The Only Reason

The Holidays with You

by Shannon O'Connor

Two women, one fake relationship & a fall they'll never forget.


Bella Gold needs money for college, so when she hears of an agency that pays you to date people in return for large sums of cash she signs up. She knows what everyone’s thinking but she doesn’t take off her clothes, even if she wanted to. The only thing that happens is some hand holding and honest conversation. If she’s being honest, she feels bad for how lonely these people are.

Enter Dylan Marsh, a long time co executive at To Be Read Publishing. Whenher boss comments for the billionth time that she’s attending the parties alone, she decides to hire someone to help. The last thing she wants to do is date anyone her age or get married anytime soon, but maybe a few dates with a beautiful woman would get her boss off her back. As soon as Dylan meets Bella, it’s love at first sight. For Bella, it’s more of confusion, as she was expecting a man.

Dylan gives Bella a proposition she can’t turn down, pretend to date her for a few months and she’ll pay for her college tuition. At first Bella thinks it’s a prank set up by her best friends, but the more she gets to know Dylan, the more they surprise each other. Will Dylan be able to convince Bella to fall in love with her for real? Or will Bella cash the check and not look back?

Genres: Lesbian, Romance, Fake Dating, Contemporary, Audiobook, Holiday Romance, Queer

158 pages, ebook

Published September 19, 2023

About the author

Shannon O’Connor is a twenty something, bisexual, self published poet of several books and counting. O’Connor enjoys life’s simple pleasures: coffee, reading, traveling, and spending time with her new baby. O’Connor is continuously working on new poetry projects, book reviews, and more, while also diving into motherhood. She loves supporting local indie authors & shops as much as possible.

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/shans...

Reviews

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

O'Connor's latest has it all. Fake dating, an older woman, humor, escorts, tons of heat and more..
Leads Bella and Dylan meet after Dylan signs up with the escort service Bella works for. She is beyond fed-up being quizzed about her lack of a date at business functions. No one ever questions the single men at these events so maybe paying someone to be a fake date is a possible solution. Bella wants to earn money to finish her college education and she's aware the escort job pays very well. She joins the service where her BF is employed. From inception there is an easy connection between the two main characters and soon enough an agreement reached with the agency - Bella will be Dylan's date for any functions she attends. Come on, you know that's not the end of things.
It was so easy to picture Bella in beautiful corsets that set off her sexy body and thrilled Dylan. Cameo appearances by a few characters from previous books, out of the loop best friends, fake dates, real dates, choices and lots of heat eventually lead to a HFN.
Another quick, hot read from the author.

[LEAH · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ★ Vape shaming??? Lmao. ‘Vaping is such a nasty habit’… I read whilst I take a puff of my lost Mary. Literally go cry about it. Don’t even know why I kept on reading after that because it was all downhill from there.

[Lez_be_readin_ya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bella and Dylan's story is truly captivating. The palpable chemistry and undeniable connection between the characters make for a compelling read. I particularly enjoyed the storyline, as the "Escort to Lovers" trope is always a delightful one to explore. Shannon has executed this trope flawlessly, creating a well-rounded and engaging narrative.

The book offers a delightful balance of sweet and steamy moments, making it an all-around enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a captivating and entertaining story.

Star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice rating. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

[McKenzie Dew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Only Reason by Shannon O’Connor
✨ARC Book Review✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🔥Fake Dating
🔥FF Romance
🔥Short Quick Read
🔥SPICY

Cute book! I really enjoyed the fake dating (my favorite trope!!!) And the chemistry between these characters is undeniable!

Definitely a must read if you love FF romance, fake dating, short reads, and lots of spice!

[Nicolette Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 overall and 4 for spice. I really enjoyed this book! Fake dating is my favorite trope and it’s done so well in this book! Both FMC are so lovable and the chemistry between them was undeniable! This was a short and quick read.

Would have rated even higher, but I do really wish there would have been more closure with Bella’s personal friendships

[Sha · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a recurring issue I have with this author - the story is great, the characters are fun and full of potential yet the book as a whole is deeply flawed. After reading this book, I finally understood why, and now it bothers me even more. I believe there wasn't an editor present for these books. An editor would have said this should be the 2nd installment and not the 3rd. An editor would have caught all the moments where there's just too much monologue and not enough action. A good editor would have told the author to stop telling and start showing. But most of all, an editor would have made the author create more differentiation between her MCs. They are both narrated in 1st person voice and they sound the same. They use the same nuanced expressions, same language, same tone, even the popping of the p in "nope" is done by both of them. They are supposed to be more than a decade apart in age, with very different backgrounds. It is not reasonable for them to sound alike.

Also, I must point out the lack of proper proofreading. When a negative sentence is missing the "not" the meaning changes and the whole paragraph becomes incoherent. Similarly, when a positive sentence has an unnecessary "not" in it, the same thing happens. This happens several times during the book and there are more grammatical, syntactical, and punctuation errors throughout the text.
It bothers me that I have to read a sentence twice just to understand what the author meant to write, correct it in my mind, and then read the whole paragraph again so I can move on.

On the bright side, I love a good fauxmance and this is one such story. I thought the idea, and most of the execution were great. There wasn't much conflict there and that's ok. Not all couples have to climb the Everest. This couple had a few bumps in the road but they communicated honestly and maturely and worked it out. I love it when this is the road to resolution.
Having met the supporting characters in previous books, I know their potential and I think they could have played a much bigger role in this story.

T&T:
Tropes: fauxmance, age gap, rich girl/poor girl, one night into forever
Triggers: verbal/sexual harassment at work, open-door sex scenes
Rating: 3 stars. (I'd love to read an edited version of this book if the author decides to do it. I'm sure it will be amazing.)

I received an arc in exchange for a voluntary review.

[Kim Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book of The Holidays With You Series but it can be read alone and is now my favorite. I loved Dylan and Bella. It's an age gap fake relationship that gets very very HOT! I mean chapter fourteen was just WOW. You don't want to miss this one.                         I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

An escort and a publishing executive start a fake dating relationship in this sapphic age gap romcom.

Wow did I want to love this, but alas. There are a lot of grammar errors and typos- not so many that I DNF’d- but the story never really sang to me. I never got pulled in and rooted for the characters. Instead of reading as fast-paced because it’s a short read, it just felt like there was story missing.

Sorry, Shannon, you’re not for me.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
POV: Dual 1st

[Fran Sappharc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think if you are a younger demographic and looking for spice, this might fit the bill.

I'm pretty sure I'm a different generation from the writer, not something she can do anything about and to be honest nor can I. Some of the writing felt young, but I guess the main is, so possibly in keeping with that character in that my world view and a college student's might not match up. I think the older character wasn't as believable or as real as the younger, possibly again written a bit young, also she seemed pretty well off but I'm not sure why?

A few side characters were a bit one dimensional, I didn't get the boss, or the Madame, in fact I had a bit of an issue with that whole plot and resolution.

A few typos and errors but not so many I got annoyed, just enough to note.

From about 60% in the book reads like a PWP (plot, what plot). It didn't work for me too mistressy and probably trying to make each scene different physically.

I know this is quite a long review for a book that wasn't to my taste, tho all my reviews are based on my taste. I think I just want to be clear that it's not the book, it's me. People like me may also not enjoy those aspects, different folks may buy 2 copies in case something happens to one. 2.5 up to 3 cos it's not it, it's me!

[ReadingwithCaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shannon O’Connor created another lighthearted holidays story. A great age gap, fake dating tale, well worth your time.

This book is part of The Holidays With You series but can be read as a standalone. I did love to get a glimpse of Lucy and Morgan and Ellie from the other stories. Bella and Dylan’s story is set in the same timeline as Lucy and Morgan’s.

I received an advance review copy for free from Booksirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Bella is heading into the last semester of her college education but is struggling to make ends meet. Her friend and roommate Sara works as a well payed escort and for the first time Bella thinks it might be the answer to her financial woes. After going on a few dates with men, she is surprised to find a gorgeous woman requesting her company.

Dylan has a great career in publishing the only trouble is with her egotistical, annoying boss. He gets under her skin with the umpteenth comment about her single status at a work party. Dylan decides to take matters into her own hands and hire a fake girlfriend. She didn’t take into account the beautiful, sexy woman the agency pairs her with.

I loved reading about the arrangement Dylan and Bella have and all the ways they try to not cross any boundaries while their feelings for each other grow simultaneously. When they finally get together I advise you to get a large bucket of cold water next to you, because, pfffff HOT!

O’Connor’s writing is not overly complex and reads like an easy ride. As a reader you just jump on and let it take you wherever it goes. Be sure it’s going to be a delightful journey!

[Aunt Missa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a story. It was finished and published, so 2 stars. There are so many glaring errors in the writing and I just can’t overlook it. There’s potential in there somewhere but massive rewrites and edits need to be done to make this into a coherent story.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Good steam, but poor writing/editing.

[Jessica Rush · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
💵👙🍑💦👩🏻‍🤝‍👩🏼

You can always count on Shannon O'Conner to write a book full of tropes, sex and laugh-out-loud moments. The Only Reason doesn't disappoint. Age-Gap, Forbidden Love, Fake-Dating. Squirting, A$$ play(!), Sex Toys.

Honestly, this one is probably my favourite of Shannon's so far.

The Only Reason is about Bella and Dylan. Bella is needing money to pay for things outside of the accommodation and college, so she becomes an escort with her roommate Sara. Here, she goes on a paid date with Dylan, and they hit it off instantly. Dylan, needing to get her boss off her back about being single at her age of forty-something, hires an escort and meets Bella, who she can't stop thinking about. Eventually, she hires Bella as an exclusive fake girlfriend, and they go to several work events as partners and try not to give in to temptation with the feelings they have for each other, so it will close the line both professionally, and morally for Bella.

The slow burn is top notch and once they cross that line there is no going back and girrrrllll it is spicy.

I loved the inclusion of other characters that we have seen in the past two books of the Holiday With You series, Lucy and Morgan (I Saw Mommy Kissing the Nanny) and Ellie and the famous pub Puzzles from Lucky to be Yours (which are two very hot and spicy sapphic books btw). I loved how Bella's friends and sister were supportive of her life choices once she told them, and how they just wanted her to be happy.

This book is hot. I suggest you go put it on your list to read. It's out on the 19th of July!

Thank you to Shannon for a copy of the eArc. This review is left voluntarily.

[Mark taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Only Reason by Shannon O'Connor is a sapphic romance novel between Bella Gold a student, who needs money and decides to work as an escort for money and Dylon a 40 something book publishing manager who decides to hire an escort to stop her boss going on about her being single.

The Only Reason is such a cute romance which looking at the tropes in the novel such as escort, as well as an age gap relationship could have been written in such away to turn Bella and Dylon’s relationship in a very unequal manor.

However Shannon O'Connor’s writing showed that each of them were shown as equal in the relationship, allowing for the fact that at the start Dylon was paying Belle to be there. This was done in a few ways,

The first being that the story was told from both perspectives, through alternate chapters so as a reader you knew that the individuals were in the same place emotionally.

While the second was that both Dylan and Bella were both shown as taking charge in the sex scenes and there were a few towards the end of the book while this is a small point it is a useful way for the writer to show an equality in the relationship which has its basis in inequality.

As a reader the feelings that The Only Reason by Shannon O'Connor gave was one of a romance novel that apart from the way the two protagonists met allowed us to see that both individuals were at the same point in the relationship throughout the novel leading to an enjoyable read for those who enjoy light romance novels.

[Rachel Nahabedian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

3 1/2 stars

The plot gave me heavy Pretty Woman vibes (a very PG version) at first until the second half of the book when the spice started and the spice was spicy.

I loved the way the book played out teasing with the “Will they? Won’t they?” I was rooting for Bella and Dylan from the start.

I wish there was a little more of the side cast of characters. We didn’t see much of her friends or Lucy (however, I know this is part of a series, so maybe they’re more prominent in other books?).

A few grammar errors, but nothing major. A bit repetitive with some phrases (“what the hell does this mean,” “what the hell this means.”). I felt like there might be a better way to describe these base on the two different women so it didn’t seem so repetitive. There were also a few times where I’m not sure if physically leaving over to kiss the other or whispering in their ear would’ve been possible considering the act currently taking place, but I’ve never been with a woman, so I could very well be wrong.

The spice was also a bit repetitive, but great. If you’re gonna relive basically the same sex scene over and over, at least it’s a good one. I got excited when toys were introduced as a way to spice it up.

[Jen ME Warrior · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bella is a queer student who takes an escort job to help with her tuition costs.

Dylan is a high powered career woman who is being pressured by her 'boss' to bring a partner to work events. As she has no time to date she gets in touch with an escort agency.

When they meet, the attraction is palpable and sparks immediately fly. Both ladies know its against the rules and try to resist but can't fight the attraction between them.

Although I have read MM and non-binary / trans romance books, this is the first FF one I've read. The story was believable and not too high on the angst side of things. The sexy scenes are heated and just the right amount of attention to detail without being over the top. Although as heterosexual woman, I can't attest to the reality of a FF sexual relationship, but it felt realistic to me. I liked both main characters and was thankful there wasn't too much 'do I, don't I?' mental battle over them wanting each other.

I felt like there possibly could have been more depth into some of the side character interactions, especially Bella's bestie, but over all a solid 4*.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Linda Ketter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Only Reason is book 3 in this series. It is centered around the Christmas holidays and features a female / female relationship.

Belle is a college student who needs to start earning enough money to cover her living expenses. Her roommate is an "escort" and suggests that she speaks with the boss. But Belle is worried. About perceptions. About expectations. But she finally relents and calls Madam.

Dylan works for a book publisher. When her boss makes a comment about her not bringing a date to the monthly mingle with the authors and prospective authors, she decides to call Madam to set up an arrangement.

When Belle and Dylan are matched, it is just a business arrangement. But as time passes, they both start having feelings for each other. So much so, Dylan makes private arrangements with Madam to contract directly with Belle for the holidays. This will allow her unlimited access to a date for all company events and parties.

At the company Christmas Party, things move to the next level for these two. Dylan gives Belle a round trip airline voucher that allows Belle to bring her twin sister to New York City to experience all of the holiday happenings.

Lois Ridge is a new to me narrator. I enjoyed the many voices she manages for all of the characters. At first, I thought there were multiple narrators. Her ability to manage the female voices with the age difference between Belle and Dylan is a true testament to her abilities.

[Andy Allord · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bella and Dylan's story is warm and endearing yet I felt lacking depth.

Bella is trying to get through college who takes a job as an escort. Enter Dylan who feels pressed by her boss to have a date at office gatherings. Not wanting a date she decides to hire an escort and gets Bella.

This is an age difference romance where all seems to work perfectly into the unfolding love they find for each other.

Lacking depth when a line is crossed from escort to bordering hooker. Bella is the only one who seems to realize when money shows up for her to do things with her sister that the two crossed that line. This is where I feel O'Conner should have put more depth into both characters as their lives would take a major twist bordering on breaking their morals.

I still recommend this and enjoyed reading it as the tale is one with few ups and downs; a story of finding love and knowing it being able to get what we all hope for in a life-long partner.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

[2,5 stars]

This book was a bit meh for me. It started off interesting with themes like fake dating, older woman, platonic escorts, humour, etc. But for some reason I couldn’t get into the story. There were a few things within the plot that had me confused or annoyed: how many times the annoying boss gets mentioned, no background info about the Madame, so little about the side characters that at one point I didn’t even know who someone was anymore because they weren’t memorable, etc. All those things might be since this is my first O’Connor book and I’ve read in other reviews that certain characters appear from some of her other novels.

Also wanted to point out that there were a few typos, errors, and repeating descriptions in the book. Nothing too bad, but it did get noticeable after a while.

Sad this didn’t work out for me, but it might work for others so do try it out if you’re looking for a quick spicy, fake dating sapphic book!

Thank you to the author and BookSiren for gifting me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to BookSirens and the author for an e-ARC of this title to read and review. I've read a few other books in this Holidays with You by this author Shannon O'Connor, and it was really nice to revisit some familiar characters again! (Previous readers will recognize the friend group from I Saw Mommy Kissing the Nanny and Lucky to Be Yours, and new readers will be introduced well without any context lost.) It seems like all of those books' plots are happening simultaneously in this series, so it's not like one MC's love story picks up after another's. I would say that I enjoyed the other two books I named here a lot more than I did this one, they seemed like richer and more dynamic stories. I also wasn't a big fan of the power dynamic at play here, which was an older professional woman paying an agency for an escort and then the whole romance spiraling from there. Other readers may really enjoy that, it just blurred a lot of boundaries for me and wasn't really up my alley.

[Karen Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who doesn’t love a FF/fake dating book! Such a page turner! I didn’t want to put the book down. Bella needs money for college. Dylan need a date for her work events according to her boss. Bella gets a job like her friend, from an agency, to get some extra money. One of her clients is Dylan. The sparks from the beginning are electric. They both know this is just supposed to be a paid friendship and nothing more. Dylan showers Bella with gifts and extra money. Soon enough the sparks start flying. Will they step into territory they shouldn’t be? Wait til you find out! Will their age difference be a deciding factor or does that even matter? If they cross the line, will they admit their true feelings for each other? How will their friends react? All I can say is I was rooting for Bella and Dylan the whole way through!

[Amanda Koogler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I certainly wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did, but it was a page turner and I kept rooting for Dylan and Bellla. The spiciness of this book was amazing and certainly didn't disappoint in the spicy/love/romance department. My only wish (and reason for not giving 5 stars) is that the characters were a bit more developed. I wanted to know more about their backgrounds and relationships with friends - we got little snippets (like Dylan's parents disowned her and Bella's best friends are Morgan and Ellie but it left me wanting to know more about the background of each girl).

I received an advance review copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you Shannon O'Connor for the opportunity to read this book. It was the first book of yours that I have read but it certainly won't be my last.

[Íris Ramos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. It was a really cute short story, and exactly what i needed to get out of this reading slump i have been in all of the month of August. However, i was not a big fan of the age difference, the characters exact ages were never actually said but we can assume Bella is in her early 20's and Dylan is " 40 something". I am not big on age gaps and a 20+ one does not sit right with me, however, i tried to ignore it since it wasnt mentioned much and it semmed to work, but everytime they mentioned it i did cringe a bit. Again, they were actually a cute couple and not weird at all and i know some people love age gap relationships but i dont think its for me. That part of the book aside, the plot was actually interesting and the writting was actually pretty decent, just your good old romance book but make it saphic( which makes it 100 times better)

[Philippe · Rating 4 out of 5]

a 130-page story, halfway between novella and novel.
In the first few chapters, I found it moved too fast and was sometimes too factual. I read the book twice because I wanted to be sure of my feeling.
I would have appreciated it if it had been a little longer (it only takes Isabella five pages and three days of crying to go from blacklisted to escorting).
The second half is better when the characters are settled, but there's still that feeling that things are moving too fast. I'd have liked to share their lives a little more.
I find Mr. Lefts' behavior strange, which could be described as sexual harassment or invasion of privacy, and nobody says anything.
a little kinky sex as the relationship evolves.
I rate it between 3.5 and 4.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had actually been wondering about this book for a while, so I'm glad I just grabbed it today and read it. The characters of Dylan and Bella intrigued me from the moment I read about them in 'I saw mommy kissing the nanny' and had been glad to find out that they had their own story.
Story wise, this book definitely didn't disappoint. I liked the chemistry between the two main characters and how they clearly couldn't and didn't want to keep away from each other, even though it might have been advisable seeing the arrangement they had.
There is a small part in the book that actually contradicts previously given information, but it is so insignificant, that it didn't really bother me in the reading of the book.
I definitely liked it and actually want to read the previous books in the universe again. It is always a nice and easy read, the books of Shannon O'Connor.

[Pluto Lunaris · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5☆
I think this is one of my favorite books of Shannon's! It was easy and smooth and I read it so quickly. I loved both Dylan and Bella and I'm so glad I got to finally read their story. There was also something so unique and satisfying about knowing everything that was happening in the background with the other characters! My only issue with the book was the stigma towards SWers. I get the questioning from other characters but I feel like it was coming from the MC as well. All forms of SW are extremely valid and none should be seen as "less than" any others. Other than that little bit that poked at me I absolutely loved this story! As always I'm so happy to read about happy sapphics!!

[JP Munroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Only Reason brings together two of my favourite tropes in a satisfying (if short) fake dating/age gap romance. In the first half of the book Shannon O’Connor builds the chemistry between Dylan and Bella so their relationship feels believable. In the second half she ramps up the heat as the two main characters discover (repeatedly) just how well suited they are in and out of the bedroom. It’s not a perfect book, some of the peripheral characters are a little one dimensional and some elements feel unresolved, but O’Connor’s writing is excellent and I really liked the dual narrative point of view.

A sweet, spicy and low angst romantic comedy.

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.8

I was hooked from the summary itself.
Both MC's had an instant connection from the start. Bella was definitely nervous, but that's expected, it was her second time being an escort after all. But Dylan was such a sweetheart with her.

The only thing that hit me the wrong way... Dylan and harper. Like using harper to try to get over Bella? really girl? especially after you've already rejected harper before :(
I'm glad harper instantly shuts her down, but still man. AND, Dylan knew she wasn't interested in harper, and still went after her. GIRL be fr!

Other than that, I really enjoyed it.

[ZUI-NOAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review

Tropes
Age gap
FF
Steamy
Romcom

Spice 🌶
4/5

The only Reason is the 7th book all standalone in the only in seaside series and this feature Bella and Dylan. It's perfect mixture of everything, you want humor, it has it. You want steam, its filled with steam. Full on chemistry between both leads and the plot was great and romantic. If you wanna take a break from dark romances like me then I highly recommend you Shannon as she knows how to write all genre Romcoms.
This book is going to come into my top list!


Thank you for this arc.

[Carmela Dimattia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well Bella and Dylan certainly steamed up this book. The chemistry was sensational and their romance was on fire and although their relationship was meant to be fake they both were not able to control their feelings from developing into something read. Although this was a quick read it did not lack for spice and a great storyline. I am enjoying this series very much and as long as Ms O’Connor keeps writing I know I will keep reading. An amazing book.

I received an arc copy from the author and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.