Painter’s newest rom-com gave me all the Pretty Woman / Maid in Manhattan vibes with its opposites attract storyline. It follows Abi, a maid who’s caught crashing at her client’s lavish NYC condo, and the fake dating pact that unexpectedly stems from their encounter. The writing is fast paced and full of Painter’s signature witty banter, which kept things lively. However, I had a hard time fully buying into their arrangement; everything moved a bit too quickly for two complete strangers. That said, the audiobook, narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Saylor Bell, was excellent and engaging, making it an easy, one day binge listen.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
▪️Fake dating pact
▪️Grumpy x sunshine
▪️Forced proximity
▪️Maid meets hot millionaire
▪️NYC setting

I loveeed this fake dating!! I really enjoyed everything about this! Fro, the characters to the setting. All of it was a treat!

4.25⭐️

Maid for Each Other is your typical Cinderella-meets-billionaire romance with a fake dating twist that gives major 90s rom-com vibes, particularly Maid in Manhattan and Pretty Woman.

The setup is pure rom-com gold. He’s a workaholic billionaire pretending to have a girlfriend to appease his parents and boss; she’s a down-on-her-luck maid who ends up squatting in his penthouse and accidentally gets mistaken for said fake girlfriend. Instead of turning her in, they strike a deal: she pretends to be his girlfriend, and she can keep staying at his place. Cue the shenanigans!

The banter was fantastic and the story kept me intrigued. Though it took me a second to get attached, once I hit the 35% mark, I could not put this book down! Our FMC, Abi, is a total firecracker, she’s sharp, witty and unapologetically bold, and really added fantastic humour to the story. Declan, the MMC, is your classic billionaire hero with a heart of gold, making him charming and lovable.

While this story doesn’t deviate from the typical, familiar tropes, that’s also what makes it such a satisfying read. It delivers exactly what it promises: a nostalgic, comforting rom-com with Lynn Painter’s signature flair.

Highly recommend if you’re in the mood for a 90s rom-com-style billionaire romance with fake dating, heart, and humor. A perfect summer vacation read! Can’t wait to see what Lynn Painter writes next!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own!

OH I ADORED THIS.

It’s not a secret that I’m a big Lynn Painter fan. They just give me that shot of dopamine that I am always needing and I had a blast reading MFEO. It had me laughing and smiling and swooning all over the place. Is it totally cheesy? YOU BETCHA. Go for the vibes, it’s a delight.

I might be able to nitpick a few things about the plot but by the end I thought certain points were circled back to and answered and I was good with those conclusions.

The banter was, as always, top tier between Abi and Declan. I was a sucker for the nicknames and made up stories. All of the fake dating and millionaire aspects were incredibly fun. It felt unrealistic in a realistic way that made it one of those perfect picks for a summer romance. I loved the charm and heated moments. AND THE SWEET TENDER ONES SENT ME. Gosh these two were flipping adorable. Declan is a man who fell HARD. Loved it. Loved it all.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: moderate
Romance: 2ish open door; low/vague explicit

4.25 stars

Another true rom-com feel good book by lynn painter! I adored this one. Abi (with an I, not to be confused by abby with a y) finds herself in a fake-dating scheme with millionaire Declan, also known as the owner of the apartment she’s a maid for. It’s either that or get fired for getting caught staying in the apartment while he was away and her own apartment has some sort of infestation. Declan needs a fake girlfriend, she needs a place to stay. It seems like a win-win bargain until the forced proximity fake-dating lines start to blur.

This book is just really fun! I laughed out loud multiple times and thoroughly enjoyed the banter, the forced proximity, and the shenanigans they got up to. Who doesn’t love a fake dating scheme?? Declan and Abi’s chemistry was a good slow-burn from a hate to love.

It’s sweet, light-hearted, and has all the feel-good moments of any rom com. Put this one on your tbr July 15th! Thank you Berkley for the arc <3

3.5 stars - Thank you to Berkley Romance for the free book!

This was pretty cute. I will go for a fake dating trope every time and was excited to get this, but in the end, it was pretty middle of the road for me. The beginning was a bit all over the place and some of Abi's quirky characteristics were over the top for me. The pacing was a little bit off, Declan changing his workaholic tendencies so quickly didn't totally make sense, and it felt like they fell for each other so quickly. <spoiler>I could see the third act break up coming from a mile away and regardless of how much Abi's opinion of Declan changed over the course of the story, it felt a bit icky how she was using his life as inspiration for her story. </spoiler>

Even with all of that, there were some very fun and cute moments between Declan and Abi that I did enjoy. Overall, this wasn't a bad read by any means, but not quite for me.

4.5 stars!! This was rom com perfection that I devoured so quickly!!

The banter was immaculate and both main characters were so likeable and I could empathise with both their sides of the story. I loved that Abi was a strong fmc despite her situation and it didn’t at all give off the maid in need of help vibes I was getting from the cover.

Super fun read!

This book was really fun! It was the perfect break between some heavier material. Like many rom coms, it required a little suspension of disbelief that Declan and Abi would really connect in a serious way given how different their lives are - but otherwise no notes. Lynn Painter’s adult rom com books continue to impress me with their consistent polish, likable characters and fun plots!

4.5 stars rounded up

What to expect in this book:

-Rom-com
-Fake dating + Forced Proximity
-Written like an early 2000s rom-com
-Midwest setting
-Pop culture references
-Lots of banter, flirting, and tension

Thoughts

Thank you SO MUCH to #NetGalley and Berkley for this advanced copy. This is sure to be among my favorite rom-coms of 2025! I love everything that Lynn Painter writes and if you are a sucker for an early 2000s romance, you will love this. Think "The Proposal" and "Maid in Manhattan" had a child, this would be it! Abi Mariano is a professional cleaner and dreaming to be an author and professor, but her financial stress and student loans, and now infestation at her apartment, are getting in her way. She needs to be out of her apartment for a week, but does not have anywhere to go. Until she decides to crash at the apartment of her millionaire client, Declan, while he is out of town. When Abi awakes the next morning to his parents in the apartment, assuming that she is Declan's girlfriend they have not met yet, Abi is put in a precarious position. When Declan finds out who Abi is, the two make a proposition: Abi will agree to fake date Dex to assuage his parents and Abi gets a place to stay for the week. Because it's just a business arrangement right?

Me + Fake Dating = recipe for success! Did we all not love this concept in The Proposal? I typically enjoy Lynn Painter's young adult fiction more than her adult fiction, but this one takes the cake for me (in addition to Accidentally Amy) as my favorite adult romance of hers. I just loved the banter and really felt the chemistry with the characters. There was so much tension and I enjoyed that a majority of the steam was relatively fade to black. And as always, the pop culture references abound. I love any reference to Gilmore Girls, Taylor Swift, and of course, cats! This really had everything I want in a rom-com.

As always, I will read anything by this author, but definitely feel like this is the perfect read for those who love a sweet, bingeable, and entertaining romance. Be sure to look for this on shelves in July!

Lynn Painter takes a silly old trope from all of our favorite fanfiction websites and makes it somehow even BETTER! I could not put this book down after I immediately fell in love with headstrong Abi and secret softie Declan. I love all of Lynn Painters books but this one made me feel particularly warm-and-fuzzy with nostalgia for all of my favorite fake-dating love stories.

I’d not yet had the chance to read a Lynn Painter book until this one. Maid for Each Other was a cute, quick ready with a dash of angst. The FMC, Abi, throws everything in to be the best (fake) girlfriend the MMC, Declan, needs her to be, not even hesitating to push the envelope with cutesy or crazy stories of their (fake) dating history.

And with every good fake dating – add in some forced proximity too – story, Abi falls in love with Declan and his family, and he falls for her.

Since this storyline was very similar to those of Pretty Woman or Maid in Manhattan, I wish Painter had taken more of the story to dive into Declan’s secret other job. I loved that aspect when the truth was revealed, and it would have helped this book be a little more unique and not as similar as those I noted.

Now to dive in to some of her other stories!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me an advance copy to read.

I'm dnfing at over 75% in. The first 1/4 of this book was super cute and I really thought this was going to be a solid 4 star read for me, but one we got the 1/2 mark, the fake dating was over and I've been struggling and just bored waiting for something to happen. I LOVE Better than the movies and nothing like the movies, but fear that Lynn's adult books aren't for me.

I haven’t laughed this hard at a book in a long time. I loved the asthma rep for the heroine. The natural dislike to love trope. The banter and how the heroine never gets off the hero’s neck with witty comebacks.

Lynn Painter writing a fake-dating trope? Yes, please! It's sweet, fun, fast-paced, and a little bit emotional. Filled with great banter, flirting, and the delightful text convos that I adore in Painter's writing.

Abi has a decently deep backstory but, while I adored him, Declan needed a little more depth. I just wanted to scuff him up a little bit. His arc from starchy and immoveable to heart-eyed golden retriever was delightful though. And Abi's energy was just jumping off the page, so sassy and assertive while being a bundle of complex joy.

Together their love story is just the right side of unrealistic, with the meet-cute (that's something I always appreciate about Painter's books too, we just jump right in) and the mistakes and the perfect chemistry. It all adds up to a great and easy read, perfect for summer vacation (in case that's what you need) or any time really. It's one I'm already ready to reread.

A fun and heartwarming rom-com where a grad student and a wealthy entrepreneur team up for a fake relationship that quickly turns real. The witty dialogue and slow-building chemistry make this a charming and enjoyable read. Perfect for anyone who loves opposites-attract stories with plenty of humor and heart.

This was a cute, quick read! Abi and Dex were the textbook definition of bad first impressions, and it was a wild ride seeing them overcome their perceptions of each other. I haven't come across billionaire romances quite like this one- Dex was probably one of the most down to earth MMCs I've read (in a very refreshing way).

Abi’s balancing a number of jobs, and occasionally works as a maid, cleaning for wealthy people when they’re out of town. When her place is fumigated, she can’t afford a hotel and crashes at an out of town rich man’s home. Unfortunately (or fortunately), his parents arrive and wrongly assume she’s the mysterious girlfriend they’ve heard about. Declan, to get out of things, has made up a girlfriend. The name? Abby. Despite his annoyance at discovering Abi slept over, he’s stuck hiring her to help continue his charade.

Was the plot a little contrived? Sure. Was it fun? Yes. Give it a read if you’re looking for a quick and delightful book.

Do I have a new favorite Lynn Painter book? I absolutely do! Maid for Each Other was an absolute delight of a relationship of convenience between Abi and Declan. I adored watching their relationship unfold, and while I hated the miscommunication, I don't hold Declan responsible for it and loved that he was willing to do whatever it took to let Abi know how he felt about her.

Thank you to Berkley for an early review copy.

Lynn Painter's latest adult romance novel, follows Abi, a maid, who has to pose as a fake girlfriend to one of her clients, Dexter, a billionaire with rising stock in his family legacy company. In comparison to other titles by Painter, this features a similar dynamic between the fmc and the mmc. Unfortunately, the banter was not as successful as Painter's other titles and the relationship was not as developed. While the premise is cute, and the book does take on a classic romcom movie level, some readers may find themselves wishing for a deeper story, with more diverse character representation.

I love Lynn Painter and this title did not disappoint. With threads of Pretty Woman woven throughout, it was the perfect summer read. I am a sucker for great dialogue and this one had it in spades. Both characters were wonderful and I can't wait to see what Painter comes up with next!