This book just wasn’t for me. I felt like the pacing was a little too slow and I never found myself eager to pick the book back up. It wasn’t the writing that I didn’t care for but the development of the story.

Oh I loved it. I so loved it. Amber Rose Gill expertly weaves in themes of personal growth, forgiveness, by creating a vivid tapestry of emotions that us, readers undoubtedly resonate with.

Very interesting read! The book pulled me in from the start and I wanted to see how it ended. Try it and see if this book is for you!

first of all, I was a big Amber fan on love island so that immediately drew me in to this book but it really surprised me! I enjoyed the characters and it was such an easy read!

Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”


Amazing gorgeous!!

This book was just plain bad. The concept and ideas were not terrible which is why I gave it 2 stars. First of all, the author does not seem qualified at all to write a book. Being on a reality TV show does not make you a good author. And my point is proven while reading her book. The characters all seem like contestants on a relaity TV show. Absolute spoiled brats (most from rich families which just has to be mentioned multiple times in the book). They all have rich kid issues like marrying rich, getting pregnant so having to have a shot gun destination wedding, fighting for the chance to stay in the private villas, being in love with the high school boy next door but dragging him to too many parties back then and hooking up with all the rich folks kids instead of him, etc. Every character has baggage, but it’s rich kid baggage and it was truly awful. After 30 pages I hated it but I persevered and finished hoping it would get better… I was so wrong. As the book goes on, the main character just gushes over how amazing her friends are to her, but spoiler alert: THEY ARE ALL SO MEAN TO EACH OTHER. Nothing gets me madder when you don’t have a good close knit of friends in the book and the main character claims she does. But what else should we expect from an author whose friends are literally from a reality TV show where they vote each other off. Of course they going to be mean to each other. These characters are awful to each other, sane the main character who of course plays therapist to everyone in the book and fixed EVERYONE’S PROBLEMS so they all have a HEA before the 300 pgs are over. Typical. The love story was forced and rushed at best. The dialogue is cheesy and corny in the worst way and throughout the entire book there are WAY. TOO. MANY. EXCLAMATION. POINTS!!!!!!!! If you want to read a story about selfish rich kids with the token gay bff that is just plain immature then go for it, but otherwise don’t waste your breathe this book was pure poop.

Yes, Amber Rose Gill did write a romance novel with all the best vibes of Love Island including: all the characters were interesting, complex, and you rooted for their happy ever after, tropical island setting, and the relationships you make outside the "real world" can be some of the truest in your life.

From Sam's career to love life, life isn't how Sam dreamed it would be. She is just planning to get through her best friend's destination wedding without all the happy couples living their best lives feeling pity for her as the only single one besides the bride's kid sister. Hopefully, she can also finally start the travel blog she's always dreamed of.

Sam doesn't expect to meet a handsome but grumpy man, or find out he's actually not a jerk, or forge a single's alliance with him that starts as friendship but quickly becomes more.

Even though Sam has opened up to Roman, Roman is still keeping secrets. With the wedding approaching and her time on the island ending, Sam and Roman need to figure out what they each want, and if they will be a lovely memory, or something lasting?

The side characters really made the book and I want more from them all! I loved that we got to know them too and I was excited for each new piece we learned about them. Watching their relationships evolve, especially as you learn they're perfect like Sam thought, was interesting and kept the book flowing well.

This was def a perfect beach read/vacation read. Besides the beautiful descriptions of Tobago, that feeling of the fleeting nature of those moments on vacation, free from your regular life and with friends, were captured well.

Overall, I really liked how this came down to be a story of Sam discovering what she wanted out of life, healing herself and her relationships through looking at herself honestly, and being true to your feelings.

Feat: Black leads, vacation romance, found family, interesting side characters, dual POV

4 stars
1 spice

It seemed to me that there were a lot of clichés in this book, which confused me a little. I didn’t have enough descriptions of the thoughts of the characters, perhaps the concept of the depth of the motivation, I didn’t have enough of this information. But the growth of the character was visible, this was one of the positive aspects of the book. I liked the friends in this book very much because they were well written, they were cheerful, perky, and created a fun atmosphere. Also, I saw a variety of relationships between people, which I liked. There was some intrigue of the story and it fascinated me ,in general, I liked this book.

Until I Met You by Amber Rose Gill

Book description:
Boy meets girl. Boy and girl date for a few years. Boy and girl break up. Girl takes the trip without boy. Girl meets another boy.

Samantha was supposed to be soaking up the island sun during a week-long celebration in Tobago. Instead, nursing a broken heart, she finds herself alone at her best friend's wedding.

My thoughts:
I loved the diverse main characters. I loved the supportive friend group. I loved the descriptions of island life! Tobago sounds heavenly, and I am ready to book a trip now! An island trip sounds like exactly what I need rn.

The actual romance part was a little too insta-love for me though. Even still, Until I Met You is a fun, quick read for a beautiful day by the pool.

Read if you like:
• Island romance
• Diverse MCs
• UK's Love Island

Oh i did not like the writing and tone here. i didn't really enjoy this book and wasn't connecting with the characters or romance storyline. really had to push myself to get through this.

When I read the synopsis of this book, I fully expected to adore it. I love beachy/tropical romances. I was beyond excited to see my queen Amber Rose Gill had written this book. While I didn't hate this one, I definitely did not love it. It was a fast paced read that I completed in one sitting. It kept me entertained. I was invested in Roman and Samantha's story but when I finished it, I just felt like it was okay. It was an adorable ending that had me cheesing but it the story itself isn't one that I would rush to recommend to my friends or followers. Cute? Yes. Quirky? Also yes. Memorable? Mmm not as much. After I finished the story, I felt like something was just missing. Rounding my rating up to a 3 star because of how quick and easy of a read it was.

Thank you NetGalley, Amber Rose Gill and the publishers at Harper 360 for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A light, easy romantic read. Set in Tobago - a different setting for me, was fun to learn. The characters are fun if a little one-dimensional.

The storyline is pretty easy to follow - attending a best friend's wedding after being dumped, running into a handsome stranger who ends up being a friend of the groom. They spend the week before the wedding on various adventures and mishaps.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publishe for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

UNTIL I MET YOU – Amber Rose Gill
Mills & Boon
ISBN: 978-0008608613
July 5, 2023
Contemporary Romance

Tobago, Caribbean – Present Day

Samantha was looking forward to her best friend’s wedding in Tobago and being the bridesmaid, but right before she was to leave, her boyfriend dumped her. This means no plus one to be by her side. Arriving in Tobago where she will join the bride, groom, and assorted friends for a week of revelry before the wedding weekend, Samantha is feeling out of place with no date—that is, until she meets Roman. Roman happens to be related to the groom, but he is currently between jobs and helping his grandfather run a local store in Tobago. Samantha and Roman hit it off. What started as a potentially miserable week on a beautiful island turns into a joyous week of falling in love. But is this just a holiday romance?

Jetting off to a Caribbean Island for a week of sun and fun should be the ultimate pleasure, but for Samantha, in UNTIL I MET YOU it promises to be a chore—until she meets Roman. Her friends don’t know that she and Timmy aren’t a couple anymore, so all the couple’s activities have her dreading the whole ordeal. She meets Roman shortly after arriving, and since he is part of the wedding party too, it makes sense to pair them off. While Samantha denies that there is anything romantic going on between them to her friends, deep down she hopes whatever is going on between her and Roman lasts at least through the wedding.

Meanwhile, Samantha wonders if the wedding will go off as planned. First, the best man leaves without an adequate explanation (at least no one will tell Samantha the reason why he left), then the groom’s family is delayed. It looks like they won’t arrive until just before the wedding. Samantha is surprised that her best friend, Naomi, is getting married so soon after meeting the groom-to-be, but keeps her mouth shut. But is all hell going to break loose and bring down the wedding? And once Samantha has to return to London, will she miss being with Roman? After all, his life is in the United States while hers is in the UK.

An intriguing tale right from the start, readers will sympathize with Samantha and her plight at suddenly being uncoupled just before a wedding. We get to watch as she falls for Roman and his easy, laid-back personality. Their chemistry is apparent in UNTIL I MET YOU as they banter back and forth and soon develop a friendship. However, readers will wonder if they can make a future together…somehow. Will a surprise from Roman’s past put a damper on Samantha’s happiness?

A fun and flirty romance don’t miss UNTIL I MET YOU.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

This was definitely a book that I read. It's not bad but I feel like I didn't connect with either of the characters. Sam is supposed to be good at writing but her little blog posts didn't seem that good and it didn't seem like she thought about it that much. It also had random chapters from Roman's pov but they didn't do anything to move the plot or characters along.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Thank you to the author, Amber Rose Gill, Harper 360, and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on July 4, 2023.

The premise was good, but it fell flat for me. This felt like a contemporary with a side plot of romance because I feel like we barely saw the MCs compared to other romances. Something about the writing style made it a little difficult to read at first. It was also in 3rd person, which isn’t my favorite. And I had to skim the last 25% because I just wanted to be done reading it.

Thank you NetGalley and author for this ARC!

I enjoyed it a lot! Such a cute book. This book is a fun and flirty romantic comedy. I highly recommend this and will most definitely will be reading again.

Thank you, Harper 360 and NetGalley, for the advanced copy.

Until I Met You was exactly the fun escape that it sounded like it would be. We had an our recently jilted protagonist, Samantha, who was trying to figure out what her next move was both in business and life in general, and we also had our handsome love interest, Roman, who was also recently single and trying to find the next move in his career as well. This was a great beach read and a super fun rom-com. Let me also say that I had no idea who Amber Rose Gill was before reading nor do I watch Love Island so my review was not tainted by being a fan girl.

Samantha is off to Tobago for her best friend's wedding after being dumped by her own potentially happily ever after. While newly single and trying to launch her own travel blog, romance is the last thing on her mind. Roman has moved from Wall Street to Tobago since he is newly single to help run his family's little store. As the two get closer, truths are learned, and they will either have to learn to overcome or go their separate ways.

I thought this was a sweet, fun little rom-com and an absolute beach read. I'd definitely recommend bringing it along to any vacation this summer. It was a quick, fun read and I enjoyed getting to know the characters.

I am impressed that this was the author's debut novel! I'll keep my eye out for more work from Amber Rose in the future.

I want to start by saying I have never seen Love Island, and did not know who Amber Rose Gill was outside of being the author of the book before I began reading it.

The book was good. There were certain scenes I felt fell a little flat, but overall the story came together well. The romance in the story, and the romantic storyline of all the characters, was typical. The main romance of the book was a classic strangers to friends to lovers trope.

My favorite dynamic of the book was the friendship between Samantha and her friends, specifically with Naomi. Without giving too much away, Samantha goes through this mini crisis in realizing that some of her friends have expanded from their friend group and Samantha feels "stuck" where she is. It definitely connects with readers who have moved away from their close knit friend group, feel distanced by the separation (physical, time difference, professions, goals, lifestyle, etc.) and are sometimes dragged down the rabbit hole of comparing their life to the lives of the people they are close to.

The overall mapping of the book was good. While there are travel blog "entries" throughout the story, I forgot that Samantha was actually writing a travel blog until the end of the story. The entire topic of the travel blog was referenced on the side of whatever was going on in the book and was not an actual plot point until the final section of the book.

I understand there are still a few phases of editing the book needs to go through, but there were a few sections I needed to read multiple times in order to understand - and sometimes breakup - long dialog sections.

On holiday for a friends wedding. Samantha meets the enigmatic Roman. Both dealing with the aftermath of failed relationships and friend obligations, they form an alliance.
When secrets are revealed bonds are tested.
I enjoyed this book. I thought it was fun and also funny.
I loved the banter between the characters.
A great summer read.