Kohatäitja

by Sariah Wilson

Ta istub nii lähedal, et raske on mujale vaadata

Parima esmamulje auhind läheb koerahooldusettevõtte omanikule Juliet Nolanile. Käes on Hollywoodi üks tähtsamaid õhtuid, kui ta nõustub töötama auhinnagalal kohatäitjana ja satub istuma filmistaarist südametemurdja Noah Douglase kõrvale. Keel hammaste taga ja varbad roosades Converseʼi ketsides kõveras, teeskleb ta, et tal pole aimugi, kes see mees on. See on ainus viis, kuidas õhkamisest hoiduda.

Juliet on ilus ja pretensioonitu, ta armastab mehe koera ega kuulu jumaldavate fännide sekka. Pole lootustki, et Noah temast loobuks, isegi kui tema kiindumusest nõretavad lähenemiskatsed vastu takistust põrkavad: Julietti vaevab patoloogiline suudlemisfoobia ja hirm pettumuse ees, mis tavaliselt järgneb. Kuidas saaks romantika õitseda, kui pole seda hullunud, kord-elus esimest suudlust? Kannatlik, kaastundlik ja omaenda koormatega kimpus Noah pakub lahendust: nad harjutavad.

Õppetunnid algavad. Kaitsvad müürid langevad. Kuid esile kerkib veel teinegi takistus, millega nad arvestada ei osanud. Mis saab orkester-hakkab-mängima-ja-lõputiitrid-jooksma õnnelikust lõpust? Et meistriks saada, läheb vaja midagi enamat kui harjutamine.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit, Fiction, Audiobook, Rom Com

312 pages, Paperback

First published April 27, 2021

Reviews

[Mihrimah · Rating 1 out of 5]

my client has asked me to rate this book 1 star and serve the author with a restraining order

best regards
- adam driver’s publicist

[janel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ll say more later cause I read this in the car (and I’m still here), but this was yikes city even before I got to the acknowledgements. I felt gross as a (definitely casual compared to this) Adam driver fan reading this cause it was just - the character read nothing like him but all the factoids were him. Way too weird.

And then I found out mid read that the author compared her son’s autism diagnosis to a terminal illness and :/

Basically this is a self-insert Adam Driver romance and I feel so uncomfortable. I know tidbits about his upbringing and military history from interviews and seeing it all here, only with names changed and the tiniest of details edited, made me physically recoil. This isn’t a fiction book, this is a daydream about a real man and I don’t think it should have been published. A few similarities here or there? Fine. But when there’s an entire twitter thread exploring the MANY ways this book crosses the line, it just becomes disgusting and creepy to me.

Not to mention the fucking ACKNOWLEDGMENTS- Adam honey get a restraining order please this is too MUCH.

The writing was bad with too much weight placed on simply telling the reader what’s in front of them and no focus placed on the prose sounding like anything other than a google translation of travel directions. The romance was weird and awkward- I couldn’t buy the chemistry at all, even separated from the complete absurdity of the character. Which, to comment on the writing, this guy acts nothing like Adam or a character of his I’ve seen (at this point is that a good thing? Iunno I want nothing to do with the self insert aspect). It’s just that for a book literally ripping off his life, he acts like some random dude with no vibes of the actual man at all. Probably because the author met him for 5 seconds at an award show and that’s it.

I gotta stop talking about this but yeah - the author said ridiculously ableist things and made her son’s autism all about her, she wrote a creepy ass book that makes me glad Adam driver has a security team, and it’s not even a good book.

Twitter thread here that I showed my friends when I couldn’t explain the book well enough myself: https://twitter.com/bensreys/status/1...
Thank you to bensreys for documenting this, I’m way too lazy for screenshots

[Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome slow burn romance with an A-list leading man!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
Romance: ❤️💜💙🤍💛
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📙📕📗📘📔
World building: 🌎🌏🌍🌎🌎
Character development: 👨🏻👱🏻‍♀‍🧔🏻👩🏻👱🏼‍♂‍

The heroine: Juliet Nolan - Juliet recently started her own mobile dog grooming business and is helping out a friend by working as a “Seat Filler”at a major Hollywood awards show.

The Hero(es): Noah Douglas - An A-list movie star that is in the running for many of the major awards during the current award season. He has been an actor since he was a child and spent most of his years growing up on a TV show that was eerily similar to Saved by the Bell. Then he joined the military for a few years and returned and transitioned to doing movies. He was recently in a hugely popular trilogy called Duel of the Fae.

The Story: Juliet had a major crush on Noah throughout her teenage years, but when she meets him at the awards show, he is arrogant and condescending so she pretends not to know who Noah is. Noah is immediately intrigued by this girl in a fancy dress and pink converse high tops who is snarky and unimpressed by him.

I really enjoyed this story it was a clean romance with a lot of steam. Juliet had a very bad experience when she was young and has a very real fear of kissing. It is so bad that the few times she tried she has experienced panic attacks. So Noah offers to help Juliet with her problem and it leads to some pretty steamy kissing scenes.

The narrator is terrific. This is told by the heroine’s POV, so there is only a female narrator, but she has a great voice which fits Juliet perfectly, she has just the right amount of innocence and sass. She also did the male voice perfectly with a deep enough voice to make it sound great. This was a great book to listen to via audiobook!

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[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

adam driver’s not gonna fuck you!

[alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

the only good thing to come out of this book is the 50 followers i gained from live tweeting it

[Jaye Berry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got a stomach ache from how fucking creepy this author is.

The Seat Filler is about a dog groomer who while helping out her friend, ends up as a seat filler at an award show and happens to sit next to her celebrity crush. Pretending she doesn't know who he is, she plays uninterested while he becomes more interested. Soon they start a creepy ass romance.

I could give a better blurb but honestly fuck this book. This is the author's published self-insert fanfiction where she falls in love with the actor Adam Driver and it's disturbing to say the least. She takes literally every public known fact about him, even his trauma and uses it. The author doesn't even hide this fact and she's absolutely unhinged. The acknowledgements are even worse and I swear to god Adam Driver needs a restraining order from this woman.

There are actors that I love too but this level is "break into your house and hide in your closet" level not... watch every thing they are in and retweet memes about them level. There are lines we should have as fans and this woman not only crossed it, she back flipped over that and is proud to be this crazed stalker??? This is a grown woman, MARRIED and she does this shit?? There is no rational explanation, this is just fucking weird.

Actors are real people and the thought of ever making an actor I admire uncomfortable breaks my heart. I could never do this to them like imagine if Adam Driver ever saw this? I just know in this nutjob's head she's like omg Adam would find this ROMANTIC and he would instantly leave his wife for me!!! Sorry sis but that isn't happening and I hope he gets that restraining order asap.

Literally in this book the character gets exposed as being a fan of the actor guy and he literally finds it romantic. Do you smell something yes that's me I puked because of how gross I find this all.

As for the book and romance itself, it wasn't good. It felt like a parody and yet it was dead serious. The romance made no sense and was so awkward. They had no chemistry and yet kept ending up together at every moment. Every conversation they had I was just cringing at how fanfictiony it really was?? Like you could at least try to make this not suck but okay. I really spent most of the book just cringing and feeling really uncomfortable that such a book exists.

The writing was SO bad and all of the dialogue was nails on a chalkboard. The MC (idk her name, but it's probably Sariah) was so annoying oh my god I just wanted to fight her. She acts so quirky about eating her snickers and watching tv like ??? What kind of dumb shit is this she's an adult and so many people are like this you don't have to be so quirky, weird, and make your entire personality around how you like chocolate.

To top off how fucked this author is- she also recently made ableist comments about her son's autism like can we just throw the whole person away?

[Nicole Reads Romance · Rating 1 out of 5]

Based on the author shipping herself with a real person/celebrity. Huge cringe.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was already bad and then at 60% i realized it was fucking adam driver fanfiction and nearly quit. but morbid curiosity drove me on and i spent the last fifty pages just whispering, “oh, jesus christ, gross” to myself in the break room.

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning- lots of great chemistry, romantic banter, scrumptious hero and endearing heroine


This may be Sariah's best book yet, and that's saying a lot because all her books are so good! I can't even form words, I just want to go and read the book again. Loved the storyline, loved the characters, loved all the swoony, and I mean S.W.O.O.N.Y. kisses! Did I mention the swoony kisses? But seriously, the love story is so great. Noah and Juliet have great chemistry, fun banter and a genuine connection.

Y'all need to pre-order your copies right now. Like drop everything, you will not want to miss out on this book. I'll write a full review closer to release date, after I've probably read it a few more times. *happy sigh*

Content:
Romance: Clean...did someone mention swoony kisses yet?
Language: None
Violence: None


2021 Swoony Nominee: https://tinyurl.com/y593ce67

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The swoon is strong with this one!

And the award goes to... Sariah Wilson... for writing one of the cutest, swooniest books ever! The story of an every-day normal girl with believable issues and an intriguing, sweet, and handsome-in-his-own-right actor captured my interest and hooked me from the very first page. I couldn't get enough.

I love how witty and true to herself Juliet is and the banter and attraction between Juliet and Noah completely swept me away. The whole cast of characters is perfect for this story and meshed together in an amazing way that drew me right in and didn't let me go--I think this book must be laced with something addictive because I'm feeling a book hangover right about now.

This is hands-down one of the swooniest romances I've ever read. The connection between Noah and Juliet, and the super dreamy kisses, kept me up way too late and left me floating for a long time afterward. The Seat Filler is definitely a book that deserves to be re-read and I can't wait to enjoy it all over again.

Content: mild+ romance (swoony kissing, light innuendo)

*I received a complimentary copy through Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own and were voluntarily given.*

[Sarah Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I had to take one book with me on a deserted island, I’d take this book! Omg I devoured it. I’ve read all of @sariahwilson411’s books, and this one is definitely my favorite. I don’t know how she does it, but I bow to the queen of steam in closed-door romance books! It’s my favorite read of the year, and you need it in your life. The characters were so endearing and the premise was beyond fun! And now I have alllllll the heart eyes for Noah!

Out April 27! Thank you for this ARC, Sariah! ❤️

[Carrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that I genuinely have no idea why this book has an average four-star rating. I can only assume that the five star reviews were written by the author's friends as a favor to her, or that none of them actually read the book. I would have given this half a star, but the rating system doesn't go that low.

So first, let's talk about the main theme of this novel. If I hadn't already known the author's personal history of borderline obsession over Adam Driver after and before meeting him for about five seconds at a film premiere, I would have thought that this book was simply bad. Since, unfortunately, I am aware of this, and also of how she described this encounter in detail repeatedly on social media, and how she gushes over Adam Driver in the acknowledgments of this book, I cannot read this as it's own story so much as I must read it as a printed, published fantasy of the author's desire to meet and fall in love with Adam Driver.

Some points on this:
-Ms Wilson actually names her Fantasy!Adam Driver character "Noah Douglas" which is a combination of Noah Baumbach, a director who himself used Adam Driver as a sort of self insert character for his film Marriage Story, and Mr. Driver's middle name, Douglas.
-Ms. Wilson stated she wore pink Converse shoes when she met Mr. Driver for the first time: "Juliet" meets "Noah" wearing pink Converse. "Juliet" looks like Ms Wilson, down to the hair and skin color and eye color.
-"Noah" has a Newfoundland/Rottweiler mix dog named "Magnus". Mr. Driver has a pit-bull/Rottweiler mix dog called Moose.
-"Noah" has a female costar called "Lily Ramsey" who worked with him on "Duel of the Faes". Mr. Driver worked with Daisy Ridley on the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and the last film's original script was called "Duel of the Fates".
-"Lily Ramsey" has a "small white terrier". Ms. Ridley has a small white terrier rescue called Muffin.

And so on, and so forth, down to Mr. Driver's military service and personal life, including the nonprofit organization he started to benefit veterans. Now, we'll get to the plot. The plot is, simply put, awful. All the conflict is based around Juliet's phobia of kissing plus the fact that she pretended she didn't know who Noah was when she met him at her seat filler gig (so basically no conflict), and the dialogue includes gems like this, from Juliet's friend Shelby referring to "Noah" and "Lily": "What!" she shrieked. "I am so torn. I both adore the idea of them having a torrid affair in real life because I loved them together in the movie and am outraged that he would be cheating on you!" This kind of awkward, unnatural dialogue permeates the book. Since it's written in first person, the effect is even worse.

Juliet constantly tells the reader how much Noah gets stalked by fans. (This self-awareness does not extend to the author.) "Noah" has no personality apart from liking "Juliet" for being Not Like Other Girls and robotically mumbling things that Adam Driver might say if he was a one-dimensional character in a sexless romance novel. There's a bit where Noah goes into detail about how guilty he feels for not being able to become an Army Ranger and being an actor instead, which given what Adam Driver has said about his own military service, feels uncomfortably voyeuristic and almost as if the author is exploiting a real person's emotions for book sales. The conflict is worked through because Noah's dog goes missing and Juliet finds the dog, and then Noah recreates their first meeting, except she's honest with him the second time around about knowing who he is. Then he immediately proposes and that's the end of it.

I could not write a worse book in my sleep. Don't waste your time or money.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 /5 stars

The Seat Filler is my first book by this author. I think that I would categorize the book as somewhere between a contemporary romance and a rom-com. The story is quite emotional.

The narrator is 24 year old Juliet (1st person POV). She has her own dog grooming business.

Juliet and Shelby are roommates who live for celebrity gossip.

Shelby is an interior designer who has an amazing boyfriend named Allan. Allan's mom Harmony owns SeatFiller Nation a company that provides volunteers to fill empty seats at big Hollywood events.

I loved this book. It made me laugh. It made me cry. Juliet was such an enjoyable heroine. She doesn't date. But she ends up at an award show.

Noah is a movie star. I really enjoyed everything about him. And I loved everything in the story to do with dogs.

There were some really fun and surprising developments in this book. But honestly I do not think that I would have enjoyed this book as much as I did if I had read the book blurb prior to reading the book (it gives away too much).

Overall, when rating a book I think about how much the book made me feel. And I'm honestly very surprised how emotional this book was. It made me feel so much. I would definitely recommend this book.


Thanks to netgalley and Montlake romance for allowing me to read this book.

[Avani ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Seat Filler by Sariah Wilson is an adult romance set in the beautiful and lively city of Los Angeles (LA), we see our main characters Juliet Nolan, a dog groomer who runs her own company. She stays with her best friend Shelby. She has been kissed ever and not much into dating since a couple of years.

Noah Douglas, an well renowned actor, who stays at the Hollywood's porch area in LA. They both meet at an award show, hosted by Shelby's mother I guess, she is a seat filler and sits next to her childhood crush Noah Douglas, who is well known for his superhero trilogy based show. She pretends she does not know him and hence starts a slow burn romance.

I really really liked the author's narrative style and the book is definitely promising. Hooked from pretty much the first pages, I liked it alot. The concept of dog groomed and Noah's dog - Magnus was practically an add-on for the perfect plot. If you are a romance lover like me you would definitely enjoy this book keeping in mind the perfect plot and good writing style of the author.
___

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for the copy!

[Erin Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I really struggled with rating this title because if I'm being honest, it started out SO good! It's clever, funny, well paced and I was hooked from the first chapter.

The characters were likable, the plot was funny and all was well.

Until it just, hit a wall? It went from being incredibly cute and enjoyable to slow and a tad childish if I'm being honest. Our protagonist has a fear of kissing. Yes folks, you heard that right. Which, I won't lie - if the author had played her cards right could have been cute and endearing but it ended up coming across as immature and boring.

It took far too long to wrap up, the explanation behind it was a bit ridiculous and I had a really hard time rolling with that specific storyline.

All in all I did actually enjoy the novel, but it has SO much potential to be better that it's disappointing that the author JUST missed the mark.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

im gonna sue you and get a restriction order
-adam driver

[Jeeves Reads Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the dose of SWEETNESS that I needed in my life! It's cute, charming, and just a little bit sexy. I loved the slow build from strangers to friends to lovers, and somehow this author has again made a "clean" book simmer with sexual tension. This hero is almost too good to be true, and I loved his kindness, patience, and single-minded focus. Our heroine makes a somewhat unreliable narrator, but it's so easy to see our hero falling head over heels. From the meet cute to the HEA, these two are absolutely ADORABLE together. And any reservations I had about that blurb evaporated as the intimacy between them grew.

The story follows Juliet, a 24-year-old woman who has never really been kissed. After a traumatic "7 minutes in Heaven" during her teenage years and the disastrous events that followed, she associates kissing and relationships with anxiety and fear. So when she meets Noah, a Hollywood heartthrob and the former child actor who starred in her teenage dreams... she's not as starstruck as she probably should be. While filling in as a seat filler at an awards show, Noah and Juliet strike up a conversation that leaves the actor wanting more. And as they continue running into each other - and Juliet keeps rejecting Noah - they form a connection that starts to feel a lot like friendship with the hint of something more.

I'll openly admit that I was a little hesitant about this blurb, though still very much interested in the story. I typically love her writing, so I dove right in - and do not regret it! This was a low angst delight with the kind of slow burn romance I love; it's about friendship first, with subtle hints of more throughout. There's no real "steam," but it's a sexy book with a whole lot of kissing, and the chemistry was definitely there. And even though we never get Noah's perspective, I felt like I knew exactly what he was thinking along the way... even if Juliet didn't. Noah is what makes this book what it is; he's patient and loving throughout, entirely respectful of Juliet's anxiety, and consistently a genuinely good human being. I loved him so much. There were maybe one or two moments when this was a little too sugary sweet, but you know what? I'm not complaining. It was exactly what I was in the mood for, and just a charming, compelling read. I received an early copy and am voluntarily leaving a review of this Hollywood romance.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so wonderfully surprised by this book. In this story, Juliet is trying to figure out her life. She is struggling with her dog-grooming business, she has a mantra of no dating, and she has a couple of secrets complicating her ability to move forward in life. In fulfilling a promise to her best friend, she finds herself meeting her lifelong celebrity crush. This meet-cute leads to a blossoming “friendship”, but is it possible she could give up her no-boyfriends rule, share her secrets, and find true love?

I had no expectations and went into this book blind, drawn in by the cover and title alone. This book was absolutely adorable, with characters I quickly loved and banter that was hilarious. The premise is a little weird but completely unique, which is something I’m always craving in the rom-com genre. The entire story is unexpected and funny, and parts had me laughing out loud. I will admit that I haven’t seen the movie with the same title, so I can’t attest to if similar themes are shared between the two. But overall, I am so pleased I found this book and read it in a single sitting. Recommend for anyone looking for a quick, quirky, heartwarming read.

[Toni Shiloh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stayed up way too late to finish this book but I regret nothing and may have to go back and reread at a slower pace. Not because I missed anything but because the romance had all the feels, I genuinely laughed out loud (and highlighted the parts that made me laugh), and it simply made me smile.

*I received a complimentary copy from publisher via NetGalley. My review was not required nor influenced.

[Erika · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 40%. It just feels childish. Immature. If the characters had been in hs, may have been acceptable but it feels like this author just wrote a fanfic to pair herself with a celebrity. 19 year old me would have loved it. But the much older me just rolled my eyes through most of it.

Edit to add: Just heard this was a fanfic written about Adam Driver. Yuck. No wonder I didn’t like it.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Juliet Nolan and her best friend Shelby volunteer to be seat fillers at a Hollywood awards show. The first seat she fills is right beside heartthrob Noah Douglas. When he makes a remark about her stealing seats, she pretends that she has no idea who he is. That's a lie. He was actually her high school crush. As Noah talks to her, Juliet mentions that she has a dog grooming business. The next thing she knows, he has hired her to take care of his dog, Magnus. Soon Noah is pursuing Juliet, but she keeps telling him that she just wants to be friends. 

This is a cute contemporary romance. The hero and heroine strike sparks off of each other from the moment they meet. Juliet likes Noah and wants to be with him, but she is harboring a secret. She has a pathological fear of kissing. Of course, when she finally tells him her secret, he decides to help her with her problem.

I liked the first half of this story and found it amusing. I thought the second half was very slow and predictable. I thought Noah over-reacted when he learned that Juliet lied about not knowing him when they met. I thought the author could have found something more original to cause conflict in their relationship. My rating: 3 Stars.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, uplifting, and super sweet!

The Seat Filler is a quick, light, flirty tale featuring the hardworking, hesitant Juliet and the handsome, successful Noah Douglas as they navigate a relationship that includes an awards show meet-cute, careers that are worlds apart, instant attraction, romantic moments, undeniable chemistry, and a crippling fear of kissing.

The writing is whimsical and smooth. The characters are charismatic, supportive, and endearing. And the plot is an irresistible blend of shameless flirting, friendship, family, light drama, tricky situations, philemaphobia, spirited shenanigans, awkward interactions, steamy romance, and adorable four-legged friends.

Overall, The Seat Filler is a witty, warm, charming tale by Wilson that I not only devoured in one sitting but absolutely loved.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Natasha Niezgoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very delightful slow burn romance! Loved the witty/snarky banter 😏

[Shauni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a little difficult to review. On it's own, I thought it was a cute and touching love story. Juliet is a dog-groomer that finds herself sitting next to her celebrity crush as she sits in as a seat filler at an awards ceremony. Noah Douglas ends up being a sweetheart who helps her overcome her fear of relationships. What starts out as a friendship turns into more and she learns to navigate the struggles of stardom and together they find their happily-everafter.

Initially, I really enjoyed reading this book. I generally don't read the author's acknowledgements after finishing a book. But I started skimming and quickly learned that this book was the author's fanfiction about her obsession with Adam Driver. As a fan of Adam myself, this book just feels creepy now. I'm sure the author's intention wasn't to turn off her readers, but unfortunately what was at first a book that left me with swoony and fluffy feelings has left me feeling a little icky.

[Treena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC of this book. The review below is entirely my own opinion.

Sariah Wilson is one of my favorite authors. I really love how she tells a story. And what’s funny is that I’ve already pre-ordered this book, The Seat Filler. It’s going to be released in April 2021. But when I learned that it was available on NetGalley, I immediately went to the site. And luckily, I got an ARC! Yay!

The Seat Filler is one of the best books I’ve read this year!! It’s so swoony and dreamy. I love how the romance between Juliet and Noah developed and grew. And I really love, love, love Noah.

I stayed up until 4am finishing this book and don’t regret it at all.

In a year where I’ve struggled to keep my focus on reading ... which is very unusual for me... just not in the right mood or head space... this romance has brought lightness and joy.

Thank you Sariah for writing this book. It’s going to be one that I’m going to re-read often.

[Julie Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

This was a fun premise for a book. Noah and Juliet's first meeting was pretty comical. She's trying to not interact with anyone per her contract as a seat filler during a big Hollywood awards ceremony. Sit in the seat so the cameras don't catch any empty seats, leave when the attendee returns. Simple and easy. Except when the person you're sitting next to is your life time crush, and who is determined to get you out of the seat and to have you not be some crazed fan. So play aloof and uninterested.

Juliet is a bit of a spitfire but I love her personality. She was very fun and some of her internal thoughts (and let's be honest a lot of her vocal thoughts) had me laughing out loud a lot of the book. Especially when she was saying things out loud that she thought were just her thoughts. Hahaha! That was a funny scene. I could just imagine Noah standing there smirking and trying not to laugh too hard.

The book is told only from Juliet's POV. Which works great and keeps Noah as a brooding character until she really starts to get to know him. And boy do they break down those barriers fast. I really liked the way that their characters meshed together and had this great friend connection. Of course there are sparks and great chemistry as well but with Juliet's fear of kissing and her history she's very protective of her heart and draws the friend line very firmly.

I kept waiting for some big hoorah to happen that would big the conflict of the book but it didn't quite come like I thought it would. There is a conflict and something that happens in the beginning that carries throughout the whole book and makes Juliet worried about what will happen with their relationship when it's revealed. It worked but to me it felt like Noah's reaction was a little bigger than what I would have thought. And maybe that's not the right way to describe it. There was just something that felt a little off for me. But I'm sure other readers will probably enjoy it. And I should clarify that I did like it. I can see and understand both Juliet and Noah's reasons behind everything, maybe it was just what I said that I felt his reaction was bigger than I expected.

Overall it was a cute story. Fun, flirty and a cute premise.

Content: Sariah Wilson can write characters with great chemistry like nobody's business. This book didn't dive into the characters having sex with each other but the steam level is definitely a few steps above squeaky clean. The premise is about a character who has a kissing phobia and these two dive into helping her overcome that with practice. So there are several scenes of kissing and flirting and touching. The touching is just on the arms and neck and face, etc. The kissing does turn intense and there are a couple make out scenes. At one point near the end of the book, Noah does remove his shirt as they kiss and the kissing becomes more intense and Juliet's thoughts are that she doesn't mind what happens if they keep kissing like this, but they are interrupted with a phone call. At another point in the story the characters sleep in the same bed, no kissing or anything, just sleeping.
The characters also drink alcohol and talk about not drinking too much because of becoming drunk and without inhibitions.

I received a copy from the publisher, Montlake, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

[Lissa Hawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sariah Wilson books always make my day better. (Even if sometimes they mean less sleep.)

I giggled and swooned, and there were dogs. What more does a book need?

Devoured in one sitting, only a little past my bedtime.

Recommended.

[Samantha Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy up too late holy book hangover! I thought I'd read a few chapters before bed, but I should have known it was a mistake to try that with one of Sariah's books. Noah and Juliet's story grabbed ahold of me and wouldn't let me go until the sweet happy ending! I won't go into all the plot -- there's tons of other reviewers who will do that -- but I do want to take a minute to say that the way Sariah writes a kissing scene is an art all of it's own. She brings the right amount of chemistry and heat into it without going too far. Another reader commented that just reading about Noah and Juliet's kiss took her breath away. I agree! Of course, there's lots of relationship challenges and growth along the way that make this a touching story with lots of character development that will make you want to know more after the final pages are done. The end of a good book should always be like saying goodbye to a friend. (And... Noah can be my friend any time!)

[Pascale’s*ARC,Unwind,Read,Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philemaphobia - the intense fear of kissing...

It all started as a favour for a friend... she never thought she’d meet a celebrity and she certainly never dreamed she’d ever kiss him! Kissing therapy with a movie star? Sign me up! 💋💄

In true Wilson style, the author spins a romantic comedy that is clean and swoony, fast-paced and humourous, with delightful characters. Wilson based this story on her own celebrity movie star crush and she included a few Easter eggs throughout the book which were also fun to try to spot. And, unlike the ending to the famous movie, this one has a happily ever after finish!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and chose to leave an honest review. I definitely recommend this book.

[Brittany McCann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hesitant to read this one, but it was my in-person book club pick, so I gave it a go. While I can get down with a kickass chick-lit romance, the description of this one was slightly offputting.

The first third of the book is pretty good. Pretty much everything up until the kissing phobia, which is where it started to lose me.

I shook my head at the complete lack of reality of so much of this book. I have read fantasy novels more realistic than the details of this romance.

But that ending really took the cake in no freaking way in any realm of reality.

An added note: this was somewhat of a love letter to the author's obsession with Adam Driver... I guess that makes it funny and also weirder.

Not more than ok for me. 2 Stars