I did not realize this was going to be insta-love, which is not something I gravitate towards. That trope plus the story lacking "something" meant I struggled to finish.

LOVED this one! ! I loved the relationship between Luke and Aspen! The tropes for this book are fantastic: fake date for a Christmas wedding?!? Doesn’t get much better than that! This is a GREAT book and I’m so glad to have discovered Shannon Paige!

Ich weiß ehrlich gesagt nicht, wie ich dieses Buch bewerten soll, da ich es aufgrund relativ kurzer Ausleihdauer (ohne Verlängerung) nicht lesen konnte.

I had to DNF this one I’m so sorry. I struggled to get into it and felt it really lacked something I just couldn’t get into it.
But I appreciate the arc in exchange for an honest review

I adored the way this book made me feel. If anyone needs a book where they want to be grinning and kicking their feet while getting hot and bothered in the spicy scenes then this book is definitely for you.

Life is Better with You is the first book in the You series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Luke and Aspen are best friends (at work). He’s always had a crush on her, but she has abandonment issues and doesn’t want a commitment-type of guy. When he needs a fake date for a family wedding during Christmas, he asks Aspen, and she says yes.

I liked that Aspen was “different” as she had a birthmark on her face. She showed her strength in getting past all the bullying and teasing and not letting other peoples’ words get to her. Though she did still have her vulnerable moments because of it.

Luke was so sweet with Aspen. And he really could not hide his feelings, especially since they were sharing one bed.

I didn’t like Luke’s family. Yes, they were nice and welcoming to Aspen. But, they also really welcomed Luke’s ex (who had cheated on him). And when she kept coming around and trying to get Luke back, none of them pushed her away, even though they knew he loved Aspen.

Granny was probably the best part of the story. She didn’t take any of Luke’s ex’s bullsh*t, and she was great with Aspen.

Aspen did get some healing from her abandonment issues. But that whole thing with her family kind of came out of nowhere, and she forgave pretty easily, which didn’t make sense.

Anyway, this was a cute and fun read. It had some realness to it, and it was a little emotional. But overall, it wasn’t bad.

3.5ish?
Thank you to Netgalley for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I love a friends to lovers, especially a dude falls first/has always had a torch for her. So this was right up my alley. The main guy was a cute character, his family was a little over invested for me, and I liked how he treated the female lead. But I didn’t love the female lead as a person. Like her personality annoyed me a little bit? The author wrote beautifully and the story progressed in some cute moments but it was hard for me to get into because I didn’t love the female lead.

She reminded me of the coworker who tells people too much about their dating lives but then gets annoyed everyone is starting drama asking about it. But like, you started it? Lol. Also the third act conflict seemed a little forced to me? But just circling back, I think at that point I was annoyed with the female lead and so the conflict and how she handled it just kinda confirmation bias-ed (can that be a verb?) my feelings about her.

But I suuuuper appreciate netgalley and the opportunity for the arc of this story

It was a nice holiday read. Aspen was quite quirky, but I liked it. Luke was so overlooked by her, meanwhile he was literally perfect. And when they were together the air was sizzling with chemistry. I liked the family gathering for the holidays at Luke’s parents. It was so cozy and inviting and fun. Aspen’s family situation was kind of sad, but I was glad things were looking up by the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of the book.

While I love a good fake dating trope, I had a hard time connecting with Aspen and Luke in Life is Better with You. They are fun and cute characters but it was a little hard to get past the insta love and the push back. I do think that Shannon Paige is an excellent writer and her description creates an intriguing read.

Oh man I had FUN reading this book. Friends (coworkers) to lovers, forced proximity, winter cabin/cozy vibes, cute and quirky characters… what more could I have wanted?! Go into this blind and you’ll have a great time.
Shannon Paige is a new author to me and she is definitely an auto-buy author from now on.
4.5/5 ⭐️

Insta-love is a trope I don't enjoy really... I mean it either works or it doesn't and it did not work for me at all in this book. I couldn't get into the storyline.

I don't really like the insta-love stories and had to skim the last 20% of the book, starting with the Wedding Reception. When a person says they do not have feelings about somebody else and shows that they don't, you should believe them, before jumping into conclusions.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Overall rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️out of 5

I ADORE this book. The perfect he falls first and she falls last! I love the dynamic of Aspen and Luke as friends but it’s ten times better when they fall further together. I could honestly not put this book down and I was sad that it ended!



Spicy rating
🌶️🌶️out of 5

Giving it 2 spice out of 5. There is definitely some spice in this book but it’s the type that gets you in all the feels. The emotions behind it made me swoon.




All opinions shared of are an expression of my own thoughts.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

I loved this one. It is a heartwarming love story with beautiful characters full of family and love. I really enjoyed reading it
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

Office besties Luke and Aspen - he fell first and fell HARD, straight into the friend zone. For the last couple years, he's been pining and she has no idea! He had told his parents he was seeing a girl from work (Aspen), mom invites her for christmas and his sisters wedding. Aspen just so happens to overhear part of this phone conversation and you just can't help but be embarrassed for Luke (he really is such a cinnamon roll!) Eventually Aspen is convinced (party by not having anywhere to go) to be Luke's fake GF, keep his meddling family from trying to set him up and keep his sister's MOH (and his ex) away from him. Of course once they get to his family's house, there's one bed. There's faking feelings (that whoa, might actually be real) and let me tell you watching their friendship grow into more over the course of them being there, watching Aspen open up about past hurt and why she wasn't spending the holiday with her mom, and watching Luke show her how much she means to him just made me melt into the feels. This was such a fun sweet story, a little bit of spice, and a great friend group and I cannot wait foe the rest if the series!!!


Thank you Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC in exchange for my review!

This book was so heartwarming and had me laughing from page 1. Aspen was hilarious and Luke was so sweet, the way he felt about Aspen from the beginning was adorable. And his friendship with Kai was absolute friendship goals. I cannot stop loving this book and I would devour anything else Shannon Paige writes. Her lyrical writing was so captivating, I couldn't stop reading, even when I probably should have.... but that just shows how much I loved it. And seeing representation with someone with a birthmark was amazing and inspirational.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was a perfect read to start off the holiday month. This book was such a cute and easy read. I loved the relationship that developed between Luke & Aspen. This book had romance, spice, and a couple of lessons on self-love. I love that the author wrote both characters to be relatable. I think that the fake dating trope was written very well in this book.

Over all this was a great read, and I can’t wait to discover more of Shannon Paige books.

I don't really like the insta-love stories and had to skim the last 20% of the book, starting with the Wedding Reception. When a person says they do not have feelings about somebody else and shows that they don't, you should believe them, before jumping into conclusions.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Gorgeous setting, and we love a woman in STEM! I really loved Luke as a complete golden retriever MMC. The symbolic mentions of Aspen's name and metaphors for her strength added interesting plot development. Overall, I wish there was a little more of the unexpected in this novel? Parts felt expected or predictable (ex his terrible ex,, their misunderstandings). There is representation of substance abuse (FMCs mom, off page), which felt authentic.

This book was so cute, you guys! I stumbled upon it by chance on NetGalley and decided to get it since it was marked as Read Now and I don’t regret that decision one bit! Aspen and Luke’s story was such a sweet one I couldn’t stop swooning over them! Equally as sweet, it was emotional. And the pining in this one? Yeah, there’s lots of it in the highest form! It’s everything endearing! This is friends to lovers, workplace romance, fake dating, one bed and yeah there’s spice preceded by loads of tension! Go read it y’all! It’s already out!