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The Hookup Dilemma by Constance Gilliam
A special thanks to NetGalley UK and Entangled Publishing.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book all thoughts and opinions are my own.
A classic split POV story told by both Rashida and Elliott. Rashida has never been a one-night stand kind of girl. But after meeting Elliott in a bar she might just be changing her mind.
Elliott is a workaholic. He has 2 jobs and takes care of his father.
Rashida is a food critic for a powerful magazine. When she decides to get a table at the bar she is shocked at how attractive Elliott is. With a lot of flirting he talks her into dinner. After a wonderful night together Elliott is awoken to Rashida having left. Their love story turns lovers to frenemies real fast. He just doesn’t understand why she doesn’t want to be with him.
This was the perfect quick read and kept me interested enough to keep going.

This is an awesomely funny story. It is a multiracial modern romance set in the Atlanta suburb. Rashida is the daughter of West Indian immigrants fighting to keep her grandmother’s community from gentrification. She is feisty and determined. Elliot is an architect and a native of Atlanta. He is doing double duty running his father’s business and his own. He and Rashida are on a collision course. The story is chock full of wonderful and interesting characters. They provide colorful and page turning drama. There is steamy scenes as the couple explore their feelings. This is a wonderful story as Rashida and Elliot overcome the odds to find a lasting love.

3.75 STARS
This story has a cute set up, immediate attraction and great chemistry between the main characters.
They discover they are on opposing sides of a big issue for them both after things have already gotten physical.

Elliot is an architect and CEO of his ill father’s struggling company.
They have big plans for building and growth in Rashida’s grandmother’s neighborhood.

She is fighting against this very type of gentrification of the “old neighborhood” where she has so many good memories.
They have opposing sides on this so, it’s built to be a case of enemies to lovers.
But, both are really likable characters. They’re nice and decent people.
Both have strong family loyalty, I love that about them.

She struggles to trust him, he has to really work for that.

They both have to come to understand the others side and compromise a bit.

I think the romance was secondary to the story.
I wanted more of the romance and less of the construction, business and those parts.
I think that’s just personal preference. I’m sure it will be a big hit with many readers looking for more than romance.
Cute, steamy and thoughtful story with great characters!

Rashida Howard, a food critic and Elliot Quinn, an Architect spend an amazing one night together after meeting at a bar, but don't expect to see each other again despite sharing an undeniable connection. But they do meet again and this they find themselves on opposite sides of an ongoing fight between Elliott’s company and Rashida’s community.
Rashida and Elliot had some amazing chemistry that we saw from the start, but I felt the romance was missing, there was too much redevelopment discussion going on. Nonetheless it was a light read that can be enjoyed over a lazy weekend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for a copy of this book. Wow! I definitely breezed through this one. Rashida is just such a passionate and charismatic character, I could not help but love her. Rashida and Elliott have an explosive start to an explosive relationship and have to navigate standing on opposite sides of a very sensitive issue. Grammy was definitely one of my favorite characters in this book and her take no shit attitude is just what I needed in the middle of a very hectic workweek. If you're looking for a book to rile you up and take you away from reality, Rashida and Elliott's story is definitely a fun time!

I had such high hopes for this one, I loved the cover, that's why I requested it. It's cute but it's fine. It never caught my attention.

4.5
I was immediately hooked on this steamy, own voices novel!

This is my first novel by the author and I definitely will be looking up her other books. Rashida and Elliot come from two different worlds! Their opposite in every way but when they meet the chemistry is off the charts and their connection is undeniable!

I loved the plot of the story and though it’s romance I love a book that drives more than just between the sheets action! This book really brings many things to light like gentrification and preservation! I am not from the Atlanta area but after this book I would love to visit and see the beauty that the area had to offer!

This book is full of a wide array of hilarious and charming characters! Rashida’s grandma being one of my faves! She’s hilarious but tenacious and you can see where Rashida gets her fire from!

Don’t worry Elliot and Rashida are front and center and their steamy scenes are definitely off the charts! From start to finish I loved everything this book had to offer!

I personally did not find this to be an easy read. I struggled with the writing style and the syntax. I felt there was too much detail and not enough romance involved. The story had some spicy scenes but had a lot of fade to black. I typically do not read books where the main source of conflict is communication or the lack there of. I found that the FMC Rashida was just avoiding anything and everything making their community issue worse. I didn't particularly relate to her character. I am mostly giving this book 3 stars because Elliot was a worthy love interest. He seemed the most dedicated and vulnerable party in this love story. I also thought some parts were comical. I started to lose interest in the book when I felt like if Rashida had focused on working with Elliot instead of actively against him they would've avoided a lot of the miscommunication. However, I guess that adds to the plot. I just couldn't relate to the story. Again, this is a pet peeve of mine and I think others will enjoy this book. It just wasn't for me personally.

I liked it well enough. It was really predictable, and I don't mean normal Rom-Com situations, I knew exactly when and what was going to happen and how the character was going to react. I like the characters but the overall story fell short. Will I recommend this, if I think you would enjoy it yes I would. It was cute, with nice spice.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read and review this book.

Rashida and Elliott meet at a bar, and spend the night together. Then their relationship gets turned upside down when they find out they are on opposite sides of an ongoing fight between Elliott´s company and Rashida´s community.

I think this book is an easy read, and it is a good story. I like that it has a dual point of view sort of thing. Rashida and Elliott had a strong chemistry from the beginning, and I can really admire Rashida for sticking up so much for her grandmother´s community.

If you want an easy read with romance, social and economic issues, I would recommend this one!

This book was super cute! As rom-comes go, this is right on par with what us as readers are loving these days. There’s some drama, there’s some humor, and of course there’s some love. ❤️

I super enjoyed this and would def recommend!

This was quite the spicy romcom that I've read in quite a while. I'm talking about you, chapter 2! I immediately was rooting for Rashida and Elliott who were on opposite sides when it came to Elliott's dad wanting to build a commercial complex in Rashida's grandmother's Georgia neighborhood. A project that would change the neighborhood's charm and possibly force the elderly residents to move out. But Elliott and Rashida's chemistry is undeniable and through their dilemma they always came back to each other. The ending was super cute too! If you want a spicy romcom that makes you think of HGTV then pick this one up!

I've been loving contemporary romance lately, and the premise and cute cover of this one sucked me in. Cute story? Check. Likable characters? Check. Although I felt like there was something missing between Rashida and Elliott, I really enjoyed their story. If you're looking for a quick and light romance read, then you'll definitely like this one!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! Rashida is a food critic in Atlanta, who is working to save her grandmother’s neighborhood from gentrification. Elliot is an architect who is helping his stern and distant father, who just suffered a heart attack, with his struggling real estate business with a building purchase in Rashida’s grandmother’s neighborhood. Rashida and Elliot have a one night stand that shows their undeniable chemistry, though they’re on opposite sides of this neighborhood battle. This was a cute, though slightly slow paced, OWN voice romance. I really liked Rashida and her family’s relationship, and her care and love for the neighborhood that was being threatened with gentrification. I would recommend this book for people who like contemporary romance, OWN voices, and the setting of Atlanta.

1/5 stars ⭐
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Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
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The Hookup Dilemma follows food critic Rashida and architect Elliot after they realize their unlikely connection after a one night stand: Elliot’s father bought a property in Rashida’s family’s neighborhood and plans to gentrify it, and Rashida is ready to fight to save it.
This book was… not for me. I don’t think it would be in good taste to elaborate much, but simply put: I did not like the writing, the plot, the characters, or the romance whatsoever—not the intro, not the middle, not the ending. I finished this book just to say I finished it (also its ridiculousness was kind of funny to me). If I were to gripe about anything specifically, it would be the nine or so references to sweat (with at least two referencing sweat between the boobs). It was just… so, so unnecessary. Also, it felt like every time the main couple was together, they were itching to tear each others’ clothes off, and it was not done very well in my opinion.
This just didn’t do it for me, personally. I have too many annoyances and frustrations to mark it even two stars. 1 star.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I really liked this book and the overall plot being centered around community. The characters are also enjoyable. My only complaint is that the ending felt a bit rushed, but overall, a good read.

The Hookup Dilemma is so good. It feels like a modern day romeo and juliet, but they are actually adults who think things through and don't just kill themselves. I like how it shows both of their perspectives, but it is from the third person and its not this chapter is all about elliott and this chapter is all about Rashida as often dual main character stories are but its cohesively meshed together. I like how they don't make either character out to be in the right or wrong. They both have good intentions and struggles of their own. The writing is amazing and makes you feel like you are in the bar with them. Such a good read.

It's a light easy HEA with an architect trying to save a failing family business and a food critic trying to save her neighborhood from gentrification.
It's predictable, and packed with info about the processes for re-zoning and declaring areas as historical that slows it down a bit, but I really loved Elliott and his friend Chris.
Rashida and her family left me with questions. Like, for example, if you found out your brother-in- law was cheating, why would your response NOT be to gather the women and cut his balls off?

The cover and title for this caught my eye on NetGalley but I was a little hesitant since I feel illustrated covers can go either way regarding the spice/steam that I want in my romance and since this is a new to me author.

Rashida Howard is a food critic who unknowingly has a fantastic one night stand with Elliott, a man she meets in a bar. Elliott turns out to be Elliott Quinn, the son of Marcus Quinn - who Rashida is on a mission to stop from gentrifying her grandmother's neighborhood. The two go head to head while trying to figure out what to do with the chemistry between them.

I was pleasantly surprised by some of the spicy bits - especially since the book kicks off with a bang via Rashida & Elliott's hot hotel hook up! I wished we saw some more of the development or little details of their relationship - some of the chapters seemed to jump days ahead and it was a little hard to figure out what may have happened since we last saw them.

Although the fight for her grandmother's neighborhood was the reason the two of them are in a head to head battle throughout the book, I did feel like the details about that story line took over. It was a lot of development/real estate/architecture jargon and I did find myself skimming through those portions to get to the love story underneath it.

Overall this was a quick, enjoyable read & I would likely check out future releases from this author.

*I received an early digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The Hookup Dilemna is a great lovers to enemies to lovers book! The two characters have instant chemistry when they meet at a bar one evening, and it leads to a very R rated evening at a local hotel. In the daylight, they realize that they are on opposite sides of a neighborhood zoning battle.

I loved the chemistry between the two characters, and the fact that they legitimately both wanted what would be best for the neighborhood, but had different ways to go about it. Rashida is a strong, black woman who does not back down from her cause simply because she is falling for a man, and I LOVE that! I also really appreciate that they try to make compromises continually so that they can both get what they want. I really feel that if you are going to do a competing sides vs love story kind of book like this, that Constance Gillam has done it in the best possible way! Plus the heat between these two characters will make you unable to put this one down! I loved everything about it!

Thanks so much to Entangled Publishing for supplying me with an eArc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!