Book: chasing summers by Madyn Rose
Reviewed by Anonymous
Rating: 4/5
Josh is super competitive, like most guys who play professional sports must be. So of course, when playing poker with his friends, and he unexpectedly loses- he must save face. Therefore, rather than accepting defeat he makes a bet that he can fall in love in a ridiculous timeframe. Cue the unhinged internet dates.
Meanwhile, April has been in a super crappy relationship. Only to be dumped on her birthday by her jerk of a boyfriend. She now needs to find a new date to her grandpa's birthday party or admit that she can't keep a guy to her mean girl of a sister.
This book is what happens when their fragile senses of pride combine and they decide to fake it with each other to solve both their problems. What could go wrong?
Possible problems? They already kissed, and neither has stopped thinking about it. They work together. She perceives that he is way out of her league. He has no clue how to be in a relationship.
I've never been a fan of the bet trope. A lot of times the woman gets screwed in a bad way in those stories. This one is not bad, in that the bet is not about her specifically, and it's not hidden from her.
Josh and April have awesome chemistry together. In general I love the way Josh treats her (until he gets in his head about it). And I love the way the work angle is handled as well. The team and staff are a lot of fun and supportive of both of them. Nora is a perfect best friend for April as well, which is great since her family doesn't have her back.
All in all this was a good read. Don't let the bet trope keep you from giving it a shot. Fake dating is a favorite of mine, and this one is pretty cute.
Thank you to the author for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.