Thanks to Berkley for my advanced copy of The Rom Con by Devon Daniels.

I loved Meet You in the Middle so was looking forward to Devon Daniels's next book! This had How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days vibes when a journalist hatches a plan to take down her adversary.

Cassidy has had it with dating after some not-great luck with online dating, so her grandma gives her some 1950s dating advice she decides to take the tips and use them for an article for the online women's magazine she works for. After meeting the co-founder of the chauvinistic rival men's site she decides to use him as her subject for her article. It all starts to be a problem when the vintage courtship tips work and she finds out that Jack isn't falling for her tricks (and he's actually lovely).

I really liked this book, but didn't love Cassidy. I found her a bit too dismissive and hate it when a character goes into a relationship with plans to trick or be deceitful. I really liked Jack and there was some great banter.

If you like enemies to lovers and pop culture references you'll enjoy this!

Not all books are for all readers, and this one wasn't for me. I don't think this was the author's intention, but in some ways this book felt like it was a little too embracing of a return to 1950s style dating and relationship rules in a way that felt icky. I might be a grouch, but I also don't think I would have been able to look past the MMC's career, regardless of how much he's "not a part" of the gross rhetoric his site spews.

The Rom Con by Devon Daniels
Narrator: Brittany Pressley
Rating: 4 stars
Steam: 1 chili
Pub date: 11/7

Cassidy Sutton is a journalist who’s looking for a new story idea. After a conversation with her grandmother about how dating was done back in her day, she decides to turn her grandmother's 1950s dating guide into an ironic experiment for her work at Siren. Can she snag a guy using the ridiculous dating tips from the past? She sets her sights on Jack Bradford, the co-founder of the rival men's site Brawler, as her unwitting subject. However, as Cassidy continues to pretend to like Jack, she finds herself falling for him. And what follows is a rollercoaster of unexpected twists and turns as Cassidy's plans are foiled.

This book was super cute, and I was immediately drawn in by the clever premise. It’s basically How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days but with more emotional depth and a few fun twists thrown in.

The chemistry between Cassidy and Jack sizzles, and their honest, unguarded conversations pulled me in just as much as their witty banter. Cassidy is relatable and independent, and her insecurities make her more endearing. Jack’s respectful attitude toward women is refreshing, and I think his character struck the perfect balance between strength and vulnerability.

I went back and forth between my ebook and the audiobook, and I loved the narration by Brittany Pressley! She brought every character to life.

The story is set up in such a way that you know there’s going to be a big confrontation or third-act breakup when Jack finds out about Cassidy’s duplicity. Even though I was prepared, that was my least favorite part! Still, this book is perfect for anyone seeking a funny, heartwarming, and surprisingly deep romantic comedy. The Rom Con comes out on 11/7!
Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for my advanced copy and PRH Audio for my complimentary audiobook.

Read if you like:
*How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
*retro vibes
*rivals to lovers
*pop culture references
*close-knit family

Cassidy works for online women’s publication Siren. Her date decides to bail on her grandmother’s birthday party, because it’s “Sacred Saturdays” – a time to hang out with the bros, as advocated by their rival website, Brawler.
Her grandmother gives her a dating guide from the 1950s, so Cassidy decides to pitch a story about following the etiquette rules to see how it goes in the modern world of online dating.
But when she meets Brawler co-founder Jack at an event, she ups the ante by proposing an article where she dates him as an obedient 1950s woman, and records his expected chauvinistic response.
But Jack, despite not knowing he’s being played, doesn’t respond how she expects, and is far sweeter and loveable than first thought.
This is a witty battle of the sexes story that brings to mind the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. There’s plenty of pop culture references, banter and one-upmanship.

I decided to DNF this book at about the 20% mark. I am just not the target audience for this. The How to Lose a Guy in 10 days comp is what made me interested but there were just too many little icks coming up as I was reading.

Actually a 3 and 1/2 star. I would have rated it higher and it really was until about 80% in, and a few elements bothered me. I’m not a fan of miscommunication tropes and to have two of them - ugh. The zero to maximum sexual encounter just didn’t fit right. Then six weeks of total silence followed by instant forgiveness? Nope. I know it’s a romance, but there were too many forced elements for me to give a solid 4 stars. I liked the characters, but once again, they were almost caricatures of who they were supposed to be, in my mind. It was good, I just wanted a few things different.

An unputdownable story from the get-go, entirely character-driven, and with a perfectly paced build-up of romance and emotion, I felt positively giddy while reading this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Pub for this earc

This book was cute. Did I expect a little more enemies to lovers? Yes. Did we get it? Not really.

The idea behind the book sounded great but the main love interest maybe had one good fight. Very quickly did it turn to sweeter than sugar romance.

I wasn’t a huge fan of how the big blow out went down or how either of the characters dealt with it.

Overall, it’s cute and you’ll read it in one sitting but it won’t make you read over and over again

This "How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days"-inspired rom-com was such a fun read!

First of all, we love a strong, sassy grandma. Gran kicked off Cassidy's whole article idea, so I was sad that she disappeared for the middle part of the book. Never fear, though--she comes back strong in the end. Her character really made me miss my own grandparents.

I loved Cassidy's banter with Jack. I especially liked once she stopped trying to be "Betty" and was a little more herself around him. Cassidy grew a lot throughout the book, so if she seems a little naive at the beginning keep reading. The romance was a little insta-lovey for my taste (they only went on three dates!), but overall enjoyable.

While I typically prefer dual-POV romances, the single POV of The Rom Con added an intriguing sense of mystery to the relationship. Was Jack genuinely interested in Cassidy, or was he pulling a Ben and up to a con of his own?

dating tips from the 50's sounds like a terrible idea but its actually pretty funny, and amazing and one of the best books ive read and i loved every second of it

Thanks @berkleypub @berkleyromance for this @netgalley ARC of The Rom Con!

Buckle up and hunker down y’all because this is a rollercoaster you will not even want to get off of (even if you don’t like rollercoasters, like myself).

(US Pub Date: Nov 7th ‘23)

🌟🌟🌟🌟✨

Cassidy Sutton is sick and tired of dating and also probably the entire concept as a whole (same, girl), but she also doesn’t want to be alone forever (also same, girl). So when yet another relationship blows up in her face - and she complains a little too bitterly to her grandmother about it - the two of them come up with an idea that could fix her up in more ways than one.

Cassidy works for an online women’s publication called Siren, and her grandma’s 1950s dating guide seems like the perfect way to mix both a work piece and a new attempt at relationships. It’s simple: Cass will attempt the outdated tips on random men, and then she’ll write about it.

Enter Jack Bradford: owner of Siren’s fiercest (and grossest) competitor, a men’s publication called Brawler that Cassidy holds personally response for the end of at least her last relationship. With his life’s work devoted to counteracting all of the strides Cassidy and her coworkers make, it seems only fitting that she make him the unsuspecting victim of her vintage dating experiment.

Except two wrenches are thrown in rather quickly: one, the tips are working (though not quite in the way you’d expect) and two, Jack is not the chauvinist blow hard Cassidy has always thought him to be. He’s actually… pretty great.

But the thing about rollercoasters is they’re nearly impossible to get off - and Cassidy has strapped them both in for a ride that has spiraled rapidly out of her control.

This is a great book. The banter between the characters is lovely. The relationship between the female and male protagonist is firey and sweet at the same time. Although, it devolves a bit into melodrama and the male progtagonist reacts a little differiently then you feel he should, it's still an enjoyable read. Library patrons should eat this one up.

Oh my little heart…I am still not fully recovered. Devon Daniel’s has done it again with a fresh take on a rom com in The Rom Con…I was HERE for this fun spin on How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days meets 1950s Doris Day meets the BEST grandma role I’ve maybe ever read. The story was fresh, the characters felt so real, the tropes weren’t cheesy, the dialogue was whiplash fast in a good way and the entire plot was just SO GOOD and fun and fresh. Can you tell I loved it? I think what took this from an average romcom to a 5 star read for me, was the element of Cassie’s Grandma. She reminded me so much of my Nana. From a totally different era, but full of sass, class, wisdom and wit and has adapted to the times while holding on to what made her era so special and unique. I loved the Easter eggs from Meet Me in the Middle and I hit the highlight function on my Kindle loads of times, saving quotes that felt very poignant for where I am at in my life. Preorder NOW! Devon…I’m a fan for life!!!

I am utterly convinced Daniels laced these pages with crack or something equally as addictive. What started out as a laugh-out-loud funny story about a girl using 1950s dating tips to attempt the takedown of a man she views as a misogynist setting women’s rights back several decades transformed into the sweetest, most heartfelt and vulnerable love story ever. Not to mention hot? These two barely do more than kiss for a good 65% of the book, but the slow burn was absolutely delicious. I cannot say enough good things about how flawless Daniels’ prose is, and how immersive every aspect of this story felt. I would sell my soul for Jack Bradford, and I saw SO much of myself is Cassidy. Plus, Gran was just…the best. She reminded me so much of my late grandmother, and I am absolutely weak for the relationship between her and Cassidy.

All that to say…I couldn’t read this fast enough, and I simply cannot recommend it enough.

Dating tips from the 50s? Cassidy agrees to use a book her grandmother gave her to write an article for the online Siren and she choose Jack the creator of the website Brawler as her target. Some of this is very funny but other parts are cringeworthy (part of the point). It is amusing to see attitudes and outlooks from the 50s brought forward to today and this couple makes a perfect pair to show them off. It's a light entertaining read that might make you chuckle. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This would make a good movie.

Hearing the concept for The Rom Con, I was immediately intrigued by it. Cassidy is tasked by her 90-year-old grandmother to use some of her dating tips from the 1950s to help her find a partner. While she thinks she’s too “evolved” for it, she decides to use it to make her grandmother happy.

From there, it snowballs after she tells her boss and it ends up being her next article for the publication she writes for Siren. She decides to try them out at a big event and meets Jack who seems charming but owns Brawler which is her site’s main rival. It all comes to a head when she decides to use the tips to get some “revenge” on Jack for his site’s content.

Of course, since this is a romance, these two end up developing real feelings for each other. As you might imagine, things don’t go exactly as planned for either Cassidy or Jack. He doesn’t match the idea Cassidy has of him in her mind and Cassidy starts to realize that grandmother might be right about some of her tips but not all of them.

While the third-act conflict can make them closer, I do feel like the one in The Rom Con went on entirely too long. I feel like it could have been shortened or at least, reworked so it didn’t seem so all-consuming. Either way, the book was a lot of fun and unlike anything I’ve ever read before.

In a way, it felt like a mix of the old and new without disparaging the other. It did seem that way at first, but Cassidy and Jack were able to find a balance. Plus this book has an adorable cover so if you like the cover, I think you’ll enjoy the insides even more.

Women’s magazine writer Cassidy has ended yet another relationship, while all her friends are getting married left and right. When her grandmother gives her this antiquated list from the 50’s on how to successfully land a man, she uses it as a writing piece to bring down Siren’s sexist rival Brawler. Ready to make her mark, Cassidy just might have stumbled upon the one man she least expected to fall so hard for—Jack Bradford, CEO of said sexist rival.

The banter, the charm, the How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and classic rom-com vibes had me laughing, awwing, and swooning! I absolutely loved it! And yet another Jack to add to my list of book boyfriends. I had become a fan of Daniels after MEET YOU IN THE MIDDLE, so reading another rivals to lovers by her hit the spot!

“I realized I could live without her. And I want someone
I can't live without."

"He'll either prove himself or he won't. But love is a leap of faith either way. It takes a strong person to apologize, and an even stronger person to forgive.”

Absolutely adored this story! If you like the movie “How to lose a guy in 10 days” then you will love this! It has similar attributes.

Cassie is a strong FMC which I adore. She doesn’t need a man and is perfectly ready to put one in his place.

Jack is just amazing. He isn’t what everyone assumes he is, and goes to show never judge someone by not only their looks but their jobs.

I loved how the author shows the characters have flaws, but are willing to admit to those flaws. This story was so true to life. I just couldn’t get enough.

I vote for a second book!

Thank you Netgalley, Devon Daniels, Berkley Publishing for the e arc.

Pub Date 11/07/23. Check it out! It’s a true gem!

Ohhhh my gosh! Okay, I wanna start by saying that Meet You in the Middle is my all time favorite romcom, so I was super excited to get this one. And it… did NOT disappoint! It was so cute! I will admit I was skeptical at first because of Cass’s “out there” way of thinking, but I loved how Jack got her to see his point of view and vice versa. They… well, they met in the middle. Their relationship was just so swoon-worthy and amazing! Love love love!

I LOVED this book.

It was funny (I feel like I say this a lot but it’s true!) and had heart. I love when a romance book has an elderly side characters, and Cassidy’s grandmother lent humor, wisdom, and empathy to the story.

Cassidy and Jack were such great characters! I loved their dates, particularly a hilarious double date with Cassidy’s sister and goofball brother-in-law.

I did not predict how the third act was going to play out. I thought it was going in another direction but was so pleased with how Devon executed the story. It flowed so well and I couldn’t stop reading.

I really appreciated the thoughtful look at gender roles and the conclusion of this theme.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts are my own.