I Think He Knows

Donovan Family #2

by Katie Bailey

I fell in love with Carter James Callahan’s smart-mouthed smirk long before it was labeled “The Sexiest Smile In Hollywood”. I also fell for his broad, muscular shoulders, his impossibly blue eyes, his… Nope! Not going there anymore. Because while Carter may frequent my dreams every night, I will only ever frequent his friend zone. Which is why I’m on an official mission to rid myself of my pesky feelings for him—I’m gonna put myself out there, start dating, and stop hopelessly crushing on my best friend. Deep down, I know this is for the best. It would never work between I’m a single mom with an impressive collection of stained sweatpants, he’s a serial-dating celeb heartthrob who never wants to be tied down to anything or anyone. So when the media breaks a story that Carter is getting married, nobody is more shocked than I am. Especially when I click on the article and see that his mysterious fiancée is… me?!

I Think He Knows is a laugh-out-loud funny, swoony, closed door romantic comedy. Expect mild language, innuendo and suggestive jokes coupled with tons of chemistry and tension, but no explicit scenes.

Genres: Romance, Friends To Lovers, Audiobook, Fake Dating, Contemporary Romance, Rom Com, Contemporary

338 pages, Paperback

First published June 23, 2023

About the author

Katie Bailey is an Amazon top 25 bestselling author of rom coms with relatable characters and tons of chemistry. Her aim with every new love story she writes is to give readers a good laugh, maybe even a bit of a cry, but definitely leave them with a new book boyfriend.

When she’s not busy writing, Katie spends her time chasing twin tornado littles, cursing the cold Canadian winters she endures each year, chugging coffee by the bucketload, and crushing on her husband, who’s the real life inspiration behind all of the fictional men she’s written.

You can connect with Katie on Instagram @authorkatiebailey

Reviews

[♡Molly♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was honestly so cute and good and just amazing! Literally read it in one sitting last night and stayed up way too late finishing it but it was worth it!

[kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute and fluffy and packed full of taylor swift references 😇 a lot of closed door books are overly sweet for me, but this one had good tension. Ignoring the obvious feelings went on for a bit long, but the conflict wasn't annoyingly dragged out.

[Dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much to say and not at all worth writing out …but I will write about the ungodly amount of tik tok and pop culture references that make me fear for the future of literature

[Gabriella୨ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

these characters have my entire heart and soul 🥺

[Cristine (aaron warner’s version) ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t want to say it in case it would be jinxed but I am finishing books really fast these past few days🥺😂 For what felt like months, I can barely finish a book because whenever I have time, I always use them for a quick nap. Being a uni student sucks.

Anyway, moving on to my review, I think this book is such a wholesome read. The moment Carter and Lana met, they had this undeniable connection. Maybe that’s why they’ve been best friends for forever before finally admitting their feelings for each other. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a good longtime bestfriends turned to lovers so it made this book more enjoyable for me. While I don’t usually like celebrity romance, I quite enjoyed this one because there were no drama with the public’s opinion etc. Those things always make my head ache so I’m grateful that this book is drama free. The fake engagement thrown in was also so fun. Allegra, Carter and Lana Mae are their each other’s found family and I love that. There were also such supportive people, specifically Anthony, Carter’s assistant. They were such a hardcore shipper of Carter x Lana ahahaha.

But who nicknames their kid Legs and get away with it? No hate of some kind, just curious lol

[ari [gin’s vrsn 🩵] [semi ia] · Rating 5 out of 5]

6⭐

14+

romance: 8/10 (loads more innuendo and dirty jokes than the last book. they talk about sex quite a bit towards the end. there is not any on page sex, but on the last page you know they're about the do it. there are 4 or 5 passionate kiss scenes, no hands up the shirts or anything like that, but it's clear they are steamy kisses.)

violence: 0/10 (the only thing is carter punches a man 🤷‍♀️ and it's mentioned that he has stalkers, but that's to be expected of a famous actor. they don't get into any of it.)

cursing: 3/10 (h3ll, d@mn, sh!t one time, a$$ a couple times, wh0re once. not bad)

other: lana mae struggles with depression and anxiety.

tropes: best friends to lovers, celebrity romance, single mom, one bed, fake dating, forced proximity

dual pov, 1st person, present tense

-----OVERVIEW-----

what the actual FRICKKKKK.

KATIE STOP WRITING THE MOST PERFECT MEN!!! I CAN'T KEEP UP!!!

i didn't think anything could top so that happened. but NOPE. i was wrong. she somehow managed to top LIAM FRICKING DONOVAN. HOW? IDK.

this book was so funny 😭😭😭

i was WHEEZING.

the amount of taylor swift references made my swiftie heart happy. the last one was riddled with one direction references, but this one? it was quite literally written for her song dress.

the gilmore girl's references are a YES. i've only seen 5 episodes, but i loved that aspect sm sm sm sm.

KATIE BAILEY 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️

-----CHARACTERS-----

CARTER FRICKING JAMES FRICKING CALLAHAN. yes yes yes yes a million trillion times yes. he's good with kids (legs specifically), he can cook (pancakes specifically... not thai. don't ask for thai...) he's caring, he's head over heels for her. ughhhhhhh this man. this. man. THIS. STINKING. MAN. he is absolute perfection. delicious. 11/10 (or should i say 6/10, like a certain pizza face 👀)

LANA MAE DONOVAN. she's so sweet. so independent. such an amazing mother. she truly didn't deserve what happened to her. her relationship with her siblings and daughter is so heartwarming.

ALLEGRA LIANA DONOVAN. she's so sassy. i couldn't be more proud of her. and her bridgerton cosplay 🥹🥹🥹 (not actual bridgerton btw. lol you'll see)

ANTHONY. he lowkey gives gay best friend. (never confirmed or denied), but idk i could be wrong. i love his personality.

LIAM, ANNIE, MINDY, AND LUKE. the dream team of shenanigans and dirty jokes. the scenes with the siblings there were the most laugh out loud parts of the book.

STEVAN. DIE. that's all.

-----QUOTES-----

how am i supposed to choose just a few? 😭

"'i love you, carter. always have. always will. no matter what.'
he swallows shakily. 'i love you too, lana mae.'"

"but what i needed was her."

"'llama, i don't want any part of my world not to have you in it.'"

"'you look so hot right now, i am having a very hard time keeping my hands off of you.'"

"it's me and him.
him and me.
at this moment, nobody and nothing else matters."

"no matter where i am on this planet, she is home to me. she is my happy.
her and allegra.
my found family.
and i'm a man who plans - no vows- to always be there for his family."

-----CONCLUSION-----

katie is right. in a world of boys, she writes gentlemen.

and now i am trying oh so valiantly to not go on amazon and buy all of her books. I AM TRYING, OKAY? but if y'all see them on my books i own shelf later don't blame me. love made me crazy, alright?

-----PLAYLIST-----

there are some very specific scenes that correspond to some of the songs, but i promise they make sense after you read it lol

devil doesn't bargain - alec banjamin
wallflower - alex sampson
he never will - alexander stewart
carry you home - alex warren
count on me - bruno mars
just the way you are - bruno mars
it's always been you - caleb hearn
high, high, high - camylio
all to myself - dan + shay
speechless - dan + shay
you - dan + shay
nobody's you - dylan brady
perfect - ed sheeran
long story short - forest blakk
the good ones - gabby barrett
too sweet - hozier
red flag - kyle hume
pointless - lewis capaldi
best song ever - one direction
drag me down - one direction
perfect - one direction
history - one direction
last first kiss - one direction
if i can't have you - shawn mendes
all too well (10 minute version. duh) - taylor swift
dancing with our hands tied - taylor swift
dress - taylor swift
enchanted - taylor swift
gorgeous - taylor swift
i almost do - taylor swift
i think he knows - taylor swift
lover - taylor swift
it's nice to have a friend - taylor swift
paper rings - taylor swift
paris - taylor swift
miss americana and the heartbreak prince - taylor swift
maroon - taylor swift
love story - taylor swift
this is why we can't have nice things - taylor swift
starlight - taylor swift
stay stay stay - taylor swift
best friend - thomas mac
she looks so perfect - 5 seconds of summer

[May (previously Violet) · Rating 5 out of 5]

» It's Always Been You - Caleb Hearn «
0:53 ─〇─────2:49
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

✧˚ · If only she knew that any and all versions of me share one thing in common: they’re all hers. · ˚✧

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 6 stars
Dual POV
Spice level - 1.5/5 🌶️ (some kissing, sexual innuendo, talk of having or previously having sex, and implied at the end--as a married couple)
Age rating: 14+

⁺˚⋆｡° 🎬 My Thoughts 🎬 °｡⋆˚⁺
Y’all I thought “So That Happened” was good, but this one is somehow even BETTER. Katie Bailey swept the floor with this one 🧹💨

If I was not laughing uncontrollably I was full on swooning and giggling like a 9 year old. This was such an adorable and humorous book that I couldn’t put down. I literally was crying from laughing so hard on one of the chapters, Katie knows how to make all her books relatable but filled with comedy at the same time.

One of my favorite pieces of this book was the family gc and how you got to see the personality of every single one of your favorite characters shine through ✨

Ummm…can we talk about the references?! Lots of people don’t like modern references in books, but I adore the way it makes me feel like I’m in the characters’ shoes. As a Taylor Swift and big time Gilmore Girls fan I was literally squealing with joy (yes, squealing, it didn’t look great on me ik) every time they were mentioned

⁺˚⋆｡° 🏄 Plot 🏄°｡⋆˚⁺
The plot was phenomenal and well thought out. She managed to perfect both the best friend trope and the celebrity trope all in one. I loved the cameos from the other book and getting to see my favorite characters in the next step of their lives. The character development and the development of the romance was absolutely perfect…I know that’s not giving much information but I am just so in awe of this book. Check it out to see what I mean, literally I felt like nothing was too forced in this book. The flow was amazing. The plot development was amazing. The relationship was amazing. Y’all the whole entire frickin book was amazing

⁺˚⋆｡° ⛺ Characters ⛺ °｡⋆˚⁺
➥ Lana Mae: I loved her personality. She talked about a lot of insecurities and difficulties many women have and relate to, such as anxiety, depression, insecure about lack of curves (which I personally related to extremely), and overall not feeling like enough. She had some trauma in the past but she still came out an amazing mom and such a fun character. I loved her light hearted spirit and her humor and most certainly her Gilmore Girls obsession. She was such a well written and funny fmc.
╰┈> I Think He Knows - Taylor Swift ♫₊˚.
➥ Carter: Pffffffffftttttttt…I didn’t think a book boyfriend could get hotter than Liam but boy was I WRONG. Holy schnitzel, he was so sweet and so protective. Getting to see his soft side for Lana was adorable. He was not only everything you would want in a man but also everything you would want in a best friend. I loved getting to see his journey in his friendship with Lana Mae (also the butt acting to acting industry). He was the perfect book boyfriend and so fun to read about.
╰┈> Speechless - Dan+Shay ♫₊˚.
➥ Legs: This girl was the glue of the book and I loved her sass and how sweet she was. Getting to see her interact with her mom and Carter was amazing.
╰┈> Drag Me Down - One Direction ♫₊˚.
➥ Mindy: I loved her humor and spunk and there wasn’t a single time that I wasn’t laughing when she was apart of the conversation
╰┈> Til the World Gets Sick of Us - Alex Sampson ♫₊˚.

⁺˚⋆｡° 📸 Conclusion 📸 °｡⋆˚⁺
I'd suggest this book to literally anyone out there. It is seriously one of my favorites of all time. The chemistry between the two mcs was freaking INSANE and I adored it. As Rosemary puts it:
I believe this is what Timber calls “a match” ☝️🤓

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books I found on KU and decided to read pretty much immediately even though my tbr pile will never go away. It was book 2 in a series and that didn’t bother me a bit. Characters from the first book show up but nothing got ruined for me if I wanted to go back and read that one. I ended up glad I read it. It’s heartwarming to say the least. A couple meets on what is probably one of the worst days for the heroine when she’s just seventeen. He becomes her best friend and ends up in Hollywood as a mega celebrity actor. He always spends his downtime in Atlanta visiting his friend and her child. As far as the heroine? She’s pretty much loved him since she was a teenager. Of course it has a happily ever after-it’s contemporary romance after all. I just really enjoyed the journey for these two. Lots of growth for them as well. I really enjoyed her little girl’s character too. His assistant was just the icing on the cake and her family just took it over the top as far as fun characters. It was a fun, romantic book with no on page sex. I didn’t miss it. Recommended to romance readers looking for a good read.

[ali wynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

idk what my thoughts are LOL it was cute, not my fav, kinda cringe, but not bad? So I feel like ~3 stars is an accurate way to depict my feelings on this book.

[Mary Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️ Katie Bailey writes books that are such a silly good time. Low stakes, romantic, fun, the MMCs are always swoon worthy. You know. All the good stuff. Her books are on the ‘spicier’ side of closed-door romance. That being said, still very much closed-door. So that tension is tensioning! We love it.

I listened to this one actually, cause who has time to sit down and read these days, and it is the first audiobook in ages that I would recommend. The narrator’s did a really good job. I don’t say that often, so take with that what you will.

I enjoyed Lana Mae and Carter. I loved their friendship and dynamic. Maybe we could have had them give in to their feelings sooner than they did, but that is neither here nor there. Just a small qualm.

Friends to lovers has slowly but surely climbed my ranks of favorite tropes. Although at times, friends to lovers is so unrealistic. You’ve been friends for 10 years and all of sudden, poof, you’re in love. How did you not see each other romantically at least 9 years ago? Whatever. It’s fine. I still ate this up.

Was there really a plot? Not really. Did we get a fake engagement? Uh yes ma’am. But I think I would have liked more of the fake engagement things. Dates, outings, doing celebrity stuff. The whole bit. I think the fake engagement fell a little flat in that way but I still love this trope, so I’m not terribly bothered.

I think I liked this one just a smidge more than ‘So That Happened’ but just a smidge! I basically loved them the same. So I would recommend both. Quick reads, fun times. Enjoyable.

Allegra is a terrible name btw.

Read if you enjoy:
- Fake engagement
- Closed-door
- Dual POV
- Celebrity MMC
- Single mom
- Friends to lovers

Content 💋:
- Kisses only
- Mild infrequent language (10 H**l, 10 D**n, 6 A**)
- Mild innuendo

[adeela_books ❁ཻུ۪۪ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.7 stars ⭐️

✿ I received a free eARC from the author of this book. All opinions are my own and voluntarily so.Thank you! ✿

✨️ 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑠/𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑠:
• long time friends to lovers
• celebrity romance
• single mom
• family shenanigans
• fake engagement
• pop culture references
• closed door 🚪
• it's always been you
• dual pov

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔?


💌⁀➷


ITHK was a cute and heartwarming read that also touches and deals with serious topics in a gentle way like teen pregnancy,being a mom and body positivity.

It was refreshing to revisit the Donovan family and this time with Lana Mae taking center stage with the ever so amazing book bf, Carter Callahan. That man is swoon-worthy. And every Lana deserves their very own Carter ❤️

I gotta say I liked Liam and Annie's story just a little bit more but Lana and Carter shined well in this and it was enjoyable,sweet and funny!

I loved Carter's assistant Anthony so much. He was everything and I loved how he was Team Lana x Carter and rooted for them.

And Legs ah what a kid, sassy and smart indeed. I throughly enjoyed the moments between Carter and her. Including all of the family shenanigans really took this one home. And most of all Carter to you for setting standards and winning our hearts 🥺

Come dive into this book that makes a perfect summer read.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super swoony, kissing only, dual POV, friends to lovers, single mom, fake dating celebrity romance that is sure to get you in ALL the feels!

Perfect for fans of authors like Sarah Adams, Juliana Smith, Madison Wright or Emma St. Clair and soo good in its newly released audio format narrated by Avery Caris and Chris Ruen.

While this could be read as a standalone it is the second book in the Donovan Family series and you may enjoy it more reading the first book, So that happened, which features Lana Mae's brother, before you pick up this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!!

[Bella Wheaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was way too slow burn for me. They both loved each other and it took til like the last third of the book to say it!!!!! That being said this book made me laugh out loud multiple times. Cute story! But what’s up with all these book characters getting married after only months… get to know ur lover first yall. lol.

[jessicakaitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️!! Katie Bailey delivers another FANTASTIC rom com that’ll make you swoon, laugh, cry, and wish you could transport yourself into the story to hug all the characters.

Lana & Carter had the sweetest romance where they both have been pining after each other for years and everything finally comes to a point when they have to pretend to be engaged. Carter is so thoughtful and loves Allegra and Lana so fiercely. Lana is so relatable with her insecurities and fears about relationships and the sexual tension was so HOTTT.

This is closed door/fade to black but that didn’t take away from the story at all. I’ve read every single Katie Bailey book and each one is amazing.

I’ll say the ONLY thing I didn’t love was Carter’s supposed playboy history which was kind of left to the reader to infer. But looking past that, I LOVED this.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, that Donovan family. They are so fun and I love how Mindy, Annie, and Carter all fit so well while being SO different. And if this isn't a friends to more done right, I'm not sure what is.

If you like celebrity tropes, friends to more, fake dating, single parent, forced proximity, one bed, hilarious kiddos, camping, peach smoothies, and a truly entertaining assistant, read this book. Like now. Maybe twice.

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute!


I enjoyed this one, friends-to-lovers isn't a favorite trope of mine, but it's obviously super popular in books so I end up reading it a lot. I thought it was handled really well in this one though. Their reasons for not dating were believable and the transition to more-than-friends was great, lots of swoony tension. Carter and Lana Mae were both likable characters, their friendship was great...I actually love when characters have a really strong foundation of friendship (I guess I'm just picky about how it's portrayed in books). I thought it was well written and flowed well. Ms. Bailey is quickly becoming an auto buy author for me, I've really enjoyed her books so far.

Just a random thought...I didn't get why he just totally gave up acting. He really wanted the role, finally got the role and then suddenly wanted nothing to do with acting anymore? I get he finally is with Lana and he wants to pursue her...but why not do both? Maybe it's the military wife in me who has to move every couple years, but why couldn't Lana Mae and Allegra simply move with him to New Zealand while he filmed? What a great experience for all of them! She stopped working to write anyway, and she could write from anywhere. Just seemed weird for him to stop acting out of the blue like that. Maybe if he had been portrayed as not really liking acting or being unhappy in his career, but I never got that vibe from him.

Content Rated PG+
Clean romance, swoony kisses. Some mild innuendo. Teen pregnancy. Mild language sprinkled throughout. Very mild violence in form of a past fight, not overly violent or descriptive

[Suzan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was completely in love with the story and characters, and could not stop reading.

Lana Mae met Carter 10 years ago, and they have been best friends ever since. He supported her through a cheating boyfriend, becoming a single mom, the death of her mom, and all the struggles that followed.

She believed in him and encouraged him to pursue a career in acting, and continued to cheer him on as he became incredibly successful.

They’ve been in love with each other for years, but both felt they needed to keep things platonic. Happily, that all changes when the media mistakenly announces that they’re getting married. When that happens, and they start showing their true feelings for each other, the story gets even better.

What to expect:
💗 Single mom & celebrity
💗 Best friends to lovers
💗 Fake engagement
💗 Close proximity
💗 Fantastic chemistry & tension
💗 Delicious flirting & texts
💗 Cutest 9 yo daughter
💗 He is SO protective of Lana & her daughter
💗 Target shenanigans
💗 Found family
💗 Daddy daughter camp out
💗 It was always you
💗 Perfect ending

This was my first book by this author and I cannot wait to read everything else she’s written.

Many thanks to the author for an eARC. 💗

“ɪ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ʜᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡꜱ ɪꜱ ᴀ ʟᴀᴜɢʜ-ᴏᴜᴛ-ʟᴏᴜᴅ ꜰᴜɴɴʏ, ꜱᴡᴏᴏɴʏ, ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇᴅ ᴅᴏᴏʀ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴛɪᴄ ᴄᴏᴍᴇᴅʏ. ᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛ ᴍɪʟᴅ ʟᴀɴɢᴜᴀɢᴇ, ɪɴɴᴜᴇɴᴅᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴜɢɢᴇꜱᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴊᴏᴋᴇꜱ ᴄᴏᴜᴘʟᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛᴏɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴄʜᴇᴍɪꜱᴛʀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴇɴꜱɪᴏɴ, ʙᴜᴛ ɴᴏ ᴇxᴘʟɪᴄɪᴛ ꜱᴄᴇɴᴇꜱ.”

[Cassandra Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Think He Knows by Katie Bailey
4/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

•••Spoiler free review below•••

I loved book one in this world and while you definitely don't need to read it prior to I Think He Knows, I highly recommend it! Both reads are laugh out loud funny with relatable characters and hilarious high-jinx.

I Think He Knows follows single mother - Lana - who, after years of pinning for her famous best friend, has decided to finally date. Said best friend - Carter - who has (of course) been hopelessly in love with her the entire time, attempts to be supportive but can only pretend so much. Especially once the tabloids break the gossip that he is engaged to Lana.

Heartwarming and funny, this is a one sitting read and I highly recommend the audio version. Our narrators are perfect at capturing the hilarity of it all.

Read this book if you like:
- celebrity x single mother
- friends to lovers
- fake dating/fake engagement
- rom-coms
- Gilmore Girls references

I Think He Knows was released TODAY if it's not already on your tbr, it should be!
.
.
.
Special thanks to Dreamscape Media for sharing a free copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Review on Instagram

[Ella ✿ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loveedddd this book so much 🫶🫶
4.6 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ (rounded up)

I enjoyed this book so much, I think I preferred it to Annie and Liam ngl- though that one was amazing too. I love the best friends to lovers trope and this book wrapped it up sooo nicely.

Lana Mae- Lana is such an amazing character. It sucks how much she’s gone through with her parent’s issues, Steven, insecurities, teen pregnancy, etc. She had to deal with so much and seeing her overcome it and learn to love and value herself was so beautiful. She’s also got a great sense of humor and she’s honestly so real 😭

Carter- Find me a man like him, my goodness
😭🙏🏼 Carter is like an angel sent from heaven. He was there for Lana through everything, pushed away his feelings for her so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable and since she was going through a rough time. He watched Gilmore Girls with Lana even though he didn’t particularly care for it lmao. He cares so much for Lana and her daughter, Allegra (Legs) that it just warms my heart.

What’s better than a best friends to lovers trope? The famous and not-famous trope added on 😘 I always enjoy these because it always shows how much they’d give up for the other person and one of them almost always overcomes feeling like they’re not good enough for the other, famous one which makes me just feel such satisfaction.

And the CHEMISTRY between these two goodness gracious. I mean it took you ten years to figure out the other had requited love?? I mean I guess that just made it all the more special.

I also really enjoyed seeing more of Mindy, since I loved her in the last book, I mean she is absolutely hilarious. That whole butt cake thing was the cherry on top. And hearing that Annie and Liam eloped?? I need more!!
And their baseball tradition is so cute 🥺🥺 the whole Donovan family is such a dream, like the love that they all give each other is adorable.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh, smile, and just completely fan girl 😭 Sooo cute and a great add-on to the last book.

[Lillian B (Kaladin Stormblessed version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good!! Carter was AMAZING and I liked him even better than the guy in book one!!
Frtc

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this one up until the end. Once the main characters were finally together there was a LOT of inner monologuing about their feelings and I could’ve done with a little less. Otherwise, a very relatable FMC and diverting story. Also

❤️Friends to Lovers
❤️Fake Dating

[David R Zenz and Julie Zenz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just ok

It just went on and on. I just wanted it to be over so I made it over. I skipped a whole lot of pages and finally completely the book. I gave it three stars just to be nice but I think the book was really kind of boring and predictable.

[Carissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes I did I read (listen to) this book partly because I love the Taylor Swift song with this same name.

[Talia Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: this book had a character nicknamed “Legs” so it probably never stood a chance.

I had heard some stuff about Katie Bailey so I decided to give one of her books a try. I picked this one because the premise sounded funny: your Hollywood best friend gets engaged and you check the announcement and it’s you? Yeah sounded fun. And honestly the first half was fairly entertaining but then it went down hill.

Here are my issues with this book:
-it was the classic “best friends who know each other better than themselves” who have been best friends for 10 years and also in love with each other for 10 years. This plot will never work for me and I will always think it’s stupid. You’re seriously telling me that you’re so in love with your best friend that you can never even think about being with someone else but you’re never even going to try it? Or say anything? For 10 YEARS? Nah that shiz is stupid and I can’t stand it.
-all the characters were fetching annoying! You’re lying trying to tell me that these people are adults. I call BS on that. Teenagers, the lot of them. Except for Legs of course, she was probably 5 instead of the supposed 9.
-the nicknames. “Legs?” That’s a nope for me dawg. Also “Lawn.” Like I get that her name is Lana Mae and you’re just shortening it (it’s really “Lan” not “Lawn,” but you say it like “lawn”) but—and I will die on this hill—NOT EVERY BOOK CHARACTER NEEDS A NICKNAME OR A SHORTENED VERSION OF THEIR NAME. But if you INSIST on giving them a shortened version of their name, at least pick a name that doesn’t make me think of mowers and trimmers. (Also can I just say that Lana is a perfectly reasonable shortened version of Lana Mae and much better than Lawn)
-the cheesiness. Ugh I thought I was gonna hurl for real a few times there
-the “perfect, fantasy, dream man” sorry maybe the “perfect, fantasy, dream man”is hot to you or something, but I personally find him INCREDIBLY UNINTERESTING to read about on account of being FAKE AF
-The lack of showing. Idk how often I had to read about Carter being perfect and better than every man, woman, and child to ever grace the Earth without actually ever seeing him be perfect. Other than being hot, protective, mildly violent, and always saying exactly what the FMC wants to hear 24/7.
-the world’s stupidest 3rd act break up. Skip if you don’t want spoilers, I’m too lazy to tag. Lana Mae and Carter are headed to his movie premiere as a fake engaged couple to improve his public image. But at this point they’ve finally figured out, after 10 years, that they’re actually in love with each other. Great. But then a press person tells Lana Mae that that bar fight Carter was in was with her ex. Carter and Lana Mae go hide in a BROOM CLOSET and he says that said ex said mean things so he punched him. This causes Lana Mae to realize that this whole mess is all her fault because he *had* to defend her from her ex from 10 YEARS AGO and therefore she’s horrible and all wrong for Carter so she goes running out of the closet and the premiere in tears. Great for his image, right? Anywho, that shiz is too much for me.
-all the pop culture references. Ugh please stop doing this! I literally hate it so much. It’s tacky and I hate it. It also makes it hard for me to take the book seriously because it sounds like someone downloaded a bunch of Tik Tok clips into the book. Seriously, stop it.
-using the term “gaslighting” so horribly, horribly wrong. Please read the definition (somewhere real, not Tik Tok) and revise that whole stupid section of the book. Thank you
-and the icing on the cake.. at the end Carter quits his big Hollywood acting career to be closer to his *new* family… what kind of wet dream is this?

[Emily | emilyisoverbooked · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Katie Bailey for the ARC!

Omg, SWOON. While I absolutely love Katie’s books for making me laugh and smile as a romance blooms, this book also majorly pulled on my heartstrings and made me FEEL. The single mom pressure and anxiety and feelings of unworthiness from Lana were written so perfectly, and Carter was obviously everything she could ever need. His anticipation of Lana’s needs and interactions with Legs just made me melt. It was great to watch them finally come together as everyone else in their lives was rooting for them, too. This book is perfection: celebrity romance, laughter and heart squeezes, Gilmore Girls references, an amazing family dynamic, personal growth, and swoony romance. You can definitely read this without having read So That Happened, but it’s also incredible so you might as well read that one, too.

Read if you:
- shipped Rory and Jess in Gilmore Girls
- enjoy closed door romance
- have a favorite famous Chris
- like celebrity romance, he falls first, and friends to lovers tropes

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 76 of 2025

Look, if you are a Team Jess person, then this book is for you. Carter is the Jess to Lana Mae’s Rory…and the fact that watching Gilmore Girls was something these two would do together? Swoon.

There was something so beautiful about Lana Mae & Carter starting out with the most solid of friendships before they ever stepped outside the friend zone. Carter proved to her over and over that he would always show up for her & Allegra, not because she asked him to, but because he wanted to. What started out as a fake engagement flowed into the most natural of relationships. I was immediately hooked from the get go & gobbled this book up almost completely in one sitting. The cover of the book tags this as “an inevitable romance,” and I couldn’t agree more. There’s no better way to describe this book.

10/10 recommend & am so excited to see the next gen story with Allegra & Noah!

Format: audiobook (hoopla)

[Ashlee (bookswithnopictures) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was too cute! I read it as a standalone (haven't as of yet read the others in the series) and while I'm certain there are cameo appearances from the first book, I don't feel like I missed out on anything in order to enjoy this listen.
Lana Mae and Carter have been friends since she showed up on his doorstep looking for her boyfriend/his roommate. That night wasn't ideal but their friendship made the heartache worth it. Now, she's a single mom and he's a famous actor but their relationship has remained. Unfortunately, Carter is not looking so great in the tabloids and running back to Atlanta to prep Lana Mae for his fake engagement news turns out to put them in an unexpected and sticky situation.
I loved the narrators, Avery Caris & Chris Ruen, and would happily listen to them team up again. They personified Carter and Lana Mae together in an adorable performance.
Thank you to Dreamscape and Netgalley for the alc. All thoughts are my own.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up.
- dual pov
- best friends to lovers
- fake dating/fiancée
- one of them is a celebrity
- single parent

It was a cute rom com that I needed and I enjoyed it. It was a little slow paced for me (not that I like insta-love just that I was waiting and waiting for them to admit it- which is fine, I like the tension). It was kind of giving "Dress" by Taylor Swift, not necessarily about the dress part but everything else-- and yes I know that "I think he knows" is also a TS song (side note- it's not written about the song (I think)).

Anyway I decided I wanted to start writing review for books I liked.

[Madeline (bookswithmadi_) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another gem from Katie Bailey🙌🏻 I love love love Katie’s writing style and always enjoy reading her books. Carter is soo dreamy (tell me if your team Carter or team Liam in the comments) and I love Lana Mae. Even though I’m not a mom, I related to Lana’s so much. We also get to see the rest of the Donovan gang but my absolute favorite character is Legs. I laughed at so many of the things she said

This book might be for you if:
-your team Jess (the only right answer)
-you love friends to lovers, celebrity romances or fake dating
-you wish, like Lana Mae, that you had a super hot, super sweet, celebrity best friend who was in love with you
-you need a hug in book form

[Jessica Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it so much! This was such a happy book and I enjoyed the whole thing!