What when you’re not the only one faking it?

Synopsis

Can a fake date fix everything?

On a day Abbey thought would be the best of her life – her boyfriend is surely going to propose tonight, right? – it all falls apart: he tells her he’s met someone else. And then to make things worse, she loses her job.

In an act of reimagination, she splurges her wedding savings on renting an apartment in a building she’s always dreamed of living in and kits out her wardrobe to match.

But when her family invites her ex – a close family friend – plus a date(!!) to her parents’ vow renewal, Abbey realizes her façade won’t be enough. There’s nothing for it but to fake one more thing – a romance. And she knows exactly who to ask… her hot new neighbor…

A laugh-out-loud fake-dating rom com, with a chemistry you’ll be thinking about long after turning the last page. Perfect for fans of The Hating Game and Elena Armas

My review

Abbey always believed that she and her long-term boyfriend Andrew would be endgame. They have been together for years, and Abbey believes that he is going to propose. But Andrew isn’t proposing at all, as he has met someone else…To make things worse, Abbey also loses her job.
With her wedding savings now available to do as she pleases, Abbey rents an apartment in the building of her dreams and even goes on a shopping spree for a whole new wardrobe.
Even if problems are lurking around the corner, Abbey doesn’t want to think about them yet and wants to enjoy living in a beautiful. Weren’t it for her new neighbour, as he annoys her to bits, no matter how handsome he may look like.
But when Abbey learns that her ex is also invited to her parents’ vow renewal, and he brings a date along, she wants to show everyone she found the perfect man. And who better to ask than her neighbour?

I always enjoy reading books where fake – dating is involved. And even if the romance – bits are initially all a big pretend, I like to see how the faking turns into something else.
But while this book is about the fake – dating, it’s not only the dating that is fake… because both the main characters, Abbey and Ted, are faking to be someone else than they actually are. And isn’t a triple fake better than a single fake? 😊
And with this author, I knew for sure I would have many laughs, but also many swoons!

For sure I felt sorry for Abbey at the start of the book. Is there something more terrible to learn that your boyfriend has met someone else while in fact you’re expecting a proposal? And to learn that he has been doing things behind your back? Oh and let’s not forget the bit about losing your job…
So could I blame Abbey for just once not doing the sensible thing, and renting an apartment perhaps above her limits and even get a whole new wardrobe? Of course not!
On the contrary, I even loved her for that! 😊
And could I blame her for deciding to fake – dating, when it’s clear that her parents are having such high expectations for her and her ex? Obviously not!

Did I love it to see how Abbey and Ted initially clash even at their first meeting and how they start off with a bunch of misunderstandings and mistaken identities? ABSOLUTELY! 😊

And Ted, he for sure didn’t deserve the betrayal he had to endure, especially as not just one person betrayed him, but the two people he entrusted the most…
Perhaps running away and hiding away isn’t the most mature behaviour, but can you truly blame him? Because I for sure cannot!

I found it exhilarating to see how Abbey and Ted are initially clashing over everything, yet it was sweet to see how at a party they  enjoy more a game than the party itself! Even if they both are pretending to be someone they are not, the real Abbey and Ted submerge more often than not. Perhaps them pretending to be someone else, makes them act a bit more differently, but also more open than they otherwise would.

Despite them not knowing who they have opposite them, they know that they have endured the same kind of pain and deceit, making them the perfect allies. Putting up a façade is perhaps not the best idea, but for sure we know that in books that works perfectly!
Seeing Abbey and Ted playing to be in love was so spot on, I think even I would truly believe in this couple 😊.

I loved reading this book, had so many laughs, swoons (like I already said before), but also a few frustrations, as seeing Abbey and Ted getting closer, with so many almost – moments but then just not – moments. I wanted them to give in to what they were feeling and stop the pretence, as they are so perfect for each other. Of course it was also a bit frustrating to read how close the both of them are to tell the truth, but once again fail to come clean about everything.
But that is also part of the charm of the book, because aren’t we all scared about admitting something we did wrong, as we don’t know how the truth will be accepted?

Perhaps the end was a bit too rushed, or maybe it’s just me who wanted to read more about what would happed next to Abbey and Ted, as I absolutely wasn’t ready yet to say goodbye to these lovely characters!

Having read several books of this author already, I can now say with absolutely certainty that she is slowly climbing up to my list of amazing authors, and that with her, I have reached the point that I don’t even want to read the blurb of her books anymore, and I just want to enjoy her stories. Because with this wonderful, hilarious, even sweet story, I was once again devouring it all at once, way too quickly reaching its end!