Give a contemporary romance an illustrated cover and an intriguing summary, and I've got to at least try it. I appreciated Sullivan's depiction of social anxiety, and I felt a lot of sympathy for the heroine. I was rooting for her as she challenged herself to make some changes in her life. I did, however, feel like the book could have been a lot shorter. I listened to it on audio, and I was continually shocked by how much I had left to listen to. It was so slow, full of inner monologue, and had too many conflicts happening right at the end. The romance needed more development for me because I wasn't invested in this couple together, which is never great when that's the point of the genre. I'm So Okay With It – a good story that got lost in the length.

This is a sweet funny book that made me laugh out loud more than once. As someone who feels they are socially awkward and get stressed in social situations its nice to have the main character feel that way and not be this super cool girl. Both Everly and Chris have great character development and its definitely a feel good story. I feel like in parts it sort of dragged on but that can happen from time to time, and overall did not really impact my enjoyment of the story!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't expecting it, but Ten Rules for Faking It has one of the best representations/discussions of social anxiety that I've read. It might not be the first thing that you think of when you think "women's fiction" but I appreciated that Sullivan took the time (and words) to handle anxiety in such a thoughtful and thorough manner. I did find it a bit of a slower read for me, but still a fun book that would be perfect for the beach!

Where do I even begin with this book? It was amusing at times, sad at others, but always with a hint of hope underneath it all. Everly has just turned 30 years old. Her life is not how she may have always wanted it to be, between her parents on again off again marriage, her anxiety, her inability to find a significant other she feels passionately about, etc. Everly works at a radio station. She loves her job and her co-worker is her best friend. On the morning of her 30th birthday, she brings her boyfriend some coffee and a treat in the morning, only to find his secretary helping him do something other than take messages for him. With her birthday already in shambles, she goes to work. This day will be the beginning of a new adventure for Everly. After venting to her friend about her troubles with men and not knowing they were live on air, a new chapter begins for her. Men are more than willing to go out with her, and so her almost "bachelorette" radio reality and blog begins. Not all men were to her taste obviously.
My memorable mention for the dates was for the following man. I, too, have a Lhasa Apso (Mr. Darcy is his name) that I love to dress up for holidays. This bachelor #1 would have been my choice, but he was simply not to Everly's taste. However, this guy would be perfect for me if he was real. My dogs are my life. Why can't this guy be real?
"Oh, the pictures. There were so many pictures. By the time she'd seen his Lhasa Apso in a pumpkin costume, a dog-size Green Bay Packers jersey, and Christmas pajamas, she needed a refill on her drink.
'He sleeps on my bed. My last girlfriend didn't like sharing her pillow, so I've trained him only to use mine,' Corbin said....
I'm guessing that wouldn't be my issue, dude."
While he was a hard pass, Everly was able to find a few suitable gentlemen for her radio show.
As her journey continues with her ten rules for faking it progresses, she grows and comes to some great conclusions such as, "Even if it goes wrong, you have to try." Yes! A thousand times, yes! Say it louder for the people in the back! Another favorite was, "Just because it's hard doesn't mean it's not worth it." Everything in life that is worth having is not easy. A person has to work at what they want to achieve. Ugh. I just adored Everly so much. Her anxiety felt so real. Everyone feels anxious now and then. Some people have anxiety all of the time. No matter if you have hardly any anxiety or have it all of the time like Everly, you can feel for her. You can sympathize. While the plot itself may have been lacking in a few spots, I am still giving this book a 4 stars because I adored Everly and all of the good quotes I got from this book.
Now to end with my favorite one, "I don't need to change who I am to feel good about myself, but I do need to push myself to be better. To be more."


The review, along with acknowledgement of receiving a copy in exchange for an honest review will be posted to my blog, CelticsLibrary.com by 3-1-2021

This was a Slow Burn book for me. It had a cute storyline and some really amazing characters but for me the book really dragged on. If it was just a little bit shorter and a little more fast paced I could easily see myself giving this book a 4 star review.

With that being said however the way this book shows us how someone with anxiety deals with daily was outstanding. The author did an amazing job of getting that across to us readers. Like I said before the characters development was also really good. I just didn’t find myself not wanting to put this book down.

There were some really funny banter in this book and love me some good Veronica Mars references! All in all .. this was a cute and easy read.

Ten Rules for Faking It was cute enough, charming enough, and amusing enough, hence three stars. It benefited from the dual perspectives of both main characters and a lovely cast of supporting characters. The final conflict fell a bit flat for me, unfortunately, and character motivations fell apart, but I didn't hate the experience.

Everly Dean is not enjoying her thirtieth birthday. She went in to do her job as a producer for a radio show, working along her best friend Stacy. When Stacy asked about her birthday, Everly told her all about how her boyfriend, ex-boyfriend now, Simon had been with his assistant when she’d had stopped by with coffee and doughnuts. But Simon hadn’t just been with his assistant. He’d been with her in bed.

Everly had dropped breakfast on the floor and left.

And then she went in to work to see her best friend, and Everly found out that Stacy had made a big mistake too. She’d put Everly on the air to wish her a happy birthday, not knowing how her story was going to come crashing out. Everly’s bad beginning to her birthday was spilled over a live microphone to their entire listening audience.

Stacy killed the mic as soon as she could and apologized profusely to Everly, but their new boss Chris had been one of the many listeners who had heard about Everly’s morning. As the pone lines start lighting up, Christ sends Everly home for the day to recover from her double shock.

Everly goes home and feels sorry for herself, until she realizes that nothing will change in her life until she does. It’s her birthday, so it’s a good time for her to take stock. She starts making a list of things that will help her make her life better. Later, Stacy shows up and is excited to add to the list, trying to help Everly get past her anxiety and assert herself more. Everly is ready to move forward, her fate in her own hands.

What she isn’t expecting is the outpouring of support from the listeners of their radio show. But it gives them an idea—an adventure in dating, so Everly can replace Simon. Station manager Chris is all for the idea, making sure that Everly can try this dating game but not be overwhelmed by her anxiety, and Stacy is all in to help her friend find a boyfriend who is worthy.

Everly isn’t sure how much she can push herself in this new direction, but she’s willing to try. And she’s very grateful to Chris for being so sensitive to her anxiety. It makes her feel safe. He makes her feel special. But will that interfere with her new dating opportunities, developing a crush on the boss? Or will that just mean that her professional life and her personal life will leave her sad, unemployed, and alone?

Ten Rules for Faking It is a charming rom com with lots of spirit and enthusiasm. Told in alternating viewpoints between Everly and Chris, this story takes a deep dive of how challenging it can be adulting with anxiety. While Everly tries to “fake it” to find her new life, she is careful to make sure she has support and encouragement from her friends for each step.

I liked this book, but I have dealt with enough anxiety in my life to feel the pain of Everly’s struggles. I was so happy for her that she stays strong when she can and takes time for herself when she can’t be strong, but it did bring up some painful memories for me (not that that’s the fault of author Sophie Sullivan, just a thing that happens sometimes when a character’s struggles mirror my own).

I definitely recommend this one for fans of rom coms, but I also have to say it would be a great book for anyone wanting to better understand someone who struggles from anxiety or to offer hope and encouragement for those anxious like me. The descriptions of Everly’s panic and her need for time alone to recover is as good of an explanation as I’ve read. And this book is lots of fun, so that just makes reading Ten Rules for Faking It that much more gratifying.

Egalleys for Ten Rules for Faking It were provided by St. Martin’s Press (Griffin) through NetGalley, with many thanks.

A lively, quick read revolving around a radio show producer. In this funny rom-com, Everly has to navigate her love life, but also the thoughts in her head, and her loving but overly-comfortable parents.

Everly is a producer at the radio station and it's her birthday -- yay... not so yay. Birthdays suck, and this one is no different. Everly has rules to live by that keep everything neat and orderly, but those rules do not account for being thrown into a radio-contest bachelorette type project while managing her social anxiety. Her best friend Stacey is obviously on her side, but her boss Chris keeps blowing hot and cold and she can't place him.

I really appreciate reading books where the main character is dealing with mental health struggles but where they are validated and are simply a part of that character. In this case Everly has social anxiety but while it affects her life it does not necessarily control it. The novel is also about friendship, support and getting through (major/public) embarrassments.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are all my own.

Everly Dean has a track record for bad birthdays, but her 30th takes the cake when she catches her boyfriend cheating on her (literally in the act) and then inadvertently rants about it live, on the radio to DJ/best friend Stacey. They turn the radio confession into an opportunity when her gorgeous, yet distant boss, Chris, proposes they create a Bachelorette-style radio segment after receiving so much listener support for Everly. The main problem is Everyly's social anxiety, shyness, and "quirks."
This was a cute rom-com with some cringy moments with Everly's parents and a speedy resolution. There were points mid-way through that dragged on a bit, but it was a relatively quick, easy read. I enjoyed Sophie Sullivan's depiction of anxiety ad the various triggers and how it manifests. The storyline with Chris was tepid and far too instant to be gratifying and realistic--we learn early on that he's been into Everly from the moment they met--going from distant boss to chummy admirer. Finally, there could have been one major conflict (Chris's dad owns the radio station, but Chris decides not to disclose the connection to his employees) rather than two or three that were pretty easily resolved. Overall, it was just ok and light read with pretty homogenous characters.

Oh, Everly - Queen of the crappy birthdays. She was game for the Bachelor-style dating game to boost ratings and hopefully find love - and she finds it in a not-unexpected-but-still welcome place. Loved this one!

Cute, lighthearted read. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review

I was really excited to get the opportunity to review this as I thought the description definitely sounded like something I would enjoy reading. The characters were likeable, both the MCs (Everly and Chris) and the side characters, and the overall story was lighthearted and cute. Well this was a nice book to read, I did feel like the plot progressed a rather slow pace, especially with the inner monologue going on. In the end, it is an overall alright book to read.

i think it was the third book in a row that featured an unlikeable main character and honestly i was done.

I really struggled to get into this one, and the main character wasn't very likable. But there were some very funny moments. And I loved Chris.

Everly has it rough. Her birthday is terrible, her boss hates her (or does he?!), and her anxiety is through the roof. But a little mistake at work has everything turning around!

This was a super cute and uplifting read. Just when you think all hope is lost, things can surely turn around.

Ten Rules for Faking it
By Sophie Sullivan

This was a fun and refreshing take on a rom com ala Bachelorette style. Everly Dean is a radio station producer who on accident ranted on air about her cheating boyfriend, which then created a huge outpouring of support. I loved the premise and Iove the slow burn romance between the characters. Sophie Sullivan wrote a fantastic character that many people could relate to, someone with social anxiety - I am glad to see that in this story.

I thought that this was a super fun read, and I loved the tender moments between the characters Chris and Everly. I feel that there may be more to this story in a sequel - cross fingers.

Thank you @SMPromance and @netgally for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

THIS BOOK WAS SO MUCH FUN! I recently read The Ex Talk (I'm obsessed), so when I realized that Ten Rules For Faking It centers around a radio station as well, I knew I had to add it to my Netgalley tbr. AND BOY, OH BOY, I LOVED IT. Many thanks to the publisher for the e-ARC 💜

Reading Everly's story was a joy through and through. The whole bachelorette inspired storyline was very interesting, and I couldn't help turning the pages fast enough to know how the plot turned out in the end. The anxiety representation through Everly's character was spot on. I related to her in so many situations, I literally wanted to scream "HUGE RELATE" a lot of times throughout the book. 😂

The slow burn romance was enjoyable to read, but sometimes it was too slow for my liking. 🙄 Nevertheless, I appreciated how everything got settled, Love-story wise! I've been reading a lot of workplace romances recently, and I loved the author's refreshing take on this popular trope. I loved how Chris supported Everly in her mental health related struggles. It was very heartwarming. :') Since Chris was such an amazing character, I wished to see more from his POV in the book, but unfortunately that wasn't done. :( The book demanded more screen-time for the couple, in my opinion. That's honestly my only complaint about the book.

4.75/5 ⭐ If you're looking for an unique, adorable read, pick Ten Rules for Faking It up!

What a fun book! Eeryone who makes a list should make sure this one is on it. The chemistry between the main characters was terrific and the slow burn kept propelling me forward. I lovd the way Chris and Stacey handled Everly's severe anxiety but I really wish the author had sent Everly to therapy to deal with it better.. Clueless parents, job instability, and this crazy radio promotion event to basically play Bachelorette with Everly's love life made up quite and enjoyable story.

Sophie Sullivan's new book, Ten Rules for Faking It, should be added to your reading list. This cute romance is a quick read. My favorite aspect of this book is that the main character has anxiety. For those of us who also have anxiety, the author does us all a favor by recognizing and normalizing anxiety.

Easy read, something perfect for the time when you can't focus and you just want to chill out after a long day at work.