Tisa Matthews delivers a spicy, nostalgic, and emotionally satisfying rom-com in Unhitched, a story tailor-made for millennials who grew up in Y2K pop culture and are now navigating the chaos of adulting.

MC Mya Holloway, is a commitment-phobic woman who’s reluctantly trying to settle down as she approaches thirty. After a disastrous Valentine’s Day date, she finds herself unexpectedly single and homeless. Kace Levitt, a security expert discovers his long-time girlfriend betrayed him. Kace offers Mya a place to stay.

Matthews crafts a compelling opposites-attract dynamic between Mya’s chaotic energy and Kace’s guarded nature. Their journey is filled with heartfelt moments, laugh-out-loud banter, and some heat. The story also shines with nostalgic references—from Mean Girls to the Jonas Brothers that add a fun, relatable layer for millennial readers.

Unhitched is more than just a rom-com—it’s a story about healing, self-discovery, and learning to trust again. With its balance of humor and heart, it’s a perfect summer read that will leave you smiling long after you've finished reading.

As a millennial who read the blurb, I was super excited to read and love Unhitched. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
The characters didn't have much chemistry to begin with, yet the nostalgic references made it a fun read. At a certain point, the book felt just a lot of millennial references that took me away from the story.
Even though the vibes were cute, the characters and plot was missing something. I think I would've enjoyed it more if of if there was less references and a better paced plot with more character explorations.
Thank you for the opportunity and best of luck to Tessa Mathews!

This was absolute millenial perfection! It felt like *Unhitched* was written specifically for me, as I am Mya, and also an elder emo. *NSYNC, Harry Potter, Hilary Duff, and Seventeen magazine, were just a few of the many honorable mentions from the Y2K era. The romance aspect of the book was entertaining, with Kace and Mya's love story being unique, but also relatable (hasn't everyone questioned if they are where they "should" be in life?!). And the spice was nice 🎆 Overall, a cute and nostalgic read 💿 Many thanks to Netgalley and Victory Editing for the ARC!

"She looks comfortable in the way that couch rotting with a Harry Potter marathon and a pumpkin beer makes you feel."

I absolutely loved this one! So many fun Y2K references. It was like a blast from the past!
As fun as it was, it also had a beautiful story of two 30 something’s finding their way through friendship, love and past traumas. Kace and Mya had so much tension and banter going on I thought I was going b to explode! 🤭 This book was quirky in the best way and just made me happy all around!

Solid 4.5/5⭐️
1.5 on the 🌶️

Unhitched is a dual POV book which follows the fun, colourful and spontaneous Mya and the grumpy, serious Kace.

Kace has just come out of a long term relationship where his ex cheated on him and he is mad at the world and completely untrusting of women. He meets Mya when he decides to ruin the date of a stranger on Valentine’s Day and she was his unlucky victim.

Kace and Mya’s paths cross again and after realising she was now living in her car due to his actions, he lets her move into his flat.

They end up working together on Mya’s project ‘Unhitched’ which helps people break up with their partners so they end up spending plenty of time together.

Even though they are opposites, there is a lot of chemistry between the pair and as the spend time together, getting to know each other, sparks fly but Kace is completely untrusting and Mya is a free spirit so they could never be together, right?

As a millennial, the references to the 2000s took me right back to being a teenager! Mya is still stuck in the 00’s, listening to pop music (think along the lines of Hillary Duff, Ashlee Simpson) obsessed with movies such as 10 Things I Hate About You (who can blame her, it’s a classic) and living in a nostalgic bubble whereas Kace has my taste in music and being pretty emo with how he acts.

I really enjoyed this book - it was fun, nostalgic, the characters were great and I liked how their relationship developed along with their characters.

I really enjoyed this grumpy/sunshine story! My only small complaint would be while I loved all the old school references at times it took me out of the story because they didn't seem to flow naturally and felt thrown in just for the sake of getting another reference. Beyond that though this story was so much fun, I loved watching the main characters fall in love <3 Such a cute couple! Definitely would recommend!

This was such a fun, comforting, and relaxing read! Kace & Mya had amazing chemistry — I was giddy the whole time watching their dynamic unfold. I loved the banter, the slow-burn tension, and the way both characters genuinely grew and learned from each other.

The story felt so fresh and original - this book is perfect for anyone looking for a feel-good romance with great humor and the perfect bit of millennial throwback!

*** Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing me with a copy of this book; all opinions expressed are honest and voluntary ***

Kace Levitt is not having a good day; he is going to make sure someone else’s day is bad. He walks into restaurant and accuses a random woman, on a date with her actual boyfriend, of cheating. He has now imploded her relationship. Now not only is he having a bad day, Kace feels guilty when he learns the woman, Mya, has no place to live and is living in her jeep. Mya moves into sleep on Kase’s sofa.

While the story is predictable, it is cute and spicy. I wasn’t expecting from a book with such a rad cover! 100% must listen to the Spotify playlist while reading, for those of us older millennials (and zinillennials) it is a trip down memory lane.

Thank you, NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op! #NetGalley #Unhitched

This book is a flirty, Y2K-soaked rom-com with heart, heat, and hilarious chaos. It had the perfect millennial nostalgia for me.

This book felt like stepping back into my messy 20-something years and I loved every minute of it.

Unhitched is spicy, chaotic, and so perfectly millennial. Mya’s fear of commitment and Kace’s desperate need for control collide in the worst (and best) way possible. I laughed at their banter, I yelled at their stubbornness, and I rooted for them so hard.

Tisa Mathews wrote a romance that feels real, awkward, impulsive, a little toxic at times but so warm and nostalgic too. If you grew up in the 2000s and want a rom-com that doesn’t pretend love is simple, pick this one up!

Some books just get you this was one of them for me.

Olive Theory, of How I Met Your Mother legend, is about making sacrifices for those you love, because you love them. It's about making space for their happiness by setting aside your own wants and needs: giving the olives you (secretly) like to your partner who loves them. It's not about balance or “completing each other”; rather, it's about putting in the work and your love for your significant other. It could also mean learning to like olives whereas you didn't before, and thus grow into compatibility. It's so romantic!

Kace, however, believes romance died the moment his cheating ex-girlfriend Ruby walked out of his life. In a move that can only be described as UTTERLY UNHINGED, he crashes a random couple's Valentine's Day date and loudly makes up a bunch of shit about his and the female stranger's affair!
(...WHO DOES THAT?! One of my favorite male leads in contemporary romance EVER, that's who. What an opening.)
Anyway, he gets kicked out of the restaurant and before he can even process what came over his near-psychotic ass, he feels someone... hugging him? The attractive, bubbly female stranger whose date he just came into like a wrecking ball is... hugging and thanking him? Huh. A stickler for security, Kace feels an overwhelming sense of responsibility for her safety when a few days later, he spots her living out of her car as a result of his meddling. So he does what anyon- OK, no one would do: he insists she, Mya, stay with him in his apartment.

Mya summarizes it best when she notes Kace sees the world in black and white, whereas Mya sees it in tie-dye. These two people couldn't be more different and seemingly incompatible at first glance. Kace works in cybersecurity, Mya has her own crafting business. Kace exudes grumpy stoicism, while Maya is sunshine personified. The opposites attract trope often relies on sexual chemistry, so I expected to be reading a breezy beach read with a predictable, sexy, satisfying romance plot. For this trope specifically, the male Grump would make questionable decisions that hurt the female Sunshine, and then he comes in with the necessary “good grovel” to fix everything.

But Matthews really surprised me: boy, does she know how to develop characters on a deeper level. She has the ability to write flawed and even hurtful characters, but convincingly implores her readers to maintain empathy for them by making sure they keep evolving and communicating organically. It is seen in their actions – no matter how small – and the things they do for each other. As much as I can enjoy a “good grovel” moment, I often do miss that multi-layered compromise between romantic leads in romance books. The desire to change not only for the other, but for themselves too. Flaws aren't written off as shitty but as stepping stones for more. It all brings their love to a next level.

Unhitched has a stunning, at times surprising character arc for its male love interest. Look, he isn't perfect. Look at how he's introduced. But Matthews can account for his flaws and actions. She can account for Mya's, too. Mya is a walking contradiction: she is stuck in her 2000s comfort zone, yet appears to be “constantly bored” and seeking out new experiences. The more we get to know Mya, the more it all makes sense. In her acknowledgments, Matthews notes she wrote this book while grieving the loss of her mother. The amount of empathy and consideration she gives Kace and Mya really proves how much they have meant to her during this difficult time. They healed and helped her, and she in turn wrote them using wisdom and care. I fell in love with both characters. Truly.

As for the fun, Matthews made goooood. That aforementioned first chapter immediately demonstrates how funny this book is at times, and there are some charming fake date moments in the book that I thought were so creative and on the nose. I felt like I was there with them, enjoying what they had planned for each other, cringing and squirming and laughing with them.

What also made this read fun, was the nostalgia! And as a geriatric-millennial (who'd thus rather be seen as Gen X but that's neither here nor there), I thoroughly enjoyed the 1990s and 2000s references, chuckling a good amount of times when I could picture EXACTLY what she was referring to at any moment. Hearing that particular song in my head. Remembering my own childhood, how I used to exist decades ago. It's sweet to connect to a story this way. (There's also an important acknowledgment of how 9/11 affected this generation; it's something that strongly resonates and that you inevitably keep in mind when reading about fellow millennials Kace and Mya.) Is there a lot of nostalgia? Yes. So much. Matthews warns you ahead of time about the overload, so that's a choice you consciously make! I made it and I have no regrets.

And the spice. Let's just say: in my head, rent-free. Like, damn.

There is so much more I can write about when it comes to how much I adore this book, but don't let me tell you any more. Just like with love, sometimes you just have to take a chance on something and find out for yourself.

**Thank you NetGalley, Tisa Matthews and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for generously providing me with a copy of this book; all opinions expressed are honest, voluntary and 100% my own.**

Unhitched is a sweet and (slightly spicy) rom com that captures the nostalgia of the 2000s while exploring the pressure many feel approaching thirty. It’s a smart, funny, and emotionally grounded romance about timing, connection, and learning to let your guard down. Mya’s Valentines date and relationship is ruined by Kace, who after learning his long-term girlfriend has been cheating on him, plays a game of misery loves company. However, feeling guilty about his recent actions, Kace does the only thing he feels is right in the situation; offers his couch to the homeless girl he feels responsible for.

Both characters felt so real and layered. Mya is witty, a little chaotic, and totally relatable. Kace, on the other hand, is reserved and guarded, trying to recover from betrayal. Watching them learn to trust—not just each other, but themselves—was heartwarming and emotional in all the right ways.

I absolutely loved this book—I devoured it and genuinely didn’t want to put it down. The story was such a refreshing take on love and commitment, and what really made it stand out for me was how realistic the romance felt. It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t instant, and that made it all the more rewarding. The slow burn between Mya and Kace felt completely natural, and by the time it built into something more, I was fully invested.
One of my favourite parts was the nostalgia woven throughout this book. If you grew up in the early 2000s, the little references hit in the best way, and bring back so many memories. They added so much personality to the book and gave it a grounded, relatable feel.

This isn’t just a love story—it’s about figuring yourself out, letting your guard down, and learning what it means to really show up for someone. If you're a fan of character-driven romance with depth, banter, and the kind of tension that keeps you turning pages, I can’t recommend Unhitched enough.

I really wished I loved this. As a millennial, when I read the blurb I thought that this book was tailor made for me. Right off the bat, I realized what I was expecting was a book taking place in the 90s with the time-appropriate references, but I was actually reading a book in present day with a lot of 90s and 2000s references. And by a lot, I mean A LOT. So much so that it felt like it took away from the story because of how excessive it was. This would have benefited greatly from having them sprinkled in, naming the chapters after them, stuff like that. 

Onto our main characters, Kace was fine. He was brooding and mysterious in the way many leading men of that time were, so I get where the author was trying to go with him, but Mya is where I had the biggest issue. Considering how old she is, she was way too naive and cutesy in a way that was more annoying to read than charming. Grumpy/sunshine is usually such a fun dynamic but when one or both characters swing too far in one direction, it doesn't work. 

I also thought they didn't have any chemistry. The way they met was a little questionable to begin with, but the progression of their relationship just didn't seem believable.

Tisa Matthews delivers a delightful blend of humor, heart, and heat in Unhitched, a charming romantic comedy that’s as entertaining as it is endearing. With a witty narrative and irresistible chemistry, this story follows characters you can’t help but fall for as they navigate the complexities of love, vulnerability, and self-discovery.

Matthews strikes a perfect balance between lighthearted moments and emotional depth, creating a spicy yet sincere journey that keeps the pages turning. The dialogue sparkles, the characters feel real, and the romance unfolds in a way that’s both fun and deeply satisfying.

Unhitched is a feel-good, flirty rom-com that leaves a lasting smile. A thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish.

💫 ARC Review 💫

If you’re a millennial who loves romance and nostalgia, Unhitched should be at the top of your TBR. This slow-burn, roommates-to-lovers rom-com is filled with Y2K references that will have you giggling and craving a bowl of Cap’n Crunch.

After catching his girlfriend cheating, Kace decides to blow up someone else’s Valentine’s Day—and accidentally gives Mya the escape she didn’t know she needed. The only catch? She ends up temporarily homeless… and crashing on the couch of the man who ruined her relationship.

With references to the Jonas Brothers, Mean Girls, One Direction, and more, this is the perfect nostalgic summer read. My only critique is that the ending felt rushed compared to the more thoughtful pacing of the rest of the story. Still, it’s a fun and heartwarming read I’d definitely recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Unhitched by Tisa Matthews
Thank you to NetGalley, Tisa Matthews, and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

As someone born in 1988, I’m a true millennial, so I was genuinely excited about the premise of this book. Matthews sold me on Kace from the first few pages by showcasing his complexity right off the bat. From the first few chapters, Unhitched felt like a warm, familiar hug with chaotic energy and pop culture references I didn’t know I still remembered. Or needed. Oh, but I did. Matthews clearly gets and celebrates the millennial experience.

Kace and Mya are your classic opposites attract duo, and their dynamic completely worked for me. Their witty banter and slow-burn tension hit the mark: equal parts snarky and sweet, and I found myself grinning more than once at their interactions.

That said, the pacing was a little uneven for me. It started off slow, and I found myself waiting for that spark to really take hold. But once it did? I couldn’t put this book down. Even with some inconsistency, the flow of the story and the chemistry between the mcs kept me turning the pages.

Initially, I loved the millennial references—it felt like an inside joke. But after a while, I found myself a bit bogged down by them. At times, they pulled me out of the story instead of grounding me in it. And while this book brought so many smiles and fun flashes of nostalgia, I couldn’t help but realize… I am officially old.

Still, Unhitched was a fun, quirky read that managed to capture a very specific generational energy in a fresh and romantic way. Perfect for fans of banter, nostalgia, and messy millennial love stories.

“To the girls who have had the character growth of Brooke Davis, but still miss the way life hit when they were younger”🥹💖 okay the way that dedication just HIT MY SOUL.

Born in the ‘90s, so basically a relic 🪩💿. I immediately requested this book because HELLO?? This cover is giving full Y2K energy: Tamagotchis, lollipops, doodle hearts, and ✨composition notebook chic✨.Manifesting a glitter-coated time warp back to an era of AIM away messages, pop music, and that iconic dial-up energy. 💖📟✌️

Unhitched is a fiery, millennial rom-com that expertly blends humor, chaos, and just the right amount of emotional depth. Mya and Kace are total opposites, and their accidental collision sets the stage for a wild ride filled with hilarious and steamy moments. The nods to early 2000s pop culture are a fun throwback, and the premise. While some character arcs feel a little rushed and the pacing has its uneven moments, the undeniable chemistry and witty banter between the leads more than make up for it. If you're a fan of messy love stories, emotional growth, and nostalgia-laced storytelling, this one’s definitely worth the watch!

Charming, funny, and full of heart!

Unhitched was like a warm hug with a sassy wink — sweet, a little messy, and totally lovable. Tisa Matthews writes with such honesty and wit that I felt like I was having coffee with a best friend who's just spilled the tea on her wildest breakup saga. The characters were vibrant, the emotions real, and the journey? Delightfully bumpy in all the best ways.

I laughed, I winced, and yes, I may have shouted "Girl, NO!" at the page once or twice. The only reason I’m docking a star is because I wanted just a bit more depth in one or two plot threads — but honestly, I still devoured it with a big goofy grin.

If you're looking for a read that feels like a rom-com with extra heart and a sprinkle of self-discovery, Unhitched totally delivers. 💕📚

⭐️⭐️⭐️½ – A spicy, nostalgic ride with heart, humor, and a few bumps along the way

Unhitched is a millennial rom-com that leans hard into early 2000s nostalgia, commitment-phobia, and the chaotic beauty of unexpected love. Mya Holloway, with her Regina George-level aversion to commitment, is a protagonist you can’t help but root for—even when her decisions have you yelling at the page. Kace Levitt, her accidental savior, brings the right dose of broody charm and emotional repression to complement Mya’s impulsive energy.

The setup—a botched Valentine’s Day, a couch crash, and reluctant cohabitation—feels like classic rom-com territory, but with a modern, millennial twist that includes pop culture references, TikTok-tinged banter, and the subtle dread of turning thirty without a “life plan.” The chemistry between Mya and Kace builds nicely, and the tension is spiced just enough to satisfy fans of the genre.

That said, some of the plot beats felt a bit rushed or uneven. The emotional arcs—especially around trust and self-worth—could’ve used more space to breathe. While the characters are likeable and their flaws relatable, their growth sometimes gets lost in the witty one-liners and dramatic turns. At times, it reads more like a Netflix rom-com script than a fully fleshed-out novel.

Still, Unhitched delivers on its promise: it’s fun, flirty, and hits you with the right dose of feelings when it counts. A great pick for readers who love a chaotic meet-cute, found-family vibes, and a bit of spicy romance sprinkled with pop-punk playlists.

This romance novel is a heartwarming and emotional journey filled with chemistry, charm, and relatable characters. The story beautifully balances tender moments with just the right amount of drama, making it an engaging and satisfying read for fans of the genre.