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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
I’ve been wondering how to rate this. I think it’s an overall 3.5 for me but 4 is too high of a ranking so settling on 3.
The story is about Lexi who’s an ex runner currently struggling through life. Things aren’t great for her as her mother is depressed after her father passed away making Lexi the adult in the house. She attempts to work on several jobs and one day meets Will in her job as a waitress. A couple of her high school friends come to the restaurant and Will agrees to fake date her to save her face in front of her friends. Little does Lexi know that he’s the most eligible bachelor from a wealthy business family. The story proceeds on how their fake dating ends up being not really fake anymore.
This book started well. I was really into the story initially. But along the way I got bored. Finishing the latter half of the book was a chore. I did not really care for the FMC and MMC and the mother of the FMC got really annoying. The story is slow and lacks that spark that keeps me hooked till the end. I do however feel that this could possibly be an enjoyable read to some others. I will pick up works from the author in the future as this is my first book from them.
Thank you to the publishers for a finished copy of the book. All opinions are my own.
The story is about Lexi who’s an ex runner currently struggling through life. Things aren’t great for her as her mother is depressed after her father passed away making Lexi the adult in the house. She attempts to work on several jobs and one day meets Will in her job as a waitress. A couple of her high school friends come to the restaurant and Will agrees to fake date her to save her face in front of her friends. Little does Lexi know that he’s the most eligible bachelor from a wealthy business family. The story proceeds on how their fake dating ends up being not really fake anymore.
This book started well. I was really into the story initially. But along the way I got bored. Finishing the latter half of the book was a chore. I did not really care for the FMC and MMC and the mother of the FMC got really annoying. The story is slow and lacks that spark that keeps me hooked till the end. I do however feel that this could possibly be an enjoyable read to some others. I will pick up works from the author in the future as this is my first book from them.
Thank you to the publishers for a finished copy of the book. All opinions are my own.
I love a good awkward meet cute and this one delivered! Will and Lexi meet in a restaurant with her being a waitress (and an awful one to boot) and Will stopping in to grab lunch. Lexi is clearly flustered and Will finds it a little amusing and they have a cute little flirt session. When old friends from her high school come in, Lexi panics because she doesn't want them to see her as not being successful and only being a waitress so she tells a little white lie and says she is having lunch with her boyfriend Will. They are then invited to her friend's engagement party and Will decides they should go together.
This leads to a misunderstanding which leads to a fake engagement and of course we know that leads to fake feelings turning real but will they be able to maintain their new friendship or will these feelings turn into more for them both?
Will– what more can I say? I love a man who is confident and knows what he wants. He stood up for her against his monster. I mean his mother who was rude and pretentious. He was all in from the beginning with Lexi and while she is a little more reserved, she was attracted to him and wanted to continue to explore this attraction. He helped to bring her out of her rut and show her that she deserves happiness. He saw her as a strong independent woman even when she doesn’t see it in herself and that is what I loved about Will.
Lexi was going through it, she's a little lost, but she also is self-aware enough to know that she also deserves her own happiness but it's hard for her to admit.
Her BFF and also the high school friends that she reunites with are solid characters and well written. Her BFF is such a good meddler who pushes her but doesn't shove too hard. The perfect amount of tough love.
Also I enjoyed the plot of the “decent gene” skipping a generation (Will’s dad sucks but his grandpa is so cute!) That is always a good troupe plot detail that I love to see in a book.
This was a solid and fun romance that is perfect for the fall.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.
I read this book through a digital ARC from NetGalley
Author: Sophie Sullivan
Genre: Romance
Troupe: Fake relationship
This leads to a misunderstanding which leads to a fake engagement and of course we know that leads to fake feelings turning real but will they be able to maintain their new friendship or will these feelings turn into more for them both?
Will– what more can I say? I love a man who is confident and knows what he wants. He stood up for her against his monster. I mean his mother who was rude and pretentious. He was all in from the beginning with Lexi and while she is a little more reserved, she was attracted to him and wanted to continue to explore this attraction. He helped to bring her out of her rut and show her that she deserves happiness. He saw her as a strong independent woman even when she doesn’t see it in herself and that is what I loved about Will.
Lexi was going through it, she's a little lost, but she also is self-aware enough to know that she also deserves her own happiness but it's hard for her to admit.
Her BFF and also the high school friends that she reunites with are solid characters and well written. Her BFF is such a good meddler who pushes her but doesn't shove too hard. The perfect amount of tough love.
Also I enjoyed the plot of the “decent gene” skipping a generation (Will’s dad sucks but his grandpa is so cute!) That is always a good troupe plot detail that I love to see in a book.
This was a solid and fun romance that is perfect for the fall.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.
I read this book through a digital ARC from NetGalley
Author: Sophie Sullivan
Genre: Romance
Troupe: Fake relationship
Read for a November book club! I honestly did not like this book lol. The story itself was ridiculous (fake engagement because they … simply didn’t correct someone they barely knew at a party?) and just didn’t make sense, and the characters were unbelievable and had no development or self-awareness. A cast full of NPCs that only existed at like, three locations in Seattle. The whole thing was just a bit silly.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
3.5 stars. It was cute and made me want to cry but also not the best writing wise
2.5 ⭐️… total man written by a woman…no chance a fella would say half the things that will did. also did this entire story happen over the course of 1-2 months?! there were a few good quotes that will stick with me, but otherwise nothing special
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Can't Help Falling in Love was a sweet love story, but it had a lot of issues that could've been fixed with better editing.
When Lexi desperately attempts to avoid letting some girls she went to high school with know that she's a waitress (and a really terrible one at that), she panics and sits down at a very attractive customer's table, and, assuming they would never see the girls again, he helps her out of the situation by pretending they're engaged. But it turns out the attractive customer is Will Grand, the incredibly rich heir to a major company in Seattle, and when Lexi's high school friends invite her and Will to a party, the white lie snowballs into a full-blown, high-profile fake engagement.
I really did enjoy the story and characters in this book for the most part, and I found myself swooning and kicking my feet over the romance (I really am a sucker for fake-dating), but there were some issues with the writing that I felt could have been made a lot cleaner with some additional editing.
A ton of my annotations mentioned some heavy-handed and/or repetitive descriptions that made it feel like the author didn't have trust in her reader to understand or remember what she had already expressed earlier in the story and sometimes made Lexi feel really annoying. I also found some of the dialogue to be a little unrealistic and clunky. But all of this could have been resolved by rewording some things or cutting some of the repetition out entirely.
My one other complaint about the book was something that was fully personal to me and my own baggage that I brought to the story, and that was that Will was completely unable to see his own privilege and understand how not having that privilege would affect Lexi's day to day life, feelings, and mindset. It was super irritating that he could not fully empathize with her and would try to minimize the differences between them. He also would try to use his privilege and money to help Lexi when she explicitly asked him not to get involved, and while in Will's case it was done from a genuine and caring place, I could not stop thinking about my ex who would do the same, but would use it as a means of control and manipulation. So, for me, this aspect was a little bit triggering, but again, that is completely a personal issue.
I was mostly able to look past these things to enjoy what was a really cute story. I especially enjoyed the side characters in this, especially Will's sisters. I thought they brought a lot of warmth to the romance. I also really appreciated the mental health and grief representation in this book and the depth Sullivan included by showing how difficult it is when you want to help someone you love when they might not be ready for that help. Overall, this was a super cute and fluffy fall romcom with a lot of heart, but if you have an issue looking past editing issues or can't stand a rich man/poor woman power dynamic, I wouldn't recommend picking this one up.
Read Oct. 27, 2024.
*This book was sent to me by the publisher, and this is my honest review.*
When Lexi desperately attempts to avoid letting some girls she went to high school with know that she's a waitress (and a really terrible one at that), she panics and sits down at a very attractive customer's table, and, assuming they would never see the girls again, he helps her out of the situation by pretending they're engaged. But it turns out the attractive customer is Will Grand, the incredibly rich heir to a major company in Seattle, and when Lexi's high school friends invite her and Will to a party, the white lie snowballs into a full-blown, high-profile fake engagement.
I really did enjoy the story and characters in this book for the most part, and I found myself swooning and kicking my feet over the romance (I really am a sucker for fake-dating), but there were some issues with the writing that I felt could have been made a lot cleaner with some additional editing.
A ton of my annotations mentioned some heavy-handed and/or repetitive descriptions that made it feel like the author didn't have trust in her reader to understand or remember what she had already expressed earlier in the story and sometimes made Lexi feel really annoying. I also found some of the dialogue to be a little unrealistic and clunky. But all of this could have been resolved by rewording some things or cutting some of the repetition out entirely.
My one other complaint about the book was something that was fully personal to me and my own baggage that I brought to the story, and that was that Will was completely unable to see his own privilege and understand how not having that privilege would affect Lexi's day to day life, feelings, and mindset. It was super irritating that he could not fully empathize with her and would try to minimize the differences between them. He also would try to use his privilege and money to help Lexi when she explicitly asked him not to get involved, and while in Will's case it was done from a genuine and caring place, I could not stop thinking about my ex who would do the same, but would use it as a means of control and manipulation. So, for me, this aspect was a little bit triggering, but again, that is completely a personal issue.
I was mostly able to look past these things to enjoy what was a really cute story. I especially enjoyed the side characters in this, especially Will's sisters. I thought they brought a lot of warmth to the romance. I also really appreciated the mental health and grief representation in this book and the depth Sullivan included by showing how difficult it is when you want to help someone you love when they might not be ready for that help. Overall, this was a super cute and fluffy fall romcom with a lot of heart, but if you have an issue looking past editing issues or can't stand a rich man/poor woman power dynamic, I wouldn't recommend picking this one up.
Read Oct. 27, 2024.
*This book was sent to me by the publisher, and this is my honest review.*
Another fantastic story from Sophie Sullivan! I loved reading about the fake dating—more specifically, the fake engagement—between Will and Lexi. Seeing what they both brought to the table and worked toward throughout the book made it so enjoyable. The way this couple fell in love despite their different backgrounds and lifestyles created the perfect story!
While I didn't get the chance to read it before it was released, I am grateful for the opportunity to read it as an ARC.
While I didn't get the chance to read it before it was released, I am grateful for the opportunity to read it as an ARC.
This was honestly the SWEETEST book!! It felt a little different than Sophie’s other books in such a good way! It felt softer and sweeter and SWOONIER! I loved everything about Will and Lexi! They were so so perfect and I loved watching them FALL in love.
I really loved Lexi’s character arc through the story. She was working so hard to keep it together for her and her mom while they both work through their grief over losing her dad. And finding Will was simultaneously a fresh start and a road block because she really needed to confront HER feelings. It was written so beautifully and I have so much love for Lexi!
And WILL GRAND! He really is that man!!!! The way he was INSTANTLY enamored with Lexi! Immediately went along with the fake dating, and fake engagement! And wanted to ACTUALLY date her while keeping up the fake engagement thing because he was totally falling for her!!! He is a man who knew straight away he was falling in love and wasn’t going to let her go!!
I think this is probably my favorite Sophie Sullivan book to date and I am so excited to be back in this universe for Maisie’s book!!