This was such a fun read! Tansy and Gemma are both incredibly lovable characters in different ways. In particular, I love how the fake engagement immediately unfurls and how quickly they fall in love. Is it realistic? No, but nothing about a fake engagement premise is realistic. That's exactly why I love this genre of romance, as you get the pure, unadulterated joy of watching two characters fall in love, quarrel in the third act, and finally live happily ever after. This trope does not disappoint in this regard, but I think what stands out is how cute Gemma and Tansy's chemistry is. At first glance, they seem like an odd couple since Tansy is shy and less experienced and Gemma is a confident, extroverted model, businesswoman/heiress.

If you enjoy flirty banter and immediate sexual tension and a good takedown of pompeous misogynists ending with true love, happy ending, then this is the book for you.

Absolutely loved this. Alexandria Bellefleur is an amazing writer and I voraciously consume all her content!
This is such a magic piece and I love the way she writes Sapphic romances.

Highly highly recommend!!

This review is being held until the HarperCollins Union gets a contract! Publishing professionals deserve a living wage, and as a reader who loves the books HarperCollins publishes, I stand with the workers who produce those books.

ETA: This was actually a DNF for me, but maybe I'll like her next one better!

Genre: Sapphic Romance
TW: Please Check
Spice: Open Door
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️[4/5]
Review written by: M
*Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager Avon for providing an e-book ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Format: E-book & Audiobook

The moment I saw a marriage of convenience book from Alexandria Bellefleur I knew I had to read it. This merging of one of my favorite tropes and authors was just something I could not pass up, and yes, she did it again. She gave us a witty romance that had the reader swooning and rooting for the MC’s. A romance novel that was easy to read, easy to fall in love with and had you daydreaming about one day meeting your own Gemma or Tansy.

One thing that I love about this book is that the third act conflict never felt over the top. The motivations for the issues feel realistic and not just created out of thin air. Her books are ones where the third act breakup doesn’t have me wanting to fling my book across the room. I also appreciated that the two MC’s had great communication skills. There wasn’t that irritating miscommunication trope throughout. They acted and spoke to each other like adults and were constantly honest and open with each other about how they felt. This made the book feel even more realistic in my opinion. Which brings me to my only complaint in this book. Because the communication and actions of the MC’s throughout the book was so realistic, the way the “relationship” began felt a bit too far-fetched for me in contrast to the realism of the rest of the book.

I love Alexandria’s steamy scenes, but this book, although enjoyable, was nowhere near as steamy as her other books. I wish she would have brought a bit of that steam from CYLS to this book. I loved this book and although “Count Your Lucky Stars” is still my #1 book of hers, but this came close to rivaling it.

If you are looking for a cute sapphic romance, without miscommunication, easy, witty, and steamy, then look no further!

A sweet f/f romance. A typical fake relationship that ends in a romance. But in the end it was sweet and well done, although a common troupe it was interesting and well written.

This was such a beautiful and romantic book!! I loved the two main characters, and this had a great mix of tropes. 4.5 rounded up!!

Whatever Alexandria Bellefleur writes, I will buy and read, every time. This book is no exception. A steamy will-they-or-won't-they between a nerdy bookstore owner and a stunning playgirl with nothing in common, this story has it all. You will not be disappointed in this queer love story by one of the best contemporary romance authors.

Thank you Harper Collins Canada for a Netgalley copy of The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur, a sapphic romance out now!

I loved these two. So much so that as the third act drama drew near I did not want to finish it because they seemed so happy!
This is a fake dating, marriage of convenience, sapphic love fest and if you are looking for witty banter and some pretty Insta love between two women with self doubts and a kind nature, this is it. One of my favourite romances of the year so far. I’ll talk forever about this one!

This was an ok book. I liked the premise, but I just didn't really feel it between the characters. I liked the beginning, but I wasn't really a fan of the ending. Overall, it was just ok.

I enjoyed this book but just didn’t end up loving it, unfortunately. Surprisingly, I ended up liking the final third the most, which rarely happens in a romance for me! But it also shows that I had a hard time getting into the book overall, as normally the initial meeting and the exciting build-up is my favorite part of the book. It just took me a long time to see any sort of spark between the two main characters, and I just wasn’t entirely convinced by the whole premise/background either, until near the end.

It’s tough to review because while I did generally have fun with the book, it just wasn’t my favorite. I think the main issue for me was just missing the spark between the two main characters throughout most of the book. It felt like things moved too fast for them, switching quickly from fake dating/marriage to actually being into each other. And while I did how they handled it together, and how open and communicative they were about their boundaries and feelings, I just needed to see a bit more build-up first!

I also feel like there was just so much going on sometimes that it was easy for the romance itself to get lost. It was especially true because of how many side characters there were, and it felt like we really only spent time on the problematic ones. It just felt like a bit too much drama and shitty people at times, and while I’m glad we got to see them finally lose, I also would’ve liked seeing more of the better side characters, or just more of the romance.

Overall, this romance was fun but not entirely for me, but I can definitely see it working for others!

Review will go live on my blog on July 14th

I fell in love with Alexandria Bellefleur and her writing when I first read her novel Written in the Stars (review) back in 2020. I jumped at the chance to read her latest novel, The Fiancée Farce, and I think it might be my new favourite of hers (or at the very least tied with Hang the Moon! (review)). I loved everything about it!

Here’s the book’s description:
Tansy Adams’ greatest love is her family’s bookstore, passed down from her late father. But when it comes to actual romance… Tansy can’t get past the first chapter. Tired of her stepfamily’s questions about her love life, Tansy invents Gemma, a fake girlfriend inspired by the stunning cover model on a bestselling book. They’ll never actually meet, so what’s the harm in a little fib? Yet when real-life Gemma crosses Tansy’s path, her white lie nearly implodes.
Gemma van Dalen is a wild child, the outcast of her wealthy family, and now the latest heir to Van Dalen Publishing. But the title comes with one tiny condition: she must be married in order to inherit. When Gemma discovers a beautiful stranger has been pretending to date her for months, she decides to take the charade one step further—and announces their engagement.
Gemma needs a wife to meet the terms of her grandfather’s will and Tansy needs money to save her struggling bookstore. A marriage could be mutually beneficial, if they can fool everyone into thinking it’s a love match. Unexpected sparks fly as Tansy and Gemma play the role of affectionate fiancées, and suddenly the line between convenient arrangement and real feelings begins to blur. But the scheming Van Dalen family won’t give up the company without a fight, and Gemma and Tansy’s newfound happiness might get caught in the fallout…
Fake dating (or fake engagement) tropes are, well, kind of ridiculous. How anyone ever expects them to work is beyond me but, damn, if I don’t love reading them. Stakes are high (would you agree to fake date someone if they weren’t?) and the tension is delicious. When will they realize they’re actually into each other? Will they have to come clean about it being a fake arrangement? Oh, the suspense!

Tansy and Gemma were absolute delights to read about. Each woman has their own chapters and I really enjoyed having a dual POV. Bellefleur’s done dual POV in all the other books of hers I’ve read and it really adds something special to the story because she does it so well. Both women are far more nuanced than you’d first expect and I love how the reader learns more and more about them as the story unfolds.



I had all the feelings while reading this one. There were swoony moments and there were steamy moments all balanced in an absolutely magical way. It wasn’t just the romance-y or lust-y feelings that came through the pages either. Neither woman has an ideal family life - found family is big in this book - and there were a few heartbreaking moments in this story as well. Knowing Tansy and Gemma had each other to lean on was so important - and so wonderful.

Plus, how great is it when one of the main characters runs a bookstore? I love bookish touches like that in novels and I know I’m not the only one. And the additional nod to romances with Gemma’s past as a romance novel cover model was too much fun. It made for a GREAT meet cute!

It’s always really hard to review a book I adored and The Fiancée Farce is no different. I loved Alexandria Bellefleur’s latest novel and I think all romance readers need to pick this one up. It’s funny, smart, sexy, and so well written. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book from Bellefleur!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Avon, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

This was fine, but it didn't have any gravity. I didn't really feel like Tansy and Gemma had chemistry, and for this story to work, you need to feel them absolutely pining after each other. There's so much drama with all of the other characters that Gemma and Tansy kind of get lost

Tansy Adams' is tired of her family asking about her love life, so she invents a fake girlfriend, only to have the person she named show up at a family event. Thankfully Gemma goes along with the ruse, but then one-ups Tansy to say they're engaged. You see, Gemma has to get married in order to claim her inheritance from her grandfather, and she sees the situation with Tansy as the perfect opportunity to help them both.

Tansy agrees to go along with the engagement in return for six million dollars to buy out her family bookstore that her stepmother wants to sell. It's supposed to be a marriage of convenience, nothing more, but the two catch real feelings almost immediately.

I really enjoyed previous books in this series, but I found it harder to love this book. The characters were great, but I just didn't love the near-insta-love premise and found myself a little bored by the story. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't my favorite from this author either. I did enjoy the Seattle setting, and was picturing Elliot Bay Books whenever Tansy talked about her family bookstore.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order next year and will recommend it to students.

Alexandria Bellefleur is at her absolute best with The Fiancee Farce. Tansy and Gemma are an absolute riot, and the romance is brilliant and steamy in all the right ways. Another win for the sapphics!

I firmly believe that we should read books that are both mirrors and windows. Finding characters and stories that we relate to is SO important. But equally important is reading about characters who are nothing like us - especially if we don’t belong to a minority group and don’t have the firsthand experience of the discrimination others face.

Thanks to Alexandria Bellefleur, I get to read sexy, inclusive, queer, romance books with characters on every part of the gender and sexuality spectrum. Her books are “windows” for me, but they aren’t outside my comfort zone because love is love, and romance between any two humans will leave me swooning.

But for some romance readers, I can imagine her books might not be the ones you automatically reach for - but I assure you, you should! Her latest novel, The Fiancee Farce, is a sapphic romance that left me with big ol’ heart eyes. A quiet bookseller and a wealthy publishing heiress embark on a fake dating/upcoming-marriage-of-convenience, which results in all the angst and feelings.

I encourage you to seek out LGBTQIA+ stories, authors, narrators, and queer-owned bookstores all year long! It’s a small but mighty way to support a community that is still fighting daily for equal rights.

This contemporary romance takes the tropes of fake relationships and billionaires and adds LGBTQIA+ protagonists. The heroines have sizzling chemistry, and the tension is drawn out skillfully with deft writing and plotting. Highly recommend.

This book was absolutely everything I love in a romance novel—sweet, funny, steamy, and catering to people like me, who not only love books but love the book industry. What romance lover wouldn't want to read about a bookseller falling in love with a romance cover model?

The story follows Tansy, who seems to be in the middle of her own 2004 A Cinderella Story plotline. Her father died, leaving behind the family bookstore to his wife who spent their short time as a family turning a blind eye to the way her step-sister and step-cousin treated her. And it doesn't help that said step-cousin is marrying her ex and the man who thoroughly fucked with her head at age 16.

Enter Gemma, romance cover model and presumed heir to her family's publishing company—and cousin to Tansy's ex. Tansy doesn't know this, though, and certainly didn't know when she used impulsively chose Gemma's name to give to the fake girlfriend she's been lying to her family about for six months. When Gemma shows up at the wedding, Tansy's forced to face her lies when she comes face-to-face with Gemma—except instead of revealing her lies, Gemma plays into them.

This was a cute but surprisingly deep sapphic romance that I think everyone should read. Between the cute bonding scenes, relatable text exchanges, and spicy moment, the story also tackles topics such as toxic families, revenge porn, and grief. It's my second book by Bellefleur, and definitely favorite!

I was a bit skeptical to pick up a modern-day marriage of convenience book, but I am so glad I did. I absolutely are up every bit of The Fiancée Farce. From the first chapter I was on the edge of my seat. I adored the main characters and loved the side characters as well. The setting of socialite Seattle was a blast. I saw the big plot twist coming, so it wasn’t much of a surprise, but this was such a fun, great read. I would definitely recommend!

Alexandria Bellefleur charmingly brings to life a modern day marriage of convenience romance in her newest release-The Fiancee Farce. Bellefleur's writing and tone work wonderfully hand in hand to create this modern day romance, the ease and conversational quality give this novel a movie like feel which make it easily understandable and extremely accessible. While a marriage of convenience trope can be hard to pull off in a contemporary world, Bellefleur beautifully uses it to her advantage through charming and funny set up which give both our heroine's a grounding that feels relatable and believable. If you love a well pace, sweet and sensual sapphic romance, that this novel will not disappoint.

There is a really lovely gentle charm that is created in this novel. I adored that both our heroine's feel a bit like opposites to the other. I love that they both are extremely attracted to the other. I love that they both enter into this mutual arrangement to help the other and never do it out of manipulation. Watching these two navigate a fake relationship is fun, while they build a strong foundation of trust and understanding, as well as they learn to be open with each other and explore a physical side of their attraction. I was charmed that that their relationship builds out of a falsehood in other people's eyes, but really has a level of clarity when it comes to how they interact with each other.

I have highly enjoyed Bellefleur's novels and am continuously interested in seeing where her work will grow. If you love her work, you are sure to find this novel delightful and if you have never read from her before, this is a really lovely place to start! I would definitely recommend checking this book out, it is fun, charming and sweetly endearing!