Teddy is at a crossroads of his life after a divorce and failed business. Cole is at a place where is business is successful and possibly about to take off. He offers Teddy an opportunity as a fake boyfriend to make a few things in his life going a bit more smoothly. As everything life is messy, getting from fake relationship to happily for now is an adventure.

Hundred percent Pretty Woman vibes!

This unfolds as a poignant and at times heart-wrenching narrative, delving into the myriad obstacles two men face in their quest to connect with each other. The striking dichotomy between Teddy, a rugged bear of a man, and Cole, a sophisticated and enigmatic figure, forms the crux of their unlikely yet compelling bond. Their dynamic, reminiscent of a modern-day 'Pretty Woman' scenario with a dash of fake dating, sets the stage for a story brimming with chemistry and emotional depth. Steven's skillful storytelling weaves a tale of mutual discovery and growth, leaving readers yearning for more narratives of such caliber and warmth.

This was such an entertaining read. It's my first book by Steven and I truly enjoyed it. The premise, the characters, their relationship. It all just worked. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from Steven in the future!

The book started off great but teetered a bit for me until the end. The characters were kind of run of the mill but it was cute overall.

I feel like this book is a sign of the strides we've made in queer media! There are so many layers and nuance to the narrative that is based around the idea of having fun, while fully engrossed in a narrative. Salvatore's book scratches a particular itch that I didn't know could be fulfilled by a book! With the perspective switching between narrators, one feels so close to the characters by the end. I would eagerly follow these characters wherever their story takes them.

From the moment that I read the synopsis for this book I was immediately intrigued. I loved this book, and really enjoyed reading it. It kept me on the edge of my seat ready to learn more and more.

I like Steven Salvatore's writing style, and was very happy with how things wrapped up. Thank you Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Overall I liked it. I thought it was an interesting take on sex work and how to navigate a relationship if you are dating a sex worker.

The book is set around Teddy, who is recently divorced (from a terrible man, I must say!), losing his beloved plant shop, and Cole, who basically created an app version of Only Fans, is super successful, but has kept this whole side of his life from his family.

There was a lot of drama throughout the book, and while I didn't entirely understand Cole's rule about no kissing, to each their own. I liked that for the most part the drama was external to the couple; terrible people being terrible to try and get what they want.

Also, fake dating. I will never not want to read a fake dating book. I don't know why I love that trope so much, but I do. Probably because it's so ludicrous!

Thoroughly enjoyed the MCs and their dynamic/relationship, as well as Teddy's friends and Cole's sister. Some of the subplot with the company was a little convoluted but it was a fun read with a great take on the fake dating trope.

A perfectly serviceable romance with a finale that includes a lot of people being mad at each other for convoluted reasons. It’s fine!

Both main characters are sort of getting over their exes in different ways while coming to terms with how they present and maintain romantic relationships. Teddy is facing losing his business and his husband to divorce, Cole is facing his issues with intimacy by hiring Teddy as his fake boyfriend for PR spin (to come off as more traditional). I can't seem to keep away from the fake dating trope in romance...

I didn't see the premise as super realistic and there were times the book jumped around more than made sense to me, but I loved how heartfelt it was and the character development.

Loved this fresh queer take on the fake dating trope. It was easy to root for both men and hope for their happy ending together.

Cole and Teddy are both trying to navigate the world that has been pretty cruel to them.
Cole is running an app that connects sex-workers with the rest of the world in a safe and managed way.
Teddy lost everything when his ex-husband's father sued him.
A chance meeting leads to more with family and friend drama.
My rating: 3.5/5
There were times while reading this that was the characters did and said did not match to what had previously happened. I felt the Jason drama was forced and didn't really make sense when you considered the whole story. Overall it was ok, but not my favorite.

Really enjoyed this book!

Romance books can never do any wrong in my eyes. I'll take romance in any and every way.

I've recommended this book to others in the book club I'm a part of because of how much I enjoyed this book. Definitely think more people should read it.

I've been seeing it more and more on social media too, which I'm so glad about!

Take that as your sign to read the book!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

3.5⭐️

Thank you so much to Afterglow Books and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

This was a fun, sweet contemporary romance following 2 heroes from very different worlds.

We follow one hero who is a very wealthy, successful sex worker and business owner who spontaneously asks a recently divorced, and newly unemployed, stranger to be his fake boyfriend.

I love the fake dating trope so it while always be a win for me. Plus I loved the themes surrounding sex positivity and sex work.

I also really loved that this dealt with characters in their 30s who still don't have it all together (cause relatable). These 2 come at love and romance in very different ways and both have strong feeling and emotions surround relationships.

While I loved a lot about the romance itself and the characters, the plot was... a lot. This book was drama on top of drama on top of drama.

By the end it just felt a little much. I just wish a couple of things had been dialed back. Especially since the reveal was pretty intense. It felt like some of the unnecessary drama detracted from how difficult that situation was.

I'm definitely very curious to read more from this author though! I thought the characters felt unique and real. The romance was both filled with sexual chemistry but also clear adoration and love. And the themes of loneliness and acceptance were something I think so many readers can relate to.

This was cute, but uneven. LOVED the Pretty Woman references, and the ending was adorable--but the instalove (though it admittedly is PW accurate) and the miscommunication throughout? Less of a fan. The POV shifts were a bit abrupt (I swear, one was mid scene and with zero warning, so I think it was an editing mistake--hopefully it's fixed in the final copy) and I'm still not 100% sure what Cole's app does, so there's that. I'm pretty sure I'm not the target audience for this one, but that's OK. If it brings new readers to the Afterglow and they love it, that's great!

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

This is a compelling twist on the fake dating trope with some pretty woman vibes for the modern era. Though this time it’s the sex worker who has the money, and a sweet horticulturist who signs up to be his boyfriend for the week. It was a lot angstier than I was prepared for, but I really loved the characters and couldn’t put it down. And it still has sweet and funny moments.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

To be honest the writing was a bit choppy in a lot of places. The dual perspective were sometimes confusing. That being said the spice signs were so gooood. Would read more from this author

The pros about this book are:
The positive sex representation and the positive sex worker representation. I loved the characters and their interactions with each other, especially Teddy's friend group. I also love a good fake dating trope, though this felt a little rushed.

The con:
The writing style felt a little bit all over the place, and the quick jumps between each character sometimes left me questioning who's POV I was currently reading in, That may just be in the ARC copy, but I felt it sometimes a bit choppy.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and read it in one sitting. If only there was a Plant Daddy book for me to read.

While I didn't hate this and I think a lot of people would probably absolutely love this, it ultimately just wasn't for me. There was so much happening, it was hard to keep track with a new conflict popping up on every page. And while suspending my disbelief over people falling head over heels, upend their whole lives in love with each other within a few days, I just never really saw that chemistry between these two. They spend more time fighting, sleeping together, or walking out over misunderstandings than actually seeming to enjoy each other's company.

I rounded it up to 3 because I did still enjoy many of the characters individually and still think it's a fun concept, but ultimately this was unfortunately a little more disappointing and forgettable than I'd hoped.

Story 3.5 ⭐️

Cute

This book was really cute and I enjoyed the story.
I really enjoyed both Teddy and Cole individually and as a couple. The romance was adorable.

I just wish that toward the end the story would have been a little bit more flushed out. It felt like a lot of things were left unanswered and slightly brushed off. I think an epilogue would have helped with some of those missing plot points and would’ve made the story better.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.