On a train to college Avery meets Charlie when Charlie begs her to pretend to be her girlfriend. The book goes through the ups and downs of a couple playing girlfriends to get their true love back. Add a few family issues and best friend’s growing apart and you have plenty of life drama to keep you reading.
Goodreads

This fun rom-com, full of delightfully realistic and complex characters, is sure to bring joy to many. While I found the plot twist to be predictable, I think it will be a perfect heart-wrenching moment for the target age range. I'm very glad I got to read this book.

Thank you to Wednesday books for the E-ARC of this book.

I ended up DNF'ing after several attempts. I just could not get into this story or these characters. I like the sound of the premise, so it might just be me and not the story as a whole.

A sweet sapphic YA romance that played with romcom tropes. It had a cute fake-dating scenario, a grief storyline, study abroad, and a scavenger hunt. I liked it!

It was a struggle to finish this one. I liked the concept (fake-dating sapphic romance, meet-cute on a train, American exchange student in the UK), but the characterization was thin and I just couldn't invest in anyone's story, even though I am usually all for queer and disability (side character) repesentation. The setting honestly could have been anywhere--no Britishisms (or even truisms like drinking lots of tea)! The scavenger hunt element just felt like a device for padding the page count. The chapter titles based on romance tropes seemed cute for a while, but once you realize that they literally spoil what is going to happen in the chapter...why bother reading?

Once I found that the author was a teenager these elements seemed to make more sense, but I still feel that this book is being published more because it has name recognition on the cover over actual story.

1/5 stars, not recommended

Although the memory of a loved one can hurt, it just shows how lucky you were to have them there.

This book really highlights the journey of growth, but also how grief so deeply impacts you. There is so much diversity and a lot of struggles. The self development of Avery was the highlight of the book with a sprinkle of romance,but it was beautiful nonetheless. This book really highlighted the pain AND joy that comes from the little memories that you have with loved ones. There's also this deep sense of wishing you could've done more for that person, but knowing that you can't change anything and have to move forward. Every character in this book has different struggles and different ways of coping. The author's ability to humanize so many characters was stunning.

Thank you to Netgalley and Raegan Revord for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Hmm. I’m not sure how to feel about this book. I’m a big fan of Raegan Revord’s acting, however this book just didn’t hit home for me. I felt as thought I was reading a Wattpad fan fiction almost the entire book. I appreciated the nods to other romance books such as “Red, White and Royal Blue” or “Love Actually”, but it just didn’t hit like I thought it would.

Let’s start with the good things!
- The descriptions the author provided were pretty good. I love reading about the castle towards the end of the novel, or the outfits specifically Charlie was wearing throughout.
- The characters had such diversity and were really easy to relate to. I really loved Maddi’s story, and I think Colin’s EDS mention was awesome as someone who has EDS in my family!
- The emotions Avery went through during her first year at Brighton were very consistent with a freshman in college.
- There was a cat!! Need I say more? We need more Circe content.

The middle:
- The writing is consistent with a 17 year old. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing or a good thing, I think it’s definitely up to the reader!

The bad:
- Why did Avery abandon the hunt at the end? To me, she didn’t seem like a character who would’ve done that. I think we lost a lot of plot there.
- There were some points where I had to go back and reread a few paragraphs. I was a little confused during some conversations and interactions.
- It was cliche and predictable. Of course, many romance novels are, however I could’ve predicted the ending as soon as we met Charlie.
- As I mentioned earlier, this felt very much like a Wattpad fan fic. I can’t get that thought out of my head.

Overall, I thought it was cute but I probably wouldn’t pick it up again. It was lackluster for me.

I picked up this book based solely on the cover. I tend to read a lot of romance books and figured this would be another great read. This was a book written by the star of young Sheldon which I did not k ow going into the book. This was an ARC and I found it difficult to get into the story simply because of the sitting that needs to be done on it. Also there was phrase that related quite often. That being said I am willing to read give this book another chance once it releases to see if editing has been done and how it’s changed since early reading of the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc!

I was excited to read this Arc since the author is nobody other than Missy from Sheldon. Not only did I not know she was a
avid reader but an author too!

The book follows Avery, who, after the passing of her mother, embarks on a scavenger hunt created by her mom in an attempt to feel closer to her. During this journey, she goes to college in the United Kingdom and becomes involved in a fake dating scenario.

The pacing of the first half of the book is slow, which is necessary to understand the main character and her life. I really connected with the aspect of grief, although at times it felt rushed and overlooked in certain moments. The romance between the two main love interests didn’t feel as strong, but by the end, everything comes together, which I believe was needed. Overall, this is a good new release!

⭐️⭐️⭐️
I wanted so badly to love this one. It’s a great debut for the author’s age, and I’m genuinely excited to see what she creates next. That said, the story sometimes felt too busy, and I kept wishing it would focus more on the scavenger hunt element—which was such a fun and unique hook. There were also a few moments where a character’s pronouns were used incorrectly, which made parts harder to follow. Still, the seaside setting, romance premise, and emotional connection to Avery’s mother had plenty of charm, and I can see this resonating with the right readers.

I really wanted to love this book, but it was only okay. The story started out strong but I wish the author had just written the fake dating trope without the constant lampshading. To me it came off as insecure, and about halfway through I was tired of it. Also, I think the book would have benefitted from some more editing and fleshing out, because the two plot lines (the fake dating stuff and the scavenger hunt) did not feel balanced. I do think it got a little better closer to the end though.

Otherwise, like I said, it was okay. The characters were cute and I could see this author really improving with some more experience.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

To start off I gave this book 3 stars. While I did enjoy multiple aspects of this book, there were some parts that felt really repetitive.

Some things I really loved:

• Disability Representation: There was a character in this book who has EDS and was frequently in a wheelchair or using a cane. As I don’t normally read to many book with a disability rep it was great to see. There were some other characters with disabilities and diseases as well.

• Similarly there was also a lot of different representation regarding their sexuality identities, and it can be hard to find books with representation of different sexuality’s.

• Every character had a unique personality: They also all had a hobby or something of interest to them giving depth to the characters.

•The chapter titles: This was something I hadn’t seen in a while and it was really fun to read all the quirky chapter titles. It gave a cute heads up as to what was about to come in the chapter, while also adding an extra layer and touch to the book.

Some things I disliked:

•It felt like the two major plot points were interchangeable. There was times when the scavenger hunt was totally forgotten about and they would go chapters without talking about it. Also the scavenger hunt felt almost too easy, the main character (Avery) would come across a challenge and it would be solved the next day. Also whenever she showed up to a new place, she would immediately get the next clue, there was no actual searching.

• The book was in need of an edit: I do know this is not the final copy of the book, so I will not judge too hard. However, there was a lot of repetition and occasionally there would be different descriptions of the same character. The author would refer to one of the characters having blond hair then suddenly the same character would be described as having brown hair. Knowing that the author is seventeen and it’s their debut novel, the writing is something that could be easily overlooked and that I’m sure in time the author will grow into their writing.

Overall, this book could use some work, but it was by no means bad. I look forward to seeing what they write next.

this was cute, but I am clearly the wrong demo for this book.

It was YA and FELT YA to me. Again, that is on me - not the author. This was well written, but I'm just too old for it.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Raegan Revord for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Rules for Fake Girlfriends by Raegan Revord is written from the POV of Avery Blackwell, who is spending her Freshman year of college at her mother’s Alma mater in England. Avery’s mother had passed away from cancer and left her a postcard which sends her on a scavenger hunt in England instead of going to Columbia University like she had planned. As soon as Avery arrives in England, she is sucked into a real life rom-com, much like the ones that Avery and her mother loved so much. As Avery pretends to be Charlie’s girlfriend, Charlie ends up helping her with the scavenger hunt. Avery starts to wonder if her very real situation will end up like the fake dating rom-coms she’s watched.

This book was amazing! I absolutely loved the balance of humor, romance, and lightheartedness with real life issues. I also loved the diversity in this book with plenty of LGBTQ+, disability, and mental health representation. You are bound to connect with the main and side characters. ✨ I really enjoyed not only following along with Avery and Charlie but also with the scavenger hunt provided by Avery’s mother. It was all written so well, and I’m definitely a fan of this book. You should totally check it out when it’s released on September 2nd! 💕

4.5 stars ⭐️
0 spice 🌶️

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: September 2, 2025

Loved the premise of this but really struggled with the immaturity in it. I found the lack of communication as the source of tension in her relationships (w/ dad, roommate, and girlfriend) to be very frustrating. The writing felt a bit elementary and repetitive, and scenes and the conversations in them seemed to be there just to tick boxes. The publisher/editor failed this one. There’s a story in this, but it wasn’t flushed out. TW: parental death and grief.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday books for this eARC! Rules for Fake Girlfriends is like Better than the Movies meets Love and Gelato for lesbians. It’s a cute story with a lovely message about following your heart and navigating grief. With all that to say, this book could’ve benefited from another round or two of edits.

The bare bones were definitely there! The storyline was engaging and the side characters felt real. I also liked the chapter titles a lot, and the setting felt super immersive. And I absolutely loved Avery and Charlie’s meet-cute.

But I think the pacing was a bit off, especially toward the second half of the book. And there was more telling, rather than showing; too much description about what a character looked like, rather than their actions. And I also don’t like how the scavenger hunt storyline sort of got abandoned about halfway through the story and then came back so abruptly? It should’ve been interspersed a bit more. I also think we should’ve gotten more exposition to get to know Avery better. She didn’t fully develop as a character and her actions felt receptive. She also felt like a pretty bland character, and I wanted more for her, especially as she was grieving. Grief isn’t linear; however, I think more needed to be done to show how that affected her, other than the random moments in the scavenger hunt. Maybe flashbacks would help?

But back to what I actually liked about this book: it’s refreshing to read a book about young adults actually written by a young adult. The dialogue felt real, and each of the side characters, like Maddi and Colin were easy to depict. The little found-family aspect was cute and definitely reminiscent of that first year of college.

This book had a lot of excellent moments like the surprise date with Charlie and the spring break with her friends. Despite the lengthy descriptors, there was a lot of good use of description for these chapters.

I think I can see myself reading whatever Raegan Revord writes in the future because this was good for a debut, but I think more work could’ve been put into it on the editing side, especially given that Raegan is a celebrity author, and knowing how publishing works, their publisher definitely had the means to prioritize their title. and a side note, I hope the final version fixes some of the pronouns for the non-binary character because they got misgendered a few times.
3/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for a complimentary early release copy of Rules For Fake Girlfriends by Raegan Revord.

I had high hopes for Rules For Fake Girlfriends, the premise of a scavenger hunt and the fake dating troupe sounds like an interesting combination but this book ended up falling flat for me. While this book is light hearted I was hoping for something along the lines of an adventure with messaging of self discovery/love, healing from grief, and remembering but not forgetting a loved one. I felt that the book just didn’t do a good job with any of these messages. It mainly focused around the romance at the half way point leaving the scavenger hunt abandoned for a good while, then when it’s introduced again it’s very rushed. I couldn’t feel for this romance at all, it felt very instant lovely from the start plus there is major miscommunication between the main couple.

I was disappointed with a lot of the choices that Avery had made during the story especially with her father. She knew he wasn’t coping well and it takes her half the story to do “something” which basically felt like nothing. These characters ended up reading as way too immature for my liking. The only characters I didn’t mind were Maddi, Colin, and Circe. I thought that the fake dating element starts too quickly but the way it’s started/introduced just feels weird/a clunky way to start a conversation. The romance fell flat as the fmcs didn’t have that strong of a connection, the messaging of the book wasn’t delivering, and the adventure was lacking.

Thank you to Netgalley for an E-Arc copy of this book!

I think it’s a very promising storyline, but there were a few plot holes for me because a few things happened off page which made me feel a little lost - I found myself backtracking a few pages to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

The scavenger hunt idea is so cute and of course who doesn’t love a good fake dating trope?! There are a few typos in this Arc, but I’m assuming there will be some final edits before being published.

The characters were great and loved the overall setting of the book. Can’t wait to see what else comes from this author!

This was a lighthearted summer read. A classic trope with a queer twist! Thank you Netgalley for the advance readers copy.

This is genuinely a fun and well constructed debut novel, regardless of the age of the writer. Revord being just 17 makes it all the more impressive! She is clearly a true Rom-Com fan and understands how to write a good one. Is there anything here that we haven’t seen before? No, not really. But it’s the familiarity - the classic tropes and story progression - and the fact that is it poking fun at itself that made this such an enjoyable read. It is funny, heartwarming, and sometimes heartbreaking. I laughed and I cried. I think Revord definitely has a promising future as an author, just as much as she does on-screen.