Deeply Personal is the first novel that I’ve read by Suzanne Collier. This novel is a feel good rom-com that takes place in Nashville, Tennessee. Jessica Chandler is an interior designer who has spent a lot of time building up her company, Chandler Interiors, and has recently been hurt by a past relationship. Paul Brady is a personal trainer who was raised by his grandparents and also struggles with putting himself out there after being hurt by a previous relationship.

Jessica and Paul’s first encounter starts out in a very unique way. Jessica collapses at the Turkey Trot fun walk and Paul comes to her rescue. Jessica and Paul also run into each other later on that day, at Frothy Monkey, and exchange phone numbers because Paul needs his home re-designed and Jessica needs personal training due to neglecting her overall health.

Jessica goes to Paul’s home and helps him with his re-design. After talking for a while, they decide to go on a few fake dates in order for Jessica to gain a very important client who is also one of Paul’s clients. The chemistry that Jessica and Paul have is undeniable. After a couple of fake dates, both characters start to fall for one another. Suzanne did an incredible job with explaining how hard it is to run your own business as well as balance a personal life. Both require a lot of time and attention.

Overall, I thought that this book was a fun read! However, there are a couple things that I would have wanted more of. The first thing that I would have liked was for Jessica and Paul’s romance to develop on a deeper level because I felt like both of them kept their work life very separate from one another. It would have been nice to see how they could have let the other person into that aspect of their world. The other thing that I would have liked was for Paul to give Jessica a few personal training sessions since she helped him with his home design, which is how the book originally started - they had agreed to swap skillsets.

Thank you so much Netgalley, Splitrail Publishing and Suzanne Collier for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Deeply Personal by Suzanne Collier is a charming rom-com with all the right ingredients. It has a dual POV, it’s a fast paced book that’s easy to read, and the main characters have a sweet and authentic connection that will leave you smiling.

Jessica is an interior designer while Paul is a personal trainer. Both are driven individuals but have struggled when it comes to personal romantic relationships. They fake date for a bit, but soon learn that they both have real feelings for each other. Jessica and Paul learn to trust in one another and their feelings. I loved the main characters’ connection and their growth throughout the book. Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and I thought the author incorporated it so nicely in this storyline.

This book will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy. It’s the perfect book to read if you are looking for a sweet romance with real and relatable characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Splitrail Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

2,5*

This book promised more in the synopsis and even in the beginning than what it could deliver, sadly. overall it wasn't too bad but predictable and plain

Did not finish. So sorry. Tried 4 chapters and was cringed out by the plot unfortunately. The fmc was too quirky in the beginning and it just bothered me. Definitely a me problem

"Deeply Personal" by Suzanne Collier is a quirky, feel-good rom-com that starts off with a fun and unexpected twist. Jessica Chandler, a 32-year-old interior designer, collapses at a Turkey Trot in Tennessee from dehydration, only to be swept up by the very handsome Paul Brady, a personal trainer who rushes her to safety. There's an instant spark between them, and for Jessica, it feels like fate. She’s been too focused on her work and neglected her health, which has led to some serious heart problems. But it turns out, the man who literally carried her to safety might also be the one to help her heal in more ways than one.

On the surface, the idea of a personal trainer and interior designer teaming up is super fun, but what really stood out to me was how these two opposites started connecting. Paul might have a great body, but his condo is a complete mess. And when Jessica sees it, she knows she can help—if only Paul can let go of his weird aversion to buying furniture. Their “fake dating” plan to help Jessica land a big client and get some exposure felt like the perfect setup for some light-hearted fun, but things got a little more complicated (in a good way) as they spent more time together.

But honestly, while the setup was cute and the chemistry between Jessica and Paul was there in bursts, I didn’t quite feel the emotional depth I was hoping for. Jessica's heart condition, which is a huge part of her character’s arc, almost felt like it got pushed aside a bit too much. She’s constantly being reminded to take better care of herself, but she keeps ignoring it, and that was a little frustrating to me. Paul, on the other hand, had his own baggage with commitment, but the way that storyline unfolded felt a bit… underwhelming. Like it had potential but didn’t go as deep as I wanted it to.

The fake dating element, while fun, didn’t quite feel essential to the story. At times, it seemed more like a way to move the plot forward than something that naturally developed from their connection. Also, there were some odd moments towards the end that kind of threw me off. There’s this random focus on Jessica’s relationship with her twin brother at her wedding, which felt a bit out of place and took away from the romance I was invested in.

All in all, *Deeply Personal* is a quick, light read with some sweet moments, but it didn’t quite deliver on the emotional payoff I was hoping for. I enjoyed the humour and the playful vibe, but the lack of real chemistry between Jessica and Paul kept me from fully connecting with their love story. It’s definitely fun if you're looking for something light and easy, but if you’re after a more heartfelt, deep romance, it might leave you wanting more.

i really wanted to like this one, but the characters just felt so bland and one dimensional - i didn’t get any chemistry, any tension and i felt like the plot was just bland - it wasn’t anything that i would remember or recommend to anyone unfortunately!

it was okay, the writing was just really hard for me to get through. i feel so bad saying that, it just wasn't my style :(

📖Review: Deeply Personal by Suzanne Collier

💗 Rated: 5 Stars!

🍾Characters: Paul and Jessica were absolutely adorable! I've always been a sucker for fake dating trope in the romcom world! The chemistry was the perfect balance with all the hilarious moments playing out! The pace of the book describing the characters emotions has me thinking of a Netflix film!

💖Details: Two people who come to realize that they can help each other out by fake dating! A pretty fast and quick paced read which is what we need sometimes! Sometimes books that move too slow make you question what's going to happen next. But the author did a great job layering everything out like a deck of cards and playing a good game!


🎁 Extra Compliments: If I really like a book I'm going to start casting characters in my head! And even from the first word in the first chapter I was already thinking of multiple actors to play all the characters! Major props to the author for making ink to pen enjoyment!

Bravo! 🥳

It was a cute rom com I was a bit unsure why the issues with Jessica's heart weren't focused on more I feel like heart issues are serious?

Thank you to NetGalley and Splitrail Publishing for providing the eARC of *Deeply Personal* by Suzanne Collier in exchange for my honest review.

1.5 stars rounded up - Deeply Personal had a few redeeming moments scattered throughout the book, but unfortunately, they couldn't outweigh the issues I had with the story. There was just too much going on, making it difficult for me to connect with the characters. Jessica, an interior designer, frequently goes on long tangents about furniture, fixtures, colors, and other design elements, as though the average reader would be familiar with these specifics. Additionally, Collier tends to over-explain everything—what the characters are wearing, listening to, and even their physical appearance.

The story begins with Jessica experiencing a heart issue during a race, and she's saved by Paul, the male main character, a personal trainer. You would think he would play a key role in helping her with her heart problem, but instead, the narrative takes an unexpected turn. They end up "fake dating" to help Jessica land an interior design contract, which feels disconnected from the initial setup.

On top of this, there's an undercurrent of disordered eating and an unhealthy fixation on food and health that left me feeling uneasy. I generally consider myself a gracious reviewer, and I tend to enjoy most of what I read, but unfortunately, Deeply Personal didn’t resonate with me as much as I had hoped. I rarely rate books low, so for what it's worth, this one just wasn’t a good fit for me.

I was so excited to dive into this book—the promise of a charming love story with a fake dating trope had me hooked from the start. But as much as I wanted to love it, the execution didn’t quite deliver.

The first half was promising, with a steady plot build-up that kept me intrigued. But as the story progressed, the pacing faltered, and I found myself losing interest. The family scenes felt overly long, while the love scenes, ironically, felt rushed and lacked the emotional depth that could have made them shine.

#DeeplyPersonal #Netgalley

3.5 stars
Deeply Personal by Suzanne Collier is a standalone contemporary romance/rom com and has an interesting take on first impressions.

I like the big blue eyes guy aka Paul and Jessica, the one who was almost literally head over heels for him the moment they met. The concept of the story is interesting and has a lot of potential but something is off with the story.

It may be too much detail or too much exposition and backstory, which takes me out of the story. It’s difficult to read through, but I can tell it’s a good story in there under the fluff.

I’d love to read more from Suzanne and I hope she continues to pop out books!

*This was an honest review for a complimentary copy of Deeply Personal from Suzanne Collier via NetGalley

It was a quick, easy read but still heartfelt and funny! The fake dating trope was just the right amount and not too heavy or overwhelming, although it was fairly predictable.

Deeply Personal by Suzanne Collier is a surface level love story concealed by the stereotypical not committing man and the workaholic woman

Meeting by chance at a Turkey Trott in Tennessee, we are introduced to interior designer Jessica and Fitness Instructor Paul. As the story unfolds they yet again have a chance meeting and Paul hires Jessica to redo his apartment as a ruse to painfully unaware newly single Jessica. I found as I continued this story that similarly with other romance novels the protagonist Jessica to be rather insufferable as an individual. The way Collier chose to write her was peculiar to me as it lacked any positives but was also on the flip-side refreshing to see a character so incredibly raw and unedited as normal human beings would be. Paul on the other hand was not only the most perfect character but the route taken was occasionally unexpected. When you uncover a character is struggling to commit you expect them to stick to their guns but to see Paul openly acknowledge his struggle with grief and the connection to lack of commitment left me amazed. Alongside the character of Paul I loved the dual story telling aspect that the author dated in this story as it gave a vast perspective on both characters feelings. Overall I liked this book for its writing style but found the character building rather surface levelled especially with Jessica resulting in me not connecting as such with her.

3 stars - its good! As someone who is currently dealing with anxiety due to heart-health related stress, this may have hit a little too close to home! (Its okay, you can laugh!) I do appreciate a good love story, and an especially good reminder to take it easy and let things come as they may. For Jessica and Paul, their story obviously doesn't fall far from my own personal experience, and it was nice to have a break and enjoy this. I do think it could be so much more, but I am hopeful for Suzanne Collier in her future writing quests. Well done :)

I will start by saying, I don't like third person books. When it's third person writing style, it doesn't impress me at all and I have a hard time following and staying motivated to read the book. But Suzanne Collier did exactly the reserve thing with me, her book was written in the third person, and it didn't disappoint me at all! I was in the book and couldn't put in down, almost addicted on it. When I tell you I've read during work free time, that's exactly what I did.

The story itself was wonderfully well written and such a cute Ron-com that I adored reading.

This book should be in your TBR and read in 2025. If you haven't already read it please do, it's a cute little story.

I rate this book 4 stars just because when I give 5 stars it means the book either, destroyed me, marked me, or I could relate 100% of the book. But Deeply Personal was really close to a 5 stars.

Cheers,
Cass's Bookshelf

When a health scare during a 5k provokes a healthy life change, the stranger that helped her during the 5k becomes a large player in her life and the lifestyle changes don't stop at diet and exercise...
This book was so nice, in addition to having real talk about the mental, emotional, forward movement and backsliding of making big life changes but also what that means when you're improving yourself in all sorts of ways that benefit the person long term. Very relateable.

#arc
#netgalley
#deeplypersonal

Let me start by saying that I had high expectations for this book, especially since it was pitched as being for fans of authors I really enjoy. But it quickly became clear that this story wasn’t anything like the books mentioned in the description. I lowered my expectations and tried to approach it for what it was—but I still ended up disappointed.

The writing didn’t work for me, and the characters felt bland. I pushed through, hoping it was just a rough start, but things didn’t improve as the story progressed. The plot didn’t feel cohesive, with too much focus on unrelated elements rather than personal growth or romance.

It hurts to admit this, but I honestly don’t think the fake dating element was necessary at all (and this is coming from someone who loves fake dating tropes—the wackier, the better). In this case, though, it just didn’t make sense. Paul could have easily introduced Jessica as a friend, and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference to the story. Instead, we got a scene where the leads couldn’t even get their fake story straight, despite supposedly discussing it multiple times. I think it was meant to be funny, but it just made me cringe. Am I really supposed to believe that this super successful couple in their seventies was fooled by this?

To make matters worse, the characters kept mentioning their fake relationship in front of the very people they were supposed to fool—including a scene where the couple’s daughter overhears them. This led to yet another forced comedic moment that fell completely flat.

I hoped the romance might redeem the story, but it didn’t. The characters didn’t spend enough meaningful time together, and when they did, their interactions felt superficial. There was no real connection or chemistry between them, and they didn’t help each other grow.

Jessica has a heart condition, and it’s repeatedly emphasized that she needs to eat healthy and exercise, but she blatantly ignores this advice. And Paul, who is a personal trainer, does nothing to encourage her to take care of herself. Not even her family steps in to help. It made no sense to me. Similarly, Jessica constantly criticizes her mother for being a drunkard, yet she’s shown drinking multiple glasses daily herself.

Paul, on the other hand, supposedly has commitment issues, but he’s repeatedly asking Jessica out with no sign of hesitation. And then his commitment issues and Jessica's health problems just... disappear? Without any effort or resolution?

And don't even get me started on the end, who physically appreciates her twin brother instead of her husband on their WEDDING DAY of all days????? No!!! Just no!

P.S. I also didn’t appreciate the way the author casually brought up cancer without any sensitivity. Descriptions like “He always sounded so upbeat, as if the cure for cancer had just been discovered, like, today” were incredibly triggering for me. These comments felt unnecessary and added nothing to the story.

You don't have to think too hard as it is an easy-going, easy-to-read book. It is not for me, but I can see other people enjoying it. 1.5 stars.

I didn't care for it. The writing wasn't for me. Her brother is a jackass. The characters are caricatures. The dialogue is so corny. Filled with clichés. Not tropes...cliches.. It took too long to get going. 1.5 stars.