After a few disappointing reads, this book was a breath of fresh air! I listened to the audio version and the narration was perfect!! The book itself was cute and fun with a great storyline. I would read more by this author any day!

Even better on audio!!

Do you have a favorite romance trope? Friends to lovers is definitely one of mine! There's just something extra special about two people coming together that know one another so well. In her latest book Sarah Adams pulls this off to perfection with a super sweet, closed door, dual perspective romance between NFL player Nathan, and his best friend and dance studio owner, Bree. Both friends have been in love with the other since high school but too afraid to risk their friendship to take a chance on love. When Bree makes a drunken confession that goes viral they end up taking advantage of the publicity to enter a fake dating scenario that ultimately forces them to face their true feelings.

I loved so much about this book! Nathan has a great gang of football player friends who help him craft a 'cheat sheet' to woo Bree (think the Bromance book club). Nathan also suffers from some pretty severe anxiety which the book addresses in a great way, with Bree encouraging him to seek help and letting him know it's okay to not always be okay. There were sooo many great secondary characters helping drive the plot and keep the story interesting (from Dylan, the gay make-up artist to Bree's sister Lily and all Bree's spunky dance students).

Highly recommend this one! I usually love my romance with a lot more heat but the chemistry and sparks between Bree and Nathan were just so heartwarming and swoony I didn't mind one bit. For fans of other friends to lovers books like Isn't it Bromantic?, People we meet on vacation and When sparks fly. MUCH thanks to NetGalley and the author for my ALC! I eagerly re-read this when the audio became available and it was even better the second time around!

I absolutely loved this book! Nathan and Bree were hilarious and had amazing chemistry!!! The audiobook version took this to a whole new level! Highly recommend!!

If you’re looking for a sweet, fun friends to love romp this is for you. It’s adorable, silly, funny, snarky, romantic and has the best HEA one could ask for. The narration was great and added to the experience.

Let me start by saying this. I really like Sarah Adams. I follow her on IG. She seems like a lovely person. And I think one can write a lukewarm review without being mean to the author. So that's what I'm going to try.

Here is goes:

I tried. I really tried to not roll my eyes while listening to this book but no. Unfortunately my 3rd Sarah Adam's book was also less than satisfactory. Maybe I don't get her brand of quirky :)

The Cheat Sheet was cute, funny at times. If you are looking for wholesome, sweet, easy to read closed door romance, this book fits the bill. Friends-to-lovers is a tough trope to execute but I think Adams did a good job of showing their dilemma. Here Nathan and Bree were pining for one another for years and neither wanted to come out and profess how they feel because of the fear of jeopardizing the friendship.

Here is my issue with the book: the characters. Nathan is just too perfect. I don't think I could say one negative thing about the dude. And then there is Bree. She is just another manic pixie dream girl. I urge you to find one original trait about her character.

I am not 100% certain but this could turn into a series with Nathan's football buddies, I think that's why his teammates had extended scenes in the book. Them helping Nathan make a "romance cheat sheet" to "seduce" Bree or rather convince her to date him reminded me a lot of the Bromance Bookclub boys.

The audiobook was okay. I didn't really like the female narrator. Male narrator is Teddy Hamilton and if you've only listened to a few romance audiobooks (Josh from Abby Jimenez's the Friend Zone is one) you'll recognize his voice immediately. Only on this one, he had a weird way of saying "chapter" and also his intonations changed mid sentence which made me think maybe the recording quality was not the best. 😞

I think readers who like Sarah Adams rom-coms would like this one too.

This is friends to loves with some extreme measures of friend and is a super slow burn. This one will make you scream - Tell each other how you really feel! But it's sweet, happy, more sweet and cute, laugh out loud, love the other football players, and just that HEA for them.
I listened to the audiobook which is a duo narrator and it was not bad but not my favorite voices. I was glad we got both sides as it was nice to see how they were each thinking. Also, like how Adams took anxiety and panic attacks into the plot and did it well!

This was my first Adams book and need to go back and read her backlist!

4 stars
2 steam

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for an ALC.

I love love love this book! If you are looking for a rom-com that brings to light the mental stigmas of the world all while keeping it a good read, this book is it.

The story is your normal birth main characters love each other but never say anything till they have to pretend. Bree is the down to earth dance instructor who has been a best friend forever with Nathan, but really is into him secretly. Your famous hunk of a best friend. And Nathan has been secretly admiring Bree from a distance too I love how the author shares the characters feelings, emotions and just their personalities.

This writer is definitely going to be in my list of books to read. She reminds me of another author I love so it's great that I found two so I can hopefully never be without a book to read!

This was fun! Even though this was a pretty standard friends-to-lovers, fake dating story without a lot else, it was perfect for a light and fluffy read. The lack of communication between the main characters was frustrating, but I enjoyed the read nonetheless. I'll be looking for more by this author.

The audiobook narrators were very enjoyable.

This is my first book from the author. I liked it. But didn’t love it like all the reviews I was seeing on bookstagram. I just felt like the characters were lacking something. I didn’t know this was going to be a closed-door romance, and I wish it had more spice. It was good, but not a book I would be recommending to everyone. The narrators did a great job though!

I love listening to romance audiobooks, so I was very excited to listen to The Cheat Sheet. Dual perspective romance novels and audiobooks are my favorite types, so it was a pleasure to experience these two narrators.

Both narrators were pleasant to listen to and breathed life into their character. The female narration is exactly how I imagine Sarah Adams heroines-- with a young and peppy voice. It's the absolute worst to have a romance novel become robotic or unnatural sounding due to the narration, and there was no risk of that at all with this narration. I recognized the voice of the male narrator from other audiobooks and he is one of my favorite romance hero voices ever!

This was not my first Sarah Adams novel, so I pretty much knew what to expect. Romance readers who love Sarah Adams know that she writes extremely loveable heroes and heroines. For me, they don't usually have the depth that I like in my characters and they are a little bit too "perfect." These books are really nice for when you don't want to read about a lot of angst or heartache in your romance. The conflict is usually minor and resolved quickly.

When it comes to The Cheat Sheet, I felt like the characters felt even younger than their ages. I thought that the lack of communication was immature and unrealistic. It was somewhat fun to read the chemistry and attraction between the two, but overall it lacked any depth that would have made me invested in the relationship.

This was a fun romance. I am glad it wasn’t about cheating which I initially thought from the title! I thought the first half of this book was stronger than the last half.

Bree owns a ballet study in LA. Nathan is a pro footballer for the LA Sharks. Friends in high school, separated in college, and reconnected again, each treading lightly on the feelings they have; not wanting to break their friendship. But… caring deeply about the other.

The story: I had mixed feelings throughout this book. At first, I thought it was too reminiscent of a previous relationship I had where the guy I was dating had a best friend who was a girl and fed me the line that if their significant other didn’t like that they were best friends, then it wouldn’t work out (needless to say, I ended that relationship.) Back to the novel though… I really liked the ending. It was nice to have a celibate character who would wait for marriage – after recognizing his feelings for Bree. I appreciated that and it moved the book being a 3 star to 4 stars in my opinion. It ended differently than many other contemporary romances. There were many laughs and a few eye roles, when some scenes appeared to be a little too inauthentic.

The narration: I am familiar with Teddy Hamiliton as a narrator – let’s just say he has grown on me, as he does many books in this genre. There were a few parts that seemed to have additions or changes so the sound wasn’t mixed right. Overall, the audio was well done. Side note: I had to have a few laughs because the first audio book I heard Teddy in was “The Friend Zone” by Abby Jimenez and he must have said that phrase a half dozen or more times in this novel.

Thanks Dreamscape and Netgalley for giving the opportunity to access this ARC. I did enjoy it and look forward to more novels by Sarah Adams. Will definitely be suggesting this to others who like the genre.

The only review needed for this book is that I adored it from start to finish. I was obsessed with Nathan and Bree 😍 Friends to lover and fake dating and sports ?!? Loved it! Nathan is the kind of guy who thinks he has to be in control in everything. He doesn’t think he deserves to take rests or relax because he was handed everything in his life. Bree, on the other hand, worked, sometimes two jobs to make her dreams a reality, and suffered a major setback that made her have to reassess everything. She is scared fo change her relationship with Nathan from best friends fo anything more.

This was my first Sarah Adams book and I absolutely adored it! Can’t wait to read more! The audiobook version comes out December 14!

I am not typically a huge audiobook reader but I do like to listen when I commute. I started this on a Friday afternoon, and could not put it down. I found myself putting on my headphones and listening whenever and where ever I could. If I had had a paper copy of the book, it would be one I would have stayed up all night reading.

I had read the synopsis and so I knew what to expect, but I was NOT prepared to hear the story from Nathan's perspective. It made the story so much richer and "full", like I got to see the all sides of the story. The characters were beautifully written and while I patiently waited for Bree and Nate to find one another, I also didn't want their story to end. Definitely the perfect romantic novel.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media for the ALC.
This was my first book by Adams, and I can't wait to see what she does next. While I'm waiting, I'm going to tackle her backlist. This book was so much fun to listen to. I loved Bree and Nathan. Their friendship was so genuine. The comfortability was something that could only be experienced by long-time friends, and the author captured the nuances of this kind of relationship so well. I was so excited for the romance to start because Adams know how to write tension between her characters and does it so well. And the payoff was worth it. I also enjoyed how their jobs played into the story, but it didn't overtake - especially with Nathan being an NFL star - it was the perfect balance.
There is a narrator for Bree and for Nathan, and I love when romances are done like this. Both are narrated so well, and their voices pulled me into this relationship, and I didn't want to stop listening until I got to the end.

Sarah Adams is amazing! And this book was no exception!
I am newer to the audio book format, but was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the format. The narrator was great and kept me engaged from start to finish!
It was hard not to fall in love with Bree and Nathan! Their love story was sweet and grounded in friendship.
I am so honored to receive a pre-listen. Thank you!

Adorable best friends to lovers story! Sarah Adams always delivers the cutest romance gems. Thanks so much for this audiobook arc!

I loved the narrator! So pleasant to listen to!

Nathan, an NFL star, and his best friend Bree, have secretly loved each other for years. They both have been hiding their feelings, thinking the other only sees them as a friend. There was so much build up to their story. As a reader it made me want to interrupt and save them from their self torture! Their love is pure and built on friendship. Yet it can be so hard to cross that line and put yourself out there. You risk losing your best friend along with your pride. I loved Nathan’s friends and Bree’s sister in this story- great supporting characters! Such a cute book!

Thank you to NetGalley and DreamScape Media for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Sarah Adams book.
But I wasn't going in blind as to what to expect I know she is a close door romance author and I'll be honest I haven't really come across many romance books that fall in that category.
This was a 3 star read for me but a 5 star audiobook.
So I'll be giving this a 4 star rating because this was ultimately a audiobook ARC.

The story:
You have your best friends to lovers trope and come on we all love the angst that come with that.
Bree and Nathan have been friends for years, they have such a wonderful friendship but they both harbor feelings for each other. Sprinkle a little book magic and a very Tequila drunk Bree and you have them in a Fake Relationship.

My problem with the story was that Bree was too childish for my liking.
I understand being the quirky lovable heroine but I felt like I was reading about an 18 year old.
I know we all have our moments but still.
Don't get me wrong I was rutting for her but I wanted her to be a little more mature.

Nathan is a cinnamon roll hero and we love to see it!
My heart was constantly breaking every time it seemed like the secret was out and then it would feel like Bree would pop out with a huge sign that said (JUST KIDDING).

I really wanted them to get together so I'm glad they did at the end.

Narration:
Like I said the narration for this was PERFECTION.

Bree's chapters are narrated by Renee Dorian and she really captured Bree she was energetic and had a childlike wonder to her performance.

Nathan's chapters are narrated by Teddy Hamilton he really sold me on the longing poor Nathan had for Bree and made him so lovable.

Hamilton and Dorian did an amazing job with their performances.

Overall, it was a cute story and I had fun listening to it.
I was able to overlook the parts of the story that I didn't love.

"Your soul is my favorite in this entire world."

This book was so adorable. Nathan was the perfect love interest.- sweet, strong, vulnerable. The mutual pining between Nathan and Bree was just *chef's kiss*. I don't typically love closed door romances, but I really enjoyed this book - this may be a new favorite for me.

Read this if you like:
-Sports Romance
-Closed Door Romance
-Friends to Lovers
-Ballet

Thank you to NetGalley and DreamScape Media for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

3.5/5 ⭐️s

Listen, I always go into books I *know* aren’t going to be spicy hesitant. So many of them have Barbie and Ken characters that never even acknowledge sexual attraction, and it weirds me out. This book? It didn’t have that problem AT ALL!

Bree and Nathan are best friends. They’ve been best friends since high school, and they’ll always put each other first. The only problem? They’re both secretly in love with each other. But is that enough reason to risk ruining their friendship? SPOILER ALERT: It 100% is!

This friends to lovers really worked for me, and I was over the moon excited when I realized there’d be fake dating too! I loved how Nathan tried to pull Bree out of the friend zone with him. My only real drawback was how obtuse Bree was about Nathan’s feelings at times.

Tropes:
Friends to Lovers
Fake Dating
Forced Proximity