This was my first book by Nan Campbell and did not dissapoint. This is a very sweet slow burn romance with a mix of fake relationship with second chance romance, so some favourite tropes ticked. I liked the premise of the book and the complexity of their relationship and how it evolved over time. Davy and Anna are great and so are the secondary characters, but missed them being together more time and the end felt a bit rushed. Looking forward to read more from this author.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

This was a well written book that I enjoyed reading. The main characters were relatable and had chemistry. However, I found the fact that they shared a sister slightly uncomfortable even though they weren’t related by blood. I think the fauxmance storyline would have carried this story through on its own without that additional layer of complexity. Given how heavily Davy’s feelings around her dad featured in the beginning, I also thought it was a missed opportunity that we never found out his reaction to Davy and Anna’s relationship. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable read with well developed characters.

4/5 stars

Even though this book was completely different to what I was expecting, I really enjoyed every moment of it. It’s been a long time since a book has made me feel so gushy inside. This is the very definition of a feel-good romance and I’m already craving more. This was my first book from Nan Campbell, but I’m definitely going to pick up her other book soon.

This book took a fun spin on one of my favourite romance tropes, fake dating. Corporate Attorney Davy will do almost anything to get to the next step in her career, even if that means telling a little lie to her boss that she is engaged and a totally family woman. It all gets more complex when the woman who Davy is meant to be engaged to used to be her step-sister years ago but they have long since fallen apart.

The story that follows is fun, full of banter but also such a beautiful family-focused romance. I didn’t think I would be saying that I loved the domesticity and community-building in a romance book, but that’s what made this story so special. Davy and Anna’s relationship was definitely a bit messy and complicated to begin with, but what followed was such a sweet and sexy romance that I completely loved. I really hope more people will read this book, I assure you it is an absolute hit.

I was a little hesitant when I first picked this up to read. Anna and Davy being step sisters who shared a half sister seemed like a dubious plot setup.

But I stuck through it and was rewarded handsomely.

I really enjoyed the familial relationship with Anna’s mother/son/half sister. And the way Davy stepped up to become a reliable member in their group.

Of course, the title was a dead giveaway for what became a delicious simmering slow burn. A marriage of convenience contract with no kissing? Seems hardly doable, but added to the growth of Anna and Davy’s romance and relationship.

Thank you to Bold Strokes and NetGalley for this digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Davy didn’t know too much about how families worked seeing as she was sent to a boarding school from the age of six. Her mother passed and Davy’s father wasn't a father or really didn’t want to be one when he showed repeatedly how little she meant to her dad. When her father met Pam and was planning to marry he brought Davy to meet her and her family.
Pam’s only child was Anna, about the same age as Davy, and when they met a friendship was formed. Anna worked on a school play, in charge of the set’s. Davy started hanging around her so she was working on the sets. It’s not until last night, when Davy and Anna were breaking down on the stage, that they kissed for the first time. Both were looking forward to meeting again at Christmas but Davy’s father didn’t think that was a good idea so the two girls. She didn’t meet up with Anna until Tally’s sixth birthday.
Now as Tally’s starting her senior year at school Davy decides it’s time for her to become the big sister she should have had when Tally was much younger. Anna just didn’t like Davy. Too many misunderstandings along the way. And now Davy had to ask for a favor, nothing too much, just pretend Anna is engaged to Davy.
A nice romance, nice characters , and an interesting plot make for a very enjoyable read.
ARC via NetGalley/Bold Stroke Books

This one was a little hard to get into. Neither of the characters were exactly easy to root for at the beginning, and, there was also other facts (I won't spoil it) that made this novel unconventional.

There was Louis though, Anna's son, who Davy takes to quite fast. All his scenes with, well, everyone, were just perfect.

The story is a fake relationship, Anna needs a better school for her son, Davy needs a family so that she has a chance to make equity/named partner (thank you The Good Wife so I had a clue what was going on with that part of the story). The thing is, though, that there is a lot of hurt in both their pasts, and so, somehow it's also an enemies to lovers book too.

Definitely not a combo I thought I'd read. But, once I got into the book, both tropes very much worked for the book and were well done.

Fake engagement, (mostly one-sided) enemies to lovers, and there’s only one bed! Nan Campbell threads together a few of our favorite tropes, and a lot of heart, to craft a compelling story of second chances.

Davy Dugan and Anna Resnick spent one summer together 15 years ago, at the beginning of their parents' relationship and before their little sister was born. That summer the girls were the best of friends, even if Davy was kind of crushing on her new potential step-sister, but one kiss on the last day of vacation has both girls hoping for more. Only that doesn’t happen, and a fallout results in the women not interacting for years.

When Davy’s father, who has long since checked out of both his children's lives, informs Davy her little sister would rather have a birthday party with her friends than their annual high tea in the city she is crushed under a mountain of guilt. Her remorse for the years she spent not being there for only sister spurns her to reach out to Tally and make amends, including throwing her the best birthday party ever. Too bad it also includes coming face to face with Anna, who hates her for both ignoring her and bailing on their shared sibling.

One giant costume party, a surprise visit from her boss, and a little lie, leaves Davy begging Anna to play the role of fake fiancee. Anna agrees with one major condition, no kissing.

For a book about second chances, both romantic and familial, it is surprisingly light hearted. The animosity with our main characters is cleared up fairly easily, and the slow rebuilding of Davy and Tally’s relationship isn’t heavy. All of the characters in the book are likable, and as the plot grows so do they. Anna and Davy acknowledge their attraction, at least to themselves, from the start and their relationship begins to feel more real even as the clock ticks down to its end. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a low-angst romance, with all the trappings of your favorites romcoms.

This is a slow burn romance with a fake fiancé. This book will have you turning the pages just to see what would happen next. I enjoyed it very much.

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books.

This story, although not entirely original, it's about a fake relationship also second chances, has had some novel aspects that, together with the skill and good work of the author have made it a very interesting story and to which I will give my maximum valuation.

The two women who make up the protagonist couple, come from the same family, since their respective father and mother, married when they were teenagers and have a sister in common, but they have no blood relationship. And they could not be more opposite.

The first interesting thing is their relationship when they were teenagers, it will mark the rest of the story and already creates an interest in knowing the things that happened then. But today the two of them are going to have to relate again and because of a series of misunderstandings, needs and obligations, they must pretend a relationship, with everything that was in the past and was not clarified and with all the differences in their current lives.

What has made this story outstanding for me has been, in addition to its interesting approach, the way the author has developed it, the number of relevant characters she has used for it and the rhythm she has given it. It is also noteworthy that it has comic situations and at the same time also deals with serious issues in an intelligent and subtle way.

For me it has been excellent in all the senses.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️
📝🎨👩🏻‍⚖️🦈🛳

The No Kiss Contract is a beautiful fake engagement story between a workaholic lawyer and a single-parent Artist, who also happen to share a sister, thanks to Davy's father and Anna's mother having a brief relationship fifteen years earlier when the girls first meet, and had a summer together where they got to know each other.

Davy and Anna hadn't seen each other often over the fifteen years, only getting together for the obligatory events that involved their half-sister. Fast forward to the present day, and Tally is turning fourteen and no longer wants to have the annual birthday tea she has with Davy and their father, so Anna meets with Davy to tell her that Tally wants a party, and it's going to be at Davy's house.

Davy is in the process of becoming a named partner at her Law Firm, and suddenly she is in need of a fiancee. Cue the drawn-up contract between Davy and Anna, one where there is no kissing. Anna pretends to be Davy's fiancee, talks her up at law parties, and in exchange Anna and her son, Louis get to stay in her home so Louis can have a better education.

This book was slow-burn, filled with sexual tension and had really wonderful characters. I loved the way Davy and Anna's relationship played out, the instant family vibes with Louis, and the teenage dramatics of Tally. This book was written beautifully, and it had me not wanting to put it down.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bold Stroke Books and Nan Campbell for a copy of the ebook. This review is let voluntarily.

I simply loved The No Kiss Contract by Nan Campbell. The book was a slow burn second chance, fake fiancée romance between Davy and Anna. They knew each other sixteen years ago in high school but drifted apart due to family-related issues. They form an alliance and sign a contract where Anna becomes Davy’s intended for the purposes of a potential partnership advancement at the law firm where she’s employed. In exchange Anna gets to live in a school district suited to her son when they move in with Davy. The contact stipulates no kissing at Anna’s request and she grows to hate that stipulation as she and Davy eventually grow closer.

Anna and Davy exude chemistry which is charged by what they can’t have. The extended family members like Louis and Tally add to the overall story. Read this book and you won’t regret it. 4.5 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The burn was so slow it was like lighting a Yankee Candle jar and watching it go empty. That said, this was a perfectly balanced novel between fake dating, real feelings, family coming back together, and a cute little boy all mixed in. The chemistry between Anna and Davy was very much there and that is all thanks to Nan’s incredible writing. I loved her debut novel and this was a great sophomore one.

Netgalley Review:

I thought this was great! I loved the complicated family and the fauxmance combo, I think it brought some wonderful depth to a tried and true romance book trope. The characters were great and I immediately finished and went back to read the author's debut. 4 stars!

➥ 3 Stars *:･ﾟ✧

Anna didn't kiss her, not her lips, not her cheek, not anywhere. But she did press her own cheek against Davy's neck and nuzzle against her. Then her lips were millimeters from Davy's ear and she murmured, "That was great. We're really selling it."

━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━


Campbell brings to you a fake-dating, childhood friends to lovers, single mother, forced proximity romance! With complicated family lives, Davy (h) and Anna (h) break off their friendship at 17 that had formed because their parents got together, but now at 32 Davy escapes the command of her father and yearns to fix her relationship with her and Anna's half-sister, Tally. Davy is now competing for a higher position in her law firm and instinctively one-ups her colleague, by saying that she is a family-oriented woman, with a fiancee and a son. For practical reasons, Anna agrees to pretend to be Davy's fiancee, and moves in with her.

To highlight the positives, I think it's clear that Campbell has a passion for writing, particularly humour and mother-characters. Although it may not be for everyone, sneakily placed blasphemous sentences make me chuckle.

Davy’s posture sagged now that they were alone at the table. “I’d call her a cunt, but she lacks both warmth and depth.”


I don't know how to measure humour quality but that fully sent me. In terms of characters, I unfortunately didn't feel that they were as fleshed out as I'd have liked for them to have been, for reason's that I'll elaborate on a moment. Despite that, I was impressed with how well Campbell characterised Anna's motherly mannerisms. I've read my fair share of single-parent romances, but I think this one really nailed the small but signature things that most mothers do.

“Hi, you two.” Davy placed the bakery box on the counter and saw Anna sitting in a chair with Louis standing between her knees as she put a comb through his disheveled hair. Two rosy cheeks, flushed from exertion, were lifted by his wide grin.


Just a small thing that I thought was really well done, really authentic. In terms of the lacking characterisation in general for the personalities of the two heroines, I think it unfortunately boils down to the writing.

To be fair, the second half of the book was better at this, but in the first half, there was an imbalance of dialogue and description. Very often I read either a character spewing a whole paragraph of straight dialogue, or just back to back dialogue between the characters, without description of their tone or body language. This made it feel a bit jarring and took away from the emotional pull some of those discussions could have had. Because of this lack of body language and tone description, it felt as though the characters didn't have many defining traits, other than the things we are told they like, and were disappointingly immature for most of the first half of the book.

In the same vein, I felt that some moments lacked build-up. Which could have been accomplished with more carefully written and cushioned dialogue. It felt as though moments were just factually occurring.

I think this goes hand in hand, with another point of mine: that some moments were underutilised. Looking back at the novel in its entirety, Campbell had a very strong trajectory of plotpoints for the development of the characters' relationships. For instance, Davy buying Anna gifts, Davy carrying Louis (Anna's son) to bed, their hotel having one bed, the parties where they had to pretend to be a couple, Davy helping Anna sell her artwork at the fair...etc. These were moments with great potential for vulnerability, development and angst, but I was saddened to see that most of these moments were swept by quickly, without much elaboration or focus at all.

My desire for there to have been more build-up and more focus on these moments of great potential link together, in the sense that a small moment, that had been nicely drawn out and focused on, could have allowed for intimacy and development between the characters.

For example, although the moment where Davy carried Louis to sleep was endearing in itself, I think the moment had potential that went unexplored and unelaborated upon. Considering the atmosphere of nightime calmness and quiet, this was a perfect moment for the characters to exchange a moment of vulnerability. As mentioned, there was little description of tone and body language, and I think that there could have been more done with the moment. Maybe we could have seen Davy tuck him in and brush the hair from his forehead while Anna watched in warm awe. And then, have Anna have her turn in saying goodnight where she would give him a forehead kiss while Davy waited by the door.

I think here, then, it would have been a good moment for Anna to look at Davy with admiration and gratitude, and give her a gentle kiss on the cheek and thank her bashfully. Then, in their close proximity, we could have had a description of the characters noticing the warmth of being close to each other, and maybe even have Davy realise that Anna was cold and place a blanket on her shoulders and tuck her hair behind her ear.

Obviously that was just me daydreaming/brainstorming a little, but I mean to communicate that a moment like that was perfect to facilitate the development of their romance. Along with more body language description and tone description like "she whispered" etc. I think it could have made for a really impactful moment.

Another example is with the one-bed trope, we are only told how they woke up in each other's arms in a flashback memory that Anna has while driving.

Along those lines (sorry, everything is connected), I'd prefer for the growth of their feelings to have been more like this:

1) "Thank you for gifts/help, I appreciate it a lot"
2) "I love spending time with you, you make me feel safe and comfortable"
3) "You're beautiful"
4) "I love you"


Whereas it had actually been a bit more consisting of random moments of sexual attraction in the first half, to huge contemplations of marriage or what it'd be like to live with the person or be really married. This made it feel a bit jilted, in my opinion, and messed with the flow of their developing feelings. I'd have preferred for the characters to have grown fond and grateful of the other, then appreciative of their beauty and attractiveness and only then the consideration of a long term relationship.

I understand it's the romance genre's signature thing to have characters think "is this like a date?" or have them randomly have moments where they're attracted to the other and contemplate the potential of being with them way into the future, but, I think it takes away from the genuine feel of their romance.

Sadly, when the "I love you" did come, I felt it was too soon. The characters said it before having sex or even kissing privately, of their own volition. That's not to say that you cannot love someone without doing those things, but the options for romantic feelings aren't only "zero feelings" and "I love you". Even people who are in the beginning of a relationship with someone don't say I love you right at the beginning, so it was strange to me that, as soon as it was possible for them together at all, it was taken all the way to the intensity of "I love you", rather than the potential to pursue a real relationship first. I would have liked for Davy and Anna to still get romantically entangled while in the remaining duration of their cruise, but I wish they had saved the "I love you" to when they got home and were once again around Louis. I think the domestic bliss they'd have been in then, would have been perfect for them to have a really romantic moment where they agree that their feelings for each other have reached "love" and "forever".

Also, I really enjoyed Davy's growing friendship and bond with Louis. The way she found ways to make him happy with sea-themed activities, and buying a membership to a country-club just so he could swim in the pool. I think it was a great start for their bond, but, I do wish that by the end, we had seen her in a more parental/motherly dynamic with Louis, because it felt like she'd reached more of like an "uncle"-level friendship with him. I want to see her taking Louis to school or making him breakfast - sharing the parenting responsibilities with Anna.

Toward the end, the angst was stronger and I really liked the way Anna supported Davy and vice versa. The characters were visibly more intimate and familiar with each other. But, I would have liked to have found the characters compelling and endearing from the beginning. For the actual fake-dating setup to commence, it took until 35%. This is a long book, which I didn't mind, but that means that 35% is around 100 pages to pull the reader to until we get to the fake-dating plot.

I would have liked an epilogue to be included in the story. It is an option to download it from a link online, but it's one where you have to give your email and sign up for a newsletter to get it.

Although I was quite critical, I hope it was in a way that was constructive and helpful, because I did still have a very pleasant reading experience. I enjoyed this novel, and I look forward to seeing Campbell's progression as an author in the future. Just to rehash, the plot points, the set up, the side characters, and the ideas are really strong, I think now it's just a matter of giving them more depth and elaborating upon certain aspects for the sake of being more emotionally compelling and genuine.

Thank you Nan Campbell and Netgalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━

I really enjoyed the start, from the prologue to catching up to present day, with little crumbs of backstory being dropped. I like the writing style, some lines are amusing and others are illuminating in an off hand way. This is a book I will concentrate on as I think the picture is building up. Going by the title I’ve a pretty good idea where the story is going and a good job has been of setting out why, for at least one of the mains, this would be tempting.
22% in and I’m about to get the popcorn out. The plot is hotting up and I can’t wait!
This is one of those rare books, that when you are not reading it you just want to be reading it. I am struggling to define why. Yes it is well written and well paced with amusing lines. The only thing that slightly bothered me was explained. The characters are believable and although, as is normal for fake romance trope, both believe they are the only one that feels that way, it is not annoyingly done. There are, I think a couple of plot bombs still to be sorted, and with only 20% still to go, I hope they will be. They are. I really enjoyed this book. I’m struggling on star rating. Gut feeling is 4.5, should I round it up to 5? I wanted to get back to it, I liked the mains, it was perfectly paced and I enjoyed the humour. 5 if some secondary characters had maybe a bit more depth but that is me struggling to explain to myself why it’s not a 5, but it is a very strong 4.

Fun and feisty from the get go, this is an enjoyable read. Also there are believable kids, both young and a teenager, which for me is crucial as I hate it when there is age inappropriate dialogue. It feels a bit rushed near the end, but that’s often the case when there seems to be a word limit looming. I think partly it takes so long for them to properly get together, as opposed to pretending, so there isn’t really time to include the real relationship. This is a shame as the melded family story is really interesting and more time on this would have rounded up the whole plot.

The No Kiss Contract is a second chance romance, the story is excellent and well written. It was a page turn from page 1.

Davy and Anna connect as teenagers but fate and family throw them apart.

Move on 14 years later and both need something from each other, a venture which both feel they will gain something, neither take into consideration mutual attraction

This is a slow burn story and I found myself turning each page to find out their fate

Would I recommend: Yes if you want that slow burn but hot final

Davy and Anna knew each other one summer when they were teenagers but family drama that was misunderstanding got in the way. Davy now is attorney who working herself to become partners. Anna is a single mom who trying give her son Louis a good life she supports herself with her art and store. Davy is trying to reconnect to her half sister Tally that she doesn’t get to see much who also happens to be Anna half sister also when Davy wants to throw her sister birthday party as a way to connect. When her boss who happens to be a neighbor thinks Davy and Anna are together she realizes the company values families in order to become partners she convinces Anna to play along but as they continue to pretend it’s start to feel real especially when the supportive characters gently push them into seeing what’s right in from of them. Low on angst with a great slow romance.



I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Loved this story. The main characters and supporting characters were so well written and just made this an even more enjoyable read. The relationship between Davy and Anna was a complex one, because they knew each other as teenagers, but had a falling out due to some family drama between Davy and her father, but they reconnected 15 years later to discuss plans about throwing a birthday party for their step sibling Tally s birthday. When said party is thrown misunderstanding abound and we find Davy and Anna in a fake relationship that could advance Davys career, but nothing really goes as planned and these two start to really fall for each other and hilarious moments start to happen. I loved that this was a slow burn, second chance romance and it was also a second chance at being a real family. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and family, and I really can't wait to see what's next from this author.