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Reckless Love #1

Chasing After You

Mirabelle Walker

I've accomplished a lot in twenty years.

After becoming a decorated Olympian at the age of seventeen, I continued my streak of overachieving by graduating from college a year early. I scored the PR internship of a lifetime with an NFL team based on my own merits, and not because my father was their quarterback his entire career. The only thing I haven't accomplished is falling in love.

Actually—that's technically not the truth. I fell in love with Henry Price, my parents' best friends' son, years ago. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd have a chance to make him see me the same way, but when the opportunity arises for me to help Henry fix the PR disaster threatening to ruin his career by pretending to be his girlfriend, I dive in headfirst.

Henry Price

From the time I learned to throw a football, I knew I was destined to play in the NFL.

I spent most of my rookie contract learning from my parents' best friend, the legendary Sebastian Walker, knowing I would spend my entire career trying to be half the player he was.

I never thought it would almost slip through my fingers, or that the lifeline to keeping it would come from his daughter, Mirabelle. I've known her my entire life, and because of that, I've never allowed myself to look at her the way I'm now being forced to, as she helps me save my career by pretending to be my girlfriend.

I try to keep my intrusive thoughts in check, until Mirabelle confides in me why her ex-boyfriend broke up with her, and I selfishly offer to help her become more confident in the bedroom.

I've always viewed love as conditional, but Mirabelle Walker makes me want more for myself, until I'm reminded that love can be as unpredictable as the ocean.

468 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 26, 2025

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About the author

Laurea Matthews

9 books167 followers

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5 stars
225 (27%)
4 stars
287 (35%)
3 stars
215 (26%)
2 stars
59 (7%)
1 star
19 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
Profile Image for Emma Strawbridge.
164 reviews5 followers
July 13, 2025
guys I have to come clean. I saw this book in an Instagram ad. I’m in a little bit of a slump and I thought this could cheer me up at best and at worst it’s cheesy and it’s about sports and I might laugh at it. I was completely wrong. This is genuinely the worst book I have ever read in my life. The characters are terrible, there are like four different plots going on, it ends on a massive cliffhanger that doesn’t make any sense, I don’t even think the main characters should be together in the end, even though they break up like six times I feel like we should’ve stayed broken up, and the dialogue is deeply unnatural and doesn’t make any sense because no human speaks like that. also, the girl in the couple is 20 and the boy is 25 which I actually don’t have any problem with except for the fact that every single other character in the book spoke about it so seriously like it was statutory rape to the point where I thought guys maybe we should’ve just not done this at all. It was so intense that it made me feel weird about the author choosing to make the girl character 20 when according to her storyline, she just as well could’ve been 23 or 24. I just can’t emphasize enough that this book is so bad and I stayed up so late to finish it and it was not worth my time. I would not recommend this book to my worst enemy. Do not make the same mistake I did. Do not follow Instagram recommendations.
Profile Image for Sh3ila.
54 reviews2 followers
May 30, 2025
There was nothing adult about the FMC. I get that she was 20 but I’ve met my fair share of 20y/o w/more maturity than her. If she called him an a$5hole one more time I was gonna scream. The conversations between them were boring. Most of the plots the story was supposed to be based around never got resolved or was in the epilogue as a cliffhanger. Sorry but I don’t think I can suffer through another book in this series to find out what happened next.
Profile Image for Anca A.
664 reviews72 followers
April 25, 2025
#Review: *Chasing after you* - Laurea Matthews - ARC [18+]
4.9/5✨
2.5/5🌶️

I found out about this author on Instagram and I was mesmerized by this book! When I saw that ARC signups are open, I ran so fast to fill out the form🤭. Thank youu so, so much Laurea for this beautiful e-copy!!

This story was built around three families: The Walkers, The Lewises and The Prices. Out of all members, the focus of this 1st book was on Mirabelle Walker and Henry Price. Being in close proximity all their lives, Mirabelle had a strong connection with Henry and his sister Kaitlyn, but for him she nourished a little crush, which only grew stronger over the years.

Mirabelle was a former gymnast who was now working at the same place as Henry, where her uncle was the coach of the football team. Henry was part of the team as a player. But things suddenly went out of control for Henry, who had a bad reputation and he needed to clean it up. Everything went ablaze when Henry was photographed with Mirabelle in some comfortable stants and that brought alive an idea of a fake relationship to correct his image.

This book had so many twists and turns!! I loved everything about it, especially the unique connection Henry and Mirabelle had. Their fake relationship was really addicting and I couldn't stop from reading. Henry's possessiveness was the cutest and I liked how this little relationship grew in time. It was just something special there, but they were both afraid to speak up about their real feelings.

Besides the love story, I liked that we had some pretty suspenseful parts and some interesting secrets, which left me jaw dropping. The interaction between the family members was also super interesting to follow, all of them having a big role in the whole story, some hiding some secrets from the past which will affect them in the present.

A very addicting story, with characters which will steal your hearts and make you love them unconditionally. I really liked the complexity of this book and how easy it was to enter this world. I really, really cannot wait for the next part of this series, especially with that unexpected ending😮.

✨Tropes
#FakeDating
#GrumpySunshine
#AgeGap
#ItsAlwaysBeenYou
#NFLqbOlympicGymnast
#ProtectiveMMC
#FriendsToLovers
#SpicyToDoList
Profile Image for Mackenzie Hirschmann.
68 reviews33 followers
April 30, 2025
Gosh this book was so good. I found it nearly impossible to put it down. Mirabelle was such a strong FMC and I admired how she put up with nobodies bs. Mirabelle is one of those people that cares more about others around her than caring for herself. And she most certainly did not like being told what to do. She worked hard for what she accomplished in her life while being stuck in the limelight of her well known father and that made me admire her more.
Henry…… okay Henry wouldn’t know obvious if it hit him in the face (his favorite word)
This man was oblivious to the fact that Mirabelle has been in love with him since the first moment they met. Watching Henry fall in love with her over the time they spent together couldn’t have been any better. This story was a classic friends to lovers. There’s also some twists and turns that were shocking but added amazingly to the story and the overall plot. I really enjoyed reading this and I really enjoyed Mirabelle and Henry’s story 🩷
Profile Image for Nora A.
256 reviews39 followers
August 8, 2025
“Now that I know what it's like to be her person-to be the person Mirabelle Walker looks at like I'm the most amazing thing she's ever seen-I'm powerless to resist her.”

- fake dating
- Grumpy x sunshine
- it’s always been you
- friends to lovers

Wow. Wow. I can’t believe it took me this long to read chasing after you. This was a fun, adorable story to read. I love Henry and mirabelle so much, I could feel the chemistry through my kindle.
Profile Image for Kristen Pastuf.
203 reviews3 followers
March 30, 2025
With each book Laurea puts out, I am more amazed at how much she grows as an author. I am always so honored to read an ARC for her. This book was amazing! All of the characters are so likeable.

Mira is a force to be reckoned with, she is determined, fun, confident, and spunky. She knows what she wants and goes after it, earning the things she has. She isn’t handed anything regardless of her families fame and fortune, which is a trait I love about her.

Henry is *chefs kisssss* 🤩 he’s humble but confident. He’s private and wants to slip into the background even though he’s a well known public figure. I liked how his character was portrayed throughout, and we were able to see through the many layers of him.

I really loved how Laurea incorporated some suspense into the storyline. I was flipping pages lightening quick to find out what was happening. The story ends on a CLIFFHANGER… and I absolutely CANNOT wait to devour what’s next.

This is a (relatively) long book but it reads like a novella. It’s incredibly fast faced and effortless to sit down and binge in one sitting.
Profile Image for Lark _thebookchamber.
653 reviews89 followers
May 2, 2025
I absolutely adored Mirabelle and Henry! 🥹 I loved seeing these childhood bestfriends were absolutely perfect. I loved getting to see the depth and many layers they each had. Henry, with his career, tries to keep his life pretty private. He’s humble and charming! when his character and place on the team starts getting questioned, fake dating his friend is the solution that were given! Mirabelle is great. She’s confident, hardworking- despite her family fame- and trying to pave a way for herself. I loved seeing her childhood crush reciprocated during their fake dating stunt, even with the confusion and anger it brought to their families. The added suspense had me second guessing every side character and seeing the outcome left me wanting Bailey’s story so much! I feel like there’s a lot to unpack with him! Overall, lots of emotion, love, and growth in this story and I can’t wait to see what the author has for us next! 💖
Profile Image for Kaity.
2,001 reviews48 followers
August 30, 2025
holy fxck, these two are so cute <3
Profile Image for Kait.
264 reviews8 followers
March 28, 2025
This was my first book by Laurea Matthews and gosh I cannot wait for more. This book had a little bit of every trope and it was so exciting to read. Laurea did an amazing job at writing characters (including side characters) and piecing together the plot and story lines.

Mirabelle is absolutely hilarious. She was strong, confident, down to earth and her personality and spunk was refreshing. Henry was broody yet so sweet and kind. He was always there for everyone around him.

I loved that we got to learn about them in depth and truly get a glimpse of understanding them. Their relationship made me so giddy, they had banter, spice and a whole lot of heart. I absolutely loved how the story was written to continue as a series - I cannot wait to see who's next for the series.

🏈NFL Player
🏅Gold Medalist Olympian
💓Friends to Lovers
🏈Fake Dating
🏅Forced Proximity
💓Secret Pining
🏈Romantic Suspense
Profile Image for Carmen Dillard.
154 reviews1 follower
April 9, 2025
Once again Laurea doesn’t miss! The way I could not get enough of Henry and Mirabelle both together and separately. I really enjoyed the fact that they are the next generation from the previous books.

The nickname Henry uses just has me like 🫠😍 and the tropes in this book are chefs kiss😙👌🏻 there were quite a few moments I was laughing but also like ohhh my lorddd.. like the pool scene where the specific visitors arrive cause if you know YOU KNOW! My face was like 😳 and the embarrassment was so real.

Just like the previous books I LOVED how the characters switched up to French and I found the little tabs to translate next them really clever. There was no back and forth as long as you click on it the translation was on the same page. It truly adds something special in my opinion.

Was it a little predictable meaning their relationship? Yes, but I was still so invested and enjoyed every freaking moment! I did have an idea about the fire issue and was spot on with it however still left on that cliffhanger and still needing to know more.

Overall you could say I love this book just the like the other two!🥰💗
Profile Image for reese.
263 reviews
August 11, 2025
feeling vvvvvverrrry generous by giving this 3 stars. liked it enough ? the characters were ok? lots of confusing side plots and characters that never developed far enough for my liking? good palate cleanse tho i guess?
Profile Image for Caitlin Clouthier.
42 reviews
July 22, 2025
I just didnt love the writing but the storyline was cute, i will be reading the next prob lol
4 reviews
July 10, 2025
Mirabelle deserves so much better than Henry!
She was so in love with him to see that.
Author didn’t do good enough job for that third act breakup resolution. Though I would say they behaved as any 20 year olds would. FMC leaving was the best decision but MMC didn’t earn or grovel at all to get her back.
Resolving everything in one chapter itself with no actual communication.
I clocked it that it was always FMC saying she loves him and he’d respond I love you too.
I don’t think these would make it out in reality.
For such a strong FMC in her conviction of herself and self esteem, she sure teared up a lot. Don’t know why it irked me a lot.
French usage annoyed me more as I had to flip through pages to get to the actual meaning. This could have been avoided by just having translation next to it.
Anyway, it was nice enough to read in beginning and then it lost steam. Spicy scenes were not giving at all. For all his offer of giving her spicy lessons they had pretty tame scenes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for carmie voracious reader.
285 reviews
July 2, 2025
liked it until the breakup. The whole thing just pissed me off he overreacted so much and no communication whatsoever. So many secrets throughout the relationship. i’m dnfing and i don’t even give a fuck who set fire to the house/ watching her or why his mum keeps phoning (if it’s just about money that’ll piss me off more)

the more i’m typing the lower i want to score it. 2.75

petty ps but the name mirabelle irks me so much i haaaate it
Profile Image for Kristin.
940 reviews146 followers
April 7, 2025
Childhood friends to forbidden love romance! He is the star quarterback and she is the new PR intern to straighten out his image. But these two have history as they have known each other their entire life. Mirabelle and Henry just have that instant chemistry that seems to attract one another. However, since they have been childhood friends for years neither one wants to make the first move– so much tension and pining as these two finally give into all the feelings! They speak French to one another!!

I have just loved this world of characters that Laurea Matthews has created. The story really starts with the first generation of characters in Little Do You Know and Almost. This duet is Thalia and Sebastian’s story and introduces the parents in this next generation series. The way she takes you on such a roller coaster of emotions. All the angst and emotions as these characters fall in love and struggle with their feelings.

If you love a good forbidden romance, fake dating, surfing, slow burn, childhood friends to lovers story read this one!

Profile Image for novelequestrian.
81 reviews3 followers
March 4, 2026
LAUREA 👏🏻 FREAKING 👏🏻 MATTHEWS

let me tell you all if you have not read one of her books you are really sleeping on an rising star! she is such a dedicated author from the books, to her marketing to the stunning art she gives us! I LOVE IT!

now for this book….i have been in a slump a mega slump and this book pulled me right out of it! every night you could find me reading it until I couldn’t keep my eyes open!

Mirabelle - ughh I just loved her character! typically when a girl pines after a guy forever I feel like they become whiny and maybe even are a frustrating character BUT mirabelle WAS NOT one of those! Her character development was amazing! I loved her story and the grace she had through the whole book.

Henry - love a man who doesn’t see what’s right in front of him (typical) but the pining and yearning was perfection!

I can’t wait to read more by Laurea!! She has such a bright future ahead of her! 🤍🤍🤍
Profile Image for mayte ★⋆ ˚.
88 reviews2 followers
May 21, 2026
super short review because it’s 3am and i genuinely don’t want to write anymore 🧚🏻‍♀️
★★★☆☆

did i like it? yes. did i enjoy it? also yes. but i feel like i finished this book with more questions than answers 🧚🏻‍♀️ i totally understand there are more books and that a lot of things get developed later on, but even within the main relationship i felt like something was missing. because yes, you’re telling me they’ve known each other their whole lives… BUT I WASN’T THERE 😭

there were scenes i really liked, and clearly this book did something to me because here i am at 3am thinking about it instead of sleeping like a normal person, but i just didn’t connect with it emotionally as much as i expected to, and that made me sad because i had read another book by this author before and i loved it.

anyway, it wasn’t a bad book. i just think it wasn’t my book. and i’m still going to read the others because i NEED answers ‼️
Profile Image for Sarah Paul.
9 reviews
April 12, 2025
Overall: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Spice: 2.5/5

I was lucky enough to receive this book as an ARC and I’m so happy I did. This book was soooo good and has so many tropes so it’s perfect for everyone! We have slow burn, fake dating, childhood friends to lovers, he teaches her, a bit of mystery and more. Laurea is such a great writer, and despite being a slow burn, it felt very fast paced! While sometimes I found myself confused with how fast the plot shifted, it all eventually came back to one point.
I’m not a huge fan of slow burn, it feels like it drags on, but this book held my attention so well. I loved every part of it. (It only took so long to read for me because life lol). The only thing I did not like was the mystery throughout the book felt a little rushed and barely touched on, but I believe it leads up to the next book!

This is a second gen book, but is also a stand alone so reading the Bad at Love Duology is not required, I did not read it and did not feel like I missed anything! I will be reading the duology after this! Bonus points is Laurea has the whole Reckless Love series already on a schedule!!!!! Can’t wait to read more!

I received an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for a review and these thoughts are entirely my own.
Profile Image for simran .
39 reviews1 follower
June 21, 2025
I think the book was okay, I really liked the storyline of Thalia and Bash, so it felt like the author was trying to recreate that with a couple new twist, but the characters (Mirabelle) was a force to be reckoned with!! I discovered this author on tiktok and the first two books were very good!! I wish I could re-read them for the first time, this book had the same dynamic but I felt like nothing could top the first two books 📖🎀
Profile Image for Tara.
Author 3 books63 followers
August 17, 2025
I enjoyed this book, but my only pet peeve is that they speak a lot of French and don't elaborate on what is being said. It does add an extra level to their relationship, but I really wish I knew what was being said.
Profile Image for aanya ✧.*.
141 reviews12 followers
September 7, 2025
this was beyond atrocious. truly the worst thing i’ve ever read. i’d love to say this is the last time i get sucked in by instagram fan art but we all know that’s not the truth…..
Profile Image for Marley Dean.
14 reviews
September 7, 2025
YES

I loved this book!! I flew through it because it kept me so interested the whole time. Can’t wait to read the next one!!
Profile Image for Lindsay Richard.
10 reviews38 followers
April 1, 2025
I was so honored that I got picked to read an ARC from Laurea Matthews. This book did not disappoint, and I couldn’t put it down.

Mirabelle and Henry have grown up together (despite their 5 year age gap) and despite trying to hide her feelings for him she finds herself in a predicament when his image needs some PR help.

Henry is a moody, broody, sweetheart. Honestly the perfect book boyfriend if you ask me. Mirabelle has been in his life since he can remember and he promises to always take care of her. He just can’t help but also notice all the other great things about her…

Mirabelle is sassy, spunky, so in touch with her emotions, and I absolutely loved her. She says what’s on her mind and it was so refreshing!

Found family
Fake dating
Sports romance

This was an immediate 5 star for me, I was up all night reading because I needed to know what happened!
Profile Image for chlogirlll.
105 reviews3 followers
June 14, 2025
I loved this booked, but I especially LOVED the Walker sibling dynamic - JJ & Mirabelle’s brother and sister relationship is goals 💛💛

Also, that cliffhanger at the end!! So good.
Profile Image for Taigan.
53 reviews
July 4, 2025
This was great! It was a little jumpy, with days or weeks going by from one paragraph to the next. But it’s moved along at a nice speed. I did pick the arsonist almost straight away and I really hope that storyline continues in the instalment.
Can’t wait to read the next one
Profile Image for Stella.
136 reviews22 followers
April 1, 2025
"I don’t know what I did to deserve Mirabelle Walker’s affection, but I’ll do anything to keep it." - Henry

Tropes:
🩷 Grumpy X Sunshine
🩷 Slow burn
🩷 Age gap
🩷 Sports romance
🩷 Friends to lovers
🩷 Olympic gymnast X NFL quarterback
🩷 Fake dating
🩷 Protective of each other

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️/5

I had the wonderful opportunity to read this book as an ARC and I thought it was great. For me personally, it was a little bit all of the place but the main themes did stay strong throughout the book.

Henry and Mirabelle have known each other forever and Mira has always had a crush on Henry so when she has the opportunity to fake date him to help with his image she immediately says yes. As time goes on Henry starts to see Mira in a different light and he only wants her.

Mira and Henry fit well together and you see that throughout this book. As well as, how they always stick up for each other when it matters the most.

"Chasing After You" will be available on April 26th and I cannot wait to continue with the rest of the series!

“You’re . . . incandescent. You’re a beacon of light in a world that has seen too many tragedies. You’re the sun in the middle of a hurricane. You’re everything good that a person could possibly be, all wrapped into one, and that’s exactly what you deserve. You deserve everything, Mirabelle.” - Henry
Profile Image for Bianca.
162 reviews3 followers
April 28, 2025
2.5 🌟 rounded up

This was a cute and somewhat lighthearted sports romance that read more like a coming of age story. While the plot did contain some deeper, more serious content matter and had great potential, it wasn't well executed and was really difficult to follow at times. This book had so many characters that I was constantly having to refer back to the character list at the beginning of the book. Also, despite our MMC being 25/26, he has some serious growing up to do (and needs therapy), and being in a relationship with what was a strongly written FMC was not the answer.

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Janet⚔️.
42 reviews2 followers
March 30, 2025
This was such a good read; I loved Mira and Henry's story so much
The Love and Friendship they shared not just with each other but between their family!!! (Def read Little Do You Know & Almost 🩷)

Mira is so determined and soooo stubborn, reminds me of myself :)

" I wonder what his hands would feel like if he put them on me?"

" Does he like to be gentle or rough?" 😏😏
Profile Image for Page Jedi.
438 reviews4 followers
March 17, 2025
This book has a little bit of something for everyone, which is one of my favorite things about it.
The friends to lovers vibes were actually epic and I adored our main characters. I love that they both came with a lot of depth and we got to really understand everything about each of them individually before we saw them together.
I know I’m totally gonna be in for a ride with this series, there was so much hidden mystery throughout the book that I am absolutely dying for answers to.
I feel like this would be a perfect valentines book and summer read, the romance had me kicking my feet, blushing, swooning, screaming (at times) and just all the things!
I really enjoyed the writing style, the author did a great job describing all aspects of the characters and settings really making me feel like I was there and that I could be friends with the characters.(Which I loved)
The storyline is complex and totally leads on for the rest of the series, I feel like this book just allowed me to dip my toe into this series and I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book!
I am absolutely beyond honored to have beta read this and these opinions are my own.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews