Book: Hart Street Lane by Samantha Young
Reviewed by Maggie Hayes
Rating: 4.5/5
ARC REVIEW
Hart Street Lane by @authorsamanthayoung
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (4.5/5)
Maia’s life implodes when her department store job selects her for a marketing campaign centered on her upcoming wedding… to the fiancé she just ended things with. Now her career is on the line.
Enter Baird McMillan. Professional soccer goalkeeper. Publicly messy reputation. Privately down horrendous for Maia since the moment they met. When she tells him about her predicament, he offers a solution that benefits them both: a fake engagement. On paper, it helps clean up his image. In reality? Baird is hoping the time leading up to their wedding finally gives him the chance to make her fall in love with him for real.
Unsurprisingly, the chemistry between them is anything but fake. Unfortunately, their pasts are more than ready to blow everything up.
I love a man who pines, and Baird (aka “Bear,” and yes—adorable) absolutely delivers. He’s been down bad for Maia since the moment they met, even when she was engaged to someone else. I really respected that he never crossed a line or made a move until she was single—it says everything about the kind of man he is.
And Maia? A genuine sweetheart who deserved better. Better from her mother, better from her ex, better from her coworkers. Watching someone so kind get repeatedly shortchanged hurt—but watching her finally claim her space, her voice, and her happiness was incredibly satisfying.
What I loved most was how solid Maia and Baird are together. They lift each other up, protect each other when the world turns sharp, and communicate rather than spiral. In a genre that often manufactures conflict between MCs, it was refreshing to see a couple who felt real—and honestly? I believe they’d go the distance outside the pages.
Thank you to @valentine_pr_ for the ARC! 💛
For fans of: ⚽ Soccer Romance | 💘 He Falls First | 💍 Fake Engagement | 🤍 Friends to Lovers | 🔥 Slow Burn | 😏 Reformed Playboy | 👨👩👧 Family Dynamics | 🛡️ Protective Hero
Bookstagram #ARCReview #SoccerRomance #FakeEngagement #HeFallsFirst #FriendsToLovers #ReformedPlayboy #ProtectiveHero #RomanceReaders #SamanthaYoung #HartStreetLane