Review: 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love – Emmy Sanders

If you’re looking for a lighthearted MM romantic comedy filled with laugh-out-loud moments, oblivious sweetness, and an unconventional friends-to-lovers dynamic, 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love by Emmy Sanders might catch your eye. This standalone novel blends humor with romance, featuring a golden retriever-type gym bro who slowly realizes his feelings might not be as straight as he thinks. But does the book deliver on both the comedy and the romance? Here’s my take.

10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love by Emmy Sanders
Genres: Contemporary, MM Romance

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Wingman 101: Make him fall head over heels in love.

Brad
What’s a straight guy to do when he accidentally goes on a date with his brand new gym-bro? Offer to be the best wingman ever, of course! It’s foolproof.

Joey needs a man? I’ll find him one.

He wants someone who looks, well, kind of like me? No problem!

Not into watersports? I’ve got him covered.

The issue is, going on all these dates with Joey makes me realize I want more of his time to be spent with me. I like the guy. And his smile. And the way he makes me feel like anything is possible.

Except… I can’t possibly be who Joey needs. He wants his forever person. His great big love.

And no matter how perfect the dude’s abs are or how skilled he is as a cuddle-bro, the two of us will never be more than friends. Because I’m straight.

Right?

10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love is a lighthearted romantic comedy with disastrous dates, more innuendo than is probably healthy, an oblivious sweetheart, the gym-dude who falls for him swiftly, and a HEA loaded with firsts. It has characters who originally appeared in Himbo (Elite 8 Studios Book 4) but is set as a standalone.

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Brad and Joey meet at the gym, and thanks to Brad’s naturally charming personality, Joey takes the chance to invite him to dinner. Believing it’s just a friendly hangout, Brad happily agrees, only to be caught off guard when Joey makes a romantic move. Brad clarifies that he’s straight but insists on remaining friends. Feeling guilty for misunderstanding, he offers to help Joey as his wingman in finding the perfect match. That’s when the chaos, hilarity, and unexpected feelings begin.

I have to admit, I laughed so much during the first half of this book that my stomach hurt. Brad had me in stitches with his obliviousness and the endless double entendres that he didn’t even realize he was making. This part of the story was pure joy.

Brad is the ultimate golden retriever: sweet, bubbly, and unintentionally hilarious. Joey complements him perfectly, loving him exactly as he is without trying to change him. Even as his feelings deepen, Joey remains patient and supportive, giving Brad the space to figure things out.

While the beginning is delightful, the second half starts to drag. The romance shifts Brad’s personality into something less charming and more exaggerated, with overly childish behaviors that make him seem clownish rather than endearing. It feels like the author wanted to explore neurodivergence through Brad’s character (as seen in her other work, To Catch a Firefly), but here it wasn’t fully developed, leaving some actions feeling off.

The humor also becomes repetitive, relying too much on the same jokes: kangaroos, fanny packs, hammers, endless “bro” moments. Some of Brad’s possessive and manipulative tendencies, like grabbing Joey’s phone mid-call, were also unappealing.

On top of that, the book suffers from pacing issues. At over 300 pages, it feels unnecessarily long, with extended cameos from the Elite 8 series characters that add little to the story. A hundred fewer pages would have made the experience much tighter.

In the end, this rom-com has potential but lacks emotional depth. There is no real angst or drama to keep the tension alive, making it feel flat by the conclusion.

Still, I can’t ignore how much I laughed at the beginning. Those moments were golden and made the read worthwhile in parts. If you’re in the mood for a silly, low-stakes romance that offers plenty of laughs, this book might just work for you.

Final Rating: 3 stars!

Have you read 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love? Did the humor carry the story for you, or did you also feel it dragged toward the end? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!