Chloe Liese

4 Stars

Know that I am an unabashed Chloe Liese fan. She brought the wonderful Bergmans, and they remain my top fictional family so of course, I was going to want to read her latest creation.

As per the blurb, Thea and Alex were forced to form a rock solid friendship (and fast) when a little white lie snowballs into a fake past relationship of first love to save face in front of their exes. Though they agreed never to fake anything going forward, what evolves over the next two years since show more their painful divorces is an unbreakable connection that naturally progresses into something more.

There’s just one caveat. When their exes propose a joint summer vacation, this is the impetus for Thea to really take stock of her life and consider going after the things she truly wants which is broadening her career and finally admitting her feelings to Alex. Ever present is the age old question of do Thea and Alex dare move beyond the facade of being platonic and thus risk losing each other should they not work out??

This proceeds in the present, taking the time to look backwards, showing how Thea and Alex’s friendship forms into one of a united front, unwavering support, and a meshing of lives. Liese delves into Thea’s inner turmoil and arguments, digging deep into her people pleasing tendencies and her legitimate fears of opening up and actually voicing her needs and wants. In turn, through Thea's eyes, Liese paints a delicious picture of Alex who is not only sexy, thoughtful, self aware, and a great dad but will make you chicken piccata and serve you gelato in the middle of the night as well.

Know that unlike the Bergmans, this story is more subdued, more contemplative. However, anyone looking for a fake relationship, friends to lovers story (with a touch of spice), splashes of humor, a dopey golden retriever, an unhinged territorial bestie, and a fearless 6 year old - all with a huge shout out for a love of books and devouring good eats - will surely enjoy this romantic comfort read at its best.

Overall, despite the lack of dramatics which is enjoyably entertaining in its own right, I appreciated the strengths of this more mature realistic understated story and will continue to impatiently wait for Liese’s next release!

Thank you to the author and Gallery Books via NetGalley for a copy to review honestly show less

I've been dying for Ziggy's book since Frankie helped to get her diagnosed with autism in Book 2. I was delighted with what I found here. She is a professional soccer player in her own right and hears a bunch of unkind things about herself when she's trying to get comfortable at a wedding. It unleashes all of her insecurities at once and she takes off alone to get herself figured out.

I fell in love with Sebastian as soon as he twirled the underwear she flung at the sea at this wedding in show more rage. He brings his A-game to the flirting before he realized who she was and immediately backed down. He's in enough trouble in his personal life and loves his best friend/teammate Ren too much to inflict himself upon one of his beloved siblings.

Through a series of unfortunate events, they end up making a deal. Knock the halo on her reputation a bit and clean his up at the same time to get them in a better position professionally. But ABSOLUTELY NO FUNNY BUSINESS. This is friendship only, buddy.

I will say this is a complete slow burn but seeing them fall in love slowly was lovely. Plus he takes her to the book store for some macking and tells her to pick out whatever she wants so the man has excellent seduction skills.

Thank you to Netgalley and Chloe Liese for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own. show less

Despite the source material (Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing), there is little antagonism between the MCs after a disastrous meet-awkward. Which means the majority of the book is a sweet, swoony romance. Bea (who has autism) and Jamie (who has social anxiety) display kindness, thoughtfulness and acceptance as they go from being conspirators to friends to lovers. The Hero and Claudio subplot fortunately doesn't mirror the original other than making the Claudio-based character a total show more douche canoe. The third act breakup is mercifully brief, with the almost perfect Jamie setting the stage for a HEA that manages to be both enchanted and realistic.

Bea's sister Kate appears to be the subject of Liese's next release in a Taming of the Shrew/Kiss Me Kate homage. Not my favorite Shakespeare by a long shot, but it will be interesting to see how the author addresses the blatant misogyny of the original. show less

This was such a charming story. I read it upon a recommendation, not realizing it was a reimagining of Much Ado About Nothing, which happens to be my favorite Shakespearean play. I was just happy to make the Shakespeare connection upon first hearing the names of the three sisters: Beatrice, Juliet, and Kate.

The story begins as a "meet-disaster" in which Bea Wilmot and Jamie Westenberg leave an engagement party between Bea's twin sister, Juliet, and Jamie's roommate absolutely despising each show more other. There could not be any two people more wrong for each other! But when friends and family decide to stick their noses where they don't belong and set the two up on a blind date, Bea and Jamie decide the best method of revenge is fake dating. Naturally. They'll date, have an epic break-up moment, and then everyone will stop playing matchmaker. What could possibly go wrong?

I enjoyed these two a lot, and I really appreciated the neurodiversity and anxiety rep brought forth in the characters and thought it well done. I loved following their relationship development, and Jamie is an absolute sweetheart in some of the things he does for her. He's not without his own struggles as he battles family pressure to be more than "just a pediatrician." And while vegetables may not be her thing, Bea is a hilarious artist who produces quite the interesting artwork. The book even has a couple of geriatric cats and a hedgehog! Was I crazy about the third-act conflict? Not so much, but I still enjoyed the story overall.

This was just a fun enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, fake dating story, and I can't wait to read more of the Wilmot sisters! show less