Tag: fake dating

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Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie: Fake dating but does Mother know best all along?

352 pages Atria/Emily Bestler Books May 7, 2024 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

MY THOUGHTS

This has to be one of the cutest fake dating romances I’ve read. From starting to fake date to please Mom to family drama, fake cake making lessons to oh so real kisses I loved this book.


As the fifth and only unmarried daughter left in her Asian Canadian family, and she’s used to her mother matchmaking ways but when her mother starts her matchmaking ways at her sister’s wedding things hit a new low.


When Emily Hung meets Mark Chan her mother’s friends son, her mother is insistent they’ll get married and the fake dating starts, surprisingly he goes along with it. From visiting boba shops to fake cake decorating classes they seem to always run into their friends that they must convince this is the real thing so the pda comes to the forefront. What happens when this fake affection turns into not to miss sweet kisses that are wanted by them both?

Family drama, fun, laughs and cherry pies make this one fake romantic dating story not to miss.

Pub Date 07 May 2024
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Photo by Katerina Holmes: https://www.pexels.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jackie Lau decided she wanted to be a writer when she was in grade two, sometime between writing “The Heart That Got Lost” and “The Land of Shapes.” She later studied engineering and worked as a geophysicist before turning to writing romance novels.

Jackie lives in Toronto with her husband, and despite living in Canada her whole life, she hates winter. When she’s not writing, she enjoys gelato, gourmet donuts, cooking, hiking, and reading on the balcony when it’s raining.

For more information, please visit jackielaubooks.com, where you can sign up for Jackie’s newsletter.

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Mixed Signals (Lovelight Book 3) Can this fake dating turn into the real thing? by B.K. Borison

335 pages August 01,2023 publish date Berkley publisher

Grab A Copy Here

About The Book

A small-town baker learns to raise her expectations for love with some help from a handsome local teacher in this sunny romantic comedy.

Layla Dupree has given up on love. She’s waded through all the fish in the sea, each one more disappointing than the last. Apparently, owning the bakery at Inglewild’s most romantic destination does not help one’s love life—despite Layla’s best efforts. All she wants is a partner who gives her butterflies, not someone who ghosts her at dinner and leaves her with the check.

Good thing Caleb Alvarez has the perfect solution. After saving Layla from another date gone bad, he has a simple proposition: one month of no-strings dating. He’ll do his best to renew her faith in men while she rates his romantic game. It’s a win-win situation. All the benefits of dating without the added pressure of feelings and unmet expectations.

But there’s one ingredient they haven’t considered. The chemistry between them is red-hot, and the urge to take things to the next level is more tempting than Layla’s mocha fudge brownies.

photo credit here

My Thoughts

Yeah, you could kinda say I’ve enjoyed the Lovelight series. I’ve read all 3 books in the series and missed the first publication of the books but not this time.

I’ve read all 3 of them, Lovelight Farms, In the Weeds and this one, Mixed Signals. The series really is awesome, and I feel such a connection with the characters. The series really builds on each book as they all have characters from the previous books so you’re familiar with the characters while adding a few newbies in as well.

No worries if you don’t read them all or in order they work equally well as stand alones.
This one has the fake dating that we all know always turns into the real thing as they fall madly in love. I will say it was predictable, but you know what, predictable is okay sometimes.

Sensual romance that pairs perfectly with ice cream. I sure hope the series continues.

Pub Date 01 Aug 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

The series

Grab it here

My Review for Lovelight Farms Here

My Review for In the Weeds Here

About The Author

Amazon bestselling author B.K. Borison is fueled almost entirely by coffee and spends her days with imaginary characters doing imaginary things. She lives in Baltimore with her little family, including her giant dog.

INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/authorbkborison

Have a wonderful day. Thanks for stopping in.

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Blog Tour for Spin the Bottle by Isabella May- Happy Publication Day

About The Book

Spin the Bottle

CELESTE thought she had long forgotten the sweet, citrusy kiss she shared with TRAVIS during a game of spin the bottle. Splitting her time between her accounts office in super Instagrammable Notting Hill, and her tiny apartment in quirky Exmouth Market, modern-day life is simply too busy for men. Besides, whenever she tries to find The One, it always ends in disaster. From Tinder tragedies to trampolining tribulations, Celeste is starting to think that she’s cursed.

But then Travis begins to pop up wherever she goes, and Celeste knows with stomach-sinking clarity that fate has finally caught up with them. Inspired by the idea of fake dating, Celeste is convinced the only way out of this mess is to call the curse’s bluff. But will Travis agree to it? And how can she manage not to fall in love?

Pour yourself a lemonade and escape with this gorgeous will-they-won’t-they rom-com set between London and Gibraltar!

My Thoughts

This is my first read by this author. How could I have missed these charming books? I’m not sure but now that she’s in my radar I’ll be fixing that quickly.
A delectable, delicious foodie rom com with a splash of citrus.


A fun romance that’ll keep you laughing out loud, so expect the unexpected.
While reading this delight be sure to have some lemon meringue and possibly a lemonade.


Fake dating romances are full of laugh out loud moments and can be quite a tangled mess, will they get it straightened out and get on with it. Add a little bit of sugar, a little bit of drama and a whole lot of hilarious moments and you’ve got a sure winner here.

Publication date May 15, 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Visit other blogs on the tour

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/spinthebottle

The Author

Isabella May lives in (mostly) sunny Andalusia, Spain with her husband, daughter and son, creatively inspired by the mountains and the sea. She grew up in Somerset on Glastonbury’s ley lines and loves to feature her quirky English hometown in her stories.

After a degree in Modern Languages and European Studies at UWE, Bristol (and a year working abroad in Bordeaux and Stuttgart), Isabella bagged an extremely jammy and fascinating job in children’s publishing… selling foreign rights for novelty, board, pop-up and non-fiction books all over the world; in every language from Icelandic to Korean, Bahasa Indonesian to Papiamento!

All of which has fuelled her curiosity and love of international food and travel – both feature extensively in her romcoms.

Isabella is also a Level 4 Pranic Healer and a stillbirth mum.

Social Media Links –

www.isabellamayauthor.com


Twitter – @IsabellaMayBks

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/IsabellaMayAuthor/

Instagram – @isabella_may_author

Have a splendid day. Thank you for stopping in.

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Best friends try fake dating, how will it turn out? Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison

Previously published Nov 10, 2021 republished by Berkley June 6, 2023

Who would have thought I would be reading my first new Christmas book of the year in April but when you’re a member of Netgalley I guess you just never know.

About The Book

Two best friends fake date to reach their holiday happily ever after in this first romantic comedy in the Lovelight series.

A pasture of dead trees. A hostile takeover of the Santa barn by a family of raccoons. And shipments that have mysteriously gone missing. Lovelight Farms is not the magical winter wonderland of Stella Bloom’s dreams.

In an effort to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a kid, Stella enters a contest with Instagram-famous influencer Evelyn St. James. With the added publicity and the $100,000 cash prize, Stella might just be able to save the farm from its financial woes. There’s just one problem. To make the farm seem like a romantic destination for the holidays, she lied on her application and said she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend. Only…there is no boyfriend.

Enter best friend Luka Peters. He just stopped by for some hot chocolate and somehow got a farm and a serious girlfriend in the process. But fake dating his best friend might be the best Christmas present he’s ever received.

My Thoughts

Lovelight Farms, Stella and her mom used to go there when she was a child. She remembered it as a magical winter wonderland. A place to pick out the perfect Christmas tree, drink hot chocolate and skate on the pond.
Wanting to recreate this happiness after her mother passes, she buys the farm not knowing anything about running a Christmas tree farm. When things on the farm start being sabotaged, dying trees, deliveries not coming in, etc. She doesn’t understand. As the debt mounts, well she doesn’t even want to think about that.
When an opportunity comes around for her Christmas tree farm to get a lot of attention if a popular influencer comes to the farm and puts in a good word she grabs onto this idea and won’t let go.
On the application she turns in she puts she owns the farm with her boyfriend, except she doesn’t have one. This is where Luka comes in, they have been besties since childhood, and it shouldn’t be too hard to take this best friend thing to the next level. a fake romance. What happens when your bestie what’s to take it to the level of no return and turn this fake relationship into the real thing?
Tender, slow burn romance, friends to lovers. Charming romance with all the holiday joy you need.
Can’t wait to get started on the rest of the series now. For a debut author this is exceptionally good!

Pub Date: 06 Jun 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Grab A Copy Here

The Author

Amazon bestselling author B.K. Borison is fueled almost entirely by coffee and spends her days with imaginary characters doing imaginary things. She lives in Baltimore with her little family, including her giant dog.

INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/authorbkborison

Thanks for stopping in and have a wonderful day.

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Sweeter Than Honey-African American Romance

320 pages Montlake publisher June 28,2022 publish date

About The Book

A talented baker and a small-town sheriff forced into a fake relationship decide whether to take a chance on love in this delectable romance from Joy Avery.

Baker extraordinaire Rylee Harris has a recipe for everything—except love. It’s been five years since she lost her husband, but romance is still a struggle for Rylee. In her small hamlet of Honey Hill, North Carolina, Rylee knows she’ll be the talk of the town when she finds someone new.

To ease her mother’s worries about her love life, Rylee impulsively invents a fake relationship with the only man who’s caught her eye: the town sheriff, Canten Barnes. It’s supposed to be a secret, but secrets don’t last long in Honey Hill. One bit of gossip leads to another, and soon the whole town thinks Rylee and Canten are an item.

As Rylee and Canten embark on a make-believe relationship to save face, they slowly realize that their feelings for each other aren’t fake at all. Can Rylee and Canten keep the charade going—or will the town’s prized baker and respected lawman take a real chance on love?

Grab A Copy Here

My Thoughts

Sweeter than Honey is a book you just need to read. I fell in love with Rylee Harris, a baker in Honey Hill, North Carolina and sheriff, Canten Barnes. Both have lost a spouse and though not ready to move on romantically they “secretly” have been attracted to each other. Rylee’s mother tries to set her up with other people, so she tells her she is dating, Canten. Canten agrees to it for his own reason, the ladies in town just won’t leave him alone. The sexual tension is there when they are together. Will this “fake” relationship last much longer before it becomes “real.” The book is filled with humor. I loved seeing the camaraderie between Rylee and her best girlfriends. Talking about laughter, oh the things these ladies talk about and get into. The book is so charming, I just loved the characters. You’ve got to love Canten, as the sheriff he arranges his schedule so he’s able to drive past the bakery when Rylee is working at 4:30 a.m. just to be sure he safe. Canten and Rylee each have a dynamic relationship with their parents and each other’s parents. This couple is sweet, sassy and everything in between and I will now need to read more by this author.

Pub Date 28 Jun 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

About the Author

By day, Joy Avery works as an engagement manager. By night, the North Carolina native travels to imaginary worlds–creating characters whose romantic journeys invariably end happily ever after.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Garner, Joy knew she wanted to write. Stumbling onto romance novels, she discovered her passion for love stories; instantly, she knew these were the type stories she wanted to pen.

Real characters. Real journeys. Real good love is what you’ll find in a Joy Avery romance.

Joy is married with one child. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, crafting, collecting glitter and Sharpie markers, and driving her husband insane.

Joy is a member of Romance Writers of America.

When they say you can’t, Prove them wrong.

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Another Valentine’s Day read, Not your Valentine by Jackie Lau

136 pages January 24, 2023 by Kobo Originals

About the Book

Helen Tsang is tired of the pitying looks. From her parents, her friends, and even the bubble tea shop guy, who recognized her from the video. Almost one year ago, some loser couldn’t mind their own damn business and filmed an unsuspecting Helen’s very public break-up during what was supposed to be a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner. A video of her ex-boyfriend saying, “It’s not me, it’s you. You’re holding me back” went viral.

Desperate to give everyone something else to talk about and with Valentine’s Day approaching once again, she asks her long-time friend Taylor Li to be her fake boyfriend, just to prove that she’s moved on and hasn’t sworn off love. (Spoiler alert: She’s totally sworn off love.) Taylor is the perfect option—single for once, and for some godforsaken reason, he loves Valentine’s Day.

But Helen didn’t expect was how easy it would be to get Taylor on board, fitting right into the boyfriend-shaped hole in her life. All she wanted was a couple sickeningly sweet dates to fill her social feeds, not corny text messages of silly heart-shaped cakes, and bouquets of flowers that harbor hidden meanings. Wanting to be around his sunshine attitude and delicious forearms all the time? That definitely wasn’t expected.

With February 14 quickly approaching, it’s getting increasingly difficult to ignore her feelings, especially when she starts wishing it wasn’t all an act.

Oh God. What has she done?

Kobo/Goodreads

My Thoughts

This is another book that published last month but I wanted to post it on Valentine’s Day because that just made sense. This was a quick and short read, clocking in at under 140 pages but it felt like a full length read. Helen Tsang absolutely dreads Valentine’s Day as last year on that day a very public break up happened. To make it worse it was recorded and then it went viral. During what was supposed to be a romantic dinner he says, “It’s not me, it’s you. You’re holding me back” First she is mortified then the anger sets in. When her mother and even the boba tea shop owner bug her about a boyfriend, she’s just had enough. Enter her long-time friend Taylor Li. He’s a friendly guy and will do just about anything for Helen even pretend to be her boyfriend just to stop the pitying looks Helen is getting. Over dinners, casual times and talks Helen decides and it seems Taylor is in on it too this fake boyfriend thing just isn’t working out. Nope! What was once fake dating has now become the real thing, not able to stop think about each other and the possibilities of what’s to come. I liked the story; it was a fun romance. The drawback for me was the frequent f bombs that were dropped. This is my first read by this author but if her other books have the same wording it’ll be a no go for me. In my opinion they add nothing of value to the story.

The Author

Jackie Lau decided she wanted to be a writer when she was in grade two, sometime between writing “The Heart That Got Lost” and “The Land of Shapes.” She later studied engineering and worked as a geophysicist before turning to writing romance novels.

Jackie lives in Toronto with her husband, and despite living in Canada her whole life, she hates winter. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking, hiking, eating too much gelato, and reading on the balcony when it’s raining.

Have a beautiful day. Thanks for stopping by.

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All I Want for Christmas, Will these Nashville hopefuls get their big break? By Maggie Knox-Review

About The Book

A pitch-perfect holiday rom com about two oil-and-water reality-star country singers who must fake a relationship in order to win the opportunity of a lifetime, perfect for fans of Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game and Christina Lauren’s In a Holidaze.

Will they hit the right notes this holiday season?

When Sadie and Max are selected as contestants on the famed reality singing show Starmaker, each thinks they’ve finally gotten their big Nashville break. But then they’re paired up for duet week and stun the world with their romantic onstage chemistry. With fans going wild for #Saxie the network demands that they remain a duo on and offstage, or exit the competition. Faking a relationship until their final performance in the Starmaker holiday special shouldn’t be too hard, except for one small problem—Sadie and Max can’t stand each other. 

But with their dreams just within reach, they agree to the ruse. Will their fake relationship be exposed before they can win? Or might their phony connection turn real by the Christmas finale?

My Thoughts

This is the follow up to last years, The Holiday Swap and this year the authors have another holiday hit on their hands. A quick paced hard to put down fun and festive read that will have you grabbing the holiday cookies and hot chocolate while settling in for a great read.
When Nashville country singers Sadie and Max are paired together for a competition on the famed reality singing show Starmaker, they really don’t like each other. Sadie’s producer say’s they must fake-date since they are a singing duo and it’ll skyrocket their career. They only have to do this until their last televised show, it shouldn’t be that hard to do, right?
If you like the fake dating trope/ enemies to lover’s trope this one is for you.
Their first televised fake kiss feels so awkward so why is Sadie all of the sudden feeling so complete being in his arms? Why can’t Max keep his mind on his music and not Sadie?
You’ve got to hand it to Max, he’s a guy who knits dog sweaters in his spare time and has an adorable little dog that he totally pampers.
When Max catches Sadie in the arms of her slimy producer, there must be more to the story, but he storms off. I really disliked the producer’s character, he’s totally unprofessional and wants more from Sadie than a great song.
Max is trying so hard to prove he’s not like his father who is a famous singer, made a lot of mistakes in his personal life and also a drinker. He tries to distance himself from him but does admit they need to have an important talk. I have to give his father credit for trying with Max.
After many starts and stops will Sadie and Max be able to stay together and make beautiful music together? With a few bumps along the way I enjoyed seeing how Sadie and Max’s relationship progresses.

Pub Date 04 Oct 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

About The Author

Born Canada

Website

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2242…

Maggie Knox is the pen name for writing duo Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley.

Brown is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author of five novels, including the #1 national bestseller Recipe for a Perfect Wife, as well as the nonfiction bestseller The 4% Fix: How One Hour Can Change Your Life. Her writing has appeared in publications such as Self, Redbook, Today’s Parent, and Chatelaine. She lives just outside Toronto with her family and a labradoodle named Fred.

Stapley is a former magazine editor and the internationally bestselling author of four novels: Mating For Life, Things to Do When It’s Raining, The Last Resort, and Lucky. Marissa’s journalism has appeared in magazines and newspapers across North America, including The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Elle, Today’s Parent, and Reader’s Digest. She lives in Toronto with her family and a precocious black cat named Oscar.

Happy Christmas Eve dear reader friends. Thank you for spending time with me here, liking, commenting and encouraging. You all mean so much to me and I am so grateful for you.