I had the most fun reading this spicy paranormal romance between werewolf shifters, Mackenzie and Noah. I’ve only read a few books in the alpha/omegaverse world but I love changing up my romance reading this way.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-workplace romance
-fake dating
-fake mates
-wolf shifters
-spicy
-paranormal romance

*many thanks to Berkley Romance, prh audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

A steamy and fun paranormal romantic comedy with a fan fiction-like writing style (in a good way). Made me want to read more paranormal romance.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

₊ ⊹”because when i’m with you… i don’t feel like i’m just going through the motions in life. when i’m with you… i feel like i’m actually living.”₊ ⊹

*:･ﾟmy thoughts┊ i cannot believe i was approved for the arc of this LAST YEAR and i’m just now getting around to reading this, smh. i’m so peeved at my past self for not picking this up earlier, because i loooved this!

leaning more towards a 4.5 star rating, but as we all know, goodreads sucks ass in the half-scale department so i’m choosing a solid 5 stars for this book. i really enjoyed lana ferguson’s debut, so i had pretty decent hopes and expectations going into this one. very happy to say that they were not only met, but surpassed. her writing is so easy to fall into and love, and she creates such fun characters that i can’t help but enjoy reading about.

mackenzie and noah were *chef’s kiss* magnificent, and i loved (almost) every bit of this book. the whole werewolf thing isn’t something i usually turn to, outside of a few books i’ve read previously, but honestly… i get the hype. i really do. something about that whole like innate/baser instinct thing that they physically cannot not be together just hits different, right? at least for me lmao

i really adored mackenzie’s character, she was such a spitfire and i really connected with her abandonment issues, ngl. and noah, sweet baby alpha noah. he was such an awkward but really fucking hot mmc and i looooooooved him so much. maybe a little too much. their chemistry was top tier and i loved the dynamic they had going on. the spice? outta this world. it had me panting like a dog (ha ha ha)

i think my biggest qualms with this book were the lack of wordly development and, of course, the third act breakup/plot. firstly, i kinda was disappointed we didn’t get to learn more about the world they lived in, considering it had humans and shifters cohabiting pretty seamlessly. we did get the whole spiel about the alpha stereotypes and whatnot, but i would’ve liked to see more about the society, i guess? and then for the third act events, i just wish noah had communicated with mack. i understood where he was coming from, and it definitely pulled at my heartstrings and provided a really great reconnection moment, but idk. i’m of the opinion that if you can avoid having a third act breakup, you really should. so that irked me a little, but not enough to really dock any stars off or anything.

overall, this was a really, really fun read and i’m so happy i finally decided to pick it up (really, shame on past me for not reading my arc in time). i actually bought a copy from target when i was like 20% of the way through because i knew i was going to really love it and wanted to have a copy for my shelves. this author has been hitting it lately with her works, so i’m really exciting to read all of her future novels! <3

Oops, I've joined the Omegaverse.

This was so much fun and a very easy way to get into alpha romances. I'm not a beginner with monster romance, but I didn't feel overwhelmed or slightly grossed out, which is how I usually feel when I'm reminded of knotting. This was really enjoyable, and I liked these two together.

This was my first entry into the omegaverse. It really prepared me for Bride and honestly it is better than Bride. For those wanting to dip their toes in omegaverse, start here.

I love that werewolves are coming back onto the reading scene. This was such a great romance take on the werewolf romance. The omega verse stuff is kind of not my cup of tea, but she did it well.

I'm an "I'll try anything once" type of reader and I also enjoyed Lana Ferguson's "The Nanny," so I figured, why not read my first Omegaverse story? Turns out I was in for a wild ride, which I suppose shouldn't be surprising. I think I learned that the Omegaverse is not for me, though I certainly learned a lot and had fun doing it.

I really loved The Nanny by Lana Ferguson, so I was very excited to read her new release, especially because it involved werewolves. What made it even more fun and unique was that both characters were werewolves. Usually, it's only one of the characters (usually the male) that is a shifter. It took me a while to get into this one. However, I did finally find my groove and started to enjoy it. Unfortunately, that was short lived because the MMC, Noah, got on my nerves! I personally felt like he was too sensitive, overly grumpy, and extremely jealous. It was unattractive and a turn off. I do look forward to Lana's next book though which involves a Lochness monster?! It sounds really fun and cute.

Thank you Netgalley, Berkley, and Lana Ferguson for the eARC.

The Fake Mate is out now.

Expect fake dating/mates, wolf shifters, spice galore, true love, and workplace romance in this new contemporary romance. Not only is it spicy but it has fantastic banter between love interests and lots of hilarious plot points. It also does a wonderful job explaining the lore of the Omegaverse world.

Honestly, this book was fine. Nothing new or out of the blue, and it fit the tropes well. The werewolf twist is what kept me going through it to see what would happen

I adored The Nanny by Lana and now this book has cemented her as an auto-buy author for me. The writing is so smooth and always has me laughing. Noah was a big sweet misunderstood grump and I love him. I love that we don’t spend too long on conflicts or misunderstandings. If there’s a conflict, we move through it quickly and, I just loved this book! Highly recommend

This book has NO RIGHT being this good. I loved the dynamic so much between our main characters. I think the premise of rare alphas and omegas didn't necessarily fit with my usual ABO universe but the adjustment was easy. Overall it was a fun romp that's very Reylo coded.

The Fake Mate is a romance novel about two wolf shifters named Mackenzie and Noah who work at the same hospital in Denver. Mackenzie is fed up with dating, but her grandmother is pushing Mackenzie to find the one and settle down. When Mackenzie tells her grandmother the lie that she is dating a fellow doctor in an effort to please her, she ends up creating an elaborate plan to have some freedom from dating for a little while. Mackenzie proposes the plan to Noah, the very grumpy cardiologist at Denver General. Noah agrees as he could also benefit from Mackenzie’s plan due to some troubles he is having at work. Mackenzie and Noah start their fake relationship and it ends up not being so fake after all.

I loved Lana Ferguson’s debut and was so excited to read The Fake Mate. I was looking forward to the paranormal aspect of The Fake Mate, but this ended up being the part that made me not love it. Mackenzie and Noah are wolf shifters, but this element of the book is almost nonexistent outside of their romantic relationship. In The Fake Mate, it is just a normal fact of life that some people are wolf shifters, so the fantastical/magical element of this paranormal romance is very minimal. The character’s wolf shifter status is mostly used for the romantic plot of the book and without saying too much, it just wasn’t for me! Besides this element, this is a fun romance with great characters, an interesting storyline, and great banter.

If you like the idea of a romance with a light paranormal element, or if you just love the fake dating trope, pick up The Fake Mate!

I really enjoyed this romance with a genre twist - I never expected it coming and all the genre bending trope was absolutely delightful, sizzling hot, and off the charts fun to read. I have not read much into shapeshifter romances at all, and I have to say, I likey likey very much!

Lana Ferguson may be a new author for me but once I finished this book, her backlist books are already on my bookshop cart.

I highly recommend this book for those that enjoy a steamy romance with a grumpy meets sunshine, fake dating office romance, with a paranormal twist.

I enjoyed this one! I’m not sure if the paranormal aspect was my favorite, but it added a unique and interesting element to the romance.

I never really connected with the nanny story. I lovedddd this one! I loved the idea of werewolves and humans living together, I don’t think we got to fully explore the Were part. Also I have never heard of Knots before in the werewolf world and now recently read two books so I guess it’s a thing and I learned something there. I love the slow realization that they were mates, but also that it wasn’t like they HAD to be together or they would die. It was also a choice. I think they matched up very well I loved watching it play out.

I was hoping for a fun rom-com but was not expecting this shifter romance. It was ok, but not my favorite. And it felt a little too long

I wanted to enjoy this. But I just couldn’t. It’s something about heteronormative omegaverse that I just really cannot jive with. It felt like every other overly done cliche romcom but add unnecessary omegaverse to. I do not understand the purpose of adding omegaverse to an already heteronormative story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -NetGalley ARC

<b>Description:</b>
<b>Mackenzie Carter</b> has had some very bad dates lately. Model train experts, mansplainers, guys weirdly obsessed with her tail—she hasn’t had a successful date in months. Only a year out of residency, her grandmother’s obsession with Mackenzie finding the perfect mate to settle down with threatens to drive Mackenzie barking mad. Out of options, it feels like a small thing to tell her grandmother that she’s met someone. That is, until she blurts out the name of the first man she sees and the last man she would ever date: Noah Taylor, the big bad wolf of Denver General.

<b>Noah Taylor</b>, interventional cardiologist and all around grump, has spent his entire life hiding what he is. With outdated stigmas surrounding unmated alphas that have people wondering if they still howl at the moon, Noah has been careful to keep his designation under wraps. It’s worked for years, until an anonymous tip has everything coming to light. Noah is left with two options: come clean to the board and risk his career—or find himself a mate. The chatty, overly friendly ER doctor asking him to be her fake boyfriend on the same day he’s called to meet the board has to be kismet, right?

This is my first time reading this author <i>and</i> an actual shifter book with all the bells and whistles (knotting, marking, etc.) and I wanted to hate it, but the chemistry between these two characters was so good, I couldn’t. The story itself was age old, you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours (HA! No pun intended!) which turned into friends with benefits. The charming part for me was they were both shocked they fell in love and neither felt they deserved it. I highly recommend it, especially if you’re a fan of shifter books.

Spice Rating: 🌶️🔥🌶️🔥🌶️🔥🌶️🔥🌶️🔥

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publshing for a chance to read this book for an honest review.