Along Came Alice
About
She accidentally told her oldest friend she had a boyfriend.
Now she just has to convince him.
Alice Sutton has spent her entire life believing in grand romances, meet-cutes, and happily-ever-afters. Unfortunately, at thirty-six, she's still spectacularly single. So when she's invited to her childhood best friend's wedding, panic—and one tiny little lie—lead her to name a boyfriend she doesn't actually have.
The boyfriend in question?
Owen Shea.
Grumpy, tea-drinking, routine-loving Owen would rather spend time with his dachshund, Paul, than make small talk with another human being. The last thing he wants is to attend a wedding full of strangers pretending to be someone's devoted partner.
But somehow, he says yes.
As Alice and Owen stumble through Operation Wedding, fake couple photos, awkward family questions, and increasingly believable chemistry, Alice starts wondering if she's finally found the romance she's always dreamed of. Meanwhile, Owen is discovering that Alice's chaos might be the best thing that's happened to him in years.
There's just one complication.
What happens when the relationship everyone believes in is the one neither of them expected to become real?
A warm, witty romantic comedy featuring fake dating, grumpy/sunshine vibes, workplace banter, neurodivergent representation, and a hero who falls much harder than he intended.
Praise for this book
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
October 4, 2026
The fake-dating, grumpy-meets-sunshine trope executed to perfection! Owen, Alice, and Paul the dachshund stole my heart. The fake-couple chaos turned genuine chemistry had me swooning from page one.
Review of advance copy received from Author
September 28, 2026
5 ⭐️
1 🌶This was just absolutely everything I expected from Maria's writing. Her dedication to the characters and how she approaches different subjects.
Owen is a beautiful soul as is Alice and together they make the unlikely pair that are just perfect for each other.
One line stayed with me, more than anything and that's
"This is my family. This is what Alice meant when she said our family is what we make it, not what we think it should be or what society deems it to be."
Because for me nothing beats a book where the characters have real life issues, like dont freak out but Alice has shark week... who would have known fictional FMCs also have them 🤭
The Epilogue was just perfection and the ultimate way to end the story. I giggled, I cried, I messaged Maria 🤣
Tropes include - Single Dog owner, grumpy x sunshine, fake dating, workplace romance, quiet x talkative.
Written in dual pov!
Review of advance copy received from Author
September 21, 2026
Along Came Alice by Maria Dean was a first reads for me from the author and it was a hit. I will be looking forward to reading more of her works.
This particular book was fun, spunky, relatable, charming, romantic and so many more things. It gave me all the feels.
A girl who thinks and talks too much and for the life of her cannot shut her brain off and a guy who is deep, quiet and a strong case of cleanliness and OCD, and a dog mistaken as a male lover.If you want a laugh at the sheer absurdity that is the MFC, Alice, while being bewildered by the thoughts that maybe this fake dating thing is all it could be, pick this one up.
Fake dating, real feelings and a misleading dog. The cover speaks for the book itself!
ARC Review | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 🌶️
Maria absolutely does it again! My heart, this was just perfect 💕
Alice our FMC was a chatty ray of sunshine, Owen is our grumpy, don’t talk to me MMC, but he secretly adores when Alice talks at him (not to him, he can’t get a word in 😂)
I went from crying to giggling within a few sentences! This took me on an emotional journey (in the best ways) that I will think about for too long. The depth in which we get to know these characters and understand their thoughts and emotions was so well done. If I finish a book in one sitting, I instantly know it’s a favourite!
Thank you to Hot Tree Publishing for the gifted copy 🫶🏼
Review of advance copy received from Author
September 16, 2026
I was looking for something light and fluffy after a couple of heavy reads and I'm so glad I got to read Along came Alice as it's a perfect cosy read for an autumn day. The story was was fun, light-hearted and had so many cute and laugh out loud moments. Some of Alice's run away thoughts absolutely took me back to when I was single and dating and made me laugh. I think every girl has gone through that thought process when meeting a boy they like and dating, it was so relatable. Grumpy Owen kept me guessing about what had happend to him and wondering if his love for Alice could knock it out of him (we all think we can fix him right?). Although the story touched on some sensitive subjects it does it very well and the plot didn't disappoint. I also love how mens mental health was represented very well.
Overall loved the book and really enjoyed the read.
This was such a fun, witty romantic comedy and will appeal to those who love grumpy/sunshine chaos, fake dating, and a workplace romance.
🐶Along Came Alice really had me on an emotional rollercoaster (in the best way)!! I loved watching Alice and Owen both let their guards down and take a risk on love.
Dean gave a lot of depth to these characters through the dual points of view and this made them feel very relatable and made for a bingeable read. It’s a book that left me with a smile on my face long after finishing. I really enjoyed it!