I absolutely love how this book is full of strong women who don’t take crap from anybody. Rashida’s relationship with her grandmother was so wholesome, reminded me a lot about me and my nana. While I normally don’t read books written in the third person the way Constance Gillam wrote this book was so beautiful and seamless I forgot all about!! This book gave me a little star-crossed vibe. Love the way Elliot is with Rashida and all the ladies in her life, he is so respectful, loving, and GENUINE!

The ending was perfect, I was not expecting the little twist and Rashida’s last words made me smile so hard my face was hurting!!

Perfect nice easy read to get you through a reading slump.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this novel.

I found this to be a really cute book to pass the time. Rashida and Elliot have an instant attraction which makes sense in a romance novel but it progressed in a way I did not expect. The epilogue was quite sweet and this was a fun new addition to the genre.

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

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

I loved how this book had more depth. I enjoyed reading it.

I was hooked by the premise of the book and that cover, loved it! The banter was engaging and the book entertaining. Sadly, I felt romance between the leads was not developed as fully as I would have hoped. The chemistry and attraction was there, but the book seemed too focused more on their conflict.

The ending was neatly wrapped up, if not a little too quickly, which I enjoyed with Rashida and Elliot coming together for the community and themselves.

I want to thank NetGalley, Constance Gillam and Entangled Publishing, LLC, Entangled: Amara for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

I loved it. I loved how things worked out. I loved the family relationship between the grand mother and Rasida and how her and her sister get closer at the end. I would love to hear more of what happens with them all maybe there will be another book.

The Hookup Dilemma is an enjoyable romantic book filled wit lots of substance in the story. It has lots of push and pull from the residents of a small community trying to preserve the integrity of their neighborhood from wealthy investors seeking their own gain. Lots of twists and turns to keep the reader’s interest. It’s an easy, fast paced book with humor, heart and soul. I recommend reading this book, you won’t be disappointed.
Irene Geller

It was such a lovely experience to read this book! I really enjoyed the characters and the development of their relationship. I usually don't like books in third person, but it worked out well for this one. Rashida and Elliot were so amazing, I loved their romance and their dynamic. The epilogue was also very sweet! The only thing I didn't like was the long chapters, but that's just a personal preference. Overall, I loved this story!

I requested to read and review this book for free from Entangled Publishing. This book has romance, drama, mystery. Elliott a man that has some not so memories but wants to do the right thing. Rashida loves most of her life and the spirit of wanting to do right by others. Can opposite attract. Can different ideas lead to one common goal. Is there such thing as true love? Can things left unsaid really hurt someone if you are trying to protect them? And don't stand in the Old Ladies way or you might get hurt. This is for a mature reader and can be read anywhere.

'The Hookup Dilemma': 3⭐

(Unpaid Review: thank you to @entangledpublishing, @constancegillam and @netgalley for allowing me to read this eArc copy in exchange for a review.)

I enjoyed this book toroughly. It was a cute enemies to lovers romance, full of engaging characters and beautiful writing. However, I thought the plot was quite predictable, which made me give this rating to the book, but I can see the potential of this author! I recommend to anyone who needs some lift me up books!

My first impression of this book was that it was going to be a lot more enemies to lovers than it was. The explosive chemistry Rashida and Elliot were supposed to have was heavily lacking in my opinion. It felt like as readers it wasn't fully explored to the depth. The book was interesting overall with the drama but really lacked a strong ending leading to my 3 star rating.

2.5 stars

This has a super cute cover and a fun sounding premise, but unfortunately I just didn't click with it. I felt like the main characters didn't have much chemistry and the plot was slow and boring. There were some cute moments and I liked that Rashida was so close with her grandmother. The idea of saving a neighborhood and helping older residents makes my heart happy.

Rashida and Elliot meet up one night and have a one night stand. Rashida doesn't intend to see him again, but then is shocked when she realizes Elliot is part of the people trying to change her neighborhood and push current residents out. They fight over the issue, though Elliot can't do much since it's his dad's company. It kind of felt like Rashida was arguing with him just because.

The ending sped up and seemed to resolve everything very quickly and easily. I was disappointed that we didn't get a lot of explanation and felt like the author just wanted it to be over. There were also a couple lines in the book saying things like "my stomach gave a queer twist" and I didn't appreciate the author using the word Queer to mean odd or strange. The LGBTQ+ community has worked hard to change the word to something positive and this felt out of touch.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and gave an honest opinion. Thank you to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the copy

I didn’t enjoy this as much as I’d hoped to. The set-up of a couple meeting up after their steamy, one-night hookup and finding out that they’re on the opposite sides of a conflict over the guy’s father’s architectural firm building a development in the lady’s grandmother’s neighborhood. But it all seemed too contrived. Another problem I had with the book is that this is an interracial romance, but the author does very little to develop that part of the plot. The heroine had a very interesting job as a restaurant reviewer, but that doesn’t go anywhere. Instead it gets rather repetitive as the heroine rotates between being attracted to the hero and then deciding she was furious with him. I just got tired of her. And it all got wrapped up in the end a bit too tidily.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

After meeting at a bar, Rashida and Elliott have a one-night stand. Neither of them know they are on opposite sides of a gentrification issue.

I went into this expecting an enemies to lovers romance which I didn't really get. That's most likely my own fault and I probably just misunderstood the premise. They are on opposite sides of an issue but I never really felt much of a conflict between them. Their attraction to each other kind of overruled things, in my opinion. Rashida always gave into seeing him, even when he did things that went against what she was supposed to be fighting for.

Speaking of their attraction, I definitely believe in lust at first sight but love at first sight? It depends. After their one-night stand, where they barely got to know each other in the first place, Elliott and Rashida both seemed to fall in love really fast. They never really, in my opinion, got to know each other in the weeks following their hook up. Everything was centered around them being on opposite sides of a big issue.

There was a lot of potential with this book and unfortunately, for me, it fell flat. I didn't feel a connection to the characters. The steam was there but it didn't work for me.

The Hookup Dilemma was a cute read but it just wasn’t for me.

I liked the characters; I understood their different motives and what they wanted to achieve. I also liked them as a couple, even though I felt the romance in this book was cut short. Personally, there was just too much going on about the building in the Millhouse area and Rashida and Elliott being on different sides of the conflict and not enough real romance, though there was some lust.

All that plot about the community and them both being on different sides and therefore they can’t interact romantically felt so repetitive at times and to be honest it bored me.

And after all that drama the ending felt a little rushed. Everything resolved rather quickly for that stupid long fight and then we got a time jump for over 3 month and didn’t get to see what actually happened. (And then another time jump 3 years into the future…).

Like I said, this book wasn’t really for me but I bet there are a lot of other readers who’ll enjoy this kind of story.

I really enjoyed this quick and cute romance. I love the enemies to lovers and forbidden romance tropes, and this book contained both. Rashida and Elliot were likeable and well rounded individuals, and together they made a couple you couldn’t help but root for. I do wish the characters if Elliot a d Rashida we’re fleshed out a bit more, because both were super interesting. I also felt like their love connection seemed to be a bit too instant for me. Despite barely knowing her, Elliot seemed to know from night one that Rashida was the one for him. I would have loved to see a bit more of a back and forth / get to know each other period / a bit more friction between the two just to heighten up the tension and suspense.

Back to what I loved; I loved the fact that the novel followed an interracial couple and the diversity of the supporting characters throughout the book. I also loved how the author not only highlighted, but explained the complexities surrounding the issue of gentrification. While this novel was definitely more than just a romance, Gilliam was still able to maintain the light hearted feeling that romance readers have come to love and expect from their genre.

All and all I would highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a good modern romance!

Rashida and Elliot had strong chemistry and attraction, with a fair few spicy scenes, which started from the first few pages, but I didn't really feel the romance was fleshed out enough. I wasn't really invested enough in their relationship, something was missing for me between the scorchio sex scenes and the declarations of love. I wanted to actually feel them fall in love more? If you want a light, read with a HEA, then give this one a go though, other early readers have rated it higher, so it might just be me.I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Many thanks to both NetGalley UK and Entangled Publishing LLC for the ARC!

Recommended for fans of "Ties That Tether" by Jane Igharo and "Getting His Game Back" by Gia de Cadenet. The Hookup Dilemma is a contemporary romance about interracial couple Elliott and Rashida who are on opposite ends of neighborhood gentrification. Despite the serious topic, this is a light read ideal for big fans of contemporary romance. This is not a book if you're looking for a nuanced take on race and relationships or gentrification but it was enjoyable and easy to get through. The language was pretty over the top with metaphors for me and I'd love to see this author use the figurative language sparingly.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I mostly enjoyed this story of Rashida and Elliott. The leads were sweet together! However, I think it leaned too heavily towards the gentrification and development content, sacrificing more quality interactions between the romantic pairing.

Rashida and Elliott had great chemistry, and I would have enjoyed more of the tension building between the two, more build up. Elliott was falling for her hard, and quickly, after only a few short interactions with her.

I found the longer sections of discussion around gentrification a little dry - but I do appreciate the effort the author went to to create the realism in this story.

I enjoyed the premise of this book and thought it had great potential but the characters felt very flat. There was a lot going on in the book and it didnt give me time to focus on the relationship building between the two main characters. Her sister was going through it, her mom had a potential love interest that was just random. I thought maybe the author was setting up future books but the epilogue had a happily ever after for both those stories so unsure what was happening and how it all tied in together. The steamy scenes were good but overall the characters lacked chemistry.

The Hookup Dilemma
by Constance Gillam
Review

What happens when a random hookup turns into the ultimate dilemma?

Apparently, love happens.

Rashida and Elliot were such an adorable (and hot) match!

Pretty cover, Lust at first sight, Banter and Humour!

The Hookup Dilemma is pleasant story to pass the afternoon with! Not only was there a romance plot and internal conflict but there was also external conflict with Rashida and Elliot being on different sides of an extremely important issue: gentrification.

Usually, I wouldn’t be able to get into the story with a love interest who starts the story on the wrong side of the issue, but the author focuses on the banality of it all. Elliot needs the construction of the mall in an under privileged community, to go well because his father’s business will fail if it doesn’t.

I liked that in the end, it was the two of them coming together to solve the issue and bettering the community. I wish real life could be so neatly wrapped up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion..