An easy light lighthearted fake romance, rom-com that if you’re into social media will definitely up the fun factor for you. Libby is not loving her life as is so she has created a fake persona under the name of Love Lillibet highlighting her amazing upscale life in Hawaii. She is gaining fans and sharing her amazing life, fake as it is. When it hits the fan she scrambles with a wonderful group of friends to make the fake seem real to get her the job she’s been dreaming about and we get to go along for the ride. It’s more com than rom, but a fun read.

This was a first time read for me by this author and I found it to be a cute and entertaining read. Libby works as a waitress by day, but her alternate persona is that of an influencer, a fake one at that. Lillibet was created as a joke by her friends and Libby lives glamorously through this fake persona, all in good fun. But when a real influencer, Hildie, and her handsome partner, Jefferson, come to town, she and her friends scramble to make her lifestyle appear every bit as glamorous as it seems online. They pull together everything from a fake home to a fake husband, but it seems like Hildie is not so convinced and her gig may very well be up. Jefferson is undoubtedly falling for her and she for him, but isn't she supposed to be married? As one mishap after another keeps popping up, the pretense gets harder and harder to maintain, and it's only a matter of time before all the lies are uncovered and their cover is blown.
A fun and clean rom com with endearing characters, this was such a delight to read. The story was entertaining and enjoyable and I am happy to have had the opportunity to read it.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I picked this up because of the incredibly cute cover and the promise of hilarity. Libby is a normal girl with an inspiring and fake online persona. When an influential media mogul, Hildy, decides she needs to meet "Lillibet" in person, Libby and her friends have to create a believable experience. The characters fell a little flat for me. I didn't connect with them and didn't really love any of them. This was a cautionary tale not to believe everything you see on social media. The goats were exceptionally fun, though!

I really wanted to enjoy this one as the synopsis hooked me in. However, I believe this needed another round of editing. I also didn't feel drawn in to continue with the story and it wasn't engaging enough for me and felt very superficial. It just wasn't for me. DNF at chapter 4.

I dont know if this was my favorite fake dating romance but I liked it. This was fun and I look forward to more from Amanda!

Hate to Fake It to You was much more of a comedy than I anticipated, and I did genuinely laugh out loud at multiple points. Jefferson and Libby were decent characters and I loved their chemistry. The biggest let down to me though, was how absolutely TERRIBLE Jean, Libby’s best friend, was. Jean treated everyone around her like absolute garbage. She was incredibly selfish, rude, and cruel. If Jean was a real person, I would fight her mano a mano ON SIGHT. The story was little ridiculous and majorly silly, but I didn’t necessarily hate that. I think if Jean wasn’t part of the book at all, or had a completely different personality, I would’ve liked this a lot more.

Thank you to NetGalley, Griffin, and the author for an early copy!

This was book was unexpected,
But not in a good way.

Characters were all over the place.
And not really relatable.

In my personal opinion, it was heavier on the "com" than I'd have liked.
If the comedy had been what I found funny, that wouldve been great.

Overall this book was not for me.

i’m submitting the reviews for books by you that I already have, but I will never request another one. In October one of your employees made a horribly racist statement and you have chosen to do nothing about it. People have continuously asked you to say that you don’t stand with what the employee said, and you refuse to. This is not someone who I want to promote ever because you are sending the wrong message. These reviews will not be posted on social media because you don’t deserve the promotion. By not speaking out you are also not preventing your followers from stalking and harassing people who are participating in the boycott. Your silence speaks volumes. I hope that all of your authors move to other publishers because you are standing with a genocide. You are also currently saying that you support black women in black history month but you have ignored their concerns for months and shown them no support.

Watch this video for more information https://www.tiktok.com/@vivafalastinleen/video/7288407369313307947?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7211704101519296042

I tried, but I found the main characters actions and behavior extremely frustrating, especially Libby. The romance was sweet, but too instalove for my taste. Simple a case of not my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I loved this book. It was a super enjoyable twist on the fake identity trope. However, one of the best parts of this book was the adorable goats. I loved the chemistry between Libby and Jefferson. Amanda Ellet knows how to write a enjoyable romance. I would recommend this book to fans of Carly Fortune and Emily Henry.

This is an adorable summer read that is sure to make you swoon!


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Yes so many online daters will relate to this! Fake it to you is so relatable with all the filters on the internet. This is a cute must read. I adored the main character

Libby has been writing the online persona of Lillibet for a while, but her real life is far from the fake lifestyle online. Facing a decrease in work and an increase in rent, now is not the time to put on a fake performance to a media heiress that wants to meet Lillibet. With the help of her friends, the fake persona comes to life…sorta.

I really thought this was going to be more of a fake dating romance, but really it turned out to be less of that and more of a totally fake person. The antics were kinda funny, and I liked Libby and Jefferson together. But overall I didn’t really connect with a lot of the characters, and I found myself zoning out a bit, unable to hold my attention.

Libby has a fake lifestyle influencer persona, Lilibet. When an actual influencer Hildy reaches out to Libby, she has to fake the lifestyle she created online. I thought the concept was interesting. There were some funny but awkward moments. I think I would have enjoyed it more if Libby was doing it for herself. I didn't like how her "friends" used her & got upset with her when she didn't do their bidding.

This was a 2 star for me. I tried to liked it the story just didn't do it for me. Some of the characters were really annoying. I rushed through this book. And i dont even remember what it was about.

dnf at 15%
i've never dnf-ed a book but i just couldn't read this one. i don't even know what was going on but i was disinterested from the first page.

*thanks Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC

Surface level, really just okay romcom. Couldn’t really tell you what happened in it to be honest, but I did read it and it was mindless enough to be entertaining I guess.

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This book really is a great contemporary and romantic comedy. It had me laughing, I felt for the characters in the sad parts, and had me rooting for the happy ending.

Libby has a blog, and in it she shows the world a glamorous, healthy lifestyle that is full of love and positivity, but it’s all a lie. She really isn’t an all put together young lady. Her and her friends are struggling to pay bills and make sure that they’re all taken care of and all they have wanted was to be able to make enough money to take care of their families and of course themselves. Her and her roommate/best friend live in a dump and they’re both waitresses that want to live a normal life without having to worry. When they get a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet a real media savvy person who is trying to show her uncle that she can run the family business and make it something more for people now days, they run into a few problems with trying to make sure that Libby appearances as her “Lovelillbet” blogger name.

This book is chaotic but in a good way, you will find great banter and comedy, romance, great characters and strong friendships. I liked the way that this book went, how the author made it about social media and how much we don’t really know is true or not when reading people’s blogs or watching their shows. I loved getting to see how the characters would handle each new day with Hildy and Jefferson coming to stay with them in a fake house. This author knows how to write a book that will draw you in, keep you there and then will let you go with a smile on your face. I liked her writing style, it was easy to follow, and the pace of the book was great. I found myself laughing out loud while reading this book and I found myself able to connect with the characters.

I found Libby to be funny, I loved that she would mix up things and not on purpose but just because it’s hard to remember so many things that were lies and now, she must act like they aren't. I laughed so many times throughout this book because of Libby but not just with her and with Jefferson as well. All the characters in this book really helped to make this a wonderful summer beach book. I can’t really say too much because I am worried, I might let a spoil out here and there, so instead just know that Libby does have some great growth in this book and starts to show the world who she really is, and she gets positive feedback and sees that people like it when bloggers and other people are more natural than fake. Oh, and I can’t forget about the goats!!! I want to hug those cute guys so much and love them all because of the mischief that they cause Libby.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the opportunity to review this book.

This entire book was AF because the characters were irritating, ditzy and it was hard to enjoy any of this. I feel like I wasted 5 days reading this hoping it would get better... it did not.

Cannot recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, Amanda Sellet and St Martins PRess Grffin for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ALready available

The setting was great... What's not to love about a beach setting? There were also parts that made me laugh out, and I was intrigued at the premise of the book being a woman that fakes being an influencer. I really wanted to like this book, but I really struggled to get into it. It was a little too quirky for me, and I honestly struggled to follow the storyline a majority of the time due to the dialogue and zany characters. I found myself speeding through a lot of it so that I could finish.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Living in a disgusting apartment and struggling to make ends meet, friends Libby and Jean decide to come up with an online persona-- Love, Lillibet-- to make fun of the influencers that swarm their island of Oahu, and also practice their photography and writing skills. However, when given the opportunity to create a magazine by up and coming mogul Hildy Johnson, Lillibet suddenly has to become a real person with a real husband and real mansion and real goats.

Libby suddenly has to pretend to be someone she's not to help out not only her best friends, but herself. Lillibet (and Hildy) could be everyone's ticket to getting out of poverty and fulfilling their dreams-- but as Libby she sinks deeper into the lies, it becomes harder and harder to keep everything straight and her growing feelings for Hilda's photographer certainly muddy the waters...

I wanted to enjoy this book so much. I loved Seller's BY THE BOOK and BELITTLED WOMEN, so I figured this book would be a slam dunk. It was not. The plot failed to grip me, I hated Libby's friends, and I didn't buy her relationship with Jefferson-- even Libby herself annoyed me with her inability to do much of anything except complain about the decisions she let other people make for her. This book was supposed to be a love letter to Hawaii, but this book could have easily taken place anywhere with a beach (and honestly, even that would be negotiable). The only part that felt Hawaiian was Keiko's recipes and ingredients, nothing else felt authentic. I struggled to get through this one, but I'll given Seller's next book a shot.