How Not to Fall for Your Hot Boss: A Sweet Small Town Romcom

by Lily Jacobson

440 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 13, 2026

Reviews

[Mary Ann Speel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this book. All the characters are people you would enjoy knowing and including in your life. The H is brilliant, discerning, outgoing and extremely friendly. The h is brilliant and withdrawn with outsiders, but very close to her family. She is a coder and brilliant in her work. This is recognized by her fellow workers and her boss. When her boss ends a online meeting by asking for recommendations on a place to expand his company the h recommends her home town. The H research’s it on line and decides that it might be the perfect location. When he arrives in town with people from the company he immediately falls in love with it. He’s also drawn to the beauty of his employee. They all stay at the h’s family inn. The H has the h show him around town, and while they are walking around he realizes that she although shy in beginning she becomes outgoing when she shares about the town. Eventually she shows him her living space and all her connected computers and he is impressed. Then he sees code on her computer which he recognizes and something very revolutionary and asked her about. She tells him that she worked on it for a year before coming to his company and now works on it at night and her spare time. He asks her to pitch it to his investors and his board of directors. She agrees. In the end they offer her a contract and that breaks their relationship. The contract in essence take her control of her work from her and she is just another employee. She blames the H. He then goes to battle against his board to write a fair contract where she owns the rights to her own work and partners with his company, a fair and honest contract. In the end they get their HEA. Hope you get this book and enjoy it as much as I did. Enjoy!

[Florida Girl Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful characters, supportive family, small town charm and unexpected romance combine in Lily Jacobson's new Hartwell Sisters novel. It is the emotional story of Thea, a brilliant coder, and Liam, the owner of the company as they discover acceptance, validation and a love filled with integrity and honesty. Liam is looking to expand from Chicago and Thea offers her hometown as a possible fit. Surprisingly, Liam travels with the team and he and Thea meet in person. Their reactions to seeing each other the first time are delightful and their respect, attraction and friendship grow as they spend time together searching for a suitable new office site.
Thea's family and their bed and breakfast business bring the warmth and sense of family that ground Thea and Liam's story. As you read, you are also wrapped in the family's love!
I just realized that there are two earlier books in the series, and I added them immediately to my TBR. However, How Not to Fall for Your Hot Boss can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel. I am thrilled to have Lily Jacobson as a new author on my must read list!
I received an ARC from the author and am leaving a voluntary review based solely on my personal reading experience.

[Tiffany Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Honest Review...

This book was a cute romance (zero smut). Small town romance with a HEA for two tech geniuses. I felt the connection between Liam and Thea... I didn't realize this was book 3 in a series (Hartwell Sisters Series), so now, in time, I will have to pick up the first two books so that I can find out how the other sisters' relationships came to be. I could feel the chaos in the Hartwell home, I could feel the developing relationship between Liam and Thea, I could feel the heartache and feelings of betrayal, but also feel all the emotions of redemption.

Great work Lily Jacobson and thanks for the opportunity to read this story. Oh and I also see what you did there, Liam Jacobs ;)

Lily JacobsonHow Not to Fall for Your Hot Boss: A Sweet Small Town Romcom

[Karen Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet small town romance. Thea is a computer whiz who works for Liam’s company ShieldSpark. Working remotely as Systems Administrator introverted Thea joins conference call but never has her camera on just like Liam the CEO of his company.
When Thea suggests her hometown as a place the company could expand too, Liam loves the idea and visits to look for sites and stays at the Inn Thea’s family runs.
They both have a shock when they meet and the attraction is obvious but Thea is shy and struggles to think he could like her.
Hiding away in her cave working on an AI project, Liam finds ways to coax her out in the open.
The family are funny and the banter makes you laugh especially Aunt Eddie and her teas.
When Liam see Thea’s project he’s amazed and wants it for his company but due to some misunderstanding the contract she is given causes discourse in their relationship.
Liam must put everything on the line to show he prioritises Thea and her work more than his own company before they can get their HEA

[Sheri Bolinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely fantastic! In life we all want to feel seen and accepted for who we are. Whether we are serious or a little weird and chaotic, we want to feel whole and known. This is Thea and Liam's story. Thea is a brilliant coder who has had her self esteem shattered before. Now she works in her little cave, remotely, and doesnt go out much. Liam is the Founder of the company she works for. She recommends her home town for a satellite office and finds herself meeting her boss face to face for the first time. Neither are what the other expected! Seeing Liam try to break through some of Thea's walls was so sweet. He was kind and patient and just paid attention. Thea was super shy, kept running away, but when she stopped, they had so much fun together. The push and pull throughout felt so natural. Thea's family was amazingly chaotic and full of love. I adored them. I love stories that wrap around characters that are a little quirky and everything doesnt come easy. This book just grabbed my heart and didnt let go!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tension was THICK with Liam and Thea. From the moment these two first laid eyes on each other there was no doubting their attraction and it grew from physical to so much deeper. This one was a slow burn as they navigated doubt, uncertainty, and complicated professional dynamics. I absolutely loved Liam and Thea’s journey watching them each open their eyes, consider new possibilities, and fall in love.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Thelma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far my favorite Lily Jacobson book. she has a way of make anyone believe true love and the importance of family and community. How Not To Fall For Your Hot Boss shows you that there's more to life than just hiding behind work and computer screens, you need to make time to enjoy life as well.

[Lavender Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

A positively lovely story, set in an adorable small town, with characters that touch your heart and lots of humour. Thea is an absolute delight, as is her family, and I loved how Liam adored her. The proposal was perfect!

A review copy of this book was sent to me by the author. All of the above opinions are my own.

[Emi Stock · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would give this zero stars. Unfortunately, this book reads differently than the first two in the series and feels like AI had a huge hand in writing it (ironic, given the content). I hoped it would get better as it went on, but sadly, it did not; it got progressively worse. It largely read like a bad LinkedIn post, which was unfortunate because the characters were originally so likable.

[Shannon Binegar-Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored Liam and Thea. Everything about this story was delightful…well some parts were not fun but that is how the corporate world is. I thoroughly enjoyed how everything played out. Great read. I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book provided by booksprout.

[Melanie Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute story

I enjoyed the premise of the story. I also appreciated how the MMC moved slow because he got to know and understood the FMC’s personality. The ending was a bit slow, but I liked the story.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. Romantic. Fun read!

[Simone Gremillion · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really cute read. Liam, a tech mogul is looking for a new place to open another place for his business away from the flagship in Chicago and his employee, Thea, a coder, mentions her small town. She lives there in her families’ inn in what used to be the root cellar. To her surprise, Liam likes the idea and he along with 3 others go to stay at the inn and check the place out.
Both being who they are never showed their faces on their work calls and when they finally meet in person, it’s like fireworks going off.
She takes him around town to see what they can offer and as time goes on, he is welcomed as a part of the family, he just fits right in.
When a personal project is uncovered, the company just may be able to help or this could be what hinders where they thought they were headed

**I received an advanced copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily.