Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Annie is not good at keeping jobs where she feels underappreciated. She has just lost a waitress job at a restaurant for tipping liquid over an annoying customer, which is apparently not on. But she needs to make money, not just for herself but for her parents who are struggling to hold on to their house after her father had an accident and could not work for months.

She has the idea to rent a pop-up shop in Newcastle to sell various wares that her Mum had bought in to sell on before her MS got worse. She can't afford the rent on her own but another interested party offers to share the space and the rent.

That party is Penn, a brooding musician selling old vinyl. He also happens to be the Honourable Peregrine Burton-Edwards, son of a Lord. He and Annie don't like each other very much to start with as they seem to have nothing in common but then Penn reluctantly asks her for help - could she please play his pretend girlfriend at a dinner at the family pile in Northumberland to demonstrate to his parents that he is not going to come back and marry his ex Sophie?

Annie is horrified, she doesn't like the landed gentry and thinks they are all rich tosspots who shoot defenceless animals, which is why she demonstrated against pheasant hunting there the week before. Nevertheless, she lets herself get roped in, which leads to some cringeworthy classist scenes.

There is also a mystery saboteur repeatedly vandalising and burgling the shop so Annie and Penn have to put their sleuthing hats on, with help from a surprising quarter.

The plot is teeming with tropes: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fake dating and one bed only, none of which I particularly care for.

It's also a little spicier than I like, and I had trouble with Annie's wild accusations against Penn even though there was no reason for them whatsoever. She often comes across as very impulsive. The break-ups were a bit silly too. The plot is only vaguely Christmassy but the supporting characters are quirky and fun. No cute animals though apart from one black Labrador. The best scenes are when Annie finds some French sex toys and starts selling them under the counter, with clients having to ask for Jean-Luc as a codename.

Altogether this is a cute little story that won't tax you unduly. There is also a proper epilogue, hurray. Read if you're a fan of tons of tropes at the same time.