I loved this book so much. For its softness. For its quiet strength. For how it captured that bittersweet mess of love, loss, and growing into yourself. It’s the kind of story that stays with you like a warm hand on your back.

While I really did enjoy this book, it kind of fell flat for me. I loved the LGBTQ+ rep, but it felt rushed and not what I was expecting. Don’t get me wrong, this is a fantastic debut novel, it just wants for me.

Thank you so much Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book. I absolutely loved the fake dating rom com with queer vibes . Avery and Charlie have so much more to tell . I sure hope there is a sequel in the works. I do think the scavenger hunt was lost midway through the book but hopefully it's resolved in a sequel.

What a cute debut! Knowing that Raegan Revord is only 17 years old makes this book even more amazing (at least to me)🤩

I love the whole found family trope, and the fake dating, of course; so easy to read, yet it put me in a chokehold on several occasions.

Definitely recommend, a fun, yet emotional novel with a great cast of side characters and even a scavenger hunt💚

3.5 Stars rounded down.

I always like to see child actors transition into new roles once their shows are over, and so I was very excited to read Reagan Revord’s debut.

Right off the bat, I really enjoyed Avery’s POV, but the more we went through her and Charlie’s story. The more repetitive it became. The twist was one I saw coming as a lover of rom-coms, but that wasn’t my issue. My issue was Avery’s thought process on everything.

Also, while I listen to a lot of the same music mentioned, name dropping modern bands is going to make this book feel so dated in a couple years. There were also some strange stylistic choices as far as punctuation and grammar at points, like ending spoken text with “??” and characters saying “they does” rather than “they do” but using the right verb conjugation in the next sentence.

This was an OK read. It started out strong with the chance meeting on the train, and the scavenger hunt really got me involved in the story. But about halfway through it was pushed aside in favor of other angles. I think overall this author tried too hard to be something for everyone. We had the girl meets girl and falls in love, the non-binary roommate, and the disabled friend. But then toward the end in order to check all the boxes she added a trans individual. The book would have been better if the author stuck with the fake girlfriend angle of the two girls and left it at that. And honestly, the addition of all those characters added nothing to the overall story. In fact the pronoun use was inconsistent and cumbersome to read. The book could use a significant amount of editing but since this was an e-ARC hopefully that will take place before final publication. A valiant try, but this one missed the mark for me. 2.5 stars rounded to 3. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to the ARC.

this book is perfect for lovers of fake dating trope. I also enjoyed the queer representation for a YA book.

This was a cute story. I enjoyed the scavenger hunt aspect as Avery learned secrets about her mother’s past, as well as learned more about herself. The fake dating premise and all the tropes incorporated into the story were enjoyable.

I liked the inclusion of multiple LGBTQ characters; I didn’t figure out Colin’s was trans until fairly late in the story, which is impressive because that is typically something that is made known early on, often as a point of tension. Something else I liked is that Avery and Charlie being lesbians, Colin transgender and Maddie non-binary was treated as no big deal (which is the way it should be in real life.) I also liked how Colin's disability/life with a disability was portrayed.

Such a good book, Avery is a bit overdramatic at times (okay, a lot). I finished it in one day; I just couldn't bear to put it down. Madi is by far my favorite character (sorry). Charlie... is all I'm saying..

So, this is a solid debut. It’s very readable and I enjoyed it. I did think it could do with some editing. I love how queer the novel is, it’s so well done. The rom com aspect is super cute and keeps the book flowing so well. I just didn’t really feel like it was a solid fake dating experience, because it just seemed like she was pining after charlie for so long. Avery went from I can’t fall for her to being like super obsessed. Maybe it’s just because I haven’t been a teenager in a million years but it seemed disingenuous. However, this book is proof the author has some great writing skills and bones of a story. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the review copy.

this one felt like a warm hug. like watching one of your comfort romcoms wrapped up in a blanket. i enjoyed every single bit that made the book.

I love fake dating, and I feel like I don't see a lot of sapphic representation inside the fake dating trope. I enjoyed this classic trope from a new perspective. I feel like there were a lot of rom-com-esque elements but it didn't quite hit the mark for me to consider it a rom-com. Nonetheless I enjoyed this book!

This was a great book! The romance was so cute and the writing in this book was very well done and easy to read.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press for this Advanced Readers Copy!

I loved pretty much everything about this book! I love the cliche of a rom-com lover ending up LIVING a rom-com as well as writing a partial one about her life… like hello!

The fake dating trope in a wlw novel was something I’d not yet read but ate UP. Avery and Charlie’s friendship and relationship were so wholesome and joy-filled.

The plot twists left me so crazed that I hadn’t caught on sooner. I was so broken for all characters involved. 😭

Avery’s scavenger hunt that her mom left for her was my favorite part of the story, and just seeing her get to learn about her mother’s life at her age: AW.

Raegan Revord’s debut YA novel was very good. Her writing is mature and fun. I liked the pace of the story and her storytelling. I hope she continues to explore diffferent types of genres.

Rules for Fake Girlfriends is an absolute gem. It’s charming, heartfelt, and full of emotional honesty. Raegan Revord brings so much warmth and authenticity to this story, it’s hard to believe this is her debut. The chemistry between the characters is undeniable, and the fake dating trope is handled with a fresh, thoughtful twist that makes the romance feel both fun and deeply genuine.

Revord’s writing is sharp, witty, and full of heart. She perfectly captures the awkward magic of falling in love, while also exploring friendship, identity, and the quiet bravery it takes to be truly seen. I laughed, I teared up, and I didn’t want it to end.

This is the kind of book that reminds you why you love love stories. I can’t wait to see what Raegan Revord writes next. She’s a rising star, and I’ll be first in line for whatever comes after this.

I wanted to love this one more. It's has too many direct references or nods to rom-coms but the actual book doesn't really hit those strides. It would be okay if it's satirizing or saying something about romance, but it really isn't.

I did love the fake dating element (my preferred trope), but the book felt like it couldn't decide if the story was meant to be a romance or have a romantic subplot.

Rom-com lover Avery is still in the thick of grief when broken-hearted Charlie drops into the train seat beside her. Charlie explains quickly that she wants her ex (Leyla) to think she’s moved on, and Avery agrees to pretend they’re dating. What started as a five-minute interaction on the train turns into a more extensive arrangement when the two realize they’re both students at the same school. Charlie is a local and agrees to help Avery solve her mom’s last scavenger hunt, in exchange for Avery helping to make Charlie’s ex want her back. Avery knows how this would go in a rom-com, where fake dating is never fake for long, but she’s determined that her real life will avoid falling into that pattern.

Of course she’s wrong. Avery starts to have real feelings for Charlie. The only problem is that they’re planning a fake break-up of their fake relationship, and Avery thinks Charlie is still in love with Leyla. Instead of breaking up, they have a dramatic kiss and start dating. Before too long, though, Avery realizes that Charlie is keeping something from her – something to do with Leyla.



The scavenger hunt added a fun element to a story of personal growth and relationship development, and moved the plot along between the different misunderstandings. I enjoyed seeing Avery open up to her friends and realize that there’s more to life than relentless pursuit of perfect grades, that she can follow her passions and make new friends without sacrificing her academic goals.

It was tough that Avery kept having problems that came down to poor communication. After Avery and Charlie resolved their lack of communication about their feelings for each other, I hoped that meant they would have grown and learned about the importance of communication in a healthy relationship. Nope. Their next big issue is about Charlie hiding something, Avery assuming she knew what it was, and neither being willing or able to broach the subject. I found it frustrating that Avery didn’t seem to try to be a better communicator, even after the first time she messed up a relationship because of it. Not that I’d expect a character to be a perfect communicator, especially in YA, but I expected her to try more.

Thank you NetGalley, Raegan Revord, and Wednesday Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I’m a big fan of Revord’s and loved her on Young Sheldon. I also think she’s just a really cool person and keep up-to-date with her socials and more. Sadly, though, I didn’t really enjoy this one…

I think I wasn’t the target audience for this book, and because of this, I think other people will probably enjoy it more. I loved the idea for this one and the idea of our main character, Avery, traveling to attend Columbia to both study and explore to try and find out more about her mother. There’s a fun scavenger hunt and I was really invested in seeing what her mom left for her. Despite this, I didn’t really like the other part of the story, which was the romance. It started out really cute but seemed to drag out about halfway through.

The representation in this one was amazing though. There were a lot of typos and inconsistencies though, but I’m hoping these mistakes will be changed during the editing process. I think my lack of enjoyment was a combination of being a little too old for the story and not really enjoying college romances. Be sure to give this one a chance though. Revord is an awesome person and it’s amazing to release a book so young.

I'm really so sad about this. This book started off SO strong. I was reading it at work when I wasn't supposed to because I was invested from the very first page. The scavenger hunt, the meet cute, the clever chapter titles were all just SO MUCH FUN. I really loved the diversity among all of Avery's new friends, and I thought this was going to be a slam dunk of a story.

But around the 36% mark, it started to become very apparent this was not a book written by a seasoned author. There were many repetitive phrases, and Avery's pining was just the same words over and over for quite a few chapters. This book could easily be 100 pages shorter, and still tell the exact same story without feeling like anything is missing.

By the 50% mark, the scavenger hunt was pretty much abandoned and forgotten, and the plot starts focusing on MANY other things. There was too much going on, and considering my investment was with the scavenger hunt, this started to become a chore to read now that it wasn't front and center to the plot.

I think this book has so much potential if it just goes through another round of edits. There's some typos and weird moments with pronouns (that isn't affecting my review at all, since this is an arc and most likely not the final copy that will hit the shelves when it officially publishes in September, but I felt it was worth mentioning).

I wasn't familiar with who Raegan Revord was when I received this arc, and if I was rating solely based on the fact that this is their debut novel while only being 17, this would be 5 stars easy. I think it's a great start for someone adventuring into the publishing world. I just think the lack of experience came into play a bit too much for me, and I couldn't enjoy this as much as I really wanted to. Honestly, I think teens will eat this right up and fall in love with everything about it. It unfortunately just wasn't the story for me.

I hope Raegan continues writing though, because I have no doubt that any future stories they come up with will be amazing once they have a little more experience under their belt.