I loved this new book from Lana Ferguson, author of The Nanny. You think you know a fake dating trope until you add wolf shifters and an actual alpha male into the mix! Mackenzie and Noah come together to get her grandmother off her back and the hospital administration off of his by pretending to be mates. But soon enough, real sparks and pheromones start to fly and the two find themselves coming together for real. Fabulously spicy, with two delightful main characters! I hope Ferguson brings us back to this world in her next book!

The two main characters were fantastic and fun.

The premise of the story and how it plays out isn't anything new, but Mackenzie's sarcasm and sass really make the relationship.

That being said, there were a few things that kept it being a full five-star rating. I may be in the minority, but the "knot" situation (or at least the continued obsession with it), was uncomfortable. Like, it could have been a super sexy detail but because everyone around Mackenzie kept mentioning it and she kept thinking about it was kind of ick. Also, I felt like there wasn't a ton of character development for anyone but Mack and Noah. Not that it's overly necessary with a romance, but it was like their relationship took place in a cardboard cutout town except for a handful of interactions with family/friends.

A sweet ending that tied up the story neatly.

What you can expect to find in The Fake Mate
-STEM leads
-alpha/omega pairing
-🌶🌶🌶 scenes
-grumpy/sunshine
-fake dating(mating)

Dr. Mackenzie Carter needs her grandma to get off of her back. She's not quite ready to settle down yet and her recent string of bad dates isn't helping matters. Dr. Noah Taylor has been working as a cardiologist for a number of years, but he's hiding a secret. He's an alpha shifter and an anonymous tip has let the board know about his secret. He needs to nip the stigma in the bud. When a chance opportunity presents itself - Mackenzie and Noah find themselves pretending to be fake mates. Mackenzie gets her grandma off her dating life and Noah is able to put the board at ease. Win-win, right? Except the more time Mackenzie and Noah spend with one another the more they seem to want to turn their fake relationship into something help. Will these two find a way to give their budding relationship a chance?

Did I have to google "what is the omegaverse" while reading The Fake Mate? Yes, yes I did. And oooohhh does Lana bring the heat in The Fake Mate. My pages were smoking while reading this spicy, shifter romance. If you read Lana's debut The Nanny you know that Lana can write a spicy scene and she did not disappoint in The Fake Mate.

This shifter romance was so spicy but also very sweet. Noah was always so gentle with Mackenzie. And I loved how badass and fearless Mackenzie was. The third act breakup felt a bit forced and I felt not entirely necessary, but I still ended up binging this shifter romance.

If you're looking for a sweet, spicy, shifter romance with the fake dating/mating trope - I recommend you pick up The Fake Mate.

This book gave me EVERYTHING. I think this is foremost a great shifter novel with just the right amount of monster, a great take on paranormal romance and great for those that haven’t read a lot in the genre but want to dip their toes in!

The dialogue was witty, modern and flowed with the story and the banter made me fall absolutely in love with Noah and Mack. The Fake Dating scenario made sense as well as the stakes for why the couple had to do so.

The plot to smut ratio was INCREDIBlE and the passionate scenes were well written and took great care with consent in the omegaverse character world. I often times think that some authors who use this world waylay consent and its importance for the submissive (usually omega) females need and I loved that it was not the case with this novel.

The romance swept me up and I was incredibly invested in these two being together. Great cast of side characters and a conclusion that made me SO happy.

I look forward to reading much MUCH more from Lana Ferguson, this was incredible!

I absolutely loved this book, it was funny, it was steamy it was angsty and it was highly entertaining read. It was Greys Anatomy meets wolf shifters and make it a steamy rom-com. Lana Ferguson has now become an auto buy author for me!

A fun paranormal romance with a lot of spice and a lot of heart!

When an overbearing grandma and some workplace discrimination put doctors Noah Taylor and Mackenzie Carter in a compromising position, the best course of action seems to be to fake a relationship and hope for the best! But when feelings grow and other more sinister objections are in play, it doesn't seem like either of them will come out of this unscathed.

Overall, I found this to be a cute read! I didn't enjoy the author's previous book, but I love paranormal romances and I found this book to be enjoyable and a fun addition to the genre.

It feels like the author had fun and is a fan of the genre as well as knowledgeable about the different dynamics. I'd caution those who aren't as familiar with the alpha/omega/omegaverse subset of the genre to go in with an open mind as it can be confusing and isn't fully explained throughout.

As for the characters, I enjoyed both Noah and Mack. They felt genuine and not over the top in their grumpiness or commitment phobia. Once they established their feelings, there wasn't too much push back on either side with the exception of outside forces keeping them a part. I found that refreshing instead of the usual dramatic third act breakdown. But know there is slight miscommunication so brace yourself! And there quite a few side characters to keep track of and some of those relationships are more fleshed out than others but side characters definitely added to the story.

I did find this to be rather formulaic and predictable, but it still made for a fun, light read that I didn't mind enjoying in between heavier reads. And the spice was hot hot HOT and made up for any shortcomings of this book.

Read For:
Grumpy/Sunshine
Fake Dating (Mating? lol)
Workplace Romance
Shifter Romance

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an advance e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

I liked this a lot.

I'm a big fan of fake relationship combine with force proximity. Also you have grumpy dude who is secretly a sweetie.

I love the way this book started out. These two people haven't hung around each other before but just so happen to be in the vicinity when they both have a need for a fake relationship.

This might be the first book with alpha knots and omega slick where the two are actually shifters! The sister part doesn't come into this very much. I think they only shift once in the whole book.

If you read omega verse you'll recognize a lot of the set up.

What didn't work for me as well is how shallow their relationship ended up being. I was super excited to have them get to know each other while they're in a fake relationship and they did. But it wasn't that evident. We didn't get to hear deep conversations or have them have huge revelations. Both of which I enjoy!. Their biology started taking over their feelings. It kind of went down the traditional omegaverse road which was to have them smell each other and not being able to resist.

I did appreciate that consent was super important and there was no accidental mating.

The other thing I didn't enjoy was the dude caving in to blackmail. And the fact that they didn't talk enough to build trust.

This is a really cute book and I think a lot of people will like it but it's not one I would read again. I might be interested in meeting the author again though.

Safety deets
- No OM/OW. The heroine has been dating a lot unsuccessfully. She also has several guys who are interested in her. The hero doesn't seem to have interest in any woman. And has no real history of dating for years and years.
- Concert was amazing!
- there is no epilogue showing them mated and together, however it's pretty obvious that they are committed and will work out.

This was a fun, sexy cute read. It was keeping me up at night reading. I enjoyed the fake relationship that builds. Y

This book is a whirlwind of emotions. It has fake dating, omega/alpha trope, and the humor. The storyline flowed well and moved enough to make sense. Normally books with fake dating take a turn where they end up finally together, then not, then back together. This had that, but it was done really well. I loved that it wasn’t a rushed relationship (marriage/babies). They still were figuring out themselves first and the book showcased that well

The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson is a fun and quick read, good for people who like their romance tropes (fake dating, alpha/omega relationships, bad boy is really cinnamon bun). There's a little bit of angst about the "realness" of the relationship, but a Happy Ever After in the end.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

I'm not sure why, but I wasn't expecting this to be a paranormal romcom and didn't even realize it until i started reading. Normally I don't do well with surprises when it comes to books but I LOVED THIS ONE. I even squealed with delight when I found out! I guess whatever Lana Ferguson writes is going to be amazing no matter if her characters are paranormal or humans!

Mackenzie and Noah <3 I love them so much!! Noah is a grumpy shifter doctor that underneath all his grumpiness is just a softie. Mackenzie the sunshiny shifter doctor that helps bring of the Boogeyman of Denver General out of his shell after she asks him for a selfie to get out of going on bad dates set up by her grandmother. We love when characters are developing feelings for one another but still carry on the charade that it’s still fake. SO OBVIOUS TO ANYONE BUT THEM THAT THEY ARE IN LOVE!!!
I gobble up these tropes every time!!! 5 ⭐️

Grumpy x sunshine ✅
Fake dating or in this case mating (🤪) ✅ Just bang to get it out of our systems and think we won’t fall for each other ✅
Call me alpha 🥵 ✅
Knotting 🤭✅

Taking fake dating to a whole new level with the addition of omegaverse and done so well. I was so charmed by the characters and the unique take on the trope. Great intro to omegaverse too if you’re new to that world, this was an easy entry that really allowed you to fall for the characters and their journey to realizing their true feelings.

Lana! Sweet geez. You know, for someone who claims aren’t “into romance books,” I have somehow been swayed to coming out all because of you. Thank you for the publishing gods to match you and Ruby, Ruby for bringing The Nanny to my attention, and you being so kind, fun, and wonderful to let me read a perfect book. Wait. Thank you for writing that perfect book. And then writing this one! Look. Everyone. Read this book! Sometimes you have to just trust booksellers to know a great book when we read one.

Well, this one took me by surprise! In a good way! I really enjoyed Ferguson's previous book and was excited to get my hands on her other one. However, I won't lie and say I was a little skeptical when I read the fantasy aspect of the plot summary. I was worried it would be too cheesy or take over too much of the story and be distracting (like too Twilight-y). However, it was not! In fact, it totally added to the story line in a positive way and didn't feel overly embellished or ridiculous. Despite the fantasy aspect, I felt like the whole story could still work without it with a few tweaks because the overall plot was based around the characters and their feelings and development, with the fantasy aspect just being a supporting background part, which I really appreciated.
Noah was the perfect leading man, a bit broody and overly worried about professionalism and his career, and MacKenzie was his perfect counterpart. She was quirky enough but not over the top be annoying or unbelievable. They were cute together and it was an enjoyable relationship to read through!
Really enjoyed this and it makes me excited for Ferguson's next works!

A paranormal fake dating romance?! Sign me up! I loved the concept of how the magic/shifting/mating works. I thought it was well crafted. I wasn't in love with the miscommunication troupe, but overall it was a fun read.
Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing this advance reader's copy for an honest review.

It took me a while to wrap my head around wolves but once I did, I really enjoyed this book. I can't wait to read more from Lana Ferguson.

Supper cute, a bit of a strange take on werewolves. Could have ended a bit better but still not a bad story.

I absolutely loved this read, it was a quick easy read for me. The way shifting was written was unique and enjoyable as it was important to the story but didn't over take it. A easy read and perfect for fans of feel good paranormal.

I was HOOKED while reading this book! Like I said no to sleep to read this. The chemistry, the tension, the pining, THE SPICE{!!!) and the looooove was all done so well.
I am incredibly new to the omegaverse, but i'm glad this was the first book in that world that I decided to read.

Lana Ferguson is a talent and I cannot see where her writing career takes her.