I loved it! Such a fun read! Fake dating, witty banter, small town charm, and great supporting characters make this a romcom that you don’t want to miss!

The Fake Out is a cute fake engagement, Grumpy /Sunshine romance. It involves Maebell and Chris. Chris is a NFL star who is in town for a much needed break. He needs to clean up his reputation in the news. Mae needs money to pay off her mother's medical bills. It's a fake match made in heaven.

I did enjoy this one. I loved Chris. He came across as genuine and you could really see how he much liked Mae. Mae however, was a little harder to like in the beginning. She is the grumpy one in this scenario. At times, I wanted to yell at her for her pity partiness. She could be kind of a jerk. Thankfully Mae grew on me. I enjoyed watching these two fall for each other. I thought the grand declaration at the end was perfect for the tone of the book.

It's a light and funny read. I loved the banter between Mae and her friend Ali. The town is full of quirky and fun characters. One of the things that also made the book were the cheesy pick-up lines at the beginning of each chapter. They were hilariously bad. It's a cute story. Mae grows on you. Give it a try.

The library element and fake romance trope were what drew me to this book. The characterisation and chemistry are what made me stay.

Both Chris and Mae were likeable in their own right, with personalities that leapt off the page and gave the book it's heart. What really stood out for me was how they interacted with one another - the banter, respect and admiration of each other was evident pretty much from the start. My favourite part of their relationship was the back-and-forth text messages full of cheesy chat-up lines.

What made this book extra special for me was the vital role that both Chris and Mae's families played in the development of the story. It gave the narrative a depth that I wasn't expected.

This book has all the tropes I enjoy most: small town romance, grumpy/sunshine, fake dating. And what a wonderful surprise, it’s so well done! I love the cosy small town, the characters are so cute and have great banter. I just finished it, and I just want to read it again.

Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Fake Out is the story of Mae, a small town librarian and how she ends up in a fake engagement to football star Chris.

Fake dating. Grumpy/Sunshine. Small town love story. The Fake Out has EVERYTHING a good romance read should have. I 100% recommend!

Thank you Netgalley, Sharon M. Peterson and Bookouture for the advanced copy of this book.

Sharon Peterson writes wonderfully complex characters and puts them into a really enjoyable story in this novel! If you like small town romances, celebrity romances, fake dating, lots of pining, and books about book lovers - this book is for you!

A really cute and hilarious friends-to-lovers story about a librarian (Mae) and a famous NFL player (Chris) faking an engagement to save Chris public image and for Mae to help pay her mother's medical bills.
🥀
I absolutely enjoyed the atmosphere in this book. It was really cozy small town vibes. The cute moments and jokes between Mae and Chris got me giggling. I also really liked how each chapter started with a corny pick up line. 4 strong stars for me.

So grateful to have received an arc from Netgalley for this book!

This book was everything I thought it would be and more, I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. The connection between Mae and Chris was great, sort of like opposites attract, and the way their relationship grew over the course of the book showed the character development of Mae when she finally let all of her guards down.

The plot twist at the end was a shocker, however I did have my suspicions and it was interesting to see how it played out and the revelation of it too.

I loved the strong community of Two Hearts and how they banded together constantly to support Mae along the way and the fact that they are all like one big family.

"I’ve heard the way he talks about you. And now, I’ve seen the way he looks at you.” “How does he look at me?” “Like you’re his favorite thing in the whole world,”

this! book! oh! my! god!
i thoroughly enjoyed this book. like A LOT.

one thing that immediately grabbed my attention was that at the beginning of every chapter, there is a pick-up line. You'll understand the significance once you read the book (and you HAVE to read it), but I was flying through chapters just curious to see what the next pick-up line would be.
and CHRIS :) he was absolutely the cutest golden retriever mmc I've seen recently. i loved him so much.
The dynamic between the two main characters was also, UGH, totally swoon-worthy.

i also really liked Mae. her comebacks are top tier and she was just a very relatable character.

"I didn’t have one favorite book and I didn’t trust people who did."

Imagine grumpy-sunshine, but he's the sunshine. Imagine a marriage of convenience, but an engagement of convenience. If you love these tropes, then definitely pick this book up!

I can honestly say that this was one of my favorite books of the year. I adore Chris! He is so sweet and what he does for everyone... ughh I love him. I love that our FMC is a grumpy librarian. Reverse grumpy sunshine is one of my favorite tropes and I was not disappointed in this at all. The characters had great growth and everything they did in the story felt genuine. I am a reader who loves spice and this book did not have any. I was shocked to find out how much that didn't bother me.

Mae is the only librarian left in her small hometown of Two Harts. She also works a second job at a diner to help pay for her mother’s medical bills. One day in the library she comes across a sleeping guy, who turns out to be NFL player Chris Sterns who is escaping a photo scandal of him in Las Vegas with a scantily clad woman.
Wanting the story to go away, his PR team suggests another one to distract – that Chris gets engaged. And Mae seems like perfect fake fiancee material.
This was an adorable romance with some revenge pranks, a bit of blackmail and plenty of cheesy pick-up lines. The chemistry and banter between Mae and Chris totally worked.

The Fake Out is Sharon M. Peterson’s sophomore closed-door romantic comedy. It features the fake-dating and grumpy/sunshine tropes with a twist; the female character is the grump.

26-year-old Mae Sampson is the sole librarian in tiny Two Harts, Texas and is taking care of her mom who is recovering from a stroke. In addition she is responsible for her teen-age sister who is full of angst. Mae discovers a handsome hunk sleeping in a library chair while she’s reshelving books, and he awakens right when her audiobook gets to a steamy kiss.

NFL player Chris Sterns is hiding out from his fans in Two Harts and quickly decides that sparring with Mae is the library is his newest favorite pastime. He charms her into forming a book club with him and slowly starts chipping away at the block on her shoulder. When an unflattering photo of Chris is leaked to the press, he proposes a fake engagement to Mae in exchange for helping her with her mom’s medical bills.

Mae has had a hard life and has reasons to be distrustful of men. Chris seems too good to be true. He is genuinely attracted to her 5’10” size 14/16 figure and enjoys riling her up. His NFL career is used to finance his future plans to enroll in medical school; he has a younger sister with a serious medical condition.

The Fake Out is an entertaining clean read with characters that have amazing chemistry. Both Mae and Chris have challenges that aren’t going to magically be solved, and the realism is a bonus. Since I enjoyed this books much, I just purchased the author’s previous novel, The Do-Over.

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Bookouture for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4.5 STARS!!
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for granting me access to this book in exchange of a honest review!!

Absolutely amazing!! This book was wonderful and perfect in every way!! From the moment I started reading this book, it left me with a giddy feeling and I devoured every word.
I absolutely love finding authors I didn’t know about before and this was such a delightful surprise. The author, Sharon M. Peterson, blew me away with great writing and even better characters.

This was such a sweet, wholesome and cheesy romance and I loved every bit of it. It had various tropes such as fake dating, which I love. This book also had reverse grumpy/sunshine which is a trope I had not read yet, as I am more of a fan of regular grumpy/sunshine, but I will admit I actually really liked it!
Mae and Chris were wonderful and I absolutely loved that Mae is a librarian!! Chris is a NFL player and when he finds himself in a bad situation, he seeks Mae and offers her an arrangement that will benefit both of them.
I honestly loved this book, Mae and Chris were perfect. The banter was phenomenal and there were so many laugh out loud moments!

I definitely recommend this book and I cannot wait to get a physical copy.
Again, thank you so so much NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in an exchange of a honest review.

-reverse grumpy sunshine
-fake dating/fake marriage
-he falls first
-cheesy pickup lines

a grumpy small town librarian and a NFL player with golden retriever boyfriend energy makes the perfect book.

“you suit me just fine”

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and the fabulous Sharon Peterson for the ARC in exchange of my honest opinion.

Thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley and Sharon M. Peterson for the opportunity to read The Fake Out.

I loved this reverse grumpy sunshine book!
Our FMC Mae is such a hardworking and loyal person, but with walls built around herself higher than Mt. Everest. But once you wriggle your way into her life, there doesn’t seem to be anything she won’t do for you!
She takes care of her family first and foremost, and I loved her relationship with her younger sister. It seemed like such a realistic sibling relationship.
While this may be a clean romance, there was definitely some heat between Mae and Chris!
Chris is such a protective golden retriever to those he cares about and we love to see it 🫶

I think I enjoyed the authors previous book “The Do-Over” slightlyyy more because I loved the main character so much, this book was still phenomenal!
Looking forward to anything else Sharon M. Peterson writes!

“Knock that off right now. I was not waxing poetic about his eyes. They were brown. Normal, brown eyes. The most common of all eye colors. Cows had brown eyes. He had cow eyes. Nothing remotely interesting about that. Unless you were a female cow on the prowl. Which I was not. Obviously.“

I truly adore Sharon Peterson’s style of writing. Her books truly embody the rom-com style. While less spicy than I normally like, I do still enjoy her books because they make me laugh out loud and her characters are so relatable.

The Fake out took a bunch of everyone’s favorite tropes (fake dating, one bed, grumpy/sunshine) and combined them into one story. I really appreciated that the main character wasn’t a stick thin, generally gorgeous woman. She is described as a size 16-18 red head and I loved the representation of a bigger character. I also really enjoyed the “good boy” that was Chris Sterns. A football player, Eagle Scout, volunteers at the children’s hospital, loves his 4 sisters and parents dearly, non-player and all around good guy. He stayed true to his character throughout the story and I was very glad when we didn’t get a bombshell revelation shattering that image. It was actually quite refreshing!

While this book was fun, it definitely could have used more spice! Regardless, I love the relationship development and witty banter between all the characters.

4/5 Stars

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a fun laugh out loud read! Perfect for those searching for their next rom-com adventure!

Sharon M. Peterson’s second novel, The Fake Out, solidifies her as the queen of clean romcoms!!!

Two Hearts, Texas is home to Mae Sampson, the over worked and underpaid librarian. When the mayor threatens to continue cutting the library’s anemic budget, Mae decides to fight back. With her job on the line and a family in distress, Mae can barely keep her head above water.

As a professional football player for the Stars, Chris Sterns uses his fame to raise awareness for CHF. Growing up with a sister who suffered from the same disease, the CHF is a cause near and dear to his heart. But when Chris is captured in a compromising photo, the bad press threatens to destroy his reputation and affiliation with the charity.

Seeing an opportunity for the two to help one another, Chris suggest they enter into a fake relationship. Can Mae and Chris convince the public they are head over heels in love with each other? Or will their plan blow up in their faces?

I have been impatiently waiting to read this book since 2022. Peterson’s debut novel, The Do Over, was among my top reads last year. Immediately after finishing the book I began searching for more of her work. I was shocked to discover she was a first time author and did not have more books to her name. So when I heard she was working on her second book, I marked my calendar and began a count down.

I am happy to report it was well worth the wait. While I loved The Do Over, Peterson manages to perfect both the romance and comedy elements this time around. Despite being labeled ‘clean’, The Fake Out, had all the chemistry readers want and need in in a romance. The witty banter between Chris and Mae keep things flirty and hilarious. I found myself laughing from the moment I opened the book till the second I closed it (literally from the dedication to acknowledgments).

I cannot recommend The Fake Out enough. This is the perfect summer read if you are fans of Lynn Painter and Emily Henry, but prefer a closed door twist.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Sharon M. Peterson and Bookouture for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

If you are looking for a quick, enjoyable summer beach read, this is the book for you. It's fluffy, fun, and very low stakes. The characters are generally enjoyable, and there are some very fun moments sprinkled throughout. The pick-up lines that begin each chapter are a wonderful way to embrace some whimsy.

However, I generally like my books to have a little more substance so I feel some pull to sit with the storyline for longer, or a desire to reread the book in the future. Only a few days after reading this book, I feel like the major plot points have generally subsided to next to nothing. Part of it is that, while the characters are enjoyable, they often feel one=note. Chris is almost ridiculously perfect, with each new reveal demonstrating a new facet of his perfection, while Mae is almost too closed-off to be believable.

I appreciated the opportunity to read this eARC supplied via NetGalley - it made for a lovely summer holiday read. I would recommend it to anyone for an easy fast read, but would not recommend it if you're hoping for a little more substance to your romance.

I would give this book a 3.5 stars. The characters are likeable and I genuinely laughed out loud at moments but I wish there was less 'fade to black' / telling not showing. A lot of situations / instances of flirting and romantic moments between the main characters are told to us instead of shown on the page. Their relationship would've felt a lot more fleshed out and intimate if we for instance, spent more time at the lake with the characters. Wil definitely look out for more Peterson books though.