Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review. I was drawn to this book originally by the cover and with the age gap trope. I liked the concept of Callie having a guarded heart and having her boundaries and thought that was realistic and gave her character substance. Seth is a handsome sheriff and he makes a non-dating pact with Callie, but feelings get messy and they fall for one another. Seth's character also has depth as he has a complicated past especially with relationships being recently divorced.

Thank you to Zoe Forward and NetGalley for the ARC of Hesi-Dating! This story follows Callie, a self-proclaimed player with a guarded heart, and Seth, a recently divorced sheriff with a complicated past. When Callie owes Seth a favor after he saves her from a disastrous date, the two strike up a “not-dating” arrangement. But as their chemistry sparks 🔥 and their lives become entangled, Callie’s dangerous past threatens to derail their connection.

I’m a bit torn on this one. While it had an intriguing premise and tackled important topics thoughtfully—such as the foster system and learning disabilities—it didn’t fully land for me. A significant and unexpected part of the plot revolved around gangs, gang violence, and past trauma, including sexual assault. These heavier themes were handled with care but felt at odds with the cartoon rom-com cover, which set different expectations.

The romance itself didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I struggled to feel the chemistry or emotional connection between Callie and Seth, though I appreciated the moments where they found solace in each other. Their relationship highlighted how they each offered something the other had been missing, but it lacked the tension and spark I look for in a romance. 💔

That said, the book had plenty of charm. Between meddling siblings, an awkward (and hilarious) handcuff scene, a “world’s worst” home-security dog 🐕, and a delightfully lame horse 🐴, there were some fun and lighthearted moments to balance the heavier themes.

If you’re open to a romance with deeper undertones and a mix of heartfelt and quirky moments, Hesi-Dating might be worth a try. While it wasn’t a perfect fit for me, I can see others connecting with its unique blend of humor and emotional depth.

"𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨: 𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚. 𝙄'𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙤𝙛 𝙣𝙤-𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄'𝙢 𝙖 𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙩."

With a mysterious past and a strong reputation as a playgirl, Joley found herself caught in the web of unexpected emotions thrown her side when she met Seth. The story is fast paced & suspenseful in nature. Its a perfect mix of Love, Trust, Humor, Secrets, Lies, Romance and suspense. Engaging storyline with well developed characters,

"𝙄 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙄 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙖𝙬 𝙚𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙣𝙤-𝙘𝙖𝙣-𝙙𝙤.
𝙄'𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙙𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨."

This book was cute-adjacent but not particularly well thought-out to me. The premise and execution were both very stereotypical and lacked the sort of spark and chemistry that I felt it needed to drive the plot forward on a contemporary romance. Every time they circled back to the "I'm a damaged girl with commitment issues" vibe and focused on how incompatible she was with the seemingly elderly (reader, he's 38 years old) sheriff she had a thing for (and should've sought advice from a therapist about) I had to just roll my eyes and keep going.

2.5 stars. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

I was both excited and a little nervous about Hesi-Dating because I had liked Zoe Forward's last book, "Doc Showmance" but found some highly off-putting flaws (serious plotholes) within it. Hesi-Dating carries over some of the annoying shortcomings of "Doc Showmance," but it also offers much more of the warmth and wit that made the original so fun.

The protagonists' romantic relationship was my main issue with the novel, which is sort of a big deal for a romance novel. His ranting about his divorce at the beginning of their first meeting would have sent any female running for the hills. Additionally, as it developed and started to take shape, their connections still seemed like it was primarily based on physical attraction. Not as much romance as there was lust.

Although a stand alone, the first book introduces Joley's sister and her beau. It was a slow, start for me although after a few chapters, I really got into the book. I love the banter between these two but felt that the relationship was lacking depth. It was all physical, and I didn't feel like they truly connected emotionally to have love towards each other. Despite this, as always, Zoe does a great job writing a story that is great to read.

This book really surprised me! It had a little bit more than just romance it also had: action, suspense and great chemistry. I was worried as I didn’t read the first book but the timelines run parallel so it didn’t impact this story.

I am always down for good banter but this burned a bit too slow for me. I really wanted it to be a bit faster paced in the romance section. This definitely wasn’t the light hearted read I was expecting but I really enjoyed it.

Heads up - Hesi-Dating has a lot of potential triggers and features numerous issues including sexual assault, child abuse, gun violence and murder. Be careful when picking this one up if any of these things are concerning for you.

Hesi-Dating is a part of a series and honestly you really need to read the first one to get it, this doesnt work as well as a standalone. Also it appears that it is the same time as the previous book so there is a lot of overlapping storylines that appear in both. Although we learn a lot about the characters and their sad backstories, particularly Joley, I still feel like I dont know either of them at all. There is a lot of insta-lust/love here and not sure there is a lot to their story at all. It is a fast read but i dont know if there is much else attracting them to each other besides being hot and nice.

Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and Zoe Forward

When I requested this book I was unaware that it was apart of a series, one that requires you to read the previous books for this one to make sense. I am unable to read all the previous books along with this one before the publish date. Therefore, I will rate this a fair 3/5 stars and will adjust the rating and review when I am able to read all the books in the series along with this one.

Jolie is surprised to find her blind date is the attractive older sheriff of San Diego, Seth. Despite her dark past and ties to a gang leader, she's drawn to him. Seth can't shake his feelings for Jolie, despite her reluctance to date him. As they're repeatedly thrown together, Jolie must decide whether to risk Seth's safety by staying with him. The book is praised for its engaging storyline, well-developed characters, and suspenseful twists, but it contains triggers such as kidnapping, rape, and violence. Despite some explicit scenes, the romantic suspense aspect is highlighted and complemented by the presence of other characters from related books by the same author.

I really enjoyed this story. There was fabulous chemistry between Joley and Seth. Seth is an impeccable gentleman—thoughtful, honest, straightforward, courageous, caring, respectful. Joley is a work-in-progress but utterly kind and loyal at heart. Joley grew up in foster care and suffered a lot of trauma in the system. The circumstances she finds herself in during this story directly relate to her past. I think the thing I liked best was Seth’s patience. He didn’t push or rush Joley into something she wasn’t ready for, and he always made sure she understood whatever he was feeling. Joley was upfront too, even if she was afraid of what she was feeling. I also really liked the feeling of potential and inevitability between the pair. Joley was surrounded by her family of foster siblings, providing her with a wealth of support and acceptance.

Please note: I would definitely put a sexual assault warning on this story for those who are sensitive.

***Thank you to NetGalley and Zoe Forward. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own.***

This is a unique heartwarming love story between Sheriff Seth and Joley a girl who is still looking for her place under the sun. A story with a big heart and I loved that it was so different than the first book from the series. I loved Seth especially and his big heart, I really enjoyed reading it.

I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

This was very different from Doc Showmance in a good way. I throughly enjoyed the suspenseful side of everything. Whether it be the love or the drama. I just I loved it. I really connected with the characters and thought this was an overall good book. 3/5 stars and special thanks to the author and netgalley for the arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

Thanks to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the chance to read this book.

Although labelled as a standalone, this book features the same characters as Doc Showmance. I was momentarily confused about the timeline as both books share similar events.

This book has drama, banter, and a slow burn romance between the 2 main characters. I enjoyed the chemistry and interactions between Joley and Seth. There were some spicy scenes, but they were written in a milder manner than the previous book, which I personally prefer. There was a lot of drama that would have been avoidable had Joley opened up and communicated with Seth, but due to her past, it's understandable why she was hesitant.

It was a quick and easy read, and I look forward to more stories featuring the foster siblings.

This was another fun read by Zoe Forward. I really enjoyed Joely and Seth's story. I thought the characters were well written and kept my attention. This is a slow burn relationship so don't expect something to happen right away. This book will give you friendship, love, some difficult issues and a little steam. I would recommend this book.


Thank you NetGalley and Zoe Forward for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

My first book from this author!

Spice 🌶🌶

This was a read full of twists and turns (super expected from the cover --- I did not see the suspense part coming). You meet Seth, our broody cowboy (interesting the author had a cowboy live in the big city) sheriff who honestly went through a nasty divorce and Joley, our resident girl playette with a past. They meet on a dating app and clicked right from the get-go. They part from their initial encounter quite amicably and agreed they were not in the right places (I think this was more Joley and her aversion to commitment than Seth) in their lives to properly pursue a relationship.

I do not read romance suspense often enough and I really enjoyed that component to this tale. Let’s just say I hated Nosh! However, I got incredibly frustrated with how Joley handled her “dark dangerous past” and honestly there was a lot of miscommunication because she just wouldn’t! speak! up!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Joely had a horrible experience in foster care and some of that has stayed with her in adulthood. Seth the Sheriff is dealing with an ex and also a mayor and though he saves her from a horrible date and they have good chemistry together they still fight being together. It takes many different situations that put them together and going through each one to finally hope that they could have a chance. A book if you stay with has funny moments and some serious overall I found it to be a good book.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I honestly had really high hopes for this book. I quite enjoyed "Doc Showmance". Sure it had it's issues but I did enjoy it. So I felt honored and excited to read this prior to it's release. Unfortunately, this book absolutely fell flat for me. I'm going to try to be as nice as I can but sadly, I really, really disliked this book.

This book follows Joley, the foster sister of Amber with a huge commitment phobia. She's perfectly happy with meaningless sex and go. Basically the embodiment of "wham, bam, thank you ma'am". That is until she meets Seth, a rugged cowboy (in the middle of San Francisco?) and sheriff. Seth is fresh off a divorce and is just getting his feet wet. He really didn't even want to go out on this date to begin with. But yet Joley and her big breasts change his mind five minutes after meeting her. As I've mentioned, I HATE insta-love stories. But that was also the thing with this book. It tried to be both insta-love and slow burn at the same time. It was poorly done in my opinion.

Neither character to me felt more than one dimensional. Seth was completely about his divorce and not much more. His POV chapters honestly added very little to the storyline. Joley, while she did have a bit more depth to her, it wasn't much. The way the plot unfolded, I couldn't bring myself to be emotionally invested in these characters. It was too sporadic and unpredictable with random time jumps. And I'm not meaning a day or two. No, I'm talking about weeks or months. I get it that sometimes you have those but when the storyline would pick back up, it was like I had missing pages.

The grammar in this book was rough too. I really hope it was re-edited before going to print. Misspelling "Montana"? I get sometimes our hands work faster than our brains do when writing. I completely understand and try to keep that in mind when reviewing these books. But there were so many grammar mistakes and confusing phrasing, that it began to take away from the storyline. I would read my husband some of these sentences and he would literally cringe at the phrasing. I really hope this was fixed before going to print.

As always, this is MY opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own. What may not be for me, may be perfect for you. This is my honest thoughts and opinions. Would I recommend this book? Honestly, no. Would I read another book in the series? Maybe; I can't say I would for sure. Just overall, it was not for me. The author has great potential and it showed in "Doc Showmance". But this? It definitively won't make my top 2024 books.

With humour, angst and plenty of slow burn romance and a brilliant amount of suspense and drama this was a must read for me

Fairly predictable rom com but it was still a good read that I enjoyed it. It was also a quick read.