
Member Reviews

Lessons in Faking by Selina Mae is a charming, witty, and utterly addictive romance that hits all the right notes. What starts as a pretend relationship quickly turns into a whirlwind of real feelings, messy emotions, and undeniable chemistry.
Selina Mae delivers lovable characters you root for from the first page. The banter is hilarious, the slow-burn tension is perfection, and the emotional payoff is so satisfying. It’s more than just a rom com, it’s about self discovery, vulnerability, and allowing yourself to be truly seen.

I was hooked on this book from the first chapter. I absolutely loved Lessons in Faking. Bring tissues for this book because it will leave you wrecked. If you love enemies to lovers, I highly recommend this book.

I devoured this book in one sitting!! It was an amazing story with the banter, the fake dating, the angst and tension was perfection!

This book had a bit of a rough start for me, but I ended up really enjoying it.
The beginning felt very info-dumpy, and the writing was hard to get through. There are so many run-on and incomplete sentences, which is fine here and there for style but is hard to read consistently. There were also so many em dashes, sometimes so many in one sentence that it lost meaning. Little stylistic tricks like using italics or saying someone's full name are great for emphasis were used so often that they lost their effect.
About halfway through the book, though, these all seemed to blur in the background, and I couldn't put the book down. I absolutely love fake dating, and Mae executed it fantastically. This is so small, but I was SO HAPPY that someone had a panic attack without the other person doing the "name five things you can hear, four you can see..." thing. (Awesome trick, but it's become so cliche in books. There are other tools, and I'm so glad Mae used a different one.)
This book is great for anyone who loves fake dating, sports romances, and spice.

5 STARS!!
To get back at her twin brother, Athalia decides to fake date her brother's arch nemesis who just so happens to also be her statistics tutor.
There was just something about this book that grabbed me, took a hold of me, and ran. I literally finished this book in a day that's how much I was enthralled by it. I will say it took me a little to get into it but once we were there I was locked in baby and I never wanted to go back.
Enemies/Rivals to lovers will always be a top trope of mine if for nothing else but the banter it brings to a story and let me tell me they brought it. There was just something about Athalia and Dylan/McCarthys dynamic that did it for me. The one thing that did bother me a little was I felt like she didn't really have a reason to hate him but then Athalia was a self aware queen and was like "yeah I don't even know" so I let it slide.
Honestly I can't even say more than that. Just hovered it for yourself please!!
Instagram post to come!

This was such a good sports/college romance and the sibling relationship is unmatched!
At first I was a bit skeptical of the reasoning behind the fake dating but throughout the book I felt like it made more and more sense as the twins interacted. McCarthy is a dream and such a book boyfriend but what made me actually ugly sob was the twins relationship and how much they care for each other. My only critique for this book is that it felt a bit wordy at times but i know the book has been translated so it’s a very minor thing. This was a fun read and I am very interested in reading more about this universe and these characters!

Lessons in Faking, by Selina Mae, is a story about relatable characters in a cute though somewhat predictable fake dating situation. This one was what I expected and kept me entertained. I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ARC ebook that I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley & Selina Mae this ARC!
This book was such a sweet, slow-burn romance that won me over in the end. Athalia and McCarthy had amazing chemistry and I loved the witty banter.
The beginning moved a little slow for me but once it hit its stride I was entertained. The second half brought all the feels, tension, and a satisfying ending.
Will also add this one felt very YA to me - but that’s misalignment from my side not a knock on the book.
If you're into fake dating tropes with heart and humor, this one’s an easy, feel-good read.

This one was a bit tough to get through. The character names were honestly distracting, and the writing felt a bit juvenile, which made it hard to stay engaged. The premise had potential, but the execution was choppy and didn’t quite deliver. I’m still not really sure what sparked the fake dating. It felt underdeveloped and unconvincing. Overall, it just didn’t feel cohesive or well thought out.

ARC REVIEW:
I was surprised when I found out that this was in fact an HP inspired fanfiction turned romcom and I actually enjoyed it. I’m not typically a big fan of HP inspired books, but the plot really worked well and was different enough that I didn’t feel like I was just reading about HP characters. There are definitely some parts that are dragged out and other parts that skip over information that I would’ve liked to have slowed down but overall, I really enjoyed reading it. Would definitely read the next books in the series.

I devoured this book in two days, and if I didn't have to go anywhere, it would have been much faster. I had so much fun reading this and a hard time putting it down to get back to reality.
Due to failing her Statistics II midterm, Athalia is forced to take tutoring with her twin bother Henry's arch nemesis, Dylan McCarthy Willams. Athalia comes up with a plan to fake date Dylan for two months to make Henry, who only speaks to Athalia when he needs to fix something in her life, finally care more about her life. Both Dylan and Athalia sign a contract with only seven rules rules:
#1 Fake-Date-Thursdays.
#2 Delivery Period: November 1st–January 1st. #3 No Sex.
#4 Exclusiveness is guaranteed. (Single activities to be postponed until after the duration of this agreement)
#5 Athalia Payton Pressley is obligated to support her fake boyfriend Dylan McCarthy Williams at his soccer games.
#6 Both parties involved can’t, under any circumstance, break character.
#7 Don’t fall in love with Dylan McCarthy Williams (or Athalia Payton Pressley).
Somewhere along the way, those boundaries blur and disappear all together.
This is a well written, cute rom-com with a well developed relationship and one of the greenest green flag guys I've ever read about. The writing was smooth and well balanced between descriptions and dialogue.

3 to 3.5 stars for this book.
I thought it was a cute book.
One of our main characters is Athalia. She is not doing well in statistics and has to enlist the aide of her brother's enemy, Dylan, our other main character.
When Athalia's brother decides to overstep and interfere with her being tutored by Dylan, by doing the most annoying and unreasonable thing, going to her professor, a plan is hatched to get back at her brother.
This plan: Athalia and Dylan begin fake dating.
The plot was decently structured, but it lacked a storyline. I felt like there wasn't a lot of storyline in the plot. I liked the fake-dating concept, but I needed more. There were some spots that felt like they were dragging on a bit too long, and then some areas where it felt rushed, so the pace could use some work.
There were a lot of characters, some more developed than others. I did have a bit of a tough time relating to Athalia intermittently.
Favorite quote: "I don't love it because it's my name. I love it because you're saying it". Swoon! Loved this quote!
Even with the issues I found, I still think this was worth a read and an addition to your TBR! It is quick and serves as a nice palate cleanser.
Thank you to NetGalley, Lyx, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book!
If you have a YA fan in your house - great book for them!
Happy Reading!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
We love fake dating and enemies to lovers tropes! This book had a delicious slow burn too. I loved seeing how Dylan and Athalia grew together throughout the story and how Dylan seemed to always know what Athalia needed. Talk about a good book boyfriend!
I appreciated that this story also had another level to it with Athalia’s relationship with her brother, Henry. It was really nice to see the healing between them after such a long period. As an only child who’s lost a parent, I think it would’ve been really nice to have a brother to lean on in that time and after. They definitely handled their grief differently, but I’m glad they could find a way to be there for each other.
I think this is going to be a fun new series, and I’m definitely interested to see more!

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC! I enjoyed Lessons in Faking. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Athalia and McCarthy—I thought it was an enemies to lovers that was so good 🔥 I really liked the fun "fake" dates that turned real overtime. You could feel the characters connecting. Although the beginning was slow, I think, overall, it is a cute read.

This was such a fun book! First of all the cover is so cute! I love the pink on the cover and it made me want to read it! I highly recommend this book!

4.25 ⭐️’s
This was such a good college romance. Fake dating, forbidden romance, rivals, soccer… I loved the MMC so much, and I appreciated that the FMC was a little complicated in her own way.
There were some things I felt I didn’t quite get the answers to, but they weren’t so important to the plot that I was upset.
I loved that the FMCs twin brother and best friend served important purposes, but they did not take away from the story. They were in the book just enough, and were referenced several times.
The banter between the FMC and MMC was top notch. I always love good banter.
🌶️🌶️🌶️Some detailed scenes. Not an overly spicy book though.
🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷 The romance in this was perfect. It wasn’t cringy or over the top. I felt like it was so well done.

4.5/5 rounded to 5
Tropes: Semi-enemies-to-lovers, trauma, daddy-issues, brothers-enemy, sweet, men-who-cook, girl-needed-a-confidence-booster
This is my first book by this author, and I was hooked from the first page. This is had because I have around 100+ books on my TBR list and unless something has a strong start, I'm not invested. I read the story as a stand-alone, and only got to know about the history of the author once I finished it.
Now, let's be real. Are there things out of the realm of belief in this work? Absolutely. Realistically, there are a lot of things I object to. E.g. why did the MFC start dating her brother's supposed arch-nemesis to get her BROTHER'S ATTENTION? Or why the MMC had to have beef with his dad, because that aspect was literally unexplored and unnecessary. Or that the MMC was supposedly so in love with the MFC from the start that NO ONE SUSPECTED?
However, despite these gripes, the story worked well. It did. And the reason is for that is that it is really sweet without being cloyingly so. It's just sweet enough. The chemistry between the main characters is really strong. Read this as a floating leaf in the wind, without a final destination and without too many expectations, and you will love it especially if enemies-to-lovers is your trope of choice.

I binged this book in a day! Fake dating? Slow burn? Sign me up!!
When Athalia proposed entering into a fake relationship ship with her brothers arch rival in order to punish him, the last thing she expected from Dylan Mcarthy Williams was the attraction she felt every time she was near him. She was supposed to hate him too, but why did she seem to forget that with every encounter. Could he have feelings as well?
It’s a fun, easy romance read and I enjoyed it!

I want to begin with a thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Selina Mae for the chance to read this ARC!
I’m not sure I was the target audience for this book. While I usually enjoy romance and love a good fake dating trope, I had a bit of a hard time fully connecting with the FMC’s motivation for wanting to fake date McCarthy, when I really just wanted her to have an honest conversation with her brother about their strained relationship.
That feeling extended throughout the book. I often found myself wishing for more: more insight into Athalia and her family, more background on McCarthy and Henry, and a deeper exploration of Athalia and McCarthy’s relationship. I think those added layers could have made the story even more engaging.
Athalia’s emotional responses sometimes felt a little one-sided. For instance, she seemed to place a lot of blame on her brother for their distance without really trying to reconnect, and her fallout with Wren felt more mutual than she was willing to admit. Still, I appreciated that some of these issues were eventually addressed through conversation.
I also felt there were a few too many tutoring scenes—I would’ve loved to see more of their fake dating moments or interactions in public to really bring their chemistry to life. I really enjoyed seeing her later interactions with McCarthy outside of the tutoring setting, as I think that’s where their chemistry was best shone.

3.5 ⭐️ the banter was bantering. I LOVE a fake dating trope and this certainly did it justice. It was a good read for a trip but felt a bit rushed at times