I really enjoyed this romcom! Its got that hippie chick and high class man love in it. Also grumpy x sunshine which is literally my fav trope lol its everything you might want in a romcom. Also fake dating and one bed? Count all of us in. Also has some spice in there that we all love. I've enjoyed all of the Samantha Young books I've read so far so I was so excited to get accepted for this one on NetGalley.
Thank you, NetGalley and Samantha Young, for the ARC.

When Star is at her job dressed as Merida for a girls birthday party and she meets grumpy Rafe. He could care less about her job as a costume actor and thinks she’s doing a terrible job. The last thing either of them expected was to run into each other standing in a line. That’s when Rafe comes up with an idea to hire Star to be his fake girlfriend and get his mother and sister in law off his back about dating.

This was such a cute romance story. I thought it was an easy fast read that kept interested and entertained. It had a some spice in it but wasn’t too overwhelming so, if you’re newer to spice or do not like a ton of it in your books this would be a great option.


•grumpy/ sunshine
•fake dating
•he falls first
•opposites attract
•boss romance
•billionaire romance

The Love Plot by Samantha Young is a fake relationship, opposites attract romantic comedy, and it was excellent! I absolutely loved it! Star and Rafe's banter had me laughing out loud, and I loved that Rafe was so serious, while Star was such a free spirit. To be honest, most of the books I read are angsty and drama-filled, so this book was just extra refreshing, and it was something I didn't know I needed right at this moment.

This is one of the best fake relationship romances I've ever read. Samantha Young is such a talented writer, and I just want to gobble up anything she writes! This romantic comedy is brilliantly written, and I swooned, while also giggling, throughout the entire book! This book is highly recommended with all the stars!

Samantha Young is consistently one of my favourite voices in the romance genre and this continues that trend. This story follows Star Shine Meadows a commitment-phobe, with relationships and jobs, and Rafe, a by-the-book kind of guy. This definitely leads as an opposites attract with a dash a fake dating with some simmering tension throughout. I really enjoyed this book and hope we maybe get a book for Gigi!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

this was such a cute little grumpy/sunshine romance book that had the perfect levels of everything!! the banter, the tension, the laughing, and crying, it was all there and tied together with a little bow and it was such a cute book! i loved star and rafe and their chemistry together was incredible. i loved them and this book so much. overall 4.25/5⭐️

Rafe and Star meet at Rafe’s nieces birthday party where star is performing as Merida from Brave. The first interaction made me laugh and then the next interaction in line 😂 omg I was laughing so hard trying to imagine Rafe in real life and seeing his reaction to Star calling his name out. Rafe is being pushed to get married but he’s not ready to so he asks Star to be in a relationship with him for 6 months and he will pay her generously.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre/tropes: contemporary romance, fake dating, grumpy sunshine, he falls first
CW/TW: fear of abandonment; inept parenting

It’s been a good while since I’ve read a Samantha Young novel, and I’m so glad that this was it! I found it charming, funny, and full of the kind of silly banter I’m a fool for.

Rafe meets Star at his niece’s birthday party, where Star is hired to play a Disney princess. Star is the kind of carefree, non-ladder climbing person that he can’t understand. He initially looks down on her lifestyle, but after another encounter where she messes with him, he thinks she might be the solution to his problems. His mom and sister-in-law keep settting him up on dates wanting him to settle down. He’s sick of it, so proposes to Star that they fake date to get them off his back. He’ll pay her for her efforts, and the sum he’s offering is possibly her golden ticket to her travel dreams.

It was so much fun seeing how their ‘relationship’ developed from transactional to resembling an actual one. What was even more interesting to me was that it’s Rafe, the gruff, small talk-hating, people-hating guy who mellows out and falls first. While Star has feelings, she won’t let them lead to something else because she thinks all monogamous relationships are doomed. It takes a lot of convincing and proving to her how serious he is. Rafe and Star are electric together, and I loved every moment they bickered in a cutesy way or gave each other a hard time.

I so needed this cute, a-little-serious-but-mostly-lighthearted romcom to reenergize my reading. It had me feeling content with the ending. Samantha Young fans will enjoy it, as will any newcomer to her books!

Many thanks to @netgalley & @berkleyromance for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Love Plot worked my emotions like my heart was putty in Rafe and Star's hands.

First, let me appreciate the fact that Star has two jobs that I had never seen depicted in a book before. I absolutely loved how refreshing it felt to read about her costume character actor and line sitter jobs. It also got me laughing a lot.
But her carefree approach to life and love couldn't be any more different than Rafe's, a grumpy veterinarian whom she meets at a princess party she's working as Merida.

Their fake dating antics? Loved it! So much fun!
But what make me connect with this story and root for them was their individual backstories. Especially Star's. My heart broke for her and her childhood of neglect, and it made it totally believable why she was so adverse to commitment and to giving her heart to someone.

This was the cutest romcom! I loved Star and Rafe, such a cute couple. Grumpy and sunshine will forever be my favorite trope and this did not disappoint

The opposites attract was my favorite too, I loved how different they were and how nicely they complimented each other. Their love and affection had me swooning 🥰

I really enjoyed their backstory as well which always add depth into the story, overall this was a really refreshing, fun read!

Absolutely loved this one! Easy handbell for our romance customers! Super cute cover and great story!

Wow ! Make some space on your shelf and in your hearts because a new swoony hero is in town!!
Samantha Young gave us the most perfect romantic comedy to date and I loved it to bits. Though it had all the cliched tropes but it was so different, unique and amazing.
Star is a professional character actor, line sitter, the most happy person, lives life to fullest and daughter to hippie parents. Basically she is the ultimate sunshine but she is also commitment phobic.
Rafe is a swoony broody grumpy vet and in dire need of rescue from his mom and sister in law because they are on the obsession of setting him up which results in round the clock line of girls.
What do you think will happen when these totally opposites meet ? One is broody one is sunshine. One believes in long term relationships, another is a master of casual relationship. One has a perfect family and stable job, another lives life day to day.
It was one of the most perfect romance I have ever read and I can't wait to re read it again and for all of you to swoon over Rafe ❤️

Take one grumpy veterinarian and one sunshiny gig worker alongside an undeniable spark and you never know what might happen when a fictional relationship is brought to the mix! I really enjoyed Samantha Young’s previous book, Much Ado About You which featured a bookstore (they get me every time with a bookstore!) so I was excited to read her newest romcom.

The meet cute in this one was fun and I loved the follow up interaction prior to their agreement. The two main characters were such complete opposites that I was a bit wide eyed when they put their deal in writing, but that’s part of the fun, isn’t it? Reading this romcom on vacation definitely fit the grumpy/sunshine, fake dating boxes I was looking to check!

Samantha Young writes with impressive command of her characters, their voices, and humanity; accentuated by her beautiful, nuanced prose, turning an unlikely love story into a glorious blending canvas of faith, love, and personal identity. I can’t seem to recommend this book enough.

My first Samantha Young read.

I enjoyed this read, the grumpy/sunshine fake dating trope is starting to grow on me. I enjoyed both characters and how total opposites grew to love each other. Star was definitely like a breath of fresh air for Rafe. I liked how Star viewed life....its all about being happy! I loved the awkwardness at the start of their fake dating. I enjoyed the banter between Star and Rafe throughout the book.

Im always down to read about family drama, Rafe's mother and sister in law meddling in his love life...which he is tired of, and Star, well not so much meddling but her parents just being absent.

I liked reading the many different topics Samantha Young addressed in the book...communication problems, different types of relationships, neglect and about being yourself.

Overall it was a great read for me.
Thank You Netgalley for the arc!

This started off a bit rough for me. The hero is very unlikable when we first meet him at his niece's birthday party. However, I'm glad I hung in there because I really enjoyed this one. 3.5 stars

I absolutely loved The Love Plot! I could not put this book down. Star is her own person, but she definitely is impacted by her upbringing. Then when she meets Rafe, she can’t seem to stop needling him. Rafe is a veterinarian and tired of his family’s meddling. When he runs into Star again at one of her odd jobs, he has an idea. Rafe offers Star a job being his fake girlfriend. The arrangement seems to work for both of them, but what happens the more time they start to spend together. The attraction becomes harder to ignore and lines start to blur. Then add these two seem to push each other and their boundaries that opens old wounds. I loved these characters and the witty banter, then add in the steamy connection these two can’t seem to ignore. The Love Plot is addicting and will have you falling for Rafe and Star!

The Love Plot is another rom-com hit from Samantha Young. Combining some of my favourite tropes, this grumpy-sunshine, fake relationship romance has plenty of feels and swoon worthy moments, and I loved Rafe and Star together. They are complete opposites, but a perfect match! Once i started The Love Plot, I couldn't put it down.

Coming from parents who didn’t believe in marriage or monogamous relationships it was hard for Star to enter into a relationship with someone.
Rafe was that commitment guy. Before meeting him, Star wanted nothing to do with commitment. For one, she didn’t know how. She was now scared she would hurt Rafe if they make their fake relationship a reality. She stated to feel things for him but in the back of her mind was the thought she wasn’t the type for commitment especially to one person.
But changing yourself to please others is so wrong. To fit into Rafe’s family she thought she had to change. To be someone they thought was a perfect fit into their lifestyle and Rafe’s life. To have a job they thought was best for her. To wear a certain style of clothes and not what she was comfortable wearing. She never realized that this is not what made Rafe happy. He missed the girl he first met. He fell in love with that girl, even though he didn’t tell her in fear that she would run. He also wanted her to figure out on her own who she was and what made her happy. Little did he know she wasn’t happy. She only wanted to make others happy. She didn’t want to lose what she was building with Rafe.
She grew up on her own. Her parents only cared about themselves. They would go months without talking to her, and even longer without seeing her. She learned to hide her feelings and the loss of being loved. When she met Rafe’s family she saw what family was. She wanted that for herself with Rafe but was too afraid to tell him.
She tried to change but that resulted in her not liking herself. Becoming someone she was not proud to be. But in the end Rafe proved to her she was perfect as she was and did not have to change for anyone. He loved her for her. It didn’t matter his family didn’t approve, as long as they were happy together that was all that mattered.

Star Shine Meadows is performing as a character actor at a child’s birthday, one of the many jobs she juggles to make ends meet. A very handsome man stares at her from across the room, but it is not a friendly glance. Rafe Whitman is a sexy albeit grouchy veterinarian that happens to be the uncle of the birthday girl and he is obviously having a really bad day. A week later their paths cross again and Rafe comes up with a brilliant plan. He offers the free spirited Star to put aside her money making gigs and he will pay her an enormous fee to be his fake girlfriend. Apparently his wealthy family is trying to get him to settle down, that marriage is the answer to all his problems - and are driving him crazy. If they think he has a girlfriend maybe they will back off. Too good to pass up and in need of extra cash Star accepts insisting a no strings attached scenario as Star was raised by hippie parents who do not believe in monogamy or getting married. As she always sees the glass half full, Rafe is constantly surprised what fun Star is to be around, how the light she shines can brighten his day. Beautiful and smart, Rafe has her escort him to various events sure it will drive his family crazy. Neither of the two lovebirds expected the fireworks that exploded after their first kiss. Easy breezy and a little steamy. Definitely recommend this adorable romcom.

This was an enjoyable grumpy meets sunshine, fake dating, and opposites attract romance. I loved the banter between Star and Rafe.