AUTHOR: Jodi McAlister GENRE: LGBTQ+ Romance PAGES: 352 pages RELEASED: 4 April 2023 SERIES: Marry Me, Juliet #2 SYNOPSIS: Mandie Mitchell will do anything to get over her toxic ex. Even sign up to the polarising reality dating show, Marry Me, Juliet. But with her self-esteem in tatters, she’s not sure she’s brave enough to actually go on the show until she forms a friendship with Dylan Gilchrist at the auditions that gives her the push she needs. Dylan is everything Mandie is not – tough, strong, and totally unafraid to speak her mind. Unfortunately, she also looks set to win, as she soon becomes the clear favourite of the Romeo, who also happens to share the same name. It’s annoying, really, just how perfect the Dylans seem for each other... Mandie’s jealous. But it’s not because she wants to win the show. It’s because in her effort to get over her ex, she’s gone and fallen right back in love… with the wrong Dylan. This book was kindly sent to be by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The one where two reality dating show contestants fall for each other instead…
With the wounds from her breakup with her ex-girlfriend Jac still fresh, Amanda is desperately looking for something to shift her focus and help her move on. And that something just happens to be applying to her favourite reality dating show Marry Me, Juliet. At the audition, she’s still struggling with her heartbreak and whether the show is even for her when she is comforted by fellow applicant Dylan. The pair exchange numbers and strike up a friendship and are ecstatic to learn that they’ll be on the show together. They’re both vying for the love of Olympian Dylan, but now that they’re living together in the Juliet Villa, Amanda can’t help but feel a stronger connection with her Dylan and questioning whether Dylan also feels that connection too. Torn between her growing feelings for Juliet-Dylan, wanting to get to know Romeo-Dylan, and still struggling with the scars left by ex-Jac, Amanda has more to worry about than just how she’ll be edited once the show goes to air… I always try to take at least like a one-book break between books in a series, but I really couldn’t with this one - I just had to see Amanda and Dylan’s story unfold after the taster we got of their romance at the end of book one! Jodi gave us literally the smallest of glimpses into their story in Here For The Right Reasons so I was already hooked for Can I Steal You For A Second?! Within the reality dating show trope, I think my favourite romance is one between contestants, especially when it’s a sapphic romance. And this book definitely lived up to my expectations and more. Once again, I really enjoyed how Jodi ultilised the pandemic in this story - with Dylan being a nurse it allowed for a raw insight into the experiences of frontline workers and the toll it takes on them and their families. And a big struggle for Dylan was being on the show instead of being out there helping during the pandemic, even though she was doing the show in order to step away from being a nurse and eventually have more time for her son when she returned home. Jodi once again balanced the anxiety surrounding the pandemic and feeling helpless with the uplifting hope of a new romance. Right from the get-go I really enjoyed Amanda and Dylan’s dynamic, to the point where I would have happily followed their romance had it not been on a reality dating show - they just had a really fun connection and their chemistry was evident from their first interaction. Like with Cece and Dylan in the first book, Amanda and Dylan’s romance was a slow burn with a lot of angst on Amanda’s part as her inner monologue struggled to come to terms with her feelings and questioning every single interaction she had with Dylan and what it meant. Because Amanda actually got to be a contestant for most of the time the show was being filmed, we got to learn a lot more about some of the other women competing for Romeo-Dylan’s heart. And there’s definitely at least one more who could be a leading lady in another book - I don’t know if or how many books Jodi has planned, but I have a really good feeling that there’s one more about a potentially super messy couple that I am SO looking forward to (and I’ll be really disappointed if it doesn’t come to fruition!). After learning only a few tidbits about these characters in the first book, it was nice to be able to flesh their personalities and stories out a little more. As I mentioned in my review for Here For The Right Reasons, Jodi’s writing style lent itself really well to the inner monologues and flashbacks scattered throughout, and I like with Cece, I really felt myself getting into Amanda’s head, maybe even more-so. Amanda has a lot of conflicting thoughts and struggles with the verbal scars of her ex throughout this book, and Jodi so easily pulled me into that mindset. And once again, as someone who loves alternating perspectives, there were times when I wish I could have had a moment inside Dylan’s head - there was obviously so much going on with Dylan without questioning her own feelings for Amanda, so it would have been interesting to get a taste of that too. While you definitely don’t have to have read Here For The Right Reasons before diving into this beauty (and look, I can’t blame you for wanting to start with this one), I’m definitely a bit of a sucker for trying to read companion novel series in publication order. You don’t need to know about Cece and Dylan’s story in order for Amanda and Dylan’s to make sense, but I think it’s nice to set the timeline a little more with that first book. And I kind of enjoyed piecing the two stories together as we got mentions of how Romeo-Dylan was acting at certain times and I knew it was because of something I had already read about in the first book. So not necessary, but recommended. At least be sure to read both books, whatever the order! If you’re a sucker for a sapphic twist in your romance books, and can’t get enough of trashy reality television, this is a book that needs to be near the top of your TBR! |
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