A Fake-Dating, Beach-Town Romance with Heat
Book of the Month
Contemporary Romance, Small Town Romance, Contemporary Womens Fiction
Blue Box Press
October 22, 2024
Ebook, Audiobook, Paperback
292
From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst, discover Book of the Month…
She’s desperate for another bestseller… and she’ll go to any length to get it. Even if it means sacrificing her pride to chase the hottest bachelor in town and get him to break her heart…
Once the literary world’s golden girl, Aspen Lourde can’t seem to produce another successful book, and the pressure’s on to prove she’s not just a one-hit-wonder. But there’s a catch: her bestseller was a heartbreak hit, straight from her own love life disaster. Without any fresh romantic turmoil to fuel her pen, Aspen needs inspiration quick enough to create a book her agent can sell to her publisher. So she escapes for the summer to the Outer Banks with a plan to live a story worth writing.
Brick Babel is a romance novelist’s dream: a local heartthrob with a reputation as wild as the horses running free in the town. He’s everything Aspen needs for a muse kickstart—gorgeous, moody, and notoriously unattainable. His affairs are legendary in the small town, and every woman warns her off, including her sister.
Too bad a good heartbreak is exactly what she needs to meet her deadline.
But Brick refuses to play the game, rejecting all of her advances. When Aspen hears his tour company is on the verge of bankruptcy, she offers him a deal: fake a whirlwind summer romance, then ditch her, drama guaranteed.
Desperate to save his grandfather’s business, Brick agrees to the ridiculous deal. What starts as a contractual fling spirals out of control as lines blur and real feelings emerge. Brick’s falling hard, and Aspen’s rethinking her plot twist. The novel might be her ticket back to the top, but at what cost?
Because Aspen’s finally found her muse, but some stories may be too true to share.
Book of the Month isn’t just about finding love where you least expect it.
It’s about finding yourself in the pages of life’s unexpected chapters.
A writer, a heartthrob, and one hot summer on the beach
Jennifer Probst’s Book of the Month is a contemporary rom com about a writer, Aspen Lourde, who wrote a smash hit, Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover, based on her own breakup with an ex who left her at the altar. Years later, Aspen finds herself in a rut with her writing. Her new books are not selling because they lack the emotion and depth of her first book. To give her fans and the publishers what they want, Aspen decides to leave New York City for the summer and travel to the Outer Banks for some inspiration. While there, she concocts a plan. She is going to ask the local heartthrob, Brick Babel, to date her and ditch her. Then she can finally write another impassioned best seller that will have her readers lining up for her books again.
Brick is a local tour guide who inherited his grandfather’s run-down business. When Aspen propositions him with a summer of swoon and spice in exchange for a hefty sum of money, he feels like he can’t refuse. This is exactly what he needs to save Ziggy’s Tours and keep himself afloat financially. He takes the money and turns on the charm. Time to break some hearts.
What I liked about this book:
- Great setting and side characters: We get a big-city-to-beach-town vibe in this book with classic small-town characters to match. Plus, there are wild horses, baby sea turtles, and all-night picnics on the beach. It is a perfect setting for romance.
- The spice: Brick and Aspen get into the fake dating game and seduction is definitely on the table. Brick coaxes Aspen out of her shell and they have a lot of *ahem* fun together. He gives her plenty to write about in her new book.
However, I just couldn’t get totally into Book of the Month. The pace was slow. The dialogue between Brick and Aspen was a bit clunky. It was difficult for me to buy into the building chemistry between them. In some instances, it almost felt like the fourth wall broke as the author was trying to describe the world of publishing and book promotion through Aspen’s point of view. For example:
Curiosity lit his eyes. “Was there a book club or influencer that made the difference in it going viral?”
She smiled. “I like to say it was the perfect storm, where every good review or shout-out counted, but there were certain influencers who were next level. For example, @jens_toweringtbr, @2babesandabookshelf, @secretreadinglife, @megsbookclub, and @nurse_bookie created videos that made readers want to click.”
Did I just read a not-so-subtle shout-out from the author to her own favorite influencers? Even if fictional, this exchange yanked me right out of the story.
I also wished for a more developed backstory for Brick. I liked him as an MMC. He is spicy and sweet. Yet when we got to the point in the story where the reader learns if Brick is truly deserving of his reputation as a heartbreaker, I felt Probst’s explanation fell flat.
While Book of the Month may not have been the right read for me at this moment, I’m glad to have been introduced to Probst’s writing and spend some time with the characters on the shores of the Outer Banks.
Celeste is a woman who is unwavering about certain things in life; three of those being books, cats, and cold brew coffee. If she can enjoy all three at the same time, it’s going to be a good day. Her favorite genres are fantasy or sci-fi romance, historical romance, and historical fiction but every few books she likes to mix it up with contemporary fiction, a good psychological thriller, or an inspiring memoir. She has a busy schedule working full-time for an online university but she makes sure to unwind each day with stories, either by reading to her elementary school-aged daughter or tucking herself in bed with her Kindle or the latest book she picked up at a local book store.
