Thank you NetGalley for access to this book.

3/5

I felt really weird reading this. Don’t get me wrong, it was enjoyable and fluffy, but it felt flat at times—but that may be me just wanting drama—and it felt lowkey like a health and fitness influencer thing. I loved the representation of the characters needing health and fitness otherwise they may be a little bit in trouble BUT for Jess, her heart problems magically disappeared?? I was actually hoping it would be deeper than what it was. But that’s plotwise.

I was honestly surprised there were now “spice” scenes, mostly because of the trend for books to include them recently, but I was so on board with the fade-to-black-esque of the intimacy the characters share—bring back non-heavy descriptions, let me enjoy the plot. Please don’t boo me for this take!

The characters, Jessica and Paul, were interesting to me. Very realistic in the ways that Jess didn’t really want to get hurt again, especially with her push and pull with Paul. Paul was a bit weird though, I enjoyed reading about how he was being pestered at work, because men get that too, and we don’t really see that, ever and we should because it happens all the time. Paul flipped up his commitment-phobe philosophy a lot faster than I expected, I know it took months in the book, but it literally felt like he went from not wanting a serious relationship to Jess being the one in a few chapters. That might be someone’s preference but I’m a big fan of the yearning.

Honestly, this was cute and fluffy and a nice easy read but this wasn’t really for me at the moment. I may reread this in the future.

(Cross-posted to Fable and Goodreads and StoryGraph)

This book was simply not my cup of tea. From the start I did not feel any type of connection to main characters and they fell a bit flat to me. But I saw a lot of promise in the premise.

Cute book with excellent character growth and self reflection. I felt like the end was a little rushed and the cover slightly misleading. While the MMC is a personal trainer, the FMC never takes him up on the offer to train like the cover would suggest. It’s more centered around her job as an interior designer.

Late 20s FMC and MMC, meet cute is adorable! The characters are adorable and flawed just perfectly. 2 entrepreneurs who are trying to figure out what the next steps are and what they want out of life. You can’t help but root for them. Could not put it down. Spice is 1.8-2/5 but just enough. He falls first. Fake dating, overcoming broken hearts and finally committing. Nashville backdrop. They are the couple that you’d walk by, seeing them sitting on the park bench, and you just know they are in love but haven’t realized it yet.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I had a lot of ups and downs of the book at beginning but as I continue to read the read; I enjoyed it.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in change for a honest review.

This was an underwhelming book for me, started off so well with the building up of the characters however I felt after half way I struggled to keep reading.
The main thing I didn’t understand on this book was the fact that the cover was leaning towards the guy being a personal trainer and him asking her to be her pt however that was never really mentioned in the book after they met so found that a slightly but miss leading

Was a good book but just not for me

3 star read- Felt like some points were missed.

The idea was there.. kinda. The premise of him being a trainer felt forgotten. He didn't train or help her lifestyle..

Characters are sweet, and scenes are endearing.. I was waiting for more in some scenes or detail but it was lost.

Feels more of a woman's fiction or general fiction rather than a rom com.

If you are looking for something quick, a little quirky and requires no brain power this may be for you.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for the ARC

Such a cute read and right up my alley being a Personal Trainer- that’s what drew me to the book. Fake dating trope.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I liked the idea of this book, but upon reading, the characters chemistry really didn’t do it for me. The book was a little long winded when it really didn’t need to be.

At face value I thought I would really enjoy this book. At first I liked it and our character's relationship had a promising start. Things started going downhill about halfway through the book and we kind of loose the original plot and focus on odd details in the characters live. I lost interest and really was excited to pick this book up once that happened.
This book just wasn't for me.

This book was not for me. I was expecting it to be something totally different and it wasn’t. I am not usually one who dnfs books, but unfortunately, this was one I could not finish

This was a cute romance that genuinely made me stop and laugh out loud tons of times..It was a really quick read but it was so good.

Jessica is an interior designer that has been dared by her brother, Lenny, to participate in a Thanksgiving turkey trot, knowing she’s not a runner. During the race she loses consciousness and falls right into a meet-cute. While she’s rescued and brought to a medical tent by a a charming blue-eyed personal trainer, Paul. It’s here that Jessica learns about her arrhythmia. Although they met by unfortunate circumstances, Paul and Jessica find their paths crossing yet again…

The premise of this story has so much potential, but there were areas that seemed to fall short for me. Some of the dialogue felt superficial and slightly pessimistic. Other than physical attraction, I didn’t get a sense that the MMC and FMC had a strong connection. I definitely would have loved to see more of Jessica and Paul getting to know each other.

"Deeply Personal" by Suzanne Collier is a contemporary romance that explores unexpected love between two career-focused individuals. This slow-burn romance is sprinkled with humor and delves into themes of starting anew and embracing vulnerability. While some readers appreciate its lighthearted and feel-good nature, others have noted issues with pacing and character development. Overall, it's a heartfelt story about finding love when least expected.

I am a huge fan of traditional romance, although there are certain “tropes” that I enjoy more than others. One of my favorites is “fake relationship.” Because of this, I was super excited to read this book.

I was pretty nervous to read this book, as it does look like this author is new to the genre. I needn’t have worried too much. Although the book is told in third person, I did like that it had alternating perspectives.

Usually, when reading a book like this, there is a character that I am “rooting for” more than the other. The interesting this about this book is that I was never on any one character’s side.

Ultimately, I truly enjoyed the book, and felt completely satisfied with the ending. Not to be a spoiler, but there was a question that I would have liked to have answered in the book. Because of that, it keeps me from giving this book five stars. It is still a solid first entry into the genre, though!

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to NetGalley and Splitrail Publishing for providing me a copy of this book. I wished I had liked this book but I simply didn’t. I felt like the author started with the one plot of the book and then changed it 30% of the way through. The description of the book was that they would swap skillsets (him training her/her remodeling his condo) but we never got any real scenes with them doing that. In fact, he never even trains her, at all. Instead we’re taken through chapters about how they run their businesses. The plot had so much potential but ultimately fell flat for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.25)

This book started off like a cozy promise. Turkey Trot. Fainting heroine. Personal trainer hero who literally sweeps her off her feet. Fake dating. Skill swap. It gave all the rom-com cues I usually adore. I was ready to melt.

And for the first 20–30%? I kind of did. I was vibing with it—the meet-cute was adorable, Jessica felt like the kind of overworked, slightly messy but lovable woman I root for, and Paul had just the right amount of “sweet but avoidant” energy. Like maybe this was going to be a healing story in disguise.

But then… something shifted. I kept waiting for the book to circle back to the setup it sold me. The idea that Paul would train her, help her reclaim her health, that maybe movement would become part of her healing arc while she redesigned his life (and maybe his heart). But the swap never really happens. She fixes his condo. He… kind of floats around, flirts, suggests fake dating for business reasons—and suddenly, we’re deep in side character subplots, business technicalities, and long monologues about furniture.

Don’t get me wrong—there are sweet moments. Some internal reflections that felt grounded and real. But the chemistry? It never fully lands. The emotional intimacy between them felt more like colleagues warming to each other than two people falling helplessly in love.

There’s also something frustrating about feeling like the story changed genres mid-way through. I signed up for a slow-burn rom-com, not a lightly dramatic career-woman-takes-on-life-alone-while-sort-of-dating story. It’s not bad. But it’s not what it told me it would be either. And that disconnect? It lingered.

The ending had its soft swoon, sure. But I couldn’t help thinking how much more meaningful it would’ve been if the story had stayed true to its setup. The emotional punch that could’ve landed if we’d actually seen them help each other grow, instead of just orbiting around their individual struggles.

It’s not a bad book. It’s just a bit confused. Like it had a great first date vibe, but ghosted me halfway through and came back with a new personality. I wanted to love it more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Splitrail Publishing for the ARC.

Unfortunately, the novel fell short of my expectations. Jessica's character was difficult to connect with and overall unlikeable. She was obsessive about financial struggles but then treated everyone to a party where they call all bring a +1. It often felt like it would say one thing and then do another. She would need to expand and hire new people if this deal closed, but she was struggling to make payroll and would not be able to sustain the expansion. This emphasis on her career detracted from the development of her relationship with Paul, while not fully portraying eithers development. Additionally, I felt like their relationship went from fake dating to facetiming because they missed each other from 0 to 100.

The narrative structure also posed challenges. While written in the third person, the story attempts to present a dual perspective, leading to confusion and disrupting the flow of the plot. This approach made it difficult to fully engage with either character's internal experiences.​

Moreover, the depiction of Jessica's health condition lacked depth. Despite the initial emphasis on her heart issues, the story fails to realistically portray the lifestyle changes and daily challenges associated with managing a chronic illness. This oversight diminishes the authenticity of her character's journey and missed an opportunity to provide meaningful insight into living with such a condition.

Jessica and Paul should have been a cute couple, but instead they had the chemistry of an 8th grade laboratory. It was messy and convoluted, and I wanted it to work well but it just didn't. It's a cute premise with a lot of promise, but needs more umph.

Fake dating
Meet cute
Romcom
Closed door
MMC personal trainer
FMC interior design


I LOVED the beginning of this book. The meet cute at the turkey trot was everything. Then about 30% in it lost me. I struggled to feel connected to the characters, didn't feel their connection. It took me weeks to finish this book 🙃 when I'm normally a fast reader.

Arc given through netgalley by Splitrail Publishing