Book Review: Let’s Kiss and Tell
Let’s Kiss and Tell by Joss Richard
Lucy is a sex and relationships column writer, who is always interrogating her feelings and has a strong writerly voice and passion for her career, but she sometimes won’t acknowledge how she really feels, and she is scared of being in love. When her editor tells her that she needs to pivot the topic of her column from the joys of being single to how great being in a relationship is, she blurts out that ohbytheway, actually, she has a boyfriend and is ready to write about relationships! Meanwhile, Lucy is a serial dater who has never been in a serious relationship. Luckily, she recently met at cute guy with good taste in music at a bar…and he just so happens to need a date for a wedding. His ex’s wedding. If there were a more perfect set up for a FAKE DATING scenario, well, then Lucy has never heard of it.
Marshall is a news writer, who is obsessed with his job to the point of turning off ALL of his emotions. While it has been a year since his loveless long-term relationship ended in a cheating drama, he has barely dated, because he is married to his job. While at a work party, he meets a charming, smart, beautiful woman who is out of his league, he thinks…and he blurts out the story about his ex’s wedding.
Soon after, Lucy gets in touch with Marsh and proposes the fake dating plan, and it seems like a win-win. She gets material for her column, he gets a gorgeous, socially-skilled date to his ex’s wedding, and they keep it a secret from everyone at work. Because, oh yeah, they work at the same company, a corporate news organization that is constantly threatening to lay off talented journalists.
Lucy has a list of what she thinks people in relationships do, so she and Marsh fake-date their way from an Open House to meeting the family at children’s birthday party. As the weeks pass, their chemistry heightens, and they truly get to know each. With both of their guards down, they just might be falling in love.
My Thoughts
As far as fake-dating scenarios go, this one actually had some good reasoning behind why they had to fake-date. It was also clear that each character’s attachment issues, based on their romantic or family’s pasts, would only allow for them to catch feelings in a “fake-dating” scenario. I related to Lucy’s love for writing and her career, as well as, unfortunately, her trust issues/commitment phobia. While I think Marsh’s character could have been a bit more well-developed, I still think that he was MORE developed than many of the MMCs in romance novels. I am not always a fan of the dual-POV, but here it did seem purposeful and not repetitive, and new important information about Marsh’s character was revealed during his chapters. The chemistry seemed earned and both characters respected and admired each other. The spicy scenes were written well with no cringe, which I find quite rare.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, and it had all that you could ask of a fake-dating romance, from tropes like a date at the boardwalk/beach to realizing that they are not pretending anymore to the dreaded third act break-up. As someone who has lived in Southern California, I had fun with the setting, especially when they went to the Santa Monica pier.
Thank you to Ballantine/Dell Romance and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
