Here for the Wrong Reasons-a standalone

By-Annabel Paulsen and Lydia Wang-debut

Narrators: Mara Wilson and Lindsey Dorcus. The voices fit the characters, the reading style, and brought the story to life. The pacing was great and flowed easily with the story. The narration and the author were in sync, and they fit together perfectly.
The narrator paused and announced every time a new chapter came. The book had a table of contents which helped me follow along with the e-book and audio.

Run time 🏃🏾‍♀️ : 11:34

Page count📖 : 365

Publication date: 5-21-24 , read 5-18-24

Rating: 4/5 ⭐

Spice level 4/5 🌶️

🤷🏾‍♀️WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ Adult Fic
✨ Sapphic Romance
✨ LGBTQIA+
✨ reality TV (think The Bachelor)
✨ dating competition
✨ Jewish rep

⚠️: homophobia

Summary: Krystin and Lauren are contestants on Hopelessly Devoted reality TV show. The bachelor Josh Rosen has 33 women compete for a chance to marry him. As Krystin and Lauren grow closer while capturing Josh's heart, who will win?

Characters

- 🚺 FMC -Krystin 23, the rodeo queen of Montana. Into competitive rodeo, actually looking for a husband.

-🚺 FMC-Lauren C. 25,a social media influencer looking to gain followers from being on the show. Hasn't told her family she's gay.

🥰 What I liked:
- A genuinely nice man in Josh Rosen 27,-the Jewish bachelor on the show
- Krystin being the queen of the rodeo and love of horses
-Great nod to the movie "10 Things I Hate About You"
- The challenges they have to do to impress Josh
- Lauren and her sister Rachel rekindling their relationship

😞 What I didn't like:
-Lauren having to "come out" to her parents and followers
-Delia-Krystin's old BFF is highly judgmental of Krystin being on the show

🤔My Thoughts: This was a solid sapphic romance with 2 likeable heroines. I even enjoyed Josh and how honest he was with the women. I loved that Lauren's ex boyfriend Damon became her BFF once they knew they weren't meant to be. I can't end without giving a shoutout to one of my favorite movies "Grease," and John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's rendition of "Hopelessly Devoted."

🙏🏿Thanks to NetGalley, Alcove Press, and Dreamscape Media for this ARC and ALC💖! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are mine alone.

Thank you Alcove Press and Netgalley for the ARC!

- I really struggled to cheer for the MCs because of how selfish some of their decisions were. I think a lot of my issues come from how far they go in the competition. The line of what is cheating for someone on a reality tv show where one guy is dating 20 women is a little strange, but the way it's written felt really dishonest.
- This was made even ickier with how persistently kind Josh was, which made both MCs look worse in comparison.
- I struggled with Lauren's reasons to stay in the closet, and the conversation she has with her friend about being in the closet was strange (why does he have to stay in the closet because she is? Her having an ex-boyfriend who is gay wouldn't mean that she also has to be gay?)
- A lot of this felt really tongue-in-cheek and cheesy, but that didn't mix well with the more earnest parts. It's strange as a reader to see so much criticizing reality dating shows, but then also see the last chunk making it seem like reality dating isn't fake.

I really wanted to love this book based on the premise alone, but the characters just didn't really work for me. There are some fun and cute moments, but the two main characters had hardly any chemistry. The build up to their relationship was practically nonexistent and it kind of felt like that first kiss came out of nowhere. Lauren was written in a way that made it a bit hard to want to root for her. I think this book could be really great but the two women need to have more of a connection in the first half.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
Here for the Wrong Reasons is a dating show portrayal where 2 of the contestants fall in love with each other. But it's not all smooth sailing for anyone involved. It was mostly told from the viewpoints of Krystin and Lauren, 2 of the female contestatns. I liked how the story was written with the contestent interviews around each elimination. We got to witness the ins and outs of a reality dating TV show and I enjoyed the portrayal of the solo and group dates. The lack of communication between Lauren and Krysin became annoying but the ending made up for it. Overall it was a fun, easy to read book, if you are interested in dating TV shows.
I found it was a bit similar 'Can I Steal You for a Second?' by Jodi McAlister, which I have already read and enjoyed more.

When rodeo queen Kristyn applies for a reality dating show, she views it as her last hope at what she thinks is her dream: the husband, white picket fence, and 2.5 kids. She's exhausted the men in her hometown in Montana and ready to look elsewhere. Lauren, meanwhile, is 100% going on the show for the wrong reasons. As a closeted lesbian, she's not looking for love, but she is looking for several hundred thousand social media followers. But when Lauren and Kristyn grow close and ultimately share a kiss, it may throw both their carefully crafted plans into chaos.

I love reality television romances. Both the ones on my tv, and those in book form. I enjoyed this book immensely. It had a bit of a slow start, with the introduction of all the characters, but then picked up speed and seemed to fast-forward through the first few weeks of the show. When we were halfway through the book and already to hometown dates, I wondered where things were going! But that's when I really began to appreciate the book. I soon couldn't put it down and was obsessed with finding out what would happen. Lauren was probably the most interesting character to me, being so blatantly for the wrong reasons, but in such a fascinating way. I ended up loving the book and really hope there's some kind of spin-off or sequel.

Thanks to Alcove Press for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 9/10

For anyone who appreciates The Bachelor franchise at all, this book is a perfect sapphic version. Krystin and Lauren are selected as contestants vying for Josh’s heart on Hopelessly Devoted. While Krystin is a rodeo queen from Montana genuinely looking for a husband, Lauren is a closeted lesbian looking for a social media boost. While they don’t initially hit it off, Krystin and Lauren develop a palpable chemistry between themselves while dating the same man, who is oblivious to their budding romance. Both women have to choose what they are willing to risk to figure out what they really want.
I found both their journeys, and even Josh’s journey, to be really fun to follow. I appreciated how they addressed the heteronormativity of reality shows, especially romance reality shows. The book felt like it was pulling back the cover (hehe for the pun) on a dating show and letting the reader see inside the drama. There was a good balance of humor, spiciness, genuine feelings, and character growth. The dual perspective allowed for seeing deeper into both characters’ mindsets and I felt like I got to know them both as friends. The ending really wrapped up the book perfectly and all the “confessionals” within the novel really added humor and the right dose of reality tv in book form. Overall, this book was a really excellent read that was a sapphic take on a traditionally heteronormative reality romance tv trope. 4.5⭐️, 2.25🌶

3 stars.

"Here For the Wrong Reasons" by Annabel Paulsen and Lydia Wang is a "fine" book. This will likely be a huge hit with fans of "The Bachelor" franchise, or people who love reality television. While I don't love either, I have read several successful books with this premise that have garnered my attention and praise. To me, I thought the concept was better executed in Sophie Gonzales' "Never Ever Getting Back Together." I thoroughly enjoyed that book... this one didn't always do it for me. I don't love the idea of one of the main characters, Lauren, only being on the show to get followers so she can be a full-time influencer/content creator. I'm sure there are plenty of people who actually go on dating shows to further their own careers in some way, but it felt like the lie went on way too long and manipulative to Josh Rosen (the main character of the reality show, the one looking for love). It made me feel some type of way about Lauren. I'm not saying that reality TV shows are the bastion of truth telling, but it really rubbed me the wrong way. This story becomes an enemies-to-lovers romp because Lauren and Krystin eventually end up hooking up, relatively out of nowhere. They apparently feel a spark with each other at some point, but I don't think the authors properly build the tension and connection between Lauren and Krystin like they should have. Apart from their one personality trait each (Lauren is a content creator, Krystin does rodeo horse stuff), they are very one-dimensional people and are not very interesting to follow apart from the queer love story (which, as I mentioned, is not all that strong). There is some decent cattiness and drama between the characters that leave the Hoplessly Devoted cast. The spicy scenes did not feel particularly epic, again, because of the lack of connection between them. Very forced to an extent. Like I said, some readers will gobble this up, but I had many complaints.

Thank you to NetGalley, Annabel Paulsen, Lydia Wang, and Alcove Press for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Thank you to NetGalley, authors Annabel Paulsen and Lydia Wang, and Alcove Press for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was sadly just fine ugh. I started off having SO much fun with this because it truly was like watching an episode of The Bachelor (which I've gotten really into the past few years off and on lolol). I liked all the drama, and I definitely felt a connection between Krystin and Lauren. However, this book really started to drag about halfway through. It could have done with some editing down of all the extra characters or even just time spent on each "episode" because I started to lose interest. I also kept getting really annoyed by the lack of communication between the girls. I understand discovering your sexuality and not always knowing what it looks like because as a lesbian myself, I have went through that personally lol, but in the book, they kept dancing around topics. Like the writing in the book about each girl's inner thoughts would even not be clear, which was really frustrating because it didn't feel authentic. Anyways, the ending was cute thankfully, and there were some times I had fun with the book, so it wasn't a total miss but definitely one that could have been improved.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I hate to say this, but this book is bad. Lazy writing, annoying main characters, zero chemistry between the two main characters, I could go on, but I don’t think that is in anyone’s interest.

There's just something about a book featuring reality TV that gets me to request it every time. I don't even watch that much reality TV, so I don't know what it is! I enjoy it all the more when the contestants fall for each other instead of for the lead. The Charm Offensive is one of my all-time favorites!

What I didn't love about this one was how long the lying went on. I get going on a show to further your career or because you feel like dating a man is the "right" thing to do, but I couldn't believe how long these girls strung Josh along for! I felt so bad for Josh the whole time that it was hard to focus on the romance.

Lauren and Kristin's romance also felt quite abrupt. It seemed like they went from not interacting at all to sharing a room and hooking up. I wanted more buildup and tension to make their relationship sweeter when it happened.

While the romance was fun and there was chemistry once Lauren and Kristin got together, the lying and second-hand embarrassment on Josh's behalf took me out of the story, even though he was supportive in the end.

I love watching The Bachelor, which is why I can never seem to resist a book like this when it drops. Here for the Wrong Reasons does, for the most part, seem to get The Bachelor right and I loved that aspect. I probably could have done with a little more of some of those parts, actually, but this book does a good job trying to maintain being a romance where the lead of the show and the romantic leads in the book don't overlap.

Krystin and Lauren are very different and they each came on the show for different reasons. Lauren is here to get more followers. She also knows she's a lesbian, but she's been comfortable staying in the closet and feels like financially it's a smarter choice for her. She's also got this idea of herself that she's hard to love and that if people get close to her, they won't love her, but she's so careful to keep her walls up that it's an interesting concept. She comes on the show ready to put on a persona and get far enough into the show that she'll get a follower count boost, but not so far as to risk being the one to hurt the lead. The problem she didn't see coming was Krystin.

Krystin is a horse girl. She's literally a Rodeo Queen of... Montana or something. I already forget that part and let's be honest, it's not particularly important. Anyway, she's never really had a serious relationship but she has, for some reason, decided that she MUST go on this show to find true love and she's definitely there for the right reasons. Only... Now she's accidentally kissed Lauren and liked it?

This book is such a fun time, but at the same time, I would have liked a little more depth. For example, it makes a big deal that Josh (was that his name? I can't be bothered to check.) is the first Ashkenazi Jew to be a Lead, but then there's literally nothing about his Jewishness that's ever discussed. And, if we're being honest, I could totally see The Bachelor doing that, but I feel like if you want to include that in the book, then maybe make one of your actual leads Jewish? But also, I feel like I'm nitpicking trying to explain to you why this book is a four star and not a five. Regardless, I would definitely recommend if you are also a Bachelor franchise fan. This was a fun time.

If you're a fan of shows in "The Bachelor" universe but have always wanted a sapphic version, then this book is for you!

This adult contemporary romance was fun as we follow Krystin and Lauren's journeys on a dating show as they discover who they are and what they want as the compete alongside dozens of other women for Josh's hand at different locations around the globe. While polar opposites (Krystin is a rodeo queen from Montana and Lauren a content creator from New Jersey), they find that they can't keep their eyes (and hands) off of each other and realize that neither one has any real feelings for Josh despite being on the show that's all about finding love.

It's a fun and fast-paced romance with great lesbian representation and vulnerable as our leading ladies have to find themselves along the journey and decide what exactly they want to get out of their time on the show. It's an emotional process, but they get to go from unsure and hiding from the world to being proud of their connection and for finding love, even if it wasn't with the leading man. They get to stop hiding their feelings from the world, both on camera and off, and take charge of their own lives. As they say, it's sapphic and it slaps!

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me.

I was really excited about this premise. I thought this book was going to be a favorite read for me, but I just couldn't get in to this writing style. It felt like it was written as first person and later changed to third and it made it so the story didn't flow well. It felt disjointed and I really struggled getting into he story because of how distracting the writing style is.

There are a lot of people who will probably love this book but it wasn't for me. I had to DNF at 20%

Thank you Alcove Press and Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love me a reality tv romance, especially when it’s queer, so I was super keen for this.

I felt it started really strong. I enjoyed getting to know these characters and what makes them tick and I absolutely loved the budding tension between Lauren and Krystin.

However the longer the book went, the less I enjoyed it. While the drama between our two MC’s felt believable given they were both in the closet and were both on the show looking to get very different things out of it, I hated that they strung Josh along for so long. Making it to the final two made me incredibly uncomfortable, not gonna lie.

This is still a fun, easy read, though, which I enjoyed.

Okay this book is just so great. Delicious drama, memorable characters, and all the reality tv you could want but way better than the real thing! I’m not a bachelor fan but I loved the hell out of Lauren and Krystina’s love story. Highly recommend

Enjoyable, quick read about the secrets we keep that keep us away from others but strengthens our attachments to loneliness. Annabel Paulsen and Lydia Wang manage to believably portray the realities and pitfalls of a show like the Bachelor and related media connections. I was slightly thrown by the insta love between the leads kept firm in the magic of the romance genre with that wonderful ending.

Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Rodeo queen Krystin hopes to find her soulmate in bachelor Josh on a reality TV show. Fellow contestant Lauren, by contrast, is there to boost her social media presence. As the two women develop feelings for each other, their initial goals fade, leading them to question their true desires.

This novel left me with a smile on my face. It’s one of my favorite books so far this year. I loved the characters—they’re well-developed and relatable. The story was emotional and engaging, keeping me guessing until the end.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Here for the Wrong Reasons follows two dating show contestants, Lauren and Krystin, competing to win Josh Rosen's heart on "Hopelessly Devoted". While Krystin is there to find a husband after not ever seriously dating anyone, Lauren is there to further her career - she knows she doesn't want Josh but she's determined to stay on the show as long as possible without actually getting chosen in the end. However, Lauren finds her plans might be changing because of the pull that she feels towards Krystin.

And really...almost nothing about this book worked for me. I thought both main characters were naiive, immature, manipulative and frankly unlikeable. I disliked Lauren the most since she entered the show purposely to further her career. I don't know guys I just...don't love a character who is purposely lying to everyone. I know, really a hot take there. If I could somehow forgive her lying and manipulating, the lying went on wayyyy too long! Like she literally was the final contestant left and he was about to propose to her!!! I would feel bad for Josh but I don't know that I particularly liked him either? And Lauren basically never feels remorse for lying the whole time.

And honestly I thought that the dating show in this book was SO boring. It's literally the Bachelor exactly - sometimes even word for word like "hometown dates". I suppose they did cut "strings" instead of give out roses...so, if you were looking for a creative take on a dating show, maybe look elsewhere.

The romance between Lauren and Krystin (as an aside, I just had to look up how to spell her name because I listened to the audio and YIKES that spelling is a choice) came totally out of left field. Like genuinely I had to rewind the audiobook because it was just so unexpected and out of nowhere after them spending very little time together. I don't know that they interacted at all in the first 30% of the book. I also hated the third act conflict with such a passion - basically Lauren assumes something about Krystin and just doesn't ask her what actually happened and then they're no longer together!

I liked...that there were lesbian characters? and that Josh was supportive at the end I guess? and I guess the title isn't wrong, Lauren in particular sure was there for the wrong reasons.

I thought the narration by Mara Wilson and Lindsey Dorcus was fine, but I ended up speeding up to 3x to just get through this book and spite finish.

In the past few years, there was a YA book with a similar/near identical premise - two dating show contestants falling in love. I read and mostly enjoyed that one but said I would have liked it better if it was aged up to an adult book. Well, I sure got what I was asking for. I truly have liked some dating show romance books before (Charm Offensive!!!!) but this was a huge miss for me.

I like dating show premises, and that is one of the main reasons I did like this book. What let it down, in my opinion, is all the women. None were particularly likeable, including the main leads, though I did appreciate their stories. What really got me was how they treated Josh, who for a dating show lead, seemed like a mostly good guy.

Spoilers: I’m not sure I’d have forgiven as quickly as he did. Or at least not Lauren who definitely rubbed me the wrong way in places.

Overall 3.5 rounded up to 4

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and Alcove press for granting me the opportunity to read this book. Initially, I was drawn to the cover of the book. The story is about a group of contestants in a reality TV show similar to The Bachelor. The plot mainly focuses on Laura, Kristen, and the other contestants who are all competing for a chance to be with Josh. However, I was hoping for more as the characters seemed to be somewhat one-dimensional. Overall, I would give this book a 3 out of 5 stars."