The premise of this book sounded really interesting but it fell a little flat.
I felt like the characters had little depth to them which was why I couldn’t fully connect with them.
It also was insta love which is not something I am a fan of, which is another reason I couldn’t connect to the story or characters.
There were some things with the writing that took me out of the story. For example, the use of words that are used today like “fire” which just took me out of the story.
Overall, I didn’t connect to the story and characters.

Oh. My. God. This has got to be ... I actually don't really have words to think on this yet except that this is going to be one of my top recommended books for a VERY long time, if not always.

Jennifer! Not only does the title of the book LITERALLY fit perfectly, the story was perfect! I was IN this book the whole time. The characters are perfect and jumped off the page! And there's going to be a sequel? :sobbing: I'm not even going to go into detail too much because this book is going to be a HIT and I will just ask anyone reading this review to add it to your TBRs right now.

I want to thank NetGalley and bow down to Jennifer Probst and her team for gifting me this opportunity to read this book! It truly is MY Book of the Month!!!

📚 Book of the Month
✍ Jennifer Probst
📖 Contemporary Romance
⭐3/5
🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️.5

➡ Her debut novel went viral but everything she's written since has flopped. Desperate to recreate the heartache that propelled her to literary stardom, Aspen Lourde decides to escape the silos of her NYC life and spend the summer visiting her sister in Outer Banks, NC. While there, she convinces resident heartbreaker Brick Babel to break her heart for inspiration in exchange for the money to reinvigorate his grandfather's local tour company. But Aspen doesn't anticipate how quickly her feelings will get involved and when Brick realizes Aspen's heart is the only one he doesn't want to break, they may both be in for more than they bargained for.
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🙏 Thank you to Blue Box Press, NetGalley and the author for an advanced copy of Book of the Month. All opinions are my own.
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🎯 What I loved: The setting of this book was great! I haven't read a lot of books set in the Outer Banks and I loved the incorporation of the wild horse herds and conservation efforts in the area as part of the storyline. There were some really fun side characters that gave the book a 'found family' feel and some moments that definitely made me laugh. Any book that authentically details how hard it is to find the heart of a story as a writer gives me the feels and that was likely the major highlight of Book of the Month for me. The author heart is strong in this one.

🙅‍♀️ What I didn't: The blurb of this book had me totally intrigued but I didn't love Book of the Month the way I was hoping to. I typically enjoy fake dating tropes but couldn't understand what Aspen was trying to get Brick to do...I'd think it would be impossible to actually fall for someone that you're paying to date you? Besides the bizarre premise, I wasn't a huge fan of the writing. I think that the author was aiming for a Beach Read meets Book Lovers combo but the banter and romance felt forced and there was a lot of bizarre mentions of 'orgasms' without any actual chemistry. And I get that these people really liked Duck Donuts but with the amount of mentions in this book, I'm convinced that they must be kicking the authors some royalties.
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Read if you love:
*books about writers/authors
*fake dating
*just for the summer/planned short-term relationship
*found family
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See also: Book Lovers, Just for the Summer, Meet Me in the Margins

This book was a refreshing and captivating read! Aspen Lourde’s journey from a struggling author to finding unexpected love is both entertaining and relatable. The premise—using a staged heartbreak to inspire her next bestseller—pulls you in, and the dynamic between Aspen and Brick is electric.
The way their fake romance slowly turns into something real is beautifully done, filled with humor, tension, and heartfelt moments. Jennifer Probst does a fantastic job of blending romance with deeper themes about self-discovery and the cost of success.
Overall, "Book of the Month" is an enjoyable and satisfying read that’s perfect for anyone who loves a story about love, creativity, and finding oneself.

Thanks to Netgalley and Blue Box Press for an ARC - Review is my honest opinion!

After seeing this book pop up several times on book lists, newsletters, etc. I got a read now copy! The cover was eye catching, title is good, and plot intrigued me. As I read, my rating/review fluctuated - there were times I was sucked in and enjoying it. I liked a bit of the grumpy/sunshine vibes and fake dating arrangement. I liked some of the mystery behind our MMC as well. But then he went from anti-relationship to what felt like insta-love and I thought the spicy scenes felt a bit cringey (sometimes there is just toooo much talking). Then the 3rd act break up just didn't land for me. So I waivered between a 3.5 rounding up and a 3.5 rounding down. (We need HALF STARS! #storygraph)

Story ends with the opening for side characters to get their own book - so if you liked this one then you'll be happy to know there is more!

I'm not mad that I read it - just not an insta-love for me.

I enjoyed the story overall. I felt at times it dragged along with too many details. Aspen has had a best selling book but the last two have not done well. Perhaps a new environment will help so off she gies to spend tbe summer with her sister on the Outer Banks. Will it be enough to help her write a best seller? Brick Babel needs a miracle to save his tour company from bankruptcy. Will meeting Aspen change both their l8ves for the better?
The characters are great! Ivwas rooting for Aspen and Brick to get their lives together. Marco and his friends keep everything on the light side and add a fun touch. Of course Aspen's sister, Sierra does her best to be supportive and encouraging. I would recommend this book..

This book was cute! It follows the story of Aspen and Brick. Aspen is an author with writers block who goes to stay with her sister in the OBX for the summer and decides she needs to have an affair to get her creative juices flowing. Brick has developed a reputation in the town for breaking hearts. This was a cute, easy read. Nothing spectacular or amazing or that I would read again, but if you’re looking for an easy summer beach read this is a good option!

Aspen is an author. Her first book, written after an intense breakup, became a bestseller. Her next 2 published books were lacking emotion according to sales and opinion. Trying to pen her 4th book and get back on the charts, she heads to stay with her sister to enjoy the beaches of NC as well as plots to romance a local for a short fling. Her thought is if someone were to break her heart again she could get past her writers block. Brick is a local bachelor who runs a struggling wild horse tour company. He is rumored to be the most eligible although hard to get man in town. Others warn he often leaves heartbreak behind after even a first date. They join together in a plan to break Aspen’s heart for her writing and to save Brick’s business with much needed renovations.

A fun, sweet summer read. Thanks to NetGalley and Blue Box Press for this early release copy.

Book of the month by Jennifer Probst is a delightful romcom and perfect beach read!

This book was such a delight and fun to read. It starts off with a writer that is desperate to write another best seller but with a writers block, she finds herself going to the town playboy for inspiration and they work through their trauma and challenges and work through their relationship pact. I loved the realistic and raw vulnerability that these characters deal with. It's got fake dating, grumpy sunshine, lots of steam and cuteness and they both fall hard for each other. It's such a cozy romcom that will make you smile and emotional at all once but will leave you feeling happy and fuzzy from all the feels!

I just finished reading “Book of the Month” by Jennifer Probst, and it was such a great read! Aspen is a famous author looking to write another best selling novel. Unfortunately, her first hit was written after an emotional heartbreak, so now she needs to recreate those feelings in order to write another great novel. She travels to the outer banks and meets Brick, a sexy man with a bad reputation. They make a deal for him to woo her and then break her heart. What could go wrong? Or., what could go right? Like any romance novel, it’s not hard to figure out what will happen, but there are some fun twists and turns and great characters along the way. This is great for a lighthearted, happy read. I’ll definitely be reading more by Jennifer Probst!

Book of the Month is about an Author who is having a hard time getting back into the grove of writing, after her first book was a best seller her next two books just didn't hit home with her readers. The problem was that her first book was based on her actual love life while her next two books were pure imagination. Now Aspen needs to put herself out there in the dating world for inspiration.

I had a few issues with Book of the Month, there were a few consistency issues. The age gap between Aspen and her sister kept changing. In the beginning of the book you get small glimpses of who Aspen is, but the flow of information just did not line up well with the story.

The story felt very oddly broken up. All of the inconsistencies pulled me out of the story every time.

DNF @ 46%

I have tried to get into this book but I have no interest in picking it back up. I enjoyed the first 10% and loved the description but this did not work for me. The book was dragging on and on and I didn't like or connect with any of the characters. The dialogue between Brick and Aspen was not my cup of tea. And why was Brick so mean to his dog, Dug?

Overall, not for me but based on other reviews, people have enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley and Blue Box Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Aspen has written one hit novel and a couple more that did not reach the same level of success. She believes that in order to connect with the story and her readers, she needs to experience the glory and pain of falling in love. Her solution? Turn to the town heartbreaker and experience his ways. Unfortunately for her, the rumors about him are all wrong, and their story turns out less clear cut than she assumed.

This book was really difficult for me to enjoy as it was essentially reading about a train wreck you know is going to happen but that you can't control. I get that both characters got something out of their deal, her a relationship & him a loan, but the reader knows all along that Aspen's goal is to experience pain at the end of it all as her career is more important than anything. Perhaps I'm naive, but it just felt cruel the entire way regardless of the fact that I assumed there would be a HEA.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

this was a cute romcom - a little repetitive and i don't know that i loved the MMC. but i really enjoyed the OBX setting and thought that was a cute change of pace.

This book read like a classic rom com, and was an easy read. I found parts of it repetitive and Brick a bit miserable at times though. Some parts of the book also read a bit cliché, for instance there is a scene where she falls off a barstool after trying to flirt with Brick that I felt like belonged in Jaime French’s female protagonist fall compilation. Overall, a very light read with predictable turns - but fun nonetheless.

This was such a super cute romance.
It really brings the whole idea of needing a muse to achieve your art into light.
For Aspen her inspiration came at the loss of her muses.
It was so fun to watch her hatch her plan and then have decide if she will follow through when it was time.
The outer banks is such a fun location for this story.
If you want a fun romance this is a good one!

Author facing writer’s block convinces herself, she needs to create the same drama in her life that was present when she wrote her first successful hit, but manages to fall in love instead.

Successful author spends the summer in a small town in hopes of finding a man to break her heart so she can write a sequel to her semi-autographical best seller debut.

Despite not loving this book around the 20% mark, I found enough redeeming qualities to keep going. Aspen pursuing a closed off Brick (what are these names) was fun. The wild horses were cool. The stoners next door were charming. I could look past the word “crappy” being used a dozen times, mediocre writing, surface level character development, and scenes that didn’t add anything to the overall plot or just…general vibes of the book. What I could not get past was the language used in the sex scenes. Mounds? Channel? Weeping slit? Something’s gotta be done about this trend in contemporary romance where the authors are using the most insane words to describe sex and bodies. I pushed through and groaned for the remainder of the book. Not in the “sexy” way Jennifer uses, like a lot, but in the way of why is this happening to me. There is a scene between Aspen’s sister and Brick’s best friend that is never explained. I only now understand a bit of it because I read the teaser chapter for their story at the end of the book. Also does Jennifer own a stake in Duck Donuts?

Jennifer seems like a lovely person and I am positive she’s written better books than this, but if you’re considering this one, I would skip it. Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read this early in exchange for, perhaps, a too honest review.

Aspen is a best selling author who is struggling to match the success of her first book. She goes to OBX to visit her sister and figure things out. Brick it's the talk of the town with gossip flying all over about him being a heartbreaker. But really, he's a little lonely and trying to save his grandfather's struggling tour company. Aspen is trying to recreate the circumstances of when she wrote her first book, heartbreak. She comes up with a plan to have Brick break her heart so she can write her book. She offers to help with financially with the business in exchange for then dating and him breaking her heart. In any good fake dating story, they fall in love. Their story was endearing and sweet. Both characters got beyond their hang ups and figured it out. Eventually. I look forward to Sierra and Kane's story. I also want more Marco!.

Who doesn't love a small town filled with gossip, enemies/rivalries, big dreams, and deals that are bound to go wrong. Book of the Month has it all! It's a total rollercoaster, especially when true love pops up where you least expect it. A great summer read with a bunch of fun characters to keep you entertained, laughing and smiling throughout.