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Accidentally Husbands: A Queer Marriage of Convenience Romance
A data analyst and a bartender wake up married in Vegas and must fake being in love —until pretending turns into something real—in this marriage of convenience romance.
Benjamin Hale has his life perfectly under control—until he doesn’t. He’s built his life around spreadsheets and schedules. So when he’s under pressure to impress his boss at an upcoming wedding, he makes one tiny he lies. He says he has a wife. A wife that doesn’t exist.
So when he arrives in Vegas for the wedding, there’s one variable he didn’t account waking up hungover with a wedding ring on his finger—and a husband he barely knows.
Evan Hernandez is everything Benjamin isn’ spontaneous, charming, and perfectly chaotic. A bartender with zero interest in corporate life. So when Benjamin’s boss mistakes their accidental marriage for the real deal, the pressure’s on to play the part of a loving couple.
With a corporate spotlight on their every move—they must keep up the act of being madly in love, while ignoring the fact that it might not be an act at all. Benjamin and Evan must decide if what they’ve found is just a convenient drunken mistake… or the start of something real.
A heartfelt, slow-burn romance about self-discovery, letting go of control, and finding love where you least expect it.
Benjamin Hale has his life perfectly under control—until he doesn’t. He’s built his life around spreadsheets and schedules. So when he’s under pressure to impress his boss at an upcoming wedding, he makes one tiny he lies. He says he has a wife. A wife that doesn’t exist.
So when he arrives in Vegas for the wedding, there’s one variable he didn’t account waking up hungover with a wedding ring on his finger—and a husband he barely knows.
Evan Hernandez is everything Benjamin isn’ spontaneous, charming, and perfectly chaotic. A bartender with zero interest in corporate life. So when Benjamin’s boss mistakes their accidental marriage for the real deal, the pressure’s on to play the part of a loving couple.
With a corporate spotlight on their every move—they must keep up the act of being madly in love, while ignoring the fact that it might not be an act at all. Benjamin and Evan must decide if what they’ve found is just a convenient drunken mistake… or the start of something real.
A heartfelt, slow-burn romance about self-discovery, letting go of control, and finding love where you least expect it.
328 pages, Paperback
Published August 4, 2025
38 people are currently reading
445 people want to read
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March 11, 2026
4.5* obviously I expected to like this and that's why I bought it. obviously. but I expected it to be a silly fun quick read, that would just be that, nothing groundbreaking or anything. that sounds more mean than I mean it, I promise. regardless, I was actually super invested and it was so much some than just a silly fun quick read. there was so much tension, pining, yearning... yet also a lot of deep stuff, like severe anxiety, coming to terms with the fact of not being straight at all after all, the pressure of other people's expectations on a person and what the effects of those being too heavy and burdensome can be... and all that in the slowest slow burn ever, so slow I called it a slug burn.
and I just fucking LOVE it when I read a book by an independent author and its gas and I get to rave about it.
"𝘐 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸, 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦."
from the beginning I saw myself in Benjamin, in the way he was living his life the way he thought people expected him to live it. and suffering from severe anxiety, which made him cling to schedules and anything that gave him structure and made things predictable. that made him look boring and bossy in a way maybe, but I knew it was all a front, a mask, way before he made that clear himself. he frustrated me, so much, because I was rooting for him so badly, and he just kept self sabotaging. but I also knew I couldn't be too mad at him, because he reminded me too much of myself. (I did scream at my book a couple of times, cuz GOD he made some stupid decisions and said some stupid things. made me go absolutely insane.)
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴... 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘮."
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸."
then... EVAN. my pookie. I loved Evan, so much. what a fucking gem. the way he was hurting inside because his past/childhood haunts him always, yet still always made sure to be there for Ben when he was struggling... he is too pure. and that also made my heart ache for him. from almost immediately, the moment he's introduced, I knew he was down bad. love at first sight type shit for him. yet those feelings weren't reciprocated. playing with fire from the start fr. the way that one scene genuinely made me feel like "and then I was shot 57 times.." I was in the trenches.
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥- 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥- 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘒𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦.
what I loved so much, besides the characters, is that it felt realistic. and not so much the setting, because how realistic is getting drunkenly married in Vegas and then moving in together for housing benefits that the company you work at offers married people? not very realistic, I would say. but. BUT, what díd feel very realistic was the progression of their relationship. and Ben's journey. he didn't just fall in love with his fake husband overnight, in an insta love type beat. and his anxiety didn't just disappear because he had someone by his side. Ben slowly started acknowledging small things, like how he thought Evan is kinda attractive, and how his smile was really nice, and how he got a warm fuzzy feeling inside when Evan entered the room. yet still insisted, in his mind, he was straight. so those things must've been normal thoughts, that you just have about your fake husband/roommate/friend. even when he realized he wanted to kiss Evan, he was still in his carefully built closet. and even when he admitted it to himself, he still wasn't ready to accept it. which I think is so real. loving someone doesn't just fix everything, it isn't a magical miracle solution. and in Ben's case, it indeed wasn't. and Evan knew that. even though it hurt him to accept that, he also knew he deserved better than that. I loved how they figured shit out and then made it work after.
the same thing with Ben's anxiety. Evan didn't cure his anxiety, that's not how it works. but he did help, by holding his hand when he was freaking out, by asking him to talk about it and by holding him while trying to help him with breathing exercises when he was panicking. and i thought that especially those vulnerable moments they shared were some of the most beautiful and intimate things i've ever read.
"𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮."
"𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦- 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳."
was it a perfect book? no, especially the whole second act breakup wasn't my favourite part... because I think that's just so overdone in romance books. and it was frustrating because Ben was just such a fool. such a gigantic fool that it almost made me angry. but I also think it made sense for them. it wasn't about a problem or whatever that was invented just so that second act breakup could happen. it was about Ben not being able to accept he's gay and Evan knowing he deserves better than someone who can't love him properly. so yes, it made sense. and that needed to be said and done before they could ever properly be together. I still think it was written more stupid than it had to be, on Ben's side. cut damn, he really was goddamn stupid there.
"𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵... 𝘌𝘷𝘢𝘯, 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦."
and I just fucking LOVE it when I read a book by an independent author and its gas and I get to rave about it.
"𝘐 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸, 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦."
from the beginning I saw myself in Benjamin, in the way he was living his life the way he thought people expected him to live it. and suffering from severe anxiety, which made him cling to schedules and anything that gave him structure and made things predictable. that made him look boring and bossy in a way maybe, but I knew it was all a front, a mask, way before he made that clear himself. he frustrated me, so much, because I was rooting for him so badly, and he just kept self sabotaging. but I also knew I couldn't be too mad at him, because he reminded me too much of myself. (I did scream at my book a couple of times, cuz GOD he made some stupid decisions and said some stupid things. made me go absolutely insane.)
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴... 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘮."
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸."
then... EVAN. my pookie. I loved Evan, so much. what a fucking gem. the way he was hurting inside because his past/childhood haunts him always, yet still always made sure to be there for Ben when he was struggling... he is too pure. and that also made my heart ache for him. from almost immediately, the moment he's introduced, I knew he was down bad. love at first sight type shit for him. yet those feelings weren't reciprocated. playing with fire from the start fr. the way that one scene genuinely made me feel like "and then I was shot 57 times.." I was in the trenches.
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥- 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥- 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘒𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦.
what I loved so much, besides the characters, is that it felt realistic. and not so much the setting, because how realistic is getting drunkenly married in Vegas and then moving in together for housing benefits that the company you work at offers married people? not very realistic, I would say. but. BUT, what díd feel very realistic was the progression of their relationship. and Ben's journey. he didn't just fall in love with his fake husband overnight, in an insta love type beat. and his anxiety didn't just disappear because he had someone by his side. Ben slowly started acknowledging small things, like how he thought Evan is kinda attractive, and how his smile was really nice, and how he got a warm fuzzy feeling inside when Evan entered the room. yet still insisted, in his mind, he was straight. so those things must've been normal thoughts, that you just have about your fake husband/roommate/friend. even when he realized he wanted to kiss Evan, he was still in his carefully built closet. and even when he admitted it to himself, he still wasn't ready to accept it. which I think is so real. loving someone doesn't just fix everything, it isn't a magical miracle solution. and in Ben's case, it indeed wasn't. and Evan knew that. even though it hurt him to accept that, he also knew he deserved better than that. I loved how they figured shit out and then made it work after.
the same thing with Ben's anxiety. Evan didn't cure his anxiety, that's not how it works. but he did help, by holding his hand when he was freaking out, by asking him to talk about it and by holding him while trying to help him with breathing exercises when he was panicking. and i thought that especially those vulnerable moments they shared were some of the most beautiful and intimate things i've ever read.
"𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮."
"𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦- 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳."
was it a perfect book? no, especially the whole second act breakup wasn't my favourite part... because I think that's just so overdone in romance books. and it was frustrating because Ben was just such a fool. such a gigantic fool that it almost made me angry. but I also think it made sense for them. it wasn't about a problem or whatever that was invented just so that second act breakup could happen. it was about Ben not being able to accept he's gay and Evan knowing he deserves better than someone who can't love him properly. so yes, it made sense. and that needed to be said and done before they could ever properly be together. I still think it was written more stupid than it had to be, on Ben's side. cut damn, he really was goddamn stupid there.
"𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵... 𝘌𝘷𝘢𝘯, 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦."
August 11, 2025
I want to start by stating I'm not usually a romance reader, although I've read romance books, I'm usually leaning more on the big fantasy book (lord of the ring type), so I'm not exactly in my area of expertise. Also want to notify I'm not a native english speaker so if my review isn't very clear or well written, sorry, trying my best. And also, this is going to be my very genuine and not softened opinion.
I gave it 4 stars, and this is my try at giving it a more objective than subjective grade, with my personal tastes, I think it would have been a bit lower, like a 3 or 3,5, because there's a few things I'm sure someone who loves romance would have liked more than me but I wasn't a fan of (basically too much sweetness and cuteness) but that's not very valid critic since I'm very aware it's fully personal tastes.
So 4 stars for me basically means, this is a very enjoyable book with a lot of good points but who could be improved on a few aspects.
I want to start with all the positive, then I'll cover the more negative things.
Firstly the main characters have a nice, well defined personnality (especially Ben) and it makes them very lovable. I got very attached to them (especially Ben). Evan a bit less than Ben, but It's linked to the fact we are IN Ben's head and not Evan's. I enjoyed the way his anxiety was portrayed. It's a lot, but it's realistic, and I would rather like seeing the real impact of having an anxiety disorder than a character who's told to have one but we never see it.
The book rely quite a lot on the fact Ben is denying is own feelings and I found well done the way in his point of view, hiw own thoughts are not quite betraying him, but his reactions and behaviors is hinting his feelings. What I mean is, you don't see his thoughts explicitly like "Oh no I'm falling in love", it's more subtle, it's the way you see Evan making him relax or express a more genuine part of himself (often through annoyance lol), he doesn't until the very end explicitly form the thought in his head that he's in love.
I also liked how the ton of the book changes in a progressive way. You go from something very light-hearted and funny, to something more serious, to something a bit dramatic. Like you can feel the stakes getting higher in their relationship.
I liked that the boss
Another good point is the fact the dialogue are pretty witty and funny. A few sentences here and there made me cringe a tiny bit (it's a me problem), but overall the dialogues were really compelling and I actually laughed reading a few times which I find not easy to achieve in books.
Now the bad things, that I might developped a lot on, but did not overpowered the good points I said above.
The book lose itself a bit in rambling. There's a lot of moments, especially toward the end, where the character are making speeches and they sometimes felt a bit redondant or pointless. Like the messages are great, but the speeches were not concise at all, saying a lot of words for not a lot in meaning. Beautiful speeches are not a problem, the problem is, it made it lose some impact I found. Sometimes the rambling makes sense,
Second negative point, the book lack a bit of contexualisation in my opinion. What I mean by that is we don't feel enough the world existing outside of their story. The book is mostly made of dialogues and internal description of Ben's thoughts and emotions. We get too little description of what is happening around, what's the atmosphere of the place, how are they really interacting with it. Of course you get few sentences like Ben picking up an object, or going to a place, but that's so vague in my mind it was a bit like a movie with super well depiction of characters, floating around in unfinished 3D backgrounds. I don't mean we need descriptions of every single places, I agree too much description gets boring, but I think the book would have benefited from having a few moment more outside of Ben's head. Yeah basically we are a bit too "locked" in Ben's head I found. You might think, yeah but we ARE in Ben's head, that's the point. Yeah but the characters don't feel very "anchored" in their world, the internal point of view could be cheated a little bit and have moment where we get a bit of objectivity. I don't know if I'm being very good at conveying my point but well, anyway, that's my thought. Not a big flaw but something I noticed while reading.
Last issue : The pacing gets a bit repetitive in the middle of the book. The begining and ending were fine, but the middle of the book, where the "falling in love" happens had a moment where I felt like it was too much an alternation between Ben and Evan doing something that brings them closer, then they have an argument, they get closer, they have an argument, etc. It's not very strong you know, but I noticed the repetitiveness while reading.
That's about all I think. To be clear the book is very enjoyable and I had a great time. I think the author can still improve, but that's already a big achievement and I wouldn't be shocked to see this book by published by a big publishing house. It's qualitative and well made, you can really feel the care in it.
I gave it 4 stars, and this is my try at giving it a more objective than subjective grade, with my personal tastes, I think it would have been a bit lower, like a 3 or 3,5, because there's a few things I'm sure someone who loves romance would have liked more than me but I wasn't a fan of (basically too much sweetness and cuteness) but that's not very valid critic since I'm very aware it's fully personal tastes.
So 4 stars for me basically means, this is a very enjoyable book with a lot of good points but who could be improved on a few aspects.
I want to start with all the positive, then I'll cover the more negative things.
Firstly the main characters have a nice, well defined personnality (especially Ben) and it makes them very lovable. I got very attached to them (especially Ben). Evan a bit less than Ben, but It's linked to the fact we are IN Ben's head and not Evan's. I enjoyed the way his anxiety was portrayed. It's a lot, but it's realistic, and I would rather like seeing the real impact of having an anxiety disorder than a character who's told to have one but we never see it.
The book rely quite a lot on the fact Ben is denying is own feelings and I found well done the way in his point of view, hiw own thoughts are not quite betraying him, but his reactions and behaviors is hinting his feelings. What I mean is, you don't see his thoughts explicitly like "Oh no I'm falling in love", it's more subtle, it's the way you see Evan making him relax or express a more genuine part of himself (often through annoyance lol), he doesn't until the very end explicitly form the thought in his head that he's in love.
I also liked how the ton of the book changes in a progressive way. You go from something very light-hearted and funny, to something more serious, to something a bit dramatic. Like you can feel the stakes getting higher in their relationship.
I liked that the boss
Another good point is the fact the dialogue are pretty witty and funny. A few sentences here and there made me cringe a tiny bit (it's a me problem), but overall the dialogues were really compelling and I actually laughed reading a few times which I find not easy to achieve in books.
Now the bad things, that I might developped a lot on, but did not overpowered the good points I said above.
The book lose itself a bit in rambling. There's a lot of moments, especially toward the end, where the character are making speeches and they sometimes felt a bit redondant or pointless. Like the messages are great, but the speeches were not concise at all, saying a lot of words for not a lot in meaning. Beautiful speeches are not a problem, the problem is, it made it lose some impact I found. Sometimes the rambling makes sense,
Second negative point, the book lack a bit of contexualisation in my opinion. What I mean by that is we don't feel enough the world existing outside of their story. The book is mostly made of dialogues and internal description of Ben's thoughts and emotions. We get too little description of what is happening around, what's the atmosphere of the place, how are they really interacting with it. Of course you get few sentences like Ben picking up an object, or going to a place, but that's so vague in my mind it was a bit like a movie with super well depiction of characters, floating around in unfinished 3D backgrounds. I don't mean we need descriptions of every single places, I agree too much description gets boring, but I think the book would have benefited from having a few moment more outside of Ben's head. Yeah basically we are a bit too "locked" in Ben's head I found. You might think, yeah but we ARE in Ben's head, that's the point. Yeah but the characters don't feel very "anchored" in their world, the internal point of view could be cheated a little bit and have moment where we get a bit of objectivity. I don't know if I'm being very good at conveying my point but well, anyway, that's my thought. Not a big flaw but something I noticed while reading.
Last issue : The pacing gets a bit repetitive in the middle of the book. The begining and ending were fine, but the middle of the book, where the "falling in love" happens had a moment where I felt like it was too much an alternation between Ben and Evan doing something that brings them closer, then they have an argument, they get closer, they have an argument, etc. It's not very strong you know, but I noticed the repetitiveness while reading.
That's about all I think. To be clear the book is very enjoyable and I had a great time. I think the author can still improve, but that's already a big achievement and I wouldn't be shocked to see this book by published by a big publishing house. It's qualitative and well made, you can really feel the care in it.
April 17, 2025
Hello! I was one of the beta readers, and let me tell you there's so much to love about this book! The pacing is great, the characters are so full of life, and the story itself is very immersive! I do believe anyone who sees this should read it especially if you enjoy silly shenanigans and an enrapturing love story!
September 8, 2025
A super cute and classic Rom Com featuring Ben and Evan, who end up in a drunken, fake marriage to save face at the very "inclusive" company Ben works for.
I adored both boys, they are so so sweet together as they learn to navigate this new relationship. One of my favourite things to read about is small moments, the little things rhat show you love is building and you get plenty of it here.
"He had a way of sneaking himself into every single part of my life, whether I liked it or not. And the worst part was, I was starting to genuinely like it. I liked having him around, no matter how irritating I found him."
I adored both boys, they are so so sweet together as they learn to navigate this new relationship. One of my favourite things to read about is small moments, the little things rhat show you love is building and you get plenty of it here.
"He had a way of sneaking himself into every single part of my life, whether I liked it or not. And the worst part was, I was starting to genuinely like it. I liked having him around, no matter how irritating I found him."
September 8, 2025
I absolutely love this book. It is my first romcom I have dived into in a very long time but honestly it was amazing. I felt like I was gonna explode every time the characters did something cute or funny. But I also I felt all of the emotions I felt scared when something happened that I thought the characters couldn’t come back from but I also felt and excited when cute things happened the ending absolutely melted my heart. I won’t spoil anything but just now your heart is probably going to melt too.💕
September 8, 2025
I LOVED THIS BOOK, Evan and Ben's love story is chaotic and sweet and sometimes confusing but that's what made it good, I really like Evan as a character, I believe red, white and royal blue was one of the inspirations and I can really see the Alex Claremont Diaz in Evan, this was one of the easiest books to read, as the language wasn't long, draw out or difficult.
The playlist at the end of this book that goes with it is incredible but I added a few of my own songs as I made the playlist myself.
The playlist at the end of this book that goes with it is incredible but I added a few of my own songs as I made the playlist myself.
March 12, 2026
This book genuinely made me feel so much. It was so gut wrenching beautiful and funny. The romance was amazing, the internal conflicts were so well done. I had such a good time reading it.
The romance was written perfectly, the perfect mix between laid back, fluffy, entertaining and dramatic.
I really love how the different struggles and topics were handled (anxiety, religious guilt tripping, homophobia, being in the closet/ denial, performative diversity and more).
Nothing was too overdramatic or undermined.
All in all I really recommend reading this book.
The romance was written perfectly, the perfect mix between laid back, fluffy, entertaining and dramatic.
I really love how the different struggles and topics were handled (anxiety, religious guilt tripping, homophobia, being in the closet/ denial, performative diversity and more).
Nothing was too overdramatic or undermined.
All in all I really recommend reading this book.
August 4, 2025
A very cute book, a bit silly at times, as fake dating (or marriage in this case!) often can be. But very real, and raw emotion from a character dealing with internalised homophobia - it paints a brilliant picture of what many queer kids deal with daily, often unconsiciously knowing who they are, but not wanting it to be true.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2025
I 100% recommend this book. I think it’s actually one of the fastest books I read because it was impossible to put down. Everything about this story was perfect and written beautifully. If you’re looking for an lgbtq+ romance story that takes you along an emotional rollercoaster, then you should definitely read this book!
September 20, 2025
This is a four and half star from me.
I was looking for something nice and lovely and I wasn't disappointed.
The Story is enough cute. There is no forced spice parts just for "entertainment"because it wouldn't fit the Story. I don't mind spice just this Story didn't require any.
I enjoyed it and there were funny and sad moments. Ben sometimes got on my nerves but that's what gave him his charm.
I liked the ending and the won Battle really.
This was a Nice read. 💕
I was looking for something nice and lovely and I wasn't disappointed.
The Story is enough cute. There is no forced spice parts just for "entertainment"because it wouldn't fit the Story. I don't mind spice just this Story didn't require any.
I enjoyed it and there were funny and sad moments. Ben sometimes got on my nerves but that's what gave him his charm.
I liked the ending and the won Battle really.
This was a Nice read. 💕
August 6, 2025
this book was perfect, it was funny and sweet and emotional and sad
the writing is great, the characters are everything (especially evan i loved him)
loved the humor, the story felt real and refreshing
recommend 100%
the writing is great, the characters are everything (especially evan i loved him)
loved the humor, the story felt real and refreshing
recommend 100%
October 28, 2025
It's such a heartwarming, feel good book that's so hard to put down once you pick it up. It tackles difficult topics like religious and internal homophobia. Such a good read and I can't wait for this series to continue 😊
January 8, 2026
I loved this book. The storyline was good and the characters were well thought out. You can tell that the author put a lot of effort in. I highly recommend
March 9, 2026
3.5 ⭐️
A bit repetitive at times but I still enjoyed it!
A bit repetitive at times but I still enjoyed it!
September 19, 2025
IT WAS SO GOOD in the beginning but then benjamin had ro ruin it all ( i loved his personality and how the author showed his anxiety so perfectly) but why did he have to do that😭 still glad for the happy ending
March 7, 2026
I needed this. A healthy slowburn with a little drama. It felt like a relief after reading so many heavy books. I love Evan and Ben. gay rights!
March 7, 2026
Love an accidental marriage and they were so cute together normally i have a third act break up but the reconciliation part was so good
February 23, 2026
read it the day it came out, really good book (I forgot to add this to my good reads)
October 6, 2025
4.5 Stars
This was cute and silly for the most part. I really enjoyed it. Also I was expecting this to just be a light beach style read, which it was for the most part, but also you get a right dose of angst in it to.
There were a few spelling errors/wrong words in the book, so it could have done with one final round of review/editing.
This was cute and silly for the most part. I really enjoyed it. Also I was expecting this to just be a light beach style read, which it was for the most part, but also you get a right dose of angst in it to.
There were a few spelling errors/wrong words in the book, so it could have done with one final round of review/editing.
September 24, 2025
8/10 1h, 45m time spent reading
August 10, 2025
Benjamin is a data analyst who fights his anxiety by having his life under control with the help of spreadsheets and schedules. Until he lies to his boss concerning his boss' upcoming wedding and ends up being married to Evan - the bartender he just met the night before. To keep up the original lie, they both pretend to be madly in love with each other. Until they realise that it isn't just pretending for everyone else anymore.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
I found the book via booktok as a video on my FYP. The author had published the video as marketing for the release date (which was the day when I saw the video) and I liked what was mentioned in the video, so I borrowed it via Kindle Unlimited. Unfortunately, I have to say: my expectations weren't met at all. I thought I would get a cute contemporary romance based on fake dating and the marriage of convience trope until both realise that they truly love each other. Instead I got a boring story with more panic attacks than chapters (which I skipped after some time because they were repeating themselves in terms of words and the reasons why Ben had the panic attack), so much internalised monologue, even more internalised homophobia (to the point where it got exhausting), so many clichees, and very boring characters. On top: pacing issues.
Concerning the pacing: everything that could have been used to make Ben and Evan fall in love with each other happens off-page. There are three months that were got like a paragraph per month that describes that happened to the guys before the story continues with a longer chapter in which, of course, Ben has another panic attack because they are at another function with the company. It really hinders the development of any chemistry between the two characters, so Ben's "Oh I want to kiss him?" feels very jarring and sudden. Like, Ben, why? Sure there's sexual attraction (don't ask me, though, I'm ace) but I never got the feeling that he finds Evan attractive as in "oh I might like him". It was always "ugh, he's so annoying". I understand that he fights with his internalised homophobia (although his family isn't homophobic) and his anxiety as he had his life mapped out but I wish there would have been a noticeable development for the relationship instead of just countless official company events, watching like 3 movies (and attempts to cook), and one date night. I mean by 70%, Ben was still very much like "NO I AM STRAIGHT!" (despite still wanting to kiss Evan), then the big breakup happens and the rest for the happy end is rushed.
These issues aside: the book includes points that are relevant for society but never truly dives into them. Homophobia at the work place? Yeah, it gets laughed off. Using an openly queer couple for diversity promotion against their will? A paragraph where Ben is finally fed up with it. Religion and homophobia? One visit from the mother and "religion isn't bad, just some people in it make it worse". The big breakup in Act 3 just happens because of a journalist (and their prying questions that were so heavy-handed ala "he knew something was wrong but he couldn't put his fingers on it") and the constant miscommunication (or lack of communication) between Ben & Evans but also between Ben and his boss. (Who is - ultimately - the source for all of this because of his sprouting nonsense about family values and traditions, which led Ben into truly believing that he had to have a spouse although HR could've told the CEO from the begin that Ben isn't married since it's common to notify HR about it for name changes, taxing purposes, ...)
Also, the book needs another round of editing. There are points in it like the changes in company accounts (which leds to issues) that were never resolved. Why was the data wrong? Was someone trying to set Ben up? If yes, and it was meant as a plot idea, the author forgot to cut them out.
Concerning the HEA: this is utterly personal but DO NOT MOVE TO ANOTHER COUNTRY AND ACTUALLY WORK THERE IF YOU DON'T SPEAK THE FUCKING LANGUAGE.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
TWs & CWs: homophobia/queerphobia, internalised homophobia, anxiety, panic attacks (multiple), company using queerness to appear more diverse, coming out
Trope(s): fake dating, marriage of convience
Genre: Contemporary Queer Romance
Representation: 2 gay men, 1 hinted at lesbian side character
Heat/Spice: 1 🌶️ (on-page but very vague and fade-to-black vibe)
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
I found the book via booktok as a video on my FYP. The author had published the video as marketing for the release date (which was the day when I saw the video) and I liked what was mentioned in the video, so I borrowed it via Kindle Unlimited. Unfortunately, I have to say: my expectations weren't met at all. I thought I would get a cute contemporary romance based on fake dating and the marriage of convience trope until both realise that they truly love each other. Instead I got a boring story with more panic attacks than chapters (which I skipped after some time because they were repeating themselves in terms of words and the reasons why Ben had the panic attack), so much internalised monologue, even more internalised homophobia (to the point where it got exhausting), so many clichees, and very boring characters. On top: pacing issues.
Concerning the pacing: everything that could have been used to make Ben and Evan fall in love with each other happens off-page. There are three months that were got like a paragraph per month that describes that happened to the guys before the story continues with a longer chapter in which, of course, Ben has another panic attack because they are at another function with the company. It really hinders the development of any chemistry between the two characters, so Ben's "Oh I want to kiss him?" feels very jarring and sudden. Like, Ben, why? Sure there's sexual attraction (don't ask me, though, I'm ace) but I never got the feeling that he finds Evan attractive as in "oh I might like him". It was always "ugh, he's so annoying". I understand that he fights with his internalised homophobia (although his family isn't homophobic) and his anxiety as he had his life mapped out but I wish there would have been a noticeable development for the relationship instead of just countless official company events, watching like 3 movies (and attempts to cook), and one date night. I mean by 70%, Ben was still very much like "NO I AM STRAIGHT!" (despite still wanting to kiss Evan), then the big breakup happens and the rest for the happy end is rushed.
These issues aside: the book includes points that are relevant for society but never truly dives into them. Homophobia at the work place? Yeah, it gets laughed off. Using an openly queer couple for diversity promotion against their will? A paragraph where Ben is finally fed up with it. Religion and homophobia? One visit from the mother and "religion isn't bad, just some people in it make it worse". The big breakup in Act 3 just happens because of a journalist (and their prying questions that were so heavy-handed ala "he knew something was wrong but he couldn't put his fingers on it") and the constant miscommunication (or lack of communication) between Ben & Evans but also between Ben and his boss. (Who is - ultimately - the source for all of this because of his sprouting nonsense about family values and traditions, which led Ben into truly believing that he had to have a spouse although HR could've told the CEO from the begin that Ben isn't married since it's common to notify HR about it for name changes, taxing purposes, ...)
Also, the book needs another round of editing. There are points in it like the changes in company accounts (which leds to issues) that were never resolved. Why was the data wrong? Was someone trying to set Ben up? If yes, and it was meant as a plot idea, the author forgot to cut them out.
Concerning the HEA: this is utterly personal but DO NOT MOVE TO ANOTHER COUNTRY AND ACTUALLY WORK THERE IF YOU DON'T SPEAK THE FUCKING LANGUAGE.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
TWs & CWs: homophobia/queerphobia, internalised homophobia, anxiety, panic attacks (multiple), company using queerness to appear more diverse, coming out
Trope(s): fake dating, marriage of convience
Genre: Contemporary Queer Romance
Representation: 2 gay men, 1 hinted at lesbian side character
Heat/Spice: 1 🌶️ (on-page but very vague and fade-to-black vibe)
August 16, 2025
2.75⭐️
i really wanted to love this but unfortunately i think this book needed another few rounds of editing
my main gripes with this were just the plot Not Really making a lot of sense at times; i didn’t understand Why ben’s boss was so all over ben and evan’s relationship or why ben seemed mostly unbothered by this also why evan was just ?? happy seemingly to move in with a guy he’s just met — i really think this might have benefited from being duel pov. i also think the book just kinda skims over stuff that would be like. useful to know,, there’s months of character and relationship development boiled down to a few pages and also we never find out Why they got married accidently in the first place. i was also just felt like there plot went in circles at times.
the writing style was also quite limited and it did feel very constructed to just ben’s internal thoughts and his inner monologue and i felt like the other characters in the story at times were only there Just to serve ben’s goals rather than being their own characters.
i did however enjoy the romance itself; i think the concept was good and evan was my favourite character by far!!
i really wanted to love this but unfortunately i think this book needed another few rounds of editing
my main gripes with this were just the plot Not Really making a lot of sense at times; i didn’t understand Why ben’s boss was so all over ben and evan’s relationship or why ben seemed mostly unbothered by this also why evan was just ?? happy seemingly to move in with a guy he’s just met — i really think this might have benefited from being duel pov. i also think the book just kinda skims over stuff that would be like. useful to know,, there’s months of character and relationship development boiled down to a few pages and also we never find out Why they got married accidently in the first place. i was also just felt like there plot went in circles at times.
the writing style was also quite limited and it did feel very constructed to just ben’s internal thoughts and his inner monologue and i felt like the other characters in the story at times were only there Just to serve ben’s goals rather than being their own characters.
i did however enjoy the romance itself; i think the concept was good and evan was my favourite character by far!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2025
"a queer Marriage of Convenience" eSTOY DENTRO, TOMA TODA MI ALMA
Solo me tomo leer el titulo para convencerme de que lo iba a amar y no me equivoque.
Este es un libro para divertirte un rato y pasar la tarde, aunque deberían tener sus pañuelos a la mano (por si acaso).
Solo me tomo leer el titulo para convencerme de que lo iba a amar y no me equivoque.
Este es un libro para divertirte un rato y pasar la tarde, aunque deberían tener sus pañuelos a la mano (por si acaso).
September 22, 2025
I LOVED IT SO MUCH
October 9, 2025
The idea was there, the execution? No so much
January 12, 2026
So so good had me laughing and crying at the same time! On par with heated rivalry and red, white, and royal blue. if you like those you should definitely read! X
May 26, 2025
Maybe the best book ive written to date :)
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