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sarablikes2read's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
readundancies's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
kaylareadsbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really liked this! It was a lot of fun!
ramonajasi's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this little book, it’s the prefect sweet, light-hearted. It’s the perfect spring romance. Also, the cover is gorgeous and would look so good on your shelf 😉 Eva and Sean were so good together. Two emotionally intelligent characters with great communication and amazing chemistry. I was hooked from the beginning.
Their meet-cute is iconic for sure: prim but feisty English college professor with a makeshift flamethrower meets the 6’3 hunky fire fighter and sparks fly, literally 😄
When Eva’s sleazy ex boyfriend is not willing to take no for an answer, Sean and Eva come up with a plan to show everyone that she can and will do better than him. The line between fake and keeps blurring, daring them to take the biggest risk of all…
Tropes:
* fake dating
* age gap but she’s older (41-36)
* self-defence classes
* 6’3 cinnamon roll mmc
* firefighter mmc + teacher fmc
* “put your hands on the headboard” and “good girl”
* third act breakup for a good reason and handled with maturity
*I’d like to thank NetGalley, Adele Buck and Mills & Boon | Afterglow Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Their meet-cute is iconic for sure: prim but feisty English college professor with a makeshift flamethrower meets the 6’3 hunky fire fighter and sparks fly, literally 😄
When Eva’s sleazy ex boyfriend is not willing to take no for an answer, Sean and Eva come up with a plan to show everyone that she can and will do better than him. The line between fake and keeps blurring, daring them to take the biggest risk of all…
Tropes:
* fake dating
* age gap but she’s older (41-36)
* self-defence classes
* 6’3 cinnamon roll mmc
* firefighter mmc + teacher fmc
* “put your hands on the headboard” and “good girl”
* third act breakup for a good reason and handled with maturity
*I’d like to thank NetGalley, Adele Buck and Mills & Boon | Afterglow Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review*
missdevo's review
4.0
Smoking hot love story with main characters over 30?! YES PLEASE!
Eva is a 41 year old English literature and p0p culture professor at Montgomery University. Sean is a 36 year old firefighter who is working his way through the classics in his down time. When he arrives on the truck dispatched to deal with a potential fire on the quad at the University, there's no fire, just a very pissed off woman at the end of her rope. Armed with an industrial can of roach spray and a pink Bic lighter, Eva has had it with her cheating ex's refusal to accept the break up, and is threatening to end yet another attempted grand gesture attempt to win her back with a homemade blow torch. Sparks fly right away, and with inspiration from a fellow romance reading firefighter, a plot to protect her with a fake dating scheme is born.
It seems too rare lately to find main characters over 30 with sexy stories. I love that these are fully formed adults with established lives that fall in love. He definitely falls first, and his desire to protect and take care of her is really sweet to me. There's an emotional maturity to their developing relationship that I really appreciated. Without revealing too much, the 3rd act drama is well developed and handled with sensitivity. It's a super realistic dilemma that plays out in a way that drew me further into the story instead of pulling me out. The spice is also really nice. It's sexy and sweet and dirty all at the right moments.
I feel the "fake dating" plot is abandoned pretty quickly once our characters have met each other. The suspense subplot that runs under the love story is ok, but lacks any real punch for me in terms of tension. I am way more invested in the dynamics of their budding relationship, than what's happening on that front. For me, there's more emotional tension between Eva and Sean to build on and make the resolution really payoff.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a hot story with emotional depth that centers around older characters. It's a quick enjoyable read with some nice sizzle.
Thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin, and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for the ARC.
Eva is a 41 year old English literature and p0p culture professor at Montgomery University. Sean is a 36 year old firefighter who is working his way through the classics in his down time. When he arrives on the truck dispatched to deal with a potential fire on the quad at the University, there's no fire, just a very pissed off woman at the end of her rope. Armed with an industrial can of roach spray and a pink Bic lighter, Eva has had it with her cheating ex's refusal to accept the break up, and is threatening to end yet another attempted grand gesture attempt to win her back with a homemade blow torch. Sparks fly right away, and with inspiration from a fellow romance reading firefighter, a plot to protect her with a fake dating scheme is born.
It seems too rare lately to find main characters over 30 with sexy stories. I love that these are fully formed adults with established lives that fall in love. He definitely falls first, and his desire to protect and take care of her is really sweet to me. There's an emotional maturity to their developing relationship that I really appreciated. Without revealing too much, the 3rd act drama is well developed and handled with sensitivity. It's a super realistic dilemma that plays out in a way that drew me further into the story instead of pulling me out. The spice is also really nice. It's sexy and sweet and dirty all at the right moments.
I feel the "fake dating" plot is abandoned pretty quickly once our characters have met each other. The suspense subplot that runs under the love story is ok, but lacks any real punch for me in terms of tension. I am way more invested in the dynamics of their budding relationship, than what's happening on that front. For me, there's more emotional tension between Eva and Sean to build on and make the resolution really payoff.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a hot story with emotional depth that centers around older characters. It's a quick enjoyable read with some nice sizzle.
Thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin, and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for the ARC.
flpanthersfan13's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-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
5.0
I received an ARC of this book and I loved it! The premise, while a bit out there, was such a fun way to start this story and made for great meet cute! How perfect that Sean and Eva bonded over reading—I absolutely adored that! The fake dating ruse, the tension and passion, how great of a man Sean was, and how this story blended defying the reverse age gap stigma but also the how important family is, how defying parental expectations is a struggle but can work out okay, and how not everyone needs to have kids to be happy! I loved the way Sean and Eva loved each other and supported each other and how they overcame a lot to be together. Plus the supporting characters and setting were great! I didn’t want it to end! I also especially enjoyed this one, being 37, single, and not sure about kids being in the cards anymore so this one hit close to home and lightened my outlook on future love a bit!
samwise_reads's review
funny
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
4.0
sarahsbookstack's review
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
3.25
This was a super fast and great book. I like Sean so much! He is so sweet and protective and he's an amazing firefighter. Eva is so fiery! I couldn't believe the stuff she had to deal with that her cheating ex/coworker put her through. Though I do wish we would have had an explanation for his behavior more than just "he's an a**hole".
Now Eva's parents are such snobs and I'm so glad when Eva finally (and Sean) put them in their place. Just because Sean didn't get more than an associate's degree- I hated when her dad who was a doctor thought Sean was "less" even though he risks his own life as a firefighter.
Now Eva's parents are such snobs and I'm so glad when Eva finally (and Sean) put them in their place. Just because Sean didn't get more than an associate's degree- I hated when her dad who was a doctor thought Sean was "less" even though he risks his own life as a firefighter.
patelyne's review
3.0
Eva has stalker ex who isn’t accepting things are over. Hitting a breaking point, she counters his grand (piano) gesture at their place of work with a threat to light it on fire.
A faulty lighter gives firefighter Sean the chance to talk her down, and with a follow up visit a new connection is born.
I ran hold and cold on this one. A lot.
I settled on 3 stars, because while there were things that bothered me it was still entertained enough that I didn’t regret the read?
I was happy going in about the MCs being further along and settled in their lives than a lot of typical romcoms - her being a 41 yo tenured professor and him a 36 yo first responder - Unfortunately, I felt like they acted more like college *students* much of the time
Sean’s friend offers a fake relationship book as an idea of how to help get her further separated from the ex. Fake relationships are one of my top tropes, and bringing a book into a book is fun in a fourth wall breaking way. But on the other hand, the idea of Sean ‘claiming’ her to get rid of Darren gave me a bit of the ick. Honestly, it was only them - mostly him - acknowledging how that was messed up that kept me into it.
I did like that Eva had people around her that recognized how the situation with her ex was bad and could get worse, trying to back her up. Her downplaying the situation to avoid making waves was frustrating - in my opinion changing locks and filing for a restraining order should have been top priority when he started escalating. But learning self defense for herself and jumping on the offer extending it to her students was excellent.
Heading away from the negative/conflicted thoughts - I enjoyed their book conversations, and how they specifically contradicted the horrid snobby opinions of her parents about how they couldn’t possibly relate to each other. I was happy that the ‘it’s not fake for me’ reveal came when it did. And the character growth by the end was good to see, specifically her standing up for herself against her ex and both of them confronting their families views.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the arc