Silly, fun , smutty read that was perfect for the start of the holiday season. I read this right before thanksgiving and it was the perfect vibe. I also LOVE that the characters are in their early 30's and not high school students. The story was relatable at times but also so fun.

DNF.

I was promised this book was, "perfect for fans of PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT by Sara Adams, FIX HER UP by Tessa Bailey, and SET ON YOU by Amy Lea." That was an immediate yes from me, because I love all three of those books. The concept was cute. The execution.... was not. I knew on page one this book wasn't going to be for me. The writing was a bit dense and too descriptive. Yes, I want to be in the scene as the reader, but my goodness I don't need that much information. I read to escape and also to use my imagination, and there just wasn't room for either in this story.

Thank you to the author/Splitrail Publishing for the eARC. These is my honest opinion.

This book had the potential to be a cute palette cleanser however the MCs had ZERO chemistry. You did not get a whole lot of build up of their romance or that they even liked each other. FMC had more chemistry with Mrs. Whitmore than with the MMC.

A lot of characters that do nothing to bring the story forward and dont close anything out. A lot of plot holes that dont make sense.

The book was trying to give women empowerment but really missed the mark in my opinion. I would also like to state this book did not make me laugh or kick my feet once.

*Deeply Personal* by Suzanne Collier

⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

Publisher: Splitrail

Genre: adult romance

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️.5

When Jessica faints during a Turkey Trot, leading her to discover a heart condition she was unaware of, Paul is the one who scooped her up and brought her to the medical tent. When they meet again by chance, Jessica, an interior designer, ends up agreeing to appraise his condo for some updates— and Paul, a personal trainer, happens to be close with a client whose business Jessica is desperate for. And so: a fake dating plan is hatched, but Jessica's and Paul's feelings may end up being a bit too real.

This was a find in Netgalley's Read Now section, and while I loved the premise, it fell a 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 flat for me. This wasn't a bad book by any means, but the plot wasn't completely consistent at times, and I wish we had seen a bit more of Jessica and Paul getting to know each other and spending time together. But: if you love (sort of) workplace romances and rom coms, give this one a try!

Read if you like:

~ fake dating

~ rom coms

~ workplace-ish romance

~ intriguing first chapters

This book was a little bit disappointing. I was really looking forward to it and it just fell short. The writing style was not for me and it made the story drag a lot.

Deeply Personal by Suzanne Collier is a fun and uplifting contemporary romance!

The story follows Jessica, a workaholic who struggles with heart issues and doesn’t believe in love anymore. Her twin brother Lenny convinces her to run the Turkey Trot, where she faints and meets Paul. Paul is a sweetheart who doesn’t trust himself to commit to a relationship. In a bout of coincidence, the two meet up several times and fake date in order for Jessica to land a new client.

I ended up enjoying this book and the humor sprinkled throughout it! I thought it was an easy read, even though it took me a second to get into it.

However, I did have some issues with the flow of the story and some of the plot points. The story was marketed as the MMC training the FMC to help her get into better shape, and I was sorely disappointed when this never happened. I thought some of the writing went too in depth at the wrong points, which occasionally made the story drag. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to connect to the characters, which is overall why the rating is lower for me. For me, romance is all about the reader loving the characters and the characters loving each other; I feel like the mark was missed by a bit on both of these. There wasn’t much chemistry between the MMC and the FMC and I was missing the banter I usually love. At parts, it felt kind of insta-lovey. But the fact that I wasn’t able to connect to the characters was a big hit. I also thought the end and the resolution felt very rushed. Both characters were super against a long term relationship until magically they weren’t from one conversation? It didn’t feel realistic.

I would give this a 2.5 stars.

Thank you to Net Galley for an early copy in exchange for a honest review!

Jessica and Paul meet at a Turkey Trot race when she has a medical emergency, and he literally sweeps her off her feet. They realize their respective fields can benefit each other and start a fake dating scheme to help her win over a client. Over time, their close interactions cause feelings to develop and grow, despite their initial intentions to stay professional.

*****

This one was set out to be such a cute read, but it heavily missed the mark. The writing style was overly explanatory to the point that it made sections of the book drag. The lead would pause and describe additional details into mundane thoughts and actions that didn't advance the story, and it got tiresome quickly. The internal monologues were also awkward and structured to over explain. There would be a statement and then multiple comments following to reinforce that first statement repeatedly. It ended up feeling like the author was trying to get a word count in, instead of trying to keep a steady pacing and direction.

There were also similies for everything to the point some of them were nonsensical "the crescent moon looked restful and serene in the dark sky, hanging there as if it was ready to lay back for a massage given by one of the stars." I'm not sure if the use of overly flowery language was intentional, but at points, it was baffling and cumbersome.

Moving onto the leads, there was zero chemistry. I didn't find Jessica to be likable, and her constant pessimism while also boasting about how to run a business while running it poorly was exhausting. So much of the book is her being negative and focused on her personal career issues, that not any genuine relationship development between the leads seemed to form. The choice to include so many side stories and heavy details into them and not instead focus on who the book was about was odd. We barely learned about their traumatic pasts or saw them grow, but we have ample paragraphs on past clients.

Due to all of the above, I can't bring myself to rate this higher than two stars. It was billed to be "laugh out loud funny," and it missed the mark by a long shot.

.....

Thank you, NetGalley, and Splitrail Publishing for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

DNF at 25%. This tried way too hard and I struggled to even get through the first few chapters. I'm not into health scare tropes but especially not ones where someone tries to unrealistically overnight their nutrition and habits and yet is also somehow shocked they shouldn't have a giant frappucino on the regular. The characters need therapy, a nutritionist, and a financial advisor. I also felt as if the author decided to stick with ancient archetypes with "women's intuition" and "oh my god, this muscular man reads books" and the constant shallow thought processes and internal monologues from both main characters create outdated and predictably disappointing tropes. I will probably not pick this one up again.

Also, cardinals have orange beaks.

Deeply Personal starts with Jessica running a turket trot with her twin brother. During the run, Jessica collapses and Paul is there to save her. Paul is very much interested in Jessica but Jessica is still recovering from a bad breakup. Paul comes up with the deal to fake date Jessica. They start to develop real feelings for each other and start to rethink their life goals. The pace of the story was a little slow at times. I wish the epilogue showed more into the future of Jessica and Paul.

I really loved the premise of this cute love story, but unfortunately, some of the love scenes didn’t quite hit the mark. They felt rushed and lacked the depth I was hoping for. On the flip side, some of the family scenes dragged on a bit too long, which made it hard to stay fully engaged. I found myself speed-reading or even skipping through parts because the book just didn’t grip me as much as I’d hoped. Interestingly, I enjoyed the first half of the book—the plot was building nicely and kept me interested—way more than the second half. It felt like the pacing and tone shifted, and I struggled to stay as invested in the story.

When fate brings two career-focused individuals together, love proves to be the ultimate surprise. Deeply Personal is a delightful slow-burn romance that’s equal parts heartwarming and humorous—a perfect blend of charm, wit, and heartfelt moments.

🏃‍♀️ Meet Jessica Chandler: A driven interior designer whose over-the-top work ethic lands her in trouble—literally collapsing at a Turkey Trot. Enter Paul Brady, the swoon-worthy personal trainer who sweeps her off her feet (and straight to the medical tent).

💡 What Makes This Story Shine:
✨ Skill Swap Goals: Paul’s lack of design skills meets Jessica’s fitness struggles in a quirky trade-off that’s as endearing as it is relatable.
💕 Fake Dating Fun: One staged date sparks undeniable chemistry that blurs the lines between “business” and personal.

😅 Hilarious & Heartfelt: Jessica’s sharp design critiques + Paul’s cluelessness = laugh-out-loud moments paired with tender emotional growth.

📖 Why You’ll Fall in Love:
🌟 A relatable exploration of balancing ambition with personal connections.
🌟 A slow-burn romance that feels authentic and oh-so-satisfying.
🌟 A perfect mix of humor, heart, and an uplifting message about love and self-care.
✨ Deeply Personal is more than a love story—it’s a reminder to let love, laughter, and a little help into your life. Don’t miss this charming gem! 💘

#DeeplyPersonal #SuzanneCollier #SlowBurnRomance #FakeDatingTrope #RomComBooks #InteriorDesignerLove #PersonalTrainerGoals #HeartwarmingReads #FeelGoodRomance #LoveUnexpectedly #BooksWithHumor #RomanceReaders #BookishRomantics

"Let's raise a glass right now and say instead, 'To love.' For what is life without love?"

Thank you to Netgalley and Splitrail Publishing for the eARC of this book.

This book, as much as I thought it was okay while reading it, really hasn't been that memorable for me. It follows Jessica who, when she drops from dehydration during the Turkey Trot, is recused by a gorgeous personal trainer named Paul Brady. As Jessica and Paul become entangled for professional and personal reasons, they both have to explore their feelings about the other.

For me, this book just wasn't anything special. I think the characters didn't feel super drawn out so they felt flat, and the romance didn't make it better. There was a fake-dating trope, which is one of my favorite tropes, but there wasn't really a reason for the fake dating in my opinion. It felt like that was just added in there because they wanted to be able to slap the fake-dating trope label on the book. Over all it was okay.

Jessica is an interior designer who gets overly competitive with her twin brother and enters a turkey trot that she’s not prepared for and faints during the race. She wakes up to see Paul, a personal trainer who was volunteering at the race, scoops her up and rescues her to the medical tent. They run into each other a few more times and find that they are both trying to get over past relationship issues and they have a lot more in common than they thought.

This was such a cute story. Mostly closed door spice, one glossed over open door mini scene, funny banter, relatable character development. I especially loved all the side characters, they really made the story and were laugh out loud funny often. The chemistry was a little stilted at the beginning, I wasn’t completely on board with the passion it felt a little awk but the rest of their relationship was cute and it felt better at the very end. Fun read and she finds her penguin in the end.

This book wasn’t for me. Honestly, it was still a good book, and it has a very nice romance in it.

But it also deals with some health scares and those aren’t my cup of tea.

Overall, the story was fun, girl goes on Turkey Trot, faints and wakes up to a very handsome guy. Turns out he is a personal trainer and she can do with some training…

Would recommend, if you have no problem with the health stuff.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were great and very entertaining. The story was very well written and I loved the plot!

This book is a delightful contemporary romance that masterfully blends humor, emotional growth, and heartwarming romance. The story follows Jessica Chandler, a high-achieving interior designer whose relentless drive has taken a toll on her health, and Paul Brady, a personal trainer who hides his deeper vulnerabilities behind his fitness expertise. Their lives intersect when Paul rescues Jessica during a Turkey Trot race, leading to a partnership that changes them both in profound ways.

Jessica and Paul strike a deal: she’ll transform his poorly decorated man-cave into a cozy haven, while he helps her adopt a healthier lifestyle. This exchange sets the stage for a slow-burn romance filled with witty banter and touching moments. Their growing relationship is not just about love but also about self-discovery and the courage to prioritize what truly matters. Collier captures their chemistry beautifully, making their journey both relatable and heartening.

This was okay for me. I found it a little predictable , but overall I enjoyed it. The characters had chemistry and I liked their banter.

This book ultimately wasn’t for me. Cute story but I found myself just not really connecting to the characters overall. Which kept me from truly enjoying it as much as I would’ve liked to.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

Loved the cover art and I was really excited about this book, working out and a rom com together sounded great! Loved getting to know the characters it was a fast enjoyable read. Cons-I really wanted some more comedy to the romCOM part of it, didn’t do much laughing out loud as I’d like. I was waiting the entire book for him to personal train her and help with her heart issues and it never happened. But other than that it was a good read. 3.5 stars if I could do halves. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for advance read in turn for my honest review.

The beginning of the book was amazing, funny, witty, and had some swoon worthy banter and scenes, but then it just sort of fizzled out less than halfway through. The drama became a bit too much for me - I went in expecting a rom-com which it most definitely was not! The chemistry between Jessica and Paul is evident, but the lack of screen time between the two makes their romance feel forced and underdeveloped. Moments that could have been funny or engaging fall flat, with little to no banter or playful interactions to lighten the mood. Despite everything, the book remains a light, easy read with a sweet, heartwarming quality. It may appeal to readers looking for a low-angst, slow-burn romance with a hint of personal growth.