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Love on the Court #1
Fake Dating Her Best Friend's Brother
Falling for her best friend’s older brother wasn’t in the Fake Dating playbook.
Callie’s about to lose her job. Either she cleans up her debt, or her career at GG Financial is over. Despite the protests of her best friend’s brother, Dean, she does the only thing she can think of; she finds employment with a date-for-hire company.
NBA point guard Dean Kimball should be having the time of his life. But even his flourishing basketball career with Pittsburgh’s brand new team can’t help him forget about his feelings for his little sister’s best friend. Apparently, distance really does make the heart grow fonder. Now, she’s dating men for money, and he can’t help but worry about what will happen if the date turns into something more.
In an attempt to save his heart, Dean proposes a plan: he’ll pay Callie to be his girlfriend. Knowing she won’t agree, he convinces her it’s because he wants to win his ex-girlfriend back. Everything goes as planned, until feelings start to deepen. Now they both must decide if they can be truthful enough to allow themselves to fall in love.
Callie’s about to lose her job. Either she cleans up her debt, or her career at GG Financial is over. Despite the protests of her best friend’s brother, Dean, she does the only thing she can think of; she finds employment with a date-for-hire company.
NBA point guard Dean Kimball should be having the time of his life. But even his flourishing basketball career with Pittsburgh’s brand new team can’t help him forget about his feelings for his little sister’s best friend. Apparently, distance really does make the heart grow fonder. Now, she’s dating men for money, and he can’t help but worry about what will happen if the date turns into something more.
In an attempt to save his heart, Dean proposes a plan: he’ll pay Callie to be his girlfriend. Knowing she won’t agree, he convinces her it’s because he wants to win his ex-girlfriend back. Everything goes as planned, until feelings start to deepen. Now they both must decide if they can be truthful enough to allow themselves to fall in love.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 14, 2018
805 people are currently reading
1941 people want to read
About the author
Tia Souders
18 books206 followersTia Souders is a city girl turned country. If life on a farm isn't interesting enough, renovating a century home with her hubs has kept her on her toes. There's nothing like discovering a fried squirrel in your furnace to make life fresh again.
She’s an unapologetic wine-loving, coffeeholic with a sweet tooth. In-between wrangling her two children and drinking copious amounts of coffee, she reads and writes stories that tug on your heartstrings.
Visit her at tiasouders.com and join her newsletter for sneak peeks and more!
She’s an unapologetic wine-loving, coffeeholic with a sweet tooth. In-between wrangling her two children and drinking copious amounts of coffee, she reads and writes stories that tug on your heartstrings.
Visit her at tiasouders.com and join her newsletter for sneak peeks and more!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 225 reviews
January 5, 2022
2⭐️
i have very odd feelings towards this book and i think it is because it is a very odd book. the foundation of this books plot was based off the female mcs addiction. to shopping. she acted SO oppressed because she couldn’t stop herself from buying clothes all the time. she was in debt TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS not including college loans. if you need to hide your credit card information or something do so. like be addicted to shopping but don’t act like you have it the worst in the world and everyone should be sorry for you. another very odd thing about this book was the writing style. it was in third person but also dual POV? i just hate 3 person pov. it was very confusing, i didn’t like the writing at all. not to mention the fact that the writing was very childish and made me cringe. beyond all that i was entertained while reading the beginning and middle but the end felt dragged out.
i have very odd feelings towards this book and i think it is because it is a very odd book. the foundation of this books plot was based off the female mcs addiction. to shopping. she acted SO oppressed because she couldn’t stop herself from buying clothes all the time. she was in debt TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS not including college loans. if you need to hide your credit card information or something do so. like be addicted to shopping but don’t act like you have it the worst in the world and everyone should be sorry for you. another very odd thing about this book was the writing style. it was in third person but also dual POV? i just hate 3 person pov. it was very confusing, i didn’t like the writing at all. not to mention the fact that the writing was very childish and made me cringe. beyond all that i was entertained while reading the beginning and middle but the end felt dragged out.
September 27, 2022
2,5...
War cute, aber wirklich nichts besonderes :/
War cute, aber wirklich nichts besonderes :/
September 28, 2023
Callie & Jinny are bff’s
Dean is Jinny’s brother, an NBA player.
Callie is a mess both financially and emotionally after losing her parents to a tragic accident 7 years ago, she’s filled her void and mourning by shopping.
Dean has a plan for her to make the money to pay her debts.
This is a super sweet, page turning, romance.
I really enjoyed it a lot!
I can’t wait to read book 2.
Dean is Jinny’s brother, an NBA player.
Callie is a mess both financially and emotionally after losing her parents to a tragic accident 7 years ago, she’s filled her void and mourning by shopping.
Dean has a plan for her to make the money to pay her debts.
This is a super sweet, page turning, romance.
I really enjoyed it a lot!
I can’t wait to read book 2.
October 28, 2021
I have mixed feelings about this book.... It started off great, with a plot that I typically love. The hero enters into a fake relationship with his sisters best friend.
The first part of the book I kept finding myself smiling and laughing as I was reading. The banter and writing was just.... cute, charming, and I could picture it all happening. The best part of the book was the hero trying to convince the heroine to fake date with him.
But once they started to officially "date"... it all went downhill from there. For me, it was no longer a romance book, but instead the book focused on the heroine's shopping addiction problem. And bits and pieces of other silly drama along the way, and so much of her internally moaning and groaning because she didn't know where they stood as a couple.
This couple needed way more screen time together. Have her fly out to visit him on one of his away games, show them on a date, anything! Show them falling in love, not just internal dialogues.
I eventually got so irritated at how the story was going, that I stopped reading at 78%. I just thought both characters were pointless at that point and I didn't care if they had a HEA or not.
Zero steam or romance. Maybe one little quick kiss (up until the 78%).
The first part of the book I kept finding myself smiling and laughing as I was reading. The banter and writing was just.... cute, charming, and I could picture it all happening. The best part of the book was the hero trying to convince the heroine to fake date with him.
But once they started to officially "date"... it all went downhill from there. For me, it was no longer a romance book, but instead the book focused on the heroine's shopping addiction problem. And bits and pieces of other silly drama along the way, and so much of her internally moaning and groaning because she didn't know where they stood as a couple.
This couple needed way more screen time together. Have her fly out to visit him on one of his away games, show them on a date, anything! Show them falling in love, not just internal dialogues.
I eventually got so irritated at how the story was going, that I stopped reading at 78%. I just thought both characters were pointless at that point and I didn't care if they had a HEA or not.
Zero steam or romance. Maybe one little quick kiss (up until the 78%).
August 10, 2023
didn’t care about the characters at all and was kind of fighting to get to the end.
April 13, 2022
I am not sure where I sit with this book.
Callie is a train wreck. And she knows it. I love the premise of falling for a best friends sibling (been there myself) or a siblings best friend (again, been there) because there’s already a built in family connection.
But the relationship between Dean and Callie kind of fell flat a little for me.
It got real heavy on the emotional drama toward the end which wore a tad thin for me.
I was kind of expecting more laughs and comedy situations.
I kind of wished Callie had moved to Cali and grew into her own before committing to Dean.
Callie is a train wreck. And she knows it. I love the premise of falling for a best friends sibling (been there myself) or a siblings best friend (again, been there) because there’s already a built in family connection.
But the relationship between Dean and Callie kind of fell flat a little for me.
It got real heavy on the emotional drama toward the end which wore a tad thin for me.
I was kind of expecting more laughs and comedy situations.
I kind of wished Callie had moved to Cali and grew into her own before committing to Dean.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
dnf
April 1, 2022DNF @ page 20 (idk tbh, but it was early)
did not like the writing and in the few pages I read I did not like the main character or her friend (the friend was so mean? I get that it was probably supposed to be banter or tough love or whatever, but I was not a fan)
why is it so hard to find a basketball rom com??
did not like the writing and in the few pages I read I did not like the main character or her friend (the friend was so mean? I get that it was probably supposed to be banter or tough love or whatever, but I was not a fan)
why is it so hard to find a basketball rom com??
April 26, 2023
The writing style ruined everything for me, it’s from a 3rd person’s POV but then it got their names as if it’s dual POV? In my opinion it was very bad, took everything from me to not DNF it because of this. The story was sweet, I enjoyed most of it but unfortunately there is barely any basketball in this book, which is what I expected to be honest.
July 28, 2023
4.5 stars
November 20, 2022
Thanks to my wooooonderful iPad, I got this book for free! I wasn’t expecting to like it this much since it sounds quite cliché but ohhhh boy did I like it.
Callie is in deep debt but she can’t stop her shopping addiction since it’s her coping method. Her boss tells her that if she doesn’t lower down her debt, there is no way she can get a promotion. She finds a website where she gets paid to fake date and the pay is no joke! But when date after date gets worse she’s already giving up. When her best friend’s brother who is also an NBA player offers that if Callie plays as his fake girlfriend to get his ex back with a full payment of all her debt, there is no way she can turn down the offer.
This book was great! It had some of my favorite troped like:
~Best Friend’s Brother
~Childhood Friend
~Sports Romance
~Adult Romance
~He Falls First
You know when every romance book near the ending has a bit of trouble or an argument, this book had it as well but it MAD SENSE it wasn’t’ there for the word count 😌😚 I loved both the main characters and THE SIDE CHARACTERS WERE 😩🤌 aaaaaaah!!!!!
I can not wait to read the second book that is about Dean’s sister and his teemate because I sense dome enemies to lovers and reversed grumpy- sunshine coming 😏 If you want to read a short but very well written sports romance than I think you should definitely give this book a try 🫶🏻
Callie is in deep debt but she can’t stop her shopping addiction since it’s her coping method. Her boss tells her that if she doesn’t lower down her debt, there is no way she can get a promotion. She finds a website where she gets paid to fake date and the pay is no joke! But when date after date gets worse she’s already giving up. When her best friend’s brother who is also an NBA player offers that if Callie plays as his fake girlfriend to get his ex back with a full payment of all her debt, there is no way she can turn down the offer.
This book was great! It had some of my favorite troped like:
~Best Friend’s Brother
~Childhood Friend
~Sports Romance
~Adult Romance
~He Falls First
You know when every romance book near the ending has a bit of trouble or an argument, this book had it as well but it MAD SENSE it wasn’t’ there for the word count 😌😚 I loved both the main characters and THE SIDE CHARACTERS WERE 😩🤌 aaaaaaah!!!!!
I can not wait to read the second book that is about Dean’s sister and his teemate because I sense dome enemies to lovers and reversed grumpy- sunshine coming 😏 If you want to read a short but very well written sports romance than I think you should definitely give this book a try 🫶🏻
November 22, 2023
3 ⭐️
Callie Cartwright is about to lose her job. Either she cleans up her mounting debt, or her career in finance is over.
NBA point guard Dean Kimball should be having the time of his life. But even his flourishing basketball career isn't enough to help him forget his feelings for his little sister's best friend.
So when Callie decides to enter the date-for-hire world to relieve her increasing debt, Dean suggests an alternative option. Date him for money to help his image.
Too bad the one rule they set for themselves is the one rule they can't follow.
✨ This is the first book I've read that was written by Tia Souders.
It was a good read. I liked the main characters especially Callie's development and her acceptance of being in love with her best friend's brother who she has known all her life.
❤️ I loved Dean's character, he is a man who knows what he wants and will do anything to get it. I thought their love story was cute.
💕 The book itself is very well written, no length. It's fresh, it's cute , it’s worth it.
I recommend to the Fans of fake relationships, sports romance, and romantic comedy will love this sweet romcom.
Callie Cartwright is about to lose her job. Either she cleans up her mounting debt, or her career in finance is over.
NBA point guard Dean Kimball should be having the time of his life. But even his flourishing basketball career isn't enough to help him forget his feelings for his little sister's best friend.
So when Callie decides to enter the date-for-hire world to relieve her increasing debt, Dean suggests an alternative option. Date him for money to help his image.
Too bad the one rule they set for themselves is the one rule they can't follow.
✨ This is the first book I've read that was written by Tia Souders.
It was a good read. I liked the main characters especially Callie's development and her acceptance of being in love with her best friend's brother who she has known all her life.
❤️ I loved Dean's character, he is a man who knows what he wants and will do anything to get it. I thought their love story was cute.
💕 The book itself is very well written, no length. It's fresh, it's cute , it’s worth it.
I recommend to the Fans of fake relationships, sports romance, and romantic comedy will love this sweet romcom.
December 10, 2018
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book.
Callie Cartwright is financially unstable to say the least, she is a shopaholic and doesn't know how or when to quit spending money. She decides she needs to find a second job to help her pay off some of her debt, which is how she stumbles upon the Love for Hire ad, she calls to see about working for them and they accept her so she starts going on dates for money. Until those dates blow up in her face.
Dean Kimball is an NBA star, playing for the Pittsburgh Pumas, his life is great except the one thing missing is the one person he's wanted since he was a child but didn't ever know how to tell her. When Callie starts working at Love for Hire, Dean is not happy about it to say the least, until Emmett gives him a grand idea for him to hire Callie and help her to see he isn't a six year old running around in his underwear anymore. Dean just hopes Callie will go for the ruse he's trying to sell her in order to be able to win her over.
Callie and Dean are just adorable. Dean pulls the heartstrings throughout the entire book! He is just absolute perfection, his love for Callie, the fact that it has always been her is just swoon worthy. I was so in love with him I just wanted to keep him all to myself ;). Callie was obtuse, then she was confused, then she was torn. The Kimballs are all she has left, how can she risk that to date Dean for real? What if it all blows up in their faces? She has nobody else..
Thank you to Tia for writing this wonderful book. It absolutely tugged on my heart and made me so happy and sad all at the same time. This was definitely a sweet and sappy feel good book and I LOVED every bit of it!
Callie Cartwright is financially unstable to say the least, she is a shopaholic and doesn't know how or when to quit spending money. She decides she needs to find a second job to help her pay off some of her debt, which is how she stumbles upon the Love for Hire ad, she calls to see about working for them and they accept her so she starts going on dates for money. Until those dates blow up in her face.
Dean Kimball is an NBA star, playing for the Pittsburgh Pumas, his life is great except the one thing missing is the one person he's wanted since he was a child but didn't ever know how to tell her. When Callie starts working at Love for Hire, Dean is not happy about it to say the least, until Emmett gives him a grand idea for him to hire Callie and help her to see he isn't a six year old running around in his underwear anymore. Dean just hopes Callie will go for the ruse he's trying to sell her in order to be able to win her over.
Callie and Dean are just adorable. Dean pulls the heartstrings throughout the entire book! He is just absolute perfection, his love for Callie, the fact that it has always been her is just swoon worthy. I was so in love with him I just wanted to keep him all to myself ;). Callie was obtuse, then she was confused, then she was torn. The Kimballs are all she has left, how can she risk that to date Dean for real? What if it all blows up in their faces? She has nobody else..
Thank you to Tia for writing this wonderful book. It absolutely tugged on my heart and made me so happy and sad all at the same time. This was definitely a sweet and sappy feel good book and I LOVED every bit of it!
May 31, 2023
Oh I loved this sports romance
It had so many elements: best friend’s brother, he fell first, sports romance, fake dating etc.
I was so invested in this story!
This review may contain minor spoilers
I love Dean, he is such a lovely book boyfriend. How he always takes care of her. How jealous he got when she took that job for a few days/weeks. Above all, how respectful he was. He didn’t push her and gave her the space she wanted and needed. Even after all those years, he still waited. Gosh my heart I felt for him.
Callie, she has so much bagage. With the death of her parents and the fact that she’s a shopaholic. Honestly, it annoyed me at some point, hee shopping habit. But I do understand where it’s coming from and I am so proud of her development.
The moment when we finally met the mother of Dean, it made me tear up when she talked about the love story of her best friend, Callie’s mum and dad. I really connected to that scene and I felt every emotion.
This was such a lovely story. No spice. Just a good lil romance book 🤍🏉
It had so many elements: best friend’s brother, he fell first, sports romance, fake dating etc.
I was so invested in this story!
This review may contain minor spoilers
I love Dean, he is such a lovely book boyfriend. How he always takes care of her. How jealous he got when she took that job for a few days/weeks. Above all, how respectful he was. He didn’t push her and gave her the space she wanted and needed. Even after all those years, he still waited. Gosh my heart I felt for him.
Callie, she has so much bagage. With the death of her parents and the fact that she’s a shopaholic. Honestly, it annoyed me at some point, hee shopping habit. But I do understand where it’s coming from and I am so proud of her development.
The moment when we finally met the mother of Dean, it made me tear up when she talked about the love story of her best friend, Callie’s mum and dad. I really connected to that scene and I felt every emotion.
This was such a lovely story. No spice. Just a good lil romance book 🤍🏉
December 11, 2018
Grief can manifest in many ways. In her case it was the euphoria from shopping. She had the love and support of good friends but there was that hole. Then there was Dean. He was always her best friends brother. . . until he was more. This author does this in the best of ways. I love a romance that has issues. The people aren't perfect and it's always about so much more than their beauty and charm. They had seen each other at their worst and it hadn't changed a thing. But she first needs to see past her faults and allow love in. I loved this story even when I wanted to shake her. I felt the anger from Jinny and was sitting in the back seat saying yeah what she said. Awesome read from an author who makes every word count.
December 14, 2018
Beautiful Sweet Read
A beautiful sweet heartfelt romance between Dean and Callie. I love how he worked hard to prove his love for her and how he never gave up.
Favorite quote: “...every part of me loves every part of you. You’re the one thing I wake up thinking about, and you’re the one thing I dream about at night.”
A beautiful sweet heartfelt romance between Dean and Callie. I love how he worked hard to prove his love for her and how he never gave up.
Favorite quote: “...every part of me loves every part of you. You’re the one thing I wake up thinking about, and you’re the one thing I dream about at night.”
February 12, 2021
It was Okay -.- Not great and also not horrible :/
What I hated was the PDA at some points, there were scenes that I wished that were more private
The promise was good but it wasn’t fulfilled to its potential and I didn’t like the writing style that much! And I definitely prefer if it was a first person POV then the third
Overall it was okay :/ I didn’t love it but I also didn’t hate it ^^”
What I hated was the PDA at some points, there were scenes that I wished that were more private
The promise was good but it wasn’t fulfilled to its potential and I didn’t like the writing style that much! And I definitely prefer if it was a first person POV then the third
Overall it was okay :/ I didn’t love it but I also didn’t hate it ^^”
December 28, 2018
This book was amazing! It gave me all the feels. It was smart, sassy and romantic! I couldn’t put it down. It’s a must read! You won’t be disappointed!
January 27, 2023
story was fine, epilogue gave me the ick
June 17, 2023
loved it like literally one of the cutest book ever. i just wish there was more basketball but the love story was just chefs kiss
March 29, 2022
Cute and fun read!
July 17, 2023
3.5/5 cute little cheesy romance, I wish their was more chemistry between the main characters and that I felt an emotional connection between the two. Buttt if someone confessed their love for me like that I’d die (in a good way)
July 27, 2022
3.5 stars
December 16, 2018
Baggage, baggage, baggage
Dealing with grief is hard but running doesn’t work. This is a wonderful story of discovering love and learning to deal with all the baggage!
Dealing with grief is hard but running doesn’t work. This is a wonderful story of discovering love and learning to deal with all the baggage!
December 7, 2022
Matko jakie to było płytkie i męczące
May 2, 2024
2,5⭐️
January 1, 2025
yooo that was long ass walk through sandy beach, interpret as you wish
August 8, 2023
Too many cliches, just a meh book. God Callie annoyed me, like an AA meeting for shopping, sorry what!!!
January 10, 2023
Die Idee war komisch und schlecht umgesetzt. Zudem hat sich das Buch gezogen. Das Highlight des Buches war als es Vorbei war.
March 29, 2023
No wonder this was free on Apple Books, I’ve read fanfics longer and better written than this.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 225 reviews