Unexpectedly in Love: a fake dating romance

Unexpectedly in Love is the first book in the Sherbrookes series by Christina Tetreault. Victoria “Tory” Sherbrooke has a problem. She is the maid of honor in her friend Ivy's upcoming wedding. Unfortunately, her ex-boyfriend is the groom’s best man. No one, including her ex, will accept that their relationship is truly over. In order to get everyone off her case, she decides to show up to the wedding with a boyfriend. Her family’s charity bachelor auction would be the perfect place to find a fake boyfriend. Duncan Ferguson had lost a bet and now he is a part of the auction. He planned to fulfill his obligation and walk away. However, when he hears Tory’s plan, he can’t help but agree. Falling in love was never a part of the plan. As they spend time together, the more and more their fake relationship feels very, very real. 

The fake dating trope is one I usually enjoy; however, I just wasn’t feeling this one. I didn’t like Tory from the get go. I found her shallow and immature. At one point, she accuses Duncan of using her for a connection when she is using him to fool her ex boyfriend and others. I rolled my eyes at that. As the first book in the series, I understand establishing characters and building the world. Unfortunately, there were way too many connections and relationships introduced in the confusing way. In the first chapter alone, there were dozens of names and connections mentioned instead of introducing them as they appear in the story. It really slowed the story down from the beginning. From there, the story felt chopping and disconnected. Overall, I did not enjoy this story and I will not be continuing the series. I do not recommend Unexpectedly in Love. 

Unexpectedly in Love is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Fake Date: an arrangement to fulfill a promise and keep matchmakers at bay

The Fake Date is the fourth book in the Brides of Beaufort by Jess Mastorakos. Beau Devereux is a Marine with a side hustle. Mr Fake Date, a business in which women can hire him to be a date for weddings. He has strict rules. No feelings. Kissing is extra. Everything was going great until his father forced him to make a promise to find something real. Lyndi Robinson is the beautiful yet bookish woman who caught his eye a year ago. When she needs a fake date for an upcoming family wedding, he offers his services. They can pretend to be dating to satisfy his father’s promise and keep her family’s matchmakers away. As they begin their charade, Beau realizes she could be the one. But he is determined to be her fake date and walk away. He has to. He doesn’t want to fall in love and lose her like he lost everyone else. 

To say I am loving this series would be an understatement. And Jess Mastorakos is quickly becoming a must-read author for me. Great characters with flaws, of course, handsome military men are always a plus. The Fake Date dives deeper into the fear of loss, social anxiety and escaping reality. I loved that the mutual attraction between Beau and Lyndi was shown in the first book and carried on through the second and third book even though neither Beau and Lyndi were willing to act on their feelings. The growth of Beau and Lyndi in this story was great. I loved Beau who was closed off for a purpose, although he really didn’t want to be but felt he had to to protect his heart. I loved the bookish Lyndi, but there were times I wanted to shake some sense into her. Overall, I loved this story. I’m ready to jump right into book five. I highly, highly recommend The Fake Date. 

The Fake Date is available in paperback and eBook

Mistletoe Between Friends: a friends to lovers, fake dating Christmas romance

Mistletoe Between Friends by Samantha Chase is a Christmas romance. Lifelong friends Lily Cavanaugh and Cameron Greene know each other inside and out. Their matchmaking mothers seem determined to pair them up on blind dates. As the Christmas season is approaching, they come up with the perfect solution: pretend to date each other and break up after the holiday. It will get their meddling mothers off their backs at least for a while and have a chance for a peaceful Christmas without the constant questions. Simple, right? What could go wrong? As they pretend to date and suddenly the feelings are becoming very, very real. Will they continue to pretend? Or will they face the possibility that they have fallen in love?

Mistletoe Between Friends is a sweet friends to lovers, fake dating Christmas romance. A quick paced, page turner, it was easy to fall in love with Lily and Cameron, to root for them and cheer as they reveal their true feelings. I loved their friendship banter and their uneasiness as they experienced more romantic feelings for each other. I cheered when Cameron defended Lily against her sister’s backhanded comments. I especially loved the epilogue. I won’t say why because it would spoil the ending but it was so good! Mistletoe Between Friends is a great read for an afternoon of romance and the magic of Christmas. If you love a friends to lovers, fake dating romance with the magic of Christmas, I highly recommend Mistletoe Between Friends. 

Mistletoe Between Friends is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Twisted Lies: a fake dating romance with a morally grey character

Twisted Lies is the fourth and final book in the Twisted series by Ana Huang. Christian Harper is charming, deadly and smart enough to hide it. He is a ruthless monster parading as a gentleman in a three piece suit. Morals just get in the way and love is a useless emotion, however, he can’t deny the attraction toward a woman he barely knows. He can’t afford a weakness and yet, he has one. Stella Alonso is sweet, shy and introverted despite her very public fashion blog and media presence. Busy with her career and other responsibilities, she has very little time for a relationship, despite being a romantic at heart. When a threat from her past returns, Stella finds herself turning to Christian for help. He suggests a fake dating agreement which would be mutually beneficial. However, when their relationship becomes very real that their original agreement, based on a lie and twisted with secrets, that could shatter everything.

 Twisted Lies is a steamy, medium to slow burn fake dating romance. Christian is a morally gray character who closes himself off to any emotions and the only person that seems to be able to invoke any emotions for him is Stella. Twisted Lies is my second favorite book in this series. I enjoyed Stella’s growth the most as she learns to stand up for herself and her dreams. She struggled with anxiety due to her overachieving family and I loved how Christian shows her that success doesn’t follow a certain formula. While Christian was a hard character to like, however, as he opens up to Stella, he is revealed to be deeply wounded. I also enjoyed his banter with the men of the Twisted series, especially Alex and Rhys. Overall, I loved the slow burn and the build up to Christian and Stella breaking the rules of their arrangement. If you have enjoyed the Twisted series, I recommend Twisted Lies. 

Twisted Lies is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Fine Tuned: a single mom, a football and a fake dating deal

Fine Tuned by Annmarie Boyle is a Storyhill Musicians novella. Single mom Jessica McWilliams has spent her life uncertain until now. She has devised a plan to secure a future for herself and her son. First, she will finish her degree and two, prove to her boss that she is ready to be promoted to her dream job. Nashville Knights star football player Mick Lanuola lives by a simple rule: if it’s worth doing, do it well. When a chance meeting between Jessica and Mick leads to a viral photo, they agree to a strange proposition: fake date for several weeks and they can get closer to their goals. As they begin the dinner dates and charity events, soon their fake flirty moments turn very real. 

Fine Tuned is my introduction to the author and her series, the Storyhill Musicians. I like fake dating romances and the main hero is a football star. Sounds right up my alley. Unfortunately, from the start, I did not care for Jessica. She is annoying and abrasive. She constantly berates herself for her past, despite all she had accomplished so far. Mick was a sweetheart and I enjoyed his character. I also enjoyed Jessica’s sister, Amy-Lynn who has her own full length story in the series. Overall, I did not enjoy Fine Tuned; however, I am intrigued by the series. I will check them out in the future. If you enjoy fake dating with sports athletes, you may enjoy Fine Tuned. 

Fine Tuned is available in paperback and eBook

My Bad Fake Boyfriend: bringing the worst possible boyfriend home for the holiday, what could go wrong?

My Fake Bad Boyfriend by Sara Whitney is the first book in the Hot Under the Mistletoe series. Darby St Claire needs a fake boyfriend. No, the worst fake boyfriend in the world. She needs a man to be so bad that her parents never bother her about her love life again. Gabe Dickinson says he’ll pretend to be that boyfriend. To be so bad that she is never asked to bring anyone home again. He promises he is up to the task. As they arrive at her parents’ home for Thanksgiving weekend, he’s a little too good at being bad. Darby and Gabe get so good at their little game, they forget it’s supposed to be an act. By the time Christmas Eve rolls around, Darby realizes that their flirty game has gone too far and she wants Gabe to be the gift she unwraps. But if she does, will she be able to walk away? 

I bought this book as the synopsis sounded fun. Fake dating is usually a hilarious trope to read. However, I quickly learned it was not the book I thought it was. First, it is a reverse age gap, which I have learned is not the trope for me. Strike one. Second, when Darby learns about their age difference, she quips “You were in kindergarten when I was getting boobs!” Ugh, I rolled my eyes so hard, I thought they would fly out of my head. Strike two. Third, this story was a fast burn. So fast, that they went from flirting to wanting to get into bed. Strike three. I don’t mind spiciness in a romance but it happens so fast that it was hard to enjoy this story. If you enjoy fast paced, fake dating, reverse age gap romances, My Fake Bad Boyfriend may be the story for you. 

My Fake Bad Boyfriend is available in paperback and eBook

Say Yes to the Mess: an age gap fake dating romance

Say Yes to the Mess by Kira Archer is an age gap fake dating romance. Summer Laurent is finally on a path to a better life. Her divorce from her ex-husband is freshly inked, She loves her job and her new house. Her group of ride-or-die friends adds to the joy in her life. Garrett Vogel was doing a favor for a friend of a friend, when he overhears an egotistical jerk disrespecting Summer. Without thinking, he jumped in and introduced himself as Summer’s boyfriend and put her ex in his place. What he doesn’t anticipate is accompanying Summer to her boss’s weekend long wedding festivities. What could go wrong? To Summer, everything. Almost ten years older than Garrett, she doesn’t see a future for them. Can Garrett convince her otherwise? 

Kira Archer is a new author to me and Say Yes to the Mess sounded fun. I usually don’t read the reverse age gap (or age gaps in general) stories but I decided to take a chance on it. Unfortunately, this story reminded me why I do not read the reverse age gap. I did not find Summer relatable. Although, the initial meeting between Summer and Garrett was electric and how he swooped in and put Summer’s ex husband in his place was hilarious. However, I didn’t buy their relationship. Overall, I didn’t enjoy the story. However, readers who enjoy the reverse age gap genre will likely enjoy it. If you enjoy age gap romances, I recommend checking out Say Yes to the Mess. 

Say Yes to the Mess is available in paperback and eBook