Can fake – dating change into something more, even with a limited time?

Synopsis

One month to pretend… or one month to fall in love?

How do I turn down an overly keen colleague I have zero interest in dating? Should I:

1. Stammer and bluster my way through every excuse in the book

2. Accept and then immediately turn in my resignation letter, change my number and leave the country

3. Allow my hot, new, doctor neighbour to step in and pretend to be my boyfriend

The answer: there are no right answers.

But option 3 is happening and I’m fake dating Lucas just to survive my work Christmas party without any further unwanted advances.

My review

Sarah is an HR manager in a hospital. But when one of the new colleagues doesn’t get the hint that Sarah isn’t interested in him, Sarah has to come up with another solution. Enter Lucas Moore, not only her new neighbour but also doctor at the same hospital.
With showing everyone that she is not available, she hopes to get rid of the unwanted attention.
But while Lucas agrees to fake – dating Sarah, and the more affection they have to show their colleagues, the more Lucas has an effect on Sarah…
Because even if Sarah absolutely despises Christmas,  because of Lucas she starts to see the beauty of it again. And because of Lucas, Sarah is opening up after protecting herself from emotional pain. But Lucas is going to return to the States after the holidays, so how close will Sarah allow him to get?

Fake – dating around the period of Christmas, can a story get any better than that?

When we first meet Sarah, she appears a very distant person. She won’t let anyone close and appears to not need anyone. And she doesn’t like Christmas!
But it’s clear that this is just a façade, and Sarah is doing this all to just protect herself, as she has been hurt in a terrible way around the same period a few years ago.

We can also see that she has worked hard to get where she is now, as she has an important position as HR manager in the hospital.
And she deserves to be where she is now. So it truly angered me to see how there still are dinosaurs in this world, not only not accepting a no as an answer, but truly believing that their behaviour is still okay.
And while it’s easy to tell Sarah what she has to do against it, I could also somehow comprehend her. Because at the start of it all, it’s a thin line. And the more the story evolves, the more difficult it gets to speak out, but also to provide some kind of evidence, or show it’s not just a case of misunderstanding.
Unfortunately, that is still a hot topic in the world, one that should have been long gone…

But we also see a very vulnerable, softer Sarah… when she finds Fred she takes him in, even if it’s against the policies of her apartment. But also how she is worried about her elder neighbour.
And then when Lucas is slowly able to bring down her high walls…
We see how Lucas is having an effect on her, how she allows herself to let Lucas in, to have a confidante, but also someone to have fun with, to banter with.
That Sarah for sure is great to have around!

Lucas for sure is exactly what Sarah needs. Even if reluctantly he agrees to be her fake boyfriend, he truly starts to care about Sarah, as a colleague, a neighbour, a friend. And he doesn’t hesitate to help her when she needs someone in her corner.
But he is just in general a great guy. He truly cares and he won’t be chased away by rudeness (yes that’s you Mrs. Kelsey! J) . He is a great brother to a sister going through a rough period, but he is also an amazing uncle, who is there for his nephews whenever they need someone in their corner.

This for sure was a heart – warming story, as it shows us two people finding each other in perhaps the weirdest circumstances, not getting along initially, but slowly start to see each other for who they really are. That behind the hurt there is an amazing character.

I loved reading the banter and bickering between Sarah and Lucas, but I loved the tender and vulnerable moments the most, as we see both characters in their purest forms.

The author shows us characters that are easy to like and love, even if in some cases they are initially very closed or rude, but also characters that don’t give up. We see also (and unfortunately) people causing a toxic work environment, but also how that an united front can make a difference.

But most important it shows us that love and romance can be find in perhaps the strangest ways, but that if you dare to open up yourself to it, it can be the most exciting and courageous thing that could happen.