REVIEW: The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton

The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton: What girl doesn’t want to say that she is dating an astronaut, well for newly unemployed event planner Amerie Price, it was more of a panic move to save face in front of her ex and his new put together girlfriend. The last thing she expected was to wind up getting herself into a fake relationship with hottie astronaut Vincent Rogers. But when the cute stranger that she spilt her coffee on plays along with her little fib, Amerie thinks that she is in the clear, well that is until he offers her a deal of his own, continue their little lie for the next three months until his mission to keep his worrisome family off his back and in exchange she can have a rent free room in his house. Its truly a win, win for both of them that is until some very real feelings begin to float into their supposed fake relationship… can a risk-averse girl like Amerie get into a real relationship with a risk taking astronaut like Vincent?

The Kiss Countdown was actually a really cute fake dating romcom. I loved the fact that this was a cute, easy read with no major drama but loads of cute moments. The pacing could have moved a bit faster but for a slow burn it was pretty evenly paced. I think the only thing that I would have wanted was for this to be a dual point of view novel but ultimately I enjoyed reading the story from Amerie’s perspective.

I really liked Amerie, she was hard working, independent, caring and I admired her resilience. I just loved that even though she was going through a rough patch she was still determined to follow her dreams and make her party planning business a success. Truly I just adored Vincent, he was charming and generally a great guy. I loved that he gave everything so much of though and attention. But most of all I loved the fact that he helped bring Amerie out of her shell, he was the push that she needed to really start trying new things.

Vincent was the perfect mellow and calming match to Amerie’s hyper chaotic energy. These two balanced of each other in the most perfect way possible. I liked that they had a slow burn romance, not only did it make their relationship feel more real but I loved the build up and suspense. They had the cutest dates ever and I just loved learning little facts about the moon and outer space as these two grew closer. As far as spice goes, this book was pretty mild.

The supporting characters in this book were just perfect. I loved the fact that family played such a huge role for both main characters and that they understood the importance of family. There were moments that dealt with family illness and grief and I think these topics were handled very well by Easton.

All in all The Kiss Countdown was a really good read, this cute play on the fake dating / forced proximity romance trope is a definite must read me!

Book Info:

Publication: April 4, 2024 | Berkley |

A struggling event planner and a sinfully hot astronaut must decide if their fake relationship is worth a shot at happily-ever-after, in this starry debut.

Risk-averse event planner Amerie Price is jobless, newly single, and about to lose her apartment. With no choice but to gamble on her shaky start-up, the last thing she needed was to run into her smug ex and his new, less complicated girlfriend at Amerie’s favorite coffee shop. Panicked, she pretends to be dating the annoyingly sexy man she met by spilling Americano all over his abs. He plays along—for a price.

Half the single men in Houston claim to be astronauts, but Vincent Rogers turns out to be the real deal. What started as a one-off lie morphs into a for the three months leading up to his mission, Amerie will play Vincent’s doting partner in front of his loving but overly invested family. In exchange, she gets a rent-free room in his house and can put every penny toward her struggling business.

What Amerie doesn’t plan for is Vincent’s gravitational pull. While her mind tells her a future with this astronaut is too unpredictable, her heart says he’s exactly what she needs. As their time together counts down, Amerie must decide if she’ll settle for the safe life—or shoot for the stars.