After being in a reading slump for so long, this book took me right out if it. I highly enjoyed this book, it had drama, spice and everything nice. I loved seeing Tansy and Gemma together and seeing them interact, urgh they had such good chemistry. I do love a marriage if convenience, giving this extra points.

Tropes: fake dating, marriage of convenience (ish),

Before I say anything else, I will say, I don't think this is a marriage of convenience. The marriage doesn't happen until the end of the book, with all of the romance happening before hand. So I would call this more of a fake dating trope. Don't let the marketing fool you!

Despite that - this was an absolute romp! It had everything you wanted in a fake dating romance, including hijinks!! I love hijinks!!

As always with Alexandria Bellefleur, the characters and their dynamics are the star of this book. Tansy and Gemma are vibrant characters who you can't help but fall in love with whilst they fall in love with each other. I don't want to say much more as I think you will enjoy this most if you read it with only the blurb to go off, but overall, this was a 4.5 stars. Pick it up when it comes out on April 18th.

Thanks to Alexandria Bellefleur, Little Brown Book Group and Netgalley for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

Tansy tells her family that she is dating Gemma who is a model for romance book covers. She never expects to actually meet Gemma and have to fake a relationship. Gemma needs to be married in order to inherit her family’s company so when she meets Tansy who has told everyone they are dating they plan their marriage.

This is a contemporary marriage of convenience. I absolutely loved this and I can’t recommend it enough. This book was so much fun to read. I loved the relationship between Tansy and Gemma. Overall this was really enjoyable and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

I loved this so much. This is now my third Alexandria Bellefleur book (my library doesn’t have Hang Up the Moon so I need to get on that asap) and is 100% my favourite. The way that Gemma and Tansy communicate throughout was so wonderful, especially for a fake dating story which I feel can quite often lean on miscommunication, but their connection was so lovely. The chemistry was evident almost immediately but it was great to see that grow into that deeper relationship. The way they both protect each other is incredible and the spice was sensational. I’m going to be thinking about them both for a while and I wholeheartedly recommend this one.

This book sadly wasn't for me. I didn't really like the fact that it all felt a little superficial. I also didn't like the inst attraction that came later as it all felt a bit forced and I couldn't really feel the chemistry. I also didn't feel like there was enough back story about the families for you to not really like them. Which seemed to be the point of it all really I didn't really feel a connection with the characters or the storyline which I felt was a little too contrite and done before. But not in a fresh new way. Sorry

Thank you to NetGalley UK and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for a review.

2 ⭐️

Sigh. I really wanted to like this book. I was so excited after reading AB’s Written in the Stars earlier this year and really enjoying it. Unfortunately the Fiancée Farce was not for me and I am so sorry to be explaining why.

Gemma and Tansy agree to enter into a marriage of convenience to get Gemma the keys to the family company and Tansy the money to buy her bookstore off her stepmother who’s threatening to sell it. Maybe it’s because this trope has been done so many times, but I didn’t find anything too exciting about this aspect. Once they realise that they are developing feelings for one another, things get very insta-lovey which I’m not a fan of - and I didn’t totally feel the chemistry between them unfortunately.

I didn’t feel that Tansy’s family were well developed - we don’t find much out about her parents other than that they’re dead and we know almost nothing about her stepsister Ashleigh other than she bullies Tansy for no apparent reason. <spoiler>Additionally when a 16 y/o Tansy has naked pictures spread around school, her stepmother (her only living guardian) is not informed… IN WHAT WORLD!? ugh. That really rubbed me the wrong way as an unrealistic detail</spoiler>
Gemma’s family take much of the spotlight and felt like unrealistic caricatures of real people - mean, rich people, characterised in a way that’s been done before.

I will say I enjoyed the snapshots of Gemma’s friends - Teddy in particular. They were charming and fun.

I considered dnf’ing at 85% during the climax of the story as it was too much and making me cringe. I didn’t because I’m stubborn. But yeah, this one definitely wasn’t for me.

This book was exactly what I needed to get me out of a reading slump. With indulgent tropes and Taylor Swift references galore, I suspended my disbelief and dove straight into this sweet, fluffy novel that felt like something straight out of the golden era of romcom movies.

Tansy and Gemma were a wonderful pair of protagonists that I grew attached to very quickly, particularly Gemma and her chaotic group of friends! And the slow buildup of tension between Gemma and Tansy? Percection. Lastly, I really enjoyed Gemma's uncle Brooks and his arc (I'd totally read a spin-off book about him, not gonna lie).

Contemporary romance has been an unlucky genre for me as of late, with a lot of titles falling short and not giving me quite the experience I'd been looking for. But this? This book was an absolute joy and has successfully renewed my appreciation for the genre.

This novel follows two main characters, Tansy and Gemma, and their stumble through a fake engagement which they would both gain from. Of course, nothing goes to plan and those lovely romantic feelings get in the way, as they should!

The chemistry between the main characters was gorgeous and believable, and there were some brilliant side characters too and getting to know them was an absolute joy! I practically grinned my way through this entire book and it was wonderful. One of the main characters also struggles a lot with anxiety and it was relatable and handled well.

My only issue with it was that occasionally I felt that things went a little bit too fast where feelings were concerned, but that's probably because I'm one of those individuals who really apppreciates a slow burner.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you for my earc of this book. I loved this storyline, giving queer, modern day Cinderella vibes at the beginning!
I loved the fake to real trope in this but also love that the MCs didn’t mess around gif too long before being honest about their feelings!
This was do much fun without being trivial or superficial. I can’t wait for more from this author!

I knew going into this that I would enjoy it but I didn't realise how much. Honestly I think this might be Alexandria Bellefleur's best book to date.

It follows Tansy as she agrees to marry Gemma to save her bookstore and help get Gemma her inheritance. This book jumped right in and wasted no time on getting straight to this marriage of convenience which I quite enjoyed. Sometimes it just nice to get stuck straight in.

I really loved the characters and the romance between Tansy and Gemma and I loved the little callbacks to the written in the stars series.

My only complaint was that Tansy's best friend Samina is hardly around. Sure she is off living her own life but she doesn't even stick around when things go south. Based on her name and a few other details that are mentioned about her and her family it seems to me that she's the only character of colour in this book and she's just almost not even there. Like she could have been taken out and I wouldn't have thought anything of it, which makes me quite sad. I know it's a small portion of the book but it was disappointing. But it also meant that Tansy doesn't really have anyone. In fact as I write this I realise that we only meet one of her co-workers once and they are supposedly friends too. Kind of just makes the book feel a bit like the Gemma show.

Ok I didn't know that rant was there and I feel like it's overshadowed the rest of the review but I really did enjoy this book. It was a fun romance that gave me exactly what I wanted from it.

I enjoyed the writing style but the plot and the characters was not my favourite, it was a quick easy read but definitely not my favourite.

I loved the entire concept and story but did find myself confused at points, mostly because of the extensive character list and the fact that the book throws you in with minimal explanation of who everyone was.

All of the characters had very large personalities and I loved that, as it made them feel more realistic, despite the very unrealistic situation they were faced with.
There were characters that were clearly villainous and had no redeeming qualities and written really well in that sense, and helped boost the family drama. Tansy and Gemma had a really sweet, blossoming romance and friendship, that was very cute to read, and their banter genuinely made me laugh.

I hope this follows the same pattern as written in the stars (the small nod to brendon and elle was very appreciated) where we see more characters have their own books, as I think Gemma's friend group were really interesting and would love to see more of them.

This was one 2023 I definitely looked forward to, as I usually like everything Alexandria Belllefleur writes. This was a very sweet and quick, entertaining read. I struggled a bit with the initial concept, it was a bit convenient and also didn't really make the most sense, but I went with it for the sake of the story.

I think this could've been done with fewer side characters, keeping track of all the names was rough, and as I said the concept wasn't the most creative. But I really liked both protagonists as well as their relationship, I wish it had been a tiny bit less rushed but they had some really cute scenes and I enjoyed their banter. The writing style was great as usual and I definitely had fun with this.

The Fiancée Farce is a sapphic romance novel between two Bi women. It is told in third person from both Gemma and Tansy’s POV’s. Tansy is a bookseller who loves vintage romance novels. Gemma is a cover model for romance novels and Gemma and Tansy end up in a fake dating marriage of convenience scenario. Tansy invents a fake girlfriend called Gemma after seeing her on romance novels to get her family off her back. Gemma needs to marry in order to inherit her family’s publishing company. When Gemma and Tansy meet it seems like the perfect opportunity for them to marry. They have to convince everyone it is a love match and soon begin to enjoy each other’s company. This was my first novel by Alexandria Bellefleur and I had a good time with it. The characters especially Tansy felt realistic and relatable. The novel was written well and the story flowed well. It reminded me of Ashley Herring Blake’s sapphic romance novels so if you like them you’ll probably like this. I will be giving this three stars because I did enjoy it but it wasn’t particularly memorable and I personally find I am moving away from traditionally published romance novels. I also gave three stars to Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake another sapphic romance. If you like Sapphic romance I would recommend this because It was enjoyable and I don’t see why you wouldn’t have a good time with this.

Im sorry it just wasnt what I was hoping for.

I couldnt connect with Gemma or Tansy.

Maybe I went into this with too high of an expectation but therefore was left feeling meh....

The writing itself is good, but I just didnt enjoy it im afraid.

A somewhat steamy sapphic read that you can fly through in an afternoon.

Working at her family's bookshop, when Tansy makes up a fake girlfriend she jumps to the first thing she sees - the model on the cover of the nearest bestseller. Little does she know that said model (Gemma), will be making an appearance at an event and when asked to introduce her girlfriend, Gemma announces they are recently engaged. A fake dating / engagement story and as per with this genre, lines and feelings become blurred and you have yourself a lovely little afternoon of sapphic romance.