Overall, this book was a delight. It had fleshed out protagonists with great chemistry, and even though the premise is a tad ridiculous I was able to suspend my disbelief and just enjoy the story. I loved the bookstore setting (I’m a bookseller so I’m biased, but still) and I love a story with complicated family dynamics. Gemma and Tansy reminded me of the main couple from Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, which is my absolute favorite romcom, but they were also unique with their own set of challenges to overcome. I will admit they fell in love a little too fast, but the author managed to pull it off by showing all the ways they fit together.
My only real complaint about the book would be Gemma’s friend group; there were too many of them and none of them had enough “screen time” to be fully realized characters. Their dialogue just sounded like random people reacting to whatever the main characters were doing.
That being said, I enjoyed the experience of reading this book and I will definitely buy a copy when it comes out in print. I did not love Written in the Stars, but I’m glad I gave this author another chance; her writing has improved immensely and I look forward to what she writes next.

Granted I was predisposed to be smitten by a romance whose protags are an indie bookseller & a romance cover model / journalist, not to mention the promise of the stunning cover art, but Bellefleur delivers on all my bookish patriarchy-asshat-smashing HEA dreams. I think the moment I knew The Fiancée Farce definitely had my heart was at Tansy's impassioned and informed rant about the devaluation of the genre and its readers, but that's just one of innumerable reasons to love this.

This one was so fun! Right off the bat, Bellefleur brings in the drama and I devoured this from the start. I was so intrigued with both of the characters, they were both always underestimated by their family and it was nice to see the 'revenge'. I loved the banter and connection between the characters, I was rooting for them. One thing for me that I didn't enjoy as much was how many people were in the story, in the first chapter I got sort of confused because there was so many people being talked about. Other than that, this was great!

Alexandria Bellefleur has been one of my absolute favorite authors since I started reading her books! Marriage of convenience is a tricky plot to pull off plausibly, and Bellefleur does so masterfully. “The Fiancée Farce” was everything I'd hoped for and then some! I knew that going into this book, it was gonna to be good, I just don’t think I could have prepared myself for just how wonderful it was, and how quickly I could fall in love with two characters. Gemma and Tansy are just two women who have been so hurt by their families and need someone to be 100% in their corner and they found that in each other. The way that Gemma is so self-aware and communicates with Tansy is everything. Tansy and Gemma are delightful together. I love that they take time to get to know each other. A little 20 questions, a date, and a promise to always tell each other the truth. They fit so perfectly that I shipped them so hard from the get-go. I love how we jump right into the story and the good stuff, wasting no time on fluff. I loved that we got both Tansy and Gemma’s perspectives. It was so great to be able to read their thoughts and feelings about each other. It made the book so much better. Their banter was top notch! I loved how even after going through so much in childhood, Tansy is so loving and caring. The cover of this book is gorgeous! I think that this would make a great movie adaptation. The Taylor Swift references were absolutely perfect and I loved the hints that put this book in the same universe as Bellefleur's WITS series made me smile. I did think it could perhaps be a little longer so we could have gotten a few more scenes. This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year. Thank you to Alexandria Bellefleur, NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for my thoughts. I CANNOT wait for her next book!

Absolutely loved this delightful sapphic romance from author Alexandria Bellefleur!

Tansy and Gemma were so sweet and honest with each other! The respect and loyalty they showed each other was so cute to witness, and their communication skills were excellent. I enjoyed how they kept being open with each other about their feelings and obstacles that they were facing.

Gemma's friends were not the most fleshed out, and I kept getting them confused, but I still really enjoyed this story and especially the romance between Tansy and Gemma.

The Fiancee Farce is a cute and charming sapphic romance!

The Finacee Farce was by far one of my most anticipated reads of the year and unfortunately it feel completely short for me. Immediately I felt that we needed way more character development before the story jumped off on page two. This held up throughout the whole story which lead me as a reader to not really care about either of the main characters the whole book. Aside from that the humor just did not hit. It felt that the author was trying too hard to make this a rom com and ended up putting mid quality humor in inappropriate moments that ended up falling way flat or completely ruining the moment. There was also way too much happening that was unnecessary when instead there could have been more plot developing the relationship between the characters. Unfortunately a lot of this book felt messy and there was no real growth with any of the characters.

Will give feedback and my review when the HCP union gets a fair contract. Thank you so much for the book and can't wait to leave a review in the future.

I struggled to get through this book...
The moment this book was announced, I was super excited cause I have mostly enjoyed everything this author has put out thus far. After reading the description, I thought I was going to LOVE this book. I really wanted to love it...to like it. However, I really struggled with it. The plot was so long and drawn out, it was like pulling hair just to finish it. I found that the two main characters lacked actual chemistry and were just boring.
Again, I've liked everything be this author so far and will continue looking forward to what she puts out in the future.

Okay. I was excited to read this. I wanted to like it so so much. I did not like it. This book was just not it. The characters were rather boring. The two main love interests and the supporting characters. UGHHH. I have read every book by this author so far. Two of them I REALLY loved and two of them I really did NOT like at all.

This is an utterly charming take on the fake romance trope with some good themes of rich girl poor girl thrown in for good measure.

Bellefleur got the important beats just right with heart stopping chemistry, the break up that makes you want to throw the book across the room and the make up that leaves us believing in forever. An excellent book and well worth adding to your collection.

The Fiancee Farce was absolutely wonderful. The exact book I needed to read over the holidays! Great story and wonderful development. A must read!

This needs to be made into a movie pronto!
Bellefleur always rights a romance that makes you swoon & grab a fan, and she certainly accomplished that with her newest release, The Fiancee Farce.
I loved the set up of the fake dating to marriage of convenience. The reader understands each MCs motivations/desires and the reasoning for why they would agree to the charade. Both heroines are easy to root for. They are likeable, relatable and entertaining to read about.
The romance here was marvellous. The build-up had me shaking my kindle yelling, "Get together already!" But don't worry, the wait was totally worth it. I also thought the steamy scenes were good too.
I loved the representation of two bi females as well. Bisexual characters need to be represented more! Especially in a positive light.
Would I recommend this? Answer: Yes!!
Recommend for people who love: celebrity romances, fake dating, marriage of convenience, lovable characters, romcoms, steamy romances and LGBTQ+ presentation.

What a sweet standalone from Alexandria Bellefleur! I loved that this book emphasized the importance of communication and had two characters who truly seemed to come together as partners. Plus, in a genre where so many romances are predicated on creating false internal conflict between couples, it was refreshing to have a novel that went in a different direction.

One aspect that was challenging for me personally: There were soooo many characters in this book (including a stepmother named Katherine and a bookstore employee named Kat?). Quite a few felt a bit redundant; I kept getting confused trying to remember who people were, why they were important to the storyline, and how they were connected to the protagonists. It's certainly not the end of the world; I actually put this sort of issue more on the editing team than the author. There were a lot of great ideas that simply needed to be parred down a little more and instead got a tad jumbled in the process.

That said, as with anything from Alexandria Bellefleur, I can't wait to see what comes next!

Receiving an arc for this book on my birthday was the best gift I could’ve gotten. It was such an easy but tooth-achingly sweet read that consumed my entire being. I was lost to the whims of this book and I’d never have it any other way.

Things I absolutely adored about The Fiancée Farce:
- Tansy runs and hopes to own her own bookstore and Gemma only supports her in that endeavor
- Although it’s a marriage of convenience, Tansy and Gemma don’t marry immediately and actually spend time getting to know each other & truly fall in love
- It’s not a slow burn so there’s is very little waiting and will they/won’t they moments or zero times where you are getting frustrated from their perceived unrequited love

My complaints on The Fiancée Farce:
- Tansy and Gemma ran into each other so quickly. I get that the book is about them but it felt unnaturally fast with little to no lead up to it.
- I’m beyond curious and really wish that the boardroom scene at the end was on page. I’d love to see a certain character get verbally pulverized.
- I thought this book was going to be spicier than it was. From what I knew or though I knew, this book was intended to contain more spice than Bellefleur’s previous books. I don’t think this is accurate. For instance, the Written in the Stars trilogy had plenty of spicy scenes or spicy banter that heightened spice level for me. This book did not have as much as I was intending. Not bad a thing, not at all. I quite like how it was because, although there weren’t a lot of sexual scenes, it still felt very intimate.

A well-written marriage of convenience romcom with a stunning cover. The plot was great and I'm always a sucker for fake dating and especially fake marriage. There were hilarious moments and Tansy and Gemma were adorable together. I found some of the side characters a bit irritating but overall, a really solid sapphic romance.

I was hooked from the first page. Gemma and Tansy might be my new favorite couple, or at least closely tie with Margot and Olivia. Alexandria’s writing style is so distinct and captivating. She makes you feel like you’re part of the story and could be best friends with the characters. It’s immersive - you cringe at the character’s awkward moments and sweat when things get steamy.

This particular novel is fast-paced. I was a little lost at the beginning when things just jumped into action within the first couple of chapters, but once the story really started it was okay. I think I’m just one who likes a little longer build up which you didn’t really get with Olivia and Gemma since the fake fiancée happened so quickly. I liked how the characters really talked and listened to each other versus the “misunderstanding” trope you get with so many other romances. Even the supportive characters were lovable and I hope there’s a Teddy book in the near future (fingers crossed)!

Starting off the year with this book was such a great idea. I read it in less than two days and enjoyed every second of it. Tansy and Gemma were simply perfect. I hate the miscommunication trope so reading through this and seeing how tansy and gemma ACTUALLY TALKED AND COMMUNICATED to solve their problems was so refreshing and adorable. THEY are what I want in life when it comes to a relationship. This just all seemed so real and was such a fun ride. I definitely recommend if you’re looking for a quick enjoyable read.

This book doesn't cover any new ground-it's a soppy-to-the-max rom-com and I really enjoyed it.
The settings are fun, the characters are beautiful (but not perfect), and even some cute pets are sprinkled in.


Semi spoilers:
The one thing I'm always confused about in romcoms (especially this one), is how two people who are absolutely "perfect" for one another and love each other so much, break up over something you'd think would be worthy of a conversation before calling it quits. I thought this book was going to avoid that ploy altogether, but it didn't. That's fine; it's part of the formula and it works.

This is a fun and light read and I look forward to reading some of Alexandria Bellefleur's other titles!
#TheFianceeFarce #NetGalley

Just wonderful and so romantic. The premise of the plot was executed well and the tropes used were an absolute pleasure. My favorite book by Alexandria Bellefleur so far!

What a great twist on the fake fiancee trope. I've been iffy and on the fence regarding Bellefleur's earlier titles, this is probably her best yet. Tansy is sick of being invited to various dinners, etc and makes up a girlfriend while staring at the cover of a book. Later Tansy's story almost comes to life when the cover model just happens to also be a new in law's cousin. Instead of shirking the title of girlfriend, Gemma takes the charade a few steps further by announcing that Tansy is actually Gemma's fiancee.

After ups and downs, miscommunications, and a few more fibs the two agree to the farce in order to protect their futures. What evolves is a fun romp down the sweet road of falling in love. Highly recommend!