{"id":6165,"date":"2026-04-25T05:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T05:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6165"},"modified":"2026-04-25T05:01:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T05:01:00","slug":"not-actually-yours-by-sophie-l-henderson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6165","title":{"rendered":"Not Actually Yours by Sophie L. Henderson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not Actually Yours<\/strong> by Sophie L Henderson<\/a>
on May 7, 2026
Genres:<\/strong> Fiction \/ Romance \/ Contemporary<\/a>
Pages:<\/strong> 325
Format:<\/strong> ARC<\/a>
Buy on Amazon<\/a>
Goodreads<\/a> <\/p>\n

Not Actually Yours<\/em> is the second book in Sophie L. Henderson\u2019s Vancity Fire series, and for me, it was a step up from the first. This fake-dating romance delivers exactly what you\u2019d expect from the trope: chemistry, tension, and just enough emotional vulnerability to keep things interesting.<\/p>\n

The story follows Nix, a guarded schoolteacher who\u2019s sworn off love, and Brock, a hot-headed firefighter trying to prove he\u2019s ready for a leadership role. Their agreement to fake-date for mutual benefit quickly spirals into something more complicated\u2026because of course it does\u2014and that\u2019s where the book shines. The setup is classic, but the cozy seaside setting, meddling family dynamics, and community-centered moments (like the fire department dance and Nix\u2019s class outings) give it a comforting, small-town charm.<\/p>\n

This is definitely a cute and spicy read, with a solid mix of drama and romance. The chemistry between Nix and Brock is believable, and the emotional beats land well enough to keep you invested in their journey from reluctant partners to something more.<\/p>\n

That said, I did have a few hang-ups. Although the characters seem to be in their mid-twenties, their behavior often felt younger, which pulled me out of the story at times. On top of that, some of the added family drama didn\u2019t fully work for me\u2014it occasionally felt like more than the story needed. Similarly, a \u201ctender\u201d moment between Brock and his brothers and dad didn\u2019t quite land as intended and came across as a bit unconvincing.<\/p>\n

I also think my reading experience may have been slightly skewed since I picked this up right after a five-star read, so my expectations were probably higher going in.<\/p>\n

Even with those critiques, I still found this to be an enjoyable 3.5-star read. I\u2019m also starting to realize I might be a fan of firefighter romances. They bring a certain intensity and charm that\u2019s hard to resist. Henderson shows promise as a writer, and I think her books will only get stronger with time.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a fan of fake dating, small-town settings, and a blend of sweet and steamy romance, Not Actually Yours<\/em> is definitely worth checking out.<\/p>\n

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the eARC.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The post Not Actually Yours by Sophie L. Henderson<\/a> appeared first on Book Nook Buzz<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not Actually Yours by Sophie L Henderson on May 7, 2026 Genres: Fiction \/ Romance \/ Contemporary Pages: 325 Format: ARC Buy on Amazon Goodreads Not Actually Yours is the second book in Sophie L. Henderson\u2019s Vancity Fire series, and for me, it was a step up from the first. This fake-dating romance delivers exactly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6165"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}