Review by Booklist Review
After years of hard work, Dr. Nicole "Nic" Allen is just finishing up her residency, and then she will move on to a prestigious internship that will help launch her career as a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon. All of this means Nic has no time for romance. However, when her good friend and landlord Benjamin Reed Van Mont does her a considerable career favor, Nic can't help but reciprocate by offering to pretend to be Ben's new girlfriend on an upcoming trip. It's just a week in Martha's Vineyard and Ben is just a good friend, so what could happen, right? In her latest superbly written Girls Trip contemporary romance, following Sweet Talkin' Lover (2020), Livesay employs the popular friends-to-lovers trope with considerable panache via a brilliantly rendered cast of characters, some page-singeing love scenes, and emotionally engaging writing animated with just the right dash of deliciously tart humor.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Friends surrender to their desires during a scenic getaway in Livesay's outstanding second Girls Trip romance (after Sweet Talkin' Lover). Financial planner Benjamin Van Mont is smitten with surgeon Nicole Allen from the moment she shows up to rent his downstairs apartment. But, after being raised by two renowned but work-addicted physicians who paid him no attention, he's promised himself never to get involved with a doctor. That works fine for Nicole, whose own childhood being raised by a single mother forced to work several jobs after Nicole's father abandoned them left her determined never to sacrifice her career for a man. The pair ignore their mutual attraction and strike up a friendship. When one of Nicole's disgruntled intern's powerful family puts her at risk of losing her fellowship, Ben asks his parents to put in a good word. To show her gratitude, Nicole agrees to pretend to be Ben's girlfriend on a vacation to Martha's Vineyard to keep his demanding ex at bay--but can their relationship withstand the ruse? Nicole and Ben are both passionate and ambitious, and Nicole's fiery temperament is balanced by Ben's calming nature. The steady pace, smooth progression from friends to lovers, and natural, witty dialogue make this a winner. Readers will be wowed. Agent: Nalini Akolekar, Spencerhill Assoc. (Aug.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A woman offers to help her landlord out of a jam by pretending to be his girlfriend during a vacation. Dr. Nicole Allen is about to complete her tenure as chief resident at Johns Hopkins before heading off to Duke for a fellowship in orthopedic surgery. After disciplining a well-connected intern at her job, Nic is put on administrative leave and the future of her fellowship is threatened. She cries on the shoulder of her landlord and best friend, Ben Van Mont. Ben has just learned that his ex-fiancee will be crashing a planned vacation with his childhood best friends on Martha's Vineyard. Nic offers to go on vacation as a pretend girlfriend, hoping it will ward off his ex to see him with another woman. Ben and Nic are both trying to live life on their own terms. Even though Ben owns a successful financial planning firm, he's a disappointment to his moneyed and high-powered family; Nic is determined to financially support her hardworking mother who sacrificed so much for her to become a surgeon. Once they arrive on Martha's Vineyard, their firmly platonic relationship is suddenly imbued with delicious sexual tension and chemistry. They see each other in a new light: Nic recognizes that Ben's commitment to loyalty and friendship was forged during a childhood of neglect, and Ben, who's White, sees the professional and personal challenges Nic faces as a Black woman. Their romance is sexy and emotionally satisfying, and Livesay's portrayal of their journey from friends to lovers is perfectly paced and plotted. An exemplary friends-to-lovers romance with characters who grow and change to find happiness with themselves and each other. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
