I Think They Love You — Spoiler-Free
Author: Julian Winters
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 336
SJR Quick Take
⭐ Rating: 5/5
🌶️ Spice: 3/5
💔 Emotional Impact: 4/5
📚 Genre: Contemporary Romance
🔁 Would I Read Again? TBD
➡️ Next: Read my Cover to Cover Conversation if you’ve already finished the book and want to dive into spoilers, favorite moments, and discussion questions.
What the Book Is About
We first meet Denz and Bray in college, and they’re on their way to meet Denz’s family. Denz is super nervous because this is a BIG deal. His family is a big deal, especially when it comes to their company, 24 Carter Gold. Denz could pretend to be normal before, but now Bray is about to see everything.
Then we jump five years into the present.
Denz is now working at 24 Carter Gold, his dad’s company, alongside most of his family. There’s his older sister Kami, his cousin Jordan, his aunts Eva and Cheryl, and a handful of other family members who also work for the company. Denz is in his twenties and trying to do his best. When he realizes he forgot the muffins for a meeting, instead of putting the mistake on an intern, he runs out to get them himself. He’s also doing really well handling social media for the company and has become a pretty big deal online himself.
Then BAM.
He runs into Braylon—formerly known as Bray. And Bray has a British accent now AND has gotten broader in the shoulders.
Denz is flabbergasted. But he’s also still hurt. He doesn’t exactly want to play nice, throws out a few comments he mildly regrets, and gets out of there. Unfortunately, running into his ex isn’t even the biggest thing Denz has to deal with that day.
During the family meeting, his dad, Kenneth, announces that he’s retiring. He’s opening the CEO position for anyone to apply, but he’s giving the family the first shot. Kami is all in. Denz isn’t so sure at first, but the idea of following in his father’s footsteps starts to sound pretty good. Kami, on the other hand, believes she can take the company and make it even bigger.
And just like that, the game is on.
Auntie Eva backs Denz while Auntie Cheryl backs Kami, but neither sibling gets off easy. The family has concerns about both of them. Denz is young, and they don’t think he takes life seriously enough. Kami is a single mother, and they question whether she can handle everything that comes with being CEO. Denz doesn’t like everyone putting him down about not having a serious relationship and how they think that reflects on him and the business.
So he tells Kami he has someone. There’s just one tiny problem. Auntie Cheryl hears him.
Uh-oh. And BAM—the family grapevine of gossip is a GO. Suddenly everybody wants to know who this mystery man is.
Without spoiling how we get there, Braylon eventually finds himself thrown into a fake relationship with Denz. Braylon will help Denz, and in return, Denz will help Braylon with his work.
Kenneth also gives Denz and Kami major events to plan as part of their competition. Denz gets a huge Valentine’s Day party, while Kami gets an engagement party. They have to prove they can keep everything together leading up to Kenneth’s big retirement party. Now Denz has to prove he deserves to be CEO, pull off a major event, convince his family that his fake relationship is real, and somehow survive doing all of this with his ex.
My Overall Reaction
One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was the family. We meet Denz’s little sister Nic, the twin aunts, his dad, cousins, and a handful of other family members. And when this family gets into everybody’s business, they get INTO everybody’s business. I loved reading the family group chat and watching all the drama unfold.
Denz and Kami’s relationship was also interesting because, underneath all the competition, they’re both dealing with the pressure of their family. They’ve even learned to use the code word “allergies” when the family has gotten to be a bit too much, and they need to hide how they’re really feeling.
We see Denz trying his best to be all in while still having a life, but he’s struggling with his self-confidence and the fact that his family doesn’t seem to believe he can actually pull this off.
And then there’s Braylon. Now Denz has to pretend to be in a relationship with the ex he’s still clearly hurt by while trying to prove himself to his entire family. Does Braylon deserve another chance?
Mhm. We’ll talk about THAT in Cover to Cover.
What I Loved
The Characters and Family
The family was definitely one of my favorite parts. You have Denz and Kami competing for the same position while also dealing with all of the expectations that come with being part of the Carter family. They both want to prove themselves, but neither one feels like they can completely show what they’re feeling around their family. Then you have Auntie Eva and Auntie Cheryl taking sides, cousins and siblings everywhere, and everybody wanting to know what’s happening in everybody else’s life.
And, of course, the family group chat. Once Auntie Cheryl overhears that Denz supposedly has a boyfriend, everybody wants the details.
The Black family grapevine of gossip is a GO.
Denz and Jamie’s Friendship
I also really enjoyed Denz’s friendship with Jamie, who is pan. They have what they call Thacker Night, where they cuddle up on the couch and watch rom-coms together. I loved their friendship. And speaking of rom-coms, I counted quite a few movie names and references throughout the book, including some of my favorites. That was such a fun little thing to notice while I was reading.
Denz and Braylon
Denz and Braylon set ground rules for their arrangement, including an end date for the fake dating. The plan is simple—or at least it’s supposed to be. The arrangement will hopefully help Denz get his promotion, while Braylon gets a face-to-face with the mayor through the Valentine’s Day party Denz is planning. But pretending to date someone you have a history with isn’t exactly simple. Denz is still hurt by what happened between them, and now he has to pretend to be in a relationship with the same man who helped him build a giant wall around his heart.
Except now Braylon has gotten broader in the shoulders and has a British accent.
No.
Swoon…NO.
We hate him until we hear the entire story and nothing but the truth.
But does Braylon deserve another chance?
Mhm…I can’t tell you that here.
The Humor and Family Drama
This book had plenty of moments that made me laugh. The family group chat was one of my favorite little details because once something happens, EVERYBODY knows. Watching Denz try to keep the fake relationship believable while dealing with his family, the CEO competition, the Valentine’s Day party, and Braylon made everything even more entertaining.
And Auntie Cheryl? Mhm. I was side-eyeing her.
Romance & Spice
I’m giving the spice a 3/5.
There is definitely some heat in this one, but I didn’t feel like the spice took over the story. There was still plenty happening with Denz’s family, the business, the CEO competition, and the relationship itself to keep me invested.
Emotional Impact
I’m giving the emotional impact a 4/5 because this one almost made me cry. Underneath all of the funny family moments and fake-dating chaos, Denz is struggling with his confidence and with feeling like his family doesn’t believe he can pull this off. There’s also the history between Denz and Braylon hanging over everything. Denz is clearly still hurt when Braylon suddenly walks back into his life five years later, which made me want to know exactly what happened between them and whether Braylon even deserved another chance.
Writing Style
One thing I really enjoyed about the writing was how much we get to see the inner thoughts and emotions of the characters, especially when it comes to the family and everybody’s relationships. We get to know Denz through his relationships with his family, cousins, best friend, and the people around him. But we also get to see the difference between the Denz he wants to be and the Denz he actually is.
There are things Denz wants to say but is scared to speak out loud, and we get to hear some of that inner dialogue happening in his head instead. I really liked being able to see that side of him because there is so much he is trying to figure out while also trying to prove himself to everyone around him.
Pacing
A lot happens in this book. We have the CEO competition, Denz and Kami’s events, the fake relationship, Denz and Braylon’s history, the family drama, and Denz trying to figure out what he actually wants. But I stayed invested in seeing how everything was going to come together.
Themes
One of the biggest things that stood out to me was family expectations. Both Denz and Kami are trying to prove themselves while dealing with a family that has very strong opinions about what their lives should look like. For Denz especially, there’s this struggle with his self-confidence and wanting his family to believe that he can actually handle more responsibility. There’s also love, second chances, family, friendship, and figuring out what you actually want for yourself.
Final Verdict
I’m sitting at 5/5 stars for I Think They Love You. I enjoyed the family drama, the humor, the fake-dating situation, Denz and Jamie’s friendship, all the rom-com references, and watching everything unfold between Denz and Braylon. It also had more emotional weight than I initially expected. This one almost got some tears out of me, which is why I’m giving the emotional impact a 4/5.
Now, am I going to keep that 5/5 after I sit down and really get into everything that happened?
Mhm.
We’ll see when we get to Cover to Cover.
Because I have some things I want to talk about.
Who Should Read This?
I’d recommend this if you enjoy:
Fake dating
Second-chance romance
Family drama
Rom-com references
LGBTQ+ romance
A big family that’s always in everybody’s business
Some spice without it taking over the entire story
Romance mixed with career and family pressures
Would I Recommend It?
Yes.
I had fun with this one, but it also gave me more emotionally than I expected. There were funny moments, family drama, romance, spice, and enough happening outside of the relationship that I stayed interested in Denz’s life as a whole.
Would I Read It Again?
TBD.
I’m keeping this one open until we get through Cover to Cover and I really sit with everything that happened.
For now:
⭐ 5/5
🌶️ 3/5
💔 4/5
And that five-star rating is going into Cover to Cover with something to prove.
If you’ve read I Think They Love You, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments over on Cover to Cover! And if you’re still deciding whether to pick it up, I hope this review helped you find your next great read.
Until the next chapter,
Happy Reading,
S. J. Robinson
Buy it here: https://bookshop.org/lists/sjr-writes-and-reads
Book Reviews, Romance Books, LGBTQ+ Romance, Contemporary Romance, Julian Winters, I Think They Love You, Second Chance Romance, Fake Dating.
