Let me begin by saying this: sometimes you just need a fun, light, cute story when the real world sucks. Given how the real world has sucked the last couple years I was definitely in the mood for something sweet and, after having stumbled across Mariah Ankenman’s Instagram a while back, I found her to be an author worth following, not only because of her works but because she wants to have fun while writing and while talking about her works/ writing them. She makes fun of herself, she makes fun of people who look down on romance novels and she tells the realities of writing and publishing books. What more could a reader/ wannabe author want from a fellow author’s page?

Through my adventures of following Mariah I saw she posted about The Dating Dilemma being available for ARC readers through NetGalley and I immediately went to NetGalley and requested the chance to read it. Once given the chance I dove into it and finished the story in a little more than a day (mostly because, apparently, I need sleep.)

While, yes, Mariah’s novel about Lexi, a youth center worker, and Dyson, a gorgeous firefighter with a wounded heart, is the epitome of sugary-sweetness, Hallmark movie level heart-tugs and a mix of spicy goodness, the story itself is complete and strong. While this is number two in the series (I haven’t read number one yet but I will be going back) I didn’t need to read book number one to understand book number two. The world and spaces within it that these two characters inhabit was complete, fleshed out and with enough layers that I could attach myself to the characters quickly without feeling like I was missing out on some details.

If you’re looking for a sweet story, wish some heat and a nice cast of characters definitely check out The Dating Dilemma.

Thanks to NetGalley, Mariah Ankenman, and Entangled Publishing for the advanced copy of The Dating Dilemma.