The Kiss Countdown
by Etta Easton
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: April 9, 2024
Reviewed by PJ
Risk-averse event planner Amerie Price is jobless, newly single, and about to lose her apartment. With no choice but to gamble on her shaky start-up, the last thing she needed was to run into her smug ex and his new, less complicated girlfriend at Amerie's favorite coffee shop. Panicked, she pretends to be dating the annoyingly sexy man she met by spilling Americano all over his abs. He plays along—for a price.
Half the single men in Houston claim to be astronauts, but Vincent Rogers turns out to be the real deal. What started as a one-off lie morphs into a plan: for the three months leading up to his mission, Amerie will play Vincent's doting partner in front of his loving but overly invested family. In exchange, she gets a rent-free room in his house and can put every penny toward her struggling business.
What Amerie doesn't plan for is Vincent's gravitational pull. While her mind tells her a future with this astronaut is too unpredictable, her heart says he's exactly what she needs. As their time together counts down, Amerie must decide if she'll settle for the safe life—or shoot for the stars.
PJ's Thoughts:
I'm a total pushover for a fake dating trope and this one was a delight. First of all, he's an astronaut? Yes, please! Okay, so maybe not in real life. Like Amerie, I'm a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to certain things like heights, twisty mountain roads, and, oh, I don't know, waving farewell to your beloved as he soars to the moon?!? But, I'm getting ahead of myself. First we have to get these two together.
Easton has crafted a fun, relatable, slow-burn romance that had me jumping into this unexpected relationship with both feet. From the coffee shop meet cute, through meeting the family, to a fake engagement, the breakup, and the reunion, these characters kept me by their side, cheering them on and flipping pages from beginning to end. I enjoyed the exploration of Amerie and Vincent not only through their one-on-one journey but through the interactions with their families as well. Those family dynamics were spot on with the parents and siblings so well developed that I felt like I had actually met them in real life.
While the romance between Vincent and Amerie is a slow burn, I felt the chemistry between them from the start. The banter between them sparkles even before they begin to catch feelings. Once that starts, we begin to delve a bit deeper into what makes each of them tick, revealing their vulnerabilities, fears, hopes, and more. I love how smitten Vincent was and how hard he tried to hide it. It takes Amerie longer to overcome her fears but once she does, she goes after her man in grand style. It's all about facing our fears.
If you're looking for a fun romance filled with laughter, family, slow-burn romance, one very sexy astronaut, a ride-or-die girlfriend, and a heroine you might just want to be besties with (I did), pick up a copy of The Kiss Countdown. It's sure to make you smile.
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Have you read a romance with an astronaut hero?
Would you go into space?
One randomly chosen person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, April 26 will receive a print copy of The Kiss Countdown.
*U.S. only
*Must be 18
