I chose this book because it's set in the Outer Banks, one of my favorite places. It’s my first time reading Jennifer Probst, and I’m excited to explore more of her work. This story features the classic fake relationship trope, with the goal of breaking Aspen’s heart so she can write her next novel. It was a fun read, and I’m already looking forward to the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blue Box Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to think this was cheesy but I really enjoyed the love story and kept returning to my kindle to finish. While cheesy it is done so well, a great beach read.

Oh - I was so giddy to receive this Arc! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Jennifer Probst for this Arc - I truly appreciate it!!

Firstly - can we just say that this cover is gorgeous! The colors - the title - just everything is beautiful.

Secondly - the characters are amazing, and the romance felt so pure and beautiful. Aspen, the FMC, is a writer struggling to get herself back on the best sellers list - but she has a really interesting way to try and do that. She comes to the conclusion that she was the best writer when she was heartbroken after a breakup so she sets out to date & get her heart broken. It was an interesting approach, but I thought it would make for a fun read (I was not disappointed!)

Brick the MMC (and oh how I LOVE his name) is known as the heartbreaker of the town and he's in a bind - he's out of money, and his building that houses the company needs some drastic renovations that he can't afford. Enter Aspen! She has the perfect deal for him - he breaks her heart, and she provides the funding! What follows is a hilarious story that is wholeheartedly wholesome and fulfilling.

“This was a man who could force her to feel things she hadn’t in years.
This was a man who could shatter, wound, and damage her emotions.
This was a man who could storm into her life and cause complete wreckage.
Dear God, he was perfect.”

She’s desperate for another bestseller… and she’ll go to any length to get it. Even if it means sacrificing her pride to chase the hottest bachelor in town and get him to break her heart…

This was a hot and heavy romance that only seemed to skim the surface of the characters, unfortunately. I was little like
hmmm at the swiftness with which Brick Falls for Aspen. It was so abrupt it actually pulled me out of my immersion into the storyline to go-uh huh. 🤔

I would have loved to explore the emotional damage done to Brick a little more. I feel like I just never got to really know the characters beyond she’s a author with writers block and he’s a woman destroying Greek God of a man. I did enjoy it, although it took me much longer than usual to finish.

Thank you to Netgalley, Blue Box Press, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

If you need a break from holiday stressors, Book of the Month by Jennifer Probst is a great respite and a delightful read

When Aspen Lourde can't find inspiration for her next book, she sets out to get her heartbroken while on vacation with her sister. But, both Aspen and Brick, the local tour-guide heartthrob, end up learning more about life than anticipated after their agreement.


Click here to check out the book today.

Jennifer Probst's Book of the Month is a delightful summer read that blends romance, humor, and a dash of self-discovery. The story follows Aspen Lourde, a once-successful romance novelist who's struggling to recapture her past glory. Desperate for inspiration, she hatches a plan to fake-date the charmingly rugged Brick Dalton, a local businessman with a reputation for breaking hearts.

Probst's writing is witty and engaging, filled with banter and chemistry between Aspen and Brick. The author skillfully balances the lighthearted moments with deeper themes of self-doubt and the pressure to succeed. The setting of the Outer Banks provides a picturesque backdrop for the story, adding to its summery charm.

While the premise of a fake relationship is a well-trodden trope, Probst adds a unique twist by exploring the blurred lines between fiction and reality. Aspen's struggle to write a new book while navigating her feelings for Brick creates a relatable and heartwarming narrative.

Overall, Book of the Month is a fun and enjoyable read. It's perfect for those looking for a lighthearted escape with a touch of romance and introspection.

This book started out with an interesting premise but lost me when Aspen desperately threw herself at the very uninterested Brick repeatedly until she eventually threw money at him to get his attention; he kept saying it wasn’t because of her looks so she bought him so she could set herself up for heartbreak. With all this you get flat characters that had no real chemistry and didn’t work well together. I couldn’t get myself interested to continue the book.

Book of the Month by Jennifer Probst is everything you want in a romance novel—sharp, witty, and filled with that slow-burn tension that keeps you hooked until the very last page. Aspen Lourde, once the literary world’s golden girl, is now facing the dreaded sophomore slump. Desperate for a bestseller, she heads to the Outer Banks in search of a muse and finds herself tangled up with the town’s notorious heartthrob, Brick Babel. Brick is as rugged as his name suggests—gorgeous, a bit wild, and just the right amount of acerbic to make their chemistry absolutely electric.

The dynamic between Aspen and Brick? Perfection. It’s that push-and-pull where every acerbic line Brick throws at her only pulls her deeper into his world. Aspen’s quest to create her next big hit by faking a romance with him is hilariously complicated, and Probst writes their banter with such skill that you can feel every spark, every barb, and every unspoken feeling. As they navigate this fake relationship for their own selfish goals, the lines blur, feelings get tangled, and suddenly, the stakes are so much higher than just a book deal.

But it’s not just romance—this book also dives into the pressure of creative blocks, the vulnerability of putting yourself out there, and the unexpected places inspiration can come from. Probst brings the Outer Banks setting to life, creating a perfect backdrop for a summer of love, laughter, and unexpected growth.

Five stars, no question. If you’re looking for a romance that’s as acerbic as it is heartfelt, Book of the Month is a must-read. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing me with an advanced copy of Book of the Month by Jennifer Probst. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Blue Box Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Every authors dream is to write a book so good that everyone is buying it, talking about it, and obsessed with it. Every authors nightmare is that no one will buy your next book because they are so hung up on your first book. This was Aspen's reality. No one would move on from the book she put her whole soul in to write and now her publisher is breathing down her neck to write one just like it.

Aspen sets off to stay with her sister to try to write her next best seller. Her plan is to fall in love again and have her heart broken again. Local tour guide and heartbreaker, Brick, is the perfect man for the job.

This was a fun book to read. There were some funny moments and some heart breaking ones as well. Great if you like the grumpy/sunshine and fake dating tropes.

Aspen is a best selling author, but hasn’t gained any traction on her last two novels. Her publishing company wants a knockout book, wants her to dig deep with angst and feelings for her characters… but Aspen doesn’t know how to write such characters without proper inspiration. She needs her own love life to spark before she can write a spark for her characters.
Brick’s tour company is failing. What he thought was a successful business left to him from his deceased grandfather, was actually a tour business in the brink of collapse. Brick needs an overhaul. Enter Aspen.

Aspen and Brick strike a deal: her help for his help in the romance department. What starts as a great plot line steeply plummets with no real chemistry between the characters. I wanted to love this book, but I just couldn’t connect with Aspen or Brick.

Thank you Jennifer Probst, NetGalley, and Blue Box Press for the ARC of this novel.

This was a cute read that was easy to read and brought back memories of trips made to the Outer Banks.

Lots of great side characters that helped keep your attrntion.

Book of the Month by Jennifer Probst was such an enjoyable read! Although the fake dating trope faded quickly, I loved the mix of a romance-skeptical MMC and a writer’s block-stricken FMC. The beachy vibes, charming side characters, and intriguing plot kept me hooked—I just wish I could dive into Aspen’s books myself!

This book was cute, but felt a little too long. Overall, I enjoyed the premise, but I also thought the idea of dating to break up was just kind of an awful way to treat someone/go into the idea. Why did she not think she could fall in love/feel emotions to write something? Why did it have to be a love to heartbreak?

Also some minor inconsistencies about NC- we can't have happy hour drink specials. Drink specials have to last all day. Just a minor note from one part in the book, but bothered me as an NC native.

A book about writing books? Sign me up. This book was swoony, a little spicy, and was all wrapped up in the perfect happy ending. I loved the journey that Aspen found herself taking as she went to the Outer Banks, making new friends and discovering why she was working so hard to achieve a best seller status. This one is heartwarming and hilarious worth picking up for sure!

I received this e-book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for the copy!

Ever since Aspen Lourde's first book was so successful, even scored Book of the Month, the rest of her books have fallen flat. She's starting to think that maybe she can only write well when her emotions are high, since she wrote the first one after a huge heartbreak. Brick Babel is the small town guy whose reputation around town is known as a heart-breaker, who is trying to save the family business. When Aspen decides to visit her sister and hears about Brick, she starts to think he is exactly what she needs to write another best selling book. Aspen propositions Brick, a fake relationship in exchange for helping to save the family business....and somehow Brick agrees. Will the deal end up being worth it or will they both regret the decision they've made?

I absolutely loved this cute book! I couldn't get enough and was dying to read it each day. Jennifer Probst did a wonderful job of painting the scene and characters and giving each character voice. She not only had me excited about Aspen and Brick's story, but also created just enough about the surrounding characters that made me care about them as well. So much so that I will definitely be picking up the second book when it comes out because I have to know what happens with Aspen's sister, Sierra! If you enjoy the fake dating trope, I think you'd enjoy this!

I enjoyed this one. Love the grumpy guy isn’t really grumpy but just trying to protect himself and his grandfathers business.

Desperately needing to write her next great novel, Aspen's reading are clamoring for the gut-spilling, emotionally draining experience from her first book. Yet that book was based in reality where she lost her heart and was betrayed by her college professor lover. So Aspen decides that she needs to fall in love again and then get her heart broken to write her next art bestseller. But she needs to do so in a fake relationship and finds Brick, the owner of a failing tour company in the Outer Banks, who reluctantly agrees to this plot as Aspen proposes to pay him to save his company. Predictable as this is, it is delightful to see them truly fall in love, but then there is added content so unnecessary to sell this story that I found it off-putting. Why? Ending is predictable, What started out as promising, ended like helium let out of a balloon. It was okay. Many thanks to #netgalley and #blueboxpress for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Cue the Hallmark romance! Book of the Month is a unique take on the strangers to lovers trope with a twist.

Aspen Lourde needs to write another best seller to prove she’s got what it takes to become a full fledged author. The only problem is she doesn’t think she can do it without another devastating break-up.

While visiting her sister in a small town for the summer, she learns of the unattainable player, Brick. Cute and swoon worthy, this contractual relationship turns into something more than just another best seller.

The characters are lovable from Aspen and Brick to Kane, Sierra and Marco. I loved them all and I can’t wait to read Sierra and Kane’s story.

Thank you to Blue Box Press, NetGalley and the author, Jennifer Probst, for the opportunity to read an early digital copy.

Aspen needs to write a sequel to her bestseller and feels that without the proper heartache and conflict she will fail to make it happen. Brick is trying to revive his grandfather’s failing tour business and the money Aspen gives him to break her heart at the end of her summer visit will help out the business tremendously. Feelings develop and change over time and important decisions must be made. This is an emotional journey of dealing with the past and figuring out the future. A number of sex scenes to keep you fulfilled there as well. There is a good bit of humor within the pages as the main characters cleverly banter and the supporting characters are very entertaining.

I liked the book very much. It is a romantic, entertaining story that has everything to make me enjoy it.

The main characters are very well constructed and I loved their chemistry. Brick, I'm in love. I loved his relationship with the main character. I found it believable and it made me feel so much.

The ending was a bit predictable, but I enjoyed it. Reading this author never disappoints.

thanks for trusting me!