3.5 ⭐️

Athalia and her twin brother Henry are basically strangers. It’s been 7 years since their famous, billionaire parents died tragically. They live on the same university campus, but only cross paths every month or so until Athalia begins being tutored by Henry’s arch nemesis and fellow soccer teammate, Dylan McCarthy. She finally has her brother’s attention and comes up with a plan, Dylan and her would fake date. They draft their contract and continue their tutoring sessions, but as they hang out more Athalia starts to see a different side of Dylan. One that doesn’t match up with all of the things her brother had been telling her.

I really enjoyed Athalia and Dylan’s relationship, their teasing banter and the way he takes care of her was adorable. I feel like you could see how it was going to go as soon as they were planning their fake dating, but there were a few plot twists I wasn’t expecting. And holy moly did some of the side characters bother me. Between Henry and the roommate Wren I was confused and surprised, but all I can do is hope there’s more clarity in the next books.

Huge thank you to Selina Mae, Netgalley and the team at LYX Books for the E-ARC of this book!

My rating for Lessons In Faking is more 3.5 stars. This was a cute read and I found myself smiling throughout the book. I enjoyed banter with the main couple. I also enjoyed the sibling dynamic between Henry and Athelia. I just wish that they had more moments throughout the book or that their scenes were a little more fleshed out, especially at the end. Overall, this was a quick and cute read.

This was a cute story but it wasn’t my cup of tea. It was a bit too immature and light on spice for my taste. If you like sweeter romances with lots of witty banter, I could definitely see you enjoying this. It was well written and the characters were likable but I just wish it moved a bit quicker.

Pretty predictable and relatively breezy romance. Fake dating, sort of enemies to lovers, family drama, a bit of star-crossed lovers, all smushed together in a college romantic package. The two leading characters are Athalia and Dylan. Unfortunately Athalia's twin brother Henry hates Dylan due to some high school grudges. Even more unfortunately, Athalia is failing Stats and needs a tutor, and Dylan is the best apparently. The whole reason they date is incredibly flimsy (she wants to get back at her brother/get her brother's attention?) and it's clear that there is zero benefit for Dylan right at the outset. So obviously he already likes her. The banter is cute, and we do love watching people fall in love. Best part of the book is Henry's growth I think. If only everyone in our lives could recognize their toxicity, apologize sincerely, and try to be a better person.

Altogether it's a bit juvenile of a romance book, but still a decently good time if you're looking for a simple college romance.

This being my first experience with a sports romance novel was such a delight.
It delivered the perfect amount of yearning, compassion, and tenderness shared between the main character and her love interest. Even with the swift pacing, the characters felt fleshed out and scrupulous.
One of the key elements of the story were that of intimate bonds, and how family doesn’t always mean who you’re tied to by blood. This highlighted the main character, Athalia, and her relationship with her best friend, Wren, that I felt helped contribute so much to the story aside from the sparkling romance.
The fake dating, especially when it involves your brother’s arch rival, only added to the tension deliciously. With them starting off as annoyances to one another, their quick quips and sarcastic dialogue was the cherry on top.
This story definitely made the goal as one of my favorite lighthearted romances of the year!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Lessons in Faking! I really enjoyed this sweet and heartfelt slow-burn romance. Athalia and McCarthy had great chemistry, and the fake dating setup was full of charm, humor, and emotional depth. Their banter felt natural, and the shift from reluctant partners to something more was fun and satisfying to watch unfold.

My only critique is that the buildup felt a little slow—it took me a bit to get fully pulled into the story. That said, once it found its stride, I was hooked. The second half delivered on the tension, heart, and payoff I was hoping for.

Overall, it's a cute and engaging read with a meaningful look at love, connection, and second chances. Thank you again for the ARC—I appreciated the chance to read and review it!

I really enjoyed reading this title, it was quick and easy. I do feel that it was anti-climatic, nothing major happened or a big reveal. I do think both characters showed growth, I hope that a future title is centered on her brother to help us understand him more or potentially the roommate.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC! I enjoyed Lessons in Faking. I knocked a few stars off because the first 50% was extremely slow. However, the last half had so much chemistry and fun that made up for it. Overall, it is a cute read.

Cute brother’s enemy to lovers book where she uses her brother’s enemies and rival to make her brother give her attention. Little did she know that she would find more in this deal than just her brother’s attention. She would find happiness and a way through both their heartache and pain as siblings. Such a good quick read.

I really enjoyed this book!! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, and this book did not disappoint!

The highlight of this book was the relationship between Athalia and McCarthy. Their chemistry was top notch! Every time they were together, I was locked in.

The banter between them was incredible! I really loved how they started out as nemeses, and felt like that brought a unique voice to this trope! The way they used sarcasm as their love language had me giggling and kicking my feet!! As their relationship progressed, I could really tell how much they cared for each other. Honestly, they are adorable, and I love them!

I do think this book had some flaws. The reasoning behind all of the characters decisions was not strongly developed. Reasons were given, but they didn’t feel strong enough for the events to happen. I also thought the pacing was off at times. Some scenes were given a lot of time while others felt a little rushed.

If you like fake dating and college romances, then you should read this!!

I couldn't really get into this book. It felt very rushed in introducing the characters and plot. It just seemed super cliche and predictable

I really enjoyed the premise of this book—especially the fake dating trope, which is always a favorite of mine. The setup, with the male lead coming from the rival team of the female character’s brother and the two deciding to fake date to get under his skin, had a lot of potential.

However, I found that the plot around the fake relationship lacked clarity. The brother, who was supposed to be central to the reason behind their fake dating, was only mentioned a handful of times, which made the whole plan feel a bit rushed or underdeveloped. I wasn’t always sure what the ultimate goal of the fake dating was supposed to be.

That said, the writing itself was very strong. The dialogue felt natural and realistic, and the scenes were well-paced and easy to visualize. I really enjoyed the female lead’s character—she was engaging and well-written. I didn’t quite connect with the male lead as much, but overall, it was an enjoyable read with a fun setup and solid writing.

I enjoyed this story a lot! It did start off a bit slow, but once the FMC and MMC started interacting more, it picked up.

While Athalia was for the most part a character I rooted for, she definitely isn’t the most lovable character. She mentions a few times in the book that she is selfish, and I had hoped that she would make strides towards being a better friend, sister, and person towards the end but it didn’t totally line up.

I disliked how her best friend confessed that she had feelings for her and she just conveniently moved on and even wanted to discuss her love life with her seemingly the next day? Also leaving her brother alone and not bothering to tell anyone where she went over a typically hard day for her (and her brother) also felt very selfish to me.

I would have loved a bit more relationship building with the brother as well. Their resolution at the end was nice, but it didn’t pack as much of an emotional response because they didn’t have a lot of scenes together leading up to this to make me invested in them.

By far kept reading due to the fun relationship between Athelia and Dylan. Their banter was great and I especially loved how he got Athelia to open up as well as opening himself up by bringing her home over thanksgiving.

Would read more by this author! Perfect for a light beach or travel-ready read.

This was a flirty and fun story, but also one that deals with complex sibling relationships. I think Mae did a good job crafting interesting characters and dialogue. The book held my attention, and I wanted to see the outcome. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Lessons in Faking by Selina Mae, is a romance available in both German and English. The book follows Althalia Pressley, a college student looking to grab the attention of her twin, Henry, after the death of their parents. Honestly, I disliked Henry so so much, like this boy is hella rude and girl he is not worth this much effort. In order to achieve this attention from her brother, she enlists the help of his rival, Dylan McCarthy Williams. What starts as a fake romance ends up becoming real. This book is the first installment of the Hall Beck University series, unknown how many books will be done but I don’t know if I’ll venture to them at this time. Although their conversations were decent and they started to really develop a better attachment to one another, I just couldn’t vibe with it unfortunately. Hope readers enjoy!
Thank you NetGalley and Lyx.
2 stars!

First of all - thank you to NetGalley and S&S for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Listen… listen listen listen. This is a fake-dating-turned-lovers book and I ATE THIS UP. Was it predictable? Yes. Was it a masterpiece? Nah. Were there times where they changed scenes without saying they were changing scenes and it confused me a bit? Yeah… But did I enjoy the HELL out of it? ABSOLUTELY.

I’m eating this man up. We love a man that truly believes in her.

I read this pretty fast. Would’ve read it in a single sitting if I had the time. It was a page turner for sure.

The book was very sweet and when it got spicy it got spicy. I feel like it was a little slow at first but once the contract started it got god fast

It could just be that I was feeling overly emotional today however, this book had me swooning, crying, laughing and feeling every emotion in the book. “Lessons in Faking” strays away from the brother’s best friend trope and focuses on brother’s enemy, which I LOVED.

Each of the characters were so beautifully flawed and well-thought out that I cared for each of them. Especially our MMC, Dylan. Throughout the story, getting to know more about Dylan his family, and who he is meant so much to me.

The authors commitment to exploring Athalia’s grief and how it affects her relationship with her brother was beautiful. From the beginning of the book you are sucked into the story and it feels as if Athalia and Dylan are your best friends and you’re watching all of this from the sidelines. I fell in love with every side character, even her brother, even when he was pissing me off.


The author does an excellent job in portraying difficulties that one may have when coping with grief, including mental health struggles. Please make sure to check the trigger warnings for this book! I cannot wait for this book to be published so I can have it on my bookshelf and I cannot wait for it to be in the hands of readers everywhere as it is one of my favorite reads of the year.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early in exchange for my honest feedback!

Oh. My. God. This was so cute and so good. If you love Ali Hazelwood’s Deep End and Elle Kennedy’s college hockey series this one is for you! Obsessed with McCarthy. Loved the complex character relationships and trying to figure out what is happening in their own worlds and povs made the book that much more interesting!

Rating this 4.5 stars because it would have been better if it were dual POV but overall, I still enjoyed reading it!

I love Dylan! He’s just too sweet to Athalia despite his rivalry with her brother, Henry. Athalia didn’t even had a hard time convincing him to be his fake boyfriend. They were really cute together. Dylan had been the perfect fake boyfriend to Athalia. He goes out of his way and just bulldozed Athalia’s world. The Thanksgiving scene was so hilarious especially when his sisters kept bringing up how long he has been admiring Athalia, which he ineterrupts every time they get too close to saying more. 😂
One of the biggest plot twist in this book is Wren. I never had a clue she had feelings for Athalia. I just thought she was an over protective best friend but I was glad she found Laila and sorted her feelings out to be able to save their friendship. Injured Dylan was also funny! He just spilled the beans on how much he likes Athalia. It was really funny how Blake was saying the truth on how he just wouldn’t shut up. 😂

Overall, I really liked this book! This would be good if you want a quick, easy and fun read.