Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Only for the Week.

Listen- I was giggling and kicking my feet throughout this WHOLE BOOK. Spicy and fun romance where the best book boyfriend actually stands up for his girl! This was so fun- I loved the ensemble (except for Amerie and Arnold…they were the WORST) and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we will get sequels about Dani, Micah, Evie, Christian, and Jalen! 4.5 stars

This book was easily one of my top reads of 2023. I read it when it was indie-published, and to see it now traditionally published warms my heart as a reader. If any book deserves this, it's this one.

I loved so many things about this book. It screamed, "Free all my girls from the bare minimum!" Not only did it force me to raise my standards, but it also gave me hope. I admit, sometimes it can be triggering to read black romance as I tend to feel I'll never have the love that's depicted. However, this book gave me some much-needed reassurance that although fiction, this love does and can exist in the real world. And I am deserving of it.

It was a breath of fresh air to read about a black woman being genuinely and gently loved. The character banter was hilarious and literally had me laughing out loud. It felt like I was watching a TV show. This book is truly the epitome of what it looks like to illustrate a black woman getting the love and treatment she deserves. Bishop gives readers a vivid portrait of what it looks like when a black woman is loved out loud all the way through.

I may be biased (for obvious reasons), but I loved that Janelle was a bookworm. I also loved how Rome not only catered to but participated in her interests under that umbrella. Additionally, I liked how this story highlighted important topics such as strained family relationships. Most importantly, what it looks like when you choose yourself and set boundaries. Though sensitive, these topics were handled with care.

The traditionally published version also contains a “behind the epilogue” section, which made me love the ending of this book even more!

Overall, this book was amazing and certainly one of my favorite books of all time. If "if he wanted to, he would" was a book.

🧡🩷💜 🆂🅴🆅🅴🅽 🅻🅸🆃 🆃🅷🅸🅽🅶🆂 💛💜💚
|| 𝓞𝓷𝓵𝔂 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓦𝓮𝓮𝓴 by Natasha Bishop||

𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲?
- Ms. Bishop, you are definitely worth a second chance. I hate it took me so long to read this! I’m glad there’s a series.

𝗠𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆:
- Bishop’s love story between Rome and Janelle goes beyond intense chemistry and great sex. It illustrates the potential for love and joy to blossom. More significantly, the author emphasizes that the most profound form of love involves allowing oneself to experience joy and love fully. Janelle’s confidence and self-assurance enabled her to transcend the superficiality of a casual hookup, revealing her vulnerability and paving the way for a forever love. While genuine love exists, the question remains: are people willing to invest the necessary effort into nurturing it?

𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘀:
- The power of “NO”
- Effective Communication in Relationships
- Love as Action
- Emotional Vulnerability

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸’𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿?
- The book’s new cover is a heartfelt tribute to Black love and joy. It beautifully captures the essence of being completely enamored and engrossed in a romantic relationship.

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸’𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁/𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄/𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?
- The book’s pace was just right. Intense chemistry. Just enough spice to keep you reading for more details. I was sad it was over so quickly.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂?
- Many feelings: joy, excitement, frustration, fun, tense, bliss, anger, and patience.

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲?
- Do you believe that there are men today who love Black women as passionately and fearlessly as Rome? Also, is Rome your ultimate book boyfriend or do you have another one in mind?

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to #partners  @coloredpagesbt, @zandoprojects, and @natashabishopwrites for the free book and tour spot. Also, to @everand_us for the audiobook access.

🏷 #OnlyForTheWeekTour #NatashaBishop #gifted #ColoredPagesBookTours #BlackAuthors #BlackRomance #bookreview #BooksToRead #Bookish #Bookstagrammer #BookLover #wellreadblackgirl

Only for the Week had me hooked from the start! The friend groups and their dynamics were so interesting and entertaining. Janelle’s best friend Evie was a true ride or die. And Rome? Total book boyfriend material! He was so in tune with Janelle’s needs, giving her what she needed before she even asked. Loved it!

On the flip side, Janelle’s family drama was quite the “ugh” factor for her. The themes of setting boundaries and doing what is best for you really hit home.

This story about a fling turning into forever had me smiling, and the new additional content of Janelle and Rome’s lives pre and post-epilogue (six chapters!) was such a treat. I enjoyed getting more of their story.

If you’re in the mood for a heartwarming, quick read, you’ve got to check this one out!

Only for the Week captivated me from start to finish! The story of Rome and Janelle was so engaging that even after the bonus scenes, I found myself wishing for more. Natasha's writing style is refreshing and impactful; she truly fills a gap in contemporary literature by showcasing multi-dimensional Black characters. These characters possess a strong attitude yet are beautifully complex, demonstrating a wonderful range of emotions and experiences.

While the narrative itself was fantastic, I did find the formatting of the advance copy to be somewhat challenging at times. It occasionally hindered the reading experience, but the compelling story made it worthwhile. Overall, I highly recommend Only for the Week to anyone looking for a rich, character-driven story that resonates deeply. We definitely need more books like this!

"Only For the Week" has been on my radar for a while. I didn't realize that this was the same book due to its new cover & being traditionally republished ! This did not disappoint!

Being a beach/travel lover, the island vibes definitely had me locked in from the start. I was rooting for Rome & Janelle to stop playing around and just get together! I loved Rome - I think he's my new book boyfriend! 🤭 The dates & surprises! The attention & honesty he gave Janelle! 😍

The spice & banter were turned up! I loved how it fit in with the storyline much more than I anticipated.

It's not often that a character gets on my nerves & has me talking to the book, but I wanted to knock Cortez & Amerie out. Whewww! A few topics are included such as manipulation, toxic familial relationships & gaslighting, (which are well thought out) but might be sensitive for some.

This book was SO fun to read. I can't wait to see what else is in store for Rome & Janelle!

Thank you to NetGalley & Zando Projects for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.❤️

Oh my god this is the book that pulled me out of my reading slump.

If you are in the need of summer romance vibes with complex family dynamics, this is a well written book with perfect spice to get you going but so many important conversations that you need to have sometimes with your family.

The written style takes some time getting used to due to all the lingo used but its still is perfect!!!

Rome is my perfect fictional man and I wont hear a word against him.

ugh this was so good. Like so good. Even better a second time. I love this man. I love this woman. I love these two and the drama. FAVE.

I love Rome so much. I love this so much. I throw flowers at this book and I'll always recommend it.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Only for the Week is written in first person dual POV. It is my first Natasha Bishop read and I absolutely loved it!

This starts out with Janelle finding out her ex is marrying her sister. and that she is expected to be the maid of honor at their destination wedding in Tullum, Mexico.
Only for the Week gives us FWB to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Epic Banter, Best Man x Maid of Honor, and HE RENTS HER A YACHT!!!!

I’m so happy to see this book getting a new cover with traditional publishing. The chemistry and banter was so good. This story had all the best elements. A good book boyfriend good friends and good chemistry

INFINITY STARS!! I loved this book OH SO MUCH!

Natasha really did her thing with this. I love Rome. I personally feel bad for whoever I marry because they WILL have to live up to the fictional character that is ROME. He’s SO perfect. My new ULTIMATE book boyfriend🤤

I also loved this because I related to Janelle’s journey of choosing herself! It’s totally ok to CHOOSE YOU! And you dont have to feel bad about it. This was just all around a great story to me and I’m sorry but i don’t wanna hear it if you don’t like it!

Janelle and Rome are maid of honor and best man at a destination wedding where her ex is marrying her sister. Janelle and Rome have a fling that is only supposed to be for the week, but can be convince her to give him a real chance?

Thank you to Netgalley & Zando publishing for the advance copy of this book with the new cover.

This was my first time reading Only for the Week. I have seen so much buzz about this book on TikTok and about the guy that “rented a boat so his girl can read her books” and after seeing that it was getting a new cover for the paperback edition I immediately requested (and got approved)

This book was really good. We follow Janelle who is going to Tulum as an early vacation before her sister wedding. May I add that her sister is marrying her ex-bf 😐 blasphemy. But while there she meets one of the ex-bf friends and sparks fly. They come up with a plan to only mess around for a week. You know take the tension off and again I say SPARKS FLY 😮‍💨

I did not like Arnold (the ex-bf) or Janelle’s sister. Both of them could kick rocks. Idc how much they apologize to Janelle and whatnot. They deserve each other 😤

I liked this! It felt a little short at times, and I would've loved a little more time to flesh out the characters outside of the central relationship. But there was a lot to like about this and I understand why it's so popular.

What a fantastic read. I couldn’t put it down and read it in a single day. The tension is real, I laughed, I called a character a b*tch out loud multiple times, and cheered for Janelle as she embraced herself and her feelings for Rome.

Rome has been hung up on his best friend's ex-gf Janelle since he met her; but now said bestie is marrying Janelle's sister and at their destination wedding he finally makes his move. Janelle is going through it, and the only person who seems to not only see it, but want to do something about it, is Rome. They spend time together, with Janelle saying it's only for the week, but their connection is so much deeper and more permanent than that. Rome doesn't let her be small, or give up her needs for others. Of course they're perfect together.

The end is adorable and empowering. Not everything is resolved in a perfect little bow with the people who hurt Janelle, and they have to do the work to earn her. She's happy with setting and keeping to boundaries, and it just makes you feel good to read it.

I’M HAVING A GOOD TIME

Went into this book blind & had the best time!! A swoony love interest. A romantic tropical destination. Forced proximity. Longing looks. I ate this up.

A super fun, fast paced read with perfect pacing & all the right swoony moments

This is the first time I’ve read something by this author but definitely won’t be the last!

This book was simply stunning. And amazing. And wonderful.

I loved the premise of it so much. The whole mess of being the maid of honor for your sister’s wedding when the groom is in fact your ex? I’m sat. I’m so sat.

I was so happy to find out that the love interest was the man that Rome Martin was. From the beginning, I knew that they were going to be everything to me (spoiler: they in fact WERE everything).

This novel celebrates women. Black women in particular and I love that so much. Janelle and her friends, Evie and Dani, are so incredibly themselves, it’s refreshing to read about.

This novel also celebrates fatness and shows that fat people deserve love and are capable of loving/being loved which was awesome!!!

This novel was above all, spicy!!! And it was some delicious spice. It hit in all the right places and was just so exciting to read about. Their sexual chemistry was off the charts. I loved how they interacted with one another.

The men friend group was also so funny, I loved them all (except for you know who).

The destination wedding setting made this so much better. I enjoyed the Tulum environment and was happy to see that diversity in this.

Spicy AND funny. This novel had me laughing out loud and putting the skull face emoji on so many lines. I was giggling and red faced and just overall had such a wonderful time reading this.

This evoked all the right emotions in me, from frustration to sadness to happiness to excitement. And I think that’s what it means to write a good book. This was that. And more.

I will definitely be checking out more of Natasha Bishops writing if it’s anything remotely close to this. 11/10.

No notes. Truly an outstanding read. Highly recommend.

Only for the Week is an extraordinary romance book where self worth and willingness to stand up for oneself opens the door for love, honesty and rawness that is beautiful in its authenticity.

The FMC (Janelle) is the type of person to put everyone’s needs before her own specifically, her sister and her wedding. As the days lead up to the wedding, Janelle’s sister is becoming increasingly more rude and inconsiderate, and this is pushing Janelle to make a decision on how much is willing to downplay her own emotions for others.

The MMC (Rome) is a loyal friend to a fault. However, he has a secret that he has been holding for quite some time. When the trip for the wedding arrives Rome makes a decision that will change his direction in life.

When Janelle and Rome actually sit down to have a conversation and get to understand each other, chemistry sparks. Rome provides the much needed encouragement that Janelle needs to help her find her inner strength to stand up for herself against the pressures of family and love. There are definitely obstacles that Janelle and Rome will face along the way, but love has a way of removing every barrier.

Do I recommend? Yes

Super cute spicy summer romance!

Janelle is bridesmaid in her sister wedding to her ex bf. So a lil messy. Rome is a groomsman that has been pining after Janelle for a whiiiiile. He’s hoping a week of sex and showing her how badass she is will get her to see him as The Option. Full of family drama, funny characters and spice.

This is a dumb complaint but it is one I have… Rome felt too good to be true…? Like I was worried something would come out about him being secretly a schmurder or something lol. His perfection felt a itty bitty cringe. But I can see why he is in the tops of a lot of people book boyfriend lists.

A very fun enjoyable read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Zando Projects for an eARC.

This book may be a quick read, but it packs a punch. It's fun, bold, sexy, and filled with a satisfying sense of retribution. Janelle, a character better than most, handles her ex with little more than indifference. However, it's her sister's treatment of her and Janelle's ability to tolerate it that made me frustrated. The retribution, when it comes, is deeply satisfying.
I admire Janelle. She's a robust and good person who stays true to herself despite the constant drama around her. Seeing others try to take advantage of her is frustrating, but she handles it gracefully.
Rome, on the other hand, is the ultimate book boyfriend. He's not just a handsome face, but a character with depth and complexity. His actions and decisions throughout the book make him a top-tier material, and I couldn't help but swoon over him.
Overall, I loved this book and am left eagerly anticipating a part two, especially one that focused on Janelle's friends. The thought of delving deeper into their lives is a hopeful prospect for any reader.