A continuing mystery, one of my favorite tropes, and characters I was totally invested in! A total win!

Morgan is at her lowest point. She has been rejected by her biological father and has made an epic scene at her boss's wedding, who doesn't know that she's her little sister. It is then that Jared, Austin's notorious playboy, rescues her from making a bigger mistake. Later, it's Jared who needs to prove to his family and the family business's board of directors that he can be a responsible adult and asks Morgan to temporarily pretend to be his girlfriend. But what happens when the attraction between them became so consuming and their feelings deepen with every minute they spend together?

I really liked the fourth and last book in The Stewart Heirs series because it couldn't have ended better: drama, passion, romance, conflicts and secrets until the end (I still have to buy the first two books, but that's another story). And it's because the patriarch of this family is quite a character, so it isn't surprising that he had an illegitimate daughter, after a night of passion in Vegas.

This is the origin of Morgan. With so hard experiences that have marked her life draining her confidence, she always wanted to belong, to fill the void that the lack of a father during her childhood has left her. Jared, on the other hand, has been born in a privileged position where he is considered the black sheep of the family. Womanizer, partying, not having great responsibilities, he is like a teenager in the body of a man.

Knowing each other changed their lives, in every way. And you can see it; the chemistry and sexual tension between Morgan and Jared is too obvious. Although it's not what really predominates in them. Both Morgan and Jared are better people because of each other. And their love is credible.

Contrary to other stories in HD, in this one there are many very active supporting characters. Morgan (the Stewarts) and Jared's (the Robinsons) families have a lot to say about the main characters's love story. But I feel like the circumstances of Jared's brother, Chris, at times overshadowed the main story a bit. Or do we have a story in the making here?

The plot is fluid and well narrated, with a maturity and sensitivity that stands out in the scenes. Well written, developed and with great intensity, the end of the series has been spectacular.

I had high hopes for Secrets of a Fake Fiancée, but unfortunately it did not work for me at all. I didn’t feel invested in the characters or plot. DNF

Overall pretty good story. I enjoyed the premise and the family drama but it didn’t quite hold my attention the way I’d hoped.

Jared's family owns a huge company. With his brother gone, it's up to him to take charge. Only he has no idea how. His brother was groomed for the position since he was young, and he was the family's black sheep, a permanent disappointment. It takes all he has to change from his old ways to the man he has to be.

On top of all that, his grandmother wants him to marry, to prove his reliability and that he changes his way

Well, there is one girl that is a possibility. He meets her a wedding and there were definitively sparks between them and she could be a perfect fake fiance.

Morgan came to town to meet his father and it took him a long to gather courage. The wedding of his son might not be the best place, but she felt like it was her only choice.

Not surprisingly, it went horribly. And when she went to drown her sorrow she meets. She wanted a lot more of him, but he insisted on being the perfect gentlemen. And now he wants her to be his fake fiance.

I liked the storyline and find it very entertaining, however, there were few things that I didn't like all that much, like the way the all, including Morgan, treated his brother's girlfriends. There were almost too much snootiness and downright crappiness for me to read on. And also the way sex between them and the conversation surrounding it wasn't my favorite either.

received from NetGalley

Yahrah St.. John always delivers a great read, and this is no exception. I featured Secrets of a Fake Fiancee as book of the day on my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages for Black Fiction Addiction.

I wanted to love this book. That is, actually, why I requested it from Netgalley and I was so excited to be able to read this book so I could tell y'all about it. But unfortunately, I really didn't like this.

Although the title suggests a fake engagement, the book is actually about fake dating, which is fine as I love both tropes. But essentially, this book opens at a wedding and it's during her brother's wedding reception (admittedly after he left), that Morgan decides it's a good idea to reveal that she's a secret baby. Like... It was not a good idea. So that's all fine. There's a lot of drama, but that's to be expected. There's also really good chemistry between Morgan and Jared, the playboy love interest. It takes longer than I was expecting for the fake dating to really take off, but it's fun when it does.

Here are where my issues lie: (1) the way sex is handled in this book. So early in the book we learn that Morgan was sexually assaulted when she was younger and also she's a virgin. This is a Harlequin Desire so it's hardly a surprise that she loses her virginity at some point in this book and the commentary afterward surrounding virginity is gross. It doesn't go the purity angle, it goes the "yay, now no one can say I'm frigid!" Like... what? People suck, I don't need reminders of that in my romance novels, thanks. (2) the sex itself seemed to defy physiology in ways that probably wouldn't have bothered me normally, but did when compounded by the commentary surrounding virginity, and (3) I really just want a hero who is capable of handling his feelings like an adult. Is that asking for too much? (4) There's a sex worker (dancer) side character and she's treated poorly. Like... Even Morgan who thinks she's being so great and good and kind is... not?

But there were a lot of things I really enjoyed. Namely the family dynamics of the Robinsons, although, I suppose that's also a thing I didn't like at a certain point. And I really liked the Stewart siblings getting to know one another. Unfortunately, overall, this just wasn't my favorite category and I was a bit let down.

I had the pleasure of reading Secrets of a Fake Fiancée. I received an advanced reader copy from @netgalley, this book will be released on Tuesday, May 5, 2020.

I will say, this was my first book that I’ve read by this author so I was not familiar with her writing style or either families that were mentioned in this story. However, without knowing anything I was thoroughly engaged in the story. It definitely can be read as a stand-alone.

What I liked was that the story was unconventional, a lady’s man and a fake fiancée seems like a story that I would be intrigued by. The story starts off a bit slower than I anticipated. In the beginning, Morgan reveals some earth shattering news at the wedding of her, “boss”, Dane, when she reveals that the patriarch of the Stewart Family, Henry, is her father. The news was not taken very well and Jared is luckily there to be her savior. While I liked this set-up for the story, I still had a tough time getting into the story. It wasn’t until Jared proposes that Morgan serves as his, “fake girlfriend” did I find myself engrossed with the story.

After this arrangement, I could not put the book down. It took a while but the story started to make sense to me when I realized that Jared needed Morgan more than he cared to admit. The love between the two was evident and while they both tried and failed to keep their relationship strictly platonic, I was rooting for them to make it through!! The flow was great, I saw very minimal errors, and I was very satisfied with how the story ended. I can definitely see myself reading more work from this author and perhaps going back to read books 1-3. Very good read for me.

This review is also posted to my Instagram, @readnliftwithshar

This is the fourth book in The Stewart Heirs series that follows the offspring of a pretty terrible businessman, Henry Stewart. At least two of these books feature children he had outside of his marriages. Morgan Young has been the assistant to Hollywood star Dane Stewart (Red Carpet Redemption) for the last year and she’s ready to reveal that she’s actually his baby sister and plans to confront their father. The problem is that she chooses an inopportune time to drop this bombshell and wasn’t prepared for the rejection and repercussions. Fortunately, Dane’s good friend, Jared Robinson is there to rescue her and has a proposal that could benefit both of them.

Yahrah St. John is one of the few Black authors that is able to transcend the Harlequin formula and give you good character development in the process. It did contain some romance tropes like the virgin and the super experienced playboy, and the poor girl and the rich guy, but the plot development behind those choices made sense and would have been.

I realized while writing this that I missed reading Fallon Stewart's story in this series, but I’m going to go take care of this now! 🙂

First and foremost thank you as always to NetGalley and Harlequin for providing me an ARC of this book.

This is by far not my first Yahrah St. John's novel and it will not be my last. I was a little lost when I read the book because I was not reading the first in the series. But regardless of that, you can read this book without having read the previous ones. I was only confused for about a chapter. Other than that I overall enjoyed the book.

Secrets of a Fake Fiancée is a super sexy fake relationship romance novel (come on and tell me you don't love a good faking dating romance trope) with a lot of twists and turns that are included in it.

The book's main character Morgan Young has had a hard life growing up, and all she has ever wanted was to belong. When she finally finds her biological father he wants nothing to do with her. Well, Morgan being the strong woman she is was not going to take this laying down. She was determined to take her rightful place in the Stewart family whether her father wanted her to or not.

Enter the sexy playboy with no plans of settling down anytime soon. Jared Robinson is your typical sexy rich playboy with a lot of times on his hand. He enjoys fast cars and even faster women until he meets Morgan. Morgan who is unlike any other girl he has ever dated before. Jared finds Morgan about to spill the secrets of her family life, but Jared needs her help with something else.

See his older brother Chris has run off to parts unknown with an exotic dancer who he got pregnant, so Jared worse nightmare happens. His family expects him to take the reins of the family business in his brother's absence. But the board is not going to let a playboy be the new CEO of the company. And this is were Morgan comes into play. Jared needs her to pretend to be his girlfriend so that he can show the board he has settled down.

But like we all know when people lie about being in a relationship, it all comes back to bite them both on the butt when Jared starts to fall for Morgan and Morgan realizes she is in love with Jared. Parts of Jared's past are brought to light and Morgan decides that she can't be with a person like Jared. She decides that is the end of their relationship. But Jared will not let the love of his life walk away once he realizes he is meant to be with her.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, like I said this the fourth book in the series but you can read it without having to read all of the other books in the series. I know I will be going back to read the others because I love a good series. Yahrah St. John did not disappoint in delivering another sexy book and I look forward to more of her work.