This is a hallmark movie in book form and I loved every minute of it. There is something about reading when the guy falls first and falls hard. This book is a bit cheesy but I couldn’t stop reading it. It’s very fall so pick this up in September/October. I also really want to visit Seattle now.

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher.

Fake engagement while real dating! I haven't seen that one before, and thoroughly enjoyed Sophie Sullivan's account of it. This closed door romance had me swooning and laughing in equal measure. Loved the PNW setting and fall theme: take me for autumnal beer flights anytime! Appreciated the careful treatment of a grief journey. Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for this review copy!

I felt like this book fit all the tropes I typically enjoy! I loved Wills character, and as someone who has lost a parent, there were incredibly relatable aspects that tugged on the heart strings.

I DNFed this book around 40% through. The characters fell a bit flat to me, they liked each other way too quick and it didn’t have many stakes or risks to keep me engaged.

3 stars

I generally enjoy Sophie Sullivan's books. They're light and fun, and good "palate cleansers" between heavier books. However, this one just didn't do it for me. I found myself rolling my eyes a lot. I didn't buy the "insta-love" Will, the main male character, felt for this "amazing" woman. What about a woman with the self-esteem of a tissue made her so awe-inspiring. The main female character, Lexi, was equally frustrating. Completely unable to see herself in a positive light, refusing to seek love because she was so afraid of it ending.

There were some continuity issue - yes I know this is an uncorrected advance copy - hopefully, they get fixed. In chapter 8, Lexi is described as wearing jeans and a sweater, and a few pages later "fidgeted with her dress". In chapter 9, Will's mother is described as having her hair pulled back into a bun, Shortly thereafter, it's pulled into a tight ponytail.

I will continue to read Sophie Sullivan's books - I have another on my shelf - so I am thankful to have had the opportunity to read this one. Thank you to St. Martin's Press Griffin and NetGalley for the digital ARC in return for an honest review,

Can’t Help Falling in Love by Sophie Sullivan is a sweet treat read! A very wholesome book set in Seattle during fall. This book has some of my favorite tropes including meet cute, fake dating, he falls first and a rich MMC.

As a PNW native, I really felt like the fall vibe was captured so nicely. Will is such a dreamy MMC. From the physical and emotional connection, his love for Lexi was delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed the banter and romance between these two.

Even though this is a sweet Rom Com, I really enjoyed the mental health aspect of this book. As someone who has lost their father, watching Lexi navigate not only her grief, her mother’s and codependency was very relatable. The healing journey for Lexi that Will allowed space for while encouraging and supporting her was swoon worthy. There were times when Will was building up Lexi that I swore her was talking directly to me.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley.

Clean, closed door romance with a fake engagement. I liked our MMC, Will, he has been tired of his mom trying to control his love life and finds himself in a bit of a pickle. Our FMC, Lexie, definitely had some growth in the book even though it took awhile. I felt the book was a little on the slow side. The last 10% of the book though, was honestly my favorite. I really enjoyed Lexie finding herself and seeing what Will saw in her.

Such a cute little romance! I was a little wary about the insta-love right at the start of the book, but I am a sucker for fake dating and really enjoyed seeing the chemistry between these two characters. Despite both of them having incredible attraction from the get go, their feelings really do change and evolve throughout the story, and it was easy to se these two are meant to be together.

This book is not all hearts and rainbows though! It also deals with the very real grief of losing someone you love. Lexi lost her father, and her mom lost the man she was married to for over 20 years. Both of them were stuck in this grief and not really trying to move forward, taking the path of least resistance if you will, and this did shape a lot of Lexi's decisions throughout the story.

The grief changes throughout the story too. It never really went away, but both Lexi and her mom found a way to start moving forward and acknowledge what the grief has done to them for the last few years. I really loved seeing the attention to detail when it comes to mom, it was very heartwarming to see her start to get out of her shell toward the end of the book. I was rooting for her happiness!

This means that not just the main characters had good detail, but the side characters all did too! I loved learning about each one of them, and each one had a little thing that they were known for. That little thing played a part in the story too, so every character was written intentionally!

Overall, this story was very heartwarming and I enjoyed it from start to finish. There is a little third act breakup, more so for final conflict than anything, but the situation resolves quickly and our characters have a happy ending. Grief and family are huge themes in this book, on both points of view, so there is more depth than an insta-love, fake dating romance. I am grateful for a chance to have read this one, it is just what I needed!

*This book has kissing on page, but no on-page sex scenes.
Content warnings: grief, loss of a loved one, gaslighting

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars for a funny, adorable, and raw love story.

I loved Lex and Will, and adored their relationship. There were moments I almost was annoyed at Lexi but then realized that she's young, and has had to grow up so fast.

I also have the softest spot for Gwen and her journey. Sequel material with Maisie or Gwen - they both need love stories.

Adorable.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! This book felt promising at first and seemed really sweet. I also tend to like the fake dating trope, so I was hopeful for this fall-themed romance book. First, I will say that I really liked Maisie and Ethan as characters and how the author touched on subjects of grief and depression. However, in the end it ended up falling really flat for me and things didn’t seem to flow well/make sense to me. I could not understand how Lexi’s old high school friends made the assumption that they were engaged out of no where? There was literally no reason for them to assume that so it seemed like a big leap. I also didn’t feel like Lexi and Will had very much chemistry. Everything felt so forced and like it was happening at lightening speed. They both mention being in love with the other at only 3 weeks to a month into fake-and-then-kinda-real dating each other. Then all of the sudden he wants to get married for real to her after only a month? That feels so unrealistic to me. Lastly, I didn’t love how the third-act break up occurred only a few chapters from the end and the makeup occurred in the very last chapter which didn’t give much time to tie things up nicely. Unfortunately, this just missed the mark for me.

Lexi is a struggling waitress and Will is a successful CFO in his family's company. They have an adorable meet-cute and end up pretending to be engaged. There's a lot of discussion of her mom's grief and struggles since her dad passed away. It seemed a bit odd that there wasn't much discussion of Lexi's grief. The side characters were great. Overall, it was a cute story, although some parts felt slow and Lexi's negative self-talk started to get old by the end and didn't seem completely believable.

I love fake dating trope! I'm a sucker for that because it gets me excited every time they start falling for each other. It gets me every time. This book made me want to read more by the author!

This was an all around adorable read. The characters are lovable and I liked fake engagement vibes. It was a bit slow for me but kept me entertained. ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / St. Martin’s Griffin! A cozy friends to lovers fake engagement romance WITH a adorable meet cute, yes please! Set in the Pacific North West during the fall, Lexi is a waitress trying to make ends meet and comfort her mother after the loss of Lexi's father and Will, a charming stranger and successful businessman. Will happens to save Lexi from an awkward situation with her family and thus the journey begins :)

This was a very relatable and timely read for me. While it was a quick read for me, it was filled with so many nuggets of wisdom concerning grief, love and ones purpose. What a great book!

4 stars out of 5.

What a fun rom com, exactly what I was looking for. I really liked Will's character and thought Lexi was great too. I did find her insecurities a bit annoying and repetitive but I love both of them as a couple. The ending was perfect but a little rushed. Will and Lexi had such cute meet cute and the rest of their relationship was a fun one to read. Overall, a great fall read!

In Can't Help Falling in Love, we meet Lexi and Will. Will is the heir to Grand Babies, a large company while Lexi is struggling to finish her degree while working 2 jobs and caring for her mom. While Lexi was working her waitressing job, she meets Will. After a run in with her old best friends from high school she and Will get invited to one of their engagement parties since her friends think they are a couple. They end up going to the party and somehow it is printed Lexi and Will are engaged. It's a wild ride but Will ends up wanting to date Lexi but does Lexi have the same feelings?

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was on the hunt for my next romcom and Can’t Help Falling in Love fit the bill! It was a fun flirty fall themed romance that was a plain old good time.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this free E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: September 17, 2024

3.5 ⭐️

Read if you love:
- grief representation
- fake dating
- a strong FMC
- he falls first
- closed door

I really enjoyed Lexi & Will’s romance 💕 but I LOVED the detail in this book! Every part was written in such phenomenal detail that I felt as if I was watching a movie. The mental health representation was also phenomenal and I appreciated the discussion surrounding grief & depression. Overall, an enjoyable book.

Loved the banter and had a great time reading this. It had a perfectly swoony mmc and a relatable and funny fmc. There were a bunch of little plot things that made no sense (e.g. how did we get to fiancés in the first place, why does her mother who lives with her completely buy an engagement when she never leaves the house, why are all her childhood friends uber wealthy when she grew up lower/middle class, and a few timeline issues) BUT if you push all those little inconsistencies out of your mind, I promise you’re in for a good time!

ALSO Maisie might lowkey be the best best friend in any book ever! I hope she gets her own book, I’d love to see a happy ending for her.

One thing that makes me livid is the way things went with her mom. I don’t think her mom really reckoned with or apologized for how her actions impacted her daughter. Lexi dropped out of school and was working multiple jobs to pay back her parents debt. She lived at home because her mom wouldn’t cook or remember to eat. Near the end of the book she says they did alright and survived without acknowledging that all of that was Lexi. As a parent putting all that on your child for years while Lexi was also grieving deserved a way bigger apology IMO.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a nice story! I loved the two main characters and enjoyed their developing attraction to each other. I also liked the supporting characters. There's some gentle humor, navigating family relationships, and a satisfying HEA. This is the first book I've read by this author and I'm looking forward to reading more by her.

I liked how the author handled some tough subjects like grief, co-dependency, and depression with grace. I also liked how human both of her main characters were even as I was on and off frustrated by their reactions to certain situations.

Bottomline a very enjoyable story and worth a read!

Profanity and PG-13 love scenes.