This was a spicy brother’s best friend, age-gap type of novel. I had a hard time staying on task when reading it. I didn't hate it but wasn't obsessed with it. I'd give this author another chance in the future.

4⭐️Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for a chance to read this book!

I really enjoyed this book and thought the pacing was great! This book includes tropes such as brothers best friend, roommates, age gap, Bi rep from mmc, and no 3rd act break up(hallelujah!! Lol)

I loved how mature the MMC was and how he was constantly communicating with the FMC! Only thing that was slightly annoying was how long it took the FMC to really believe in herself lol

Some parts did drag on for me but for the most part I really liked this book and definitely want to read more by this author! They set up their next book perfect for the brother which I’m very intrigued and excited for!

I was pleasantly suprised with this book. I really enjoyed the story.

It had forced proximity, brother's best friend and bisexual character,

"Your dreams are valid, Bee. More than that, they're as beautiful as the dreamer. Don't dull them for other people, and don't stop yourself from chasing them."

After a LOOONG while, I finally had a new ARC from Netgalley, and I'm so happy that I stumbled upon Mortgage of Convenience. I was in a mood for contemporary romance, and the cover of this one pulled me in!

Mortgage of Convenience is about Bee, a ghostwriter (LIKE ME) who after drunkenly sending a manuscript to her boss, found herself to possibly be a new author. As this situation horrified her shy, closed-off, she ended up going back home, where she suddenly is taking out a mortgage to live with her older brother's best friend, Sebastian. Messy, definitely. But also, a mess I like.

This book took me by surprise because I thought it would be like your usual romcom, but the story had so much to give aside from the romance. Yes, I did love the fluff, the tension, and the spicy, spicy parts, but I also loved the other storylines in this book.

Bee and Sebastian had a whole lot of growing up to do, and it was the perfect thing that they had each other. Even though they had so many nasty thoughts about each other - not that I'm complaining, but there were also there to help each other when it matters.

Aside from the romance aspect, this book also tackles self-esteem, going out of your comfort zone, family (daddy issues and sibling communication), getting out of a toxic friendship, sexuality, and more!

Some book tags you should know about: forced proximity, brother's best friend, writer character, bisexual character, explicit sexual content, somnophilia, and secret romance.

All in all, I really enjoyed the story this book brought me. It was a little too long for my liking, but it was okay, now that I look back on it. I'm interested to read more of the author's works!

Hot and beautiful

Bee is on a deadline. She needs to write her book, but she can't seem to find the focus and stop being scared of rejection. That's why she decides to come home after five years away because she needs guidance. As it turns out, Sebastian, her brother's best friend on whome she's had a crush since she was a girl, might be the solution. His dream is to own a house of his own, but he doesn't have enough money for the deposit. Bee decides to help him out, and now they bought a house together and are living in it. And he seems decided to return the favor and help her too...

I absolutely adored this book. I'm usually not a big fan of the age-gap and brother's best friend tropes, but this story definitely made me reconsider. Bee and Sebastian are both very relatable and amazing characters who stole my heart from the very first page. The premice of the story is really sweet and unique, and I loved watching them live with one another with that sexual tension in the air. This book was hot. Fanning my face, blushing and squirming in my seat hot. And I was totally there for it. The building of the tension between them as well as the growing emotional connection was swoon-worthy and I just couldn't put the book down once started. I loved every second of Bee and Sebastian's story. The writing was addictive and I loved the subjects and emotions that the author talked about in the book. All in all, it became an instant favorite.

I really, really recommend this hot, beautiful and emotional romcom.

"Loving you isn't a challenge, Bee. I don't want loving me to be one."

Thank you Set the Mood Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

Mortgage of Convenience was a charming romcom with a lot of heart. This is a perfect read for lovers of bookish romance tropes (brother’s best friend, forced proximity, miscommunication, etc) This was a cute read and I always love a happy ending!

My one criticism was that it felt like the story started without a ton of background. Hard to explain, but it didn’t feel like there was much exposition before they decided to buy a house together lol.

Anyway, thank you again for the ARC!

You know when golden hour light shines through your windows and it's warm, soft, and comforting after a long day? Mortgage of Convenience is golden hour light.

The relationship between Sebastian and Bee is so ooey gooey and tender. I loved how supportive her brother was of their relationship and that it was an on-going conversation between him and Sebastian. I loved Bee's growth. And the spice was definitely spicing!!

If you're a fan of Dani's Movie Magic novella series, you will absolutely gobble this book up!

Honest review exchanged for ARC from NetGalley.
Mortgage of Convenience was a fun, tension-and-romance-filled, both fluffy and angsty read! Bee is an accurate, funny portrayal of a writer who is doing everything in her power to simultaneously avoid editing and successfully complete her first novel under her own name, going as far as to move back to her hometown to help her focus. There, she sees her childhood crush and brother’s best friend again, Sebastian, who she realizes she can recruit to help her in exchange for helping him purchase the house he’s always dreamed of settling down in. So she strikes a deal with him: she’ll help him buy the house if he helps her write and edit her manuscript. As the two roommates learn to dance around each other and their romantic feelings for each other under the same roof, they bring out the best in each other, challenging each other to be less than perfect, accept failure, and give others second chances to live their lives to the fullest.
I’m really appreciative of the MMC Bi rep in this book. It’s not something I see often, especially in contemporary rom-coms, because the bi rep I see is mostly for the FMCs.
While this isn’t a book that makes you sit there and really contemplate life (which most rom-coms aren’t), it is a quick, fun read if you enjoy tension and smut! There were quite a few smut scenes that, based on the characters’ internal monologues and feelings for each other weren’t too many for me, really brought the heat and touched on more taboo kinks, such as CNC. A few lines of internal dialogue from Bee and Sebastian did make me cringe, but that’s an easy price to pay for the cuteness of the rest of the book.
I feel like Mortgage of Convenience is a good palate-cleanser read if you’re jumping between genres or just need a cute, mindless read to appreciate two awkward but insanely in love characters who are at two different points in their lives just trying to get by.
Will I recommend it? Yes.
Will I reread it? Possibly, if I need that fun, unserious read and nothing on my infinite TBR speaks to me.

This was a cute read. I enjoyed these characters but sometimes the insecurities were too much for me. Dani does a fantastic job at writing spicy scenes though 🤭

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I initially had high expectations for this book, I found myself not enjoying it as much as I had anticipated. Although the start was engaging, it eventually became repetitive. For me, the main problem was the abundance of insecurities displayed by the character Bee. While I understand that insecurities are normal, I felt that they were over trivialities. Furthermore, the romance in the book felt hurried and lacked tension. Nevertheless, I acknowledge that everyone has different tastes, and I am open to trying more works by this author in the future.

3⭐️
3🌶️

Gosh I REALLY wanted to love this one - I was sucked in by the fricken adorable cover, and the super unique spin on the 'marriage of convenience' trope. Unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I found the characters lacking development, and the pace was a bit off.

I did like the writing style, Dani McLean has a flow that is easy to follow and easy to read. I would definitely pick up another book by this author, providing the pace is a little different.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for providing me with an eARC, I'm so sorry I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped.

I see your "sleeping with the enemy" and raise you one "buying a house with your crush".

I expected a jumble of circumstances that trap our couple into moving in together, but this was more of a cozy, low-intensity, high-longing romance. As a retired-stripper and sober bar-back, Sebastian has decided that he's ready to settle down at the ripe old age of 36. But he can never seem to catch up to the bank's inflating requirements in order to purchase a home. That is, until his best friend's little sister moves home and decides that cosigning with him is a better option than renting on her own. Bee may be the answer to his mortgage-prayers, but living in close quarters reveals that Sebastian's crush goes both ways.

I enjoyed the intimate moments that Bee and Sebastian have together which couldn't happen if they lived a part. When the tension finally snaps and they make out on the couch, the spice quickly picks up. Bee has a kinky fantasy that he fulfils and they both love a private dance. But otherwise it's very sweet love scenes that show body-positive confidence. Bee is writing her first novel after a successful ghostwriting career so she frequently battles her insecurities. The pace lulls in the middle until both are forced to face old relationships. For Bee, it's her childhood best friend that seems to be a negative influence. For Sebastian, it's his deadbeat father that comes back into his life. Altogether a pleasant and safe spicy romance.

Contrary to what other reviews will make you believe, this was an enjoyable read. I had fun time and I really liked Sebastian and Bee. She just really needed someone to believe in her no matter what and Sebastian was able to be that person for her.

I received an arc through netgalley.

It’s just not working for me.

I never mind suspending my disbelief for a romance plot, crazy set ups for stories never bother me so I was fine with how they ended up buying a house together. The problem was that there was no tension between the characters as to if they’ll get together. Again I don’t have a problem with dual POV but in this case it means you know they both have a thing for each other and just need to stop being stupid.

The character work all felt very superficial, a lot was said but didn’t seem to deepen the characters beyond a stereotype.

Maybe I’m being overly harsh but I’ve just read much better characters and plot.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was my first book by Dani McLean, and can I say I was a little disappointed. It may have been this particular story, but when I read the summary I was expecting one thing, but in reality kind of got another. This is supposed to be a forced proximity, second chance, brother's best friend romance. And while some of those tropes hold up, I don't entirely know if it's a true second chance. Bee was a high school-er with an unrequited crush and Sebastian was her brother's best friend. I would consider a true second chance romance to be when they had an initially romantic relationship prior, which wasn't the case for this one.

The pacing was a little weird. The spicy scenes were not for me, they were written in a way where I just wanted to skip them. And there wasn't really enough angst in the forced proximity, again I think the pacing didn't flow naturally. I thought this book was going to have a little more character development. Bee's big thing was that she wanted to be more confident, so I thought it was going to be this deep journey she goes through, which it wasn't. I don't know. Originally I rated this 3.5 stars, but after sitting on it for the past month, I think I would change my rating to 3 stars. I don't know if I would read some of her other work, based on this one. I guess this one just wasn't for me.

I give this book 2.5 ⭐️

The overall premise had a lot of promise, but I feel like it wasn’t executed as well as it could have been. Bee is cute and anxious (honestly, relatable) but I feel like the beginning of the book DRAGGED. The spice was spicy and I enjoyed it but overall the plot just felt flat and meh.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The conflict keeping the characters apart didn’t seam feasible. It left the story with no legs to stand on, and despite having a nice cast of like-able secondary characters and some nice moments of pining between the two main characters, the story arc didn’t have the tension needed to keep me reading. DNF about halfway through.

This is a wonderful brothers best friend, forced proximity romance and I really enjoyed it! The spicy scenes were on fire and I thought this was a cute romance. Bee’s character was special, she’s a very anxious character and overstresses over silly stuff- but don’t we all as humans? I did feel a little unedited with the writing but overall I’m rating it a 4/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review

This was such a friendly and light read. This book did not have super heavy topics but was still a rom-com and serious. From my understanding this was a debut novel for Dani but I cannot wait to see what other work she produces.

This story was everything the title promised with bonus coziness and steam for days. They each came with their own emotional baggage that made communication difficult. The depiction of domestic romance and putting down roots in all the different senses was beautiful.