Quick Synopsis –When Denzel “Denz” Carter’s workaholic father and CEO of 24 Carter Gold unexpectedly announces his retirement, the competition is on for who will become his successor. To convince his family members that he’s capable of commitment, Denz impulsively lies about being in a serious relationship. Now he has to find the perfect boyfriend to convince his family he’s ready for CEO. Of course Denz just happens to run into his ex-boyfriend Braylon and rope him into a fake dating scheme.

Song This Reminds Me Of – i am not who i was by Chance Pena

Release Date – Jan. 28, 2024

Content Notes – This is an adult romance with explicit adult content. There is off page homophobia and parental abandonment.

Steamy Rating – 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Overall Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Review – This is such a cute queer romance. I love that the main characters have supportive families and friends. Gay people deserve shiny happy romantic comedies too. Denz is trying so hard to live up to his family’s expectation’s that he has no time for love, that and he had his heart broken five years ago so what’s the point. When he blurts out that he’s in a serious relationship, he panics to find a fake boyfriend. Enter Braylon the ex that broke his heart five years ago by leaving for a job in London.

The only thing that really bothered me about this book is that Braylon is from Georgia and since he lived in London for 4 years, he now has a slight British accent. I don’t know why this bugged me, but it did. I just don’t think you can change your speech that fast. On the other hand, code switching to adapt to your environment is a common linguistic technique. The accent is such a small part of the book, but it really bothered me.

I liked this book and how supportive Braylon and Denz were of each other. I think Denz definitely needs to look into therapy and I also think the story could have been stronger if there was more background about Braylon. I didn’t really get a good sense of who he was in London, and he seemed really lonely. The core of the story was so cute though I could look past it.

I would recommend this to any fan of romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press Griffin for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.