I'm conflicted in my star rating for this one. I finished the book a minute or two ago so I'm caught up in the emotion of it but I'm still going between 3 and 4 stars.

I had a very hard time getting into the story, even though I liked the characters quite a bit. The writing, itself, was what made it difficult. I need to work through my impressions more but, I think, if it had been written by anyone other than Jae, I probably would have put it down after the first couple of chapters.

Am I glad I stuck with it? You bet. Around mid-way through, I cared about the characters and enjoyed the journey they were taking. I thought Annie's responses to her feelings and the way she processed her emotions felt honest and real. The same with Drew. There was humor and angst and I could feel the tension between the characters.

If you're a Jae fan, you'll want to read it. If you're not a Jae fan yet, start with Backwards to Oregon and work your way through her books. ( )

I was given this ARC by the publisher in exchange for an Honest Review.

This, I guess, is the second edition of this title? I never read the first one, but this version was totally awesome.

It's the story of Drew and Annie. They both know the often practical joker Jake. Annie is Jake's sister, and Drew is his friend from college. When Jake sets the two women up on a blind date as a joke, not telling Annie that Drew's a woman and not telling Drew that Annie thinks she's a he, the two women realize that Jake's behind it all and Revenge comes to both of their minds.

They decide to play a prank right back at him. They pretend to be in a relationship instead of getting mad at Jake. Of course, this is a Lesbian romance, so all does not always go as planned for the two women. It's not as straightforward as a simple prank for either of them it turns out. Heh.

It was a subtle and awesomely twisty story. It went a lot like I thought it would, but there were times when I was surprised too. The characters were all so unique (especially Jake and his and Anna's parents).

Honestly there was only one thing that pissed me off about this book. Worf and Deanna Troi? C'mon. Riker and Deanna were Imzadi, and Peter David's book was so amazing that it's nearly canon it's so good and perfect. It's canon adjacent. Worf and Deanna, Worf and Deanna?? Just Eww... eww eww. No no no to Worf and Deanna (plus, Worf and Jadzia on DS9 is so much better than even Riker and Deanna!!) ( )

Shy, reserved, slightly nerdy Annie is always the brunt of her brother's practical jokes. But when he set her up with a friend, allowing her to believe that the friend is male when his friend is actually a lesbian, he's gone too far. She plots with her brother's friend, Drew, on how they can get revenge on Annie's brother by pretending to be together. But after a few weeks, it doesn't really feel like they're pretending that much.

I really enjoyed this book. Although the middle got to be a little tedious, I liked that Annie didn't fall for Drew right away. There was a lot of exploring and growing on Annie's part, which I thought was more realistic. And I *loved* the character of Drew. Altogether a great read. ( )

Nice slow burn, once you get beyond the premise of a guy who sets his sister up on a date with a woman as a practical joke, and all the convoluted logic that follows as the main characters find reasons to be together without *being* together. ( )

Nice slow burn, once you get beyond the premise of a guy who sets his sister up on a date with a woman as a practical joke, and all the convoluted logic that follows as the main characters find reasons to be together without *being* together. ( )