With Potential

by Haley Fox

223 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 9, 2026

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story with insta love between a romance author and a part time adult film actor. I really enjoyed the way the author showed how much each man was in their head about their feelings and the uncertainty of thinking love was too soon. Miles was definitely very uncertain and not very confident, but Alex brought out the best in him and made him see himself as he saw him, a wonderful loveable person.

[✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨ARC review✨

🤍 With Potential by Haley Fox 🤍

“He’d had an amazing night and an amazing morning with an amazing man, and now he was taking that man to brunch to start what he hoped was going to be an *amazing* relationship with him.”

this is another book that has changed my mind about 3rd person POV! if you know me, you know I’m not usually a fan, but I really enjoyed it in this story.

in ‘With Potential’, we meet Miles, a romance novelist, whose boss comes to him with the news that readers are more attracted to explicit intimate scenes rather than ‘closed-door’ (which is what Miles writes). Miles doesn’t have much intimate experience himself, so he decides to try to find someone to casually sleep with so that he can apply the newfound knowledge to his books.

in comes the lovely Alejandro Serrano, AKA Alex.
Alex is bored one night and decides to shoot the shit with Miles on Grindr. one thing leads to another, and they end up going out. what happens next? you’ll have to read to find out 😏

Miles and Alex are so different yet so alike; different in their experiences sexually, but alike in their mindsets of wanting *more* out of a relationship. the author did such a great job at keeping the reader interested in not only their relationship, but also the relationship between Zeke and Carter, Miles’ characters in the novel he’s writing. it’s like reading a book within a book! 🤭 loved it. 5 out of 5 stars for me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

some tidbits:
📖 instalove/instalust
📖 ‘bombón’ and ‘darling’ 🥰
📖 novelist/shop owner x p*rn star/architect
📖 alllllll the pining
📖 meeting on Grindr for ‘research’ 😏
📖 switching!!
📖 3rd person POV
📖 set in London

[Katherine Schimpf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading a book from a narrators point of view about the two MMCs. We have Miles the soft spoken writer who runs a stationery store, and we have Alex an architect by day and an adult entertainer by evening…who would have thought opposites would attract.

We are introduced to Miles while he is sitting in his publicists office waiting to see what he needs to do, and when he finds out that he needs to write the spicy scenes into his books he starts to panic, because he doesn’t know how to describe something where he’s got nothing to base it off of. He of course panics and talks to his assistant Catie and she then sets him up on dating websites in the hopes he will get some “experience”. Alex of course is adventurous and is on the websites looking for more than a “fling”, and he comes across Miles profile. The meeting the arrange turns into a “fun” night and the relationship (situationship) progresses.

This story has great conversations between the characters and their friends, and it’s rather fun reading a story with the dialect from London. Highly recommend reading the book.

[Amanda Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Potential by Haley Fox was a really sweet, charming read and a great first introduction to this author for me.

Miles writes cosy queer romance novels. They are soft love stories full of feelings rather than spice. When his publisher suggests readers want steamier scenes, Miles realises he does not actually have much real life experience to draw from. So he decides to fix that with a little no strings “research” through a dating app.

That is how he meets Alex.

Alex is an architect by day and works in adult films by night, but he is starting to feel restless with both parts of his life. When he sees Miles’ profile, he is instantly intrigued. The only complication is that Alex is hoping for something real while Miles thinks this is just research.

I really enjoyed watching these two get to know each other. Their connection felt natural, and it was lovely seeing Miles slowly come out of his shell. One of my favourite parts was watching his confidence grow, especially in the bedroom, as he started asking for the things he had only fantasised about before. At the same time, seeing Alex fall for Miles and begin rethinking his career added a really nice emotional layer.

Catie and Michael were great side characters and gave both men someone to lean on when things got complicated.

My only small issue was that there were quite a few excerpts from the book Miles was writing, and at times it felt like that pulled focus away from Miles and Alex’s relationship.

Overall though, this was a warm, heartfelt story about two people helping each other grow into who they want to be. Sweet, romantic, and definitely enjoyable.

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rather enjoyed this one! Miles and Alex were adorable from the first time they met. It was instalove/instalust for the couple. Miles as a writer required to write more explicit scenes but unsure of where to get the material is coerced into creating an online dating profile by his assistant/friend. That is where he meets Alex, who by day is an architect, but adult entertainment star by night. I appreciated how understanding Miles was of Alex’s profession. I enjoyed how fast and hard Alex fell for Miles. The spice is definitely there in this story. It was interesting reading along with Miles’ current drafts for his new story. I was invested in it and hoped for a HEA.

The story is told in 3rd person POV which is not something I’m used to. It didn’t take away from the story. This was a first time read from this author and I look forward to more of their work in the future!

[McKenzie Steinberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Copy Received

This story is told in 3rd person and has a HEA. I usually don’t read books in this writing style but I did enjoy it!

I enjoyed the plot behind Miles and Alex’s story! I knew from their very first meeting that they were end game, for sure! Miles being a writer adds a certain flare to the story because he is need of “research”. Alex is more than willing, knowing their relationship started off this way! It didn’t last that way very long though! Alex is an architect by day and an adult entertainer by night. They both brought an interesting spin/could be conflict to the story!

I do wish there was maybe just a little more conflict when it came to their relationship. It would’ve added more intensity to the plot. Overall, it was a really sweet and mushy love story!

Thank you to Haley and her team for letting me read this!

[Julia Toth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very sweet and fluffy read. I loved the whole premise of the story, and Miles and Alex felt like a great pair. I loved how smitten they both were and how much Alex wanted to woo Miles. I loved that Alex really helped Miles' self esteem and the praise he doled out was great. I really enjoyed how Miles and Alex's story played out and how we got to see them experience these big feelings so quickly.

This was sweet and swoony with some funny moments and great banter, and I enjoyed reading it.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Miles and Alex are made for each other. For this to be Haley Fox's first book it was phenomenal. I can't wait to see what she has in store for us.

The only negative thing about this book is Miles is a writer and while I enjoy reading what the character is writing it had me confused and mixing up what was Miles and Alex and what was Zeke and Carter.

But overall I really enjoyed this book and will definitely do a re-read.

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two characters different paths. Finding love, friendship and more. If you love a good spicy book amazing characters and a charming story. Sweet moments in time as they figure out finding love. Definitely a 10/10.

This is the first book I've read from Haley and I can not wait to read more from her!

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a delight! With Potential is a wonderfully charming story, and I really enjoyed following Miles and Alex along their journey. I fully recommend this if you like your books packed with spice, tenderness, genuine character development, and fun secondary characters.

[Dannye Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about a couple from very different backgrounds with fantastic chemistry. I really enjoyed the humor Haley wove into the story, the banter, and of course the HEA!

[Monica Quintana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this so much! Alex and Miles were simply the best! Loved how obsessed and in love they were with each other! And the spice was 🥵🥵🥵🥵 so hot!

[Christina Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very hot and super sweet. Two men find even more than what they were looking for.