Big thanks for this ARC! I really enjoyed this one! I’m a big fan of stories of queer joy and finding your family! I felt so connected to Avery and only wish the story continued!!

💕 Rom-Com Rules and Campus Clues: UK Edition 📚

1. Fake Dating in a Seaside Setting: A Magical UK Adventure 🌊
"Rules for Fake Girlfriends" by Raegan Revord sweeps readers into a charming seaside town in England, where Avery Blackwell embarks on an unforgettable freshman year. Avery's plans for Columbia are replaced by a year dedicated to her late mother’s alma mater and a serendipitous fake-dating pact with the captivating Charlie.

2. Classic Tropes with Modern Twists: A Sapphic Spin on Fake Dating 🌈
Revord’s debut novel embraces the beloved fake dating trope, injecting freshness with its sapphic romance. Avery and Charlie’s chemistry crackles against a backdrop of secret scavenger hunts and emotional revelations, proving there's always room for heartfelt evolution in familiar plots.

3. Discovering the Past, Embracing the Present: A Scavenger Hunt of Heart 🗝️
Beyond blossoming romance, the novel intertwines a touching mother-daughter storyline as Avery follows a scavenger hunt left by her artistic mother. This journey through Brighton captures Avery’s efforts to connect with a past she never fully understood, adding emotional layering to the narrative.

4. Heartfelt Representation and Emotional Growth: A Friend Group on the Forefront 🌺
With its inclusive cast, the novel focuses on friendships, identity, and growing up. Revord adeptly portrays nuanced relationships and personal milestones that resonate with genuine and spirited representation.

5. Humorous Highs and Heartfelt Revelations: Confessions and Connections 😘
The book sparkles with charming moments and humor, from rom-com setups to enriching character insights. Whether it’s hilarious fake-kiss cover-ups or poignant reflections on grief, Revord captures the balance of light and heavy that elevates the story.

Final Thoughts 📖
"Rules for Fake Girlfriends" delivers a delightful concoction of laughter, love, and introspection. Raegan Revord’s debut captures the excitement and emotion of seeking connection in unfamiliar places, skillfully blending romantic froth with heartfelt depth. Perfect for anyone who finds joy in fake dating antics and heartfelt revelations, it’s a promising start for this young author. 🌟

For an enchanting exploration of love and identity with an English twist, grab your ticket to this captivating journey—one worth every non-stop train ride to Brighton! 🚂

4.5 stars rounded up to five!

Such a cute sapphic romance novel with themes of heritage and finding out who you are!

Loved the UK setting and the descriptions of accents. The characters were clearly meant for each other and well developed.

Romance built up quicker than usual but was still reasonable.

I hope to read more of this authors books in the future!

I went into this with very high hopes, but at the end of the day, I was extremely let down. The author of this book is an actor by background and also 17 years old. As much as I want to advocate for her and her potential, it was obvious to me that she wasn't a writer. The writing was juvenile and basic, the characters were flat and sparsely mentioned, and although the premise was promising, the plot was lost about a third of the way through. To be frank, I can hardly believe that this book is being published in this condition (or close to it, since it's an arc). There were miscellaneous typos throughout, misgendering of characters, and odd and repetitive sentences. It was difficult for me to finish since I think that there was so much possibility for an amazing story! The idea was great, but the execution fell extremely flat for me.
Overall, I can see this author having great potential in a few years, but for right now I'm not entirely sure that this book is ready for publication. I want her to be able to put her best foot forward when she chooses to make this step in her writing journey, and I hope that someone puts the work in to make this as best as it can be.

Rules For Fake Girlfriends by Regan Revord (why I read this book) is about Avery getting a postcard during a time of grief, sending her to England to find whatever her mom wanted her to find. Not wanting to find love, she ends up in a rom-com fake relationship that was suppose to be with a twist. Read it, it's a cute book.

I pretty much got all the feels, I was happy, sad, disgusted, shocked, excited, and at some points absolutely heart broken. I liked how all the chapters in the book were rom-com rules, it was very cute and funny. was worried about how all the different stories going on would work, but they all went together very nicely and the transitions were smooth. Sometimes in books you can't really tell that time had passed until you get confused and feel like you missed something, so her using *** as time being passed was very helpful. While the tarot card were being read, I really enjoyed how they were described, not too much detail, but just enough that you could see it. I was so in love with how the artwork done by Halle was described, I so badly wanted to see them in real life. The way Halle was talked about in the book made me smile, so much love for her. The characters in this book were pretty much all lgbtq+. I think the pacing of this book was pretty perfect, considering there were so many different stories happening. The YA rating for this book is fitting. I gave the book 4 stars, because yes I do like it, but I don't think I would pick it up to read again and if there was a sequel I would read it, but it would not be something I had to drop all my books for.

I really enjoyed this book; it had me hooked from start to finish. The bond between Avery and Charlie was something special. The story moved quickly and had plenty of unexpected twists and clever details that blew me away. You'll get so wrapped up in it that you won't want to stop reading.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC of Rules for Fake Girlfriends.

This a cute and quick YA romcom. I thought it was okay not my favorite but not at the bottom of my list. It all felt very meh to me. There's some typos and some character confusion. It felt like it needed another round or two of editing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great debut novel! Super cute premise and I love fake dating tropes! There was a lot of great queer representation, character growth, and modeling of healthy friendships and relationships. The book did go off on a bit of a tangent trying to cover a few too many things, but I still really enjoyed it and look forward to what comes next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC! A fun read for young adult audiences, with a youthful charm to it. However, this book is incredibly saturated with references to rom-coms that the novel's nature doesn't exactly mirror. It was a cute book that also dealt with grief in an interesting way, though there were very few stakes or tension that made me invested in the main romantic storyline. The characters were pretty one-dimensional, and I didn't get too much chemistry from the leads. However, I think that the book will connect well with YA audiences who love young romances. Overall, not amazing, but not horrible either.

I have always been a fan of the fake dating trope, and Rules for Fake Girlfriends by Regan Revord is a wonderful example of why it never gets old for me. I especially appreciated that the story stayed true to the classic setup: fake dating to make an ex jealous and to return a favor. The simplicity of the premise allowed the characters and their chemistry to truly shine.

As expected with this trope, the story leaned into a certain amount of cheesiness — which, in this case, added to its charm. One particularly memorable moment involved Avery and Charlie being "caught" practicing a kiss and having to play it off as completely natural. Scenes like this made the novel feel delightfully lighthearted, and I personally enjoy a bit of cheesiness in my romance reads.

Beyond the romance, what set this book apart for me was the incorporation of a meaningful mother-daughter storyline. I loved watching Avery learn more about her late mother by completing her list of wishes, adding emotional depth to the novel. It actually reminded me quite a bit of The Life List on Netflix — that same heartfelt message that sometimes mothers really do know best. Through this journey, both Avery and Charlie come away stronger and more grounded, which made their story even more satisfying.

Overall, Rules for Fake Girlfriends is a charming, heartwarming read that balances romance and family beautifully. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good fake dating story with an emotional core.

Anyone who knows me knows i’m a huge fan of the fake dating trope, so this book had me hooked right away!
The characters were incredibly diverse and relatable, with different backgrounds, identities, and personal stories that kept me engaged. The portrayal of grief, especially through Avery and her dad, felt very real, especially from my perspective of someone who could relate so heavily, and I appreciated the realistic depiction of growing apart from childhood friends, like Avery and Amira.
This book is full of queer joy and found family, perfect for fans of Alice Oseman or Casey McQuiston (Heartstopper and Red White & Royal Blue References I see you). I absolutely loved it and only wish there was more! Definitely hoping for a sequel about Avery and Charlie.
An impressive debut from Raegan, and I can't wait to read more from them. Highly recommend! It made me laugh, cry, and smile.

Avery abandons her plans to go to Columbia for college and instead heads to her recently deceased mother’s alma mater in Brighton, England. While on a train, Avery meets Charlie and they make a deal—Avery agrees to fake date Charlie to make her ex jealous if Charlie helps Avery with a scavenger hunt her mom left her.

I really loved this book!! Both the characters and the plot were great! It was a mix of emotions/heavier topics and fun. I love a good scavenger hunt, PLUS fake dating is one of my favorite tropes!!

The way the topic of grief was handled in this book was done really well! It felt very realistic, both from Avery’s perspective as well as her dad’s. I also appreciate how her friendship was Amira was done, because growing apart from your childhood friends in college is definitely realistic.

The cast of characters is great in this book! The main group is a queer friend group and all of them are really fleshed out and have distinct personalities! I won’t lie- sometimes I was annoyed that they were there because it took time away from the romance, but by the end I really appreciated and liked them all lol

I definitely recommend this book! It made me cry/tear up a few times, but mostly it made me smile and laugh. It was written very well and I really hope Raegan writes more books in the future!

If you’re a fan of Rachael Lippincott, Jennis Voris, Lynn Painter, or Sophie Gonzales, you will love this book!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this so much!!! This book is perfect for fans of Alice Oseman and Casey McQuiston (especially I Kissed Shara Wheeler). I lived for all the queer joy and found family that Avery made through out the book. My only complaint is that I want more! I would love a sequel for Avery and Charlie. Overall a fantastic debut novel and I can’t wait to see what Revord writes next.

The fake dating was cute, the scavenger hunt was surprisingly emotional, and the whole setting had that cozy charm I can never resist. It made me ache in that soft, tender way only the best love stories do.

This story is about two girls who start off fake-dating with a bunch of rules — and then accidentally find something real. It’s full of life’s messy, beautiful moments: love, friendship, heartbreak, adventures, and tough moments like illness and loss.

The characters were diverse and each brought something unique to the table, which kept things interesting.
The friendship between them was strong and heartwarming, though I did have a little issue with how some of that loyalty played out when one character was going through a major health struggle. It felt like the support wasn’t always where it needed to be.

Overall, it was an emotional, engaging read that really makes you think about life, love, and the people who stick with you through it all.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC of Rules for Fake Girlfriends.

The first few chapters of this book were really compelling, but this book has a lot going on. Like a lot going on. And, honestly, just way too much going on.

The book would be better if the primary focus was on the scavenger hunt and showing the two MCs getting to know each other as they search for more clues. Unfortunately, the scavenger hunt almost becomes a lost clue in and of itself because it’s there, but no one seems to be searching for it throughout a lot of the chapters.

The fake-dating scenario also didn’t quite work here, and I would have preferred that this trope wasn’t part of this book. I get that the title of the book is dependent on that trope, but this book reads like a draft that took a turn and probably should have been revised to account for that turn.

Again, there’s a lot going on here and much of the book gets stalled in telling rather than showing, and the characters don’t feel fully developed. At one point (after the mid-way point of the novel), a brand new character is introduced, and I couldn’t help but wonder why this person needed to be included in the story.

By the way, as someone that knows Tarot, I have to point out that in the scene where Avery and Charlie visit a Tarot Reader, a card is described that is clearly The Sun, yet Avery mentions that the words at the bottom of the card are The Magician. Nope. That’s not accurate.

To be honest, I’d really like to see the author and editors take another crack at this story through a couple more rounds of revision before it goes to publication. That probably won’t happen though. *shrug*

This YA romance is not your typical trope. We got alot of fake dating mixed in with our lead female character’s grief that made her navigate through alot of emotions, changes and ultimately, life. There’s alot of diversity in this book and it is definitely LGBTQ+ friendly which I’m sure a myriad of readers will enjoy. I loved the formula in which the chapters were constructed it was really original! The only thing I would change is maybe, sometimes I needed a little clarification when it came to certain sentences or switches of characters that made me a little confused. Overall, I’m sure my fellow readers will enjoy this read.

Thank you for the chance to review this debut novel. Let me start with a positive: I love the premise and the characters. It is predictable but in a soothing way. I assume this is a very rough draft because it requires much editing. Some pronouns don't stay consistent, character descriptions also change, repeated sentences, and even a few moments with the wrong character's name. Editing aside, my biggest issue with this book is the lack of meaningful character interaction. There is so much we are meant to infer rather than read. There are characters introduced who have big life stories, but are relegated to one sentence explanations, while we have paragraphs of meaningless activity. This book screams for more scenes with characters talking and fewer excursions. There are too many plot points happening with the scavenger hunt, the paper of Rom-Com rules, the roommate's mental health, Colin's actual health, Amira becoming distant, the dad falling apart... It is too much for the lack of character development. It is an enjoyable story with enjoyable characters, I would have just liked to hear them more and see them develop more.

This was super cute and I really enjoyed it! I loved the relationship between Avery and Charlie. The turns and secrets were great. It was a fun and quick read!

This was soft and aching and sweet in all the right ways. The writing that pulls you in without trying, making it quietly impossible to put down.