Nate and Essie shared a kiss six years ago but then he ghosted her. Now, they are thrown together planning Rix and Tristan's wedding. (They are from book one in this series, "If You Hate Me.") Rix is her best friend and Tristan is his brother. Nate and Essie's banter in the beginning of the book is fun - sarcastic wit.

The more time they spend together the more their attraction takes over and past issues between them get resolved. But, Nate has family issues he needs to work through-- especially with his mother abandoning him. It was nice to see him accepting of therapy and having time for himself.

There are so many characters appearing from past books in this series. I love that their story was told through the planning of Rix and Tristan's wedding. The character teasers at the end definitely intrigues me for future stories!

I mainly listened to the audio narrated in duet by Teddy Hamilton and Savannah Peachwood. Both are so good.

Thank you to the author for an ARC/ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Nate and Essie! What a love story! What a book!
This book was a lovely second chance romance story where opposites attract (he’s grumpy, she’s a ray of sunshine)
They have history - he’s the best man, she’s the maid of Honor and he ghosted her six years ago after kissing her! They have to plan events for the wedding, together they try friends with benefits but love gets in the way and when he puts his heart on the line what will happen!
I absolutely loved their story and loved the wedding we have all been waiting for.
Nate - he was an amazing MMC and was honestly broken and vulnerable- he wanted to be better for Essie and it was heartwarming to read about.
Essie - what a FMC - she loves pink, she loves her friends and she loves love.

I honestly did not want this book to end, I wanted more! More Nate and Essie, more of their love and just more!!!!

The narrators brought the book to life and I loved it

As someone who loves watching Sappy Second Chance love movies this book hit the spot just right. This book gave me Anyone But You vibes and I am here for that kind of umph. This was rom-com perfection with a lot more spice in all the right places.

This book is standalone but there is other world surrounding it. We met both MMC and FMC in the Toronto Terror series and their chemistry is undeniable. I love Essie so much and how she is so caring and welling to go above and beyond for those she loves.
Nate did the sweetest things to get Essie back and show her that his love for her is real. And for Essie she had loved him from start to finish but was afraid it was for the wrong reason.
Nathan's and Essie’s family and friends are great extended cast that make this book even better. I can’t wait to know about all their stories soon. The spice is so good, and the FMC is pierced. There was major “SHE IS THE ONE” vibes and I am all about it.

So, my deduction, if you are a supporter of the kind of rom-coms movies I mentioned at the beginning, this book is for you.

I have been itching to get my hands on Nate and Essie’s story since I read their charged encounter at the dinner in Chase Lovett Wants Me. I’m so glad that it’s finally here!

For those who are already fans of Helena Hunting, Nate is Brody and Tristan’s (of Chase Lovett Wants Me and the Toronto Terror series) brother, and Essie is Cammie’s sister and Rix’s best friend (of the same book and series). Current fans will also be excited to see characters from the Lies, Hearts & Truths series in this book as well. For those new to her books, I hope this one whets your appetite and you explore Hunting’s other books after reading this story.

Essie and Nate shared a kiss years ago at the end of high school, and then he ghosted her. With all of their mutual connections, it would be impossible to stay out of each other’s orbits forever. Now Nate, who doesn’t believe in love, and Essie, who has always loved fairytales, find themselves working together as the best man and maid of honor for Tristan and Rix’s wedding.

He’s grumpy; she’s sunshine; and the antagonism is coming off them in waves.

As they spend more and more time together preparing for all the wedding-related events, they realize that attraction never went away. They agree to enter into a no-strings situation. (We all know how that goes. 👀) She’s always diving headfirst into love and has decided that this is the time she won’t just as he’s beginning to realize he has real feelings for her.

Read it for
- The banter
- The humor
- The heat
- The found family
- More time with favorite characters
- How Nate appreciates Essie for more than just her looks
- Seeing how both characters heal

The audiobook has duet narration from Teddy Hamilton and Savannah Peachwood. They capture the humor and emotion well, and I enjoyed their voices for the various characters.

I received advance copies from the author and Dreamscape Media. All review opinions are my own.

Thank you Helena Hunting and Netgalley for the ARC & ALC of this book.

Nate & Essie are the best man and Maid of Honor for his brother, and her best friend Tristan & Rix’s destination wedding in Aruba.
Nate is the guy that kissed Essie, then left her waiting by the phone. The forced proximity of the wedding stirs up old feelings in them both. While Essie is a hopeless romantic, Nate doesn’t believe a relationship can last forever.

This story surprised me in the best way. It had the best of the grumpy sunshine trope, and the character growth really pulled on my heart, and made me root for Nate. Essie was the best sunshine girl wrapped in pink sparkles 💖. She has been used to people only thinking she’s just a pretty face who’s good at makeup. Nate saw so much more in Essie and it only made him fall harder and faster for her. I think it’s cute that they’re both spreadsheet lovers. Nate has mile high walls made of ice over his heart but if there’s one person that can melt them, it’s the pink loving, beautiful Essie. Nate’s character development was one of the best parts of this story. He’s a big, hot, grumpy nerd who’s past doesn’t allow him believe in love the way Essie does. Even so, he finds himself wanting more and more of Essie and her big beautiful heart.

I absolutely love how Helena Hunting has connected all of the books in this series. As a reader and audiobook lover, I enjoy an interconnected series because getting a glimpse of what my favorite characters are up to is so much fun. In this case, they were all together in one place which made for many scenes with all of them. It made this read even better in my opinion. I also have to mention that the the breadcrumbs for the next book have me going a little insane and counting down the days until we get the next book in this series. What can I say? This series has made me so greedy for more! The Babe Brigade is one of my favorite parts of this series. I really felt like I was one of the girls joining in on the wedding fun!

If you have the option to do the audiobook, I’d highly recommend it. The narrators are Teddy Hamilton and Savannah Peachwood. The perfect Nate & Essie if you ask me. This audiobook is preformed as a duet! Their performances were amazing and really brought the story, and emotions to life. Especially during the wedding speeches.

My favorite quotes:
“Thank you for sharing your light with me”
“Thank you for trusting me with your heart, I promise to always keep it safe.”

My rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice:
🌶️ 🌶️

I'm obsessed! Helena Hunting excels at a lot of things but one of my favorites is her ability to write a Friend Group. Honestly the closest thing I can think to compare her friend groups to is literally F.R.I.E.N.D.S the show because how does she make all of these different characters work so well together and how does she get her readers to literally never want to say goodbye to them????

I haven't fully immersed myself into Toronto Terror after my Pucked high but I decided to read Chase Lovett Wants Me since it was a standalone and see if it gave me the same vibes as Pucked and it 10000% does!! (Highly recommend if you haven't read it yet because Cammie is so Violet coded). After reading CLWM, I knew Essie was going to be such a fun character and I wasn't wrong! She is perfect in I Could Be Yours. There are also so many other recurring characters that reading another Helena Hunting book feels like coming home.

I really liked how there was no stigma towards Essie for having body piercings (especially in secret places). Essie is the hopeless romantic so many of us have been in our lives. Obsessed with fairytales and hearts and the color pink - she spoke to me on a spiritual level. She also has been thought of as more of a conquest than a woman with an actual personality. I felt so much for her and I knew Nate was exactly who she needed.

Nate has had a rough life and it's affected him a lot as an adult. I'm sure a lot of this is explained in If You Hate Me since his brother is the MMC in that book but I think it's handled extremely well in this book. All that being said, I could feel how much he yearned to be what Essie could want and need. He may not have understood love very much, but he WORKED for it. He worked to be the man he wanted to be and have the relationship he wanted to have with the woman he wanted to be with.

I adore a secret hookup trope and this is also kind of "best friend's brother-in-law" or something like that but whatever it is it totally works! The spice and tropes are fun and interesting and exciting, they really kept the story rolling.

I think this book healed a part of me. My heart is just so warm for these sweet souls and I will have to keep reading more about this friend group because I'm invested now.

Both of the narrators do this book incredible justice and it's the full duo narration experience including the male narrator reading the male lines within the femal chapters and vice versa. Perfection. We love to hear it. Listen, read, enjoy.

Welcome back to the Toronto Terror universe!

Essie and Nate are forced to work close together as maid of honour and best man and sparks fly. Their chemistry is undeniable, but they are plagued by past trauma and hurt. I really felt for them. Helena Hunting does not gloss over the hard work that is involved in overcoming trauma and that should be applauded. Her characters deal with real heartache and they grow so much, individually and together. That being said, there are many light-hearted moments in this book and quirky characters too. Just an all-around perfect combination of sugar, spice and real life.

I love the world Helena Hunting has created with the Toronto Terror series. We don’t just jet little cameos of the past protagonists, but they continue to have important roles in these stories too. What a fun and wonderful series.

The audiobook is pure perfection. Narrated in a duet style; Teddy Hamilton is the perfect broody Nate and Savannah Peachwood, a fun and bubbly Essie. They manage to elevate an already great book to a whole other level.

Essie is caring, loving and so compassionate who is the maid of honor for her best friends wedding but soon realizes that she is forced to coordinate wedding events with Nate Stiles...the best man who pretty much ghosted her after a kiss years ago. Nate is perpetually serious, grumpy and a believer that love is overrated.

I absolutely ate this book up. All the banter, drama and tension between these two had me so giddy and laughing. Nate really proved hisself to Essie. I love that we get to see so many characters from the Toronto Terror series. I would recommend reading that series first just so you can get to know all the characters.

If you’re a fan of grumpy/sunshine pairings, witty banter, forced proximity, I highly recommend grabbing this one for your summer TBR.

"Take your broody asshole down a notch, Nathan. Your black cloud is dimming my shine."

I have no faith in love. No faith that it can endure, because in my experience, it doesn't.

5 ⭐ 3.5 🌶️ 5 🎧

This was so freaking good. I absolutely loved Nate and Essie; they were absolutely perfect together. And then getting to see all our Toronto Terror and Tilton University friends (and Kodiak and Lavender too!) was really so special. This book was filled with laughs and nonstop smiles, but it had some beautifully emotional moments too.

I thought Helena progressed Nate and Essie's relationship so wonderfully. It felt very real despite how insanely fast they both fell. I loved the "it's just spice" tension and watching them actually fall was the best. This was some of my favorite spice from her too. It was both abundant and freaking hot as heck and I couldn't get enough. There's something to be said about people who can laugh and stay in the moment and I found these two so dang fun.

The audio was amazing. Savannah Peachwood and Teddy Hamilton are forever faves and I loved it so much. Add in the DUET narration and I was a goner. Thank you so much to Helena for the advanced copies!!

Have you ever seen yourself so much in a book you swear the author wrote it about you without ever meeting you?… because I swear, while Daddy Roman is my MAN but @helenahunting 1000% wrote Essie for me..
Pink, makeup, princess, ray of sunshine, heart of gold.. that no matter how many times she gets crushed by love and kissing frogs still believes one day she’ll find her Prince Charming.. and in a broody dark storm cloud of a man.. yeah, hi 👋🏼 Essie is me= I am Essie.
I absolute DEVOURED this book in a day. Literally the day she sent it I gobbled this up.

Our man has some ✨mommy issues✨ ( rightfully so) and I love all the hurt and pain. His character was so beautiful watching a slow fall in love but not realizing… but also questioning at the end. We love a man who seeks help and finally shows her she’s the one and she’s worth it.
Gosh, this series is just one of my absolute FAVS. The amount of characters that are brought back from others books and are still big in this story without taking it over. ugh. The Toronto Terrors is one of my absolute fav series and is the reason I’m obsessed with Helena ! I swear they keep getting better !!! I absolutely GOBBLE up these books and can’t wait for the next one 😭🙌🏼🙌🏼 she also hints at so many good storylines for so many characters ugh.. I don’t ever want it to end but I want them alll !!!!🙌🏼

I have been looking forward to Nate and Essie's story since they were mentioned in Helena's Toronto Terror & Tilton U series. It was a fun time that was very steamy and HOT. There were some emotional elements to Nate's backstory that elevated this book and was very solid. This is considered a standalone but I would recommend reading the Terror series as a starting point as there are many characters introduced and can be confusing at times. I highly recommend this book in audio as the narrators killed it and brought the story to life. And it is in duet narration!!

Tropes:
- Best Man & Maid-of-Honor
- Dis-like to Love
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Second Chance
- Opposites Attract
- Sports Romance
- Hurt/Comfort

Thank you to Helena Hunting and NetGalley for the gifted ALC!

If you are ever in need of a book that will make you smile from start to finish, look no further than Helena Hunting's latest new book. This second chance romance between two people who have history not only brought the sultry spice, but also had a surprising amount of heartfelt moments. I wasn’t expecting the emotional rollercoaster that Nate history took me on and I empathize so much with his struggles and enjoy seeing him become stronger because of it.

Essie and Nate are the definition of flirty fun. I enjoyed how well they would banter with one another, but also they took the time to understand each other. They uplifted each other by highlighting their strengths that others couldn’t see and let either shine rather diminish their achievements.

This was a fun book that felt more of an epilogue and a connection of other books in Helena’s world. It was enjoyable to see past characters pop up and have them interact with Nate and Essie. This book felt like coming home to your friend group and it was a real pleasure to read.

Thank you to the author for proving an advance review copy of this book.

This duet narration hooked me in an instant! Teddy Hamilton and Savannah Peachwood are quickly becoming two of my favorite narrators. They brought Nate and Essie to life in a way that I won't soon forget. Nate and Essie's story is absolutely one of my top reads of the summer, and this audiobook duet narration just made it all the better!

“It’s pretty and princessy and Lacey.”

This was such a good audiobook with the perfect narrators.

I loved Nate & Essie and their friend group so much. They are so tight knit and really want the best for each other.

I loved how Nate & Essie’s relationship ebbed & flowed throughout their lives and the revelation about why their 1st kiss in high school never amounted to anything. It was a one and done kiss, it just didn’t work out but Essie never knew why.

Nate is a good dude, he’s just stupid sometimes…it’s a man thing. 😂😂. He thinks Essie is hot, but so does everyone else. He doesn’t just think she’s hot…he sees her for the ray of sunshine she is, the woman she is…the woman he wants.

Essie is smart, independent and sexually woke. She’s a woman who knows what she wants and goes after it. Her love life might be non existent but there’s nothing she can’t handle esp as the MOH in her best friend’s wedding. What she wants right now is a good time with none other than Nate…no strings attached. She doesn’t need him breaking her heart again…she won’t let her guard down this time…or will she?

I loved how their friends observe them throughout the book…like they are horney caged animals on exhibit 😂😂😂 The only thing I wasn’t into was the princess / fairy tale kink 😂😂😂

A nice light romance with spice (open door).

Essie and Nate were perfect. I absolutely love the world Helena Hunting has created so I can catch up with this group.

Years ago Nate brushed off Essie after a brief encounter and now they’re forced back together for his brother’s wedding to her friend! He’s a nerd who struggles with relationships and she is the perfect princess who everyone loves. Listening to Nate get his feelings together was so so good.
Forced proximity with a second chance at romance, what’s not to love!?

Let’s talk about the CAMEOS!? We had mentions or visits from so many Helena books I was OBSESSED. Essie is Cammie’s sister from Chase Lovett Loves Me and Nate is Tristan’s brother from If You Hate Me.

Savannah Peachwood and Teddy Hamilton were amazing as always, I was obsessed with them the whole time. The production was seamless and I was able to completely immerse myself in the story!

The dual narration of I Could Be Yours by Teddy Hamilton and Savannah Peachwood was utter perfection!

They brought perfectly to life Nate and Essie as best man and maid-of-honour in this opposites attract, grumpy x sunshine, dislike to love story.

Nate and Essie have been secondary characters in the Toronto Terror series that finally get their own story, and boy, what a story this is when these two go from constantly rub each other up the wrong way to constantly rubbing up against each other…

The possibility of 'a thing' with Nate and Essie has been hanging about in the background of the Toronto Terror series since the first novel. However, I Could Be Yours can absolutely be read and enjoyed as a complete standalone.

This grumpy/sunshine enemies to lovers novel is a masterpiece in cameo appearances especially as Essie, as the MOH and Nate as BM are planning the final activities leading up to the wedding of Rix and Tristan.

A bit of previously unknown history is the foundation of the bad blood between this 'meant to be' couple, which is eventually addressed.

I fell in love with the Essie I came to know, even though I thought I already knew her, and I adored the way Nate saw beyond the image, embracing and nurturing her hidden side.

We all believe in HEA so knew their 'arrangement' would prove meaningless, but the journey there was humorous, devastating, spicy, and beautiful, almost in equal measure.

I applauded Essie's final stand whilst also wondering just how this bend in the road would be straightened.

I should never have worried, I Could Be Yours is a Helena Hunting novel, case closed!

Once again, we're shown the skill and imagination of this author and are truly thankful for it.

An extra special shout out to the voice actors Teddy Hamilton and Savannah Peachwood for their work on the audiobook. Their portrayal of Nate and Essie is stellar, which helped to create amazing pictures in my head as I listened.

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥,” 𝐈 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐫. “𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”

Essie and Nathan are one of my top reads for 2025! What a wonderful, funny, heartbreaking, loving, amazing stand-alone Helena Hunting has written!! I am absolutely in love with it!
Seeing so many characters from previous books makes this book like a full circle!

I adored Essie's sunshine persona, even tho she has some struggles herself. Nathan's grumpiness is the total opposite of her, and their sarcasm is hard to beat.

“𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐚**𝐡*𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡, 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞.”

They both work so well together, and they both need each other to heal. Absolutely fantastic book!

If you haven't read a Helena Hunting book yet, I strongly urge you to read this one! It's bloody brilliant!

The narrators most definitely nailed it. They put their all in it, and listening to this book spoken in duet made it so much more fun!!

I Could Be Yours is Nate Stiles and Essie Lovelock’s second chance, grumpy/sunshine, holiday romance and I loved everything about this book from the characters to the hilarious laugh out loud moments and everything in between.
As maid of honour Essie is determined to give her best friend the bachelorette party of the year and she is determined to avoid the best man who ghosted her six years ago……
Nate is determined to give his brother the bachelor party he deserves and that means going one better than the maid of honours celebrations.
What follows is a fun, witty and entertaining story as Nate and Essie compete on the party front and fight the attraction and love they still have for each other. This is a well written, funny story with characters I fell hard and fast for and the narration was everything I want from an audio book.
Savannah Peachwood and Teddy Hamilton did a wonderful job bringing this book to life. They were spot on with the banter and the passion and very easy to listen to.

Essie and Nate have a past, they shared a kiss as teenagers but then they disappeared from each other's lives, which was Nate's fault. Now they are in the same space a lot, since they are a maid of honor and best man in a wedding.

Essie is determined to make this wedding as easy for her friend as she can, while spending as little shared time with Nate as possible.

Nate who doesn't believe in love is hoping to help his brother in any way he can and if he could also outdone Essie that would be a bonus.

But with dancing lessons, parties and time spend together it's easy to see that what they thought was in the past could be very much start once more in the present.

Their banter and chemistry were undeniable from the very first scene, I loved seeing them trying to fight their attraction and even more the moment they decided to give in to it, it really was glorious.

This book can definitely be read as a standalone but it features characters from the author's other books which is a treat to see if you have read those, but no worries if you haven't.

I got to read and listen to this book and let me tell you the audiobook is a duet, narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Savannah Peachwood which is a absolute delight to listen to.




* I received an ARC/ ALC from the author and this is my honest opinion.