Fake dating and a second chance at love all wrapped into one? I was locked in. The characters (yes even the side ones) were so funny and lovely to read about. The boys were so funny and frustrating at times but it made me root for them.

Everyone deserves a chance at love don’t you think?

4/5 🌟

This book felt like a warm hug I didn’t know I needed. I instantly connected with Denz—his ambition, his anxiety about proving himself, and the complicated love he has for his family. The fake dating setup with his ex, Braylon, had just the right mix of tension and tenderness, and I found myself rooting for them the whole way through. It made me laugh, it made me tear up a little, and it reminded me how hard it can be to be vulnerable, especially with people who matter most! It was a little predictable, sure—but in a comforting, satisfying way.

From the start I was hooked, I'm a sucker for the fake dating trope. Adding the tension of being exes, Denz and Breylon were made for each other. While there were a few moments of character frustration when Denz was adamant about becoming CEO, those moments were understandably human. Wanting to please and be like your parents can cause you to not act like your true character.

I do wish there was more exploring their present relationships. We got to see the foundation of their past together, but not as much as their present development.

Overall, a great book, one I would definitely recommend to my friends and followers.

3.5 star review - it was a decent read. Read well and it kept me engaged. Thank you for the author and tea, for the chance of an arc.

3.5 stars rounded up

Thank you for this eARC to read and review :)

I think my mood reader heart is the problem with this one, I just don't think this was the eight "mood" I was looking for. However, I will be reading other books from this author.

I thought this was a cutesy and sweet romance but I didn't enjoy the flashbacks in this book.

Thank you to the publisher. This one wasn't a right fit for my mood at this time. I will try reading other books from this author.

4⭐️ 3🌶️

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Writing perspective: third person
Length: 327
Reading format: Kindle
ARC provided by: SMP + NetGalley

Relationship dynamic: MM (BIPOC MCs)
Tropes/Microtropes/Vibes/Reps:
💖 Second chance
🤫 Fake dating
🛏️ One bed
💬 Texting
🫶🏾 Big, nosey family

📖 This was a really cute story where two exes fake date to get ahead, but really get a second chance at love. Denz and Braylon were sweet and learned to overcome so much with healthy communication. There is a big family with a funny dynamic and I loved Denz’s friendship with Jamie.

I am so torn. It was a good story. But ugh flashbacks. I couldn't stand them in this story. And I can't put my finger on why. Its a 3 star. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it.

I Think They Love You by Julian Winters is a sweet and cute fake dating/ second chance romance.

Denzel "Denz" is competing to take over as his dad's successor at their families party planning company.

Braylon is Denzel ex who has returned from London. Upon reconnecting, they agree to fake date for the benefit of their jobs.

A light, fun rom-com full of humor, a loveable cast, and gossiping aunties.

I accepted the invite to read this book because of a recommendation from an author whose work I love. The verdict: it did not disappoint!
I enjoyed every second that I spent reading this delightful story. This romcom was fun, light, and delicious, with lots of depth. There was in depth character growth - I would have loved to read Braylon’s point of view to have gotten even more character depth/growth from him, because I feel he had even more to offer. That being said, Denz offers the reader plenty to think about all on his own. This is a second-chance that does contain a lot of misunderstanding (I prefer to call it that over miscommunication), but the characters slowly start to open themselves up to one another in a way they didn’t the first round. There were a few spicier moments that were well written and added well to the development to the story and characters.
Family carried a very important role in the book. The book also includes good queer and BIPOC representation.
I recommend this to anyone that enjoys a good romcom with a quality blend of heart and humour.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for a digital advanced copy of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

Julian Winters delivers a fun, flirty, and heartfelt MM romance in I Think They Love You that had me hooked from the very first page! With a fake dating setup and a swoon-worthy second chance romance, this book hits all the right tropes—and does them justice.

When Denz finds himself scrambling to prove to his judgmental, high-achieving family that he’s stable enough to take over his father’s company, he makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to fake a serious relationship. But when his plan goes sideways, he ends up fake dating the one person he really doesn’t want to see—Braylon, the ex who broke his heart. What follows is a delicious blend of unresolved feelings, steamy tension, and the slow unraveling of what went wrong between them.

What I really loved was how Winters wove in deeper themes beneath the rom-com surface: family expectations, the pressure to live up to others’ standards, the conflict between duty and desire, and the strength it takes to choose your own path. Denz’s journey of self-discovery and emotional vulnerability felt so genuine and relatable. And while the romance took center stage (as it should!), the sense of queer community, complicated family dynamics, and the weight of forgiveness added so much depth to the story.

The characters? Phenomenal. Denz and Braylon practically leap off the page with their chemistry, history, and layered personalities. And the side characters were just as memorable—they all brought humor, heart, and richness to the story. Also: only one bed. Need I say more?

Steamy, sweet, and packed with both sass and sincerity, I Think They Love You is the kind of book that leaves you smiling and a little teary-eyed by the end. I’m already adding more Julian Winters books to my TBR—if you love BIPOC leads, second chances, and romances that balance fun with emotional weight, this one is a must-read!

Julian Winters writing an adult romcom. Say less.

Now here’s a second chance romance that I can get behind. Denz needs a serious boyfriend to prove to his family that he’s serious about his life. And why bother trying to find someone new when you happen to run into the ex who you already know your family loved?

It was so wonderful to see Julian Winters flex his writing muscles and take on adult romance. And he does it so well! I hope that he continues to write in this space. You can tell he’s having so much fun writing this charming and queer romance.

I Think They Love You is my first experience with author Julian Winters. It follows the competition that ensues when Denzel "Denz" Carter's father suddenly announces his upcoming retirement. As his children, Denz and his sister Kami, each have the ability to take over as CEO and the competition between them immediately heats up. Nobody believes that Denz is serious about becoming CEO as he has been known to be commitment phobic in the past. To prove them wrong, he pretends to be in a serious relationship with his best friend Jamie but, when Jamie doesn't show to "meet" his parents, he finds himself agreeing to pretend date Braylon, the man who broke his heart.

For the most part, I found this book to be okay. Although, it is touted as a second chance romance, I found that the romance was often secondary to the competition between the siblings. Much of the book it felt like Denz and Braylon weren't actually talking to each other. They were having the same internal thoughts but not communicating. Some of this might have been due to the fact that the book was only written in Denz point of view. An alternating point of view may have helped create a depth in their relationship - made it more believable. Also, maybe we would have gotten to the bottom of why they had broken up in the first place a little bit sooner.

The whole competition of who would become the next CEO really didn't make any sense. Honestly Denz was delusional to think that he wanted to/had any chance of being CEO. He was so disorganized! He also came across as selfish. Like he had only really cared about himself, not the company or those who may have been affected by his decisions. Meanwhile, Kami was killing herself trying to have a career, raise a child, and somewhat of a personal life. There was a little bit of character growth in Denz by the end but, I still found him to be selfish in both his personal and professional life.

Overall, I found that I Think They Love You had several good themes within it. These included strong themes regarding familial relationships, LGBTQIA+ representation, sex positivity, and the importance of second chances. Unfortunately, while I connected with the themes, the writing felt off balance, and I wasn't able to create a real connection to the characters, making it hard to stay full invested.
**Rating: 3.5 Stars**

I've been a fan of Julian Winters' YA books for years, so I was highly anticipating his adult romance debut, and I really enjoyed it! I was afraid the setting would feel very tense and stressful, since the story is set around Denz's family's company and him trying to become the next CEO, but his family was a lot nicer than I expected, even though they were intense. There were many funny moments and the writing was really fun as well, which really added to the romcom feel. I liked Denz as a main character, and I liked seeing him grown from someone who's frankly pretty self-absorbed into someone with a little more consideration for others. I liked the romance as well - I'm a sucker for a second chance romance, and they had a lot of lovely scenes together. I do wish Braylon had been a little more fleshed out though, because in the end, I don't feel like I know him super well. I think this book could have benefitted from being dual POV.

This book has everything. It is romantic but also heartfelt, and it is sooo funny. I also like that it has the classic tropes like "one bed" and "second chance romance" but it isn't cliche. It can be hard to achieve, but Winters did it well!

Second chance romances always seem to draw me in immediately, and this was no exception. With second chance romances, I find that the chemistry between characters tends to be much more real and believable because you can believe that the history they had together can lead them to where they are now and it is not some fantasy insta-love situation. Denz and Bray's connection was clear an strong and it was so easy to fall into their story and start rooting for them immediately.

Julian Winters writing style made this very easy to read and I enjoyed so much about this book. Even aside from the romance aspects of the book, some of the struggles they were having in their careers were so relatable. Now, I am not saying I can relate to the struggles of trying to become a CEO of a major corporations.... but I do think that many people can relate to trying to find a proper work/life balance, and what you may or may not be willing to do in your career in order to achieve a more appropriate balance for yourself. Prioritizing your own mental health while managing the expectations of your family, friends, and employer can be really difficult and I loved the exploration of that here.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is a second chance fake-dating romance between Denz and Braylon. This was such a fun, sweet, and fast read.

Denz is trying to prove that he is responsible and ready to be CEO of the family company so he lies about being in a committed relationship. Braylon just came back from London and wants to meet with the Mayor to get funding for the nonprofit that he works for. A perfect recipe for a fake dating relationship.

Denz is a very messy but relatable person that makes a lot of mistakes along the way. I do wish we got Braylon's perspective. I think that would have helped me connect to his character more.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read. I wasn't a huge fan of the flashback scenes and the pacing was off at times so that's why it's not a five star read.

Thanks to Netgalley for my eARC. All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own

I know that I'm not much of a romance fan, so my word shouldn't be taken as truth. But this book was just way too average for me, and so much of the dialogue was far too cringey for me to enjoy. The two main characters aren't bad overall, and they actually make a pretty good pair, so that part wasn't an issue. And honestly, most of the challenges they faced made a decent amount of sense too - it was just annoying that this entire book is just one big miscommunication trope. No one talks to each other, in the past OR present, and it just makes for way too many bad outcomes that are incredibly frustrating.

Also, my biggest grievance was Denz not knowing who Peeta and Katniss are. You mean to tell me that you, a 25 year old who loves movies and pop culture, don't know about the Hunger Games, but your sibling who is like 9 years younger than you does? Don't even lie.

By design second chance romances stress me out, but this book is beyond worth the anxiety. It's become a rare exception to my second-chance-romance-avoidance rule. It's so well written, nuanced, and energetic. Denz and Braylon have stellar character arcs, an evolving and complex dynamic filled with "I can't get enough of you no matter how much I resist you" type chemistry. In their time apart, they grew into these vibrant, flawed human beings and together they're cozy, sizzling french-toast-grilled-cheese home to each other. The book itself is structured like the most satisfying romcom. A lot of the expected fake dating plot points are hit, but what makes them sing is how fresh, funny, and fantastic the writing is. They're such perfectly imperfect matches for each other that the journey they take in this book is also so believable and grounded.

Apart from the love story itself, this book is a love letter to community. The queer community and all complex intersections of class, race, and queerness that both complicate and elevate our experiences as human beings. Denz and Braylon have two different and developing relationships with their identities as the narrative moves forward. Denz is the only openly queer member of his notable black family, a combination that forces a lot of familial and public facing expectations on a man who just wants to live his life. Braylon's expression of queerness gets louder as he ages, eventually becoming an inspired avenue for him professionally and within his own self confidence, as well as Braylon's intricate immigrant family background impacting his decision making. It's an ode to the celebration of queerness and intersectionality, how uniqueness can inspire and thrive.

I did find it frustrating that Braylon seems very closed off for a good portion of the beginning of the book, so it's hard to get a read on him, which, yes, is partially intentional because Braylon's intentions aren't supposed to be clear to Denz either. This aspect is definitely something that could've been explored further with dual pov, but I will accept an extra scene from Braylon's pov as a treat instead! All of the secondary characters, friends and family, are well developed given their minimal page time and I'd love to see this world explored more. I'll be crossing my fingers for a Jordan/Jamie spinoff! Denz + Braylon: a new all timer book couple for me.

Denz and Braylon have a past. So when they bump into each other after years of going no contact after their breakup, Denz resents feeling that same flood of feelings come back to him.

This story was so presh and the main characters were def likable. There was some heavy spoice in the middle of the story, but then it fizzled out because it got back to them processing their feelings.

Highly recommend for those of y'all who love a second-chance romance :)