3.5 stars.

Lighthearted and fun romance, and I enjoyed the different take on the Fake Dating trope.

I found the storyline a little confusing though as there were a few too many characters to keep track of.

This story hits the perfect balance between laugh-out-loud moments and genuinely heartfelt scenes. Nora’s fierce loyalty to her best friend is refreshingly honest, and the whole “fake dating” setup feels so relatable—who hasn’t had to fake it for the sake of family drama? The writing keeps things moving fast, and the banter between Nora and Sebastian crackles with chemistry without feeling forced. The chaotic wedding setting amps up the stakes in just the right way, making the story both entertaining and emotionally satisfying. It’s a clever mix of family tension, slow-burn attraction, and those sneaky moments where you’re rooting for the characters to break the rules—and their walls. A delightful read that left me smiling more than once.

This was such a fun read! Excellent rom-com vibes. I loved how it all came together. I’m so happy I had the opportunity to read this one.

Great story. The characters were interesting. I have never read from this author before but would be interested in reading other books in the future.

I really adore this author! This one was so stinky fun and sweet!! I loved the story and characters! Dec worth the read! I can’t wait for more from this author.

🌶️🌶️🌶️

This was a cute read with characters that were made for each other. Fake Dating with a twist. Competitive fake dating and trying to stay away from each other. The sparks were flying and the magnetism between the characters made for an entertaining read. Add in that Nora manages her best friend’s book store and I wanted to join this friend group.

❤️ Tropes ❤️
💋 found family
💋 fake dating
💋 forced proximity
💋 but you aren’t my fake boyfriend

Nora would do anything for her best friend, so when his mom and sister come into the bookstore trying to set him up yet again, she pretends she is his girlfriend. But she forgot that his sister is getting married. Now she has to keep this up during the weeklong festivities between warring Italian family reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet. And on top of that? Her crush is her, and is also fake dating someone on the groom’s side. And they can’t seem to stay away from each other.

I love a good fake dating storyline and this one took the cake with a whole lot of sneaking around, plenty of good humor, and scandalous steamy scenes like only Livy Hart does.

Told from dual perspectives, Nora and Sebastian have instant chemistry and almost immediately fall into their respective fake dating scenarios with their best friends when they attend a wedding. It’s hard for these two to stay away from each other which puts a wrench in their pretend relationships but keeps the story moving. When it all falls apart, like any good fake dating story, Nora and Sebastian find they have more standing in their way than they realized.

I liked this story overall but it fell flat in some spots in the beginning. The tension between the two characters helped pick the storyline up in places but still put a damper on things until the wedding festivities took place.

I can say that Livy Hart appears to love a good unconventional, scandalous steamy scene, but then again, so do I, and we get a few in this storyline. Pool tables and reading chairs for the win - IYKYK.

Thank you, Livy Hart, Entangled Publishing, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This a great read! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and this is a double dose. Nora is fake dating her best friend to get his family off his back, and when she agrees to go to an over the top Italian wedding with him, she sees her crush there. Sebastian is unavailable because he’s fake dating too.
The wedding setting is fun and humorous, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a different take on the fake dating trope.

Both Nora and Sebastian were fake dating other people…for a wedding they were both attending.
But they had an instant attraction to each other when they first met. So when they saw each other again, they couldn’t deny the attraction they felt.

There were a lot of characters, so it was hard to keep track of who was who. And I didn’t really feel the connection between the main characters.

The side characters were fun though, and I loved all the family drama.

I love Livy Hart’s writing. She has quickly become an auto-buy author for me. The best part of this book is that she took one of my favorite tropes, fake dating, and put the most fun spin on it. I absolutely devoured it. I knew going into it there would be a lot of characters, how could there not with the backdrop of the story being a wedding with two large Italian families. I loved all the shenanigans, the drama, the hysterical moments. The tension and heat. Phew. It was all perfection!

Tropes + things
fake dating (but not each other!)
forced proximity
found family
dual POV/1st person

Thank you Entangled Publishing for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

The one liners in this book were phenomenal. The love was perfect. Nora falls first but Sebastian catches quickly. The side friendships were terrific.

“𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞’𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐈’𝐦 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭’𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥.”

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4.75/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 8/6/24

*Thank you @NetGalley and @Entagled_Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆:
Nora would do anything to help her best friend Benji, even if that involves pretending to be his girlfriend at a big family wedding he needs to attend for his sister. All is well until Nora's crush Sebastian shows up at the same wedding with his girlfriend... his very fake girlfriend.

Can Nora and Sebastian keep their attraction hidden to not blow their cover?

𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲:
*Fake Dating (to other people)
*Big Italian Weddings 🎂
*HEA
*Open Door Spice 🌶️
*Pickle Ball
*Witty, flirty, laugh out loud banter 😆

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
I loved this story, from the lovable characters to the witty banter. The MMC/MFC connection could be felt as the relationship developed on the page. The sex scenes were perfect in their spice and frequency as to not distract from the story itself. My only critique would be that there were a lot of characters to follow and it could get confusing for some readers. I was able to track them pretty well.
This was my first book by Hart, and I will be sure to read others.

#TheGreatDatingFakeOff

This is an extremely cute romcom. There are silly situations and others that make the reader swoon. I really enjoyed the book overall. It is a lighthearted, quick read.

It was a decent read. I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. The writing and the spicy scenes, overall were good. But the amount of characters in this book was a bit too much for a romance book.

I LOVE Lucy’s writing and how her books are simply fun. Their funny, gut laughing potential had me glued to my chair for hours reading away.

I love the aloof, unrealistic situations and the chemistry and banter with the characters is off the charts. There is so much going on in the book that at times it is hard to tell what exactly IS going on. But for a fun, fast paced leisure read this book checked all the boxes.

The great dating fake off was so fun! I was so prepared for the fake dating but it was NOT what I had expected! I enjoy going in to books blind and this one had my he on the FLOOR multiple times! The plot was great, the love story was beautiful and organic, the banter was 10/10, the friends and supporting characters were top tier. I really enjoyed this read!

I love fake dating but not like this. The plot of this was so incredibly messy and not for me. Definitely not what I was expecting based on other reviews and the adorable cover!

Honestly, I have mixed feelings on this one. The writing was well and the plot has potential but there's just too much going on at once and that sort of led to things not being developed enough. Maybe this is for someone else, since opinions differ but I think the chemistry between the leads was a little off.

What could go wrong with two fake couples at a wedding? Everything. Filled with plenty of laughs, some cringe worthy moments as characters fall for one another and lots of romance, this was a fun and fast read. Nora will do anything for her friends, including pretend to date her boss in order to get him out of the clutches of his match-making family. To her surprise, the guy she really has interest in and flirted with just before saving her boss, shows up at the same wedding as her....and he has his own fake date. The rouse is on to protect the families but the sparks fly between Nora and Sebastian. Will they get away with it?

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Great Dating Fake Off by Livy Hart!