Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton Published by Berkley on April 9, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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Three. Two. One...Romance? Amerie Price is jobless, newly single, and about to be evicted. The last thing she needed was to run into her ex and his new girlfriend at her favourite coffee shop. Panicked, Amerie pretends to be dating the annoyingly sexy man she met. He plays along - for a price. Half the single men in Houston claim to be astronauts, but Vincent Rogers turns out to be the real deal. What started as a one-off lie morphs into a for the three months leading up to his mission, Amerie will play Vincent's doting partner. In exchange, she gets a rent-free room in his house. What Amerie doesn't plan for is Vincent's gravitational pull. While her mind tells her a future with this astronaut is too unpredictable, her heart says he's exactly what she needs. As their time together counts down, Amerie must decide if she'll settle for the safe life-or shoot for the stars.
I didn’t know exactly what to expect but the fake dating had me willing to read. Amerie has really had the worst luck and poor timing. She is smart, competent and hard-working. It’s seriously wrong that a company where she did outstanding work for years had such limited backup support for emergencies and stuck her with the blame. I get her having a douche boyfriend when she is more career focused plus with the threat of possibly losing her Mom, she is not the most trusting of relationships.
Vincent, the astronaut, is also very focused on his work. He doesn’t want distractions of dating right before his 6 month moon mission but in trying to get his Mom off his back, he trades one diversion for another. He’s a cinnamon roll nerd. Vincent is kind and the fake dating is a safe space for them both from the judgement of others.
Overall I liked both their parents and families. I wasn’t as partial to Amerie’s best friend Gina. Amerie’s business startup was difficult as I would expect, but on her own I was worried she would end up with more troubles. She didn’t seem to have as much marketing and business expertise as I would have hoped. Although she was very skilled at her role in a larger firm.
Of course, the pretending gets real as they happily spend time together. They are lovely together and have some heartbreak with coming clean. But it’s what they both need and so right for them both. I appreciate their maturity and honesty as they navigate the reality of their relationship. I enjoyed The Kiss Countdown and the feels it brought.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 24-COYER
I like the sound of this one, too. Wonderful review, Anne💜
I appreciated how they treated each other, well except when she was afraid and lying to herself. Mostly they were very kind to each other.
I do enjoy fake dating l! Thanks for the scoop on this one !
I liked how even though they had various personal issues they were kind to each other.
I enjoy the faking dating trope and I appreciate it when characters deal with issues maturely.
yes exactly. I appreciate how the fake dating lets them get to know each other without risk, other than only one person wanting to actually date at some point.
I really want to read this one. It sounds fun and I the fake dating trope is one of my favorites.
I hope you do and enjoy it.
Oh… I’m always looking for fake relationship romances. I’ll have to see if my library has this one for this summer.
yes I am actually somehow reading and listening to fake relationship books! I’m not sure how that happened. Anyway, this is Berkley and there stuff is normally at the library. Probably even the audio.
astronaut!!! Love it!
yes there were some fab jokes about him being an astranaut.
I love the fake dating trope and this one looks fun! I do love a cinnamon roll nerd.
You would likely enjoy this one as it has less drama and more kindness than many others of the genre.
Glad to see you enjoyed this one as much as I did. Great review!
Thank you Lisa. I liked how overall they were good to each other and mature about the situation.