Tag: Fake Relationship

Book Reviews/

Between Never and Forever by Shain Rose Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Blurb

As my best friend’s brother, Dex Hardy has always been my downfall—older, forbidden, and completely irresistible.

Our paths were never supposed to cross, but they tangled irrevocably during those summer nights where we exchanged forevers and I love yous under the stars.

In secret.

He knew it had to be that way.

Yet, he betrayed our relationship the moment he made it public. So I left him brokenhearted in order to save us both.

Years later, to help my family financially, I signed a six-month contract to perform within the Black Diamond Resort and Casino. It should be easy.

But Dex Hardy is now the cold, ruthless billionaire tycoon who owns it.

And he wants revenge.

When he finds out I have a ring on my finger, he makes his own deal with me:

Leave a man I don’t love and get engaged to him instead. Or else.

Six months of calling Dex my fiancé … even if he stares at me with hardened eyes.

Six months of ignoring his electrifying touches and pretending I don’t love him … when I still do.

The problem with faking this engagement is I’m starting to believe in forever with him. Yet, as more truths come to light, my fiancé may never want that with me again.

Ratings

Add me as a friend on Goodreads! Click here.

There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Keep Reading!

Book Reviews/

Hopeless by Elsie Silver Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Hopeless by Elsie Silver

Blurb

Beau Eaton is the town prince, a handsome military hero with a tortured past.

I’m the outcast bartender, a shy girl from the wrong side of the tracks.

He’s thirty-five and all man, and I’m twenty-two and all . . . virgin.

He’s also my fiancé. Correction: my fake fiancé.

We start out as a bet. He doesn’t believe that anyone holds my last name against me. So he offers me his to prove a point.

It’s win-win. He gets a break from his concerned family’s prying, and I get a chance to shed my family’s reputation while I save up to ditch this small town.

He says all I have to do is wear his ring, follow his lead, and pretend I can’t keep my hands off of him in public.

But it’s what happens between us in private that blurs all those carefully drawn lines.

It’s what transpires behind closed doors that doesn’t feel like pretending at all.

This engagement was supposed to be for show. This agreement? It has an end date.

He once told me he’d never fall in love.

And yet here I am, head over heels for my fake fiancé.

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content I observed while reading this book:

  • Alcohol/Alcoholism
  • Bullying
  • Burns/Skin Grafting
  • Depression
  • Profanity
  • PTSD
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes
  • Violence

Ratings

Add me as a friend on Goodreads! Click here.

There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Keep Reading!

Book Reviews/

The Problem with Dating by Brittainy Cherry Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Blurb

If I had to choose a person to hate, Alex Ramírez would’ve been first on the list…

Welcome to Honey Creek, Illinois, where life was as sweet as the town’s name suggested. That was, until Mr. Fine Dining himself, Alex Ramírez, rolled into town with a permanent scowl. Even worse, he decided to park his snooty five-star restaurant across from my cozy dog daycare. He was tall, dark, and about as warm as a frozen entrée.

After one too many unpleasant interactions, I was determined to stay out of his way and to keep him out of mine.

But fate had a quirky sense of humor. When Alex inherited his great-aunt’s cranky canine, he had no choice but to come to me, the local dog whisperer, for help. As for me? I needed a fake boyfriend to ward off my ex-husband, who was determined to win me back.

So, we struck a deal: I’d turn his dog into the town’s best-behaved pet, and in return, he’d be my arm candy for a few family events and social gatherings. Simple, uncomplicated, and absolutely not romantic—at least, that was what we told ourselves.

As we played house, I couldn’t help but notice that underneath Alex’s prickly shell was a dash of charm that wasn’t listed in the ingredients. Our pretend dates started to feel a little too real. And our feigned kisses? They were getting laughably close to crossing the line. Suddenly, our interactions felt less like a food fight and more like foreplay.

With every playful touch and lingering glance, I couldn’t help but wonder: Was this fake relationship with Alex secretly penning its own authentic ending? Or was I risking it all for someone who was nothing more than make-believe?

Sensitive Content

Here are the potentially sensitive content that I observed while reading:

  • Alcohol
  • Anxiety/Panic Attacks
  • Cheating (not main characters)
  • Death of loved one
  • Emotional spousal abuse (not main characters)
  • Grief
  • Profanity

Ratings

Add me as a friend on Goodreads! Click here.

There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Keep Reading!

Book Reviews/

Between Love and Loathing by Shain Rose Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Between Love and Loathing by Shain Rose

Blurb

Fake dating my enemy so I can design my dream bakery should be easy … as long as I don’t fall in love with him.

Dominic Hardy might be an award-winning architectural engineer with fancy degrees and considerable accolades, but he doesn’t know a thing about baking.
He doesn’t even like sugar.
So when my late stepfather’s will states that Dominic Hardy is set to inherit the Pacific Coast Resort he’d painstakingly designed, as long as my bakery can be plopped in the middle of it, it’s no surprise he balks.
And my jaw drops when another stipulation requires us to mutually approve plans for my bakery’s design.
His stuffy taste will never mix with my whimsical vibe.

But then Dominic comes to me with a proposal I can’t refuse. He’ll give me everything I want in my bakery as long as I agree to one thing:

Fake date him for five months.
Keep his ex away by pretending we’re in love.
Smile and stare into his piercing green eyes at a gala or two.
Maybe share a kiss.
Nothing extreme.
Five months of acting in love when I really loathe him and his filthy mouth.
Even when he’s using it on me.

This should be a cakewalk.
Except there’s a fine line between love and loathing, and I think I’ve made the colossal mistake of blurring it.

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content that I observe, while reading this book:

  • Abusive Relationship (not main characters)
  • Alcohol
  • Child Abuse (off page)
  • Chronic illness/disease
  • Profanity
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes
  • Violence

Ratings

Add me as a friend on Goodreads! Click here.

There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Keep Reading!

Book Reviews/

Protege King by Lisa Renee Jones Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Protege King by Lisa Renee Jones

Blurb

Damion West was the boy who stole my young heart and then broke it. That was a long time ago though and I’m not a girl susceptible to hot boys with big egos who just happen to kiss well anymore. Nor have I kept up with Damion West. Okay, I have. Everyone has. He’s the heir to West Enterprises.

Everyone knows Damion West.
Just not like I do.
But that’s another story better left untold.

It’s hard sometimes to remember that I’m no slouch myself. Confidence isn’t exactly my forte but I fake it well. I’ve worked with my parents’ real estate firm catering to the rich and famous for years and I’m now one of the top agents in the country. Blue Enterprises is the name of our firm, which is also my name. Blue. Alana Blue. And now I’m on TV, the star of Selling in New York.

But every family has secrets. Damion’s does and mine does as well.
That’s why I have the TV show I didn’t really want.
Nothing is real.
Except him. Damion. He’s real. So is my past with him. But it’s the past.

Then one day I get called to a meeting by the studio head, it’s all very secretive.
Because it’s not the studio at all, or actually, it is. Because his family owns everything.

That’s right.
The meeting is with him. It’s with Damion West.
And Lord help me, he’s now sexier, and more arrogant than ever.

Also it turns out that what Damion wants from me isn’t as simple as a real estate contract.
But it’s a contract all right.

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content I observed while reading:

  • Alcohol
  • Blackmail
  • Cheating
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes
  • Sexual Harassment

Ratings

Add me as a friend on Goodreads! Click here.

There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Keep Reading!

Book Reviews/

Tempting Enemy by M. Robinson Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Tempting Enemy by M Robinson

Blurb

Look but don’t touch…

From the night she showed up at my bar with a fake ID, I kicked her out. On her birthday, the following week, she showed up again. Except this time, she was demanding a job. Willing to do whatever it took to get it.

Against my better judgment, she got her, but I’m not going to make it easy on her. Neither are the guys at my bar.

I have two choices: Pretend she’s mine to protect her. Or deal with the consequences when her five older, overprotective brothers find out what their little sister is up to.

Either way…

It’s going to be hell on me.

Because I can’t stay away from her.

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content I observed while reading this:

  • Alcohol
  • Car accident
  • Death of a parent
  • Domestic Abuse
  • Gun violence
  • Misogyny
  • Murder
  • Profanity
  • Sexual assault
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes

Ratings

Add me as a friend on Goodreads! Click here.

There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Keep Reading!

Book Reviews/

Knot So Lucky by Trilina Pucci Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Knot So Lucky by Trilina Pucci

Blurb

Me: Ask me what happens in Vegas…

Samantha: What happens in Vegas?

Me: Let me tell you.

What happens is that you get “make out with strangers and pee in a parking lot” drunk. TIE THE KNOT WITH A GUY YOU JUST MET. Then allegedly participate in depraved group activities with him and his friends in the honeymoon suite of a five-star hotel. But that’s not even the worst part. Because after an epic walk of shame, you find out he’s some insanely famous bad-boy quarterback who’s in the midst of cleaning up his act. So now, you have to pretend to like him…sober…until you can skip town with an annulment and a shirt that reads, “I’d hit that.” Except for bam—tiny hiccup. His personality cancels out his hot AF face. And let’s not mention how you definitely took a trip to pound town with his friends. So, yeah. That’s what happens in Vegas. You get Knot so Lucky even when you think you hit the jackpot.

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content that I observed while reading:

  • Alcohol
  • Group Sex
  • Profanity
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes

Ratings

Add me as a friend on Goodreads! Click here.

There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Keep Reading!

Book Reviews/

Promise Me Always by A.L. Jackson Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Blurb

I should know better than to let Tessa McDaniels pretend to be my fiancée.

I’m a dark, dangerous disaster who leaves destruction in his wake.

But when she offers to pretend to marry me to help me get my kids back, I can’t refuse. They are the one thing I have left to fight for.

Milo Hendricks found me at my lowest.

Battered and broken by my ex with no place to call home. When he insists I stay at his cabin with him, he sparks the feelings I’ve tried to suppress.

He’s only supposed to be my friend, but every time he comes in the room, he makes my knees weak.

This gorgeous, tatted, mountain-of-a-man who’s riddled with secrets.

Tessa is everything I crave but can’t have.

I shouldn’t touch her.

Shouldn’t make it real.

But she’s a red-headed flame I can’t resist, and I can’t help but take her to my bed.

Now we’re falling into an abyss of passion and need.

Loving her is easy.

Only we’re tied in ways we don’t know.

I’ll do anything to protect her, but it’s my past that might destroy her in the end…

Triggers

This is a dark romance as it is romantic suspense. Here is some of the potentially sensitive content:

  • Abusive relationship (not MCs)
  • Alcohol
  • Blood
  • Child custody battle
  • Death of a loved one
  • Financial Anxiety
  • Grief
  • Hostages
  • Kidnapping
  • Murder
  • Profanity
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes
  • Violence

Ratings

Add me as a friend on Goodreads! Click here.

There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Keep Reading!

Book Reviews/

The Villain by LJ Shen Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Blurb

Cruel. Coldblooded. Hades in a Brioni suit.
Cillian Fitzpatrick has been dubbed every wicked thing on planet earth.
To the media, he is The Villain. To me, he is the man who (reluctantly) saved my life.
Now I need him to do me another, small solid. Bail me out of the mess my husband got me into.
What’s a hundred grand to one of the wealthiest men in America, anyway?
Only Cillian doesn’t hand out free favors. The price for the money, it turns out, is my freedom.
Now I’m the eldest Fitzpatrick brother’s little toy. To play, to mold, to break.
Too bad Cillian forgot one, tiny detail.
Persephone wasn’t only the goddess of spring; she was also the queen of death.
He thinks I’ll buckle under the weight of his mind games.
He is about to find out the most lethal poison is also the sweetest.

Triggers

This book is what I would consider dark romance. If you aren’t a fan of the genre then this book might not appeal to you. I have included some of the content that I believe may be sensitive to some readers:

  • Abusive Relationship
  • Alcohol
  • Assault
  • Blood
  • Bones
  • Child Abuse
  • Childhood Trauma
  • Death of a family member
  • Emotional Abuse
  • Infertility (indirectly/mention of)
  • Misogyny
  • Pregnancy
  • Profanity
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes
  • Stalking (surveillance for “protection”)
  • Violence

Ratings

Add me as a friend on Goodreads! Click here.

There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Keep Reading!

Book Reviews/

Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Blurb

Bearded, bad-boy barber Knox prefers to live his life the way he takes his coffee: Alone. Unless you count his basset hound, Waylon.

Knox doesn’t tolerate drama, even when it comes in the form of a stranded runaway bride.


Naomi wasn’t just running away from her wedding. She was riding to the rescue of her estranged twin to Knockemout, Virginia, a rough-around-the-edges town where disputes are settled the old-fashioned way…with fists and beer. Usually in that order.

Too bad for Naomi her evil twin hasn’t changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with something unexpected. The niece Naomi didn’t know she had. Now she’s stuck in town with no car, no job, no plan, and no home with an 11-year-old going on thirty to take care of.

There’s a reason Knox doesn’t do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones. But since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least he can do is help her out of her jam. And just as soon as she stops getting into new trouble he can leave her alone and get back to his peaceful, solitary life.

At least, that’s the plan until the trouble turns to real danger.

Triggers

There are no sensitive content warnings from Lucy Score for this book. Here are some of the potentially sensitive content that I observed while reading:

  • Abusive Relationship (not between Main Characters)
  • Alcohol
  • Blood
  • Child Neglect (not by Main Characters)
  • Financial Anxiety
  • Kidnapping
  • Profanity
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes
  • Violence

Ratings

Add me as a friend on Goodreads! Click here.

There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Keep Reading!