As soon as I saw marriage pact, I was in. There’s no talking me out of my ways. So, I settled in for the journey with Will & Hannah.
The pacing: started a little slowly for me, there were a few patches where the timeline just seemed to drag, and other spots where it would speed right past me.
The characters: each character was relatable, easy to connect with.
Overall, with a story that’s easy to follow, and characters that were easy to enjoy, this one definitely provided a mostly light rom com that is perfect for a lazy Saturday read.

Dembkowski's debut novel is a fun and twisty romance. Hannah and Will made a pact near the end of college to get married if they were both single by the time they were thirty. The time has come for them to actually follow through or laugh over the insecurities that led them to make this vow. Thanks to a series of unfortunate events that closed out their twenties, we are thrown into a wedding and the question becomes: what next? The novel is told in chapters from each of their perspectives, so we do get a sense of what's motivating each of them. Ultimately, we do get quite a bit more time with Hannah, which is okay. She's the more clear-eyed of the two. The rituals of any engagement and early marriage are played out in tandem with each of their families, and the inevitable exes are brought out of the woodwork. While there are some tropes that may be unavoidable, there's enough of a plot to keep the reader moving through those moments. It's certainly a book for fans of romance and music (appreciators of early Nick Hornby may find a home here).

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book!

I was intrigued by the plot of this book. You always see or hear about marriage pacts in movies, the line, "if we're not married by thirty, we can get married." This is exactly what happened with Hannah and Will. On Hannah Abbott's thirtieth birthday, her old college friend, Will Thorne, shows up at her door and proposes, fulfilling their pinky promise made on their college graduation night. After breaking up with her not-that-serious boyfriend, she accepts Will's proposal. What ensues is a fun and very dramatic adventure as they have to convince everyone around them they are madly in love.

I loved the insights about Hannah's job as an editor for an alternative music magazine, I found her relationship with Riley really special. The setting of New York really made the book come alive as Hannah accepts her identity as a New Yorker. That being said, I thought the relationship between Hannah and Will wasn't explored as in depth as the others (Hannah's with Kate or Madison, Will's with his father and brothers). I would've loved to hear more about their friendship in college and how their feelings changed for each other. It was obvious that they loved each other but were those old feelings from college? I also did not really like the whole brother stole-my-girlfriend plot line. It provided more drama necessary in an already dramatic situation.

Overall, I did think it was a very cute and enjoyable read.

Thank you to Net Galley and Red Adept Publishing for this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Ok, not going to lie, this book is not what I expected from the explanation and the cover. I went in thinking that this would be another fun fake-relationship/marriage of convenience mixed with friends to lovers and second chance romance light read, when in fact it was so so so much more. For people who read Beach Read by Emily Henry, this book gave me similar vibes.

The plot follows college friends Hannah Abbott, a music journalist stuck in a job that provides her with no health benefits and next to no opportunity for career advancement and a boyfriend who barely tries; and Will Thorne, a lawyer whose ex-girlfriend is now engaged to his brother who she cheated on him with and a job in the family business that is rife with tension and drama. The night after her thirtieth birthday, Will shows up at Hannah's door and instigates the marriage pact the two made on the night of their college graduation: if they were both single at thirty they would get married. Knowing that for both of them marriage would solve key problems in their lives, they take a risk (not without a 5 part list of rules) and tie the knot. What follows is a heartfelt and nuanced exploration of friendship, families, and love in the modern world.

The thing that struck me most about this book is the way that Casey Dembowski created two main characters and also a group of side characters who were completely raw and imperfect human beings. We are so often inundated by stories with idealized characters who never do anything wrong, or if they do, it's entirely justified within the plot--but this makes them, in many ways, inhuman. In real life, we are messy and don't always do or say the right things, and yet we all still deserve love and forgiveness from the people we love, as well as the freedom to love and forgive ourselves. Hannah and Will exemplify this and I am so thankful that Dembowski allowed them to inhabit the pages of the book in this way, and also make it look easy when in fact it's very difficult to do!

I look forward to whatever comes next from Casey Dembowski (Kate?! Daniel?!) !

This was super cute. I read it in one sitting. The pacing tends to be a bit off at times, but overall I thought the writing was very good and I liked the story. I liked both main characters equally and I think the secondary characters were good as well. I recommend this as a cute summer read. All opinions are my own. Thank you to nergalley for the ARC.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book for the most part. There were moments of the plot where I felt like things were going too fast and I had trouble keeping up. The timeline felt a little wonky - sometimes it chapters spanned hours, but then the next one would be a time jump a month in the future, which felt a bit awkward at times.

I enjoyed the relationship between Hannah and Willl, however the majority of the secondary characters were really flat. It felt like the author was trying to flesh them out, but couldn't devote the pages to do it properly. It ended up not working since some of them were integral to the plot and it ended up feeling super contrived.

It was a serviceable romance.

Reading When We're Thirty is a delightful, fluffy, light way to spend an afternoon. Hannah Abbott and William Thorne make a pack in college to marry each other if they are still single when they turn thirty. She is stunned when he shows up with a ring in hand when they haven't seen each other in five years. They both have their reasons to give it a try and I love their commitment rules.

This is a marriage of convince and friends to more troupe that works. The marriage is going to have obstacles particularly from messy issues with his side of the family. But I love the simple adjustments issues. Disagreeing about cleaning the apartment or doing laundry. They have great chemistry and I'd have liked to see them date each other more after the wedding. The dark moment is easily expected but there were some other twists along the way that are surprising. And best friend Kate with her pod casts would be a great main character in a book of her own.

I happily recommend this light contemporary romance. Intimacy is off the page and it contains only a few curse words. The cover is cute and attracted me but I realized after reading that it doesn't actually match the wedding in the story. Thank you NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Very easy read and a perfect beach read for the summer. I was fully expecting it to be way too cheesy, but I think it was the right enough amount. I found myself finishing it in a day and didn’t want to put it down. I highly recommend!

Lovely cover, great premise. The marriage-pact.. ('when we are both 30 and single, we will get married').

Hannah has a boyfriend but is not happy at all. So when she gets flowers on her 30th birthday from someone unknown she is puzzled, until the next day there is a knock on the door. And there is Will, her childhood friend. The friend she made a marriage-pact with and now is here to collect on this promise.

Nice rom-com with very relatable characters. It was just a bit slow at times (it takes a while to get the story started) but overall it gave me a warm feeling and a wish to see this as a romantic movie.

friends-to-lovers AND marriage of convenience? yes, please!
Ah! this was such a lovely and cute reading!! like, seriously I can't get over the cuteness of this story. It's super fun, lighthearted, cute, and easy to read. I read it in just a couple of hours.
I really got into Hannah's and Will's story, and I root them so much! The story itself was predictable but worth it all the same. The characters are very well-written. You love those you're supposed to love and hate those you're supposed to hate. All I'm saying is that I'd love to see this story on the big screen. It'd be amazing!
If you really like rom-com, I highly recommend this one!

As soon as I learned that Casey was writing a rom-com about a marriage pact, I knew I had to read it asap. I’ve always been fascinated by marriage pacts, the people who make them, and whether they work out. Some of my favorite Reddit threads have been about the stories behind people’s marriage pacts.

When We’re Thirty did not disappoint. It turned out to be half marriage pact, half fake marriage trope, half friends-to-lovers, and I was totally into it. I flew through this read because I couldn’t get enough of these adorable characters!

Usually I have a favorite half of the couple when I read romances, but I honestly can’t pick between Hannah and Will. Will was so sweet and caring (if a slob–I can totally relate to living with someone who can’t pick up their socks or ties…), and Hannah is the sort of girl I would love to be best friends with.

For all my friends who are lovers of rom-coms, definitely make sure this one makes it onto your summer reading list!

Casey, I don’t know if you’re planning to turn this into a series, but in case you’re looking for a sign: I’d love to see a story about Kate! And then one about Daniel. Hint hint.