'You Deserve Each Other' by Sarah Hogle - Review

Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Synopsis: Naomi Westfield has the perfect fiancé: Nicholas Rose holds doors open for her, remembers her restaurant orders, and comes from the kind of upstanding society family any bride would love to be a part of. They never fight. They're preparing for their lavish wedding that's three months away. And she is miserably and utterly sick of him.

Naomi wants out, but there's a catch: whoever ends the engagement will have to foot the nonrefundable wedding bill. When Naomi discovers that Nicholas, too, has been feigning contentment, the two of them go head-to-head in a battle of pranks, sabotage, and all-out emotional warfare.

But with the countdown looming to the wedding that may or may not come to pass, Naomi finds her resolve slipping. Because now that they have nothing to lose, they're finally being themselves--and having fun with the last person they expect: each other. (Amazon)

---

Publication Date: April 7, 2020
Genre: Romance / Contemporary
Rating: 5 stars

Once upon a blue moon, I read romance books like they were potato chips and I was suffering from a deficiency.  Over time, other genres trickled into my preferences list, and reading romance books stopped being so much about quantity and more about quality.  

I either became jaded, or I lost the rose-tinted glasses.  In either case, nowadays it's a little more difficult to catch my attention with a book of this genre.  But once I read the synopsis for You Deserve Each Other, I was suckered right in.

I haven't laughed with a novel so much in a long time.

Nicholas and Naomi's relationship is an absolute mess in their outward perfection.  They are the ideal example of why so many—myself included—believe it's a really bad idea to never fight as a couple just to keep the peace.  They do such a good job of highlighting this point, that once the masks come off and the gloves come on, it's a free for all.  These two people start making each others' lives miserable, and it's the best thing that happens to them—because that's when they begin to show each other who they really are.

Naomi has a sarcastic sense of humor and wit that makes it not just enjoyable, but delightful to sit back and read through the pranks that she runs on Nicholas to try to get rid of him.  And he doesn't fall far behind.  He appears to be at first this stuck up, strung-out guy, who in reality loves to give as much as he gets and has a deliciously wicked side.  The two demolish whatever semblance of peace they've built together while they peel off the layers of lies they've kept up throughout their engagement.

It was a treat to see two people show how poorly they've grown to fit through lies, and then come close to one another again as they find the care that they really hold for their relationship once the walls have come down.  There are so many moments of humor, tempered with a sweetness, sensuality and intimacy while Nicholas and Naomi bond again and realize how truly right for each other they have become again.

You Deserve Each Other is a little jewel in the romance department, ready to deliver all the charming ups and downs of these two imperfectly perfect characters.

Review Also Available On
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble