Leider hat mich das Buch überhaupt nicht abgeholt. Die Prämisse fand ich zwar super spannend, aber die Umsetzung war nicht mein Fall. Die beiden Protagonistinnen hatten zwar interessante Hintergründe, doch ich hatte Probleme, eine Bindung zu ihnen aufzubauen und ihre Ziele nachzuvollziehen. Viele der Teilnehmerinnen der Reality-Dating-Show waren austauschbar in ihren Persönlichkeiten, die Confidential-Einwürfe dementsprechend schwer, den einzelnen Charakteren zuzuordnen. Davon mal abgesehen, haben sich die seitenlangen Passagen teilweise auch sehr unnötig angefühlt. Gleichzeitig hat sich die Handlung sehr überdramatisiert gelesen, so dass ich nach einem Drittel beschlossen habe, das Buch abzubrechen.

Here for the Wrong Reasons* by Annabel Paulsen & Lydia Wang is a delightful sapphic romcom that blends the drama of a reality dating show with the magic of unexpected love.

Krystin is a small-town cowgirl with big dreams: a husband, a horse, and a perfect life back in Montana. Joining *Hopelessly Devoted*, a *Bachelor*-esque competition, seems like the best way to rope in her ideal match. Meanwhile, Lauren—a social media-savvy city girl—joins the show with ulterior motives, aiming to boost her follower count rather than find love.

From the start, Krystin and Lauren couldn’t be more different. Yet sparks fly as the cameras roll, the competitive stakes rise, and their interactions shift from friendly banter to something much deeper. Suddenly, the romance they never expected—or thought they wanted—is brewing right under Josh Rosen’s nose.

This debut is full of humor, heart, and sizzling chemistry. The reality TV setting brings plenty of over-the-top moments and sharp commentary on modern dating culture, while the relationship between Krystin and Lauren offers a refreshing exploration of self-discovery and breaking free from societal expectations.

Perfect for fans of *The Charm Offensive* and *Love Island*, this book is equal parts fun and heartfelt, with a swoon-worthy romance at its core. A must-read for those who love chaotic dating shows, sapphic romance, and finding love in the most unexpected places.

This book follows the Bachelor-style format, following the women competing for the affections of good guy, Josh. Closeted influencer Lauren has a plan. Make it to the top four-ish, get voted off before the home visits and gain major social media followers. She’s never really done anything for the right reasons, and she’s ok with that, until she starts falling for genuine contestant, Krystin.

Rodeo Queen Krystin knows exactly what she wants out of life, a good husband and her horses. Josh may just be the one, but as she gets closer to fellow contestant, Lauren, she begins to doubt her plan, and her feelings.

I wanted to like this one because I enjoy watching sating reality shows as anthropological research, but this one just didn’t do it for me. I liked it way more than if it had been a hetero romance, but sometimes romcoms are hit or miss for me. It’s a fun premise, though, and if you like The Bachelor and some sapphic rep in your media, you might like this one.

I’ve followed The Bachelor franchise since almost the very beginning, so this was right up my alley!
Rodeo Queen Kristyn has searched for her husband in Montana, but no cowboys there are right for her, so she turns to reality TV.
Lauren is definitely not on the show for the right reasons (like most of the contestants), ultimately just trying to make it far enough in the season to grow her online following.
In their quest to win the leading man’s heart, an unlikely romance between the two women develops.
This was so cute and fun! I’ve been begging the bachelor franchise for years to have a season that includes only bisexual contestants. I think it would be the most entertaining season, and Here For The Wrong Reasons gave me a taste of what I’ve been asking for!
I found there to be a good amount of depth in this story to go alone with the fun romance. The discussions of queer identity, closeting, and sexuality were very well written.
If you’re looking for a fun and sapphic novel, please read it!

While I'm grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for providing access to the ARC, the final result didn't quite meet my expectations. The story was a bit hard to follow, felt stretched out at times, and seemed to lack a strong drive towards the ending. That said, it was still an enjoyable read!

I was excited for this novel but didn't love the leads that much and o coudnl't get invested in their figuring out their love for each other.

I really wanted to love this. The premise sounded so fun to me! I don't watch reality tv, especially dating shows, but I did recently watch re-runs of the 7th season of the Australian Bachelorette because it featured the first ever bisexual Bachelorette who had 10 male and 10 female contestants, as well as her being the first Indigenous Australian lead. I had hoped that this book would give me similar vibes, but sadly it did not.

We are following two women who are both contestants on a Bachelor type show in which 35 women are competing for one mans love, however the two women end up falling for eachother. As I said, sounds fun. However the first half of the book had me feeling like I was reading the beginnings of a thriller with the way that ALL the women we were reading about were bitchy and unlikable. It felt like we were about to find out that they were going to be murdered one-by-one, because a few thrillers I've read feature a large group of unlikable characters who get slowly picked off. Sadly, one of the main characters was terribly unlikeable. She was even described in the book as “cold, calculating and careless” so tbh it was kind of hard to root for her to fall in love because she was quite awful to literally everyone.

I did also start to feel a little icky that the women were beginning to lead the Bachelor on. In the beginning it was fine, as one woman did not yet know she was a lesbian, and the other woman was on the show purely to boost her social media (which I think is quite common on reality tv anyway), but it did start feeling wrong once both women started having sex regularly with eachother and yet still stayed on the show. Maybe if the Bachelor had've been a jerk I wouldn't have cared, but he was painted as a clueless golden retreiver type man, so I did start feeling a little bad.

I did have to push through the book, however the final few chapters I did start to enjoy a little more. If it weren't for the conversations about coming out and comphet, I would've had to rate lower. Both women were in the closet at the beginning of the book, so I did enjoy them both figuring out their sexuality and learning to embrace and be proud of it. And I will always appreciate discussions about comphet!

I hope this book falls into the hands of the right readers, I'm so sad it wasn't me.

I absolutely loved this! The Bachelor references were a delight and I loved the character growth. So fun!

Will be in a roundup on my newsletter, Crooked Reads, in the future.

This book was a rollercoaster. I tried reading it several times but never really got into it. The beginning was really slow and I didn't like the main characters. I liked the idea of a queer bachelor/bachelorette and I watched from time to time the German version of it and was excited about the story. The premise sounded interesting to me and I was really happy when I got it. But than I started reading. I had to force myself to finish it the last time I started it.

The story promised a lot and just couldn't keep up with it. Krystin bored me most of the times. Laurens character was interesting but also really annoying. It was clear from the beginning that Lauren will be manipulative and selfish but it was a bit much. She really only cared about herself and that ruined the story. I would have liked it more if the characters were more dimensional. It felt like none of the characters were well executed.

It didn't really feel like the promised romcom. It also felt like a lot was missing.

I still want to thank Netgalley and Alcove Press for this EARC! Sometimes it's just not meant to be a favorite book.

This was a really good book that was a queer twist on The Bachelor. This is almost exactly like the book We Are Never Getting Back Together though. The characters are well written, and the story is overall good.

It was cheesy, but in a good way. I loved the lightheartedness and the deeper meaning. It maybe lacked a little substance, but not every book needs to be super deep. Ultimately I loved that it was a happy lesbian romance.

Hopelessly devoted; a Reality TV show that is very much like the Bachelor. Most contestants come in search of love, some for fame…and some for an array of reasons.

The main characters are 2 ladies that are vying for Josh’s love and attention. Krystin is a rodeo queen who does not have much dating experience and Lauren is an influencer who is pretty and confident. The question is who will be falling in love at the end of the show.

I absolutely loved this book. I loved watching reality tv and this is so similar to the bachelor, except with a huge sapphic twist. I found the concept of this book too interesting to look away, and I wished that it truly was something I could watch on tv. The authors really kept to the theme of the bachelor, like group dates and individual dates. And like the weekly confession where you get to find out a bit more about the contestants.

I have to admit that the book started out really slow and I took a long time to get through the first 30-40% of the book. But I really got into it from 40% onwards. I liked it when the 2 mains started to interact more with each other. They are both flawed but I do like them both as individuals. They had such good chemistry. I liked how the story ended. I really got sucked into the whole story line and would not hesitate to re-read and recommend.

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Giving all the Bachelor/Bachelorette vibes as contestants, Krystin and Lauren join a dating reality show. It was a fun, lighthearted romance.

*many thanks to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I received an ARC from Alcove Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

With an excruciatingly slow start and a lot of focus on the bachelor, this was not a good fit for me. I was bored as the first half really focuses on the show and all the dates with Josh.

With Lauren firmly in the closet and Krystin not even aware there is a closet, it just didn’t feel very sapphic. When I read a sapphic romance I like for it to feel like a sapphic romance. I can’t even really remember them interacting with each other much before 20%?

I was impressed the authors made such a bold choice to make Lauren such an unlikeable character in a romance. She rude, selfish, manipulative and the list goes on and on. She goes onto the show only wanting to grow her influencer following and I saw basically no growth in the end for her. Or, not real growth as I can completely see her going back to who she was in no time.

Krystin, on the other hand, was sweet and naïve and a little boring. She was there to actually find love and I felt bad that her first relationship would be with someone like Lauren. She deserved better.

I also had a huge issue with the third act breakup situation. It stems from an assumption made by one character which then leads to them no longer speaking. Then the two don’t even get back together on their own. It takes a third party to get them speaking again and it frustrated me a lot. Nothing about them being together makes me think they have a lasting kind of love.

This was simply fine. I had a hard time distinguishing between the two women, and I felt like the ending was maximum drama and maybe not maximum believability. I wanted Lauren to go home or dramatically tell Krystin that she loved her on TV, but playing with other people made me sad.

Thank you so much for letting me read an ARC of this novel! I really enjoyed reading it! I thought the concept of being on a reality dating show was super interesting and was executed very well, I felt like I was watching it in real life while also getting a behind-the-scenes story. I was also always eager to know what would happen next, the story kept me hooked the whole time and was definitely unputdownable! My only critique is that I wish the romance had been developed a bit more, it seemed kind of rushed to me and also a bit random that these two ended up falling for each other; I didn't really understand what drew them to each other or why/how they ended up having a connection. Although I did think each character individually was well-developed and I felt a connection to them. Overall an enjoyable and entertaining read, would recommend!

Here For The Wrong Reasons is a sapphic romance written in the third person POV. It’s set up like a reality TV show, similar to The Bachelor, complete with “confessionals” at the end of some chapters.
Our POV switches between our two main characters— Krystin and Lauren. Krystin is from Montana and is a Rodeo Queen. She’s there because she’s never really had a relationship and she wants to fall in love. Lauren is an influencer and in the closet. She’s always been into women— never been with a man. She is only there to increase her popularity on social media and hopefully get a brand deal. Instead of falling for the man, Josh, they end up falling for each other through a series of group dates, mishaps and moments alone.
Personally, I absolutely loved this read. Parts of it made me cry and others made me smile or laugh. I feel like if I have real emotion when reading a book, then it’s doing its job. I absolutely loved Krystin’s character arc of finding herself throughout the weeks on this show. I did find some of Lauren’s antics annoying but ultimately I rooted for both of them in the end.
If you like sapphic romance and are okay with reading in third person, then this is a must have! I’d like to thank NetGalley and Alcove Press for the read!

this one’s for the girls who watched the bachelor and constantly wondered, “why don’t the contestants just date each other?!” 🌹✂️💘

Here For the Wrong Reasons was a fun book with an opposites attract/forbidden romance dynamic, with a closeted lesbian influencer trying to boost her career via reality TV, and a nearing-retirement rodeo queen determined to find true love. The set up is almost a replica of the bachelor, except with a string cutting ceremony rather than rose ceremony. If you love trash reality tv and sapphic awakenings, you will adore this book!

"Here for the Wrong Reasons" follows Krystin and Lauren, two twenty-something-year-olds competing on a Bachelor-like reality show. While Lauren is only looking for a way to enhance her social-media popularity, Krystin is genuinely trying to win Josh's (the lead of the show) heart. Even though they're quite different, they soon start to get along very well, maybe even too well. The further into the show they get, the more they realise that they may not want to be with Josh, but they definitely want to be together. Will they be able to figure out their feelings before it's too late?

3.5 stars
I had some mixed feelings about this book at first. They first third of the book progressed really slowly and about halfway through, I started to wonder how there could still be enough story left for the second half. Surprisingly, the second part was way more enjoyable. I think that may be because that's when we start to really get into the story of Lauren and Krystin's relationship, while the first part was just a lot of reality show, which I'm not very interested in, and not much romance, which is what I was here for. The story was a bit predictable at some points, but I did ultimately enjoy it. They used the miscommunication trope, so keep that in mind if you aren't a fan of it. Overall a great debut, I would recommend this to anyone who's looking for a fun and silly romance book, especially if you also happen to be a fan of dating shows. Oh, also, if this wasn't inspired by Hayley Kiyoko's music video for "For the girls" (girl arriving on a hoby-horse and all), I don't know what is.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lydia Wang & Annabel Paulsen and their team for providing me with an ARC!