Title: While You Were SeethingPages: 320
Publication Date: April 14, 2026
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
Synopsis:
Daisy Emmett has been enemies with famous romance author Caleb Miller since they were in college together, and time hasn’t lessened their mutual loathing. So when she agrees to manoeuvre him through a PR disaster of his own making, she knows it’s not going to be easy. She just doesn’t realise how not easy until they somehow end up trapped in the same truck, on an endless road trip from one book tour stop to another, bantering and butting heads along the way.
Then, even more people appear to be mistaking her for the woman he dedicates all his books to. The love of his life, his adored beloved—the one who doesn’t actually exist. Now they’re trapped into pretending she does and that Daisy is her, each fake kiss and phoney embrace ratcheting up the tension to the point where enemies suddenly seems a lot closer to lovers than either of them would like.
Or so they’re telling themselves.
But sometimes it’s hard to be sure, when seething turns into something so much more…
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While You Were Seething was such a fun and romantic story! I’ve read and enjoyed several of Charlotte Stein’s romances before, and this one is just as good as her others. The characters are layered and interesting, the story is fun and emotional, and the romance is positively swoon-worthy. The story follows Daisy, a PR specialist charged with fixing the image of a grumpy romance author who just so happens to be her old college rival, Caleb.
Daisy and Caleb have an enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, forced proximity, slow-burn romance that’s riddled with chemistry, banter, and spice. Caleb is reclusive, broody, reserved, and really good at saying exactly the wrong thing, while Daisy is impulsive, open, and a total ray of sunshine. I just loved them and their opposites-attract love story, though there were times I wanted to shake the withdrawn and grumpy Caleb. lol
I also really liked the dual timeline, which adds a lot of depth to the story. The college flashbacks explain their love-hate relationship and why there’s so much tension and animosity between them. Daisy and Caleb met in a college writing class, and they have clashed since day one. You can definitely feel all the unresolved emotions simmering between them, and with a road trip and fake dating scheme pushing them together, they are finally forced to face all of their issues. The way they challenge each other is fantastic, and their spicy scenes are steamy!! Who knew Caleb would be a dirty talker? Whew!
I really enjoyed this story. It’s funny, steamy, and surprisingly heartfelt, and it definitely reminded me why I always look forward to reading Stein’s romances. Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
- enemies to lovers
- forced proximity
- grumpy/sunshine
- only one tent
- fake dating
- road trip
“I can never see myself through someone else’s eyes. Everybody is full of color to me, a huge story filled with incredible detail, but when I imagine them seeing me all I can imagine is a plain sheet of paper.”
Charlotte Stein is the RT and DABWAHA nominated author of over fifty short stories, novellas and novels. When not writing deeply emotional and intensely sexy books, she can be found eating jelly turtles, watching terrible sitcoms and occasionally lusting after hunks. For more on Charlotte, visit: www.charlottestein.net
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