Reviews

Unsure of what to do in his retirement, Football legend Nik Cristou keeps his time and mind occupied by the many willing romantic partners who filter through his life. He has truly never felt rejection until he shares a passionate kiss with the tattooed goddess that is Aria Granger. Aria has every intention of dismissing the footballing himbo, but when he offers her an obscene amount of money to be his fake girlfriend she sees her dream of opening a tattoo shop inching slightly closer to reality. What Aira doesn’t know? Nik doesn’t want a fake girlfriend, he wants Aria for real, and plans to woo her however he can.

This was short, lusty, with some great banter, and a whole lot of spice! Our male love interest is sweet though a little bland, and falls first (and hard). Aria was a deeper character with a traumatic experience and a lot of trust issues when it comes to dating. What I really didn’t love was the idea that Nik was lying from the start. Aria assumes he doesn’t really want her because he could have anyone, and while she probably would have run if he was honest early on, the deception weighed on me throughout the book.

abaighritz's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

brittmariasbooks's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I love Talia Hibbert. Great romance :)

tinamariereads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

karty_v's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Smutty and I loved it.

Honestly I HATE the 3rd act breakup but I appreciated the epilogue that made up for it 😜

fmdjreads's review against another edition

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Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

2.5

Felt like an excuse to write sex scenes. The side characters feel flat and just there to give the male lead a backstory. Both the male lead and female lead were annoying at times. The plot was unrealistic and self-indulgent. A professional soccer player falling in love at first sight with a tatted girl and giving her a bunch of money to be his fake girlfriend and run off women because he just can’t say no? 😐 Other than the woman at the beginning of the book, the female lead didn’t even have to chase any women away. Didn’t like the ending at all. Kinda had to force myself to finish it.

headcanonheadcase's review against another edition

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4.0

Playboy Nik doesn't do real relationships. But he can't get Aria off his mind. The only problem is Aria doesn't want a relationship. Nik cooks up a fake dating scheme to keep her close. She starts falling for him as his initial feelings only deepen. But when the truth comes out, will everything unravel?

I'm a big fan to Talia Hibbert and this book delivered. It's everything I've come to recognize and love about her style. Just the right amount of angst and spice. Nik is charming, clueless, but has a big, well-meaning heart. Aria is hurting from past event but still brave. And their chemistry...pure fire.

If you like fake dating and diverse romance, this book is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook ARC. All opinions are my own.

kbairbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This struck me as super cute! The ending was adorable, his himbo energy was adorable, her fiercely loving self was super relatable to me, and the sexy scenes had me dang near sweating lol

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