I wasn't a huge fan of this book. If you are into friends to lovers or marriage of convience, I'd give it a try. But it isn't a favorite for me.

Miz & Kal have been childhood friends ever since her very first trip to Ethiopia to visit her dad. Kal eventually moves to Canada and rekindles the friendship he has with Miz. They are all but attached at the hip until Kal's work visa is set to expire. Miz steps up to marry Kal for her own "selfish" reasons in wanting to keep her friend there. We follow the developments in their relationship.

This book got a really low rating from me for a few reasons. Miz, our female main character, is bratty and unlikeable. There is a side plot involving a ring (which I found super irritating and unnecessary) that drug on the entire story.... for little to no reason. I typically am all for a marriage of connivence, but this just felt forced. For almost 50% of the book, it is building the world in the story but not really the relationship between the two. Kal is still sulking over a relationship from years ago and Miz likes to play the field. They never saw each other romantically prior to and it was just very hard to believe all these feelings bloomed out of thin air. I also hated how often both characters seemed to lie. It just felt unbalanced.

2.5 ⭐️

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute, fun book. It took me a few chapters to get in to the book, but I ended up really enjoying it!

This was a lighthearted romance book about this cute couple. def interested in more of rebecca's work!

Miz and Kai were childhood friends, Kal is set to lose his visa status and just like the controlling friend she is, Miz takes matters into her own hands and decides the best course when she can’t find the initial mate to marry him is to do it herself. Her character has to face some issues but she then learns everything is not how it seems. Some parts of the story can be taken out but it didn’t flow,( the ring aspect) but I love how the author allowed a view point of the immigration process and how love is not always wrapped in a nice bow.

Thank you Netgalley, Doubleday Canada/ Penguin Random House Canada

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance reader copy !! I mean, it was okay - but I felt like it could’ve gone deeper. It’s a quick read, and there are some enjoyable parts!

Definitely not my favorite read of the year. Apparently both of the main characters are in their thirties, but only the male character acted like it. I feel like the female main character could use some better friends. Like I understand having a trauma history with relationships due to one’s parents but like there’s so much more to life! It wasn’t the most realistic read, but I did thoroughly enjoy Mizu’s and Kal’s banter and chemistry! They did really mesh well together when Mizu wasn’t being difficult.

One sentence summary - Mizu has sworn off relationships and marriage, but when her dear friend Kal’s visa to Canada is set to expire, she will do anything to help, even marrying him!

I would recommend this book to folks who like exploring different cultures, who love a “he falls first” romance, with difficult female main character, fake marriages but real chemistry books and rocky starts to the relationships.

This was a wonderful story. about friendship. I was not expecting the plot twist with Miz's parents though!

A charming and touching romantic comedy about two best friends, a marriage-of-convenience, and taking a leap of faith to land exactly where you’re meant to be.
There was no need for anything more than the above description. This told the reader what would happen in the book. A romcom that fits all the parts that make it a beach read, love story.
I do not mind these kinds of books but this one was only okay. I know that predictability is one of the important factors and that those looking for an easy read do not care that they can predict it.
Overall, I will suggest this for all of my teacher friends who are looking for an easy read for the start of their summer holiday.

I really loved this cute little romance book! I definitely recommend this book if you love a friends-to-lovers romance!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada (Adult), Doubleday Canada and NetGalley for the ARC.

Unfortunately, I didn't finish reading this book.

This book is so cute!! It has a bit of a slow start didn’t really pick up until about 50% but it was necessary backstory to make me love the characters. Highly recommend. I also love this authors style of writing will definitely be picking more books up by her

Ｅｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ
🌟🌟🌟
"Only Because It's You" by Rebecca Fisseha is my first book by this author. While the cover art and premise are eye-catching, this story was just okay to me. Miz, the main female character, really worked my nerves with her childish tantrums; she would randomly throw them when things didn't go her way. She made it a little hard to read. But Kal kept me reading this story; he was gentle and caring, and also needed his citizen card. This is a story of friendship, hardships, and a marriage of convenience.

Thank you, NetGalley, and Penguin Random House for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

The two stars I’m giving this book are me being generous. It’s painfully obvious this is the author’s debut novel.

The FMC? Incredibly selfish. I honestly hated her. I don’t have much to say about the MMC, but let’s talk about the absurdity of the plot.

Excuse me, ma’am— how the fuck do you think that being married to your best friend, dating him, with the excuse of calling it ‘not a real marriage’ and "we're just a normal boyfriend/girlfriend couple" doesn't equal " real marriage" ? Also is your brain even working properly? You left him on your wedding day, and you expected him to just act like everything’s normal? He’s a human being. He has emotions.

This isn’t a 'girls supporting girls' issue. This is a 'basic human decency' issue. Your actions were cruel, and honestly, I couldn't get behind a single choice you made.

And I still haven't talked about her parents 🤢 they fucked up her whole love life by being shitty parents. Needless to say that the were involved romantically (with each other) secretly while encouraging her to never get married nor fall in love

Also the MC's whole relationship is a shitshow they went straight from being friends to lust no romance involved no realising their feelings. Also they never apologized to each other to solve THE problem they just forgave like........HUH?

As always thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada (Adult) for the free eARC 💕

Miz and Kal are best friends who met in Ethiopia. He ends up not being able to get his Canadian citizenship sponsored by the acting company he has been working with. Miz goes about trying to come up with ways to get him sponsored. Then she tries to find him a wife who can sign for him. After a few failed attempts, they decide at the same time that she should do it.

Trouble is that Miz has a very negative view of marriage that stems from her parent’s strange relationship. Despite her reservations, she agrees to help him and they get married. In their effort to do what they need to do for his paperwork and create a believable relationship, they end up becoming more than friends. He buys her a new mattress as a thank you gift. She invites him to test it out.

I think they both fell at the same time. Miz just has a lot of doubts about marriage being right for her. Then she has some revelations with her parents and that causes things to come crashing down for her.

I enjoyed this story. The build up of their relationship was good. The crash of their relationship made sense. I really loved the way they came back together.

One thing about me is I hate DNFing books and try to avoid doing that at all costs but unfortunately I’ve had to DNF this one.

At over 35% in, I feel like not much has happened and I don’t particularly care for any of the main characters and I’ve been trying to force myself to keep reading but it’s just not working right now.

There’s nothing wrong with the book per se, it’s just not enough to keep me reading. Might come back to it in the future (perhaps in a different format) as the premise did sound great.

A marriage of convenience romance, the story of Miz and Kal. The marry so he can stay in. Canada, but will it lead to more? I liked how it was told from both points of view.

I’m not sure what’s up with this one. Is it the friends-to-lovers trope or just me? I just couldn't connect with it; the chemistry wasn’t there at all. I really struggled to see them as a couple, and honestly, it was pretty boring.

This had a really compelling premise, fake marriage between best friends, one of whom is facing deportation, and I was fully on board for the emotional mess and slow-burn tension. Miz is an interesting character: independent, emotionally avoidant, and totally in denial about her feelings for Kal. The cultural elements, especially the Ethiopian rep and Toronto setting, added richness and depth that I really appreciated.

But overall, this was a bit of a mixed bag for me.

What worked:
• The concept is strong, and I loved the immigrant stakes woven into a romance plot.
• Kal is a soft king and honestly the emotional backbone of the whole book.
• The writing style is thoughtful and introspective.

What didn’t quite land:
• Miz spends a lot of time pushing Kal toward other women, which got repetitive and frustrating.
• The pacing felt uneven, like the emotional payoff came really late and wasn’t fully satisfying.
• There were moments when the romance felt like it took a backseat to character introspection, which made it harder to stay invested in their chemistry.

It’s a book about fear of intimacy, chosen family, and cultural pressure, but it doesn’t quite stick the landing as a romance. Still, I’d recommend it if you like complicated heroines and slow, character-driven stories with layered emotional stakes.

This book reminded me why I sometimes hate friends to lovers. Even though i found them to be cute together we spent some time trying to fix him up with other people. The end was great tough, it just took a while to get there.

Miz is not the marrying kind. When Kal, her aspiring actor best friend who moved from Ethiopia to Toronto, is at risk of losing his visa, Miz panics. There's only one solution, she'll marry him to become his spousal sponsor.

One thing I absolutely enjoyed about this story was the different settings of Toronto and Addis Ababa. Getting immersed into Ethiopian culture whilst Miz and Kal navigated their new normal was amazing.

The emotions were all over the place. Miz's indecision on whether to be all-in or all-business was perfectly portrayed. Kal's frustrations and devotion towards her made me ache. I loved that they figured it all out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5⭐
Steam level: 3🌶️ Open door, moderate details

I could barely make it through this one even though I really loved the synopsis and wanted to like it.

The characters had zero romantic spark and while I liked Miz’s character a lot, Kal was boring. Miz was fun and flirty and had me giggling at times. She was successful and confident in her sexuality and I loved her friendships. I actually loved her friendship with Kal so much at first that I thought it was going to be great when they finally realized their feelings for each other but…it was like BAM - oh we like each other all of a sudden. No real inkling or build up. The return of the ring to the ex confused me too. Just explain and give it back. There was just a lot of unnecessary stuff in here while the basics of romance lacked.