I was very excited to read this book. As the weather warms up, I find myself itching to read fun romance books and I was ready for Minnie Maple to be exactly that. there were just a few glaring problems that made it difficult for me to read. In fact, if I hadn't received this book as an ARC, I likely would have put it back down by Chapter 9 and not picked it back up. My major hang-up with this book was the inclusion of Drew's perspective. Right from the jump, I disliked his character and knew that, no matter the direction the book took, he'd be irredeemable for me. If I had only ever seen him through Mary-Beth's perspective, I actually think I would have enjoyed the book. You don’t see how completely awful he is through Mary-Beth’s eyes, but when you read his perspective, it’s a whole different person. Through Mary-Beth, we understand that Drew is kind of an asshole in a don’t-meet-your-heroes kind of way. He’s disappointing, and definitely misogynistic, but not entirely irredeemable yet. When you get to Drew’s perspective and read his thoughts, though, everything changes. He ends up being really gross and creepy and he leers at women constantly.I found his perspective genuinely difficult to read because his thoughts and attitudes were so off-putting and truly discomfiting.

This is a tricky situation for all enemies-to-lovers books - how do we make the reader hate the enemy at first and then redeem them enough that that hatred turns to love? In Drew's case, I just think that the douchebaggery was taken too far. The character ultimately read as fetishistic, pedophilic, and extremely misogynistic. At every juncture in the book, Drew describes Mary-Beth as childlike. He describes her as looking like a twelve-year-old, then a fifteen-year-old... and those descriptions almost always directly precede him describing his lust for her. In one particularly horrific instance, he describes Mary-Beth's hair as being in two braids and says that, in addition to her looking like a fifteen year old that way, she also looks all the sexier for it. His perspective was so wholly off-putting that I actually felt, at several times while reading, like I couldn't stomach much more of it.

When the relationship evolves, he stops using childlike descriptors for her, but makes the switch to describing how tiny she is constantly. In fact, much of the book is repetitive this same way. The amount of times that Harper's Billie Eilish perfume was mentioned was a little bit strange and also didn't really add much to the book. The second half of the book was far easier to stomach than the first half, but was ultimately extremely unrealistic. And don’t get me wrong, I’m very capable of suspending my disbelief - especially when I know what I’m getting myself into. I expected some level of unreality based on the blurb, but it really got taken too far at the end. I’m not one for spoilers, so I won’t go into heavy detail, but the way that their relationship evolved was entirely too fast and very unrealistic.

The problem I have with this couple is that I don’t care about either of them individually and I don’t really like them together either. We learn very little about either character throughout the book, and what we do learn isn’t enough for me to believe in their relationship. I didn’t root for them, I found their chemistry to be lacking, and I simply could not get past the constant “she’s so tiny, she’s like a little kid” commentary littered throughout the book.

Overall, this book just wasn’t for me. I think that in some ways, it may resonate with people who grew up in very religious and sexually repressed households. I think that people who have struggled with their faith and how it interferes with their sexuality may find this book comforting to read. There are some sweet moments throughout the book that I did enjoy reading, but I think they were just outshined by my distaste for Drew. If I could change anything about this book, I would omit Drew’s perspective and take the time to really flesh out the main characters more, dive a little deeper into who they really are. I would give Drew some more redeeming qualities, and I would absolutely forego mentions of how tiny and childlike Mary-Beth is.

I love the idea of this book. Virgin kindergarten teacher is secretly the author of a massively popular series of steamy historical novels which are basically fanfics starring her favorite actor. Plot leads them to fake dating and hilarity ensues, right?

Sadly, no.

There are some funny moments and a few super sweet scenes. And the spice was just the right amount of heat. But overall, everything just felt over the top. Drew isn't just a jerk, he's dude bro douchy. Mary-Beth isn't just a virgin, she's uber innocent never even had an orgasm because she's never touched herself.

I would've enjoyed this book a lot more if Drew was just a smidge softer (some sort of hint in the first 25% that he's not a terrible human being and is capable of being the person we see later) and if she wasn't so unbelievably innocent.

I loved this book. Snark and sexy times! This is very much a story for our current times - a virgin kindergarten teacher who stalks her celeb crush via the Gram self-publishes some very steamy romance novels, which then lead to said-celeb putting out a Tik Tok seeking the author. Of course the search goes viral.

Mary Beth is a preacher’s kid whose mom has seriously warped MB’s attitude about pre-marital sex. She lives in fear that someone will figure out she is new sensation author Minnie Maple. But she also wants to meet Drew and sell her books’ movie rights, so she outs herself to him, never thinking he is not the wholesome do-gooder he portrays on social media. The two clash tremendously and Drew ends up following MB home to her small town where he announces to everyone that he is her boyfriend. Desperate to keep her secret, MB plays along. And over time, the fake becomes real.

The main characters did take some time to grow on me. MB seemed a little spineless at the start and Drew was just icky (e.g., his earring collection). But together they each go out on individual journey of self-discovery, which allows them to also find the other.

Drew and MB have great banter and excellent chemistry. The sexy times are well-done. There are mentions of race and racism but they are woven into the story in a way that feels real. Religion plays a role in the book but again I thought it was well-done. I didn’t feel like religion was being forced onto me as a reader, it was simply part of the backstory.

The secondary characters were great, especially the best friends. I hope they get their own book! The Vegas twist was good, but the viral reveal was a bit unbelievable. Small quibbles though.

4.5 stars rounded to 5. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.