Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A woman offers to help her landlord out of a jam by pretending to be his girlfriend during a vacation.Dr. Nicole Allen is about to complete her tenure as chief resident at Johns Hopkins before heading off to Duke for a fellowship in orthopedic surgery. After disciplining a well-connected intern at her job, Nic is put on administrative leave and the future of her fellowship is threatened. She cries on the shoulder of her landlord and best friend, Ben Van Mont. Ben has just learned that his ex-fiancee will be crashing a planned vacation with his childhood best friends on Marthas Vineyard. Nic offers to go on vacation as a pretend girlfriend, hoping it will ward off his ex to see him with another woman. Ben and Nic are both trying to live life on their own terms. Even though Ben owns a successful financial planning firm, hes a disappointment to his moneyed and high-powered family; Nic is determined to financially support her hardworking mother who sacrificed so much for her to become a surgeon. Once they arrive on Marthas Vineyard, their firmly platonic relationship is suddenly imbued with delicious sexual tension and chemistry. They see each other in a new light: Nic recognizes that Bens commitment to loyalty and friendship was forged during a childhood of neglect, and Ben, who's White, sees the professional and personal challenges Nic faces as a Black woman. Their romance is sexy and emotionally satisfying, and Livesays portrayal of their journey from friends to lovers is perfectly paced and plotted.An exemplary friends-to-lovers romance with characters who grow and change to find happiness with themselves and each other. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A woman offers to help her landlord out of a jam by pretending to be his girlfriend during a vacation. Dr. Nicole Allen is about to complete her tenure as chief resident at Johns Hopkins before heading off to Duke for a fellowship in orthopedic surgery. After disciplining a well-connected intern at her job, Nic is put on administrative leave and the future of her fellowship is threatened. She cries on the shoulder of her landlord and best friend, Ben Van Mont. Ben has just learned that his ex-fiancee will be crashing a planned vacation with his childhood best friends on Martha’s Vineyard. Nic offers to go on vacation as a pretend girlfriend, hoping it will ward off his ex to see him with another woman. Ben and Nic are both trying to live life on their own terms. Even though Ben owns a successful financial planning firm, he’s a disappointment to his moneyed and high-powered family; Nic is determined to financially support her hardworking mother who sacrificed so much for her to become a surgeon. Once they arrive on Martha’s Vineyard, their firmly platonic relationship is suddenly imbued with delicious sexual tension and chemistry. They see each other in a new light: Nic recognizes that Ben’s commitment to loyalty and friendship was forged during a childhood of neglect, and Ben, who's White, sees the professional and personal challenges Nic faces as a Black woman. Their romance is sexy and emotionally satisfying, and Livesay’s portrayal of their journey from friends to lovers is perfectly paced and plotted. An exemplary friends-to-lovers romance with characters who grow and change to find happiness with themselves and each other. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.