Bee and Sebastian are everything. They are soft and tender and absolutely perfect for each other. Seb challenges Bee and encourages her to be brave. He believes in her even when she doesn’t believe in herself. Everyone needs a Seb in their life.

Read this if you love: roommates to lovers, brother’s best friend, he falls first (and he falls hard), age gap, and romances with no-third act break up. (I have a soft spot for age gap romances—my husband and I are six years apart. The only time it’s ever weird is when we talk about music—the songs he danced to at his senior prom were the same ones they played at my sixth grade dance.)

I love the subtle bi-rep woven into Seb’s storyline. It’s just a part of who he is—like his tattoos or his past as a stripper or his desire for a family.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND. 10/10. No notes. Dani is amazing.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I wanted to like this a lot, but I just could not get myself into it, I feel so bad! The premise was great but the execution wasn't. I'm very much a vibe/mood reader and this couldn't grab me.

I absolutely love Dani McLean's books. This was such a sweet read and I really enjoyed the characters. The way that Sebastian quickly became a safe space for Bee had my heart melting. This book will give you all the feels. I would recommend this book along with all of Dani's other books.


Thank you NetGalley and Set the Mood Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

This story, well.. I didn’t like it. Premise was fine, but the delivery and way of it is not something for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Set the mood publishing for a free copy for review.

Cute, swoony, and heartfelt. I was originally intrigued by the beautiful cover and I’m so glad the inside did not disappoint! I will definitely be watching for more from this author.

Loved the tropes and the pacing. Mortgage of Convenience was well written and interesting but still fell a little flat for me as, like another reviewer mentioned, I struggled to connect with the characters. They weren’t badly written at all, I just crave a pretty deep and clear inner narrative and the immersion wasn’t there for me.

I unfortunately really struggled with this book. For a romance book that had some of my favourite tropes like forced proximity, he falls first, spice etc, I couldn't connect with any of the characters and I didn't get behind the main relationship. I think my favourite characters in this was the FMC's brother.

The main characters weren't unlikeable or annoying, I just didn't feel anything for them which meant i couldn't get behind their stories. I felt like the reasons for why Bee returned home after 5 years and why she spontaneously jumped in to get the house with Seb were built up to be big things the reader was waiting to discover, only for them to me smaller things like wanted to build her confidence. I know this is fiction but I seemed far fetched that you would buy a house with someone because you view them as confidence and you want to be too.

I also felt like some things were thrown in to tick boxes, like Seb's past stripping, it didn't really add to the story, his character or the plot so it just felt like one of the numerous things that were mentioned but not needed. Similarly some of the people Bee interviewed would be brought up in her thought process just to say that she though Seb would like them. I felt that things like this didn't add to the book but took up some room.

This book tackled a lot of emotional issues like low self esteem, childhood trauma, toxic friendships etc and I think they were handled with care. I think this book would have been better if it wasn't promoted as a romance book and some of the spice was taken out. Then it could just be a nice book about people figuring their stuff out together and a relationship growing from that.
I recieved a copy via Net Galley and this is my honest review.

3.5

A cute read! I liked Bee and Sebastian's relationship. I enjoyed the roommates situation but I just wanted a bit more tension and they kind of jumped right into the relationship. I really enjoyed the writing style and it was an easy book to read and follow along with.

Bee and Sebastian have a suspenseful relationship from the very beginning of the book. Bee offers to buy a house together, which puts them in a forced proximity, without knowing each individual has a lingering interest for the other. Sebastien is open to helping Bee with becoming more confident and finding herself, in return to her having helped him buy a house. They develop a friendship with a relationship relatively quickly as they spend all of their time together.

Sebastien helps Bee understand that it's completely normal and ok to outgrow her longtime friend in order to feel better about herself and within her skin.

Bee helps Sebastien face meeting with his father so many years after having left him in his past.

The way Sebastien falls quick and hard for Bee and how she slowly opens up to letting him care for her is so sweet to watch.
This brothers best friend was a slow burn with great spice and a lot of moments that made me swoon.

Thank you Netgalley and Set the mood publishing for a free copy for review.

I didnt like the writing style and the characters and I dint like vibe with the story. The promise was interesting but I dint like the delivery.

DNF

There was not a thing that I did not like about this book. I love that there were clearer deeper meanings. I loved the LGBTQIA+ representation. I loved the tension and banter between the MC’s. It was the perfect palette cleanser and I cannot tell you how much I was giggling and kicking my feet! So good. Definitely recommend!

Mortgage of Convenience was the feel good book I needed! The dynamics of this book between the two MCS was a work of art .... ❤️❤️so glad to have the opportunity to read this

An adorable, fluffy, comforting roommates story! It had a lot of heart, emotional growth and some spicy moments to round it all out. It was easy and enjoyable, the perfect

Bee has returned home after sending her agent a pitch for her first novel while intoxicated. She’s terrified of rejection and is looking to her support system to keep her in check. Enter her brother’s best friend, Sebastian, who she’s had a crush on for years. When he’s struggling to buy his dream house, she offers to help him out in exchange for his guidance to becoming more confident. As they move in together, tension and chemistry is undeniable, but Bee has to figure out if she’s home for good before someone gets their heart broken.

Poor Bee was so down on herself, I just wanted to hug her! She had a lot to face in order to reach her full potential, and I’m so glad she surrounded herself with truly positive people and cut out the negativity in her life!

Sebastian was so delicious, I loved this softie with a spicy side! He was so aware of emotional growth, even when dealing with his own problems. Even when he didn’t want to battle his past, he knew it was the important thing to do. He was just so head over heels for Bee, we love a supportive MMC.

At times, it felt the plot moved to quick and I wasn’t able to fully savor everything. Months pass in the story but I was hoping for more detail because I wanted to enjoy every bit of them! I did love the tougher topics, like mental health, sobriety, queer representation and personal growth, and I would have liked these to be mentioned more.

I really struggled getting into this. I couldn’t connect with the characters. The chemistry just wasn’t there. It felt like the story bounced around a lot and didn’t flow. The story did have a lot of potential!

I think this is a good book that could have been great. I felt that it lost the plot to the spice at times and became a little boring but I did enjoy it in parts and I liked Sebastian. I felt Bea was very repetitive about her insecurities and it got a bit old. Overall an ok read.

I would like to thank dani mclean & netgalley for allowing me to receive an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I live a good forced proximity book. Went in blind and was entertained. Reading bee's growth was great. I thought the characters could have had more chemistry I guess. I felt it but didn't feel it. Over all I had fun.

This is a great easy read, it's the kind of book I would devour on holiday. It's not the most sophisticated writing, and sometimes the spicy scenes started to feel a little gratuitous, but it really delivers on some favourite tropes.
-forced proximity
-mutual pining
-Queer representation

And a huge thank you for no act 3 break up!

Mortgage of Convenience follows Bee Montgomery, a ghostwriter who is working on writing her first book under her own name, as she moves back to her hometown and Sebastian Wolfe, a bisexual bartender/former stripper, as he works towards his dream of owning a house.

I really enjoyed Bee's POV and watching her growth throughout the book. I loved every aspect of her finding herself, learning who she truly is, and ensuring that her actions are taken because she wants to and not to make anyone else happy at the expense of herself. It was such a beautiful portrayal of outgrowing friendships and moving forward with grace.

On the other hand, I think this book has cemented for me that I do not like overly cinnamon-roll type male characters. If I'd have read Sebastian only through Bee's eyes, I think I'd have loved him, but getting his POV was just too sugar sweet for me. He didn't read as a 36 year old man. To me, he read exceedingly younger.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. The forced proximity of buying a house together was a unique take. I think someone looking specifically for the brother's best friend trope would be disappointed though as that seemed just to be a coincidental characteristic as opposed to an actual plot point. 3.75 Stars.

Mortgage of convenience - Dani McLean★★★★

I mean who doesn’t love a brother’s bestfriend romance?? I loved how this story really showed Bee’s journey on how she became to believe in herself, trust herself and be herself and not fake who she is to please others, it felt very real. Bee and Sebastian are one of those couples you just know from the very start ever since they’ve been in each other’s lives they’re meant for one another and seeing the journey on how they build eachother up and support each other was so 🥹🥹

📚 Book Review: A Rollercoaster of Emotions 📚

The cover art drew me in, and the plot summary promised a delightful read centered around a trope I adore. However, the book didn't live up to its initial charm. Unfortunately, the story felt cluttered with too many elements vying for attention. The writing, albeit promising at the start, soon spiraled into a messy narrative that left me bewildered. While this book may not have resonated with me, I believe it doesn't reflect the author's talents. Perhaps, it simply wasn't the right fit for my tastes. I'll explore the author's other works in hopes of finding a better match.