After a difficult divorce, Celeste finds herself with the opportunity to take a deep look at who she is by herself and what she wants from life. She decides to throw herself into every opportunity with gusto to discover what (aside from her wonderful daughter) really grabs her. She quickly finds herself as the partner of a avid birder, John, in a birding competition that will teach her more than she ever expected.

While this book was cute and funny, I found it difficult to relate to any of the characters. The were just fleshed out enough that I liked them, and found them interesting, but I could never quite find myself caring about what happened next for their story.

The main source of this difficulty is that our MC, Celeste, can be both whiney and stubbornly rigid, and not in fun ways. I love a solid romance where you watch the couple grow and move towards one another, but Celeste’s adherence to her self-imposed life plan and general level of complaining really took away from the romance. John was a wonderful addition to the story and I truly loved seeing his perspective, he kept the story moving along when it had otherwise stalled. His faith in Celeste and the way that it grew into something more was a transition that felt natural. It would have been lovely to see more of that unfolding of feelings from Celeste, but she was harder for me to connect with.

The main characters, John and Celeste, seemed to take over the narration and left little room for supporting characters to do their job, support. There were many opportunities for the friends and family to really shine through, but instead, they flopped. There was no growth or development in any meaningful way. There were attempts at growth, but instead, those moments felt forced and out of alignment with the rest of the story.

The best part of the book, was the moments that John and Celeste spent actually birding. Those moments gave the book a chance to breath and catch up to the chaos of Celestes mind. These were moments when John and Celeste really showed that they could have chemistry if given the right opportunity. As someone who loves birds, it was fun to see the descriptions of birds and how to capture those moments to the fullest.

⅗ stars for a book that has potential to capture the heart if given the right chance.

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love novel so much.
I previously read and loved some books by the same author but with a different pen name, so when a knew that she will publish again, I got super excited.
Birding with Benefits has everything I love and wanted: older MC (not that they are old, just older than everything else in romancelandia), vulnerability and healthy friendships.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for the earc.

Celeste leaves her husband when she finally has enough of not feeling like herself; Of feeling like she isn’t enough and doesn’t want to keep drowning in the life that she’s stuck in.
Jon leaves academia after the break up when he finds his girlfriend kissing a colleague. He starts to work for a non-profit but ends up getting laid off. He has enough money to keep him a float and his wood working hobby is starting to bring in some cash as well.
As Celeste enters her “year of yes” she meets a new friend out one night and he asks her to do a favor for one of his friends so she agrees for what she thinks is a “fake date”. So when she meets John in the park and is approached by his Ex - She puts on a show as his new girlfriend - stunning John he goes along with the rouse. Once Breena leaves he tells Celeste that he just needs a partner for this bird watching competition…
As the rumor of this new relationship spreads - they agree to keep it going.
As the competition progresses - teaching Celeste about bird watching rekindles something inside of him. He not only feels a new found passion to start up his own birdwatching guide business, he feels his falls coming down and a new passion to see where things can go with Celeste

Favorite Quotes
“he’s the kind of guy who will stop traffic to help a tortoise cross the road, then go home and build you a table”

“We start with discovery, and we go from there

4.25 🦜

This was such a fun read. Birding with Benefits centers around a romance that blooms between expert birder and delightfully shy cinnamon roll John, and newly-divorced Celeste, who’s moving forward one adventure at a time. As a fellow birder who’s also dancing around her middle years, I really appreciated these characters and this story and happily flew right through from start to finish.

Thank you Sarah T. Dubb, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book was so adorable. I didn't know the world needed a spicy book with a bird watching competition, but it does and this is it. The dynamic of the female character who's always told she's too much and the male main character who's told he's not enough was beautiful done. The acceptance and kindness they had for each other was everything. And fake dating is just fun. Read this!

Not sure what I loved more - the gorgeous cover or the falling in love while birding storyline.

First off, I've got to mention how much I enjoyed this topic. My husband and I are avid birders and I really enjoyed the setting of this one. Overall, the book was really cute and I thought the slightly older characters were a nice touch. I would definitely recommend this one.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Sarah Dubb's debut novel was such a fun read! I loved the story of a divorcee who stars in this rom-com. This story is full of adventure, unlikely romance and birds! I loved this sweet and steamy romance and couldn't put it down!

This was a cute, fun summer story. The hiking and birding aspect made it a great seasonal read. I enjoyed that the main character, Celeste, was a "middle-aged" woman who was divorced and had a daughter graduating from high school. Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery books for an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ok wow!
I knew I was going to love this book the moment @ put it up in the air telling our entire room of people during her panel about this book!
I immediately hit WANT TO READ and desperately tried to make sure I got an arc of this MUST READ!!!!

Thank you to @ and @ for my arcs of this wonderful book! The moment I held the physical arc I was just 🤯

I loved this book!
I love the quirky theme ( me thinking birdwatching is hot now🤣), I loved Celeste and John perfect example of opposites attract, and the spice🌶️🤭
Oh and I can’t forget the birds!🦜
It was fun and unique!

I felt like the book flowed perfectly and that characters also had purpose and felt fully developed I don’t think a detail was left out!

Because of the experience I mentioned at the beginning happened in Arizona I was PUMPED this book was set there! It made me miss it and want to go back asap!

I love a good romance and this was IT!

I’ve gotta say it’s hard some times for me to be in the mood to read a romance because I feel they are slower paced so when one like this can keep my attention you KNOW it’s good!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Older main characters! Steamy romance! This book was so good!

Celeste is divorced and about to enter the empty nest. She’s got mantras posted all over her mirror and she’s trying new things - like fake dating John for the duration of a bird counting contest. She’s outgoing and sassy. He’s quiet and measured. Both assume it’s not going to amount to anything. But Celeste is eager to learn about birds and help John start a guiding business. And he can help distract her coworkers, who are overly interested in her love life. The more time Celeste and John spend together, the hotter the attraction. And things get hot!

This book was so good. The characters are deep and complex. You can feel the attraction building as they learn more about one another and start opening up. John is the quiet calm Celeste needs. And Celeste helps him come out of his shell. All of this is perfectly woven through a lush desert setting, filled with birds.

This is a beautiful love story but it’s also spicy and fun. And five stars for consent, which is perfectly written. Dubb has given us vivid, dimensional, mature characters and made them so real, it feels like we know them. Read the last quarter with Kleenex on hand. You’ll need them, in the very best way.

Thank you to the author and Gallery Books for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book!! Birding, an adventurous divorcee, a handsome man that's a woodworker and birder~ it was such a fun read!!

This was a cute romcom about a divorcee, Celeste, who is trying to move on with her life and find new habits. She picks up Birding as a fake date with a friend of a friend. What started as innocent competitive bird watcing turns into more as Celeste and John get to know each other. John is quiet and kind and Celeste is outgoing and over the top. But they work, and as their connection and chemistry grows, they realize there is more to them than just birders with benefits.

This was an enjoyable feel good, fake dating romance. These two characters are definitely “opposites attract”. Celeste is recently divorced and exploring new hobbies. She meets John. He's a shy, but charming bird-watcher. He wants to eventually have his own guide business. They end up being partners and teammates for the Tucson bird watching contest. Celeste ends up learning quite a bit about birds as John is a great teacher. This was a relaxing, and funny read. I enjoyed learning more about the world of bird watching as I am fascinated by birds myself. Definitely recommend for a change of pace from the thrillers. Really good!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

They’re good birds!
This was definitely a slower burn and not as high heat as Sarah’s previous novellas but her beautiful characters show through and the chemistry stays high. I love the way Sarah weaves the character’s growth into every part of the story. And the combination of one person being “too much” with another that feels like “not enough” was chef’s kiss. This was a fast and cozy read.

I loved this book. It was such a fun premise, I loved the layer of birding knowledge - it’s always a bonus when you can learn something while reading a romance book!

This book started off so sweet that when it took a spicy turn I was almost surprised. I loved the fake dating, I loved the slow burn, I love the mother/daughter relationship. Overall this was layered, fun, funny, and excellent read!

As a bird lover & romance reader- I knew I needed to add this book to my TBR! What I didn’t expect, was to fall in love with calm, cool, collected John! Celeste is so relatable and I really dig her zest for life. I liked the adventure, learning more about birding, and watching this new romance unfold!

I've never read a book by this author before. Loved the cover and was intrigued by the description. As I got into it , It wasn't for me.

This is an empowering feel good romance novel about Celeste who is taking on every hobby, project and new opportunity that comes her way after her divorce. After realizing that her ex husband always thought she was ‘too much’ forcing her to pull back and preventing her from growing in her family she decides to say yes to all new opportunities. One of these ends up being pretending to be the girlfriend and teammate of John, a birder. John who is waiting for the perfect opportunity to turn his passion into his business. After leaving a relationship with someone who always pushed him to do more he is looking for a partner in a huge birding competition which he hopes to win as a jump off point to become a private birding guide. John may be her opposite in some ways but Celeste who always is on the move becomes willing to stand still to identify birds with John.

I’ll start off by saying I think fake dating is a really dumb trope. I’ve never had any interest in reading books based on fake dating BUT I loved this one?!
It’s so cute.
Yes, Celeste is a lot but I think any woman who has ever been told she’s a lot will appreciate Celeste and adore John’s reactions to her.
John is an absolute treasure; my new book boyfriend.
What else is really funny about me loving this book is that I hate birds. I’m kind of afraid of them and don’t really have any interest in them and yet, I couldn’t put this book down and enjoyed reading about the various birds they spotted throughout. I also loved the atmospheric setting and the mention of the beautiful desert flora. The whole book is just a treat that I recommend to rom-com lovers everywhere.

There is spice. Multiple chapters of spicy scenes (where “benefits” comes into play). So if you’re looking for closed door or fade to black romance, this ain’t it.

The book also covers a lot of bases like:
-LGBTQIA+ representation (not the FMC or MMC but multiple people in their lives are queer)
-divorce
-co-parenting
-single-mom
-FMC in her early 40s

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery books for the copy of this eARC.
This book is out now!

When I saw the cover and the title, I had to read this one! It is a cute little romance that starts out with a fake relationship. I enjoyed the characters and the birding storyline. There was more sex than what I was expecting. If you don't mind that, I think it is a good,m light read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!