We meet Max, a congressional staffer stuck living with her ex to be able to make DC rent, as she's flying to Tampa to meet Micah, a digital nomad whom she swiped right on Tinder. Neither is in a place to make things work for real, but they agree that fake dating will make her ex, Ben, jealous and keep Michah's sister off his case in the midst of his father's death. Over the next few months, they realize that their feelings might be more than fake, though neither are in a place to make things work for real.

This is a novella that reads like a good first draft of a full-length book. Objectively, I enjoyed it and found myself getting through the whole thing in almost no time. However, because of the length, we have to make a lot of leaps about the growth the two characters make to get to their happy for now. Without that extra character development, for instance, Micah reads like a walking red flag, EVEN after he's supposedly grown as a person and there's some cringeworthy internal dialogue on his part. Likewise, we don't get to see Max work through her anxiety and Micah work through his grief.

At the end of the day, I think the premise is strong and I would love to read this as a full novel.

* Thank you to Author Collective 20 and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! *

Breadcrumbs is an emotional, reflective romance novella by Alicia Wilder. This is my first time reading Wilder’s work, and I enjoyed it!

What I loved:
- Max and Micah felt real and relatable. Their relationship with each other, their family, and their immediate circle were believable.
- Max’s GAD was realistically represented. I appreciated that you could tell her shift in mental health based on how Wilder framed Max’s point of view.
- Fake dating is always a great trope!

Room for improvement:
- The fake dating aspect of the plot felt like it rushed into real attraction and a relationship too quickly. This may be due to the nature of a novella, but I wish the transition was slower.
- The supporting cast, like Micah’s family, felt very one-dimensional.

Overall, I am rating Breadcrumbs 3.75 out of 5 stars (3 for NetGalley). I enjoyed this and completed it in just one sitting. Thank you to NetGalley and Alicia Wilder for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my unbiased, honest review!

This was a cute little novella. Good quick read. I couldn't help but relate to the fmc and mmc. If you like a cozy little romance then this is the one for you.

Thank you for allowing me to read this arc. I was looking to read a novella so this met my requiremnet. However, This book was almost unbearable to read. This arc in my thoughts was poorly written it should have a warning about how graphic the language was in this book.

This isn’t the normal type of book I go for. I’m into long series and fantasy and a lot of spice. But I saw this and thought it might be a nice change of pace and I was right. It was short enough that I wasn’t left wondering what would happen next and worrying I’d have to put it down to find out. But long enough that the story flowed and it wasn’t rushed. It was a refreshing take on a romance story where you don’t immediately go these people will end up together. It was a beautifully written story about two different people working through the different struggles in their lives and being there for each other. I really enjoyed this and I think it may even be in my reread pile!

Breadcrumbs
By: Alicia Wilder

4 Stars

Getting over an ex is hard, but when you have to live with one, it can be torture. Max is tired of being led on by her ex, who just happens to still be her roommate. When he starts dating, the dilemma leads Max to search on the "dating apps," which leads her to Micah who is a man with his own problems and doesn't want a relationship. Despite that, a friendship is formed and maybe one day more?

This was a fast-paced story with comedy, drama, and romance. For being a short novella, it really had it all. The characters were fun to watch develop throughout. Max was hilarious. The beginning was hilarious and the ending was so sweet. Overall, I really enjoyed this story. If you love novellas and a good romance to boot, this book is it.

*I want to thank Netgalley and the Author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Reviews

Max and Micah meet on a dating app, both are going in different directions in life, so is there any future for them together?

This was a super cute quick little read! I actually read it on a flight to NYC and it was such a great read for some good in-flight entertainment. Thank you to NetGalley and Alicia Wilder for the oppourtunity to read this ARC of Breadcrumbs!

Quick short realistic love story.

Max and Micah meet through a dating app, agree to fake date to help make Max’s ex jealous and Micah to get his sister off his back.
You can tell they both are falling for each other, but both know that aren’t in the right place mentally to anyone’s anything and call things off.

I enjoyed that they first found and worked on themselves to discover who they were before trying to be what the other needed.

Went from right people, wrong time to finding each other when the time was right and ready to grow with each other and take it day by day.

I think the length of the story was perfect to tell their story.

I love the length of this novella. It was perfect for Max & Micah’s story.

If I’m being really honest there was so much about this that just wasn’t believable. For example, a grown woman with decent job and a hotel voucher…. Wouldn’t stay in a van willingly.

I wanted to love them, but I just didn’t get enough from Micah. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thank you to NetGalley & Alicia Wilder for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Breadcrumbs is a novella about two people who come together at the wrong time. Max (short for Maxine)'s boyfriend recently broke up with her, but they are still sharing an apartment because rent is so high in DC. Micah lost his dad and is floundering.

This is not a feel good, escape from reality romance. This is more real and gritty than that. Both characters grapple with real issues. While I prefer the escape from reality romances more, stories like this one are still a good read.

Thanks to Net Galley and Alicia Wilder for the ARC. This one comes out on September 26th!

This book wasn't what I expected, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. There were some moments that didn't fit into the story-line, in my opinion, but the general impressions of this title are positive.
Max and Micah met through an application during the time that was really hard for both of them. Max has just broken up with his boyfriend but she has to keep living with him because of the high cost of living in the city. From the other hand, Micah had lost his father. They are both at certain crossroads in their lives. They decide to pretend they are dating, so Max's boyfriend would be jealous and Micah's family wouldn't bother him about being alone and not dealing with his father's death.
I liked the dynamic of Max and Micah's relationship. They are honest with each other, they communicate openly about all topics and they do not pretend to be something they are not. Even though Breadcrumbs is a novella, both characters are well developed and it was nice to follow how they changed from the beginning to the ending of the story. Both characters have good and bad sides that are well explained by the author. I wish we got the opportunity to meet other people in their lives a bit deeper, but even without that, we have got an overall picture of their backgrounds.
The meaning of the title is well thought out. The story is quite realistic, and it is not just a romance, it is also a book about different ways in which people deal with changes and loss in their lives, about friendship and, most importantly, self-respect and self-esteem.

Thank you NetGalley, A.M. Cohn LLC and author for sending me this book for review consideration.
#NetGalley #Breadcrumbs

So refreshing!
This was such a palette cleaner in the best way possible After reading book after book of insta love and no reason for said love. It was so good to read something more realistic.
The love felt real and adorable. I believed every part of this. I didn't know how much Id been missing that lately
(Ive just had a streak of popular romance books I just couldn't get through. I would stop after a couple chapters because they made me cringe or I didn't believe/understand the characters dramatic feelings that seem to come out of nowhere)
This book is the opposite of that. Max and Micah are so relatable! The mental health representation gave it real depth it was so excellently done.
The breadcrumbs analogy is really inspiring.
I couldn't put this down I was rooting so hard for Max and her ending was so so so satisfyingly perfect and real.
I particularly love that the characters are childfree its so lovely to see an alternative to having kids represented.

Will be sharing a review to my instagram

Breadcrumbs is a short (slightly spicy) sweet read! Micah and Max create a mutually beneficial plan to “fake date.” Micah is able to get his judgmental sister off his back (kind of) and has a date for her wedding; While Max is able to make her ex (whom she still lives with) jealous.

- Dual POV
- Fake Relationship
- Short Read
- Online Dating
- One Night Stand
- Long Distance

I loved the characters in this book! I gave it 3.5 stars just because it wasn’t something that I craved to keep reading and did have some slower parts for me. I would definitely try this author again though!!

Overall, I really liked this book and thought it was a fairly accurate representation of modern dating! As a dating app survivor and success story myself, it was great to see another couple get their happy ending.

My only critique is that I wish we got to see more of these two as a couple and see how they developed together. Towards the end of this novella we jump time in which each of them come to their own individual revelations, and I think it would've been interesting to see how they navigate past the boundary of friendship. I guess it's a good thing to leave your readers wanting more though huh? :)

Great job, and I'll definitely be coming back to read your other books!

Thank you NetGalley, A.M COHN LLC, and of course, Alicia Wilder for the opportunity to read this novella before the date of its publication.

‘Breadcrumbs’ follows the fake-dating adventure of a pair in their twenties who connected on a dating app - Max after a break-up, and Micah after the loss of his father. Although they both dive into the arrangement for different reasons - Max to make her ex jealous, and Micah to stop his family from asking about his life plans… they find that they share the same (real) spark for each other.

I won’t share any spoilers, as that’s not my style, but I will say, their story turned out to be a really sweet one; and I was really surprised to find out at the end that it was the author’s first go at writing romance!

‘Breadcrumbs’ was an easy and entertaining read, and as much as I’d recommend it, I’d be interested in exploring other titles by this author in the future.

3.5! It's a nice quick read about a cute and honest romance. I love that we get many discussions about timing, place, and self-love between two mature people who have s*** to deal with. It contains a great message about prioritising yourself and the people who actually value you and your time and needs.

I genuinely do not know what Alicia put in this book but I love it! I know it's a novella so it's supposed to be short and sweet but I read this in one sitting. Max and Micah are so loveable and relatable I wish this was longer.

Max is currently living in D.C. with her ex-boyfriend (who's a total tool by the way) because neither of them can afford rent on their own. He breadcrumbs her with little acts of service and attraction while she still fully believes he's it for her. Micah is currently in a 'limbo-like state ever since the passing of his father. With his judgy and demanding mother and sister on his back, he decided to go forward with online dating - enter Max.

I saw a review that said it would be more realistic if they remained friends and became more in the future, however, before chapter 13 and the one-year fast forward, it ended with them agreeing to get to know each other and get to that point along the way, aka still realistic.

I read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a quick and easy read.
I liked that from the beginning Max and Micah had great communication. It was refreshing to have a conflict that was not miscommunication based. They were honest about where they are in life and what they want in life and needed to figure themselves out before they got together. I also appreciated that although it was a novella, it wasn’t really an insta-romance. I do wish the story was a little longer so we could’ve gotten a more in-depth look at them discovering their feelings for each other.

Breadcrumbs centres around Max, who has recently broken up with her boyfriend Ben and Micah who is grieving his late father. The two form a fake dating pact in order to make Ben jealous and convince Micah’s family that he is coping with the loss of his dad.

I thought this book had potential and I loved the characters, particularly Max. I thought her anxiety was written in a really realistic way and a lot of her thoughts and fears were very relatable. I loved the honest and healthy communication between the protagonists and found it really refreshing to read.

However I would’ve loved this to be written as a full length book as the relationship felt quite rushed and I found myself not overly invested in it. I also wish we explored Micah’s grief more and sure more of his healing journey.

Overall this was an okay, quick read but I wish it were slightly longer and I loved the characters.