Let me just say — none of this was supposed to happen. I didn’t expect the letter to go viral. I didn’t think anyone would figure out who Dear Sexy Ex was. And I especially never thought he would find out about it. Yeah, bit of a miscalculation there.But see, I need the money to fund my brand new venture. And Dear Sexy Ex, well, it turns out he needs me to save his business. By becoming his fake … business.
By becoming his fake fiancée.
Yup, that’s the pickle I find myself in — pretending to be madly in love with the charming, brilliant, and utterly infuriating man known as Dear Sexy Ex.
Only, it’s not an act. And he can never know.
Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend is a standalone romance you can escape into! The other standalone romances in The Guys Who Got Away series include The What If Guy and Thanks For Last Night!
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What a fun read this was! Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend is just what I needed to get my summer reading off to the right start!
Oliver and Summer have been friends since they were children. Along with Summer’s twin, Logan, the three have always depended on each other and been there for each other in good times or bad. Oliver and Summer are still the best of friends as adults.
Summer is a hard worker and a very independent woman. She has her heart set on opening up a gym catering to seniors, which she’s trying to secure the funding for and while she has people in her life willing to loan her the money, this is something she really wants to do for herself.
Oliver is a man who likes to always be prepared. He’s an attorney, he’s wicked smart and he’s got the looks to go along with it to make the total package. He and Summer have such a great relationship and he is forever teasing her and bringing a smile to her face.
There is a contest Summer can enter that would help her toward her monetary goal should she win. What she didn’t expect is just by entering, she was going to be sending her life, and Oliver’s, into a bit of a tailspin! To save face, they put on an act that they are a couple. As things unfold, they do a really good job of convincing people they are together. Is it really an act or something they just have either denied or not seen? Is it the classic case of wanting to protect their friendship?
I enjoyed these two characters and their relationship. The fact that everything was centered around their friendship was great in my opinion. I always enjoy the friends-to-lovers trope and this was no exception. An all around fun read and one you should pick up!
**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title in exchange for an honest review**
Summer and Oliver are childhood friends and soon they will accidentaly cross the threshold of best friends to fake fiance. Funny, witty, crazy hot and so much longuing on their part. Their story will have you swooning and rooting for them in this crazy digital world we all live in. This is a romantic comedy that is like a breath of fresh air for the soul.I loved the characters and their story, but the cast of family and friends takes it one step further and you have a fabulous story! I can’t wait to see what’s in store for her twin Logan, I am sure he will have to work for it!
I always love me a good friends to lovers’ maybe because I like to see the HEA I didn’t get for myself, and Oliver and Summer’s story does not disappoint.
Oliver Harris and Summer Clarke have been friends since their teenage years when his family moved from London to the U.S. and, as such, have shared the ups and downs of life and have one of those amazing relationships one will do anything to hold on to.
When Summer enters a contest and writes a letter to an ex-boyfriend, social media will do its thing and make erroneous assumptions that will generate a series of events that end up with Oliver and Summer playing a game extremely dangerous when your hearts and feelings are on the line.
This story is cute, swoony and flirty as it should be when a couple that knows each other’s secrets come together even for a fake relationship. Ms. Blakely is a master at creating characters that are relatable and lovable, the kind that make you have all the feels while reading about their journey to find their HEA and she does it once again with Oliver and Summer.
I highly recommend you dive into this new series to meet the men who got away.
4 stars
4.5 stars.
What a fun way to start a new RomCom series! LB has a knack of letting us enter into a world and makes us feel apart of its creation as if we have been there all the time. This first book is a friends to lovers / brother’s best friend / fake relationship romance. And I have to say, it is some of my favourite tropes rolled into one.
Oliver and Summer have been friends since high school, best friends for just as long. They know each other inside and out. Well, except for the bedroom, but Summer and her friend Stella have a theory on that, its called Stella’s Law. But you will find out more about it when you read the book, and if it is true or not! Ollie and Cupcake have had to save the other out of situations from past ex’s and this story is along those lines. Summer needs to win a writing competition to help fund her new gym, and this lands them both in hot water. Oliver being the ever loving best friend his is, thinks quick to get them both out of a jam.
What I love most about a LB novel is the humor and banter she devises and how they feel so convincing. Oliver and Summer have a special bond, a long term friendship but also from losing a loved one. Once they start their fake relationship, and have to show some PDA to cement it, it starts them both thinking of the what if’s. For Summer, she is in a fog after the first kiss…. and the second… and well, you get my drift. For me, watching them fall, and fall hard for each other without added drama and angst, it was delightful and satisfying. What’s next you ask…. Logan, Summer’s twin brother and his come back story. Can Not Wait!
I’ll never be able to think about a speedo the same way again
We have another winner from Lauren Blakely! I think this book is my new favorite one so far. It made me smile, then chuckle and then flat out laughed out loud during so many parts, especially the swan boats. There is no way you can’t help falling in love with both Oliver and Summer and the rest of the secondary characters in this story. I loved how Lauren laid the ground work of their back story by jumping back and forth during the start of the book, it really helped to get a feeling of how these two have grown to be so close and such good friends. And the way that they finally realized that they were in love with each other made me a little teary it was so beautiful. This is one story you don’t want to miss.
Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend is Lauren Blakely’s newest romantic comedy and first book in the The Guys That Got Away series. I know when I open one of Lauren’s books that I will fall. Fall for the main characters. Start to fall for the secondary characters since I am sure I will see them again. I will also fall in love with the city they themselves are falling in love in. She sets it all up perfectly. Taylor Swift needs to take notes, Lauren is the queen of hiding Easter eggs.
Oliver, Summer and her twin brother, Logan have been best friends since they were fourteen years old. Seventeen years later, they still are. Oliver is her person. Summer is his. They just get each other. They know each other better than they know themselves. It’s also why they can bring in their prom promise whenever it’s needed. To be a fake couple. And after Summer writes a lovely letter about him and it goes viral, the promise is activated. To save their asses and careers. It has never been an issue before but this time is different. It’s not just a few minutes, a few hours or a night. It’s weeks. It’s pretending to be in love. For the world to see. They have become a hashtag. They got this, right?
Sure. Except this time it involves kisses. Sweet kisses. Hot kisses. Dangerous kisses. Kisses they don’t want to end. Kisses that they shouldn’t want with their best friend. The best friend they can’t lose. Their person. But what if? What if the kisses don’t have to end?
I seriously fell hard. Fast. All it took was the first chapter. Their banter is hilarious, flirty, and over all fantastic. It’s friendship goals. The teasing. The love. The knowing. I don’t know how they went seventeen years without getting together. Actually, I do know. They didn’t want to ruin what they had. Didn’t want to be a crazy or douche ex. They had enough of those. That doesn’t mean they went all those years without checking the other out. Haha.
Overall…it’s one of my favorite Lauren books. It’s a slow burn which was perfect for this couple. Oliver is a brilliant mix of cocky, sweet, funny, and flirty. Summer is the fantastic mix of sassy, smart, beautiful inside and out, and sexy. Together, they made me smile, cry, get hot and bothered, and laugh. I can’t wait for the next book!! You have no idea how much.
Quotes:
It’s sunshine and music, this feeling of his lips dusting mine with a soft, tender ghost of a kiss.
“That’s your punishment for Ollie?” she fired back.
“Watch it, or spankings come next.”
“Ooh, is that included on the fake boyfriend menu?”
“Fine. Fine. I’ll skip the rest of the laps. I was trying to do you a favor. I just thought, with you being my fake fiancée and all, it’d be even harder for you to look away when I got out of the pool. I didn’t want to tempt you.”
I roll my eyes. “I’ll do my best to resist you.”
4.5+ stars
Summer and Oliver and their siblings have been friends since in their teens. And as they grew into adults Oliver remained best friends with both Summer and her twin, Logan. They are always there for each other when they need help or need a kick in the pants.
Summer is sassy, sarcastic, sweet, and her dream is to open her own gym for seniors. But she is fiercely independent and determined to do it all on her own. So when an unexpected opportunity arises, she jumps on it…but she had no idea how it would send her life and friendship spiraling right into the twitter-verse.
Oliver is an intelligent, realistic, attorney who likes to plan and be prepared at all times. He loves to taunt her and drive her crazy. But nothing could have prepared him for the chaos and speculation that was coming.
Next thing they know, they are putting on an act to save face. It should not be too hard to fake it. Even if they might still have an inkling of crushes that they have ignored. And even if he ends up having something to prove. And even with the social media world watching and analyzing them. They seem to make a great couple, but is it all for the cameras?
These two are good at self-protection and trying to make sure their friendship does not suffer. They cannot bear the thought of losing one another. But by holding back, could they lose something even more important?
This is a delightful best-friends-to-lovers and fake fiancee’ romance rolled into one. I loved these two together! Their banter is fun, their chemistry smolders, and it is obvious how well they know the other and how much they truly care. It has just enough conflict and angst, but is also fun, flirty, and sexy. Oliver is just so charming, cocky, and swoony. And Summer is just a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed their family and friends, Jason, Logan, Fitz, and Stella. They are such a dynamic group and I cannot wait for more hopefully with both Logan and Fitz.
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review