You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was not expecting this to be anything special let alone a 5 star but it completely blew me away. These two characters are some of my favorite I’ve ever read. I loved Summer’s vulnerability and her relatability as well as her quirks and attitude. I loved Rory and all of his green flag characteristics and I have to say that he was basically a perfect husband. The setting for this was so fun and the covey storyline added a lot to the book. I loved the found family within the team as well as the dynamic between all of the guys. I loved watching Summer gain her strength again and become the confident woman she was always meant to be. I also loved following her journey as an artist and I loved how supportive Rory was. Edgar was the perfect addition and I now want a pug in every book I read. This book just felt like a warm hug. It was simple it was calm but also incredibly executed and had a great storyline. I absolutely loved this and cannot wait to read the next one.
This book starts off with a memorable meet-cute. Rory was instantly into Summer and would do whatever he could just to be around her. Summer tried to keep her walls up, but how could she when Rory kept showing up and really seeing her.
Their banter and chemistry kept me hooked the entire time. And wow, this was spicier than I anticipated! It had several of my favorite spicy microtropes 💦👖😉
This is a perfect summer read, with just the right amount of sweet and spicy!
ARC review
🏊♂️Marriage of convenience
🧜🏼♀️Black cat x Golden retriever
🏊♂️Age gap
🧜🏼♀️Found family
🏊♂️Small beach town
🧜🏼♀️“My wife”
🏊♂️Swimmer MMC
Their banter and chemistry kept me hooked the entire time. And wow, this was spicier than I anticipated! It had several of my favorite spicy microtropes 💦👖😉
This is a perfect summer read, with just the right amount of sweet and spicy!
ARC review
🏊♂️Marriage of convenience
🧜🏼♀️Black cat x Golden retriever
🏊♂️Age gap
🧜🏼♀️Found family
🏊♂️Small beach town
🧜🏼♀️“My wife”
🏊♂️Swimmer MMC
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sweet, summery, swimming romance.
This book was super cute! A fantastic light and summery read. I am a sucker for a sport romance but having that sport be swimming was chefs kiss. Rory is such a golden retriever who goes after what he wants. Grumpy/Sunshine is one of my all time favorite tropes and I was smiling or laughing the entire time. In happiness and exasperation I will admit. I love how Rory knew Summer was worth the persistence. I think she was being stubborn because she genuinely still believed some of what her parents and ex told her. I do wish there had been some confrontation or acknowledgement from her family. It felt like a lot of dancing around the cakes. I liked that Rory and Summer came from similar backgrounds but were different enough to grow together.
I'm a little sad the mystery of the coveys is over but Summer deserved to see how valued her art was; not just as an amazing artist but to Rory, the man who now sees every brush stroke. I thought the introduction in to the next book was weaved in to the story perfectly. Rory was growing as a person because of Summer but that is still his sister lol
Thank you to Erin Hawkins and Pen Pal PR for the opportunity to read this E ARC and I can't wait for book 2.
This book was super cute! A fantastic light and summery read. I am a sucker for a sport romance but having that sport be swimming was chefs kiss. Rory is such a golden retriever who goes after what he wants. Grumpy/Sunshine is one of my all time favorite tropes and I was smiling or laughing the entire time. In happiness and exasperation I will admit. I love how Rory knew Summer was worth the persistence. I think she was being stubborn because she genuinely still believed some of what her parents and ex told her. I do wish there had been some confrontation or acknowledgement from her family. It felt like a lot of dancing around the cakes. I liked that Rory and Summer came from similar backgrounds but were different enough to grow together.
I'm a little sad the mystery of the coveys is over but Summer deserved to see how valued her art was; not just as an amazing artist but to Rory, the man who now sees every brush stroke. I thought the introduction in to the next book was weaved in to the story perfectly. Rory was growing as a person because of Summer but that is still his sister lol
Thank you to Erin Hawkins and Pen Pal PR for the opportunity to read this E ARC and I can't wait for book 2.
This is getting 4.5 stars because I did a lot of swooning throughout these pages. This was the second time this year I’ve been surprised about a book with a swimmer. I couldn’t care less about swimming but I was rooting for them by the end.
So we have an absolute chaos monster named Summer who is hard up and makes a series of bad choices (which was hilarious and heartbreaking) and it leads to our meet cute. Rory, our swim champ, is a walking green flag. My guy is immediately fascinated by Summer and just rolls with it. He pushes into her comfort zone in ways that only require his time and effort but remains patient and respectful for her to make choices.
They end up striking up a deal that’s going to benefit them both— by they, I really mean “she” spearheaded that one.
The delicate way he cares for her until she feels safe to open herself up to him was just so sweet and significant.
I had one major qualm with this story and it’s the announcement at the dinner table as if those records aren’t public. It took me out of the story because anyone can find that information. They even played it off on social media as if it had been a month but again, that information is accessible by anyone.
I am a sucker for meeting the side characters in a story and Erin is the queen of making you immediately love them. Like, I want Charlie’s book so badly I can taste it! I cant wait for what comes next!
So we have an absolute chaos monster named Summer who is hard up and makes a series of bad choices (which was hilarious and heartbreaking) and it leads to our meet cute. Rory, our swim champ, is a walking green flag. My guy is immediately fascinated by Summer and just rolls with it. He pushes into her comfort zone in ways that only require his time and effort but remains patient and respectful for her to make choices.
They end up striking up a deal that’s going to benefit them both— by they, I really mean “she” spearheaded that one.
The delicate way he cares for her until she feels safe to open herself up to him was just so sweet and significant.
I had one major qualm with this story and it’s the announcement at the dinner table as if those records aren’t public. It took me out of the story because anyone can find that information. They even played it off on social media as if it had been a month but again, that information is accessible by anyone.
I am a sucker for meeting the side characters in a story and Erin is the queen of making you immediately love them. Like, I want Charlie’s book so badly I can taste it! I cant wait for what comes next!
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this was a fun, fluffy, fast paced, insta love, marriage of convenience/fake dating story. Perfect of you need to get out of a slump or if you want a quick beach/pool read.
There were some lacking elements for me, primarily that the conflict felt very outside of the MCs, and the identity reveal was sort of anti-climatic. This as well as the not so sly hints of the second installment, and why did we need a two part epilogue? Just have a time jump chapter and then the epilogue?
There were some lacking elements for me, primarily that the conflict felt very outside of the MCs, and the identity reveal was sort of anti-climatic. This as well as the not so sly hints of the second installment, and why did we need a two part epilogue? Just have a time jump chapter and then the epilogue?
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was a lot of fun to read. I loved the swim crew and the art stuff. The romance was sweet and I loved the fake marriage aspect of it. I just wasn't a fan of the paint brush thing. It felt like it came out of nowhere kind of based on their relationship.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
💒 fake marriage/marriage of convenience
🤭 forced proximity
🏖 small beach town
💖 black cat heroine x golden retriever hero
🏊♂️ he's a swimmer
I LOVED THIS BOOK. I cackled so much. It was sweet, funny, and heart warming. Rory and Summer were just perfect perfect perfect.
Summer has been on the move and she's been living in Coral Cove for a few months when one of her odd jobs goes wrong, town superstar swimmer Rory Shields saves her from drowning. They strike up a funny friendship. And when Rory's annoying overbearing parents and ex-girlfriend start trying to mess with him when he can't afford any distractions with his swim career on the rocks due to injury, Summer steps up and tells them they're married to get them to back off.
Rory and Summer's opposite dynamics cracked me up. I loved their connection from the start. Of course Summer fought it having been burned from a previous relationship but Rory, despite saying he can't afford distractions like a romantic commitment at the moment, found himself pursuing her hard. He was so puppy. Always clinging to Summer and his bright personality melted her walls away.
I loved that despite Summer's stand-offishness she was fair and never overly rude. She had good reasons to have her walls but she was never awful. But Rory always saw through her and he was so patient yet caring enough to earn her trust step by step. He helped her open up and let her know she's safe with him and he truly desires her heart and soul.
They were both protective of each other which was so cute! Summer went through a flavor of what Rory's parents are trying to do with him by kind of controlling his life and she doesn't want to see a kind and giving man like him get taken advantage of so that's why she stepped in to make them back off. Rory's always stood up for Summer when people get rude about her presumed status and such. Or when Summer would have asthma attacks and try to brush it off, he'd make sure she was taken care of.
And the reason why she needed the marriage? Health insurance! Rory was more than willing to marry her so she'd have access to his health insurance to afford her asthma medication.
I loved all the characters but Rory stood out to me. He had so many little gestures that were so cute like saving the side of the restaurant booth that was in the shade for Summer or little cozy domestic things or his support and solidarity with her with no hesitation. He always found excuses to be close to her which was so endearing. He was busy as hell as a pro athlete but he made time for her always.
This was so cozy too! I loved all the forced proximity going on. I expected it cause duh they get married but I wasn't expecting it in the beginning as well! Rory is such a touchy cuddler lol.
The small beach town hijinks was fun! There's fun side characters who I can't wait to read more about in this series. And everyone in town is obsessed with this anonymous artist who leaves their paintings in town. 🤭
This book was perfect to me. I'd read it over and over again if I could! I think my only tiny minor critique was I was expecting Rory's parents and ex to have more of a presence but I really didn't mind it in the end. The book didn't need that extra drama it was fine on its own! And ofc no third act breakup here!
🤭 forced proximity
🏖 small beach town
💖 black cat heroine x golden retriever hero
🏊♂️ he's a swimmer
I LOVED THIS BOOK. I cackled so much. It was sweet, funny, and heart warming. Rory and Summer were just perfect perfect perfect.
Summer has been on the move and she's been living in Coral Cove for a few months when one of her odd jobs goes wrong, town superstar swimmer Rory Shields saves her from drowning. They strike up a funny friendship. And when Rory's annoying overbearing parents and ex-girlfriend start trying to mess with him when he can't afford any distractions with his swim career on the rocks due to injury, Summer steps up and tells them they're married to get them to back off.
Rory and Summer's opposite dynamics cracked me up. I loved their connection from the start. Of course Summer fought it having been burned from a previous relationship but Rory, despite saying he can't afford distractions like a romantic commitment at the moment, found himself pursuing her hard. He was so puppy. Always clinging to Summer and his bright personality melted her walls away.
I loved that despite Summer's stand-offishness she was fair and never overly rude. She had good reasons to have her walls but she was never awful. But Rory always saw through her and he was so patient yet caring enough to earn her trust step by step. He helped her open up and let her know she's safe with him and he truly desires her heart and soul.
They were both protective of each other which was so cute! Summer went through a flavor of what Rory's parents are trying to do with him by kind of controlling his life and she doesn't want to see a kind and giving man like him get taken advantage of so that's why she stepped in to make them back off. Rory's always stood up for Summer when people get rude about her presumed status and such. Or when Summer would have asthma attacks and try to brush it off, he'd make sure she was taken care of.
And the reason why she needed the marriage? Health insurance! Rory was more than willing to marry her so she'd have access to his health insurance to afford her asthma medication.
I loved all the characters but Rory stood out to me. He had so many little gestures that were so cute like saving the side of the restaurant booth that was in the shade for Summer or little cozy domestic things or his support and solidarity with her with no hesitation. He always found excuses to be close to her which was so endearing. He was busy as hell as a pro athlete but he made time for her always.
This was so cozy too! I loved all the forced proximity going on. I expected it cause duh they get married but I wasn't expecting it in the beginning as well! Rory is such a touchy cuddler lol.
The small beach town hijinks was fun! There's fun side characters who I can't wait to read more about in this series. And everyone in town is obsessed with this anonymous artist who leaves their paintings in town. 🤭
This book was perfect to me. I'd read it over and over again if I could! I think my only tiny minor critique was I was expecting Rory's parents and ex to have more of a presence but I really didn't mind it in the end. The book didn't need that extra drama it was fine on its own! And ofc no third act breakup here!