The Fiancée Farce follows bookstore manager Tansy through her fake engagement to romance cover model Gemma West after a misguided lie. Tansy, after telling her stepmother she's seeing someone, needs Gemma to play along. Gemma, requiring a wife in order to inherit her family's business is more than happy to oblige.

In my opinion, The Fiancée Farce absolutely bodied as a sapphic fake dating/marriage of convenience romance. I absolutely loved it and couldn't recommend it more (especially to anyone who enjoys Meryl Wilsner's body of work).

The main characters were intensely loveable, their were high stakes for their relationship on both sides, the romantic tension was impossible to ignore, and Bellefleur's writing style really managed to capture my attention. This was my first book by Alexandria Bellefleur, but it absolutely will not be my last.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved seeing Gemma and Tansy’s relationship grow and fake dating is my absolute favourite trope!

I really loved how this world felt real, the bookstore, the company, the characters.

There were quite a few characters, but it wasn’t hard to keep up with them, everyone had their own personality. Tucker was horrible in all possible ways, the family drama was intense. The betrayals were massive, and the inheritance was unfair on Gemma. I did really enjoy the resolution though!

Overall, I really enjoyed The Fiancée Farce, and I am giving it 4 stars! This is my second Alexandria Bellefleur book but it won’t be my last!

I am in love love love! I've been a fan of the author since debut and had been looking forward to this one since it was announced. Safe to say, this did not disappoint at all! WHAT A CUTE LOVE STORY! gemma and tansy, you have my heart!! 10/10 would recommend to every romcom lover out there pls read this!

Tansy is dedicated to her family’s bookstore and has little time for romance but her family keep asking about her love life. So, she invents a beautiful girlfriend called Gemma, inspired by the woman on the cover of the romance novels that Tansy loves. Imagine Tansy’s shock when the real life Gemma shows up at a family wedding. Gemma van Dalen is the heir to her family’s publishing company but in order to inherit, she needs to marry. When Tansy’s aunt reveals plans for selling the bookstore, Tansy realises that she needs a large injection of cash to keep hold of it. That’s something that Gemma can help with. Let the marriage of convenience commence! I’m not sure I’ve read a contemporary marriage of convenience romance before but it certainly gave it a slightly different flavour than the love stories I’m used to. Perhaps it’s because regency romance is where I’ve mostly encountered farces and relationships like this before but I couldn’t get away from that historical vibe, despite it being very much a contemporary novel. There are some real high stakes involved in the narrative and some serious villains that I loved to hate. On the flip side, there is also a cast of loveable queer side characters who I would love to meet again.

So let me get this clear: a sapphic romance, featuring not just fake dating but also a modern twist on a marriage of convenience? Yes please, get it in my veins, right now!

Tansy lives a quiet life as a bookseller. To stop her family from butting in on her business, she invents a relationship with Gemma, a romance cover model. Definitely not an issue, until Gemma turns up at the wedding of Tansy's cousin. Gemma plays along with Tansy's ruse, because she's in need of a wife to get access to her inheritance. It's just supposed to be a business arrangement, but neither Gemma nor Tansy considered the possibility they would catch feelings for each other.

This was so sweet, funny and fluffy. Not a lot of steamy scenes, but the ones that are included were excellent quality.

Minor detail in the whole scope of things, but it truly takes talent to design such a bland cover for a romance novel. The American cover is a lot better.

“I love you, and I love the way you’re looking at me right now, like i’m the only person in the whole room, the only person in the world.”
“You aren’t?”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book: The Fiancée Farce
Author: Alexandria Bellefleur

This was such an adorable sapphic romcom, my first read by this author and just what I needed at the time I read it.

Alexandria Bellefleur had this beautiful way of creating her characters with so much chemistry, but who also stand strong by themselves, reading about Gemma and Tansy’s separate struggles was just as interesting to me as reading about their relationship. I adored the buildup to them getting together, and it felt like such a satisfying ending which gave me all of the warm and fuzzies 🥰

If you love “Invisible String” by Taylor Swift, READ THIS BOOK. It was all that I could think about 🥹

(Also if somebody could send me a Gemma… that would be lovely.)

Read if you like:
💙 Marriage of convenience
💙 Fake dating
💙 Sapphic romance
💙 Dual POV
💙 One of them is famous
💙 Found family
💙 Mutual pining
💙 Spice

(Thank you so much to Little Brown Book Group and netgalley for the EARC! 🫶🏻)

💙

It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what ignited my adoration for this particular book. However, I can confidently say that I haven't found myself re-reading a book so soon after finishing it in quite some time. The plot, the characters, and every element of the story seamlessly intertwine to create a deeply moving, alluring, and intricate narrative.reating a soulful, sexy, and complex narrative that resonates deeply.

A romance that's not only incredibly spicy, but one that oozes charm, sexual tension and a whole heap of mutual respect has got to be a winner for me. Tansy wants to buy the bookshop she works in, her parents bookshop, from her stepmother. However 6 million dollars isn't exactly short change for a Bookseller. Enter beautiful Gemma. Model. Socialite. And on the look out for a wife. But what starts as an engagement of convenience morphs into something more as the pair realise they are exactly what the other is looking for.

Gemma is a great example of a character who gives off the appearance of having it all together, but underneath she's treading water. She hates most of her family, she's desperately lonely even when surrounded by friends and and she feels like a constant failure with no direction in life. Being left the family company in her grandfather's will is her chance to show everyone that she's worth something.

Tansy is her opposite in many ways. Shy and grounded in her very small world of the bookshop she works in, she's also similar in that she's driven and can stand up for herself when she really needs to. Gemma can see her potential, and vice versa, and I think that's they the two work so well. I loved that the pair built each other up, being respectful and honest to each other and their growing relationship. It was a refreshing and welcoming change.

The plot also isn't as predictable as you'd think from a romance. Yes, you know the two are made for each other from the get go, but the journey takes a few curve balls along the way. There's no guarantee that the two will make it down the aisle, and it's whether their dreams come with marriage too.

Really well written and well developed characters that show the maturity and respect characters can have in a romance with compromising on the sexual tension.

I can't really say what sparked my love for this book. But I don't remember that I've ever read a book twice in such a short time. The story, the characters...everything fits perfectly together and is so soulful, sexy, complex...

For me this was an average romcom. The marriage of convenience trope is a favourite of mine so I was looking forward to this read. I was impressed with the fact the main characters were both women as I feel this is a really under represented area for romance authors. I loved the characters however I felt some of the dialogue was hard to read and too cringey. There was also a point where Gemma's mother was introduced and instead of using her name to indicate she was speaking, the author kept using the term 'mom' instead which I found extremely irritating.

Overall, a quick read and a good romance. However, the dialogue and amount of mundane descriptions let this book down.

So good from start to finish. I loved everything about it. This just cemented Alexandria Bellefleur as a favorite author!

If you love a good rom com, I have a feeling you will enjoy this book.
Firstly, the two main characters felt real and incredibly authentic, even if they find themselves in a bit of an unbelievable situation.
There was lots of great buildup to them finally getting together, so when they do it really does feel earned and fulfilling.
I could have done with less side characters to keep track of but overall, this was quick, easy read and a great sapphic romance option.
I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for what Alexandria Bellefleur does next.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Man this was so GOOD! The chemistry between Gemma and Tansy was off the charts, I love them so much, and they were really fantastic characters individually as well! I loved that we saw both of their POVs equally throughout this book, I thought that it made the story really strong. This book was also wildly entertaining, with so much chaos happening left right and centre.

That being said, I will say the story is a little hard to believe, I guess - their fake engagement happens within literally two minutes of meeting each other, and I personally would have preferred there to be a bit more of an established relationship between the two first.

But it was just so fun, so easy to read, I loved the low level of angst, it was exactly what I needed to read during a very busy time myself. The romance was just so swoonworthy, I could read about Gemma and Tansy's love story forever.

I absolutely loved this sapphic romance. The relationship between Tansy and Gemma felt so real and thought out, despite it being essentially "for show". Their chemistry was sizzling, something Alexandria Bellefleur writes spectacularly.

The steamy scenes were perfectly balanced throughout the book and written so well and engagingly. It's, again something Bellefleur writes so well, and even felt like a step up from the Written in the Stars series.

The friendship group of Gemma's roommates was so wonderful to read, with so much depth and difference in each of the characters. The slight frostiness between Gemma and Lucy was also dealt with really well.

Both of the women had meddling families, and I felt those, as well as the headache and hassle that comes from there, were really entertaining and engaging. A particular revenge story made me laugh out loud on the Tube.

Alexandria Bellefleur has cemented herself for me as a must buy author. I can't wait to see what she brings out next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for this ARC! This was one of my most anticipated romance releases of 2023 so I was so excited to dive into this!

This is a sapphic marriage of convenience romance following Tansy and Gemma. Tansy hates dating and is sick of fielding questions about her love life so she lies to her family and tells them she’s been dating historical romance cover model, Gemma. She obviously doesn’t expect to ever bump into Gemma herself and before she can plan a fake break up Tansy is face to face with Gemma. To her surprise, Gemma not only goes along with her lie but announces their engagement. Gemma is now heir to Van Dalen Publishing but to actually collect her inheritance she must get married, if not the company will go to her loathsome cousin. She and Tansy enter a marriage of convenience, Gemma gets her inheritance, Tansy gets the money to buy her family’s struggling bookstore that her Stepmother is trying to sell. A win win. But Gemma’s family are not happy about the engagement announcement and are absolutely determined to prove that it’s a farce. But then sparks start to fly and Gemma and Tansy realise that perhaps this isn’t a fake relationship, it might actually be something very real.

This was absolutely incredible! Alexandria Bellefleur is one of my favourite romance authors and wrote one of my favourite series Written in the Stars so I had high expectations but I was still extremely surprised with this one! It has everything I enjoyed about her previous books, the sexual tension, the mutual pining, the will they won’t they and the obvious chemistry between the two main characters. I always find that her characters are always really interesting and three dimensional as well. They have fleshed out personalities and unique interests. I loved Tansy’s passion for her family’s bookstore and romance books and that Gemma was a historical romance cover model.

The chemistry between Tansy (an absolutely amazing name by the way) and Gemma was off the charts from the moment they met. This relationship felt real and they communicated really well with each other. Gemma had her share of insecurities despite being beautiful and wealthy and Tansy was so good at helping her through those and making Gemma feel that she had so much worth and value despite what her family told her.

The Van Dalen’s (apart from Brooks who was an angel) were so nasty and toxic I couldn’t wait for their downfall. Especially Tucker. Please read trigger warnings for this book by the way because there are some emotional subjects discussed. Lucy can also take a long walk off a short pier. The other side characters however were absolutely delightful and I would love to maybe see some companion novels about them. I want to see more of Kat from the bookstore and also Teddy was an absolute gem! Thank you for the small Brandon/Olivia mention as well, I loved that!

The only thing that slightly annoyed me was how long it took to get to the point sometimes. A really important conversation/scene would be playing out and everyone would crack a bunch of jokes and then be like “oh what was I saying” then there would be a couple more important sentences then more jokes and it kind of frustrated me because there would be like a page of unnecessary dialogue before we got to the important point of the conversation. Again this is was only a slight annoyance but sometimes it kind of took me out of the story. I don’t know if I’m making any sense. It didn’t stop me enjoying the book overall.

I recommend this book and anything else Alexandria Bellefleur has written because like I said she is one of my favourite romance authors and is in my opinion the queen of sapphic romance. This book just solidifies my feelings! If you want a steamy, sapphic, marriage of convenience romance then this is for you! This one came out on 18th April 2023 so go get it now!

Alexandria Bellefleur's books always leave me with a smile of my face. Gemma and Tansy both have their reasons for faking an engagement and even though I knew it was inevitable they would fall for each other, I couldn't help but to be swept up in their journey. Alexandria Bellefleur has written another wonderful sapphic romance that will make you laugh out loud.

An ARC was received from Avon via NetGalley for an honest review.

So, I’m unwell. I am genuinely obsessed with Gemma and Tansy. I mean, from the moment Gemma first walked into that wedding, I fell. She just has this bold presence where you know any room she walks into, everybody looks her way. And Tansy baby I love her. Her bookstore, Mills and Boon, her ugly ass cardigans that I’d definitely wear too. But not only were the characters incredible, the storyline had me hooked from page one.

Any kind of book with fake dating completely gets me, but when it’s marriage of convenience, it’s always just on another level and this didn’t disappoint!! The whole story with Tansy making Gemma up as her girlfriend as she’d just seen her on a book cover?! Then Gemma just oops turning up and going along with it and saying they’re engaged?! Omg yes okay.

Apparently books can’t just be: two characters meet and fall in love and nothing else happens (why not though?). Gemma’s family (most of them) are the worst and my heart sank hearing Gemma get put down by them time and time again.

But nice to see John Tucker Must Die was turned into ‘Why Hasn’t Tucker Died Yet’ because oh my christ, Tucker was genuinely one of my least favourite book characters EVER. I sobbed over Tansy admitting what he did to her and every time he hurt her again made me ache and genuinely want to stab him through the book.

But the loveliness and romance and smut was all there too and it was just perfection. I genuinely can’t think of any better word to describe this book than perfect. Definitely going down as an all time favourite of mine 🥰

Just as a side note to finish off: genuinely why did I laugh for about 10 minutes when Teddy said ‘Just Teddy. Mr. Teddy’s my father’? It wasn’t by any means the funniest bit but I had to stop reading sue to tears of laughter? You’ll have to read it yourself to help me explain that one x

I absolutely adore Alexandria’s Written In The Stars series but sadly I’m not 100% sold on this one ☹️

LIKES
☀️ All the healing family moments / self growth.
☀️ The bookshop setting.
☀️ It features a range of LGBTQIA+ characters (though heads up, no diversity).

DISLIKES
🌙 A lot of the dialogue felt really outdated. For example ‘pray tell’ is used SIX times?! There was also a fair few really cringe piece of dialogue, the worst being ‘ooo fiesty, kitty has claws now’.
🌙 The insta love and often awkward dialogue meant I felt no natural chemistry between them. It felt forced.
🌙 The side characters were hard to distinguish from one another, as they were all quite samey.

Not my favourite unfortunately!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Fiancée Farce' by Alexandria Bellefleur.

'The Fiancée Farce' is yet another perfect Alexandria Bellefleur book, with interesting but occasionally flawed characters and lush scenery to die for. As much as I adored this book, I'd argue this isn't my favorite Bellefleur but it is consistent with Alexandria's other work so fans will not be disappointed by this one. I'd highly recommend this to everyone I meet because I feel like it has a bit of everyone in it - romance, drama, writing that shines brightly - absolute perfection.

After reading (and really enjoying) the Written in the Stars series, this was one of my most anticipated 2023 releases and it did not disappoint. It was my 4th Alexandria Bellefleur book and quickly became my favourite!

I loved everything, from the characters to the plot. I went into this book thinking it would be a marriage of convenience and even though that was definitely a big part of the story, they didn’t get married until the end of the book, so it didn’t really feel like a marriage of convenience at all. I guess fake engagement would be more accurate. Having said that, that wasn’t an issue whatsoever. I actually really enjoyed the fake engagement trope, which I haven’t found many times (if any) before. I loved how the story progressed, how Tansy and Gemma had time to get to know each other before they actually got married, with a certain degree of forced proximity always present, which meant they actually had to spend time together.

I loved their relationship. They were two very different people but they brought the best out of each other. Whereas Gemma was more confident and on the extroverted side, Tansy’s anxiety often made her more introverted; however, she wasn’t afraid to stand up for what she believed in and fought for what she wanted. They were a really great match and it was heartwarming to see how happy they made each other, how they were each other’s safe space and made the other feel loved and cared for. Their past experiences left them both yearning for a family and they found it in each other, which I loved!

Having said that, I have to mention that I wished we’d learned more about Tansy’s family. I understand why Gemma’s was a lot more talked about, given the plot and the role they played, but it felt like a missed opportunity. It would have been great to know more about her parents and her best friend, which was mentioned a few times but only showed up once or twice.

Overall, this was a really great romance, with characters that I loved and plenty of moments that made me swoon.

A big thank you to Piatkus, Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.