⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This book follows the story of Everly and Chris, two c0-workers (DJ and station manager) who work at a radio station. To boost the ratings for the station, they decide to have a "dating contest" where Everly is matched with different listeners who have sent in applications/videos to try and score a date. In the end, she will pick the guy she likes the best. Will it be one of them or someone else?

I had such high hopes for this book - unfortunately, it was just okay. First of all, I was not a fan of the story line. The whole "lets play a game with all these lives" sat weird with me. It sat extra weird because Everly suffers from social anxiety (as do I, so I get it) and being put in this type of situation would have been awful for my mental health (and, frankly, it was for hers.. she had some panic attacks along the way.

I didn't like Everly, I just.... didn't. I could not vibe or connect with her, minus her anxiety. I felt she was very judgemental (judged her parents and their marriage, judged Chris). Because of this, I didn't really care what happened to her and I wasn't rooting for her. I feel the guy she ended up with deserved better.

I appreciated and liked Chris as a character much more. I felt he had a good head on his shoulders and I love what he did in the end (regarding a situation with his father). I was rooting for him!

I didn't dislike this book. It was just... okay. I loved the beginning and I loved the end. The middle just dragged on too much. Sloooooow burn. I appreciate the mental health/social anxiety that was covered in this book. I don't often see social anxiety represented so it's nice to see. I just wish I cared at all about the main character and the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of book!

Everly was such a unique and wonderfully written character, with how her anxiety overtook everything she did I found it made her so relatable. I was charmed by her personality flaws and how she took on her struggles.

A slow burn workplace romance, I adored the premise of this one - a Bachelorette style radio show that throws our anxiety filled protagonist into a flurry of dating way out of her comfort zone. It was refreshing to see a new take on this trope, as well as seeing Everly take charge and stand up for herself while also keeping all the potential dates in a more positive light - no “bad guy” dragging down the plot and taking away from the main story.

Fun side characters like her best friend Stacey made this an easy, light-hearted read I really enjoyed. I was delighted to host this title as our first @loveARCtually book club read, the author was an absolute joy & I just really enjoyed everything about reading this title as a club!

Thank you to NetGalley + SMP Romance/St. Martin’s Griffin for providing me a gifted copy of this eARC in exchange for my personal review.

I really enjoyed this book and it made me laugh throughout. It was really well written and loved the style of the writing. You can't even imagine what this poor character must have been feeling with everything she'd had dealt to her and it's gutting. It really is empowering to see her rise up from it and make her own rules in life and have a laugh at it all. Girl power is what it's all about!

As someone with anxiety, I appreciate how this was depicted. This story was overall cute and likable. It was a quick easy read.

thank you for my copy in exchange for a fair review

Ten Rules for Faking It was a sweet, adorable, light-hearted romance novel that will appeal to fans of the Bachelorette! Although the pacing can be a bit slow, it was fun to watch Everly’s journey (okay, mostly her interactions with Chris). The dating portion was my favorite part of the book, the guys Everly dated felt so realistic and the dates themselves definitely made me laugh. But it also felt like there was just too much crammed into the book. Everly’s slightly fractured relationship with her parents didn’t get nearly the page time that it needed and I would have liked to see a bit more of her and Chris together. Definitely a cute book overall though!

*Disclaimer: I received a digital advance copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review of Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Radio producer Everly Dean is used to having terrible birthdays. But the morning of her 30th might be the cherry on top because she walks in on her boyfriend underneath another woman. And as if that weren’t enough, Everly goes to work and immediately starts spewing a stream of hate to her friend and co-worker, Stacey. But what Everly doesn’t know is that the mic is unmuted and all of their listeners are hearing about Everly’s very notable morning. Instead of her career ending, Everly’s boss Chris, suggest they capitalize on the listeners investment in Every’s love life. Enter the radio version of The Bachelor. This is the perfect opportunity for Everly to step out of her comfort zone and check off some things on her list including being bold. What Everly doesn’t expect though, is falling for someone who didn’t sign up for the dates. Or for him to fall for her back.

This was 100% a slow burn read but such an adorable workplace romance with likable characters. I was disappointed that it wasn’t heavier with the steamy romance and the chemistry between the two main characters missed the mark for me, but it was the perfect lighthearted read that I needed. I also appreciated Sullivan creating a character who lives with social anxiety; that was a big part of the plot and I think it can be relatable and validating to many readers who also live with anxiety. I also found her spin on The Bachelor to be a refreshing new take that I enjoyed. And who doesn’t love when characters put their foot down and stand up for themselves?! The controlling Trump-like daddy was put in his place and it was so satisfying to read. Although this book took me longer to finish because of life… I very much looking forward and enjoyed picking this book back up.

Thank you @SMPRomance {#partner} for gifting me with a finished copy in exchange for an independent and honest review! This book is on shelves now!

Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan was a fun romantic comedy. I enjoyed the characters immensely, and I loved the anxiety representation in Everly’s character. It was a sweet and enjoyable read, and I loved the support and acceptance that Chris gave to Everly throughout the book. I appreciated Everly’s growth as a character throughout the book, but I wish that she was able to seek professional help in dealing with her anxiety. I also would have loved to see more of the characters together as a couple. Overall I felt that this was a cute romance that I would recommend.

I received a copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

This was great. I liked the way the author portrayed Everly's anxiety. It is something that isn't in a lot of romance books, but such a real thing. The story was cute

Such a good book if you have anxiety. The main character and the love interest just jive so well. There isn't anything horrible that happens so you don't have to worry about the sudden plot twist. Instead the love interest is sturdy, dependable, and just lovely.

This ARC was given through St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review is voluntarily written and full of my own personal opinions.

I was expecting for this book to be good but I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it. Overall this was a solid 4 stars for me because I did feel a bit of disconnect with Everly and Chris on certain aspects like their relationship with their parents. I am not usually a fan of slow-burn romances but this book had me on the edge of my seat with the urge to say 'KISS ALREADY!' I think this book had wonderful representation of anxiety and the romance was very enjoyable. I definitely recommend purchasing this book and I personally have plans to purchase it in the near future.

I really enjoyed this book!

Everly is a relatable main character to anyone who has anxiety issues, and Chris' being so accommodating is lovely to see. Normally when you have a character like Everly, the moral of the story is that they need to "open up" and "try new things," thus proving the characters anxiety was a fixable road block to happiness, which just is not realistic to people with anxiety.
This book never shows Everly as being broken or unfixable, no matter what she may feel on the topic. She has a great support system and and interesting (if complicated) family dynamic.

<spoiler>

Throughout the book I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop with one of the men she was "dating," but this book didn't do that. It didn't make a nice guy into a secret bad guy to prop the male lead up, and I appreciate that.

I personally would have liked to have seen more come out of the Simon Storyline. Particularly for him to get more of a comeuppance. However, he fades from the story pretty quickly. I thought the rival radio station giving "his side of the story" would have made for an interesting subplot, and it felt like a loose end that another radio station would mention it and then nothing really comes out of it. That is my only real critique of this otherwise great story.

</spoiler>

I really had high hopes for this one. The main character Everly Dean has severe social anxiety. While my anxiety isn'y severe, I felt like I could totally relate to her. The problem though is that take the anxiety out of the equation, I found her super unlikeable. Honestly, Noah and Stacey were my favorites and they were not the main characters at all.

I like the storyline of this book, which is why I'm rating 3 stars. It wasn't one that I NEEEEEEDED to read when I was doing other things. But when I did pick it up I enjoyed it and wanted to keep reading.

The grammer needs a lot of work. There were so many errors and words omitted. The publisher wanted to push this through without enough edits for sure.

This story follows 30 year old Everly who has just discovered her bf cheating on her on her birthday. She goes to the radio station where she works with her bff and unloads...on air...without realizing they were live. After a huge amount of support from listeners, Everly begins a Bachelorette-type deal backed by the radio station and her boss, Chris, who may or may not have unrequited feelings for her.

I enjoyed this story and thought it was really cute despite some of the circumstances. It was sweet with like 2 kissing scenes - which is definitely an oddity in the romance I read. This doesn't have the steamy factor, but there is a lot of angsty tension. Everly suffers from anxiety and I felt that rep was done very well (as someone with anxiety). I will say that this is one of the few books where I don't like the parents at all. Neither set. Like at all. Overall, a really sweet story, loved the journey.

This book had everything I want in a romance novel: complex, relatable characters and a slow burn romance! Although I don’t have deal with severe social anxiety like Everly, I do deal with anxiety. It was nice to see a main character in a romance novel that dealt with anxiety and what that experience could look like. I loved The Bachelorette style competition and loved that this story was set at a radio station.

If you want a light-hearted romance, this book is for you!

In Ten Rules For Faking It, the main character Everly is having a disastrous birthday. She discovers her boyfriend is cheating on her, her personal business has been broadcast on air at her workplace, and she might possibly lose her job. To remedy things and lift her spirits, she decides to create of list of things to get her out of her comfort zone. Everly is now 30 and wants to shake things up in her life.

And so Everly’s journey begins as she is pushed out of her comfort zone and into the spotlight. Everly deals with severe social anxiety and as someone who deals with anxiety issues I could also relate to that. She does her best to try the dating experience and it also spurs her to try new things in her life. She feels trapped by her emotions and it takes gradual time her to build up her confidence. Not only is this a journey about self-confidence but she also manages to find a bit of love on the way too. I thought her dates were the most comical part of the book and it was so entertaining. It was almost like speed dating mixed with The Bachelor. I was curious to see what happens next.

This was a cute book and a bit predictable at times, but it filled you with warm and fuzzies. I appreciate how Chris was so patient with Everly and her anxiety and realizing when she needed her space and picked upon on clues when she needed help. Most of all I enjoyed seeing Everly work through some her issues for trying help ease her anxiety. A fun, fast paced and comical rom com!

This was a great rom-com. It’s really funny and light but has some real depth to it as well. Everly’s social anxiety is very well portrayed I think and will be a good touchpoint for many readers. Stacey and Everly’s friendship is really great, and Chris and Noah are like many older brothers I know (well, they’re a lot richer, but they ACT like brothers I know). Fun read. It would make a great movie!

this book was cute I liked the chemistry between the hero and heroine but I didn’t love the way Everlys anxiety was dealt with or I should say how it wasn’t dealt with at all! This girl is suffering it was relatable but so sad because she never did get help for herself and it was just upsetting to me that the author wouldn’t have helped her a bit. 🤷🏻‍♀️

From the description, I thought this would be a book I enjoyed, but it was just okay. The only thing that felt original about the premise was the radio station setting and the portrayal of Everly’s anxiety. I liked the scenes between Everly and her friend Stacey because they felt realistic, but most of the interactions between the other characters seemed farfetched. This story built up very slowly (kind of dragged) but I’m not sure the pace added anything of value. Overall, it’s a cute book, but again, just okay.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Fun, cute story! Everly has come to the realization that her birthdays suck, and her big 3-0 seems to want to top them all. As if finding her boyfriend in bed with his assistant wasn't bad enough she went to a rant talking to her bestie only to have it blasted to the listening audience. This would be bad for anyone, but for an introvert who likes to fade into the background, oh and she has anxiety when anything draws attention to her she just wanted to die right there. Not only did she tell everyone that she was off men, so was the cute station manager listening. Chris is working as the station manager trying to prove to his father that he was ready for the next step in his career but he wanted to improve the radio station too. This story has everything from humor, fun characters, piñatas with surprises to a dating competition, oh and a good love story too.

I really enjoyed this slow romance, although our male character was a bit more of an douchbag than I would like, but overall this was a good read, light and engaging.