The main characters are Rayne and Maggie. Rayne has been dumped by her lover because she is seen as boring and out of shape. She takes a long look at her life and see that she needs a change in her and around her. She goes to the gym and gets paired with a personal trainer, Maggie, to help her achieve her goals.
Maggie has her own personal demons to deal with. She has done nothing but work since her partner passed away several years ago. Now she is spending more time with Rayne at the gym and outside of the gym. Both are trying to deny the growing feelings between them.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Omg.....this was one of the most aggravating stories I have ever read.
Two women....grown women...acting like...I don't know...insecure teenagers maybe. The entire story is about should they or should they not date each other. Omg, just date already!! Nooo, they had to analyze and talk, talk, talk about it. Sooo boring. I kept reading cause I just knew something was going to happen. But no, it just ended...when they both decided they were adults I guess.
Sorry I can not recommend it.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have so many things to say, but not all positive. To begin, I wonder who proof-read the book or was there a proofreader. Or an editor. It isn’t just the several formatting errors that I found, but things that didn’t seem consistent to match with earlier scenes. Timeline transitions were not smooth. As for the characters, there was so much head-hopping. The pendulum swinging narrative made it feel that it was just to add to the word count. Much of the narrative felt contradictory to the characters and story line. I never give spoilers, so I won’t add anything to sway your opinion. This is just my view.
The positive is the idea for the story sounded like an interesting read. But for me, that didn’t come to fruition. It could be entirely different for you. Don’t let my experience make the decision for you. Just sayin’.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing this book for my review consideration—opinions here are mine and mine alone.

Rayne is a scientist who’s girlfriend unexpectedly leaves her. She joins a gym to help improve her self confidence and meets Maggie (a personal trainer). This was a sweet, slow burn romance as they have opposite perspectives about relationships.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

It’s been eight years since Maggie Flanders lost her partner, Eve and since that time she has thrown herself into saving to open her own wellness center. For now she works as a personal trainer, helping women reach their goals. While she would like to have a relationship she was scared that falling in love will eventually find herself alone again. So she thought the best thing to do is keep doing her one night stands and leave relationships for anyone but her.
Rayne Thomas is dealing with her own hurt after her girlfriend ended their relationship, telling Rayne she wasn’t enough. Enough of what she didn't know but she decided she can’t lose herself in her work. The good thing about her career choice is it fits well with her introverted personality. Going to the gym to get back into shape was all she was after but all bets are off after she meets Maggie.
A very nice romance with two well developed characters along with a fun, fast plot. Very nice read.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books

Attraction at first sight. Maybe? Rayne Thomas, researcher/scientist, heart-broken after a break-up. Maggie Flanders, physical trainer, heart-broken after her partner dies. Both women work very hard at their jobs and do not necessary have time for a relationship. Well, hook-ups for Maggie and recovery for Rayne. In order to deal, recover and move forward, Rayne decides to spend time on herself by going to the gym. While there, she not only gets help with her physical appearance but her mental/emotional self as well. There was so much back and forth and repetitiveness that I wanted to skip some pages. I did not because I thought I might miss something. In general, I did not. I also did not like the ending. It left me hanging and wanting a better sense of closure. A what happened next....would have been good.

Can you find love after grieving? What about after a breakup leaves you insecure and doubting everything? A sweet tale of finding love and improving yourself.

I received an advance copy from Netgalley for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Rayne gets dumped unceremoniously after her selfish girlfriend cheats on her and leaves her doubting everything about herself. As a scientist she is breaking ground but as a person she is lost. No more. Rayne decides to take matters into her own hands and sign up to a gym to get stronger inside and out. Trainer Maggie takes a personal interest in her and before long Rayne feels improvements in her body and starts believing in herself again. The developing friendship with Maggie helps on both counts, or is it more?

Maggie has spent the last eight years grieving the sudden death of her girlfriend Eve. She has thrown herself into getting fit and helping others to achieve the best they can. When new member Rayne enters the gym and starts training with her, Maggie can’t help but be drawn to her both physically and emotionally. Is she ready to leave her habit of one night stands and open up again to explore what might be between them?

The bones of this story are good. Both main characters have suffered trauma in their own way and struggle to get the pieces of their life back together. It’s great to get an in depth look into their inner worlds and see how they both work through their issues in order to let their connection flourish.

For me, the story crept along at a snails pace and not a lot happens besides the inner turmoil of both Maggie and Rayne. While I believe their connection is real and the physical aspect is hot, I would have loved to see more happen. That being said, the ending came too soon. As a reader I wanted to read more about their evolvement as a couple.

This story contains a lot of human emotions that will be familiar to a lot of readers. Therefore it’s worthy of your time.

This book was a classic friends to lover featuring a scientist and personal trainor. It was a cute story that had lots of good moments but overall I struggled to get into the story. There where parts of the book it was hard to decipher who's perspective we were reading from until multiple sentences in. This was an okay book just not for me.

Received an ARC from NetGalley.

Rayne Thomas is a scientist who enjoys her work and is good at writing projects that will get grant money. Her personal life is more of a mess. She was in a relationship and is shocked when her girlfriend walks out looking for greener pastures. Wanting to start feeling more confident about herself and her appearance she joins a gym and meets Maggie, a personal trainer. That is all a good set up but it moves along so very, very slowly. Yes, it is a slow burn, but it takes forever to decide if they can go on a date, or kiss. Even an explicit dream leads nowhere. There are ways to make the will they, won't they, enticing or fun but it went on too long covering the same ground. At the 60 percent point Rayne sees her ex again and what could have been a powerful moment of I survived your leaving and am looking and feeling better is diminished because she pulls a petty prank. It honestly made me lose whatever interest I had in Rayne as a character. Maggie for her part is getting over the unexpended death of her partner eight years previously and hasn’t been in relationships since. Her dream is to open her own wellness center.

The books I’ve previously read by the author have been four stars or better but this one didn’t grip me or hold my attention. Thank you to Bold Strokes Books for the ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving an honest review. (2.5 Stars)

This is a story about Rayne who’s a research scientist and has just broken up with her very selfish girlfriend. Rayne has added a few pounds during her last relationship and decided she needs to get back in shape. So she joins a local gym. Maggie is a fitness trainer working at this same gym She is still hurting over her old girlfriend dying at Avery young age. Maggie never wants to fall in love again so she’s always having one night stands and remaining unattached.

Rayne beck d Maggie’s client and they soon form a close friendship. Each begins to start having romantic feelings for the other. Rayne begins to fantasize about having sex with Maggie. But….both of them are constantly what-iffing their future together. They don’t communicate and are constantly in a push-pull situation.

I liked both characters especially Maggie. The constant worrying through the whole second half of the book drove me crazy.

ARC received from Net Galley for an honest and voluntary review.

Great characters,
Great interactions,
Very relatable. Overall, an enjoyable read.

Thank You NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC and my review is voluntary.

Rayne is a scientist who trying to get funding she thought her and her girlfriend was good until Heather tells her she lets herself go and isn’t fun anymore. Maggie is a gym trainer who wants to open up her own gym but lacks funds and investors she lets her friends thinks she player instead that she still mourning the women she loves for eight years. They meet and their is a attraction but both don’t want to ruin the friendship they are building this was a good read a slow build romance that give each character a chance to go after what they want.

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

It was difficult for me to finish this book, mainly because of the inconsistency of its characters. Rayne is a scientist who is trying to get funding for her projects, I don't know how old she is but she looks like she's in her twenties, and in matters of love she has been a little mistreated by her partners, although it seems like she's only had one, I'm not sure about that. because the book doesn't make it clear. But when she meets Maggie, the instructor at the gym that Rayne has joined to, among other things, increase her self-esteem, although she was clear about possible romantic relationships, Maggie begins to make her doubt. Maggie, for her part, tragically lost her partner, although what seems like a great loss of a life partner in a stable relationship is not the case, and that bothered me a little, because the story was going one way and the reality had been another.

And the development of the story has been too repetitive, they hesitate too much and always revolve around the same theme, there are time jumps in the story that have not been coherent. In short, confusing, and lacking consistency.

I really love this author so I was excited to read this book! I loved the characters and their interactions with each other. It was so real and relatable. I definitely recommend this book!

I wanted to like this one a lot, the plot summary seemed right up my alley. However, sadly at around 50 pages in, I did not end up finishing this one. I didn't quite like the way that the ex-girlfriend was so almost cartoonishly awful, and how someone like our MC could be with someone like that for so long just because the sex was good. As well, after little to no interaction, Maggie seemed so interested in being with Rayne and having something with her, when that supposedly isn't something she ever does. I also don't like that we didn't get to see the dinner scene that Maggie invited Rayne to, that could have been a good opportunity to show why Maggie is suddenly so interested in Rayne, but instead we just know that they had dinner and that's it. I can't speak to the rest of the book, it might be wonderful but the part that I did read sadly just didn't work for me.

2.5. Rayne, a scientist, gets dump and decides to work on herself post breakup. She hires Maggie, a personal trainer to help her reach her goals. This is a slow burn, kind of friends to lovers story. There is a lot of back and forth and trauma they both must work through. I did not find the characters to be memorable, especially Maggie. Many times it was mentioned she was insecure but, there was really no background provided on why. At about 75% into the story, I was extremely bored and ready for the story to be over!

This was an extremely slow burn romance between gym trainer, Maggie, and research scientist, Rayne. They meet at the gym after Rayne is dumped by her girlfriend, Heather, and Rayne decides that she needs to lose a few pounds and get back in shape. Maggie lost the love of her life, Eve, eight years prior and now only has one night stands.

The book and their relationship was very slow to develop and in parts seemed all over the place. After they finally slept together a silly argument ensued a few days later and with the ending I wasn’t fully convinced that they would stay together for long. The story also left unresolved pieces like Maggie’s grant amongst other things. 3 stars

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

This was an interesting read by Roman. I've read a couple of her other books and this one seemed different, but I can't put my finger on why.

Rayne Thomas is a scientist and used to doing things her way until she is dumped in one of the worst ways and isn't advancing professionally like she hoped. She decides to make a change and go to the gym to get back in shape and build confidence.

Maggie Flanders is the personal trainer who is a player even if she's up front about it. It's easier that way as she doesn't want anything more after her partner died.

They become friends and it's a very, very slow development into their relationship with all the baggage the two of them have. There's a spark, but neither of them think the other feels that way nor do they want to risk getting hurt again. I enjoyed the slow buildup between them and when they finally admit their feelings, it was about time.

My only con was the ending, it felt rushed and didn't really get to see them in a relationship. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's a slowly developing romance.
Both MCs' lives have suffered major setbacks.
It's about fraud and also about loss. Therefore, both are cautious about new and different romantic partners.
Rayne has just been let down and betrayed in the worst possible way and makes the decision to do something good for herself.
She has definitely let herself go and wants to change that. At the gym she meets the fitness goddess Maggie, who is super nice and extremely sexy and athletic. Way out of Rayne's league, of course!
Maggie has only been interested in one night stands and superficial dates for years and that seems to be okay.
Until she meets a wonderful woman in her gym, who seems determined, sweet and simply good person.
A wonderful friendship forms all by itself and the wishes for more appear more often.

I wish there had been a little more action between the two of them.
It was just a little too slow for me. At 80%, all that happend was two kisses and possible promises, I was a little disappointed.
Especially since I'm used to different books from Renee Roman.
However, if you like extremely slow-burn romance, you will really like it. Then the End was a bit rushed in my opinion...

Thanks to Bold Stroke Books and Renee Roman for the ARC.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

oh my you have to feel for rayne, she has the girl of her dreams until she was dumped very cold heartedly and with her self esteem plummeting she starts to do an about face

starting with the gym, which doesnt help with all the lycra clad bodies and the hot personal trainer maggie

maggies sees rayne and decides to help motivate her but is there a spark.... maggie for a few years has been a player.... shes a one and done sort of person and has kept people at a distance

as maggie and rayne start to get to know each other, they want more than friendship but dont want to lose that friendship either with anything else

its a tightrope walk between them... hopefully things will sort themselves out.....

a slow burner of a read and i had my fingers crossed for rayne ....