First to Fall: A Sweet Romantic Comedy (A Lost Story Bookshop Novel) Paperback – January 27, 2023

Thank you to the author for the wonderful signed copy she sent me! All opinions are my own.Olivia is the poster child for a type A personality. She has a 10 year plan and nothing will get in the way of her achieving her goals. Not even her college nemesis Lachlan Hayes. Even when she wakes up in Vegas and realizes she is somehow married to him! And when Lachlan proposes that they stay married because it will benefit both their careers, even though they despise each other, she agrees, because it helps with that 10 year plan. But as they fake their way through the relationship, they learn new sides of each other. So who will be the first to fall?I will forever be grateful for Jenny B Jones introducing me to the works of indie sweet rom coms but I am also grateful to be an internet friend and a major fan girl. She is funny and charming and sincere as a person and that comes across as chemistry and sparkle on the page.I think she is one of the best at weaving in character arcs where the characters are dealing with hard things into her funny and swoony books. They are books you can devour but they aren't just popcorn rom coms, they have feeling. And they have some scrumptious book boyfriends! This book in particular did the push and pull of enemies to lovers so well, paired with a marriage of convenience trope. The chemistry and flirtation just leapt off the page.This is a closed door, sweet rom com.

This was so much more than I was expecting and I loved every word! Lachlan and Olivia are now some of my favorite couples.An incident in college caused them both to be thrown out and they have been enemies ever since. But did they both have the full story of what happened that day? Excited to spend the weekend celebrating her sisters engagement she is shocked when Lackland shows up as the fiancé’s best friend. They try to avoid each other but it is practically impossible. Waking up married and not remembering a thing causes more problems than disliking each other.Olivia and Lackland have back stories that let you know why they are so resistant to opening their hearts to love. As they spend time together and get to know each other their feelings begin to change. When the thing that you know is coming to cause them to break up happens it too is more than I was expecting.Olivia’s family is a hoot. Her grandmother and her friend are ex CIA and apparently have some serious skills. They are also outrageous. It would be fun to sit in on their book club meetings.I recommend this as a clean read with a great story and characters.

I enjoyed reading this book! Enemies to more and marriage of convenience are my two favorite tropes, and I loved how those played out in the book.

I’ve been waiting for this book for a long time and it flat out DELIVERED. I loved it so much.The main characters, Olivia and Lachlan had the best chemistry. I could feel the heat from miles away. Some fantastic banter intermixed with a bit of an enemies to lovers vibe AND THEN you throw in marriage of convenience?? SOLD. Perfect blend.I love the slow build between them. The burn is long and low and really allowed both characters to come to turn with the past grievances and where they are now. I LOVED all of the tiny little moments. I was going to combust from the heat of the kissing scenes. Good heavens, closed door romances can still bring it the steam y’all.It took Olivia a little longer than I hoped for to come around to her work issues BUT I liked how that ended up playing into the third act. Yes, there’s a third act conflict, and you might be surprised but it didn’t phase me much. I was here for the emotions, the need for growth and the separation that had to occur.Loved this book. Read it.Overall audience notes:- Contemporary Romance- Language: very little- Romance: kisses- Violence: low- Trigger/Content Warnings: poor workplace situations (abuse of power), parental neglect

Jenny B. Jones has once again delivered an epic tale of sass, the South, and Sylvie! She has a beautiful way of creating vibrant, almost living settings. Sugar Creek and the Lost Story Bookshop feel like home to me. The Sutton family and their matriarch Sylvie Sutton are well-written characters with unique personalities and life circumstances that make you feel like you are one of the family. Lachlan and Olivia's story is one of those tales. Their sweet way of relating to one another and creative methods of showing their affection are heart-warming, laugh-inducing, and just plain awesome.This precocious and ever-twisting story begins with a surprise marriage for which no one is sure who to blame. (I suspect ex-CIA grandma Sylvie is the one.) As far as the "married to a stranger" trope goes, this one is original and definitely not just your typical and predictable story. Weave in a breath-taking kiss in a book store and you have a winner.Grab your copy of this book and snuggle up and spend a day or two in Sugar Creek, Arkansas. If you haven't read Jenny's other books, go grab those too. You won't be sorry.And Jenny, if you read this review, bring on Sylvie's story. Someone needs to tame that wild creature!