“Tip In” by Josie Mae is a sweet adult romance novel (only moderately spicy) despite the suggestive title. Featuring two college students, one a decently famous basketball player, Theo, and an academic, Maya. They meet at a party, and though neither is interested in relationships, they quickly find themselves making an exception for one another.

The book is a standard three-act romance, falling into the same structure as many romance novels. I personally find the third act breakup to be predictable at this point, and was hoping this book would avoid it. I do think this novel did a decent job of allowing the reader to really get into the mindset of the characters to understand how they got to that point. Despite the predictability, I found the relationship between Maya and Theo to be charming and relatable. I enjoyed the book even though I wouldn’t say there was anything particularly special about it.

There was a minor plot of fake dating that seemed random and unnecessary. I felt like it was just trying to hit a few tropes so they could say it in the ads for the book.

If you’re into college basketball or just a college student, I think this book has something for you. Otherwise, it’s a sweet but fairly generic sapphic romance novel. Maybe I’ve just read too many similar romance books. If you love romance, you’ll love this one too!

Thank you NetGalley and Honky Tonk Angels Publishing for the digital ARC!

POV: first person, past tense, two POVs

Spice: 🔥/3