e-Audio, 08:36:14
Narrated by: Kenton Thomas & Nneka Okoye
Release Date: October 15, 2024
Published by: Recorded Books, Inc.
Read from: October 16-7, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Audible (I also had a physical copy of the UK copy. I read them in tandem for a bit.)
Content Warning: Emotional Abuse, Toxic Relationship, Car Accident, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism
For Readers Interested In: Romance, Holidaze, Racial Ethnic Diversity (Black & British), Realistic Fiction, Set Outside the US, Dual POV, YAThe Love Hypothesis meets The Holiday in this fake dating YA romance about a city girl and country boy’s lives colliding at Christmas.
City girl Tia Solanké is dreading the festive season. She and her boyfriend are on a break and the last thing she wants is to spend Christmas away from London. Dragged to Saiyan Hedge Farm by her mother, Tia takes an instant disliking to the countryside estate. She falls in horse manure, is chased by sheep and the Wi-Fi sucks. How can she stalk her ex and concoct a foolproof plan to win him back from here?
Country boy Quincy Parker and his family run the farm, and this year they’ve been selected to host the biggest event in the town’s calendar—the Winter Ball. Preparations are underway, and Quincy is working around the clock to make it a success. The only problem is, he’s told everyone he has a date to the ball, when in reality that couldn’t be further from the truth.
At first, Tia and Quincy don’t see eye to eye, until they realize they both have something to gain by pretending to be a couple. But when a snowstorm threatens to cancel the Winter Ball, their fake relationship is put to the test. Will Tia and Quincy be able to keep up appearances and save the day, or will real feelings get in the way?
*MY THOUGHTS*
Ok being honest………. When I first saw this book, it was last year. That’s why I have the UK cover. I NEEDED it. But at the time I didn’t know it was the UK version. I just bought it on Amazon and then it took forever to show up. So by the time I got to it, it was too late. I remember putting it aside to read this year. And let me tell you how perfect it was!
Ok as you all know, I read horror all the time. So this summer when all the horror started coming out, I jumped on it. I definitely did a Summer Ween marathon. And of course at this point I was in my bag. But by then I was like ummm ok I’ve read all of my scary stuff and it’s like 15 days to Halloween lol But having this worked out perfectly.
Ok so the number one thing about this was the characters. I LOVED Quincy. He was very attentive and he wore his heart on his sleeve. I loved that he was so mature too. I hated that he wasn’t exactly confident tho. That girl did a number on him and I hated her lmao (No fr I felt like he was my son lol) As for Tia, I was annoyed by her for a lot of this book lol I kept yelling that TikTok sound at her, “STAND UP!” He sounded terrible immediately. And I knew he was going to get worse. (Spoiler Alert: HE DID.)
The romance itself was just ok. She spent so much time worried about that asshole that I worried she was never going to admit that she didn’t like anymore but she liked Quincy instead. But she was really weird about it. And just like in her other romances, Bello always has them fighting and flirting until the very end. It’s always annoying that I have read all of this book and barely get to see what happens to them lol And I really wish that she would have gone a little more past where she ended it. I wanted to see what happened when she got caught. I wanted to know what happened to her mom and the person. I wanted to know what happened to THEM. But it was just weird. She ended it in the middle of the scene when they were just getting into their relationship for real.
But, I can’t complain too much because the tropes were there and if nothing else, I enjoyed reading those. The fish out of water trope of the girl on the farm was hilarious. Girlie pop got a free vacation and still complained! I don’t think I would have let her finish the sentence lol And then it was from her mom so it could have been free? But I do think maybe she had a point when the poop on the shoes thing came up lmao And the fake dating thing was also good. I don’t love when the thing that sets off the fake dating is so serious, but still. Everything else was good tho. You can’t really mess up fake dating unless it’s really bad lol
This wasn’t filled with enough holiday cheer for me tho. It was just them playing in the snow and stuff. This is just a weird me thing tho because I don’t ever see snow, so all I HAVE IS holiday decor and fun. But this was really weird. But otherwise, this was a lot of fun. I hope this is going to be a hit this holiday season!
Overall, I give this
