Here for the Right Reasons: A swoonworthy friends-to-lovers rom-com by Jodi McAlisterMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Cece is a criminology student. She and her friends (and roommates), Ayo and Flick, enjoy watching a reality show called "Marry Me, Juliet." (Just like the Bachelor). Drunk one night, the three of them apply to be on the show. Cece then loses her part-time job due to the pandemic. So when the show calls to ask if she is interested in being on it, she says yes, because it pays.
Cece has a tragic back story. She is an orphan and she spent her childhood in foster home after foster home, group home after group home. She has Ayo and Flick and that's her support system. She doesn't like to stand out or be the center of attention. She's full of insecurities.
Dylan is the Romeo for the season and he is also full of insecurities. He is on the show to gain attention for his charity (Ties Out) which focuses on men's mental health, he's an Olympic Gold Medalist in Sailing, and he happens to be the first non-white Romeo (he is 1/2 Sri Lankan).
Cece gets eliminated the first night. Her first night was eventful; she gets pushed into the pool, she has and panic attack, and faints. However, the fainting gets the attention of Dylan and lets them have time for a real conversation. Both having confessed their reasons for being on the show, they agree to help each other out and a friendship develops. Since this was also during the lockdowns during the pandemic, they were able to develop a real friendship since they (and her fellow "Juliets" and the crew) were all stuck in the Bubble.
This was so fun to read. I liked the twists and the insight into reality shows. There were moments where I wondered how this would lead to a HEA or HFN. I thought this had some strong secondary characters too; Amanda and Dylan G (aka "super hero nurse") were a handful of people who were nice to Cece. Lilly (Fireball) also stands out as the villain (which was done on purpose). And Murray, one of the producers.
RBSB: Olympics Paris 2024
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