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becbec624's review
4.0
Amber is a serious vet working to become credible in her field of vet emergency medicine and doesn't like dealing with any drama but wants to desperately take care of her family. Ian is a sweet and charming traveling vet with a big-deal tv show. When Ian's tv show decides to make a home of the practice, Amber works at leading to more camera time for Amber and a pushed fake relationship.
I loved the tropes covered in this book, from forced proximity to opposites attract. This book had long time pining on Ian's end, as he has wanted to be with Amber since vet school, which made their scenes all the more meaningful and tension-filled. Overall this was a great book with a fun setting and really well-defined characters, an action-filled storyline, and an emotion-filled romance.
I loved the tropes covered in this book, from forced proximity to opposites attract. This book had long time pining on Ian's end, as he has wanted to be with Amber since vet school, which made their scenes all the more meaningful and tension-filled. Overall this was a great book with a fun setting and really well-defined characters, an action-filled storyline, and an emotion-filled romance.
amberreadsalot's review
3.0
Cute rom-com. Veterinarian Amber is a reluctant participant in a reality show filmed at the clinic where she is doing her vet's equivalency of a residency. In an effort to boost ratings, the show brings in Dr. Ian Todd, exotic animal vet and the bane of Amber's vet school existence after a particularly embarrassing incident. Amber doesn't want the crazy chemistry she and Ian have, and she doesn't want to engage in the producer's fake-dating plot. But because she is paying off her brother's gambling debt - again - she agrees. And soon fake dating doesn't feel so fake.
I am torn on how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I really liked Amber's brassiness. She is not apologetic about who she is and does well because of it. However, I disliked the grudge she holds against Ian, as well as her kowtowing to her foster siblings. The fake dating plot felt off in terms of the timeline and the separation towards the end could have been avoided through one conversation, which given how open and honest Ian and Amber had been with each other previously, should have happened. I also liked the somewhat unusual setting and the sexy scenes were decent. In the end, I will give it 3 stars.
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.
I am torn on how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I really liked Amber's brassiness. She is not apologetic about who she is and does well because of it. However, I disliked the grudge she holds against Ian, as well as her kowtowing to her foster siblings. The fake dating plot felt off in terms of the timeline and the separation towards the end could have been avoided through one conversation, which given how open and honest Ian and Amber had been with each other previously, should have happened. I also liked the somewhat unusual setting and the sexy scenes were decent. In the end, I will give it 3 stars.
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.
lovelacebooks's review
3.0
First of all, thank you so much NetGalley, publisher, and author, for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review)
Synopsis: I would say Dr. Ian Todd is my archenemy. But that would require us acknowledging each other, which we haven’t done since we graduated veterinary school.
He’s famous. As in, he’s the world’s “Sexiest Veterinarian Alive” with his own wildlife TV show and a string of glamorous girlfriends.
I’m infamous as a reality TV emergency veterinarian with a snark mouth, take-no-crap attitude, and zero dating life.
When asked to fake a romance with him on TV to boost my ER show’s ratings, I want to say no-way, but the extra money will pay off my brother’s loan shark debt. Even though Ian broke my heart, playing his love interest shouldn’t be hard, especially if it means getting to watch him squirm.
Lines get blurred when the TV setups stop feeling fake. Can I chance this might be real love?
Opinion: I've requested this book because I loved the synopsis with all the veterinary show and the enemies to lovers fake dating trope. Amber is passionate but also caring to her foster siblings and all her patients and there was a high probability that I love her. However, sometimes I didn't connect with her or with Ian. I didn't understand some interactions and sentences they have to each other which I didn't enjoy or were like a cold glass of water. Finally, I was more interested in the vet clinical cases than the romance.
Synopsis: I would say Dr. Ian Todd is my archenemy. But that would require us acknowledging each other, which we haven’t done since we graduated veterinary school.
He’s famous. As in, he’s the world’s “Sexiest Veterinarian Alive” with his own wildlife TV show and a string of glamorous girlfriends.
I’m infamous as a reality TV emergency veterinarian with a snark mouth, take-no-crap attitude, and zero dating life.
When asked to fake a romance with him on TV to boost my ER show’s ratings, I want to say no-way, but the extra money will pay off my brother’s loan shark debt. Even though Ian broke my heart, playing his love interest shouldn’t be hard, especially if it means getting to watch him squirm.
Lines get blurred when the TV setups stop feeling fake. Can I chance this might be real love?
Opinion: I've requested this book because I loved the synopsis with all the veterinary show and the enemies to lovers fake dating trope. Amber is passionate but also caring to her foster siblings and all her patients and there was a high probability that I love her. However, sometimes I didn't connect with her or with Ian. I didn't understand some interactions and sentences they have to each other which I didn't enjoy or were like a cold glass of water. Finally, I was more interested in the vet clinical cases than the romance.
emily_loves_2_read's review
4.0
Doc Showmance
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 1/9/23
Author: Zoe Forward
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 361
GR: 3.80
I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Zoe Forward and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.
My Thoughts: The very adorable cover drew me to this story. The story is narrated in the first person POV in both the past and present tense timeline. This follows a classic trope of second chance romance, one of my favorites and a touch of enemies to lovers, and fake dating, also one of my favorite. Amber is a vet that absolutely loves animals. She is forced into doing a reality TV show for financial reasons with her nemesis, Ian. The grump v sunshine is a little reversed in this story, where Adam is the sunshine and Amber is the grump, which I adored.
The characters were developed well with depth, witty banter, fantastic chemistry, and creatively built up. Amber is independent, fierce, opionated, and is very passionate about animals. Ian carries the facade of sexiest vet, but deep down he is caring, passionate, and loving. The message that the characters give is important, that you need to get to know the person for the person and not the persona they portray. The author’s writing style was complex, steamy, a little spicy, definitely swoony, and keeps you engaged.
Overall this was a cute and fun read. Very lighthearted and easy flowing. This would make a great show and/or movie. I would also love to see this author expand out on a few books with the common theme of vet romance. If you love books with animals, vets and romance, this would be the book for you! I would recommend picking up today.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 1/9/23
Author: Zoe Forward
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 361
GR: 3.80
I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Zoe Forward and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.
My Thoughts: The very adorable cover drew me to this story. The story is narrated in the first person POV in both the past and present tense timeline. This follows a classic trope of second chance romance, one of my favorites and a touch of enemies to lovers, and fake dating, also one of my favorite. Amber is a vet that absolutely loves animals. She is forced into doing a reality TV show for financial reasons with her nemesis, Ian. The grump v sunshine is a little reversed in this story, where Adam is the sunshine and Amber is the grump, which I adored.
The characters were developed well with depth, witty banter, fantastic chemistry, and creatively built up. Amber is independent, fierce, opionated, and is very passionate about animals. Ian carries the facade of sexiest vet, but deep down he is caring, passionate, and loving. The message that the characters give is important, that you need to get to know the person for the person and not the persona they portray. The author’s writing style was complex, steamy, a little spicy, definitely swoony, and keeps you engaged.
Overall this was a cute and fun read. Very lighthearted and easy flowing. This would make a great show and/or movie. I would also love to see this author expand out on a few books with the common theme of vet romance. If you love books with animals, vets and romance, this would be the book for you! I would recommend picking up today.
laurapellegrino92's review
4.0
Thank you NetGalley and Forward for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was initially drawn to it thanks to the blurb, not having read a veterinary medicine based romcom before. I enjoyed Forward's style of writing from the word go, and a dual POV is always a win for me. This book is full of your favourite tropes of fake dating/second chance romance/enemies to lovers.
This ended up being a binge worthy read, reading the book within a single evening. I enjoyed how both characters were portrayed, and the TV show spin was a unique addition to a set of tropes that are really popular in the contemporary romance genre. They had chemistry and I thought the story built well, my only reservation is I felt the pace picked up a little too quick towards the end, and would have enjoyed it lasting a little longer, but it did not take away from the overall enjoyment of the story.
Forward is a new author to me, but I look forward to reading more from her in the future!
This ended up being a binge worthy read, reading the book within a single evening. I enjoyed how both characters were portrayed, and the TV show spin was a unique addition to a set of tropes that are really popular in the contemporary romance genre. They had chemistry and I thought the story built well, my only reservation is I felt the pace picked up a little too quick towards the end, and would have enjoyed it lasting a little longer, but it did not take away from the overall enjoyment of the story.
Forward is a new author to me, but I look forward to reading more from her in the future!
jessyam's review
1.0
Slight TW (rape, violence), some spoilers.
I really, really wanted to like this book. It had everything I thought I’d like: the enemies to lovers trope, two people forced to be together/be nice to each other, a lot of animals involved. Instead I found myself barely tolerating the book until towards the end where I read a line that completely turned me off.
“‘When he discovered I wouldn’t allow him to rape me, he decided to kill me. Pulled a knife.’”
Amber wouldn’t allow a stalker/intruder rape her? As if anyone in that situation just goes “Ah well yes, you’ve gone though a lot of trouble to break in, I will allow you to rape me now!”
To put a traumatic experience in those kinds of words is disgusting to me. I understand the author’s intent, to further showcase Amber’s fiery attitude, how strong she is. But I thought that choice of words were terrible and completely turned me off the book entirely. Not to mention that one of the next sentences goes “‘Turns out the self-defense I learned growing up in a gang neighborhood came in handy when some motherfucking stalker tried to kill me. Little insight for you: When you have to fight for your life, fight dirty.’” Like really? That’s something someone says to their (fake) boyfriend’s mom?
The whole book felt like it wanted to be a dramatic tv show, with over-the-top evil villains (to include an older vet, the show producer, Ian’s mom…the list goes on and on…). I couldn’t stand the back and forth of the characters, either. One second they were both hot and heavy and kissing, and the next, one of them had doubts and thought “nope, this is fake! This is fake!” Do you know how many times I had to read that everything was fake??
The premise for this book was good. This could’ve been a really good book. But the writing style, the characters, and the awful quotes about rape turned me off and made me skip through the last 1/4 of the book without caring what happened and just wanting it to end.
I really, really wanted to like this book. It had everything I thought I’d like: the enemies to lovers trope, two people forced to be together/be nice to each other, a lot of animals involved. Instead I found myself barely tolerating the book until towards the end where I read a line that completely turned me off.
“‘When he discovered I wouldn’t allow him to rape me, he decided to kill me. Pulled a knife.’”
Amber wouldn’t allow a stalker/intruder rape her? As if anyone in that situation just goes “Ah well yes, you’ve gone though a lot of trouble to break in, I will allow you to rape me now!”
To put a traumatic experience in those kinds of words is disgusting to me. I understand the author’s intent, to further showcase Amber’s fiery attitude, how strong she is. But I thought that choice of words were terrible and completely turned me off the book entirely. Not to mention that one of the next sentences goes “‘Turns out the self-defense I learned growing up in a gang neighborhood came in handy when some motherfucking stalker tried to kill me. Little insight for you: When you have to fight for your life, fight dirty.’” Like really? That’s something someone says to their (fake) boyfriend’s mom?
The whole book felt like it wanted to be a dramatic tv show, with over-the-top evil villains (to include an older vet, the show producer, Ian’s mom…the list goes on and on…). I couldn’t stand the back and forth of the characters, either. One second they were both hot and heavy and kissing, and the next, one of them had doubts and thought “nope, this is fake! This is fake!” Do you know how many times I had to read that everything was fake??
The premise for this book was good. This could’ve been a really good book. But the writing style, the characters, and the awful quotes about rape turned me off and made me skip through the last 1/4 of the book without caring what happened and just wanting it to end.
empireofstroms's review
4.0
I received a copy from NetGalley in return for my honest opinion.
I really enjoyed this book. The romance was fast paced and it was really fun to read about Amber and Ian. The pacing was a little to fast for me. They want from hating each other to loving each other really fast. I did like the tv show aspect of the book, it was something different I really enjoyed.
The writing was fun and easy to read. I finished the book in a little over a day, but I missed the extra spark that would have made it a 5* book for me. Maybe that was because the romance was just too quick, with little to no extra content.
I really enjoyed this book. The romance was fast paced and it was really fun to read about Amber and Ian. The pacing was a little to fast for me. They want from hating each other to loving each other really fast. I did like the tv show aspect of the book, it was something different I really enjoyed.
The writing was fun and easy to read. I finished the book in a little over a day, but I missed the extra spark that would have made it a 5* book for me. Maybe that was because the romance was just too quick, with little to no extra content.
lifeasmrsbaker's review
4.0
trope: enemies to lovers, second chance romance
If you love romance with a hint of pets, you'll love this book! It was like a spicy Hallmark movie. I loved all the veterinary nods and the pace of the story. Also, I found the cursing throughout to be spicy, but not everyone may like to have so many curse words in a book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
If you love romance with a hint of pets, you'll love this book! It was like a spicy Hallmark movie. I loved all the veterinary nods and the pace of the story. Also, I found the cursing throughout to be spicy, but not everyone may like to have so many curse words in a book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
daisyknox's review
5.0
More reviews posted at Tales of Love, Life, and Murder
Amber is a superstar emergency vet forced to work on camera as the hospital where she’s employed has a contract with a reality show. She’s not a big fan but she’s too busy at work to really care, until the day her nemesis walks through the door. Of all the vets the producers could have chosen to bring on board, they picked the one man she can’t stand. He’s the last person she expected to see working in her clinic but just when she thinks there’s no way this can get worse, the producers drop a bomb: she’s going to have a fake relationship with Ian on camera.
They went to school together and while they were never friends, they tolerated one another well enough until Ian inadvertently played a cruel prank on Amber. She has loathed him ever since so he’s got a lot of work to do to win her over. He's less than thrilled either, since the producer is blackmailing him, but he’s forced to play along. And in all honesty, there’s nobody he’d rather fake date so Ian’s not too upset about the arrangement, unlike Amber. They have to play nice in front of the cameras, which is easier said than done, since Amber’s great at holding a grudge. I enjoyed these characters and loved their snarky banter. Their story is sweet and funny and so much fun.