Pity Date by Whitney Dineen

Faith
I should’ve known it wouldn’t work out.

In all my twenty-nine years, life has never been smooth sailing when a man was involved. Astor Hill was everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner—handsome, successful, and interested in me. Until he started cheating. The cherry on the sundae is finding out the truth less than two weeks before we’re supposed to stand up for our best friends at their wedding.

When a staggeringly good-looking and kind stranger comes to town and offers to take me to the wedding, I jump at his proposal. Who cares if he’s gay? Astor doesn’t need to know that.

Teddy
She thinks I’m gay?!

I’m taking a vacation from Hollywood and going back to Elk Lake. My grandfather hasn’t been doing well after Gram died and he needs my support. Luckily, I’m between blockbuster movies so I can make the time.

My first stop is Rosemary’s Bakery for one of the gingersnaps I remember so fondly from my childhood. The only problem is that the girl at the counter has eaten them all. After spilling my tea on me, she bursts into tears and tells me her troubles. I should be annoyed but I’m oddly charmed.

I know what it’s like to be dumped by a cheater, so I do the only thing I can think I offer to take her to the wedding to make her ex jealous. Unfortunately, with the help of the tabloids, things quickly spiral out of control…

I loved this friends-to-lovers romance set in a small town. Faith is head over heels for her boyfriend Astor, who is cheating on her. She finds this out shortly before they are supposed to stand up at a wedding together.

Teddy visits Elk Lake to spend some time with his grandfather, and he meets Faith in a not so meet cute where she's rude to him and spills the tea on him. He implies he is gay and volunteers to go with her to the wedding to make her ex jealous.

This romance had familiar tropes, but Dineen gave them a new spin. The story was not predictable, which I really liked. The story was fast-paced, exciting, and fun. Teddy was an amazing guy, and it took me some time to like Faith because of the fog she was in due to the breakup. I'm excited to see where the series goes.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Solid (Mostly) Escapist Romance. This is one of those romances such that unless you’ve dealt with one of the all-too-real but also not-every-person issues it uses for a sense of drama – cheating and/ or lying partners and grandparents’ declining health in particular – is going to be largely just escapist fluff that is perfect for some much needed respite from the so-called “real” world. At just over 300 pages, it reads perhaps a touch quicker than that number would indicate, while still telling a solid and compelling story full of hijinx, misunderstandings… and meddling grandparents. Kind of perfect for the Hallmark Romance crowd, really, and truly straight up their alley. Overall a mostly fun tale that hits all the expected notes while not diving too deep into any real drama. Very much recommended.