Small town perfection. The kind of story that makes you feel good! The perfect read to cozy up with any day and every day!

Like You Love Me is book #1 in the Honey Creek Series. I loved this small town, feel good story. It was sweet, fun, and so entertaining. Holden and Sophie are likeable, and they had good chemistry. I liked the how supporting the secondary characters too. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Adriana Locke, marriage of convenience, and friends to lovers? Count me in!

This first book in the brand new Honey Creek series was a delight to read. Holden needs to look good for a prospective employer and Sophie needs help with her bed and breakfast, so Holden proposes a marriage of convenience he thinks will benefit them both. Of course things don't go as planned and suddenly those feelings they were faking might not be so fake anymore.

Holden and Sophie were so sweet together, and I liked how their relationship changed and grew as they spent more time together. There's no shortage of sweet, funny, and swoony moments that made it hard to put the book down. The small town is a perfect setting and I cannot wait for more Honey Creek!

“It’s really not as complicated as you’re thinking it is. He needs a wife to get a job, and I’m available and willing. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.”

This story was so cute, I was immediately smiling and laughing and falling for Holden and Sophie’s love affair. A marriage of convenience romance, these two bring the banter and chemistry making for a fun story, with the perfect amount of angst and heartfelt love. The small town of Honey Creek was absolutely charming as well, there is something about knowing all the gossip about your neighbors that makes for a fun backdrop to a romance novel. And let me tell you, a fresh apple pie sounds like the perfect payment for veterinary services rendered, who needs money when you can have pie!

Holden and Sophie spent summers together as kids, so they immediately fell back into that easy banter and it felt completely natural. Years apart meant nothing when you were married with a ring pop one summer long ago. So spontaneously getting married to save a job interview and the family bed and breakfast seemed perfectly logical and I fell for it hook, line and sinker! Holden was a swoon worthy hero with his self confidence and handsome looks, but also in the way he cared for Sophie’s well being right from the start. Fate brought these two together and Sophie’s no-nonsense attitude made it easy to see how a love between them would last a lifetime. If you are in need of a sweet romance that will bring the laughter and the heat, pick up this book!

Two childhood friends are playing house—and maybe playing for keeps—in this sexy, and unpredictable marriage-of-convenience romance.

To save her Tennessee bed-and-breakfast, Sophie Bates needs a fast-cash miracle. Holden McKenzie, her childhood best friend, needs to prove to a prospective employer that he’s a committed man. Their fortunes on the line, Holden proposes…a solution.

He’ll take care of Sophie’s bills if she agrees to a temporary marriage of convenience. And why not? They’re comfortable together, they have fun, and they trust each other. It’s as simple as saying “I do.” But the off-the-cuff wedding has all of Honey Creek talking—and Sophie and Holden realizing that their perfect arrangement is working too well. If they’re not careful, this marriage could turn into a love story.

Loved Holden and Sophie's story! Beautifully written and heartfelt. Lots of lol moments while reading their story. I absolutely adored Pap! What a wonderful way to start off 2021!

Like you love me has two things that make me swoon every time I come across them in a book- a small town setting with kind, supportive, quirky inhabitants, and my favourite trope- friends to lovers. There's nothing more romantic for me than falling in love with the person you've known and respected for years....
Holden, a.k.a. Dr Holden, aka Dr McKenzie comes back to a small Tennessee town where his grandfather runs a veterenary prctice. Holden has just lost both his dream job (through no fault of his own) and his fiancee. The problem is in his field employers take a prospective candidates seriousness and stability very seriously...
Sophie Bates is about to lose her beloved bed-and-breakfast...unless she comes up with a quick cash intervention. The business is a bit slow, so however hard she wracks her brains, she is no closer to finding a solution. Until Holden, her childhood friend, comes up with a perfect arrangement that will help them get weather their respective storms and get on their feet, ready to face life. A temporary marriage. You can probably guess what is going to happen with these two charming newly weds. Yep, it's obvious, they are bound to find out that they are perfect for each other.
I loved Adriana Locke's writing style- it was so easy to fall into the story and keep turning pages on and on. You know what is going to happen and you are there for evry minute of the characters' journey to their happily-ever-after.
Can't wait to read the next story in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

The brilliance of this story is in it's simplicity.
That's it.
It's a marriage of convenience, friends to lovers romance set in a small town.
It was so much fun to read. From the banter to the characters... right down to the small town crazy folks. Holden is swoon worthy. His moment of reckoning stole my breath and brought tears to my eyes. I love how the relationship between he and Sophie develops.
This books doesn't need a bunch of fancy things said about it because the brilliance is in it's simplicity.

-- Marriage of Convenience
-- Childhood Friends to Lovers
-- Swoony Hero
-- Feisty Heroine
-- A bunch of small town, quirky characters
-- Fun Banter
-- Emotional moments.

The first book in the Honey Creek series about Sophie Bates and Holden McKenzie. A friends to lovers with a marriage of convenience romance. As charming as the small town it is set in.
An entertaining read full of feelings, dreams, promises and good intentions which become a confusing mess when reality hits.
Sophie inherited Honey House B&B from her grandmother. It’s a quirky, quaint inn. It is her home, where she belongs and part of her, she will never leave again. She is recovering from a disastrous marriage, fighting to keep customers and pay the bills.
Holden is kind, funny, smart and passionate about animals. He was her childhood best friend because he spent his summers visiting Dr Fred, his grandad (Pap). Sophie always had magical powers over him when they kids. He pleased the mischief is still in her eyes and remembers he’d always wondered about kissing her.
His life has taken a turn for the worse and left him unemployed and single. Hoping to salvage what is left of his life, he has returned to Honey Creek to run his grandad’s animal clinic while he away on holiday. Holden doesn’t like people, only animals and it’s the reason he followed in Pap’s footsteps and became a vet. However, Dr Fred has an unusual way of running his clinic and regularly looks after the owners as well as the animals which leads to lots of funny events.
The Marriage of convenience is conceived as he needs to prove he a committed man to his new prospective employer Montgomery Farms. Sophie has a tax bill to pay so needs $5000. She feels if she agrees to deal then life will be like the dreams she’s always had about him. She knows she must stay level headed and try to be smart about it all. Their lives and goals different so neither want to actually get married so it’s win-win for both of them. They laugh about remembering playing at getting married when they were 10 years old.
The more he is around her, the more he wants her. It’s a situation he never expected especially as they make such a good team. They find talking to each other easy and are both happy. Holden worried staying in Honey Creek would be mediocre and he’d just be accepting things because he feels comfortable there. He wants a life full of challenge, success and self accomplishment which the Florida job would give him. He is trying to find meaning in his life as his relationship with his father is difficult. He is conflicted, needs to work out who he is and what his values are.
Both end up so confused at what’s happening between them and left wondering if the other feels the same. They start to struggle with their feelings and emotions over the deal. Sophie hopes for once in her life someone will choose her and think she worth fighting for. Holden thinks she deserves more especially when she helps him try to win over Mr Montgomery.
We are introduced to a great selection of Honey Creek residents ready for the rest of the series and catch up with characters from Adriana Locke’s Dogwood Lane series. Sophie’s sister is a force to be reckoned with and lots of idiosyncrasies that she provides a lot of the laughs in the story. She has supported Sophie through their grief and all the problems with Chad. But she is team Holden the whole time and I think secretly so is their brother Jobe.
Will he get the new job or stay ? Can she save Honey House ? She just might be the ‘sugar’ he’s been looking for ? He could be her knight in shining armour if she locks her doors ! What flavour will Birdies pies be next ? This was a fun read, I loved the banter between them and the advice the couple given during their journey. A heartwarming, sweet and easy read so I am really looking forward to the next book.

Holden and Sophie use to spend all their summers together in the small town in Tennessee and they were such great friends that had the potential to be more, but life took them in different directions. Holden hasn’t had it easy lately, so he is back to the one place he loved to spend his summers and helping his grandfather out while trying to get his life back on track. While in town he runs into his first best friend, Sophie, they pick up with their banter and friendship like no time ever kept them apart. They both are trying to figure problems in their lives out, so they come up with a plan to help each other out. The attraction has always been there but can they fight it just so they can move forward, or will the pull be too strong? This friends to lover’s romance was such a cute and fun read with a small town vibe that I couldn’t and didn’t want to put it down. I loved Sophie’s relationship with her siblings, I loved the back-and-forth banter between her and Holden, and I absolutely adored this town. I hope we get more!!

This small town romance is just what the doctor ordered!!! A crazy hot vet, a beautiful small town girl and a love that started many, many years ago. Rather you are up for Marriage of Convenience, small town romance, second chances or the like, this book has it all!!!
     Holden Mckenzie is...fire! He is sweet, and compassionate, thoughtful and fun all in a sexy package.  Everything a small town romance should be, Adriana Locke definitely delivers!!! Fire up the eReader, grab some caffeine and settle in for a sweet story you won't want to put down until you turn the last page!

Small town, friends to lovers story. This book was hands down the sweetest arranged marriage that I have ever read!! Adriana is an amazing writer!!

Oh this book is just the sweetest! It was like a steamier Hallmark movie that leaves you with all the warm and fuzzy feels!

Oh this book was such a swoon worthy story! I found myself grinning from ear to ear before the end of the first chapter! This story of a marriage of convenience turned friendship turned love had me caught up in all the feels! There were so many funny banter moments between the two main characters as well as the secondary characters that I was constantly smirking or laughing while reading! I loved how this author completely broke me apart and then stitched my heart back together! Everyone needs to add this amazing book to their TBR list ASAP! I am so excited for this book to release on February 16th so everyone can experience the greatness of this story!

Like You Love Me is a the first book in the Honey Creek series by Adrianna Locke. It is a book about Sophie and her childhood best friend Holden. Holden is back in town after ten years away after his life had taken an unexpected turn loosing his job and fiancé. He is helping his grandfather out at the Honey Creek Animal Clinic while his grandfather is on vacation and waiting for his life to get back on track. Spitfire Sophie comes into the clinic and their easy friendly banter starts right up like there was no time left at all that they were away from each other. When an opportunity comes about for Holden to get his dream job in Orlando and its because he is seemed to be a family man with a great concept of commitment Holden needs a wife, and he needs one now. Sophie is struggling to keep her late grandmothers inn afloat with taxes from previous years after her husband divorced her and left her broke so when Holden offers up a way to have them both get what they need in life they agree to get married and have both of their lives on track for their own happiness; a marriage of convenience, like a business arrangement and no feelings involved, no touching, and an annulment after everything is in place. But with so much chemistry can they keep to these rules?
This book was just the type of book I needed in my life right now. It does have a different vibe from the Adrianna books we all know and love but that does not mean its a bad thing. Its very light, heartful, and loving. Its a book that just makes you feel good while reading it and not only does it focus on these two, it also has so much family love and support. I love the relationship Sophie has with her sister. Olivia was one of my favorite character's in this book. I could not put it down and read it all in one sitting. I cannot wait to see what the rest of this series holds!
ARC exchanged for honest review

4.5⭐️ Firstly, I’m just excited that Adriana’s starting a whole new series centred in small town called Honey Creek. From that name alone, you’ll gather that this is going to be a sweet and romantic romance.

Holden and Sophie spent every summer together throughout their childhoods but they haven't seen each other for the past decade. Holden comes back to Tennessee to build a new life so when a big opportunity arrived with certain conditions, he proposed marriage to benefit both of them. The situation with Sophie and Holden is hilarious as they do their best not to fall for each other. But the chemistry and connection between them is still there and undeniable. They just have to stop resisting what is inevitable.

I loved Holden and Sophie’s story, it has all the feels! It’ll make you laugh a lot because of these two’s banter and the antics of the people. If you’ve read small town romances, then you know how invasive they can be and everyone knows everything. I really enjoyed it! I can’t wait to see what’s coming next!

Ohhh I adore a marriage of convenience storyline, sweet, fun and flirty, great chemistry and enjoyable characters. A great read!

I've loved Adriana Locke's books for a long time so when i saw we was getting another book from her i was so excited!
I loved this story so much, it was the perfecf mix of everything.
It was the perfect introduction to this series.
I loved Sophie and Holden together, I loved they was friends before, i love a good friends to lovers story.
I would highly recommend this book!

A life well-curated

I'm a city girl who lived in a tiny town for a while and I kinda felt smothered. But each time Holden visited Honey Creek it was like he was at peace with himself. His life has been flipped upside down and he lands back in Honey Creek to breathe before hopefully landing the job of his dreams. When the door chime rings in his Pops shop, I don't think he was prepared for the emotions at seeing Sophie again. Sophie is a woman just trying to stand on her own two feet after having an ex who made her future uncertain.

Holden and Sophie always had this easy connection growing up when he visited for the summers. It's still there even as adults and they find that they can help each other achieve what they both want. Their relationship was easy to fall in love with. I felt apart of the journey Sophie and Holden took to realize they were what they really needed to feel whole. The supporting characters in this story are an absolute delight. Dottie, Fred, Patrick, Olivia, Jobe, and mischief ferrets.

I blinked and this book was over, I'm not sure how it went by so fast. Always a testament to a great author. I can't wait to revisit Honey Creek in the future. In our crazy world with pandemics, insurrections, and mother nature, this book is what you need! I snug hug!

A bittersweet, romantic story that will tug at your heartstrings. This was a charming romance of two childhood friends who enter a marriage of convenience that turns into something more.

It's a story of discovering who you are and whats most important in life and 'chasing the sun'. I loved this book it was sweet and funny, and it was adorable and I had a smile on my face the whole time.

Like You Love Me by Adriana Locke is the warm and sweet book hug you're looking for.

Sophie and Holden are summertime childhood friends who reconnect in adulthood and discover a marriage of convenience may be just what each of them needs to move forward in life.

I loved the connection and camaraderie between these two. Their banter was fun and entertaining their chemistry was believable and there wasn't unnecessary drama or angst, which worked wonderfully for me.

I also enjoyed all the secondary characters and look forward to returning to small town Honey Creek for more romance.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***