A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This is the first book I have read by the author, I really liked the book cover and was drawn to it. Sadly the book was nothing like. I went in to it thinking it was going to be lighthearted and a fun read. But it is not at all. Infact maybe it should come with some trigger warnings. The main character Ellie is lovely but just manipulated by her ex partner time and time again. Then the insta love or lust with Blake just did not work for me and as I didn't get either character there was no development. Nothing particularly wrong with him but I think by the point in the book when they met I had just had enough of Ellie and wasn't overly invested they just both seemed very naive not adults in a relationship. I personally prefer a slow burn romance so maybe it says more about me than the book. I would read another book by the author in the future in hope that I would like the characters more.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

This book was the ultimate rom com, the down on her luck enc and the billionaire recluse in trouble with the media mic, hiking ensue and they find love in the turmoil and drama. I love it! This book has drama for days and the cutest main characters ever. This is a great quick read.

This book started out promising. It was a meet cute that I can get behind. But holy drama, Batman! That's not a good thing either. If you're into 'reality' TV level drama and evil villains with no redeemable qualities who do nothing but make the book depressing, then this is the book for you. Unfortunately, it's really hard to quantify this as a romance when most of the focus is on the never-ending drama with Ellie's Ex and Blake's company and there's very little romance to be seen. It was all overly scripted and I really questioned the intelligence of both the hero and heroine.

First there's Blake, the billionaire founder and CEO of a social media company. He gets pushed out of his own company by lies, from fellow board members at that. Does he fight it before stepping down with his tail tucked between his legs? Nope. Does he bother calling an attorney? Nope, never even mentions one. I mean come on...I'm a middle class person and even I know you need to get an attorney involved with something like this. And where was his freaking security team? What billionaire out there doesn't have one? And in this entire book, not once did he ever ask for Ellie's number. How were they supposed to communicate when they weren't together? I'm sorry, but so many key details were overlooked that it made this seem really unbelievable.

Then there's Ellie. Ellie was a sweet girl who had big ideas. But she was a pushover. Her ex was a moocher and emotional abuser who shouldn't have had access to her. He kept coming into her apartment when she's gone. Does she do anything to keep that from happening? Nope. She claims she doesn't have money to get the locks changed and she refuses to ask her mom for help. I'm sorry, but if an abuser who made my life miserable keeps showing up and eating my food without warning, while belittling me when he's there, I'm going to do all I can to make sure he doesn't get to do that again, even if I have to swallow my pride and ask for help to make sure I'm safe. It was utterly ridiculous that someone supposedly smart could be so dumb when it came to her personal welfare. And she just leaves her intellectual property around knowing that her ex keeps showing up! Come on girl, get a clue!

If you overlook just how naive they both seem to be, then they really are a cute couple lol. I liked them on the farm. I liked how Ellie came to his aid when he needed a friend and someone to hold his hand. Was the romance believable? Not really. I mean they fell in love in a matter of a few days even though most of that time was spent trying to problem solve and not getting to know one another. I wish we had gotten more romance from this to make it believable. Everything just seemed surface level and it was hard to get to know them as people too.

The ending was cute, but it seemed like the author wrapped up all the drama and legal issues in a page after spending the entire book building up to the finale to the drama. That was very disappointing. I wanted to SEE how it all went down, not be TOLD in a paragraph what happened to the villains. It was all anti-climatic and not what I was hoping for. I did appreciate the author adding some humor to the epilogue so that book ended on a lighter note.

It was a really cute and fluffy read, but it was too insta lovey. I like it to be a bit longer, not a week etc. just not super believable or realistic but despite that i enjoyed the read

Thanks to Joffe Books and NetGalley for this arc.

I thought this was a cute insta love, easy beach read! I flew through it in a day. Blake and Ellie are cute and solid characters and the spice was good but not too much! I liked this book :)

I so, so badly wanted to like this book but I couldn’t get into it. The main character was very cute and quirky which I did like, but I didn’t really feel like the story was one that pulled me in. The MMC was the typical nice guy and I have nothing bad to say about him either. Unfortunately I think the story just fell flat for me. Maybe if the book had a little more time to build the characters and give them more depth I would have liked this much more. I almost wish that we had gotten a glimpse of the FMC and her ex-boyfriend’s relationship. If the book had started there and we had seen how horrible her ex was to her, and there was a breakup that occurred, I feel like I would have been pulled in a little more at the beginning! I really would have been rooting for our FMC then! Unfortunately the story felt more focused on the MMC and his friends and situation. I know that the series is going to be focused on their Apex group, but even that wasn’t really clear until I saw that was the series name. Overall it was a forgettable store unfortunately and I don’t think I would recommend it to others.

This lighthearted billionaire romance was such an enjoyable read. It served as the perfect palate cleanser—I flew through it in less than a day. The story is short, sweet, and effortlessly engaging. I especially loved the dynamic between Blake and Ellie; their early interactions were filled with charming meet-cutes that made me smile. The twist later in the book genuinely surprised me, adding a nice layer of depth. If you're looking for a quick and delightful romance, this one is worth picking up.

I really enjoyed how this book subverted the typical billionaire romance, Blake’s awkwardness made him feel more real and endearing. The plot moved quickly, and the suspense around the “mystery” kept me hooked. While some things felt a little predictable, I found myself eager to see how everything turned out.

That said, Ellie’s character felt inconsistent, confident in some scenes, overly insecure in others. Blake and Ellie’s friendship/relationship developed too fast for my liking, and the insta-love left me wanting more buildup or slow burn (but that’s just personal preference). The spice scenes felt a bit forced, and the sudden 180 in everyone’s dreams at the end felt a little unbelievable and left me slightly unsatisfied.

Still, it’s a fun, fast-paced read with drama, romance, and heart.

Thank you to NetGalley, Choc Lit, and the author for the ARC.

I loved the business storyline. I enjoyed the characters but the whole story felt super rushed and very fast. The whole book was only a few days and so much had happened. I wish it was a little longer and had just a bit more background of the main characters.
I did really enjoy the book but there was just something that was missing for me. I don’t know what it is but it just needed a little something extra.

I wanted to enjoy this book! I wanted to, but I just didn't. I struggle giving this book 2 stars.
Insta-love.. not my thing.
I was so intrigued by the description, but had so many problems with the book.
First problem - third person POV... ugh. I know some readers enjoy it, but I do not.
Both main characters had no backbone! IT DROVE ME CRAZY. I almost DNF'd the book due to the lack of development in the two main characters.
The book was challenging to read. There was so much tragedy, but not in a good way. It wasn't written well enough to make you love it like, for example, Say You Swear by Meagan Brandy, SOOO much tragedy, but executed very well.
Toxic relationships prevail, manipulation runs rampant, and unfortunately, sexism is at the forefront.
I also took issue with the way the book represented emotional abuse and gaslighting. Maybe it is just my preference, but I have read so many other books with the same content, but they were written well enough that I was able to enjoy them.
FMC - Ellie. MMC - Blake.
The spice is not done well - in fact, it's very explicit in a bad way.
The entire relationship between Ellie and Blake was just unrealistic and frustrating.
I was also very dissatisfied with the ending of the book.
The structure was not done well, and it felt choppy. Because of the choppiness of the book, the pace made me feel almost uncomfortable. Again, hard for me to explain.
I already mentioned above my issue with the characters and their lack of development throughout the plot.
I really can't recommend this book as is, I think it needs some major work before publication. I think it has tremendous potential, but it needs work.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
Happy Reading.

struggle with how to rate this.

On the one hand, it’s easy to read with clear character and place descriptions that make it feel real and a good application of the insta-lust/love pipeline. Everything takes place over the course of three days and the author keeps us appropriately busy during that time. The MMC is a genuinely nice guy and the FMC is a good support to him!

On the other hand… the conflict in the story was FRUSTRATING. The baddies are really freaking bad and they just keep getting away with it. Both the MMC and FMC are conflict avoidant to the point of letting people walk all over them (it’s couched with “taking the high road”) and there were points I had to set the book down and walk away because I was so frustrated. For the love of god, Ellie! Take out a loan if you have to or ask your mom for help but change your apartment locks ASAP. Blake!, are you kidding me right now?! Where’s your lawyer?! You’re worth $6B. Use that for heaven’s sake.

Ultimately I would say it’s a quick romance read for someone who likes high-stakes, high-drama romance with main characters that are instantly head over heels for one another.

Thank you to NetGalley, Choc Lit and the author for letting me read early in exchange for review!

2,5/5, because it reads like a debut novel - diplomatically speaking - and it's not. Very insta lust, followed by insta love. It all happens in the span of 72 hours, between complete strangers. Not something I personally like, because it makes it read like a teenager's fanfiction.

I enjoyed some of it, but ultimately - I mean, I get it, I also want to skip to the nice parts when I’m writing, but there’s a reason why you shouldn’t - it's unbelievable, and makes me not care. I want to care, I swear I do, but I can't find it in me for them.

The mystery part/side characters - do you know that thing Disney used to do with a more detailed object in an animation, so you know which of the items is going to be picked up by a character, because it’s the only one looking different? That’s how it feels with the characters in this book, who are meant to be the evildoers. I have a bookmark at 3% with the answer to the mystery. But I actually kind of enjoyed that in a weird way.

Besides being a bit disappointed, I do not feel lied to, and it’s not like it’s the worst book I’ve read or anything. I had fun at times and groaned at others - it is what it is. The book title is definitely on point.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read the ARC!

⭐️ 2/5 | 🌶️ 4/5
Third person POV | Dual narrative
Linear timeline
FMC: Ellie | MMC: Blake
MF Open Door Romance
Content warnings: Toxic relationships, manipulation, misogyny, sexism, body shaming, emotional abuse, stalking, gaslighting

This book wasn’t for me. First of all, the cover of the book gave me a different impression of how this story was going to go. I thought this was going to be a lighthearted, fluffy romance but there is a lot of challenging, tragic scenes of sabotage and manipulation along with the large mystery sub-genre. It made me so angry and was hard to read at times. Oh and it had waaaaaay too much inner monologue.

Usually when reading romance I can look past a scenario that is cheesy and unrealistic or far fetched, but I couldn’t in this case. Ellie’s lack of backbone, the extreme manipulation and sabotage Ellie and Blake experience, and the lack of follow up and closure at the end of the book were big issues for me too.

The spice level is high with explicit on the page scenes. But their relationship was just so unrealistic; like how they moved SO fast after meeting each other.

Thank you Joffe Books and Choc Lit for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was cute! This may be for you if you like insta-love. I was just sitting at the end of this book thinking “wait a minute they are professing their love to each other and it’s been like 3 days.” While I do not look to romance books for realism, it was just a bit too much for me. I think the writing was very well done, though, and if you like sweet, tropey, rom coms this may be for you.

Sweet, easy beach read! Some fun twists and turns from other romances with good writing, some likable and relatable characters. Easy to follow storyline

** Thank you Netgalley for this ARC **

This is a super sweet billionaire romance. This was a good pallet cleanser for me, I ended up reading this book in less than a day. It was super short and an easy read. I loved the dynamic of Blake and Ellie. I also loved that they kept having little meet-cutes in the beginning. I didn't see the twist coming that was revealed. I feel like everyone should give this book a chance.

This book... I absolutely could not put this book down without finishing it in the same day. I had to ignore everything round me and finish it. It was cute, spicy and funny. It was endearing and made you want to root for the good guys. I absolutely will be reading this book over and over again. Blake and Ellie are quirky yet stand people that make you realize that anyone can fall in love. The supporting characters make you want to read the rest of the series to find out how they find their love interests! Highly recommend diving into reading this book!!!

A cute feel good romance. Blake and Ellie are both pretty real characters. They are amazingly nice and Blake's friends are just awesome. The plot was well done, however the romance lacked just a little bit of depth to it. It focused on the instant physical attraction and while there were so many supportive moments these seem to be somehow not highlighted as much.

I still liked the book a lot and cannot wait to read the next books