Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading
Written on Oct 8, 2023
Set in Honey Creek, Illinois, The Problem with Dating tells the story of Alex Ramirez and Yara Kingsley. The story began one year after Yara's divorce from her douche of a husband, who is also the chief of police. He abuses his power in several ways, one of which involves humiliating Yara every chance he got. Alex came to Honey Creek to open a new restaurant to satisfy his late great aunt wish. However, his reception by the residents was not welcoming, and his grumpy and seemingly bad attitude did not help his cause.
Now, Yara was the complete opposite of Alex. It was great to see that her ex-husband's actions did not break her, and she maintained her sunny disposition. She gets along with everyone, however, Alex was the exception. She made every effort to make him feel welcome, but to no avail.
Her every attempt led to them arguing. She realises that pursuing a friendship was a waste of time. However, after yet another attempt by her ex-husband to humiliate her, a shift occurred in their interactions. A shift which led to them moving from antagonists to friends and eventually lovers.
The fake dating trope is one of my favourites, and Cherry did a wonderful job with it. Yes, the grumpy hero agrees to fake date the sunny heroine, and throughout the course of their fake romance he realised what he felt for Yara was authentic. The banter between them from their initial interaction will have readers laughing out loud. These two were such a riot. They were clearly perfect for each other.
Despite his grumpy persona, Alex is one of those heroes readers will fall in love with. His painful backstory will have you wanting to hug him and give him words of encouragement. While I don't mind Yara's sunny nature, I didn't like how much of a pushover she was, especially in running her business.
The ending was perfect, and the epilogue left me smiling. I had a great time with The Problem with Dating and look forward to reading the next book in the series.
This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading