3.5⭐️

Not bad! I enjoyed reading this!

No Romeo is a billionaire romance where you will just absolutely adore the Main Girl’s quick wit and charm, while simultaneously hate/loving the Main Guy’s gray morals. There is forced proximity, a unique meet cute, plenty of banter and certainly some chili peppers, 🌶️ I mean, assume it by the cover LOL.

There was plenty of chemistry and you find yourself rooting for justice for Eve, our main girl after she found herself amidst a scandal mid-wedding *gasp*. Just KNOW that with a guy like Oliver who is not quite bad, but not quite good? Who is also a big rival against the ex-fiancé?? Why, this is just the perfect combination for s**t hit the fan.

Hopefully our girl doesn’t get caught in the crossfire.

This is my first book from Donna Alam and I might find myself reading more from her in the future!

E-ARC received from netgalley and montlake. Thank you!

This book started off strong. I loved the jilted groom scene. I was cheering when Evie confronted her cheating fiancé with his scandalous texts. And while I felt she was righteous in her disdain towards “rich people”, her diatribe became repetitive. What I also felt troublesome about her character was her easy acceptance of the richesse Oliver bestowed upon her. Rings, tiaras, opulent dinners … The snarky dialogues were fun to read in the beginning but, maybe because of the snark, I didn’t feel the love emotions between Eve and Oliver. The sexy times were steamy but some of the love language got a little cheesy for me. I really enjoyed the secondary characters namely Fin, Matt and Yara.

I enjoyed the tropes in this romance, especially the opening scene. We're introduced to Eve at the altar and she exposes her fiance for the cheating prick that he is. As the runaway bride desperately tries to find an escape, she ends up in the lap of Oliver. He happens to be a billionaire and also the rival of her ex-fiance.

A one night stand leads to the potential for revenge and blackmail in order for Eve to keep her visa.

This romance was enjoyable. The chemistry and spice were fire. I feel like even those who don't like smut would enjoy this since a lot of the spicy scenes ended up being closed door or not too graphic. A lot of plot in this book and it felt like it dragged on, could have been much shorter.

Some of the twists fell flat for me and didn't hit as hard as I was hoping. I didn't enjoy Oliver's character, especially in the beginning. He had some redeeming qualities towards the end but kind of dug himself in a hole at times. Some of the times Eve become upset bothered me and I didn't see the point in her "escape" towards the end after all the effort she put into getting her visa.

And speaking of visa, the scene at the very end was hilarious but that whole meeting did not sound realistic at all!

So there were a lot of funny moments in the book, but also some that didn't land. I was left with some questions or wondering where certain characters were, like Riley.

But overall this was a cute romance and I loved the tropes.

Tropes: Runaway bride, forced proximity, fake relationship, ex's rival, hate to love you, billionaire, and blackmail
About: A runaway bride falls into the lap of her cheating fiance's business rival. Oliver needs revenge. Evie needs a new way to get her visa. Falling in love with a billionaire can be difficult while he's blackmailing you. But not impossible.
The side characters are built into this book in a wonderful way that supports the plot but makes you want to know their stories too. I am assuming (I hope not incorrectly) that Oliver’s business partners/friends Matt and Fin will have follow-up stories in this series, but I would also like to see what happens with Nara and future cameos by Nora would be a delight.

I loved this book. It's the first book i've read by this author and I don't regret it.

Evie is a fierce, kind heated animal vet who has a rough start to the book with cheating fiancé and a very dramatic wedding day. She, literally, falls into the lap of Oliver and sparks fly.

Add in the antics of Mr Bojangles and the book version of Longleat safari park and you get brilliant turns of phrase like 'Breasties before testes'

No Romeo is the first book in a new series. Oliver and Evie meet by chance and as it turns out they both need each other to achieve more than just revenge! Oliver is quickly attracted to Evie and vice versa. One hot night is all Evie needs but Oliver decides that wasn’t enough.

After the events that transpired at what was supposed to be her wedding ceremony Eve’s only concern is escape and chance, or maybe fate, leads her to Oliver. She now finds herself in a bit of a situation as she has become a media sensation but her best chance to stay in the country is to live with Oliver.

Oliver is a successful business who regrets that Eve chose him to rescue her until he realizes who she was about to marry. With that information he comes up with an arrangement where she will help him best her ex-fiancé and he will help her stay in the country, what could possibly go wrong?

The conversations between them were humorous and even though Oliver may come across as cold and ruthless his actions towards Eve don’t reflect it. I enjoyed seeing the relationship unfold between them and the changes they brought into each others lives.

The first chapter is gold and had me hooked. I don’t know if I would be able to do what Evie did but the humiliation factor for Mitch was chefs kiss. Pity the bits of paper weren’t rocks like Evie wished, but assault charges aren’t great when you want revenge.
From the fire into the frying pan, Evie quite literally, jumps into the arms of a stranger running away from her wedding. Said stranger just happens to be her ex groom’s nemesis. From there shenanigans and ultimatums ensue. Oliver is morally grey, my favourite type of MMC, and blackmails Evie into a fake relationship.
I did like this book, but I found some of the banter especially in the hotel scene at the beginning a little cringey. It was also too long for me and dragged slightly in the middle.

3.5 stars rounded to 4

Flirty, lusty and long🤔

The author certainly knows how to bring on the heat in this romance set in England. The romance revolves around a gal who has trust issues and the man who fortuitously shows up to whisk her away from the aborted wedding she's just made a social media sensation. I just found the story, with lots of innuendo, steam and dialogue, awfully long. I would have been much happier with less.

Eve, the female lead, is portrayed, by her friends and herself, as a lovable do-gooder who has a bias against the wealthy. Yet, when her lot in life changes, it seemed to me she was pretty content living a pampered lifestyle(?). She also takes joy from putting her man in uncomfortable situations and making him work hard for her respect. I was not all that taken with her way of handling things.

Her rejection of Mitchell, her groom at the start of the book, was a good beginning but then things slowed down once she teamed up with wealthy and revenge-driven male lead Oliver. He sounds yummy if a bit too secretive, but a definite improvement on Mitchell and the way his actions and attitude change the more time they spend together made him increasingly sympathetic. But their scenes and her standoffish distrust lasted too long, the story lagged in the middle and it took some effort to make it to the book's end.

Thanks to Montlake and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

No Romeo by Donna Alam was a great romance novel.
I loved every moment of this book, especially the amazing characters.
From the very first chapter I was hooked. Every moment of this book is wonderfully scandalous, hear-gripping and heartwarming. This book was amazing. I literally couldn't put it down

Rating: 4⭐
Spice: 2.5 🌶️

Donna sure knows how to draw her audience in from the very first chapter as I was completely captivated! Featuring a runaway bride, a morally grey billionaire and some sweet revenge thrown in the mix, what's not to love?

Evie discovers her fiancé has been unfaithful behind her back, and decides to expose his infidelity at the altar. Embarrassed and having said her piece, her unplanned quick getaway ends with her falling straight onto the lap of Oliver! Their sizzling chemistry is undeniable and despite the push and pull from both parties, they give into desire and end up spending the night together.

Oliver's hatred for Mitchel runs deep, and he is out for blood. When he learns that Evie is his ex-fiancée, he makes the call to get close to her, in hopes of hitting Mitchell where it hurts the most. Evie needs a visa if she wants to stay in the country, and Oliver has just the proposition that she would be crazy to refuse... 😬

Evie and Oliver were just impeccable in this story! The witty banter between them was just top notch 🤌🏻 I thought Evie was smart and funny, 100% feisty and did her character shine though! I loved how without trying she got under Oliver's skin, unbeknownst to him. I wasn't too fond of Oliver initially, but he definitely redeemed himself with Evie. Although his initial plan was to use Evie to hold power over Mitchell, I love how he threw caution to the wind and fell head over heels for the one woman he never intended to fall for. Their love was so sweet and despite all the hidden secrets and trust issues riddled throughout the story, I'm glad they eventually got their HEA 🤗

P.S. the changing room scene at the charity shop... Was that a scene or what!!!! 😂🥵

Thank you to Donna, Montlake and Netgalley for the eARC, in exchange for an honest review 🫶🏻

From the very first hilarious chapter through to the final pages – WOW! I hadn’t read anything by this author, but I will definitely be checking out her other books! Just before Evelyn “Evie” Fairfax is to say “I Do’, she doesn’t! Instead, she reads to her startled fiancé (and the entire gathering) all of the reasons that she won’t be marrying him! Running from the church, she escapes into a car owned by wealthy Oliver Deubel. His first inclination is to ask her to leave, until he really looks at her and realizes that she is running from her fiancé (the wedding dress was a clue) Mitch…his sworn enemy. Oliver takes her to his hotel as he realizes how she may be of help…to him. As she tries to recover from the debacle, the video from the non-wedding goes viral, she has no place to live, no clothes and may even have to leave England. Oliver begins to plot his own revenge on her ex with the purchase a mansion that will soon be sold. The owner has certain criteria as to who he will sell to and Eve may just unknowingly sway the sale for him. The witty dialog between the various characters and the growing relationship between Eve and Oliver make this an excellent first book in the series! I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

This is the first book I've read in a long time with the runaway bride theme and I loved it from start to finish.

I loved the way Eve leaves the groom at the altar and shows him off in front of everyone and the way she arrives with Oliver, who is anything but a hero, but in the end is the knight in white armor you hope will come to save you.

It's a very humorous book, -I always appreciate that in a book-, fresh and easy to read.

OK

The beginning was strong and the ending strong but I felt very slow. The characters are fun and I love Bo.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

Right from the first scene, this book grabs my attention with an interesting meet-cute. However, the pace soon becomes too draggy and repetitive with readers being constantly reminded of the mmc blackmailing the fmc.

I loved the banter which was often hilarious and also the gossip column. But it wasn’t enough to entice me to finish the book.

Dnf at about 60%.

Our female protagonist, Eve, meets Oliver and quickly they develop a relationship of sorts, sometimes intimate and sometimes not. The characters are engaging and situations described are relatable. In quite a few occasions, I laughed so hard I cried, just imagining the scene. It was great writing. The author was able to effectively use language to inspire empathy, anxiety and a range of human emotions and I did become invested in these characters. At times, the story seemed to jump a step or two that I wasn't expecting but the overall reading experience wasn't impacted.
It was an enjoyable read and I recommend the book.
There are some explicit sex scenes so it's not appropriate reading for under 18s.

Thank you to NetGalley and for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

The beginning was laugh out loud, but it quickly lost my interest. I was hoping for more chemistry after the beginning scene, but the gentleman's club was a bore.

No Romeo had all the tropes I usually love—forced proximity, hate to love, ex’s rival, billionaire, but unfortunately I just didn’t like this.

It's a runaway bride story but not your typical story. The bride-to-be decides to read the printed-out text messages she has from her groom-to-be and the woman he has been sleeping with, she can only make it to the second page of four before running from the church and ending up in a car that is owned by Oliver who just so happens to be her ex’s rival in business. She had no idea and throughout the story more is slowly revealed. Oliver helps her the first but upon waking she is gone. He finds her after much searching and comes up with a plan to help her get her visa if she will help him. She has decades to go along with it but she is not as easy as Oliver has had with women in the past. She knows what she wants and she has no problem voicing her opinions as such. She stays this way throughout the book which is another reason I liked it, she stood up to him and there are things she did if you stay with the story that will show you her strength. Overall a very good book with excellent characters.

The story features a mix of tropes and situations, including opposites attract, rival's ex-fiancée, forced proximity, scandal, social media frenzy, and a business conflict. It delves into themes of friendship, activism, mysterious love, and redemption.

The narrative kicks off with a dramatic and humorous start, featuring a memorable meet-cute. Evelyn (Evie/Eve) flees her wedding after discovering her fiancé's infidelity, causing chaos. She ends up in the lap of Oliver Deubel, her ex-fiancé's biggest rival. Oliver seizes this chance to get back at his rival, Mitchell Atherton.

Despite Oliver's morally questionable offer, Eve and Oliver develop a strong connection. Eve stays in the UK, posing as Oliver's fake fiancée to remain in her newfound home. Their relationship evolves from proximity and curiosity to admiration and desire.

The story's detailed and accurate writing brings a diverse cast to life, set in the UK with authentic British characters. Eve and Oliver navigate their attraction and uncertain future, balancing deception and genuine connection. The gossip column adds intrigue and humor.

Supporting characters, including Eve's friends and Oliver's acquaintances, enrich the story. Despite obstacles and misunderstandings, Oliver's determination to keep Eve and their deep mutual understanding ultimately drive the plot toward a hopeful future.