“You want me to get down on one knee? Propose? Say yes now, and later, I’ll spend as much time on my knees as you want.”
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Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books, and Alexandria Bellefleur for providing me with an eARC of this book. This is my honest review.
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If you’re looking for a saccharine sweet sapphic romcom with a nice sprinkling of steam, Bellefleur is here with the Fiancée Farce and a whole lot of fluff! 🙌🏽 The Fiancée Farce was such a delight to read! It was everything I was hoping it would be, funny, sexy, kinda ridiculous in an endearing way. I loved every second of it.
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Gemma and Tansy had me in a chokehold 😩💗 I ate up every morsel of their chemistry. A little insta-lovey, but I didn’t even mind. Gemma’s tinge of dominance lives in my mind rent free. And there was something so attractive about Tansy’s streaks of protectiveness and straightforwardness despite how quiet everyone expects her to be. They care about each other so tenderly and so fully. I love them both so much 😭
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I also really enjoyed several of the secondary characters! Every scene with Gemma’s roommates was so much fun. I need to be part of this friend group 😂 I don’t know if this will become one of those interconnected romance series, but I can say with certainty that I wouldn’t mind if it did. I’d love to see these characters again.
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The Fiancée Farce was a resounding yes for me! 🙌🏽 It was charming and amusing and flirtatious and everything in between 💗 And if you love specific tropes in your rom coms, worry not! Bellefleur comes through with abundance. Fake dating, marriage of convenience, hurt/comfort. If you’re looking for a sapphic romance to sweep you off your feet, give the Fiancée Farce a shot!

✨ Review ✨ The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur

I'm a sucker for the fake marriage/marriage of convenience trope, making this one a lot of fun. Tansy gets caught in her lie of dating Gemma (a romance cover model), and Gemma plays along and proposes on the spot, since she needs to be married ASAP to inherit the family publishing company. Full of personal and relationship growth, books (Tansy's family owns a bookstore!), and fake dating/engagement glory, this book was fun to read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5)
Genre: f/f romance; fake marriage/dating
Setting: Seattle
Pub Date: out now!

Read this if you like:
⭕️ bookstores and publishing companies
⭕️ fake marriage/marriage of convenience trope
⭕️ Cinderella feels

Thanks to Avon and #netgalley for an advanced e-copy of this book!

This was classic Bellefleur - witty & sexy with a well thought out plot. If you've enjoyed her previous books there is a good chance this one will be no different - however those new to the author will surely find something to love between Tansy and Gemma. They really feel like two halves of a whole. This was rather hallmarky and honestly my only grip is that it seemed like our author could not decide on her preferred spice level and some moments felt almost closed-door romance and then other times it was just -BAM, SPICE-. Overall, my favorite part about The Fiancée Farce was the moment Gemma and Tansy decided, like the adults they are, to actually communicate their change in feelings and their desire to actually give love/dating a shot even within their marriage of convince style drama. The miscommunication trope was hardly present and it was so so refreshing.

I've read a few other Alexandra Bellefleur books and I think this one is my favorite! I love a marriage of convenience, I like how much they talked to each other and if you're looking for a tropey, easy read, it's a good one to turn to.

If you love: ⁣
•Marriage of convenience⁣
•Disaster gays 🏳️‍🌈⁣
•Books⁣
•Cats⁣
•Giving rich people the middle finger⁣
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Then this is the romance for you! I love everything Alexandria writes, and The Fiancée Farce is my newest love. Tansy and Gemma are just IT for me - absolutely amazing. I related to both of them so much (minus the riches - Gemma please send me money) and their romance was just to die for. ⁣
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Tansy’s love and dedication to her father’s bookstore, and her kind personality made me adore her so much. Gemma’s character is messy and honest, and I loved her determination to undermine her shitty family at every turn, and love and appreciate every part of Tansy. Their relationship was beautiful, and I loved how well their personalities meshed together, and how they each brought out the best in the other. Truly a match made in heaven.⁣
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And of course, the sexual tension and steam is just to die for!!! All in all, another great sapphic romance from Bellefleur.

*Thank you to Harper Collins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

So...Alexandria Bellefleur's new release The Fiancee Farce...yeah Bellefleur is NOT for me.

I read Written in the Stars last year and that was a 2 star hate read. I was giving Bellefleur another chance with The Fiancee Farce because hello bookstore owner, sapphic, fake dating, fake marriage that leads to love? Yes, please. But oh boy was this a miss for me.

If you love this book, I'm sorry but maybe don't read my review. I hate this book.

So, before I get into the real reason I hate this book, let's discuss why I didn't like Tansy and Gemma, the main characters. I don't know what it was with the two of them, but the fake engagement (I didn't get to the marriage part) felt *way* too forced. The fake love they were trying to portray to me read as too much and too cheesy. And also can I just say, Gemma felt like she was not the type of person to express much outward love in the 36% I read. As for Tansy, uh I didn't like her. She has anxiety, so I should feel for her since I too have anxiety, right? Wrong. Other people probably relate to her, but I didn't. Not one bit. I'm not sure exactly what I didn't like about her anxiety, but it felt like she shrunk into herself whenever she was around Katherine (her stepmother) and never tried to defend herself. Once again, this is probably a personal thing, but I was not a fan of Tansy. If you loved Tansy and Gemma, good! I'm glad people love them, but I didn't.

Okay, so, now onto what I f*cking hated. Teddy. Teddy, aka Gemma's best friend and roommate. Now, Teddy did seem to really care for Gemma, but the way he was written by Bellefleur, a woman, is where I have an issue. Teddy is the literal stereotypical flamboyantly gay best friend to a woman (queer or straight). You know that stereotype, where the "gay best friend" is overly gay and overly enthusiastic and happy? That is Teddy. And the reason I hate it is because I DON'T WANT TO SEE MORE WOMEN USE THAT STEREOTYPE THAT PEOPLE THINK I FIT INTO (I'm a gay man in case you don't know me) IN A STORY WHERE IT'S NOT ABOUT HIM. I want a QUEER MAN to write that story, please. A queer man can make fun of that stereotype, but in The Fiancee Farce, all Teddy is in the story is the gay best friend of Gemma. I don't know what happens after 36% but I couldn't do it when he showed up to the engagement party in a tux with no shirt. Like no please stop, wear a shirt, wear a rainbow shirt but please no shirtless gay men at an engagement party.

If Teddy wasn't written so flamboyantly gay, I don't think I would've had a problem. But because he is, absolutely not I dnf'ed this shit show at 36%.

Anyway, that is why I hated The Fiancee Farce.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advanced copy of this book!

I really appreciate a classic fanfiction trope turned book, and this book delivered then kept delivering. I love that we didn’t fall into the classic miscommunication trope for chapters upon chapters. Wires got crossed? Oh okay, let’s clarify with one another. Wow, what a premise. You love to see it

You also love to see incredibly well written sapphic love scenes. Because these were fire.

I loved it. Not a big romance person, but this was top tier.

Tansy is in a bind - her bookstore is about to be sold to a retail giant. Gemma wants to prove she isn't the black sheep of the family and deserves to take over her family's multi-million dollar business. A happenstance meeting at a mutual friend's wedding, a slip of the tongue from Tansy claiming the two are dating and Gemma's mischievous nature collide and the two women find themselves standing up to their families, saving their businesses and falling in love.

I adored this book! I have always loved Bellefleur's books as cozy and sweet romances with effortless LGBTQIA+ rep and the Fiancee Farce falls solidly within my expectations. We also get to see characters briefly from her other books, which is always a delightful Easter Egg for a reader.

As with most romcoms, you do have to suspend your disbelief in that these archaic business dealings (must marry to inherit family business) actually take place in modern society, but as long as you let yourself just enjoy Gemma's snappy wit and Tansy's sweet and caring nature, you'll fall in love with these two and the little group of characters Bellefleur created.

I genuinely loved this one so much! Alexandria Bellefleur absolutely became one of my favorite romance authors after having the opportunity to read this one. It was everything I could have wanted from a marriage of convenience.

I absolutely loved this book. I read Fiancee Farce at the same time I listened to Count Your Lucky Stars and these are by far Alexandria's best books. Just sooooo good.

Fiancee Farce is funny and sweet, steamy and sad. The themes of found family, strength and vulnerability, and holding to your values were so clear and strong. Gemma was sassy and smart - her one-lines and comebacks were hilarious. But she had a deep well of sadness and vulnerability that she only showed to her friends and Tansy. And Tansy. whew I loved Tansy. Quiet and introverted, completely impacted by childhood trauma, she had a line of strength that was unsurpassed. Tansy was the winner for me - quiet at the start but strong and funny and dirty. LOVED HER.

The found family in this was amazing too, and deff an AB specialty. I loved Teddy and Max and Rochelle and Yvonne (forget Lucy she can go kick rocks). And I loved Brooks. BROOKS. I need a Brooks and *SPOILER* book and I am annoyed that their story wrapped up so quickly because I need more Brooks. His support of Gemma was so beautiful - her knowing she had him in her corner, especially when her family was such trash. But do I love to read trashy rich people. The one-liners between Brooks and Bitsy were perfection.

Overall, this was almost perfect. A few things tied up too quickly, and some not enough, but overall it's a MUST read. So good. If you love books, love to read about people who love books, and love steam scenes in a library, pick this up.

Thank you to Avon for my copy!

3.5 stars

It took me a long time to read this one as I didn't feel like reading. In the end though the book was solid. I liked Gemma and Tansy a lot. They had fantastic chemistry and the opposites attract energy was solid. I could have done with out the noble idiot portion of the book as that didn't feel 100% needed but all in all a really good story.

What I Liked: Separately, I really liked Gemma and Tansy as characters. I always enjoy the opposites-attract trope and and these 2 are definitely opposites. I loved that Tansy didn’t feel the need to change who she was for Gemma and that Gemma appreciated the parts of Tansy that she didn’t think anyone would like. The theme of standing up for yourself and finding your place in the world was strong and I liked the growth the characters showed. I’m a sucker for a sappy public declaration scene and this book has a great one. I also appreciated that the third act conflict wasn’t contrived and it didn’t feel out of place in the story.

What I Didn’t Like: I wanted more romance! I felt like there were scenes between Gemma and Tansy that were missing-scenes that would have shown them falling in love. As a reader, I didn’t completely buy that they would fall in love so quickly because a lot of their feelings were implied. And even for a romance, there were some plot points that were far-fetched, such as Gemma being somewhat famous and yet randomly showing up at the wedding in the first scene. I found that hard to believe. I also felt there were too many side characters and not enough time was spent getting to know them so I kept getting confused as to who was who and their relationship to the main characters.

Who Should Read It: Alexandria Bellefleur fans will find things to like about this book and I think romance fans looking for a marriage of convenience story will want to give this one a look.

Review Wrap Up: This wasn’t a bad book by any means but the things that were missing felt like big things. I didn’t buy into the love story which is a key part of a romance novel and felt the side characters and plots were underdeveloped. Still, I like Bellefleur’s writing and I liked the main characters. I also liked how low-angst this story was because sometimes you just want to read a fluffy book. You don’t need to run out and get this book when it releases but it should be added to your TBR pile for a later date.

Favorite Quote: “Ha, U-Haul. Look at us. Doing sapphic stereotypes proud, moving in together after less than two months. Go us.” -Gemma

This standalone by Alexandria Bellefleur was so sweet! I loved the fake dating and marriage of convenience tropes and obviously all of the Taylor Swift references. Obsessed with the cover and how it is unapologetically celebrating women loving women romance. <3

I absolutely devoured this book! I will probably always love Bellefleur's writing, in part because of my utter delight at finding Taylor Swift references sprinkled throughout her books, but also because she writes with a pace that just keeps my attention the entire way through. I read this with my eyes and underlined and squealed throughout the entire thing. Tansy and Gemma and the way they meet is completely contrived and only in a romance novel would this ever happen, but how on earth could I be upset about it when it brought me so much joy? And although I did hate how the end conflict sort of erupts, I absolutely adored the way the two women come back together.

The Fiancée Farce begins at a wedding between Tansy's step-cousin Madison to the absolutely vile Trevor. Or Tucker. Um. I don't remember his name, but it definitely started with a T. We'll go with Tucker. Anyway, Tansy's been lying about being in a relationship with a woman named Gemma to get out of as many family events where Tucker would be present as is humanly possible and now her lies are catching up to her because in walks in the woman she's been pretending is her girlfriend. Turns out Gemma West is actually Gemma van Dalen and she's horrible Tucker's cousin. Fortunately, Gemma needs a wife so this winds up working out perfectly and the women strike up a perfectly business like arrangement that stays strictly business like for... oh you know, .5 seconds.

If "Glitch" is your favorite song on Midnights, I'm just saying you should probably consider picking this book up. I really, really loved how this book felt incredibly real. Tansy felt so relatable and her insecurities and the way that she manages her emotions just... Excellent. We didn't have everything in common, but the anxiety? Oh yeah. And medication for anxiety! Lexapro for the win, baby! (I mean, her medication isn't named. But for me, Lexapro is a gem. I should be sponsored by them the way I shout about it, tbh. I am not. Sadly.) But then you have Gemma, who is a little bit of a chaos Queen and, well, honestly, I loved that. I loved her. I love that both women have their own insecurities that ultimately play a role in the conflict and in the way that the conflict is resolved. It felt organic almost. Perhaps the conflict scene is a bit contrived, but honestly, I was just enjoying myself way too much to care about a little bit of over the top villainy. However, you know the movie John Tucker Must Die? Or the way Legally Blonde treats Warner at the end? That's what I wanted as my epilogue. All the ways Tucker is now entirely irrelevant. And preferably penniless. ANYWAY, I really loved this book is the point.

Maybe I'll have to come back to this one in a different headspace? But the super wealthy rich people problems turned me off. I've heard brilliant things about the author, so it's likely just the trope for me!

I really enjoyed this one! It took a little for me to be fully invested in the story but once I was this was great. This book has the alluring writing that I have come to expect from Bellefleur. The chemistry between the two MCs is definitely apparent and will have you rooting for them. This is also full of fun little Taylor Swift references so if you are a Swiftie you’ll likely enjoy finding those.

Love is not a strong enough word for how I feel about this book. The characters? Obsessed. The engagement of convenience? Perfectly done. The tension? Off the charts.

I am obsessed with this book. As soon as I finished, I immediately wanted to read it again. Alexandria Bellefleur is a genius and I will be taking no questions about it at this time.

Tansy is our wallflower Cinderella, just trying to keep her dad's bookshop (the only thing she has left from his side of the family) in business, while also trying to avoid situations where she'll run into her crappy ex-bf. Gemma is the Serena van der Woodson of the newspaper publishing world who was unfathomably been left the controlling stake in the business when her grandfather passes away, but on the condition that she be legitimately married. Cue the engagement.

I just overall thought that this storyline was so well done. Both MCs had distinct voices and storylines and both experienced character growth throughout. The side characters were also interesting and mostly multi-dimensional (except for the aforementioned ex-bf who deserves nothing and should be left naked and alone on an island). The pacing was excellent and I was super invested the whole way through. I really can't say enough good things.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for the ARC of this!

I am absolutely obsessed with Alexandria Bellefleur and this one was no exception! On top of being adorably queer, the tropes were all my favorites: fake dating/marriage of convenience and book related jobs. This was an absolute joy to read.

It's no secret that I'm a fan of queer romance, and I am long overdue in checking out Alexandria Bellefleur's work. I was so excited to receive an ARC for The Fiancée Farce, and it fulfilled every (high!) expectation I had for it.

Tansy, exhausted by her family’s relentless inquiries as to why she’s too busy for family dinners, invents a relationship - using romance cover model Gemma West as her fake girlfriend. When Gemma shows up at a family wedding six months later, Tansy’s secrets are about to come to light - except it turns out that a relationship is exactly what Gemma needs in order to meet the conditions laid forth in her grandfather’s will, to take ownership of the family publishing empire.

Fake dating with extra high stakes, there are some really fun scenes as they get to know each other and plot their romance. Gemma and Tansy have chemistry that sparks off the page and I loved getting to know them, and I also really loved every scene with Gemma’s found family, who embrace Tansy with their whole hearts. It wouldn’t be a romance novel without some conflict along the way, including an obnoxious rich straight white dude who gets what’s coming to him courtesy of a well-placed glitter bomb, but the HEA makes it all worth it. The spice is also really fantastic - no fade to black here!

It is a fairy tale wedding right out of a bridal magazine. Tansy’s step-cousin is a beautiful bride in a gorgeous wedding gown; the groom, Tucker, is the handsome heir to the van Dalen family fortune; the decorations are perfect, the music is perfect, the cake is — of course — perfect. Then, Tansy has to go and catch the bouquet. And if that isn’t enough, in sweeps Gemma van Dalen like a sudden summer storm, a woman whose golden blonde perfection graced several romance novel covers, whose dagger-sharp smile makes Tansy’s heart race. Gemma van Dalen, who has no idea who Tansy is.

Unfortunately, Gemma is also the woman Tansy told her family she’d been dating. For six months. It was a stupid lie, meant to get her out of family dinners. Now, with Gemma grinning down at her like a cat deciding between cream or a canary, all Tansy can do is prepare for the worst. Instead, she finds herself caught in an even bigger lie as Gemma airily declares Tansy her fiancée and whisks her off to dance.

Gemma needs a wife sometime between now and the next three months in order to inherit her grandfather’s fortune and keep it out of Tucker’s greedy hands. And what better bride than someone she’s been”dating” for six months? It’s not like Tansy can say boo; after all, the lie was her idea first.

What begins as a business negotiation — Gemma will give Tansy the money she needs to buy her bookstore from her stepmother and Tansy will go through with the wedding — becomes something else as Tansy finds herself falling in love with the whirlwind that is Gemma van Dalen, all while Gemma finds her own heart being caught in the gentle, caring hands of a very protective and loving Tansy Adams.

What are you supposed to do when you fall in love with your fiancée? Maybe … try dating?

Tansy’s first forays into romance ended tragically when, at sixteen, her older boyfriend not only took pictures of her, but shared them around the school along with salacious details. Her reputation was ruined and the school, not wanting to offend the van Dalen’s family money, covered up what Tucker had done to her. Now, Tansy just wants to be left alone. Dating is hard, but it’s even harder when combined with her trauma, her anxiety, and her inability to trust people. Making up a fake girlfriend to get a respite from her family seemed like such a good idea at the time.

But Gemma, the person, is so much more than Gemma, the idea. Because they’re both in on the same scheme, Gemma sees no reason to lie about anything between the two of them. After all, they have to stay married for two years, and it’s better to go into that as friends and partners. This lack of expectation, with the ground rules laid out before her, makes it easy for Tansy to take a breath and move forward with their shared scheme. Gemma makes it easy, almost too easy, offering up the most breathtaking gifts with the ease of someone for whom money has never been an issue. Her love language is gifts, and Tansy has never really had someone gift her anything. Not the way Gemma does.

Gemma’s childhood has always been one of disappointing her father, who took away all parenting rights from her mother when he divorced her. Gemma acted out for attention, and attention she got. Yelling, insults, boarding school, scathing contempt. With Tansy, it’s different. When a reporter tries using Gemma’s wild past against her, Tansy is right there, defending her. When Gemma opens up about her past — the good and the bad — Tansy doesn’t judge her. Instead, it’s acceptance, acknowledgement that they’ve both been hurt, and steadfast support when she needs it.

This story is a gooey, glittery, frosting-filled romance that does everything I wanted and expected it to do, and does it so well, so effortlessly that it was there and gone in one sitting. You have the fake fiancée, of course, as well as the backstabbing family, the plucky friend group, sparkly revenge, and just desserts. It’s such a light, flaky pastry of a book that will either work for you … or leave you wanting more. The writing is effortless, and the characters are exactly as they appear. The villains are all suitably villainous, and the happy ending feels right out of a Hallmark movie. If you give it a try, I hope you enjoy it!