Fake – dating your nemesis, just perfect…

Synopsis

Love was never supposed to be part of the deal…

Independent and free-spirted Annika has no plans to settle down anytime soon… if only her parents felt the same way. But when her father unexpectedly falls ill, she’ll do anything to make things better. Even if it means suddenly blurting out she has a boyfriend.

The only issue is, he doesn’t exist.

Then, by chance, she bumps into handsome entrepreneur Rav, and she can’t believe her luck. He’s single, sworn off relationships and looking for a date to attend work events with. He’s the perfect solution to her troubles. Or is he?

Because there’s just one slight catch – he also happens to be her childhood nemesis.

It was only ever supposed to be a simple, temporary arrangement. Nothing more. Certainly love was never part of the terms and conditions. But Annika’s about to discover that some deals are made to be broken…

My review

Annika loves her work, that brings her all around the world. She would never give up her independence or her free – spirit, especially not for a man.
However, her parents would love to see her get settled, rather sooner than later. And with her father’s poor health, Annika does not want to add extra worries.
So a fake boyfriend is what Annika needs. But where does she find one? For sure making an agreement with Rav is a bad idea. Not only because he is handsome and successful, but he is also Annika’s nemesis, as while growing up, her parents compared her and her siblings to the great achievements of Rav.
But Rav also needs a fake date, to attend work events… And the more the two of them have to pretend to be madly in love, the more they realize that the thin line between pretend and reality is starting to disappear…
But love was never part of the arrangement… 

I have always loved reading books about fake dating but also about enemies to lovers. So reading this book just perfect to me, as it combined two of my favourite tropes. 

Annika is a very free – spirited woman, living literally from one bag. While that lifestyle would not be something for me, I could understand her wanderlust and I admired her desire to do some good in the world.
Even if she feels that her parents don’t understood or support her (while they let her live her life like she wants), it’s obvious that she truly loves her family and she doesn’t want to cause them any pain.
Her love goes even that far that she makes up a boyfriend, as it stops her family worrying about her.
However, no matter how much she loves her family, she isn’t the kind of woman to just give up on her dreams. 

And oh, how much did I enjoy reading whenever Annika and Rav are together! Despite her dislike of him, she knows she needs him for her schemes, and he needs her too. And while they are on the same page on the relationship – part, I found it sweet to see how Annika slowly discovers how she got Rav totally wrong. She has an opinion of him, based on their past, but it only shows that sometimes how we remember things, isn’t always the truth! 

Obviously I found it amazing seeing Annika wondering if Rav was truly such a great pretender or of there was some truth in the things he was saying.
Turning page after page, discovering how their feelings and emotions grow and develop warmed my heart, as the both of them deserve to find their perfect match, without having the feeling to give up a piece of yourself.
And when Annika and Rav both realize that no matter what you plan beforehand, love comes whenever it wants, even when you least expect it, involving the person you least expect. But it’s in the unexpected that the greatest things emerge…

This could have been the kind of story you could have read a dozen of, but having these two strong characters, both passionate about what they do, but are also loving and caring added extra layers to make this even a greater book.
And having both main characters being from a foreign descent was not something that was strictly mandatory to elevate this lovely book, showing the cultural differences but also showing the similarities, made my awe only grow.
Because it doesn’t matter where your origins lay, after all, we all love our family and would do anything for them, without losing ourselves. And love doesn’t follow your strict plans, or doesn’t demand to make you give up on your dreams, love just makes you realize that dreams can change…