One dilapidated cabin in need of renovation.
Two stubborn men pretending to be a couple.
Three summer months to get the job done.
Four tangled legs in only one bed.
Five cameras catching it all for YouTube.
Six hundred thousand Instagram followers.
Seven nosy family members with Opinions.
Eight thousand reasons they should never fall in love.
Nine million reasons why they will.
Say … Instagram followers.
Seven nosy family members with Opinions.
Eight thousand reasons they should never fall in love.
Nine million reasons why they will.
Say You’ll Be Nine is a standalone novel.
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My first Lucy Lennox book, I loved Nine and Cooper. Recommended.
I enjoy most Lucy Lennox books i read, some more than others, but i often love the supporting characters and the crazy situations as much if not more than the lovers. That’s not the case with Say You’ll Be Nine. This book takes place largely between two men building a cabin in the woods. The “high concept” plot device is that Nine, the central character, is pretending to be gay for the YouTube and Social Media show they are putting together in order to help the other man’s brother who is in need of medical attention. That bit of silliness goes by the board pretty fast and the story comes down to Nine, who is one of the most charming, dimensional, kind and loving men you’ll meet in romcom fiction. A total charmer caught in a really difficult situation keeps this book moving and turning pages. I really enjoyed Say You’ll Be Nine!
Loved it! A unique premise and a sweet romance
I really adored this book…which you can tell because it’s 3:57 am and I couldn’t put it down. Had to finish it all in one night.
The premise is unique despite using the tried and true fake relationship trope. Normally I am not a fan when people do the fake relationship for money, job, personal gain but Jack’s dire medical need made it ok for me. Yes, it’s problematic that Nine is a straight guy, or so he thinks, taking a sponsorship that a company wants to give to LGBTQ community members. That bothered me at first, however, he initially refused for those very reasons and he ultimately decides to do it to save someone’s life which I think of as a higher purpose. Plus, his scam of pretending to be part of a gay couple does involve someone who is gay and it quickly becomes apparent that Nine is too. Additionally, he encourages the company to contact a lesbian couple he knows from YouTube to further diversify by showing another LGBT couple and women using power tools.
I loved the progression of the relationship and Nine’s voyage of self-discovery. Cooper’s reluctance to fall for someone, even though he’s clearly done so, makes for a tough dynamic. The crisis situation is a bit contrived and I am generally not a fan of the miscommunication trope as it’s so overdone but I guess it was the best way to work the storyline out. The ending sweet and it’s a great HEA.
It’s an enjoyable read and I strongly recommend it.
Lucy Lennox is an author that is a must-read for me. I have been holding onto this audiobook for a special occasion. And mopping and cleaning the bathrooms when I don’t want to is a special occasion for an audiobook.
Cooper and Issac (Nine) were everything Sweet and Savory. If you like them, large, fury, and kindhearted Issac is for you. You get the sassy, snarky, hilarious Cooper, and love is in the air. This book has a ton of heart when you get right down to it.
We have social media influences, proximity, meddling families, dogs, small towns. A ton of sweetness, and the sex is super spicy as well.
Michael Dean does an excellent job bringing this book to life, as always!
My bathrooms are clean, and I’m book hungover!
**********Contains Spoilers**********
Man, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the connection between Isaac aka Nine and Cooper, even though they have little in common and seem not to work on paper they’re actually great tougher. I loved that Cooper has always seen Nine and that he loves trying to get a rise out of him since he’s so shy and likes annoying him. Man, Nine’s family trample all over if and expect him to do anything they ask and it really annoyed me when he came out to them on multiple occasions, they believe him or they think that he’s too stupid and naive to know his own mind and feelings but his dad came through for him in the end. I loved that they slowly got to know each other and what makes each other tick. Cooper has a wall up after his dad leaving. I thought it was so cute how Nine went to LA to get Cooper back with a sandwich board professing his love for him and went to the restaurant Cooper was at which was completely out of his comfort zone as he hates being the centre of attention but he did it for Cooper. I’d definitely recommend this book and author to everyone.
Loved this book, could not put it down. Finished it in a day.
Interesting plot where these two men had to get to know each other, work together and learn how to love each other.
Probably my favorite Lucy Lennox book ever!
Not all fluffy and light, bit of a journey to the happy.
You think it’s predictable, then it’s not. Keeps you guessing. Some angsty and dark bits temper the light sweet loveliness of an unexpected romance that just grows. Around the time Nine has an epiphany and knows what he wants, you’re ready to give up on Cooper, so he u-turns back to Nine and a perfect HEA
Great read. She’s a great story teller
I really liked the characters in this book and the story. Love is selfless!
I can’t gush enough about this read.
I was engrossed from beginning to end.
I simply loved Nine and Coup.
Finishes in one day!!!
The Narration was spectacular
Completely Captivating
Audiobook Review
Lucy Lennox’s books are such a feel good read for me and this one was no exception.
This was such a sweet story about two bull headed men who are pretending to be a couple for a reality show on YouTube.
The dialogue was fun and hilarious and the characters were likeable, relatable, quirky and well fleshed out.
Paired with Michael Dean’s exemplary audio delivery this book was definitely a highly entertaining and enjoyable listen.
This was a super sweet story, and very… unobtrusive in many ways. Objectively speaking, it was a perfectly fine read. But I’m sorry to say that it doesn’t deserve the outrageously high ratings it has gotten.
Lucy Lennox is a talented author. It’s high quality writing through-and-through. But I just couldn’t bring myself to like either of the main characters in this book. So my very subjective opinion about Say You’ll Be Nine might offend some Lennox fans.
To me, this is a 3-star read. Simply because it’s very solid writing, story structure and generally the work of a professional. But the characters and their behaviour were just… not to my liking.
The story goes something like this:
Farmboy Isaac, a.k.a. Nine, goes out of his way to be helpful. Always. Almost to the point where people take advantage of his kindness and inability to say no. Then there’s Cooper, apparently the only gay guy Nine has ever met. Cooper’s brother needs a bone marrow transplant, but (insert rant about how the US is the only developed country in the world without universal healthcare) they don’t have the money for it. Long-shot opportunity arises and Nine is persuaded to pretend to be gay – and Cooper’s boyfriend – and doing a renovation project / youtube-channel /instagram thingy sponsored by a power tool company who wants to reach an LGBTQ audience. All in exchange for the money for that life saving surgery. So, long shot.
I’ve noticed some readers take offense to the whole impersonating-a-gay-guy. I probably would too, if I hadn’t been a straight woman, but I really thought Lennox went above and beyond with how she justified the ruse. If doing it to raise money to save someone’s life isn’t a good enough of an excuse then I don’t know what is.
Anyway. As it turns out – not so surprising – Nine isn’t really straight at all. And while renovating an old cabin in the woods, all isolated and stuff, Nine and Cooper gets cozy. It’s cute. It’s sweet. And it’s annoying as all hell. Mostly because of two things:
First, Nine lets everyone walk all over him. He’s too nice. And he never grows a backbone. There’s no scene in the end where he stands up to his family. And he never calls Cooper out on acting like a moron.
So the second thing is Cooper acting like a moron. I can’t stand when MCs act stupid and Cooper was the very opposite of smart.
“I love Isaac, I really do. Oh no look, something shiny, I’ll run away from Nine a bit. Oh hey, I’m back again kiss kiss kiss but let’s break up. Hey why are you all grumpy and mad? Oh well, I’ll run off again. Even though I love him so so so much. But I can’t have him for real because I’m apparently stupid so I’ll just be unhappy forever. Well wait, here he is, he’s come to support me, OMG happy happy sex sex, but oh now I’ll run again…”
So that’s my take on this book. On the plus side (for some) there’s not much angst so that’s something I guess…
https://reflectionsofaswedishgirl.blog.se/say-youll-be-nine-by-lucy-lennox/
Super cute! I loved the whole renovation theme of the story. I lobe watching those types of shows on TV and the author did great when it came to details. Coop and Nine were adorable together. I honestly loved them. This banter, the connection they had. It was just sweet and hot. The root of the story had heart and I loved that they both had such big hearts. They loved hard even when they didn’t realize they were doing it. 4 stars #2OCCJD
Isaac (Nine) is the ninth child in his family and has never felt that he had a talent or anything unique that made him stand out. But he would do anything to help other people and has a kind heart. He works a hardware store and makes you tube DIY videos.
Cooper is his brother’s best friend and there’s always been some antagonism between them. Cooper has big dreams in LA, but has to be home for his family. He has trust issues and tries hard not to need anyone. When these two are thrown together on a DIY media project for mutual gain, it turns out much differently than anticipated. They were just supposed to be fake boyfriends during a cabin restoration on you tube. But for once Nine is figuring out just what kind of person he’s really attracted to, and Cooper’s always had kind of a crush on his friend’s brother. So from antagonism to fake boyfriends to something real it’s a sweet transition in their little isolated bubble.
I adored both of these guys. I loved seeing Nine start to figure himself out in the process and begin to feel more confident. And Cooper is so patient and encouraging to him even though he also has some other serious things going on. They are supportive of each other, and totally hot together. But one guy needs to be needed and the other one hates needing someone.
What happens once real life and their diverging future plans come in to play? This was a really sweet, funny, sexy fake-boyfriend, forced togetherness, best friend’s-little-brother romance. It’s fluffy and a bit insta-lovey, but it didn’t bother me too much. I really felt that for the first time they were both allowing themselves to be vulnerable, so it felt like their connection was real despite the circumstances. The side story with Cooper’s brother and his best friend also had me interested so I was glad that there was an extra bonus short story available. This was my first book by Lucy Lennox but have seen her recommended a lot in this genre. I will definitely be checking out her backlist.
LOVED this story so much.
It was really easy to read and I fell in love with the characters.
Cooper and Nine were both awesome and I loved their background.
Brother’s best friend, teenage crush, gay for you, fake relationship – everything was perfect.
The fake-gay-boyfriend for a youtube ad as so adorable, and the whole RV and renovation thing was so cute. While reading it I thought about Tyler and Todd (they were the inspiration for this book), and I loved reading this story. Nacho was a cute bonus.
Nine was an amazing character, he’s my favorite. Everything he did was great and it was really good to read about renovations, making videos for youtube and instagram – the IG ones were my favorites! Cooper and Nine were too adorable for words.
This book was a really good romance and I loved the gay for you/ fake boyfriend trope. Lucy Lennox did an amazing job with this book, loved from the first page to the last. And that bonus short with Jacks and Marchie.
I absolutely freaking loved this book!!!! Nine is a vlogger who has captured the eye of a company who wants to sponsor him. The company wants to connect with their LGBTQ audience so they propose that Nine and his partner work together to renovate a cabin and vlog it. Nine doesn’t have a boyfriend or a girlfriend for that matter so he is unsure what to do about that part. Nine’s brother suggests Cooper his actor friend to help him play the part of the doting boyfriend. They are complete opposites both playing a role well at first then real feelings start to develop and suddenly they aren’t really pretending to be fake boyfriends anymore, its the real deal. I loved reading how their relationship developed and grew…they were so good for each other. I was hooked from beginning to end and didn’t want it to end. I loved everything about this book and I highly recommend it to all. Another fantastic story from this talented author. Well done!!
Rarely does a book come along that seems to have all the story elements in perfect balance, but Say You’ll Be Nine by Lucy Lennox is that book – and I’ll explain why I feel it needs to go on your to-be-read list – like yesterday!
Nine (whose real name is Isaac, but is the ninth of ten kids) is Mr. Dependable. Always there to lend a hand, doesn’t say much, never says “no” to anyone in need and is generous to a fault. He loves creating his “Do It Yourself” videos on YouTube, and when he’s offered a sponsored project fixing up a cabin, he jumps at the chance. However, the sponsor is really hoping to be able to market this to the LGBT community by having Nine do the job with a boyfriend. Nine has never identified as Gay, but he’ll consider pretending if it means he doesn’t miss the opportunity. However, the only gay person he knows is his brother’s best friend – Cooper.
Cooper is Mr. Independent, an aspiring actor who, despite a few setbacks, still has a plan for conquering Hollywood. Only, he needs to come home to support his sick twin brother, Jacks. Jacks needs a bone marrow transplant and luckily twin brother Cooper is a match. But the cost of the procedure is a barrier – until Cooper gets an offer from his best friend’s brother that might mean he can improve his acting profile and earn the money for the procedure.
You see where this is going, right?! Soon the quiet “straight” guy and the flamboyant gay actor are thrown together in an RV in the middle of nowhere and have to act as an adoring couple. Pretty quickly sparks fly and Nine is questioning his identity as he is undeniably attracted to his new “boyfriend”. Things heat up fast and the transition through the storyline is seamless with very believable decisions and situations that further the plot beautifully. Add in a little humour, a loyal dog and some completely relatable family banter, and this book has the lot.
The attraction between the two main characters is beautiful and hot. I simply adored the dynamic dialogue, which had authentic emotion that further enhanced their growth. The arc has more than a few angsty twists and turns, but none are jarring and all further the story naturally – even providing further sweetness and emotion to an already adorable tale. One or two moments of wishing you could slap some sense into the boys makes you even more engaged in their HEA, and the overall feeling you come away with when you close the pages is joy and love.
As soon as I finished reading, I raced off to Lucy’s website and signed up for her newsletter and joined her Facebook Group. The highly professional writing is articulate, so easy to follow and everything I’m looking for in a book. Say You’ll Be Nine is simply a joy to read and I’m sure will be on my re-read list for years to come.
This book was so sweet & swoon worthy. I loved it even through the tears. I loved Cooper, Nine & of course we can’t forget Nacho. It’s an amazing read,so good & of course there’s some steamy stuff as well. A Recommended Read!