What do you do when you're a single man in need of a temporary relationship, and you're totally against commitment?

Find a girlfriend you can hire for the time being, of course.

Ask Sawyer Sterling, whose time is running out to get his hands on the family cabin. His grandparents are supposed to decide whether to give it to him, or to his cousin, and Sawyer will stop at almost nothing to ensure that he's the winner. Even if it means hiring his best friend's little sister to act like his girlfriend for a while.

Besides, he doesn't do commitment. What could go wrong?

Olivia Morgan has an eclectic resume when she lands back in town to stay with her brother, Sawyer's best friend, for a while. She's ready for some consistency, and hopes to find someone with whom to settle down and share a life together. She also needs money, and a job. What better way to make a little fast cash and keep out of her brother's way than as Sawyer's guest and faux girlfriend?

He doesn't do commitment, and she wants one. Nothing's going to happen between them.

Let me introduce The Hookup Hoax by Heather Thurmeier, newly released by Entangled Publishing's Lovestruck imprint.

There's something to be said for testing the boundaries defined by a friendship versus a romance. Does loyalty to your long-time best friend trump love for a significant other? What happens when the two loyalties seem at odds with one another? Who should get short shrift, and who, the most commitment and attention? Thurmeier explores these themes with aplomb and intrigue, not bothering to keep the stakes low or light.

The Hookup Hoax is not for those who prefer their romances lighthearted and fluffy, without substance. Sawyer's devotion to the only family he has ever known is a very real, vulnerable thing, and his relationship with his grandparents not only underscores the thematic explorations in the work but also heightens them: now you're wondering whether family, friendship, or romance will win out in the end.

I guarantee you'll keep turning pages to find out.

As sweet romances go, this one toes the line between innocence and smoky attraction beautifully. Think forbidden passion, sizzling attraction, and some sinfully intoxicating teasers, and you've got this one nailed.

Meanwhile, Olivia is a fascinating character in her own right, having spent the last five years backpacking across one continent after another, racking up an impressively ... different ... list of job experiences, from kiwi picker to farm hand. Her passions lie in the direction of family --- which she and Sawyer have in common --- and concern for the environment, both admirable and likable traits in a modern heroine.

If you prefer your romances with one unexpected twist after another, and with the inevitable HEA (happily ever after) ending far from a foregone, predictable conclusion, I invite you to check out this title!

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Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this work from the publisher via the NetGalley program in exchange for an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.