ARC Book Review: All’s Fair in Love and Blackmail by Gracie Ruth Mitchell

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 291 pages
Author: Gracie Ruth Mitchell
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: March 21st, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Once upon a time…I fell for my brother’s best friend.

I’m not proud of myself, okay? But these things happen when you’re young and impressionable. The point is, I got over it. I moved on.

Except now Felix Caine is back—back with his easy smile and sparkling eyes, and he’s making me an offer I (literally) can’t refuse. He needs help with a romantic article he’s writing, and he won’t take no for an answer.

The more time I spend with him, the more I remember all the reasons I fell for him before. But he’s not just my brother’s flirtatious friend this time. He’s my friend, too. And though he says he’ll never fall in love, I sometimes see his gaze linger with more than just friendship.

There’s a spark between us that wasn’t there before. And I don’t want to have any regrets in this relationship. But what’s a girl to do when the only way to follow her heart…is to give it away?

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

THIS WAS CUTE!

GRM’s books are always delightfully filled with good banter. I loved the back and forth between Felix and Indy. It’s charming and has a 2000’s romcom vibe that I can get behind.

I thought the plot was simple and effective. I loved seeing all of the little romantic places around Lucky and how Felix and India were out of their depth trying to fight feelings for each other. The little sweet moments they had to connect were swoony.

Sometimes the side characters took over the story a bit (aka her sisters) and I wish there had been more swoon, but those are minor things in an otherwise lovely book.

I adore being in GRM’s plots and schemes. And this made me smile and brought some joy into my week. Felix’s charming, flirtatious ways were my favorite and I loved seeing India get back on her motorcycle and go after the things she wanted in life. The themes woven in were exactly what this story needed.

Overall audience notes: