“There’s something about Tate that infuriates me. Makes me curious. Makes me…hot. A little shaky. A lot breathless.” 🩷🎧🎸💸🛍️💍
LONELY FOR YOU ONLY (e-arc) REVIEW
4/5 ★’s
•
•
•
swoon. swoon. swoon, you guessed, some more swooning 🤭 when i first dived into this book, i went into it with very high expectations because all i’ve ever heard were great reviews about Monica Murphy’s writing. These expectations were more than surpassed. The minute i dove into this world of lancasters, I was entranced. By this setting, these CHARACTERS, these pieces that all combined into a perfect puzzle that is - this book. Scarlett, a young heiress living under the shadow of her family’s wealth and expectations. Tate, a washed up has been boy band member who thinks life is absolutely over for him. The two meet, and well, the rest is history, perfect history.

Our fmc, Scarlett Lancaster is one of those characters that if they were real i would engulf her in the biggest hug ever and go out for coffee with on a weekly basis. A selfless, loving, shy and unware of all of her potential young lady who lives with a day to day fear of being stuck under her family’s name and money without anyone ever seeing her for all she has to give. Not only is scarlett such and adorable character because of how selfless and naive she is, but of how loving and caring she is deep inside, for her family, her friends, and of course, for tate. Her approach to love is wary and cautious, afraid to detail again for someone who led her on without any warning or explanation. Her development fuses with tate’s own personal growth, and in the end both of their paths on the way to becoming better people, better lovers, are all done hand in hand.

In regards to our mmc, I always feel like i naturally pull towards the fmc in a book simply because i’m a girl and can relate to the pains and struggles they feel. But, tate ramsey really got me in this book. I’m in such a chokehold with this man, that i simply can’t. He’s not your typical perfect gentlemen who swears all he wants to do is love the fmc from the start. Tate feels like a real guy in front of you who is simply telling you the truth and loving you every step of the way. He’s so honest, open, blunt, but at the same time - hopeful, faithful, loving, selfless, and most of protective and gentle with his scar (iykyk) 🩷 His fall to a poor and suffering man who went through personal struggles mentally & physically along with massive substance abuse (please check trigger warnings before reading!) who in the beginning lives in a humble living home and writes songs in his bathroom simply because theyre the quietest place in his home, is something so fascinating? adorable? to me? I love the fact that he’s not your typical rich, all in power, book boyfriend. He’s simply a 21 year old man who made mistakes, endured a lot of pain, and still has the most selfless heart and soul. Tate, it’s me and you forever bae 🥹

All in all, i adored this book, the only reason i gave this one a four instead of a five was just because i wanted MORE! I felt as if the ending was a bit rushed and could have been explained more in depth more in regards to the sequence of events. I also would’ve loved to see more of Tate and Scarlett as an actual couple, doing everyday couple things after they established their feelings, that would’ve really solidified a perfect 5 star for me because these characters were some of the best i’ve ever seen. Absolute praise to monica murphy, this was such a perfect palette cleanser; and one that i’ll be thinking about for a very long time to come.

Lonely for You Only by Monica Murphy, Scarlett Lancaster is ready to celebrate her eighteenth birthday, she is determined to make this an unforgettable day not only because it's her birthday, but she wants to attract the attention of the one who has been her best friend, but she's always been attracted to, and everything seems to get even better when her father tells her that he hired a famous pop star and former boy band member to play at her birthday party. But to her disappointment the star her father said was not who she thought, but her father hired Tate Ramsey, former singer of the band Five Car Pileup, which has not been popular for years. Tate, after years of alcohol- and drug-fueled partying, is sober and ready to return, so he takes this opportunity with both hands and gives a wonderful performance, although the birthday girl doesn't seem at all impressed with him. So at the end of his performance he follows her and when he sees a photographer sneaking around to take a photo of them he asks her not to argue because the last thing his career could stand is appearing in some tabloid arguing with a Lancaster so surprising them both Scarlett decides to kiss him, and it is precisely because of that kiss that goes viral and the video of Tate singing at the party that soon both of their careers begin to present themselves with incredible opportunities, so they both agree to establish a fake relationship, but soon what begins as a lie starts to feel very real, but in order to get what they didn't know they needed, both must face their demons and insecurities to find the path to true love.
This is a sweet story where these beautiful characters grow and evolve, full of sweet and funny moments, their relationship evolves with the story and allows us to get to know them and fall in love with them. A fabulous story to add to this series that you should not miss. Highly recommended!

🎸 dislike to lovers
🎀 PR fake dating
🎸 Reformed bad boy x good girl
🎀 rich heiress x popstar
🎸 forced proximity & roommates
🎀 first love & redemption

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤:
♡︎ if you ever read one direction fan fiction
♡︎ Daydreamed about dating your celebrity crush
♡︎ ever pretended to be an influencer in your room making YouTube vids 💄

Charming, fun, adorable and all the other synonyms for “cute” 🥹💗 this book felt nostalgic like when you were young and had a huge crush on a boy band. I liked the authors writing style and how fast the story read.

Tate is given a second chance at fame after his career ended over his bad reputation and addiction. Scarlet is rich heiress who has lived a sheltered life in the shadow of her families legacy. She’s tired of living in the background and wants to become the main character of her story. A fake dating PR contract is made when their kiss goes viral. Im a sucker for the fake dating trope and I was instantly hooked.

“𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒔. 𝑴𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏“

I love the way they protect each other and how they wanted to be more then what they were labelled as. Tates cocky flirty banter and scarlet shy & uptight sass made for such a fun ride. Tate has a history of addiction and trying to stay sober is challenging when theirs so much pressure and anxiety put on his shoulders. I loved how Scarlett became his support system. scarlets relationship with her parents was so wholesome. Both of them were so supportive, funny and kinda dysfunctional 🥹😭

First love trope is so cute. The pining and lusting 😩 the third act break up was abrupt and rushed. Wish it was handled better but overall i adored!

“I wrote that for you, Scar. And I meant every word I said. I am lonely for only you.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️
This story is so cute, sweet, and rockstar swoony.

Monica Murphy introduced us to another Lancaster. This time it’s the daughter of the youngest Lancaster brother Fitzgerald ( Fitzy) . He’s the wild one, the rebel, the party animal of the family. His daughter Scarlet is the complete opposite of him. So, now that she turned 18 he throws her an extravagant birthday bash with a surprise performance from her favorite boy band performer.

Tate Ramsey is an ex boy band member who fell from grace early in his career due to drugs, alcohol abuse, and partying hard. After a few years of sobriety he was offered a job performing at Scarlett’s party. This performance and a kiss that went viral at the party gave him the second chance he never thought was possible. Due to said encounter leads to a fake relationship deal. Fake leads to real and yada yada equals love.

Scarlett Lancaster is scared to shine. She lives under the shadow of her parents past partying ways. She wants people to see her as an individual. Tate can see Scar for who she is. Picture sweet heiress meets Harry Styles…Swoon! Tate and Scar’s chemistry was intense from the beginning. This slow burn was cute, angsty, with a lot of character building. I truly enjoyed this new side to the Lancaster clan.

Tropes: rockstar, billionaire, fake dating, forced proximity, virgin, bad boy/good girl.

Thank you so much Monica, Valentine Pr, and Netgalley for the ARC.

This heartwarming romance plays with the fake relationship trope, set against the intriguing backdrop of the entertainment industry. The story of Scarlett Lancaster and Tate Ramsey, an unlikely pair thrown together by a viral kiss, evolves beautifully from pretense to genuine connection. Their journey from skepticism to deep affection amidst the challenges of public scrutiny and personal growth kept me hooked. The story is rich with themes of redemption, the search for authenticity, and the power of unexpected love. The characters' development and the emotional depth of their interactions made this book compelling, offering a perfect blend of romance, drama, and a touch of humor.

This wasn’t our typical Lancaster family story. It was a sweet, slow burn romance, with a little bit of spice as well! It was a good read.

I really enjoyed Tate and Scarlett. They were the perfect complement to each other. Tate seems more outgoing, while Scarlett is more reserved. He brings out a more feisty side of her, while she seems to ground him. Truly a perfect match. Watching them figure out their feelings for each other was so wonderful, and you couldn’t help but root for them.

I will also say, I don’t know if this was supposed to happen or not but I developed a crush on Fitz Lancaster, Scarlett’s dad. He’s so unlike his siblings and I loved it.

I loved the plot and idea of this story. The setting was great as well.

I ended up listening to the audio through libro and I’m not sure if it’s the narration or the writing of the dialogues between characters but something was off for me.

I also was hoping this would be more adult and it leaned a bit more YA.

In Lonely For You Only by Monica Murphy you'll get the love story of Scarlett Lancaster and Tate Ramsey.

This book is definitely kinda different from the other Lancasters... but that isn't a bad thing at all! I loved the other books and it was such a nice change!

So, Scarlett turns 18 and her dad has a huge surprise for her. Dressed in a beautiful dress full of tulle she has to find out that it's not Taylor Swift or Harry Styles. Nope, her dad hired Tate Ramsey. THE Tate Ramsey from Five Car Pileup, the band she loved when she was like 13...
Not that totally impressed by his performance, she finds herself in a kinda scandalous situation with Tate afterwards. Well, he needed her help and... maybe she could need him too?

I don't wanna spoil you to much, but let me tell you that I really enjoyed this book!
Like I said before this book about another Lancaster is different from the others.
Scarlett has a great relationship with her parents and although coming from wealth and prominence she still has to deal with her personal issues.
She's a shy, young woman now and when there's Tate with a special offer she can't refuse.
It was so good to see how Scarlett developed her own personality more to be a strong and self-confident woman.
I liked that a lot!
And Tate? The rockstar who had problems with drugs and alcohol years ago.
Now he wants to be famous again, and Scarlett could definitely help him. 😉
I liked the storyline! How their relationship changed and turned into something so much more and heartwarming and awwwww!! 😍😊😍😊
Ugh! I'd love to swoon more, but I'm afraid I'd spoil too much!

Lonely For You Only is a beautiful coming-of-age love story of a heiress and a singer. There's a bit drama, lots of emotions and development.
If you like fake dating, first love, forced proximity and kinda enemies-to-lovers - this book is for you!

I'm a huge fan of Monica Murphy and am thankful for an ARC.
This is my honest review in my own words.
Hopefully there'll be more Lancaster books! 🙏😊❤️

3.5 rounded up to 4

I realllyy wanted to like this one! Mainly because I’m a sucker for fake dating! Also Scarlett got to live out every teenagers dream of falling in love with their boy and crush! You can’t tell me you never envisioned marrying Harry Styles 👀

However, it missed a lot of marks for me and left me disappointed. I couldn’t connect to the characters and the ending felt rushed.

I loved the cameos from other Lancaster Prep characters and all of the angst! It is a sloooow burn which I knew that going in but man was it slooow!

Scarlett and Tate definitely got more than they bargained for when her dad hired him to play at her birthday party.

One viral kiss video = fake dating. Sign me up!

This has an enemies to lovers vibe with a slow burn feel. I really enjoyed the large group of supporting characters and thought the banter between the group was great. Definitely recommend.

i love this so much! i love the writing style, storyline, the characters, and every other things in this book. cannot wait to read more of monica murphy's books! excellent <3

18yo Scarlett is the daughter of a billionaire and an upcoming influencer on the NY scene. Her dad throws her an over the top birthday party and pays the has been pop star Tate Ramsey a million dollars to come sing to her at her party.

If you are a fan of fake dating and the dislike to love trope you might enjoy this book. You don't need to have read the rest of the Lancaster prep books as this one makes reference to other characters in the series, but it is pretty much a standalone. It is also a dual POV so you know what the FMC/MMC are feeling all the way through so there is no angst build up.

I enjoyed this book, but did not love it. Here is why - it felt pretty predictable and the part in every romance book that tests their relationship came very late in this book and was over in a chapter. The spice in this book was like a 1 chilli pepper compared to the other books in the series.

Overall I rated this book 3 stars. I would still have read it even knowing all of the above. I liked both the FMC and FMC.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tate was the lead singer of a band, Five Car Pileup. But his career tanked years ago. When he was hired to perform at Scarlett’s eighteenth birthday party, his talents were on full display. And after his performance, something sparked between the two of them.

This was such a cute and low angst read! I loved how supportive Scarlett was of Tate, and she never judged him for his past. He never pushed Scarlett for more than she was willing to give or do, and he was so patient. Honestly, he wasn’t at all how I would have thought he would be.

These two went from dislike to like while fake dating, and the ending — ah, so swoonworthy.

This definitely has a very different vibe to it from the other Lancaster Prep novels--and I'm here for it!

Unlike the previous novels, this doesn't take place at the school nor do the leads have a "hate to love you" relationship trope going on. Instead, the story focuses on the two of them finding themselves while navigating a fake relationship. The characters' journey to self-discovery is the main focus rather than melodrama and steamy scenes (which are great don't get me wrong). I just found it to be very refreshing in that regard; especially when compared to the other novels in the series so far.

I struggled a bit with the pacing of this one though. It's a long book and I just felt like the plotline that is pitched in the synopsis takes a long time to come about. The 25-50% range just felt slow to me and didn't contribute too much to the overall story. I wanted more scenes with these two together and falling in love and I feel like an opportunity was missed there to expand upon it a bit more. Because when we get that in the latter half of the novel, I found myself much more engaged in the story.

Awkward premise....

And i was in for it. Hands rubbing gleefully. Scarlett, spoilt rich girl gets Tate as her birthday singer. Its not Justin Bieber. Nope, its a washed up has been, Tate (think used up N'Sync).
Pretty soon, these two are faking it for the Gram/Tok.

They have to learn to like each other. Reluctantly.
Recommend.
4.5 stars

An ex-boy band singer, a gorgeous heiress, fake dating and the Lancaster world?! This one was so cute. Tate and Scarlett were simply charming as they tried to navigate their viral kiss, their fake relationship that is turning into something very real, and their slow burn heat. This book is definitely on the lower angst in and ultra swoony- a night light and deliciously sweet visit to the sometime edgier Lancaster crew. But here it’s all characters, all adorableness, and all swoons. A delightfully heartfelt and low drama read.
⁣
Tropes
🎸Bad Boy and Good Girl
🎸Fake Dating + Slower Burn
🎸Forced Proximity
🎸Ex-boyband Royalty Meets Heiress
🎸Rich people SHIZ
🎸Coming of Age

Welcome back to the world of the Lancasters, although this story does not take place at Lancaster Prep. Lonely for You Only is the story of Scarlett Lancaster, whose father for her 18th birthday hires her a boy bander to play at her party. Much to her dismay, it is Tate Ramsey and not Harry Stiles. Scarlett is certainly not happy with the selection. A brief encounter after the show leads to a kiss, that goes viral. In an effort to 'save face' they begin to fake date each other, you can guess where this might lead. Monica has written another incredible story of love but with all fun along the way.

Monica Murphy's Lonely for You Only takes readers back to the Lancaster family with Scarlett's story.

At her 18th birthday party she's hoping her
friend and crush, Ian, is going to finally notice her. However, nothing is going like she wanted it to. She's also not excited to find out her dad has hired Tate, a member of an old boy band, to perform at the party. When a paparazzi photo of a kiss they share goes viral they both find they can benefit from a fake relationship. It was fun watching Scarlett and Tate fall for one another as they spent time together. Their relationship had an unconventional beginning but they were well matched with great chemistry.

I really like Monica's writing style and this was an engaging story that hooked me from the beginning. You can jump in with this book as a standalone, but the other Lancaster family books are great reads too.

Tate and Scarlett’s story was a fun story. I love the Lancaster’s and a good redemption story so this was a perfect combination of the two. I loved seeing Tate get his comeback after getting to know his story.

I definitely felt like this was more a story about Tate and I really wanted more for Scarlett but I loved to see her start to grow into her own person.

I skipped the last book in the series, after it wasn’t working for me, but this one started out better for me. I mean, I am still such a big New Kids on the Block fan, that any boy band story is probably going to be a winner for me. I like the bit of the reverse billionaire romance trope for this one with Scarlett being the heiress. Sure, Tate could have been a billionaire, I mean he was a famous pop star, but when we start the story he’s down on his luck after kind of blowing up his career with drugs and alcohol.

Tate is easy to fall in love with though, he’s worked so hard to get to a better place, and this second chance for him is something you root for right away. Especially when his performance at Scarlett’s birthday party goes the way it does. It’s frustrating how many chances that Scarlett keeps giving her friend Ian, even after everyone gives her advice and tries to help her see how he’s just stringing her along. The dinner she has with his family is the perfect eye-opener for her, and it’s nice that she is able to figure things out about him from that point on.

Some of the stuff is definitely reminiscent a bit with the whole Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce romance going on right now, and so of course that stood out to me. Even if the author didn’t probably write this story with that in mind at all, or at least not when she started it I’m sure. I think maybe I liked Scarlett a lot because at that age I was a lot like her in the lack of experience area. And I liked how things went for her with that. How it wasn’t just a jump in and go for it, how they worked up to it, at a pace that was right, and in my opinion, realistic.

The story kept my interest the whole time as I wanted to see what would happen and how things could go with this fake relationship. In fact the way the secret got leaked and what happened at that point was unpredictable a bit for me. I liked that. I also loved the way Tate made sure to show Scarlett how he felt in the end. Not to mention all the song writing he did with Scarlett as his muse. Hmm, now I’m wondering if Taylor will have any songs with Travis as her muse? lol

I also liked Scarlett’s parents best probably out of all the Lancaster families too. This will be one of my favorites probably of the series for sure!