Don't Be In Love

by Liana Cincotti

The banter from My Lady Jane meets the London aesthetics of The Parent Trap in this romantic comedy. Originally released in 2022, the newest edition of Don't Be In Love will put you in the heart of London as a university student.

When twenty-one-year-old, career-driven Adelaide Adorno decides to transfer to one of the most prestigious universities in the world, London's Townsen University, for her senior year, she couldn’t be happier. Moving to London granted her new friends, a gorgeous apartment in the city, and a chance to work in luxury marketing.

Until she meets Dorian Blackwood—the youngest of the prominent British family known for their impression on the entertainment industry—who's plastered across every tabloid in Europe for his famous parents, handsome look, and notable dating life. He’s not only a student at Townsen University but the person her new best friend, and roommate, is absolutely in love with. Which is how Adelaide ultimately becomes twisted into a deal with Dorian to keep their secret.

But just because Dorian agrees to keep their secret doesn’t mean he’ll make life easy for her. Every lavish gala, photographed event in the city, and excuse to wear an expensive gown becomes a risk for their secret to come out. With Adelaide’s friendship on the line and her future career at risk, she’ll do anything she can to avoid him. Which should be easy for someone who doesn’t date, let alone believe in love—right?

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary, Adventure, Book Club, Novels

345 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 30, 2022

About the author

Liana Cincotti creates characters and stories about romance, self- discovery, and travel for both teens and adults. She recently finished her Bachelor of Science and now works in Marketing and Communications.
On her best days, you can find her sharing tubs of cookie dough ice cream with her friends or curling up in the corners of bookstores reading the newest romance.

Reviews

[Ashley Vogler · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love Taylor Swift this book is for you. Nuff said-🫡

[Ava · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so cute and lighthearted! It is literally an early 2000s rom com in a book. Once you start noticing the Taylor Swift references you can’t stop. Easy read! So so cute!

[Liana Cincotti · Rating 5 out of 5]

marking this as the first review of the brand new edition of Don’t Be In Love before it’s out in two days 🥹 for anyone that’s confused by the number of reviews prior to this, this book originally came out in 2022. two years later, it’s been completely rewritten, and it’s yours again <3

[aubrey౨ৎ₊˚⊹ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars ౨ৎ this feels just like a 2000s rom com and the banter is everything. it did feel a little rushed at times and the fmc annoyed me a little but it was still rlly cute

tropes<3
-no spice
-enemies to lovers
-dual pov
-london setting
-girl who doesn’t believe in love/boy who loves her like it’s breathing

[rei ‧₊˚✩彡 · Rating 4 out of 5]

╰┈➤ 4 stars!

this book proved to me that the definition of to be loved is to be seen is real.

my first read of the year turned out to be good, thank goodness! i remember stumbling upon a book called picking daisies on sundays thru tiktok—i fell in love with the cover and the little snippets, so i decided to give it a go. i ended up loving it. months later, i saw the author posting more content, but this time, they were from this book. from that moment, i knew i had to read it, and i have no regrets that i did!

౨ৎ adelaide. her character honestly frustrated me at times because she constantly refused to admit to herself that she deserved to be loved. but at the same time, i understood where she's coming from. she didn't grow up witnessing the kind of love that everyone should receive from their family, and that shaped how she viewed herself and love itself. if the people who were supposed to love her couldn't, then how could anyone else? it's something the many people struggle with, and if you can relate to that, her character will make you feel so seen.

౨ৎ dorian. he completely stole my heart! he might just be my fav british book bf ever! the way he showed his love was so thoughtful—he specifically made a keychain for adelaide that would match with her other keychains, and it may seem simple but it absolutely made me swooned. he has his own struggles and i absolutely loved how adelaide made him realize that the right person would stand by him and his dreams.

overall, this book was light, cute, and incredibly heartwarming. it made me fell in love with london in a way i never had before—i literally want to go there right now! more than anything, this story is for those who convince themselves that they don't deserve love, so they tried to avoid it altogether. it beautifully shows that love isn't just rainbows and sunshine, but still so worth it.

・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・

pre-read:

first read of 2025! i absolutely loved the first book i’ve read of hers, that’s why i’m kind of expecting that this one will be as good or even better 🤞🏼 also, i’ve seen her videos on tiktok about this book and it just hits the spot!

[Sophia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got bamboozled by an aesthetically pleasing tiktok

[christine mannino · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was pretty disappointed with this book. I love supporting smaller authors, and I was very excited to read. I think the love story overall was pretty cute, but the male protagonist (dorian) of the story was just not a good person. When he didn’t get what he wanted, he would go elsewhere, which is simply not a good foundation to start any relationship. I think highlighting the female protagonist’s independence and strength was wonderful, but at the same time it was overdone to the point where it felt forced. We also never learned the history she had with her family, and it was mentioned so many times, I was confused as to why it was never revealed. There were additionally many spelling errors and incorrect grammar, which just felt very unprofessional. I highly appreciate the idea of this story, but i am not sure the execution was done properly :/

[ren ୨ৎ ·˚ · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf @8%, i think it’s safe to say i will not be trusting tiktok for book suggestions anymore

[cyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

i’m trying to be nice because i loved this authors other book and i try to support authors. that being said… everyone in this book was annoying. both the main characters were horrible friends and the main “conflict” could have been solved with one.conversation. and by not having said conversation it created more drama and made me hate both the characters. i was not only not routing for the them main to couple to get together but i was rooting for the worst possible case scenario to happen to them. the only reason this isn’t a one start is because the first 100 pages were somewhat entertaining. after that… save yourself the time and skip this one. i’m pretty sure she wrote this before her other book so it makes sense that it’s not as good but i wish i had known that before going into this… tik tok aesthetic accounts really had me fooled with this one. it did its job as a palate cleanser i suppose. #justiceformymanjames

[patrycja ୨୧ ‧₊˚ · Rating 2 out of 5]

— 2 ★

⊹ "it’s love. everything about love is embarrassing. you’re pining over someone who’s across the room hardly thinking of you. that’s incredibly embarrassing. but I also think there’s something romantic about being secretly fond of someone in a way that only you know." ៹࣪

cute. lighthearted. cliche drama where the mmc's best friend obviously falls in love with the fmc? present. the characters? didn't stand out at all. what's more, adelaide didn't want to have anything to do with dorian because her best friend had a celeb crush on him...make it make sense. the plot? felt unrealistic as hell. the best part of this book? the london setting🤌🏻

⟡ — pre-read !

I didn't like picking daisies on sunday by this author but I'm willing to give her one more chance...

[Olivia · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was the worst thing ive ever read. i haven't ever wanted to not finish a book quite like this.
the main character was a pick me and she felt like a forced feminist and the love interest sucked ass.

[JB · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book , I truly did. but I guess we can't all have what we want.


the male main character was annoying. I'm sorry but this bad guy played trope is overused come on. I think this is the author's first book which would explain a few things but still. he was straight up annoying. everytime there'd be a scene between him and addy I'd be rolling my eyes. the scene where he leads her into the room and she says (and I quote) "to a place where she couldn't scream" while he was holding her hand so strongly? yeah thanks , we don't stan red flags here. and his excuse for him kissing victoria and everything else? "I slept with her because I needed to forget you 🥺🥺" bitch pleasee

james underrated king for real. we love james in this household !!!! he was the best <3 when we find out he gave her that dress I screamed so loudly and my mom looked at me lmao 😭 I was hoping that he would be the endgame but I guess addy pulled a taylor swift and chose "screaming and fighting" over "he is sensible and so incredible" 🤷🏽‍♂️ if she doesn't want him , I'll have him. thanks for the leftovers x

dorian ignored addy saying she doesn't want a relationship and kept kissing her but james understood that and backed off yet she chose dorian smh. like come on girl 🤨

also sabrina getting over SO quickly about addy's betrayal was just so unrealistic.

mia unproblematic queen 🙏🏽

victoria was also getting played with so a part of me does feel bad for her. I think she truly liked dorian.

at the end the romance was kinda cute and fluffy but I really disliked dorian so I sadly couldn't get into it.

nevertheless , some of the romantic quotes were really nice !! how addy described love at the end , the scene in the museum -> that was nice. but dorian sighs 🙄

also addy is on the aromantic spectrum idc

at the end , the best thing about this book was the first page with the dedication and james.

thanks for listening and bye <3


update:: I saw the author rated colleen hoover really highly. explains a lot.

[mare · Rating 1 out of 5]

this didnt deserve to be my first read of 2025 at all bc i finished it just to see how worse it can get (it did). how did adelaide get two british nepo babies pining over her when she had a personality of a paper. dorian is also fucking weird with his complicated relationship with victoria and his obsession with adelaide. shouldve been titled "dont be stupid".

[alsie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️
liana cincotti has this incredible ability to create the most perfect and loving main male characters who happen to be EXACTLY my type. it happened with Levi of Picking Daisies on Sundays and it happened again with Dorian of Don’t be in love (even James was perfect like hello????).
“you know i love a london boy” or whatever taylor swift said ..

and as much as i wish it weren’t true, i saw a lot of myself in Adelaide. the way she keeps people at arm’s length—not because she doesn’t care, but because she’s scared of getting hurt—it hit hard, so reading this book made me reflect on things i usually try to push to the back of my mind.. but that i know i’ll have to face eventually.

her books are the sweetest kind of comfort, and they somehow make me dream like i’m living in a romance novel… which, honestly, isn’t always a good thing because men like that don’t exist in real life. so thanks a lot, liana. really. 👍🏻💗💗

”Maybe life wasn't all about protecting yourself and trying to push away pain.
Maybe forgetting was all about forwardness. To remain steady on the path forward while trying to pick up as many stones filled with gratitude and joy and hope so that the resentment that fueled the lack of forgiveness didn't overwhelm the present.
There was something beautiful about falling in love with the uncertainty of life.”

“Being in your twenties is arguably the most difficult time of your life. Everything you do in that decade forms what's to come. And it feels as if you're never doing the right thing or making the right decision.”

”It was like seeing your favorite painting for the first time. This strong urge to feel it, wrap yourself in it, cover every wall in it.
She was my favorite painting.”

[julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

i loved “picking daisies on sundays” so i was pretty exited for another book by the author. unfortunately, this story didn’t catch my attention as much. it was blunt, unrealistic and weirdly built.

i think author wanted to make mmc like “a perfect male character” but in the process she forgot about other details. the potential storyline was cute, however, all of the uk,london aesthetic videos had better settings and vibes than the book. i didn’t feel uk or that rainy london vibes at all. i mean, unless a hundred times mentioned rain. i wish for more build up and more in depth chemistry between the main characters. also, i didn’t like how she lied the whole time and than sabrina just took it so easily. 🤷‍♀️

[emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

i am this close to dousing myself in gasoline and lighting myself on fire just so i never have to look at this book again

[andrea nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

yes, the writing is mediocre. yes, there are grammatical errors. yes, i am most definitely a sucker for these type of books.

[cristina⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ · Rating 2 out of 5]

DID SHE NEVER TELL JAMES THAT HER DREAM IS TO WORK FOR HIS MOTHER ?? yes, that was my first thought immediately after closing this book (and why was it okay for mia to ask james for a job but not adelaide?) - but, anyway, let’s get into the review -

thank GOD the main male characters did not have rocks for brains like levi did in picking daisies on sundays. both james and dorian had thoughts, reason, emotions, personality and liveliness (even though dorian apparently lost all ability to reason when he decided not to explain to adelaide during their fight in the book shop that he broke up with victoria).

speaking of victoria, i feel like she could have played a bigger role in this book if she were made to have actually interacted with adelaide, but i guess that would have introduced new problems and made the book a lot longer. (side note - i did like the plot twist about sylvie being her mother because i did not see that coming).

sabrina also deserved more time in the book. adelaide should have told her what happened IMMEDIATELY after seeing the picture. it’s not like she did anything wrong because SHE DIDN’T KNOW !! not telling sabrina kept her at a distance throughout the book that made it seem as if they weren’t actually close friends which made me roll my eyes whenever adelaide used her as an excuse not to like dorian. SABRINA IS NOT IN LOVE WITH HIM BECAUSE SHE HAS NEVER MET HIM !! their trio was definitely fractured for most of the book because mia was the only one getting all the info from adelaide, which made them seem a lot closer. sabrina’s reaction when she finally did find out at the very end was completely reasonable though, and they seemed like real best friends in their interactions after that.

also, where were her two best friends on her birthday and why did she spend it with grannies?😭

my rating might also be partially based on personal preference because, like i said in my picking daisies review, i am not really a young adult romance reader and do not like mushy cliches in books (or in real life). i guess in this case though, that makes me a lot like adelaide herself.

as a girl in her 20s who has absolutely no idea what is going on in her life right now, i did resonate with the main messages in the book about holding on until it all works out (which, hopefully it will) and i did like that adelaide didn’t make up with her parents because it was more realistic that way. there isn’t always a happy ending in every aspect of someone’s life. i do feel like her making up with her aunt escalated very quickly though. they went from strangers to besties in 2 phone calls after years of not speaking?

lastly, again, there were typos and grammar mistakes so i feel like i can’t give this higher than 2 stars or maybe 2.5. it also felt kind of wattpad-y and predictable at certain moments.

OH AND I ALMOST FORGOT - the dual pov. i like the idea of this but i feel like it could have been executed better. dorian’s pov scarcely appeared and one chapter was just a retelling of the last chapter but from his pov. it was kind of a messy way to organize things. i would have either committed fully to the dual pov or taken it out completely.

overall - better than picking daisies on sundays in my opinion.

playlist link - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4RU...

[dee ౨ৎ [semi-ia] · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars ☆.
⤿ romance

: ̗̀➛ “it’s love. everything about love is embarrassing. you’re pining over someone who’s across the room hardly thinking of you. that’s incredibly embarrassing. but i also think there’s something romantic about being secretly fond of someone in a way that only you know”

adelaide and dorian are so olivia and louis coded & no one can convince me otherwise. anyways, i picked up this book because i really enjoyed picking daisies on sundays, which was written by the same author, so i figured i had to give this one a try too. it was cute & lighthearted but unfortunately i didn’t enjoy it as much as picking daisies on sundays.

plot. a big issue for me was the plot, i found it extremely unrealistic and a little too silly. this book follows adelaide, a 21 year old transfer student. one night, adelaide and dorian get together, only for her to find out later that he is the man her best friend is “in love” with. adelaide finds herself forced to make a deal with dorian in order to keep their relationship secret.

not the best description, but you get the main idea. one thing i didn’t enjoy and just didn’t find believable is the fact that this whole plot was based on the fact that adelaide had to keep the whole thing a secret because dorian was her best friends celebrity crush. i find that a little ridiculous to be honest 😭 it just resulted in her creating a messy relationship with her friends and with dorian which was exhausting to constantly read about

characters.

adelaide. oh she was infuriating. can we please stop writing these annoying fmcs 😔 i couldn’t connect to her character at all throughout the whole story. don’t get me wrong she isn’t full on insufferable but she has some very irritating traits.

dorian. ”i prefer you in every room.” “it was like seeing your favorite painting for the first time. this strong urge to feel it, wrap yourself in it, cover every wall in it. she was my favorite painting” “tell me you care for me. because i care for you”. and he’s british ?! do i even need to add anything else

i need james’ story asap.

romance. one thing that did not miss was the yearning. i was in fact giggling and kicking my feet, the stolen glances and touches, absolute perfection. i will be thinking about that rain kiss everyday. they are SO ”so american” coded. i will always love the american girl x british guy trope

even though i had some issues with it, this book was very fun and a fast read for me so i’d still recommend it <3

[kaylee ⭑ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️ ”I think you underestimate the power of tension.”

this book felt like a cute rom com, so many scenes were so imaginative.
the main character greatly frustrated me with every decision she made, she is the worst communicator known to man and would ghost you if you did something slightly wrong.
i do appreciate her being flawed though, it gave her some depth. but it was hard to like her when she was compared to Dorian who was almost perfect, the balance just didn’t work.
the side characters were fine and overall the book was very fun to read!

[avril ✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

➳ 4 stars ౨ৎ ⋆ ｡˚

╰┈➤ “i tried, you know. to look at you as a friend. i really did. but every time you smiled. you laughed. you breathed. your lips parted. all i could think about was kissing you.”

this book was soooo adorable! I MEAN LIKE HES A PAINTER AND WAS DRAWING HER ON NAPKINS WHILE THEY WERE SEPARATED?!??


the pacing of this book was just the way i like it honestly, it was a slow burn and just the right amount of yearning. i mean this man would not give up even after being rejected like 10 times.
#needthat
adelaide was lowkey a red flag at times, i mean she has what people call “avoidant attachment” and irl i would definitely avoid that 😭

but heyy it’s okay because at the end of the day, she healed and readers see her form relationships which is something she struggled with from the start, so it’s refreshing to see! this book is from tiktok and i’m surprised that i genuinely enjoyed it despite my (weird?) history with booktok. i’ll definitely read cincotti’s other book, and more to come!💞

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.
　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　　 　　 　　　　 ✦

[lexi !! · Rating 5 out of 5]

જ⁀➴ thoughts
5 stars !! I will say, I thought the miscommunication between fmc and her friend was kinda annoying but it didn't bother me that much as it did others. i never wanted to put this book down. I loved both characters, i was giggling and laughing so many times. Liana Cincotti is one of my auto-buy authors. i am obsessed with this book and am SO devastated i can’t get anymore of dorian and adelaide. I had so much fun reading this, the yearning and banter was unmatched. dual pov was like a cherry on top. i seriously was so surprised how much i loved this book. so underrated i need to see more hype!


"if this is your way of torturing me, its working because i lose all ability to lie when it comes to you-"

[bookworm.mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

“𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚.”

Rating: 3/5 ⭐️

I absolutely love the title, cover, storyline, quotes, and descriptions portrayed in this book. The main character, Adelaide, was a model of independence and ambition.

This book is more on the surface-level side, but a great read nonetheless, and a breath of fresh air if you just read an intense book and want to cool off with a lighthearted read :)

I would love to see what the author comes up with in the future!

[taz · Rating 1 out of 5]

was clickbaited 😒

[Elinor. · Rating 4 out of 5]

- ★ ★ ★ ★ . 5

I really enjoyed this book so much 🫶🏻!
Adelaide was such a refreshing fmc quiet, guarded, and very different from what I usually see in romance which makes me totally fall in love with her plus the romance gave me total early 2000s rom-com vibes and had me invested the whole way through.
The only reason it’s not a full 5 stars for me is that the ending felt a bit rushed and some characters confused me at times but it still left me with such a warm feeling definitely one I’ll be thinking about for me for a while.

[Samantha Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

this has become one of my comfort reads

[Ella Zoë · Rating 1 out of 5]

The dedication page is the best part about the book. Couldn’t even finish it. Although it is very much fan fiction material (subpar romance, mediocre main character, a plethora of grammar mistakes etc.) you honestly could find way better on Wattpad. If you have any sense of what good literature is, don’t waste your time or your money on this.

[Cat O’Brien · Rating 2 out of 5]

A real good labotomy. Felt like banging my head against a wall majority of the book. Good ending I guess

[Infinity ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and lighthearted read after the trauma I experienced last night from fearless

[Rachel Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so fun to read, I couldn’t put it down! The lyrical nature of the writing was intoxicating. I really enjoyed how glamorous the lives of the characters were, and I loved the many literary and musical references! I also enjoyed that that characters were able to grow their relationship over multiple months, making the progression feel very natural. This is such a great debut!