If you’ve been combing the internet for the football romance of your dreams, but would not like to read about football. Ding Ding Ding! I’ve got you. The Fake Out is about an NFL star that moves to a small town for a while to get away from buzz and then meets the town librarian in the cutest little meet cute and I’m not going to tell you even a word more because I just want you to read it.

Sharon M Peterson IS one of the best romance girlies in the game and she is out here writing top tier romance that not enough people are talking about. I am a Sharon M Peterson Stan. The story is always so organic and while my favorite tropes are present they are never forced or clunky or written just to be written. Not to mention, I care about every single supporting characters she writes. She has a gift.

This book was written for you if:
1. You are swept away in the romance of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
2. You want great writing and great romance
3. You would like to stay up all night tonight with this absolute page-turner

This is your traditional rom-com–one that screams Hallmark Channel movie–but don’t let that deter you from reading it. Mae, the lovable, single librarian, finds herself equal parts annoyed and attracted to Chris, the professional football player who has taken up residence in Mae’s hometown. Both find themselves in situations where they could help each other out by having a fake relationship, however Mae is quite a bit more hesitant to accept the help than Chris is (typical strong female character who thinks she can do everything on her own). Their fake romance is full of hilarious situations, and those along with the pick up lines that begin each chapter, add to the overall joy of this book.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this arc. This a hilarious romantic comedy, it's full of interesting and hilarious characters. I loved her best friend Ali, we all need a friend like her. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

*Thank you netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to review, all opinions are my own*

I did not imagine I would love this book so much but I am so glad I did, I needed do read a 5 star book.
This book has everything you want in a romance!
I fell in love with our main male character and his attitudes.
I like how this book use all of the cliches well and developed a beautiful love story.
I highly recommend this book if you want a good, sweet and quick romance book!

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

This was a really fun small-town romance filled with humorous banter, fake dating and an extremely handsome celebrity. I found myself giggling at the pages constantly, it was a really lovely read that I would highly recommend.

In a small town library in Two Harts, Mae finds herself entangled with Chris Sterns, a charming NFL player seeking refuge from his fans. Despite her initial annoyance, she warms to his positivity and joins his unexpected two person book club. However, when a scandal threatens to tarnish Chris's image, he stuns her with a surprising proposal, setting the stage for high-stakes engagement that could either save them both or become a losing game.

Sharon M Peterson sold me as a writer with her debut - The Do-Over so when The Fake Out came out in July I had to jump at the opportunity. Her writing style complete with her humor "suits me" IYKYK!

This is such an entertaining rom-com with the best humor and characters. Friends to lovers, reverse grumpy/sunshine tropes with tension, chemistry and love...I LOVED IT!

The cheesy pick up lines at the beginning of each chapter was such an added bonus.

Read if you like:
Small town
sports/celebrity
fake dating
humorous banter
cheesy pick up lines
sexy forearms

Hilarious and heartwarming, I couldn’t help but swoon over Sharon M Peterson’s fabulous romantic comedy, The Fake Out.

The small town of Two Harts is hardly a thriving metropolis – which is why librarian Mae cannot believe that handsome NFL player Chris Sterns is 1) in town and 2) hiding out in her library from his many adoring fans who follow his every move and don’t give him a moment’s peace. Embarrassingly, Chris has already discovered her addiction to racy blush-inducing audiobooks, however, little does Mae realize that things are going to get a whole lot more complicated for her thanks to the drop dead gorgeous football player.

When the press get a hold of an incriminating photo of him in Las Vegas, Chris finds himself in desperate need of cleaning up his image – and a small-town librarian is just the ticket to help him reassure his managers and fans that he’s one of the good guys. Proposing to Mae and asking her to be his wife should be the answer to all of his prayers – not the beginning of a whole plethora of problems.

Even die-hard romantic Mae never expected to be proposed to by a handsome celebrity. Although love does not enter into the equation, this fake engagement would give Mae financial stability and an opportunity to pay her mother’s mounting medical bills. However, what neither Mae nor Chris had counted on was falling head over heels in love with one another!

This fake engagement has suddenly got real! Will Mae and Chris act on their feelings for one another? Or is it all going to end in tears?

Fans of Emily Henry are going to lap The Fake Out up! Sharon M. Peterson has written a fun, flirty and feel-good romantic comedy that will give readers all the feels as they find themselves falling hard for Mae and Chris.

A top-notch romantic comedy that has irresistible written all over it, Sharon M. Peterson strikes gold with The Fake Out.

Absolutely loved this book and finished it in one sitting. A really cute and humorous story and I loved the main characters and all the side characters. Will definitely be reading more from this author

"I can't lock up the library until the guy asleep at his desk leaves. Thank the universe for audiobooks because I could be here all night. But I see his mouth twitch at the exact moment a steamy kiss takes place. My face burns when I realize my headphones are plugged in and my phone is at full volume."
Oh, come on, that had to get your attention!! The Fake Out is a delightful story that checks all the rom-com boxes! A librarian and a jock in a predicament that maybe a fake relationship can fix. This was such an enjoyable read. Mae could be a little frustrating, as is any character that is so set that there is no such thing as a happy ever after and all relationships are doomed. But she's also a delight and kind and trying her best. Chris is just wonderful and swoony and yeah..... This book is a feel good, make you smile with entertaining dialogue and quirky side characters.
Don't skip over the cheesy pick-up lines at the beginning of each chapter! They are fun and cute and very cringe worthy!

Pure, sweet and wholesome romantic comedy!

Congrats to the author because The Fake Out is smashing all the boxes!
The story is fantastic. The characters are golden, especially Chris. I love this golden retriever hero!

It's very engaging, hard to put down, and most importantly, it's very well written! In my opinion, this story is much better than the first book, more things make sense.

I recommend it with all my heart!

Really love this book!!!!


"Thank you so much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

This book took a bit for me to get into but when I did I deeply enjoyed it! Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this. I am excited to read more by Peterson

This is my first time reading anything by this author. This was such a cute rom com book!
The cheesy pick up lines were just the right amount without annoying me! The characters were relatable and I found myself eager to see where things would end up. I would definitely recommend this books to friends and family.

Thank you to the author and netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC!

I don’t normally do chick lit - not enough serial killers or crazy murdering husbands/wives, but I was pleasantly surprised.
I can see why some of the reviewers struggled with Mae and her incessant pessimism, but after the first few chapters she certainly becomes a bit less cynical! Although the story line is not so original - it was written in such a way that I was almost transported there! I can imagine this being made into a little Netflix series. For once, it was nice to have some fluffy, sunny, lightness instead of my usual dark reads! An absolute must for anyone wanting a bit of light hearted escapism.

I have decided that Sharon M. Peterson is an auto=read author for me. I loved her first novel and this second one was equally fantastic. I love this take on fake dating. I appreciated that both main characters were respectful of each other and were characters in and of themselves. I just love Peterson's writing and story development. Can't wait to see what is next!

this was my go to book for a weekend away, it was a fun easy read but i did struggle to get on with the mae as she was so down about life but i persisted and it was a sweet love story with some laugh out loud moments

This was a cute romance book, but I found the main character to be obnoxious. Glad I read it though!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the early access to this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Of course, the cover art and the synopsis of the book itself made me want to dive right in. Who wouldn't want to when the story itself is about a small-town, a librarian and a very popular NFL player. Mix in some grumpy/sunshine vibes with a fake dating/engagement trope?! Sign me up!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to completely finish this book. I ended up putting it down about halfway through. I found myself unable to enjoy the main character's POV as it felt a little too irritable, too sarcastic and too pessimistic. For the first half of the book, I felt that it was moving maybe a little slower than preferable and Mae's attitude felt pretty redundant in certain cases. While I completely respect and understand the author's choice for doing so, it made it hard for me to be able to truly connect to the story.

However, I do wish I could've pushed myself to continue through the second half of the book as I feel that the author would have definitely tied everything well together. Not to mention the romance of it all... it was built up very strong in the first half. I believe that others would definitely find this an enjoyable and worthwhile read!