Sophia is working through the grief of losing her father, who died by suicide. In coping, she would text his number some of her feelings. One day, when she texts the number, she gets a reply. The text changes her life as she starts talking to the sweet Josh. Feeling some pressure from her mothers to date after getting out of a bad relationship, she says she is dating Josh. Josh agrees to be her fake boyfriend, but when they meet, sparks fly. This relationship suddenly becomes all too real. The couple must deal with the stress in their personal lives while deciding if they can move forward together. 

This was a great read. Josh is a kind, generous person who cares so much for Sophie. I loved the scenes where he stood up for Sophie with her extended family. As the relationship progresses, Sophie becomes the person who supports Josh as he goes through his pain. The connection between these two is immediate and they care for each other deeply. These two were so in love, but had their own personal struggles, figuring out their careers and moving forward in their life. 

This book deals with tough subject matters, such as grief and loss, but the author handles them gently. Josh has a huge supportive family who add a layer to this story. We were also introduced to Sophia’s mom and friends, who were strong supports for her. 

This is the 8th book in an interconnected stand-alone series, but it was easy to pick up without reading the previous books. I am, however, going back to read the other stories, as I loved and enjoyed Kelly Elliott’s writing. If you love a fake dating love story, tackling some tough topics, this is the book for you! Thank you to Grey’s PR and the author for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.