Fake it Till You Make It Author Leigh Donnelly
Book Review
4 out of 5 stars!
"Her love of food lasted forever. Men? Not so much." - Maeve
Maeve has made a life for herself within the small town of Galway Harbor. She even has a thriving career and her own store! Maeve has her ex to thank for her current accomplishments though she will NEVER tell him such things. Avoiding men has become easy since she doesn't trust herself with finding a good one. Only things get very complicated very quickly when her ex who she hasn't heard from in years waltzes in with a fiancée!?
To save face and not let Jackson get a leg up on her unpreparedness Maeve makes up a quick plan. Grabbing a customer who caught her eye she convinces him to pretend to be her boyfriend. Things escalate and soon the simple one-time encounter turns into a week! Maeve not only has to keep up the charade with her handsome-pretend-man Steve, but she has to help cater her ex's wedding?! It's just seven days, seven days and then Jackson will be gone for good. She can do this. . .maybe.
"Yeah, I'm in. I just stand there and look pretty, right?" - Steve
Have you ever listened to a song that talks about an ex or a horrible breakup? Belting the lyrics out loud as the artist goes into detail about why the person was so awful? Getting hyped and into the emotions the song is trying to convey? Have you ever wondered how the ex the lyrics are written about feels?
Meet poor Steve. After having ended things and thinking everything was alright, he got thrown a very massive curveball. . . A song that's sweeping the nation and social media is all about him and how he was such a bad person to date. His ex doing him a small favor by not announcing who the song was about, but the words still sting. Steve knew exactly who the lyrics were about but never could come forward with his side of the story. Would anyone even care?
On top of avoiding relationships and the horrible song Steve's facing financial difficulties with his food truck business. At the end of his rope, he hopes things will turn around. Enter Maeve! Maybe with her help him and his partner can get their business woes under control. She needs him to pretend to be her boyfriend for a week and he's more than happy to help! With fake dating you don't have to worry about being perfect or trying to impress the other person.
Both MCs have healing from their pasts they have to deal with. Terrible exes who just don't seem to want to let them go. They struggle with their past and present feelings wondering what kind of future they could have. The tension is thick as the two get closer to one another as the week progresses. Maybe this fake relationship could turn into something more? Steve's still unsure whether or not he should open up about the song and his side of the story to Maeve.
I really loved this read and the cover that makes this book seem so innocent, which it's not. We do get to see the downside of exes and some of the lengths they will go through. Jackson is not a good person at all, and I appreciated watching as Maeve figured it out. We've all had truly toxic exes who we didn't fully comprehend how far their manipulation went until you are out of the situation. Maeve's eyes are wide open, and the rose-colored glasses long gone and what she's seeing with Jackson is not good.
This book does contain language, some violence, and slight blood. The perspective about musicians and their muses for breakup songs was really insightful. Anxiety and feelings of utter defeat. Manipulation, controlling behavior, and some mention of past dealings with a narcissist. The craziness and intensity of social media.
We get a slow burn romance with beautiful tension you could cut with a knife! I enjoyed the dual POVs and how the two struggled to sort all of their feelings out. Getting to see different scenes played out from different perspectives and why the characters acted the way they did. Steve being protective of Maeve and her of him! We do get yummy MF action and a couple of teasing scenes. Points for Steve because he isn't afraid to use a toy alongside his own moves. Steve is very much a book boyfriend and some of the things he does is very romantic!
I feel like there's an opening for more with some of the side characters from this read but the main couple get an HEA! I really loved all of the cast and how well written it was, some of the paragraphs were a little long but that's just my personal opinion. I cannot wait for more reads from this author!
Enjoy the rom-com with fake relationships and insane exes! Don't forget to give the author some stars!
Fake it Till You Make it by Leigh Donnelly | eBook | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)
Leigh Donnelly (leighdonnellyauthor.com)
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