Review: One Week in Paradise by Anise Starre

One Week in Paradise, the charming fake-dating romance debut of author Anise Starre, follows Bailey, a disgraced influencer as she accepts a brand’s offer to go on a one-week vacation in Jamaica. Bailey sees it as the perfect opportunity to get her career back on the right track after an upset that left her losing followers and doubting herself. The only problem is that she needs a date for the couples retreat. Enter Caspian aka Cash, her brother’s best friend. Cash has never seemed to like Bailey but he agrees almost too readily to be her fake boyfriend for a free vacation.

First of all, I would like to thank author Anise Starre for my Advanced Reader Copy of the book! I love fake dating and was super excited to be offered an ARC!

Reading this book was like taking my own private vacation to Jamaica. I felt like I was right alongside Bailey exploring waterfalls and walking along the beach in the sun. The story was very fast-paced and easy to read. I liked that there were no sections that dragged and the story kept zipping along. Because Bailey was suffering from a lack of confidence, this could have easily been the kind of book where the author lets the characters wallow too much in their feelings, but I thought that Anise did a wonderful job of showing us what Bailey was going through while also showing that she was bouncing back. It was the perfect balance and it was so satisfying to see Bailey come back into her own by the end of the story.

In terms of the romance, Bailey and Cash have incredible chemistry right off the bat and omg does this man sound attractive! I would like to personally thank the author for giving me such a hot mental image to daydream about! The scenes between them absolutely sizzle and I really liked that though there were little hiccups in their communication, they were able to easily resolve their issues, particularly the one that takes place around the third act.

Overall, this was a very fun read. I think readers who like fake dating, he falls first, brother’s best friend, and sunny vacation romances are going to really enjoy this one!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars