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!

Woof, this book really disappointed me for having such a unique concept and cute cover. I hate to say I disliked pretty much every aspect. I had a feeling from ch. 3 I wasn’t going to enjoy it and by the 60% mark I wanted to DNF. I heavily power read the last 40% of the book. Basically the characters are in their early 40s but act like early 20s. The relationships feel weird and underdeveloped, between the fake dating with Celeste and John and also between Celeste and her daughter Morgan. John is just such a cringe name for 2024, I wish he had a better one (lol sorry to the John fans out there, it just ain’t romantic). The spicy scenes and chemistry felt forced.

TLDR: I was expecting more birds and the author undelivered! It might be for some people but this book just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This book published 6/4/2024.

I love Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb! Dubb is such a skilled sentence-level writer; she is an absolute master of the romance genre, with a deep understanding of the beats and tropes that make romance so beloved by its readers. The characters in Birding with Benefits are so detailed and realistic, and their journeys are beautifully written. The sex scenes are excellent and the romance is so romantic. I want to go birding now!

4.25 stars

What an absolute joy of a book to read! I wasn't sure about it at first, but I knew I loved Celeste from the get-go and John really grew on me. It's such a sweet book (but it's also spicy) and who doesn't love a good fake dating trope?

Celeste for sure is working through her own stuff. Being divorced, an almost grown child, and in your 40s are hard things separately, but to have them all happen at the same time is a doozy. I think all women will relate to the fact that at some point in our lives we discover that who we thought we were is different and that we've slowly changed ourselves to fit our partner in some way (it's a natural thing to do, but if it's not an evolution of both of you, it's no bueno). Celeste made herself smaller, quieter, and less than for so long that she's ready to get back to who she was and be unapologetic about it.

John is struggling with never feeling like enough. Everyone always seeing the potential in him and pushing him to be more, but never feeling like who he is now is enough. I also think this is something everyone will understand. It's good to have people to push you in your life, but we all need more of an encouragement than a push and we all can relate to not feeling like enough or that we're not living up to others expectations of ourselves even if we're happy with who we are and where we are.

This slooooooooooooow burn was full of so much angst I felt it in my spine the entire time! It was delicious. The two of them coming together and then finding it hard to walk away was everything. I love me a slow burn and this was it. I also liked the reversals Celeste is the Golden Retriever who's outgoing and needs to prove she's ready for John and John is the quiet, nerdy, man who just wants to love her even though she won't let him and pushes him away.

I spent my mornings in my backyard reading this book and felt like I was taking a birding lesson from John. I told my husband I want to get a bird book now so I can identify the birds in the backyard and maybe start going to some parks nearby to see what we can find.

Thank you, NetGalley and Gallery Books for this ARC.