I was actually pleasantly surprised by this book! I loved the immediate and palpable chemistry between the main characters, the depth and backstory of them both, and the overall plot/story line.

The MMC is a delicious, masculine, emotionally intelligent man and I loved him from the moment he was introduced.

The MFC is witty, fun, driven, and so caring.

I thought this was such a fun read. I absolutely ate it up. 35 s Jen ?962 290

This was okay—not bad per se, but it didn't get me fully invested in the story.

Elodie (30) and Gage (33) met at his bar, where she's a patron. He finally approached her one night, and the two of them talked and flirted with each other. But it was a busy night for Gage, so Elodie decided to just leave. Since their interaction left her quite hot and bothered, she decided to order a toy, which she accidentally addressed to the bar. Gage then delivered it to her the next day and afterwards asked her to go on a date. She agreed to it, but it ended sooner because Elodie's sister called her. But on this date, they came up with a plan to start a business venture mixing their specialties. Chocolates from Elodie and alcohol from Gage. They partnered up, and both decided not to mix business with pleasure, despite the mutual attraction.

They pretended to be a couple to secure a location for their store because the owner thought they were one. 

It honestly didn't make any sense to put a rule on not doing any hanky-panky because they were still being handsy with each other. They said they needed boundaries, and getting involved on a personal level might complicate things and ruin their charade and business partnership. Yet when they're together, they just can't keep their hands off of each other.

There was also a lot of push and pull from both sides, and it was a bit exhausting to read. One minute they're hot for the other, and the next they act so cold, they didn't do anything together. 

As for the actual marriage, it happened around 60%—a bit late for my taste, but whatever. And this is where they finally decided to add the "benefits" part to their setup. This also falls under insta-love because the timeline of the story was two months: one month of fake engagement and one month of being married. 

They made a routine that works for them and for the kids (H's daughter and h's sister) involved. It's cute to see them bond as a family and how these four openly communicate with each other about everything that's going on in their lives. I d that they didn't hide the "fake" part of their relationship in the beginning and how Eliza (daughter) and Amanda (sister) were in it too. Gage and Elodie never treated them they couldn't handle the predicament that they were in, and actually, they were more than happy to ask for their opinions.

As for the romance, idk, I feel something was missing. I didn't feel that off-the-charts chemistry between them. Sure, there's attraction and emotional understanding, but the tension isn't that palpable; it was lacking, imo, probably because there's no build-up between them. They went from strangers to lovers in a flash and were put on hold for awhile because of their responsibilities. I tried to connect with them, but it just didn't work. 

Overall, this was still a good read, but it didn't hold my interest for very long. Though this didn't work for me, other readers might feel differently.
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