I had to DNF. I could tell pretty quickly this was not going to be for me. Too much lying and deception. I thought it was going to be fake dating.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Publishing Group, for this advanced reading copy. Please note the thoughts and statements are my own.

Libby and Jean are dead broke! They live in a crappy apartment where the lining of the linoleum on the floor is peeling, and the cabinets and fridge lay bare. They are down on their luck and looking for options to come up with money. Libby has one thing going for her: her online presence as “Love Lillibet,” with her presence, she is faking it until she makes it. Meanwhile, a wealthy media mogul stumbles across her Instagram page after a near-death experience and wants to travel to Hawaii in hopes of cornering the persona into making her brand into a job. With this information, Libby and her friends scramble to make last-minute arrangements to bring her fake online persona to life. From that point on, the reader is filled with complete disorder as they try to keep the lies from coming apart. The reader is given some outlandish moments that involve goats, some laugh-out-loud moments, and some romance between Libby and the wildlife photographer, Jefferson, all while providing beautiful scenic descriptions of places in Hawaii.

This book came out back in June, and since then, I have tried to bear with it and finished it. I don’t particularly appreciate writing bad reviews or DNF’ing books, but this book was not appealing. The storyline was interesting, so I requested an advanced copy, but as I got into the story, it just wasn’t agreeing with me. I finally was able to finish this book after picking it up off and on over the past three months. I’m not sure if it was the story’s plot or the characters that weren’t touching and agreeing with my spirit. Libby’s friends gave her bad advice and blamed everything on her when the lie blew up in their faces. Also, what her friends would have made her do to get their feet above water was sad, which I didn’t find funny. I also didn’t understand Hildy’s whole role in how she came across Libby’s information. The story seemed so far-fetched that it didn’t make sense to me. If you are interested, I suggest you give it a try. My thoughts and opinions are my own; therefore you may have a better perspective of the book than I have.

Hysterical, full of hijinx, and the accuracy to someone trying to fake it through life for a social media following. I also love the way Jefferson saw the real her and loved her for who she was, not who he saw on social media!

The cover, the premise, and everything else are misleading in this book. This book was not it. The characters were whiny, the miscommunication was over the top, and nothing clicked with this. I wanted to like this one because I love a good rom-com, but this was anything but.

The formula for this book is fun: waitress/fake influencer and a wildlife photographer thrown together into a zany comedy. But I think, the over-the-top antics might have been the undoing for me. It was funny, a great escape, but maybe the sentiment just wasn't there. Even romcoms need a little tug at the heartstrings here and there. And since I'm not really one for slapstick humor or characters who find themselves in one mess after another, this just wasn't for me. But it is cute and worth a read!

REVIEW: Hate to Fake It To You by Amanda Sellet

Amanda Sellet's Hate to Fake It to You is a quirky, entertaining contemporary romance offering a refreshing take on the fake dating trope. The story follows Libby, a waitress forced to pretend to be the glamorous social media influencer she's created online to secure a dream job.

Sellet's writing is witty and engaging, and the characters are likable and relatable. Libby's predicament is humorous and relatable as she navigates the complexities of her online persona and the growing feelings she develops for her fake husband.

While the plot may feel predictable, the author's ability to craft witty dialogue and heartwarming moments makes the story satisfying. Hate to Fake It to You is a perfect choice for fans of romantic comedies looking for a fun and lighthearted escape.

Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

Hate to Fake it to You by Amanda Sellet. Pub Date: July 16, 2024. Rating: 3 stars. In this rom-com, themes of social media and influencers are explored in an over the top way. Taking place in Hawaii, the two main characters, Libby and Jefferson, found themselves in each other's lives based on fate and under false pretenses. I enjoyed the wittiness and banter between the two love interests, but overall I did not connect to either of these characters. Their romance did not feel as authentic as I wanted it to be and at times I felt it was rushed. This is a good palate cleanser type of book. Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartins press for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book is so over the top. Sometimes that's ok, but sometimes it was just too ridiculous. Overall it was fun, but not one I will be quick to recommend.

Libby and her roommate create a fake online personality to escape from the stress of life. A wealthy follower wants to come meet her and Libby has to pretend to be her online persona. Which is stressful and interesting. This is when she meets Jefferson and sparks fly even though they have a ton of obstacles to overcome.

the beginning of this book was a bit confusing to me. The characters were funny and interesting but took me some time to get into the book. This could just be me though. I think that the author did a great job! If you are looking for a fun read this is a good one.

This is my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

A charming and quirky dual POV debut adult romance from YA best-selling author, Amanda Sellet that was set on the Hawaiian islands and sees a group of three friends get caught up in fake online influencing, fake engagements and more as they try to save a beloved business. This story also had delicious recipes, a couple of naughty goats and a sweet, kissing only romance. Full of misconceptions, swoony moments and found family, it was great on audio and an entertaining read. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I'm so sorry, but reading this felt like eating glass. I get that I don't love the miscommunication trope, but this is literally every single character lying to the others. It wanted to be zany and fun, but it was over the top and annoying. And the plot? Also, the two MCs still believed the other was in a relationship at the 50% mark, and I just can't handle that in a romance.

This book is a classic sort of fake it until you make it! Through hash tags, profound words and serene photos of an idealistic life, Lillibette is born. In actuality Libby is living an ordinary life. When media heiress Hildy Johnson discovers lovelillibet she decides she wants her to be a part of her brand. With very little notice Libby forms a plan. With the help of her friends and a fake fiancé she bumbles her way through the best that she can. The rugged mountain man photographer that Hildy brings along is enchanted but suspicious of things not adding up. This makes for a very entertaining read. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Griffin for this free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily

If you want to turn off your brain and just enjoy a zany book, then Hate to Fake It to You will certainly work for you. There were definitely some funny parts and I even laughed out loud a couple times. On occasion, the humor felt forced and the island hijinks were over the top. The romance wasn't my favorite unfortunately, although I liked Harrison as a character. If you like OTT destination romances, then I strongly recommend this book.

Everyone gets a glow-up on social media, but Libby Lane's online persona is the fakest of fakes, like literally.
Libby and her friends decide to post on a blog and be "funny" about who "Libby" is, aka Lillibet. Lillibet is affluent, glamorous, and lives a healthy life while sprouting positive and pretty advice. All the things that Libby isn't in real life.
..Until one day Hildy Johnson, the ambitious junior member of a media dynasty, travels to Hawaii to talk to Lillibet about parlaying her lifestyle brand into a job and her and her friends are quick to scramble this "fake reality" into an actual real one. Libby's journey is absolutely a relatable one, as she grapples with the pressures of maintaining an idealized online presence while navigating the messy realities of her offline existence (like probably 99.9% of all of us do!). Jefferson Jones, the enigmatic wildlife photographer, adds a layer of intrigue to the whole story as well.
I enjoyed the rom-com aspect of it, but I am ALL for an open-door romance, while this was a closed door one (which is fine and I know some peoples cup of tea, just not mine). The shenanigans and silliness of it overall left me feeling giddy.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this eARc!

This was an interesting rom-com! It was an easy read and some of the characters were a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the second half once Libby and Jefferson's romance was coming together. The first half of the story was a bit slow for my taste, but the chaos of the whole plan coming together definitely made for a lot of laughs.

Thanks to SMP for this ARC!

To be completely honest, this book was a real disappointment—I couldn’t even get through it. None of the characters resonated with me, and the plot failed to engage me. I just couldn’t muster the motivation to pick it up again when it wasn’t holding my interest at all.

I will be so honest this book was so bad I didn't finish it. I couldn't relate to any of the characters and the story was just not bringing me in. I couldn't bring myself to open the book and continue reading it when I was thoroughly not enjoying it.

Sad to say that Hate to Fake It to You just wasn’t for me. I feel like I’m partially in a reading slump which contributed to this, but I wasn’t invested the story and was a little confused by the premise and what was happening at times (so much pretending!). The characters were very quirky (almost a bit over the top in my opinion) and I didn’t really care for any of them. I did however really enjoy the setting — I love Hawaii so so much! I also thought it was a great idea to have the blog / social media posts included at the beginning of each chapter. I found the ending wrapped up things so quickly for Jefferson and Libby and I would have liked a little more focus on their romance. Overall, I didn’t love this one as much as I was hoping to but if you are looking for a dual POV, fake dating romance set in Hawaii with a MC as a social media influencer, consider reading Hate to Fake It to You (out now).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 2.5

Hate to Fake it to You is a rom-com that was very fast-paced. I am not sure why I requested this ARC as it had a lot of the tropes that I personally do not enjoy such as miscommunication. The book was great as far as the setting, I could picture everything as I was reading it. I think this could be a fun read for anyone who enjoys a good rom-com.

DNF I haven't been enjoying books where the main conflict is the two main characters not being honest with each other.