When it starts with faking…

Synopsis

One fake boyfriend. One bed. One very complicated Christmas …

Piper

I promised my mom I’d bring a boyfriend home for the holidays.

I did not mean Brody King—Hollywood heartthrob, tabloid trainwreck, and the reason I have a folder of fantasy fan art I’ll take to the grave. 

He’s also my brother’s best friend and the man who ghosted our small town (and me) twelve years ago.

Now we’re sharing one bed, faking a relationship, and pretending he’s changed.

The problem? I’m starting to believe it.

But Brody doesn’t do forever.

And I don’t do heartbreak twice.

Brody

The plan was simple: come home, look reformed, and don’t fall for Piper Locke. Again.

Instead, I’m stuck in a snow-globe town with the girl I never stopped wanting.

Piper’s smart, hilarious, way too sexy—and still completely off-limits.

She thinks I’ll leave like last time.

And she’s right. My next job’s a world away from Hideaway Harbor.

But this fake relationship feels dangerously real, and Piper isn’t just a PR fix.

She’s the reason I want to stay.

Too bad I’m the last person who deserves her… and the one person who can’t seem to walk away.

The Holiday Fakers is a laugh-out-loud, one-bed, fake-dating romcom with festive flair and serious steam. If you love small-town chaos, slow-burn tension, and a guaranteed happily ever after, this book is your perfect cozy escape.

The Holiday Fakers is part of the Christmas at Hideaway Harbor series of six spicy romantic comedies. The books are interconnected standalones and can be read in any order.

Publication date: 7th November 2025

https://mybook.to/TheHolidayFakers

My review

Piper Locke always had a soft spot for Hollywood heartthrob Brody King. And it has nothing to do with his looks, because Piper has known Brody even before he was famous. As a young girl, she has been in love with him, and even if he left Hideaway Harbor twelve years ago without looking back, she has a Google alert set for him. But Piper would have never imagined that for this Christmas, she would be fake – dating him while being with her parents, under the scrutiny of her brother, who also happened to be Brody’s best friend all those years ago. Brody isn’t all that excited to be pretending to be in love with Piper, but he has no choice, as he needs to clean up his imagine, in order to gain the part of a series he truly wants. And it is more complicated than just faking with Piper, because he cannot fall for Piper, again… Especially as his life is a chaotic one, and Piper is still off – limits, and out of his league… But when they have are forced to spend their stay in just one bedroom, and smiling and holding hands in public and for pictures, is it truly only faking that they are doing?

Fake – dating romcoms have always been a guilty pleasure of mine. I am always curious to read how things will evolve, how and when things will shift between the main characters. And this book has an extra trope that I adore, that when the main characters have always have ben in love for years, but for some reason, never acted upon those feelings.

So yes, I was extra excited to read this book, and as I have read other books of this author, I knew it would be a funny, sweet, heartwarming but also spicy and hot story!

It is clear from the start what kind of person Piper is. She is a great person, but also a person with many insecurities and doubts. At the beginning, she is scared of losing her job after a merging, especially as her competition is her actual ex. An ex she hoped to bring home to Hideway Harbor, and hasn’t had the courage to admit to her family that she single again…

Her insecurities also become so clear as she just doesn’t see or believe how truly talented she is. Of course, as this is a book, I couldn’t see the art she is creating, but I could imagine how it all would look like. If only I had an inch of her talent! 😊

What I also liked about Piper, is just how recognizable, how real she is. Because I could only comprehend all too well to be in love with your brother’s best friend, and that love not only being unreciprocated, but also impossible to act upon those feelings.

Brody initially seems like a real rogue. His imagine isn’t a clean one, he has made errors spilled all over the papers. And I wasn’t ready to let him into heart that easily, also learning that he has walked away from the people that have opened not only their home but also their heart, and never looked back.

However, I had to change my opinion, or rather my prejudice, over him. Because it becomes clear that Brody has made mistakes in the past, but he wants a chance to show that he has changed, for the better.

It was of course funny reading how they are both initially reluctant to be fake – dating each other. But as they both have reasons, to go through with it, they have no other choice. Luckily for us! 😊

That initial awkwardness was just hilarious to read. Piper and Brody have known each other, but at the same time, they don’t know each other at all. They don’t know how to behave around each other, and they don’t know how much they can truly trust each other.

But you know what truly was delightful to read? It were the bits where we see that both Piper and Brody are fighting against their own feelings, when they are seeing each other for who they really are. What starts as awkwardness, slowly shifts into something real, something deep, to a point where they want each other’s dream to come true.

I had so many laughs also in this book, can you imagine having a mother like Piper’s? Just hilarious! But there are also so many sweet moments, for example Martha that is so wise for her age, and then there is also Billy with his loyal companion Lucky on their own quests…

And then there are those heated moments! The book is in the greatest part a sweet story, but when things get heated, they for sure get heated! 😊

I absolutely devoured this book, not knowing if I had to continue reading, as I wanted to see all the evolutions, or slowing down, as I wasn’t ready for reaching the end!

This book gave me so many emotions, I could feel the pain, the hurt, the doubts, but also the happiness, the joy, the trust and the love.

Evie Alexander wrote such a heartfelt story, making me not only fall in love with its main characters but also the warm and lovely community of Hideaway Harbor!