This book was fantastic! What a delight. Each of the three viewpoints was unique and compelling. There was relatability in the opinions on motherhood. I was constantly cheering for the characters despite their flaws, which made it believable. I adored Sasha and Ethan's chemistry. Additionally, Sasha's bond with Celeste demonstrated the life-saving power of female friendships. Strongly advised!

I started this book feeling a little unsure it was for me– but with a leading man like Adam Wheeler, how can you not fall in love? Overall, this ended up being such a cute story that I really enjoyed. The development between Elle and Adam, while Elle is experiencing so much hardship in watching her grandma, Lovie, progress with Alzhimers almost made the story more endearing to me.

Thank you to Alcove Press, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a good book. The banter between Elle and Adam was really entertaining. The love and caring Ella had for her Grandmother was very heartwarming.

This was a very good read! I enjoyed reading about the characters and the plot was very interesting. I loved the story and would definitely recommend to a friend!

There is something so cozy about a romcom. They’re timeless joys. This book shows the raw and gritty and special moments of a relative with Alzheimer’s. It shows the support system it takes and the trials of finding the care needed. And of course who doesn’t love a rough start turned absolute head over heels love. Real life fairytales

Thank you so much for this eARC!

I loveeeee this book and was such an easy read for me. I can get on board with fake dating if it means making my grandmother happy. This is my first book by Megan Murphy and honestly, I enjoyed her writing.

Thank you to net galley for giving me this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re a fan of Elena armas and Ali hazelwood, I think you will love this. It’s funny, quirky, heartwarming at times, and steamy. I can really see the authors vision with the home health aid and patients grand daughter, it’s an adorable premise. The podcasts were my favorite part, and I loved how the FMC used them to cope with her situation.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m the target audience for this. I really had high hopes - I mean, forced proximity, one bed, it’s everything I love. But the humor didn’t work for me and the FMCs quirky attitude and clumsy actions grated my nerves. I struggled to relate to the characters, and the situation at times felt awkward to me in ways that I personally don’t enjoy. I also felt that the relationship went from “push and pull” to “let’s kiss” without enough of an acknowledgement, especially on the MMCs part. He was doing something very inappropriate in his workplace but he didn’t seem phased by that for the majority of the book. Maybe if we have his POV it could have worked more for me.

This book is very well thought out and well written. I think Murphy should be proud, and I would consider checking out another one of her books in the future.

Thank you Net Galley and Megan Murphy for the chance to read this arc.

I absolutely loved this book.

This story follows Elle and Adam, the nurse caring for her grandmother, and the romance and growth between the characters was so good. Elle’s grandmother suffers from Alzheimer’s and confuses Elle and Adam for herself and her husband when they were younger. It was so cute the way she basically was their biggest fan, without even realizing how much she made them actually come together.

The story has enemies to lovers, close proximity and an amazing book boyfriend.

I only wish we had an update on Rita and Issac. I was rooting for them too Elle.

“Fake It Like You Mean It” is a rom-com with an emotional side. We have Elle and Adam, that have to fake date while taking care of her grandmother that has Alzheimers and thinks they are married. Elle has a podcast and Adam is a nurse. Even with the forced proximity, the romance is a slow burn and initially they can’t stand each other.

The story shows the struggles that appear when you are faced with carrying for a loved one, especially when their health is deteriorating. I would have liked to have Adam’s POV and more about him and his family. Overall I liked the book and the love story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and Alcove Press. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was amazing! It was such a unique storyline and it was so well written! I laughed so much during this book and I loved the romance!

3.5 ⭐️ Fake It Like You Mean It follows Elle, a podcaster from Chicago who moves to help her grandmother Lovie who has Alzheimer’s. But when she gets to her childhood home she doesn’t except to see Adam Wheeler in her bed, Lovie’s live-in nurse.

Lovie is convinced that Elle is her and Adam is her late husband Bobby. They play along so they don’t upset her assuming that after a good nights sleep she will forget all about it. But when she does t forget they decided to place along when Lovie is around. The bantering between them and their jeopardy cuddles doesn’t seem like pretend anymore after a while.

Mixed in with the romance you see the heartbreak and the struggle of watching someone you love battle Alzheimer’s. Elle had to come to terms with her grandmother’s disease and how it has affected her memory of their time together. Elle also has to learn to let her walls down and let people in and not run away no matter how much she wants to. She has always had Lovie and herself and with Lovie slowly fading away she only has herself and she knows she won’t let herself down, she doesn’t trust anyone else.

🌸Fake Dating
🌸Enemies to Lovers
🌸Forced Proximity
🌸Slow Burn

This is a really cute book, the first chapter threw me off a little, but after that I really got into it. Elle and Adam’s relationship takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, I laughed, I cried and I got a little frustrated. Thank you to NetGalley got the ARC!!

I adored this book! Adam & Elle were too cute& it felt like they were a real couple!! I was so excited for each chapter & couldn’t want to see what happened next!

👨‍⚕️Fake it like you mean it by Megan Murphy
4/5 stars ARC review
Publish date: 18th March 2025

This is an emotional rollercoaster wrapped up in a beautiful story with has love, grief, fake dating and family struggles ❤️‍🩹

It’s an easy read as it’s definitely a cutesy romance but it doesn’t get boring as you’ve got the strong plot of Lovie’s Alzheimas and the journey Elle and Adam navigate together handling everyday life. I’d love for someone who works within Alzheimas care to read this and reflect on Adam’s experience 🤗

The chemistry between Elle and Adam was a bit mixed for me, some scenes seemed so strong and realistic, I could imagine them slipping into their fake dating and not knowing where the lines crossed but in other moments I wasn’t so convinced!!🙈

The thing I loved most about this story was Adam, he seemed like the most genuine sweetest guy ever!! Especially when it came to his nieces and sister 🫶🏼

Would really recommend this debut novel (I know debut it’s incredible for a debut!!) but especially if you work with the elderly or going through any dementia/alzheima journey with someone close, hopefully this will make you feel seen ✨💗

I loved this! The emotional growth of the characters was really strong, and I really appreciated the depiction of Alzheimer's. The snippets of podcast interviews we got were a great touch.

This was wonderful! It had it all. Forced proximity. Banter. A likeable fmc and a swoon worthy mmc. It also had way more heart and depth than I was expecting. I have several friends going through similar experiences with parents with dementia and I liked how it depicted the struggles. I’ll be thinking of this one for a long time.

This was a beautiful book. Megan Murphy dealt with the incredibly difficult and painful story of caring for a grandparent with Alzheimers in a way that was both tender and raw. I'm really impressed with how she manged to include this seamlessly into the developing romance between Elle and Adam. She balanced humour and romance with the emotional pain and grief really well, and also somehow managed to include both the characters having quite nuanced emotional growth they also had to work through.

My only real criticism was that the enemies-to-lovers element didn't really work for me, I just didn't find their amnosity that believable and felt it was unnecessary to the story. This just meant it took me a bit longer to get into the story than I might have otherwise, but the writing was good enough I was drawn in anyway. I thought the writing was beautiful and moving and quite often very funny, I loved how well develpoed the characters were and thought the whole thing tied together really well. I would definitely read more books by her.

4.5 stars

Uhmmm that was the sweetest thing ever?! I had randomly applied and got approved for the ARC but had put off reading it for about two weeks (idk why). I finally started a few days ago, and almost immediately fell in love with it!

It was a real, honest, and raw inside look at caring for someone with Alzheimer’s while also being an incredibly sweet romantic love story! I mean, they fake being in love when her grandma thinks they’re her husband and herself from 60 years ago?! And she doesn’t forget so they have to keep the bit going?! Perfection.

The slow burn was burningggggg and the forced proximity/one bed situation was too good🤭

Also the fact that this is Megan Murphy’s debut novel?? I’m an immediate fan and can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!! Huge thanks to NetGally for the early digital copy!

Obsessed. Went in to this book not expecting to love it as much as I did. Megan did a beautiful job of intertwining a love story with the realities of grief. I found comfort in how she built the relationship between Adam and Elle through the found family trope. This book made it feel relatable because it was built on how they felt a piece with each other. I will absolutely be putting this book in my comfort read pile to pick up again. Can’t wait to read more from Megan.

This was so cute and fun! It also has quite beautiful depth. A really unique twist on the amnesia trope, but used respectfully/sensitively. I loved the the dynamic between the main characters and was immediately invested into the romance. It feels like very thoughtful representation compared to some other romances I’ve read lately - a true breath of fresh air. I will be looking for Murphy’s books in the future!!

Elle has always relied on her grandmother, Lovie, for support throughout her life. However, as Lovie’s Alzheimer’s progresses rapidly, Elle finds herself returning to her childhood home in Chicago to take care of her. Upon arriving, she is surprised to find Adam Wheeler, the live-in nurse assigned to help with Lovie’s care, already in her bed. Adam is described as a “pain in the ass,” but he is dedicated to his job and committed to providing the best care for Lovie.

The story unfolds with elements of humor and emotional depth as Elle grapples with her responsibilities towards her grandmother while also confronting her growing attraction to Adam. The narrative features various romantic tropes such as enemies-to-lovers dynamics, slow burn romance, fake dating scenarios, and forced proximity situations.