I laughed when I figured out that the reason Declan's parents acted like they Knew Abi was because he made up a fake girlfriend. 🤣 I love the chemistry that Abi and Declan have at the cocktail party. You can tell Declan is trying to deny it, but it is clearly evident that they work. Her bafflement at Declan just "throwing money" at her to help him is relatable to those that aren't used to money. And the bubble fiasco was hilarious.This feels very Pretty Woman but without the prostitution. I love the familiarity between them even after the arrangement. Definitely did not expect the connection to Abi's friend Lauren. Loved the ending.

Maid for Each Other by Lynn Painter

I'm hitting the jackpot with romcoms right now! This one was so much fun, where else can you find an unattached bazillionaire but in a romcom. There is professional cleaner/grocery store clerk, Abi Mariano, with a bug infestation in her extremely crummy apartment but at least she cleans the penthouse for wealthy Declan Powell. Since she's only ever scheduled to clean his penthouse when he's out of town, she's safe to sleep at his apartment and she knows she'll have it spic and span before he will ever have a chance to know she was camping out there.

But, oops, she wakes up to his parents arriving to use his apartment and they are so glad to finally meet Declan's girlfriend, Abby, the one he's been dating a long time and has never introduced them to before. Now Declan has to rope Abi (not the pretend Abby he told his parents about) into a sham fake romance. Abi, is smart and she has some simple but not cheap (to her) demands and Declan agrees since what is a lot of money to Abi is nothing to him. Abi hates this about rich people, that they have so much money that nothing important to the common folk matters to them.

Declan and Abi are hilarious together and they make the most of their unplanned fun. In fact, they realize that they really like each other a lot. What's a little real romance mixed in with the fake stuff? Who can it hurt? Turns out it can hurt both Declan and Abi, turns out Declan may be rich but he has feelings and more than a little conscience. And Abi has feelings for Declan, too, but is this all really a joke to one or both of them? Are they really using each other in ways the other one didn't realize?

This was such a good read with Jayme, much to discuss, much to love here. This is my second Lynn Painter book, my favorite of the two. Where were the bazillionaires when I was single? ha ha

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.

Maid for Each Other is a funny, romantic read and has all the components a reader hopes to find in a contemporary romance novel.

Maid for Each Other starts out with Abi temporarily crashing in Declan's penthouse, because her apartment is being treated for a pest infestation. One of Abi's jobs is working as a maid, and she regularly cleans Declan's place; knowing he is currently out of town, Abi decides his place would be a good place to sleep. Unfortunately, Declan's parents show up and mistake Abi for Declan's fictitious girlfriend (also named Abby), a mix-up that results in Declan asking Abi to pose as his girlfriend in order to impress his business associates.

Abi and Declan are both likeable, well-developed characters. Abi is more fun-loving and carefree than Declan on the surface, so she is a good foil to his more formal demeanor. They have great chemistry and banter together, and I found myself smiling and laughing at times as I read. Declan's internal thoughts at the 79% mark were my favorite part of the story. *swoon*

The only part of Maid for Each Other that threw me off were the intimate scenes. They are technically open door but written using vague terms and descriptions, so they aren't graphic. The euphemisms and sort of open door/sort of fade to black writing was a bit awkward. I didn't dislike them per se, but I personally appreciate committing to having open door/spice or not rather than trying to do both.

This is the perfect read for someone looking for a fun contemporary romance novel that's well-written. I've read both of Lynn Painter's Mr. Wrong Number books and liked them, but Maid for Each Other is the best Painter book I've read so far. I haven't read any of her YA novels yet but plan to.

4.25 stars!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Expected publication date: July 15, 2025

If you are craving some COM with your ROM-look no further! This one was SO MUCH FUN! 🤩

Abi Mariano is a part-time student with two jobs. One is as a maid-so when she has to vacate her apartment for a week and she can’t afford a hotel-she decides to stay in the Penthouse she cleans-since it’s owner-a guy she has never met-is supposed to be out of town the entire time.

Little did she know-his parents were going to be staying there in his place so when she wakes up she finds them in the kitchen-eating her fabulous, freshly baked muffins!

Oops!

What could have been a catastrophe turns out okay though because they seem to think they’ve heard all about Abi—their son’s girlfriend.

Declan Powell-owner of said Penthouse has always put his career first-no time for love! So when his parents mention that they met his girlfriend, “Abby,” he is perplexed. He doesn’t actually have a girlfriend—though he did fabricate one named “Abby” to get everyone off his back.

Who exactly did they meet?

When he finds out who Abi really is, he makes her a proposition: pretend to date him in exchange for whatever she wants. With no intention of taking him up on his offer-she jokingly asks for the sum of money that would pay off her student loans-$40,000. And, when he agrees without even blinking-she can’t really turn the proposition down.

The result is a delightfully fun Rom-Com, full of great banter-which unfolds from the alternating first person POV’s of both Abi and Declan! I loved that we could hear from both characters as they played their parts, eventually discovering that the chemistry was real and they were no longer acting! Of course, there is some requisite miscommunication-but when you are REALLY rooting for a couple to get together, isn’t yelling at your Kindle part of the fun?

I loved that Lynn Painter took the time to develop the relationship, and they were not instantly in love too!

This beach bag approved book will be available on July 15, 2025.

Thank You to Berkley for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always these are my candid thoughts!

3.75 ⭐️ I love all Lynn Painter books; however, this one just fell a bit flat for me. I did like the relationship and when they were cute it was to die for! However, Abi was terrible at communicating to an extreme and Declan could be kind of a dick sometimes (the stuff he said to her at the beginning was yuck and I don’t know if I’d personally be able to get over that). The storyline and relationship felt rushed and not fully fleshed out but the parts that were there were really good and definitely enhanced my enjoyment! I clearly still liked this one just not as much as her others, I think this one just needed some more time and fleshing out!

Features
💜 Millionaire x Maid
💜 Grumpy x Sunshine
💜 Fake Dating
💜 Obsessed MMC
💜 One Bed
🌶️ 1/5

Publishing 7/15/25

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I've been a huge fan of Lynn Painter since Better Than the Movies. Was totally behind her foray into adult romance and enjoyed every bit of it. But this one left me pretty disappointed. I couldn't get behind it. Yes, it still had echoes of Painter's trademark banter and snark, but it wasn't enough to really get me into the story. Had to DNF at 60%, sadly.

Thank you Berkley for the advanced digital copy — all opinions down below are my own!

3.5 ⭐️

I’m a huge fan of Lynn Painter—I absolutely love both her YA novels and her adult romances. Her stories are always so entertaining and full of charm. That said, this one didn’t quite land for me. The pacing felt rushed, and some plot points just didn’t make much sense, even with the usual suspension of disbelief that comes with fiction.

To be fair, I did laugh out loud several times and genuinely enjoyed parts of the book. But overall, I kept waiting for… something more. The third act breakup felt completely unmotivated, and when the characters got back together, it was like—what now? That was it? It also didn’t sit right with me how we never really got to see the side characters’ (like co-workers and family) reaction to the deception and lies, like did everyone just accept it and moved on? By the end, too many things just didn’t add up.

I still love Lynn Painter and can’t wait to read her next books, but this one wasn’t it.

I Loved this book! I was lucky to receive an ARC from net galley. This comes out in July and if you like a rom com with a fake dating situation along with a billionaire trope - this is for you. Lynn Painter writes such fun, light romances and this was great. Abi and Declan fake date to help him at his shareholder meeting but how it comes to be and what happens next is for you to read because it was just too good.

Maid for Each Other is so sweet & fun! Abi is struggling financially and working two jobs while trying to put herself through school. She gets mistaken for a grumpy billionaire's girlfriend, and he offers to pay her to go along with it. The fake dating is so entertaining, and they have great chemistry. There were times when it reminded me of Pretty Woman. I really loved Declan and felt like Abi treated him pretty unfairly just because he had money. I will never understand the women in romance books that won't just enjoy the perks of having a billionaire boyfriend. She also gave him really mixed signals and pretty much set him up to upset her. I wasn't a fan of that dynamic and the third act break up. Overall I really loved both of them and their relationship though!

Thank you to NetGalley & Berkley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced e-book copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. Maid for Each Other by Lynn Painter was a perfect vacation read! Who doesn’t love a good misunderstanding meet cute?! This book was familiar in so many ways because it gives Cinderella/Maid in Manhattan vibes with Abi cleaning houses and turning into a different person to help Declan out. I love that this was also in the grumpy/sunshine trope because a lot of the time, the grumpy character is misunderstood and actually has a heart of gold! There were times when I thought Abi’s character was a little too quirky but otherwise I loved the novel! Lynn Painter’s romance writing style is one of my favorites!

With a very relatable plot line centered on trying to figure out finances with math that doesn't math (thanks student loans), Lynn Painter brought to life a story that was both a great time and romantic, but also touched on the widening division between people with so much money everything seems trivial & the every day folks just trying to get to the next paycheck.

I really enjoyed Abi's spirited way of firing back at Dex, but how very human she is throughout the book. Fake dating is one of those tropes I will forever enjoy, and the way this one evolved so naturally was a treat. Big Pretty Woman vibes in certain moments, with a great supporting cast, this is a fun, light read that's escapism at its finest.

Abi is a hard-working student who finds herself with no place to stay while her apartment building is being fumigated. She can’t afford a hotel, and no one will ever know if she stays in the penthouse she cleans while the owner is out of town. Except she wakes up to find the owner’s parents in the kitchen, and they both think she’s his girlfriend. When the penthouse owner, Declan, tracks her down at her second job, she begs him not to report her to Masterkleen. He wants something in return: her help posing as his girlfriend for an important event that night. Abi charms everyone, Declan included. He asks to extend their fake dating arrangement and what he offers in exchange is too good for Abi to pass up. They both just have to remember it’s a fake arrangement, even when it feels anything but.

I loved Abi. She was so hardworking, smart, sassy and quick. I liked reading things from Declan’s POV, but I wish we’d gotten a little more character development because it felt like we didn’t know his as well as we knew Abi. This story has lots of laughs, especially with the ridiculous made-up stories they create about their fake past. I enjoyed watching Abi charm her way into Declan’s heart. There were lots of wonderful movie rom-com moments for my romance-loving heart. There were some twists I didn’t expect in terms of story but the fake dating trope was fairly predictable, though not in a bad way for me. I found this story lots of fun and would recommend it to anyone who likes romcoms.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group and Lynn Painter for an advanced reader copy (eARC) in exchange for an honest review.

As a long time Lynn Painter fan I was very surprised with how little I liked this book. The beginning felt very rushed and was a whole lot of telling and not showing. We learned everything about our main characters in a matter of paragraphs after them telling us what their life was like. They also did not grow much at all through out the book and there was very little substance to the book outside of the main romance plot. There also were a few sentences that were worded incorrectly and didn't make sense.

My main issue with this book was the prejudice our main female character had against the male main character. I don't think that I have ever read a romcom where the FMC had this low of an opinion of the MMC. Her "eat the rich" mentality was not the issue, the issue was that it was not at all used as a social justice platform. Instead it was used as the only reason she could hate the MMC. Not to mention she completely contradicts herself saying she doesn't hate rich people who work hard, then a few chapters later says that even though the MMC obviously works hard, he still spends a lot of money so he's not a good person. (in so many words). "His work ethic might be admirable, but he was still a man who was okay with spending millions of dollars on stuff. And I needed to remember that." Where the needing to remember that refers to why she shouldn't like him.

Lastly, the third act break up was foul. Her assumption about his character after he has been nothing but kind and caring to her, AND THEN HE HAS TO GROVEL?????

I was massively disappointed with this as I have given many Lynn Painter books 5 stars. Hoping this is just a one off.

Lynn Painter is a favorite and her latest did not disappoint. The is the best billionaire romance I’ve ever read in terms of the mmc (billionaire/high society) being highly aware of the power differential between himself and the fmc (financially struggling/multiple jobs). Abi and Declan communicate very well and always check with each other about next steps in their “arrangement” - her pretending to be his girlfriend. The deal they make with each other does involve money, but it never felt icky - I think because of the respect he chose to show her even when he was angry at the beginning of the book. They very quickly get to know each other and there is instantaneous lust boiling beneath the surface of all their interactions. The book is dual narrative and it worked perfectly. Declan’s point of view was very much needed to balance Abi’s uncertainty about his motivations and actions. There are so many fun scenes and hilarious bits of dialogue as they interact with his family and coworkers. There is both a levity and seriousness to their story which leads us to a complex finale that I absolutely loved. Abi and Declan finally come up against misunderstandings and lack of communication that take some mature decision making to work through. And even though this is not my favorite conflict, it fit perfectly with the story. I loved this book from start to finish, and is now my new favorite from Lynn Painter. All the stars!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This was fine, a Pretty Woman-style Cinderella story without the sex work and with a more noble hero. The language is a little clunky and the plot is simple.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc. I loved this. Fake Dating, . Declan and Abi were such an interesting read from Abi being skeptical of Declan to them falling for each other in this fake dating romance. Abi is my kind of girl, funny shirts, laughter and bad jokes. I would love to be friends with her.

4.5⭐️ This book made me laugh multiple times! The scorpion chapter was HILARIOUS. I absolutely loved the banter between the two main characters, they were sarcastic and funny and I couldn’t get enough of their back and forth. One small issue I had was just how much it was mentioned that this man was rich, I understand the purpose of it being mentioned, it went along with the FMCs view of him, but it felt like constantly being reminded of how little regard he had for money.

You will love this if you enjoy:

-fake dating
-amazing banter
-not much spice, and when it happens it’s not overly descriptive.

Now there is a trope in here that I know a lot of people don’t enjoy, but don’t want to mention it in case it’s consider a spoiler. I personally, don’t mind that trope at all! But if you’re very picky about tropes you very much dislike, maybe look them up before picking up the book.

This book was so adorable! It was your usual Lynn Painter and everything you could hope for. I am a sucker for a good fake dating romance. I also am so obsessed with a tall MMC who is down bad for the girl he likes. I will definitely be telling everyone to read this.

lynn painter typically hooks me with her writing, but i can't always get behind the characters / actual story in her adult romcoms. this was the case here - writing pulls you in just enough to hook you, but you're waiting the whole story for a little something more :\

Thank you for the free book, Berkley Romance!

In this Cinderella meets Pretty Woman rom com, Abi is a student who is currently staying without permission in the home of one of her cleaning clients- millionaire Declan. Declan is always out of town, her place is being treated for pests and she has no money or other alternatives so she takes a chance. Unfortunately, Declan’s parents come by and are delighted to meet his girlfriend Abi that he’s always talking about. When Declan and Abi finally do meet, sparks fly and fake dating schemes are concocted.

I’m such a sucker for Lynn Painter’s writing and devoured this book in no time at all. It is the ultimate comfort read in the way it combines several familiar stories into something that doesn’t feel cliche or overdone. I love fake dating, and the combination of that along with opposites attract, forced proximity, and grumpy/sunshine are all so much fun here. This book is adorable, comforting, and a perfect romantic escape to make you smile and feel like you’re reading a modern day fairy tale.