*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the Fake It 'til You Make It blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.
Title: Fake It 'til You Make It
Author: Laura Carter
Genre: Romance
Rating: ★★★★
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️ (Closed Door)
Can a fake date fix everything?
On a day Abbey thought would be the best of her life – her boyfriend is surely going to propose tonight, right? – it all falls apart: he tells her he’s met someone else. And then to make things worse, she loses her job.
In an act of reimagination, she splurges her wedding savings on renting an apartment in a building she’s always dreamed of living in and kits out her wardrobe to match.
But when her family invites her ex – a close family friend – plus a date(!!) to her parents’ vow renewal, Abbey realizes her façade won’t be enough. There’s nothing for it but to fake one more thing – a romance. And she knows exactly who to ask... her hot new neighbor...
A laugh-out-loud fake-dating rom com, with a chemistry you’ll be thinking about long after turning the last page. Perfect for fans of The Hating Game and Elena Armas
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Fake It ‘til You Make It is the latest rom com from romance author Laura Carter. Fans of fake dating, mistaken/hidden identity and a good slow burn romance, this is the book for you! Add in a geeky cinnamon roll hero, a dual POV narrative and a family vow renewal and you’ve got Fake It ‘til You Make It, the perfect feel-good Spring romance read.
This was my first time reading anything from Laura Carter (although some of her other books have been on my TBR for a while!) and as a fake dating girlie through and through I was instantly hooked by the plot, particularly as the fake dating was partially to spite a cheating ex. Fellow fans of a good slow burn romance will also absolutely love this because this is a true extreme slow burn where, despite lots of almost-kisses, it takes them until the last 25% of the book to actually admit their feelings.
Our story is told through a present-tense, first-person dual-POV narrative, told by both Abbey and Ted. The dual-POV aspect worked so well within the story, as did the first-person narrative as it gave us a peek into Abbey and Ted’s inner thoughts. This was particularly impactful as the novel really focuses on the idea of you not needing to change yourself in order to be loved and although both Ted and Abbey initially feel the need to reinvent themselves in order to find a partner, through their inner monologues we got to gradually see them find their self confidence and learn to love their true selves.
On top of the fake dating plot, mistaken identity and miscommunication play a key role in the story as Abbey mistakes Ted for his professional athlete brother Mike and he then just doesn’t correct her and continues to dig himself a deeper mistaken identity hole. Abbey also hides part of her identity and they both get stuck in this big situation where their relationship is built on lies but their true identities, personalities and eventually feelings gradually start to seep through. I’ll put my hands up and admit that miscommunication and mistaken identity aren’t typically my favourite tropes by all means but there was something about the way they were written within Fake It ‘till You Make It that just really worked for me. I was hooked seeing how it would play out and found myself shouting aloud at the book on more occasions than I care to admit.
Abbey and Ted both had wonderful depth to their characters and their responses to their respective partners cheating on them was really well explored. They had great banter throughout the novel and their relationship felt really realistic. I do normally prefer to see a bit of spice as opposed to a closed-door romance but the closed-door aspect actually really worked here, particularly as the romance was such a slow burn.
I loved Ted with my whole heart. He was the cinnamon roll hero we’re all looking for in a romance story. I’ll even excuse the whole lying about his identity thing because he was a total sweetheart. The way he spoke about Abbey had me smiling from ear to ear and his POV chapters were my favourite in the plot. I also loved the little peeks we had into his relationship with his brother and would have loved to have seen that play out in person, but I appreciate the practical issues with that given that Ted had assumed his brother’s identity!
Abbey was a wonderful FMC. She was witty and a total girl boss for how she responded to her breakup. Spending your entire wedding savings on an expensive new apartment and treating yourself to a brand new wardrobe? THAT is how you respond to a partner’s infidelity. Through Abbey’s character, Fake It ‘till You Make It explores parental expectations and the idea of trying to please your parents and this was done really well. I loved her family dynamic and the role that played in the story.
Laura Carter also writes antagonists very well and I absolutely hated Andrew with a burning passion.
I would have liked the ending to have been explored in a little extra depth - perhaps through an epilogue - as I was craving opportunity to see more of Abbey and Ted once they were actually together. I really just didn’t feel ready to part with them once the book ended so would love the opportunity to return to their story in some capacity, perhaps through a story focusing one of the supporting characters. I also found that the mistaken identity plot was wrapped up a little too quickly and neatly for my liking. But it is testament to Laura Carter’s engaging writing style that I just wanted more.
If you are looking for a feel-good romance which is packed full of your favourite tropes whilst still being closed-door, you will love Fake It 'til You Make It.
