REVIEW: Bonfire and Bliss Bookstore by Brittanée Nicole

Bonfire and Bliss Bookstore by Brittanée Nicole: Penny Darling has had enough of real-life romance after a very public failed engagement. These days, she’s much happier surrounded by books at her bookstore, Bonfire & Bliss, and the fictional men inside them. Then Jake “Monty” Montgomery, her high school best friend and now a struggling author, comes home needing Penny’s help. He wants to learn how to write the perfect book boyfriend. Penny needs a fake boyfriend to keep Hope Harbor’s busybodies out of her love life. Naturally, they make a deal.

There was something instantly cozy about BONFIRE AND BLISS BOOKSTORE. The bookstore, autumn leaves, apple orchard, bonfires, and small-town gossip created exactly the vibes I want from a cozy fall romance.

After having her heart broken so publicly, Penny has every reason to keep real romance at a distance. She’s built a life around the things she enjoys and has decided that fictional romance is much safer. Monty was Penny’s longtime friend, an aspiring author, and exactly the sort of person who needs her help figuring out what makes a great romance hero. I loved the irony of Penny teaching him how to write the perfect book boyfriend while he was quietly becoming one himself.

The chemistry between Penny and Monty was playful, flirty, and full of that extra tension that comes from knowing someone for years. I loved watching their friendship shift as the fake-dating arrangement gave them permission to explore something they had never really considered. The pretend kisses and romantic “lessons” were fun, but the best part was watching Penny realize that Monty wasn’t simply playing the role of the perfect hero—he might actually be the man she’s been looking for.

BONFIRE AND BLISS BOOKSTORE was such a cozy fall romance for anyone who believes books make everything better. Between the bookstore setting, autumn atmosphere, small-town gossip, and the friends-to-lovers romance, this one delivered plenty of warmth and swoon.

Tropes & Vibes
💕 Friends-to-lovers
🎭 Fake dating
📚 Bookstore romance
✍️ Author hero
🔥 Childhood best friends
🍂 Fall romance
🏡 Small-town romance
💋 Fake kisses
❤️ Old flames

Book Info:

Publication: August 11, 2026 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons | A Hope Harbor Novel

Sparks fly as the leaves fall this autumn…From the New York Times bestselling superstar romance author of the Boston Bolts hockey series comes a spicy and swoony friends-to-lovers fake-dating delight.

These old flames are ready to catch fire.

For Penny Darling, love is best enjoyed between the pages of a book. After a very public failed engagement, she’d rather cozy up by the fire with a book boyfriend than a real one any day. And as the owner of Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore, she has her pick.

Then Jake “Monty” Montgomery returns home. Her high school best friend, now a struggling author with inked forearms and wicked green eyes. And he needs her help.

His proposal is simple: She’ll teach him to write the perfect book boyfriend and he’ll pose as her real boyfriend, keeping Hope Harbor’s busybodies—and their obsession with Penny’s love life—at bay.

But when their lessons begin, the line between fiction and reality grows dangerously thin. As pretend kisses in the apple orchard turn into searing ones beneath the autumn moon, Penny begins to wonder if Monty could really love her, or if she’s destined for another broken heart.