This is a simple, light, and cute love story. Maybe it will not give you ALL the feels but definitely SOME.

Justine recently broke up with her boyfriend and had to move out of her apartment. Luckily, her favorite aunt is going on a trip to Europe, and Justine can stay at her place for a few months. The apartment complex is cozy with a bit of a Friends vibe. There’s a grumpy super, an introverted nerd, and a cop raising two teenage nephews. And there’s Xavier, a hottie from 2C.

Xavier is perfect; he is handsome, polite, and smart. He is currently on sabbatical from his therapist job and has a lot of time on his hands, which he is very much willing to spend with his new neighbor.

Justine and Xavier hit it off almost immediately, but they were both in denial, which was a little annoying. First, they insisted on staying in the friend zone despite the obvious attraction on both sides. I get it, they were recovering from bad breakups, but it felt forced that they both held off. Then they got closer and closer, finally started sleeping together, but still insisted on being a “fake” couple. I didn’t get it. I half expected them to get married and have babies and still claim it wasn’t for real.

Another thing: Justine’s aunt had an advice column and Xavier helped her run it. It’s an amazing idea with so much comedy potential! I was so disappointed that this topic was completely brushed aside.

However, my biggest issue with this book was the writing style. Most of the time it felt detached and emotionless, which bothered me, especially when a moment cried for more life.
There’s a scene when all the tenants have a water balloon fight. I love the idea!! This scene should have been vibrant, full of color, noise, and laughter. Unfortunately, it was described in such a dispassionate manner that it felt flat.

I got used to the writing at some point, so the second part of the book worked better. Especially since the story was captivating enough and there was plenty of good spice, which is what every romance reader needs.

What I also appreciated was how the mental health topic was handled. Xavier needed a break from his job, and it was presented as the most normal thing in the world. No judgment whatsoever, so big kudos for it.

To sum up, I had some issues with this book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless!

Looking for a friends-to-lovers book? Then look no further! Marie Harte has you covered. This is one of my favorite tropes, so I was all in before I even started this book, but I love the additional neighbors and fake-romance storyline that was thrown in as well.

As usual, Harte infuses this story with her trademark story. LOVE IN 3D is a lighthearted romance with a laidback feel to it. It’s perfect for casual reading or a refresher. There’s lots of banter and dialogue, so if you’re a fan of the trendy tropes, I would definitely put this book on your TBR list!

Marie Harte is a one click for me and this book did not disappoint! I loved both Justine and Xander as well as the other characters. This book has heat, sweet, and lots of humor. I didn’t want it to end. I loved all of the Easter eggs from her previous books, the video game, Pets Fur Life, Donnigans, Ava, and Jamison’s Gym. I wish I could move in!

Im a sucker for a fake dating trope and I really enjoyed this story! I also love when the fake dating involves forced proximity, like living in the same apartment building. This was a cute short read that I really liked.

Loved this! Perfect amount of snark, flirty-ness and sexy fun plus memorable characters. I'm pleased to see there will be at least one more book.

I really wanted to love this book, and there were parts of it I really enjoyed however I did spend half the time confused and feeling a little disappointed.

After breaking up with her ex boyfriend, Justine moves into her aunts flat where she quickly becomes friends with the guy who lives below her, Xavier. To avoid being set up with a random guy for her sisters wedding, she lies to her mum and says she's dating Xavier, who agrees to "fake date" her to keep both their mum's off their back.

It was cute and funny and I really liked Justine and Xavier's friendship, how they were always there for each other and the banter between them. The spice was also really good.

The start felt slow and took me a while to get into this book, however the second half of the book picked up and I was able to get more into it. Contrasting to the slow start, the ending felt very rushed and it was wrapped up very quickly. In my opinion there were too many characters and there were times I had no clue who they were even talking about. I normally love the 'fake dating' trope but for the most part this just felt like they were actually dating and there was no pretending involved at all which left me feeling a little disappointed

Thank you NetGalley and No Box Books for letting me read and review this book

Loved this book, the story of Justine and Xavier. She is flat sitting for her Aunty and he is her new neighbour. They become friends but will it lead to more, especially when they end up in a fake relationship.
A great fun read

Justine moved into her aunt's apartment while she goes on vacation. Her aunt had told her about her neighbors in the building, but what she wasn't expecting is how much she actually likes Xavier. Her first impression of Xavier is that he was a jerk because her and her friend Katie caught him fighting in the hallway. However, when he comes to apologize they hit it off and she quickly finds out that he is actually a nice guy.

Justine has a problem though, her parents keep trying to set her up with guys who work for her father in finance. She wants nothing to do with them, so as she becomes friends with Xavier she blurts out that she is dating someone and now she just has to convince him to go with her to her sisters wedding.

Xavier, a marine, is a nice guy who has a twin sister Auggie. They are a lot alike and can't help but make fun of each other. Things are "fake" between him and Justine until they aren't. Xavier likes Justine but tries to keep his distance and no matter how hard he tries, he likes her more. The more fake they try to make the relationship the more real it becomes for them both.

Love in 3D is a really cute story. I immediately liked all of the characters and thought they all fit well together. To me this book was a sweet, fun filled romance that warms your heart. Justine's parents especially was overbearing constantly trying to set her up with someone. I love how Justine's best friend just says what comes to her mind, while Justine's ex found Katie annoying Xavier finds her hilarious. I like that. If you are looking for a cute story, with fun yet quirky characters look no further than Love in 3D. Also stick around for Falling for 2C, where you get a look into Auggie's romance, however short and skims the romance. I do wish we got more of Auggie and Benji.

Received ARC in exchange for voluntary honest review.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I think many others will like this book. It just didn't keep me on the edge-of-my-seat-excited between readings.
There were too many characters to keep track of and there wasn't much angst between Xavier and Justine in the beginning. I know that changed... it was just strange how it started off.
Probably not a book I'll promote to friends.

4/5 ⭐️

This RomCom starts lighthearted and natural, relatable and fun.

I absolutely adore the dynamic of the apartment complex. All of the neighbors are like a big family of sorts. Caring for each other, all the ups and downs and acceptance of each individual. It’s the small town feel we all crave, even in a city.

The banter between Xavier and Justine is precious from the start and the building of their relationship is so exciting! The tension is reeeeal making the spice 🔥 some of the emphasis on them only “fake” dating gets to be a little much, they’re obviously so much more from the beginning and all of their friends/family can sense it.

•SPICE 🌶 🥵
•”fake” dating
•friends to lovers
•will they/won’t they
•happily ever after

Thanks to @netgalley and No Box Books for an advanced ebook in exchange for this review!

#netgalley #lovein3D #noboxbooks #bookish #bookstagram #romcom #romance #friendstolovers #fakedating #spicyromcom

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a digital arc of this book!

Tropes; friends to lovers, fake dating

I really liked the smut in this book and the friendship between the two. They were so cute. That being said, in my opinion this book had a couple of things I didn't like;

1. The dialogue between the characters felt off. Most of the time, I had to stop and sigh because I honestly don't think people talk like this. Which all comes down to the writing I guess. The writing felt off. The lingo was off.

2. This book had way too many characters. I couldn't keep track of all the mentions because there's no reason a romance story should have as many characters as the Game of thrones book. This took me out of the scene several times. Auggie, Sam, Rosie, Uncle Adam, Katie, Jon, Laura, Frank, Kenzie, , Benjie, Jeanine, Mallory, Lyle, Angela , Christine, Mitch just to mention a few. There's absolutely no reason why a romance book should have so many side characters. They end up undeveloped and the author could easily have cut her character list by half.

3 Which brings me to the last point, the length. See, once the characters are shrinked then the story becomes centralized. This story would have worked so well as a novella...or a much shorter novel.

That being said, I'm really grateful I got the arc for the book and got an opportunity to read it in exchange for my honest opinion.

I wanted to like this book so so so much! But I can’t, and I don’t. I almost DNF at 30% but I was hoping against hope I could move past my issues and see it through. Now at 72% I am throwing in the towel.

At one point early on in the story I was so shocked by what was happening I thought it had to be a dream sequence. I stopped, went back, and reread…then kept going. just to find out no, that’s what actually happened. WTF?!?!

I’m so disappointed because I was really looking forward to this read.

This was a really fun read. It was great to see Xavier and Justine work through their own issues to be better for themselves and each other.

Thank you to NetGalley, Marie Harte, and no box books for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Justine and Xavier meet in an uncomfortable situation leaving them both more j retested about each other. They begin a friendship where they like to pretend there’s not more going on. I found this book to be very predictable and like I didn’t need to story in the middle to figure out what was going to happen in the end.

It took me a while to get in the groove with the authors’s writing style, but in the end I didn’t mind it much. Unfortunately I just don’t feel like this book was for me, but I guarantee that others will love it!

Thank you again for the arc!

After reading the blurb, I was eager to get my hands on Marie Harte’s newest release, Love in 3D. I’m very familiar with Ms. Harte’s books (all of which I enjoyed), and this book was exactly the type of book I’ve been interested in lately.

Summary:
If one more complication could fit into her life, Justine Ferrera has no idea what it would be. Between her jerk of a boss, domineering parents, and her sister’s upcoming marriage, nothing is going Justine’s way. The only good she can see is that she finally broke up with her condescending ex-boyfriend. She might have been homeless after the break if not for her aunt subletting her place to her. But that move presents a brand-new problem. A problem that Justine feels is priority. Her downstairs neighbor. He’s a problem Justine didn’t see coming, and she’s not at all sure she’s ready to handle it. Can they handle being just friends? Xavier Hanover is smart, sweet, and hot as h3ll! So, it’s no wonder that when Justine is backed into a corner by her mother, she jumps all over claiming Xavier as her boyfriend. Soon, they’re both doing each other a friendly favor by pretending in front of their families. But things are getting heated. In and out of the bedroom. Justine is quickly falling in love when she had absolutely no intentions of even looking at the opposite sex right now. Could Xavier be feeling the same things? With so much chaos in her life, it’s hard to tell, and she’s not sure how to proceed.

This was a light, fun read with likable characters. It wasn’t a deeply emotional rollercoaster ride of a read, but it did make me smile and feel for the characters. For the most part, I liked our heroine, Justine. She was fun, down to Earth, hardworking, and could be sassy. I’d want to be her friend. 😁 My only criticism was her pathological failure to stand up for herself. In some ways, this aspect of her personality didn’t fit because she could be so confident and fierce in some situations. Seeing how she interacted with her family, though, it fit a little better. But I was annoyed with the length of time it took her to take action. Our hero Xavier was not what I expected. I’m not really sure what I expected from him, but he ended up being an odd mixture of caring, sensitive, and thoughtful, along with being possessive, protective and blind to his own emotional health. I loved that he could be both sweet and gentle yet bring on the alpha in the next instant. As a couple, Justine and Xavier were the best kind of friends-to-lovers romance. I loved that they each had a hidden attraction to the other, but that they ignored that to become the best of friends. I think it makes a great foundation for a relationship. It also gave more substance to the relationship when the sizzling chemistry and lust threatened to overwhelm everything. And boy was that lust hot! Very steamy and sexy. Overall, this was an enjoyable read. The friends-to-lovers and relationship of convenience tropes are two of my favorites, so I was happy to get both of them here. Supporting cast was both fun and just as intriguing as our main characters. I loved Katie and cannot wait to get this girl’s story. It’s going to be a wild ride, I’m sure. Auggie was a bit much for me, and harder to take, but I did like her and liked her with Benji. Every resident in the apartment building was amazing. I hope we can see more of them in future books, too. The water fight was probably one of my favorite scenes. My only criticism of the book is that I wish there was more of an epilogue. That could be because I’m an epilogue type of girl. I love seeing that glimpse into our HEA ending. We have Katie to look forward to, so I’ll make do with checking in on everyone then. This book made me laugh often and cringe a little bit, and even yell out. It was fun, and left me with a light, happy vibe. I definitely want more of this quirky, fun, tight-knit little friend-family in future books. ♡

I love a Maria Harte romance mainly because they seem realistic to a real couple. Justine and Xavier r r have a not ao nice meet cute but they came back from that ASAP
They start adorable friendship , whhere they help eavj other navigate there families and work
I love the commucation between these two the families and friends

Just all anround a fun and joyful read

2.5 stars

I have to say that this book was a bit of a miss for me. The writing style came across at times as hokey, for lack of a better word. But my biggest gripe was the fake dating storyline. To be clear, fake dating is one of my all-time favorite tropes, so I went into this with high expectations. The thing is that this couple was not “fake“ dating, they were dating for REAL, and yet insisted vehemently that they weren’t.

Examine the evidence: they hit it off almost instantly, there were hours-long bang sessions, texting and calling each other all the time, hanging out in their homes together for hours watching movies and having meals, etc. Ummmmmm, that’s DATING! But they insist over and over and over that they are not dating, and I don’t really understand why. I know they both got out of not great relationships, but I just don’t get why the denial was so incredibly strong. After a while it just made no sense. If they had just admitted their feelings earlier this probably would’ve gotten a higher rating from me.

Thank you to NetGalley & No Box Books for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I loved the apartment complex setting, and the characters within the complex as well! There was a short story featuring Auggie and Benji but I want a full book on them! Though I can't wait for Katie's story, which I would 100% read!! I loved the title, the wittiness of it, which originally pulled me in.

I loved all the characters, and the development of them as well, even those that hardly featured in the book, like young Sam! Justine's development, felt slightly slower at times, purely because of how hard the reader can see her begin to make steps forwards, only to move backwards! But this was quickly rectified.I definitely think there was natural chemistry and development between Xavier and Justine, which can be hard to write sometimes, with it feeling forced. I also loved that they were friends first, despite the attraction to one another!

All in all, a truly enjoyable romance!

A cute romance and a sweet read! Thoroughly enjoyed reading this. The premise of fake dating and friends to lovers is extremely interesting. Loved the banter which immediately brought a smile to my face.

For me characters are really important and this one had some amazing protagonists and supporting characters. The character development is interesting and I loved the relationship between the leads. Recommend if you are looking for a cute read!

Thank you NetGalley and No Box Books for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked reading this. It felt like a very spicy, sexy slow burn romance with very little other plot going on. There was some character development both of Xavier and of Justine, some cute found family moments and regular family dynamics as well. My only issue is that some of the “drama” or tension fell flat for me, and I’m not sure why. Even the supposed “conflict” between Xavier and Justine is resolved very quickly, without any fanfare. But on the other hand it read like a spicy palette cleanser and I had a good time reading it. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.