thank you so much for the approval- i cannot wait to dive in, this is one of my most anticipated reads of the year! i will be sure to leave a review on GR/retailers to come! 💞

Lyric, a makeup influencer and cosmetology student, is afraid to pursue romance, whereas Juniper, whose mother's separation made Christmas her least favorite time of year, longs for a gap year. When they meet, they reach an agreement to appear as a couple for a series of holiday-themed social media posts, blurring the borders between genuine and phony.

Mariama J. Lockington delivers a tender, wintery romance that wraps around you like your favorite cozy sweater. I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm stands out for its dual narrative style written in both prose and verse, alongside themes that dig deeper than your average holiday love story.

We follow Lyric and Juniper, two girls navigating grief, change, and identity, who form a fake relationship for holiday-themed social media content. What begins as a creative arrangement quickly turns into a journey of real emotions, vulnerability, and unexpected connection.

Lyric's character is especially relatable. Her responsibility as a caretaker and the way she often puts herself last is portrayed with honesty and care. Her friendship with Kiana is a highlight that is strong, loyal, and grounded. And Grammy Viv is a standout character. She's bold, unfiltered, and full of love.

This book offers more than festive romance. It explores grief, complicated family dynamics, healing, and what it means to open your heart after hardship. While I would have liked more insight into Juniper’s internal growth, the alternating perspectives kept the story balanced and engaging.

A heartfelt, inclusive, and beautifully written story that mixes real-life emotion with holiday joy. A wonderful read for anyone who loves character-driven romance with heart and healing.

This was just the cozy read I have been needing for months. It will be perfect for the upcoming winter. Juniper and Lyric’s chemistry was undeniable and Lockington’s poetic writing left me wanting more. I love fake dating schemes and this one was top tier. My favorite minor additions to the book were the lip of the day and song of the day. I can’t wait for this to hit the shelves!

Wow! Honestly, currently an emotional wreck!

This my first read by this author but will most definitely not be my last.
The characters are memorable, humanly realistic in their complexity (feelings and actions), diverse in so many ways and definitely stick with you beyond the story ending. Their banter, internal dialogue and journey make the story a beautiful journey that captures you from the beginning and never lets go.

The realism, humor, love and growth of all the characters make this an unforgettable story. There are as many laughs as tears, true tears. The setting truly fits the story and adds a needed layer of grounding and understanding of the characters’ worlds, upbringing and world views. This was truly a YA romcom with true life lessons and a timely story in today’s world.

I highly recommend this read for all and especially those who don’t get to see themselves in stories often and those who often feel they hold the weight of the world alone and seeing those around them maybe challenging.

This was a wonderful read .I was hooked from the first chapter. Seeing the development in the characters and their relationship through the story was super cute. This was my first book by this author . I would definitely recommend this book to my readers . I loved the authors writing style.

Mariama wrote a wonderful book that is perfect to get cozy and binge read throughout the night. I love trying out cute LGBT+ stories and this one certainly hits all the marks for a light, low stakes but sweet and comforting read. If you want a good book to fill a gap between heavier reads, or are just a sucker for cozy stories with flirty banter this book is for you

I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm by Mariama J. Lockington is an endearing LGBTQ+ romance that balances lighthearted moments with real-life challenges.The dual perspectives, the prose and verse style was a unique and creative choice that made the story stand out. The characters' blossoming love story felt fresh and authentic, and I especially appreciated the LGBTQ+ representation. There were a few heavier topics addressed, but they never overshadowed the sweetness of the romance. Social media and modern-day relationships played a significant role, giving the book a contemporary and relatable feel. Overall, it was an easy, fast-paced read with a lot of heart, perfect for anyone who enjoys a feel-good fake dating romance.

This was a great read and I just love the characters . . I received an advanced copy.
I've never read a book so detailed and it just grips you in .

Thank you net galley for this arc!

Perfect winter time read to cuddle up under a cozy blanket and enjoy. I can’t say it was my absolute favorite. There were a few times throughout that I was a bit confused while reading. I think it’s definitely cute for the younger readers I just maybe wasn’t the target audience here.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the eARC of I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.

Summer is upon us but while reading this I was ready for a hot chocolate on a chilly day. I loved how the author wasn't afraid to tackle some really deep topics while still giving us such a cute fake dating love story.

This is one of the most authentic books I’ve read in a long time. The characters, their banter, the challenges they face, and their responses all felt deeply familiar — either things I’ve experienced firsthand or seen in the lives of people I know. The author paints Lyric’s life with such honesty and depth that I often had to remind myself this wasn’t nonfiction.

I also appreciated how the story explores the contrast between people’s online personas and their real lives. It’s a powerful reminder that the assumptions we make about others are often far from the truth.

This book somehow put me in the holiday spirit in the middle of summer. I can’t wait to reread it when the snow is falling and I’m curled up by the fire.

I liked this, but not as much as I hoped I would.

I didn't know the POVs were going to alternate between prose and verse, but that in itself wasn't really a problem. Instead, I found the juxtapose between them both fascinating and frustrating. The prose chapters in Lyric's POV were so long winded. A page or two of blocky paragraphs that easily could've been broken up into two or three. This was where a lot of info-dumping regarding Lyric's backstory took place, which irritated me a lot. On the other hand, the verse chapters in Juniper's POV were much comprehensible and filled to the brim with the writing I've come to love from Lockington. It just felt like the author was much more in tune to Juniper and showing off he character through the writing than Lyric.

The main characters were messy, but in a good way. Between poverty, loss, and parental issues, both girls had a lot going on their plate. I liked the book the most when the girls were with their families rather than together, because those conflicts were much more interesting than the constant misunderstanding, impulsive anger fueled ones those two got into when they were together. I really feel like these two shouldn't have gotten together by the end; they should have focused on themselves after rollercoaster the faking dating put them through, particularly Lyric.

As a girl who grew up in foster care and has a lot of abandonment issues, Lyric has a lot to work through in the story, primarily her anger and her compulsion to push people away. She's rightfully a hard person to warm up to, but her relationship with her Grammy Viv really fleshed her out. What I didn't like was the grace the narrative gave her was in regards to her cheating on her boyfriend. It's not even properly brought up until the end, so the narrative treats Jamison, the boyfriend, as the one in the wrong whenever he's upset at Lyric and tries to warn Juniper about his ex. I really hated that because he had the right to be upset, and Lyric getting mad at him for that and the narrative backing her up for it constantly just felt so wrong. The story tried to rectify this by having her best friend Kiana call her out for being toxic and playing games with Jamison, but the cheating felt so underplayed when it really shouldn't have.

Even though the cheating was the worst part for me, Juniper does something near the end that could have ended up really badly if this were not fiction. She revealed the whole fake-dating plotline on social media without Lyric's consent/knowledge. There has been a lot of time Lyric didn't inform her about some things, but Juniper's reveal could have ruined Lyric's whole online career, her biggest income. I can understand her being naïve about her dreams about travelling alone on the road, because she was obviously going to come to terms with how unrealistic, dangerous, and expensive that can be, but that move she pulled was stupidly risky, regardless of her social media illiteracy.

All in all, despite some individual elements, I really don't think Lyric and Juniper make a good couple. Maybe after they're grown a matured in a couple years time, but not where the book left off less than a month than when they started the fake-dating.

The fake dating for an influencer is something I have yet to read so points for that!! Cute and easy read. Made me smile. And books about same sex relationships need to be seen and read more and imma always give em a try !!! Thankyou NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion!!! New author for me ! I'll be looking out for more now ♥️

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a bittersweet story that had a hopeful hea. This is a story of two girls who go viral over a post that made people believe they were dating. The girls de ide to play along to earn sponsorships and money and split it amongst themselves. As time passes something grows between them. I absolutely loved that both of our main characters were flawed. That they both had real hardships they went through. This felt incredibly set in reality. We need more books in the world like this. I will forever hold a special place for black sapphic books. There is nowhere near enough representation for us in the book world. I really enjoyed this story. The growth both characters had and the way it ended could definitely leave room for a second book. There are some potentially triggering events such as CPTSD, Food Insecurity, Family Drama, Divorce, Parental Death, Anger Issues, and Anxiety.

📖 Bookish Thoughts
This one was a bit of a tough read for me. I expected a cozy fake dating holiday romcom with some emotional layers, but it leaned a lot heavier than I thought. It tackles really important stuff—foster care, poverty, divorce—but I found myself feeling more anxious than anything while reading.

The writing style threw me off a bit—especially Juniper’s POV in verse. It kept pulling me out of the story, and I had a hard time staying connected. And the third-act breakup (my least favorite trope of all time) really didn’t work for me. The ending as a whole just didn’t land the way I hoped.

That said, Grammy Viv was a bright spot—funny and full of heart.

🩵 What You Can Expect
• Fake dating
• Dual POV (prose + verse)
• Beauty influencer
• Heavy emotional themes
• Tough family dynamics

📅 Pub Date: Oct 14, 2025
Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

First, thank you to Mariama J Lockington and McMillan children's publishing for allowing me to read this as an arc book.

I truly loved this book so much reading it was such a joy. The writing is graceful and unique. The dual pov kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happens next.

As a coming of age book about learning what love is and how to learn to navigate thier emotions. I love how both Lyric and Juniper are complete opposites yet somehow they have a lot of chemistry. The different outlook and thought process between them really shows off who they are. The story flows well and all the characters are loveable. I will be recommending this book to friends.

Lyric is an up-and-coming beauty influencer who’s trying to make some extra coin for her future. Sometimes, the perfect post just needs a little something extra, and Juniper is it. This is a cute, not-quite-friends-to-lovers story that had me annoyed with Lyric, then flipped to Juniper in a surprising twist.

I received this, and it was really good! It is like a double sapphic tale wrapped into one book. Lyric is very likable and easy to understand, and Juniper fits into the other side of the equation so well. Every character mentioned is well written and will send you on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the book!

However, as I got towards the end of the book, there were a couple of errors. At 94% (Location 4297 of 4579), we're talking about Juniper going live, but in this sentence, it's not speaking of the correct person: "Watching Lyric do magic fingers like a magician is almost adorable, but also, why is she blowing up our spot?!"

95% (Location 4347 of 4579), the spacing for the Song of the Day is different from the previous chapters.

98% (Location 4473 of 4579), instead of "Happy New Year" it reads "Happy New Ye_EPUBfirstpassar".

I enjoyed reading this books so much. Even though it was young adult there were so many heavy topics and watching Lyric and Juniper navigate their young lives was so beautiful to see.

I love the fake relationship troupe and seeing how their story unfolds. Lyric has been through so much and has a mind state beyond her years but there are so many gems and learning lessons each character teaches each other. Love, tragedy, drama, betrayal... I mean there was never a dull moment. I love when books have music throughout and this really helped get you in the holiday spirit even though this book can be read anytime and still hit just as hard. 5-stars for sure! Also I read The Uses of Anger by Audre Lorde right after reading this book and it's so amazing so thank you to Mariama for that.

3.5 stars!

I enjoyed this so much and had a lot of fun with it. When I was reading I was completely lost in the winter wonderland world! My only complaint is that the romancic aspect didn’t feel very believable bc I don’t think there was a lot of time for feelings to really blossom to where they’re in love in the end. But I love the emotional aspect of this book and wasn’t expecting that at all