Book 5: A Very Friendly Fiasco (Cider Cove Sweet RomCom)

I enjoyed this clean rom com about Matt and Lizzie falling in love as they fake date as coworkers.

I just love this group of young women! This is Lizzie‘s story and how her relationship with co-worker Matt develops. They are equals on the job front, but Lizzie questions if they’re on the same level in their personal relationship.

Seeing this friend group adapt and change as their lives mature move forward is bittersweet. They’ve been friends for quite some time and are now pairing off with significant others. The author does a great job of letting us see how each couple is doing. I find the alternative swear words hilarious!!! Great continuation of a really fun series!

Reader’s Notes:

-this is part of a series, but could be read as a stand-alone

-this is told mainly from Lizzie & Matt’s points of view (with 3 chapters total told from other characters’ points of view – two of those chapters from the next book’s female main character)

-Lizzie curses in city names (so instead of using a curse word, she says a random city name – they don’t sound at all like the possible curse words they’d be replacing)

-it is mentioned that a character grew up in a broken home (divorced parents who also left their children to take care of themselves)

Review:

This was so much fun to read! I loved getting to know Matt & Lizzie better (and meeting Matt’s cats)! I loved the addition of Matt’s opinionated cats and the trouble they’d cause at times. The names/nicknames given to some of the characters were cute and I enjoyed that Matt & Lizzie’s nerdy knowledge made it into them! I also loved getting to know Matt’s family and seeing where the other Big House’s girls are at in their lives.

I am so excited to find out what will happen for Tahlia’s story (the last one 🫢) with the hints given and the sneak peek at the first chapters of her book!

Summary:

Lizzie has had a crush on her corporate coworker Matt, but he’s given her no indication that he’s ever wanted to be more than friends. Until one day he invites her to join him at a concert in the park as friends. Well, fake friends. Matt says he wants to explore the connection they have without all the HR forms their relationship would entail if they called it dating. And Lizzie is just head over heels enough to accept…

Matt wants to get to know Lizzie on a deeper level with how great their work friendship is, but the future paperwork detailing every moment of their potential dates for HR is not thrilling. So maybe a loophole is his way in without the paperwork hanging over their heads…

Sooo much fun to read this romcom in the almost completed Cider Cove Sweet Romcoms series. This book featured Matt and Lizzie who were co-workers at a chemical company whose offices were next door to one another. Lizzie had a secret crush on Matt and finally he noticed her but there was a roadblock—the company’s strictly enforced dating policy of having to report every date in detail to HR. In an effort to avoid having to disclose personal matters, Matt asked Lizzie out as a “fake friend”. Most romance readers are familiar with the fake fiance trope but this was a new one to me; Matt acknowledged that he liked her as more than a friend but in order to avoid HR, he wanted them to fake being “just friends” in public. Unfortunately someone ratted them out and they had to decide if the other person was important enough for them to run through the HR gauntlet. I have truly enjoyed this set of books about six single roommates and their lives together at the”Big House” where they love and support one another through the ups and downs of life and, one by one, meet “the one” and fall in love. I love the way the author has created a strong community and draws them closer together while also bringing in their significant others. It always leaves me feeling the “warm fuzzies”. This book can be read and enjoyed as a standalone but I encourage you to start at the series beginning so you can fully appreciate the updates given throughout the books. I received an ARC from the author. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Loved this one so much! It’s Lizzie’s turn to find love and she’s got a forbidden office romance happening with Matt. I loved them together! I loved how he cared for & just adored her. The chemistry puns were so much fun! Fantastic addition!