Kissing Sloane

by Brinn Gallant

After a life changing accident leaves Liam barely able to walk up and down the hospital
hallway, much less return home to his three-floor walk-up apartment, he doesn’t know what to
do, or where to go.

Faced with limited options while he finishes his outpatient rehab program, he accepts his
best friend’s offer to stay with his sister. The only problem? She grew into a captivating woman
over the last seven years.

Sloane Callahan was in love with Liam as a girl, but she grew up, moved on, and moved away.
Now a grown, independent woman working on her Ph.D., Liam doesn’t even cross her mind
anymore . . . or does he?

How her brother got her to agree to let him move in with her, she’ll never know . . .

381 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 26, 2026

About the author

Brinn lives on Canada's gorgeous east coast. When she's not trying to wrangle her three dogs and cat she's working on her next writing project. . .or talking to her plants.

Reviews

[celines_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5)

After an injury, Sloane agrees to having Liam move in with her because he’s her brother’s best friend. The forced proximity girlies will love this one!

This was an interesting dynamic. Liam was so hot and cold at the beginning. He’s a jerk to her, but also protective and kind of loves her. He does these little gestures for her to make her smile but totally acts like a jerk when she’s around. About half was through the book he gets his shit together and opens up to Sloane! *swoons*

After I was about 40% into this book, I just couldn’t put it down. At 80%, I almost didn’t go to sleep because I had to know what would happen!! Is he somehow going to screw up the best thing that’s ever happened to him?!?! Not me waiting for a third act breakup 😅 that thankfully that never came!

The last 15% of this book was epic! There was one surprise twist that I didn’t see coming, and I loved it! The epilogue was perfect! 😍 I don’t want to say too much and give away spoilers 🙌❤️‍🔥

The spice was 🧑‍🍳💋❤️‍🔥 « Sit on my face » … oh okay 🫠💦😅

🤭Best Friend’s Little Sister
🌞Grumpy/ Sunshine
🛌Forced Proximity
❤️‍🔥10 Year Age Gap
💋Missed opportunity

[Hilary Delorey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise of right person wrong time is alive and well in this book. The connection Sloane and Liam have had since childhood is incredible. Two souls truly entwined. So naturally when some forced proximity comes into play its a waiting game of when fireworks come into play.
History, pining, tension, hurt, anger, lust, love, healing. Just some of the words I'd use when describing this book.

[Kay Burrows · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited to receive an arc of Brinn Gallant’s new book Kissing Sloane.

When I saw this was going to be a brother's best friend, age gap and grumpy x sunshine, I knew I needed this book. And honestly, Liam and Sloane’s story did not disappoint.

Even though Liam is the best friend of Sloane’s older brother Ronan, Liam and Sloane have always had a special connection and friendship. Brinn did an incredible job of capturing their connection and the way their personalities complimented each other.

After 7 years not speaking, I enjoyed following along as Sloane and Liam reconnected and got to know each other again. They both went through a lot of growth through the book to get to their happily ever after.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book. It was sweet and wholesome. I laughed, swooned, cheered and even cried. It was a pleasure to read Liam and Sloane’s story. The tension, the banter, the soft moments, the laughter and even the hard conversations. Their relationship felt very real and relatable. When miscommunication occurred it was worked out and discussed even if it took them a few days to be ready to face it.

If you want a small town Canadian based romance that will give you all the warm and cozy vibes check out Kissing Sloane and book one Bucket List Kiss.

Thank you so much Brinn for the opportunity to receive an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I can’t wait to see what comes next in the Kissing the Joneses series 💚.

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

After Liam is sidelined by an injury and is needing somewhere to recover, he finds out the only person who will take him is in Sloane, his best friend’s sister who has been avoiding him for years.
Sloane despite all better reasons and judgement lets Liam “temporarily” move in with here because he's her brother's best friend. I mean what could possibly go wrong!

Sloane is fiesty, smart, devoted dog (Gigi) and plant mom, she is also learning how not to be such a people pleaser. Liam is pissed off at the world, at his circumstances and is having a hard time getting back to the person he was. With the two of them both wanting to be the friends they used to be, will they be able to push through and find their way back to each other or will it all go down in flames.

To say I devoured this book would be an understatement. The tension, the sarcastic, witty banter, the warm soft moments and the laughter really brought this whole book together. I feel like Brinn wrote these two characters exactly how they needed it to be, as well the secondary characters were top-notch and slight plot twist was the chefs kiss on top of everything else. I honestly cannot say enough good things about this book.

Thank you so much, Brinn for the chance to ARC Kissing Sloane.

Pub Date: Feb 26 2026

* grumpy x sunshine
* forced proximity
* friends to strangers to roommates
* age gap
* one bed

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liam, a grumpy accountant, is recovering from being hit by a car and isn't able to go back to his apartment because he can't make it up the stairs with his injured leg. Ronan, his best friend, convinces his little sister Sloane to let Liam stay in her guest room.

Sloane, a Ph.D student/student teacher, isn't ecstatic that Liam will be staying with her. They have know each since childhood and have a complicated history.

This book has everything a good rom-com should have. A strong FMC who is learning to say "No!", a MMC who finally gets his head out of his a** and sees the amazing woman who loves him grumpiness and all, an adorable fur ball sidekick, and spice!

If you love heartwarming, no third act breakup stories that make you giggle, blush, cry and smile I 100% recommend reading this book (and the first book in the series "Bucket List Kiss"

✔️ grumpy x sunshine
✔️age gap
✔️childhood crush
✔️she fell first, he fell harder (in my opinion)

Thank you Brinn for choosing me to ARC read this book 🤗

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oof… those last chapters were so good! 5 ⭐️

[Gosia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brother’s best friend but without unnecessary drama (💚), she’s had a crush on him since forever, to him she was always special but not in *that* way case there’s 10 years age gap (8? 10? Sth like that), second chance, childhood friends, virgin FMC


While it’s not my fav of the series (I loved book one and I’m excited for Levi’s book and for Summer’s one too), I still very much enjoyed it.
Liam is super grumpy and a bit of an a-hole. After being hit by a drunk driver and dealing with recovery, you can imagine he is even grumpier. Instead of going to live with one of his 5 siblings or his parents, he ends up living with Sloane for his recovery time.
I wished for some more groveling on his side, but after all it’s not like Sloane took him in right away, she stood her ground (in a way, a bit). Their fallout in the past made sense, both their reactions as well and I think it was very well handled how they deal with it in current timeline.
The kiss and first spicy scene happened a bit early to my liking (30-maybe 40% in) but then another one didn’t happen until something like maybe even 70% so let’s call it mid-burn.
What was unusual, imo, is the whole plot focuses heavily on the romance, the feelings and the overall relationship between Sloane and Liam, there are barely any side plots. I didn’t mind, it was refreshing in a way, simply romance focusing on the romance part.

Sloane is a plant and dog mom. Liam hates both.
*insert the meme “dad hates dogs. Dad and dog after a week” *

I have no idea which sibling book is next but I can’t wait for it anyway, no matter the blurb or the tropes 😜

[Gail Bernardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A long-awaited ARC I have been dying to get my hands on, and it did NOT disappoint. We love a grumpy/sunshine, she only gets me and he only gets me chemistry. I ate this entire book up because Brinn makes it possible to love her characters. And I loved grumpy Liam Jones, grumpier the better right? *wink* The way he was possessive and protective of Sloane, “forced” to live with her after an injury. Can’t forget about Sloane and Gigi (our loving Dachshund) our plant mama!! I actually laughed out loud at the fact she sings to her plants. And the way she puts Liam at her knees, and I can’t get enough. Both characters are just matched made in heaven. There are also characters interconnected from her first book, Bucket List Kiss, and it just ties everything together!
AND HELLO? That plot twist ending? Ok Brinn. That was hilarious. Thank you for the extra chapters we never knew we needed, epilogue was just *chefs kiss*

Thank you Brinn for allowing me read another one of your beautiful work, I can’t wait for more of the Joneses.

PUB DATE: February 26, 2026

[Shyann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kissing Sloane Brinn Gallant
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Looking for a Grumpy/sunshine for your next read?! If so Kissing Sloane would be perfect!!😉🤭 I finished it in one sitting yall!!🙂‍↕️

This book follows Liam ,who is recovering from an injury, and spends his time recovering with his best-friends little sister Sloane! These two are literally so cute together! The banter is hilarious and keeps you laughing the whole time! Liam is the grumpiest man, but he is a complete teddy bear when it comes to Sloane🤭 And Sloane is a PHD student who has the sweetest heart! In a lot of ways I saw parts of myself in her and I love that I was able to connect with her story that way.

Brinn wrote a beautiful story that captivated me from the very beginning! And the ending/ epilogue had me laughing out loud! I truly never saw that coming!🤣😉

Tropes✨
🐾forced proximity
🧀brothers bestfriend
🐾age gap
🧀friends to strangers to roommates
🐾only you
🧀virgin fmc
🐾one bed

Thank you so much to Brinn for letting arc read Kissing Sloane!💚 I cannot wait for what’s to come next in this series!🥰

[Emily Fallow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god!

I have been inpaitently awaiting this book since I binged the first one. This book (and Brinn) did not disappoint!

I loved how you see the process of working through a trauma, and the way it impacts not only your life but those around you too. I also loved the way Sloane was so determined to always stand her ground.

The chemistry between the characters, and the banter back and forth was so great, and I was constantly kept laughing.

Another 6 star read and I cannot recommend enough!!

[Ana Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC review
If you're craving a forced-proximity romance with injury recovery, buried crushes, and sibling meddling, this delivers from page one.

The cozy apartment-sharing vibe felt so vivid, wrapping tender rehab struggles around heavy topics like vulnerability and second chances; surrounding some genuinely injury recovery, grief-processing breakthroughs. I adored the found-family feels, attaching it up with her unexpected "we'll keep it casual" tension.

Thank you so much to the author for this ARC

[Hollie Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

After an injury leaves Liam benched and in need of a place to heal, he discovers there is only one door open to him: Sloane’s. His best friend’s sister. The same Sloane who’s been avoiding him for years.

Against her better judgment, Sloane agrees to let Liam move in “temporarily.” After all, he’s her brother’s best friend… what’s the worst that could happen?

As they both try to find their footing—and maybe reclaim the friendship they once had—they’re forced to confront the feelings they’ve buried for years.

I really enjoyed this book - the second in the Kissing the Joneses series. Filled with tension, banter, and heart melting moments.

Thank you, Brinn, for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review. Can’t wait to read more in the series :)

𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕤
🍃brothers best friend
🍃forced proximity
🍃age gap
🍃virgin FMC
🍃childhood crush

IG. @holliebarnes.reads