The portrayal of women in general in this book had me flabbergasted. This book severely needed help to portray the story in any positive light. I can't even say I would consider it a romance. The characters had no chemistry at all and nothing at all stood out as being original. I could not even bring myself to finish this book and I really gave it a solid try on multiple occasions. I am not sure based on this book if I would attempt another by this author sadly.

Due to the negative review in nature and that I did DNF ultimately I have chosen to not send reviews to multiple sites. Best wishes to author on future writings.

Thanks to publisher, author, and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review early.

This book is lighthearted and fun, but also a great representation of the life stage. I would recommend this to anyone looking for their next rom-com.

This book was good but it’s more women’s fiction than romance. I saw someone said it reminded them of Bridget Jones Diary and I completely agree. I was mildly disappointed by the ending but that’s just me needing an HEA.

This was my first experience reading something by this author. I have to admit, it wasn't quite what I was expecting, given this seemed to be selling more as a light, feel-good romance. It gave me more of a feeling of being a woman's fiction story as it focuses on the heroine finding herself and realizing her own self-worth, regardless of her relationship status. Very much a Bridget Jones type of story. In that sense, it was a well-written and well-portrayed story. There were a lot of humorous and fun parts that kept me entertained and even had me laughing out loud at times. I do think Sophie could have been a bit more caring. Towards the end she seemed a bit self-absorbed rather than caring about not hurting others. But all in all, entertaining and enjoyable story.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Really fun and refreshing romance.

I'd have absolutely loved this book in my twenties!! The FMCs voice felt brutally honest and at times quite frustrated.

I enjoyed it for the fact, it focused on a single person feeling in a very different scenario to every one of her friends and family but seemingly uncaring and analysing why it was okay.

The ending wasn't for me purely because I was hoping for love. I adore the message of self love but also really wanted the FMC to find her person and I got quite attached to the love interest!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Faking It is a fun and unique romance that is perfect for those bookworms who are looking for something different to read in Romanceland. I loved the story Beth created here. The characters were real and complex, and I loved getting to spend time with them. The world around me disappeared when I read this book and I cannot wait to read another book by this author.

I loved this book and I loved the tropes that are in it. However the ending hurt it. So I give it 4 stars. Up until then I greatly enjoyed it.
I just reviewed Faking It by Beth Reekles. #FakingIt #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

So this book was not it for me I wasn’t able to finish it , I had to DNF.

The writing style was painful, the characters were under developed,

Overall just couldn’t do it,

This book was.... definitely something. I had high hopes for this one but sadly it just fell short for me. I am a huge HEA girl so the end of this book was just not it for me.

I am not sure how I feel about this book. I went into it with expectations that it would be a lighthearted fake dating romance. That isn't the story that I got. While I don't necessarily find the main character likeable, the story itself did take a turn that I enjoyed. It's more of a self discovery, fall in love with yourself story.
I enjoyed it overall.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

This was a light fun read for a weekend vacation. If comedic romance is your thing, check this one out!

Sophie has been single for awhile despite her best efforts on the dating apps. From ghosting to men that only want to see her when it is convenient for them, Sophie can't seem to catch a break when it comes to falling in love. Things take a turn however when she lies about having a plus one for her sisters upcoming wedding. Her solution is to find herself a fake boyfriend. That is where Harry comes into play. They strike a deal, Harry will help Sophie save face with her family and in return she will make him look good in front of his friends after his marriages recent implosion. The attraction is pulpable but if they are both using this bargain to hide from very real problems, do they even stand a chance?

*Thank you to Wattpad books & Beth Reekles for providing me an ARC copy of this book. Greatly appreciated as always! All opinions are my own.

When I read the synopsis for this book, it immediately caught my interest. With the topic of dating, there is so much that goes into it from, meeting new people, navigating the first few stages in a relationship to just figuring things out for yourself. In this story, Sophie had to deal with a number of things ranging from the slight judgement of being single, whereas her other friends were off getting engaged, married, buying homes, etc. I found myself relating to certain things that Sophie talked about which was why I really liked the premise of this book. For those of you wanting to read a story about dating, being in your twenties and figuring out your life from your career to finding love, and more, then I think you’ll enjoy this book too.

Now, I’ve never watched the movie, “The Diary of Bridget Jones”, only in parts, but I could see the little inspiration that Beth included in her book. Sophie was a columnist writer for a company, and wrote an anonymous columns on dating and everything in between. Sophie was use to the ups and downs of dating from getting ghosted to trying to give it another go. What I found most relatable about Sophie was how she felt like her friends (at times) joked around about her single status. As a single women myself, I found myself feeling a similar way to Sophie from dealing with the onslaught questions of, “why don’t you have a boyfriend?” Or “how long have you been single?”. Sophie had her own way of dealing with these kinds of things, but it didn’t make it any easier when she felt like her friends were off living their own “perfect” lives with their significant others whereas she still felt behind on those kind of milestones.

When in doubt, just fake date someone! As much as Sophie tried finding a plus one to her stepsister’s wedding, and showing her family she wasn’t completely alone, in the end she restored to finding a fake boyfriend via the dating app she used often. Some of the men that Sophie had met or gone on dates with were alright, but from the moment she met and spoke with Harry, I instantly felt like there was potential for more between them. Even when Sophie’s stepsister’s wedding finally happened, she was beginning to find herself more and more attracted to Harry. Despite the agreement of fake dating between them, Harry and Sophie had a lighthearted, easygoing relationship.

Just when I thought Sophie was in need of a fake boyfriend, turned out that Harry also needed a fake girlfriend. With Harry being newly single and wanting to show his ex-wife, friends, and family he was in a new relationship, in came Sophie playing the role! It worked out perfectly for Sophie and Harry, they each helped each other with appearances and showing others they were happily together. Fake dating on both parts seemed like a haired brain scheme, but hey it worked didn’t it?

In the beginning, I had such high hopes for this book, but somewhere along the way it changed. At some point, I felt like the story was dragging on, and other times I started to get annoyed and frustrated with Sophie. For instance, the inconsistency of Sophie telling her friends that Harry was Jaxon, but obviously not, and then introducing her family to Harry as himself. The reason I bring this up is because, later in the story it was confusing to me why Sophie would tell her friends all about Jaxon, making it seem like Harry was him (when he fully wasn’t). I feel like when I was reading, it just came across as inconsistent and confusing.

I went into this book with high hopes, and unfortunately it didn’t work out for me. While I did still like the idea behind Sophie navigating dating, and later coming to the realization what she TRULY wanted out of her life, there were some things I had issues with. By the halfway point, I lost interest, I kept holding out that maybe it would get better or there would be a major event that would reignite my interest, but it really didn’t. While I can appreciate the thought that went behind in creating this story, in the end it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I found myself even thinking about DNF-ing, but again I held onto the hope there was more in Sophie’s story. Towards the end, I was mostly skimming the paragraphs, was a bit bummed out what ended up happening in terms of the romance, but I can understand why that needed to happen in Sophie’s journey. So while this book wasn’t for me, maybe it might be for you.

I think managing expectations will better gauge how you will feel about this one. If you are going into this expecting a feel-good, fake dating romance HEA, this isn’t the read for you. However, if you are looking for a read about someone finding themselves, and learning to be independent of her relationship status, then you might. I personally found the characters a little unlikable, but based on circumstances, it may be because its cultural norms I don’t typically surround myself with. I found the main character annoying, except in the third act, though I understand that was needed for her personal growth. There were some laugh out loud moments in the book, but I think I just didn’t connect with the main character. Yes, I have definitely been there with the struggles of dating, but I feel my mindset was different. More what’s wrong with me (though Sophie does experience that), and less dating because it’s what my family and everyone else expects me to.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy! All thoughts are my own.

This was a romance. I liked the plot and the characters were a lot of fun. Very much recommend this book.

This isn't your typical romance, but I don't want to give anything anyway. Each chapter played out like an episode of a TV show. It's kind of long but worth it. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book got off to a very slow start, but it got better from there.

I'm giving this book a 3 because I thought it would be a love story, but it wasn't. I wanted a romantic ending, but it turned out to be more about a woman embracing being single. That part was well written, but it wasn't what I expected. The main character, Sophie, was very likable, but the story felt slow. It didn't fit what I think of as a contemporary romance.

I was confused because I thought it was a romance with fake dating, but it ended up being more about loving yourself and being happy alone. That's okay, but it wasn't what I wanted. If you know it's about self-acceptance, it could be a good read. But if you think it's a romance with fake dating, you might be disappointed.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.