Review: Hart Street Lane by Samantha Young

HART STREET LANE
Series: Return to Dublin Street #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Samantha Young
Release Date: January 15, 2026

A steamy fake engagement romance from New York Times Bestselling Author Samantha Young.

Faking it has never been so hard…

Breaking up with my fiancé wasn’t on my agenda this summer, neither was hiding the truth from everyone, including my colleagues at Pennington’s department store. But that tiny evasion gets me into trouble when I’m forced to play bride-to-be for our new marketing campaign. If my boss finds out I’ve lied to her, it won’t just be my reputation on the line; it’ll be my job.

Enter my new bestie, Baird McMillan. Professional goalkeeper, professional heartbreaker, and now my professional fake fiancé. Baird’s public escapades have gotten him on the wrong side of his football club’s new owner, and he needs to prove he’s settling down. A fake engagement is a win-win for us both.

There’s just one problem. It turns out there’s nothing fake about the explosive connection Baird and I share.

I may not have been looking for love, but every moment with Baird tempts me to reach for it. Yet just as I start to believe a future together could be a real possibility, our pasts come surging back with a vengeance. And with it, those who will do anything to destroy our chance at forever…

AMAZON

All my life I’d been looking for a place where I could be fully me, and I could curse myself for not realizing sooner that my place was Baird McMillan’s heart.

I have loved the first two books in this series, so when I say that this one is my favorite yet, that just tells you how absolutely phenomenal this story was. I have been waiting for Baird’s book since he first stole the show as a secondary character in On Loverose Lane. I just wasn’t prepared to fall for him so thoroughly and completely. He was easily my favorite MMC in this series so far. The incredible depth that this man hides beyond the flirty demeanor and easy going personality and jokes blew me away. I mean, I knew there was so much more to him. I just didn’t realize how much more there was.

I knew I could make Maia happier than anyone else could if she gave me the chance. I’d lay the world at her feet.

Baird has been obsessed with Maia since he first meets her but Maia is taken. Now I love me some unrequited love trope, but when you throw in some male pining, stick a fork in me. I am SO DONE. Because the way this man pines for Maia is just something else. He makes himself content with just being her friend, even though he has been in love with her the entire time. So when Maia’s relationship falls apart and she’s left in a pickle for a work campaign she was set up to do with her fiancé, he’s prepared to save the day. Because he just knows that all he needs is an in, even if that in is a marriage of convenience. He’ll make her fall in love with him and he’s prepared to risk it all.

I let go of her arse to cup the back of her head, to hold her to me so I could kiss her like she was my next breath. Everything about this woman was right. The taste, the feel, the smell. She was my match. The missing fucking piece.

I loved the dichotomy of both Maia and Baird. They both have this confident exterior, but still waters run deep. Baird is still dealing with the trauma of his TBI and his own mortality. His extreme behavior of partying and dangerous risk taking ultimately putting his career at risk on his team.

Maia’s history is even darker. With an addict mother, she’s spent her entire life putting only her best self forward. A people pleaser to the max, she’s put her career ahead of everything else. And now a petty and jealous coworker may cost her that unless she takes Baird up on his crazy plan.

When I tell you I have never wished for a secondary character to get hit by a bus more, I mean I absolutely LOATHED Becky. Sadly, she survived. But we can’t get everything I suppose.

The romance was a delicious slow burn of angst and emotion and oh my god the way I loved it. The way I loved them. And the way I loved seeing Maia finally see Baird and the man he really is was one of the most satisfying experiences as a reader.

Thank you for taking care of me.” His response was gravelly with emotion. “You never have to thank me for that. It’s my privilege, Maia.”

I’m so in love with this series, and if you haven’t read it yet, you absolutely must. This is just one of those series and books that stays with you. The emotion it evoked was brain chemistry altering and I loved every single page and second of the experience.

Samantha Young is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She’s been nominated for several Goodreads Choice Awards. Samantha writes adult contemporary and paranormal romance, YA urban fantasy and YA contemporary fiction and is currently published in 31 countries.