loved the concept and jack but i have to confess that maya was little but annoying and that kind of ruined the experience but i would still recommend it because it gives an unexpected twist to the marriage of convenience trope.

If you need lifting up this is the ideal book for you. A real comfort read with its easy-going style and adorable characters, perfect for a lazy weekend. The author's love of London is tangible on the pages and I enjoyed in particular the description of the city and the changing seasons

Going into this, I was expecting a lot from the get-go. It had my favourite tropes of a fake marriage, forced proximity, and friends-to-lovers, and they've never let me down before. But as much as it hurts me to say, I didn't personally feel as though it delivered everything it promised, and everything I envisioned.

I think a lot of it had to do with the characters, I find it really hard to enjoy a book when I don't really like the characters. And I absolutely did not like Adrian and Emmie together, but generally I found Emmie quite inconsiderate towards Maya, and it seemed as if she was always walking around with some sort of superiority complex, trying to make sense of Maya's behaviour and actions on her own terms. This wouldn't be too much of a turn-off for me usually if it's just a supporting character, but I thought she came up a lot so it was hard to ignore. But where main characters are concerned, I really loved Jack! I found him really sweet, and I liked the smooth and flawless banter between him and Maya.

In terms of the relationship between Jack and Maya, I liked that they weren't complete strangers, but more like strangers to friends, back to strangers, then friends to lovers. It actually added a depth to their relationship, and it felt sort of like fate - that these two characters kept coming back in each other's lives, but in a different capacity each time until the love blossomed between them.

One thing that would really have made this book amazing for me, would be if Jack and Maya were more well-rounded and polished as characters, because I think they lacked a little refinement. I think a lot of the writing was dedicated to their own personal issues, which left other areas - like their relationship - a little underdeveloped. Whilst their friendship was certainly developed, I'd have liked to see more of that in their romantic relationship too, because for me it just felt like it started moving a little too fast a little too suddenly.

But overall, it was an entertaining and light-hearted read, and the banter between Jack and Maya does make for some laugh out loud moments.

3.5⭐️
I went into the book with quite high expectations as when I read the blurb, it instantly attracted me, however, I felt this one had quite a few hit-or-miss moments. I really enjoyed reading about Maya and Jack, and the banter they had. I rarely read characters like these two with such different personalities which made the book stand out, but the one thing I didn't enjoy? The miss communication trope. Like the characters knew they were acting childishly, but yet, didn't make an effort to do something about it made me instantly drop off my attention from the book. I also felt their chemistry was very subtle and had so much potential but it just didn't hook me in. It's quite an easy read but I felt like the book had so much potential and instead everything felt so rushed that just meant it wasn't for me.

A rom-com with a twist! Whereas your usual romance novels are centred around well.... romance... from the very beginning, this one allows the love to creep up on you. Admittedly, I've never been so much of a romance fan, but this book has shown me what the genre has to offer!

This was an easy and quick read. I loved the premise of getting married then falling for someone. It was more serious than I thought and dealt with some tough topics but executed them well.

I found this book really hard to get into. It in theory should have a great storyline but the characters just weren’t likeable.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to have access to an eARC for this book in return for an honest review.

Apologies for taking so long to review.

This was a fun romantic comedy that I found great to pass the time and gave me a great boost of serotonin it made me feel happy and light. This was a great fun read that helped me get over a bad time in my life it helped to keep me distracted and I loved it I read it all in one night.

I so enjoyed following Jack and Maya’s story - the ups and downs of their relationship, and how they both learn to grow as they get to know one another. I liked both characters and the supporting cast of Emmie and Adrian, their two best friends. Heartwarming, cosy and uplifting. Recommended!

I love this book, the slow burn, the will they won’t they, of course we all know how it’s going to end, but I must admit the ending caught me by surprise. My only wish is that I wish there’d been an epilogue as I feel the ending was rushed and unfinished, especially as you’d just read such an emotionally tiring section, the happy ending needed to be longer

Maya’s mother had a terrible breakup with Maya’s father, he was never seen again and Maya was raised to be a strong independent woman who don’t need no man. The her father dies and leaves her a posh flat sending her into a tailspin. Josh just wants to work on creating his new app and forget the life he left behind in New Zealand. He hasn’t seen Maya since uni but when their mutual best friends decide to move in together and Josh’s work visa comes under threat they do what only two emotionally well adjusted adults can do. They get drunk and decide a marriage of convenience will solve all their problems. Josh can get a visa and Maya can live in her dead dads flat guilt free. Everyone’s a winner surely. Right?
The Visa started off well, it’s a good premise that has been used many times before effectively however Maya is supremely annoying, I just could not get on with her at all and her behaviour became more and more tiresome. She has a serious case of rich, white, girl problems. What also really bugged me was that this fancy central London flat only had one bedroom. ??? They did not have to share a bed. The flat is repeatedly made out to massive. They could have fashioned another bedroom. So yeah parts of it were good others were annoying an mixed bag.

A fun, fast paced rom-com - perfect for any romance reader.

I really enjoyed this. Took me a while to get into it, but I was hooked after a few chapters.

The plot is a great idea and well written, and the humour is spot on. I laughed out loud a few times.

Jack and Maya’s journey is a whirlwind. Close proximity trope and fake marriage/marriage of convenience - what more could you possibly want?

Highly recommend!

Fun contemporary romance.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

An enjoyable four-star read. This is a difficult ne to rate, as it wasn’t what I was expecting, but it turned out better than I thought it would. I enjoyed most of the story and the characters development, but honestly some of them I wanted to shake vigorously at times as they were just so needed a head shake. It’s a fun read and the descriptions of places are second to none. If you are looking for different than the norm then this is for you.

When I started reading the book, I was expecting a funny, light - hearted comedy of errors. What I got, though, was, especially at the beginning, not too promising read with characters that didn't feel likeable. It took me long to warm to Maya, to be honest, she was not an easy character, what with all the issues plaguing her. I think I am done with characters like hers, focusing so much on themselves, being so broken and with her feelings so ostentatiously on display. However, slowly, I started to warm to her, to maybe not like her but understanding her more.

I liked the banter between Maya and Jack, it was genuine, it flew seamlessly and flawlessly and didn't feel forced. However, there wasn't much of this banter, as the book mostly focused on Maya and Jack's own issues and the story felt like one big and long stream of consciousness and eventually I found myself skim - reading the story.

But altogether, it was an easy and entertaining read with characters that need more polish and depth to them. It was not what I've been expecting - my fault, apologies - and I'd love it to be more complex and for the author to not taking the easiest way. Nevertheless, there was a lot of potential, so maybe we're in a treat with the next book?

I don’t normally read romcoms but I decided to give this one a try due to the immigration theme and to see if a piece of media finally got the “get married for a visa” plot right. Surprise surprise, it did not. I know you have to take some creative license with this stuff, but there were just basic inaccuracies in this that proves the author wasn’t even willing to do any research—Jack and Maya would’ve had to undergo an investigation and approval before they could even post notice, Maya could not have been a visa sponsor as a PhD student with no real income. I hate to be a spoilsport but this is just basic research that could have been done speaking to friends or doing some Reddit scrolling. The characterisation was weak and their motivations were flimsy, and as an actual immigrant in the UK, I found the plot quite insulting.

This was a quick, easy and uplifting read that I finished in one sitting. It was well written with good characters and a funny narrative coupled with an engaging storyline. A perfect lighthearted read.

This synopsis of the book was what initially intrigued me: fake marriage, no-falling-in-love clause, then they fall in love? I really liked the banter between Maya and Jack; despite only reconnecting at a party after not being in communication for years (and are barely even acquaintances), they seemed to have a connection. The reasoning behind Maya agreeing for the marriage seems implausible, but looking past that, the novel was still very entertaining. I do wish though that the tension between the two characters were developed a lot more, as most of what happened in the story were with them navigating with their own issues, and their relationship wasn't given time to flourish. You'd really only know that they were feeling something for each other when their friends would mention it - but how would they know, they don't really seem to do anything besides work (Maya) and date other people (Jack)? The visa subplot seemed to play an importance here because it's the main reason why they were in this charade, but it doesn't really stay that long in the story. Then again, I'm not familiar with how fast family visas get approved. Most of the time the characters wallowed in their personal issues, which in hindsight hindered the development of their relationship romantically. Even the part where Maya finds herself falling for her husband seems very quickly done, again due to their personal issues. There was a lot of material ripe for development in terms of their relationship, considering that the reader knows that they already find each other physically attractive. The latter parts of the book does fall in a cliche - the whole fiasco - and it arrives in that point so fast that we don't get to relish the romantic build up, the agonizing, the heart of a romance novel. I also find it hard to envision these characters in their early twenties, as they sound older than they actually are. Even the details of their personal drama were a bit confusing; some details seem to change. To sum up: it was entertaining, I liked the characters and was actively rooting for them to be together. The first 2/3 of the book was great, I'm not a massive fan of the last third of the book as it took the cliche route.

I requested a copy from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

This is a fun book with love, secrets, misunderstandings and lots of wine and beer!

A real comfort read with its easy-going style and adorable characters, perfect for a lazy weekend. The author's love of London is tangible on the pages and I enjoyed in particular the description of the city and the changing seasons. I am also grateful for her to remind me of an important principle: I am allowed to change my mind. I'll take this with me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Headline for this Advance Review Copy.

A fun, enjoyable holiday read for when you want a book that you don't need to think about - kudos to the author as we all know they are the hardest books to write! A rom-com that could easily be turned into a film, I enjoyed this book.