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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Lauren Blakely releases a new witty and entertaining story.
What happens when you write an article for a magazine about something you learned from a relationship with an ex boyfriend? Especially when your article is about your best friend and an inside joke?
It backfires. At least for Summer and Oliver it did.
Summer and Oliver have been friends since grade school when Oliver’s family moved to the United States to seek care for his sister.
Summer has worked to build her dream. That dream is close but she was turned down from the bank for a loan. She decides to write an article for a contest.
Oliver was secretly surprised when he realized the article was about him. Until it puts him in a bind with his clients.
The only way to fix the the words the internet twisted around in Summers article it to pretend they are getting married.
They both have avoided their reaction to each other. Not wanting to lose their friendship. To bad the exes from their past are making it difficult in the internet world to let them continue their charade.
Can they maintain the line of friendship?
Must READ if you want to know more about the Rom-Com from an all time favorite author.
Dear Sexy Ex Boyfriend is a rom com lovers dream filled with so many of my favorite tropes, I couldn’t get enough!! Oliver and Summer are a couple I completely fell in love with! There’s an incredible connection between the characters, witty banter, fun moments and steamy moments!
A MUST read for any Lauren Blakely fan!
This was witty, sexy, fun, and I fell in love with Oliver and Summer. A friends to lovers, fake relationship romance that will have you swooning. I loved the friendship between Summer and Oliver but also their other relationships and friendships. I couldn’t put this down.
Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend is a fun and sexy friends-to-lovers / fake relationship story–*and* the first in a new series, The Guys Who Got Away. I mean, what else could you want here? It’s funny, sweet, and steamy as heck–a win-win-win kind of situation 🙂
Both Summer and Oliver were fantastic characters. They’ve known each other since they were teenagers–yes, she’s literally the girl next door–and even though he’s best friends with her twin brother, there’s none of that “I can’t possibly, she’s your sister” kind of vibe here. (Thank goodness. I mean, really.) There is a whole lot of “we can’t ruin our friendship” sentiment, though–a bit predicable, but since we do need relationship obstacles, it ends up working well here. Because of course they become a hastag, and of course they need to go the fake engagement route. Which naturally means kissing for the cameras…which then leads to…other things. For science, of course. Certain theories about the less-than prowess of gorgeous guys must be disproven! 😉
The secondary characters added a lot to the story–often in the form of comic relief, but they also played a significant role in helping Summer and Oliver eventually achieve their HEA. Plus, two of them–Summer’s brother Logan and Fitz, their hockey player friend–will be heroes of future books. Counting the days…write fast, please, Ms Blakely! 🙂
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
OMG! I loved this friends to lovers romance. This is an unputdownable, fun, flirty, and delightful slow-burn story that summed up so succinctly the very essence of romance. This page-turning story completely encapsulates the madness of the first stirrings of love and lust when you can’t get enough of someone, yet they each have challenges they need to face. It was such a great read. I am not kidding, this book was everything. All the things—witty banter, humor, angst, emotions, and all of the steam. And the characters? OMG—talk about Oliver Harris! Oliver is British, a lawyer who is very, very swoon-worthy, sexy as hell, handsome, arrogant, and an eligible bachelor. Summer Clarke is very independent, goal oriented, and she is best friends with Oliver while also having a crush on him for a long time—she refuses to let anything come between their friendship. The problem? Oliver is also Logan’s (Summer’s twin brother) best friend. After a contentious social media disaster and . . . after Oliver/Summer share an epic kiss that goes viral—suddenly everything changes! Now, Oliver is starting to look at Summer in a new way—more than just his best friend and her brother’s sister. Can they just be best friends again? What do you think? They will fascinate you and frustrate you at the same time, but the banter was everything. The slow-building romance is packed with so much sexual tension. This book left me wonderfully content at its conclusion, and I can reread this book over and over again. Lauren Blakely manages to weave humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas with artfully developed main characters. The storyline is fluid, and it will pique your interest. I HIGHLY recommend this book. You won’t regret reading this book!!
Oliver and Summer have a seamlessly perfect friendship, with effortless banter, inside jokes, and years worth of memories. These long term friends have always kept it strictly platonic, but when a chain of events leads them to fake an engagement, they start to question whether they’re meant for so much more.
A fast-paced, entertaining read, Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend is everything you look for in a romance…sexy and swoon-worthy, with just the right amount of humor and wit. Summer and Oliver’s connection drove the storyline above and beyond what I expected and I look forward to the next book in the series!
I’ve been on an LB audio kick for at least the last six months. Her books are funny and the characters pull you right in from the very beginning.
Oliver and Summer are the sweetest ever!!! The prom promise and how they are always coming to each other’s rescue is so cute.
I love how LB drops characters from her other series into all of her books. I’m so excited for where this new series goes. I’m counting down until Logan’s story!!
What was supposed to be a fun, tongue-in-cheek letter to Summer’s best guy friend, Oliver, becomes the catalyst in the story.
Summer and Oliver have always had a special bond. When one needs the other to pretend to be the other’s love interest, the other never hesitates. However is usually for a few minutes or one occasion.
Now, Summer’s letter has put Oliver’s career in possible jeopardy. This time, they will have to put one heck of a show.
Lines quickly become blurred even when they fight hard not to cross them.
This was a cute, charming, yet heartfelt read. The love these two have for each other is apparent and neither one wants to lose the other. They were fun to read. The story was fluid. There wasn’t a hundred different obstacles put in their path. These are adults that don’t have to answer to anyone but themselves.
This is book one in Lauren Blakely’s The Guys Who Got Away series.
Their romance might be fake, but the love is real.
I am a sucker for a ‘fake romance’ story, be it girl/boyfriend, fiance(e)or spouse, I’ll take any and all of them. Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend wasn’t just that though, it had a friends-to-lovers and best friend’s sister side vibe going on.
Summer Clarke and her twin brother Logan have known Oliver Harris for more than half their lives. They grew up together and would do anything for the other.
Oliver is a lawyer and Summer is about to open her own specialty gym. Life is good.
So, when something Summer does, causes a backlash on Oliver’s work, she’s ready to help however she can.
Summer is a sweet and sassy character while Oliver is level-headed. He’s a closet romantic though and it shows whenever he and Summer are together and know that they are faking a relationship, it’s all going to get a bit complicated.
I loved this story from the outset. I knew right away that Oliver was going to be the lead guy, but I was slightly confused as to how he figured into the ‘Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend’ category. It all became clear a little later, lol.
This book was filled with all the banter and humor, fun, and games I’ve come to expect from a Lauren Blakely novel. The secondary characters were just as fun, and I’m looking forward to both Logan and Fitz’s books, which are coming next. Can’t wait to read them.
This week I had an Audible credit burning a hole in my pocket, and I was so excited to see that Lauren Blakely’s newest romantic comedy Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend was a dual POV done duet style by fan favorites Andi Arndt and Shane East. East’s British accent makes me positively swoon so I was so excited to download the book and take off on my nightly walk. Blakely is one of my favorite one-click authors because she never fails to deliver top-notch romance with clever characters and unique storylines. Summer and Oliver witty and flirty and I adored their friendship and closeness. I love how Blakely revisits characters and settings from the previous books in the world she has created (Gin Joint!)- those little Easter eggs always make me smile. If you listen to the audiobook, make sure you listen past the end of the book- Arndt and East treat us to some bloopers and we get to sit in on a great little chat between the two pro narrators. Such a treat!
* 4.5 Stars *
Lauren Blakely is always there when I need a quick romance fix! Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend has all my favorite tropes: brother’s best friend, fake relationship and my current obsession: friends to lovers! Summer and Oliver are those friends you constantly see in shows and movies who you just know would be perfect together all the while they deny any type of romantic relationship. The bond between them is real and obvious in every portion of the book, but the chemistry sky rockets once they are forced into a fake engagement. I loved watching them both struggle with restraint and finally give in to what they have been denying. There is just something about Lauren Blakey’s romcoms that leaves me in a much better mood, her characters are so real and great that I always feel like I am right there and I love it!
Oliver and Summer have been best friends for so long and find themselves in a bind that pushes them even closer. They may be friends to start, but they have great chemistry. Oliver is British which obviously makes him even more swoony than normal. I really liked that their budding relationship felt really natural to progress, it felt like it just made sense. They were so cute together and I had a lot of fun reading their story!
5 Cranky Stars
Summer and Oliver are absolutely cute together. They have been friends for 17 years, always helping each other out while denying they have feelings for each other. Summer is trying to earn money to start her own business and enters into a contest to win some much needed money, all she has to do is write a letter to an Ex-Boyfriend about what she learned from the relationship. She decided to write about how it would be if Oliver was her ex boyfriend, the contest posted it on Twitter and it went viral. People figured out that it was about Oliver and to save face they decided to say they were engaged. During the fake engagement, they discovered what all those feelings where that they were hiding from themselves.
Great Book, the banter between Oliver and Summer is sarcastically hilarious! Well written modern love story.
Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend, the first book in the Guys Who Got Away series, was a heart-warming, fun, friends to lovers, fake relationship romance that held my interest until the end. This was a feel good romance and I enjoyed it. Its a story about relationships and love, friendship and family.
Oliver and Summer have been friends since high school have had each others backs since then. Although they have been denying their feeling for each other, you could see there was a connection between them. They were both likable characters and I enjoyed seeing them figure things out and get to their happy ending.
The story was told in dual POV with both the past and present day narrative. It was filled with witty banter, hilarious moments, steamy scenes and a cast of colorful characters who all came together to make this a story I absolutely enjoyed. I would recommend this novel to all lovers of romantic comedies.
I loved this fake fiancé/friends to lovers romance. This book is sweet, fun, romantic and oh so steamy. Ollie and Summer’s friendship and love is one for the record books!
I love when an author takes a story in a direction I didn’t expect. Lauren Blakely knocks another one out of the park with this fake fiancee/best friends turned lovers romance filled with a lot of humor, emotion and swoon-worthy moments! Originally, I thought the title and description of the book was going to lead toward a second chance or enemies to lovers romance. Instead, our author focused on what it means to be a best friend…accepting the quirkiness and stubbornness of said friend, not being afraid to be honest with advice, and readily willing to help your best friend with whatever crazy idea he needs help with, including faking an engagement. Crossing the line and putting your friendship at risk creates the angst between our heroine, Summer, and our Hero, Oliver. The heartfelt conversations between these two made this a winning read for me!
Is it weird that one of my favorite things about this book is the male main character’s first name? Yeah, he and my late fur baby share the same name, and while Oliver (the fictional character, not the dog) hated his nickname, in my head, I was calling him “Ollie” anyway. This guy was charming and witty and was obviously meant to be with Summer. The thing is, these two were getting in their own way because they didn’t want to risk losing their friendship by taking a chance on dating and becoming more. So, of course, things change once they get into the whole fake engagement, and I loved how they continued to be friends even as their non-platonic feelings started to freely surface. And that was the thing–pretending to be lovers was like the opening that was needed for them to not be so careful about those more intimate looks and so on. Another thing I loved about this book was the fact that there wasn’t a hint of unnecessary drama with as far as Logan, Summer’s twin brother and Oliver’s best friend, was concerned. Kudos to him wanting two of the most important people in his life to be happy. I also enjoyed getting to know this new set of characters that make up the Guys Who Got Away series, and I’m already excited to read the next three books. For now, though, I’m happy to hand over 4.5 stars to Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend.
This book was adorable. Oliver and Summer’s history built a strong foundation for them. Their transition from friends to lovers was too easy, which scared them both. We got to see flashbacks from their friendship and I feel it helped the reader really understand who they were to each other. I read their story quickly because I was engaged in it and wanted to see how it all played out. Summer’s letter, which started their mess, was perfect and Lauren Blakely couldn’t have done a better job with this story.
Absolutely loved this friends to lovers story!
Loved watch Summer and Oliver fall in love.
They just made sense, it’s the only way I can describe these two.
No angst, just love and friendship and a whole lot of smiles.
One of my favorite things about Lauren Blakely’s story’s is that they are so damn easy to read and her words just seem to flow and before you know it the story is over.
Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriendhas easily become my favorite read from this author.
Can’t wait to see what’s next.
J’ai plongé dans cette histoire sans vraiment avoir à quoi m’attendre et j’ai adoré du début à la fin ! Summer et Oliver sont deux personnages diablement attachants et on ne peut que dévorer les pages pour savoir comment ils vont se sortir de cet improbable imbroglio ! On se doute de la fin mais elle arrive d’une très jolie manière et c’est à regret que l’on quitte tout ce beau monde ! Un très chouette romance pleine de rires et d’amitié !