Such a cute book! I love the cover. It’s so romantic and sexy. Great beach read. Look forward to more books by the author.

Honestly, this cover wasn't the thing that grabbed me; it was the synopsis that reminded me of those early New Adult romance days of our blog. It looked like it had that love-hate that can really make things entertaining. So while the cover wasn't doing it for me, the two for one story really did.

The story of Dawn and Callan starts in present day--a year after they had an intense summer love affair--and all we know is that something went terribly wrong and Dawn is a bundle of hurt and angry feelings. We quickly learn that Callan carries a lot of guilt and continuing infatuation of Dawn and when he initiates contact, things get tense very fast. After one really heated and angry/sad exchange, we get flung into the backstory, hence the two for one story.

A vast majority of the midsection of this novel shows us the story of how Dawn and Callan met while she was studying abroad in Oxford. Their attraction is instant and what starts as a fun fling-y type thing, it slides into a thing that has growing feelings, much to their consternation. Dawn is really into the idea of continuing the relationship, though hesitant to bring it up due to Callan's weirdness about certain things. And Callan tries very hard to be in denial that this is anything but a fling even though it's glaringly obvious that he cares for her...is probably in love with her but cannot let go of his tragic past to see a future with anyone, including Dawn.

Once we get that story, we return to present day where we understand, now, why she's so pissed and he's so flaky. It seems like normally, this would be where their story zooms to a quick conflict/resolution but Katherine Grace gives us even more story...and I'm really glad she did; I wasn't ready for their story to end. Their present day story isn't any less complicated, though they try to make it easy, and before you know it, they are saying hurtful things and we're back to hurt feelings and silence. All of that builds to a final scene that finally gives these two the happiness they so desperately deserve.

I really enjoyed Just a Fling and am looking forward to the next book in what looks to be a series (maybe Gemma's next?). I appreciated the time and space Katherine Grace gave her characters to allow them to develop.

A great weekend read.

A really funny story with some great characters.
The timeline does play with your head a little but once you get into the story, it all comes together.

I really appreciated the dimensions that were put into Dawn and a Allen’s relationship. It wasn’t a basic, surface level relationship. It had real-life ups and downs. Situations that genuinely could cause there to be struggles and a breakdown in a relationship. I feel that the way they navigated their whole relationship felt authentic and realistic, not cookie cutter like most romance novels portray.

My only complaint would be some of the words used when describing intimate moments were pretty cringe. Otherwise, I really liked this book and would recommend it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

American law student Dawn and British CEO Callan meet in Cambridge and have a summer romance. Dawn develops feelings for Callan and he has emotional trauma that makes him purposely not have relationships anymore. He leaves her broken hearted, as she makes her way back to New York.
Fate brings them together again, both wanting more.

I really enjoyed this book.m! I flew through it in one day. I thought this book had great character growth. I loved Dawn and had a love/hate/love for Callan! There was a lot of personal and professional up and downs and missed communication, which made this book feel very real. This book was emotion, beautifully written, and a little spicy. I love a second chance romance and this was done well!

I definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more from Katherine Grace!

📘: Just a Fling by Katherine Grace
🗓 Pub Date: April 5, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Grace, and The Wild Rose Press for this ARC!

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

*Reviewed on NetGalley and Goodreads. Will review on retail once published!

Second chance romance, which is a great, easy read. The author did an amazing job of making the characters feel real and genuine.

Just a Fling is a heartfelt and emotional second chance romance. For fans of that trope, Just a Fling is a definite recommend!

When American law student Dawn meets British developer Callan while she’s studying abroad, they both make it clear from the start that they’re only interested in a fling. Dawn because she’s set to return home and Callan because he’s carrying around trauma from a previous relationship. Their affair is hot and heavy, with palpable chemistry that jumps off the page. Time and distance separate them until a chance meeting a year later brings them back into each others lives. Dawn and Callan have to decide for themselves if what they feel is worth the risk.

A well done second chance romance with a decent amount of angst. Open door and several steamy scenes.

(Edited) This was a sweet story between Dawn and Callan (even if Dawn is my moms name and it made it really series for me to read (in my mind I changed it to Dana lol)). I like second chance romances, and being a law student myself, I was drawn to this story.
It was a sweet story, but a little slow and repetitive at places. The real life issues and challenges, such as grief, are handled tenderly and carefully. I appreciate love stories that don't sugar coat life (making it seem unrealistic) because it shows everyone, even people who have loved and lost, deserve happy endings and can have one. Overall, very cute and sweet
Thank you for the ARC!!! :)

Aww i really enjoyed this one.

These characters were real and flawed and aiming to do better and i liked that.

Pros:
1. I really rooted for both these characters
2. Steamy scenes
3. The characters were making their choices based on real grown-up issues - this wasnt some BS miscommunication trope

Cons:
Nada for me - i would suggest you read it

Thank you to Net Galley for the advanced copy! I will definitely read this again.

This isn’t just a second chance romance it’s like a fourth chance romance! This is one of those books where you want to yell at the main characters because of all the miscommunications. It does play a nice role in talking about male mental health and trauma.

It’s an ok read. Nothing special. The hero is tortured by a trauma and is unable to commit to the heroine.
He pushes her away, whenever things become serious. The heroine gives him multiple chances and he eventually comes to terms with his trauma

A second change romance that has a bit of mystery? Yes please! Dawn and Callan meet in England and I really enjoyed falling in love with them as they were falling for each other. Then Callan has to go and mess it up because he’s emotionally stunted. Told from third person point of view of both Dawn and Callan, this book will make you fall in love with them, make you hate Callan, and then make you fall in love with Callan all over again. I enjoyed the career aspects of both the characters, especially Dawn. I went through law school and took a bar exam, so I understand her worries about student loans and also waiting to find out bar results. The author put me right back to that moment from MANY years ago. I also enjoyed that Dawn’s character growth. While she seemed to be a bit of a push over in the beginning when it came to Callan, she eventually stands up to him to tell him how she feels. I will say, there is one point in the book that Callan gets really mean and Grace did a great job of making me feel hate for this man, as if he were saying those things to me! It is fast paced and quick read. OH yeah… there’s definitely a bit of spice in this book. I loved it!

Thank you netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read this. That said, these are my own opinions.

Just a Fling is a second chance romance. I will be honest that most of the books I apply for I do it based off cover and part description.. I am not a fan of the second chance trope. That said, this book was fine. I tried to push my own feelings towards the trope aside and with doing that I feel I am able to rate this three stars based on how cute, relatable, a bit predictable, and well written this book is. I do reccomend if you want a light read.

I adored this book! I'm such a sucker for second chance romances, so this one checked ALL the boxes. I appreciated that the author provided the back story of Dawn & Callahan's relationship, to help tie the story all together.

This book has it all. Romance, steamy scenes, working through difficulties, along with some deeper subjects that just make the characters seem relatable.

Thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy!

This is to die for good! I read this in one sitting and could not get enough, I had to know what was happening next. Loved this so much!
I just reviewed Just A Fling by Katherine Grace. #justafling #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

When I read the blurb for this book, I knew that I had to read it. It was a second chance romance, that touched on legal work and travel—what’s not to love. The author did an amazing job of making the characters feel real and their careers seem genuine. I feel often jobs or passions can feel like props in books, where we either don’t get enough information to ground it or it’s a massive information dump. Here, the author created a wonderful balance, which made the characters so much more real.

The one issue I had with this book was the timeline. I usually love a nonlinear storyline, but, in this case, it didn’t work for me. The book started in the present, before going to the past, and then back to the present. By having the first four chapters in the present, I knew the conflicts/ problems and wanted to know how they were resolved. We then spent the next forty percent book reading about how those problems came to be. While this was the heart of the novel and very interesting, sometimes it felt like it was in my way to finding out what happened next… And I desperately wanted to know what came next, and how Dawn and Callan overcame these issues. But instead I was reading about how these issues came to be. It took all of my self control not to jump to the second present timeline, and then come back and read the past once I finished.

All that being said, I still really enjoyed this book. I thought the story was interesting and the charters relatable. It’s definitely worth reading if you like second chance romances or romance books that have connections to the legal field.

Rollercoaster of emotion while multiple players push fate to bring together two misdirected and somewhat lost souls. Nothing goes smoothly, and obstacles abound - but the story moves fast as it pulls you along with them, rooting them on. Will they ultimately find what they are looking for?