Spoilery discussion ahead.

Everly has the worst birthday ever, arriving home to discover her boyfriend in the sack with his assistant. She goes to work, because she can't let Stacey, her best friend and partner in their morning radio show, swing in the wind, as Everly is Stacey's producer. Everly is usually very quiet in the way of those with extreme social anxiety, but she lets it all go about the crappy boyfriend and scummy men in general . . . and discovers too late that Stacey had flipped the switch and they were on their air--she'd meant to sing "Happy birthday."

So the entire world (or so it seemed) heard the rant, which incidentally zoomed the listener quotient, a lucky break as Chris, the manager, is getting a nasty phone call from his dad (who owns the studio) to fire the pair. But he doesn't want to for a number of reasons, with secretly liking Everly at the top.

In a brainstorm, they come up with an idea: finding Everly a perfect date. The radio listeners can nominate guys.

So there's the setup, all accomplished in the first couple chapters.

Now I have to get generally spoilery.

The beginning took off like a rocket, but then we got chapter after chapter of Chris secretly liking Everly, but not doing anything about it because he's her boss, and she's anxious. anxious at work, anxious on the dates, anxious around her boho parents. She has panic attacks and nerve storms one after another, as Chris tries to back her up, while hiding his feelings.

Chapter after chapter, repeatedly the same note.

The characters are lovely, some of the dates funny, but the central romance stays on this single note, with the strongest emotion being Everly's really well described panic attacks, until the last quarter of the book. Then things begin to move rapidly again, with the expected bad scene, followed by a cascade of resolution that pulls everything together in the last few pages.

Nice writing, great characters, fun beginning, but that middle needed a lot more romance and fewer of the (very vividly described) anxiety scenes to really work for me.

Sophie Sullivan takes readers on a realistic journey in “Ten Rules for Faking It.” The characters are well fleshed out and feel realistic; they are flawed and lovable, and feel like they could jump off of the page and be your friends in real life.
Sullivan took great care in addressing the main character’s struggles of living with anxiety. It’s not portrayed as a crutch, or something to get over, but rather as a characteristic that is a part of who she is, and something that she can work with instead of against. The respect and care is woven into the story beautifully.

It’s a charming, slow-burn romcom with a bachelorette kind of contest after Everly reveals on air about how she ended her relationship. I liked that Everly, the lead character, is someone who has social anxiety issues and she tries to overcome them by facing the situations head on now. Chris was absolutely adorable and their chemistry started off right away but they stay away from each other for a long time. Everly’s friend was her support system and was a hoot as well.

Everly’s mind voice was hilarious and the dialogues she thinks over in her mind were laugh out funny. I wish there were more scenes between Chris and Everly as there was so much angst between them that needed to be addressed. A fun, light and enjoyable romcom!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy!

A charming slow burn that I couldn’t put down. I really loved Everly’s character! She was complex, unique and felt real. I also appreciated that Sullivan took great care in writing her challenges with social anxiety, Everly’s storyline with Chris was frustrating at times but it was true to her character and I’m just impatient with some romance tropes. Speaking of Chris- I loved his character too. He was layered and nuanced; which is sometimes hard to find in male protagonists. Would’ve liked a little more heat, but this read was so sweet and endearing, I finished it in 2 sittings!

I think this was absolutely adorable. I loved all of the characters and Everly’s social anxiety is so relatable for me. It’s a little long for my romcom expectations though. It goes on and on about details that aren’t needed and that would help trim it down immensely if they were removed. I wish this book had a little steam because it makes all that angst unbearable without it. I still enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it!

Thank you so much for approving my request. I started this title, but I just cannot connect with the plot and characters at this time. I will not be reviewing this title for now. I look forward to working again with you in the future.

Kind regards,

Brittney

Not my favorite romance book (particularly with the lack of actual romance between the two leads...) but not bad either. Overall I enjoyed it but not as much as I thought I was going to. In particular I thought the radio contest could have been more integrated and the romance between the leads felt as developed as a half baked cupcake. However Everly’s story in particular was a great representation of social anxiety and I found all of the characters enjoyable as a whole. Definitely a slow burn but worth a read if you’re a fan.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sophie Sullivan for the advanced read of 10 Rules for Faking it in exchange for an honest review.

Another fun read that may have been a tad bit too long but was still good. It was cute and the writing was solid and effective. I enjoyed Everly . She was a cute character and one who I really rooted for through the book . I especially enjoyed the way the book portrayed social anxiety in a real way.

Thank you #netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

This book was good and kind of slow-burn, so I enjoyed that aspect! I was glad to see a book giving some representation to social anxiety and some of the impacts it can have on someone's life. That being said, it's only getting three stars because it wasn't as entertaining/funny as I thought it would be. The romance was there, but not as strongly as I would have liked. That being said, still a good read and worth your time!

In a crazy time when all I want to read is lighthearted and fun, this book was TOTALLY it!!
Laugh out loud funny, romantic, Bachelorette-like, crazy parents, and great characters—it had all the things!!
I can’t wait to read more from this author!

This book was really cute; radio personalities, bachelorette style dating, co-workers with feelings for each other, and great secondary characters! Everly and Chris are likeable and funny, the dating show part of the book was a really unique idea and well done. I'd recommend this as a light read, contemporary romance novel.

Every is not a fan of birthdays. I like the name Everly. She is a radio show producer. I liked Everly. I liked the friendship with Stacey

Fun and entertaining romance that you'll enjoy from start to finish! I love that the topic of anxiety and social anxiety is at the forefront of the plot. Everly Dean decides that this will be the year that she overcomes her fears and gains a new lease on life. Her ten rules give a whole new meaning to "fake it til you make it". Heartwarming and endearing, I recommend this book for lovers of chick lit and romance. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC.

This was a very cute romance story. It’s not everyday you read a story where the main character has severe social anxiety, so while I cringed at some of her choices, I could sympathize with why she made them. I also loved how the author should the characters being both frustrated and happy with each other it made the relationship more authentic.

I loved this book! This author was a new to me one, and I just couldn't put this down. The characters were so real and engaging. I devoured page after page and then was so happy, yet sad, when it was over. I look forward to more from this author. LOVED IT!

I absolutely loved the anxiety representation in this book! Its something that hits so many of us so it was refreshing to see in a romantic setting! It was definitely a unique plot and while I wish it actually had more steamy romance but I liked the story along the way.

It’s both not the best and certainly not the worst thing I’ve ever read.
At the beginning, I was invested, rooting for each character, drawn in by a storyline that didn’t quite live up to its potential.
As the book continued, my need for a happily ever after kind of plummeted. I lost interest, with more and more of the story leaning on the MC’s anxiety and me enjoying it less and less.
I love all things love, but the h spent so much of the book on the bachelorette style dating, and not enough building a romantic relationship with the H. Unfortunately it fell flat, and ended up being not so believable that these two MC’s could in fact have a HEA.

This is a fun and heartwarming romance, mostly because of the endearing main character, Everly Dean. A radio producer, she struggles with anxiety, mostly in social situations. After a particularly bad year, she decides to make a concerted effort to overcome her anxiety and shake things up in her life -- hence the ten rules. Right away, she gets caught up in a radio station promotion that makes her kind of like The Bachelorette, and that's just for starters. I look forward to recommending this to readers who enjoy Susan Mallory, Sarah Morgan, and Jenn McKinlay.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC to read and review!

"Ten Rules For Faking It" is a light but sweet office contemporary romance I enjoyed reading more than I thought I would.

The book opens with a unique punch that is at first cliché but then makes you feel secondhand embarrassment for Everly. But I was hooked from then on hoping beyond hope that something good would come out of this for her.

I liked how the story suddenly becomes a smaller scale version of The Bachelorette. It's an interesting turn of events in opposition to Everly's "Ten Rules For Faking It" list to turn her life around. It was a well balanced internal and external conflict.

What I loved most about this book is the apt representation of social anxiety disorder. Anxiety - from what it looks like on the outside versus how it actually looks/feels on the inside - is translated so well through great writing. The author really understands intricacies and subtle nuances anxiety has on the mind and body.

Everly is an empowering character. There's a lot to love about Everly once you get to know her, such as how she loves her job as a radio producer.  I related to Everly so much and understood from experience why she is the way she is. Nobody wants to feel anxious or afraid all the time. Nobody wants to be mentally exhausted after socializing. It’s hard to appear “normal” out of fear of being judged. And having anxiety isn’t something to be ashamed of.

Chris is a great character who’s been fighting demons of his own since childhood. I liked getting to know his character during the chapters in his POV. He has a wonderful, close relationship with his two older brothers, which was nice to see.

"Ten Rules For Faking It" is very much a character driven story where all the characters seem to have something about themselves to overcome. I was wholly invested and wanted to read more afterwards. There are two characters in particular I would love to read a story about.

It’s still a good, slow burn story that was told well. I would read more books by Sophie Sullivan. I think this story will help a lot of people who are indecisive about who they are and what they want from life.

Actually a really sweet romance. I'm shocked to admit that I didn't mind there wasn't much sex, I cared enough about the story and characters to stay invested. Great chemistry between the characters and the author did a nice job writing both viewpoints. Also thought the depiction of anxiety came across as realistic.