Women working in male dominated fields frequently have a tough time as they often get little or no respect. Emmie Echavarre knows that paradigm well so she puts on her tough gal armor everyday as one of the few women working at Nuts and Bolts. Emmie’s job as a copywriter puts her in the same work area as Tate Rasmussen who is in charge of the Social Media for the same company. From day one, Tate has been hostile and annoying to Emmie though she had no clue why. Faking a hard veneer is what Emmie does to keep from showing her hurt feelings and to be preyed upon by creepers or men who would like to see her cut down to size.
3.5 stars

Tate seems the opposite of Emmie in every way personality-wise even including ethnic background. His Nordic good looks and fit physique appeal to Emmie very much although as her sister says, Tate is a douche nozzle. When they are forced to work together for a charitable cause, things begin to gradually change between Emmie and Tate though there are still some missteps with Tate causing angry and frustrating moments for Emmie. Communication is not his strong suit.

Emmie sees herself has a faker in a lot of aspects of her life including in her previous romance relationships. Tate does something to her emotionally than no man ever has. He seems to feel the same way; however, Tate has some secrets that might just blow up in his face. This enemies to lovers story has some fun and yet frustrating moments. Both main characters seem to have trouble communicating their feelings, instead covering up with posturing or unexplained hostilities. Perhaps Emmie enjoys their verbal battles more than she admits; after all, it takes two to make an argument. The rocky road to their relationship including much delayed gratification adds a bit more angst to this rom-com trope. Ms. Smith is a promising new author so I look forward to seeing her next effort.

I have mixed feeling about Faker. An enemies to lovers office romance is one of my favorite things. But something about it just felt a little off. Emmie is completely focused on Tate from page one and I kept thinking that I wished she would interact with other characters more. She does actually talk to other people so I think maybe the POV threw me off. It's entirely in first person present tense and that sense of urgency wasn't really necessary here.



Still, there are things I enjoyed about the story. Emmie's background was interesting. She grew up in Hawaii but now lives in Nebraska. And I liked how she instinctively understood Tate's introverted ways once she realized what was happening. But it was obvious from the beginning that she was misinterpreting his attraction as antagonism, which was frustrating. And Tate's romantic gestures are so cute.

Love/hate relationships can be a good trope for a novel if executed properly. Faker unfortunately fell into the category where it felt abusive, Tate is a toxic character and these novels that emphasize jealous, moody and rude men who the main character falls in love with is getting quite tired for me. I'm totally over women in books falling for the guy who treats them like trash, but surprise- has liked them all along.

Emmie and Tate are coworkers with a hate at first sight relationship. As you would expect, they are thrown together and things change
I liked this book more than I expected. Reading the first half, I was concerned that the book was seeming to be a straight-up ripoff of the Hating Game. In the second half the story came into its own, and I ended up invested in the couple. They were individually likeable and cute together. I didn't find their obstacles to be contrived. I recommend it.

3.5 stars

This was a fun enemies to lovers office romance. I enjoyed the slow burn between Emmie and Tate and how their relationship evolved into more. Fans of these tropes are sure to enjoy this debut novel by Sarah Smith.

Faker dealt with some more serious issues like sexual harassment and prejudice, but it balanced it well with humor and more lighthearted moments. I appreciated that the author celebrated these characters for their culture and for who they were, but also was realistic with the obstacles they might encounter. The overall flow of the book was good, but it did take me a little bit to get invested and the ending felt a bit rushed.

I liked Emmie and Tate, but unfortunately I didn't love them. Emmie came across as too naive at times and her reaction to some of the events in the book felt extreme and irrational. I liked her overall character growth though and she really came into her own at the end. I enjoyed the hate/love vibe, but I was kind of confused why Emmie and Tate were so antagonistic to each other in the beginning. It's explained to a degree later in the book via some drama that had me cringing a bit, but it still felt a little too over the top. I also found the physical descriptions of Tate repetitive and I wasn't sure why it was so significant to point it out so many times. I'm actually torn between thinking Tate's actions were sweet and thoughtful and also that he was pretty stalkerish. I think I'm still more on the sweet side though, and him taking care of and helping Emmie was my favorite part of the book.

Overall, this was a great debut novel that left me with a smile on my face. I'm looking forward to reading more by Sarah Smith in the future.

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

I couldn't get over Tate being a terrible person to Emmie for a year but secretly being in love with her.

I really really enjoyed the first half of this book and it gave me a lot of Hating Game vibes. However, the second half was not as enjoyable to me, and I am having a hard time figuring out why. Overall, it was a pretty enjoyable book, but I definitely enjoyed the first half of the book over the second half.

After trying to read this and cringing a LOT at the writing, plus seeing multiple own-voices reviewers point out how uncomfortably written the MC's hyper-fixation on the LI's whiteness is... I'm just going to DNF this and leave it alone.

Faker was low angst with oodles of tropes, and it just didn't work for me. I've seen a handful of comparisons of Faker to The Hating Game which may explain why this book didn't work for me either; however, if you're a fan of The Hating Game I say give this one a shot. My biggest hangup with Faker was Emmie's love interest, Tate. Emmie was a great character; she was complex and knew how to defend herself in a male-dominated field. Tate, on the other hand, was lukewarm. Tate's reactions was fairly juvenile and he didn't seem to have a good handle on his emotions. He and Emmie formed a relationship fairly early on in the book and I was hoping for a bit more angst and the opportunity to get to know the characters' values and vulnerabilities before they hopped in bed together. Faker had tons of sexy times, but I just couldn't believe Emmie and Tate as a couple.

Sarah Smith’s debut novel, Faker is a delightfully funny enemies-to-lovers story focusing on Emmie and Tate—two co-workers at a company called Nuts & Bolts. This novel is sweet, funny, steamy, and cute.

Emmaline Echavarre is a faker.
Fake smiles.
Fake enthusiasm (for her job).
Fake orgasms.

With all that faking, she doesn't seem like a very happy person. Things aren't made better by having to deal with her moody co-worker, Tate Rasumssen, at their company, Nuts & Bolts. And then Tate does something that shocks her, he suggests they work together on a special project.

Before getting into the relationship between these two characters, I loved that their company took on this venture to build a home for a family in need. I also loved how these two co-workers used the opportunity to build attention and goodwill about their company. Both of them stepped outside of the box and came up with some great ideas, despite their initial hostility towards one another.

Initially, I'd agree that Tate was a tough co-worker to be around. However, there were little actions he took that made it evident that there was more to this guy then first perceived. It takes some time for Emmie to discover this, but when she is injured, it becomes hard to ignore.

Tate is not an open book, but little by little, he opens up to Emmie and he was hard not to like. His actions were a step beyond what an average friend/co-worker would do. So when he reveals his true feelings, it wasn't a shock to me. There are some miss-steps along the way, but the couple who once couldn't stand to be in the same room as each other, make the time to communicate and prevent unnecessary drama. And it is along the way that Emmie learns she doesn't have to fake things anymore.

This is a sweet hate-to-love office romance and I thought it was an enjoyable one, especially given it is the author's debut release.

Working at Nuts & Bolts was not walk in the park for Emmie. As one of the few females, she constantly had to employ her "girl boss" persona in order to maintain her sanity. One co-worker she loved to hate, was Tate. He may have been in charge of social media, but he lacked social skills, if you asked Emmie. However, all her feelings about Tate changed, when he came to her aid following a medical emergency. Emmie starting looking at him with hearts in her eyes, but would these two introverts be able to find their HEA?

I was so scared to read this, because of other reviews I had seen. It seemed the conflict Smith put in the latter part of the book turned some readers off, but I was ok with it. That very small portion of the story, which was explained away, could not erase all the wonderful things that proceeded and followed it.

This book was a lot of fun to read. I have enjoyed many office hate-to-love romances, and I think I liked this one more than some of the others, because the hate phase was short. Look, I like romance, and though all that push-and-pull can be entertaining, I actually liked it when these two were mooning over each other even more.

I was a big fan of both the hero and the heroine. Emmie and Tate actually shared a lot of the same great qualities. They were sarcastic, amusing, loyal friends, family orientated, hard working, and big hearted. Because they were both so introverted, it was difficult for people to get to know them, but once I saw what was beneath the surface, I was all in.

I am a very ardent romance reader, therefore, I adored all the wonderful romantic gestures and lovely things these two did in the name of love. Tate was especially good at the romantic stuff, believe it or not. He would do all these little things, which just made my heart flutter, and I began to look forward to what he would do next.

And, wow! I was really impressed with how much heat Smith generated before these two ever, ahem, consummated their relationship. There were hot, passionate kisses, steamed up windows, just for her pleasure, and cuddling, lots of cuddling, which just made me love this couple even more.

The story was told exclusively from Emmie's point of view, and it was a lot of fun being in her head. I did often wonder what Tate was thinking, though, and thankfully we got a little peek via his text messages. I was really grateful Smith gave that to us, because it helped me understand him a bit more.

I devoured this book, and wore a stupid grin across my face just about the whole time. It was a sweet and gooey romance, which left me utterly elated, and I look forward to seeing what Smith does in the future.

Written by debut author, Sarah Smith! This is a charming romance that will definitely be right up the alley of the people re-discovering the rom-com genre. I really enjoyed it!

EEEEpppppp.
This one didn't work for me. I am just not invested in the characters at all.
I'm not sure there is one specific reason except...I just don't get their relationship. At all.
Sadly, I am putting this on my DNF shelf. Possibly will pick up later...if I do I will update this review at that time.

I was very excited for this book since it had an enemies to lover trope, which is my favourite but unfortunately this one didn’t work me. I couldn’t emotionally connect to either the hero or heroine and the hero was too much of an asshole for me to be happy about the couple finally ending up together. So I wouldn’t recommend this one.
Thank you Netgalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest opinion

A nice debut for Sarah Smith, but lacked something.

Usually enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, but this couple fell a little flat for me. Emmie and Tate were just a little lackluster and I honestly couldn't understand the attraction between the two. The only scenes where I felt that their was actually chemistry was when Emmie was hospitalized and Tate took care of her.

The class reunion conflict was a little disappointing both in originality and execution. Not a bad book, but not very interesting either. Neither character really had a flaw unless you count their insecurities and tendency to second guess everything.

I loved this book, and I'm going to be brutally honest and say I loved Tate more than Emmie for most of it. I could tell from the beginning there was more to what was going on with him than we could see. Yes, he was a little bit of an idiot at one point, but I really loved him. That doesn't mean I didn't love Emmie too, because she was pretty awesome-the perfect combination of tough, sassy, and vulnerable. Really, I just loved it all.

Totally loved this book!! This is such a fun read! I picked up this book and could not put it down once I entered the world of Emmie. I enjoyed the dynamic created between Tate and Emmie. I seriously started and finished this book in one sitting! I can relate to how difficult it is to be a female amongst an all male staff so I get why Emmie had to put on a tough face all of the time and not allow her co-workers to walk all over her.

I love a good rom-com read through this read I found myself reacting when Emmie had experienced something. When it was good or silly, I smiled and giggled. When she was hurt, I was upset. Overall I loved rooting for her to kick butt and be a strong woman through every chapter.

Most rom-com books leave me wanting so much more at the end, but the way Smith ended this book was perfect. I was really happy that she didn't throw in some quick last minute details into an epilogue, but rather ended it when she did.

3.5 Stars

Faker is Sarah Smith's début novel, and it's a strong one. I was very impressed with the writing. It pulled me in right away. I loved the banter between Emmie and Tate. Their relationship was definitely solid in the hate to love game. I liked how things changed for them in a way that felt natural. I enjoyed reading their romance.

There a couple of things that bothered me, though. One was Emmie's attitude toward Tate. I got why she put up a front with him, but I didn't always like the way she antagonized him. I loved that she played a part to keep her co-workers respecting her in a predominantly male workplace, but a lot of the time Tate didn't deserve what Emmie was dishing out. The second thing that bothered me was the twist. It's not a twist I like in romance novels. I was disappointed that the author took the story there because there were a couple of opportunities for other twists that would have been less...disturbing?

In the end, I did enjoy Faker. Things ended in a way that I was good with and that brought back some of the happier feelings I had in the middle of the book. Emmie and Tate's relationship was really cute for the most part. I'm looking forward to see what is next for Sarah Smith.

This book reminded me a lot of The Hating Game, which I simultaneously loved and hated. I love enemies to lovers especially when the guy ends up being totally sweet.

I liked the characters, but didn't love them. Emmie was cute, but I never quite felt connected with her. and Tate was wonderful, but still no Joshua, I wanted a little more brooding and smoldering.

The story was good, though there were a couple of things near the end that I had a bit of an issue with, and it left me wanting a little more. I felt like the conflict resolved a little too quickly for my taste. There were also a few romance tropes I could have done without.

Overall it was a quick enjoyable read!