Three and a half stars. Grumpy hardman ex-footballer Alfie Harding has a contract to write his memoir but after a foreword he wrote for a friend was universally panned, his publishers decide he needs a ghost-writer. Perpetually misunderstood, he doesn't want to share anything about his life, or his thoughts. Mabel Willicker is Alfie's opposite (and maybe one of his biggest fans), small, curvaceous, and with a sunny disposition this would be a dream if Alfie hadn't been so rude about her, while she was in the room. But as Mabel tries to tease anything personal out of Alfie she discovers that they have a lot in common and her snarkiness seems to amuse him. Then a fan posts a grainy photo of the two of them and to cover up the fact that Alfie has hired a ghost-writer they pretend to be dating. I really enjoyed the banter between Mabel and Alfie, but (and I know I'll be in the minority) it felt like a third of the book was just the two of them having sex, or talking about it, or doing sex-adjacent things and it sort of got boring? Anyway, otherwise it would have been a four star rating. Reminiscent of The Wall of Winnipeg and Me and The Game Plan in some ways - by which I mean reminiscent of the feels they gave rather than the plot.

Looking for a hilarious rom com to read, then grab this book. Although, I have to say, the audiobook is even better as the narrator really brings the thoughts, feelings and events to life even more thoroughly! We all have doubts about ourselves whether it be our appearance, size, abilities, talents or something else that we have to overcome to be the best self we can be. This book laughingly brings the doubts and miscommunication between the main characters fully to life in an entertainingly heartwarming way. A bit of friends to lovers mixed with close proximity and opposites attract are all woven into and throughout this fun plot. Again, if you are looking for a delightfully fun rom com, then this is definitely the book for you! I highly recommend it and can't wait to read or listen to more books from this author in the future!

I thought this book was so cute. It did take me a little bit to get into it but once Mabel & Alfie started communicating I knew it was going to be good. At first Alfie seemed like a real jerk but I quickly warmed up to him. Mabel was quirky and fun. Once they finally got together the spice was so good. I love their banter and dirty talk. I didn’t care for the third act “breakup” but happy in the resolution and reasoning in retrospect.

This is a sweet and sexy romantic comedy with lots of banter that proves opposites really do attract. Alfie may seem like the stereotypical football grump, but there are many layers to him that are unearthed during the course of the novel. Mabel and Alfie together are as mad as a box of frogs and do get into some silly escapades. There’s a lot of focus on the banter, which means that at the beginning of the novel it felt like their bickering didn’t really amount to much. When the fake dating is introduced, the story finally goes somewhere. There’s some tender moments and the spicy scenes are top notch.