This was kick my feet in the air, smile like a crazy person good. This is exactly my cup of tea, fake dating, he falls first, one bed. Check, check, and check. I loved that Aspen (fmc) wasn't annoying, like maybe a little oblivious but I can forgive that because she never treated Luke (mmc) bad. I loved Luke. I think he was written and not off-putting as a guy who has pined over a girl for 2 years could be.
Parts I wasn't sold on was Granny and Ruth's conversations with Aspen, felt a little forced. The ploy twist(s) I saw coming from a mile away but I don't consider that a bad thing. It was an easy and quick read. I would definitely recommend if you like the tropes I listed. It's also super cozy and has (for me) the perfect amount of spice. The spice was done well.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

I loved this book! form the cover to the characters- I mean come on. I am excited to read more from this author and this series. I had seen this book floating around and I had to grab it and read it for myself. this has such a solf and amazing love that will make you feel all of the things. I am so glad that I found this book and I cant wait for more people to read it!

Life is Better with You by Shannon Paige is a delightful, heartwarming, and slightly spicy contemporary romance that takes readers on a journey from a fake date to a family wedding at Christmas to an unexpected love story between two coworkers, Aspen and Luke.

The characters are the true stars of this book. Aspen, with her commitment issues stemming from past experiences, is a relatable and endearing protagonist. Luke, the cinnamon roll, is the ultimate good guy with unrequited feelings for Aspen. The dynamics between them, from friends to lovers, are beautifully explored, and the gradual realization of their true feelings adds depth to the narrative. The slow-burn romance is praised for its delicious pace, and the sizzling moments are highlighted as worth the wait.
The supporting characters, including Granny Mae, Luke's family, and Aspen's friends, contribute to the warmth and charm of the story. Granny Mae, in particular, stands out with her sassy and quirky personality, offering both comedic relief and heartfelt wisdom.

There are diverse tropes present in the book, such as fake relationship, friends-to-lovers, and one bed, creating an engaging and enjoyable reading experience. The facial birthmark representation is just chef kiss!

Thank you to Netgalley and Shannon Paige for the ARC!

Luke makes me want to root for the cinnamon roll character.

One of the things the author did very well was there is a huge cast of characters here and no one felt like they got lost or left out. You met everyone and knew who they were and their value in the relationships of the MC's of this book.

I love how this had a perfect HEA.

The perfect blend of a situation where they could have turmoil in their relationship but still find that sweet spot of love was done very well.

The pace was also done well. The book read easy with moments where you laughed and held your breath.

A great romance.

I received a digital copy from NetGalley and BooksGoSocial in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever read a "bestseller" and wondered what the fuss was all about? Well, after reading this novel, I'm wondering why more people aren't reading it. The writing was as good or better than several current big-name authors that I could mention. The story was everything you could want in a fake-dating, co-workers/friends-to-lovers, Christmas with the family, only one bed, contemporary romance. Familiar tropes sometimes dipped into the cliche category. But overall, the fake-dating-to-real-dating relationship between Aspen and Luke was sweet. I loved that Luke was so respectful of Aspen and kept his unrequited feelings to himself until the time was right. And I loved that Aspen realized she had never been around a supportive family group and recognized that she kind of needed the love they were offering her.

I am happily recommending this book to anyone looking for an enjoyable romance to get lost in this holiday season. And I really hope more readers become aware of this novel.

(I refuse to summarize the plot in reviews. If you're reading this, you probably have access to the synopsis.)

Book Review 📚
Life Is Better With You by Shannon Paige - 4.5/5 ⭐

It was incredibly hard not to love everything single aspect of this book, from tropes to plot and characters to development. A beautiful, well written Christmas story! Not to mention the fake dating trope which we all swoon for.

Aspen and Luke are awesome characters, I fell in love with Aspen so quickly and it was hard to have any sort of dislike towards either Aspen or Luke. As the character development continued, they both blossomed in their relationship.

The writing from Paige was fantastic after having some serious hate towards certain characters and their characteristics. I had so much love towards Aspen and really wasn't hard connecting with her and the fear of people leaving her.

The whole Christmas vibe really was the cherry on top! Paige is top tier that's for sure. Thank you to NetGalley and Books go social for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

wanna start by says i love faking dating, it’s one of if not my favorite trope ever! Aspen & Luke we’re cute at some parts but i feel it was really hard to connect to their characters individually as well as together.

since i couldn’t connect to their characters or anything else happening in the story i found my self skimming a lot of times and struggling to finish the book.

overall i think this book has potential. it just didn’t execute it the way i wanted it to

Right off the bat, I’m in. Maybe it’s because I’ve said very similar things to “Did you know gargoyle erotica is a thing?” to my own Warhammer/tech whiz husband on more than a few occasions.

I had a really great time in this book. They were so sweet together and really believable as a couple. I loved his family (except for the fact that everyone loves his cheating ex-fiancée so much?? Wtf is up with that??) and despite this book involving fake dating, Christmas, and a wedding, nothing felt too cheesy or Hallmark movie. 4.75 stars from me (again, because why is everyone ok with his ex??)!

The story of Aspen and Luke. A fake dating Christmas story. Luke is moving out of town, needing to leave work and his crush on Aspen behind. But will fake dating over Christmas lead to more for them? A great read.

Y'all, the last third of this book is so, so good. It's honestly what makes the story. I recognize it's perhaps odd to start a review this, but I think that's important to know about the reading experience. Aspen and Luke are co-workers, and Luke is in love with Aspen. As he prepares to transfer to another location for their company, he also needs a date for a family wedding. So, he asks Aspen to pretend to be his girlfriend, and she agrees. And as you might infer, there are definitely real feelings in the mix that need to be worked there, and doing that at your childhood home with your family around and a big move on the way creates quite the plot. At times, this was a slow burn romance, but once it started going, it was just such a delight of a read that also packed quite a lot of feels. I will also say that Luke's grandma is just a wonderful character, and I especially loved what she added to the story. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this recent (October 2023) release!

Thank you NetGalley for this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book had me constantly smiling while reading! In this book we meet Aspen and Luke. Aspen is used to people leaving her. She has an absent dad, an unreliable mom and a list of exes that weren't with her for the right reasons. Luke is her co-worker and friend. He has had a crush on her since he met her.

I love the authenticity of the characters. They were honest and loved each other for who they were. This book also had all of my favorite troupes! It had friends to lovers, fake dating, he falls first and one bed to name a few.

I so connected with Aspen and not always feeling like enough for others. Luke loved her and was there for her. He showed her she was worth it. I loved the family dynamic and how Luke's family embraced Aspen.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by Shannon Paige.

3.5ish?

This friends to lovers story follows Aspen and Luke who are colleagues at a Venmo-esque company. Luke has been half in love with Aspen for a few years now and is about to transfer out of state to hopefully help him move on. Aspen has some severe abandonment issues and has a pattern of dating guys she’s just not that into. When Aspen overhears Luke lie about her being his girlfriend, and her apartment is being fumigated for the holidays, Aspen agrees to be his fake wedding date.

This was fine, I struggled a lot with getting into the story line for several reasons though. I typically like fake-dating and friends to lovers but I don’t think this worked well for me.

There was a lot about Luke’s family that I didn’t love and I didn’t particularly like Aspen herself. Luke had been cheated on my his ex-fiancé 5ish years prior. That ex-fiancé is still great friends with his family - she’s the maid of honor to his sister’s wedding and his family members would push him to get back together with her! The only family member that hated her was Granny!
Aspen’s intrapersonal conflict is more understandable but her personality just kinda bugged me. I think my biggest frustration was actually her third-act bit of family drama. It felt like it came out of no where and that didn’t fit with the ideas we were forming throughout Aspen/Luke time.

Tiny weird things: the hot tub foreplay with his family there too??? weirdly the wedding timeline bugged me. Aspen gets invited as a bridesmaid after just meeting his family, there’s a bridal party and bachelorette on the same day?

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of Life is Better with You.

I always love to read the fake dating trope. Like and Aspen were so sweet and watching their love story unfold was really fun. I enjoyed his family being around and really helping to influence everything as well.

I would recommend this book!

Where can one find herself a Luke>? That man was such a great man. He was thoughtful, funny, and sexy in a subtle way. He's had feelings for our girl Aspen for 2 years now and never told her. Since he thinks she'll never give him a chance, he takes a promotion that involves leaving. He knows if he's to get over her he really needs to leave. But life has other things planned for him and with a bit of luck, she agrees to spend Christmas with him and his family. He's finally given a chance to show her just how much she means to him as well as how good they can be together.

Aspen has not had a great role model whose relationships work. She picks men who are not right for her. She never saw Luke as anything more than a great friend. But spending time with him outside of work shows her another side of him that she never saw before. And suddenly there are feelings she never thought she'll have. But her past has a grip on her and if she wants HEA with Luke, she needs to learn to get over it before she can give herself away completely to Luke.

From start to finish you can't help but to root for Luke and his shot at love. At the beginning I wasn't so sure if Aspen is a good choice for him, but the more I read about them the more they made sense. I highly recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a funny, with a dash of drama kinda book.

This book was a delight. It was a quick read with so many of my favorite tropes. Fake dating, friends to lovers, found family, one bed.

Shannon Paige hit it out of the park with Life is Better With You. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, nor could I get enough of Luke and Aspen.
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Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Life is Better with You.” I couldn’t put it down; it’s a sweet, funny, and heartfelt story. This book masterfully combines the fake-dating and found family tropes. Aspen’s background, with a dysfunctional family and a toxic relationship with her mom, adds depth to the story, while Luke’s connection to his big, loving, but imperfect family is endearing. This book emphasizes the importance of appreciating life’s simple pleasures, valuing love, and human connections. This book makes you want to cherish your loved ones and relish life’s sweet moments. It’s a comforting and reassuring read that reminds us of what truly matters.

Context:
Aspen and Luke’s close coworker relationship takes an intriguing turn when Luke, who has been harboring a crush for two years since their first meeting, fabricates a romantic connection with Aspen to appease his family’s pestering about bringing him not having a girlfriend for so long and a plus one to his sister’s wedding. Aspen overhears the plan but eventually agrees to fake date Luke for the ten days they spend with his family to help him out. The result is a heartwarming and entertaining journey that unfolds as their fake romance begins.

I knew I was going to like this book from the first page.

Found family is one of my favorite tropes. Add in fake dating, and we've got a real winner.

This book got me right in the feels. I could relate to Aspen on many levels, and it just hit home for me.

I thought this book was funny, sweet, romantic, and had just the right amount of spice.

Luke was so sweet, considerate, and caring. You could feel how much he loved Aspen from the beginning. I really liked Aspen too. Her back and forth with her feelings was understandable. She didn't grow up feeling valued, and it's hard to trust what's real when you've never known it.

As much as I loved Luke and Aspen, let's be honest, Granny was the best character in the book. Her words of wisdom were so good. And her no-nonsense attitude, loved it.

I look forward to reading Charlie's book when it comes out next year.

This was an incredibly sweet read. I appreciated how realistically the characters were written, and I'm such a sucker for the trope where one of them pines after the other in silence for years. I think that the fake dating trope was well done in this book! It's a light-hearted, quick read, and it's perfect for the holidays.

Luke, as described in the plot summary, really was a cinnamon roll in human form. He truly did anything to make sure that Aspen was happy, supported her goals, never pressured her into doing something she didn't want to. He was so sweet, and gave real Jim from The Office vibes, which was a huge bonus for me. Aspen dealt with so much in the past, and as a result she was pretty closed off from Luke emotionally, but I loved seeing her open up to him after some time. I loved the dynamic between these two.

This was such a beautiful and enjoyable read. I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre!!! Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for access to this book.

I loved this book so much! I was hooked from the very beginning with both Aspen and Luke’s personalities and it kept growing throughout the book. I never found myself with a full moment or even predicting the next move! It was such a sweet romance about coworkers, fake dating during the holidays, and true love. Can’t wait to read more from Shannon!