I was a little worried in the first chapter that I might not love this book, the way I originally thought I would, but then I quickly fell into the story and the characters. This felt like reading a cross between Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade (one of my favorite books, with a plus size FMC who ends up with a celebrity crush) and Ted Lasso (because Alfie immediately made me think of Roy Kent and I'm pretty sure Beck was Ted Lasso). I love the grumpy sunshine trope, along with a bit of the fake dating trope. I was worried about the pacing for a bit before I realized that actually the tension was building perfectly and I didn't even realize when I became so invested in the story. I loved the way Alfie and Mabel fell for each other. This is my first read from this author and will definitely check out more in the future!

The premise of the book is cute but I felt like I was reading a Roy Kent fanfic. I think some readers might really enjoy this book but I couldn’t get into it, so I DNF’d at 8%.

This wasn't my favourite. I didn't feel the story really fit that grumpy sunshine genre at all, and I found the characters to be really annoying with each other. I didn't like the pick-me energy of the main female character either. I would definitely try this author again, but this one just wasn't it for me.

I had been looking forward to reading this book since I saw the cover and read the premise months ago. Unfortunately, I couldn’t force myself to finish reading it.

I didn’t feel like the MMC, the “grump” or the FMC, the “sunshine” really filled those roles. They both had “not like other girls” energy in their own way, and I felt like I was reading more of a miscommunication trope than a true grumpy/sunshine.

Each of their first handful of interactions seemed like they were trying to hard to be unique or quirky that I couldn’t really follow what was supposed to be happening in any of them.

The thing that was the biggest dealbreaker for me was that the MMC clarified that he did not mean what he said during their first meeting in the way that the FMC interpreted it, and she continues to go on thinking he was talking poorly about her weight. As a fat woman myself, I get that she assumed the comment he made was in reference to her weight, but once he said it wasn’t and he doesn’t think like that, there’s no reason to put her burden of fat phobia onto him.

I have mixed feelings about this one. It was frustrating to watch Alfie and Mabel circle around their problems over and over again, and the resolution wasn't that rewarding. And I wasn't sold on the one year later bit. Why would either of them wait a year to see each other? A month, I would believe. But a year? No. And after a year's absence from one another's lives, how could they resolve the problems that plagued their relationship in about thirty second's time? It just wasn't believable and made the book feel lopsided. That being said, I did enjoy the banter and the British-isms in the dialogue. I'm just not sure if I liked it enough to recommend it to others.

This book is a must-read for anyone who loves the grumpy/sunshine, enemies to lovers, or fake dating tropes.

3-3.5 stars

This was an ok read for me. I liked the banter between Alfie and Mabel, but it went on too long before they got anywhere. This moved slowly for me and was a bit too wordy for my liking. It was laugh out loud funny in some parts and had it not moved so slowly I would have rated it higher because I did enjoy it.

Grumpy meets Sunshine. She’s his new ghostwriter and you’ll never believe what happens next! Just kidding! You will but that’s one of the reasons we love romance novel. The comfy familiarness of them. We want to be entertained, but we know what’s coming. The journey needs to be fun because we know the destination.

This book’s journey fell a little flat for me. It was just a little too much in every way. I didn’t dislike it, but neither character was a favorite. The spice scenes were good, but the rest of the story didn’t grab me as much as it should’ve.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

5 stars

I received this book as an ARC from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Roy Kent + Keeley Jones vibes abounding in this novel.

This freaking book. This book is going to resonate with anyone who’s ever been considered a weirdo. Imagine two weirdos finding each other and falling in love, mixed with a little “fake dating” and of course hidden feelings. We’ve got a heroine who doesn’t fit the typical mold, and a hero who absolutely does but then he opens his mouth and says just the most batshit ridiculous things. There are layers of undertones of being hurt in the past, trying to protect themselves while being with someone who immediately busts through those barriers. Watching these two bumble their way through what they think is just pretend, but of course really isn’t, was just awesome. I devoured this book in 24 hours and laughed out loud multiple times. There are some pretty spicy open door scenes, just fyi.

This one is a hard one.
sunshine/grumpy is a favorite trope but this book was soooo hard to get into. I didn’t have a problem w the dialogue but it felt so juvenile and the MMC felt stereotypical TV character. FMC was sassy for sassy’s sake.

A very famous ⚽️ player hires a ghost writer to help write his memoirs.

✅grumpy-sunshine
✅ celeb- normie and both are very awkward for different reasons
✅ laugh out loud funny
✅ curvy (plus sized?) FMC (her lack of confidence does get a little repetitive)
✅fake dating
✅ makeover montage
✅ only one bed
✅ Makes all your Roy Kent dreams come true
🌶️: there’s a whole thing with a Beyonce concert…that you should probably just read yourself

It is very bantery and yet I was screaming “JUST USE YOUR DAMN WORDS” the whole time, which you will understand when you read this book.

Sadly this book was a mis for me. The characters were not relatable and the banter and storyline was hard to follow .Everything just fell short

Thank you for the ARC copy. I'm sorry I did not find this one more enjoyable. It has potential but needs a good editor.

I was given the opportunity to read this e-ARC from Net Galley and St. Martin's Press.
While I was extremely excited for this book as it is one of my favorite tropes of sunshine/grumpy.
Unfortunately, I could not finish this book. I had difficulties getting absorbed into the story.
The amount of dialogue was hard to follow and made it difficult to read.
The female main character was sassy and didn't seem to put up with any nonsense but the male main character who gave off a "Roy Kent Ted Lasso" vibe was just too grumpy right off the hop with no real reason why.

She is sunshine…cute…bubbly…

He is grumpy…antisocial…miss-understood…

She is now his ghostwriter for a memoir that he really does want share with the world and she really doesn’t want to write.

Along the way they find themselves fake dating…you can guess what happens next!

It’s got some really sweet moments. The spicy was too much for me but I’m sure others will love it! It’s a cute one.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this as an arc.

3.75/5 ⭐️
2/5 🌶️

This was cute! The FMC Mabel was funny, witty, and relatable for so many reasons. I loved the banter between Alfie and Mabel, and Mabel’s inner dialogue was hilarious.

As sad as it is to say, most stories do not center around mid/plus-size characters- they’re oftentimes described as beings with luscious hair, glass skin, slender (yet perfectly defined) bodies, and the curveball is their “quirky” personalities that don’t match their outwardly perfect appearance.

Mabel on the other hand, is exactly opposite of those things and this story felt exceptionally refreshing and real because of that. She doesn’t have the perfectly pretty face, she’s not great with cosmetics, and she struggles with feeling “fat” due to her curves.

I liked the vulnerability of our FMC because it felt relatable as well as a bit eye opening at times; something that I feel we don’t get to see as much of as we should in romances today. There’s something fun and alluring about romances that are impossibly perfect and whisk us away, don’t get me wrong. But it’s nice to read about the romances surrounding characters who struggle with real insecurities that real people can relate to.

Huge thanks to the Author, publisher, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

Was this the most amazing thing I have ever read? No not really. Did it pass the time and was fairly enjoyable? Sure! Average plot with average characters. The romance was okay. I don’t think I will remember this book in a couple of days.

I enjoyed this so much! I loved that the main character was plus sized! She seemed more real and raw, insecurities and all. The male main character is suppose to be the grumpy one, but I think he's just misunderstood. The female main character had more push back and grumpy moments than he had. I loved how this was a fake relationship trope, it beautifully played out. Some bits seemed to slow roll by but keep pushing through it's a worthy read!

I received this ARC from NetGalley to read and review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this ebook.

Mabel is a ghostwriter who uses her bright, bubbly charm and her quirky fashion as an armor to protect her soft heart. Alfie is an ex-footballer known by all for being anti-social, grumpy, and having the technology skills of an octogenarian. This unlikely pair is brought together to work on a memoir about life as a footballer. When the couple are caught working together by paparazzi, they must pretend to be dating or else chance the public knowing Alfie's memoir was not written by him.

Okay so... I almost didn't finish this. At about 15% I felt so lost and uninterested that I really wanted to put it down. But I also wanted to provide a full and honest review of the whole book, so I kept going. I'm glad I did, because it does get better. Not grand, but better.
Let me start out by saying that I love love LOVE contemporary romance novels. All the tropes! All the feels! All the spice! I am also the kind of person who usually goes easy on book reviews because I feel like authors put a lot of themselves out there for us when they write a book.
Perhaps the reason why I'm going a little hard on this book is because I really wanted to like it, and I can see that it has a whole lot of potential to be great.

Let's start with what I liked:
🌷 Grumpy/Sunshine pairing (although I felt this was a bit too on-the-nose, caricatures instead of characters)
🌷 Chubby FMC (but be prepared for a fair amount of negative self-talk about this from the FMC)
🌷 MCs in their 30s
🌷 Banter, so so much banter
🌷 Spice spice spice! Nicely done without feeling cringe-y
🌷 One Bed Trope (can't ever go wrong!)
🌷 Fake dating
🌷 He falls first/He falls harder

And on to the things that I think could be improved:

Pacing: I felt like the beginning had no direction. It was a lot of dialog and confusing interactions between the MCs and I didn't have a sense of where things were going. It gets better toward the middle, but then it seems like we lose the thread of the main story and the focus is fully on character banter and inner dialog. Then at the end, feelings and story come rushing in all at once and it feels a bit overwhelming. Things at the end are overexplained to the point where I felt like I was being beat over the head with plot and dialog. I think some more editing and subtle weaving of the main plot throughout the relationship exploration would help keep things tied together and get rid of the need to bluntly tie things up at the end.

Chemistry: The pairing of these characters feels a bit forced. And not just because of the fake dating or the unlikely pairing. I think something about the way the characters were shoved into their "grumpy" and "sunshine" boxes felt unnatural and further made their interactions feel awkward and unrealistic. There's so much smart and witty banter that the relationship gets lost in it. Of course, there are a couple scenes where the MCs actually talk about real-life stuff, but it's not enough for me to fully believe that they could possibly know enough to really love each other. I would have loved a more soulful exploration between the characters.

Overall, I think that this book has potential to be great. There will be (and already are) people who love it just the way it is, but I feel like it could be so much more!

This book was very reminiscent of another book I read where the female protagonist was a ghostwriter. I can't remember which one it was, but I wondered a few times whether I had read this one before. I loved that Mabel was a "normal" gal and Alfie was a "footballer' with some depth. There was a lot of chemistry between these two! Whew. I was definitely blushing at some parts. Overall, it was a fun story with a happy ending.

Alfie is a grumpy ex-footballer who is trying to finish his memoirs. Mabel is a cheerful and cute ghostwriter who tries to help him. They are mistaken as a couple and are forced to continue the pretense.... until it's not....

Love Mabel and Alfie together. Mabel is super cute. The banter is funny... I wish the relationship would build faster though! It's really sweet to see how they got to know each other though... A fun and cute rom-com.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.