brb — moving to tinsel, michigan 🎅🏼🎄

this book is definitely romeo and juliet, meets hatfield’s and mccoy’s—but as a romcom with all the steamy hallmark vibes.

amanda anderson announces she is engaged in a panic when her family expects her drop everything and take over their bakery. to make matters even more crazy, she tells them her fiancé is dane silver—without him knowing. the fruitcake loving silver’s and the gingerbread loving anderson’s have hated each other for generations, but the new generation is tired of secret friendships and holding grudges no one even knows what they are. so amanda and dane decide to keep the charade going, fake dating through fake wedding planning to try to mend the rift between their families. it’s supposed to be temporary, but it starts to not feel fake at all.

the small town romance, best friends brother, spicy forbidden romance goodness had me eating this right up. plus i love a cute, lazy dog and the little mystery is so much fun.

the fake wedding project is the perfect intro to holiday romance without being an overly christmas romance because it’s set in a town that’s christmas themed all year but it’s not actually december. a must read to get you into the holiday spirit.

Welcome to Tinsel, Michigan!!

When I saw this described as Romeo & Juliet meets a steamy Christine Hallmark movie, I knew I wanted to read it!

I immediately fell for Amanda and Dane (and his incredibly lazy dog Chili!) Their accidental engagement was actually very relatable and all the family drama that came with it!

The feuding between the Andersons and Silvers was epic. It was over the top and ridiculous and so much fun to read - I mean it was the Gingerbread House vs Fruitcake Emporium.

Amanda and Dane had such great chemistry and they were so dedicated to the fake relationship - I found myself laughing out loud at the situations they ended up in. This such a fun story - be sure and read the epilogue!!

✨What to Expect:
🩵Romantic Comedy
🥀Romeo & Juliet Vibes
🔥Hallmark Vibes, But Make It Spicy
🏡Small Town
🎄Holiday Romance-ish
💍Fake Relationship
💖Forced Proximity
🦮 Chili…Sweet Lazy Chili

This book was very ok to me. I’m kind of bummed. I had high hopes with how everyone raves about her books but this kind of fell flat to me. There wasn’t enough of a history or connection between the MMC and FMC. I think I was missing some tension. And I just really didn’t like the last chapter at all. I was cringing. The book as a whole wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t for me.

A fun fake dating read, but now far will they to with their fake dating ruse, as far as a wedding? I loved this book.

Synopsis: Amanda Anderson is back home to visit and her grandmother wants to pass on the family gingerbread bakery to her. Instead of refusing, she tells them she's engaged to Dane Silver. The Silver's and The Anderson's have been fighting for generations in this tiny Christmas town called Tinsel. Amanda thinks if she's engaged to Dane, then there's no way her grandmother would give her the bakery. When she confesses to Dane that she did this, he hops on board and says they can trick their families into getting along if they keep up their fake engagement. The big question is will they be able to bring peace to Tinsel?

Tropes:
- Romeo and Juliette
- Fake dating / fake engagement

My opinion:
I'll be honest, it was a cute story and the writing was very fun. It is a story that has an obvious ending, so it wasn't like some big surprise that they were able to pull it off in the end and that they ' accidentally' fell in love while doing so. With that said, it was unique in that they incorporated the mystery of the generations long family feud. I'll also note that the sex scenes were delicious.

Would recommend!

I am always a sucker for fake relationship and feuding families, so the fact that this had both had me sold immediately. I couldn’t put it down and was alternating between my kindle and the audio.

Dane was so swoony and always put Amanda first. He stood up to both of their families and the fact that he’s always had a crush on her melted my heart. I also loved Amanda’s friendship with Dane’s sister.

If you’re looking for a romcom book that reads like a spicy Hallmark movie, this is it! This book takes place around August, but Tinsel feels like Christmas year round.

ho ho holy crap i loved this book! as a die hard fan a hallmark movies, this book would fight right in with their christmas in july theme! a town that’s Christmas all year round, two feuding families fighting over something people don’t even remember, and two people from those families fake engaged to hopefully stop the feuding. it was fast paced, intriguing, and the love story had a depth to it that i never wanted to stop reading it. Dane and Amanda were so cute and i loved watching them fall in love.

Some I discovered her on Bookstagram, Pippa Grant is an auto-read author for me. I know her books will have humor that make me laugh out loud, well-developed and likable main characters, an assortment of side characters that make me smile, witty banter, chemistry and a swoon-worthy happy ever after. All of this was true of The Fake Wedding Project!

It takes place in a Christmas-themed town in Michigan (there really is one). There are feuding families and this fake engagement gets everyone in a tizzy. I loved Amanda and Dane and how their fake romance slowly became real.

Thanks to the publisher for sharing a copy with me. All opinions are my own.

First special thank you to Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.
How adorable and cute is this book! I don't think there is anything to hate at all. It was pleasant, very calming and fast read. If you are looking for something to make you feel better about the world, the humanity and life in general, please pick this up because the experience is here free for the taking.
A town called tinsel that celebrates Christmas year long- I mean, when can I move in? Are you obsessed with Christmas? -this book is for you.

The book talks about a story of a fruit cake company and the gingerbread bakery whose got a long-standing family feud. Talking about small towns, right? And yet, I am all here for it. The younger generations of both families were sick and tired of it, and they are taking matters into their own hands. It is Christmas after all- the season of perpetual hope and unity and family love. The solution to their dilemma? - a fake engagement! I mean how adorable is that?!
I don't want to spoil anything but y'all know how this goes right? The fake engagement will definitely turn into a real one and HEA will be the ending. As to how they get to the sought after HEA is going to be the beauty and charm of this book.
I love and enjoyed it all and felt just as happy as when I started! Highly recommended read!

8 likes

I think that this one is weak compared to the author's other offerings. It felt like a knock off of the Blissed series. I don't like that everything happens in a week. It made everything feel rushed, and we never get to really go deeper with the characters. I had a hard time with all of these people hating each other without knowing the reason why. It made them hard to like. The ending was pretty good, and I always appreciate the bonuses.

I listened to the audio book but I absolutely lovedd this book! I thought this friends to lovers, marriage of convivence romace was lough out loud funny! I literally had tears coming from my eyes. The was spice was a 3/5 but it was perfectly done! I would 100% reccommend this book to anyone wanted a hilarious rom com!

PS The bonus epilog in the dog's pov was PERFECT!

Rating: 4.25 stars

adventurous, emotional, funny, inspiring, mysterious, medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This was a fun read. It covers the romance genres of small-town, contemporary, and holiday, and he falls first.

Envision yourself in a quaint small town where everyone is acquainted with each other. It's a place where you'd expect harmony, but there's a twist. Two families, the Andersons and the Silvers, are in a perpetual feud, each blaming the other for their misfortunes. This feud has been a part of the town's fabric for so long that its origins have become a distant memory.

Amanda Anderson would love to hang out with her best friend, Lorelai Silver, for all to see, but her friend is from a family she should not speak to. Her grandmother is also pressuring her to move back home.

Dan Silver is fed up that his family can only think about how to best the Andersons. He is considering not visiting home as much if they don't change.

But what can Dan and Amanda do to get their families to change? They decide to fake an engagement with each other. Now, the story becomes exciting.

Pippa Grant is a new author to me, and i enjoyed reading her work. The chaos, wit, and love are seen throughout the story, but somehow, you will want this couple not to be in a fake relationship.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Easy-to-read, Entertaining, Romantic, Unpredictable, Witty, Wonderful characters

This made me laugh a lot so basically the FMC and the MMC are from opposite families who always had a problem between them so in order to end that they decide fake arrange a marriage between them but well at the end they were always the one of each other I did enjoy a lot and it was a easy and quick read

💍𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝐹𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒲𝑒𝒹𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒫𝓇𝑜𝒿𝑒𝒸𝓉 - 𝒜 𝒩𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁 - 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌💍

Author: Pippa Grant

Couple: Amanda Anderson & Dane Silver

Tropes:
💍Fake engagement
💍Family rivals
💍“Romeo and Juliet” vibes
💍Small town
💍Christmas Town vibes
💍Romcom
💍He falls first x harder
💍Little sister’s best friend
💍Best friend’s older brother
💍“It’s always been you”

Review: 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝐹𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒲𝑒𝒹𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒫𝓇𝑜𝒿𝑒𝒸𝓉 was a laugh out loud Holiday romcom that made me fall in love with Pippa’s latest couple! Dane and Amanda were the most awkwardly hilarious, fake engaged couple EVER in this book and I enjoyed it from start to finish. The “Romeo and Juliet” vibes that Pippa infused in this book added a dash of forbidden and family rival feels throughout and I enjoyed seeing the Anderson’s and the Silver’s battle it out over the “Fake Engagement”!

Dane Silver was the most epic PINER ever. The way this man crushed on his little sister’s best friend for YEARS was just heart warming and swoon worthy. I enjoyed how he battled with himself over accepting the proposal but also had to do it if it was his only chance to be with her. The plan that he concocts with her had me cackling out loud as they began to try and “fool” their families so that tension between them could be forgotten. Pippa was able to provide hilariously awkward family events while also giving us the ANGST we love in her books and man these two have both in spades!

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝐹𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒲𝑒𝒹𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒫𝓇𝑜𝒿𝑒𝒸𝓉 kept me entertained from start to end and once again showed me why I love Pippa and her books! I appreciated how she spun the “Christmas Town” trope in with the fake engagement while also creating a very “Capulet and Montague” vibe while Dane and Amanda grew closer. The seamless way all the tropes blended kept me entertained and waiting for the show to drop about their engagement while also hoping they would just skip to their HEA! 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝐹𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒲𝑒𝒹𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒫𝓇𝑜𝒿𝑒𝒸𝓉 is a must read for romcom lovers and I hope to see more come from this cast of characters!

Rating: 100+, 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝐹𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒲𝑒𝒹𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒫𝓇𝑜𝒿𝑒𝒸𝓉 had me cackling the whole time and Pippa knew how to do this fake engagement romance right!

Thank you to Pippa and Hambright PR for sending me this eARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

A modern day Romeo & Juliet set in a Christmas loving town called Tinsel.

Dane and Amanda pretend to be engaged and start planning a wedding, trying to fix a decades long feud between their families.

This book was hilarious. It had all the tropes I love, including brothers best friend, fake engagement, and forced proximity. Dane and Amanda were such fun characters and I loved how supportive they were of each other. The side characters were great as well! This was such a fun and feel good read!


📘: The Fake Wedding Project by Pippa Grant
🗓️: October 8, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Pippa Grant, and Montlake for this ARC!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Pippa Grant's signature humor is definitely present in this book, as is the scorching chemistry. This got knocked down for a 3 (for me) though because I was far more invested in the family drama than the romance.

OMG!!! I’m a huge fan of Pippa Grant’s books. This book was hilarious and super cute!
Faking an engagement to his secret high school crush was not on Dane Silver’s to-do list when he landed for a short visit home. But when Amanda Anderson announces that she’s his fiancée, he takes a leap and play along with the farce. Why? In the name of bringing peace to their Christmas-theme hometown Tinsel, Michigan and themselves, they’ll play the part of Romeo and Juliet. But once they start making their fake wedding plans, they can’t seem to keep their hearts out of it.
So beautiful! This book is engaging from the very beginning! The characters are deep and caring. I fell in love with Dane and he took my heart hostage till the very end. They are just too perfecto together! I loved the families’ dynamics and the absurd situations. And Chilli. A dog from my own heart.
It’s well written, with a super slow-burn romance and a few spicy times. I loved everything about it. Definitely Christmas in the summer vibes.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you so much to Hambright PR for the opportunity to read this book!

This was labeled as a Romeo & Juliet Hallmark Christmas movie and I totally could see this being a movie (wouldn't it be something if we could get some spicy scenes on tv)! It has everything you look for in those movies, heart, love, rival families and somehow in the end they all make up. I love that this book took place in a town call Tinsel and that it has Christmas all year long!

This was such a cute book! Dane and Amanda were childhood friends and Amanda thought of having a fake dating relationship in hopes that it would bring the two families back together and so she . No one knows why the families are supposed to hate each other but Amanda was destined to figure out how/why this is even happening. Dane always had a crush on Amanda so he went along with it because if this was his way of getting to spend time with her.

The book takes place over a short amount of time leading up to the couple's fake wedding but just like with any fake dating book, feelings between the two start to blur and neither of them want to call off the wedding.

I thought the pacing of the book felt right and it was just such an enjoyable read!

Check this book out if you want the Christmasy vibe without it actual being Christmas, fake dating,rival families and a dash of baking!

✨ The Fake Wedding Project ✨

"𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦."

This was a Romeo and Juliet, Fake Engagement, Grumpy Sunshine, Christmas-Year-Round good time! I had so much fun reading this book. I loved Amanda and Dane together. They were so drawn to each and were both constantly trying to decide if the connection they had was fake or real. I love how they were completely opposite yet kept finding that they wanted all the same things. Something that REALLY stood out to me was that while fake dating, they were trying to uncover why the family feud had started. I was so invested in them figuring out what had gone wrong. This small town was full of so many fun characters and I was totally hooked on them by the end.

"𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯, 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴."

If you're in the mood for a hallmark-esque, spicy book with all the holiday vibes, I think you'll really enjoy The Fake Wedding Project by Pippa Grant.

✨ Fake Engagement
✨ Grumpy x Sunshine
✨ Family Feud
✨ Small Town with Christmas Year Round
✨ Romeo and Juliet Vibes
✨ Gingerbread vs Fruitcake
✨ Best Friend's Brother
✨ High School Crush

📚 Book: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎧 Audio: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔥Spice Rating: ❤️

Thank you so much to Pippa Grant, Netgalley, and Hambright PR for this gifted ARC and ALC.

Spice Rating
🤍 clean romance
💗 closed door/ fade to black
❤️ sexual content (a few detailed scenes)
❤️‍🔥 explicit, play-by-play (major part of the plot)
🖤 graphic, more than vanilla

This one was cute and I found myself smiling and laughing like I normally do with Pippa Grant books. While I'm normally a sports girl this one was just a cute holidayish read for me.