thank you netgalley for the arc (albeit six months late); i'd say this was solidly cute and i loved the tamil rep for veer in this; a rom-com with more rom than com for my personal taste.

My brain capacity is not at all what it was when I applied for this book. I am wholeheartedly grateful for being allowed the opportunity to read, but right now is not a good time for me sticking to a strict TBR.

A very cute quick read! If you like fake dating, crazy family dynamics, and an only one bed situation, then add this one to your tbr.

Can't Help Faking in Love is romantic and funny and will pull you right in with its quick pace and fantastic writing. The chemistry is obvious from the start and the characters are flawed but likeable. There is a lot of focus on family dynamics and the difference between Harsha's family and Veer's is felt but I liked that instead of one being fully bad and one being fully good there's a bit of balance with Harsha's bond with her aunt and Veer's lack of one with his father. I feel like that made things more realistic. Despite their very different backgrounds, both Harsha and Veer are struggling to make it in their chosen careers giving them a more even standing --even though one is technically paying the other to fake date them but still!

Overall, it's a sweet, cute, fun read that you can finish in one sitting.

Thank you Dell for the digital ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This trope has been done so many times and there wasn’t anything unique or special about their love story. I did love the audio!

I’m a LOVER of fake dating! It’s one of my favorite tropes because of the yearning and the secret glances and the chemistry that builds over time, but unfortunately i didn’t get those vibes within the pages of this book.

I didn’t dislike this. The writing was good. I couldn’t put it down once i started because i did enjoy the MMC and just the story overall, but i definitely didn’t feel like our MCs had much chemistry together. It just never got there for me.

Other than that, i just REALLY disliked the FMC. She felt a little underdeveloped to me. She starts the book over really unlikable with ‘spoiled rich girl’ vibes but then you end up finding out she doesn’t even utilize her trust fund. I feel like it felt really opposite to her entire demeanor. THEN, near the end of the book when her father finds out what’s she’s doing he cuts her off and she’s like… devasted. I get she’s more devastes for the MMC, but it felt like ???? you can’t have it both ways.

I did really enjoy the MMC and the dynamic between him and his family! I wished we got more on page of them.

Overall, this wasn’t bad but it was just fine for me. I would def recommend it if you’re looking for a low stakes romance that you won’t think too much into.

The Vibes:
- Fake Dating
- Only One Bed
- Setting: India

Side note: The cover is GORGEOUS.

So, I ended up DNFing this book at 52%. I didn't really believe the romance and I didn't love the misogyny in this book. I did try and ignore the misogyny because I understand that Indian culture is much different from American culture but it still really annoyed and bothered me. Ultimately, I DNFed this book because I didn't feel any chemistry between the 2 main characters at all. I wish I had loved this book because, on paper, it's a book I should have given 5 stars. I think other people would love this book, I just wasn't one of those people.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an arc in exchange for my review.

Swati Hegde really catches you with this fake dating trope. They are just so good. Can't Help Faking in Love has a lovely romance between Harsha and Veer. I loved their initial setup and all the support Veer gives Harsha. I do however didn't like some of Veer's mistrust of Harsha. Could have been done better.

this is a solid book that engages with a difficult-t0-like female protagonist, at first. I think as an Asian American, I had some understanding of how much the status of your partner matters. As someone who is not obscenely wealthy however, like our fmc, i did find the repeated references to her wealth and connections and the start to be somewhat repetitive and almost frustrating to a point. but hey, if you want an enemies/dislike to lovers, i think this book does a great job of setting them up and bringing out characters together!

If you're a sucker for the fake dating trope (guilty as charged 🙋‍♀️), this book will absolutely charm your socks off. Harsha and Veer had instant chemistry from page one, before the fake dating even begins. The story unfolds with a vibrant, fresh energy that had me hooked.

With a setting steeped in Indian culture and warmth, and a plot packed with delightful rom-com staples like Only One Bed and complicated family dynamics, this story balances heart and humor beautifully.

Harsha, a freelance photographer navigating her rich family’s expectations, and Veer, a barista supporting his younger brother and mother, make for an irresistible pairing. Their journey is sweet, swoony, and layered with just enough emotional depth to keep things interesting.

Although the ending felt a bit rushed and conveniently tied up, that was my only quibble in what was otherwise a devour-in-one-sitting experience. (And yes—I ate this up in a single day!)

If closed-door romance, family drama, and witty banter are your jam, I highly recommend grabbing this one.

What’s Inside:
* 💘 Fake Dating
* 🛏️ Only One Bed
* 👪 Complex Family Dynamic
* 🇮🇳 Indian Culture
* 🔒 Closed Door Romance

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

i love love love this trope! i enjoyed this one and I figured I would and I cannot wait to read more of her work. I will be recommending to my friends

4.5/5⭐
This is the second book I have read by Swati and ohhh how I loved this book even more. I love a book with the fake dating trope and just how they slowly start falling for each other. The chemistry between Harsha and Veer was just so gooood, as friends, during their “fake” dates, like there was no way this could not be real, everyone else around them saw it too. And I was giggling and kicking my feet whenever Veer tried to brush it off, boy you know damn well you love her.
For me it was just how in awe Veer was of Harsha, it made me so giddy reading how he talked about her when he saw her in her element with photography. He just always said the right things, and I loved this for Harsha, considering her relationship with her family, I loved that she had someone that saw her for who she was and loved her. I also really respected that Harsha was out there trying to figure out life on her own terms and working for what she loved careerwise, regardless of what her family thought, and in the end with Veer she finally had a family that was everything to her.
Ahhh these love birds were everything to me!!💗
Thank you so much to Dell for the ARC!

This was a funny, quick read for Bollywood lovers and beyond. There is to say I'm a caucasian woman, so if there were some cultural inaccuracies in this, I'm absolutely unaware of them. From my perspective, this is a great choice for those moments when you need a light read.

In this funny and tropey new romance novel, readers follow Harsha Godbole, struggling to find a place in her Bollywood wealthy family and a fulfilling career without their money in Bangalore. When everything she’s built collapses, Harsha cannot face showing up single at her cousin’s wedding, so she makes a deal with barista and aspiring actor Veer Kannan: fake date for the weekend-long wedding and then move on with their lives. However, both Harsha and Veer get more out of this deal than they had expected and have to deal with the consequences. Funny, charming, and occasionally steamy, readers will love the tropes and character dynamics at play in the book. Harsha and Veer’s relationship is really interesting as it evolves over the course of the book, and the tension and chemistry add a lot to the longer arc of the story. The rich and vibrant setting is another fascinating backdrop for Harsha and Veer’s desires and struggles -- one wants to move away from wealth and luxury and the other wants to move towards it -- and this character-character and character-setting juxtaposition really adds some interesting contexts and depth to this fun, funny, heartwarming, and deeply enjoyable romance novel from Swati Hegde.

This is such a fun and quick read! I always love a romance when the two MCs fall in love while spending so much more time together. This was just super sweet and cute!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Swati Hegde continues to suck me directly into her books with her sophomore release. They are just so easy to fall into. Can't Help Faking in Love has a fun fake dating (duh!) romance between Harsha and Veer. I can't wait for her newest release after this!

I am always looking for South Asian romances to read. It's the representation that I never got growing up, going to predominantly white institutions. Unfortunately, this book was not quite as relatable as I expected it to be. It's difficult for me to find South Asian books I absolutely love because sometimes it feels as though authors are writing their books for a white audience. It was still a good read; it just wasn't exactly what I was looking for. It had the fake dating trope; The wedding took place in India. India is where my family is from, I've been many times in my life, and I still felt disconnected from this story. I wanted to be invested and pulled into the scenes, but the imagery didn't feel encapsulating, more as if someone was just pointing out what was happening without showing the readers where they were or what it felt like. Overall, it was an okay book, I might just have been the wrong audience.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC. This was a fast read of fake dating between Harsha (FMC) and Veer (MMC) and discovering more about each other and how even though they are from different worlds maybe they have misconceptions about each other. It shows them grow and encourage each other and facing obstacles together.

This was a quick and great read! A wonderful example of fake dating, Can't Help Faking in Love perfectly paced the relationship growth of Harsha and Veer. Their chemistry was also fantastic.

Can’t Help Faking in Love by Swati Hegde is a delightful fake-dating rom-com full of charm, wit, and slow-burn chemistry. With lovable leads and laugh-out-loud moments, it’s a feel-good love story that’s impossible not to root for.

This book was written by an Indian author and is set in India. Readers will get a taste of Indian culture and customs: the food, clothing, and arranged marriages. Parts of this story will make you laugh. Other parts will make you feel sad. I enjoyed the quotes from well known TV comedies the author included at the beginning of each chapter.

Harsha Godbole arranges a fake dating situation with Veer, her favorite barista. She needs a boyfriend to accompany her to her aunt and uncle’s anniversary party and to her cousin’s wedding. Both Harsha and Veer are struggling. She is trying to live an independent life as a photographer. Veer has dreams to be an actor in Bollywood. Veer believes his acting skills can convince her family, especially her parents, that they are a couple. Both main characters have family issues.

As with most books with the fake dating trope, real feelings start to emerge. Just how good of an actor is Veer?

Both Harsha and Veer learn to follow their heart and instincts when it comes to their relationship and their careers.

“Her family wasn’t necessary who she shared DNA with. It was who stuck around in both the good times and bad, even if they were going through their own battles.”