent with Matthew, a screenwriter who’s looking for inspiration while on the hiking trip. I’m not going to go into the plot any more than that, but the development of the relationship between these characters was so much fun.

This story is perfect for nature lovers and armchair adventurers alike who enjoy stories of opposites attract, enemies-to-lovers, the forced proximity trope, and slow burn romance.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What do you get with a broody sitcom writer who ends up sharing a tent with a quirky novice hiker on a week long mountain hike? This lovely book. It all hinges on a name. Bernie has always felt straddled carrying the name of her wild and adventurous aunt when she is quite the opposite. She enjoys safety and routine. Her boss is forcing her to take a vacation. Her best friend is trying to dig out the fun Bernie from their youth. And her mom buys her a Groupon for the trip. Loved how broody and moody Matthew was until he started appreciating Bernie’s quirks. They begin to feel an attraction and fondness until a secret comes to light.

This was so cute and fun. Love both the main characters. The writing was great. Highly recommend for rom-com lovers.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

This book grew on me as I read it. I could relate so much to Matthew, being in the same field of study and knowing how hard it is to pitch a television show. I could also relate to Bernie in a sense. My great grandmother was exactly like her great aunt Bernice and everyone in the family always compares us to her. The struggles that each of them go through with their families are heartbreaking and it is beautiful to see how they come together in the most unlikely time. Their chemistry is great and I loved how they got together, it was completely adorable. Being stuck in a tent together on a hiking trip is the perfect trope and I will be looking for similar books soon. I think that the romance was cute and that the topics were real to the point where it made you root for the main characters. It also showed how even these "perfect" characters go through things that every day people go through. Just because it is a romance book does not mean that it has to be textbook perfect every time. I think I'm going to look more into this author because I loved her writing style and how she meshed the characters together.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review—if you’re a fan of romcoms, especially ones that have a bit more character depth, this is a great book for you! Specifically, if the tropes of enemies to lovers and forced proximity are your dig.

Firstly, our main girl, Bernie, owns a Boxer, which is one of my favorite dog breeds. Enough said, I’m sold. Toss in a journey through the Alaskan wilderness, a tall and brooding romantic interest, and some well written banter that is classic young millennial? I easily fell in love.

Bernie continues to deal with the loss of her father five years later and is a bit stuck. Matthew needs some creative inspiration for his next TV pilot. Throw these two in a tent, because—whoops—the guides assumed Bernie was the name of a dude and everyone else in the group is already coupled up, and you have a great meet cute and some wonderful tension. There is a lot of character depth and inner monologues for both Bernie and Matthew, and I admit that at times I caught myself skimming because I wanted to get back to their flirty interactions. For anyone else who has read it: don’t even get me STARTED on the whole smile thing…you know what I’m talking about *sighs*. I’ll certainly be looking up more books by this author…along with trips to Denali.

4/5 stars
1/5 spice (fade to black)

Reviews available on GoodReads, Amazon, and StoryGraph as of 9/13/21.

I really enjoyed this rom-com it was a great book and will definitely read this author again.. I look forward to the next book.

Bernice (Bernie) is named after her great aunt, a fearless adventurer. Always hating her name for it’s reminder of how different she is from her free spirit aunt, she goes on a backpacking trip in Alaska her mom signed her up for. Matthew is a script writer who is going on his yearly vacation in hopes of gaining inspiration.

But when the two polar opposites have to share a tent on the trip they start to realize they might not be as different as they think. Starting off hating each other, sparks begin to fly between the pair.

This book is a great enemies to lovers romance! And sharing the same tent definitely has the one bed trope feeling! Overall it is a sweet and fun romcom!

The dual pov helps you fall in love with both characters. You understand their flaws, reasons behind taking the trip and see how their feelings develop. The side characters are also amazing and the setting sounds beautiful! This is written beautifully and I didn’t want to stop reading! Such great characters and such a fun romance!

Thank you netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for a honest review

This was such a good book! The characters stay with you long after you finish the book and I loved all the twists and turns. My first time to read a book by this author but I cannot wait to read more!

The Name Curse was absolute fun! Burroughs wrote a great rom-com read for the end of the summer. Bernie's mom sends her on a vacation after having worked for so long without a break. Plus there's the loss of her father that she hasn't been able to move on from. Matthew's in a bout of writer's block and goes on a trip to clear his head and gain inspiration as he does every summer. The two are mistakenly paired together on a hiking trip and awkwardness ensues. They're forced to suck up their ill feelings of each other and work together.
The banter between Bernie and Matthew is quick to the draw and so fun to read. The bittersweet backstories underneath the rom-com were touching. It's steamy, but closed doors. Fans of enemies to lovers and one bed/one tent tropes will adore this. My only wish is that there was more time on the trail for banter and awkwardness in front of the other hikers.

The Name Curse was such a sweet, fun, hilarious book. I really enjoyed it.

Bernice "Bernie" is still reeling from her father's death. She's living in a house that holds too many memories that she refuses to let go. Her life has become stagnant. And despite the urging of her mom and her friends, she isn't going anywhere or taking any chances in her life. Her namesake, her great-aunt-Bernice was the real adventurous type. To help give her a push her mom buys her a Groupon for a hiking adventure through the Alaskan wilderness. Bernie decides to give a chance (hoping there will be some indoor plumbing ha ha) and take the trip.

Matthew on the other hand is a struggling screenwriter who keeps writing these exciting scripts but everyone wants the next "Friends" and he feels stuck. His difficult relationship with his father has added a new level of stress to his life. To get away and get some inspiration he decides to take a hiking trip to Alaska.

When Bernie gets to the trip she is told she is paired with a male "tent mate" because they thought Bernie was a guy. Of course, she is paired with Matthew and hilarity ensues. It is definitly "annoyance at first sight" with these two but as they are forced to traverse the wilderness together and start sharing more about their lives and experiences they find that they have more empathy and shares experience than they expected.

This book was so funny and sweet. This was the first book I have read by Brook Burroughs and I cannot wait to read more from her. I definitely recommend this one for a sweet, funny romance.

The Name Curse is a sweet and flirty romance with a side of adventure. Bernice "Bernie" Purcell has been living under the shadow of her namesake, great-aunt Bernice her entire life. Great-aunt Bernice had a reputation for living her life to the fullest and was known to have many adventures - something Bernice is decidedly not doing. In fact, her life seemed to shrink in on itself a few years ago after her father died. Needing to take a mandatory vacation from her job, her plan for a staycation is upended by her well-meaning but infuriating mother, who books her on a week-long hike... in Alaska... Even though she's never been the adventurous tight, she reluctantly agrees, hoping to get a new perspective and figure out what she wants from life, figuring what's the worst that can happen? When she gets to Alaska, she meets Matthew Hildebrandt, a burnt-out screenwriter who's struggling with family issues and finding inspiration, and is hoping that this latest adventure will give him a spark of an idea and settle his internal battles. The two definitely do not see eye to eye from the start and things only go downhill when they learn they are being forced to share a tent. She thinks he's a haughty know-it-all, and he thinks she's a ridiculous fool. But being forced to spend time in each other's proximity means they might starting learning some things that has them reevaluating their first impressions... can they put those impressions aside for the hope of something greater?

With a nice cast of characters behind Bernice and Matthew, especially scheming matchmakers and fellow hikers Diana and Shalini, this was an overall enjoyable read. A little predictable, but no one reading rom-coms right now can probably handle much in terms of emotional devastation - I can't for sure. So knowing everyone's gonna get their HEA and all the issues will be settled is reassuring.