Do I Know You? by Emily Wibberley
One of.. Amazon's Best Romances of January · Buzzfeed's Romance Books To Look Out For In 2023 ,When a couple starts to feel like they're married to a stranger, a flirtatious game of pretend becomes the spark they need to reignite their relationship. Eliza and Graham are anticipating an anything-but-sexy, weeklong getaway to celebrate their five-year anniversary. Nestled on the Northern California coastline, the resort prides itself on being a destination for those in love and those looking to find it. For Eliza and Graham, it might as well be a vacation with a roommate. When a well-meaning guest mistakes Eliza and Graham for being single and introduces them at the hotel bar, they don't correct him. Suddenly, they're pretending to be perfect strangers and it's unexpectedly…fun? Eliza and Graham find themselves flirting like it's their first date, and waiting with butterflies in their stomach for the other to text back. Everyone at the retreat can sense the electric chemistry between Eliza and Graham's alter egos. But when their scintillating game of roleplaying ends, will they still feel the heat?
- Suggested age range - Adult
- Format - Paperback
- Product dimensions - 5.1" W x 7.9" H x 1" D
- Genre - Romance
- Publisher - Penguin Publishing Group, Publication date - 01/24/2023
- Page count - 352
- ISBN - 9780593201954
Web ID: 15775139
Young Married Couple
Graham and Eliza are roleplaying to save their marriage. They pretend to be a new fling to keep things new and exciting. It’s different and spicy! I never read anything like it!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Slightly repetetive...
Now this was just my opinion, but I really thought that after about 15-ish chapters it started to get really repetitive and slightly predictable. I did enjoy it in the beginning, but that's the only downside to this book unfortunately.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Thoughtful and Emotional
Eliza and Graham are celebrating their five year wedding anniversary with a week away at a resort in the mountains. The problem is they've become so comfortable, so complacent, that it feels more like two friends taking a vacation. A mix-up with the room gives them a chance to find the space to really explore their relationship. They decide to pretend to be perfect strangers so they can recreate and revisit those 'new crush' feelings once again. But like all vacations, this pretending has to end and the real world has to come back. I really liked Graham's chapters. His introspection, his insecurities in how he sees himself, and his bone deep love for his wife. This was a fun read with some laugh out loud moments, wonderful supporting characters, and truly emotional writing.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A game that changes everything
Do I Know You? by Emily Wibberley; Austin Siegemund-Broka My first book by this talented husband/wife writing team is "Do I Know You"? The story opens with Eliza and Graham enduring an emotionally painful hours long journey with...horrors of horrors...each other! Graham's parents gifted them a luxurious stay at a coastal resort, to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. Their once love filled relationship has devolved into what seems to be a living situation of friends who barely tolerate each other. If this marriage is going anywhere, it seems it's a downhill trip all the way. For all his good looks and success in other areas of his life, lawyer Graham's self esteem seems at it's lowest when he compares himself to his beautiful wife. Eliza, an audiobook narrator and voice over actor, gets so much more from her job than from her almost dead marriage to Graham. It seems that any effort Eliza puts into conversation with Graham bores or angers him. What in the world will they figure out to do at a luxurious resort on their fifth wedding anniversary? It seems a miserable week for the two of them is in their near future. A stranger introducing Graham and Eliza to each other, because he thinks they are single, sparks an idea. Why not pretend to NOT know each other, to be people they are not, to meet each other for the first time, to let go of all the bad chemistry the last years have infused into their marriage. They will be free to reinvent themselves and this brand new coming together. Why not role play some fun into a marriage that is on its last legs? Why not find a way to enjoy this week that otherwise will be a miserable slog of marital non-bliss. And so it goes. Graham and Eliza really do love each other but they somehow lost their way to each other. If ever a couple could benefit from marriage counseling it would be these two but no, that'd be too practical and too easy (or actually, too hard). They both have trouble communicating with each other and one of them has trouble communicating overall. It is fun watching how they beat themselves up in their own headspace but actually seem so attractive to their spouse when seen from a distance. There are some really nice side characters in this story, wanting the best for the couple, if only the couple can pull themselves together as a couple. Thank you to Elisha at Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Married Romance Fiction at its Best!
Eliza and Graham are heading to the Northern California coast to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary at a resort that caters to those looking for love or those already in love. Sadly, this couple is experiencing a lull in their relationship. It's a mutual awkwardness and feelings of not being enough for their spouse. They feel like strangers and wonder when the romance left their marriage. Neither is sure how a vacation at a resort that focuses on love is going to work for them and traveling by car for seven hours to get there with nothing to say to each other is painful! At the resort, when an opportunity crops up for Eliza and Graham to spend their week getting reacquainted in a most interesting, fun, and romantic way, it begins to spark the fire and steam back into their relationship. Will the heat wave they've created with one another continue once the vacation fun ends or will there be a cooling trend expected in the forecast? What a fun premise! I was rooting for these two married main characters from beginning to end and I love the creative measures used in the attempt to get their relationship back on track. As someone who has been married for many years, I happen to believe that "Married Romance" is highly under rated! This story proves it! I stayed up into the wee hours finishing this book because I couldn't put it down and, mostly, so I could 'ugly cry' without my husband watching. Disclosure: A fair amount of tissues were devoted to the reading of this book! Kudos to the husband and wife writing team for this well-written story that's creative and original, tender and romantic, with a touch of heartbreak (for the tissues), and a fair amount of "open-door" sizzle. If you enjoy a great romance, but a Rom-Com isn't your thing (like me!) this could definitely be one for you. I highly recommend! 4.5 stars! Thank you to Berkley for a widget of this ARC through NetGalley. It has been my pleasure to give my honest and voluntary review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Keeping It Real
HE SAID. SHE SAID. This is a second chance romance-but not the kind you are thinking. It isn’t about once again finding “the one who got away”. It’s about getting a second chance with your own husband-one who you almost let get away-because you have grown so far apart in your marriage that you feel more like strangers than lovers. Eliza and Graham have been gifted a romantic getaway from his well meaning parents, to celebrate their 5th year wedding anniversary. The resort, on the California coastline is designed for those in love, and those looking to find it. But, do they fit in either category? How much fun will it be to travel 7 hours by car to the resort in silence? Or to share a candlelight dinner or stargazing with a person you have nothing to say to? His parents had no idea just how bad things had become between their son, and his wife. Upon checking in at the resort, they encounter a mix-up. Two rooms have been booked instead on one, and Eliza suggests that they keep both. They head to their separate suites and agree to meet for dinner. But, when she arrives, she finds Graham sitting beside a new friend, David, at the bar. Not realizing that the two know each other, David makes the introductions and….Eliza doesn’t correct him. Graham is confused, but he plays along, and soon their role playing reignites the excitement and the nerves they remembered from when they were dating the FIRST time. Their story alternates between the first person POVs of both Eliza and Graham as they try to find their way back to one another, before their week long respite comes to an end, and to say I was rooting for them all the way-would be an understatement!! This is the second collaboration between real life husband and wife, Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, and it may be even BETTER than their 5 ⭐️ debut, “The Roughest Draft”! They write REAL romance, not the idealized version, so if you have ever wondered how a relationship you were once so excited about, has fallen apart so spectacularly, this WILL resonate with you. There is playful banter and sizzling spice, but there is also the pain of miscommunication and hurt. The writing is thoughtful, RAW and real. But, it’s also light, entertaining and fun!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
One of my favorite tropes done so well!
Eliza and Graham have been married 5 years and they were given a getaway for their anniversary. On the road to this amazing resort, we are shown just how strained their marriage is. Eliza is struggling to remember why she fell in love with Graham and Graham is struggling trying to be the man he thinks Eliza wants. When they arrive, there is a mix up with rooms and two rooms were booked. Eliza gets the amazing idea of pretending they don't know one another and remeeting all over again. Maybe it will help them find their spark, but it can't hurt to try. Graham isn't so sure about it, but he goes along with it. They both embark on a journey about not only their marriage, but on themselves. I liked this book so much because it was relatable, marriage is scary and communication is harder. Opening up to let someone see the real you, with all your flaws, it is so hard. What if they don't love the version of you that you put out there, what if you're boring, what if you're weird? I think that this is something that all marriages go through and it is important that we acknowledge the fact that it is work, everyday, and it is hard, even when you seemingly have the perfect life. I liked how Graham and Eliza met people on this trip that gave them insight into what they saw with both of them too, it opened their eyes to even more.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com