While overall I enjoyed my time with Brick and Aspen, there were definitely things that I wish were different. I didn't really connect with Aspen as a character and was quite frustrated by the plot elements in the 3rd act. I enjoyed the setting a lot and all of the side characters were delightful.

Have you ever really wanted to love a book, but it just doesn't work out? I went into Jennifer Probst's novel "Book of the Month" really wanted to love it, the premise was good, FMC who is looking to write a best seller like her first book that everyone loves. She ends up going to live with her sister where she meets the MMC, and they have an interesting relationship, and you're left kind of wondering if that was the best thing for either of them. Overall, decent read, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC!

Aspen is a popular author, who has written multiple books. However, only her first book, created from her own breakup, has become a hit. The rest are still unpopular. Frustrated, she goes to visit her sister in Outer Banks, North Carolina. Here, she sees Brick, who has quite the reputation of playing with girls and breaking their hearts. She thinks if she can get Brick to break her heart, she’ll be able to spill her own emotions into her book one more time and get another hit, a “book of the month.” So she makes a deal with Brick, who inherited a struggling tour business from his late grandfather. In exchange for love and heartbreak, she’ll provide Brick with the funds to renovate and rebuild his business.

The plot of this book is simple. And the course of events is fairly predictable. Despite that, I had a pretty good time with this book. And the main reason for that would be the support characters and all the different relationships amongst them. This seems to be a general strength for small town romances, and this book is no exception. The side characters brought so much more personality and entertainment to the story. The main characters, specifically Aspen, felt bland and static until the end. I did, however, enjoy Brick’s development and how his feelings seemed to change over the course of the novel.

One thing I usually don’t have a problem with in books but couldn’t get past in this one was the writing style. It was heavily repetitive. The same words, phrases, and sentences seemed to be copy pasted and scrambled throughout the book. The descriptions of characters’ features, their personalities, their thoughts and feelings… everything was expressed in the same way over and over again. At some point, it felt like I was rereading sentences since they were showing up so repetitively.

Overall, I thought this book was too simple and predictable and there wasn’t much development of the plot or relationship throughout the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Blue Box Press for the e-Arc. All opinions are my own.

This book wasn’t quite what I expected, and I found it a bit too spicy for my taste. Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with the female main character (FMC) early on—she came across as desperate and somewhat unlikeable. While her character did grow on me a little as the story progressed, I wasn’t fully invested. I ended up skipping many of the more explicit scenes, as I prefer closed-door romances. Ultimately, I don’t think I’m the target audience for this book, but it may appeal to readers who enjoy more steamy romances.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. Book of the Month was a quick read, and it was fun. I would describe this book as something that you would tuck into your beach bag, or bring along for a road trip. It had great romance, and quirky characters, which is the base line for every great rom-com. This will appeal to the Emily Henry fans! 3.7 stars

Book of the Month tells the story of NYC-based author Aspen, who is experiencing a writer's block and having a hard time matching the success she had with her first novel, which was written after she experienced a horrible breakup. Aspen travels to the Outer Banks, North Carolina, where her sister Sierra is living, and meets Brick, the local hunk with a bad reputation for breaking hearts and a business that is going under. Aspen makes Brick an offer - she will give him the money to update his business provided that he becomes her (pretend) summer boyfriend and dumps her at the end so that she can experience the same heartbreak that gave her a best-selling novel in the past. What could go wrong? The correct answer is everything as the couple find themselves growing closer. The descriptions of the beautiful scenery and the fun characters made me want to plan a visit to the Outer Banks myself! No spoilers, but this book gave me the satisfying ending that I love so much. The bonus content ("sneak peek") after the epilogue talked about about the second novel in this series, featuring Sierra and Brick's best friend Kane - I'm now looking forward to reading that novel in 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Such a fun read enjoyed it
In between a series I’m reading
Fun characters nothing like book club

SPORTOCHICK’S MUSINGS: This book by Author Jennifer Probst will challenge your definition of being successful and if it’s worth the things that sometimes need to be done to stay there.

I have read several books by Author Jennifer Probst and enjoyed them. So, it was not surprising that Book of the Month was delightful and engaging. The reader is taken for a fun ride with Aspen whose first book becomes a success, but she struggles with her later books causing her to become creative at getting her muse back.

The way the author developed the shifts in Aspen’s internal belief system as she experiences real life outside of her author stardom and her self-made protective cocoon touched me. I found it both sad and highly entertaining what she was willing to go through to have another #1 best seller.

Brick is the sexy misunderstood male main character. My original opinion of him was that he was too full of himself but as the storyline progresses the reader will come to have great compassion for him and how his reputation came to be. Having lived in several small towns I understand what it’s like when people decide to spread rumors about someone making it almost impossible for that person to live there so this really hit home for me.

This book by Author Jennifer Probst will challenge your definition of being successful and if it’s worth the things that sometimes need to be done to stay there.

Hm this book was something. While reading it my emotions were all over the place, and the ending left me dumbfounded. I think the pacing through me off a bit, it felt uneven and dragged at times. However, I really enjoy the grumpy/sunshine trope, and this book did a good job with it. I also enjoyed that both characters fell for each other at the same time. I feel that doesn’t happen very often at all in romance books, though I’m not entirely sure this one would technically be classified as a true romance. The setting was also amazing and just seemed gorgeous. However, I really didn’t like Aspen overall. She pretty much harassed Brick into dating her. He turned her down and she kept going and wouldn’t stop, and he gave no indication that he was interested at all. The book was also oddly and weirdly descriptive about things I wish it wasn’t (animals going to the bathroom etc.).

As far as a rating, I would recommend this book to certain people. I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it, I just wanted more overall.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🌶️🌶️

Although I enjoyed the story, I wasn’t invested in the characters or the outcome. It lacked emotion for me which ironically is what the author within the story was struggling with as well.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of Book of the Month by Jennifer Probst!

Aspen, a famous author, has writer block and moves to OBX for the summer with her sister. She wants to relax, meet men and have fun. She meets Brick and is turned down by him. Her sister warns her he is bad news and has a bad rep with the ladies.

Aspen convinced him to make a deal with her. She will give him money to renovate his Grandpas tour business and he will date her and break her heart.

Will Aspen be able to write her book and will Brock help her? Definitely read this book to find out.

I thought this book had an interesting premise and as a book lover, I enjoyed reading from the perspective of an author. However, I found the book to be quite slow and I wasn’t fond of the characters. I would try another book by the author though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blue Box Press for providing this book in exchange for a review.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an advanced look at this book. Aspen is a writer that poured out a popular novel after a bad breakup. While facing some writer’s block and an approaching deadline, she goes to visit her sister and see if she can conjure up a summer fling to give her the inspiration she needs for her next book. It took me a little bit to get into this one, but was excited to see there is going to be a sequel, so I guess I liked it more than I thought! I definitely flew through the last 2/3 of the book. It is quite spicy, lots of bedroom scenes, so keep that in mind. I give this book a 3.5 but I’ll round it to a 4 for the likable side characters and the goofy dog.

I really enjoy when we have a forced relationship situation in romances. It creates such good banter and that was what I really enjoyed in Book of the Month by Jennifer Probst. This was the first book that I have read from her and picked it based on the contract relationship between Aspen and Brick. The premise of needing a painful break up to write a new best seller is what starts the premise of a relationship between Aspen and Brick. Brick needs some money to turnaround his failing business and the fake relationship will achieve his goal. Enjoyed the spice between the characters
and their growth during the book. Book of the Month also had great side characters that added humor and perspective. I will be reading more from this author in the future. I thank NetGalley for this Arc.

This was a fun read. Thank you to NetGalley and Blue Box Books for providing me with a free Advance Reader's copy of this book. In Book of the Month, the main character Aspen is struggling with writer's block and the challenge of writing another best seller. Her first book was a best seller, but also was autobiographical. Her other books have not been successful, and she is under pressure to write another successful book. Brick is the "hottest bachelor in town", so she sets out to date him to help her write her book. A number of things didn't work for me with this book, but I really felt Aspen, and Probst's writing of her character and struggles is very real and authentic. I felt like Aspen pursued Brick in multiple ways, and he wasn't interested. This was depressing as it made her seem desperate. I enjoyed Aspen's relationship with her sister Sierra, who was a really fun character. The setting of Corolla really appealed to me as I have been there multiple times. Overall, this was a fun summer read and I appreciate the opportunity to read and review it.

Aspen Lourde is a best selling author whose stuck in a bit of writers block after some lackluster sales. She decides to spend the summer with her sister away from NYC and hatches a plan to fall in love (and heartbreak)to fuel her next book. Brick Babel is living in OBX trying to resuscitate his grandfathers business. He's running out of time and money to turn it around, while facing some pretty foul rumors of being a womanizer and heartbreaker. Aspen offers Brick the money his business needs in exchange for the relationship her next book is relying on. But what happens if they really fall for eachother? Will she end up choosing the guy or the book?

This is my first Jennifer Probst book and I can honestly say not my last. I was cheering these characters on, laughing at them, and crying for them. The spice was also delightfully spicy and not cringe. I highly recommend Book of the Month. Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy of this.

3.75
This book started slow- The middle was great and the ending upset me. It did get the emotions going though.
I liked it.
Give it a go and let me know what you think.

Maybe it’s on me that I thought this was less of a romance, but wow was this smutty and not what I expected (or really wanted). Aspen acts like a child; the way she approaches the entire setup and how she interacts in the publishing world is so vastly immature and unrealistic. I was not rooting for her and it made it hard to give a shit about anyone else (like Brick, what an absolute stupid name). Also felt a bit icky how they gloss over the fact her only other relationship experience was being groomed by her professor in what seemed to be a very ethically wrong situation???

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

the more i read, the more i discover how emotional i am toward books. character can literally say “i’m sorry” in a very dramatic way and i’m sobbing. interesting is… i’m a complete opposite in a real life. guess that’s why i like reading 👀 i’m mentioning this because i had tears in my eyes for at least 4 times while reading. the ending was too emotional for me and i definitely didn’t expected it; i thought he would take her back…

main characters chemistry. it was immediate but overfictional. i can’t quite understand how he turned into being obsessed with her so quickly. it was weird but considering it’s a fiction, i think? i’m okay with it. i found enjoyable side characters and the whole aesthetic of small town. the store and backgrounds of all characters were great developed and i’m actually so ready for sierra’s book. brick was soo sweet and i was so sad for him at the end.

club for people who brick rejected? that was sooo weird and a little cringy. i’ve never heard of that and i was laughing every time they were mentioned. to add, sometimes i wished this book was smaller because i was loosing interest in the main couple with 60% as nothing much was happening

I was excited to dive into Jennifer Probst’s latest novel, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. While the premise had potential and there were a few moments that shone, overall, the book felt predictable and lacked depth.

The characters, while charming at first, quickly became one-dimensional, and I found it hard to connect with their motivations. The romance, which is usually Probst’s strength, felt rushed and lacked the emotional build-up needed to make me care about the outcome.

The pacing also dragged in places, with repetitive dialogue and scenes that added little to the plot. I kept waiting for something to grab my attention, but it never quite got there.

I wanted to love this book, but in the end, it just didn’t stand out for me. Fans of the author may still enjoy it, but for me, it was a miss.