All Athalia Pressley wants is to rebuild the shattered bond with her twin brother, Henry. But after years of distance, she's starting to believe it's impossible--until a statistics class lands Athalia with an unexpected tutor: Henry's sworn enemy and campus golden boy Dylan McCarthy. Suddenly, she has her brother's undivided attention. Dating is the last thing on Athalia's mind--especially not with the arrogant, impossibly hot McCarthy, who embodies everything Henry despises. But when she realizes her brother's sudden interest hingest on Dylan's presence, Athalia makes a reckless bargain: she and McCarthy will fake date, giving her the perfect excuse to stay in Henry's orbit.

so they fake date and even make a contract for it. a little outside of what I'd expect for two people so young but it was cute. A fun fake dating, rival romance

Absolutely loved this book, I feel like going into it I was a bit worried that I wouldn't like it. I ended up loving it. The way the author wrote the story was beautiful. I would say check for trigger warnings. Bring your tissues.

Okay but Lessons in Faking had me in my feelings! We’ve got fake dating, rival energy, twin drama, and of course… butterflies. Athalia is just trying to fix things with her twin brother (cue the emotional damage), but instead she ends up fake dating his sworn enemy slash infuriatingly hot golden boy, Dylan McCarthy. The banter?? The tension?? The contracted fake dates that spiral into real feelings?? I was HERE for it.

If you love:
• Enemies-to-lovers-but-make-it-fake-dating
• A morally conflicted golden boy
• Girls who just want to feel seen
• And boys who fall first, hard, and forever

…then give this one a shot! It’s messy, a little chaotic, but still hits that sweet spot of angsty fluff and tension you didn’t know you needed.

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!

A fresh, funny, and emotionally sincere romance that puts a clever twist on the classic fake-dating trope. With sharp banter, heartfelt moments, and just the right touch of vulnerability, this book delivers on both swoon and substance.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm really delighted to see a US publisher translating romance novels from Germany. I hope to see more international books like this!