The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
10iii_kat's review against another edition
4.0
my first time with naima simone but i'm ready for more!
heated tells us a story of zora nelson - she owns a company called BURNED with her siblings, their company focuses on breaking up with people for their clients. her story is a bit emotional - we get to learn how difficult her childhood was due to her challenging parents, she was a peacemaker in her family and now her goal is to break up people so they won't end up in a relationships like her parents did.
on the other hand we have cyrus hart who's also a successful person with a difficult backstory. his parents died when he was still a child and since then he was focusing on making a plan for his life ahead. he works as an attorney at a prestigious entertainment attorney office.
they met when zora had to break up with him by reading him a letter from his girlfriend - val. obviously this isn't the best way to met someone but this didn't stop both zora and cyrus to slowly fall in love.
i love fake relationship trope and that's what we get here. cyrus wants to become a partner in his company and when he hears that there will be a company retreat his first thought was "i need to have a girlfriend so i look more reliable" and of course he decided to get zora to be his fake girlfriend - 3 months being together and then they can forget about each other - but let me tell you, that wasn't the case.
we get lots of insights into their character development as well as spicy thoughts & scenes. i really liked the mix of an interesting plot with good spicy scenes. the characters also really made me like this book more but at the same time i feel like it was missing something.
overall i enjoyed this book, would definetly recommend to people who like erotic books with romance & fake relationship trope and fast pace because it had all of that! when you finish the book you might think "oh god is it done already? i want more!". well.. at least i did.
thanks to montlake and netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
heated tells us a story of zora nelson - she owns a company called BURNED with her siblings, their company focuses on breaking up with people for their clients. her story is a bit emotional - we get to learn how difficult her childhood was due to her challenging parents, she was a peacemaker in her family and now her goal is to break up people so they won't end up in a relationships like her parents did.
on the other hand we have cyrus hart who's also a successful person with a difficult backstory. his parents died when he was still a child and since then he was focusing on making a plan for his life ahead. he works as an attorney at a prestigious entertainment attorney office.
they met when zora had to break up with him by reading him a letter from his girlfriend - val. obviously this isn't the best way to met someone but this didn't stop both zora and cyrus to slowly fall in love.
i love fake relationship trope and that's what we get here. cyrus wants to become a partner in his company and when he hears that there will be a company retreat his first thought was "i need to have a girlfriend so i look more reliable" and of course he decided to get zora to be his fake girlfriend - 3 months being together and then they can forget about each other - but let me tell you, that wasn't the case.
we get lots of insights into their character development as well as spicy thoughts & scenes. i really liked the mix of an interesting plot with good spicy scenes. the characters also really made me like this book more but at the same time i feel like it was missing something.
overall i enjoyed this book, would definetly recommend to people who like erotic books with romance & fake relationship trope and fast pace because it had all of that! when you finish the book you might think "oh god is it done already? i want more!". well.. at least i did.
thanks to montlake and netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
africreole's review against another edition
4.0
She dumped him by proxy
Cyrus Hunt's five-year plan was derailed when Zora Nelson dumped him by proxy for her "Burned" client. When he saw her again, he saved her from a bad date and their relationship began with a request. Their fake relationship agreement was to last for three months so he could impress his law firm. She knew she was in trouble when she started to catch feelings and knew that if she didn't come clean all hell would break loose. And all hell did. She was a liar and thief, and she knew Cyrus would never forgive her. But they were both miserable without each other. Once Cyrus got his head out of his a$$, he realize that he loved Zora and a five-year plan didn't matter without Zora in it. He needed her to make a new plan with him. They both saved each other.
I enjoyed reading about Zora and Cyrus' support system. Cyrus' best friend Jordan Ransom was funny and kept his advice to his friend very matter-of fact. On Zora's side, her siblings loved her to death but also kept their advice and opinions straightforward with a little levity to ease the situation.
This book made Facebook's BWSL's top 2022 book list.
Cyrus Hunt's five-year plan was derailed when Zora Nelson dumped him by proxy for her "Burned" client. When he saw her again, he saved her from a bad date and their relationship began with a request. Their fake relationship agreement was to last for three months so he could impress his law firm. She knew she was in trouble when she started to catch feelings and knew that if she didn't come clean all hell would break loose. And all hell did. She was a liar and thief, and she knew Cyrus would never forgive her. But they were both miserable without each other. Once Cyrus got his head out of his a$$, he realize that he loved Zora and a five-year plan didn't matter without Zora in it. He needed her to make a new plan with him. They both saved each other.
I enjoyed reading about Zora and Cyrus' support system. Cyrus' best friend Jordan Ransom was funny and kept his advice to his friend very matter-of fact. On Zora's side, her siblings loved her to death but also kept their advice and opinions straightforward with a little levity to ease the situation.
This book made Facebook's BWSL's top 2022 book list.
chelyely's review against another edition
4.0
Everything I needed
One sitting read, once I started I could not put it down.
This is a short amazing story. I hated Cyrus when he was first introduced, but his growth is just perfection. I am also very much inlove with Levi's smart mouth. I also love that this is has a strong yet gentle woman of color, who also happens to be a size 16 and has natural hair, it's everything I love.
Can't recommend this enough and I hope their story continues!
One sitting read, once I started I could not put it down.
This is a short amazing story. I hated Cyrus when he was first introduced, but his growth is just perfection. I am also very much inlove with Levi's smart mouth. I also love that this is has a strong yet gentle woman of color, who also happens to be a size 16 and has natural hair, it's everything I love.
Can't recommend this enough and I hope their story continues!
marreadsbooks22's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
I struggled with this one.
The concept was great but the execution and most importantly-for me- the ending was not that great.
The book was entertaining and fun but also messy and I cringed a lot with some of the monologs our mc had. And although this was fast paced and fun to read most of the time some parts definitely needed some work because they put me out of the story.
I liked some side characters like Myriam and Jordan even more that our main couple, especially Zora, I didn't like or get her lie especially because Cyrus was a nice guy and I hated he was lied to.
I didn't liked the way the situation with Zora's parents. I was disappointed on how that was handled.
Overall it could have been better.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I struggled with this one.
The concept was great but the execution and most importantly-for me- the ending was not that great.
The book was entertaining and fun but also messy and I cringed a lot with some of the monologs our mc had. And although this was fast paced and fun to read most of the time some parts definitely needed some work because they put me out of the story.
I liked some side characters like Myriam and Jordan even more that our main couple, especially Zora, I didn't like or get her lie especially because Cyrus was a nice guy and I hated he was lied to.
I didn't liked the way the situation with Zora's parents. I was disappointed on how that was handled.
Overall it could have been better.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
yeriwithaj_'s review
4.0
Really, really liked it
This was so beautiful. It was light, fun, sweet, steamy and just a touch spicy, and humorous.
I loved Zora and enjoyed Cyrus.
This was so beautiful. It was light, fun, sweet, steamy and just a touch spicy, and humorous.
I loved Zora and enjoyed Cyrus.
hannas_heas47's review
3.0
Love the cover! Hello hawt-ness! Thanks so much to the publisher for a copy to read so I could give an opinion.
What did I like? As far as unique goes this would have been amazing but the book just dragged. It’s one thing but the secondary characters got better reviews than the main ones. Zora felt like a good character but too much red tape between the two to really feel the chemistry.
Would I recommend or buy? My first by this author but definitely a fence book. I didn’t hate it but the enjoyment was low. Work on getting your mains to pop! Three stars.
What did I like? As far as unique goes this would have been amazing but the book just dragged. It’s one thing but the secondary characters got better reviews than the main ones. Zora felt like a good character but too much red tape between the two to really feel the chemistry.
Would I recommend or buy? My first by this author but definitely a fence book. I didn’t hate it but the enjoyment was low. Work on getting your mains to pop! Three stars.
neriahmitchener's review against another edition
4.0
Curvy woman of color to represent what most books I’ve read do not. Fake dating, building intimacy, smut. All the things I love!
ilssemaxwell's review against another edition
4.0
An ARC read from NetGalley and Montlake publisher in exchange for a review! I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was witty, entertaining, funny, and an easy read. I loved the dual POV between the two main characters. I thought the premise of this book — a professional relationship break-up service — was entirely unique and new.
This book contains the following tropes: fake-relationship, working with family, unexpected love, interracial relationship
Zora is a professional relationship unmatchmaker: getting paid to break up for her clients. One of her targets for breaking up is Cyrus, described as a Greek god of a man and an entertainment attorney. The two meet and find instant chemistry, despite the unfortunate first introduction. They cannot stay away from each other and begin a fake-relationship to help Cyrus look good in front of his firm. However, Zora’s profession is hidden from Cyrus and she dreads telling him the truth. Can their fake-relationship-turned-real survive her betrayal?
I really liked this book but I found the book to be rushed. I would have preferred more details in certain scenes, and provided a deeper story to the main characters’ union. I loved the interracial relationship and how it served as a communication starter between the characters. I loved the inter-connectedness of the siblings and how Zora feels protective of them. Overall, I thought this book was good. Would recommend.
This book contains the following tropes: fake-relationship, working with family, unexpected love, interracial relationship
Zora is a professional relationship unmatchmaker: getting paid to break up for her clients. One of her targets for breaking up is Cyrus, described as a Greek god of a man and an entertainment attorney. The two meet and find instant chemistry, despite the unfortunate first introduction. They cannot stay away from each other and begin a fake-relationship to help Cyrus look good in front of his firm. However, Zora’s profession is hidden from Cyrus and she dreads telling him the truth. Can their fake-relationship-turned-real survive her betrayal?
I really liked this book but I found the book to be rushed. I would have preferred more details in certain scenes, and provided a deeper story to the main characters’ union. I loved the interracial relationship and how it served as a communication starter between the characters. I loved the inter-connectedness of the siblings and how Zora feels protective of them. Overall, I thought this book was good. Would recommend.
krayreads's review against another edition
4.0
the writing was superb! i loved the metaphors, simile’s, and how detailed the descriptions were. i could imagine everything vividly in my mind, the images, the scenes, the feelings, the emotions. the mouth this man, cyrus, had on him - jesus h. christ!!! and the way he made zora feel beautiful and defended her to anyone who had a negative word to say!!!!! even when he found out the truth of her lie he still defended her
iggyebab's review against another edition
5.0
**Received a copy for review.**
This book..... As a plus size, former peacemaker/fixer in my family, this book made me feel so seen. Man it sucks that these things follow us into adult hood and we don't recognize it easily. We may understand the role we play in the family but we aren't able to see all the ramifications.
Both of these characters are so well written.
Zora is a peacemaker/protector. Her parents are extremely dysfunctional and she takes the brunt of that dysfunction to protect her siblings. Even as an adult, she is in the middle.
Cyrus is a self made man who lost his parents young and spent the rest of his youth as a foster child. He has a plan for how his life is going to go and he's determined to follow that plan to the letter.
The introduction is more of a meet cringe than a meet cute. Zora has a business where someone will break up with a partner for a client so they don't have to. She is sent by a woman to break up with Cyrus and he is blindsided.
There is a fake relationship and some seriously amazing conversation. Even when he is leveraging his advantage, they go toe to toe. I love her crazy ass sister and his friend Jordan. Levi is interesting too.
The power dynamic in this book is HOT. The moment he keys into her desires was fire. The level of sexual tension is off the charts.
I have read a lot of Naima's work and I have to say this is the best I've read.
This book..... As a plus size, former peacemaker/fixer in my family, this book made me feel so seen. Man it sucks that these things follow us into adult hood and we don't recognize it easily. We may understand the role we play in the family but we aren't able to see all the ramifications.
Both of these characters are so well written.
Zora is a peacemaker/protector. Her parents are extremely dysfunctional and she takes the brunt of that dysfunction to protect her siblings. Even as an adult, she is in the middle.
Cyrus is a self made man who lost his parents young and spent the rest of his youth as a foster child. He has a plan for how his life is going to go and he's determined to follow that plan to the letter.
The introduction is more of a meet cringe than a meet cute. Zora has a business where someone will break up with a partner for a client so they don't have to. She is sent by a woman to break up with Cyrus and he is blindsided.
There is a fake relationship and some seriously amazing conversation. Even when he is leveraging his advantage, they go toe to toe. I love her crazy ass sister and his friend Jordan. Levi is interesting too.
The power dynamic in this book is HOT. The moment he keys into her desires was fire. The level of sexual tension is off the charts.
I have read a lot of Naima's work and I have to say this is the best I've read.